
Book^ 






^ 



^ FEB 1 19U +} 
^ / • 





DANIEL M FRENCH 



AN 



ILLUSTRATED HISTORY 



OF 



CENTRAL OREGON 



EMBRACING 



WASCO, SHERMAN, GILLIAM, WHEELER, CROOK, 
LAKE AND KLAMATH COUNTIES 

STATE OF OREGON 



Western Historical Publishing Company 

PUBLISHERS 

SPOKANE, WASH. 

1905 

1* 









Copyright 

Western Historical Publishing Company 

1905. 



By transfer 

OCT 9 1915 



BY TR A W**1fo 

OEC 1 8 1909 





SDebicatefc 



TO THE 



pioneers of Central ©regon 

TO THOSE WHO HAVE GONE BEFORE 

AND TO THOSE WHO REMAIN TO RECITE THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE PAST 

THESE PAGES ARE RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED. 



Cujus est solum, ejus est usque ad coelum. "He who owns the soil owns up to the sky." — Law maxim. 



Look up! the wide extended plajo 
Is billowy with its ripened grain; 
And on the summer winds are rolled 
Its waves of emerald and gold — 

— William Henry Burleigh — "The Harvest Call." 



The first farmer was the first man, and all historic nobility rests on possession and use of land. 

— Ralph Waldo Emerson. 



k 







FOREWORD. 




1TH this volume are presented the histories of seven counties in Central Oregon, 
aside from a general history of the state. It is nearly a year since the com- 
pilation of this work was begun, and the historical part alone has occupied the 
time and attention of four writers. In the collection of this valuable data cheerful assist- 
ance has been rendered by so many prominent residents and pioneers of the territory 
covered that it would be invidious to make special mention of any, but to all who have 
so willingly contributed to make this history as reliable and authentic as possible, we 
return our most sincere thanks. 

Histories of the state of Oregon have been written before and the field ably covered 
in a general way. But this, the latest work of the kind, goes more deeply into county 
detail and contains some features that have never before been presented to the public. 
For instance the two portraits of the Indian pilgrims to St. Louis in search of the 
'White Man's Book," were procured by us from the Smithsonian Institute, and we believe 
they have never before been reproduced in any history. Their arduous journey, from a 
historical viewpoint, forms one of the most romantic episodes in the story of the old and 
famous Territory of Oregon. 

In the compilation of this work Mr. F. A. Shaver, collaborating with Arthur P. Rose, 
R. F. Steele and A. E. Adams, has given to the public as complete and reliable a history 
as time and money could make it. That this is substantiated by the citizens of Central 
Oregon will be seen from the voluntary endorsements of seven committees representing 



seven counties. 



THE PUBLISHERS. 



ENDORSEMENTS. 



The Dalles, Wasco County, Ore., August 18, 190^ 

We, the undersigned pioneer citizens of Wasco County, Oregon, having had by long residence here and par- 
ticipation in the history making events of Wasco County, ample opportunity to become thoroughly acquainted with 
everything that goes to make up the History of Wasco County, being selected as a committee to review the manu- 
script of the History of Central Oregon, which refers particularly to Wasco County, and also such other manuscripts 
of general history of the Northwest and the State of Oregon which are to be embodied in the volume above referred 
to and published by the Western Historical Publishing Company, certify as follows: \ 

That we have examined with care all these above mentioned manuscripts, making such corrections as were 
needed; that the manuscripts show evidence of much conscientious and pains-taking labor; that they are, substantial r 
complete, accurate, authentic, and form a standard and reliable record of events from the earliest days of settlement 
to the present; and that we cheerfully and unreservedly commend and endorse these above mentioned portions of 
the History of Central Oregon, as reliable and worthy. 

Signed — 

( Sam'l L. Brooks, 
Committee -j E. L. Smith, 

( John Michell. 



Condon, Oregon, August 5th, 1905 

We, the undersigned, a committee of citizens of Gilliam County, Oregon, have read in manuscript form that 
part of the History of Central Oregon relating to Gilliam County, to be published by the Western Historical Pub- 
lishing Company, of Spokane, Washington. The work bears evidence of extensive research and a careful compila- 
tion of data relative to the history of our county, and is a clear, comprehensive and accurate record of events in this 
county from the arrival of the first immigrants to the present time. As such we endorse and commend it as sub- 
stantially accurate. 

Signed — 

( L. W. Darling, 
Committee-! J- H. Downing, 
( John Harrison. 



Prineville, Oregon, August 7th, 1905- 

We, a committee of Crook County citizens, have examined in manuscript form that part of the History of 
Central Oregon relating to Crook County, which is to be published by the Western Historical Publishing Company,, 
of Spokane, Washington. We have made some corrections, and from our personal knowledge of events have made 
some additions thereto. To the best of our belief the history is accurate and as such we endorse it. 

Signed — 

( Arthur Hodges, 
Committee-! Knox Huston, 
( H. P. Belknap. 



Klamath Falls, Oregon, June 13th, 1905- 

We, the undersigned, a committee of citizens of Klamath County, Oregon, have read in manuscript form, that 
part of the History of Central Oregon relating to Klamath County, to be published by the Western Historical Pub- 
lishing Company, of Spokane, Washington. The work bears evidence of extensive research and a careful compila- 
tion of data relating to the history of our county, and is a clear, comprehensive and accurate record of events in the 
Klamath County from the arrival of the first immigrants up to the present time. As such we endorse and commend 

it as substantially accurate. 

Signed — 

' O. A. Stearns, 
Committee \ I. D. Applegate, 
J. L. Hanks. 



ENDORSEMENTS. rii' 



Lakeview, Oregon, July 29th, 1905 

The undersigned, a committee of Lake County, Oregon, citizens, have examined so much of the History of 
Central Oregon as relates exclusively to Lake County, which is to be published by the Western Historical Publish- 
ing Company, of Spokane, Washington. The history is complete and comprehensive, and, to the best of our 
knowledge and belief, is accurate. The work shows that the editors have spent considerable time in research, 
reading and collecting data, and the result is a history which we cheerfully endorse and commend to the citizens of 
Lake County. 

Signed — 

i C. U. Snider, 
Committee^ J. B. Blaik, 
( J. Frankl. 



Fossil, Oregon, August 2, 1905 

We, the undersigned, a committee of citizens of Wheeler County, Oregon, have read, in manuscript form, that 
part of the History of Central Oregon relating to Wheeler County, to be published by the Western Historical Pub- 
lishing Company, of Spokane, Washington. The work bears evidence of extensive research and a careful compila- 
tion of data relating to the history of our county, and is a clear, comprehensive and accurate record of events in this 
county from the arrival of the first immigrants to the present time. As such we endorse and commend it as sub- 
stantially accurate. 

Signed — 

I J. D. McFarland, 
Committee < W. S. Thompson, 
( O. Hamilton. 



Moro, Oregon, August 10, 1905 

We, the undersigned, a committee of citizens of Sherman County, Oregon, have read, in manuscript form, from 
that part of the History of Central Oregon relating to Sherman county, to be published by the Western Historical 
Publishing Company, of Spokane, Washington. The work bears evidence of extensive research and a careful com- 
pilation of data relative to the history of our county, and is a clear, comprehensive and accurate record of events in 
this county from the arrival of the first immigrants up to the present time. As such we endorse and commend it as- 
substantially accurate. Signed — 

( H. S. McDanel, 
Committee ] C. L. Irkland, 
( John Fulton. 




RECEIVED 

FEB 1 1911 




TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



PART I 

CHAPTER I 

Explorations, Coastwise and Inland. 

The Seacoast of Oregon a Historic Region — Cabrillo the Earliest Navigator in these waters — Francis Drake At- 
tempts to Find a Northwest Passage — Spain's Aggressiveness in Maritime Explorations — Voyages of Juan 
deFuca and Vitus Bering — The Advance Guard of Inland Explorers — First Expedition of Alexander Mac- 
kenzie — Shadowy Theory Concerning the Word Oregon — Explorations of Jonathan Carver — Valuable Re- 
sults of the Expedition of Mackenzie— Monacht Ape~ 1 

CHAPTER II 

Explorations by Land. 

Maratime Adventures for a Number of Years Quiescent— Determined Efforts of Verendrye to Force a Passage 
Through the Rocky Mountains — Proposition of President Jefferson to the American Philosophical Society in 
1792— Congress Votes an Appropriation for Lewis and Clark — The Treaty of Ryswick — War Between France 
and Great Britian— The Louisiana Purchase— Attitude of Napoleon Bonaparte — Joshua Pitcher Describes 
the Territory Beyond the Rocky Mountains — Jefferson's Opinion of Captain Meriwether Lewis— The Expe- 
dition Starts From St. Louis— Their Journey Through "Oregon" — Description of Various Tribes of Indians 
—Arrival at The Dallas and Cascades— Lewis and Clark Reach Tidewater— The Return Trip 6 

.CHAPTER III 

What John Jacob Astor Did. 

The Great Fur Companies of the Far Northwest— The Beaver, the Sea Otter and the Seal— John Jacob Astor 
Establishes a Trading Post at the Mouth of the Columbia— The Hudson's Bay and the Northwest Companies 
— Bloody Tragedy on the Ship Tonquin — David Thompson and party arrive at Astoria — Pitiable Condition of 
the Hunt Expedition — Two Distinct Elements of Trappers — Scientific Swindling of Indians by Government 
Agents and Traders— Melancholy Fate of John Day— The Gateway of the Sun-Kissed Pacific— Stuart's Trip 
from Okanogan to Astoria — Ross Cox Arrives at Astoria— Betrayal of Astor by His Partners — A Scandalous 
Deal— The Scheme of Astor Grand it Its Aim But Unfortunate in Its Conclusion 19 

CHAPTER IV 

The Oregon Controversy.' 

Struggle of Five Nations for Possession of Oregon— The Question All Important and Far-Reaching— Proud Boast 
of France— The Hudson's Bay Company Falls Into Line— Russia is Counted out of the Contest— Presumptu- 
ous Claims of Prince Rupert's Gigantic Fur Syndicate— Graphic Description of the Hudson's Bay Company 
by Mr. Barrows— Indian Policy of the Company— Its treatment of Missionaries and Antagonism to Progress 
—Expedition of Captain B. L. E. Bonneville— Enterprise of Nathaniel J. Wyeth— He Returns to Massachu- 
setts Disheartened— England Condones the Manifest Wrongs of the Hudson's Bay Company— Dark and 
Criminal Deeds of this Silent, Mysterious Force— Long Continued International Dispute Over the Northern 
Boundary of the United States— The War of 1812— Oregon Question Still Drags Along Like a Wounded 
Snake— Astoria Restored to the United States by the Treaty of Ghent— Americans Strike Oregon Where the 
English Failed— Oregon Left Out of the Ashburton Treaty— Dr. Marcus Whitman Goes From Oregon to 
Washington, D. C— Rufus Choate Speaks fcr Peace— The Question at Last Settled 31 



CONTENTS. ix 



CHAPTER V 

The Tragedy of Whitman's Mission. 

'Four Flathead Indian Chiefs Make a Perilous Journey to St. Louis After the "White Man's Book" — Their Re- 
quest, Perforce, Denied and Their Mission Becomes a Signal Failure — Indian Eloquence — President Fiske 
Calls Upon Missionaries to Carry the Bible to the Indians — Personal Description of Dr. Marcus Whitman — 
Text of His Famous Letter to Secretary of War Porter — Unjust Accusations Against Whitman Disproved — 
Indian Superstition the Cause of the Fiendish Massacre at Waiilatpu — Barbarous Treatment by the Savages 
of Patients Suffering From Measles — Sinister Conspiracy of Tamsuky and His Adherents — Names of the 
Victims of the Massacre — Statement of Mr. Osborne — Inhuman Treatment of Mr. Hall by Agent McBean — 
Organization of a Company of Oregon Volunteers— Factor Ogden Reaches Fort Walla Walla December 15, 
1847 — Pow-wow With the Indian Assassins — Rev. H. H. Spalding Arrives at the Fort on New Years Day, 
1848— List of Early Oregon Settlers 43 

CHAPTER VI 

The Cayuse War. 

Attempts to Whitewash the Dastardly Conduct of Mr. McBean — But the Reasoning is Pitiful and Contemptible 
Enough to Excite the Scorn of the Whole World — Americans Spring to Arms on Receipt of News of the 
Whitman Massacre — James Douglas Writes to Governor Abernethy — Intense Excitement at the Willamette 
Settlement on Reception of this Epistle — Patriotic Communication From Jesse Applegate, A. J. Lovejoy and 
George L. Curry — Colonel Gilliam Leads a Regiment Against the Cayuse Savages — Indian Forces Composed 
of Umatillas, Cayuses and Walla Wallas— Five Crows and War Eagle Lead the Savages — After the first En- 
gagement They Fall Back to Snake River — Volunteers are Successful and Some of the Indian Assassins are 
Hanged — Many Men Afterward Famous in Oregon History Take Part in Cayuse War— Accidental Death of 
Colonel Gilliam — Number of Indians in Oregon Territory and Names of the Different Tribes — Process of 
Flattening Heads of Indian Papooses — Indian Superstition Most Appalling 52 

CHAPTER VII 

Indian Wars of the 'Fifties. 

Post Traders Furnish Indians Whiskey and Giins and Ammunition to Kill White Settlers — History of Indian Wars 
the Subject of Bitter Controversy — Following the Close of the Cayuse War Adventurous Ranchers Seek Claims 
Along the Streams — List of Early Oregon Pioneers — Washington Separated From Oregon in 1853 — General 
Uprising of Indians in Oregon in 1853 and 1854 — The "Snake River Massacre" — Treaty With Indians Made 
by Governor Stevens in 1855— Major Haller Moves Against Hostile Tribes — The Battle of Walla Walla — 
Death of Peo-Peo-Mox-Mox — Severe Winter of 1855-56 — Portions of Governor Stevens' Report — He De- 
nounces the Course ot Major General Wool 60 

CHAPTER VIII 

Indian Wars of the 'Fifties Continued. 

First Cloud Arises Foreshadowing the Rogue River War — Many Miners Flock to the Klamath Valley in 1850—. 
Murder of Young Diiley — Major Kearney Assumes Charge of Government Property at Steilacoom, Astoria, 
Vancouver and The Dalles — James Applegate Assists in Exploring the Country — Captain James Stuart Gives 
Battle to the Indians June 18th — Many Indian Prisoners Are Captured — The Second Walla Walla Council — 
The Bannock and Piute War of 1878 — Volunteers Organize to Defend Pendleton — Death of State Senator C. 
L. Jewell — Colonel Miles is Suspicious — Five Crows Kill Chief Egan — Umatillas Flushed With Victory — 
White Cloud, Quit-a-Tumr s and Aps are Hanged 70 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



PART I 

CHAPTER I 

Explorations, Coastwise and Inland. 

The Seacoast of Oregon a Historic Region — Cabrillo the Earliest Navigator in these waters — Francis Drake At- 
tempts to Find a Northwest Passage — Spain's Aggressiveness in Maritime Explorations — Voyages of Juan 
de Fuca and Vitus Bering — The Advance Guard of Inland Explorers — First Expedition of Alexander Mac- 
kenzie — Shadowy Theory Concerning the Word Oregon — Explorations of Jonathan Carver — Valuable Re- 
sults of the Expedition of Mackenzie— Monacht Ape~ 1 

CHAPTER II 

Explorations by Land. 

Maratime Adventures for a Number of Years Quiescent— Determined Efforts of Verendrye to Force a Passage 
Through the Rocky Mountains — Proposition of President Jefferson to the American Philosophical Society in 
1792 —Congress Votes an Appropriation for Lewis and Clark — The Treaty of Ryswick— War Between France 
and Great Britian — The Louisiana Purchase — Attitude of Napoleon Bonaparte — Joshua Pitcher Describes 
the Territory Beyond the Rocky Mountains — Jefferson's Opinion of Captain Meriwether Lewis— The Expe- 
dition Starts From St. Louis — Their Journey Through "Oregon" — Description of Various Tribes of Indians 
—Arrival at The Dallas and Cascades— Lewis and Clark Reach Tidewater—The Return Trip 6 

.CHAPTER III 

What John Jacob Astor Did. 

The Great Fur Companies of the Far Northwest— The Beaver, the Sea Otter and the Seal — John Jacob Astor 
Establishes a Trading Post at the Mouth of the Columbia— The Hudson's Bay and the Northwest Companies 
— Bloody Tragedy on the Ship Tonquin — David Thompson and party arrive at Astoria — Pitiable Condition of 
the Hunt Expedition — Two Distinct Elements of Trappers — Scientific Swindling of Indians by Government 
Agents and Traders— Melancholy Fate of John Day— The Gateway of the Sun-Kissed Pacific— Stuart's Trip 
from Okanogan to Astoria— Ross Cox Arrives at Astoria— Betrayal of Astor by His Partners— A Scandalous 
Deal— The Scheme of Astor Grand it Its Aim But Unfortunate in Its Conclusion 19 

CHAPTER IV 
The Oregon Controversy.' 

Struggle of Five Nations for Possession of Oregon— The Question All Important and Far-Reaching— Proud Boast 
of France— The Hudson's Bay Company Falls Into Line— Russia is Counted out of the Contest— Presumptu- 
ous Claims of Prince Rupert's Gigantic Fur Syndicate— Graphic Description of the Hudson's Bay Company 
by Mr. Barrows— Indian Policy of the Company— Its treatment of Missionaries and Antagonism to Progress 
—Expedition of Captain B. L. E. Bonneville— Enterprise of Nathaniel J. Wyeth— He Returns to Massachu- 
setts Disheartened— England Condones the Manifest Wrongs of the Hudson's Bay Company— Dark and 
Criminal Deeds of this Silent, Mysterious Force— Long Continued International Dispute Over the Northern 
Boundary of the United States— The War of 1812— Oregon Question Still Drags Along Like a Wounded 
Snake— Astoria Restored to the United States by the Treaty of Ghent— Americans Strike Oregon Where the 
English Failed— Oregon Left Out of the Ashburton Treaty— Dr. Marcus Whitman Goes From Oregon to 

i Washington, D. C— Rufus Choate Speaks fc r Peace— The Question at Last Settled 31 



CONTENTS. ix 



CHAPTER V 

The Tragedy ok Whitman's Mission. 

.'Four Flathead Indian Chiefs Make a Perilous Journey to St. Louis After the "White Man's Book" — Their Re- 
quest, Perforce, Denied and Their Mission Becomes a Signal Failure — Indian Eloquence — President Fiske 
Calls Upon Missionaries to Carry the Bible to the Indians — Personal Description of Dr. Marcus Whitman — 
Text of His Famous Letter to Secretary of War Porter — Unjust Accusations Against Whitman Disproved — 
Indian Superstition the Cause of the Fiendish Massacre at Waiilatpu — Barbarous Treatment by the Savages 
of Patients Suffering From Measles — Sinister Conspiracy of Tamsuky and His Adherents — Names of the 
Victims of the Massacre — Statement of Mr. Osborne — Inhuman Treatment of Mr. Hall by Agent McBean — 
Organization of a Company of Oregon Volunteers — Factor Ogden Reaches Fort Walla Walla December 15, 
1847 — Pow-wow With the Indian Assassins — Rev. H. H. Spalding Arrives at the Fort on New Years Day, 

1848 — List of Early Oregon Settlers 43 

i 

CHAPTER VI 

The Cayuse War. 

Attempts to Whitewash the Dastardly Conduct of Mr. McBean — But the Reasoning is Pitiful and Contemptible 
Enough to Excite the Scorn of the Whole World — Americans Spring to Arms on Receipt of News of the 
Whitman Massacre — James Douglas Writes to Governor Abernethy — Intense Excitement at the Willamette 
Settlement on Reception of this Epistle — Patriotic Communication From Jesse Applegate, A. J. Lovejoy and 
George L. Curry — Colonel Gilliam Leads a Regiment Against the Cayuse Savages — Indian Forces Composed 
of Umatillas, Cayuses and Walla Wallas — Five Crows and War Eagle Lead the Savages — After the first En- 
gagement They Fall Back to Snake River — Volunteers are Successful and Some of the Indian Assassins are 
Hanged — Many Men Afterward Famous in Oregon History Take Part in Cayuse War— Accidental Death of 
Colonel Gilliam — Number of Indians in Oregon Territory and Names of the Different Tribes — Process of 
Flattening Heads of Indian Papooses — Indian Superstition Most Appalling 52 

CHAPTER VII 

Indian Wars of the 'Fifties. 

Post Traders Furnish Indians Whiskey and Guns and Ammunition to Kill White Settlers — History of Indian Wars 
the Subject of Bitter Controversy — Following the Close of the Cayuse War Adventurous Ranchers Seek Claims 
Along the Streams — List of Early Oregon Pioneers — Washington Separated From Oregon in 1853 — General 
Uprising of Indians in Oregon in 1853 and 1854 — The "Snake River Massacre" — Treaty With Indians Made 
by Governor Stevens in 1855— Major Haller Moves Against Hostile Tribes — The Battle of Walla Walla — 
Death of Peo-Peo-Mox-Mox — Severe Winter of 1855-56 — Portions of Governor Stevens' Report — He De- 
nounces the Course of Major General Wool 60 

CHAPTER VIII 

Indian Wars of the 'Fifties Continued. 

First Cloud Arises Foreshadowing the Rogue River War — Many Miners Flock to the Klamath Valley in 1850—. 
Murder of Young Dilley — Major Kearney Assumes Charge of Government Property at Steilacoom, Astoria, 
Vancouver and The Dalles — James Applegate Assists in Exploring the Country — Captain James Stuart Gives 
Battle to the Indians June 18th — Many Indian Prisoners Are Captured — The Second Walla Walla Council — 
The Bannock and Piute War of 1878 — Volunteers Organize to Defend Pendleton — Death of State Senator C. 
L. Jewell — Colonel Miles is Suspicious — Five Crows Kill Chief Egan — Umatillas Flushed With Victory — 
White Cloud, Quit-a-Tumr s and Aps are Hanged 70 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Oregon: Physical Features and Evolution. 

Boundaries of the State — Divided by the Cascade Mountains — Importance of the Willamette Valley — A Land 
of Rivers and Clear, Pure Water-^Average Elevation of Eastern Oregon — Rivers, Water Courses and 
Irrigation Possibilities — Climatology, and Healthfulness — Evolution of the Government — Deserts of the 
Interior Have their Wealth of Pasturage— A Provisional Government — The Willamette Cattle Company 
— Americans Outgeneral English Diplomatists — The Organic Laws 77 



PART II 
WASCO COUNTY 



CHAPTER I 

Traditionary, Legendary and Authentic. 

The Original Wasco County — Definition of the Word Wasco — History Older han the Most Shadowy Indian 
Legends — Statement of Dr. William McKay — The Dalles Settled by the Wasco Tribe — Salmon Fishing at the 
Cascade — Strange Statues formed by the Hand of Nature — Mount Hood — Influence of the Medicine Men 
— Conversion of One Thousand Indians — C. W. Denton Describes the Various Indian Tribes — Was There 
a Hudson's Bay Company's Post at The Dalles? — Opening of the "Barlow Road" — Wasco-pum — The 
Oregon Volunteers — Skirmish between Hostiles and Troops Led by Colonel Gilliam 85- 

CHAPTER II 

Passing Events — 1805 to 1853. 

One Hundred Years Ago — the Indian Village of Win-quatt — Natives are Friendly — Interesting Relic of the 
Lewis and Clark Exposition Found Near The Dalles — Letter from George H. Hines — Denominational 
Missions at The Dalles — Dr. Marcus Whitman Looks Over the Ground — Extract From an Impressive Ad- 
dress by Rev. H. K. Hines — Jason and Daniel Lee — The Dalles Mission an Outpost of Civilization 
— Indian "Regeneration" for Revenue Only — Methodist Missionary Society Claims The Dalles Townsite 
— Fathers Rosseau and Mesplie — Building of Fort Dalles— Elaborate Structures Erected by Captain Jordan 
— They Eventually Fall Into the Hands of the Sorosis S >ci ty — General Grant's Two Short Visits to The 
Dalles 97 

CHAPTER III 

Passing Events— 1846 to 1862. 

A French Trapper the First Settler in Wasco County — Nathan Olney Comes in 1847 — Short Sketch of His Career 
—Oregon Donation Land Claim Law — Description of the Locality of The Dalles — Judge William C. 
McLaughlin Builds a Cabin at Crate's Point — Earliest Permanent Settlers — First Steam Boat Above the' 
Cascades — Oregon Under Provisional Government — Wasco, the "Mother of Counties" — Organic Act 
Creating the County — First Meeting of the Board of County Commissioners — Judge Cyrus Olney Holds the 
First Session of District Court in Wasco County — Money is Appropriated to Build a Jail — The Oregon 
Steam Navigation Company — Henry Villard Appears on the Scene — Prohibitive Freight Tariff on the 
Columbia River — Severe Winter of 1861-2 — Record of Temperatures IOC 



U FEB 1 1911 * ; 



CHAPTER IV 

Passing Events— 1862 to 1905. 

The Dalles the Center of Wasco County's Population— Dismemberment of Wasco*s Territory Begins — Mr. Ed- 
ward Mahnthe Pioneer Hill Farmer — Financial Condition of the County in 1880 — Severe Winter in 1880-81 — 
Great Losses of Cattle, Sheep and Horses — Railroad Approaches The Dalles — New Court House — The 
Oregon Legislature of 1882 — Again Takes a Slice From Wasco — Opening of the Locks of the Cascades — The 
Event Celebrated With Great Eclat — Wheat Takes the Lead in Wasco County's Resources — Growing Im- 
portance of the Fruit Industry — Failure of the Salmon Catch in 1896-7 — Engineer McCullough Speaks in 
Behalf of an Open Columbia River to the Sea — Portage Roads and Boat Railway Projects — Wasco County 
Emerges From Under the Handicap of an Enormous Public Debt — More Attempts to Form New Counties. 117 

CHAPTER V 

The Historic City of The Dalles. 

Twinkling Camp Fires of the Immigrants of the Early 'Fifties — Geographical Location of The Dalles — Poem by 
Ruth Gatch — Story of the Town as Builded by White Men — Origin of its Name — John C. Bell the First 
Merchant — Mail Route Established in 1851 — Exceedingly Poor Freight Service — Pioneer Days Described 
by Mrs. Lord — The Dalles Becomes the Capital of a County — Townsite of "Dalles City" — Original Board 
of Trustees- -Hostile Attitude of Indians Excites Apprehension in 1854 — Picture oi The Dalles as it 
Appeared in 1858 — The City Becomes an Important Outfitting Point for Prospectors and Miners — Disas- 
trous Fire of May 21, 1879— Boom Period— July Flood of 1880 127 

# 

CHAPTER VI 

The Dalles— Continued. 

Amendment to the City Charter Passed by the Oregon Legislature — Wonderful Improvement of the Town in 
1880-1 — Fish Packing Becomes a Leading Industry — Serious Fire Sunday, September 2, 1888 — Another De- 
structive Blaze Saturday, January 11, 1890 — The Same Year the Federal Census Enumerators Find 3,500 
People at The Dalles — City is Enjoined from Purchasing a $50,000 Water Works Plant — Vast Amount of 
Property Wiped Out by a $1,000,000 Fire September 2, 1-891— "Hard Times" of 1893— The "Big Flood" of 
June, 1894 — History of The Dalles Fire Department — Church History From Early Days of the Missions- — 
Fraternal Societies— Ladies' Clubs — Complete Roster of City Officials From 1855 139 

CHAPTER VII 

Hood River and Dufur. 

The Former Town the Second City in Wasco County — A Hustling'Commercial Center of Eastern Oregon — Earli- 
est Settlement in the Place Made by W. C. Laughlin in 1852— Postoffice Established in 1859— First Mercan- 
tile Venture Made in 1877— Townsite Platted in 1881 by H. C. and E. F. Coe— Settlers Flock In— Railroad 
Rumors in the Air the Same Year— Organization of Company G, Oregon National Guard — First City Elec- 
tion December 4, 1894— Full Roster of City Officials — Fraternal Societies — The Picturesque City of Dufur — 
First Settler Came in 1852 — C. A. Wdliams Engaged in Mercantile Business in 1878 — Townsite Platted 
December 1, 1880, by E. B. and A. J. Dufur, Jr.— Visible. Signs of Improvement in 1881 — Dufur Incorpor- 
ated as a Town by the Oregon Legislature in January, 1893 — At a Standstill During the "Hard Times" Be- 
ginning in 1893 — Great Southern Railroad Reaches Dufur — Present Business and Social Conditions 157 



xii CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER VIII 

Other Towns. 

Antelope Ranks Fourth Among the Municipalities of Wasco County — Situated Seven Miles Southeast of 
Shaniko — Origin of Its Name — Nathan W. Wallace Settles Here in 1870 — Hostile Indians Infest the Vi- 
cinity — Incorporations in the Air — First Mayor John L. Hollingshead — Serious Conflagration July 11; 1898 — 
Shaniko — Description of the Town — Origin of Its Name — Real History of Shaniko Begins in 1900 — Incor- 
poration of the Shaniko Warehouse Company — Railroad Train Rolls In May 13, 1900 — Cascade Locks — 
First Came Into Prominence in 1880 — Tygh Valley — Mosier — Kingsley — Wapinitia — Wamic — Boyd — Bake- 
oven — Celilo — Mount Hood — Viento — Victor — Simasho Postoffice — Ridge way — Friend — Endersley — Meno- 
minee 166' 



CHAPTER IX 

Descriptive. 

Boundaries, Topography, Geology, Altitude, Climate and Soil of "Wasco, the Mother of Counties" — Industrial 
Resources — Analysis of Wasco County's Soil — Valuable Table of Mean and Monthly Temperatures and 
Precipitation From the Year 1858 — Small Farms the Rule — Great Variety of Cereal and Pomological Pro- 
ductions — The First Fruit Trees Planted in Wasco County — Oldest Orchards at the Cascades — River 
Freights at One Period Prohibitive — World Wide Fame of Hood River Apples— The Flora — Enormous 
Runs of Salmon in the Columbia — Majestic Mountains — The Lumber Industry — Receipts for Hood River 
Crops — The Col-umbia River — Extracts From the Diary of Governor Isaac Ingalls Stevens — The Indian 
Village of Wish-ram — Description of The Dalles of the Columbia— "The Bridge of the Gods" — Indian Burial 
Grounds — The Famous Moving Mountain — The Warm Springs Reservation 175- 



CHAPTER X 

Political. 

Fifty Years' Review— During Early Days in Wasco County the Democratic Party Was Supreme— With the 
Opening of the Civil War There Came a Decided Change— Sometimes the Prohibition Party Had a Portion 
of a Ticket in the Field — Political History of Wasco County From the Date of Its Organization — Initial 
Election June 6, 1854— Contest Between Jerry G. Dennis and C. W. Shaug— Election of June 4, 1860— John 
C. Breckenridge, for President, Carries Wasco County Against Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas — 
Personalities of Pioneer Political Officials— Wasco County Lines Up in Favor of Salem for State Capital- 
Successive Elections to November 8, 1904 194 



CHAPTER XI 

Educational. 

First School in Wasco County— Taught by a Soldier in the Regular Army— Educational Work of the Early 
Christian Missionaries— Union Street School at The Dalles Erected in 1873— Impossibility of Grading 
Schools Where Teachers Were Few — St. Mary's Academy— Second School in the County Established in 
the '50's— Issues of the Civil War Disrupt School Districts— John Michell's First School— Wasco Indepen- 
nent Academy— Capital Stock Subscribed $20,000— Prof. T. M. Gatch, Principal— It is Made a Branch of 
the Normal Institute of Oregon— List of Graduates— Roster of Wasco County Teachers in 1905 208» 



CONTENTS. xiii 



PART III 
SHERMAN COUNTY 

CHAPTER I 
Current Events— 1805 to 1905. 

Territory of Sherman County Set Aside in 1889 — Situated Between the John Day and Des Chutes Rivers— Dr. 
Marcus Whitman Meets Soldiers at De Moss Springs in 1843 — Samuel Price One of the Earliest Settlers — 
Hay Enterprise of Henry Barnum — Florence Miners Perish in the Snow of 1862 — Quite a Colony of Settlers 
Locate in 1865 — More Arrivals in 1879— Organization of a Band of Vigilantes — Residents Begin to Agitate 
for the Formation of a New County — Enabling Act Passed in February, 1889,' by the Oregon Legislature — 
Meeting of the First Board of Commissioners — Erection of a Court House and Jail in 1893 — Railroad Com- 
pleted to Wasco in October, 1897 — Glaring Land Frauds Committed by The Dalles Military Road Com- 
pany 427 

CHAPTER II' 

Cities and Towns. 

Moro, the Capital of Sherman County — History of the Town Begins in the '80's — Name of the County Seat of 
Spanish Derivation — In 1887 the Town Assumes the Proportions of a Village — City Charter Granted in 1899 
— Roster of City Officials From 1899 — The Modern City of Wasco— Named From the County in Which it 
was Originally Located— Great Prosperity in 1887 — Church History — City Officials Since 1898 — Grass Val- 
ley — In the Heart of One of the Finest Wheat Belts in Eastern Oregon — Dr. C. R. Rollins the First Settler 
— Organization of a Fire Company in 1898 — Kent — Fourth Town in Sherman County — Grant — De Moss 
Springs — Rufus — Biggs — Klondike — Murray Springs — Other Localities 443 

CHAPTER III 

Descriptive. 

Location, Altitude and Topography of Sherman County — Many Extensive Districts are Carved into Productive 
Farms — Climate and Precipitation — Soil — Wheat the Principal Revenue Crop — Many Large Farms in the 
County — Amount of Government Land Open to Settlement — Description of the Two Boundary Rivers, John 
Day and Des Chutes 454 

CHAPTER IV 

Political. 

Enabling Act Provided that the Governor Should Appoint the First Officers— County is Divided into Four 
Election Precincts — First Day at the Polls — Successive Elections Until November 8, 1904 45j7 

CHAPTER V 
Educational. 

Excellent Schools of Sherman County— The First Building — Extracts From Educational Data — Report of 
School Superintendent Bright — Annual Report for 1892 — For 1894 — Apportionment of School Money for 
April, 1905 — The Middle Oregon Baptist Academy 460 > 



:xiv CONTENTS. 



PART IV 

GILLIAM COUNTY 

CHAPTER I 

Passing Events, 1860—1905. 

The Old Immigration Road — Stock Raising the Principal Industry in the Earlier History of Gilliam County — 
First Grain Grown on the Creek Bottoms by Conrad Shott — Settlers of 1872 — First Sawmill Erected in 1874 
by Edward Wineland — Initial Store Conducted in 1876 by R. J. Robinson — D. F. Stiickland the First Post- 
master — Shuttler Flat the First Hill Land Settled and Utilized for Agricultural Purposes — The "Double 
Winter" of 1881-2 — Enabling Act Organizing Gilliam County — Long Continued County Seat Contest — Con- 
don Becomes the Capital of the County de facto September 17, 1890 — Gilliam County is Called Upon for a 
Slice of Her Territory — The Year 1901 One of Great Progress — Construction Train Rolls Into Condon in 
April, 1905— Other Railroad Matters 559 

CHAPTER II 

Cities and Towns. 

Condon the County Seat — A City Built on a Hill — All Roads Lead to Condon — Topography and Surroundings — 
First House Erected by William F. Potter in 1879 — David B. Trimble the First Postmaster— Origin of the 
Town's Name— Disastrous Fire September 27 1891 — Organization of a Fire Department in June, 1899 — City 
Charter of Condon Amended in 1901 — Organization of the Condon Commercial Club— Church History- 
Roster of City Officials From 1893— Arlington — Elijah Ray Builds the First House in 1880 — First Mercan- 
tile Business Established in 1881 — Original Townsite Platted n April, 1882 — City Controls Water Works in 
1897— Town Incorporated in 1886-7— Mayville— Blalock— Lone Rock— Olex— Clem— Alville— Willows- 
Trail Fork — Quinn's — Croy — Welshons 568 

CHAPTER III 

Descriptive. 

-Size of Gilliam County — A Crop Failure Has Never Been Known — Contour of the Country — Elevation of Vari- 
ous Points — Climatic Conditions — Mean Temperature and Precipitation— A Wheat Country Par Excellence 
— Natural Resources — Soil — Abundant Supply of Pure Water— Extensive Wheat Fields On the Flats — 
Many Farmers and Stockmen Have Large Bank Accounts 574 

CHAPTER IV 

Political. 

First County Officials — Results of the First Election — Tie Vote Between Arlington and Condon Lengthens the 
County Seat Contest — Successive Elections Until November 8, 1904 577 

CHAPTER V 

Educational. 

Gilliam County at One Period Comprised a School District by Itself— Boundaries of District No. 5— First School 
in the County Near the Ranch of Conrad Shott — District No. 1 — Report of School Superintendent H. H. 
Hendricks for 1888 — Second School House Erected in 1871 — School Apportionment for 1893 — Report of 
School Superintendent Daggett for 1897— Report of Superintendent McArthur for 1891 581 



CONTENTS. xv 



PART V 

WHEELER COUNTY. 

CHAPTER I 

Passing Events— 1859 to 1905. 

Location of Wheeler County — Gold Seekers— Captain Wallen Explores the John Day Valley— Early Travel- 
ers — Beginning of the Road from The Dalles to Canyon City — Dangerous Times — First Express on this 
Road— H. H. Wheeler's Stage — First Settlers — Burnt Ranch — Camp Watson— Other Settlers — Bannock and 
Piute Indian War of 1878— First Post Office— New County Talk — Effort to Create Sutton County Failed — 
Beginning of Effort that Resulted in the Formation of Wheeler County — Enabling Act— Apportionment of 
Debt — First Juries of Wheeler County— Location of County Seat — Death of John Day— Range War — For- 
mation of Pioneer Association — Native Daughters Organize 635 

CHAPTER II 

Cities and Towns. 

Fossil, County Seat — Selection of Name — Hoover Established Fossil Post Office — Location — Platting of Town- 
site— Fossil Incorporates — First Fire — Fossil Water Company Organize — Fossil of To-day— Caledonian 
Club— Table of Town Officials Mitchell — Her Natural Advantages — First Settler — First Store — Fire Burns 
Richard's Store — First Catastrophe from Water — What was in Mitchell in 1893— Early Characters— Fire in 
March, 1896— Fire in August, 1899— Mitchell Enlarges Her Border— Bond Issue Voted in 1901— Terrible De- 
vastation by Waterspout in 1904 — Mitchell's Postmasters — List of T iwn Officers — Twickenham — Early Set- 
tlers — Spray — Location and Resources — Richmond is Well Situated — Waterman — Burnt Ranch — Caleb — 
Barite— Antone Lost Valley 648 

CHAPTER III 

Descriptive. 

Size of Wheeler County — General Contour — Climate — Altitude — Apples and Grain do Well in All Parts, Other 
Fruits in Sections — Timber Resources — Government Land — Wheeler's Great Resource, Stock — Game — Pine 
Creek Valley — Along John Day — Mountain Creek Country — Waterman Country — Mines — Portions of 
Wheeler County once a Sea Bottom— Climate in Those Days— Fossil Remains — Formation of Country — 
John Day Canyon 656 

CHAPTER IV 

Political. 

First Officials — General Election Locating County Seat — Successive Elections until June 5, 1905 659 

CHAPTER V 

Educational. 

First School — Fossil's First School — Fossil Takes Great Interest in Educational Matters — County High School 
Voted — Located at Fossil — Mitchell's First School — -Present School Facilities in Mitchell — Successive Re- 
ports of County Superintendents 661 



xvi CONTENTS. 



PART VI 
CROOK COUNTY. 

CHAPTER I 

Passing Events— 1843 to 1889. 

Fremont Expedition — Creation of Warm Spring Indian Reservation — Road Made by Major Stein — Howard 
Maupin — Earliest Settlers — The Willamette Valley and Cascade Mountain Wagon Road Company — Account 
of Indians — First Indian Fight in Crook County — More Settlers and Improvements — Raid of Snake Indians 
in Spring of 1868 — Camp Polk — Derivation of Ochoco — Agitation of Question of Dividing Wasco County — 
Prineville — Severe Weather in 1880-1 — Organization of Crook County — Enabling Act — Killing of Two Men — 
Harrison and Longdon Executed — Vigilantes Committee— Death of Huston and Luster — Moonshiners— First 
Term of Circuit Court — New Court House — Beaver Country Becomes Part of Crook County — Roads Paved 
with Wool- — High Water on Ochoco — Financial Conditions of Crook County — Des Chutes Reclamation & 
Irrigation Company 699 

CHAPTER II 

Passing Events— 1889 to 1905. 

Another Prosperous Year for Crook County — Election Precincts — Country Being Fenced — Irrigation is Begun — 
Crook County Has No Railroad — Population of Crook County in 1902 — Columbia Southern Irrigation Com- 
pany — Range War in Crook County — 1,000 Sheep Slaughtered in 1904 — Automobile Route in County — More 
Sheep Slaughtered — Anonymous Letter on Sheep Killing — Irrigation Matters 713 

CHAPTER III 

Prineville. 

Location — Barney Prine — Story of Early Days — Poker Game — Resume of Business in Prineville from Early 
Times to Present — Prineville Townsite — Desparadoes Attempt to Run Town — Disastrous Fire — Prineville 
Becomes a City — Water Bonds — Business of Post Office — Building Activity — Water Supply for Prineville — 
Electric Light Plant in 1900 — Water Plant — Citizens Business League of Prineville — Long Distance Tele- 
phone Comes — City Park Secured — Postmasters of Prineville — Fraternal Associations 723 

CHAPTER IV 

Other Cities and Towns. 

Bend and Vicinity — Madras — Incoming Settlers — Paulina— Meadow Country — Ashwood— Gold on Trout Creek — 
Silver King Mine— Cline Falls — Falls of the Des Chutes — Lytle — Sisters — Laidlaw — Haycreek — Forest — 
Haystock — Lamonta — Lava — Howard— Post — Culver — Other Towns 728 

CHAPTER V 

Descriptive. 

Extent of Crook County— Climate — County Considered by Sections— Des Chutes River— Land Classed— County 
Bounded— Desert Lands— Hay Creek Ranch— Prineville Land & Livestock Company— Timber Lands of 
the County — Lava Butte— Ice Caves — Warm Springs of the County— Mines of County 735 

CHAPTER VI 

Political. 

First County Officers in Crook County — First Election in the County— Tables of Successive Elections Showing 
Candidates and Vote 742 



CONTENTS. xvii 



CHAPTER VII 

Educational. 

First School in Crook County— First School in Prineville— Superintendent's Report for 1888— Statistics Regard- 
ing Educational Interests — Prineville Academy — Superintendent's Report — Schools Graded Throughout 
the County— County High School— Large School Buildings— First Class to Graduate—Present Condition of 
Crook County Schools 746 



PART VII 

LAKE COUNTY 

CHAPTER I 

Explorations and Indian Wars. 

Various Trides of Native Indians — Lake County Visited by Employees of the Hudson's Bay Company in the 
30's — Explorations of General John C. Fremont — Extracts From His Journal — Discovery of Gold in East- 
ern Oregon and Idaho— Establishment of Forts — The Oregon Volunteers— Camp Warner — General Crook's 
Campaign in 1866 — Expedition Under Perry — Chief Otsehoe 805 

CHAPTER II 

Settlement and Current History From 1869-1905. 

Joseph Ross Settles in Goose Lake Valley— Indians Go on the War Path — Arrival of John O'Neil— Other Pio- 
neer Settlers — Goose Lake Mining District — Establishment of a Mail Route— Bill for Creation of Lake 
County Approved by the Governor — Organic Act — First Assessment Roll — County Seat Removed From 
Linkville to Lakeview — Land Litigation — Opening of the Range War — Death of J. C. Conn 815 

CHAPTER III. 

The Land Grabbers. 

Origin of the Oregon Central Military Wagon Road Company — History of the Warner Valley Case — White Set- 
tlers Flock Into the Country — Story of the Early Settlement — Secretary Hoke Smith's Investigation— Defeat 
in the Courts for the Settlers 829 

CHAPTER IV 

Cities and Towns. % 

Four Towns in the County — Lakeview the Capital — Energetic Character of Her People — Founding of the Future 
County Seat — Passing Events — Citizens Who Have Held Office — Disastrous Conflagration — Paisley — New 
Pine Creek — Silver Lake — Forty-three Victims of a Fire 843 

CHAPTER V 

Descriptive. 

Lake County Appropriately Named — Area and Altitude — Its Many Productive and Beautiful Valleys— The 
Chewaucan Basin — Goose Lake Country — Irrigation Projects — Salt Mines — Climate — Game and Fish — 
Grand and Impressive Scenery — Geology and Topography of the County — Rim Rocks — Wonderful Moving 
Lake — Fossil Beds— Hot Springs 858 



xviii CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER VI 

Political. 

First Election Held in the County — Strongly Democratic in Earlier Days — Pioneer Office Holders — County Seat 
, Contest of 1876— General Political History Down to 1904 868 

CHAPTER VII 

Educational. 

Enviable Position Sustained by Lake County — Population Wide Awake to Educational Affairs — Lakeview in the 
Lead — First School in the County in 1873 — Demand for School Privileges Imperative — Reports of Superin- 
tendent 876 



PART VIII 

KLAMATH COUNTY 



CHAPTER I 

From Earliest Days Until Settlements of 1867. 

Klamath Territory — Early Indians — First White Men — Fremont's Explorations — Applegate Train — Selection of 
South Emigrant Road — Rescue of an Immigrant Train — Hudson's Bay Company Oppose South Road— 
Klamath Commonwealth — Modoc Atrocities — Packers Reclaim Stolen Horses — Ben Wright Punishes 
Modocs — Soldiers C nastlse Modocs in 1853 — Mr. Frain's Experience in Klamathland — Judge F. Adams 
Brings Cattle In — Early Settlers and Explorers — Establishment of Fort Klamath — Citizens Oppose Aban- 
donment of the Fort — Clamath Reservation Made — Treaty with Indians — Lucien Applegate Made Indian 
Agent — Other Indian Agents — Progress of Indians in Civilization — Dispute over Reservation Boundary — 
Klamath Indians 923 

CHAPTER II 

From Early Settlement to Modoc War. 

Scattered Settlers — First Permanent Settler — Linkville Founded — Crops Can Be Grown — More Settlers — Saw- 
mill Established in 1868 — Talk of a Road Through the Country — A Railway is Surveyed — Mail Route Estab- 
lished — Stage Is Established 938 

CHAPTER III 

The Modoc War. 

Status of Klamath Country and Settlers at Outbreak of War— Brief Summary of the Struggle— General Canby's 
Recital of Events Leading up to Modoc War— Meacham Gets Modocs to Reservation — They Soon go to 
Lost River — Settlers Complain of Depredations from Indians — Citizens ask Relief — Finally Military Takes 
Action — Authorities Wrestling with Question of Location of Modocs — Real Cause of War Modocs Refusal 
to Abide by Treaty— Yreka Uses Influence against Mo. Iocs Being on Reservation — Linkville Pointed out as" 
Best Headquarters for Military — Major Otis Asks Indians to a Conference — Captain Jack Shows Signs of 
Treachery — Account of Meeting — Major Otis' Report — General Canby's Intention— Captain Jackson Ordered 
- to Remove Modocs to Reservation, Arrest Leaders, Peaceable if Possible, Forcibly if Necessary — Accounts 
of Jackson's Actions — Another Fight tcros:- River from Jackson's Command — Various Murders Following 
these Battles— Various Blunders 942 



CONTENTS. xix 



CHAPTER IV 

Continuation of Modoc War. 

Further Accounts of Murders— Settlers Flock to Linkville— Volunteers Sent out by Governor — Indian Allies 
Faithful to Whites— Col. Wheaton Assumes Command in Per on— Lava Beds— Wheaton's Battle— General 
Canby Joins Field Troops— Murder of General Canby— "Peace" Parleys out of the way, War to the Knife- 
War Prosecuted with Vigor— Company of Capt. Evans Annihilated— General Davis Arrives at Lava Beds — 
Account of His Actions until Close of War— Number Killed and Wounded— Hot Creek Indians Slain— Tria. 
of Leaders and their Execution — Civil Authorities Attempt to get Leaders 956 

CHAPTER V 

From Close of Modoc War to the Year 1905. 

General Conditions — Tax List — Land Grabbers — Agitation for New County — Klamath County Organized — En- 
abling Act — Current Events — Hard Times — Klamath Coun'y Prosperous — Irrigation Items— Prosperity 
Continues — Immense Irrigation Enterprises — Railroads Coming — Financial Standing of Klamath County .... 967 

CHAPTER VI 

Cities and Towns. 

General Summary — Klamath Falls — Original Name — Selection of Site— George Nurse Labors as Early Pioneer — 
Various Steps of Progress — Original Plat, Other Additions— Business Houses— Klamath Falls Selected for 
Name — Merrill — Bonanza — Fort Klamath — Keno— Dairy — Bly — Other Towns and Postoffices 975 

CHAPTER VII 

Descriptive. 

General Word — Location and Boundary of County — Climate — Tule Lake Valley — Poe Valley — Langell's Val- 
ley — Sprague River — Sican Valley — Williamson River Valley — Horsefly, Barnes, Swan Lake, and Yonna 
Vallies — Wood River, Klamath, and Odell Sections— Timber Resources — Stock Interests — Game — Berry 
Patch — Lost River — Various Streams — Lakes — Crater Lake — Upper Klamath Lake — Other Lakes — Hot 
Springs — Closing Word 984 

CHAPTER VIII 

Political. 

Good Men tor County Officers — O. A. Stearns is Delegate — County Machinery Launched — Klamath County's 
First Election — June, 1886, Election — Election of 1888 — Election of 1890 — Successive Elections 996 

CHAPTER IX 

Educational. 

First School — Other Schools — Table of Pupils — Linkville Takes Steps for New School House — Movements for 

High School — Latest Report of Klamath County Schools — Roster of County Teachers 1000 



xx CONTENTS. 



PART IX 

ADDENDA 

CHAPTER I 

Press of Wasco, Sherman, Gilliam, Wheeler, Crook, Lake and Klamath Counties. 

The Importance of the Newspaper — Wasco County — The Dalles Journal — The Mountaineer — The Times — 
Times Mountaineer — The Weekly— Dalles Tribune — Inland Empire — Weekly Sun — Oregon Democrat — 
Trade Journal — Oregon Democratic Journal — Economist — Chronicle — Hood River Glacier — Baptist Sen- 
tinel — Reformer — Dispatch — Hood River Sun — Dufur Dispatch — Antelope Herald — The Republican — 
Shaniko Leader — Tygh Valley Bee — Sherman County — Observer — News — Journal — Recorder — Observer — 
Origination of "Inland Empire" — News — Dispatch— Journal — Leader — Republic — Bulletin — Recorder — Gil- 
lian County — Arlington Times — Town Talk — Riverside Enterprise — Review — Advocate — Record — Appeal — 
Globe — Condon Times — Crook County — Ochoco Pioneer — Preineville News — Ochoco Review — Journal — 
Bend Bulletin — Des Chutes Echo — Madras Pioneer — Ashwood Prospector — Lake County — State Line 
Herald — Examiner — Rustler — Post — Central Oregonian — Wheeler County — Monitor — News — Sentinel — 
Courier — Klamath County — Four Papers have been in Klamath County — Star — Express — Klamath Repub- 
lican — High School News 1055 

CHAPTER II 

Reminiscent. 

Indian Wars of 1854-5 — How Explorer Clark Spelled His Name —A Reminiscence of the Indian War — First Mar- 
riage in Wasco County— A Good Indian — Eighty-ton Boat — Cascade Massacre — John Slibender— Fort Boise 
Massacre — A Real, Live President — Snowstorm of 1884-5 — Relic of the Lewis & Clark Expedition — Colonel 
Gilliam — Hank Vaughn — Advising the Government — Incident of the Modoc War — Dave Hill — Chief Henry 
Blowe — A Relic of the Early Days— Death on the Desert — Relic of the Stone Age 1070 



GENERAL ILLUSTRATIONS 



PAGE 

William Clark iti 

Meriwether Lewis 16 

H'co-a-h'co-a-h'cotes-Min, No 

Horns on his Head 48 

Hee-oh'ks-te-Kin, the Rabbit's 

Skin Leggins 64 

The Dalles Hospital 97 

Cascade Locks 112 

White River Falls 112 

Site of the Methodist mission 

building, erected in 1838... 116 
Guard House of old Fort 

Dalles, erected in 1858.... 116 
Wasco county's first court 

house 116 

Surgeon's quarters of old Fort 

Dalles 116 

Wasco Indian dancers 128 

Fish wheel on the Columbia 

and Cascade Locks 128 

Methodist Episcopal mission, 

established March 22, 1838. 144 
Salmon fishing on the Col- 
umbia 144 

Scene on the Columbia 160 

The Dalles, Oregon, in 1858. 160 

Celilo Falls, Columbia river. 176 
The Dalles, County seat of 

Wasco county 19 2 



PAGE 

Mount Hood from Lost lake 208 

Combined harvester at work in 
Sherman county 432 

Moro, county seat of Sherman 
county 443 

Wheat scene in Sherman 
county 448 

Residence of John Simpson. . 454 
Plowing scene in. Gilliam 

county ■'• 559 

Freighting team between Ar- 
lington and Condon 559 

Birdseye view of Condon, 
county seat of Gilliam 
county 577 

Sheep shearers at work in 
Gilliam county 580 

Fossil, county seat of Wheeler 

county 648 

Prineville, county seat of 

Crook county 704 

Scene on the Deschutes 720 

The Sisters 720 

Old Brokentop 736 

Benham Falls of the Des- 
chutes 73& 

Alfalfa field, scene in the 
Haystack country 74° 



PACE 

Fort rock,, a noted landmark 

in Lake county 816 

A Result of the Lake County 

Range War 816 

On the Lake county Desert. 816 
A tenderfoot on the range. . . . 832 

Table mountain 832 

Vew of Chewaucan marsh. . 848 

A common view in Lake 
county 848 

Lakeview, county seat of Lake 
county 864 

Williamson river at the mouth 
of Spring creek 928 

Link river 928 

Lake Ewaucan 944 

Lost river 944 

Nesting on the Klamath.... 960 
Typical Klamath Indians . . . 960 

Klamath county fruit 960 

Klamath county Alfalfa field 960 
Klamath Falls, county seat of 
Klamath county 976 

Crater lake 992 

Threshing scene in the Kla- 
math valley 99 2 

Pelican Bay, upper Klamath 
lake 992 



INDEX 



WASCO COUNTY BIOGRAPHICAL. 



PAGE 

Adams, Manuel D 359 

Adams, Stephen B 366 

Adkisson, Jcshua T 293 

Allen, Andy M 240 

Anderson, Alexander J 363 

Anderson, Enoch E 342 

Anderson, Milton J 249 

Balch, Charles P 233 

Bartell, Gustav E 330 

Bartmess, Samuel E 391 

Bauer, Venz 319 

Belieu, Benjamin F 291 

Bernard, Charles 226 

Bishop, Thomas 316 

Blakeney, Jesse W 300 

Blowers, Amby S 373 

Blowers, Laurence N 382 

Boggs, James C 354 

Bolton, Absalom D 307 

Bolton, Lewis P 311 

Bolton, Wilbur 420 

Bonney, Augustus A 331 

Booth, John S 418 

Bourland, Oliver M. . . 1 322 

Bradley, Eber R 333 

Bradshaw. William L 315 

Brooks, Samuel L 400 

Brookhouse, William 230 

Brosius, Framton C 394 

Brown, John W 390 

Buchler, August 295 

Bunn, George 414 

Burgess, J. Newton 405 

Burget, Charles N 277 

Butler, Isaiah J 353 

Butler, Leslie 392 

Butler, Polk 334 

Butler, Ralph E 339 

Butler, Roy D 402 

Butler, Truman 391 

Caddy, Frank 369 

Campbell, George C 414 

Campbell, Julius 414 

Cates, Daniel L 340 

Castner, George R 350 

Champlin, Charles V 393 

Chandler, Charles 356 

Chandler, Frank 346 

Chittenden, Hiram 240 

Church, Frank G 316 

Clark, Lucius E 313 



PAGE 

Clark, Newton 339 

Clark, William L 289 

Clarke, Charles N 386 

Clausen, Frederick 314 

Cochran, Samuel 317 

Coe, Henry C 228 

Cook, Osmer W 408 

Coon, Thomas R 290 

Cooper, Daniel J 368 

Cooper, David R 377 

Cooper, George 365 

Copple, Simpson 311 

Cox, Perez A 325 

Craft, Jacob 302 

Crapper, William S 347 

Creighton, David 355 

Crockett, Hezekiah C 312 

Crossen, James B 299 

Crowe, Luther E 285 

Culbertson, George D 389 

Cunning, Thomas J 334 

Cushing, Milo M 248 

Cushing, William 11 249 

Dallas, Theodore C 229 

Davidson, Arthur J 422 

Davidson, Charles 421 

Davidson, Horatio F 384 

Davidson, Payton S 420 

Davis, Daniel 321 

Davis, William H 282 

Deckert, August 2T9 

Deni, Joseph 357 

Dethman, Christian 237 

Dickson, James W 245 

Dodds. Hiram C 238 

Donnell, Zelek M 284 

Doyle, Albert G 251 

Doyle, Michael 406 

Drake. Riley V 242 

Dufur, Andrew J. Jr 232 

Dufur, W. H. Harrison 274 

Dumble, Howard L 397 

Ehrck, William 303 

Elton, John W 407 

El wood, John L 262 

Evans, Leander 388 

Everett, S. 1 269 

Fargher, Arthur W 260 

Fargher, Horatio A 362 

Fargher, Thomas C 349 



PAGE 

Ferguson, Alfred 239 

Ferguson, Belle R 331 

Ferguson, Elmer E 329 

Fitzpatrick, John H 375 

Fitzpatrick, Will 401 

Fligg, George W 247 

Forman, Benjamin L 385 

Fraley, Charles 371 

Fraser, Alexander 409 

Frazier, Aaron 277 

French, Daniel M 425 

French, Joshua W 278 

French, Smith 284 

Fulton, James 241 

Fulton, J. Franklin 227 

Gibbons, John J 271 

Gilbert, Clinton L 379 

Gillmore, James H 258 

Gilman, Charles N 309 

Ginger, Frank 383 

Glavey, Michael M 252 

Glavey, Thomas W 252 

Glisan, Edwin T 225 

Gorman, Richard J 287 

Gribble, William S 372 

Grimes, Clayton M 330 

Grimes, F. Leroy 328 

Gulliford, Jacob A 234 

Hampshire. John F 286 

Hansen, Hans 423 

Harbison, Robert E 323 

Harriman, Arthur M 230 

Harris, John H 234 

Harriman, Edward M 247 

Harriman, William J 281 

Harth, George A 341 

Haynes, Bert H 416 

Haynes, Ellsworth A 326 

Haynes, Joseph 235 

Haynes, William R 326 

Heisser, Alexander 269 

Heisler, Charles M 258 

Heisler, Monroe 254 

Heisler, William 255 

Hemman, C. Ernest 220. 

Henderson, John L 296 

Henderson, Walter 305 

Hendricson, Morvin 362 

Hen^drix, Willis A 350 

Hibbard, Henry J 313 

Hill, Edwin M 276 



XXIV 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Hill, Marshall 343 

Hillgen, Frederic H 355 

Hinman, Eli T 250 

Hixson, Augustus 408 

Howe, Alma L : 246 

Howie, Andrew J 283 

Hunter, William A 365 

Irvine, Frank 406 

Isenberg, F. Howard 344 

Isenberg^ Miles P 345 

Jackson, Francis M , . 324 

Jaksha, Martin 341 

Jayne, Andrew A 398 

Jenkins, Carey H 272 

Johns, Samuel S 265 

Johnston, Charles W 245 

Johnston, George W 231 

Johnston, J. Henry 238 

Johnston, John C 239 

Johnston, Samuel B 268 

Johnston, Thomas H 344 

Jones, Owen 367 

Keller, A. Ad 363 

Kelly, Hampton 376 

Kelly, Lucern B 376 

Kimsey, Doctor S 411 

Kirchheiner, Peter A 404 

Klindt, Henry 280 

Klinger, Louis J 244 

Koberg, John H 297 

Lage, Hans 243 

Lage, Henry F 335 

Lamb, Larkin 292 

Lane, Andrew W 360 

Lane, Louis L 360 

Lane, Norris M 395 

Lang, Thomas S 261 

Laughlin, Robert A 386 

Laughlin, William C 217 

Lewis, James J 378 

Limeroth, Paulus 417 

Linton, Kathleen D 267 

Longren, August W 250 

Lord, Elizabeth L 278 

Lueddemann, Max 410 

MacAllister, Abiel S 301 

Magill, John B 259 

Marden, John M 307 

Marden, Victor 308 

Markham, Claude E 270 

Markham, James F 298 

Marquiss, James W 399 

Marsh, Abel Y 395 

Martin, P. H 357 

Marvel, Arthur A 338 

Mason, Albert 1 333 

Mayes, Edward S 396 

Mayes, Joseph W 403 

Mayhew, Henry L 370 

McAtee, Alvira 383 

McAtee, John B 301 

McBeth, Finlay 412 

McClure, Thomas J 387 

McCorkle, William M 242 

McCoy, Dennis R 297 

McCoy, Henson 352 



PA r ", 

McCoy, Joseph H 294 

McHargue, James 390 

Menefee, Frank 223 

Menefee, William R 219 

Mehl, Carl F 364 

Michell, John 424 

Miller, John 1 347 

Moad, Archibald C 267 

Morris, Clarrence L 384 

Morris, Thomas F 268 

Morse, Lewis E 381 

Morton, Joseph W 353 

Mosier, Jefferson N 377 

Mosier, Jonah H 379 

Nace, Seraphine 353 

Nicholson, Charles J 310 

Nicholson, James A 309 

Nickelsen, Ingwert C 305 

Nickelsen, Martin H 273 

Nolin, James M 270 

Nolin, John W 279 

Obrist, Jacob 412 

Odell, William 417 

Parker, Asenath L 359 

Patterson, Jonathan N 283 

Patterson, Jeremiah M 299 

Peabody, John C 275 

Pealer, Russell 364 

Perkins, George 337 

Peters, Joseph T 220 

Phipps, John S 294 

Potter, Eleanor 272 

Powne, Charles T 423 

Prigge, Henry 280 

Purser, Joseph 348 

Rand, J. Elmer 4T0 

Rand, Robert 356 

Reed, Charles H 233 

Reuter, John A 329 

Rice, Austin C 266 

Rice, George W 342 

Rice, Horace 306 

Richards, William D 403 

Richmond, Horace S 375 

Rigby, Jesse W 288 

Ring, Hewitt 340 

Rondeau, Leon 358 

Rondeau, Remi 372 

Rooper, Herbert C 415 

Root, Amos 388 

Roth, John M 348 

Ryan, Thomas F 351 

Sandoz; Charles E 422 

Sandoz, Louis A 422 

Sanford, Alfred C 397 

Sargent, Isaac N 325 

Selleck, Bernard E 315 

Selleck, Menzo C 317 

Seufert, Theodore J 327 

Sexton, Felix C 368 

Shelley, Ros well 298 

Shelley, Troy 303 

Shernr, Joseph H 256 

Sherrieb, Frank C 336 

Sieverkropp, Henry 318 

Sigman, Alvin 257 



pag*: 

Sigman, Melvin 258 

Sigman, Richard 252 

Slocom, George 1 236 

Slusher, Thomas W. S 320 

Smith, Ezra L 336 

Smith, James M 415 

Smith, Lyman 253 

Southern, Charles H 402 

Sproat, Boyd N 318 

Staats, William H 320 

Stark, Frank J 419 

Stewart, Alexander 291 

Stirnweis, John H 294 

Stogsdill, Asa G 382 

Stoller, Peter 229 

Stranahan, Albert K 411 

Stranahan, Charles H 264 

Stranahan, James A 419 

Stranahan, Oscar L 264 

Stratton, Frank R 328 

Stubling, C. Johann 310 

Swett, Charles H 345 

Taylor, William H 337 

Thomas, Alvin A 260 

Thomas, Daniel E. 308 

Thomas, Lindsey B 301 

Thorburn, Matthew A 322 

Tomlinson, Henry H 371 

Trudell, Alfred 354 

Trudell, Gregoire 286 

Turner, David A 288 

Urquhart, Andrew 421 

Vanderpool, George W 253 

Vanderpool, Willard L 244 

Vanderpool William T 254 

Wakerlig. Henry 424 

Wallace, Nathaniel W 224 

Walter, Albert A 413 

Walter, Orre L 413 

Walther, William E 292 

Ward, Joseph W 401 

Ward, Thomas A 361 

Waterman, Ezekiel H 304 

Waterman, John W 263 

Waterman, Martin M 404 

West, John 1 387 

Whitehead, Albert 223 

Whitten, John D 374 

Williams, Charles F 236 

Williams, George E 396 

Williams, Griffith E 222 

Williams, William H 237 

Williamson, John N 226 

Wilson, David C 332 

Wilson, John A 273 

Wilson, Joseph A 351 

Wilson, Joseph G 221 

Winchell, Virgil 332 

Wing, Charles W 262 

Wingfield, Joseph C 232 

Wingfield, Orville 231 

Woodworth, Gilford D 287 

Woolery, John J 312 

Young, George A 392 

Zachary, Daniel L 367 



INDEX. 



XXV 



WASCO COUNTY PORTRAITS. 



PAGE 

Allen, Andy M 240 

Belieu, Benjamin F 288 

Bolton, Absalom D 304 

Bourland, Oliver M...... ... 320 

Brooks, Samuel L 400 

Chittenden, Hiram 240 

Chittenden, Mrs. Hiram 240 

Clark, William L 288 

Coe, Henry C 228 

Coon, Thomas R 288 

Coon, Mrs. Thomas R 288 

Cooper, Daniel J 368 

Cooper, Mrs. Daniel J 368 

# Cashing, Milo M 248 

Davidson, Horatio F 384 

Davis, Daniel 320 

Davis, Mrs. Daniel 320 

Davis, William H 280 

Drake, Riley V 240 

Drake, Mrs. Riley V 240 

V^ Dufur, Andrew J 232 

Fargher, Horatio A 360 

Fargher, Mrs. Horatio A.... 360 
French, Daniel M. . .Frontispiece 

Fulton, James 240 

Fulton, Mrs. James 240 

Glisan, Edwin T 224 

Glisan, Mrs. Edwin T 224 



PAGE 

Harriman, William J 280 

Haynes, Bert H 416 

Haynes, Mrs. Bert H 416 

Henderson, John L 296 

Henderson, Walter 304 

Henderson, Mrs. Walter 304 

Hendricson, Morvin 360 

Henderson, Mrs. Morvin 360 

Johnston, Thomas H 344 

Keller, A. Ad 360 

Klindt, Henry 280 

Lamb, Larkin 288 

Lane, Andrew W 360 

Lane, Louis L 360 

Laughlin, William C 85 

Limeroth, Paulus 416 

Limeroth, Mrs. Paulus 416 

McCorkle, William M 240 

McCoy, Henson 352 

Nickelsen, Ingwert C 304 

Odell, William 416 

Odell. Mrs. William 416 

Perkins, George 336 

Perkins, Mrs. George 336 

Potter, Mrs. Eleanor 272 



PAGE 

Prigge, Henry 280 

Rice, Horace 304 

Rice, Mrs. Horace 304 

Rigby, Jesse W 288 

Sexton, Felix C 368 

Sexton, Mrs. Felix C 368 

Sherar, Joseph H 256 

Sherar, Mrs. Jos. H 256 

Sherrieb, Frank C 336 

Slusher, Thomas W. S 320 

Smith, Ezra L 336 

Staats, William H 320 

Staats, Mrs. William H 320 

Stewart, Alexander 288 

Stranahan, Charles H 264 

Stranahan, Mrs. Charles H.. 264 

Stranahan, Oscar L 264 

Stranahan, Mrs. Oscar L.... 264 
Stratton, Frank R 328 

Thorburn, Matthew A 320 

Thorburn. Mrs. Matthew A.. 320 
Turner, David A 288 

Wallace, Nathaniel W 224 

Wallace, Mrs. Nathaniel W. . 224 

Ward, Thomas A 360 

Waterman, Ezekiel H 304 

Waterman, Mrs. Ezekiel H.. 304 
Woolery, John J 312 



SHERMAN COUNTY BIOGRAPHICAL. 



PAGE 

Andrews, Benjamin L 4.94 

Andrews, C. Mortimer 489 

Andrews, William H 520 

Anson, Byron W 537 

Barnum, Artimus H 489 

Barnum, Elvin E 487 

Barnum, Ladru 503 

Belshee, Joseph F 483 

Bennett, Milton H 539 

Bennett, Walter H 539 

Biggs, William H 497 

Blau, Fred 532 

Bottemiller, John H 534 

Bourhill, George B 553 

Bright, Cornelius J 480 

Brock, George W 504 

Buckley, Charles A 529 

^> Buhman, Charles 522 

Campbell, Richmond L 543 

Cattron, Eugene S 463 

Clark, John W 527 

Cochran, Charles K 508 

Curl, Caleb W 552 

Currie, William 469 

DeMoss, George G 490 



PAGE 

DeMoss, Henry S 491 

DeMoss, James M 492 

Dennis, James 547 

Dillinger, Alfred 482 

Dunlap, Clark 470 

Fairfield, William H 465 

Foister, John A 481 

Fowler, J. Shelby 463 

French, Charlie F 473 

Frock, Henry 540 

Fulton, Annie L 526 

Fulton, David 525 

Fulton, James 512 

Fulton, John 474 

Ginn, Robert J 517 

Glass, Harleigh 492 

Hall, Arthur K 533 

Hamilton, Preston A 508 

Hannafin, Edmond 548 

Harvey, James W 467 

Hayes, Seth S 519 

Heath, Chancy A 557 

Heath, Elmer F 555 

Hennagin, George 478 

Hilderbrand, George W 544 



PAGE 

Hill, Ira F 474 

Hill, Tirpin 542 

Hines, Levi S 482 

Holman, John B 488 

Holmes, Samuel B 541 

Huck, Caesar C 513 

Huck, Herman H 473 

Hulery, Frank L 491 

Hulery, John M 490 

Hull, Charles E 505 

Hull, John 502 

Hulse, Oscar P 513 

Ireland, DeWitt C 516 

Jackson, William F 485 

James, George E 507 

Kaseberg, Edward E 488 

Kaseberg, John C 487 

Krause, J. Henry 502 

Krusow, Fred 548 

Large, Isaac C 505 

Leonard, James W 525 

Martin, Harvey U 551 

Martin, John R 503 



XXVI 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Martin, Leroy H 500 

Matthias, Frederic W 538 

McDanel, Hibbard S 522 

McGinnis, Thomas R 514 

McGrath, William H 468 

McKee, Edward D 547 

Meach, Edwin M 495 

Meader, Fred H 521 

Medler, Albert 509 

Medler, Bruno F 515 

Medler, Ernest A 495 

Medler, Frank 509 

Medler, Frederic 506 

Medler, Henry A 510 

Medler, John 530 

Medler, Julius 507 

Medler, Walter 507 

Meloy, George A 478 

Miller, James H 556 

Miller, Joseph J 535 

Miller, William E 496 

Montgomery. Robert W 531 

Moore, Charles W 554 

Murchie, W. Alexander 475 

Myers, Dan W 549 

Newcomb, Talmon 554 

Nish, Alexander 479 

Oehman, William 477 

Olds, Emmitt 549 

O'Leary, Cornelius D 471 

Ornduff, Harry 510 



PAGE 

Peetz, Benjamin F 509 

Peetz, Carl 476 

Peetz, Louie L 499 

Peetz, Otto 527 

Pike, Benjamin F 511 

Pike, Irwin D 500 

Pinkerton, Robert W 486 

Porter, Adelbert 528 

Porter, Albert S 484 

Ragsdale, Commodore P.... 523 

Ragsdale. William H 511 

Ramey, George W 468 

Raymond, Will A 506 

Reckmann, John 526 

Rich, Orsinius H 472 

Richelderfer, Henry 533 

Rinearson, Jacob H 551 

Rollins, Charles R 496 

Root, Henry 524 

Rutledge, Walter C 520 

Schadewitz, Henry 537 

Schadewitz Louis 538 

Schaeffer, John J 535 

Schassen, John 540 

Schwartz, George W 552 

Scott, Alexander 464 

Sienknecht, John 499 

Simpson, John 544 

Sink, Everett 473 

Sink. George P 531 

Sink, Thomas E 528 

Smith, Hugh E 542 



PAGE 

Smith, James H 498 

Smith, John W 469 

Stanton, George V 546 

Strong, Horace 517 

Tate, William 471 

Tate, William E 532 

Tate, Worth A 472 

Thompson, Elwood 484 

Thompson, George E 470 

Tom, Charles H 465 

Trotter, Sarah 536 

Turner, William H 466 

VanGilder, Milon A 522 

Van Winkle, James L 546 

Venable, Francis M 501 

Venable, James B 49Q 

Venable, John R 467 

Venable, Perry A 509 

Vintin, George C, Jr 555 

Walker, William W 518 

Wallis, George E 479 

Wallis, Rufus C 477 

Walter, John A 541 

Waterman, John W 506 

Westerfield, William 1 54S 

Wheat, Jacob B 486 

Wilcox, Hollis W 548 

Wilcox, John D 550 

Wright, Albert M 485 

Young, David S 475 



SHERMAN COUNTY PORTRAITS. 



Biggs, William H 496 

Bright, Cornelius J 480 

Buckley, Charles A 528 



PAGE 

Medler, John 528 

Miller, William E 496 

Porter, Adelbert 528 

Porter, Mrs. Adelbert 528 



Rollins, Charles R 496 . 



Fulton, Colonel James 512 

GILLIAM COL , BIOGRAPHICAL 



Sink-, Thomas E 528 

Smith, James H 496 



PAGE 

Adlard, Fred 599 

Adlard, W. T 602 

Allen, F. H 583 

Baker, William R 625 

Barker, S. B 589 

Barker, W. L. 619 

Bowerman, Jay 612 

Bowerman, Mary 607 

Brown, John J 629 

Brown, W. N 628 

Campbell, William 630 

Cantwell, D 603 

Carnine, J. M 586 

Cason, Pemberton F 6r8 

Clarke, Myron 632 

Cooke, James F 629 

Cornett, William M 615 



PAGE 

Couture, Lewis 605 

Couture, Stephen B 631 

Crum George L 601 

Crum, J. A 596 

Daggett, Eugene . W 594 

Dannemau, Clemens A 592 

Dean, Thomas 595 

Dillon, Thomas 618 

Douglass, F. H. . . .' 633 

Dunn, Edward 621 

Dysart, John 630 

Ebbert, J. W 612 

Fitzwater, J. K 608 

Flett, W. G 588 

Froman, Ralph 586 



PAGE 

George, Fred T 609 

Grider, S. S 634 

Gross, Charles W 621 

Hansen, George 600 

Harrison, John 633 

Hartman, Amon 622 

Hartman, Henry W 605 

Head, William W 593 

Huff, Abraham C 625 

Hurt, S. A. D 583 

Johns, James M 624 

Jones, Sherman 613 

Kleizur, Manly F 604 

Keys, William 587 

Lillie, Charles L 590 






[+ FEB 1 



1911 •! 




INDEX. 



PAGE 

Low. O. P 601 

Maley, Edgar C 6oo 

Maley, Oscar 6oo 

Martin, Josephus 603 

Matthews, John W 598 

May, Ezra A 5 S 5 

McGilvray, Samuel 589 

McMorris, J. A 607 

Moore, Frank. 627 

Moore, George W 6ro 

Moore, Henry S 609 

Morris, Robert L 584 

Munroe, Roderick F 591 

Pannan, G. G 623 

Pattison, Samuel A 623 

Randall, Henry D 594 



PAGE 

Richmond, John Alexander. . 611 

Richmond, John Arthur 615 

Rickard, Charles E 602 

Rinehart, D. M 626 

Rinehart, George W 627 

Robinson, Robert H 602 

Ruedy. A. II 598 

ScIk tt, Gei rge W 606 

Shane, Clayton 597 

Shannon, Francis M 605 

Shelton, Andrew J 5X5 

Simmons, Byron 013 

Simmons, Jc-'se A 6(3 

Smith, C. M 604 

Smith, William 584 

Smith, William 597 

Spencer, John 614 



XXVll 



PAGE 

Spencer, Robert B 592 

Stevens, Frank B 617 

Strickland, Hugh C 620 

Sweet, John C 608 

Thomas, Samuel A 593 

Twilley, William : . 631 

Ward, Fremont 606 

Weatherford, Marion E 596 

Wehrli, William 587 

Wells, John R 616 

West, 1 Inns K 622 

West, William P 610 

Wilcox, W. L 614 

Wood, Joseph F 620 

Woodland, Thomas G 591 

Young, Mary A 616 



GILLIAM COUNTY PORTRAITS. 



PAGE 

Baker, William R 624 

Campbell, William 630 

Cason, Pemberton F 616 

Couture, Stephen B 630 

Danneman. Clemens A 592 

Dysart, John 630 

Dysart, Mrs. John 630 

George, Fred T .608 



PAGE 

Hansen, George 000 

Head, William W 50-' 

Huff, Abram C 624 

Julius. James M 624 

Moore, George W 608 

Moore, Henry S 608 

Moore, Mrs. Flenry S 608 

Spencer, Robert B 592 



PAGE 

Spencer, Mrs. Robert B 592 

Stevens, Frank B 616 

Stevens, Mrs. Frank B 616 

Sweet, John C 608 

Twilley, William 630 

Wells, Tohn R 616 

Wells, Mrs. John R 616 

West, William P 608 

Withers, Matilda 616 



WHEELER COUNTY BIOGRAPHICAL. 



PAGE 

Asher, John F 684 

Barnard, Coe D 689 

Barnhouse, Jacob L 667 

Baxter, David E 683 

Blann, Isaac 692 

Butler, George 692 

Butler, John B 669 

Campbell, W. L 663 

Cannon, Robert D 670 

Carroll, Charles 691 

Carsner, Albert G 689 

Chapman, George W. 677 

Dakan, Grant W 685 

Davis, Samuel B 686 

Dement, Sedgewick S '.678 

Donnelly, J. W 693 

Donnelly, R. N 681 

Dousman, Julia A 679 

Fitzgerald, Mike 673 

Gates, William H 687 

Gillenwater, Luther D 672 

Gilliam, Robert A 668 

Hale, Fred A 674 



PAGE 

Hale, Llewellyn H 675 

Helm, A., Jr 664 

Hendricks, H, FI 676 

Floffman, Leonard C 697 

Hoover, W. W 696 

Horn, Edward F 694 

Howell, E. W 682 

Hubner, Joseph F 667 

Hunt, James S 676 

Iremonger, Benjamin 671 

Johnson, Robert W 687 

Keeton, Perry L 695 

Kennedy, William W 680 

Lamb, Ancil B 690 

Laughlin, Samuel D 665 

Martin, P. C 636 

McCoy, George J 673 

McKay, George 666 

McKenzie, Charles 678 

McQuin, P. E 664 

Metteer, George J 693 

Misener, Robert E 685 

Monroe, Thomas T 681 

Moore, William S 677 



PAGE 

Mulvahill, Michael 670 

Nelson, Samuel S 682 

Owens, George V 668 

Parsons. Jerome H 691 

Price. Thomas M 671 

Prindle, Charles L 697 

Putnam, J. H 695 

Reed, Harry 690 

Scoggin, C. T 66s 

Shown, Isaac F 679 

Spray, John F 674 

Stephens, Elzey M 669 

Straube, Emil 671 

Taylor, Edward W 684 

Thompson, S. J 696 

Trent, Henry 675 

Trosper, George 684 

Unsworth, Samuel 664 

Wagner, Carl N 683 

Wheeler, Henry H 688 

Wilson, James 672 



XXV111 



INDEX. 



WHEELER COUNTY PORTRAITS. 



PAGE 

Asher, John F 684 

Blann, Isaac 692 

Butler, John B 668 

Dakan, Grant W 684 



PAGE 

Gilliam, Robert A 668 

Kennedy, William W 680 

Owens, George V 668 

Stephens, Elzey M 668 



PAGE 

Taylor, Edward W 684 

Trosper, George 684 

Wheeler Henry H 688 

Wilson, James 672 



CROOK COUNTY BIOGRAPHICAL. 



PAGE 

Adams, William 783 

Adamson, D. P 767 

Allen, Hardy 764 

Balfour, Thomas N 763 

Barnes, George W 781 

Belknap, Horace P 792 

Bell, Wells A 770 

Bolsby, Charles 795 

Booth, William A 768 

Boyce, A. W 752 

Breese, Richard W 789 

Brennan, Thomas H 779 

Brown, Michael L 771 

Brown, S. S 800 

Buchanan, T. F 793 

Cadle, William H 769 

Christiani, Michael 769 

Claypool, Luther D 779 

Collver, O. G 751 

Crooks, Joseph H 775 

Deen, Joseph H 795 

Delore, Joseph H 755 

Delore, Peter 776 

Delore, Peter Jr. 791 

Elliott, John M 775 

Faught, James M 759 

Faulkner, John T 784 

Forest, Francis 784 

Foster, William H 788 

Friend, Columbus 761 

Garner, J. 803 

Gesner, Van 751 

Gibson, Hiram 799 

Gilchrist, John W 795 

Grant, Alfred H 803 

Graves, Charles A 782 



PAGE 

Gray, J. H 790 

Grimes, Henry T 765 

Guerin, W. E., Jr 804 

Hamilton, Thomas S 762 

Harrington, R. P 797 

Hodges, Arthur 767 

Hodges, Monroe 778 

Hon, Charles C 762 

Hunsaker, Joseph P 763 

Huston, Knox 785 

Johnson, B. F 768 

Johnson, Ewen 766 

Johnson, W. J 769 

Ketchum, I. L 792 

King, Samuel F 797 

La Follette, John D 772 

La Follette, Thomas H 773 

Lawson, James 77 1 

Lawson, L. Rose 771 

Liggett, Leander N 787 

Lillard, Charles T 753 

Lister, Charles M 775 

Maupin, Howard 761 

McFarland, W. R 782 

McMeen, James S 800 

Meyer, Isidor B 773 

Miller, G. S 801 

Milliorn, William H 802 

Newsom, S. J 786 

Noble, George W 753 

O'Neil. C. C 796 

Osborne, George H 796 

Palmehn, Charles W 783 



PAGE 

Parker, Edmund A 801 

Peck, William H 765 

Poindexter, Perry B 770 

Porfily, Ralph 791 

Post, Wallace 758 

Powell, Marcus D 801 

Powell, Thomas J 776 

Read, Perry 780 

Ream, Charles L 802 

Roba, George 774 

Robinson, John W 760 

Rush, Samuel 756 

Schmidt, William J 784 

Senecal, Marcell 789 

Shepherd, B. F 797 

Slayton, Samuel R 754 

Smith, Alex 800 

Smith, J. J 774 

Smith, William 785 

Springer, Guyon 788 

Steers, Lee 798 

Stewart, David F 772 

Street, James M 752 

Street, Joseph ' 798 

Stroud, Jacob 793 

Templeton, David E 757 

Thompson, Amos F 765 

Vanina, Fulgenzio 798 

Wagonblast, John 759 

White, Edward N ,.. 755 

Wigle, Martha J. Spalding. . 780 

Wilt, Marcus J 799 

Wood, James 794 

Wood, Lee 796 

Wood, W. T 794 

Yancey, Stephen W 754 



CROOK COUNTY PORTRAITS. 



PAGE 

Barnes, George W 780 

Belknap, Horace P 792 

Belknap, Mrs, Horace P 792 

Booth, William A 768 

Brown, S. S 800 

Delore, Peter 776 



PAGE 

Faulkner, John T 784 

Forest, Francis 784 

Forest, Mrs. Francis 784 

Friend, Columbus 760 

Friend, Mrs. Columbus 760 

Hamilton, Thomas S 760 



PAGE 

Hawkins, James H 764 

Ketchum, I. L 792 

Ketchum, Mrs. I. L 792 

La Follette, John D 772 

La Follette, Thomas H 77 2 

Lillard, Charles T 752 



INDEX. 



XXIX 



1'ACE 

Maupin, Howard 760 

Maupin, Mrs. Howard 760 

McFarland, W. R 780 

McFarland, Mrs. W. R 780 

Noble, George W 752 

Read, Perry 780 



PAGE 

Read, Mrs. Perry 780 

Robinson, John W 760 

Robinson, Mrs. John W.... 760 

Rush, Samuel 756 

Rush, Mrs. Samuel 756 

Schmidt, William J 784 

Schmidt, Mrs. William J 784 

Smith, William 784 



PAGE 

Springer, Guyon 788 

Springer, Mrs. Guyon 788 

Stewart, David F 772 

Stewart, Mrs. David F 772 

Street, James M 752 

Street, Mrs. Jamse M 752 

Wigle, Mrs. Martha J. Spald- 
ing 780 



LAKE COUNTY BIOGRAPHICAL. 



PAGE 

Ahlstrom, Svante F 897 

Barnes, Marion S 902 

Bennett, Alvin N 916 

Blair, John B 905 

Blurton, William H 889 

Boone, Daniel 909 

Bryan, Ahaz W 880 

Bunting, Franklin 904 

Cannon, Christopher C 912 

Chandler, Daniel 884 

Chrisman, Francis M 914 

Conn, George 909 

Cooper, William H 918 

Currier, Manley C 910 

Currier, William A 880 

Dent, Christopher W 901 

Down, Albert S 886 

Duke, Frank M 887 

Duke, James P 894 

Duncan, Felix D 915 

Duncan, Warren M 918 

Daly, Bernard 901 

Ede, Eugene S 898 

Edler, John D 894 

Farra, John D 908 

Field, John S 903 

Fine, Nehemiah 885 



PAGE 

Fitzgerald, James T 890 

Foster, Frederick W 917 

Foster, James 897 

Foster, John A 889 

Frakes, Lorenzo D 883 

Funk, Rufus K 893 

Givan, James N 917 

Hartzog, David H 891 

Harvey, William 899 

Hawkins, Rhesa A 913 

Heryford, Henry R 906 

Holder, William 903 

Howard, Joseph 884 

Howell, Alva L 911 

Kelsay, L. N 881 

Light, Frank P 887 

Loveless, Charles S 896 

Lutz, Elmer D 920 

Manring, Ahira W 89.1 

Marshall, Charles P 921 

Maupin, George F 882 

McCall, William H..... 921 

McCormack, William K 919 

Metzker, C. Oscar 890 

Moore, William J 895 

Morris, John A 885 

Morrow, Joseph L 879 



PAGE 

Moulder, William P 884 

Musgrave, Mark E 904 

Pope, William L 881 

Prader, John 916 

Random, William R 913 

Reed, George 906 

Reed, Herbert E 896 

Rehart, Charles A 912 

Rinehart, Elmer E 893 

Scammon, Willis E 883 

Sherlock, Richard L '882 

Sherlock, William J 910 

Small, George H 888 

Small, James M 920 

Snider, Charles U 900 

Studley, Silas J 899 

Tracy, Walter D 886 

Turpen, James H 908 

Vanderpool. Leslie 1 899 

Venator, John D 913 

Vernon, Sterling P 900 

Vernon, Thomas B 892 

Vincent, George 895 

Wardwell, Gilbert B 918 

Watson, John N 907 

West, William D 920 

Withers, John A 911 



LAKE COUNTY PORTRAITS. 



PAGE 

Blair, John B 904 

Blurton, William H 888 

Bunting, Franklin 904 

Bunting, Mrs. Franklin O... 904 

Cannon, Christopher C 912 

Chrisman, Francis M 912 

Chrisman, Mrs. Francis M. . 912 

Duncan. Felix D 912 

Foster, James 896 



PAGE 

Foster, Mr. James 896 

Foster, John A 888 

Foster, Mrs. John A 888 

Hawkins, Rhesa A 912 

Hawkins, Mrs. Rhesa A 912 

Heryford, Henry R 904 

Heryford, Mrs. Henry R.... 904 

Loveless, Charles S.. 896 

Loveless, Mrs. Charles S.... 896 



PAGE 

Musgrave, Mark E 904 

Musgrave, Mrs. Mark E 904 

Random, William R 912 

Rehart, Charles A 912 

Reed, Herbert E 896 

Reed, Mrs. Herbert E 896 

SmaU. George H 888 

Small, Mrs. George II 888 

Venator, John D 912 



^^^^^^■M 



XXX 



INDEX. 



KLAMATH COUNTY BIOGRAPHICAL. 



PAGE 

Alford, Russell A 1018 

Anderson, Henry T 1005 

Andrews, Charles 1 1039 

Applegate, Ivon D 1015 

Applegate, Lucien B 1022 

Benson, Henry L 1051 

Bloomingcamp, George W...1010 

Boothby, Albion H 1029 

Bradley, Clyde 1009 

Brandenburg, John W 1050 

Bryant, John W. 1037 

Burnham, Horatio H 1021 

Burns, Mark L 1052 

Burriss, Isaac W 1053 

Cantrall, Roscoe E 1018 

Casebeer, Edwin 1015 

Castel, Antone 1042 

Chastain, John A 1031 

Copeland, George W 1004 

I 

Donnell, John 1 1023 

Downing, Frank H 1018 

Driscoll, Daniel F 1009 

Duffy, Isaac A 1049 

Emery, James M 1030 

i. 

Garrett, Thomas W 1014 

Goeller, John F 1038 

Gordon, Daniel 1040 

Griffith, Daniel M 1046 



PAGE 

Hammond, Richard 1 1047 

Hanan, Eugene R 1028 

Hanks, James L 1034 

Hanks, Marion 1033 

Hanson, Ira R 1044 

Hazen, William W 1044 

Herlihy, Stephen 1033 

""^sHessig, Louis 1025 

Hpagland, Charles H 1005 

Hoagland, William S 1020 

Houston, John V 1043 

Irvine, Osbert E 1007 

Jones, John L 1045 

Kirkpatrick, Jefferson 1031 

Lee, Joseph P ' 1043 

Lewis, Arthur C 1040 

Lewis, Charles C 1004 

McClure, William H 1038 

McCornack, Frank H 1022 

Martin, S. Edward 1019 

Melhase, Alford 1026 

Merrill, Nathan S 1009 

Meyer, Charles N 1017 

Moore, James B 1021 

Moore, Joseph M 1053 

Moore, Rufus S 1046 

Morgan, Richard M 1029 

Morine, George W 1034 



PAGE 

Nichols, Daniel B 1030 

Nichols, Joseph 1008 

Obenchain, Frank 1013 

Oberchain, Silas H 1050 

Offield, George W 1012 

Offield, Thomas J 1013 

Oliver, Caleb T 1010 

Pope, Fred L 1006 

Reames. Evan R 1048 

Reed, Walter F 1012 

Rhoads, William P 1042 

Roberts, James T 1036 

Shook, John S 1027 

Short, John A 1009 

Stearns, Orson A 1024 

Stukel, Joseph 1014 

Taylor, Ky 1045 

Van Meter. Franklin P 1036 

Van Riper, Garrett K 1007 

Van Valkenburg, Harry H. . .1019 

Wheeler, James H 1052 

Whitney, Major J 1006 

Whitney, William P 1041 

Wight, James G 1028 

Wilkerson, Thomas H 1003 

Willson, Charles D 1025 



KLAMATH COUNTY PORTRAITS. 



PAGE 

Gordon, Daniel 1040 

Hessig, Louis 1024 

Lewis, Arthur C 1040 



PAGE 

Lewis, Mrs. Arthur C 1040 

Rhoads, William P 1040 

Rhoads, Mrs. William P 1040 



PAGE 

Stearns, Orson A 1024 

Whitney, William P 1040 

Whitney, Mrs. William P.... 1040 
Willson, Charles D 1024 



REi.ViVED 




PART I 

GENERAL STATE HISTORY 



CHAPTER I 



EXPLORATIONS, COASTWISE AND INLAND. 



"Far as the breeze can bear the billows' foam, 
Survey our empire and behold our home." 

— The Corsair. 



The Seacoast of Oregon ! 

Historic region, rich with the legendary lore 
of earliest adventurers in America ; struggles for 
national foothold in bitterly disputed territory ; 
establishment of outposts, trading posts, rude 
forts, stockades and the ebb and flow of the tide 
of desultory warfare. A terra incognita ; at one 
period lying above California and having no 
northern boundary known to man ; a football of 
semi-piratical adventurers and the bone of conten- 
tion of five nations. Such was the condition of 
the wide expanse of Oregon so early as 1550. It 
is ours to trace the gradual evolution of this great 
state from a dormant, benighted region ; the hunt- 
ing and battle fields of various tribes of Indians, 
and of various degrees of ferocity, through the 
fierce crucible of semi-civilization into the broad, 
fair light of industrial peace, business activity and 
full intellectual development. 

Few students of history have failed to observe 
the immediate impetus given to maritime explora- 
tion by the royally proclaimed exploit of Colum- 
bus in 1492. Only nine years after the caravels 
of the Italian navigator had dropped anchor in 
American waters, off San Salvador, a Portuguese 
sailor, Gaspar Cortereal, was cautiously feeling 
his way along the Atlantic coast. This was in the 
summer of 1501. The voyage of Cortereal 
reached as high on the Atlantic mainland of 
North America as 42 degrees north. Some his- 
1 



torians have advanced the claim that the explora- 
tions of Cortereal really antedated the discov- 
er}- of Christopher Columbus. But of this there 
is no authentic evidence ; there is a preponderance 
of testimony to the contrary. By eminent cosmo- 
graphists the year 1501 is now accepted as the 
period of Cortereal's exploits on the coast of the 
Atlantic, in the vicinity of modern New England. 
This little fleet of two caravels had been dis- 
patched by Manuel, King of Portugal. There 
is no proof that this voyage had any other object, 
or at least any other result, than pecuniary profit. 
Seizing fifty Indians he carried them away, on his 
return, and sold them as slaves. 

As Cortereal was among the earliest on the 
Atlantic seaboard, so Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, or 
Cabrilla, as the name is sometimes spelled, is 
admitted to have been the earliest navigator along 
southern California. It was, evidently, the in- 
tention of Cabrillo to continue his voyage far 
higher on the Northwest Coast, for he, too, had 
heard of the then mysterious "Strait of Anian," 
now modernized as Bering Strait, and was en- 
thused with most laudable geographical ambi- 
tion. But fate ruled otherwise. Cabrillo died in 
the harbor of San Diego, California, in January, 
1543, fifty-one years after the momentous achieve- 
ment of Columbus on the southeastern shores of 
the present United States. The mantle of Ca- 
brillo fell upon the shoulders of his pilot, Barto- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



lome Ferrelo. To within two and one-half de- 
grees of the mouth of the Columbia river Fer- 
relo continued the exploration, tracing the west- 
ern coast of the American continent along this 
portion of the Pacific, and to Ferrelo has been 
accredited the honor of having been the first white 
man to gaze upon the coast of Oregon. 

But back of that dimly outlined shore which 
Ferrelo skirted, above latitude 42 degrees, far 
inland, lay the immense, wonderful territory that 
afterward became Oregon. • It is not susceptible 
of proof that Ferrelo ever gained north of the 
present Astoria, although this claim was at one 
period urged by Spain. But a country which 
could solemnly lay claim to the whole Pacific 
ocean, by "right of discovery" by Balboa, would 
not be at all backward in declaring that one of her 
navigators was the first to sight the Northwest 
Coast, and that, too, far above the point really 
gained by Ferrelo. It is not considered likely 
that he reached above the mouth of Umpqua 
river. 

Francis Drake was an English navigator, a 
privateer, a freebooter, a pirate and plunderer 
of Spanish galleons, yet withal a man of strong 
character and enterprising spirit. In 1577 he 
attempted to find a northwest passage. Drake 
probably reached as high as latitude 43 degrees, 
and dropped his anchors in the shoals of that 
region. No inland explorations were achieved by 
him, and he reluctantly abandoned the search for 
Anian, returned to Drake's Bay, on the coast of 
California, and subsequently to England around 
the Cape of Good Hope. En passant it is noticea- 
ble that during the subsequent famous Oregon 
Controversy, which obtained ascendency in inter- 
national politics two hundred and fifty years later, 
the discoveries of Drake were not r resented by 
England in support of her claims for all terri- 
tory north of the Columbia river. Whether 
Great Britain was doubtful of the validity of dis- 
coveries made by a freebooter, or attached no 
importance to his achievement, the fact remains 
that they were not urged with anv force or enthu- 
siasm. In that portion of the "History of North 
America," written by Alfred Brittain and edited 
by Guy Carleton Lee, Ph. D., the author says: 

"Drake, in his voyage around the world, en- 
tered the Pacific through the Straits of Magellan 
in 1578, and sailing northward, after calling at 
various places to plunder Spanish ships, he 
reached a point where the cold and ice compelled 
him to turn south, and he put into a bay in Cali- 
fornia to refit. Here he landed and took formal 
possession of the country in the name of Queen 
Elizabeth and named the land New Albion. The 
exact place of his landing is uncertain, but it was 
not far from the Golden Gate." 



When compelled to turn south by cold and 
ice Drake was, probably, in the vicinity of latitude 
43 degrees north, perhaps many miles above. If 
so, he gained a higher point than had been reached 
by Ferrelo. Continuing Mr. Brittain says : 

"By Drake's expedition, undertaken with the 
double object of exploring the Pacific ocean — the 
South Sea of the Spaniards — and of crippling 
England's secret enemy, the English formallv ac- 
quired their first 'territory on the western shores 
of North America, though the acquisition was not 
followed up. The energies of England were to be 
directed to the explorations of lands already dis- 
covered on the eastern coast, and to the founding 
of the settlements that were soon to develop into 
well organized and enterprising colonies." 

This coincides with the fact that England did 
not put forth her claims for a portion of Oregon 
based on any exploits of Drake — did not, in fact, 
follow up the acquisition. This must be borne in 
mind by the reader when he approaches the chap- 
ter relating to "The Oregon Controversy." 

Cabrillo and Ferrelo were not emulated in 
maritime discoveries in the waters of the North- 
west Coast, until 1550. But on the shore line 
of the Atlantic, Cartier, for six years, between 
1536 and 1542, had made a number of inland 
voyages, ascending the St. Lawrence Gulf and 
river five hundred miles, past the site of Mon- 
treal and to the falls of St. Louis. In the far 
south Hernando De Soto, contemporary with 
Cartier, had sailed coastwise along the Florida 
peninsula and penetrated that tropical country 
until forced back by swamps, morasses and ever- 
glades. Inland exploration in the middle of the 
sixteenth century comprised, practically, in its 
northern limitations, a line crossing the conti- 
nent a few miles below the 36th parallel, from the 
Colorado to the Savannahs, Coronado advancing 
into the modern Kansas, having passed the line at 
its central part. The Pacific had been explored 
sufficiently only to barely show the shore line to 
the 44th degree of north latitude. 

In the way of northern exploration on the 
Pacific coast Spain had, in 1550, accomplished 
little or nothing. But fifteen years later Spain 
became aggressive along the lines of maritime 
activity. Urdaneta in 1565, planned and executed 
the initial voyage eastward, opening a northern 
route to the Pacific coast of North America. 
From the Philippines he was followed by Manila 
traders, eager for gain, and for two centuries 
thereafter, through the rise and decline of Span- 
ish commercial supremacy, these active and ener- 
getic sailors reaped large rewards from the costly 
furs found in the waters of the Northwest Coast. 
It is fair to say that the spirit of commercialism 
contributed far more toward development of the 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



region of which this history treats than did the 
more sentimental efforts of geographical science. 
Still, the latter spirit was not without its apos- 
tles and propagandists. Among them was one 
who called himself Juan de Fuca, a Greek of 
'Cephalonia. His real name was Apostolos Vale- 
rianos. Acting, as had Columbus, under royal 
commission from the King of Spain, he sailed 
bravely away to find the legendary Strait of 
Anian — the marine pathway between the greatest 
oceans of the world. The name of Anian, a myth- 
ical northwestern kingdom, originated in 1500, 
and it is said to have been taken in honor of a 
brother of Cortereal. The real strait was dis- 
covered by Russians in 1750. These Russians 
were fur-hunting Cossacks, who reached the 
Pacific coast of North America in 1639. Their 
point of rendezvous was at Okhotsk, on the sea 
of that name. The following short biography of 
Vitus Bering is from the Century Dictionary 
and Cyclopedia : 

Vitus Bering- (or Behring) was born at Horsens, 
Jutland, 1680; died at Bering Island, 1741. A Danish 
navigator, in the Russian service, noted for discoveries 
in the North Pacific ocean. He explored the northern 
coast of Siberia in 1725, traversed Bering Strait (named 
from him), in 1728, proving that Asia and America are 
separated, and in 1741 explored the western coast of 
America to latitude 69 degrees north. 

Though the voyage of Juan de Fuca never 
attained fruition, it must be conceded that it was 
conceived in the interest of science ; a move in 
behalf of international economics, and honorable 
alike to both Spain and the intrepid navigator. In 
1584 Francisco de Gali reached the Pacific coast, 
from the west, in 37 degrees 30 minutes. He was 
content to sail southward without landing, but 
recorded for the archives of Spain the trend and 
shore-line of the coast. By the same route Cer- 
menon, in 1595, met with disaster by losing his 
vessel in Drake's Bay, a short distance above the 
present city of San Francisco. Prominent among 
other vovag - ers, bent mainly on profit, were 
Espejo, Perea, Lopez and Captain Vaca. 

As has been stated, the earliest explorations of 
the Northwest Coast were maritime. Thev were 
also, in the main, confined between latitudes 42 
degrees and 54 degrees, mainly south of the 
boundary line finally accepted by Great Britain 
as between Canada and the United States. Even 
in that twilight preceding the broad day of inland 
discovery, there were wars between nations, with 
"Oregon" the issue; and some compromises. 
Later came the advance guard of inland explorers 
who found, at the occidental terminus of their 
perilous journeys, a comparatively unknown sea- 
Iboard 750 miles in extent, below the vast reaches 



of Alaskan territory and the Aleutian Islands. 
From the far north came Russian explorers, and 
they encountered southern navigators who had 
come upward from the ambrosial tropics. They 
compared notes ; they detailed to each other 
many facts, intermixed with voluminous fiction, 
but from the whole was picked out and arranged 
much of geographical certainty. Four nations 
of Pacific navigators came to what afterwards 
was known as Oregon, related their adventures, 
boasted of the discoveries each had made, dis- 
cussed the probability of a northwest passage, the 
"Strait of Anian" — and the Northwest Mystery 
remained a mystery still. 

And what a wealth of industrial resources lay 
back of the coast line within the vast territory of 
the ancient Oregon ; the country above California 
with no known northern limits ! Gold and silver, 
rich seal and salmon fisheries ; coal ; timber, at 
that period apparently inexhaustible ; grain and 
fruit lands ; extensive cattle and sheep ranges ; 
splendid harbors, and, in short, every facility and 
resource necessarv for a mighty empire. But it 
remained for future generations to recognize, 
grasp and develop these glorious possibilities. To 
these semi-barbaric early navigators all this 
knowledge was without their ken. 

The Spaniards, between 1492 and 1550, were 
in the lead, so far as concerns actual geographical 
results, of all other European sailors. Spain, 
through, the agency of the Italian, Columbus, had 
discovered a new world ; Spain had meandered 
the coast line for 30,000 miles ; from 60 degrees 
on the Atlantic coast of Labrador, round by Ma- 
gellan Strait, to 40 degrees on the coast of the 
Pacific. Vast were the possibilities of the future 
for Spain, and the old world did honor to her 
unequaled achievements. From a broad, human- 
itarian point of view it is a sad reflection that so 
many of the golden promises held out to her 
should, in subsequent centuries, have faded away 
as fades the elusive rainbow against the storm- 
cloud background. But Spain's misfortune be- 
came North America's opportunity. England, 
too, and Russia, watched and waited, seized and 
assimilated so rapidly as possible, piece by piece 
the territory on which the feet of Spanish ex- 
plorers had first been planted. That it was the 
survival of the fittest may, possibly, be question- 
ed, but it remains a fact that Spain's gradual, yet 
certain loss of the most valuable territory in the 
world has furnished many of the most stirring 
episodes in the world's historv. Spain has lost, 
sold, ceded and relinquished vast domains to 
nearly all the modern powers of the Twentieth 
Century. And not the least valuable of Spain's 
f "rmer possessions are now under the Stars and 
Stripes. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



It is interesting to note the vast shrinkage in 
the claims of Spain throughout successive years. 
She finally departed from the contest for Oregon. 
George Bancroft, in the best "History of the 
United States," so far written, says, volume I, 
page 9 : 

"To prevent collision between Christian 
princes, on the 4th of May, 1493, Alexander VI 
published a bull in which he drew an imaginary 
line from the North Pole to the South, a hundred 
leagues west of the Azores, assigning to the Span- 
ish all that lies west of that boundary, while all 
to the east of it was confirmed to Portugal." 

Thus was the Northern Hemisphere arro- 
gantly and farcically given to two nations. In 
the subsequent gradual deterioration of Spanish 
possessions, or rather, preposterous claims, one 
may consistently quote from the world's greatest 
dramatist, 

"What a fall was there, my countrymen !" 

Thus far has been hastily sketched the sali- 
ent facts concerning the earliest maritime dis- 
coveries on the Northwest Coast. None of the 
Spanish, English, Russian or Italian navigators 
had penetrated inland farther than a few miles 
up the estuary of the Columbia river. It was 
destined to remain for a class of explorers other 
than maritime, yet equally courageous and enter- 
prising, to blaze the trail for future pioneers 
from the east. 

To Alexander Mackenzie, a native of Inver- 
ness, knighted by George III, is accredited the 
honor of being the first European to force a 
passage of the Rocky Mountains north of Cali- 
fornia. June 3, 1789, Mackenzie left Fort Chip- 
ewyan. situated at the western point of Atha- 
basca lake, in two canoes. He was accompanied 
by a German, four Canadians, two of them with 
wives, an Indian named English Chief, and M. 
Le Roux, the latter in the capacity of clerk and 
supercargo of the expedition. The route of this 
adventurous party was by the way of Slave river 
and Slave lake, thence down a stream subse- 
quently named Mackenzie river, on to the Arctic 
Ocean, striking the coast of the Pacific at lati- 
tude 52 degrees, 24 minutes, 48 seconds. This 
territory is all within the present boundaries of 
British Columbia, north of the line finally accept- 
ed as the northern boundary of "Oregon" by the 
English diplomats. 

Singular as it may appear there is little auth- 
entic history of the origin of this term, "Oregon." 
There is, however, cumulative testimony to the 
effect that the name was invented by johathan 
Carver ; that the name was exploited and made 
famous by William Cullen Bryant, late editor of 
the New York Evening Post and author of 
"Thanatopsis ;" that it was fastened upon the 



Columbia river territory, originally by Hall Kel- 
ley, through his memorials to congress in 1837, 
and secondly by various other English and Amer- 
ican authors. Aside from this explanation are 
numerous theories adducing Spanish derivatives 
of rather ambiguous context, but lacking lucidity 
or force. It is likely that no more etymological 
radiance will ever be thrown upon what, after 
all, is rather unimportant, though often mooted 
question. However, concerning the Spanish de- 
rivative, we can give no more convincing testi- 
mony than the following from the columns of 
the Portland Oregonian. To the Editor of the 
Oregonian the following question was pro- 
pounded — "Will you please give the derivation, 
and the meaning of the word 'Oregon,' and oblige 
Many New Comers ?" To this the Editor of the 
Oregonian replied as follows : 

On the 15th of September, 1863, the late Archbishop 
Blauchett contributed the following interesting paper 
to the Oregonian, which fully answers the question. It 
Will be observed that the archbishop speaks of himself 
in the third person : 

"Jonathan Carver, an English captain in the wars 
by which Canada came into the possession of Great 
Britain, after the peace, left Boston June 6, 1766 ; crossed 
the continent to the Pacific and returned October, 1768. 
In relation to his travels which were published in 1778, 
he is the first who makes use of the word 'Oregon.' The 
origin of that word has never been discovered in the 
country. The first Catholic missionaries, Father De- 
mers, now Bishop of Vancouver Island, ^and Father 
Blauchett, now Bishop of Oregon City, arrived in Ore- 
gon in 1838. They traveled through it for many years, 
from north to south, from west to east, visiting and 1 
teaching the numerous tribes in Oregon, Washington 
Territory and the British possessions. But in all their 
various excursions among the Indians they never suc- 
ceeded in finding the origin of the word 'Oregon.' 

"Now it appears that what could not be found in 
Oregon has been discovered by Archbishop Blauchett 
in Bolivia, when he visited that country, Chili and Peru, 
in 1855 a "d 1857. The word 'Oregon,' in his opinion, 
most undoubtedly has its root in the Spanish word 
oreja, (ear) ; and came from its qualifying word orcjon 
(big ear). For it is probable that the Spaniards, who 
first discovered and visited the country, when they saw 
the Indians with big ears, enlarged by the load of orna- 
ments, were naturally inclined to call them orcjon (big 
ears). The nickname first given to the Indians became, 
also, the name of the country. This' explains how Cap- 
tain Carver got it and first made use of it. But the 
travelers, perhaps Carver himself, not knowing the 
Spanish language nor the particular pronunciation of 
the / in Spanish, for facility^ sake, would have written 
it and pronounced it 'Oregon,' instead of 'Orcjon; in 
changing / to g. Such, in all probability, must be the 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



origin of the word 'Oregon.' It conies from the Spanish 
word 'Orejon.' This discovery is due, in justice, to the 
learned Dr. George llaygarth, A. M., M. D., of London, 
a man well versed in the Spanish, whom the archbishop 
met in La Paz, Bolivia, So much for the etymology of 
the word 'Oregon.' This, probably, becomes a con- 
viction when we consider how customary it is for trav- 
elers in a new country to give appropriate names and 
how generally these names are received, retained and 
pass to posterity. We have not a few instances of this 
practice on the Pacific coast, and in Oregon in 
particular." 

We cannot but regard this explanation of the 
worthy archbishop as rather far-fetched and not, 
altogether, conclusive. The study of languages 
reveals too many words of similar orthography 
with, sometimes, diametrically opposite defini- 
tions. Again, it is nowhere recorded that Jona- 
than Carver ever visited the extreme Pacific 
coast at the time mentioned by the archbishop. 
Had he done so he would have antedated the 
Lewis and Clark expedition by between 36 and 
40 years. Concerning Carver the Century Dic- 
tionary and Cyclopedia says : 

Carver, Jonathan. Born at Stillwater, Conn., 1732; 
died at London, January 31, 1780. An American sol- 
dier and traveler, explorer of the region beyond the 
Mississippi. To find a northern passage to the Pacific, 
he started from Boston, June, 1766, explored the shores 
of Lake Superior, and proceeded as far west as the 
sources of the St. Pierre, returning in 1768. In 1769 
"he went to England. He published "Travels to the 
Interior parts of North America," including an account 
of the manners, customs, languages, etc., of the Indians 
(1778), "A Treatise on the Cultivation of the Tobacco 
Plant" (1779), etc. 

Here we have nothing indicating that Jona- 
than Carver went so far west as the Pacific 
coast. We do have, however, the plain state- 
ment that Carver was "an American soldier," 
instead of an British officer, and that he was born 
in the New England state of Connecticut. 

William Barrows, in his "Oregon : The 
Struggle for Possession," clearly demonstrates 
that Carver never gained the Pacific coast, and, 
probably, never entered the vast territory then 
"known as "Oregon," Mr. Barrows says : 

"Leading and prominent among explorers 
was Jonathan Carver, a hard soldier in • the 
French and Indian wars, that terminated at 
Quebec, a rugged and daring pioneer, with a pas- 
sion for forest life and all its wild adventures 
and thrilling incidents. In the late wars he had 
become inured to hardship, and he was enamored 
of the fascinations that lie along an unexplored 



border of wilderness. Carver left Boston in 
1766, under the geographical delusion of the day, 
that North America was an archipelago, -°nd 
that a sailing passage could be found, extending 
through to the Pacific. The leading purpose 
with him in his tour was to discover those mythi- 
cal and always receding 'Straits of Anian,' as 
the channel was called. His head was fired with 
the vision of the discovery of a northwest pas- 
sage, or a communication between Hudson Bay 
and the Pacific Ocean — an event so desirable and 
which has been so often sought for but without 
success. He returned in two years, having ex- 
plored no farther than the present limits of Wis- 
consin, Ioiva and Minnesota. He claimed that 
he was the first white man, after Hennepin, the 
French missionary, to explore the Mississippi as 
far up as the falls of St. Anthony." 

The expedition of Mackenzie, crowned with 
results most valuable to science and territorial 
development, comprised one hundred and two 
days. At the point he first made on the Pacific 
coast the explorer executed with vermillion and 
grease a rude sign bearing the following inscrip- 
tion: "Alexander Mackenzie, from Canada by 
land, July 22, 1793." Subsequently expeditions 
were made by Mackenzie to the coast, one of 
them via the Peace river. 

But now comes one M. Le Page du Pratz, a 
talented and scholarly French savant, with the 
statement, made several years ago, that neither 
Mackenzie nor Lewis and Clarke were the first 
to cross the Rockies and gain the Northwest 
Coast. Our French student claims to have dis- 
covered a Natchez Indian, being of the tribe of 
the Yahoos, called L'Interprete, on account of the 
various languages he had acquired, but named 
by his own people Moncacht Ape, "He Who Kills 
Trouble and Fatigue." M. Le Page declares 
that this man, actuated mainly by curiosity, a 
stimulant underlying all advancement, unassisted 
and unattended, traveled from the Mississippi 
river to the Pacific coast so early as 1743. This 
was sixty years before President Jefferson dis- 
patched Captain Lewis and Clark on their gov- 
ernmental expedition, the results of which have 
proven so important and momentous in the his- 
tory of the development of Oregon. Moncacht 
Ape, it is claimed, met many tribes of Indians, 
made friends with all of them, acquired portions 
of complex dialects, gained assistance and infor- 
mation and eventually gazed upon the same 
waters upon which Balboa had fixed his eyes .with 
enthusiasm, many hundreds of miles to the south. 
It cannot be denied that hardly has a great 
discovery been heralded to the world ere some 
rival springs up to claim it. Possibly it was this 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



spirit which may have actuated M. Le Page in 
producing the somewhat mysterious Moncacht 
Ape, to pose as the pioneer of the Northwestern 
exploration. But we, of today, are in no posi- 
tion to combat his claims, reserving to ourselves 
the undeniable fact that Mackenzie and Lewis 
and Clark were the first white men to gain, over- 
land, the Northwest Coast. 



From 1543 to 1803 this greatly abridged 
foreword has traced northwestern discoveries^ 
We now enter upon a brief description of the 
glorious achievements of Lewis and Clark in that 
particular portion of their historic journey, com- 
memorated this year by the magnificent exposi- 
tion at Portland, Oregon, which proved so fruit- 
ful to this great state. 



CHAPTER II 



EXPLORATIONS BY LAND. 



Following the exploration and rude charting 
of Puget Sound, and the discovery of the Colum- 
bia, for a number of years maritime adventure 
was quiescent. Activity in this direction was 
stimulated, however, not by an immediate pros- 
pect of penetrating the "Strait of Anian," but 
the possibility of finding vast auriferous deposits 
— gold — the legendary lore of the primitive 
country being highly embellished with a wealth 
of glittering fiction founded upon a modicum of 
fact. 

In overland exploration the pioneership must 
be accorded to one Verendrye, although he ut- 
terly failed to discover a pass through the Rocky 
Mountains. But he made a number of deter- 
mined efforts, and for these he deserves credit. 
He acted under the authority of the governor 
general of New France, setting out from Canada 
on an exploration of the Rocky Mountains in 
1773. This gallant explorer and his brother and 
sons made many important expeditions, added 
much to the general knowledge of the country, 
but being unsuccessful their adventures scarcely 
come within the province of this volume. 

The first traveler to lead a party of civilized 
men through the "Stony mountains to the South 
Sea" was Alexander Mackenzie. Yet his field 
of discovery, although adding much richness to 
the store-house of science, is, also, without the 
scope of our purpose, being too far north to 
figure prominently in the international complica- 
tions of later years. Western exploration by 
land had, however, elicited the interest of one 
whose forcefulness and dominant energy were 
sufficient to bring to a successful issue almost 
every undertaking worth the effort. While other 
statesmen and legislators of his time were fully 



engaged with the ephemeral problems of the 
moment, the masterful mind of Thomas Jeffer- 
son, endowed with a wider range of vision and 
more comprehensive grasp of the true situation,, 
was projecting exploring expeditions into the 
Northwest. In 1786, while serving as minister 
to France, he had fallen athwart the enthusiastic 
and ardent Ledyard, who was fired with the idea 
of opening a large and immensely profitable fur 
trade in the north Pacific region. To this young 
man the astute Jefferson suggested the idea of 
journeying to Kamtchatka ; thence in a Russian 
vessel to Nootka sound, from which, as a point 
of departure, he should make an exploring ex- 
pedition eastward to the United States. On this 
suggestion Ledyard acted. But in 1787, in the 
spring of that year, Ledyard was arrested as a 
spy by Russian officials, and harshly treated. 
This caused a failure of his health and a conse- 
quent failure of his enterprise. 

Yet another effort was made by the indomit- 
able Jefferson in 1792. He then proposed to 
the American Philosophical Society that it should 
engage a competent scientist "to explore north- 
west America from the eastward by ascending the 
Missouri river, crossing the Rocky Mountains and 
descending the nearest river to the Pacific 
ocean." This glorious idea was quite favorably 
received. Captain Meriwether Lewis, who after- 
ward distinguished himself as one of the leaders' 
of the Lewis and Clark expedition, at once prof- 
fered his services. But for some reason Andre 
Michaux, a French botanist, was given the pre- 
ference. Michaux proceeded as far as Ken- 
tucky, but there received an order from the 
French minister to whom, it seems, he owed 
equal obedience, that he should relinquish his 



HISTORY Oh CENTRAL OREGON. 



appointment and engage upon the. duties of an- 
other commission. Whether this abrupt counter- 
mand was inspired by a spirit of national jeal- 
ousy, or from a disposition to retard American 
enterprise in the extreme northwest, is not 
known. Suffice it to say that Michaux at once 
threw up his commission and returned to the 
French legation. 

Thus it chanced that it was not until the 
dawn of a new century that another opportunity 
for furthering his favorite project presented it- 
self to Jefferson. An act of congress, under 
which trading-houses had been established for 
facilitating commerce with the Indians, was about 
to expire by limitation. In recommending its 
continuance President Jefferson seized the op- 
portunity to urge upon congress the advisability 
of fitting out an expedition "to explore the Mis- 
souri river and such of its principal streams as, 
bv its course of communication with the waters 
of the Pacific ocean, whether the Columbia, Ore- 
gon, Colorado or any other river, may offer the 
most direct and practical water communication 
across the continent, for the purpose of com- 
merce." 

An appropriation was voted by congress ; the 
expedition was placed in charge of Captains Meri- 
wether Lewis and William Clark. Minute and 
particular instructions concerning investigations 
to be made by them were communicated by 
President Jefferson. They were to inform them- 
selves should they win their way to the Pacific 
ocean "of the circumstances which may decide 
whether the furs of those parts may be collected 
as advantageously at the headwaters of the Mis- 
souri (convenient as is supposed to the Colorado 
and Oregon and Columbia) as at Nootka sound 
or any other part of that coast ; and the trade be 
constantly conducted through the Missouri and 
United States more beneficially than by the cir- 
cumnavigation now practiced." In addition to 
these instructions the explorers were directed to 
ascertain if possible on arrival at the sea board if 
there were any ports within their reach fre- 
quented by the sea going vessels of any nation, 
and to send, if practicable, two of their most 
trusted people back by sea with copies of their 
notes. They were, also, if they deemed a return 
by the way they had come imminently hazardous, 
to ship the entire party and return via Cape of 
Good Hope or Cape Horn, as they might be able. 

It was destined that material significance 
should be added to this enterprise. A few days 
before the initial steps were taken in discharge of 
the instructions of President Jefferson, negotia- 
tions had been successfully consummated for the 
purchase of Louisiana, April 30, 1803. But the 



authorities at Washington, D. C, did not learn 
of this momentous event, fraught with such 
immense profit to the United States, until the 
1st of July. Of such transcendant import to 
the future of our country was this transaction 
and of such vital moment to the section with 
which our volume is primarily concerned, that 
we must here interrupt the trend of our narra- 
tive to communicate to the reader an idea of the 
extent of territory involved and, if possible, to 
enable him to more fully appreciate the influence 
of that purchase. France, by her land explora- 
tions and the establishment of trading posts and 
forts, first acquired title to the territory west of 
the Mississippi and east of the Rocky Mountains, 
although Great Britain claimed the territory in 
accordance with her doctrine of continuity and 
contiguity, the greater number of her colonial 
grants, by express terms, extending to the Pa- 
cific ocean. Spain also, claimed the country by 
grant of Pope Alexander VI. Concerning these 
conflicting claims William Barrows, in his valu- 
able work, "Oregon : The Struggle for Pos- 
session," says : 

In 1697, the year of the Treaty of Ryswick, Spain 
claimed as her share of North America, on the Atlantic 
coast, from Cape Romaine on the Carolina shore a few 
miles north of Charleston, due west to the Mississippi 
river, and all south of that line to the Gulf of Mexico. 
That line, continued beyond the Mississippi, makes the 
northern boundary of Louisana. In the valley of the 
lower Mississippi Spain acknowledged no rival, though 
France was then beginning to intrude. On the basis of 
discovery by the heroic De Soto and others, she claimed 
up to the heads of the Arkansas and the present famous 
Leadville, and westward to the Pacific. On that ocean, 
or the South Sea, as it was then called, she set up the 
pretensions of sovereignty from Panama to Nootka 
sound on Vancouver. These pretensions covered the 
coasts, harbors, islands and fisheries, and extended 
themselves indefinitely inland, and even over the whole 
Pacific ocean, as then limited. These stupendous claims 
Spain based on discovery, under the papal bull of Alex- 
ander VI in 1493. This bull or decree gave to the gov- 
ernment of the discoverer all newly discovered lands 
and waters. In 1513 Balboa, the Spaniard, discovered 
the Pacific ocean, as he came over the Isthmus of 
Panama, and so Spain came into the ownership of that 
body of water. Good old times, those were, when kings 
thrust their hands into the New World, as children do 
theirs into a grab-bag at a fair, and drew out a river 
four thousand miles long, or an ocean, or a tract of 
wild land ten or fifteen times the size of England. 

At the Ryswick partition of the world, France held 
good positions in America for the mastery of the conti- 
nent. Beginning on the Mississippi, where the Spanish 
line crossed it, that is, where Louisiana and Arkansas 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



unite two of their corners on the Father of Waters, the 
French claimed east on the Spanish boundary, and north 
of it to the watershed between the head streams divid- 
ing for the Atlantic and the Mississippi. Their claim 
was bounded by this highland line, continuing north and 
east, and still separating Atlantic streams from those 
flowing into the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence. 
Where this line reached the springs of the Penobscot it 
followed its waters to the ocean. It was the proud 
thought of France that from the mouth of the Penobscot 
along the entire seaboard to the unknown and frozen 
Arctic, no European power divided that coast, and the 
wild interior back of it, with her. So France claimed 
indefinitely north to the farther rim of Hudson Bay, and 
wildly west to the heads of the Mississippi and Missouri, 
and thence down to our two corners of Louisiana and 
Arkansas. This gave to France even the western parts 
of Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York, and a large 
portion of New England, as we now name those sections. 
Certain vague doubts hung over those French claims in 
the great north land after the convention of Ryswick, 
but were claims of little worth. 

A constant warfare had been waged between 
France and Great Britain for supremacy in 
America. The latter was the winner in the con- 
test, and, in 1762, France, apparently discoura- 
ged, ceded to Spain the province of Louisiana. 
By the treaty of February 10, 1763, which gave 
Great Britain the Canadas, it was agreed that the 
western boundary between England and Span- 
ish possessions in America should be the Mis- 
sissippi river, Great Britain renouncing all claim 
to the territory west of that boundary. In 1800 
Spain retroceded Louisiana to France "with the 
same extent it has now in the hands' of Spain, 
and which it had when France possessed it, and 
such as it should be according to the treaties sub- 
sequently made between Spain and other states." 

As above stated the order for the formal de- 
livery of the province to France was by the Span- 
ish king, issued October 15, 1802. The United 
States succeeded to the title by treaty of April 
30, 1803. The three ministers conducting the 
negotiations ceding Louisiana territory to the 
United States were Monroe and Livingston, rep- 
resenting the United States, and Barbe-Marbois, 
selected by Napoleon to represent France. In 
his well written and entertaining book, "First 
Across the Continent," Mr. Noah Brooks says: 
"The details of this purchase were arranged in 
Paris (on the part of the United States) by Rob- 
ert R. Livingston and James Madison." This is 
entirely incorrect. James Madison was at the 
time secretary of state, and merely acted in an 
official capacity in the ratification of the treaty. 
James Monroe and Livingston, in Paris, working 
co-jointly with Barbe-Marbois, a minister of the 



French public treasury, arranged the details of 
this important "deal in real estate." At that 
period Marbois' relations with Napoleon were 
close and confidential, and the current traditions 
of Napoleon's attitude throughout the negotia- 
tions is a more or less inaccurate version of the 
report made by Marbois in his "Historie de la 
Louisiane," written after the Bourbon restoration 
and published in Paris by the Didots in 1829. 
The original edition, now rare in the United 
States, one of the earlier, if not the earliest, con- 
tains the French maps of "the territory added 
to the United States by the treaty." Still, inter- 
esting as all this is, it can not compare in impor- 
tance with the summary of the situation then ex- 
• isting as Marbois gives it, and with his report of 
Napoleon's conversations and speeches on the 
subject. 

The second part of this work, which is de- 
voted to the treaty and its effects on the destinies 
of the world — which with surprising foresight 
he fully appreciated — opens with a valuable sum- 
mary of the attitude of the LJnited States toward 
France and England. He shows that the de- 
feated Federalists were taking advantage of Jef- 
ferson's well-known French sympathies to press 
against France and against the administration of 
the United States the dangerous questions which 
had been raised by the attitude of the West in 
demanding assurances of the free navigation of 
the Mississippi. "Although a very active faction 
in Congress," he writes, "worked secretly to force 
a declaration of war against France by the United 
States, the chiefs of the administration desired 
sincerely to preserve the good understanding. 
On its side the Consular government (Napoleon 
personally) seemed to wish to follow toward the 
republic a course opposed to that of the directory. 
War between France and England seemed inevi- 
table, and the American Cabinet easily under- 
stood that in case it was declared the French 
consul would be under the necessity of postponing 
the occupation of Louisiana." 

He then quotes from the message of Decem- 
ber 18, 1802, in which Jefferson called the atten- 
tion of Congress to the importance of the reoccu- 
pation of Louisiana by France, and details the 
circumstances under which Monroe went forth to 
France to reinforce Livingston, who was already 
in Paris attempting to negotiate for the city of 
New Orleans and the territory which controlled 
the mouth of the Mississippi. 

To understand the attitude of Napoleon it 
must be recalled that in becoming first consul he 
had announced himself as a pacificator of the 
world, and after attempting to conciliate the pow- 
ers in the treaty of Amiens, had continued vieor- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



ously to attempt to reconstruct France in accord- 
ance with his own ideas. Tin's he considered the 
object of paramount importance at the time, and 
whatever plans he had for extending the empire 
of France over Europe were to be postponed until 
he had firmly intrenched himself at home and 
completely reorganized France. For doing this 
he had, in a great measure, carried out his plans, 
when he saw that England was 'once more about 
to take the aggressive against him — this just at 
a time when he was preparing to cease to be first 
consul and to become "Napoleon the First." 

This is the situation which Marbois defines, 
and it explains the stimulus under which Na- 
poleon's genius acted in reaching the decision that 
there must be a radical change in the attitude of 
France toward the United States. After the Rev- 
olutionary War France had hoped to hold the 
United States as a ward under an informal 
French protectorate and had co-operated with 
Spain to that end. To keep the United States 
surrounded by French and Spanish territory was 
part of this plan. When Monroe sailed for 
France Napoleon seems to have reached a de- 
cision, foreshadowed in a conversation in the 
Tuileries, to abandon once for all the idea of con- 
trolling the United States, and by a sudden stroke 
to set them loose as a first-class power against 
England. He announced this decision in a con- 
ference at which Marbois was present, just before 
Monroe landed. 

Before calling this conference he had de- 
nounced the claims of England to be "mistress 
of the seas," and had said "to free the world from 
the commercial tyranny of England it is necessary 
to oppose to her a maritime power which will 
one day become her rival. It must be the United 
States. The English aspire to dispose of all the 
riches of the world. I will be useful to the entire 
universe if I can prevent them from dominating 
America as they dominate Asia." 

It appears that after announcing in the Tuiler- 
ies that the United States might be thrust for- 
ward as a rival for England, Napoleon brooded 
over the matter, as was his habit; and then, after 
he had finally made up his mind, he called his 
advisers to him and addressed to them his request 
for advice in what was really a demand for their 
assent to his plans, "made with vehemence and 
passion," which did not invite argument. The 
first declaration of his purpose is thus given by 
Marbois : 

"I know the worth of Louisiana, and I have 
wished to repair the error of the French negotia- 
ator who abandoned it in 1763. I have recovered 
it on paper through some lines in a treatv, but I 
have hardly done so when I am about to lose it 
again. But if it escapes me, it shall one day be at 



a dearer cost to those to whom I will surrender it. 
The English have successively taken from France 
Canada, the Isle Royal, Newfoundland, Arcadia 
and the richest territories of Asia. They are in- 
triguing and disturbing in San Domingo. They 
shall not have the Mississippi, which they covet. 
Louisiana is nothing in comparison with their 
aggrandizement in all parts of the globe, but the 
jealousy they feel because of its return under the 
dominion of France warns me that they intend 
to seize it, and it is thus they will begin the war. 
They have already twenty vessels in the Gulf of 
Mexico — they swagger over those seas as sov- 
ereigns — and in San Domingo, since the death of 
Leclerc, our affairs are going from bad to worse. 
The conquest of Louisiana will be easy if they 
only take the trouble to descend upon it. I have 
not a moment to lose in putting it out of their 
power. I do not know but what they are there 
already. That is their usual way of doing things, 
and as for me, if I was in their place I certainly 
would not have waited. I wish to take away from 
them even the idea that they will ever be able to 
own this colony. I contemplate turning it over 
to the United States. I would hardly be able 
to say I had ceded it to them, for we are not yet 
even in possession of it. But even a short delay 
may leave me nothing but a vain title to transmit 
to the republicans, whose friendship I seek. They 
are asking me for but a single city of Louisiana, 
but I already consider the whole colony as lost, 
and it seems to me that in the hands of this rising 
power it will be more useful to the politics and 
even to the commerce of France than if I attempt 
to keep it." 

"Tell me your opinion," said Napoleon, in 
conclusion, and his ministers made speeches, one 
for, the other against, the cession. He listened 
and asked questions. It was the next morning 
after this that he called them to him again and an- 
nounced that England had broken faith in refus- 
ing to evacuate Malta, and that there was no time 
for further deliberation. 

Marbois consulted with Livingston before 
Monroe's arrival, finding him full of suspicions 
and unable to believe it when told that the first 
consul would negotiate, not for New Orleans 
alone, but for the cession of the entire territory. 
He thought this merely another French device 
to gain time, and when Marbois met Monroe and 
Livingston together for the first time he dis- 
covered that both had doubts concerning his good 
faith. However, these doubts he soon removed, 
and the negotiations proceeded without friction 
or the slightest degree of unpleasantness, except 
over the price and the boundaries. The jurisdic- 
tion of the ecclesiastical authorities at New 
Orleans had been claimed to the Pacific, but 



IO 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



France was not willing to guarantee this, and the 
American envoys desired an exact definition of 
boundaries, because publicists had held treaties 
invalid in which such definitions were not clearly 
given. It was finally decided to accept the French 
view, and it was intimated that there was an 
understanding that this would be to the advan- 
tage of the United States in proceeding against 
England for the occupation of the western Pacific 
territory. Indeed the whole inference from 
Marbois' book is that, back of the purchase price, 
which was important at the time to give Napoleon 
money to prosecute the war against England, 
there was a much more important, if even wholly 
undefined, understanding that the cession in- 
volved, on the part of the United States, the as- 
sumption of the aggressive against England in 
support of France. This is strongly brought 
out in Marbois' report of Livingston's speech, 
made at the signing of the treaty. 

When this important document had been 
actually signed, Marbois states that the three 
negotiators (Monroe, Livingston and himself), 
"felt a sentiment superior to glory. Never," he 
says, "had negotiators tasted a joy more pure 
than theirs." So soon as they had signed they 
rose, shook hands, and Livingston, expressing the 
satisfaction of all, said : "The treaty we have 
signed has not been brought about by finesse nor 
dictated by force. 

"Equally advantageous to both the contract- 
ing parties, it will change vast solitudes into a 
flourishing country. To-day the United States 
take their place among the powers of the first 
rank. All exclusive influence in the affairs of the 
United States is lost to England forever. Thus 
is done away with one of the chief causes of 
European hatreds and rivalries. Moreover if 
wars are inevitable, France will have in the New 
World a friend, increasing year by year in power, 
which cannot fail to become puissant and re- 
spected on all the seas of the world. It is by the 
LJnited States that there will be re-established 
for all the peoples of the earth maritime riehts 
which are now usurped by a single country. Thus 
treaties will become a guarantee of peace and 
good will between commercial states. The in- 
strument we have signed will cause no tears to 
flow. It will prepare centuries of happiness for 
innumerable generations of the human race. The 
Mississippi and the Missouri will see them 
prosper and increase in the midst of equality, 
under just laws, freed from the errors of super- 
stition, from the scourge of bad government, and 
truly worthy of the regard and care of provi- 
dence." 

In closing his review of Napoleon's action 
throughout the negotiations, Marbois says that 



"the following words (spoken when the signing 
of the treaty was announced) are enough to 
demonstrate what thought then dominated the 
first consul : 'This accession of territory,' said 
he, 'assures (affermit) forever the power of the 
United States, and I have given England a mara- 
time rival which sooner or later will humble her 
pride.' " 

Exact boundaries had not been established 
at that time, but some idea of the extent of the 
purchase may be had when we remember that it 
extended from the present British line to the 
Gulf of Mexico and included what are now the 
states of Minnesota, North Dakota, Nebraska, 
Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota, Missouri, Arkansas 
and Louisiana, the Territory of Oklahoma, Indian 
Territory, more than three-fourths of Montana 
and Wyoming, also parts of Colorado and 
Mexico. 

Thus an enterprise which had in its incep- 
tion for its chief object the advancement of the 
commercial interests of the United States ac- 
quired a new purpose, namely, the extending of 
the geographical and scientific knowledge con- 
cerning our own domain. Upon Lewis and 
Clark a further duty devolved, that of informing 
the natives that obedience was now due to a new 
great father. 

That portion of Lewis and Clark's expedition! 
with which this history concerns itself must re- 
late chiefly to the achievements of these intrepid: 
captains after they had entered the territory 
known as "Oregon," and from which the states of 
Oregon, Washington and Idaho were carved. 
And what was this territory, at that period a 
terra incognita? Major Joshua Pitcher, early in. 
1800, contributed the following terse, if abbre- 
viated description of it : 

The form and configuration of the country is the 
most perfecl and admirable which the imagination can 
conceive. All its outlines are distinctly marked; all its- 
interior is connected together. Frozen regions on the 
north, the ocean and its mountainous coast to the west;, 
the Rocky Mountains to the east ; sandy and desert 
plains to the south — such are its boundaries. Within 
the whole country is watered by the streams of a single 
river, issuing from the north, east and south, uniting 
in the region of tidewater, and communicating with the 
sea by a single outlet. Such a country is formed for 
defense, and whatever power gets possession of it will, 
probably, be able to keep it. 

This was published in Volume I, No. 39, 
senate documents, Twenty-first Congress, second' 
session. A more extended description is sketched 
later by Mr. Parker, who savs : 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



iir 



Beyond the Rocky Mountains nature appears to 
have studied variety on the largest scale. Towering 
mountains and wide-extended prairies, rich valleys and 
barren plains, and large rivers, with their rapids, cata- 
racts and falls, present a great variety of prospects. 
The whole country is so mountainous that there is no 
elevation from which a person can not see some of the 
immense range which intersects its various parts. From 
an elevation a short distance from Fort Vancouver, five 
isolated, conical mountains, from ten to fifteen thousand 
feet high, whose tops are covered with perpetual snow, 
may be seen rising in the surrounding valley. There 
are three general ranges west of the Rocky chain of 
mountains, running in northern and southern directions ; 
the first above the falls of the Columbia river; the sec- 
ond at and below the Cascades ; the third toward and 
along the shores of the Pacific. From each of these 
branches extend in different directions. Besides these 
there are those in different parts which are large and 
high, such as the Blue Mountains, south of Walla 
Walla ; the Salmon River mountains, between Salmon 
and Kooskooskie rivers, and also in the region of 
Okanogan and Colville. The loftiest peaks of the Rocky 
mountains have been found in about 52 degrees north 
latitude, where Mr. Thompson, astronomer of the 
Hudson's Bay Company, has ascertained the heights of 
several. One, called Mount Brown, he estimates at 
sixteen thousand feet above the level of the sea ; an- 
other, Mt. Hooker, at fifteen thousand seven hundred 
feet. It has been stated, farther (though probably with 
some exaggeration) that he discovered other points 
farther north of an elevation ten thousand feet higher 
than these. This is probably an exaggeration. Between 
these mountains are widespread valleys and plains. The 
largest and most fertile valley is included between Deer 
Island in the west to within twelve miles of the Cas- 
cades, which is about fifty-five miles wide, and extending 
north and south to a greater extent than I had the 
means of definitely ascertaining ; probably from Puget 
Sound on the north, to the Umpqua river on the south. 

The Willamette river, and a section of the Columbia, 
are included in this valley. The valley south of the 
Walla Walla, called the Grande Ronde, is said to excel 
in fertility. To these may be added Pierre's Hole, and 
the adjacent country; also Recueil Amere, east of the 
Salmon River Mountains. Others of less magnitude are 
dispersed over different parts. To these may be sub- 
joined extensive plains, most of which are prairies well 
covered with grass. The whole region of the country 
west of the Salmon River Mountains, the Spokane 
woods and Okanogan, quite to the range of mountains 
that cross the Columbia at the Falls, is a vast prairie 
covered with grass, and the soil is generally good. An- 
other large plain which is said to be very barren, lies 
off to the southward of Lewis, or Malheur river, includ- 
ing the Shoshone country ; and travelers who have 
passed through this have pronounced the interior of 



America a great, barren desert, but this is drawing a- 
conclusion far too broad from premises so limited. 

Aside from Captains Lewis and Clark, the 
party of exploration consisted of nine young 
men from Kentucky, fourteen United States 
soldiers, who had volunteered their services, two 
French watermen (an interpreter and hunter),, 
and a black servant employed by Captain Clark. 
Before the close of 1803 preparations for the 
voyage were all completed, and the party wintered 
at the mouth of the Wood river, on the east 
bank of the Mississippi. 

The following is President Jefferson's opinion 
of Captain Lewis : "Of courage undaunted ; pos- 
sessing a firmness and perseverance of purpose 
which nothing but impossibilities could divert 
from its direction ; careful as a father of those 
committed to his charge, yet steady in the main- 
tenance of order and discipline ; intimate with the 
Indian character, customs and principles ; habitu- 
ated to the hunting life, guarded, by exact ob- 
servation of the vegetables and animals of his 
own country, against losing time in the descrip- 
tion of objects already possessed; honest, disin- 
terested, liberal, of sound understanding, and a 
fidelity to trust so scrupulous that whatever he 
should report would be as certain as if seen by 
ourselves ; with all those qualifications, as if 
selected and implanted by nature in one body 
by express purpose, I could have no hesitation in 
confiding this enterprise to him." 

The start was made May 4, 1804, and the 
first reach made on the 16th, was twenty-one 
miles up the Missouri. Of the many surprising 
adventures encountered in ascending this river 
to Fort Benton, it is not the province of this 
history to recount. It was toward the North- 
west Coast — Oregon — that their faces were set, 
and the advent of these pioneers into the future 
"Oregon" becomes of material interest to present 
residents of this section. 

August 18, 1805, fifteen months from the de- 
parture of this expedition, it had reached the 
extreme navigable point of the Missouri river, 
stated in Captain Lewis' journal to be in latitude 
43 degrees, 30 minutes, 43 seconds north. The 
party was now, for a certain distance to proceed 
by land with pack horses. Tribe after tribe of 
strange Indians were encountered, a majority of 
whom met the explorers on friendly terms. The 
party endured hardships innumerable ; game was 
scarce in certain localities, and at times the 
weather was inclement. They forded unknowrr 
streams, and christened many, Lewis river, 
Clark's Fork and others. 

Particular inquiries were made concerning the- 



12 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



topography of the country and the possibility of 
soon reaching a navigable stream. In answer 
to such questions an ancient chief, who, it was 
claimed, knew more about the geography of this 
section of the northwest than any one else, drew 
rude delineations of the various rivers, on the 
ground. But it soon developed that he knew very 
little concerning them. Yet some vague informa- 
tion was gained sufficient to show that the dif- 
ferent streams converged in one vast river, the 
Columbia, running a great way toward the set- 
ting sun, "and at length losing itself in a great 
lake of water, which was ill tasted, and where 
the white men lived." Still another route was 
suggested, an analysis of which convinced Cap- 
tain Clark that the rivers mentioned debouched 
into the Gulf of California. He then inquired 
concerning the route used by the Pierced-nose 
(Nez Perce) Indians who, living west of the 
mountains, crossed over to the Missouri. Ac- 
cording to Captain Lewis' journal the chief re- 
plied, in effect, that this route was a very bad 
one ; that during the passage, he had been told, 
they suffered excessively from hunger, being 
compelled to subsist for many days on berries 
alone, there being no game in that portion of 
the mountains, which was broken and rocky, and 
so thickly covered with timber that they could 
scarcely penetrate it. 

Difficulties, also, surrounded all routes, and 
this one appeared as practicable as any other. 
It was reasoned that if Indians could pass the 
mountains with their women and children, no 
difficulties which they could overcome would 
prove formidable to the explorers. Lewis sets 
down in his journal : "If the tribes below the 
mountains were as numerous as thev were repre- 
sented to be, they would have some means of 
subsistence equally within our power. They had 
told us, indeed, that the natives to the westward 
subsisted principally on fish and roots, and that 
their only game was a few elk, deer and ante- 
lope, there being no buffalo west of the moun- 
tains." 

It was decided by Captain Clark to ascertain 
what difficulty would be encountered, if any, in 
descending the river on which the party was then 
encamped. Continuing down the stream, which 
runs nearly northwest, through low grounds, 
rich and wide, they came to where it forked, the 
western branch being much larger than the east- 
ern. To this stream, or rather the main branch, 
was given the name of Lewis river. The party 
followed it until confronted by insurmountable 
obstacles ; it foamed and lashed itself through a 
narrow pass flanked by the loftiest mountains 
Captain Clark had ever seen. The Indians de- 
clared that it was impossible to descend the river 



or scale the mountains, snow-capped and re- 
pellant. The Indians had never been lower than 
the head of the gap made by the river breaking 
through the range. Captain Clark decided to 
abandon this route. It was determined to pro- 
ceed on their course by land. On being ques- 
tioned their guide drew a map on the sand, repre- 
senting a road leading toward two forks of an- 
other river, where lived a tribe of Indians called 
Tushepaws. These people he said frequently 
came to Lewis river to fish for salmon. Through 
the broken, hilly country through which flow 
the tributaries of the Columbia the party pressed 
forward. On the 29th Captain Clark and his 
men joined the main party, under Captain Lewis, 
which latter had made a wide detour in order 
to gain information regarding a more feasible 
route. August was not yet passed, yet the 
weather was quite cold, and during the night 
ink froze in pen and frost covered the meadows. 
Still, the days were warm, and this peculiar at- 
mospheric condition became more pronounced as 
they drew nearer the "Oregon" climate. Al- 
though they were then in Oregon territory, the 
locality afterward became a portion of the Terri- 
tory of Washington. 

The expedition began the passage across the 
mountains August 30, 1805. Accompanied by 
the old guide, his four sons and another Indian, 
the party began the descent of the Lemhi river. 
Three days later all the Indians deserted them, 
with the exception of the old guide. There being 
no trail leading across the mountains it became 
necessary for them to cut their wav through the 
dense underbrush. Although the Indian guide 
appears to have lost his way, on September 4th, 
after most arduous labor in forcing a passage 
through the almost impenetrable brush, the party 
came upon a large camp of Indians. The fol- 
lowing day a "pow-wow" was held, conducted in 
many languages, the various dialects suggesting 
a modern Babel ; but it proved sufficient to in- 
form the Indians of the main object of the ex- 
pedition. These Indians were the Ootlashoots. a 
band of the Tushepaws. on their way to join 
other bands in hunting buffalo on Jefferson river, 
across the Rocky Mountains. Parting from them 
the toilsome journey was resumed. Game dis- 
appeared. September 14th the}- were forced to 
kill a colt, their stock of animal food being ex- 
hausted. And with frequent recurrence to the 
use of horseflesh they pressed on throughi the 
wilderness. An extract from Captain Clark's 
journal of September 18th, conveys an idea of 
the destitute conditions of the party : 

We melted some snow and supped on a little por- 
table soup, a few cannisters of which, with about twenty 






HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



13 



pounds' weight of bear's oil, were our only means of 
subsistence. Our guns are scarcely of any service for 
there is no living creature in these mountains, except a 
few small pheasants, a small species of gray squirrel and 
a blue bird of the vulture kind, about the size of a turtle 
dove or jay. Even these are difficult to shoot. 

Arriving at a bold running stream on Septem- 
ber igth, it was appropriately named "Hungry 
Creek," as at that point they had nothing to eat. 
September 20th the party passed down the last 
foothill of the Bitter Root range and gained a 
comparatively level country. Here they found 
another band of strange Indians : people who 
had never looked upon the face of a white man. 
But they proved themselves hospitable and the 
explorers remained with them several days. The 
Indians called themselves Chopunnish, or 
Pierced-noses, the Nez Perces of to-day. And 
now the expedition was in the vicinity of Pierce 
City, — its site — at one period the capital of Sho- 
shone county, Idaho. On a white elk skin the 
chief. Twisted Hair, drew a chart of the coun- 
try to the west, to explain the geography and 
topography of the district beyond. Captain 
Clark translated it as follows : 

"According to this the Kooskooskee forks 
(confluence of its north fork) a few miles from 
this place; two days toward the south is another 
and larger fork (confluence of Snake river), on 
which the Shoshone or Snake Indians fish ; five 
days' journey further is a large river from the 
northwest (that is the Columbia itself), into 
which Clark's river empties ; from the mouth of 
that river (that is, confluence of the Snake with 
the Columbia) to the falls is five days' journey 
further ; on all the forks as well as on the 
main river great numbers of Indians reside." 

September 23d the Indians were assembled 
and the errand of the party across the continent 
explained. The talk satisfied the savages ; they 
sold their visitors provisions for man and beast 
and parted with amity. But immediate progress 
was somewhat delayed by illness of different 
members of the part}-. They had been nearly 
famished when they encountered the Nez Perces, 
and had eaten too heartily following their priva- 
tion. September 27th they camped on Kooskoos- 
kee river and began the building of canoes. Grad- 
ually the health of the men was recruited, and 
the early days of October were passed in making- 
preparations to descend the river. According to 
Lewis' journal the latitude of this camp was 46 
degrees, 34 minutes, 56 seconds north. It should 
be remembered that the Kooskooskee is now the 
Clearwater, flowing into the Snake river which 
in turn, empties into the Columbia. October 8th 
the party began their long and adventuous voyage 



in five canoes, one of which served as an advance 
pilot boat, the course of the stream being un- 
known. They were soon assailed by disaster ; 
one of the canoes struck a rock and sank. The 
river was found to be full of rocks, reefs and 
rapids. At the confluence of the Kooskooskee 
(Clearwater) and Snake rivers a night's cam]) 
was made near the present Idaho town of Lewis- 
ton, named in honor of one of the commanders 
of this expedition. And from this point the 
party crossed over into the territory now bounded 
by the limits of the State of Washington. Ex- 
perience in this camp finds the following ex- 
pression in Lewis' journal : 

Our arrival soon attracted the attention of the 
Indians, who flocked from all directions to see us. In 
the evening the Indian from the falls, whom we had seen 
at Rugged Rapid, joined us with his son, in a small 
canoe, and insisted on accompanying us to the falls. 
Being again reduced to fish and roots, we made an ex- 
periment to vary our food by purchasing a few dogs, 
and after having been accustomed to horse flesh felt 
no disrelish for this new dish. The Chopunnish have 
great numbers of dogs which they employ for domestic 
purposes, but never eat ; and our using the flesh of that 
animal soon brought us into ridicule as dog eaters. 

The expedition found almost continual rapids 
from this point to the mouth of the Snake, which 
they reached October 16th. Here they were met 
by a regular procession of nearly two hundred 
Indians. They had a grand pow-wow, and both 
parties displayed a great affection for each other, 
the whites bestowing medals, shirts, trinkets, etc., 
in accordance with the rank of the recipient, and 
the Indians repaying the kindness with prolonged 
visits and accompanying gifts of wood and fish. 
On the next day they measured the rivers, find- 
ing the Columbia to be 960, and the Snake, 575 
yards wide. They indulged in no poetic reveries 
as they stood by the river which had been one 
principal object of their toilsome search ; but they 
appear to have seen pretty much everything of 
practical value. In the glimmering haze of that 
pleasant October morning thev noticed the vast, 
bare prairie stretching southward until broken 
by the rounded summits of the Blue Mountains. 
They found the Sohulks, who lived at the junc- 
tion of the rivers, a mild and happy people, the 
men being content with one wife, whom they 
actually assisted in the family work. 

Let us at this point digress a trifle for the 
purpose of inquiring into the nature and habitat 
of the various tribes of Indians encountered by 
Lewis and Clark. In his wonderfully entertain- 
ing work, "Indians of North America in His- • 



•14 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



toric Times," Cyrus Thomas, Ph. D., archaeologist 
in the Bureau of American Ethnology, says : 

"Passing into the great mountain range which 
divides the Atlantic from the Pacific area, we 
enter the territory of the Shoshonean family, an 
Indian group which, if judged by the area over 
which its various members have spread, is sur- 
passed but by two families north of Mexico — 
the Algonquin and the Athapascan. It extended 
from the headwaters of the Missouri, in central 
Montana, to southern Texas, and from western 
Kansas to western Oregon, reaching the Pacific 
coast in southwestern California. The term 
'family' is applied to this group in the sense in 
which it is used by Major J. W. Powell in his 
list of linguistic families; however, according to 
other authorities and as now generally conceded, 
it is but a large division of the great Nahuatlan 
stock which includes, also, the Peiman, Aztecan, 
and related tribes of Mexico ; a vast family which, 
including its outlying peoples, stretches from the 
banks of the Columbia river to Lake Nicaragua. 
What a long unwritten history of the past, of the 
formation, growth and disintegration of groups, 
and of the slow and gradual movements south- 
ward from the Arctic regions is sealed up in this 
fact ! A seal that will, probably, never be 
broken. 

"The principal members of the Shoshonean 
group are the Comanche, Bannock, Ute, Paiute, 
Gosiute, Paviotso, Shoshone (proper) and Hopi, 
(or Moqui) tribes. The natives of Oregon are 
usually grouped, in part, with those of Cali- 
fornia and, in part, with those further north. 
However, this grouping is based on the generally 
observed customs and physical characteristics, 
and not on strictly ethnic or linguistic data, 
though, exclusive of certain intrusive elements 
agreeing in a broad sense with the ethnic rela- 
tions. Here, as in California, there is little Indian 
history save that in regard to intertribal rela- 
tions, of which there are but meagre data, and the 
incidents of intercourse with the whites, which 
were chiefly in the early days with passing navi- 
gators and the agents of the Hudson's Bay and 
Northwestern Companies. The tribes, like those 
further south, were small and too much absorbed 
in their local prejudices and petty broils to unite 
in any great effort of resistance or aggression. 
No great leader — as Philip, Pontiac and Tecum- 
seh, among the tribes of the Atlantic side — ap- 
pears to have arisen among those Northwest 
Coast Indians. 

"Our information regarding these tribes be- 
gins with the accounts given by the early Euro- 
pean voyagers to this region. Bering came down 
from the more northern regions in 1741. In 1774- 
75 the Spanish navigators, Juan Perez and La 



Bodega y Quadra, coming from the south, ex- 
plored the coast to the northward. In 1778 Cap- 
tain Cook, having with him Vancouver as a 
midshipman, made his celebrated visit to this 
coast, perpetuating their names by applying them 
to islands and waters. Soon thereafter vessels 
of mercantile companies began to explore the 
coast in search of trade with the natives, as that 
under Captain Meares in 1786, and that under 
Dixon in 1787. From 1788 to 1803, several 
American ships representing a Boston company 
appeared on the coast. Some of the latter were 
unfortunate, as the Boston, whose officers and 
men, amounting to thirty-five persons, were mur- 
dered by the Indians at Nootka. In 1792 Cap- 
tain Vancouver made his noted reconnaissance of 
the coast. From 1804 to the purchase of Alaska 
by the United States, the history of the coast 
north of the United States is largely the history 
of the Russian-American and Hudson's Bay 
Companies. 

"The natives dwelling above the lower parts 
of the Columbia river consisted of four tribes, in- 
cluding the Chinooks and Clatsops belonging to 
the Chinookan family. These tribes, which are 
reported to have been more populous and influen- 
tial, were greatly thinned by the smallpox, which 
spread havoc through this region for several 
years. 

"The Flatheads or Salish Indians, who lived 
chiefly in the region stretching south of the lower 
Columbia, adjoining the country of the Chinooks, 
were described half a century ago as comparative- 
ly fair in complexion, well made and active, with' 
oval faces and a mild and playful expression of 
countenance ; generally honest in their dealings, 
brave in battle, amenable to their chiefs, of whom 
Comcomly, who died in 183 1, was the most 
noted ; fond of cleanliness and less given to 
theft and falsehood than was usual among the 
Indians of the northwest section. * * * 
The Walla Wallas, of the Shahoptian family, 
appear to have been generally friendly to the 
whites so long as they were left in peaceable pos- 
session of their lands, and tried to imitate them 
in raising stock and cultivating the soil. But 
the rapid increase of settlers, had, by 1848, 
rendered the Indians of Oregon uneasy in regard 
to their lands, and they were further irritated 
by the failure of the United States government 
to pay them for the lands they had parted with, 
and for which official promise had been made. 
The Klikitata, also of the Shahoptian family, 
were troublesome through minor depreciations 
committed in the settlements in Willamette valley 
in 1.849 an d 1850." 

Let us now return to the stirring incidents 
and adventures of the Lewis and Clark party. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



15 



Captain Clark ascended the Columbia to the 
mouth of a large river coming from the west, 
which" the Indians called the Tapteal. This was, 
of course, the Yakima. The people living at its 
mouth rejoiced in the euphonious name of Chin- 
napum. Here Captain Clark shot what he called 
a prairie cock, the first he had seen. It was a 
sag - e hen, no doubt ; a handsome bird, nearly as 
large as a turkey and very common along the 
river at the present time. 

After two days of much needed rest, being 
well supplied with fish, dogs, roots, etc., and at 
peace with their own consciences and all the 
world, with satisfaction at the prospect of soon 
completing their arduous journey, they re-em- 
barked. Think of this, ye Pullman tourists of 
the present day who skim the continent as the 
sea gull skims the ocean, dining sumptuously on 
the best viands which can be supplied by the 
markets of the world ; cooked by the most artis- 
tic of professional chefs ; and mark the difference 
between your touring and the long, dreary march, 
by foot and canoe and that exquisite bit of 
cuisine, dog meat! Truly, this contrast is most 
striking. 

Sixteen miles below the mouth of the 
Kimooenim, which they now began to call the 
Lewis river, they descried, clearly cut against 
the dim horizon line of the southwest, a pyramidal 
mountain, "crowned with a diadem of snow." — 
their first view of Mount Hood. The next day, 
being in the vicinity of Umatilla, they saw an- 
other snowy peak at a conjectured distance of 
one hundred miles. Near here. Captain Clark, 
having landed, shot a crane and a duck. Some 
Indians near were almost paralyzed with terror, 
but they subsequently recovered sufficiently to 
make the best possible use of their legs. Follow- 
ing them Captain Clark found a small cluster of 
huts. Pushing aside the mat door of one of 
them he entered, and in the bright light of the 
unroofed hut discovered thirty-two persons, all 
of whom were in the greatest terror, some wail- 
ing and wringing their hands. 

Having by kind looks and gestures soothed 
their grief, he held up his burning glass to light 
his pipe. Thereat the consternation of the simple 
Indian people revived, and in the presence of 
this great mystery they refused to be comforted. 
But when the rest of the party arrived with the 
two Indian guides who had come with them from 
the Clearwater, terror gave way to pleasurable 
curiosity. These Pishqitpaws — such was their 
name — explained to the guides their fear of Cap- 
tain Clark by saying that he came from the sky 
accompanied by a terrible noise, and they knew 
there was a bad medicine in it. 

Being convinced now that he was a mortal 



after all, they became very affectionate, and hav- 
ing heard the music of two violins, they became 
so enamored of the strangers that they remained 
up all night with them and collected to the 
number of two hundred to bid them good bye in 
the morning. The principal business of these 
Indians appeared to be catching and curing sal- 
mon which in the clear water of the Columbia 
the explorers could see swimming about in in- 
credible numbers. Continuing with no extra- 
ordinary occurrence they passed the mouth of the 
river now known as the John Day, but to which 
they applied the name Lapage. Mount Hood 
was now almost constantly in view, and since the 
Indians told them it was near the great falls of 
the. Columbia, they called it the Timm (this 
seems to be the Indian word for falls) mountain. 

On the next day they reached a large river 
coming in from the left, which thundered 
through a narrow channel into the equally turbu- 
lent Columbia. This river which Captain Lewis 
judged to contain one-fourth as much water as 
the Columbia (an enormous over-estimate), 
answered to the Indian name of Towahnahiooks. 
It afterward received from the French its present 
name, Des Chutes. And now the party per- 
ceived that they were near the place hinted at 
by nearly every Indian with whom they had 
conversed since crossing the Rockies — the great 
Falls. And a weird, savage place it proved to 
he. Here the clenched hands of trachyte and 
basalt, thrust through the soil from the buried 
realms of the volcanoes, almost clutched the 
rushing river. Only here and there between the 
parted fingers can he make his escape. 

Having made several portages they reached 
that extraordinary place (now known as The 
Dalles) where all the waters gathered from half 
a million square miles of earth are squeezed into 
a crack forty-five yards wide. The desolation 
on either side of this frightful chasm is a fitting 
margin. As one crawls to the edge and peeps 
over he sees the water to be of inky blackness. 
Streaks of foam gridiron the blackness. There 
is little noise compared with the shallow rapids 
above, but rather a dismal sough, as though the 
rocks below were rubbing their sides together 
in the vain effort to close over the escaping river. 
Here the stream is "turned" on edge. In fact 
its depth has not been found to this day. Some 
suppose that there was once a natural tunnel here 
through which flowed the river ; and that in con- 
sequence of a volcanic convulsion the top of 
the tunnel fell in. Should there be any truth 
in this the width of the channel is, doubtless, much 
greater at the bottom than at the top. Lewis 
and Clark, finding that the roughness of the 
shore made it almost impossible for them to 



i6 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



"portage" their boats over, and seeing no evi- 
dence of rocks in the channel, boldly steered 
through this boiling, "witches' cauldron." 
Though no doubt whirled along with frightful 
rapidity and flung like foam flakes on the crests 
of the boiling surges, they gained the end of the 
"chute" without accident. This feat excited great 
amazement in the Indians who had collected on 
the bluff to witness this daring experiment. . Two 
more portages and the party safely entered the 
broad, still flood beginning where the town of 
The Dalles now stands. Here they remained 
two days hunting and caulking their boats. And 
here, too, they saw evidences, for the first time, 
of the white traders below, such as blankets, 
axes, brass kettles and other articles of civilized 
manufacture. The Indians, too, were more in- 
clined to be arrogant and suspicious. 

The Dalles appeared to be the dividing line 
between the Indian tribes. Those living at the 
falls, where Celilo now is, called the Eneeshurs, 
understood and "fellowshipped" with all the up- 
river tribes. But at the narrows and thence to 
The Dalles was a tribe called the Escheloots. 
They were alien to the Indians above, but on 
intimate terms with those below the cascades. 
Among the Escheloots the explorers first noticed 
the peculiar "cluck," or lock-stitch speech com- 
mon to all down-river tribes. The flattening of 
the head, which above belonged to the females 
only, was now the common thing. The place 
where Lewis and Clark camped while at The 
Dalles was just below Mill Creek (called by 
the natives Quenett), on a point of rocks near 
the present location of the car shops. The next 
Indian tribe, extending apparently from the 
vicinity of Crate's point to the cascades, capped 
the climax of tongue-twisting names by calling 
themselves Chilluckittequaws. 

Nothing of extraordinary character seems to 
have been encountered between The Dalles and 
the cascades. But the explorers had their eyes 
wide open, and the calm majesty of the river 
and savage grandeur of its shores received due 
notice. They observed and named most of the 
sh earns on their route, the first of importance 
being Cataract river (now the Klickitat), then 
Labieshe's river (Hood river), Canoe creek 
(White Salmon) and Crusatte's river. This last 
must have been Little White Salmon, though 
they were greatly deceived as to its size, stating 
that it was sixty yards wide. In this vicinity 
they were greatly struck with the sunken forest, 
which at that low stage of the water was quite 
conspicuous. They correctly inferred that this 
indicated a damming up of the river at a very 
recent time. Indeed, they judged that it must 
have occurred within twenty years. It is well 



known, however, that submerged trees or piles, 
as indicated by remains of old Roman wharves 
in Britain, may remain intact for hundreds of 
years ; but it is nevertheless evident that the 
closing of the river at the cascades was a very 
recent event. It is also evident from the slid- 
ing, sinking and grinding constantly seen there 
now that a similar event is liable to happen at 
any time. 

Having won their way to the cascades more 
portages were required. Slow and tedious 
though these were, our hardy explorers ap- 
peared to have endured them with unfailing 
patience. They were cheered by the prospect of 
soon putting all the rapids behind and launch- 
ing their canoes on the unobstructed vastness of 
the lower Columbia. This was prosperously ac- 
complished on the 2d of November. With the 
heavy verdure that now robed the gaunt naked- 
ness of the frowning rocks they were greatly 
delighted. The island formed at the lower cas- 
cade by Columbia slough also pleased them 
greatly by its fertility and its dense growth of 
grass and strawberry vines. From this last 
circumstance they named it Strawberry island. 
At the lower part of that cluster of islands, that 
spired and turreted relic of the old feudal age 
of this majestic river, when the volcano kings 
stormed each other's castles with earthquakes 
and spouts of lava, riveted their attention. They 
called it Beacon rock, but it is now known as 
Castle rock. They estimated its height at eight 
hundred feet and its circumference at four hun- 
dred yards, the latter being only a fourth of the 
reality. 

And now the tides became noticeable. This 
fact must have struck a chord of reflection similar 
to that experienced by Robinson Crusoe when 
he discovered the mysterious foot-print on the 
shingle of the ocean within whose bounds he was 
a prisoner. It was the first pluse-beat of the 
dim vast of waters which grasps half the cir- 
cumference of the earth. And so, as this mighty 
heart-throb of the South Sea, rising and fall- 
ing in harmony with all nature, celestial and ter- 
restial, pulsated through one hundred and eighty 
miles of river, it might have seemed one of the 
ocean's multiplied fingers outstretched to wel- 
come them, the first organized expedition of the 
new republic to this westmost west. It might 
have betokened to them the harmony and unity 
of future nations, as exemplified in the vast 
extent, the liberty, the human sympathies, the 
diversified interests, industries and purposes of 
that republic whose motto yet remains, "One 
From Many." 

The rest of their journey was a calm float- 
ing between meadows and islands from whose 




Wm. Clark 



Meriwether Lewis 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



17 



shallow ponds they obtained ducks and geese 
in great numbers. They thought the "quicksand 
river" — Sandy — to be a large and important 
stream. They noticed Washougal creek, which 
from the great number of seals around its mouth 
they called Seal river. But strange to say they 
missed the Willamette entirely on their down 
trip. The Indians in this part of the river called 
themselves Skilloots. Dropping rapidly down 
this calm but misty stream, past a large river 
called by the Indians Cowaliske — Co.wlitz — 
through the country of the Wahkiacums, at last, 
on the 7th of November, with which morning 
had enshrouded all objects, suddenly rose, and 
they saw the bold, mountainous shores on either 
side vanish away in front, and through the parted 
headlands they gazed into the infinite expanse 
of the Pacific ocean. 

( >verjoyed at the successful termination of 
their journey, they sought their first pleasant 
camping ground and made haste to effect a land- 
ing. The rain, which is sometimes, even now. 
observed to characterize that part of our fair 
state, greatly marred the joy of their first night's 
rest within the sound of the Pacific's waves 
breaking on the coast. Six days passed in mouldy 
and dripping inactivity at a point a little above 
the present Chinook. Then they passed nine 
much pleasanter days at Chinook Point. This, 
however, not proving what they desired for a 
permanent camp, they devoted themselves to 
explorations ; this with a view to discovering a 
more suitable location. 

The party wintered in a log building at a 
point named by them Fort Clatsop. March 23, 
1806, they turned their faces homeward, first, 
however, having given to the chiefs of the Clat- 
sops and Chinooks certificates of hospitable treat- 
ment, and posted on the fort the following notice : 
"The object of this last is that, through the 
medium of some civilized person who may see 
the same, it may be known to the world that 
the party consisting of the persons whose names 
are hereunto annexed and who were sent out by 
the government of the United States to explore 
the interior of the continent of North America, 
did penetrate the same by way of the Missouri 
and Columbia rivers, to the discharge of the latter 
into the Pacific ocean, at which they arrived on 
the 14th day of November, 1805, and departed on 
their return to the United States by r the same 
route by which they had come." 

Of this notice several copies were left among 
the Indians, one of which fell into the hands of 
Captain Hall, of the brig Lydia, and was con- 
veyed to the United States. The Lewis and 
Clark party passed the following winter in camp 
at the mouth of the Columbia. Before the holi- 



days Captain Clark carved on the trunk of a 
massive pine this simple inscription: 

WM. CLARK, 

December 3, 1805, By Land From the United 
States in 1805 and 6. 

Of this notable achievement the Encyclopaedia 
Britannica says: "They had traveled upwards of 
four thousand miles from their starting point, 
had encountered various Indian tribes never be- 
fore seen by whites, had made scientific collections 
and observations, and were the first explorers to 
reach the Pacific coast by crossing the continent 
north of Mexico." 

The closing statement of this article partially 
ignores the expeditions of Sir Alexander Macken- 
zie who, while he did not cross the continent 
from a point as far east as Washington, D. C, 
made a journey in 1789, from Fort Chipewyan, 
along the Great Slave lake, and down the river 
which now bears his name, to the "Frozen 
Ocean," and a second journey in 1792-3 from the 
same initial point, up the Peace and across the 
Columbia rivers, and thence westward to the 
coast of the Pacific, at Cape Menzies, opposite 
Queen Charlotte Island. Only to this extent 
is the statement of the Encyclopaedia Britannica 
misleading, but it is quite evident that there is 
no pronounced inclination to do an injustice to 
the memory of Mackenzie. 

And now came the return trip. The expedi- 
tion made its way with no little difficulty up the 
Columbia river. They discovered, on their re- 
turn a large tributary of that river (the Willa- 
mette) which had escaped their notice on their 
outward journey, and made careful inquiries of 
the Indians concerning it, the results of which 
were embodied in their map of the expedition. 

At the mouth of the John Day river their 
canoes were abandoned. Their baggage was 
packed on the backs of a few horses they had 
purchased from the Indians, and traveling in 
this manner, the} - continued their homeward 
march, arriving at the mouth of the Walla Walla 
river April 27th. The great chief Yellept was 
then the leader of the Walla Walla nation, and 
by him the explorers were received with such 
generous hospitality that they yielded to the 
temptation to linger a couple of days before un- 
dertaking further journeyings among the moun- 
tain fastnesses. Such was the treatment accorded 
them by these Indians that the journal of the ex- 
pedition makes this appreciative notation con- 
cerning them : "We may indeed justly affirm that 
of all the Indians that we have seen since leaving 
the United States, the Walla Wallas were the 
most hospitable, honest and sincere." 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Of the return journey for the next hundred 
and fifty miles that venerable pioneer missionary, 
Dr. H. K. Hines, writes as follows : 

Leaving these hospitable people on the 29th of April 
the party passed eastward on the great "Nez Perce trail." 
This trail was the great highway of the Walla Wallas, 
Cayouses and Nez Perces eastward to the buffalo 
ranges, to which they annually resorted for game sup- 
plies. It passed up the valley of the Touchet, called by 
Lewis and Clark the "White Stallion," thence over the 
high prairie ridges and down the Alpowa to the crossing 
of the Snake river, thence up the north bank of 
Clearwater to the Village of Twisted Hair, where the ex- 
ploring party had left their horses on the way 
down the previous autumn. It was worn deep 
and broad, and on many stretches on the open 
plains and over the smooth hills twenty horsemen could 
ride abreast in parallel paths worn by the constant rush 
of the Indian generations from time immemorial. The 
writer has often passed over it when it lay exactly as it 
did when the tribes of Yellept and Twisted Hair traced 
its sinuous courses ; when Lewis and Clark and their 
companions first marked it with the heel of civilization. 
But the plow has long since obliterated it, and where 
the monotonous song of the Indian march was droningly 
chanted for so many barbaric ages, the song of the 
reaper thrills the clear air as he comes to his garner 
bringing in the sheaves. A more delightful ride of a 
hundred and fifty miles than this that the company of 
Lewis and Clark made over the swelling prairie upland 
and along the crystal stream - between Walla Walla and 
the village of Twisted Hair, in the soft May days of 
1806, can scarcely be found anywhere on earth. 

To trace the journeyings of these explorers 
further is not within the province of this work, 
but in order to convey a general idea of the 
labors and extent of the voyage we quote the 
brief summary made by Captain Lewis himself : 

The road by which we went out by the way of the 
Missouri to its head is 3,096 miles ; thence by land by 
the way of Lewis river over to Clarke's river and down 
that to the entrance of Traveler's Rest creek, where all 
the roads from different routes meet ; thence across the 
rugged part of the Rocky mountains to the navigable 
waters of the Columbia, 398 miles ; thence down the 
river 640 miles to the Pacific ocean — making a total 
distance of 4,134 miles. On our return in 1806 we came 
from Traveler's Rest directly to the falls of the Missouri 
river, which shortens the distance about 579 miles, 
and is a much better route, reducing the distance from 
the Mississippi to the Pacific ocean to 3,555 miles. Of 
this distance 2,575 miles is up the Missouri to the falls 
of that river ; thence passing through the plains and 
across the Rocky mountains to the navigable waters of 
Ijhe Kooskooskie river, a branch of the Columbia, 340 



miles, 200 of which is good road, 140 over a tremendous 
mountain, steep and broken, sixty miles of _ which is 
covered several feet deep with snow, on which we passed 
on the last of June ; from the navigable part of the 
Kooskooskie we descended that rapid river seventy-three 
miles to its entrance into Lewis river, and down that 
river 154 miles to the Columbia, and thence 413 miles to 
its entrance into the Pacific ocean. About 180 miles of 
this distance is tidewater. We passed several bad rapids 
and narrows, and one considerable fall, 268 miles above 
the entrance of this river, thirty-seven feet eight inches; 
the total distance descending the Columbia waters 640 
miles — making a total of 3,555 miles, on the most direct 
route from the Mississippi at the mouth of the Missouri 
to the Pacific ocean. 

The safe return of the explorers to their homes 
in the United States naturally created a sensa- 
tion throughout that country and the world. 
Leaders and men were suitably rewarded, and the 
fame of the former will live while the rivers to 
which their names have been given continue to 
pour their waters into the sea. President Jeffer- 
son, the distinguished patron of the expedition, 
paying a tribute to Captain Lewis in 1813, said: 
"Never did a similar event excite more joy 
throughout the United States. The humblest of 
its citizens have taken a lively interest in the 
issue of this journey, and looked with impatience 
for the information it would furnish. Nothing 
short of the official journals of this extraordinary 
and interesting journey will exhibit the im- 
portance of the service, the courage, devotion, 
zeal and perseverance under circumstances calcu- 
lated to discourage, which animated this little 
band of heroes, throughout the long, dangerous 
and tedious travel." 

During the return of the expedition the Clark 
division came clown the Yellowstone in Montana. 
On a mass of saffron sandstone, an acre in its 
base area, and four hundred feet high, called 
Pompey's Pillar, twenty miles above the mouth 
of the Big Horn river, about half way up the 
following is carved. 

WM. CLARK, 
July 25, 1806. 

Following the Lewis and Clark expedition, a 
donation of land was made by congress to the 
members of the party. This was in 1807. Cap- 
tain Lewis was appointed governor of our re- 
cently acquired territory of "Louisiana." But 
Lewis while on his way to Philadelphia to super- 
vise the publication of his journal, in 1809, 
was stricken with death. Clark was governor of 
Missouri from 1813 to 1821, and died at St. 
Louis, Missouri, September 1, 1838. 



CHAPTER III 



WHAT JOHN JACOB ASTOR DID. 



The limits of our volume must perforce render 
:this first, or introductory part, somewhat char- 
acteristic of a summary. For a complete his- 
tory, voluminous in detail and exhaustive in its 
treatment of non-essentials as well as essentials, 
we can only refer our readers to the many more 
pretentious works devoted mainly to special sub- 
jects. We must, however, in view of its effect 
upon subsequent history, revert briefly to those 
gigantic forces in the early annals of the north- 
west country — the great fur companies. At the 
outset it is pertinent to inquire into the motives 
that prompted the formation of these vast com- 
mercial organizations, whose plans were so bold, 
far-reaching and comprehensive, and whose 
theatre of action was world wide. 

The profits of the fur trade were such as 
might well entice daring coupled with avarice 
to run the gauntlet of icebergs, starvation, 
ferocious savages and stormy seas. Great were 
the possibilities. Net returns from a single voy- 
age might liquidate even the enormous cost of the 
original outfit. As an example, Ross, one of 
the clerks of John Jacob Astor's company and 
located at Okanogan, relates that one morning 
before breakfast he purchased from Indians one 
hundred and ten beaver skins at the rate of five 
leaves of tobacco per skin. Afterward a yard 
of cotton cloth, worth say ten cents, bought 
twenty-five beaver skins the value of which in 
the New York market was five dollars apiece. 
For four fathoms of blue glass beads, worth per- 
haps a dollar, Lewis and Clark obtained a sea 
otter skin, the market price of which varied from 
$45 to $60. The clerk, Ross, notes in another 
place that for $165 in trinkets, cloth, etc.. he 
purchased peltries valued in the Canton market 
at eleven thousand two hundred and fifty dol- 
lars. Indeed, even the ill-fated voyage of Mr. 
Astor's partners proved that a cargo worth $25,- 
000 in New York might be replaced in two years 
by one worth a quarter of a million, a profit of a 
thousand per cent. Who, then, should wonder 
at the eager enterprise and fierce, oftimes bloody, 
'Competition of the fur traders? 



Three in number were the fur-producing ani- 
mals of especial value in the Oregon country. 
The first, the beaver, was found in great abund- 
ance in all the interior valleys, the Willamette 
country, as was discovered, being in this respect 
lire-eminent. The two others, the sea otter and 
the seal, were found on the coast. Most valuable 
was the sea otter fur, its velvety smoothness and 
glossy blackness rendering it first in the markets 
of the world of all furs from the temperate 
zones of North America, and inferior only to the 
ermine and sable, and possibly, to the fiery fox 
of the far north. 

Such, then, was the prospect that prompted 
the formation of the Pacific Fur Company, which 
shall have the first place in our narrative as being 
the first to enter the Columbia river basin, though 
it was long antedated in organization by a num- 
ber of other large fur-trading corporations. The 
soul, the vital principal, the prime mover in this 
enterprise was that historically famed commercial 
genius, John Jacob Astor. He was a native of 
Heidelberg ; he had come to America poor ; he 
had amassed a large fortune in successful trade. 
In his fertile brain was conceived a scheme which 
for complex and multitudinous designs and 
judicious arrangement of details was truly mas- 
terful — a scheme in which the looting, yes, down- 
right swindling of ignorant savages, per examples 
given by Clerk Ross, was a far too prominent 
attribute to permit the name of Astor to go down 
to posterity sans criticism. But it developed into 
a case of the biter bitten — the cheater cheated. 
One grand mistake, coupled with overconfidence 
in his partners, wrecked his enterprise. He en- 
trusted its development to men who were bitterl)r 
anti-American : men whose previous connection 
with a rival company affected their loyalty to 
Astor. Hence the comparative failure of this 
gigantic venture. 

To prosecute the fur trade in very unsettled 
territory claimed by the United States ; the trade 
with China and the supplying of the Russian set- 
tlements with trading stock, the goods to be paid 
for in peltries, were all embraced in the far- 



20 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



reaching- scheme of Mr. Astor. At regular inter- 
vals a vessel was to be sent out from New York. 
It was to be laden with goods and supplies to be 
traded to the Indians at a profit of from all the 
way from five hundred to one thousand per cent. 
At a depot, or trading post, at the mouth of the 
Columbia river she was to discharge her cargo ; 
then trade coastwise with the Indians and at the 
Russian settlements until another cargo had been 
secured in part. The vessel was then to return 
to the mouth of the Columbia, there complete 
her lading, sail thence to China, receive a return 
cargo of Canton silks, nankeens and tea, and 
thence to New York. For this vast "rounding 
up" it was estimated that two years would be 
required. One of the most important parts of 
this scheme was supplying the Russian posts 
at New Archangel. The object of this was two- 
fold — first the profit accruing therefrom ; sec- 
ondly, to deflect competition from Mr. Astor's 
own territory, through the semi-partnership with 
the Russians in furnishing them with supplies. 
With the Russian government careful arrange- 
ments had been made to avoid a clash between 
the vessels of the two companies engaged in the 
coast trade. "It was," says Brewerton, "a 
colossal scheme and deserved to succeed ; had it 
done so it would have advanced American settle- 
ment and actual occupancy on the Northwest 
Coast by at least a quarter of a century, giving 
employment to thousands and transferred the 
enormous profits of the Hudson's Bay and North- 
west British fur companies from English to 
American coffers," — Mr. Astor's coffers. 

All this had been anticipated by Mr. Astor. 
The enmity and jealousy of the Northwest Com- 
pany were aroused upon the entrance on the field 
of a new competitor in the enterprise of swind- 
ling ignorant barbarians. Yet at this period the 
Northwest Company had no trading posts west of 
the Rocky mountains and south of fifty-two de- 
grees north. Astor, with his usual commercial 
perspicacity resolved to soften enmity by a dis- 
play of frankness. To the directors of the British 
company he wrote, enclosing the details of his 
plan, and offering them a one- third interest in the 
enterprise. But there was no response. His dis- 
play of ingeniousness had fallen on barren soil. 
It must be confessed that they met assumed can- 
dor with duplicity, — duplicity almost equal to 
that practiced by all the early fur-traders upon 
the Indians — a duplicity which to-day is some- 
times practiced upon Indians by Indian agents 
of the United States government. 

The Northwest Company sparred for wind. 
With Machiavellian diplomacy they replied that 
they "would take the matter under advisement." 
And immediately afterward they dispatched 



David Thompson, the astronomer and surveyor 
of their company, with instructions to "occupy 
the mouth of the Columbia ; to explore the river 
to its headwaters ; and above all to watch the 
progress of Mr. Astor's enterprise." And then 
they coolly declined the proposition. 

But Mr. Astor proceeded with his project 
energetically and, as he thought, skillfully. As 
partners in the enterprise he associated with him- 
self (and here was a fatal mistake) Donald 
Mackenzie, Alexander Mackay, who had accom- 
panied Alexander Mackenzie on his trips of dis- 
covery, hence possessing invaluable experience,, 
and Duncan MacDougal, all late of the North- 
west Company, and though men of great skill 
and wide experience, schooled in the ingrained 
prejudices of the association with which they 
had so long maintained connection, they saw 
only through British eyes. Mr. Astor's hour of 
betrayal was at hand. To the partners already 
enumerated were subsequently added Wilson P. 
Hunt and Robert Maclellan, Americans, David 
and Robert Stuart and Ramsey Crooks, Scotch- 
men, and John Clarke, a Canadian, and others. 

Thus it will be seen that the voting majority 
was largely with the Englishmen and Scotch- 
men. 

Wilson P. Hunt was given the post of chief 
agent on the Columbia, his term of office being 
five years, and when he was obliged to be tem- 
porarily absent a substitute was to be elected by 
the partners who happened to be present, to act 
in his place. In the most solemn manner each 
partner obligated himself to go where sent and 
to faithfully execute the objects of the company. 
But before subscribing to this bond two of the 
British communicated to the British minister, 
Mr. Jackson, temporarily in New York, full de- 
tails of Mr. Astor's plan and inquired of him con- 
cerning their status as British subjects trading 
under the American flag in the event of war. 
To them assurances were given that in case of 
war they would be protected as English sub- 
jects and merchants. Their scruples were dis- 
pelled ; they entered into the compact. 

The larger part of this expedition was to 
proceed via Cape Horn and the Sandwich 
(Hawaiian) islands to the mouth of the Colum- 
bia, there to await the arrival of the Hunt party, 
which was sent out by land. To convey them 
thence the ship Tonquin, a vessel of two hundred 
and ninety tons burden, was fitted out for sea. 
She was commanded by Captain Thorne, a lieu- 
tenant of the United States navy on leave, and 
had on board Indian trading goods, the frame 
timbers for a coasting schooner, supplies of all 
kinds and, in fact, everything essential to com- 
fort. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



21 



But a British war vessel, acting on the very 
lines which had been suggested by the astute 
Napoleon, when be had advanced reasons for 
conveying- tbe "Louisiana Purchase" to the United 
States, was then cruising off tbe coast for tbe 
purpose of intercepting the Tonquin and impress- 
ing the Canadian and British sailors who might 
be on board. This was a ruse of the North- 
west Company, to delay the expedition in order 
that their emissary, Thompson, should arrive first 
at the mouth of tbe Columbia. Of this fact Mr. 
Astor bad been apprised. With matchless sagacity 
he secured a convoy, the now famous and histori- 
cal United States frigate. Constitution, com- 
manded by the equally famous Captain Isaac 
Hull. Thus protected the Tonquin proceeded 
safely on her voyage. March 22, 181 1. after a 
passage, the details of which will be found in 
Washington Irving's "Astoria," Franchere's nar- 
rative, or in some of the numerous publications 
based upon the latter work, the Tonquin arrived 
at her destination. 

April 12th a portion of tbe crew crossed the 
river in a launch and established at Fort George 
a settlement to which was given the name of 
Astoria in honor of the projector of the enter- 
prise. They at once addressed themselves to the 
task of constructing the schooner, the materials 
for which bad been brought with them in the 
Tonquin. Mr. Mackav also made an expedition 
to determine the truth or falsitv of tbe rumor 
that a party of whites were establishing a post 
at the upper cascades of the river (Columbia), 
"but on reaching - the first rapids this expedition 
was abandoned, the Indian crew positively re- 
fusing- to proceed farther. 

The ill-fated Tonquin started north June 1st. 
Mr. Mackav accompanied it. To their unfortun- 
ate conclusion we must now trace her fortunes. 
The chief authority for tbe story is M. Franchere. 
a Frenchman, one of Mr. Astor's clerks. With 
his account Irving appears to have taken some 
poetic license. According to that graceful writer, 
with a total force of twenty-three, and an Indian 
of the Chehalis tribe called Lamazee, as inter- 
preter, the Tonquin entered the harbor of Newee- 
tee. Franchere calls the Indian Lamanse. and the 
harbor, he says, the Indians called Newitv. We 
shall, doubtless, be safe in following Hubert 
Bancroft, who surmises that the place was Nootka 
sound, which was an exceedingly bad place for 
traders. It was here, as has been noted in an- 
other chapter, that the ship Boston, and her en- 
tire crew had been destroyed. 

Let it be noticed, however, that these Indians, 
like all others on the coast, were at first disposed 
to be friendly ; only the indignities and violence 
offered by the traders transformed their naturally 



pacific disposition to one of sullen treachery. 
Against trusting the Indians Captain Thorne had 
been repeatedly and urgently warned by Mr. 
Astor and bis associates. One standing rule was 
to the effect that not more than four or five 
Indians should be allowed on deck at one time. 
And right here occurred an incident which 
showed the rapacious cupidity of the swin- 
dling fur traders had met its match. The eyes 
of the long cheated Indians had been opened. 
Retribution was at hand. The choleric Captain 
Thorne treated with equal contempt the sug- 
gestions that had been made to him by Astor and 
his associates and the savage hucksters. A large 
quantity of the finest kind of sea otter skins had 
been brought on deck. To all appearance a most 
lucrative and amicable trade was before Mr. 
Astor's men. But they were too greedy ; actuated 
by a too rank spirit of swindling commercialism. 
Twenty years of traffic with the whites and a long 
course of instruction from the diplomatic and suc- 
cessful chief, Maquinna, had rendered the Nootka 
Indians less pliable and less like easily captured 
gudgeons than Thorne had expected. His small 
stock of patience was soon exhausted. He was 
unable to secure something for, literally, nothing, 
as had been customary with white fur-traders. 
At one cunning and leering old chief, who ap- 
peared to be urging the others to hold out for 
fairer and more equitable prices, the avaricious 
captain began to scowl with particular rage. But 
the oily visage was scowl proof. The impatient 
sailor had the mortification to see that he was 
likely to be out-Jewed by one of those dirty and 
despised redskins. No longer could be control 
himself. In his most impressive and autocratic 
manner he bade the Indians leave. But the ob- 
noxious chieftian remained motionless. From the 
captain's mind vanished sense and judgment. 
Seizing him by the hair he propelled him rapidly 
toward the ship's ladder. Then, with a convenient 
bundle of furs, snatched up furiouslv, he empha- 
sized the Indian's exit. Nor is it likely that he 
spared a liberal application of boot-leatber to the 
most accessible portion of the savage trader's 
anatomy. Instantly, as though under a spell of 
enchantment, the remaining Indians glided from 
the ship. It was on this date that Indian 
peltries took a slight rise in tbe market — 
at least the Nootka market. In place of 
the babel of jabbering traffickers were only the 
hairbrained captain and his astonished, silent 
crew — the most of them destined to become 
martyrs to commercial cupidity. 

Wrathfully indignant was Mr. Mackav, the 
partner, on his return from a trip ashore, when 
he became apprised of the untimely cessation of 
trade. He assured Captain Thorne that he had 



22 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



not only spoiled their business, but had endan- 
gered all their lives. He therefore urged making 
sail from the place at once. The Chehalis Indian, 
Lamanze, also enforced Mr. Mackay's wish, as- 
serting that further intercourse with the Indians 
could only result in disaster. But to no advice 
would the stubborn captain listen. So long as 
he had a knife or a handspike they couldn't scare 
him into running before a lot of naked redskins. 
The night passed quietly. Early the following 
morning a number of Indians, demure and 
peacable as can be imagined, paddled alongside. 
Bundles of furs held aloft signified their desire 
to trade. In great triumph Captain Thorne 
pointed out to Mackay the successful issue of his 
discipline. "That is the way to treat them," he 
said ; "just show them that you are not afraid 
and they will behave themselves." Very respect- 
ful were the Indians ; they exchanged their furs 
for whatever was offered. 

And soon another large boat-load, well filled 
with the choicest peltries, asked permission to 
board the ship. To this request the now good- 
natured and complacent skipper gladly complied. 
Then came another canoe, a fourth and a fifth 
disgorged a perfect horde on board. But some 
of the more observant sailors noted with alarm 
that, contrary to custom, no women left the 
canoes ; and that certain of the fur bundles the 
savages would not sell at any price, while as to 
others they were perfectly indifferent. Soon after 
it was observed that, moving as if by accident, 
the Indians had somehow become massed at all 
the assailable points of the vessel. When this 
fact became unmistakable Captain Thorne was, 
for the first time, startled. But masking his 
sudden fear, and putting on a bold front, he gave 
the order to up anchor and man the topmast, 
preparatory to sailing. Then he sternly ordered 
the Indians to return to their canoes. With a 
scarce perceptible flush darkening their listless 
faces they picked up their remaining bundles and 
started for the ladder. As they went, their cat- 
like tread scarcely audible in the oppressive still- 
ness, their knotted fingers stole into their bundles. 
Out they came again, like a flash, and in them 
were long knives and cruel bludgeons. 

And then upon the awful silence broke the 
wild war-yell. The peaceful Tonquin's deck was 
a scene of slaughter grim and pitiless. Lewis the 
clerk, and Mackay were almost instantly dis- 
patched. Then a crowd, with fiendish triumph 
set upon the captain, bent on at once evening - up 
the old score. The brawny frame and iron will 
of the brave, though fool-hardy old salt, made him 
a dangerous object to attack. Not until half a 
dozen of his assailants had measured their bleed- 
ing lengths on the slippery deck did he succumb. 



With savage glee he was immediately hacked to 
pieces. Meanwhile four sailors, the only sur- 
vivors besides the interpreter, Lamanzee, by 
whom the story is told, having gained access to 
the hold of the vessel, began firing on the 
triumphant Indians. With such effect did they 
work that the whole throng left the ship in haste 
and sought the shore. Lamanzee, meanwhile, 
was spared, but held in captivity for two years. 
The following day the four surviving sailors at- 
tempted to put to sea in a small boat, but they 
were pursued and probably murdered by the 
Indians. And then, like a band of buzzards 
circling- around a carcass, the Indians' canoes be- 
gan to cluster around the deserted ship. In 
savage mirth had the night been spent, and now 
the prospect of rifling an entire ship gave them 
joys that knew no bounds. The hideous tumult 
of the day before was succeeded by an equally 
hideous calm. Cautiously at first, and then em- 
boldened by the utter lifelessness, in throngs the 
Indians clamored to the deck. Soon lost were- 
their instinctive fears of strategem in gloating 
over the disfigured forms of their vanquished 
foes, and in rifling the ship's storehouses. Ar- 
rayed in gaudy blankets, and adorned with multi- 
plied strands of beads, they strutted proudly over 
the deck. Five hundred men, women and chil- 
dren now swarmed the ship. 

Then an awful thing occurred. A rever- 
berating crash, and the luckless Tonquin, with all 
its load of living and dead, was flung in fragments 
around the sea. Her powder magazine had be- 
come a Samson among the Philistines, had made- 
common ruin of herself and her enemies in the 
very scene of their triumph. Dismembered 
bodies, fragments of legs and arms, and spattered 
brains, stained those peaceful waters far and 
wide. According to Lamanzee, as quoted by 
Franchere, two hundred Indians, men, women 
and children, were thus destroyed. It was claimed 
by the same authority that no one knew who blew 
up the ship, although he believed it most likely 
that the four sailors left a slow powder train on 
board when they abandoned her. Washington- 
Irving graphically describes Lewis as having 
been wounded, and, remaining on board after the 
four other survivors had departed for the pur- 
pose of enticing the savages on board and then 
firing the train so as to destroy himself and them 
in one awful, retributive castastrophe. Hubert 
Bancroft, however, finds no warrant for this in 
the narrative of Franchere, the only known au- 
thority, and he does not hesitate to accuse Irving 
of fabricating it. 

Whatever may have been the authentic details 
the general fact, and the horrible results, soon 
spread abroad through the widely scattered set- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



23 



tlements, trading posts and "factories." With 
bated breath it was whispered among the 
Chinooks around Astoria. It there reached the 
ears of the fur traders. Totally unhelieved at 
first, it developed into painful certainty. A 
month had passed. There was no Tonquin in 
sight in the offing. Surely, there must be some- 
thing in this ghastly story. Finally its floating 
fragments assumed an accepted form, yet this was 
not until the reappearance of Lamanzee, two 
years after the event. 

July 15, 181 1, David Thompson, with eight 
white men arrived in Astoria. In searching for 
a pass through the Rocky mountains his ex- 
pedition had been delayed. Desertions among 
his men also impeded his progress. Finally he 
was obliged to return to the nearest post and go 
into winter quarters. He hurried forward in the 
early spring. Among the Indians along the 
Columbia river the party distributed small flags 
(English colors), and built huts at the forks 
of the river and took formal possession of the 
country drained by the Columbia and its tribu- 
taries in the name of the King of Great Britain, 
and for the company which sent them out. But 
the main object of this expedition was not real- 
ized. They were unable to occupy the mouth of 
the Columbia ; here the perfidy of the Northwest 
Company failed of its reward. Hostile to the 
projects of Mr. Astor was the expedition, yet it 
was received in Astoria — by the "wicked part- 
ners" of the old Dutch fur-king — with open- 
handed cordiality. MacDougal provided Thomp- 
son with supplies for the return journey. But 
this was against the urgent remonstrance of David 
Stuart. Such generosity to one's commercial 
enemy is, to say the least, a trifle unusual. But 
the magnanimity displayed on this occasion has 
not, for some reason, evoked the plaudits of his- 
torians. Treachery is despicable in the eyes, even, 
of those wlio materially benefit from it. 

At the time of Mr. Thompson's arrival David 
Stuart was on the eve of starting for the Spokane 
country to establish a post. For a short period 
he delayed his departure that his and Mr. 
Thompson's parties might travel together. At 
the confluence of the Columbia and Okanogan 
rivers Mr. Stuart erected Fort Okanogan, the 
first interior post west of the Rocky mountains 
within the limits of the present state of Wash- 
ington. 

On January 8, 18 12, a part of the Hunt ex- 
pedition gained Astoria in a pitiable condition. 
We must here take a retrogressive step, chrono- 
logically, to pursue the fortunes of this ill-fated 
band of adventurers. While the Tonquin was 
making sail from New York harbor under the 
protecting guns of the Constitution, the second 



partner in the enterprise, Wilson Price Hunt, 
was organizing at St. Louis a land party. This 
was to cross the plains and co-operate with the 
division by sea. At St. Louis Hunt had, for 
some years, been actively engaged in merchan- 
dising. His principal trade was with trappers 
and Indians ; he had become perfectly familiar 
with the requirements of the business. And in 
addition to this primary requisite he possessed a 
character, native and acquired, worthy of more 
frequent mention in our earlier annals and of 
more frequent emulation by his associates and 
successors. Brave, humane, cheerful and reso- 
lute, he has risen from the mists of history and 
reminiscence as the highest type of the Jasons 
who vied with those of ancient story in their 
search for the fleeches (this time seal and beaver 
fleeces instead of golden ones) of the far west. 
To a powerful physique and iron nerve, Hunt 
added a refinement and culture rare indeed among 
the bold, free spirits of the frontier. 

Daniel Mackenzie, another partner in the 
Astor enterprise, was with Hunt. He was a man 
insensible to fear and inured by years of hardship 
to the vicissitudes of a trapper's life ; renowned 
even on the border, for his marvellous accuracy 
with the rifle — the archaic flint-lock of the days 
J of old. For Mackenzie and Hunt the first thing 
of moment was to secure men — bone, sinew and 
brains for a perilous adventure. All the tact 
and patience of Hunt was drawn upon. And here 
it becomes necessary to briefly describe the classes 
from which he was compelled to recruit his ranks. 

There were, at this period, two distinct ele- 
ments of trappers. The first, and by far the 
more numerous, were Canadians voyageurs ;. 
mainly of French descent — many of them half- 
breeds. These were the legacy of the old French 
domination over Canada. Cradley in the canoe 
or batteau, their earliest recollections were of the 
cold, blue lake or foaming river ; almost 
amphibious by nature and training, gay and 
amiable of disposition ; endowed with true French 
vivacity and ingenuity ; gilding each harsh and 
bitter experience with laughter and song; their 
quick sympathies and humane instincts easily 
finding the best side of the savages, not broad in 
designing, but patient, courageous and in- 
domitable in executing, these French voyageurs 
were the main dependence — the back-stay — of 
traffic in the wilderness. ' 

The second class were free trappers — Boosh- 
aways they were sometimes called. Most of these 
were Americans, a large majority being natives 
of Kentucky and Virginia. They were the direct 
antipodes of the volatile voyageurs. Often with 
gigantic frames built up on prairie dew and moun- 
tain breeze, with buffalo steak and wild birds' 



24 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



flesh wrought into their iron sinews ; with nerves 
of steel ; mighty in braggadocio, yet quick to 
make good the voicing of their most egotistical 
moods ; patient and indefatigable in their life- 
work of trapping ; but given to wild dissipations 
in their annual visits to towns, "settlements" or 
"factories;" "sudden and rash in quarrel;" care- 
less of each other's sympathies or companion- 
ship ; harsh and cruel to Indians when in power 
over them, but bold and recklessly defiant when 
weaker than thev ; seizing without compensation 
the prettiest Indian woman and the best horses 
as their rightful loot ; with blood in their eyes, 
thunder in their voices and rifles in their hands ; 
yet underneath all this many of them possessing 
hearts as big as those of a buffalo, could they be 
reached — this now vanished race of Booshaways 
has gone to a place in history beside the ancient 
Spartans who boasted that their city required no 
wall save the army. Gone are these trappers of 
a hundred years ago, and at the head of their 
enthusiastic biographers stands James Fenimore 
Cooper ! 

This old streak of brutality and tyranny, 
originally cast into the Anglo-Saxon nature and 
manifested in its superior form in the savage 
grandeur of the Norse Valhalla, and in the over- 
powering energy — and vitality — of the Vikings, 
and at every great emergency bursting with 
volcanic fury through the thin crust of modern 
artificial culture, has in no way shown itself more 
notably than in the whole management of the 
Indians by the American government. With a 
swift, implacable vengeance the free trapper exe- 
cuted the not less real policy of our successive 
administrations. Humanity, and even shrewd 
diplomacy have little place in the thoughts and 
actions of most of them. After having been 
swindled by traders the Indian was simply to 
be stamped upon like a rattlesnake. The Gallic 
gentleness that enabled the Canadian voyageurs 
to wander almost anywhere unharmed among the 
Indians found no counterpart in the sterner com- 
position of the great majority of trappers and fur- 
traders. 

And from these two classes Hunt was to make 
up his little army. It was a vexatious assignment. 
The grand opportunity of the trappers came with 
the bitter rivalrv of competing fur-companies. 
Exhorbitant wages were demanded. Mr. Hunt 
discovered that at nearly every station where he 
had essayed to employ men that the active agents 
of the Missouri Fur Company, chief of whom 
was a Spaniard named Manuel Lisa, were 
neutralizing his best efforts by representing and 
exaggerating dangers from hostile tribes and bar- 
ren wastes intervening between the Missouri 
plains and the Pacific. But the patient persever-; 



ance of Hunt was amply backed by the long purse 
of Astor. This combination overcame all ob- 
stacles. In April, 1811, the winter rendezvous 
at the mouth of the Nedowa (four hundred and 
eighty miles above St. Louis) was abandoned, and 
in four boats, one of large size and mounting a 
swivel and two howitzers, the party numbering 
sixty, set forth up the almost untraveled Mis- 
souri. With the company were five of Astor's 
partners ; Hunt, Crooks, Mackenzie, Miller and 
Maclellan. There were, also, two English 
naturalists, Bradbury and Nuttall, and a clerk 
named Reed. Forty of the party were Canadian 
voyageurs, and on them devolved the duties of 
rowing, transporting, carrying, cooking and other 
general drudgery. Next in order of ascending 
succession came the American trappers and hunt- 
ers. It was theirs to hunt and fight, plan and 
explore, and when the proper place was gained 
to cast themselves upon the mercy of savages and 
wild beasts ; endure hunger and tbirst and, despite 
every difficulty, establish trading posts. That 
was the great commercial end in view. The party 
thus bountifully supplied designed following, so 
nearlv as possible, the route blazed bv Lewis and 
Clark. 

On the passage up the Big Muddy (Missouri) 
scenes thrilling and exciting were encountered. 
Especially was this the case on their way through 
the country of the Sioux Tetons. But they en- 
countered no serious impediments; June nth 
they reached a large village of the Arickaras, 
fourteen hundred and thirty miles above the 
mouth of the Missouri. At this point it had 
been determined to abandon the canoes and, se- 
curing horses, strike across the country south of 
Lewis and Clark's route, thus avoiding the 
ferocious Blackfeet, who. alike the terror of the 
other Indians, and of the whites, dominated all 
the region of the upper Missouri. So with eighty- 
two horses heavily loaded — the partners only, to- 
gether with the family of Pierre Dorion being 
mounted — on the 8th of July the}- set out hope- 
fully, despite the many gloomv prognostications 
from trappers remaining at the Arickara village, 
on their march across the Great American Desert 
and through the volcanic defiles of the great 
divide. 

Day succeeded day ; each morning's sun blazed 
its way from horizon to horizon above a scorch- 
ing landscape. They did not seem, in fact, though 
taking a more direct route, to make so good time 
ps had Lewis and Clark. Guided bv the Crow 
Indians they penetrated each successive range 
to the final ridge, supposing each to be the last, 
only to wearily find, when it was surmounted that 
one yet higher succeeded. At last, on the 15th 
of September — the summer already gone — they 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



25 



ascended a lofty peak whence the boundless wil- 
derness over which they had come as well as that 
which yet remained for them to traverse lay like 
a huge map in contour at their feet. To the west- 
ward their guide pointed out three shining peaks 
against the western sky, whose bases he assured 
the toil-worn party were washed by a tributary 
of the Columbia river. One hundred miles lay 
between this glittering goal and the travelers. 

The verdant banks of Spanish river, a tribu- 
tary of the Colorado, were passed, and then they 
laid in a large stock of buffalo meat ; gave their 
jaded horses five days' rest and grateful grazing 
on the abundant grass, and on the 24th of Sep- 
tember, crossing a narrow ridge, found them- 
selves on the banks of a turbulent stream, recog- 
nized by their guide as one of the sources of 
the Snake river. From the name of their 
guide this stream was christened Hoback's 
river. The party descended the rugged 
promontories which flanked this stream, often in 
imminent danger of fatal falls, to its junction 
with a much larger one, which so much exceeded 
the first in fury of current that it received the 
name of Mad river. And now an important ques- 
tion arose ; should they abandon the horses and 
build canoes with which to descend the stream ? 
Although containing abundance of water for 
large boats, so impetuous was it that it rendered 
navigation a dangerous business. The amphibious 
Canadians insisted on making the attempt. Weary 
of the toilsome and rocky footpaths of the moun- 
tains ; having implicit confidence in their skill 
in handling river craft, they longed to betake 
themselves once more to their favorite element 
and, paddle in hand, their gay French songs 
attuned and timed to the music of the paddles, 
they were ready to shoot another Niagara should 
it come in their way. To construct canoes the 
partners finally gave consent. The adjacent tim- 
ber yielded its best woods for the projected boats. 
Meanwhile a party of three, of which the re- 
doubtable John Day was one, voyaged down Mad 
river on a two days' journey of exploration. They 
returned with the dismal information that neither 
with boats nor with horses along the banks could 
the party possibly proceed. 

Here was a calamitous set-back. The advice 
of Hoback to go to a trapping post which had 
been established the year before by Mr. Henry, 
of the Missouri Fur Company, was accepted. 
This post, Hoback said, was on the upper waters 
of the Snake and he was of the opinion that it 
was not very far distant. The Snake Indians 
who had come to their camp professed to know 
the location of Henry's post ; they agreed to guide 
the party thither. October 4th they resumed 
their horseback march. Through four days of 



cold and blustering snow they journeyed only to 
gain a cluster of deserted log huts. This had 
been Henry's trading station, now utterly aban- 
doned. Beside the huts flowed a beautiful river 
one hundred yards wide. To all appearances it 
was a fine, navigable stream. Two weeks of in- 
dustry provided fifteen canoes ; in these, hastily 
embarking, they pushed out into the stream. Two 
Snake Indians assumed the care of the abandoned 
horses. Nine men, also, including Mr. Miller, 
one of the partners, had been detached from the 
party at points between Mad and Henry rivers, 
as the new streams were called. These men were 
to divide into squads and trap on the neighbor- 
ing streams. And thus, well provided with 
clothes, traps, horses and ammunition, they cheer- 
fully set forth into the unknown and wintry re- 
cesses of the mountains, expecting to issue thence 
in the spring with a great stock of valuable pel- 
tries. With these they could make their best way 
to Astoria. 

Rapidly on toward the sunset swept the 
canoes, the swift current aiding the skillful voy- 
ageurs. whose spirits rose to unwonted height 
so soon as thev found themselves afloat. And 
soon they came to the mouth of a stream which 
they took for their old friend Mad river. They 
now considered themselves fairly embarked on 
the main body of the Snake ; already in imagina- 
tion thev began to toss on the vast current of the 
Columbia, and even to smell the salt breeze of 
the smiling Pacific. For nine days they swept 
gaily on, with comparatively slight interruptions, 
making over three hundred miles from the place 
where they had first embarked. Then they en- 
countered a most lamentable disaster. In the 
center canoe of the squadron were Mr. Crooks 
as bowman and Antoine Clappine as steersman. 
The first canoe passed a dangerous rapid ; the 
second essayed to follow. The latter, with a 
sudden lurch, missed her course and the next 
instant split upon a rock. Crooks and three of 
his companions succeeded, after a hard struggle, 
in gaining land, but Clappine, one of the most 
popular and useful men in the company, was lost 
amid the boiling surges. They had now arrived 
at an unboatable chain of rapids and frightful 
bluffs, among which neither boats nor horses, 
nothing, in short, but wings, could be of any 
use. At the beginning of this tumultuous strait 
was one of those volcanic cracks peculiar to the 
rivers of this coast, in which the wbole volume of 
the Snake is squeezed into a space thirty feet 
wide. This miniature maelstrom received from 
the disheartened boatmen the name "Cauldron 
Linn." 

The entire squadron came to a halt. Here 
a portage was absolutely required. From the 



26 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



craggy, volcanic appearance about and below 
them, they had great fear that the obstructions 
extended a long distance. After a forty-mile 
tramp down the river Mr. Hunt discovered no 
prospect of successful navigation. Returning to 
the main body, therefore, and discovering that 
they had but five days' food and no prospect of 
getting more, he determined to divide the com- 
pany into four parts, hoping that some of them 
might find abundant game and a way out of the 
lifeless, volcanic waste in which they were. One 
party, under Maclellan was to descend the river ; 
another under Crooks was to ascend it, hop- 
ing to find game or Indian guides on the way 
but, if not, to keep on to the place where they 
had left their horses. Still another detachment 
under Mackenzie struck northward across the 
plains, having in view to reach the main Columbia. 

Left in charge of the main body Mr. Hunt 
proceeded at once to cache a large portion of their 
goods. Nine caches having been made to hold 
the large deposit, they took careful notice of the 
land-marks of the neighborhood for future re- 
turn, and then got themselves in readiness to move 
just as soon as the word should come from any 
of the scouting parties. Within three days 
Crooks and his party returned. Despairing of 
success on their doleful, retrogade march, they 
had determined to share with their companions 
whatever might await them on their onward trip. 
Five days later, the party meanwhile beginning 
to see ghastly famine staring them in the face, 
two of Maclellan's squad returned, bidding them 
abandon all thought of descending the river. For 
many miles it ran through volcanic sluice-ways, 
roaring and raging, at many places almost lost 
from sight underneath impending crags, generally 
inaccessible from its desert banks, so that, though 
within sound of its angry ravings, they had often 
laid down to their insufficient rest with parched 
and swollen tongues. 

"Devil's Scuttle Hole" the half-famished 
travelers named this long volcanic chute that 
barred their progress. What now remained? 
Evidently nothing but to hasten with all speed, 
their lives being at stake, to some more habitable 
locality. Again the party was divided. Lmder 
Hunt one division passed down the north side 
of the river ; the other under Crooks, took the 
opposite side. This course was pursued in order 
to increase the chances of finding food or meet- 
ing Indians. This dismal march was commenced 
November 9th, 181 1. Until December they wan- 
dered on their course, cold, hungry, often on the 
verge of starvation. A few dogs were procured 
at an occasional Indian camp ; once they got a 
few horses. Loaded down with baggage these 
animals, with scanty feed, soon became too weak 



for service ; their attenuated carcasses, one by 
one, were devoured to appease the cruel hunger 
of these unfortunate people. 

Around them all was desolation. No informa- 
tion could be secured from the few frightened, 
half-starved Snake Indians whom they encoun- 
tered. However, the Indians claimed that the 
"Great River" was yet a long distance away. It 
was estimated by Hunt that they had now put 
about four hundred and seventy miles between 
them and Cauldron Linn. Evidently they were 
approaching something definite, for gigantic, 
snowy mountains, lifeless and almost treeless, 
seemed to bar their future way. But with the 
energy of despair they persisted ; clamored pain- 
fully up precipitous, snow-crowned heights, until 
they gained elevation sufficient to command an 
extensive range of view. 

With a wild waste of mountains in front, bitter 
winds whirling snow and sleet-pellets into their 
faces, they began to despair of forcing their way. 
The short winter's day shut in their despair, but 
they were compelled to camp in the snow. Tim- 
ber was found in quantity sufficient to prevent 
freezing, but during the night another snow 
storm burst furiously upon them ; sluggish day- 
light stealing through the snow-clogged atmos- 
phere, found them in a perfect cloud. Far below 
them raved and plunged the river ; yet that was 
their only guide to further progress. And to this 
repellant stream, down the wind-swept mountain 
side, they picked their painful way. And here 
the temperature was milder. They devoured one 
of their skinny horses ; they crept a few miles 
along the rocky brink of the brawling flood ; they 
made a cheerless camp. On the following morn- 
ing (December 6th) they saw on the opposite 
bank a party of white men more forlorn and 
desolate than themselves. They proved to be 
Crooks and party. Hunt shouted across the rag- 
ing stream ; the other party discovered him and 
screamed for food. From the skin of the horse 
killed the night before Mr. Hunt constructed a 
canoe. In this crazy craft one of the daring 
Canadians successfully crossed the fearsome river, 
carrying with him a part of the horse and bring- 
ing - back with him Crooks and Le Clerc. 

The wasted forms and desponding looks of 
these two men were appalling. They gave a dis- 
heartening account of the insurmountable obsta- 
cles to a continuance down the river. To the last 
Indian camp they had passed Mr. Hunt deter- 
mined to retrace his steps. Here he would make 
an effort to obtain guides and horses. On the fol- 
lowing morning they took the back track. So 
weak were Crooks and Le Clerc that they greatly 
retarded the rest of the party. It was a moment 
of extremity ; self-preservation is strong in humam 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



27 



nature ; some of the party besought Hunt to leave 
these two men to their fate. Hunt sternly refused 
to abandon his weakened partner. Gradually the 
men pushed ahead ; at nightfall only five remained 
to bear him melancholy company. Of provisions 
they had none ; nothing but four beaver skins. 
The morning following a bitter cold night found 
one of the men badly frostbitten. Hunt, finding 
Crooks entirely unable to travel, decided that his 
duty to the main column demanded his presence 
among them. He made the exhausted men as 
comfortable as possible, and leaving two of the 
men and all but one of the beaver skins with them, 
Hunt and the remaining three men hastened on. 
Another day and a night of famine and freezing 
brought them up to their companions. Vacant 
looks and tottering steps attested the ravages of 
hunger. For three days some of them had not 
tasted food. Toward evening of that distressing 
day they gazed with surprise and profound grati- 
tude upon a lodge of Shoshones with a number of 
horses picketed around it. 

Necessity knows no law. They descended on 
the camp, and seizing five horses, at once dis- 
patched one of them. After a ravenous meal had 
satisfied their immediate necessities, they be- 
sought themselves of their deserted companions. 
A man was at once dispatched on horseback to 
convey food to them and to aid them in coming 
up. In the morning Crooks and the re- 
maining three men made their appearance. 
Food must now be made accessible to the 
men on the opposite bank, but a superstitious 
terror seemed to have seized their companions as 
they gazed across the sullen river at them. 
Ghastly and haggard the poor wretches beckon- 
ing across with bony fingers, looked more like 
spectres than men. Unable to get any of the 
Canadians, overwhelmed as they were with 
ghostly fancies, to cross, one of the Kentucky 
hunters at last ventured the dangerous undertak- 
ing. Exerting all his strength he at last suc- 
ceeded in landing a large piece of horse meat, and, 
encouraged by this, one of the Canadians also 
ventured over. 

One of the starving crew, frantic by his long 
deprivations, insisted on returning - in the canoe. 
Before they had reached shore the pleasant savor 
of the boiling meat so inspired him that he leaped 
to his feet and began to sing and dance. In the 
midst of this untimely festivity the canoe was 
overturned ; the poor fellow was swept away in 
the icy current and lost. 

John Day, considered when the expedition 
started the strongest man in the company, also 
crossed the river. His cavernous eyes and meagre 
frame showed well how intense had been the 
suffering of the detachment on the west bank of 



the river. Often the wild cherries, dried on the 
trees, together with their moccasins, were their 
only food. 

The mountains which thus turned back this 
adventurous band were no doubt that desolate 
range bordering the Wallowa country near the 
mouth of the Salmon river. The detachments 
under Mackenzie and Maclellan, having reached 
these mountains before the heavy snows, and 
finding each other there, had stuck to that route 
until they had conquered it. After twenty-one 
days of extreme suffering and peril they had 
reached the Snake at a point apparently not far 
from the site of Lewiston, and building canoes 
there, descended the river with no great trouble, 
reaching Astoria about the middle of January. 

Hunt and his men, saved from starvation by 
the discovery of the horses, hastened on to find 
Indian guides. But first Hunt, with his usual 
generosity, left at the lodge (for the occupants 
had fled at their coming) an amount of trinkets 
sufficient to pay for the horses they had taken. 
A few days later they reached a small village of 
Snake Indians. This, the largest village they had 
seen on this side of the mountains, they had ob- 
served on their down trip, but had not been able 
to secure any assistance from the inhabitants. 
Now, however, they demanded a guide. The 
Indians demurred ; they represented that the dis- 
tance to the river was so great that it would re- 
quire from seventeen to twenty-one days of hard 
travel ; the snow was waist deep and they would 
freeze. Quite hospitably the}' urged the party to 
stav with them, at the same time admitting that 
on the west side of the mountains was a large and 
wealthy tribe called the Sciatogas, from whom 
they might get food and horses. Hunt deter- 
mined to push on if he could find a single Indian 
to accompany him. By a most bountiful offer 
Hunt gained his point. The party were informed 
that they must cross to the west bank of the 
river and enter the mountains to the west. Many 
of the company wanted to cast their lot with the 
band of Snakes, but with infinite tact and 
patience Hunt sustained their drooping spirits. 
But four of the Canadians, together with Crooks 
and John Day, were unable to go at all. At last 
in spite of doubt and weakness everything was got 
together (though they were compelled to desert 
their six sick companions), and in the bitter cold 
of the early evening (December 23), they crossed 
the river and at once struck for the mountains. 
They could make only about fourteen miles a 
day. Through the snow floundered their five 
jaded horses ; their only food was one meal of" 
horseflesh a day. On the 26th the mountains 
gave way to a beautiful valley, across which they 
journeyed twenty miles. This must have been 



28 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Powder river valley. Leaving this attractive 
•vale and turning again into the mountains a 
short but toilsome march brought them to a lofty 
height whence they looked down into a fair and 
•snowless prairie, basking in the sunlight and ap- 
pearing to the winter-worn travelers like a dream 
of summer. Soon they discerned six lodges of 
Shoshones well supplied with horses and dogs. 
With some flesh of the latter animals their hun- 
gry mouths were soon filled. It is apparent that 
this was Grande Ronde valley. The following 
morning the new year (1812) dawned upon them 
bright and cheerful ; the Canadians must now 
have a holiday ; not even famine or death could 
deprive them of their festivals. And so with 
dance and song and roasted dog meat, dog meat 
boiled, fried and fricasseed, they met the friendly 
overtures of the newly appointed potentate of 
time. Rested and refreshed they now addressed 
themselves to what the guides assured them was 
to be but a three-days' journey to the plains of the 
great river. Six days, however, passed ere the 
cloudy canopy which enswathed the snowy 
•waste, hiding from sight both earth and sky, 
parted before a genial breath from some warmer 
clime. And wide below their snowy eyrie lay 
-stretched the limitless and sunny plains of the 
Columbia. No more gladly did Cortez and his 
steel-clad veterans look from their post of observa- 
tion upon the glittering halls of the Montezumas. 
Swiftly they descended the slopes of the moun- 
tains and emerged upon that diamond of the 
Pacific coast, the Umatilla plains. 

Here were camped a tribe of the Sciatogas 
(Cayuses) or Tushepaws (Umatillas), compris- 
ing thirty-four lodges with two hundred horses. 
Well clad, active and hospitable, these Indians 
thawed out the well nigh frozen energies of the 
strangers. Rejoiced above all was Mr. Hunt to 
see the lodges, axes, kettles, etc., indicating that 
these Indians were in communication with the 
whites below. Answering eager questions the 
Indians replied that the "Great River" was two 
days distant, and that a party of white men had 
recently descended it. Concluding that these were 
Mackenzie and party Hunt was greatly relieved 
of one anxiety. After a thorough rest the way- 
farers set forth across the broad plains and after 
a pleasant trip of two days duration on the 
horses obtained of the Tushepaws, they beheld 
before them a mighty stream, a mile wide, deep, 
blue, majestic, sweeping through the treeless 
plain — the Columbia. The toilsome, hazardous 
portion of their journey was at an end. But 
they had no timber for the manufacture of boats ; 
the Indians were unwilling to sell them canoes. 
"Thus they were compelled to wait until reaching 
The Dalles before they launched upon the bosom 



of the stream. In the vicinity of the present 
Rockland ((they had come from Umatilla on the 
south bank of the river) they had a "hyas wa wa" 
with the redoubtable Wishram Indians. Sharp- 
ened by their location at the confluence of all 
the ways down stream, these Indians had clearly 
grasped the fundamental doctrine of civilized 
trade, to wit : Get the greatest possible return 
with the least possible outlay. To this end they 
levied a heavy toll on all unwary travelers. These 
levies were usually collected while the eyes of the 
taxed were otherwise engaged. In short, these 
Wishram Indians were professional thieves. 

At first they endeavored to frighten Mr. Hunt 
into a liberal "potlatch." Then they represented 
the great service they had rendered the party in 
protecting them from the rapacity of other 
Indians ; but finding no ready recognition of their 
claims save an occasional whiff at the pipe of 
peace, they gave up in disgust and contented 
themselves with picking up what little articles 
might be lying around loose. After no little hag- 
gling several finely made canoes were procured of 
these people and in these the last stage of the 
journey was begun. Nothing extraordinary 
marked the two-hundred-mile boat ride down the 
Columbia. 

February 15th they rounded the bluffs at 
Tongue Point. And from here, with swelling 
hearts and moistened eyes they beheld the Stars 
and Stripes softly moving in undulating folds 
over the first civilized abode this side of St. Louis. 
Right beyond the parted headlands they recog- 
nized the gateway to the sun-kissed Pacific. 
Drawing near the shore they were greeted by the 
entire population of Astoria. First in the wel- 
coming crowd came the party that had been led 
by Mackenzie and Maclellan. Until now these 
latter had entertained no hope that the Hunt 
division could escape the rigors of winter and 
death from famine. Truly affecting was their 
mutual joy; the Canadians, with French abandon, 
rushed into each other's arms, crying and hugging 
like long separated school girls. Even the hard- 
visaged Scotchmen and nonchalent Americans 
yielded to the unstinted gladness of the occasion. 
And the following day was devoted to feasting 
and story telling. Possibly, like the banqueting 
mariners exploited in the x\eneid, thev discussed 
with prolonged speech the Amissos socios. As 
the reader will recall, these were Crooks and 
John Dav, with four Canadians, who had been 
left too ill to travel on the banks of the Snake. 
Of ever seeing them again but little hope was 
entertained. But their story is a natural sequel 
to what has gone before ; it shall here be given : 

The succeeding summer (1812) a party under 
Stuart and Maclellan, on their wav from Okano- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



29 



gan to Astoria, saw wandering on the river bank 
near Umatilla, two naked beings, haggard and 
emaciated. Checking their canoes to investigate 
they discovered with glad surprise that these 
dejected objects were Day and Crooks. With 
abundant food and clothes their forlorn plight 
was quickly relieved ; and while the canoes were 
fixing down stream the two recent castaways re- 
lated their pitiful tale. Left destitute of food 
and clothing they had sustained life by an occa- 
sional piece o* heaver or horse meat given them 
by the Indians who, apparently struck with super- 
stitious fear, refrained from molesting them. 
With rare heroism and self-abnegation Crooks 
had remained by the side of John Day until he 
was sufficiently recuperated to travel. Then, 
abandoned by three of the Canadians, they had 
plodded on amid Blue mountain snows, subsist- 
ing on roots and skins. March 1. 1812, having 
left the other Canadian exhausted at a Shoshone 
lodge Crooks and Dav pressed on through a last 
mountain ridge and found themselves in the fair 
and fertile plains of the Walla Wallas. 

They were received with that kindness which 
has ever marked the intercourse of these Indians 
with the whites. Having been fed and clothed 
they continued down the Columbia river with 
light hearts only to find at The Dalles that there 
are Indians and Indians — vast differences between 
the different tribes as well as between whites. 
The Eneeshurs, or W r ishrams, as Washington 
Irving calls them, first disarming suspicion by a 
friendly exterior, perfidiously robbed them of the 
faithful rifles which thus far they had never lost 
sight of, and stripping them sent them forth into 
the wilderness. More wretched than ever they 
now turned toward friendly Walla Walla. And 
just as they were striking inland they provi- 
dentially saw the rescuing part}'. And so, with in- 
creased gratitude, they all paddled away for As- 
toria. But John Day never recovered from the 
exposure and privations, through which he had 
passed during the winter of 1811-12. In insane 
frenzy, he once attempted suicide ; prevented from 
this he soon pined away and died. The barren 
and bluffy shores of John Day river possess added 
interest as we recall the melancholy story of the 
brave hunter who first explored them. 

May 5, 1812, the Beaver, another of Astor's 
vessels, made the port of Astoria. Among those 
on board was Ross Cox, author of "Adventures 
on the Columbia River," a work of considerable 
historical value. About this period, also, Robert 
Stuart, wdiile bearing dispatches by land to Mr. 
Astor, discovered the South Pass through the 
Rocky mountains ; in later years this became the 
notable gateway to the Pacific for immigrant 
trains. 



But now, above the little colony on the shores 
of the Pacific clouds began to darken. August 
4th, with Mr. Hunt on board, the Beaver sailed 
northward for Sitka. Here he entered into an 
agreement with the Russian governor, Baranoff, 
the essential points of which were that the Rus- 
sian and American companies should forbear in- 
terference with each other's territory and to 
operate as allies in expelling trespassers on the 
rights of either. The captain of the Beaver had 
been instructed to return to Astoria before sail- 
ing for Canton ; but instead of doing so the vessel 
sailed direct ; Mr. Hunt was carried to Oahu, 
there to await a vessel expected from New York, 
on which he should obtain passage to Astoria. 
But he did not arrive in time to avert the impend- 
ing calamity which befel the Pacific Fur Com- 
pany. War was declared between Great Britain 
and the United States. It was learned by Astor 
that the Northwest Company was preparing a 
ship mounting twenty guns, the Isaac Todd, with 
which to assault and capture Astoria. To the 
United States he appealed for aid. but his efforts 
were unavailing. Impending disaster was thick- 
ening around the American settlement. Macken- 
zie was unsuccessful at his post on the Shahaptan 
river, and had determined to press for a new 
post. He visited Clarke, and while the two were 
together John George MacTavish, of the North- 
western Company, paid them a visit and vaunt- 
ingly informed them of the sailing of the Isaac 
Todd and of her mission, the capture or destruc- 
tion of Astoria. At once Mackenzie returned to 
his post on the Shahaptan, broke camp, cached his 
provisions and set out in haste for Astoria, at 
which point he arrived January 16, 1813. In the 
absence of Hunt, MacDougal was agent-in-chief 
at Astoria. It was resolved by him and Mackenzie ■ 
that they should abandon Astoria in the spring 
and recross the mountains. Mackenzie at once 
set off to recover his cached provisions and to 
trade them for horses for the journey. He also 
carried dispatches to Messrs. Clarke and David 
Stuart advising them of the intention to abandon 
Astoria and directing them to make preparations 
accordingly. Mackenzie met a party of the 
North w r est Company, with MacTavish as one of 
their leaders, and the parties camped, as Irving 
says, "mingled together as united by a common 
interest instead of belonging to rival companies 
trading under hostile flags." 

Mackenzie reached his destination ; there he 
discovered that his cache had been despoiled by 
Indians. He, Clarke and Stuart met at Walla 
Walla according to arrangement and together de- 
scended the Columbia, reaching Astoria June 12th. 

Stuart and Clarke refused to break up their 
posts, provide horses or make any other prepara- 



.30 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



tions for leaving the country. Furthermore, 
Mackenzie's disappointment in finding his cache 
broken into and its contents stolen made it neces- 
sary that the departure should be delayed beyond 
July ist, the date set by MacDougal for dissolu- 
tion of the company. Treason was to be allowed 
time and opportunity to do its worst. MacTavish 
who was camped at the fort, began negotiations 
for the purchase of trading goods and it was pro- 
posed by MacDougal to trade him the post on the 
Spokane for horses to be delivered the next spring, 
which proposition was eventually accepted. An 
agreement for the dissolution of the company to 
take effect the next June was signed by the four 
partners, Clarke and Stuart yielding to the pres- 
sure much against their wills. Hunt, who arrived 
August 20th, also reluctantly yielded, the dis- 
couraging circumstances having been pictured 
darkly to him by MacDougal, the latter pretend- 
ing to be animated by a desire to protect Mr. 
Astor's interests before the place should fall into 
the bands of the British whose war vessels were 
on their way to effect its capture. Hunt then sailed 
to secure a vessel to convey the property to the 
Russian settlements for safe keeping while the 
war lasted, first arranging that MacDougal should 
be placed in full charge of the establishment after 
January ist should he fail to return. 

While en route to advise Messrs. Clarke and 
Stuart of the new arrangement, Mr. Mackenzie 
and party met MacTavish and J. Stuart with a 
companv of men descending the river to meet 
the Phoebe and the Isaac Todd. Clarke had been 
advised of the situation, and was accompanying 
them to Astoria. Mackenzie decided to return also 
to the fort, and with Clarke attempted to slip 
away in the night and so reach Astoria before 
the members of the Northwest Company ar- 
rived : he was discovered and followed by two 
of MacTavish's canoes. Both MacTavish and 
Mackenzie reached their objective point October 
7th, and the party of the former camped at the 
fort. Next day MacDougal, by way of prepara- 
tion for his final coupe, read a letter announcing 
the sailing of the Phoebe and the Isaac Todd with 
orders "to take and destroy everything American 
on the Northwest Coast." 

"This dramatic scene," says Evans, "was fol- 
lowed by a proposition of MacTavish to purchase 
the interests, stocks, establishments, etc., of the 
Pacific Fur Company. MacDougal then assumed 
sole control and agency because of the non-arrival 
of Hunt, and after repeated conferences with 
MacTavish, in which the presence of the other 
partners was ignored, the sale was concluded at 
certain rates. A few days later J. Stuart arrived 
with the remainder of the Northwest party. He 
objected to MacTavish's prices and lowered the 



rates materially. Mr. Stuart's offer was accepted 
by MacDougal and the agreement of transfer 
was signed October 16th. By it Duncan Mac- 
Dougal, for and on behalf of himself, Donald 
Mackenzie, David Stuart and John Clarke, part- 
ners of the Pacific Fur Company, dissolved July 
ist, pretended to sell to his British confreres and 
co-conspirators of the Northwest Company 'the 
whole of the establishments, furs and present stock 
on hand, on the Columbia and Thompson's 
rivers.' ' Speaking of this transaction in a letter 
to John Ouincy Adams, Secretary of State, Mr. 
Astor said : 

"MacDougal transferred all of my property 
to the Northwest Company, who were in pos- 
session of it by sale, as he called it, for the sum 
of fifty-eight thousand dollars, of which he re- 
tained fourteen thousand dollars as wages said 
to be due to some of the men. From the price 
obtained for the goods, etc., and he having himself 
become interested in the purchase and made a 
partner in the Northwest Company, some idea 
may be formed of this man's correctness of deal- 
ing. He sold to the Northwest Company eighteen 
thousand one hundred and seventy pounds of 
beaver at two dollars, which was at that time sell- 
ing in Canton at five and six dollars per skin. 
I estimate the whole property to be worth nearer 
two hundred thousand dollars than forty thou- 
sand dollars, about the sum I received in bills on 
Montreal." 

Of course this was a scandalous deal on the 
part of MacDougal, whose historical record shows 
him to have been a man bearing the hall mark 
of a consummate rascal. And yet had Mr. Astor 
gone a trifle farther with his figures he would 
have plumped against the fact that, even at Mac- 
Dougal's ruinous discount on the furs, he was 
receiving a far greater proportion of their intrinsic 
value than he had allowed the ignorant, unlettered 
savages. In his complaint to Secretary of State 
Adams Mr. Astor did not come into court with 
clean hands. 

Subsequent to the transfer of Mr. Astor's 
property by MacDougal the latter's conduct ap- 
pears to have been "in studied and consistent 
obedience to the interests of the Northwest Com- 
pany." On Mr. Hunt's return, February 28, 
1814, in the brig Pedler, which he had purchased 
to convey Mr. Astor's property to a place of 
safety, he found his old partner whom he had 
left in charge of the fort still presiding over it. 
but now a dignitary in the camp of the enemy. 
No other course was open for him but to digest 
the venom of his chagrin with the best possible 
grace ; take his diminutive drafts on Montreal 
and sail away in the Pedler for Manhattan Island. 
MacDougal had been given a full partnership in 






HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



31 



the Northwest Company. What was the con- 
sideration ? 

With the arrival of the British vessels Astoria 
became a British possession. On December 12th 
took place the formal change of sovereignty and 
the raising of the Union Jack. To obliterate all 
trace of Mr. Astor's operations the name of As- 
toria was changed to Fort George. The follow- 
ing spring the Isaac Todd arrived with a cargo 
of trading goods and supplies. These enabled 
the Northwest Company to enter vigorously in 
the prosecution of business in the territory of 
their former rival in the "pelt industry." 

"Thus disgracefully failed," says Evans, "a 
magnificent enterprise which merited success for 
sagacity displayed in its conception, its details, 
its objects; for the liberality and munificence of 
its projector in furnishing means for its thorough 
execution ; for the results it had aimed to produce. 
It was inaugurated purely for commercial pur- 
poses. Had it not been transferred to its enemies, 
it would have pioneered the colonization of the 
Northwest Coast by citizens of the United States ; 
it would have furnished the natural and peaceful 
solution of the question of the right to the terri- 
tory drained by the Columbia and its tributaries. 

"The scheme was grand in its aim, magnifi- 
cent in its breadth of purpose and area of opera- 
tion. Its results were naturally feasible, not 
over-anticipated. They were but the logical and 
necessary sequence of the pursuit of the plan. 
Mr. Astor made no miscalculation, no omission ; 



neither did he permit a sanguine >hope to lead 
him into any wild or imaginary ventures. He 
was practical, generous, broad. He executed what 
Sir Alexander Mackenzie urged should be 
adopted as the policy of British capital and enter- 
prise. That one American citizen should have 
individually undertaken what two mammoth 
British companies had not the courage to try 
was but an additional cause which had intensified 
national prejudice into embittered jealousy on the 
part of his British rivals, the Northwest Com- 
pany." 

I !y the first article of the Treaty of Ghent en- 
tered into between Great Britain and the United 
States, December 14, 1814, it was agreed that 
"all territory, places and possessions whatsoever 
taken by either party from the other, during or 
after the war, should be restored." Thus As- 
toria again became the possession of the United 
States, and in September, 1817, the government 
sent the sloop-of-war, Ontario, "to assert the 
claim of the United States to the sovereignty of 
the adjacent country, and especially to reoccupy 
Astoria or Fort George." The formal surrender 
of the fort is dated October 6, 18 18. 

The United States government had been 
urged by Mr. Astor to repossess Astoria, and he 
intended fully to resume operations in the basin 
of the Columbia, but the Pacific Fur Company 
was never reorganized, and never again did 
the great "pelt trader" engage in business on the 
shores of the Pacific. 



CHAPTER IV 



THE OREGON CONTROVERSY. 



The struggle of five nations for possession of 
"Oregon," a domain embracing indefinite terri- 
tory, but including the present states of Oregon, 
Washington and Idaho, and a portion of British 
Columbia, ran through a century and a half, 
culminating in the "Oregon Controversy" between 
England and the United States. Through forty 
years of diplomatic sparring, advances, retreats, 
demands, concessions and unperfected com- 
promises the contest was waged between the two 
remaining champions of the cause, the United 
States and Great Britain. British parliamentary 
leaders came and went ; federal administrations 
. followed each other successively, and each in turn 



directed the talents of its able secretaries of state 
to that vital point in American politics, Oregon. 

The question became all important and far 
reaching. It involved at different periods all the 
cunning diplomacy of the Hudson's Bay Com- 
pany, backed by hundreds of thousands of pounds 
sterling; it brought to the front conspicuously 
the life tragedy of a humble missionary among 
the far western Indians, Dr. Marcus Whitman ; 
it aroused the spirited patriotism of American 
citizenship from Maine to Astoria, and it evoked 
the sanguinary defi from American lips, "Fifty- 
four forty or fight." 

It closed with a compromise, quickly, yet 



3 2 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



effectually consummated ; ratification was immed- 
iate, and the "Oregon Controversy" became as 
a tale that is told, and from a live and burning 
issue of the day it passed quietly into the se- 
questered nook of American history. 

To obtain a fairly comprehensive view of the 
question it becomes necessary to hark back to 
1697, the year of the Treaty of Ryswick, when 
Spain claimed as her share of North America, 
as stated by William Barrows, in Chapter II. of 
this part of the general history. Nor was 
France left out at the Ryswick partition of the 
world. She claimed in the south and in the 
north, and it was her proud boast that from the 
mouth of the Penobscot along the entire sea- 
board to the unknown and frozen Arctic, no 
European power divided that coast with her, nor 
the wild territory back of it. At the date of this 
survey, 1697, Russia was quiescent. She claimed 
no possessions. But at the same time Peter the 
Great and his ministers were engaged in deep 
thought. Results of these cogitations were after- 
ward seen in the new world, in a territory known 
for many years to school children as Russian 
America, now the Klondyke, Cape Nome, Daw- 
son, Skaguay, Bonanza Creek, the Yukon — the 
places where the gold comes from. Russia entered 
the lists ; she became the fifth competitor, with 
Spain, England, France and the United States, 
for Oregon. 

Passing over the events of a hundred years, 
years of cruel wars ; of possession and disposses- 
sion among the powers ; the loss by France of 
Louisiana, and the tragedy of the Plains of 
Abraham, we come to the first claims of Russia. 
She demanded all the Northwest Coast and 
islands north of latitude 51 degrees and down the 
Asiatic coast as low as 45 degrees, 50 minutes, 
forbidding "all foreigners to approach within one 
hundred miles of these coasts except in case of 
extremity." Our secretary of state, John Quincy 
Adams, objected to this presumptuous claim. 
Emphatically he held that Russia had no valid 
rights on that coast south of the 55th degree. 
Vigorous letters were exchanged and then "the 
correspondence closed." Great Britain took sides 
with the United States. Our protest was em- 
phasized by proclamation of the now famous 
"Monroe Doctrine," the substance of which lies 
in these words : "That the American continents, 
by the free and independent condition which they 
have assumed and maintained, are henceforth 
not to be considered as subjects for colonization 
by any European power." 

Subsequently it was agreed between Russia 
and the United States, in 1824, that the latter 
country should make no new claim north of 54 
degrees, 40 minutes, and the Russians none south 



of it. With Great Britain Russia made a similar 
compact the year following, and for a period of 
ten years this agreement was to be binding, it 
being, however, understood that the privilege of 
trade and navigation should be free to all parties. 
At the expiration of this period the United States 
and Great Britain received notice from Russia 
of the discontinuance of their navigation and 
trade north of 54 degrees, 40 minutes. 

Right here falls into line the Hudson's Bay 
Company. Between Great Britain and Russia a 
compromise was effected through a lease from 
Russia to this company of the coast and margin 
from 54 degrees, 40 minutes, to Cape Spencer, 
near 58 degrees. Matters were also satisfactorily 
adjusted with the United States. 

The final counting out of Russia from the 
list of competitors for Oregon dates from 1836. 
During a controversy between England and Rus- 
sia the good offices of the United States were 
solicited, and at our suggestion Russia withdrew 
from California and relinquished all claims south 
of 54 degrees, 40 minutes. And now the contest 
for Oregon was narrowed down between Great 
Britain and the L T nited States. But with the 
dropping of Russia it becomes necessary to pre- 
serve intact the web of this history. 

May 16, 1670, the Hudson's Bay Company 
was chartered by Charles II. Headed by Prince 
Rupert the original incorporators numbered 
eighteen. The announced object of the company 
was the "discovery of a passage into the South 
Sea" — the Pacific Ocean. During the first cen- 
tury of its existence the company really did some- 
thing along the lines of geographical discovery. 
Afterward its identity was purely commercial. 
Twelre hundred miles from Lake Superior, in 
1778, the eminent Frobisher and others had es- 
tablished a trading post, or "factory," at Atha- 
basca. Fort Chipewyan was built ten years later 
and Athabasca abandoned. From this point 
Mackenzie made his two overland trips to the 
Pacific, treated in the first chapter of this work. 
Commenting upon these expeditions, from a poli- 
tical view point, William Barrows in "Oregon: 
The Struggle for Possession," says : 

"The point reached by Mackenzie on the 
Pacific is within the present limits of British 
Columbia on the coast (53 degrees, 21 minutes), 
and it was the first real, though undersigned step 
toward the occupation of Oregon by Great 
Britian. That government was feeling its way 
daringly, and blindly, for all territory it might 
obtain, and in 1793 came thus near the outlying 
region which afterward became the coveted prize 
of our narative." 

Between the United States and possession of 
Oregon stood, like a stone wall, the Hudson's 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



33 



Bay Company. It was the incarnation of Eng- 
land's protest against our occupancy. Such being 
the case -it is a fortuitous opportunity to glance 
briefly at the complexion of this great commercial 
potentate of the Northwest Coast. Aside from 
Geographical discoveries there was another ob- 
ject set forth in the Hudson's Bay Company's 
charter. This was the "finding of some trade for 
furs, minerals and other considerable commodi- 
ties." Moreover an exclusive right was granted 
by the charter to the "trade and commerce of all 
those seas, straits and bays, rivers, lakes, creeks 
and sounds, in whatsoever latitude they shall be, 
that lie within the entrance of the straits com- 
monly called Hudson's Straits." The charter ex- 
tended, also, to include all lands bordering them 
not under any other civilized government. 

This ambiguous description covered a vast 
territory — and Oregon. And of this domain, in- 
definitely bounded, the Hudson's Bay Company 
became, monarch, tyrant and autocrat, rather an 
unpleasant trinity to lie adjacent to the gradually 
increasing - and solidfying republic of the United 
States. Then, with the old company, was united 
the Northwestern Company, at one period a rival, 
now a component part of the great original 
"trust" of the Christian era. The crown granted 
to the new syndicate the exclusive right to trade 
with all Indians in British North America for a 
term of twenty years. Their hunters and trappers 
spread themselves throughout the entire north- 
west of North America. Their fur monopoly ex- 
tended so far south as the Salt Lake basin of 
modern Utah. Rivals were bought out, under- 
sold or crushed. The company held at its mercy 
all individual traders from New Foundland to 
Vancouver ; from the head of the Yellowstone to 
the mouth of the Mackenzie. With no 
rivals to share the field the extent of 
territory under the consolidated company 
seems almost fabulous — one-third larger than all 
Europe ; larger than the United States of today 
— barring the Philippines and Hawaii — but 
Alaska included, by, as Mr. Barrows states, "half 
a million of square miles." And it was prepar- 
ing, backed by the throne of England, to swallow 
and assimilate "Oregon." Concerning this most 
powerful company Mr. Barrows has contributed 
the following graphic description : 

One contemplates their power with awe and fear, 
when he regards the even motion and solemn silence 
and unvarying sameness with which it has done its 
work throughout that dreary animal country. It has 
been said that a hundred years has not changed its bills 
of goods ordered from London. The company wants 
the same muskrat and beaver and seal ; the Indian 
hunter, unimproved, and the half-breed European, de- 



teriorating, want the same cotton goods and flint-lock 
guns and tobacco and gew-gaws. Today, as a hundred 
years ago, the dog sledge runs out from Winnipeg for 
its solitary drive of five hundred or two thousand or 
even three thousand miles. It glides silent as a spectre 
over those snow fields and through the solemn still 
forests, painfull}- wanting in animal life. Fifty, sev- 
enty, a hundred days it speeds along, and as many 
nights it camps without fire and looks up to the same 
cold stars. At the intervening points the sledge makes 
a pause, as a ship, having rounded Cape Horn, heaves 
to before some lone Pacific island. It is the same at the 
trader's hut or "factory," as when the sledge man's 
grandfather drove up the same kind of dogs; the same 
half-breeds or voyagers to welcome him; the same foul, 
lounging Indians, and the same mink-skin in exchange 
for the same trinket. The fur animal and its pur- 
chaser and hunter, as the landscape, seem to be alike 
under the same immutable law of nature: 

"A land where all things always seem the same," 
as among the lotus-eaters. Human progress and Indian 
civilization have scarcely made more improvement than 
that central, silent partner of the Hudson's Bay Com- 
pan> — the beaver. 

Originally the capital stock of this company 
at the "time the charter was granted by Charles 
II, was $50,820. Through profits alone it was 
tripled twice within fifty years, going as high 
as $457,380. without any additional money being 
paid in by stock holders. The Northwest Com- 
pany was absorbed in 1821 on a basis of valua- 
tion equal to that of the Hudson's Bay Company. 
Then the consolidated capital stock was $1,916,- 
000, of which $1,780,866 was from profits. And 
during all this elapsed periods an annual dividend 
of ten per cent, had been paid to stockholders. 
One cargo of furs, leaving Fort George for Lon- 
don in 1836, was valued at $380,000. In 1837 
the consolidated company organized the Puget 
Sound Agricultural Company. This was intended 
to serve as an offset to encroachments of colon- 
ists from the United States which settled in Ore- 
gon. In 1846 the English government conceded 
United States claims to Oregon, and at that 
period the Hudson's Bay Company claimed prop- 
erty within the territory said to be worth $4,990,-- 
036.67. 

In 1824 the Hudson's Bay Company became^ 
the sole owner and proprietor of the trade west 
of the Rocky mountains, and of all the rights ac- 
cruing under the license of trade of December 5, 
1 82 1. An extended narration of the methods 
and rules of this corporation would be quite in- 
teresting, but mindful of our assigned limits and 
province, we are compelled to be brief. The 
company has been aptly characterized by Evans 
as an "impeHum in imperio" and such it was, 



34 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



for it was in possession of absolute power over 
its employes and the native races with whom it 
traded. It was constituted "The true and abso- 
lute lords and proprietors of the territories, limits 
and places, save always the faith, allegiance, and 
sovereign dominion due to us (the crown), our 
heirs and successors to the same, to hold as 
tenants in fee and common soccage, and not by 
knight's service, reserving as a yearly rent, two 
elks and two black beavers." Power was granted, 
should occasion rise, to "send ships of war, men 
or amunition to any post, fort or place for the 
defense thereof ; to raise military companies, and 
appoint their officers ; to make war or conclude 
peace with any people (not Christian), in any of 
their territories," also "to seize the goods, estate 
or people of those countries for damages to the 
company's interest, or for the interruption of 
trade ; to erect and build forts, garrisons, towns, 
villages ; to establish colonies, and to support such 
establishments by expeditions fitted out in Great 
Britain, to seize all British subjects not connected 
with the company, or employed by them, or in 
such territory by their license, and send them to 
England." Should one of its traders, factors or 
other employes "contemn or disobey an order, 
he was liable to be punished by the president or 
council, who were authorized to prescribe the 
manner and measure of punishment. The of- 
fender had the right to appeal to the company 
in England, or he might be turned over for trial 
by the courts. For the better discovery of abuses 
and injuries by the servants, the governor and 
company, and their respective president, chief 
agent or governor in any of the territories, were 
authorized to examine upon oath all factors, 
masters, pursers, supercargoes, commanders of 
castles, forts, fortifications, plantations or colonies, 
or other persons, touching or concerning any 
matter or thing sought to be investigated." To 
further strengthen the hands of the company the 
charter concludes with a royal mandate to all 
"admirals, vice admirals, justices, mayors, sher- 
iffs, constables, baliffs and all and singular other 
our officers, ministers, liegemen, subjects what- 
soever, to aid, favor, help, and assist the said 
governor and company to enjoy, as well on land 
as on the seas, all the promises in said charter 
contained, whensoever required." 

"Endowed with an empire over which the 
companv exercised absolute dominion, subject 
only to fealty to the crown, its membership, 
powerful nobles and citizens of wealth residing 
near and at the court jealously guarding its every 
interest, and securing for it a representation in 
the government itself, is it to be wondered," 
asks Evans, "that this imperium in imperio 
triumphantly asserted and firmly established 



British supremacy in every region in which it 
operated ?" 

Something of the modus operandi of this' 
company must now be given. The chief factors 
and chief traders were paid no salaries, but in- 
stead were given forty per cent of the profits, 
divided among them on some basis deemed 
equitable by the company. The clerks received 
salaries varying from twenty to one hundred 
pounds per annum. Below these again were the 
servants, whose term of enlistment ( for such 
in effect it was), was for five years, and whose 
pay was seventeen pounds per annum without 
clothing. The servant was bound by indenture 
to devote his whole time and labor to the com- 
pany's interests ; to yield obedience to superior 
officers ; to defend the company's property : to 
faithfully obey the laws, orders, etc. ; to defend 
officers and agents to the extent of his abilitv ; 
to serve in the capacity of a soldier whenever 
called upon so to do ; to attend military drill ; and 
never to engage or be interested in any trade or 
occupation except with the company's orders for 
its benefit. In addition to the pittance paid him 
the servant was entitled, should he desire to re- 
main in the country after the expiration of his 
term of enlistment, to fifty acres of land, for 
which he was to render twenty-eight davs' service 
per annum for seven years. If dismissed before 
the expiration of his term, the servant, it was 
agreed, should be transported to his European 
home free of charge. Desertion or neglect might 
be punished by the forfeiture of even the wretched 
pittance — by no means so liberal as modern 
United States homestead laws — he was to receive. 
It was, furthermore, the policy of the company 
to encourage marriage with the Indian women, 
the purpose being to create family ties which 
should bind the poor slave to the soil. By the 
time the servant's term of enlistment had ex- 
pired, there was, therefore, usually no choice left 
him but to re-enlist or accept the grant of land. 
"In times of peace laborers and operatives were 
ever on hand at mere nominal wages ; in time 
of outbreak they were at once transformed into 
soldiers amenable to military usage and 
discipline." 

The Indian policy of the company was no less 
politic than its treatment of its employes, but it 
had much more in it that was truly commendable. 
Its purpose did not bring its employes into con- 
flict with the Indian, nor require his expulsion, 
neither was there danger that the lands of the 
savage would be appropriated or the graves of 
their people disturbed. The sale of intoxicants 
was positively and successfully prohibited. Con- 
ciliation was the wisest policy for the company, 
and it governed itself according; but when pun- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OKFCON. 



35 



ishment was merited it was administered with 
promptness and severity. When depredations 
were committed the tribe to which the male- 
factor belonged was pursued by an armed force 
and compelled to deliver up the «nilty one to his 
fate. A certain amount of civilization was in- 
troduced, and with it came an increase of wants, 
which demands could only be supplied at the 
company's forts. Indians were sent on hunting 
and trapping expeditions in all directions, so that 
concentrations of tribes became difficult, and if 
attempted, easily perceived in time to prevent it. 
Thus the company secured an influence over the 
savage and a place in his affections, from which it 
could not easily be dislodged. 

In its treatment of missionaries, civil and mili- 
tary officers and others from the United States, 
the company's factors and agents were uniformly 
courteous and kind. The poor and unfortunate 
rarely asked assistance in vain. But woe to the 
American who attempted to trade with the Indian, 
to trap, hunt or do anything which brought him 
into competition with the British corporation. All 
the resources of a company supplied with an 
-abundance of cheap labor, supported by the 
friendship and affection of the aboriginal peoples, 
backed by almost unlimited capital and fortified 
by the favor of one of the wealthiest and most 
powerful nations of the earth, were at once 
turned to crush him. Counter-establishments 
were formed in his vicinity and he was hampered 
in every way possible and pursued with the re- 
lentlessness of an evil fate until compelled to 
retire from the field. 

Such being the conditions, there was not much 
encouragement for American enterprise in the 
basin of the Columbia. It is not, however, in 
the American character to yield a promising 
prospect without a struggle, and several times ef- 
forts were made at competition in the Oregon 
territory. Of some of these we must speak 
briefly, having devoted an entire chapter to the 
unfortunate enterprise of John Jacob Astor. The 
operations of William H. Ashley, west of the 
Rocky mountains, did not extend to the Oreg"on 
country and are of importance to our purpose 
only because in one of his expeditions, fitted 
out in 1826, he brought a six-pounder, drawn by 
mules across the Rocky mountains, thereby 
demonstrating the feasibility of a wagon road. 
In 1826 Jedediah S. Smith, of the Rocky Moun- 
tain Fur Company, encouraged by some previous 
success in the Snake River district, set out for 
the country west of the Great Salt Lake. 
He proceeded so far westward that no 
recourse was left him but to push on- 
ward to the Pacific, his stock of provisions 
"being- so reduced and his horses so ex- 



hausted that an attempt to return was deemed 
unwise. He went south to San Diego for horses 
and supplies, and experienced no little difficulty 
on account of the suspicions of the native Cali- 
fornians, who were jealous of all strangers, es- 
pecially from the United States. Eventually, 
however, he was able to proceed northward to 
the Rogue river, thence along the shores of the 
Umpqua, in which vicinity serious difficulty with 
the Indians was experienced. Fifteen of the nine- 
teen who constituted the party were massacred, 
indeed all who happened to be in camp at the 
time except one were killed. This man, aided 
by friendly Indians, reached Fort Vancouver, 
and told his story to the chief factor of the Hud- 
son's Bay Company, Dr. John McLoughlin, who 
offered the Indians a liberal reward for the safe 
return of Smith and his two companions. A 
party of forty men was equipped at once to go 
to the Umpqua country, but before they started 
Smith and his men arrived. McLoughlin took 
steps to secure the property stolen from Smith 
and so successfully did he manage the affair that 
peltries to the value of over three thousand dol- 
lars were recovered, and the murderers were 
severely punished by other Indians. Smith was 
conquered by kindness and at his solicitation the 
Rocky Mountain Fur Company retired from the 
territory of the Hudson's Bav Company. 

Of various other expeditions by Americans 
into the Oregon country and of the attempts by 
American vessels to trade along the coast we 
cannot speak. Some reference must, however, 
be made to the work of Captain B. L. E. Bonne- 
ville, who in 183 1, applied for a two years leave 
of absence from the United States army that 
he might "explore the country to the Rocky 
mountains and beyond, with a view to ascertain- 
ing the nature and character of the several tribes 
of Indians inhabiting those regions ; the trade 
which might profitable be carried on with them ; 
quality of soil, productions, minerals, natural his- 
tory, climate, geography, topography, as well as 
geology of the various parts of the country with- 
in the limits of the territories of the United 
States between our frontier and the Pacific." 
The request w r as granted. While Bonneville 
was informed that the government would be to 
no expense in fitting out the expedition, he was 
instructed that he must provide himself with 
suitable instruments and maps, and that he was 
to "note particularly the number of warriors that 
may be in each tribe of natives that may be met 
with, their alliance with other tribes, and their 
relative position as to state of peace or war ; 
their manner of making war, mode of subsisting 
themselves during a state of war and a state of 
peace ; their arms and the effect of them ; whether 



36 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



they act on foot or on horse back ; in short, every 
information useful to the government." It 
would seem that a government which asked such 
important services ought to have been willing 
to make some financial return, at least to pay the 
expenses. But Captain Bonneville was com- 
pelled to secure financial aid elsewhere. During 
the winter an association was formed in New 
York which furnished the necessary means, and 
May i, 1832, the expedition set out, the party 
numbering one 'hundred and ten men. They 
took with them in wagons a large quantity of 
trading goods to be used in traffic with the 
Indians in the basins of the Colorado and Colum- 
bia rivers. Bonneville himself went as far west 
as Walla Walla. Members of his expedition 
entered the valleys of the Humboldt, Sacramento 
and Colorado rivers, but they were unable to com- 
pete with the experienced Hudson's Bay and 
Missouri companies and the enterprise proved a 
financial failure. The expedition derives its chief 
importance from the fact that it forms the basis 
of one of Washington Irving's most entertaining 
works, which will preserve to latest posterity 
something of the charm and fascination of that 
wild, weird traffic. 

Captain Nathaniel J. Wyeth, of Massachu- 
setts, projected, in 1832, an enterprise of curious 
interest and some historical importance. His 
plan was to establish salmon fisheries on the 
Columbia river, to be operated as an adjunct to, 
and in connection with, the fur and Indian trade. 
He crossed overland to Oregon, dispatching a 
vessel with trading goods via Cape Horn, but this 
vessel was never again heard from ; so the enter- 
prise met defeat. The following year Captain 
Wyeth returned to Boston, leaving, however, most 
of his party in the country. Many of the men 
settled in the Willamette valley, and one of them 
found employment as an Indian teacher for the 
Hudson's Bay Company. 

Not discouraged by one failure, Captain 
Wyeth, in 1834, fitted out another land expedi- 
tion and dispatched to the Columbia another ves- 
sel, the May Dacre, laden with trading goods. 
On reaching the confluence of the Snake and 
Port Neuf rivers, Wyeth erected a trading post 
there to which he gave the name of Fort Hall. 
Having sent out his hunting and trapping parties 
and made arrangements for the season's opera- 
tions, he proceeded to Fort Vancouver, where 
about the same time the May Dacre arrived. He 
established a trading house and salmon fishery 
on Wapato (now Sauvie's) island, which became 
known as Fort William. The fishery proved a 
failure and the trading and trapping industry 
could not stand the competition and harassing 
tactics of the Hudson's Bay Company and the 



constant hostility of the Indians. George B„ 
Roberts, who came to Oregon in 183 1 as an em- 
ploye of the Hudson's Bay Company, is quoted 
as having accounted for the trouble with the 
red men in this way: He said "that the island 
was thickly inhabited by Indians until 1830, 
when they were nearly exterminated by congestive 
chills and fever. There were at the time three 
villages on the island. So fatal were the effects 
of the disease that Dr. McLoughlin sent a party 
to rescue and bring away the few that were left, 
and to burn the village. The Indians attributed 
the introduction of the fever and ague to an 
American vessel that had visited the river a 
year or two previously. It is not, therefore, a 
matter of surprise to any who understood Indian 
character and their views as to death resulting 
from such diseases, that Wyeth's attempted estab- 
lishment on Wapato island was subject to con- 
tinued hostility. He was of a race to whom they 
attributed the cause of the destruction of their 
people ; and his employes were but the lawful 
compensation according to their code for the 
affliction they had suffered. 

Wyeth eventually returned to Massachusetts 
disheartened. Fort Hall ultimately passed into 
the hands of the Hudson's Bay Company, and 
with its acquisition by them practically ended 
American fur trade west of the Rocky mountains. 
But though Wyeth's enterprise failed so signally, 
his account of it, published by order of con- 
gress, attracted the attention of Americans to 
Oregon, and did much to stimulate its settlement. 
Paradoxical though it may sound, the Hudson's 
Bay Company's success in this instance was its 
failure. 

It will be readily seen, then, that whatever ad- 
vantage the establishment of fur-trading enter- 
prises might give in the final settlement of the 
Oregon question was with the British. While 
we shall attempt a brief and succinct account of 
the "struggle for possession," it is now necessary 
to determine in some measure what the political 
mission of the Hudson's Bay Company might be, 
and what part that association was playing in 
international affairs. In 1837 the company ap- 
plied to the home government for a new license 
granting enlarged privileges. In enforcing its 
request it pointed boastfully to its efficient services 
in successfully crushing out American enterprise, 
and in strengthening the British title to the terri- 
tory, contrary to the spirit and letter of the Joint- 
Occupancy treaties of 1818 and 1827. 

In presenting the Petition the company's chief 
representative in England, Sir John Henry Pelly, 
called the attention of the lords to the service 
rendered in securing to the mother country a 
branch of trade wrested from subjects of Rus- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



37 



sia and the United States of America ; to the six 
permanent establishments it had on the coast, 
and the sixteen in the interior, besides the migra- 
tory and hunting- parties ; to its maritime force of 
six armed vessels ; to its large pasture and grain 
farms, affording every species of agricultural 
produce and maintaining large herds of stock. 
He further averred that it was the intention of 
the company to still further extend and increase 
its farms, and tp establish an export trade in wool, 
hides, tallow and other produce of the herd and 
the cultivated field, also to encourage the settle- 
ment of its retired servants and other emigrants 
under its protection. Referring to the soil, climate 
and other conditions of the country, he said they 
were such as to make it "as much adapted to 
agricultural pursuits as any spot in America ; 
and," said he, "with care and protection the 
British dominion may not only be preserved in 
this country, which it has been so much the wish 
of Russia and America to occupy to the exclu- 
sion of British subjects, but British interest and 
British influence may be maintained as para- 
mount in this interesting part of the coast of the 
Pacific." 

One might almost expect that Great Britain 
would utter some word of reproof to a company 
which could have the audacity to boast of violat- 
ing her treaty compacts with a friendly power. 
Not so, however. She became a party to the 
breach of faith. Instead of administering merited 
reproof she rewarded the wrong-doer by promptly 
issuing a new license to extend and be in force for 
a period of twenty-one years. 

With such gigantic and powerful competition 
for the territory of Oregon it is surprising that 
even so determined a government as that of the 
United States should have succeeded in ousting 
it from its trespass on our property. Nor could 
this have been accomplished had it not been for 
the pluck, skill, determination and indomitable 
energy of our hardy pioneers. While the sale 
of rabbit skins alone in London, in one year, or- 
dinarily amounted to thirteen hundred thousand, 
the company found its profit also in the beaver, 
land and sea-otter, mink, fisher, muskrat, fox, 
racoon, sable, black, brown and grizzly bear and 
"buffalo. And in search for these fur-bearing 
animals the hunters of the company braved every 
danger and spread themselves over the wild half 
■of North America. So far from carrying out the 
provisions of its charter relating to geographical 
discovery, early in the nineteenth century the 
company threw every obstacle possible in the way 
■of such discoveries. Evidently it feared rivals. 
Sir John Barrow, in his "History of Arctic Voy- 
ages," says : "The Northwest Passage seems 
to have been entirely forgotten, not only by the 



adventurers, who had obtained their exclusive 
charter under this pretext, but also by the nation 
at large ; at least nothing more appears to have 
been heard on the subject for more than half a 
century." 

And what of the darker deeds of this myster- 
ious, silent, yet powerful commercial aggrega- 
tion? In 1719 it refused a proposal from Mr. 
Knight that two vessels be sent by him to look 
up a rumored copper mine at the mouth of an 
arctic river. In 1741 the company showed signs 
of hostility toward a Mr. Dobbs, engaged in the 
same enterprise. The failure of Captain Middle- 
ton, commissioned by the Lords of Admiralty to 
explore northern and western waters of Hud- 
son's Bay, is attributed to a bribe of five thousand 
pounds received from the company. The beacon 
light at Fort York was cut down in 1746 to in- 
sure the complete wreck of an exploring party 
then aground in that vicinity. Much of the in- 
formation concerning auriferous deposits brought 
back by Mackenzie from his two journeys was 
suppressed. Thus the self-sufficient Hudson's 
Bay people missed the grand and astonishing 
produce of the Alaska regions — deposits more 
valuable than all the profits of their fur trade for 
a century. The Hudson's Bay Company had set 
its face steadily against mineral development. 
Even that industry was regarded as a rival. Fol- 
lowing the assassination of Dr. Marcus Whitman 
by Indians, in 1847, one 0I tne survivors of the 
massacre was refused the protection of Fort 
Walla Walla then under command of an agent of 
the Hudson's Bay Company. Taken as a whole 
this aggregation of English capital appears to 
have been as antagonistic to English enterprise 
as it was to American commerce, but all the time 
working like a mole underground. 

Previously to the War of 1812 England had 
strenuously urged the Ohio as the western limit 
of the colonies. She seduced various Indian 
tribes to oppose western immigration. In 181 1 
General Harrison, afterward president, attempted 
to hold a friendly conference with the great 
Tecumseh. The meeting was disrupted by the 
latter, and it required the battle of Tippecanoe to 
teach the warriors a bloody object lesson. Then 
followed the War of 181 2. In this Great Britain 
made an effort to recover the northwest, but 
failed signally. But the Hudson's Bay Company 
was the incarnation of England in North 
America. And when the nation failed the com- 
mercial syndicate succeeded — for a time. While 
the United States had legal, she had not, owing 
to the interference of this arrogant company, 
actual possession and occupancy. 

Following the close of the Revolution and the 
treaty of 1783, an attempt was made to run a 



38 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



northern boundary for the United States. It 
looked well — on paper. It traversed wild, un- 
explored territory unknown to either party to the 
agreement. Says Barrows : 

Thus the northwest point of the Lake of the Woods 
was assumed for one bound from which the line was to 
run, to the northwestern point of the lake, and thence 
"due west" to the Mississippi. The clause in the treaty 
reads thus : "To the said Lake of the Woods, and 
thence through the said lake to the most northwestern 
point thereof, and from thence on a due west course 
to the Mississippi." But the head of the river proved 
to be a hundred miles or more to the south. So that 
little prominence in our otherwise straight boundary is 
the bump of ignorance developed by two nations. The 
St. Croix was fixed by treaty as the boundary on the 
northeast, but a special "Joint Commission" was re- 
quired in 1794 to determine "what river is the St. Croix," 
and four years afterward the commission called for an 
addition to their instructions, since the original ones 
were not broad enough to enable them to determine the 
true St. Croix. 

In 1 84 1 another commission ran a boundary 
from the head of the St. Croix, by the head of the 
Connecticut, to the St. Lawrence ; thence through 
the middle of its channel and the middle of the 
lakes to the outlet of Lake Superior, occupying 
the whole of seven years. And yet the line had 
not been carried through Lake Superior to the 
Lake of the Woods. Finally, in 18 18, this was 
done, and an agreement reached, though this line 
was not on the 49th parallel, from the Lake of 
the Woods to the Rocky mountains, the line that 
was offered by Great Britain, accepted by one 
administration, refused by another, and finally 
adopted instead of "Fifty-four forty or fight." 
Still the English commission was loath to part 
with the Mississippi Valley. They asked for a 
right of way to the headwaters of that stream. At 
the same time the southern limits of their northern 
possessions did not come within one hundred miles 
of the source of the Mississippi from whence 
its waters flow more than three thousand miles 
to the Gulf of Mexico. The commission, how- 
ever, abandoned this claim and turned, to stand 
resolutely on latitude 49 degrees. During 
negotiations with England in 1818, a compromise 
was effected which provided for a joint occupation 
of Oregon for ten years. In 1827 it was renewed 
to run indefinitely, with a provision that it could 
be terminated by either party by giving one year's 
notice. The Ashburton-Webster treaty of 1842 
fixed the line between the St. Croix and St. 
Lawrence. In 1846 another commission failed to 
accomplish results in extending a line to the west- 
ward through their inability to agree on the 



"middle of the channel" between the mainland 
and Vancouver Island. 

Not until 1872 was this latter question de- 
cided. It was submitted to the Emperor of Ger- 
many as final arbiter. He decided favorably to 
the claim of the United States. Thus the boun- 
dary question was prolonged eighty-nine years, 
under eight treaties and fifteen specifications, until 
final adjustment in its entirety. The Oregon 
boundary remained in dispute up to 1847. It 
may here be appropriately remarked that the Joint 
Boundary Commission of 181 8, agreeing on the 
49th parallel, might have carried the line to a 
satisfactory point had they not been stopped by 
fur traders. Two companies were then attempt- 
ing to gain possession of the territory. 

The expedition of Lewis and Clark, 1804-6, 
opened the eyes of England. Jealous lest Amer- 
icans should gain an advantage, Laroque was 
sent by the Northwestern Company to sprinkle 
the Columbia river country with trading- 
posts. But Laroque gained no farther west- 
ing than the Mandan Indian village on 
the Missouri. In 1806 Fraser, having crossed 
the mountains, made the first English set- 
tlement by erecting a post on Fraser Lake. 
Others soon followed and New Caledonia 
came into existence. It had remained for 
daring frontiersmen to open the dramatic con- 
test for possession of Oregon. Diplomats and 
ministers had dallied and quibbled. Now the con- 
test had become serious and earnest. The part 
that John Jacob Astor played we have detailed 
in another chapter. 

The War of 181 2 was declared on June 12, 
1812; the treaty of peace was signed December 
14, 1814. It contained this clause materially 
affecting our interests in Oregon : "All territory, 
places and possessions whatsoever, taken by 
either party from the other during the 
war * * * * shall be restored without 
delay." Did this provision cover Astoria? 
Apparently the English thought not, for 
when, in 1817, an American vessel was put 
in readiness to occupy that post Mr. Bagot, 
the English minister at Washington, opposed it. 
Two points are noted in his protest : The post 
had been sold to the Northwest Company prior 
to the war ; therefore never captured. Secondly, 
"the territory itself was early taken possession 
of in his majesty's name, and had since been con- 
sidered a part of his majesty's domains." But 
repossession was granted despite the protest. In 
181 8 the Stars and Stripes again waved over 
Astoria and the name "St. George" was rele- 
gated to the limbo of the obsolete. 

But the Oregon question was not dead : only 
hibernating. It sprang into life at the behest of 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



39 



the eloquent Rufus Choate. From his seat in 
the United States senate he said : 

"Keep your eyes always open, like the eye 
of your own eagle, upon the Oregon. Watch day 
and night. If any new developments or policy 
break forth, meet them. If the times change, do 
you change. New things in a new world. Eter- 
nal vigilance is the condition of empire as well as 
liberty." 

For twenty-seven years the threads of diplo- 
matic delay and circumlocution were spun out 
concerning the status of Oregon. Theoretically 
Astoria had been restored to us; practically the 
Northwest's Company's fur traders thronged the 
land. The English company had built a stock- 
ade fort. It signified that they intended to hold 
possession of the mouth of the Columbia vie ct 
armis. Indian tribes ranged themselves on the 
side of the English. Their minds had been pois- 
oned ; insiduous words had been breathed into 
their ears to the effect that the Americans would 
steal their lands ; the English wanted only to 
trade with them for furs. And for more than ten 
years following the treacherous sale of Astoria, 
there were scarcely any Americans in the coun- 
try. Greenhow, in his "History of Oregon and 
California." declares that at the period when the 
Hudson's Bay Company was before parliament, 
in 1837, asking for renewal of its charter, they 
"claimed and received the aid and consideration 
of government for their energy and success in 
expelling the Americans from the Columbia re- 
gions, and forming settlements there by means 
of which they were rapidly converting Oregon 
into a British colony." 

Astoria was restored to the United States by 
the Treaty of Ghent in 1814. Yet in that docu- 
ment there is no allusion to the Northwest Coast, 
or in fact, any territory west of the Lake of the 
Woods. Our instructions to the American pleni- 
potentiaries were to concede nothing to Great 
Britain south of the forty-ninth parallel. Thus 
the question was left in abeyance with no defined 
boundary between English and American terri- 
tory west of the Lake of the Woods. The south- 
ern boundary of Oregon was, also, in doubt. It 
was not definitely fixed until the Florida Pur- 
chase. Then it was decided that parallel forty- 
two, on the Pacific, running' east from that ocean 
to the Arkansas, down the river to longitude one 
hundred ; on that meridian south till it strikes the 
Red river ; down the Red river to> longitude nine- 
ty-four ; due south on it to the Sabine river ; and 
down the Sabine to the Gulf of Mexico, should 
define the southern and western boundaries of 
the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, which up to that 
date had remained indefinite. This act fixed, also, 
the southern boundary of Oregon. 



Until 1820 congress remained dormant so far 
as Oregon interests were concerned. Then it was 
suggested that a marine expedition be dispatched 
to guard our interests at the mouth of the Colum- 
bia and aid immigration from the United States. 
Nothing resulted. In 1821 the same question was 
revived, but again permitted to relapse into desue- 
tude. Mr. Harrows does not use too strong lan- 
guage when he says : "There appeared to be a 
lack of appreciation of the case, and there was a 
skepticism and lethargy concerning that half of 
the union, which have by no means disappeared." 

In 1814 the cjuestion having been reopened 
in London Mr. Rush claimed for the United 
States from the forty-second to the fifty-first par- 
allel. This section would embrace all the waters 
of the Columbia. Per contra the English de- 
manded possession of the northern half of the 
Columbia basin. This would have given us, as 
the northern boundary of Oregon, the Columbia 
river from a point where it intersects the forty- 
ninth parallel to its mouth. It is well to exam- 
ine, at this point, what such a boundary would 
have meant to Washington. Had it been ac- 
cepted there would, probably, never have been 
any state of Washington, at least, not as subse- 
quently defined. 

Thus remained the status of dispute until 
1828. Joint occupancy had now continued ten 
years. It must be conceded that the country, 
owing to this provision, was now numerically 
British. And English ministers were eager to 
avail themselves of the advantages of this fact. 
They said : 

In the interior of the territory in. question the sub- 
jects of Great Britain have had, for many years, numer- 
ous settlements and trading posts — several of these posts 
on the tributary streams of the Columbia, several upon 
the Columbia itself, some to the northward and others 
to the southward of that river. * * * In the whole 
of the territory in question the citizens of the United 
States have not a single settlement or trading post. 
They do not use that river, either for the purpose of 
transmitting or receiving any produce of their own to 
or from other parts of the world. 

Yet Avhy was this the condition of Oregon at 
that period D Simply because the aggressiveness 
of the Northwest Company had opposed Ameri- 
can colonization and fought each and every ad- 
vance made by our pioneers, commercially and 
otherwise. Nor can it be denied that for many 
years Oregon was unappreciated by the east. 
Today it appears to unreflecting minds, an ex- 
travagant boast to say that only one-fifth of the 
domain of the United States lies east of the Mis- 
sissippi river. And yet the statement is true. 



40' 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Only in 1854 did the initial railway gain the 
banks of the Father of Waters — at Rock Island. 
From there progress to the northwest was, for 
many years, slow, perilous and discouraging. 
Truly, it was a difficult matter for Oregon to 
assert herself. In 1828 an "Oregon wave" had 
swept over congress, amid considerable feverish 
interest and prolonged eloquence. Protracted de- 
bate was had on a bill to survey the territory 
west of the mountains between 42 degrees and 
54 degrees, 40 minutes, garrison the land and 
extend over it the laws of the United States. The 
measure was defeated ; again the question 
slumbered. 

But the daring pioneers of the west were 
by no means idle. Unconsciously they were ac- 
complishing far more toward a final settlement 
of the "Oregon question" than all the tape-bound 
documents reposing in the pigeon-holes of Eng- 
lish parliamentary and American congressional 
archives. British ministers had impudently de- 
clared that Oregon had been settled by English- 
men ; that Americans had no trading posts with- 
in its limits. And why not? Read the follow- 
ing from Mr. Wyeth's memorial to congress : 

"Experience has satisfied me that the entire 
weight of this company (Hudson's Bay) will 
be made to bear on any trader who shall attempt 
to prosecute his business within its reach. 
* * * No sooner does an American start 
in this region than one of these trading parties is 
put in motion. A few years will make the coun- 
try west of the mountains as completely English 
as they can desire." 

To the same congressional committee William 
A. Slocum, in a report, goes on record as follows : 
"No individual enterprise can compete with this 
immense foreign monopoly established in our 
waters. * * * The Indians are taught to be- 
lieve that no vessels but the company's ships are 
allowed to trade in the river, and most of them 
are afraid to sell their skins but at Vancouver or 
Fort George." 

Small wonder, then, that at this time there 
were less than two hundred Americans west of 
the Rockies. And Canadian law, by act of parlia- 
ment, was extended throughout the region of the 
Columbia. Theoretically it was joint occupation ; 
practically, British monopoly. So late as 1844 the 
British and Foreign Reznetv said, brutally : "The 
interests of the company are of course adverse to 
colonization. * * * The fur trade has been 
hitherto the only channel for the advantageous 
investments of capital in those regions." 

Truly, the Hudson's Bay Company had 
adopted a policy of "addition, division and 
silence." Because meat and beef conduced to 
pastoral settlements, so late as 1836 the company 



opposed the introduction of cattle. One of the 
missionaries stationed at Moose Factory has writ- 
ten this : "A plan which I had devised for edu- 
cating and training to some acquaintance with 
agriculture native children, was disallowed. 
* * * A proposal made for forming a small 
Indian village near Moose Factory was not ac- 
ceded to ; and instead permission only given to 
attempt the location of one or two old men, no 
longer fit for engaging in the chase, it being 
carefully and distinctly stated by Sir George 
Simpson that the company would not give them 
even a spade toward commencing this mode of 
life." 

In 1836 when Dr. Marcus Whitman and his 
party were entering Oregon, J. K. Townsend, a 
naturalist sent from Philadelphia to collect speci- 
mens of fauna and flora, said to him at Walla 
Walla : "The company will be glad to have you 
in the country, and your influence to improve their 
servants and their native wives and children. 
As to the Indians you have come to teach they do 
not want them to be any more enlightened. The 
company now have absolute control over them, 
and that is all they require." 

And right here is the crux of the differences 
between the United States and England concern- 
ing the territory of Oregon. It was the aim of 
the former to develop, improve and civilize the 
country ; it was the expressed determination of 
the latter to keep it in darkness and savagery. For 
in North America the Hudson's Bay Company 
was England and English statesmen were under 
the complete domination of this company's abject 
commercialism. It has pleased modern English 
writers to describe America as a "nation of shop- 
keepers." But throughout the whole Oregon con- 
troversy the United States stood for progress and 
civilization ; England for the long night of 
ignorance and barbarism — for profit. Summed up 
by Mr. Barrows the relations to Oregon of the 
two countries were as follows : 

The Americans struck Oregon just where the En- 
glish failed ; in the line of settlements and civilization. 
One carried in the single man and the other the family; 
one his traps and snares, and the other his seed wheat 
and oats and potatoes ; one shot an Indian for killing 
a wild animal out of season ; and the other paid bounty 
on the wolf and bear; one took his newspaper from the 
dog-mail twenty-four or thirty-six months from date, 
and the other carried in the printing press ; one hunted 
and traded for what he could carry out of the country, 
the other planted and builded for what he could leave in 
it for his children. In short, the English trader ran 
his birch canoe and batteaux up the streams and around 
the lakes to bring out furs and peltries, while the 
American immigrant hauled in with his rude wagon 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



41 



the nineteenth century and came back loaded with Ore- 
gon for the American union. 

In 1840 the flow of American immigration into 
Oregon, especially the missionaries, Lee, Whitman 
and Parker, alarmed the Hudson's Bay Company. 
It strenuously opposed the advent of wagons and 
carriages. Immigrants were lied to at Fort Flail ; 
were told that it would be impossible to proceed 
farther on wheels. Tt is recorded that on this ac- 
count many of them reached Dr. Whitman's mis- 
sion in a deplorably destitute condition. Rut all 
the artifices of the company could not check the 
hegira from the east. It is reserved for another 
chapter to relate the experiences of these pioneers. 
We have to do here mainly with the final settle- 
ment of the great "Oregon Question" between 
England and the Lhiited States — the political 
struggle for sovereignty. 

The Edinburg Review for July, T843, said : 
"One thing strikes us forcibly. However the 
political question between England and America, 
as to the ownership of Oregon may be decided, 
Oregon will never be colonized overland from the 
eastern states. * * * With those natural ob- 
stacles between, we cannot but imagine that the 
world must assume a new face before the Amer- 
ican wagons make plain the road to the Columbia 
as they have to the Ohio." 

In 1843 Sir George Simpson, governor of the 
Hudson's Bay Company, who had made a tour of 
the continent, challenged us in these words : "The 
United States will never possess more than a 
nominal jurisdiction, nor long possess even that, 
on the west side of the Rocky mountains. And 
supposing the country to be divided tomorrow 
to the entire satisfaction of the most unscrupulous 
patriot in the union, I challenge congress to bring 
my prediction and its power to the test by im- 
posing the Atlantic tariff on the ports of the 
Pacific." 

Thus the great international question of tariff 
was brought into the Oregon Controversy. But 
we must not jump to the conclusion that Sir 
George was without some foundation for his 
vaporous remarks. At that time the Hudson's 
Bay Company had twenty-three posts and five 
trading stations in the northwest ; it had absorbed 
ten rival companies, not leaving one American 
or Russian, and had been the means of putting to 
rout seven immigrant expeditions seeking homes 
in Oregon. 

The Oregon boundary question was still in 
dispute. But those Americans familiar with the 
subject were destined to temporary disappoint- 
ment. In 1827 it had been referred, through a 
convention, to the King of the Netherlands as 
arbiter. Both parties to the dispute had rejected 



his decision in 183 T. Five efforts had been made 
to adjust the boundary by President Jackson, and 
five failures had resulted. The administration of 
President Van Buren closed with the vexatious 
matter still unsettled. In 1842 Lord Ashburton 
came from London to negotiate a boundary treaty 
with Daniel Webster, secretary of state. A cer- 
tain boundary treaty was negotiated, August 9, 
1842, the two ministers signed it; it was ratified 
by the senate on the 25th ; by the Queen soon^fter, 
proclaimed on November 10th, 1842 — and the 
Oregon boundary was not in it. Nothing official 
whatever alluding to Oregon was found therein. 
The only boundary touched was one "beginning 
at the monument at the source of the river St. 
Croix," terminating at the Rocky mountains on 
the 47th parallel. Little wonder that sectional 
feeling developed in the far west. 

Dr. Marcus Whitman, whose connection with 
the "Oregon Question" is treated in another chap- 
ter, had arrived in Washington, D. C, too late 
for any effectual pleas for consideration of the 
matter in the treaty just signed. Still, as Mr. 
Barrows says : "The pressure of Oregon into 
the Ashburton treaty would probably have done 
one of three things, prevented the treaty alto- 
gether, excluded the United States from Oregon, 
or producd a war. Delay and apparent defeat 
were the basis of our real success, and the great 
work of Marcus Whitman, by his timely presence 
in Washington, was in making the success sure." 

With Oregon left out the Ashburton treaty 
had been ratified. The outlook was, indeed, 
gloomy. As a reflex of the insiduous teachings 
of the Hudson's Bay Company the following: ex- 
tract from a speech delivered by Mr. McDuffie in 
the United States senate is interesting. He said : 

What is the character of this country? Why, as I 
understand it, seven hundred miles this side of the 
Rocky Mountains is uninhabitable; where rain scarcely 
ever falls — a barren and sandy soil — mountains totally 
impassable except in certain parts, where there were 
gaps or depressions, to be reached only by going some 
hundreds of miles out of the direct course. Well, now, 
what are we going to do in a case like this? How are 
you going to apply steam? Have you made anything like 
an estimate of the cost of a railroad running from here 
to the mouth of the Columbia? Why, the wealth of the 
Indies would be insufficient. You would have to tunnel 
through mountains five or six hundred miles in extent. 
* * * Of what use will this be for agricultural pur- 
poses ? I would not, for that purpose, give a pinch of 
snuff for the whole territory. I wish it were an im- 
passable barrier to secure us against the intrusion of 
others. * * * If there was an embankment of even 
five feet to be removed, I would not consent to spend 
five dollars to remove that embankment to enable our 



42 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



population to go there. I thank God for his mercy in 
placing the Rocky Mountains there. 

At the time this speech was being delivered 
Dr. Marcus Whitman was on his way from Ore- 
gon with ''the facts in the case ;" information des- 
tined to shed a flood of intelligence on a rather 
benighted congress. And, in reality, our country 
was rapidly nearing the end of this interminable 
controversy. An area of territory sixty-three 
times the size of Massachusetts and four times 
as large of Great Britain and Ireland was about to 
come under the protecting aegis of the United 
States government. The Hudson's Bay Company 
had declared, through its emissaries, that a wagon 
trip to Oregon was an impossibility. The same 
sentiment had been voiced in the United States 
senate. It remained for Dr. Whitman to prove 
the falsity of such an audacious statement. He 
led a party of two hundred wagons through to 
his mission, near the Columbia river, arriving in 
October, 1843. And this, too, against vigorous 
opposition from the Hudson's Bay Company, at 
Fort Hall. Then the people began to manifest 
a lively interest in the question. This interest had 
been stimulated in December, 1842, by a message 
from President Tyler, in which he said : "The 
tide of population which has reclaimed what was 
so lately an unbroken wilderness in more contigu- 
ous regions, is preparing to flow over those vast 
districts which stretch from the Rocky mountains 
to the Pacific Ocean. In addition to the acquire- 
ments of individual rights sound policy dictates 
that every effort should be resorted to by the two 
governments to settle their respective claims." 
January 8, 1843, congress received news that Dr. 
Whitman had made good his claim and reached 
his destination, with wagons, in Oregon. Party 
spirit, for there were two parties to the Oregon 
Controversy, aside from the British, ran high. 
Dr. Winthrop said : "For myself, certainly, I 
believe that we have as good a title to the whole 
twelve degrees of latitude," i. e., up to 54 degrees, 
40 minutes. Senator Thomas Benton voiced the 
prvailing sentiment of the time in these words : 
"Let the immigrants go on and carry their rifles. 
We want thirty thousand rifles in the valley of the 
Oregon : they will make all quiet there, in the 
event of war with Great Britain for the dominion 
of that country. The war, if it comes, will not 
be topical ; it will not be confined to Oregon, but 
will embrace the possessions of the two powers 
throughout the globe. Thirty thousand rifles on 
the Oregon will annihilate the Hudson's Bay 
Company and drive them off our continent and 
quiet the Indians. 

Rufus Choate spoke for peace. He was fol- 
lowed by pacificatory utterances from others. Still 



there was sufficient vitality in the "Fifty-four 
forty or fight" to elect President Polk on such a 
campaign issue. The population of Oregon at 
the close of 1844 was estimated by Mr. Greenhow 
at more than three thousand. The Indian agent 
for the government, Mr. White placed it at about 
four thousand : Mr. Hines said : "In 1845 it in- 
creased to nearly three thousand souls with some 
two thousand to three thousand head of cattle." 
The west was warm with zeal and anticipation. 
In the house of reoresentatives Mr. Owen, of 
Indiana, said : "Oregon is our land of promise. 
Oregon is our land of destination. 'The finger 
of nature' — such were once the words of the 
gentleman from Massachusetts (J. O. Adams) in' 
regard to this country, 'points that way ;' two 
thousand Americans are already dwelling in her 
valleys ; five thousand more * * * will have 
crossed the mountains before another year rolls 
round." It was the opinion of the senator from 
Illinois, Mr. Semple, that ten thousand would 
cross the Rocky mountains the following year. 

At last a resolution was introduced in con- 
gress "affirming Oregon to be part and parcel of 
the territory of the United States from 42 degrees 
to 54 degrees, 40 minutes, and that notice should 
be given at once to terminate the joint occupancy 
of it." It was held on the floor of the house 
that "no doubts now remain in the minds of 
American statesmen that the government of the 
United States held a clear and unquestionable 
title to the whole of the Oregon territory." 

In the region, at this time, the Hudson's Bay 
Company had about thirty "trading posts." 
Really they were forts and powerful auxiliaries 
to an internecine war. Seven thousand citizens 
of the United States were in the same country. 
The question of another war with England had 
become a live and important issue. To have 
stood solidly for 54 degrees, 40 minutes, would 
have meant war, and as one gentleman expressed 
it. "a war that might have given the whole of 
Oregon t<~> England and Canada to the United 
States." During forty days the question of giv- 
ing notice to England of discontinuance of joint 
occupancy was debated in the house. It was car- 
ried by a vote of one hundred and sixty-three to- 
fifty-four. The struggle in the senate was longer. 
An idea of the engrossing nature of the Oregon 
topic may be gleaned from the fact that three 
score bills and resolutions were kept in abeyance 
on the calendar for future action. Daniel Web- 
ster prophesied that war would not result ; that 
the incident would be closed by compromise and 
that the compromise would be on the boundary 
line of the forty-ninth parallel. The attitude of 
the two countries was this : We had offered forty- 
nine degrees from the mountains to the Pacific- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



43 



( )cean, not once, but several times ; England had 
offered forty-nine degrees from the mountains to 
the Columbia, and by that stream to the sea. A 
comparatively narrow triangle of land only lay 
between the demands of England and conces- 
sions by the United States. Most excellent 
grounds for a compromise. April 23, 1846, the 
notice passed the house by a vote of 42 to 10, 
with important amendments strongly suggestive 
to both governments to adjust all differences 
amicably. No one longer feared war. 

From the point on the forty-ninth parallel of north 
latitude where the boundary laid down in existing 
treaties and conventions between the United States and 
Great Britain terminates, the line of boundary between 
the territories of the United States and those of her 
Britannic Majesty shall be continued westward along 
said forty-ninth parallel of north latitude to the middle 
of the channel which separates the continent from 
Vancouver's Island, and thence southerly through the 



middle of the said channel, and of Fuca's Strait, to 
the Pacific ocean : Provided, however, that the naviga- 
tion of the whole of the said channel and straits south 
of the 49th parallel of north latitude, remains free and 
open to both parties. 

Thus reads the first article of the final boun- 
dary treaty between England and the United 
States, so far as concerns Oregon. But to mold 
it into this form and sign the same, fifty-four 
years, two months and six days had been re- 
quired by the two countries. July 17, 1846, the 
document, previously ratified, was exchanged in 
London between the two governments. But Cap- 
tain Robert Gray, of Boston, had discovered the 
Columbia river May 11, 1792 and fully estab- 
lished a United States title to the country which 
it drains. It remained yet for a boundary com- 
mission, in 1857, to run the line. The first meet- 
ing of the commission was held July 2^, of the 
same year. 



CHAPTER V 



THE TRAGEDY OF WHITMAN'S MISSION. 



"Who will respond to go beyond the Rocky 
Mountains and carry the Book of Heaven ?" 

This was the startling question asked by 
President Fiske, of Wilbraham College. It was 
an editorial inquiry published in the Christian 
Advocate in March, 1833. Yet this ringing call 
for spiritual assistance was not initiative on the 
part of President Fiske. A Macedonian cry had 
been A'oiced by four Flathead Indians, of the 
tribe of Nez-Perces, or Pierced-noses. They had 
come down to St. Louis from the headwaters of 
the Columbia, the Snake, Lewis or Clark's 
rivers, far to the westward of the Rocky Moun- 
tains. Far up in the mountains of Montana, in 
one of the many valleys which sparkle like emer- 
alds on the western slope of the "Stony" range, a 
handful of natives met to ponder over the unique 
tale repeated by some passing mountaineer of a 
magic "Book" possessed by the white man, which 
assured its owners of peace and comfort in this 
life and eternal bliss in the world to come beyond 
the grave. The Flatheads were a weak and un- 
warlike people ; they were sorely beset by the 
fierce Blackfeet, their hereditary foes, through 



whose terrible incursions the Flatheads had been 
reduced in numbers and harrassed. so continually 
that their state was most pitiable. To this rem- 
nant of a once proud race the trapper's story was 
a rainbow of promise ; the chiefs resolved to see 
this "Book," and possess themselves of the white 
man's treasure. They chose an embassy of four 
of their wisest and bravest men, and sent them 
trustfully on the tribe's errand. 

Alone and unassisted by government appro- 
priation, they had followed a course down the 
Missouri and the Father of Waters three thou- 
sand miles to St. Louis. This was in 1832. The 
peculiar mission of these Indians was the open- 
ing act of the Whitman tragedy. Mr. Barrows 
says : 

"The massacre ran riot through eight days, 
and Dr. Marcus Whitman and wife, of the Amer- 
ican Board, and thirteen or more associates, were 
savagely killed on the 29th of November, 1847, 
and days following. It was the bloody baptism 
of Oregon,, by the like of which the most of the 
American states have come into the union." 

At the period of the arrival of these four 



44 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Nez-Perce chiefs Indians were not an uncommon 
sight in St. Louis. At certain seasons the su- 
burbs of the city were fringed with teepees, or 
"wickiups." So, at first, but little attention was 
paid to them otherwise than to note their strange 
dress and unknown dialect. It is not difficult to 
gather how they had learned of the White Man's 
Book. Their own rude eloquence addressed to 
General William Clark at parting conveys this 
information. After a long time passed in the 
city, after two of them had gone to the happy 
hunting ground, the survivors made their de- 
sires known, and it appears their request was, 
perforce, denied. Translation of the Bible into 
an Indian dialect is not the work of a few days 
or months. The two remaining Indians decided 
to return home ; their mission a failure. The 
pathos of their complaint is in the spirit, if not 
the words, of one of the chiefs in his farewell 
speech to General Clark : 

I come to you over a trail of many moons from 
the setting sun. You were the friend of my fathers who 
have all gone the long way. I came with one eye 
partly opened for more light for my people who sit 
in darkness. I go back with both eyes closed. How 
can I go back blind to my blind people? I made my 
way to you with strong arms, through many enemies 
and strange lands, that I might carry back much to 
them. I go back with both arms broken and empty. 
The two fathers who came with us — the braves of many 
winters and wars — we leave here by your great waters 
and wigwam. They were tired in many moons and their 
moccasins wore out. My people sent me to get the 
White Man's Book of Heaven. You took me to where 
you allow your women to dance, as we do ours, and the 
Book was not there. You took me where they wor- 
shipped the great spirit with candles, and the Book 
was not there. You showed me the images of good 
spirits and pictures of the good land beyond, but the 
Book was not among them to tell us the way. I am 
going back the long, sad trail to my people of the dark 
land. You make my feet heavy with burdens of gifts, 
and my moccasins will grow old in carrying them, 
but the Book is not among them. When I tell my 
poor, blind people, after one more snow, in the big 
council, that I did not bring the Book, no word will be 
spoken by our old men or by our young braves. One by 
one they will rise up and go out in silence. My people 
will die in darkness, and they will go out on the long 
path to the other hunting ground. No white man will 
go with them and no White Man's Book to make the 
way plain. I have no more words. 

Of this utter failure to secure a copy of the 
Bible Mr. Barrows says, pertinently: 

In what was then a Roman Catholic city it was 
not easy to do this, and officers only were met. It has 



not been the policy or practice of that church to give 
the Bible to the people, whether Christian or pagan. 
They have not thought it wise or right. Probably no 
Christian enterprises in all the centuries have shown 
more self-sacrificing heroism, forseen suffering and in- 
tense religious devotion than the laborers of that 
church, from 1520, to give its type of Christianity to the 
natives of North America. But it was oral, ceremonial 
and pictorial. In the best of their judgment, and in the 
depths of their convictions, they did not think it best to 
reduce native tongues to written languages and the 
Scriptures to the vernacular of any tribe. 

But the eloquence of this speech had fallen 
on appreciative ears. A young clerk in General 
Clark's office, who had heard the sad plaint 
of the chief, wrote to George Catlin, in Pitts- 
burg, historian and painter, an account of the 
scene. Thereafter events moved rapidly ; the 
seed was sown and the harvest was about to be 
fulfilled. One Indian only lived to return to his 
people, without the Book, yet it cannot be said 
that his mission was a failure. The editorial ap- 
peal of President Fiske produced results. Meas- 
ures were at once taken by the American Board 
of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, and the 
Methodist Board of Missions to send missiona- 
ries to Oregon. Revs. Jason and David Lee were 
pioneers in this Scriptural crusade. They went 
under appointment of the Methodist Board. They 
were followed the next year by Revs. Samuel 
Parker and Marcus Whitman, M. D., sent by the 
American Board of Commissioners. In the sum- 
mer of 1835 the latter arrived at the American 
rendezvous on Green river. Accompanied by a 
body of Nez Perces, from which people the four 
chiefs had gone to St. Louis, Rev. Mr. Parker 
went to Walla Walla and on to Vancouver. And 
with him he carried the "Book." Dr. Whitman 
returned to the states the same fall, married 
Narcissa Prentice, and organized an outfit with 
which he returned, with his bride, to Oregon; 
arriving at Walla Walla in September, 1836. 

For the first time in any western history are 
presented in this volume authentic portraits of 
two of these Indians, Hee-Oh'ks-Te-Kin, the 
Rabbit's Skin Leggins. and H'co-a-H'Cotes-Min, 
No Horns on His Head. They are published by 
permission of the Smithsonian Institute, Wash- 
ington. The following excerpt concerning them 
is from the Smithsonian Report, Part II, 1885. 
Mr. Catlin, the artist who painted these por- 
traits, did not visit the Nez Perces until 1854-5, 
on his second journey through the west. Of 
them Mr. Catlin says : 

These two men when I painted them were in beauti- 
ful Sioux dresses which had been presented to them in 
a talk with the Sioux, who treated them very kindly 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



45 



while they were passing through the Sioux country. 
These two men were a part of a delegation that came 
across the Rocky Mountains to St. Louis a few years 
since to inquire for the truth of a representation which 
they said some white men had made among them "that 
our religion was better than theirs, and that they would 
all he lost if they did not embrace it." 

Two old and venerable men of this party died in 
Si. Louis, and 1 traveled two thousand miles, compan- 
ion with these two young fellows toward their own 
country and became much pleased with their manners 
and dispositions. No Horns on His Head died near the 
mouth of the Yellowstone river on his way home. The 
other one, The Rabbit's Skin Leggins, I have since 
learned arrived safely among his friends. * * * 
When I first heard of the report of the object of this 
extraordinary mission across the mountains I could 
scarcely believe it ; but in conversing with General 
Clark on a future occasion I was fully convinced of 
the fact. 

To this the editor of the Smithsonian report 
adds: "No more romantic incident than this can 
be found in Northwestern history — the four 
Nez Perces traveling thousands of miles in search 
of the Book, looking for the white man's Deity. 
Still the Jesuits had been missionaries among 
these same Indians for scores of years prior to 
that time. Lewis and Clark found many of the 
Black Gowns with the Indians." 

The question as to whether or no Dr. Whit- 
man "saved Oregon to the United States" will 
remain forever a question of casuistry. Events 
might have shaped themselves as they subse- 
quently did, had Whitman not made his long 
midwinter ride to Washington, D. C, to lay his 
facts and fears before the president. Everything 
might have resulted in the retention by the United 
States of all of Oregon south of the 49th par- 
allel, had no warning cry come from the far 
northwest ; a culverin shot announcing the at- 
tempt of England to seize the country, not only 
by force of majority colonization, but through 
artifices of the Hudson's Bay Company. At a 
dinner at Waiilatpu, attended by Dr. Whitman, 
news was received that a colony of English one 
hundred and fortv strong was then near Fort 
Colville, three hundred and fifty miles up the 
Columbia. A young priest leaped to his feet, 
threw his cap into the air and cried, "Hurrah for 
Oregon ! America is too late and we have got the 
country !" 

This was but one of the many significant signs 
witnessed by Whitman. He was a man of fore- 
sight ; he had seen and realized the wealth, posi- 
tion and future possibilities of Oregon as had 
no other American at that period. And he rode 
on to Washington and told his story. It will be 



read in the preceding chapter that not until he 
had done so did the American congress act. Of 
the personality of Dr. Whitman one who knew 
him contributes the following picture : 

Marcus Whitman once seen, and in our family 
circle, telling of his one business — he had but one — was 
a man not to be forgotten by the writer. He was of 
medium height, more compact than spare, a stout shoul- 
der and large head not much above it, covered with stiff, 
iron-gray hair, while his face carried all the moustache 
and whiskers that four months had been able to put on. 
lie carried himself awkwardly, though perhaps courte- 
ously enough for trappers, Indians, mules and grizzlies, 
his principal company for six years. He seemed built 
as a man for whom more stock had been furnished than 
worked in symmetrically and gracefully. There was 
nothing peculiarly quick in his motion or speech, and 
no trace of a fanatic; but under control of a thorough 
knowledge of his business, and with deep, ardent con- 
victions about it, he was a profound enthusiast. A 
willful resolution and a tenacious earnestness would 
impress you as making the man. 

Sordid motives have been attributed to Dr. 
Whitman's efforts in behalf of Oregon. One 
writer has assumed that his sole object was to 
secure continuance of his little mission at Waii- 
latpu. But there is abundance of evidence that 
his ideas were of a broader scope than this. Let 
it be noted that efforts to depreciate Whitman 
suddenly ceased as late as 1891. That year was 
found in the archives at Washington, D. C, a 
letter from him proposing a bill for a line of 
forts from the Kansas river to the Willamette. In 
the Walla Walla Union-Journal of August 15, 
1891, the letter was first published to the world. 
It has been reproduced in Dr. O. W. Nixon's 
work, "How Marcus Whitman Saved Oregon :" 

To the Hon. James W. Porter, Secretary of War : 
Sir — In compliance with the request you did me the 
honor to make last winter while at Washington, I here- 
with transmit to you the synopsis of a bill, which, if it 
could be adopted, would, according to my experience 
and observation, prove highly conducive to the best 
interests of the United States, generally ; to Oregon, 
where I have resided for more than seven years as a 
missionary, and to the Indian tribes that inhabit the 
intermediate country. 

The government will doubtless for the first time be 
apprised through you, and by means of this communi- 
cation, of the immense migration of families to Oregon, 
which has taken place this year. I have, since our inter- 
view, been instrumental in piloting across the route de- 
scribed in the accompanying bill, and which is the only 

eligible wagon road, no less than families, 

consisting of one thousand persons of both sexes, with 



4 6 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



their wagons, amounting in all to one hundred and 
twenty-six ; six hundred and ninety-four oxen and seven 
hundred and seventy-three loose cattle. 

Your familiarity with the government's policy, du- 
ties and interests, render it unnecessary for me to more 
than hint at the several objects intended by the enclosed 
bill, and any enlargements upon the topics here sug- 
gested as inducements to its adoption would be quite 
superfluous, if not impertinent. The very existence of 
such a system as the one above recommended suggests 
the utility of postoffices and mail arrangements, which 
it is the wish of all who now live in Oregon to have 
granted them, and I need only add that the contracts 
for this purpose will be readily taken at reasonable 
rates for transporting the mail across from Missouri 
to the mouth of the Columbia in forty days, with fresh 
horses at each of the contemplated posts. The ruling 
policy proposed regards the Indians as the police of the 
country, who are to be relied upon to keep the peace, 
not only for themselves, but to repel lawless white men 
and prevent banditti, under the solitary guidance of the 
superintendents of the several posts, aided by a well- 
directed system to induce the punishment of crimes. 
It will only be after the failure of these means to pro- 
cure the delivery of or punishment of violent, lawless 
and savage acts of aggression, that a band or tribe 
should be regarded as conspirators against the peace, 
or punished accordingly by force of arms. 

Hoping that these suggestions may met your ap- 
probation and conduce to the future interests of our 
growing country, I have the honor to be, honorable sir, 
your obedient servant, Marcus Whitman. 

Certainly it is reasoning from slender, unsub- 
stantial premises to assert that the great influ- 
ence exerted on President Tyler and Secretary 
Webster by Whitman was founded on so slight 
a pretext as saving to him, personally, the hum- 
ble mission at Waiilatpu. Whitman must have 
been a man with "an idea" larger than that to 
have commanded respect from the ablest states- 
men of the day ; to have crystalized public sen- 
timent into a desire for the whole of Oregon ; to 
have smelted patriotism into the heraldic proc- 
lamation of defiance to all England, "Fifty-four 
forty or fight." 

Had Whitman been purely selfish, why should 
he have announced his intention, in 1843, °f P er ~ 
sonally conducting a large train across the moun- 
tains ? Security of his mission did not depend 
on this. On the contrary the advance of civili- 
zation, with attendant churches, would tend to 
do away entirely with missions for the Indians. 

As we approach the melancholy close of Dr. 
Whitman's varied career as explorer, mission- 
ary and patriotic statesman, one can not fail to 
be impressed with a feeling that less devotion to 
a patriotic sense of duty would have conduced 



to his personal safety. Two antagonists were 
arrayed against him and his political as well as 
his spiritual plans ; primarily the Hudson's Bay 
Company, and the Indians, indirectly influenced 
by the same commercial corporation. The policy 
of the company was to keep the country in the 
condition of a vast game preserve for the purpose 
of breeding fur-bearing animals. Naturally this 
pleased the Indians. It was directly in line with. 
their hereditary mode of life. The policy of 
American colonization was symbolized by the axe 
and the plow ; complete demolition of profitable 
hunting grounds. And of this latter policy Dr. 
Whitman was high priest and propogandist. 

Since the discovery of America Indian wars 
have been like — 

"Freedom's battle, once begun, 
Bequeathed by bleeding sire to son." 

In a letter written by Washington to Jay, in 
1794, the first president says: "There does not 
remain a doubt in the mind of any well-informed 
person in this country, not shut against convic- 
tion, that all the difficulties we encounter with 
the Indians, their hostilities, the murders of help- 
less women and innocent children along our 
frontiers, result from the conduct of the agents 
of Great Britain in this country." Historical 
justice demands, however, that we assign the 
primary cause of the Whitman massacre to the 
entangling circumstances of the Indians on the 
Columbia, under two rival peoples and conflict- 
ing policies. Also the general character of the 
Indians as uncivilized and superstitious, must be 
duly considered. Before the tragedy, as since, 
many Americans were cruel, deceitful and ag- 
gressive in their treatment of the unsophisticated 
savage. Those who have philosophically watched 
the trend of current events in the past twenty- 
five years need not be told that more than one 
Indian outbreak can be directly traced to low 
cupidity and peculation among our government 
officials. To a certain extent this cruelty and 
deception had been practiced upon the Indians 
by lawless white men prior to the Whitman 
massacre. Today we cannot come into court with 
clean hands for the purpose of accusing the Eng- 
lish pioneers of Oregon. If their policy was one 
designed to check the march of western civili- 
zation it was certainly devoid of the sometimes 
Satanic cruelty shown by Americans toward the 
Indians. 

We now come to the savage details of the 
Whitman tragedy and the immediate cause of 
the outbreak. Undoubtedly this will be found to 
lie in the innate superstition of the savage, edu- 
cated or uneducated. Following the return of 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



47 



Whitman from Washington, in 1843, the Indians 
in the vicinity of the mission of Waiilatpn were 
restless and insurbordinate. There is ..evidence 
that at this period Whitman scented danger. He 
contemplated removal to The Dalles for safety, 
and had even gone so far as to arrange for the 
purchase of the Methodist Mission at that point. 
Two personal enemies were arrayed against him; 
Tamsuky, a Cayuse chief, and Joe Lewis. The 
latter was a sullen, rcvengeful'half-breed, one who 
had wandered to the mission, been befriended by 
the doctor, and secretly became the headcenter 
of a murderous plot. 

Measles became epidemic among the Indians 
during the summer of 1847, introduced among 
the Cayuse tribe by immigrants. It was Indian 
medical practice to treat all fevers by placing 
the patient in a sweat house, followed by a 
bath in ice-cold water. Under such ignorant 
ministrations many of the patients, of course, 
•expired. They died, too, under the medical at- 
tendance of Dr. Whitman, whose utmost 
vigilance could not save his patients from the 
sweat-house and the fatal douche. It was at 
this critical period that the treacherous Lewis 
circulated reports that the doctor was poisoning 
instead of healing his patients. Lewis affirmed 
that he had overheard Whitman and Rev. Henry 
Harmen Spalding plotting to obtain possession 
■of the country. It was finally decided by some 
of the influential chiefs of the tribe to demand 
of Dr. Whitman a test case of his professional 
skill. An Indian woman afflicted with the 
measles was given in his charge. The terrible 
alternative, secretly decided upon, was this: 
Should the woman recover, all would be peace ; 
should she die the Indians were to kill all the 
missionaries. 

Of this direful plot Whitman was apprised 
by Istikus, a Umatilla friend. The doctor treated 
the story with levity. Not so Mrs. Whitman. With 
the sensitive intuition of woman, she fully com- 
prehended the dread significance of Istikus' story, 
and though intrepid by nature, the heroine of a 
dangerous pioneer journey across the continent, 
she became alarmed, and was in tears for the 
first time since the death of her child, eight years 
before. Dr. Whitman reassured her the best he 
could, and renewed his promise to move down 
the river. It was too late. On the fatal 29th of 
November, 1847, great numbers of Tamsuky's 
adherents were in the vicinity of Waiilatpu. 
Their sinister presence added to the alarm of 
Mrs. Whitman. Survivors of the massacre said 
that the hills were black with Indians looking 
clown upon the scene. About one o'clock in the 
afternoon of the 29th, while Dr. Whitman was 



reading, a number of Indians entered his room 
and, having attracted his attention, one of them, 
said to have been Tamchas, buried his hatchet 
in the head of his benefactor. Another savage, 
Telaukait, one who had received nothing but kind- 
ness, beat his face to a pulp. Bloody work thus 
began was speedily followed with relentless bru- 
tality. None of the white men, scattered and un- 
suspecting, could offer adequate assistance. They 
were quickly shot down with the exception of 
such as were remote. Five men escaped. After 
increditable suffering they finally reached a place 
of safety. Mrs. Whitman was the only woman 
who suffered death. Other women were out- 
raged, and children, boys and girls held in cap- 
tivity several days. William McBean, the Hud- 
son's Bay Company's agent at Fort Walla Walla, 
refused to harbor Mr. Hall, who had escaped 
as far as the fort, and he subsequently perished. 
A courier was dispatched by McBean to Vancou- 
ver, hut this man did not even warn the people 
at The Dalles of danger. Happily they were un- 
molested. So soon as James Douglas, then chief 
factor in the place of Dr. McLaughlin, heard of 
the massacre, he sent Peter Skeen Ogden, with a 
force, to reach the survivors. Ogden exhibited 
a commendable zeal and efficiency and by the 
expenditure of several hundred dollars, ransomed 
forty-seven women and children. 

Following are the names of the victims of 
this outbreak ; the people slaughtered during the 
eight days of murderous riot : Marcus Whitman, 
Narcissa Whitman, John Sager, Francis Sager, 
Crockett Bewley, Isaac Gillen, James Young and 
Rogers, Kimball, Sales, Marsh, Saunders, Hoff- 
man and Hall. Afterward there was found on 
the site of the massacre a lock of long, fair hair, 
which was, undoubtedly, taken from the head 
of Mrs. Whitman. Among the relics of this 
tragedy, in Whitman College, it is now preserved. 
An account of the escape of Mr. Osborne was 
published a number of years ago. It is a graphic 
description of the horrors of the event and from 
it we take the following extracts : 

As the guns fired and the yells commenced, I 
leaned my head upon the bed and committed myself 
and family to my Maker. My wife removed the loose 
floor. I dropped under the floor, with my sick family 
in their night clothes, taking only two woolen sheets, 
a piece of bread and some cold mush, and pulled the 
floor over us. In five minutes the room was full of 
Indians, but they did not discover us. The roar of 
guns, the yells of the savages and the crash of clubs 
and knives, and the groans of the dying continued until 
dark. We distinctly heard the dying groans of Mrs. 
Whitman, Mr. Rogers and Francis, till they died away, 



4 8 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



one after the other. We heard the last words of Mr. 
Rogers in a slow voice, calling, "Come, Lord Jesus, 
come quickly." 

Soon after this I removed the floor and we went 
out. We saw the white face of Francis by the door. 
It was warm as we laid our hand upon it, but he was 
dead. I carried my two youngest children, who were 
sick, and my wife held on to my clothes in her great 
weakness. We had all been sick with measles. Two 
infants had died. She had not left her bed for six 
weeks till that day, when she stood up a few minutes. 
The naked, painted Indians were dancing a scalp dance 
around a large fire at a little distance. There seemed 
no hope for us and we knew not which way to go, but 
bent our steps toward Fort Walla Walla. A dense, 
cold fog shut out every star and the darkness was 
complete. We could see no trail and not even the 
hand before the face. We had to feel out the trail 
with our feet. My wife almost fainted, but staggered 
along. Mill Creek, which we had to wade, was high 
with late rains and came up to the waist. My wife in 
her great weakness came nigh washing down, but held on 
to my clothes. I braced myself with a stick, holding a 
child in one arm. I had to cross five times for the 
children. The water was icy cold and the air freezing 
some. Staggering along about two miles Mrs. Osborne 
fainted and could go no further, and we hid ourselves 
in the brush of the Walla Walla river, not far below 
the lodges of Tamsuky, a chief who was very active 
at the commencement of the butchery. We were thor- 
oughly wet, and the cold, fog-like snow was about us. 
The cold mud was partially frozen as we crawled, feel- 
ing our way into the dark brush. We could see nothing, 
the darkness was so extreme. I spread out one wet 
sheet on the frozen ground ; wife and children crouched 
upon it. I covered the other over them. I thought 
they must soon perish, as they were shaking and their 
teeth rattling with cold. I kneeled down and com- 
mended us to our Maker. The day finally dawned and 
I could see Indians riding furiously up and down the 
trail. Sometimes they would come close to the brush, 
and our blood would warm and the shaking would 
stop from fear for a moment. The day seemed a 
week. I expected every moment my wife would breathe 
her last. Tuesday night we felt our way to the trail 
and staggered along to Sutucks Nima (Dog Creek), 
which we waded as we did the other creek and kept 
on about two miles when my wife fainted and could go 
no farther. Crawled into the brush and frozen mud to 
shake and suffer on from hunger and cold and without 
sleep. The children, too, wet and cold, called incessantly 
for food, but the shock of groans and yells at first so 
frightened them that they did not speak loud. 
Wednesday night wife was too weak to stand. I took 
our second child and started for Walla Walla; had to 
wade the Touchet ; stopped frequently in the brush 
from weakness ; had not recovered from measles. 
Heard a horseman pass and repass as I lay concealed in 



the willows. Have since learned it was Mr. Spalding. 
Reached Fort Walla Walla after daylight ; begged Mr. 
McBean for horses to go to my family, for food, 
blankets and clothing to take to them, and to take care 
of my child till I could bring my family in should I live 
to find them alive. Mr. McBean told me I could not 
bring my family to his fort. Mr. Hall came in on Mon- 
day night, but he could not have an American in his 
fort, and he had him put over the Columbia river; that 
he could not let me have horses or anything for my 
wife or children, and I must go on to Umatilla. I insisted 
on bringing my family to the fort, but he refused ; 
said he would not let us in. I next begged the priest 
to show pity, as my wife and children must perish and 
the Indians, undoubtedly, kill me, but with no success. 
There were many priests at the fort. Mr. McBean 
gave me breakfast, but I saved most of it for my family. 
Providentially, Mr. Stanley, an artist, came in from 
Colville, and narrowly escaped the Indians by telling 
them he was "Alain," H. B., meaning that his name 
was Alain and that he was a Hudson's Bay Company 
employe. He let me have his two horses, some food 
he had left from Revs. Ellis and Walker's missions; 
also a cap, a pair of socks, a shirt and handkerchief, 
and Mr. McBean furnished an Indian who proved most 
faithful, and Thursday night we started back, taking my 
child, but with a sad heart that I could not find mercy 
at the hands of God. The Indian guided me in the 
thick darkness to where I supposed I had left my dear 
wife and children. We could see nothing and dared not 
call aloud. Daylight came and I was exposed to 
Indians, but we continued to search till I was about to 
give up in despair, when the Indian discovered one of 
the twigs I had broken as a guide in coming out to 
the trail. Following this he soon found my wife and 
children still alive. I distributed what little food and 
clothing I had and we started for the Umatilla, the 
guide leading the way to a ford. 

Mr. Osborne and family went to Willamette 
Valley where they lived many years, as honored 
members of the community, though Mrs. Os- 
borne never entirely regained her health from the 
dreadful experiences incident to the massacre and 
escape. 

The most ingenious casuistry will fail to palli- 
ate the utter heartlessness of Mr. McBean. The 
Indian guide exhibited more humanity to Mr. Os- 
borne. At the present day when charity, chiv- 
alry, nay, self-sacrifice to aid the suffering meet 
with heartiest approval from nearly all civilized 
nations, it is difficult to conceive of such base 
motives as appear to have actuated him. That 
he reflected the baser qualities of the Hudson's 
Bay Company's policy, no one can reasonably 
deny. It seemed necessary to him to show the 
Indians that so far from reproving their conduct 
the representative of the company was in sifcn- 








H co-a-h co-a-n cotes- Mm, no horns on his head 



HISTORY OP CENTRAL OREGON. 



49 



pathy, if not in actual collusion, with the savage 
conspirators. McBean's attitude on this occa- 
sion stands forth as oue of the darkest chapters 
in the history of the Hudson's Bay Company's 
"joint occupancy - ' with Americans, of the terri- 
tory of Oregon. 

If further proof were wanted of the apparent 
understanding between the Indians and the com- 
pany the case of the artist who gave his name as 
Alain, representing himself as connected with 
the interests of the Hudson's Bay Company is 
before us — most damning- testimony of the com- 
pany's secret alliance with the hostile red-skins. 
Refusal of assistance to Mr. Osborne by the 
priests at Fort Walla Walla is readily understood. 
Their tenure of spiritual office was dependent on 
the company. Their heartless action was not 
based on theological antagonism. No difference 
of creed entered into the matter. They were 
guided simply by personal interest ; they were 
but another form of the abject creatures to which 
the Hudson's Bay Company sought to reduce all 
of their dependents. But in the annals of Ameri- 
can history there is no more pathetic recital than 
the story of Osborne's and Hall's rejection at the 
English fort to which they had fled for shelter. 

On the day following the massacre McBean 
sent a messenger to Fort Vancouver, as has been 
stated, to apprise the chief factor, James Doug- 
las, of what had transpired. This messenger 
stopped at The Dalles and procured a boat from 
Mr. Alanson Hinman, missionary at that place, 
with which to continue his journey. But, carry- 
ing out the policy of the Hudson's Bay Company, 
of which McBean had set him an example, this 
treacherous messenger neglected to inform Mr. 
Hinman of the massacre and the danger in which 
they were. December 4th he reached Vancouver 
and Chief Factor Douglas sent, on the morning 
of the second day thereafter, a letter to Governor 
Abernethy at Oregon City, informing him of 
what had taken place at the Whitman mission. 
December 7th Peter Skeen Ogden, of the Hud- 
son's Bay Company, started from Vancouver 
with' a force of men to the scene of the tragedy, 
and on leaving The Dalles advised the Americans ■ 
— Americans, let the reader note — at that place 
to abandon the mission and seek safety in the 
Willamette Valley. This they did. 

The following day Governor Abernethy in- 
formed the legislature of the catastrophe and 
called for volunteers to rescue the prisoners and 
punish the Indians. A company of soldiers was 
immediately organized and sent to The Dalles 
at as outpost in case the Indians had hostile in- 
tentions against the Willamette settlements. 

The legislature pledged the credit of the pro- 
visional government to pay the expenses for the 



outfit of the company, and appointed a committee 
to visit Vancouver and negotiate for the same 
from the Hudson's Bay Company ; but they were 
compelled to become personally responsible for 
the amount involved. It was evident that the 
company did not believe, at that time, that the 
provisional government would stand long. De- 
cember 10th the company reached Vancouver, re- 
ceived their supplies and pushed on to The Dalles, 
where they arrived December 21st. 

In the meantime the legislature entered with 
great energy on a series of resolutions and enact- 
ments, with a view to organizing a sufficient mili- 
tary force to punish the Indians ; and the citizens, 
by private subscription and enlistments warmly 
seconded the efforts of the provisional govern- 
ment. Many of the more ardent were for push- 
ing forward into the Indian country at once 
with a formidable force ; but more prudent coun- 
sels prevailed, and nothing was done likely to 
prevent the Indians from surrendering their 1 
captives to Mr. Ogden, of the Hudson's Bay 
Company, who had gone among them for that 
purpose. 

Ogden reached Fort Walla Walla December 
19th, called a council of the chiefs at the Catholic 
mission on the Umatilla river, just above Pendle- 
ton, in which the Indians signed the following 
declaration of their wishes : 

First — That the Americans may not go to 
war with the Cayuses. 

Second — That they may forget the lately 
committed murders, as the Cayuses will forget 
the murder of the son of the great chief of Walla 
Walla, committed in California. 

Third — That two or three great men may 
come up to conclude peace. 

Fourth — That as soon as these great meri 
have arrived and concluded peace, they may take 
with them all the women and children. 

Fifth — They give assurance that they will 
not harm the Americans before the arrival of 
these two or three great men. 

Sixth — They ask that Americans may not 
travel any more through their country, as their 
young men might do them harm. 

This document was signed, "Place of Tawa- 
towe, Youmatilla, twentieth of December, 1847. 
( Signed. ) Tilokaikt, . 

Camaspelo, 
Tawatowe, 
Achekaia. 

On the 23d of December the chiefs assembled 
at the Fort to hear what the Hudson's Bay 
factor had to say to them, and the following 
speeches by Factor Ogden - and three of the 
Indian chiefs, made on the occasion, explain the 
situation. Mr. Ogden said : 



50 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



I regret to observe that all the chiefs whom I asked 
for are not present — two being absent. I expect the 
words I am about to address you to be repeated to them 
and to your young men on your return to your camps. 
It is now thirty years since we have been among you. 
During this long period we have never had any instance 
of blood being spilt, until the inhuman massacre, which 
has so recently taken place. We are traders, and a 
different nation from the Americans. But recollect, we 
supply you with ammunition not to kill the Americans. 
They are of the same color as ourselves, speak the same 
language, are children of the same God, and humanity 
makes our hearts bleed when we behold you using them 
so cruelly. Besides this revolting butchery, have not 
the Indians pillaged, ill-treated the Americans, insulted 
their women, when peacefully making their way to the 
Willamette? As chiefs, ought you to have connived 
at such conduct on the part of your young men ? You 
tell me your young men committed the deeds without 
your knowledge. Why do we make you chiefs, if you 
have no control over your young men ? You are a set 
of hermaphrodites and unworthy of the appellation of 
men as chiefs. You young, hot-headed men, I 
know that you pride yourselves upon your bravery, 
and think no one can match you. Do not de- 
ceive yourselves. If you get the American to 
commence once, you will repent it, and war will 
not end until every one of you are cut off from the 
face of the earth. I am aware that a good many of 
your friends and relatives have died through sickness. 
The Indians of other places have shared the same fate. 
It is not Dr. Whitman that poisoned them, but God has 
commanded that they should die. We are weak mortals 
and must submit, and I trust you will avail yourselves 
of the opportunity. By so doing it may be advan- 
tageous to you, but at the same time remember that you 
alone will be responsible for the consequences. It is 
merely advice that I give you. We have nothing to do 
with it. I have not come here to make promises or hold 
out assistance. We have nothing to do with your quar- 
rels ; we remain neutral. On my return, if you wish it, 
I shall do all I can for you, but I do not promise you 
to prevent war. 

If you deliver me up all the prisoners I shall pay 
you for them on their being delivered, but let it not be 
said among you afterward that I deceived you. I and 
Mr. Douglas represent the company, but I tell you 
once more we promise you nothing. We sympathize 
with these poor people and wish to return them to their 
friends and relations by paying you for them. My 
request in behalf of the families concerns you ; so de- 
cide for the best. 

To this the young chief, Tawatowe, re- 
plied : 

I arise to thank you for your words. You white 
chiefs command obedience with those that have to do 



with you. It is not so with us. Our young men are 
strong-headed and foolish. Formerly we had experi- 
enced, good chiefs. These are laid in the dust. The 
descendants of my father were the only good chiefs. 
Though we made war with the other tribes, yet we 
always looked, and ever will look, upon the whites as 
our brothers. Our blood is mixed with yours. My 
heart bleeds for so many good chiefs I had known. 
For the demand made by you the old chief, Tilokaikt, 
is here. Speak to him. As regards myself, I am willing 
to give up the families. 

Then upspoke Tilokaikt. 

I have listened to your words. Young men do not 
forget them. As for war, we have seen little of it. We 
know the whites to be our best friends, who have all 
along prevented us from killing each other. That is the 
reason why we avoid getting into war with them, and 
why we do not wish to be separated from them. Be- 
sides the tie of blood, the whites have shown us con- 
vincing proofs of their attachment to us by burying their 
dead alongside with ours. Chief, your words are 
weighty. Your hairs are gray. We have known you 
a long time. You have had an unpleasant trip to this 
place. I can not, therefore, keep these families back. I 
make them over to you, which I would not do to 
another younger than yourself. 

Yellow Serpent (Peu-Peu-Mox-Mox) spoke 
as follows : 

I have nothing to say. I know the Americans to 
be changeable. Still, I am of the opinion of the young 
chief. The whites are our friends and we follow your 
advice. I consent to your taking the families. 

Mr. Ogden then addressed two Nez Perce 
chiefs at length in behalf of the Rev. H. H. 
Spalding and party, promising he would pay for 
their safe delivery to him. The result was that 
both chiefs, James and Itimimipelp, promised to 
bring them, provided they were willing to come, 
and immediately started to Clearwater with that 
purpose, bearing a letter from Chief Factor 
Ogden to Mr. Spaulding. The result of this 
conference was the delivery, on the 29th of 
December, to Mr. Ogden (for which he paid 
to the Cayuse Indians five blankets, fifty shirts, 
ten fathoms of tobacco, ten handkerchiefs, ten 
guns and one hundred rounds of ammunition), 
the following captives : 

Missionary children adopted by Dr. Whit- 
man — Miss Mary A. Bridger ; Catherine Sager, 
aged thirteen years ; Elizabeth Sager, ten ; Mar- 
tha J. Sager, eight ; Henrietta N. Sager, four ; 
Helen M. Meek. 

From Du Page county, Illinois — Mr. Joseph 
Smith, Mrs. Hannah Smith; Mary Smith, aged 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



5* 



fifteen years ; Edwin Smith, thirteen ; Charles 
Smith, eleven; Nelson -Smith, six; Mortimer 
Smith, four. 

From Fulton county, Illinois — Mrs. Eliza 
Hall; Jane Hall, aged ten years; Mary C. Hall, 
eight ; Ann E. Hall, six ; Rebecca Hall, three ; 
Rachel M. Hall, one. 

From Osage county, Mississippi — Mr. Elam 
Young; Mrs. Irene Young; Daniel Young, aged 
twenty-one years ; John Young, nineteen. 

From La Porte county, Indiana — Mrs. Har- 
riet Kimball; Susan M. Kimball, aged sixteen 
years; Nathan M. Kimball, thirteen; Byron M. 
Kimball, eight; Sarah S. Kimball, six; Mince 
A. Kimball, one. 

From Iowa — Mrs. Mary Sanders; Helen M. 
Sanders, aged fourteen years ; Phebe L. San- 
ders, ten ; Alfred W. Sanders, six ; Nancy L. 
Sanders, four; Mary A. Sanders, two; Mrs. 
Sally A. Canfield ; Ellen Canfield, sixteen ; Oscar 
Canfield, nine ; Clarissa Canfield, seven ; Sylvia 
A. Canfield, five ; Albert Canfield, three. 

From Illinois — Mrs. Rebecca Hays ; Henry 
C. Hays, aged four years ; Eliza Spalding, 
Nancv E. Marsh ; Lorrinda Bewlev. 

On New Year's Day, 1848,' Rev. H. H. 
Spalding, with ten others, being all the Amer- 
icans from his mission, arrived at Fort Walla 
Walla under escort of fifty Nez Perce Indians, 
to whom Mr. Ogden paid for their safe delivery 
twelve blankets, twelve shirts, twelve handker- 
chiefs, five fathoms of tobacco, two guns, two 
hundred rounds of ammunition and some knives. 
Three days later Mr. Ogden started for Van- 
couver with the captives in boats. Shortly after 
he had left the fort at Walla Walla fifty Cayuse 
warriors dashed up to the place to demand the 
surrender of Mr. Spalding, to be killed, as 
word had reached them of the arrival of Amer- 
ican soldiers at The Dalles, to make war upon 
them, and thev held him responsible for that 
fact. 

We have described the Whitman Mission, 
Whitman's mid-winter journey, his work for 
Oregon and the massacre. It remains to speak 
•of the Cayuse war which followed as a natural 
sequence. But before entering into the details 
of this act of retributive justice on the part of 
the Americans, it might be well to glance at the 
leading members of the sparse Oregon popula- 
tion at that period. In his "History of Oregon" 
W. H. Gray says : 

At this point, perhaps, a statement of all the names 
of persons I have been able to collect and recollect, and 
the year they arrived in the country, will not be unin- 
teresting to the reader. 



In the year 18.34 Rev. Jason Lee, Rev. Daniel Lee, 
Cyrus Shepard and P. L. Edwards, connected with the 
Methodist mission; Captain N. Wyth, American fur 
trader, and of his party in 1832, S. II. Smith, Burdet 
Greeley, Sergeant, Bull, St. Clair and Whittier (who 
was helped to or given a passage- to the Sandwich 
Islands by the Hudson's Bay Company), Brock, a 
gunsmith; Tibbets, a stonecutter; Moore, killed by the 
Blackfeet Indians; Turnbull, who killed himself by 
over-eating at Vancouver. There was also in the 
country a man by the name of Felix Hathaway, saved 
from the wreck of the William and .Inn. Of this num- 
ber Smith, Sergeant, Tibbets and Hathaway remained. 
Of the party in 18.54. James A. O'Neil, T. J. Hubbard 
and Courtney M. Walker remained in the country, 
making six of Wyth's men and one sailor. C. M. 
Walker came with Lee's company. With Ewing Young, 
from California, came, in this year, John McCarty, 
Carmichael, John Hauxhurst, Joseph Gale, John How- 
ard, Kilborn, Brandywins and George Winslow, a col- 
ored man. By the brig Maryland, Captain J. H. Couch, 
G. W. Le Breton, John McCadan and William Johnson. 
An English sailor by the name of Richard McCary 
found his way into the settlement from the Rocky 
mountains. 

In the year 1835 it does not appear that any settlers 
arrived in the country. Rev. Samuel Parker visited 
it and explored it under the direction of the American 
Board of Foreign Missions. 

In the year 1836 Rev. H. H. Spalding. Dr. Marcus 
Whitman, W. H. Gray, Mrs. Eliza Spalding and Mrs. 
Narcissa Whitman, missionaries of the American Board, 
and Rev. Mr. Beaver, Episcopal chaplain at Vancouver, 
and Mrs. Beaver. There appear to have been no settlers 
this year; at least, none known to us. In 1837 Mrs. 
A. M. Lee, Mrs. S. Shepard, Dr. E. White, Mrs. M. 
White, A. Beers, Mrs. R. Beers, Miss E. Johnson, W. 
H. Wilson, Mr. J. Whitcomb, members of the Methodist 
Episcopal Mission. Second reinforcement this year: 
Rev. H. K. W. Perkins, Rev. David Leslie, Mrs. Leslie, 
Misses Satira, Mary and Sarah Leslie, Miss Margaret 
Smith. Dr. J. Bailey, an Englishman, George Gay and 
John Turner. 

In 1838 Rev. Elkanah Walker. Mrs. Mary Walker, 
Rev. Cushing Eells, Mrs. Elvira Eells, Rev. A. B. Smith, 
Airs. E. Smith and Mrs. Mary A. Gray, missionaries 
of the American Board. As laborers under special 
contract not to trade in furs or interfere ivith the 
Hudson's Bay Company's trade, James Connor, native 
wife and one child, and Richard Williams, both from 
the Rocky mountains. Jesuit priests : Rev. F. N. 
Blanchet. Rev. Demerse, located at Vancouver and 
French Prairie. 

In 1839 Rev. J. S. Griffin, Mrs. Griffin, Asael Mun- 
ger, Mrs. Mary Munger, Independent Protestant 
Mission ; Robert Shortess, J. Farnam, Sidney Smith, Mr. 



52 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Lawson, Rev. Benjamin Wright (Independent Metho- 
dist), William Geiger, Mr. Keiser, John Edmund Pick- 
ernel, a sailor. 

In 1840 Mrs. Lee, second wife of Rev. Jason Lee; 
Rev. J. H. Frost and wife ; Rev. A. F. Waller, wife and 
two children ; Rev. W. W. Kone and wife ; Rev. G. 
Hines, wife and sister; Rev. L. H. Judson, wife and 
two children; Rev. J. L. Parish, wife and three chil- 
dren ; Rev. G. P. Richards, wife and three children ; 
Rev. A. P. Olley and wife. Laymen : Mr. George Aber- 
nethy, wife and two children ; Mr. H. Campbell, wife 
and one child ; Mr. W. W. Raymond and wife ; Mr. H. 
B. Brewer and wife; Dr. J. L. Babcock, wife and child; 
Rev. Mrs. Daniel Lee ; Mrs. David Carter ; Mrs. Joseph 
Holman ; Miss E. Phillips, Methodist Episcopal 
Protestant Mission; Rev. Henry Clark and wife; P. B. 
Littlejohn and wife, Independent Protestant Mission; 
Robert Moore, James Cook and James Fletcher, set- 
tlers ; Jesuit priest : P. G. De Smet ; Flathead Mission. 
Rocky mountain settlers with native wives : Wil- 
liam Craig, Robert and Dr. Newell, J. L. Meek, James 



Ebbets, William M. Dougherty, John Larison, George 
Wilkinson, Mr. Nicholson, Mr. Algear and William 
Johnson, the latter the author of the novel. "Leni 
Leoti, or The Prairie Flower." The subject of this 
work was first written and read before the Lyceum, 
at Oregon City, in 1843. 

In the above list I have given the names of all the 
American settlers as near as I can remember them, 
the list of names I once collected having been lost.. 
I never was fully informed of the different occupa- 
tions of all these men. It will be seen that we had 
in the country in the fall of 1840 thirty-six American 
settlers, twenty-five of them with native wives ; thirty- 
three American women ; thirty-two children ; thirteen- 
lay members of the Protestant missions ; nineteen min- 
isters (thirteen Methodist; six Congregational), four 
physicians (three American and one English), three 
Jesuit priests and sixty Canadian-French — making, out- 
side of the Hudson's Bay Company, one hundred and 
thirty-seven Americans and sixty-three Canadians,, 
counting the three priests as Canadians. 



CHAPTER VI 



THE CAYUSE WAR. 



Friends of Mr. McBean have come forward 
with an explanation of his treatment of the 
refugees from the Waiilatpu massacre. It was 
claimed that his reluctance to do any act which 
might have appeared like befriending Americans 
was through fear of the Cayuse Indians and a 
belief that they were about to begin a war of 
extermination upon Americans, their friends and 
allies. Therefore it would be dangerous to as- 
sist such Americans as were then seeking refuge 
from massacre, outrage and torture. 

Such reasoning is pitiful and contemptible 
enough to excite the scorn of the whole world. 
But it was reserved for the Americans, however, 
to take the initiative in this war. News of the 
Whitman massacre stirred the hearts of genuine 
men ; men in whose veins ran the milk of human 
kindness instead of ice-water. On the day fol- 
lowing the massacre Vicar General Brouillet 
visited Waiilatpu mission. He found the bodies 
of the victims unburied ; he left them with such 
hasty interment as was possible, and soon after 
he met Mr. Spalding whom he warned against 
attempting to visit the mission. This was, in- 



deed, a friendly act on the part of the Vicar 
General, for the horrors of this tragedy did not 
come to a close on the first day. While it was 
safe for Brouillet, in close touch with the Hud- 
son's Bay Company, to repair to that sad scene 
of desolution, it was not considered safe for any 
Americans to visit the spot. On Tuesday Mr.. 
Kimball, who had remained with a broken arm 
in Dr. Whitman's house, was shot and killed. 
Driven desperate by his own and the suffering of 
three sick children with him, he had attempted 
to procure water from a stream near the house. 
The same week Mr. Young and Mr. Bulee were 
killed. Saturday the savages completed their 
fiendish work by carrying away the young women, 
for wives. 

December 7, 1847, Ir om Fort Vancouver,. 
James Douglas sent the following letter to Gov- 
ernor Abernethy : 

Sir — Having received intelligence last night by 
special express from Walla Walla, of the destruction 
of the missionary settlement at Waiilatpu, by the Cayuse- 
Indians, of that place, we hasten to communicate the- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



53 



particulars of that dreadful event, one of the most 
atrocious which darkens the annals of Indian crime. 

Our lamented friend, Dr. Whitman, his amiahlc and 
accomplished lady, with nine other persons, have fallen 
victims to the fury of these remorseless savages, who 
appear to have been instigated to this appalling crime 
by a horrible suspicion which had taken possession of 
their superstitious minds, in consequence of the number 
of deaths from dysentery and measles, that Dr. Whit- 
man was silently working the destruction of their tribes 
"by administering poisonous drugs under the semblance 
of salutary medicines. 

With a goodness of heart and a benevolence truly 
his own, Dr. Whitman had been laboring incessantly 
since the appearance of the measles and dysentery among 
'his Indian converts to relieve their sufferings ; and such 
has been the reward of his generous labors. 

A copy of Mr. McBean's letter herewith trans- 
mitted" will give you all the particulars known to us 
of this indescribably painful event. Mr. Ogden with a 
strong party will leave this place as soon as possible 
for Walla Walla to endeavor to prevent further evil ; 
and we beg to suggest to you the propriety of taking 
immediate measures for the protection of the Rev. 
Mr. Spalding who, for the sake of his family, ought 
to abandon the Clearwater mission without delay, and 
retire to a place of safety, as he cannot remain at the 
isolated station without imminent risk in the present 
excited and irritable state of the Indian population. 

I have the honor to be, sir, your most obedient 
servant, JAMES DOUGLAS. 

The reception of this letter was followed by 
intense excitement among people in the Willa- 
mette settlement. The governor was authorized 
to mobilize a company of riflemen not exceeding 
fifty in number, the objective point being The 
Dalles, which they were instructed to garrison 
and hold until such time as they could be rein- 
forced. Three commissioners were chosen to 
carry out such provisions. The commissioners 
addressed a circular letter to the superintendent 
of the Methodist Mission, the "merchants and 
citizens" of Oregon and the Hudson's Bay Com- 
pany. This document is valuable as explaining 
conditions in Oregon at that date, December 
17- 1847: 

Gentlemen — You are aware that the undersigned 
have been charged by the legislature of our provisional 
•government with the difficult duty of obtaining the 
necessary means to obtain full satisfaction of the Cayuse 
Indians for the late massacre at Waiilatpu, and to 
protect the white population of our common country 
from further aggression. In furtherance of this object 
they have deemed it their duty to make immediate 
application to the merchants and citizens of the country 
for the requisite assistance. 



Though clothed with the power to pledge to the 
fullest extent the faith and means of the present gov- 
ernment of Oregon, they do not consider this pledge 
the only security to those who, in this distressing 
emergency, may extend to the people of this country 
the means of protection and redress. 

Without claiming any special authority from the 
government of the United States to contract a debt 
to lie liquidated by that power, yet from all precedents 
of like character in the history of our country, the 
undersigned feel confident that the United States gov- 
ernment will regard the murder of the late Dr. Whit- 
man and his lady as a national wrong, and will fully 
justify the people of Oregon in taking such active meas- 
ures to obtain redress for that outrage, and for their 
protection from further aggression. 

The right of self defense is tacitly acknowledged 
to every body politic in the confederacy to which we 
claim to belong, and in every case similar to our own, 
within our knowledge, the general government has 
assumed the payment of all liabilities growing out of 
the measures taken by the constituted authorities to 
protect the lives and property of those who reside 
within the limits of their districts. If the citizens of 
the States and Territories east of the Rocky moun- 
tains are justified in promptly acting in such emer- 
gencies, who are under the immediate protection of 
the general government, there appears no room for 
doubt that the lawful acts of the Oregon government 
will receive a like approval. 

Though the Indians of the Columbia have committed 
a great outrage upon our fellow citizens passing through 
the country, and residing among them, and theif pun- 
ishment for these murders may, and ought to be, a 
prime duty with every citizen of Oregon, yet as that 
duty more particularly devolves upon the government 
of the United States, we do not make this the strongest 
ground upon which to found our earnest appeal to 
you for pecuniary assistance. It is a fact well known 
to every person acquainted with the Indian character, 
that by passing silently over their repeated thefts, 
robberies and murders of our fellow citizens, they 
have been emboldened to the commission of the ap- 
palling massacre at Waiilatpu. They call us women, 
destitute of the hearts and courage of men, and if we 
allow this wholesale murder to pass by as former ag- 
gressions, who can tell how long either life or prop- 
erty will be secure in any part of the country, or what 
moment the Willamette will be the scene of blood 
and carnage. 

The officers of our provisional government have 
nobly performed their duty. None can doubt the 
readiness of the patriotic sons of the west to offer 
their personal services in defense of a cause so righteous. 
So it now rests with you, gentlemen, to say whether our 
rights and our firesides shall be defended or not. 

Hoping that none will be found to falter in so 



54 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



high and so sacred a duty, we beg leave, gentlemen, 
to subscribe ourselves, 

Your servants and fellow citizens, 
JESSE APPLEGATE, 
A. J. LOVEJOY, 
GEO. L. CURRY, 

Commissioners. 

This patriotic communication produced a cer- 
tain effect, though not, perhaps, financially com- 
mensurate with the hopes of its authors. The 
amount secured was less than five thousand dol- 
lars, but this sufficed to arm and equip the first 
regiment of Oregon riflemen. 

The ransomed prisoners from Waiilatpu, 
Lapwai and Tchimakain reached the Willamette 
Valley in safety. Concerning those from Lapwai 
and Tchimakain, it may be said here to the 
credit of certain Indians that though one band, 
the Cayuses, were murderers, two bands, the 
Nez Perces and Spokanes, were saviors. Few 
things more thrilling ever came under human 
eye than the narration by Fathers Eells and 
Walker of the council of the Spokanes at 
Tchimakain to decide whether or not to join the 
Cayuses. The lives of the missionaries hung 
on the decision. Imagine their emotions as they 
waited with bated breath in their mission house 
to know the result. After hours of excited dis- 
cussion with the Cayuse emissaries the Spokanes 
announced their conclusion : "Go and tell the 
Cayuses that the missionaries are our friends 
and we will defend them with our lives." The 
Nez Perces made the same decision. Bold though 
those Cayuses were — the fiercest warriors of the 
inland empire — their hearts must have sunk 
within them as they saw that the Umatillas, the 
Nez Perces and the Spokanes, and even the 
Hudson's Bay Company were all against them 
and that they must meet the infuriated whites 
from the Willamette. For as soon as tidings 
reached there the provincial government had at 
once entered upon the work of equipping fourteen 
companies of volunteers by an act of December 
9th. These volunteers mainly provided their own 
horses, arms and ammunition, without a thought 
of pecuniary gain or even reimbursement. 

Cornelius Gilliam, father of W. S. Gilliam, of 
Walla Walla, was chosen colonel of the regiment, 
and with great energy pushing all necessary ar- 
rangements, he set forth from the rendezvous 
at The Dalles on February 27, 1848. Several 
battles occurred on the way, the most severe 
at Sand Hollows in the Umatilla country. 

The battle of Sand Hollows began on a plain 
where depressions in the sand made convenient 
natural rifle pits. These were occupied by the 
Indians in force. The baggage train, protected 



by the company of Captain Lawrence Hall,, 
formed the center of the white forces. The left 
flank consisting of the companies of Captain 
Philip F. Thompson and Captain H. J. G. Maxon r 
were on the north side of the road, and the com- 
panies of Captain Levi N. English and Captain 
Thomas McKay constituted the right of the 
command. The first onset of the Indians fell 
upon McKay's company which was at the ex- 
treme right. 

The forces of the Indians were composed of 
Umatilla, Cayuse and Walla Walla braves, who 
were in arms, not so much for the protection of 
the Whitman murderers as for the defense of 
their country from a general white invasion. 
They feared, and with reason, that if they per- 
mitted a regiment of white soldiers to invade 
their territory severe reprisals would be made 
and the innocent suffer with the guilty. Their 
principal leaders were Five Crows, the general 
chief of all three tribes and a recent Protestant 
convert, and War Eagle, also a Cayuse. Five- 
Crows flamboyantly claimed that by his wizard 
powers he could stop all bullets, while War 
Eagle's gasconade was couched in the boastful 
statement that he would agree to swallow all 
missies fired at him. This same spirit of brag- 
gadocio has, throughout all historical times, ani- 
mated pagan soldiers. During the war with the 
Filipinos the natives were solemnly told by their 
priests that all bullets fired by American soldiers 
would turn to water before reaching them. 

Mark the result of the engagement between 
the avengers of Dr. Whitman and the super- 
stitious Cayuses. At the first onset the "Swallow 
Ball'' was killed, and the "wizard" was so 
seriously wounded that he was compelled to re- 
tire from the war. 

This unexpected disaster and the accompany- 
ing disillusion of the Indians as to their chiefs' 
invulnerability operated as a wet blanket on the 
ardor of the Indians, though they contested the 
advance of the troops stubbornlv until evening 
put an end to the engagement. Once during the 
afternoon Captain Maxon's company advanced 
beyond supporting distance and being- sur- 
rounded, was extricated with great difficulty, 
eight of his men being wounded. Eleven soldiers 
were wounded in the battle, but no one was 
killed. The Indian loss was severe though, as 
usual, they carried off most of their dead and 
wounded. 1 he next day the troops continued 
their advance, reaching the Whitman mission 
the third day after the engagement. The scene 
of this battle was on the emigrant road, eight 
miles west of the Well Springs. 

At the mission the troops paused several days 
to recuperate and give a reverent burial to the 






HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



55 



remains of the martyrs, which had been hastily 
covered with earth when Ogden ransomed the 
captives, but were afterward partially exhumed 
b) coyotes. 

Tlie Indians had now fallen back to Snake 
river. Following them thither the whites were 
somewhat outgeneraled. They surprised and 
captured a camp of Indians, among whom were, 
as was afterward discovered, some of the mur- 
derers themselves. But the wily Cayuses pro- 
fessed great friendship and pointing to a large 
band of horses on the hill, said that the hostiles 
had abandoned them and crossed the river. 
Completely deluded the whites surrendered the 
camp and rounding up the horses, started on 
the return. And now the released captives, 
mounting at once, began a furious attack which 
proved so harrassing that the volunteers were 
obliged to retreat to the Touchet, and finally, al- 
though they repelled the Indians, they turned 
loose the captured horses. These the Indians 
seized, vanishing with them over the plains. 

In the struggle on the Touchet, when the re- 
tiring volunteers reached its banks, William Tay- 
lor was fatally shot by an Indian who sprang 
up in the bushes near by. Nathan Olney, who 
was afterward ag'ent of the Umatilla Indian 
reservation, avenged the deed by rushing upon 
Taylor's assailant, snatching from his hand a war 
club in which was fastened a piece of iron, and 
dealing him such a blow on the head as to cause 
the iron to split the club, and yet without killing 
him. In the hand-to-hand struggle which then 
ensued Olney finally succeeded in finishing the 
Indian with a knife. 

But the Indians in general had no wish to 
fight, and finding that the whites insisted on a 
surrender of the murderers, the tribe scattered 
in various directions ; Tamsuky with his friends 
going to the headwaters of the John Day. There 
they remained for two years. In 1850 a band of 
Umatillas undertook to capture them and after a 
severe, fight killed Tamsuky and captured a num- 
ber. Of the captives five were hanged at Ore- 
gon City, June 3, 1850. Just previous to their 
execution they signed the following declarations 
of innocence : 

Kilokite — I am innocent of the crime of which I 
am charged. Those who committed it are dead, some 
killed, some died ; they were ten, two were my sons ; 
they were killed by the Cayuses. Tamsuky, before 
the massacre, came to my lodge ; he told me they were 
gu ; ng to hold a council to kill Dr. Whitman. I told 
him not to do so ; that it was bad. One night seven 
Indians died near the house of Dr. Whitman, to whom 
he had given medicines. Tamsuky's family were sick ; 
he gave them roots and leaves ; they got well. Other 



Indians died. Tamsuky came often. I talked to him, 
but his ears were shut; he would not hear; he and 
others went away. After a while some children came 
into my lodge and told me what was going on. I 
bad told Tamsuky over and over to let them alone ; 
my talk was nothing; I shut my mouth. When I left 
my people the young chief told me to come and 
talk with the big white chief and tell him who it was 
that did kill Dr. Whitman and others, my heart was 
big; 'tis small now. The priest tells me I must die 
tomorrow. I know not for what. They tell me that 
I have made a confession to the marshal that 1 struck 
Dr. Whitman. 'Tis false. You ask me if the priests 
did not encourage me to kill Dr. Whitman ? I answer, 
no, no. I am innocent, but my heart is weak since I 
have been in chains, but since I must die I forgive 
them all. Those who brought me here and take care 
of me, I take them all in my arms ; my heart is 
opened. 

Quiahmarsum (Panther-Skin.) — I was up the river 
at the time of the massacre, and did not arrive until 
the next day. I was riding on horseback ; a white 
woman came running from the house. She held out 
her hand and told me not to kill her. I put my hand 
upon her head and told her not to be afraid. There 
were plenty of Indians all about. She, with the other 
women and children went to Walla Walla to Mr. 
Ogden's. I was not present at the murder, nor was I 
in any way concerned in it. I am innocent. It 
hurts me to talk about dying for nothing. Our chief 
told us to come down and tell all about it. Those 
who committed the murder are killed and dead. The 
priest says I must die tomorrow. If they kill me, 
I am innocent. I was sent here by my chief to de- 
clare who the guilty persons were ; the white chief 
would then shake hands with me; we would have a 
good heart. My young chief told me I was to come 
here to tell what I know concerning the murderers. 
I did not come as one of the murderers for I am 
innocent. I never made any declaration to any one 
that I was guilty. This is the last time that I may 
speak. 

Kloakamus — I was there at the time ; but I had 
no hand in the murder. I saw them when they were 
killed, but did not touch or strike any one. I looked 
on. There were plenty of Indians. My heart was 
sorry. Our chief told us to come down and tell who 
the murderers were. There were ten; they are all 
killed. They say I am guilty, but it is not so ; I am 
innocent. The people do not understand me. I can't 
talk to them. They tell me I must die by being hung 
by the neck. If they do kill me I am innocent, and 
God will give me a big heart. I have no reason to 
die for things I did not do. My time is short. I tell 
the truth. I know that I am close to the grave ; but 
my heart is open and I tell the truth. I love every 
one in this world. I know that God will give me a 
big heart. I never confessed to the marshal that I 



56 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



was guilty, or to any other person ; I am innocent. 
The priests did not tell us to do what the Indians 
have done. This is my last talk. 

Siahsaluchus (Wet Wolf) — I say the same as the 
others ; the murderers are killed, some by the whites, 
some by the Cayuses and some by others. They were 
ten in number. I have nothing more to say; I thank 
God and forgive all men ; I love them. The priest did 
pot tell us to do this. 

Temahas — I did not know that I came here to die. 
Our chief told us to come and see the white chief and 
tell him all about it. The white chief would then tell 
us all what was right and what was wrong; learn us 
how to live when we returned home. Why should 
I have a bad heart after I am showed and taught 
how to live? My eyes were shut when I came here. 
I did not see but now they are opened. I have been 
taught ; I have been showed what was good and what 
was bad. I do not want to die ; I know now that 
we are all brothers. They tell me the same Spirit 
made us all. Tamahas joined with Kilokite. My 
heart cries my brother was guilty, but he is dead. I 
am innocent. I know I am going to die for things 
I am not guilty of, but I forgive them. I love all 
men now. My hope, the priest tells me, is in Christ. 
My heart shall be big with good. 

The Cayuse Indians, however, admit that one 
of those condemned was really guilty, namely, 
Tamahas, who struck Dr. Whitman the first 
blow. Their claim that the others were inno- 
cent is very likely true and if so is but another 
instance of the lamentable failure to apply either 
punishment or mercy accurately, which has char- 
acterized all Indian wars on both sides. The 
innocent have borne the sins of the guilty in more 
ways than one. 

Many men afterward famous in Oregon and 
Washington history took part in the Cayuse wars. 
Among them we may name James W. Nesmith, 
afterward United States senator from Oregon, 
and father of the wife of Levi Ankeny, present 
United States senator from Washington ; Joel 
Palmer, late speaker of the house of representa- 
tives of Oregon ; Captain William, who was 
sheriff and county judge of Umatilla county for 
sixteen years, and who died full of years and 
honors at Pendleton, in 1899 ; Captain Thomas 
McKay, First Lieutenant Charles McKay and 
Second Lieutenant Alexander McKay, all of 
whom were conspicuous for their important 
services during the campaign. The last three 
named were the sturdy sons of that Alexander 
McKay, partner of Astor, who was murdered 
on the ill-fated ship Tonquin in 1812. As before 
related, when Jason Lee crossed the continent, 
in 1834, he traveled from Fort Hall with Thomas 
McKav and his band of hunters. The two men 



became close friends, and when Lee returned 
to the states in 1838 he was accompanied by 
McKay as far as Bear river, where the latter^s 
infant son, Donald was baptized by Mr. Lee. 
This infant was the same Donald McKay who 
afterward gained fame as an Indian scout, and 
was, at the time of his death, several years ago, 
the government interpreter on the Umatilla reser- 
vation. As Thomas McKay was unable to go 
all the way east, he turned three of his sons 
over to Mr. Lee to take to the states to be edu- 
cated. Mr. Lee entered the boys in the Wesleyan 
Academy, at Wilbraham, Massachusetts. One of 
them, the late Dr. William C. McKay, of Pendle- 
ton, afterward finished his studies at the Wes- 
leyan University, at Middletown, Connecticut. 

Colonel Gilliam, who had shown himself a 
brave and capable commander, was accidentally 
killed on the return trip, a most melancholy end 
of a career which was full of promise to this 
section of the country. 

In taking leave of this stirring historical 
epoch, the pursuit, capture and punishment of the 
principals and instigators of the murder of Dr. 
Whitman and his associates in missionary work, 
it may be said in the way of retrospection that, 
grevious as was the end of Whitman's career, no 
doubt it will ultimately be seen to have produced 
greater results for this region of the world than 
if he had survived to have enjoyed a well-merited 
rest from his labors. Subsequent development 
of this section, the founding of Whitman Col- 
lege, and the whole train of circumstances aris- 
ing from American occupation of Oregon may be 
seen, in some measure, to have grown out of 
the tragedy at Waiilatpu. Here, as elsewhere, 
martyrdom appears a necessary accompanyment 
to the most brilliant progress in civilization. 

While the offense of these Indians cannot be 
condoned, charitv and justice compel the ad- 
mission that the ignorant creatures were scarcely 
more responsible than the wild beasts who, also, 
disputed the territory with civilized man. The 
very superstition which it should be the duty of 
every missionary to eradicate from pagan minds 
as speedily as possible, is primarily to blame for 
the undoing of Dr. Whitman. Steeped in this 
barbaric superstition, pampered by the Hudson's 
Bav Company, treacherously deceived by agents 
and emissaries of the great octopus of the North- 
west Coast, we cannot hold these savages to a 
higher degree of responsibility than the source 
from which they drew their grewsome inspira- 
tion. But in 1848 the progress of western civi- 
lization demanded their suppression, if not ulti- 
mate removal, along with the coyote and rattle- 
snake. 

We cannot close this chapter more consis- 






HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



57 



tently than by giving an account of the various 
Indian tribes and their condition a few years 
previous -to the Whitman tragedy and the war 
immediately following. For this purpose we ap- 
pend an extract from "Ten Years in Oregon," 
written by Missionaries Daniel Lee and J. H. 
Frost in 1844. These gentlemen lived among the 
Indians in different parts of the Northwest for a 
number of years and enjoyed ample opportunity 
to study the Indian character. The extract re- 
lates to the Indians, giving the number in Ore- 
gon at that time ; the different tribes, their places 
of residence, occupations, modes of living, dress, 
superstitions, etc. 

We now proceed to give as accurately as possible 
the number of Indians in the Oregon territory, their 
character, manners and customs. 

The Rev. Samuel Parker, whose "Journal of an 
Exploring Tour Beyond the Rocky Mountains" is now 
before us, estimates the number of Indians in that 
territory in the lower country, between California and 
the forty-seventh degree of north latitude, at 50,000; 
and those of the upper country at 32,585, and then 
observes that "we might more than double this (the 
last number and probably still come below the popu- 
lation of the upper country." 

Dr. Bangs, in his "History of Methodism" sup- 
poses their number to amount to probably 150,000. 
And Mr. Thomas J. Farnham, professedly, gives an 
extract from the report of Lieutenant Wilkes to the 
secretary of the navy, in which the numbers of the 
Indians in the Oregon territory are estimated at 
19,199. What a contrast. And yet this last number 
is the most accurate, being, as the writer believes, 
not many hundreds wide of the mark ; but in this 
estimate there are, to his certain knowledge, two errors. 
He passed through the Killamook country, while the 
exploring squadron, under the command of Lieutenant 
Wilkes was in the Columbia, and ascertained the 
number of the Killamook' clan to amount to no more 
than 200, whereas in this "extract" it is estimated at 
400. And the numbers of The Dalles Indians are 
underated at least one-half. This last statement the 
writer makes upon the authority of a gentleman who 
resided there for the space of five years, which em- 
braced the time when the above mentioned squadron 
made their surveys in the country. 

And now, with these very different and contra- 
dictory statements, the writer will leave the world 
to guess at the exact number of Indians in that terri- 
tory, while he will proceed to give a brief description 
of their character, manners and customs, and in so 
doing he will have occasion to refer once more to 
the journal of the Rev. Mr. Parker. When speaking 
of the character of "the Indians of the plains of the 
upper country," this gentleman states that "thev are 
•scrupulously honest in all their dealings and lying is 



scarcely known," and says, "They fear to sin against 
the Great Spirit and, therefore, have but one heart, 
and their tongue is straight and not forked." He further 
adds, "And so correctly does the law written upon 
their hearts accord with the written law of God, that 
every infraction of the seventh commandment of the 
decalogue," that is, the commandment which prohibits 
the commission of adultry, "is punished with severity." 
1 know not how to apologize for these mis-state- 
ments only by stating, which is no doubt the fact, 
that this gentleman was not in the country a suf- 
ficient length of time to become acquainted with the 
Indian character. With reference to their honesty 
and integrity our readers may judge when we assure 
them from personal observation, and from informa- 
tion received from gentlemen and ladies who have 
resided among these Indians, that they are both thieves 
and liars; and they will also judge their virtuous dis- 
positions when they learn that in two instances at- 
tempts were made upon white ladies who resided 
among them. Surely, these were virtuous Indians ! 

The gentleman further states, "The Indians west of 
the great chain of mountains have no wars among 
themselves, and appear to be adverse to them, and 
do not enter into battle except in self-defense, and then 
only in the last extremity." See Journal, page 236. 
Now the facts in the premises lie upon the opposite 
side of this "rail." There are perpetual feuds existing 
between the different clans. They do not often come 
forth in battle array, as did the armies of the Kings 
of Israel and Philistia ; but whenever they get a sly 
chance they pounce upon their foe like the panther 
upon his prey, and as many of their enemies as do 
not fall before the arrow, the rifle ball or the knife, 
are driven away and sold into perpetual slavery. 

The Chinooks, who reside on the north side of the 
Columbia, in plain sight and hearing of the writer 
while he resided on the south side of the river, during 
the summer of 1842, were at war among themselves, 
and they were not at peace when he left the country. 
During the summer referred to one could hear the 
muskets and rifles firing, some days, from morning 
till night ; and that clan will soon be in the condition 
of the Killkenny cats of whom it is reported that they 
continued to fight until they devoured each other all 
but their tails. 

This dispute and consequent war arose among them 
in precisely the same way that most irreconcilable dis- 
putes and exterminating wars have arisen in other 
hereditary monarchies among their Christian neigh- 
bors. Chenamus, their chief, was called upon by death 
to abdicate the ancient throne upon which Comcomly 
once sat in dignity and pomp when his white son- 
in-law bore rule at Astoria ; and now, as it generally 
goes, his son, the "heir apparent," would needs ascend 
the seat of honor ; but in this he found a rival, for 
another salmon-eater, who perhaps felt a drop of "royal 
blood" running through his veins, would be chief, 



58 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



also, which was, of course, a sufficient cause for war. 

After enumerating a number of vices to which 
these Indians are addicted, such as gambling, etc., he 
adds : "It is not to be supposed that their virtue, 
any more than that of other tribes, would be invul- 
nerable if exposed to temptation." No, for actual ex- 
perience has long since proved to a demonstration that 
the slightest temptation has completely overcome their 
long-cherished virtuous principles. But still, the writer 
is very much inclined to join with his Christian brothei 
in saying: "The moral disposition," that is, the natural 
disposition, "of these Indians is very commendable, 
certainly as much as any people," in their natural 
state, "that can be named." For since he had reached 
his own Christian nation, he finds it important and 
absolutely necessary to keep things under lock and key 
to prevent them from taking to themselves legs and 
walking away. 

Perhaps, before dismissing these Indians it should 
be observed that in general appearance they resemble 
each other from The Dalles to the Rocky Mountains. 
The men are generally above the middling in size, 
and the women are of common stature and both are 
well formed. Their complexion may be a little lighter 
than that of other Indians. Their hair and eyes are 
black, their cheekbones high, and very frequently they 
have aquiline noses. Their hands, feet and ankles 
are small and well-formed, and their movements are 
easy, if not graceful. They wear their hair long, part 
it upon their foreheads and let it hang in tresses down 
behind. Their dress is much the same throughout the 
different clans, which consists of a shirt worn long, 
close leggins, with moccasins. There are of dressed 
skins of the deer, antelope, mountain goat and sheep. 
They use many ornaments, such as feathers, beads 
buttons and painted porcupine quills. The dress of 
the women and men is much the same, except, instead 
of the shirt the women wear a kind of frock, which 
comes nearly to the feet. Many of them wear a large 
cap made of dressed skins, ornamented with beads. 
They have an abundance of horses and are excellent 
riders. Their arms consist of the bow and arrow, 
musket, rifle and knife. 

We will now dismiss the Indians of the upper 
country, and when we come to speak of the missionary 
operations at The Dalles, we will exhibit some more 
particular traits in their character. The character of 
those who inhabit the lower country, between The 
Dalles and the coast, now demands our attention. 

The Chinooks inhabit the north side of the Colum- 
bia, their summer residence being immediately on the 
banks of the river during salmon season, and upon 
the Chinook river, a few miles to the north, where 
they take a second run of salmon, which are of an in- 
ferior quality. These are preserved for their winter 
food. To the north of the Chinooks we meet with 
the Checaldish clan, who also reside on the Columbia 
during summer and times of peace. To the north of 



these is another clan called the Quinintles. These 
sometimes visit the Columbia, but not generally. The 
Cowlitz are the next to be met with on the north 
side of he river and between them and The Dalles 
the country is inhabited by scattering bands of Chinooks 
and Klickitats. The south side of the Columbia, immed- 
iately on the coast is inhabited by the Clatsops, and to 
the south of them is the Killamook country. A clan 
called the Claskanios lived upon the streams which emoty • 
into the head of Young's Bay, which clan is very nearly 
extinct. Further up the river we meet with a remnant 
of a clan called Ne Coniaks. From this to The Dalles 
again we meet with only a few wandering bands of 
Klickitats and Chinooks. 

The natives of the Willamette Valley consist 
principally of the Calapooyas ; and here we are under 
the necessity of correcting another mistake recorded 
in the journal of Rev. Mr. Parker : This gentleman 
represents the Calapooyas as "being divided into seven- 
teen different tribes, and number about 8.780 persons, 
who speak the same language, radically with only a 
little difference in dialect," etc. See page 262, third 
edition. Now the fact is this : There never was but 
one tribe of Calapooyas, and of that tribe there are 
only a few most miserable remnants left (which is 
the condition of all the tribes in the lower country), 
and are scattered over the most part of the Willamette 
Valley, and they will not number more than from 
500 to 800. To prevent mistake I will here observe 
the Yamhills, of whom previous mention has been 
made, are a remnant of this nation ; which band con- 
sists of two or three families, and is, perhaps, one of 
Mr. Parker's tribes. 

As regards the Umpquahas, of whom Mr. Parker 
says, "they are divided into six tribes," it will be well 
for the reader to understand that in the year 1840" 
Revs. Jason Lee and G. Hines made a tour through 
their country for the purpose of selecting a location 
for a missionary post among these supposed "six 
tribes," but after passing through their country from the 
Willamette country through deep, dark ravines and, 
over high, rugged and precipitous mountains, and 
finally down the whirling Umpqua river to the coast, 
they found a few miserable fish-eaters who were as- 
savage of the bears, their neighbors, from among whom, 
as they were informed by their guide and guardian, 
an Indian woman, the wife of the man who had charge- 
of the company's trading post in that region, they did 
well to escape with their lives for. while there, she had 
watched the movements all night, while the mis- 
sionaries slept, and had expected an attack from them 
before morning. The brethren decided that it was 
"not expedient to establish a missionary post there." 
in which decision the writer most heartily concurred. 

These Indians of the lower country resemble each 
other in person and manners and, with some slight 
exceptions in dress also, and the exceptions must be 
very slight, unless it be this, that some have very 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



59 



little covering and sunn; none at all, and the best have 
but three changes, as it is said, that is, to put on, 
take off and -go without, and the latter change is fre- 
quently preferred. The writer does not attempt a 
particular description of their wardrobe, but he will 
venture to say that the men wear a shirt, and when it 
is cold a blanket — if they can get it; but there are a 
few immediately on the river who dress as Europeans 
sometimes, which clothes they obtain from trading 
vessels and the Hudson's Bay Company for salmon 
and furs. The dresses of the females arc entirely in- 
expressible except that they sometimes wear a blanket 
over their shoulders made of small skins sewed to- 
gether with sinews of elk or deer, or such as they ob- 
tain from the traders. 

They are very fond of ornaments, such as beads, 
rings, bracelets, feathers and shells. One kind of shells 
in use among them is obtained on the Northwest Coast, 
which is a small, white, spiral shell called by them 
the "ta-cope-to-cope," or "Hiaqua." A fathom of these, 
when strung upon a string, are worth a good, three- 
point blanket, and these are their currency. It is not 
unfrequently the case that one may meet with an Indian 
with a bunch of these, say ten or fifteen tied together 
and hung in each ear, and one sticking through a hole 
in the ligament which divides the nostrils, with the face 
and parts of the body daubed with a kind of red 
clay, and a rude cap adorned with feathers upon his 
pancake-shaped head, with long hair queued up be- 
hind, upon which must be suspended a bunch of shells 
and some feathers, and a short, dirty shirt. After 
spending much time in thus richly and genteely attiring 
himself, he comes out a "perfect beau." And it can 
be easily ascertained when their young ladies are 
considered fit for market by the profusion of the like 
ornaments with which their persons are adorned. And 
yet it is with them as with other nations, ornaments 
do not constitute beauty, for neither sex can boast of 
this gift of nature. Their noses are generally broad 
and rather flat at the top, and fleshy at the end, with 
large nostrils. They have wide mouths, thin lips, and 
very good teeth. They are frequently, however, in aged 
persons, worn away to the gums by eating so much 
sand with their food. The men carefully eradicate 
every vestige of beard, which they consider a deformity, 
except a few individuals who have what is called a 
"goatee'' under the chin. Their hair is black and 
course and both sexes wear it at full length. In size 
they are generally below five feet, five inches, with 
crooked legs and thick ankles, a deformity caused by 
their passing so much of their time sitting or squatting 
upon their heels in the bottom of their canoes, a 
favorite position which they retain even when on shore. 
The women increase the deformity by wearing tight 
bandages around the ankles, which prevents the circu- 
lation of the blood and causes a swelling in the muscles 
of the leg. 

While in infancy their heads are flattened by com- 



pression from the eyebrows to the crown, and the flatter 
they can be made the more beautiful they are in their 
own estimation. One of the females came into the 
house of the writer one day with a child, the head of 
which was exquisitely flat. On being asked how she 
succeeded in making it so flat the woman said that 
she had put a bag of sand on it in the first instance, 
but as that proved too light she removed it and put 
the axe in its place, which effected the work to per- 
fection. The slaves, however, are not allowed to en- 
joy the benefits of this deformity, consequently their 
heads are left in their natural state. 

The following anecdote will show that they are not 
wanting in intellect, or at least shrewdness. When 
the Rev. Jason Lee visited the United States in 1839, 
he brought with him two boys of the Chinook nation. 
One of them being asked by a gentleman of the states 
the reason why their people flattened their heads, asked ' 
in return : "Why do your ladies made themselves so 
small about the waist?" And now, having committed 
myself by mentioning "slaves," I shall be under the 
necessity of saying something more on the subject. 
Their slaves and their women constitute the greatest 
part of their property. What! Their women? Yes, 
but hold, I must speak of slavery first. Their slaves 
are such as are taken prisoners in time of war, or per- 
haps, more properly speaking, such as are stolen from 
other tribes. For instance,^ a band of Kollamooks go 
to the south, and falling in with a weaker clan of 
their southern neighbors, they make no further adoo, 
but fall on them, gun and knife in hand ; some they 
kill, the remainder they take prisoners and convey 
them to the north and sell them to their Clatsop, 
Chinook and Checallish neighbors, when they and their 
children become slaves for life. What they call a 
"good man" slave is worth as much as a horse ; that is, 
from ten to twelve blankets, and so on, according to 
the size and qualifications. The female slaves are 
worth less, from the fact that they are not able to 
perform much drudgery. 

But in what sense are their women their property? 
Why, the more wives a man has the more work he 
can have done ; and every man has a right, according to 
their view of things, to have as many wives as he is 
able to purchase. And do parents sell their daughters? 
.Yes, in the following manner. When a young beau, 
or an old beau — and the latter circumstance is just 
as likely to happen there as in the civilized world — 
makes overtures for the hand of one of his neighbor's - 
daughters, he approaches the parents, or in case the 
girl has no parents, the proposal is made to the nearest 
relative. The parent or relative then breaks the sub- 
ject to the girl, and if the suit proves favorable, the 
terms are settled, which may require the swain to pro- 
duce so many canoes, horses, blankets, kiaquas, or other 
articles of property upon the day the nuptials are to be- 
celebrated. This property is divided among the rela- 
tives of the bride ; and after the ceremony — marriage : 



<6o 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



■ ceremonies, however, have become nearly obselete in 

'the lower country — the bridegroom receives the bride's 
dowery, which is generally of much less value than 

" the goods paid down by him. 

One girl in the Clatsop clan refused to tender her 
much desired hand to a Chinook of some rank, alleging 
as a reason for her denial that her parents would 
require a high price for her, and as but little would 
be given in return if she acceeded to the proposition, 
she would be obliged to work very hard to make her 

' husband's heart good ; so, embracing a favorable op- 
portunity, she hid herself in the 1 woods until this storm 
of love had measurably subsided when she returned 

"to enjoy the bliss of a single squaw's life. In respect 

".'to their moral character I cannot, in justice to them, 
and to myself, say that it is blacker than that of 
thousands and tens of thousands of their white brethren 
in the civilized world. And for a full description of 

* both I will refer the reader to the first chapter of 
Paul's Epistle to the Romans, from the 19th verse 

<"to the close of the chapter. 



Their superstitions are almost endless and very 
deeply rooted, and are manifested more and more as we 
become acquainted with them. To enumerate and 
describe them would require considerable labor, and 
such a description would necessarily take up a number 
of our pages, and when done the benefit derived there- 
from would not quit cost; consequently we deem it our 
duty to pass this subject by, and proceed to notice those 
things in connection with the history which will be 
calculated to render this work more valuable. These 
Indians are the most degraded human beings that we 
have met with in all our journeyings, taking them as 
a whole. There is not one among them that can be 
considered virtuous. And in consequence of disease, 
which cleaves to them from their birth, and the many 
murders committed among them, they are rapidly wast- 
ing away, and the time is not far distant when the 
last death-wail will proclaim their universal extinc- 
tion. It is truly heartrending to see, as we have, how 
the "last enemy" chases them "from the cradle to the 
grave." 



CHAPTER VII 



THE INDIAN WARS OF THE 'FIFTIES. 



In a previous chapter we have read of the 
struggle for possession with England. America 
won. Her home-builders outmatched the fur 
traders. But there was, as there always has 
been in our national history, another inevitable 
struggle for possession. This was with the. 
Indians. The so-called Christian nations have 
never stopped to consider the rights of the na- 
tive claimants of the land. The thing greatly to 
be deplored in all Indian wars, however, has been 
the general practice on both sides of inflicting 
punishment upon any innocent persons who 
might happen along. Some drunken and 
ferocious savages, as devoid of humanity as the 
wild beasts about them, would plunder, outrage 
and kill some family of immigrants or settlers, 
and forthwith a band of the brave, manly, yet 
harsh and intolerant frontiersmen who have 
made our early history, would rush forth im- 
petuously and kill some poor Indian wretches 
who had never heard of the outrage and had not 
the remotest conception of having committed any 
offense. In like manner when some avaricious 
white had swindled the ignorant Indians out of 
: land or some other valuable property, or some 



lustful and conscienceless white desperado had 
outraged Indian women or murdered unoffend- 
ing braves, a band of Indians, inflamed with 
whiskey purchased of some post trader, and 
armed with weapons from the same source, 
would go on the war-path and torture, mutilate 
and murder some innocent helpless women and 
children who had never thought of injuring a 
living thing. No one who has ever lived on the 
frontier can wonder at the bitter and intolerant 
hatred of the whites for the Indians. But if we, 
the civilized and victors, could put ourselves in 
the place of the natives and view life with their 
eyes, none of us would wonder that they had 
hated us with the fury and frenzy of wild beasts. 
For it is safe to say that for every pang suffered 
by whites a score have been suffered by Indians. 
And we, the higher race, must admit that we 
know better than they, and have less excuse for 
inhumanity and intolerance. 

Yet in the final summary there can be no other 
conclusion than that the extermination of the ma- 
jority of the Indians and the total destruction of 
their claims as owners of this country was "writ 
down in the book of fate." It was a part of the 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



61 



irrepressible conflict of life. Moreover by reason 
of the necessities of existence the early settlers 
could not wait to argne abstract questions of 
right. They had obeyed the fundamental law to 
subdue and replenish the earth, and in pursuance 
of that condition of all progress they could not 
stop to philosophize on the principles of human 
brotherhood. They had to live, and with a tom- 
ahawk over their heads they were obliged to re- 
pel. And if the right to repel existed, the right 
to counter attack followed as a matter of course; 
extermination of their enemies was, generally 
speaking, the only effectual means of repelling. 
It was sad, but inevitable. And though we have 
lived a "Century of Dishonor," it is much easier 
now to condemn than it would have been then to 
improve. 

And so, by reason of these conditions we find 
the history of our Indian wars the subject of bit- 
ter controversy. Hardly any two writers or wit- 
nesses give the same version of supposed facts. 
One has a bias in favor of the pioneers and ex- 
ploits his statements according to his opinions. 
Hence he represents the pioneers as always jus- 
tifiable and the Indians as always to blame. An- 
other gives the reverse impression. Nor are 
pioneers generally much disposed to blame or 
smooth either their opinions or expressions. It 
is apt to be all one thing or all the other with 
them. Compromise does not, for it cannot, flour- 
ish in pioneer conditions. 

After the Cayuse war had ended in 1850, by 
the execution of the supposed murderers of Dr. 
Whitman, there was a lull along the bunch grass 
plains and sage-brush banks of the Columbia and 
Snake rivers. A few adventurous explorers and 
ranchers began to seek locations on the streams 
hallowed by martyrdoms. The most consider- 
able settlement was at Frenchtown, ten miles 
below Walla Walla. According to the best in- 
formation obtainable there were eighty-five per- 
sons, the men entirely of French origin, and 
former Hudson's Bay Company employes, with 
Indian wives and a good stock of half-breed chil- 
dren, living in the vicinity. Among these were 

the following : Pacquette, Indian wife and 

two children ; Poirer, and Indian wife ; 

Tellier, Indian wife and six children ; E. 



Beauchemir, Indian wife and six children ; A. 
La Course, Indian wife and three children ; Nar- 
cises Remond, Indian wife and two children ; 
Lewis Dauny, Indian wife and three children ; 
L. Rocque, Indian wife and three children ; T. 

Morisette, Indian wife and three children ; 

Brancheau. Indian wife and four children ; Oliver 
Brisbois, Indian wife and one child ; A. D. Pam- 
brun ; William H. McBean, Indian wife and 
eleven children ; J. B. Ignace, Indian wife and 



one child ; Mignan Findlay, Indian wife and three 

children ; Etteyne, Indian wife and one 

child ; Father Chirouse, and two brothers ; Father 
Pondosa, temporarily. 

Frank T. Gilbert says : "To the foregoing add 
James Sinclair with several employes, who had 
charge of the Hudson's Bay fort at Wallula, and 
it includes the inhabitants living within the re- 
gion already hostile or liable to immediately be- 
come so." 

Besides the miners, there were living east of 
the Cascades at that time the following persons, 
whose lives would be endangered by a general 
outbreak : 

Henry M. Chase, who came in the latter part 
of 185 1, with William McKay to Umatilla river, 
where he wintered. The next summer he joined 
William Craig in the Nez Perce country, win- 
tered in 1852 at The Dalles, returned to the Nez 
Perce country in 1853, where he remained with 
his stock, purchased from immigrants, until 
1855. when he became a resident of what is now 
Dayton, in Columbia county, Washington. 

Louis Raboin, an American of French extrac- 
tion, who had been living in the country east of 
the Cascades since 185 1. 

P. M. Lafontain, a neighbor of Mr. Chase in 
1855, adjoining whom he had taken up a claim. 

Lloyd Brooke, George C. Bumford and John 
F. Noble were partners and had occupied the 
Whitman mission since 1853. They had come to 
the country and selected that point for headquar- 
ters in the fall of 1852, intending to make it the 
center of a grazing region over which their stock 
could range ; they still occupied the place in 1855. 

A. P. Woodward first came to the region east - 
of the Cascades in 1852, and though temporarily 
absent, was a resident of the Walla Walla vallej 
in 1855. 

W. A. Tallman was working for Brooke, 
Bumford and Noble in 1855. 

William Craig, an old mountaineer, had been 
living at Lapwai among the Nez Perces since 
1845, an d tne friendship of that tribe for the 
Americans was largely due to his influence - 
among them. He died there in October, 1869. 

John Owens, also a mountaineer, had been liv- 
ing in what is now Montana, since 1850. 

Dr. William McKay had been living on the 
Umatilla river since 1851. 

There were three transient men working for - 
H. M. Chase, and some for Brooke, Bumford & - 
Noble. 

March 3, 1853, Washington was taken from 
"Oregon" and made a separate territory. Major 
Isaac I. Stevens was appointed governor, and in 
the following summer he set out for his domain. 
Gold had been discovered in the Colville country - 



62 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



and there were many adventurers moving across 
the plains in that direction. The Indians were 
very restive. These explorations they regarded 
with well-grounded suspicion as the entering 
■ wedge of the establishment of white sovereignty. 

There were at that time two remarkable In- 
dian chiefs, chiefs who belonged to that line of 
remarkable red men of which Philip, Pontiac, 
Red Jacket and Tecumseh were more illustrious 
specimens ; whose qualities of mind and char- 
acter contain a hint of what Indians might have 
been had they had any wide or long continued 
opportunity. These two Columbia Valley chiefs 
were Kamiakin, of the Yakimas, and Peu-Peu- 
Mox-Mox, of the Walla Wallas. Like all the In- 
dian chiefs they perceived the handwriting on the 
wall revealed by the entrance of the whites, and 
thev determined to make a desperate effort to 
burst their tightening bonds while there was yet 
a chance of success. 

There was a general outburst of all the tribes 
of Oregon and Washington in 1853 and 1854 
which led up to the great war centering in Walla 
Walla in 1855. This series of troubles began in 
the summer of 1853 in the Rogue river valley in 
southern Oregon. The usual bitter controversy 
raged as to who was to blame for this. It ap- 
pears as though whites and Indians were equally 
so. In 1854 occurred the horrible "Snake River 
Massacre," in which a number of immigrants 
who had offered no provocation whatever, were 
butchered in the most fiendish manner. Norman 
Ward, of Pendleton, then a boy of thirteen, was 
the only survivor. That massacre occurred on 
the Boise a few miles above Fort Boise. Great 
excitement ensued in the Willamette Valley when 
this atrocity became known, and Major Haller 
was sent by General Wool, then commanding the 
department of the Pacific, to the scene. Having 
partially punished the supposed perpetrators of 
the outrage, the command returned to The 
Dalles. All these incidents, with many other 
smouldering causes of discontent, prepared the 
Indians for war. 

The great war of 1855 comprised three fields 
of operation ; one was southern Oregon, another 
Puget Sound, a third Yakima and Walla Walla 
valleys. In all there were probably four thou- 
sand Indians under arms, and many have believed 
that nothing but lack of intelligent co-operation 
among these prevented the annihilation of all 
the smaller settlements. But the various petty 
feuds and conflicting purposes invariably char- 
acteristic of barbaric wars, prevented such co- 
operation. Indian fought against Indian ; the 
whites profited thereby. 

In May, 1855 Governor Stevens and General 
Joel Palmer met the representatives of seventeen 



tribes at Walla Walla, in an endeavor to make 
treaties for the cession of their lands. The coun- 
cil ground was on and around the identical spot 
now occupied by Whitman College. The im- 
memorial council ground of the Walla Walla and 
other tribes of this country lay between the col- 
lege brook and the one north of it, and around 
the place now known as Council Grove. The 
tents of the great chiefs were pitched, as nearly 
as can be ascertained, on the spot now occupied 
by the house of Mrs. E. H. Baker. 

The treaties negotiated at Walla Walla, June 
12, (though dated June 9th), provided for the 
surrender by the Yakimas of the vast area of 
29,000 square miles, being substantially Chelan, 
Yakima, Kittitas, Franklin, Adams and the most 
of Douglas and Klickitat counties. The Yakimas, 
it may be said, constituted a "nation" composed 
of fourteen tribes extending from the Cascade 
summits to the Palouse river. The Nez Perces 
agreed to relinquish almost as large an area, em- 
bracing what is now a good part of Whitman, 
Garfield, Columbia and Asotin counties, in Wash- 
ington ; Union and Wallowa counties in Oregon ;" 
and Washington, Idaho and Nez Perce counties 
in Idaho. A very large reservation was provided 
by the treaty for the Nez Perces ; being, in addi- 
tion to that now embraced in the Nez Perces res- 
ervation, large tracts between the Alpowa and 
Snake rivers and the Wallowa valley. The re- 
tention of the Wallowa was insisted on by Chief 
Joseph and seems to have been the key to the rati- 
fication of the entire plan ; and it is the more to 
be deplored that the modification of the treaty in 
1863, afterward precipitated the Nez Perce war 
of 1877. That change in 1863 involved the sur- 
render of the Wallowa and the reduction of the 
Nez Perce reservation to what it was prior to its 
recent opening. But few Indians appear to have 
been consulted. Young Joseph, son of the Joseph 
who took part in the treaty of 1855, insisted on 
their claim to the country, 4 and this difficulty led 
to the memorable war of 1877. 

The Umatillas, Ciyuses and Walla Wallas, 
under the term? of this treaty relinquished their 
right to another magnificent territory, embraced 
substantially in the present limits of Walla Walla 
county in Washington, and Umatilla, Morrow 
and part of Union and Gilliam counties in Ore- 
gon. Their reservation was essentially that now 
known as the Umatilla reservation. Which of 
these superb domains was the best would puzzle 
a good judge to decide. Any one of them is 
larger than most of the Atlantic states, and in 
point of opulence of natural resources surpasses 
equal areas in most parts of the world. 

For their concession the Indians were to re- 
ceive what seems a just and even liberal com- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



63 



pensation, though to the mind of civilized man, 
ridiculously .small ; for the whole vast area of 
probably 30,000,000 acres outside of reservations 
was relinquished for about $650,000; in all, per- 
haps, roughly estimated, two cents per acre. It 
is, probably, worth today, with its improvements 
nearly a quarter of a billion dollars. 

The compensation of the Yakima nation was 
$200,000, paid in annuities, with salaries for the 
head chiefs of $500 for twenty years, also some 
special agreement concerning houses, tools, etc. 
The compensation of the Nez Perces was the 
same. The Umatillas, Cayuses and Walla Wallas 
were to receive $100,000; each of the head chiefs 
to have an annuity of five hundred dollars for 
twenty years, and also to have the usual special 
donations for houses, tools, etc. Peu-Peu-Mox- 
Mox, whose favor was especially courted, was 
granted the unique privilege of beginning to draw 
his salary at once, without waiting for the formal 
ratification by congress. His remaining son was 
to receive an annuity of $100 a year, a house and. 
five acres of land, plowed and enclosed. Peu- 
peu-Mox-Mox was also to be given three yoke of 
oxen, three yokes and chains, one wagon, two 
plows, twelve hoes, twelve axes, two shovels, a 
saddle and bridle, a set of wagon harness and one 
set of plow harness. 

Having completed this great work, Governor 
Stevens passed on to the north and east to con- 
tinue the same line of negotiations with the In- 
dians there. We may say in brief that he suc- 
ceeded in making a treaty with the Blackfeet, 
bnt was unsuccessful with the Stpokanes. j\ lean- 
while, during his absence, the great W T alla Walla 
and Yakima war had burst with the suddenness 
of a cyclone upon the Columbia plains. And not 
only here but throughout the Sound country the 
storm of war had burst on all sides. 

That the outbreak of hostilities should have 
occurred almost simultaneously at places so re- 
mote from each other as Walla Walla, Puget 
Sound and Rogue river, has led many to suppose 
that there was a definite and widespread con- 
spiracy. Others have believed that there was 
simply an identity of causes and that these pro- 
duced like results at like times. While it is alto- 
gether likely that there may have been hints of 
outbreak in the air which spread from tribe to 
tribe, it is more likely that the second is the true 
solution. 

Kamiakin, the Yakima chief, and Peu-Peu- 
Mox-Mox, the Walla Walla chief, were the an- 
imating force of the movement on this side of the 
mountains. Kamiakin was a natural general and 
diplomat. He appears to have signed the treaty 
at Walla Walla onlv under great pressure and 
with mental reservation that he would break it at 



the first opportunity. Hardly had the ink dried 
on the treaty when he was rounding up the war- 
riors over the wide domain of the Yakima nation. 
These chiefs seem to have seen, as did Philip 
and Pontiac, that the coming of the whites, if not 
checked, meant the destruction of Indian rule. If 
they were to struggle against fate at all they 
must do it then. From their viewpoint they were 
adopting the only possible policy. As some of 
the Nez Perces told Governor Stevens, they were 
not afraid of explorers or trappers, or soldiers, 
but they were afraid of men with wagons and 
axes. They had now been watching for fifteen 
years a steady stream of immigrants passing 
down to the Willamette. Steamboats were run- 
ning on the Columbia and Willamette rivers. 
Towns were springing up. For them it was now 
or never. One Indian only, and that was Lawyer, 
the Nez Perce, perceived the impossibility of the 
Indians ever coping with the whites, and that 
therefore the only wise course for them was to 
yield to the inevitable as easily as possible and 
adopt the white man's mode of life and live on 
terms of amity with him. Though Looking 
Glass and Eagle-From-the-Light had dissented 
very strongly from the first, they had finally 
yielded to Lawyer's powerful influence and the 
treaty resulted. Now in the midst of the fury of 
war they remained true to their agreement. Ka- 
miakin bad gathered a great council of the dis- 
affected at a point north of Snake river. The 
fierce and intractable Cayuses were the most ac- 
tive in the movement of any except Kamiakin 
himself and his immediate friends. Young Chief 
and Five Crows were the Cayuse chiefs leading 
the war. Stechus alone, with a very small fol- 
lowing, holding aloof. 

The war broke out rather prematurely in Sep- 
tember by the murder of miners traversing the 
Yakima valley. Agent Bolon, having gone cour- 
ageously into the valley to investigate the matter, 
was murdered and burned to ashes on September 
23d. It is said that Quelchen, son of Owhi and 
nephew of Kamiakin, committed this crime. 

Tidings of the outbreak of hostilities having 
reached The Dalles, Major Haller with a hun- 
dred men at once started north and Lieutenant 
Slaughter went from Steilacoom across the 
Natchez pass to the Yakima to co-operate with 
Haller. But on October 6th the Indians burst 
upon Haller with such energy that he was obliged 
to retreat with a loss of a fourth of his men, be- 
sides his howitzer and baggage. At this stage 
of affairs Peu-Peu-Mox-Mox fell upon old Fort 
Walla Walla, now Wallula, and as it had no gar- 
rison the Indians plundered the fort of a consid- 
erable quantity of stores. The Walla Walla valley 
was swept of settlers. The regions bordering 



6 4 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Puget Sound were also ravaged by the Indians. 
At this period General Wool was commander of 
the Department of the Pacific. It is not pos- 
sible here to enter into, any examination of the 
bitter and rancorous dispute that has arisen as 
to General Wool's conduct of this war. It was 
intensely unsatisfactory to » the settlers. Wool 
seems to have decided that the whites in southern 
Oregon were more to blame than the Indians and 
he felt disposed, in consequence, to allow them to 
meet the results of their own acts. 

Discovering from experience that there was 
little to be hoped for from the regulars, Governor 
Curry and the Oregon legislature speedily 
equipped a strong force under Colonel J. W. Ne- 
smith. The latter having gone to the Yakima 
country with four companies under general 
charge of Major Raines, of the regulars, on what 
proved to be a fruitless expedition, Lieutenant- 
Colonel J. K. Kelly, in command of five hundred 
men, marched to Walla Walla. 

There occurred the famous battle of Walla 
Walla, on the 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th of December, 
1855. The force of Oregon volunteers having 
reached Wallula December 2d, found that the In- 
dians whom they had hoped to meet there had 
eluded them, leaving the fort in ruins. Setting 
forth in two divisions on December 5th, the vol- 
unteers proceeded up the Walla Walla river to 
the Touchet. Turning up the latter stream they 
had proceeded about ten miles when there sud- 
denly appeared with a flag of truce no less a per- 
sonage than Peu-Peu-Mox-Mox himself. Cap- 
tain Cornoyer, who was in the vanguard, entered 
into a parley with the Walla Walla chieftian in 
which the chief stated that he and his people were 
anxious to make peace. He told Nathan Olney, 
the Indian agent with whom he conversed, that 
he had at first intended to make war on the 
whites, but on reflection had decided that it would 
not be good policy. While the conference was 
in progress the troops as well as the Indians had 
gradually gathered around in considerable num- 
bers and finally passed on in the direction of an 
Indian village near at hand. Perceiving that they 
were approaching a dangerous canyon, Colonel 
Kelly became suspicious that the Indians were 
meditating treachery, and he determined to re- 
turn a short distance back upon the trail and 
camp without supper for the night. It was a 
cold, wretched night. Snow began to fall. Col- 
onel Kelly in his anxiety to make a forced march, 
had given orders to travel light and they were so 
verv'light that they had no supplies. Much dif- 
ference of opinion developed as to the wisdom of 
pausing and camping on the trail. Captain Corn- 
over held the opinion, which he afterward stated 
to Colonel Gilbert, that Peu-Peu-Mox-Mox was 



acting in good faith and that if the army had 
gone on with him, he being entirely in their 
power, they would have reached the village in 
safety and would have found plenty of food, 
passed a comfortable night, and that the war 
would have ended then and there. Colonel Kelly 
believed otherwise and has left on record the 
following reasons for his opinion. He writes 
that Peu-Peu-Mox-Mox 

* * * Stated that he did not wish to fight and 
that on the following day he would come and have 
a talk and make a treaty of peace. On consultation with 
Hon. Nathan Olney, Indian agent, we concluded that 
this was simply a ruse to gain time for removing his 
village and preparing for battle. I stated to him that 
we had come to chastise him for the wrongs he had 
done to our people, and that we would not defer mak- 
ing an attack on his people unless he and his five 
followers would consent to accompany and remain 
with us until, all difficulties were settled. I told him 
that he might go away under his flag of truce if he 
chose, but that if he did so we would forthwith attack 
his village. The alternative was distinctly made known 
to him, and to save his people he chose to remain 
with us a hostage for the fulfillment of his promises, 
as did also those who accompanied him. He at the 
same time said that on the following day he would ac- 
company us to his village ; that he would then assemble 
his people and make them deliver up their arms and 
ammunition, and restore the property which had been 
taken from the white settlers, or pay the full value 
of that which could not be restored, and that he would 
furnish fresh horses to remount my command and cattle 
to supply them with provisions to enable us to wage 
war against other hostile tribes who were leagued 
with him. Having made these promises we refrained 
from making the attack, thinking we had him in our 
power; that the next day his promise would be ful- 
filled. I also permitted him to send one of the men who 
accompanied him to his village to apprise' the tribes 
of the terms of the expected treaty, so that they might 
be prepared to fulfill it. 

I have since learned from a Nez Perce boy who was 
taken at the same time with Peu-Peu-Mox-Mox, that 
instead of sending word to his people to make a 
treaty of peace he sent an order for them to remove 
their women and children and prepare for battle. From 
all I have since learned I am well persuaded that he 
was acting with duplicity and that he expected to en- 
trap my command in the deep ravine in which his camp- 
was situated, and make his escape from us. 

This singular move of the "Yellow Serpent'' 
was hard to explain logically. Strange it ap- 
peared that he should place himself in the hands 
of his enemies unless he really meant to act in 
good faith. Moreover, it is not easy to see how 




mi 



Hee-ohks-te-Kin, tlie Rabbits Skin Leggins 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



65 



he could have expected to gain anything by lead- 
ing the whites into a trap so long as his own life 
was certain to be the instant forfeit of any treach- 
ery. ( )n the other hand it is passing strange that, 
were he perfectly honest, the Indians should have 
made an attack on the following day. However 
it may have been it was plain that things were 
not going just according to program; during the 
night Indians had gathered in great numbers 
about on the hills, and were evidently watching 
in great anxiety to see what might be the fate of 
Peu-Peu-Mox-Mox. Subsequent events proved 
that the Indians had made a change of policy dur- 
ing the night. They shouted words in the Cay- 
use language evidently intended for the ears of 
the captive chief alone. 

Morning dawned of a bleak, December day. 
Peu-Peu-Mox-Mox was anxious to obtain a stay 
of proceedings. He said that his people required 
time to prepare provisions, etc., in order to give 
the whites a fitting reception. It was nearly noon 
before the cold, hungry, disgusted command 
started, and after passing through the canyon in 
safety they reached the Indian village. Aias, no 
warmth or food or welcome awaited them. The 
village was deserted. Scouts were seen on the 
surrounding hills and finally, after much shout- 
ing and gesticulating, one Indian was induced 
to come to the camp. He proved to be the son 
of Peu-Peu-Mox-Mox. Having entered into 
conversation with his son, the old chief directed 
him to notify the people to come in and make 
peace. The son told they were only awaiting the 
arrival of Five Crows to do so. But they waited 
a long time ; the famished and exhausted vol- 
unteers saw that they must return to the mouth 
of the Touchet and join those who had been left 
with provisions and baggage. Night found them 
on the banks of that stream. 

Early in the morning the force was on the 
march with baggage and all available resources. 
They moved toward Whitman mission, where 
Colonel Kelly planned to make a winter camp. 
Peu-Peu-Mox-Mox, with several companions, 
still remained with them. Soon after the volun- 
teers crossed the Touchet the ball opened. Who 
fired first is still a matter of dispute. Mr. Gil- 
bert quotes A. P. Woodward as asserting that the 
whites fired the first shot, this being done by a 
member of Company B, named Jont. Then en- 
sued a running fight up the Walla Walla valley. 
At the mouth of Dry creek, near the present Lou- 
don place, the Indians made a brief stand, but 
being forced from their position they broke again 
and pressed on hastily toward Frenchtown. 
There, spreading across the valley, they made a 
determined stand. Here Lieutenant J. M. Bur- 
rows, of Company H, was killed and a number of 



men were wounded. Giving way again the sav- 
ages retreated to the location of the Tillier ranch, 
and there, near the present site of the French- 
town church the fight was renewed. There Cap- 
tain Bennett, of Company F, and Private Kelso, 
of Company A, were killed. 

The soldiers had found an abandoned how- 1 
itzer at Wallula, and this, under charge of Cap- 
tain Wilson, was now brought to bear on the 
enemy. At the fourth discharge the piece burst, 
severely wounding Captain Wilson. And now, 
again, the Indians broke and fled. The fight was 
over for the time and the soldiers camped that 
night on the field of battle. The spot where the 
severest contest occurred was marked a few 
years ago by a gathering with appropriate exer- 
cises and the raising of a flag provided by Mrs. 
Levi Arikeny, — a deeply interesting occasion, in 
which veterans of that war took great joy. Prom- 
inent among them were General McAuliff, Will- 
iam Painter, Lewis McMorris and A. G. Lloyd. 

During the first day's battle, at about the hot- 
test part of the action, occurred a sensational 
event concerning which there has since been con- 
siderable discussion. Peu-Peu-Mox-Mox and 
his companions in captivity, with one exception, 
were killed by the guards and volunteers sur- 
rounding them. Eye witnesses of this affair are 
not in accord as to the facts. Probably no one 
of them is able to give an absolutely correct and 
detailed statement of all that transpired, such 
was the confusion and excitement prevailing at 
the time. Of this affair Frank T. Gilbert says : 

The following is an account of it as given to the 
writer by Lewis McMorris, who was present at the 
time and saw what he narrated. The hospital supplies 
were packed on mules in charge of McMorris, and had 
just reached the LaRocque cabin, where the first en- 
gagement had taken place. The surgeon in charge 
had decided to use it as a hospital in which to place 
those wounded in the battle and McMorris was un- 
packing the mules. Near it the unfortunate J. M. 
Burrows lay dead, and several wounded were being 
attended to. The combatants had passed on up the' 
valley, and the distant detonations of their guns could 
be heard. The flag of truce prisoners were there under 
guard, and everyone seemed electrified with suppressed" 
excitement. A wounded man came in with his shattered 
arm dangling at his side and reported Captain Bennett 
killed at the front. This added to the excitement and 
the attention of all was more or less attracted to the 
wounded man, when someone said, "Look out, or the 
Indians will get away! At this seemingly everyone 
yelled, "Shoot 'em ! Shoot 'em !" and on the instant 
there was a rattle of musketry on all sides. 

What followed was so quick, and there were so many 
acting, that McMorris could not see it in detail, though 



66 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



all was transpiring within a few yards around him. 
It was over in a minute, and three of the five prisoners 
were dead; another was wounded, knocked senseless 
and supposed to be dead, but who afterward re- 
covered consciousness, and was shot to put him out 
of his misery, while the fifth was spared because he 
was a Nez Peroe. McMorris remembers some of the 
events that marked this tragedy, however, such as an 
impression on his mind of an attempt of the prisoners 
to escape, that started the shooting; that everybody was 
firing because they were excited and the target was an 
Indian ; that he saw no evidence of an attempt to escape, 
except to keep from being murdered; that they were 
killed while surrounded by and mingling with the 
whites ; and that but one Indian offered to defend his 
life. The prisoner offering resistance was a powerful 
Willamette Indian called "Jim" or "Wolf Skin," who 
having a knife secreted upon his person, drew it and 
fought desperately. "I could hear that knife whistle 
in the air," said McMorris, "as he brandished it, or 
struck at the soldier with whom he was struggling." 
It lasted but a moment, when another soldier approach- 
ing from behind dealt him a blow on the head with a 
gun that broke his skull and stretched him apparently 
lifeless upon the ground. All were scalped in a few 
minutes, and later the body of Yellow Serpent, the great 
Walla Walla chief, was mutilated. 

Frank T. Gilbert, also states that McMorris' 
account was confirmed by G. W. Miller and 
William Nixon, both of whom were present. But 
the writer of this work has secured from Mr. 
Miller a personal narrative of this historical 
event, over his own signature, and it will be 
found in full in the appendix to this volume. 

A. P. Woodward, who was nearby when the 
chief was killed, states that, briefly, the facts were 
these : When asked what should be done with the 
prisoners Colonel Kelly had told the guard, "I 
don't care a damn." The prisoners were neither 
tied nor in any way confined, but were mingled 
with the volunteers. When the firing became 
warm and several wounded had been brought 
back to where the guard and prisoners were, 
some of the troops became . very much excited 
and called out, "Shoot the damned Indians and 
kill them!" Several shots were fired and two or 
three of the Indians fell, though they were not 
attempting to escape. Then Peu-Peu-Mox-Mox 
sprang off his horse, and walking toward those 
who were firing said, "You don't need to kill me, 
— I am not Jesus Christ," and with these words, 
fell. The biting sarcasm of the dying words of 
Peu-Peu-Mox-Mox, if these were his words, can 
only be appreciated when we remember that he 
was a savage and could not be made to under- 
stand why the white men had, according to their 
own account, killed their own God. 



Such is the fanciful tale related by Mr. Wood- 
ward. It is obvious, and corroborated by all 
other witnesses, that the Walla Walla chief was 
not mounted on a horse at that time, but was 
struggling with the guards in, or around the 
cabin, and on his feet. It may, also, be stated that 
in answer to a direct question as to whether any 
such language was used, Samuel Warfield, the 
slayer of Peu-Peu-Mox-Mox, said that the only 
foundation for this story was something that 
occurred on the evening previous. Wolf Skin, 
he says, attempted to escape. He was immedi- 
ately recaptured and while being tied to prevent 
a repetition of his attempt, he said : "That's as 
much as could be expected of you ; Christ died 
for his people and I can die for mine," where- 
upon one of the volunteers rejoined, "Christ did 
not run," raising a general laugh. Let us here 
add the account of the killing as given by Mr. 
Warfield in a personal letter written to the author 
of this woi k. He said : 

Amos Underwood and I were guards over the six 
Indian prisoners, Peu-Peu-Mox-Mox, Klickitat Jimmy, 
or Wolf Skin, Nez Perce Billy and three others. 
About 4 o'clock in the evening there were a number of 
soldiers around the guard and prisoners. Word was 
sent two or three times for those soldiers to come to 
the front ; but they did not go. Finally Colonel Kelly 
came and ordered them to the front. I said to the 
colonel, "I want to go to the front; what will we do 
with these prisoners?" He replied, "Tie them and 
put them in the house, if they will submit to you; if 
not put them in anyhow." Major Miller was there 
present among the wounded, having been shot in the 
arm. Just at that time Wolf Skin pulled his knife 
from his legging and struck at Major Miller, cutting 
his arm as it was thrown up to ward off the blow.- 
In an instant some one broke a musket over the 
Indian's head, killing him. Then the fight began. Five 
of the Indian prisoners were killed, being either shot 
or struck over the heads with guns. Peu-Peu-Mox-Mox 
being the last one. I showed him how to cross his 
hands so that I could tie him and put him in the house 
as the colonel had told us, when he grabbed my gun 
and tried to wrench it around so as to shoot me. I 
jumped back and grabbed him by the collar and threw 
him down, still keeping hold of my gun. I also shot at 
him but missed, he being too close. He caught me by 
the breeches leg and tried to regain his feet. I again 
jumped back from him as he tried to get up, and 
struck him over the head with my gun, settling him for 
all time. 

While speaking of Peu-Peu-Mox-Mox it is 
only fair to give the explanation of Major Lee 
Moorhouse, of Pendleton, Oregon, concerning- a 
correct translation of his name. The major, who 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



67 



has given much attention to the history of the 
aborigines of this region, says that the name 
Peopeomoxmox (as he says it should be spelled 
in English) means Yellow Bird and not Yellow 
Serpent, as a malicious French half-breed inter- 
preter, who had a grudge against the chief, trans- 
lated it to the whites. 

A. P. Woodward describes the chief as a man 
of middle age, six feet two inches tall, straight 
as an arrow, with piercing eyes and a nose like 
a hawk — hence his name of Yellow Bird, or 
Hawk. 

On the following day the battle was renewed. 
Colonel Kelly thus describes the events of the 
next two days, and inasmuch as his official report 
thus embraces the essential features of the case 
we quote it at length : 

Earlj' in the morning of the 8th the Indians ap- 
peared with increased forces, amounting to fully six 
hundred warriors. They were posted as usual in the 
thick brush by the river — among the sage bushes and 
sand knolls, and on the surrounding hills. This day 
Lieutenant Pillow, with Company A, and Lieutenant 
Harmon, with Company H, were ordered to take and 
hold the brush skirting the river and the sage bushes 
on the plain. Lieutenant Fellows, with Company F. 
was directed to take and keep possession of the point 
at the foot of the hill. Lieutenant Jeffries with Com- 
pany B, Lieutenant Hand, with Company I, and Captain 
Cornoyer, with Company K, were posted on three sev- 
eral points on the hills, with orders to maintain them 
and assail the enemy on other points of the same hills. 
As usual the Indians were driven from their position, 
although they fought with skill and bravery. 

On the 9th they did not make their appearance until 
about 10 o'clock in the morning and then in somewhat 
diminished numbers. As I had sent to Fort Henrietta 
for Companies D and E, and expected them on the 10th 
I thought it best to act on the defensive and hold our 
positions which were the same as on the 8th, until 
we could get an accession to our forces sufficient to 
enable us to assail their rear and cut off their retreat. 
An attack was made during the day on Companies 
A and H, in the brushwood, and upon B, on the hill, 
both of which were repulsed with great gallantry by 
these companies with considerable loss to the enemy. 
Companies F, I and K also did great honor to them- 
selves in repelling all approaches to their positions, 
although in doing so one man in Company F and one 
in Company I were severly wounded. Darkness as 
usual closed the combat, by the enemy withdrawing from 
the field. Owing to the inclemency of the night the 
companies on the hill were withdrawn from their sev- 
eral positions, Company B abandoning its rifle pits 
which were made by the men of that company for its 
protection. At early dawn of the next day the Indians 
■were observed from our camp to be in possession of all 



points held by us on the preceding day. Upon seeing 
them Lieutenant McAuliff, of Company B, gallantly 
observed that his company had dug those holes, and 
after breakfast they would have them again; and well 
was his declaration fulfilled, for in less than an hour 
the enemy was driven from the pits and fled to an 
adjoining hill which they had occupied the day before. 
This position was at once assailed. Captain Cornoyer 
with Company K and a portion of Company I, being 
mounted, gallantly charged the enemy on his right flank, 
while Lieutenant McAuliff with Company B dismounted, 
rushed up the hill in face of a heavy fire and scattered 
them in all directions. They at once fled to return to 
this battle field no more, and thus ended our long con- 
tested fight. 

In making my report I cannot say too much in 
praise of the conduct of the officers of the several com- 
panies, and most of the soldiers under their command. 
They did their duty bravely and well during those 
four days of battle. To Second Major Chinn, who took 
charge of the companies in the bush by the river, credit 
is due for bravery and skill; also to Assistant Adjutant 
Monroe Atkinson, for his efficiency and zeal as well 
in the field as in the camp. And here, while giving 
to the officers and men of the regiment the praise that 
is justly due, I cannot omit the name of Hon. Nathan 
Olney, although he is not one of the volunteers. Having 
accompanied me in the capacity of Indian agent, I 
requested him to act as my aid on account of his 
admitted skill in Indian warfare ; and to his wisdom in 
council and daring on the battlefield, I am much in- 
debted and I shall ever appreciate his worth. 

Companies D and E having arrived from Fort 
Henrietta on the evening of the 10th, the next morn- 
ing I followed with all the available troops along the 
Nez Perce's trail in pursuit of the Indians. On Mill 
creek, about twelve miles from here, we passed through 
their village, numbering one hundred and ninety-six 
fires, which had been deserted the night before. Much 
of their provisions were scattered by the wayside, in- 
dicating that they had fled in great haste to the north. 
We pursued them until it was too dark to follow the 
track of their horses, when we camped on Coppei 
creek. On the twelfth we continued the pursuit until 
we passed some distance beyond the stations of Brooke, 
Noble and Bumford, on the Touchet, when we found 
the chase was in vain as many of our horses were 
completely broken down and the men on foot. We 
therefore returned and arrived in camp on yesterday 
evening' with about one hundred head of cattle which 
the Indians had left scattered along the trail in their 
flight. 

On the nth while in pursuit of the enemy, I re- 
ceived a letter from Narcisse Raymond by the hand 
of Tintinmetzy, a friendly chief (which I enclose), 
asking our protection of the French and friendly 
Indians under his charge. 

On the morning of the 12th I dispatched Captain 



68 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



( ! I ,1 

Cornoyer with his command to their relief. Mr. Olney, 

who accompanied them, returned to camp this even- 
ing, and reports that Captain Cornoyer will return to- 
morrow with Mr. Raymond and his people, who now 
feel greatly relieved from their critical situation. Mr. 
Olney learned from these friendly Indians what we 
before strongly believed, that the Palouses, Walla 
Wallas, Umatillas, Cayuses and Stock Whitley's band of 
Des Chutes Indians were all engaged in the battle on 
the Walla Walla. These Indians also informed Mr. 
Olney that after the battles the Palouses, Walla Wallas, 
and Umatillas have gone partly to the Grande Ronde 
and partly to he country of the Nez Perces ; and that 
Stock Whitley, disgusted with the manner in which 
the Cayuses fought in the battle, has abandoned them 
and gone to the Yakima country to join his forces with 
those of Kamiakin. We have now the undisputed pos- 
session of the country south of Snake river, and I 
would suggest the propriety of retaining this possession 
until such time as it can be occupied by the regular 
troops. The Indians have left much of their stock 
behind which will doubtless be lost to us if we go 
away. The troops here will not be in a situation for 
some time to go to the Palouse country, as our horses 
at present are too much jaded to endure the journey, 
and we have no boats to cross Snake river, no timber 
to make them nearer than this place; but I would sug- 
gest the propriety of following up the Indians with all 
possible speed, now that their hopes are blighted and 
their spirits broken. Unless this is done they will, 
perhaps, rally again. 

Today (December 14, 1855) I received a letter from 
Governor Stevens, dated yesterday, which I enclose. You 
will perceive that he is in favor of a vigorous prose- 
cution of the war. With his views I fully concur. 

I must earnestly ask that supplies be sent forward 
to us without delay. For the last three days none 
of the volunteers, except the tw® companies from Fort 
Henrietta, have had any flour. None is here and but 
little at that post. We are now living on beef and 
potatoes which are found en cache, and the men are 
becoming much discontented with this mode of living. 
Clothing for the men is much needed as the winter 
approaches. Tomorrow we will remove to a more 
suitable point, where grass can be obtained in greater 
abundance for our worn-out horses. A place has been 
selected about two miles above Whitman station, on 
the same (north) side of the Walla Walla, consequently 
I will abandon this fort, named in honor of Captain 
Bennett, of Company F, who now sleeps beneath its 
stockade, and whose career of usefulness and bravery 
was here so sadly but nobly closed. 

Very respectfully your obedient servant, 

JAMES K. KELLY, 
Lieutenant Colonel Commanding Left Column. 

W. H. Farrar, 
Adjutant of Regiment, O. M. V. 



The winter following the battle of Walla 
Walla was one of the coldest and most trying 
ever known in this country. The veterans amOng 
the volunteers have left on record accounts of 
the sufferings which show that war in an Indian 
country was not a picnic in those times. The late 
W. C. Painter describes vividly the experience of 
sleeping, or trying to, with scarcely any covering 
and the mercury at twenty below zero. Mean- 
time while these events were occurring in the 
Walla Walla and Yakima countries, what was 
Governor Stevens doing? As already noted,, 
after having negotiated the treaty at Walla Walla 
in June, 1855, he passed on to the Blackfeet 
country, where he also negotiated a successful 
treaty. Having reached Hellgate, in the present 
Montana, on his return he was met by a detach- 
ment of Nez Perce Indians, who informed him 
of the war and of the fact that he was thus cut 
off from any direct communication with his gov- 
ernment. His own official report to the secretary 
of war gives so clear and vivid an account of what 
followed that we reproduce it here : 

The result of our conference was most satisfactory. 
The whole party, numbering fourteen men, among 
whom were Spotted Eagle, Looking Glass and Three 
Feathers, principal chiefs among the Nez Perces, ex- 
pressed their determination to accompany me and share 
any danger to be encountered. They expressed a desire 
that after crossing the mountains I should go to their 
country, where a large force of their young men would 
accompany me to The Dalles and protect us with their 
lives against any enemy. 

Having replenished my train with all the animals to 
be had, on November 14th we pushed forward, crossed 
the Bitter Root mountains the 20th, taking the Coeur 
d'Alenes entirely by surprise. They had not thought 
it possible that we could cross the mountains so late- 
in the season. 

With the Coeur d'Alenes I held a council and found 
them much excited, on a balance for peace or war, 
and a chance word might turn them either way. Rumors 
of all kinds met us here; that the troops had fought 
a battle with the Yakimas and drove them across the 
Columbia toward the Spokane, and that the Walla 
Wallas, Cayuses and Umatillas were in arms, and that 
they had been joined by a party of Nez Perces. The 
accounts were of so contradictory a nature that noth- 
ing certain could be ascertained from them excepting 
that the several tribes below were in arms, blocking 
up our road, and had threatened to cut off my party 
in any event. However, I determined to push on to 
the Spokane. 

The Spokanes were even more surprised than the 
Coeur d'Alenes on seeing us. Three hours before my 
arrival they had heard that I was going to the settle- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



69 



merits by way of New York. T immediately called a 
council ; sent to Fort Colville for Mr. McDonald, in 
charge of that post for the Hudson's Bay Company; and 
also for the Jesuit fathers at that point. They arrived. 
A council was held at which the whole Spokane 
nation was represented. The Coeur d'Alenes and Col- 
ville Indians also were present. 

The Spokane and Colville Indians evinced ex- 
treme hospitality of feeling; spoke of the war 
below ; wanted it stopped ; said the whites wer 
wrong. The belief was current that Pcu-Pcu- 
Mox-Mox would cut off my party, as he hail 
repeatedly threatened. They had not joined in the 
war, but yet would make no promise to remain neutral. 
If the Indians now at war were driven into their coun- 
try they would not answer for the consequences ; prob- 
ably many of the Spokanes would join them. After 
a stormy council of several days, the Spokanes, Coeur 
d'Alenes and Colvilles were entirely conciliated and 
promised they would reject all overtures of the hostile 
Indians and continue the firm friends of the whites. 
Having added to my party and reorganized, etc.. 
we thence made a forced march to the Nez Perce 
country. Mr. Craig had received letters which informed 
•me that the whole Walla Walla valley was blocked 
up with hostile Indians, and the Nez Perces said it 
would be impossible to go through. 

I called a council and proposed to them that one 
hundred and fifty of their young men should accom- 
pany me to The Dalles. Without hesitation they agreed 
to go. Whilst in the council making arrangements for 
our movements, news came that a force of gallant 
Oregon volunteers, four hundred strong, had met the 
Indians in the Walla Walla valley and after four days 
hard fighting, having a number of officers and men 
Tcilled and wounded, had completely routed the enemy, 
driving them across Snake river and toward the Nez 
Perce country. The next day I pushed forward, ac- 
companied by sixty-nine Nez Perces, well armed, and 
reached Walla Walla without encountering any hostile 
Indians. They had all been driven across Snake river 
below us by the Oregon troops. 

It is now proper to inquire what would have been 
the condition of my party had not the Oregon troops 
vigorously pushed into the field and galrantly defeated 
the enemy. 

The country between the Blue mountains and the 
Columbia was overrun with Indians, numbering one 
thousand to twelve hundred warriors, including the 
force as Priest Rapids under Kamiakin, who had sworn 
to cut me off; it was completely blocked up. One ef- 
fect of the campaign of the regulars and volunteers 
in the Yakima country under Brigadier General 
Raines was to drive Kamiakin and his people on our 
side of the river, and thus endanger our movement 
from the Spokane to the Nez Perce country. Thus 
"we had been hemmed in by a body of hostile Indians 
through whom we could only force our way with ex- 



treme difficulty and at great loss of life. We might 
all have been sacrificed in the attempt. For the open- 
ing of the way to my party I am solely indebted to 
the Oregon volunteers. Peu-Peu-Mox-Mox, the cele- 
brated chief of the Walla Wallas, entertained an ex- 
treme hostility toward myself and party, owing to 
imaginary wrongs he supposed to have been inflicted 
upon him in the treaty concluded with the Cayuses and 
Walla Wallas last June, and had been known re- 
peatedly to threaten that I never should reach The 
Dalles. He was the first to commence hostilities by 
plundering Fort Walla Walla and destroying a large 
amount of property belonging to the United States 
Indian Department. 

****** 

At Walla Walla I found some twenty-five settlers — 
the remainder having fled to The Dalles for protection. 
With these were one hundred friendly Indians. Special 
Indian Agent B. F. Shaw, colonel in the Washington 
Territorial militia, was on the ground, and I at once 
organized the district, placed him in command und 
directed him, if necessary, to fortify, at all events to 
maintain his ground should the Oregon troops be 
disbanded before another force could taken the field. 
The Nez Perce auxiliaries were disbanded and re- 
turned home. 

Thus we had reached a place of safety unaided, 
except by the fortunate movements of the Oregon 
troops. Not a single man had been pushed forward 
to meet us, although it was well known we should cross 
the mountains about a certain time, and arrive at Walla 
Walla about the time we did. Why was this? Arrange- 
ments had been made with Major Raines by Acting 
Governor Mason to push forward a force under Colonel 
Shaw to meet me at Spokane about the time of my 
arrival there. A company had been enlisted, organized 
and marched to Fort Vancouver to obtain equipments, 
rations and transportation, which Major Raines had 
promised both Governor Mason and Colonel Shaw 
should be promptly furnished them. Some little delay 
ensued, and in the meantime Major General Wool ar- 
rived, who immediately declined equipping the company, 
as promised by Major Raines, and stated that he could 
not in any manner recognize volunteers or furnish 
them equipments or transportation, and declined to 
supply their places with regular troops, of whom, at 
Vancouver alone, there were some three hundred and 
fifty men. 

Following this description of his journey 
Governor Stevens went on to prefer charges of 
gross negligence on the part of General Wool. 
All history abounds in instances of intense per- 
sonal feuds and disagreements, and our Pacific 
coast history appears to have been especially 
fruitful in them. The same antagonism between 
regulars and volunteers cropped out in the Chief 
Joseph uprising of 1877. That between General 



7o 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Wool with some of the officers who echoed his 
opinions, the regulars, in short, on one side, and 
Governor Stevens, supported by the volunteers 
and the nearly united people of the Territory on 
the other, was peculiarly acrimonious. We in- 
sert the following extract from the report by 
Governor Stevens to the secretary of war : 

When remonstrated with by Captain William Mc- 
Kay, in command of the company, to push forward to 
my assistance, when informed of the object for which 
the company was enlisted, and that if it was not pushed 
forward at once, or some other force was not sent, 
Governor Stevens and his party would be in the most 
imminent danger, the general replied that in his opinion 
the danger was greatly exaggerated ; that probably 
Governor Stevens would be able to protect himself, 
but if he could not, then Governor Stevens could ob- 
tain an escort from General Harney. 

What reply was that ! A moiety of the Indians 
now in arms had defeated a detachment of one hundred 
United States regulars. Major Raines had placed on 
record his opinion that an insufficient force would be 
defeated by these Indians, and my party was supposed 
to number no more than twenty-five men. Yet Major 
General Wool very cooly says, "Governor Stevens 
can take care of himself." So, too, in the remark that 
I could obtain aid from General Harney. Did General 



Wool know that the distance from Fort Benton to the 
supposed position of General Harney was greater than 
the distance from Fort Benton to The Dalles, and that 
to obtain aid from him would require not less than 
six months, and that an express to reach him must 
pass through the entire breadth of the Sioux? Such- 
ignorance shows great incapacity and is inexcusable. 

Mr. Secretary, Major General Wool, commanding 
the Pacific division, neglected and refused to send a 
force to the relief of myself and party when known to- 
be in imminent danger, and believed by those who 
were less capable of judging, to be coming on to cer- 
tain death, and this when he had at his command an 
efficient force of regular troops. He refused to sanc- 
tion the agreement made between Governor Mason 
and Major Raines for troops to be sent to my as- 
sistance, and ordered them to disband. It was re- 
served for the Oregon .troops to rescue us. 

The only demonstration made by Major Raines 
resulted in showing his utter incapacity to command' 
in the field. As has heretofore been said, his expedi- 
tion against the Yakimas effected nothing but driv- 
ing the Indians into the very country through which- 
I must pass to reach the settlements. 

I therefore prefer charges against General Wool. 
I accuse him of utter and signal incapacity, of crim- 
inal neglect of my safety. I ask for an investigation- 
into the matter and for his removal from command. 



CHAPTER VIII 



INDIAN WARS OF THE 'FIFTIES— Continued. 



It was in the spring of 1850 that the first 
cloud arose foreshadowing the Rogue River war. 
That season a party of miners who had collected 
a considerale sum in gold dust in the California 
placers, were returning home. Reaching the 
Rogue river, they were encamped, at Rock Point. 
Here they were attacked by Indians and plundered 
of everything of value, including the bags of gold 
dust. It was to settle with these "rogues" that 
General Joseph Lane set out in May, (or June), 
to visit south Oregon. The party comprised 
fifteen white men and the same number of Klick- 
itats under their chief, Quatley, the determined 
enemy of the Rogue river Indians. Quatley was 
not asked to fight, but to assist in the making of 
a treaty. 

Arriving at Rogue river, Lane's party en- 
camped, and he sent word to the principal chiefs 



that he had come to talk with them and, if possi- 
ble, effect a treaty. Two chiefs, accompanied by 
about seventy-five warriors, responded. A cir- 
cle was formed and Lane and the chiefs placed 
themselves in its center. But previous to the 
opening of the conference a second band of war- 
riors, as large as the first, and fully armed with 
bows and arrows, made their appearance and be- 
gan descending the neighboring hill upon the 
camp. Quatley was ordered by Lane to come 
inside the circle and stand, with two or three 
Indians, beside the head Rogue River chief- 
Then the new-comers, apparently hostiles — were 
commanded to lay down their arms and be 
seated. The council proceeded. To them was 
explained the occasion of this visit ; they were- 
reminded of their uniform conduct toward the 
white men ; of their murders and robberies, and 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



71 



were given to understand emphatically, that white 
people were to be permitted to travel unmolested. 
The Rogue River chief, at the conclusion of 
Lane's speech, addressed his people in loud 
tones ; in response they raised the war-cry and 
made a threatening display of their arms. Seeing 
this, Lane directed Quatley to hold the head 
chief. The latter was now a prisoner and Quat- 
ley held a knife at his throat. The sullen war- 
riors laid down their arms. Upon this prompt 
action on the part of Lane the captured chief had 
not counted. He then ordered his men to retire 
and not return for two days. A treaty was con- 
cluded and Lane gave the Indians slips of paper 
stating the fact and warning white men to do 
them no injury. 

During the gold discoveries of 1850 in the 
Klamath valley, there was an hegira of Ore- 
gonians thither. Despite General Lane's treaty 
with Chief Jo, eternal vigilance was required to 
prevent hostile encounters with his tribe as well 
as with the Umpqua Valley tribes, south of the 
canyon. A young man named Dilley was treach- 
erously murdered, some time in May, by two 
Rogue River Indians. Learing this thirty men 
of Shasta formed a company, headed by one 
Long, marched across the Siskiyou, and coming 
upon a band at the crossing of Rogue River, 
killed a sub-chief and one other Indian, took two 
warriors and two daughters of another chief 
prisoners, holding them as hostages for the deliv- 
ery of the murderers of Dilley. The chief re- 
fused to give up the guilty parties. Moreover, he 
threatened to send a strong force to destroy 
Long's command, which remained at the cross- 
ing awaiting events. They were not, however, 
molested, but an alarm became general through- 
out the southern valleys, and a petition was for- 
warded to Governor Gaines from the settlers in 
the Umpqua for permission to recruit a company 
of volunteers to proceed against the Indians. 
Then the governor took the matter under con- 
sideration, but repaired in person to the scene of 
the reported hostilities. 

June 1st Major Kearney began a march 
southward with two skeleton companies of artil- 
lerymen, to take charge of government property 
at Steilacoom, Astoria, Vancouver and The 
Dalles. Arriving at Yoncalla, he consulted with 
James Applegate, whom he prevailed upon to 
assist in the exploration of the country east of 
the canyon, in which they were engaged when 
the Indian war in Rogue River valley broke out. 
Of this episode in his "History of Oregon," 
Hubert Bancroft says : 

Captain James Stuart came upon the Indians June 
18th. They were prepared for battle. Dismounting 



his men, who in their haste left their sabres tied to their 
saddles, Stuart made a dash for the enemy. They met 
him with equal courage. A brief struggle took place 
in which eleven Indians were killed and several 
wounded. Stuart, himself, was matched against a 
powerful warrior, who had been struck more than 
once without meeting his death. As the captain ap- 
proached the savage, though prostrate, let fly, an ar- 
row which pierced him through, lodging in his kid- 
neys, of which wound he died the day after the battle* 
Captain Peck was, also, wounded severely, and one 
of his troop slightly. * * * While these events 
were in progress, both Gaines nad Lane were on their 
way to the scene of action. 

Early on the 25th the command moved back down 
the river to overtake the Indians who had escaped dur- 
ing the night, and crossing the river seven miles above 
the ferry found the trail leading up Sardine creek, 
which being followed brought them up with the fugi- 
tives, one of whom was killed, while the others scattered 
through the woods like a covey of quail in the grass. 
Two days were spent in pursuing and taking prison- 
ers the women and children, the men escaping. On the 
27th the army scoured the country from the Ferry to 
Table Rock, retiring in the evening to Camp Stuart, 
when the campaign was considered as closed. 

At the first these Indians had been proudly 
defiant. It was the boast of Chief Jo that his 
thousand warriors could keep a thousand arrows 
in the air continuously. Their pride suffered a 
fall ; they were humbled and humiliated. On the 
arrival of Gaines at Rogue River he found Kear- 
ney gone and the Indians scattered. Succeeding 
in an attempt to collect them in council, a treaty 
was effected, eleven head men of the Indians 
agreeing on terms of peace. By this treaty the 
Indians placed themselves under the jurisdiction 
and protection of the United States. They also 
agreed to restore all the property stolen at any 
time from white persons. Then their wives and 
children were given back to them. 

In January, 1856, Governor Stevens returned 
to Olympia. On his arrival he found that the 
storm of war was in full blast from east to west. 
Many settlers had been murdered by the sound 
Indians, aided by the Yakimas. The disheart- 
ened pioneers were aroused by the governor, 
who was full of courage and resourceful ; he set 
on foot measures for saving the territory ; 
equipping an army of one thousand volunteers, 
organized. forces of friendly Indians, issued scrip 
for meeting expenses and seized necessary stores 
and implements. The settlers were in need of 
seed to plant their crops ; he dispatched Secre- 
tary Mason to Washington to acquaint the gov- 
ernment with their plight and needs. 

But in the midst of these benevolent efforts 



7* 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



the Indians, by a sudden attack, seized Seattle 
and destroyed the most of it. The Washington 
volunteers were equipped, and the second regi- 
ment under the command of Colonel B. F. Shaw, 
started for Walla Walla. This was in the summer 
of 1856. 

Meanwhile the Oregon volunteers had passed 
that dismal winter and spring at Walla Walla 
and vicinity. In the spring Colonel Kelly re- 
turned to Portland, leaving Colonel T. R. Cor- 
nelius in command. The detachment set forth 
from their camp on Mill Creek March 10th, and 
proceeded to the Yakima country, meeting and 
dispersing the Indians whom they there encoun- 
tered and then, passing on to the Columbia, they 
returned to Oregon and disbanded. 

There were still in the air Indian wars and 
rumors of Indians wars. Governor Curry, of 
Oregon, and Governor Stevens, of Washington 
Territory, were in entire harmony, believing alike 
in a vigorous prosecution of the war ; but the 
United States regulars were entirely aloof from 
them in sympathy of aim or action. Of the 
battle of Grande Ronde, July 17, 1856, Colonel 
Shaw says, in part : 

We arrived in the Grande Ronde valley on the even- 
ing of the 16th, and encamped on a branch of the 
Grande Ronde river in the timber, sending spies in 
advance who returned and reported no fresh signs. 
On the morning of the 17th, after proceeding about 
five miles, we ascended a knoll in the valley, from which 
we discovered dust rising along the timber of the 
river. I sent Major Maxon and Captain John for- 
ward to reconnoitre and returned to hurry up the 
command which was not far distant. * * * The 
whole command moved on quietly until within half a 
mile of the Indian village, when we discovered that the 
pack train had moved to the left, down the Grande 
Ronde river. At this moment a large body of war- 
riors came forward singing and whooping, and one 
of them waving a white man's scalp on a pole. They 
desired a parley, and I sent Captain John ahead to hold 
it. As he approached the Indians cried out to each 
other, "shoot him," when he retreated to the com- 
mand and I ordered the four companies to charge. 

The design of the enemy evidently was to draw 
us into the brush along the river, where from our ex- 
posed position they would have the advantage, they no 
doubt having placed an ambush there. To avoid this 
I charged down the river toward the pack train. 

Then occurred a sharp, running fight, and 
when Colonel Shaw's command gained the pack 
train, he found the guard and reserve camped 
on a small creek not far from the crossing, as 
he had previously ordered them to do. In the 
charge several of Colonel Shaw's men had 



been wounded. Here he learned that Major 
Maxon had crossed the river with a small party, 
was engaged with the enemy and needed assist- 
ance. Shaw dispatched assistance. They re- 
turned after dark and reported that they had not 
discovered the Major, but they brought in one 
of his men whom they had found in the brush. 
He stated that one of the Major's men had been 
killed and that the last he had seen of them they 
were fighting the Indians. Finally Major Maxon 
returned to the camp of Colonel Shaw. Contin- 
uing the latter says of this fight : 

The whole command, officers and men, behaved 
well. The enemy was run on the gallop fifteen miles, 
and most of those who fell were shot with the revolver. 
It is impossible to state how many of the enemy were 
killed. Twenty-seven bodies were counted by one in- 
dividual, and many others were known to have fallen 
and been left, but were so scattered about that it was 
impossible to get count of them. When to these we 
add those killed by Major Maxon's command on the 
other side of the river, we may safely conclude that 
at least forty of the enemy were slain and many went 
off wounded. When we left the valley there was not 
an Indian in it, and all the signs went to show that 
they had gone a great distance from it. 

Space does not permit us to give minute de- 
tails of the second great Walla Walla council, 
and this episode is really more closely identified 
with the history of Washington than it is with 
that of Oregon Territory. This council preceded 
the memorable defeat of Colonel E. J. Steptoe, in 
1858. The issue of this council was, compara- 
tively, null and void. Half the Nez Perces deter- 
mined to stand by the treaty ; the other half re- 
fused. All other tribes were hostile. Governor 
Stevens repeated the terms of peace alone pos- 
sible : "They must throw aside their guns and sub- 
mit to the justice and mercy of the government, 
but as they were invited under safe conduct they 
were safe in coming, safe in council and safe in 
going." 

Governor Stevens naturally felt disappointed 
at the failure of his hopes, but having done all 
that man could do, he had no cause to reproach 
himself. Whatever impediments had fallen in 
his way were due to the position of General Wool 
and the officers who felt compelled to echo his' 
opinions. It may be very properly said here that 
Wright and Stepto discovered their errors soon 
and modified their policy. Wool never did, and 
in the early part of 1857 he was relieved of his 
command, and was succeeded by General N. G. 
Clarke, who gave a "new deal'' to the impatient 
pioneers of the Inland Empire. 

In May, 1858, Colonel Steptoe set out with 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



73 



two hundred cavalrymen to the Spokane country. 
This was in the face of the fact that those power- 
ful and independent Indians had warned troops 
to keep away, alleging that they were neutral, and 
would not allow either Yakimas or whites in their 
territory. Colonel Steptoe began to make egre- 
gious and incomprehensible blunders before he 
left Walla Walla. On account of the great weight 
of provisions and baggage a brilliant quarter- 
master conceived the idea of leaving behind the 
greater part of the ammunition, by way of light- 
ening the load. As Joseph McEvoy expresses 
it, the force was beaten before it left Walla Walla. 
Suffice it to say that Steptoe suffered an ignomin- 
kus defeat at the hands of the Indians, with the 
loss of several prominent officers. 

THE BANNOCK AND PIUTE WAR OF l8/8. 

One of the most sensational episodes in the 
history of Oregon was its invasion in the summer 
of 1878 by the Bannocks and Piutes under the 
leadership of Chiefs Buffalo Horn and Egan. The 
causes underlying this invasion have been 
strangely overlooked. Gilbert, in his "Historic 
Sketches of Oregon," says: 

Buffalo Horn was a celebrated warrior, who had 
the year before aided the government against Chief 
Joseph and his band of hostile Nez Perces. His reward 
for such services was not in keeping with his estimate 
of their value and importance. He saw Chief Joseph 
honored and made the recipient of presents and flatter- 
ing attention, while the great Buffalo Horn was, prac- 
tically, ignored. His philosophical mind at once led 
him to the conclusion that more favors could be wrung 
from the government by hostility than by fighting its 
battles. 

With the exception of the Utes, the Ban- 
nocks are the meanest, most treacherous, most 
savage and most blood-thirsty of all the Indians 
west of the Missouri river. The Bannocks, with 
whom were many Shoshones, and all comprised 
under the general name of "Snake" Indians, were 
joined by a large number of Piutes, under, the 
lead of Egan, their great war chief. They then 
numbered about five hundred warriors, women 
and children, swelling the force to about 2,000. 
Colonel Orlando Robbins, with a party of scouts 
and a portion of the first cavalry, under Colonel 
Bernard, overtook the Indians at Silver Creek, 
Idaho, and made such a fierce assault that the In- 
dians were badly demoralized. In this engage- 
ment Colonel Robbins and Chief Egan had a per- 
sonal duel, in which Egan was twice shot, his left 
•arm being crippled and his well-known buckskin 



war-horse captured. Egan was dragged from the 
field by his young warriors, but the severe wounds 
received made Egan's subsequent capture on the 
Umatilla reservation comparatively easy. 

The first definite information of the approach 
of the Indians was brought in by Major Nar- 
c ; sse A. Cornoyer on the second day of July. He 
reported that while out on the John Day river 
with a hunting party, he had struck the hostiles. 
'J he consternation attending this news can hardly 
be described. ( )n horseback, in wagons and on 
foot the settlers hastened to the nearest town for 
protection. Pendleton, Heppner, Umatilla, Wal- 
lula, Weston, Milton and Walla Walla were 
cicwded with refugees. Homes were abandoned 
so hastily that neither provisions nor extra cloth- 
ing were provided. All settlements within reach 
of a warning voice were deserted in a day. Cattle 
and sheep men in the mountains were in a pre- 
carious situation. Many were killed before they 
could gain places of safety. 

Pendleton was to receive the first assault. 
That the result would be its complete destruction 
and its outlying settlements was believed by 
many, while the most sanguine had but little con- 
fidence. Pendleton had not more than one hun- 
dred and fifty inhabitants, but with the refugees 
it probably totaled three hundred. In one of the 
several skirmishes before the Indians reached the 
Blue mountains, Buffalo Horn, the Bannock 
chief, had been killed, and the command of the 
allied forces of Snakes and Piutes devolved upon 
Egan. For so heavy a responsibility he was 
totally unfit, and was, also, greatly incapacitated 
by wounds. His army arrived in and had posses- 
sion of Camas prairie on July 4th, and had he 
marched at once upon Pendleton he would have 
met no effective resistence ; could have followed 
the Umatilla down to the Columbia, and in spite 
of the two or three armed steamers patrolling the; 
river, made a successful crossing. But instead 
of striking a decisive blow and falling upon Pen- 
dleton before the troops from Vancouver and 
Walla Walla, and the volunteers from Weston, 
Milton and other points could concentrate, he 
frittered awav the time in killing a few straggling 
sheep-herders and skirmishing with Captain Wil- 
son's handful of thirty men which had met the 
Indians near Alba, and finding the enemy in 
force, had retreated to Pendleton. 

At that time Pendleton consisted of about 
thirty or forty houses, mostly one-story shacks, 
scattered along Court and Main streets from the 
Golden Rule hotel to the Pendleton Savings Bank 
Building. The houses were in a sort of a quad- 
rangle by no means compact. The first defense 
erected by the panic-stricken inhabitants was a 
row of wagrons stretched across Main street from 



74 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



the Savings Bank building to where the Odd Fel- 
lows building now stands. Women and children 
were hustled into Byers' mill, and a number of 
men went there to guard them. Frank Vincent, 
a dentist, and brother of Dr. F. A. Vincent, re- 
cently mayor of Pendleton, was made captain of 
the company organized for the defense of the 
town. At Umatilla City similar precautions were 
taken. J. H. Kunzie was appointed assistant ad- 
jutant general by Governor Stephen F. Chad- 
wick, who hurried there and made it his head- 
quarters. That point was selected because it had 
the nearest telegraph office, and because supplies 
for troops and volunteers were landed there. Vol- 
unteers were organized and armed by Kunzie and 
the town was closely guarded. At that time it 
had a population of about one hundred and fifty. 
The stone warehouse of J. R. Foster & Company 
was fitted up for a fort. Like preparations were 
made at Heppner, Weston, Milton and other 
places which were supposed to be in danger. 

So soon as Captain Wilson's company had 
straggled in from Camas prairie with the infor- 
mation that the hostiles were in force in that re- 
gion and that some of their number and some 
sheep-herders had been killed another company 
was organized by Sheriff J. L. Sperry, which 
started July 5th for the front, with a company 
from Weston under Dr. W. W. Oglesby and 
another under M. Kirk. At Pilot Rock they re- 
ceived recruits and were then consolidated into 
a single command, constituted as follows : Cap- 
tain, J. L. Sperry; lieutenants, M. Kirk, William 
M. Blakely ; sergeants, William Lamar, T. S. 
Ferguson, J. C. Coleman, William Ellis, R. East- 
land ; privates, W. W. Oglesby, T. C. McKay, 
George Bishop, S. L. Lansdon, Andrew Sulli- 
van, A. Scott, A. Acton, C. R. Henderson, B. E. 
Daugherty, J. H. Wilson, H. Rockfellow, B. L. 
Manning, F. D. Ferguson, M. P. Gerking, C. P. 
Woodward, F. Hannah, S. I. Gerking, G. W. 
Titsworth, S. W. Smith, J. M. Stone, H. H. 
Howell, W. M. Metzger, W. P. Grubb, W. L. 
Donaldson, J. L. Smith, S. Rothschild, R. F. 
Warren, J. W. Salisbury, H. A. Salisbury, Har- 
rison Hale, L. Blanchard, J. B. Perkins, A. Cris- 
field, B. F. Ogle, C. C. Townsend, J. Frazier, 
W. R. Reed, Thomas Ogle, Joseph Ogle, "Doc" 
Odeer, Walter Harrison, George Graves, P. T. 
Ryan and A. R. Kellogg. 

Marching from Pilot Rock for Camas prairie 
the next day they stopped at Wilson Springs for 
dinner. Here they were attacked in force by the 
Indians. At the first alarm thirteen of the vol- 
unteers sprang on their horses and struck out for 
Pendleton. Making a virtue of necessity the 
others tied their horses in a sheep corral and took 
refuge in a shed. Absolutely indefensible was 



this position, commanded, as it was, by surround- 
ing hills and rocks. But during all the after- 
noon the remnant of this company made a stout 
resistance, but at last they began to suffer se- 
verely for water. One of the men refused to 
stand it, took a pail, and against the protestations 
of his comrades, left the shed, walked through the 
zone of Indian fire, filled his bucket and returned 
unscathed. The shed was riddled with bullets 
and a number of casualties resulted. William 
Lamar, a school teacher, who was engaged to be 
married to a daughter of Dr. W. C. McKay, was 
killed and S. I. Lansdon, A. Crisfield, afterward 
a prominent merchant of Pendleton, G. W. Tits- 
worth, C. R. Henderson, Frank Hannah, Jacob 
Frazer, J. W. Salisbury and H. H. Howell were 
wounded, Salisbury twice and Hannah seven 
times. A horrible feature of the affair was the 
mutilation of the remains of Lamar. The In- 
dians cut out his heart and roasted it over a slow 
fire, and it was found in this condition on the 
retreat of the Indians. 

During the night the volunteers decided to- 
abandon their position and endeavor to reach 
Pendleton. Loading the wounded on a wagon 
(it was a curious thing that all of them were 
shot in the leg), they started, the men being in- 
structed to fall prostrate the instant a gun was- 
fired. They were fired upon three times, how- 
ever, and Harrison and Hale were shot dead.. 
The rest of the company returned the fire, and 
after a few scattering shots the savages gave 
way. 

Upon the arrival at Pendleton of the thir- 
teen men who had fled from Willow Springs at. 
the beginning of the action, Throckmorton in- 
stantly started to the relief of the party under 
Sheriff Sperry, and they met the retreating vol- 
unteers soon after daylight about four miles 
north of Pilot Rock. They were escorted back 
ro Pendleton where they all arrived safely. And 
now the real defense of Pendleton began. Rifle- 
pits were constructed, and manned bv the 
regulars, and all the soldiers were supplied with 
plenty of ammunition. The women and children 
were concentrated in Byers' mill. At this stage 
of affairs James H. Turner, a lawyer, suggested 
the idea that the non-combatants in the mill were 
at the mercy of the Indians should the latter at- 
tempt to fire that building. Thereupon Lot 
Livermore, Turner and James A. Drake, who 
had seen service in the Civil war, organized a 
company of twelve men, who, under Drake, as 
captain, took possession of a fence east of the 
Byers' mill and held it. 

Sunday, July 7th, Howard's forces coming 
from the east, united with Throckmorton's reg- 
ulars at Pilot Rock, and the next morning as- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



75 



sailed the Indian camp at the heads of Butter 
and Birch - creeks. This combined force was 
much more than a match for the Indians and 
Egan's chances for victory were gone. Accord- 
ing to Frank T. Gilbert: 

The command moved in two columns, two com- 
panies of artillery, one of infantry and a few volunteers 
under Throckmorton, seven companies of cavalry and 
twenty of Robbins scouts, under Captain Bernard ac- 
companied by General Howard in person. The Indians 
were encountered and driven with considerable loss 
from their strong positions, and finally fled in the 
direction of Grande Ronde valley. 

Meanwhile events were happening along the Colum- 
bia. Governor Ferry hastened to Walla Walla on the 
'7th and raised a company of forty volunteers under 
Captain W. C. Painter, that proceeded to Wallula and 
embarked the next morning on the steamer Spokane 
under command of Major Kress. 

Captain Wilkinson had the Northwest with twelve 
soldiers and twenty volunteers. These boats, armed 
with howitzers and Gatling guns, patrolled the river. 
This was the day that Howard drove the Indians 
back into the mountains, thus heading them off if they 
had any designs of crossing the river. 

There were several hundred Indians that had never 
lived on the reservation and were considered non- 
treaty Indians. They belonged chiefly to the Umatilla 
and Walla Walla tribes, lived in the vicinity of Wallula 
and Umatilla and were known as Columbia River 
Indians. When Major Cornoyer gathered in the scat- 
tered bands, many of these refused to go, and were 
looked upon as sympathizing with the hostiles and were 
supposed to have joined them. The morning of the 
day Howard had his fight on Butter and Birch creeks 
a number of these attempted to cross the river with a 
quantity of stock. They were interrupted at three 
points by the Spokanes and, being fired upon, several 
Indians and a few horses were wounded and killed. 
All canoes from Celilo to Wallula were destroyed. 
Captain Wilkinson on the Northwest fired into a small 
party in the act of crossing a few miles above Umatilla. 
Two braves and a squaw were killed. 

The death of State Senator C. L. Jewell was ascribed 
to Columbias by many. He had a large band of sheep 
on Camas prairie, and went there with Morrisey to 
look after them. They encountered a number of 
Indians, but succeeded in eluding them and reaching 
the herder's cabin in safety. Leaving Morrissey there 
he returned to Pendleton to secure arms for his men 
who had decided to remain and defend themselves. 
The morning of the 5th he left Pendleton with several 
needle guns, contrary to the advice of many friends. 
He was expected at the hut that night but did not 
come. 

The 8th Morrissey started to see if he could be 
found. Near Nelson's he met Captain Frank Mad- 



dock with a company of volunteers from Heppner, 
who informed him that two men had been killed there. 
A search revealed the bodies of Nelson and N. Scully. 
Morrissey went around Nelson's house, when he saw 
a piece of shake sticking up in the road, upon which 
was written the information that Jewell was lying 
wounded in the brush. Morrissey called out, "Charlie!" 
He received a faint response, and the injured man 
was found with a severe wound in his left side and his 
left arm broken. 

When Jewell had approached Nelson's place on the 
night of the 5th he had been fired upon and fell from 
his horse; hut while the Indians were killing those 
at the house, he had crawled into the bushes. In the 
morning he worked his way out into the road, wrote 
his notice on the shake, and crawled back again. For 
three days he had lain there without food and unable 
to help himself, when he was found by Morrissey. 
He was conveyed to Pendleton and carefully nursed, 
but died the next Friday. 

Meanwhile all was confusion at Pendleton and 
the agency. The citizens were suspicious of the reser- 
vation Indians, fearing they intended to unite with the 
hostiles. Consequently volunteers would not go to 
the agency to defend it. Forty families of Columbias 
slipped out and went to the enemy's camp, and a few 
young Umatillas started off without permission, prob- 
ably with a similar intention. 

Two of these saw George Coggan, Fred Foster and 
Al Bunker coming down from Cayuse station on a 
course that took them in dangerous proximity to the 
hostiles. They rode toward the men with the in- 
tention of warning them, so they said afterward, and 
at the same time a third Indian rode up from another 
direction. The men had seen some deserted wagons 
a few miles back, where Olney J. P. McCoy, Charles 
McLaughlin, Thomas Smith and James Myers had been 
killed. They had also passed a band of Columbias on 
their way to the hostile camp. 

When they saw the Indians dashing toward them 
from different directions they supposed them to be 
the ones they had passed, and concluding that their 
time had come, began firing upon them. The Uma- 
tillas suddenly changed their pacific intentions and' 
commenced shooting. Coggan was killed and Bunker 
wounded. Foster who had every reason to believe 
that he was assailed by at least a score of savages, 
took the wounded man upon his horse and carried him 
two miles when Bunker could go no farther. Foster ' 
was then compelled to leave him, and hastened to 
Pendleton, where his arrival created a panic. Besides 
killing the teamsters, the Indians burned Cayuse sta- 
tion that day. 

At this time news was received that Colonel Miles 
had been informed of Egan's movements, and had 
determined to take the responsibility of marching to' 
the agency for his protection. T© the exertions of 
Major Cornoyer and those accompanying him that 



76 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



night is due the fact that Colonel Miles arrived in time 
to defend the agency and avert the evils that would 
have followed its capture, including the murder of many 
people, and a possible union of reservation Indians with 

"the hostiles. 

The troops, upon reaching their destination, pro- 
ceeded at once to eat breakfast, but before they were 
through the Snakes, Bannocks and Piutes, four hundred 
strong, were seen riding down from their camp. A line 
was quickly formed across the flat, and up the hill, and 
before the soldiers were all in position the Indians began 
to fire upon them. Nearly all day a battle was main- 
tained with the soldiers lying in holes they had scooped 
in the ground to protect themselves. 

Finally Miles decided to charge his assailants, al- 
though he had but one company of cavalry and would 
not be able to pursue them. The Cayuses requested 
permission to join in the fight, and were allowed to do 
so on condition that they would keep with the soldiers 
and not get in advance of them. The command to 
charge was given, and the soldiers sprang from their 
rifle pits and rushed upon the enemy, vieing with theii 
Cayuse allies in the onslaught. The hostiles, fleeing 

"to the mountains, returned no more, and that night 
found them eighteen miles from the agency, after hav- 
ing finished the destruction of Cayuse station by burn- 
ing the barn, and the soldiers returned and went into 
camp. There were no casualties on the side of the 
troops and the volunteers. 

Before the fight Umapine started out to do a little 
work on his own account. His father had been killed 
years before by Egan, who was in command of the 
hostiles, and he wanted revenge. When the battle was 
over he told Egan the Cayuses would join him, and 
persuaded the chief to accompany him the next night 
to a point twelve miles from the agency to meet the 

"Cayuse chiefs and arrange matters. He then sent word 
to Major Cornoyer to have forty soldiers stationed at 
the appointed place to capture or kill Egan when he 
appeared. 

Colonel Miles held the same opinion of Umapine's 
loyalty that the citizens did, and refused to send sol- 
diers on such an errand. The Cayuses expressed their 
disappointment to the agent and complained of these 
suspicions. He told them the best way to convince the 
whites of their loyalty was to go out themselves and 
capture Egan. 

On this suggestion Hom-e-li, chief of the 
Walla Wallas, and Peo, sub-chief of the Umatil- 
las, acted. Forty young braves were selected and 
they repaired to the rendezvous between Meach- 
am and Cayuse station. Umapine and Five 
Crows went to Egan's camp, and requested his 
presence at a conference. Into this trap Egan 
walked. All were mounted. Arriving in the 
vicinity of the proposed rendezvous Egan be- 
came suspicious, leaped from his horse and closed 



with Five Crows. Then ensued a struggle ; but 
Egan was a cripple from his wounds ; he soon 
fell, stabbed to the heart by Five Crows. The 
latter deliberately scalped his dead enemy, and 
as one of Egan's sub-chiefs started to ride away, 
shot him and added his scalp to his collection. 

Flushed with victory the Umatillas returned. 
A trimphal procession of all Indians on the res- 
ervation was formed and passed in review before 
the troops drawn up in line by General Wheaton, 
that officer having arrived from Walla Walla and 
taken command. Ya-tin-i-ow-its was chief of 
the Cayuses, and bearing the scalp of Egan on 
a pole, arrived in front of the commanding offi- 
cer, and pointing to his bloody trophy said : 
"Egan, Egan, we give you." "No, no, keep it, 
you brave man !" exclaimed the disgusted officer. 

Defeat on the reservation, death of their 
leader, return of the cavalry and knowledge that 
the Columbia river could not be crossed, so dis- 
heartened the hostiles that they began to break 
up and return to their own country. Chief Hom- 
e-li with eighty picked warriors of the Umatillas, 
Cayuses and Walla Wallas joined the troops in 
pursuit and kept them constantly on the move. 
Hom-e-li reached their front the 17th, on Camas 
creek, and when the retreating bands came along, 
charged into their midst and killed thirty of them 
without losing a man. He, also, captured twen- 
ty-seven women and children, and a number of 
horses. 

From this time the seat of war was removed 
from Umatilla county. The hostiles retreated to 
the Blue mountains. Howard, with ten small 
columns, pursued them energetically, overtook 
them and finally cornered them in Harney county, 
forced their surrender and marched them across 
from Harney to Yakima. The 18th of July Gov- 
ernor Chadwick addressed a letter to Sheriff 
Sperry instructing him to arrest all Indians guilty 
of murder or robbery, to be tried by civil author- 
ities. This was a matter of great difficulty ow- 
ing to lack of witnesses. By appointment a great 
council was held on the reservation August 26th, 
at which General Howard, Governor Chadwick 
and others were present. The chiefs were made 
to understand that the only way to clear them- 
selves and their tribes from blame was to sur- 
render all that had been guilty of wrongful acts, 
and hostages were taken to insure their doing so. 
Some of the Columbia river Indians were ar- 
rested, but were afterward released for want of 
evidence. 

At last by the persistent investigation of 
Major Cornoyer, the murderers of George Cog- 
gan were discovered. Four young Umatillas 
were arrested. One of- them gave evidence at 
the trial in November and was discharged. White 






HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



77' 



Owl, Oupit-a-Tumps and Aps were convicted 
and sentenced to be hanged. The first two were 
executed in the jail-yard at Pendleton, January 



10, 1879, a company of cavalry and one of mil- 
itia being present as a guard. A week later Aps 
was hanged at the same place. 



CHAPTER IX 



OREGON: PHYSICAL FEATURES AND EVOLUTION. 



The most northwesterly state in the union, 
previous to the admission of Washington, was 
Oregon. It is bounded on the south by Nevada 
and California ; on the east by Idaho ; on the 
north by Washington and on the west by the Pa- 
cific ocean. From east to west the average width 
of the state is 350 miles ; north and south, 275 
miles. Its area is 96,030 square miles, or 61,- 
459,200 acres. It is as large as all of the New 
England states with Indiana added, and greater 
in extent than New York and Pennsylvania com- 
bined. The census of 1900 accredited Oregon 
with a population of 413,536; the secretary of 
the Exposition Board of 1905 claimed the popu- 
lation of the state, by counties, in 1903, to have 
been 595,700. It is situated between the paral- 
lels of 42 degrees and 46 degrees, 18 minutes, 
north latitude ; the climate and physical charac- 
teristics are not unlike those of Virginia or Ten- 
nessee. 

Into two unequal parts the state is divided by 
the Cascade mountains. In topography, soil and 
climate these two parts widely differ from each 
other. Along its western border the Coast Range 
also traverses it from north to south, while along 
its eastern boundary the Blue Montain range, 
with its various spurs, covers probably a fifth of 
the total area of the state. Other lesser ranges, 
generally spurs of those named, jut_into the in- 
termediate regions, lending to the entire coun- 
try an extraordinary diversity of feature. 

The western division is about one-fourth of 
the state, but it contains at least one-half of the 
arable land, including the matchless valley of the 
Willamette, which is one hundred and forty by 
fifty miles in extent. Scarcely less important 
than the Willamette valley is the coast district of 
Western Oregon, which borders the ocean for 
about one hundred and fifty miles. Between 
these arable districts lie broad ranges of forest, 
affording a supply of timber practically inex- 
haustible. No country in the world is more bounti- 
fully watered than western Oregon. It is a land 
of rivers. Clear and pure water gushes from 



every hillside, and it is rare that a square mile 
is found through which a crystal stream does not 
flow. 

What is called southern Oregon includes 
about one-fifth of the superficial area of the state. 
A small portion of this, lying next to the ocean, 
has physical characteristics and climate similar 
to western Oregon, while the remainder, com- 
passed about with mountains, and being more 
elevated has a climate of its own, dryer than 
western Oregon, yet not so dry as the climate of 
eastern Oregon. In summer these districts lie 
under a warmer sun than their northerly neigh- 
bors. Eastern Oregon is a general designation 
given to all that part of the state east of the Cas- 
cade mountains, excepting the much smaller 
southern portion last above described. This di- 
vision embraces two-thirds of the area of the- 
state. In its general characteristics this region 
may be described as high and dry, warm in sum- 
mer, cool in winter, rich in soil and fairly well 
supplied with timber. In a country so vast there 
are many local variations from this general state- 
ment. The average elevation of eastern Oregon 
is about 2,500 feet. The southwestern portion 
of this section, notably all that lying south of 
Malheur river, is so dry that it requires irriga- 
tion for the maturing of almost all crops. The 
northern central portion of this eastern Oregon 
country is much broken by minor ranges of moun- 
tains, which afford fine pasturage ; and here and 
there are narrow valleys unsurpassed for fertil- 
ity. The southern central section is known as 
the Harney Lake region, which has long been 
celebrated as one of the main grazing regions of 
the state. This may be described as a vast, roll- 
ing table land, interspersed with valleys of con- 
siderable extent, which are natural meadows of" 
luxuriant and nutritious grasses. 

RIVERS, WATERCOURSES AND SPRINGS. 

For the number, size and economical distri- 
bution of its watercourses Oregon has, probably, 
no equal in the union. With the greatest rivers- 



78 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



in the world ranks the Columbia. From its 
birth, among the most magnificent scenes of the 
earth, in the far north, and in the heart of the 
Yellowstone National Park, down through its 
2,500 miles of irresistible sweep to the western sea, 
it is an avenue of wealth and wonder. Inland, 
for three hundred miles from the Pacific, it aver- 
ages about two miles in breadth, reaching over 
six miles near its mouth. Engineers estimate 
that it carries off a volume of water but little, 
if any less than does the Mississippi. Its im- 
mense drainage of 395,000 square miles may be 
imagined from the fact that during the melting 
of the snows in the northwestern mountain 
ranges, its daily increase, for days at a time, has 
been equal to the entire volume of the Hudson. 
The Willamette river is next in size and may be 
navigated by the largest ocean steamships and 
sailing vessels so far as Portland, 112 miles from 
the sea, and by river steamers a distance of 138 
miles beyond. It gathers up the waters of forty- 
two streams, some of which are navigable for 
light-draft steamers. The Snake river is next 
in importance, being, in fact, the main fork of the 
Columbia. It has been navigated by light draft 
steamers to a point within 125 miles of Salt Lake 
City, almost under the shadows of the Wahsatch 
range. 

Among other navigable streams are Rogue 
river and Umpqua river in southwestern Oregon. 
Flowing from south to north in central Oregon 
and emptying into the Columbia are the Des 
Chutes and John Day rivers, each about three 
hundred miles long. In southeastern Oregon' 
are the Owyhee and Malheur rivers, the former 
rising five hundred miles southward, in Nevada, 
and emptying into the Snake where the latter 
stream strikes the eastern Oregon boundary line. 
In northeastern Oregon are the Powder, Grande 
Ronde and Umatilla rivers, all swift, strong 
streams, watering large areas of fertile valley 
lands. 

There are several commodious harbors for 
vessels of light draft on the coast line, exclusive 
of those found at the mouths of the several rivers. 
At these places a thriving business is carried on 
in lumbering, coal mining, fishing, oystering, 
dairying and agricultural products. 

CLIMATOLOGY AND HEALTHFULNESS. 

Each of the three natural divisions of Oregon 
has a climate peculiar to itself. That of western 
Oregon is mild and equable. The average spring 
temperature is 52 degrees ; summer, 67 degrees ; 
autumn, 53 degrees; or an average of 52.75 de- 
grees for the whole year. The mercury seldom 
rises above 90 degrees in the hottest days in the 



summer, and rarely falls below 20 degrees in the 
winter ; so that out-door labor may be performed 
at all times of the year, and at all hours of the . 
day. Considering the mercury's limited range 
during the four seasons, and the other conditions 
peculiar -to the locality, a year would be more 
properly divided into two seasons — the wet and 
dry, the former lasting from the middle of No- 
vember until May, during which period the rain- 
fall is copious and regular, insuring certain crops 
and good pasture. In the Willamette valley the 
annual rainfall is forty-four inches — about the 
same as at Davenport, Memphis and Philadel- 
phia, while in all other valleys it is sufficient to 
prevent any drouth. The rain never comes in 
torrents, but gently and without atmospheric dis- 
turbance. Thunder storms are rare. 

EVOLUTION OF GOVERNMENT. 

So early as 1838 some of the functions of 
government were exercised by members of the 
Methodist mission in "Oregon." Persons were 
chosen by that body to officiate as magistrates 
and judges and their findings were generally ac- 
quiesced in by persons independent of the Hud- 
son's Bay Company because of the unorganized 
condition of the community, though there was, 
doubtless, a strong sentiment among the inde- 
pendent settlers in favor of trusting to the gen- 
eral morality and disposition to do right rather 
than to any political organization. The most im- 
portant act of the mission officers was the trial 
of T. J. Hubbard for the killing of a man who 
attempted to enter his house at night with crim- 
inal and burglarious intent. Rev. David Leslie 
presided as judge during this noteworthy judi- 
cial proceeding, which resulted in the acquittal 
of the defendant on the ground that the act was 
justifiable. A petition was drafted in 1840, 
signed by David Leslie and others, and forwarded 
to Congress. It is not entirely free from mis- 
statements and inaccuracies, but is nevertheless 
an able and important state paper. It reads as 
follows : . 

To the Honorable, the Senate and House of Repre- 
sentatives of the United States of America in Con- 
gress Assembled : 

Your petitioners represent to your honorable bod- 
ies that they are residents in the Oregon Territory, and 
citizens of the United States, or persons desirous of 
becoming such. 

They further represent to your honorable bodies 
that they have settled themselves in said territory un- 
der the belief that it was a portion of the public domain 
of said sates, and that they might rely upon the govern- 
ment thereof for the blessings of free institutions and 
the protection of its arms. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



79 



But your petitioners further represent that they 
arc uninformed of any acts of said government by 
which its institutions and protection are extended to 
them; in consequence whereof, themselves and families 
are exposed to be destroyed hy the savages around 
them, and OTHERS THAT WOULD DO THEM 
HARM. 

And your petitioners would further represent that 
they have no means of protecting their own and the 
lives of their families, other than self-constituted 
tribunals, originated and sustained hy the power of an 
ill-constructed public opinion, and the resort to force 
and arms. And your petitioners represent these means 
of safety to be an insufficient safe-guard of life and 
property, and that the crimes of theft, murder, infan- 
ticide, etc., are increasing among them to an alarming 
extent; and your petitioners declare themselves unable 
to arrest this progress of crime and its terrible conse- 
quences without the aid of the law and tribunals to 
administer it. 

Your petitioners therefore pray the Congress of 
the United States of America to establish, so soon as 
may be, a Territorial government in the Oregon Terri- 
tory. And if reasons other than those above presented 
were needed to induce your honorable bodies to grant 
the prayer of the undersigned, your petitioners, they 
would be found in the value of this territory to the na- 
tion, and the alarming circumstances that portend its 
loss. 

Your petitioners, in view of these last considera- 
tions, would represent that the English government has 
had a surveying squadron on the Oregon coast for the 
last two years, employed in making accurate surveys of 
all its rivers, bays and harbors ; and that, recently, the 
said government is said to have made a grant to the 
Hudson's Bay Company of all lands lying between the 
Columbia river and Puget Sound ; and that said com- 
pany is actually exercising unequivocal acts of owner- 
ship over said lands thus granted, and opening exten- 
sive farms upon the same. 

And your petitioners represent that these circum- 
stances, connected with other acts of said company to 
the same effect, and their declarations that the Englisli 
government oivn and will hold, as its ozvn soil, that 
portion of Oregon Territory situated north of the Col- 
umbia river, together with the important fact that the 
said company are cutting and sawing into lumber, and 
shipping to foreign ports, vast quantities of the finest 
pine trees upon the navigable waters of the Columbia, 
have led your petitioners to apprehend that the English 
government do intend, at all events, to hold that por- 
tion of this territory lying north of the Columbia river. 

And your petitioners represent that the said terri- 
tory, north of the Columbia, is an invaluable possession 
to the American Union ; that in and about Puget Sound 
are the only harbors of easy access, and commodious 
and safe, upon the whole coast of the territory ; and that 
a great part of this said northern portion of the Ore- 



gon Territory is rich in timber, water-power and valu- 
able minerals. For these and other reasons your peti- 
t Miners pray that Congress will establish its sovereignty 
over said territory. 

Your petitioners would further represent that the 
country south of the Columbia river, and north of the 
Mexican line, and extending from the Pacific ocean to 
one hundred and twenty miles into the interior, is of 
unqualified beauty and fertility. Its mountains, cov- 
ered with perpetual snow, pouring into the prairies 
around their bases transparent streams of the purest 
water; the white and black oak, pine, cedar and fir 
forests that divide the prairies into sections convenient 
for farming purposes; the rich mines of coal in its 
hills; the salt springs in its valleys; its quarries of 
limestone, sandstone, chalk and marble; the salmon of 
its rivers, and the various blessings of the delightful 
and healthful climate, are known to us, and impress 
your petitioners with the belief that this is one of the 
most favored portions of the globe. 

Indeed the deserts of the interior have their wealth 
of pasturage, and their lakes, evaporating in summer, 
leave in their basins hundreds of bushels of the purest 
soda. Many other circumstances could be named, show- 
ing the importance of the territory in a national, com- 
mercial and agricultural point of view. And although 
your petitioners would not under value considerations 
of this kind, yet they beg leave especially to call the 
attention of Congress to their own condition as an in- 
fant colony, without military force or civil institutions 
to protect their lives and property and children, sanc- 
tuaries and tombs, from the hands of uncivilized and 
merciless savages around them. We respectfully ask 
for the civil institutions of the American Republic. 
We pray for the high privilege of American citizen- 
ship; the peaceful enjoyment of life; the right of ac- 
quiring, possessing and using property; and the uni- 
versal, unrestrained pursuit of rational happiness. And 
for this your petitioners will ever pray. 

DAVID LESLIE (and others.)' 

This petition will be found in the Senate 
Document, Twenty-sixth Congress, No. 514. In- 
asmuch as the population of Oregon, including 
children, did not exceed two hundred at this 
time, the prayer of the petitioners, it need hardly 
be said, was not granted. But it must not be 
supposed that the document was therefore with- 
out effect. It did its part toward opening the 
eyes of the people of the east and of congress to 
the importance and value of Oregon and toward 
directing public attention to the domain west of 
the Rocky mountains. Notwithstanding the pau- 
city of the white people of Oregon, the various 
motives which impelled them thither had divided 
them into four classes, the Hudson's Bay Com- 
pany, the Catholic clergy and their following, the 
Methodist missions, and the settlers. The Cath- 



8o 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



olics and the Company were, practically, a unit 
politically. The settlers favored the missions 
only in so far as they served the purpose of help- 
ing to settle the country, caring little about their 
religious influence and opposing their ambitions. 

The would-be organizers of a government 
found their opportunity in the conditions pre- 
sented by the death of Ewing Young. This 
audacious pioneer left considerable property and 
no legal representatives, and the question was 
what should be done with his belongings. Had 
he been a Hudson's Bay man or a Catholic, the 
company or the church would have taken care 
of his property. Had he been a missionary his 
coadjutors might have administered, but being 
a plain American citizen there was no function- 
ary possessed of even a colorable right to exercise 
jurisdiction over his estate. In the face of this 
emergency, the occasion of Young's funeral, 
which occurred February 17th, was seized upon 
for attempting the organization of some kind of a 
government. At an impromptu meeting it was 
decided that a committee should perform the leg- 
islative functions and that the other officers of 
the new government should be a governor, a 
supreme judge with probate jurisdiction, three 
justices of the peace, three constables, three road 
commissioners, an attorney general, a clerk of 
the court and public recorder, a treasurer and 
two overseers of the poor. Nominations were 
made for all these offices and the meeting ad- 
journed until next day, when it was hoped a large 
representation of the citizens of the valley would 
assemble at the mission house. 

The time specified saw the various factions 
in full force at the place of meeting. A legisla- 
tive committee was appointed as follows : Revs. 
F. N. Blanchet, Jason Lee, Gustavus Hines and 
Josiah L. Parish, also Messrs. D. Donpierre, M. 
Charlevo, Robert Moore, E. Lucier and William 
Johnson. No governor was chosen; the Metho- 
dists secured the judgeship and the Catholics the 
clerk and recorder. Had the friends of the or- 
ganization been more fortunate in their choice 
of a chairman of the legislative committee the 
result of the movement might have been differ- 
ent, but Rev. Blanchet never called a meeting of 
his committee and the people who assembled on 
June 1st to hear and vote upon proposed laws 
discovered that their congregating had been in 
vain. Blanchet resigned. Dr. Bailey was chosen 
to fill the vancancy and the meeting adjourned 
until October. First, however, it ordered the 
committee to confer with Commodore Wilkes of 
the American squadron and John McLoughlin, 
chief factor of the Hudson's Bay Company, with 
regard to forming a constitution and code of 
laws. Wilkes considered it unnecessary and im- 



politic to organize a government at that time, 
giving as his reasons : 

First — On account of their want of right, as those 
wishing for laws were, in fact, a small minority of 
the settlers. 

Second — That these were not yet necessary even 
by their own account. 

Third — That any laws they might establish would 
be a poor substitute for the moral code they all now 
followed, and that evil doers would not be disposed 
to settle near a community entirely opposed to their 
practices. 

Fourth — The great difficulty they would have in 
enforcing any laws, and defining the limits over which 
they had control, and the discord this might occasion 
in their small community. 

Fifth — That not being the majority, and the larger 
portion of the population Catholics, the latter would 
elect officers of their party, and they would thus place 
themselves entirely under the control of others. 

Sixth — The unfavorable impressions it would pro- 
duce at home, from the belief that the missionaries had 
admitted that in a community brought together by them- 
selves they had not enough of moral force to control 
it and prevent crime, and therefore must have recourse 
to a criminal code. 

The friends of the movement could not deny 
the cogency of this reasoning, and it appears they 
concluded to let the matter drop. The October 
meeting was never held and thus the first at- 
tempt at forming a government was brought to 
an unsuccessful conclusion. However, the judge 
elected made a satisfactory disposition of the 
Young estate. 

But the question of forming an independent 
or provisional government continued to agitate 
the public mind. During the winter of 1842-3 
a lyceum was organized as Williamette Falls, 
now Oregon City, at which the propriety of tak- 
ing steps in that direction was warmly debated. 
One evening the subject for discussion was r 
"Resolz'ed, That it is expedient for the settlers 
on this coast to establish an independent govern- 
ment." McLoughlin favored the resolution and 
is carried. Mr. Abernethy, defeated in this de- 
bate, skillfully saved the day by introducing as 
the topic of the next discussion, "Resolved, That 
if the United States extends its jurisdiction over 
this country within four years, it will not be ex- 
pedient to form an independent government."" 
This resolution was also carried after a spirited 
discussion, destroying the effect of the first reso- 
lution. 

Meanwhile the settlers in the vicinity of the > 
Oregon Institute were skillfully working out a 
plan whereby a provisional government might be 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Si 



formed. They knew the sentiment of their con- 
freres at the Falls, the result of the deliberations 
at that place having been reported to them by 
Mr. Le Breton; they knew also that their de- 
signs would meet with opposition from both the 
Hudson's Bay Company and the mission people. 
The problem to be solved was how to accomplish 
their ends without stirring up an opposition 
whi^ch would overwhelm them at the very out- 
set. Their solution of this problem is a lasting 
testimony to their astuteness and finesse. 

As a result of the formation of the Willamette 
Cattle Company and its success in importing 
stock from California, almost every settler was 
the owner of at least a few head, and, of course, 
the Hudson's Bay Company and the missions 
also had their herds. The fact that wolves, bears 
and panthers were destructive to the cattle of all 
alike furnished one bond of common interest unit- 
ing the diverse population of Oregon, and this 
circumstance furnished one bond of common in- 
terest uniting the diverse population of Oregon, 
and this circumstance furnished the conspirators 
their opportunity. Their idea was that having 
got an object before the people upon which all 
could unite, they might advance from the osten- 
sible object, protection for domestic animals to 
the more important, though hidden object, "pres- 
ervation both for property and person." The 
"wolf meeting," as it is called, convened on the 
2d of February, 1843, anc * was fcdty attended. 
It was feared that Dr. I. L. Babcock, the chair- 
man, might suspect the main object, but in this 
instance he was even less astute than some others. 
The utmost harmony prevailed. It was moved 
that a committee of six should be appointed by 
the chair to devise a plan and report at a future 
meeting, to convene, it was decided, on the first 
Monday in March next, at 10 o'clock a. m. 

After the meeting pursuant to adjournment 
had completed its business by organizing a cam- 
paign against wolves, bears and panthers, and 
adopting rules and regulations for the govern- 
ment of all in their united warfare upon pests, 
one gentleman arose and addressed the assembly, 
complimenting it upon the justice and propriety 
of the action taken for the protection of domestic 
animals, but, "How is it, fellow citizens," said 
he, "with you and me and our children and wives? 
Have we any organization upon which we can 
rely for mutual protection? Is there any power 
or influence in the country sufficient to protect 
us and all we hold dear on earth from the worse 
than wild beats that threaten and occasionally 
destroy our cattle ? Who in our midst is author- 
ized at this moment to call us together to protect 
our own and the lives of our families ? True, 
the alarm may be given, as in a recent case, and 

6 



we may run who feel alarmed, and shoot off our 
guns, whilst our enemy may be robbing our 
property, ravishing our wives and burning the 
houses over our defenseless families. Common 
sense, prudence and' justice to ourselves demand 
that we act consistent with the principles we 
have commenced. We have mutually and uni- 
tedly agreed to defend and protect our cattle and 
domestic animals ; now, fellow citizens, I submit 
and move the adoption of the two following reso- 
lutions, that we may have protection for our 
persons and our lives, as well as our cattle and 
herds : 

" 'Resolved, That a committee be. appointed 
to take into consideration the propriety of taking 
measures for the civil and military protection of 
this colony. 

' 'Resolved, That said committee consist of 
twelve persons.' " 

If an oratorical effort is to be judged by the 
effect produced upon the audience, this one de- 
serves a place among the world's masterpieces. 
The resolutions were carried unanimously. The 
committee appointed consisted of I. L. Babcock, 
Elijah White, James O'Neil, Robert Shortess,. 
Ro'-" t Newell, Etienne Lucier, Joseph Gervais-,. 
Thomas Hubbard, C. McRoy, W. H. Gray, Sid- 
ney Smith and George Gay. Its first meeting was 
held before a month had elapsed, the place being 
Willamette Falls. Jason Lee and George Abertie- 
thv appeared and argued against the movement as 
premature. When the office of governor was 
stricken from the list the committee unanimously 
decided to call another meeting on the ensuing 
2d of May. W. H. Gray, in his "History of 
Oregon," describes this decisive occasion with 
such graphic power that it would be a great de- 
privation to the reader to fail to give it in his 
own language. He says : 

The second of May, the day fixed by the committee 
of twelve to organize a settlers' government, was close 
at hand. The Indians had all learned that the "Bos- 
tons" were going to have a big meeting, an/1 they also 
knew that the English and French were going to meet 
with them to oppose what the "Bostons" were going to 
do. The Hudson's Bay Company had drilled and 
trained their voters for the occasion, under Rev. F. N. 
Blanchet and his priests, and they were promptly on the 
ground in an open field near a small house, and, to the 
amusement of every American present, trained to vote 
"No" to every motion put; no matter if to carry their 
point they should have voted "Yes," it was "No." 
Le Breton had informed the committee and the Ameri- 
cans generally, that this would be the course pursued,, 
according to instructions, hence our motions were made 
to test their knowledge of what they were doing, and 
we found just what we expected was the case. The 



82 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



priest was not prepared for our manner of meeting them, 
and as the record shows, considerable confusion was 
existing in consequence. By this time we had counted 
votes. Says Le Breton, "We can risk it ; let us divide 
and count." "I second that motion," says Gray. "Who's 
for a divide?" sang out old Joe Meek, as he stepped 
out ; "all for the report of the committee and an organi- 
zation follow me." 

This was so sudden and unexpected that the priest 
and his voters did not know what to do, but every 
American was soon in line. Le Breton and Gray 
passed the line and counted fifty-two Americans and 
but fifty French and Hudson's Bay men. They an- 
nounced the count — fifty-two for, and fifty against. 
''Three cheers for our side !" sang out old Joe Meek. 
Not one of those old veteran mountain voices was lack- 
ing in that shout for liberty. They were given with a 
will, and in a few seconds the chairman, Judge I. L. 
Babcock, called the meeting to order, when the priest 
and his band slunk away into the corners of the fences, 
and in a short time mounted their horses and left. 

After the withdrawal of the opponents of 
this measure the meeting became harmonious, of 
course. Its minutes show that A. E. Wilson 
was chosen supreme judge ; G. W. Le Breton, 
clerk of the court and recorder ; J. L. Meek, sher- 
iff; W. H. Wilson, treasurer; Messrs. Hill, Shor- 
tess, Newell, Beers, Hubbard, Gray, O'Neil, 
Moore and Dougherty, legislative committee ; and 
that constables, a major and captains were also 
chosen. The salary of the legislative committee 
was fixed at $1.25 per day, and it was in- 
structed to prepare a code of laws to be sub- 
mitted to the people at Champoeg on the 5th day 
Qf July. 

On the day preceding this date the anniver- 
sary of America's birth was duly celebrated, 
Rev. Gustavus Hines delivering the oration. 
Quite a number who had opposed organization 
at the previous meeting were present on the 5th 
and announced their determination to acquiesce 
in the acts of the majority and yield obedience 
to any government which might be formed, but 
representatives of the Hudson's Bay Company 
even went so far in their opposition as to address 
a letter to the leaders of the movement asserting 
their ability to defend both themselves and their 
political rights. 

A review of the "Organic laws'' adopted at 
this meeting would be interesting, but such is 
beyond the scope of our volume. Yet they were 
so liberal and just, so complete and comprehen- 
sive that it has been a source of surprise to stu- 
dents ever since that untrained mountaineers and 
settlers, without experience in legislative halls, 
could conceive a system so well adapted to the 
needs and conditions of the country. The pre- 



amble runs : "We, the people of Oregon Terri- 
tory, for purposes of mutual protection, and to 
secure peace and prosperity among ourselves, 
agree to adopt the following laws and regula- 
tions, until such time as the United States of 
America extend their jurisdiction over us." The 
two weaknesses which were soonest felt, were 
the result of the opposition to the creation of the 
office of governor and to the levying of taxes. 
The former difficulty was overcome by substitut- 
ing in 1844, a gubernatorial executive for the 
triumvirate which had theretofore discharged the 
executive functions, and the latter by raising the 
necessary funds by popular subscription. In 
1844, also, a legislature was substituted for the 
legislative committee. 

Inasmuch as the first election resulted favor- 
able to some who owed allegiance to the British 
government as well as to others who were citi- 
zens of the United States, the oath of office was 
indited as follows : "I do solemnly swear that I 
will support the organic laws of the provisional 
government of Oregon so far as the said organic 
laws are consistent with my duties as a citizen of 
the United States, or a subject of Great Britain, 
and faithfullv demean mvself in office. So help 
me God." 

Despite the opposition to the provisional gov- 
ernment, the diverse peoples over whom it exer- 
cised authority, and the weakness in it resulting 
from the spirit of compromise of its authors, it 
continued to exist and discharge all the necessary 
functions of sovereignty until on August 14th, 
1848, in answer to the numerous memorials and 
petitions and the urgent appeals of Messrs. 
Thornton and Meek, congress at last decided to 
give Oregon a territorial form of government 
with all the rights and privileges usually accorded 
to territories of the United States. Joseph Lane, 
of Indiana, whose subsequent career presents so 
many brilliant and so many sad chapters, was 
appointed Territorial Governor. 

The limits and province of this work preclude 
further narration of the history of Oregon in 
general. By the act of March 3, 1853, the coun- 
try north of the Columbia was organized into a 
a separate territory, bearing the name of the 
great father of his country. At later dates the 
area of Oregon was further curtailed by the 
formation of Montana and Idaho territories, but 
in 1859, notwithstanding this curtailment, the 
country had so far advanced in population and 
general development that it was admitted to the 
union. 

The provisional system had originally divided 
the territory governed by its provisions into three 
districts. The development and settlement of 
die countrv necessitated an increase in the num- 






HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



ber from time to time and soon the name county 
was substituted for district. When eastern Ore- 
gon became" sufficiently populous to gain recogni- 
tion in the councils of the state it was organized 
into Wasco county, with its seat of local govern- 
ment at The Dalles. The discovery of gold in 
■eastern Oregon and Idaho soon populated the 



wilderness to such an extent that the inconveni- 
ence of this ponderous and unwieldly empire 
county began to be oppressive, and in 1862 two 
new counties, Umatilla and Baker, were organ- 
ized. Later this was followed by the organization 
of other counties with which the rest of this his- 
tory has to deal. 








ILLIAM C LAUGHLI 



PART II 

HISTORY OF WASCO COUNTY 



CHAPTER I 



TRADITIONAL, LEGENDARY AND AUTHENTIC. 



In all the noble state of Oregon, "with its 
thirty-three counties teeming with a variety of 
distinctively western industries, the echoes of 
the hum of sawmills and of threshers mingling 
in a symphony of prosperity, there is no county 
richer in historical records than Wasco. Despite- 
successive curtailments of her once vast terri- 
tory to form other political divisions of the state, 
Wasco still remains one of the larger counties, 
with a population of more than fifteen thousand. 
It is bounded on the north by the state of Wash- 
ington, on the east by Sherman and Wheeler, on 
the west by Multnomah, Clackamas and Marion, 
and on the south by Crook, counties. 

The original Wasco county was one of the 
earliest settled portions of the northwest, as it 
was one of the earliest formed counties in Ore- 
gon. It is so styled after the tribe of Indians 
of the same name which, in the early days, was 
one of the strongest numericallv and otherwise 
of all the tribes then scattered along the Colum- 
bia river. Of these Indians the "Century Dic- 
tionary and Cyclopedia" says : 

"Wasco (PI., also Wascos, Wascoes), a collec- 
tive name for the tribes of the Upper Chinook 
division of North American Indians nearest The 
Dalles. It may have been equivalent to, or in- 
clusive of, the Watlala. There are 288 on the 
Warm Springs reservation, Oregon, and 150 
on the Yakima reservation, Washington." 

A literal translation of the word Wasco is a 
horn basin, and the name was conferred upon 



the tribe because of their ability displayed in the 
manufacture of rude basins. The following 
legend concerning the origin of the name is taken 
from an article descriptive of The Dalles pub- 
lished in the West Shore, from the pen of Mr. 
S. L. Brooks : 

Wasco, like all our original names, has its peculiar 
origin. Tradition tells us that once upon a time a young 
man's wife died, leaving two bright, helpless little chil- 
dren, whose only care and succor was found in the love 
of their grief-stricken father ; their continued cries for 
their forever departed mother caused the children's re- 
maining parent to try all manner of means for the 
quieting of their grief ; so one day he, with a heart full 
of sadness, while out with his little ones on a hillside 
for a walk, found a piece of an elk-horn, and with his 
flint knife cut the string from one of his moccasins and 
tied a broken flint to it, and after quenching his thirst 
at a beautiful spring of sparkling cold water (this spring 
is known as Wasco spring today), sat down beside it 
on a large rock and began pecking small holes in it, 
which so amused his loved ones he concluded to make 
three in a row. making the center one as large as a 
basin, which represented to them three alone in the 
world. His relatives, observing the devotion and attach- 
ment for these helpless ones, estranged themselves from 
him, as it was not in accord with their old traditions, 
and cut him off from their associations, which, with 
their barbarous habits, forced him to seek refuge away 
from the home of his childhood. So he took his skin 
robes, made them iii a roll, tied up his war clubs and 



86 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



spears, and set his face with his little darlings toward 
the Shin-ni-na-klath — mountain of the setting sun — 

"So he journeyed westward, westward, 
Passed the mountains of the prairie 
To the kingdom of the west wind," 

Where he found himself in a land he called Win-quatt, 
because the new home was walled in by high, rocky 
cliffs. This is the original which we now call "The 
Dalles." Such was the origin from whence sprang into 
existence the once powerful tribe of Indians known 
today as the Wascos, signifying makers of basins, or 
more literally, "horn basins." This, like all other tribes 
that have sounded the war whoop with its savage glory, 
have faded and are still fading, as the paleface makes 
the warpath the highway for the iron horse, and his 
hunting ground the source from which supplies are sent 
abroad to marts of the world to satisfy the wants of the 
millions. 

\ 

Before entering upon the history of early ex- 
plorers who visited what is now Wasco county, 
or of the pioneer settlers to the new country, we 
purpose to give a brief history of the Indians 
who inhabit the locality around The Dalles of 
the Columbia, their mode of living, physical re- 
sources, etc. 

And yet there is certainly a history that is 
older than even the shadowy Indian legends and 
traditions. It has never been written ; it may 
never be penned. And only dim suggestions 
dotting a wide field 1 of speculation are found in 
the faint traces left by the ancient progenitors of 
those Indians found by the first settlers of Ore- 
gon. Such Indians who were then on the ground 
never possessed the skill, aptitude and intelligence 
necessary to perform such work as was required 
to shape the delicate and beautiful arrowheads 
and spear points ; ornaments and ingenious imple- 
ments fashioned in flint, obsidian, opal and car- 
nelian ; such as have been found amid drifting 
sands along the banks of the Columbia river, 
and are offered for sale in the streets of The 
Dalles by modern Indians who pick up the elab- 
orate specimens of the ornate handicraft of their 
pre-historic ancestors. These are in design and 
workmanship not unlike those of the Aztecs of 
Mexico and Pueblos of Arizona. Paintings on 
the rock cliffs in the vicinity of The Dalles, and 
carvings and sculptures that have been discov- 
ered, all of unquestioned antiquity, exhibiting 
many Aztec characteristics, indicate that at some 
remote period the country was occupied by a 
race of people far superior, intellectually, and 
otherwise, to the Indian of today in his normal 
condition. Here is a wide and profitable field 
for the antiquarian. While his most patient re- 
searches will, probably, never reveal a satisfac- 



tory history of the peoples who at one period, 
aeons ago, inhabited the Columbia basin, much 
will doubtless be discovered that may shed light 
on their origin and fate. Such being the condi- 
tions confronting us, we must rest content in 
treating of those Indians whom the explorers 
and early missionaries and pioneer settlers found 
existing here in squalor and tribal decay in the 
dawn of the Nineteenth Century. 

Dr. William C. McKay was an educated half- 
breed ; a reliable writer and his words are author- 
itive in all that he has written concerning In- 
dians. The following extract is from an article 
read by him before the Ladies' Aid Society of 
the Congregational church at The Dalles, Tues- 
day, May 18, 1869, and published in the Moun- 
taineer on the 28th : 

Long before the Indian had any knowledge of the 
white men this place (the present location of The 
Dalles), was called Win-quatt, signifying a place encir- 
cled or surrounded by a bold cliff of rocks. Within this 
circle there are many points which have significant 
names attached to them by the aborigines. The island 
now occupied by the Oregon Steam Navigation shops 
was called Ka-pooks. Tradition tells of a beautiful 
grove of iron-wood trees standing somewhere near the 
present site of the machine shop. It was a place much 
resorted to by the young folks and many tales are told 
respecting it. The mouth of Mill creek had the name 
of Will-look-it, meaning looking through an opening 
or gap. The mouth of Three-Mile creek was We-galth, 
signifying a place of danger. Tradition says the Snake 
Indians, inhabiting at that time Ffteen-Mile creek, Tygh 
valley and Des Chutes, often made raids on the Wascos 
here at Win-quatt and The Dalles fishery, by the way 
of Three Mile creek, by following it down to its mouth, 
and often bloody strife was the result. 

The mouth of Five Mile creek was I-gal-li-matic. 
Tradition gives an account of a Wasco Indian being 
pursued. by the Snakes — his hereditary enemies — and he, 
knowing of a pole lying across the gulf or canyon, and 
his only means of escape being to cross it, succeeded in 
walking over on the pole, hence the derivation of the 
name. The government, or Mission Springs, was called 
Amotan, meaning the Indian or wild hemp which grew 
in abundance at that place and was a staple article of 
trade. The garrison Point, Qua-qual-Chal means Squir- 
rel Point. The spring at Logan's house, Gai-galt-whe- 
la-leth means Alone in Its Beauty. The mountain 
southeast of the Logan house, Shinni-na-kalth, means 
the mountain that tells of the sun's travel. The moun- 
tain back of Irvine's place, Molock Oaihut, means the 
Elk's trail. The rocky point west of Irvine's farm, 
Ethno-a-Chalk, signifies the vulture's rest. The Catho- 
lic mission, Tayas-whe-yam, means storm upon storm. 
Irvine's farm, or spring, Shelooks-thla-gipt, means the 
wolf spring. There is a long legend in connection with. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



87' 



this place, l>ni it is too long to be given here. Cheno- 
weth creek, Thlemit, means caving, or constant washing 
away. The mountain hack of Crait's, Kat-ka-Talth, 
means flint mountain. Crait's Point, Thlc-yap-Kanoon, 
means fresh water muscles. Tradition tells of a certain 
time and season when there was a general turn out in 
fishing after the muscles, when a great feast and a good 
time in general was had. Three Mile creek, at Mr. 
Whitney's, Thle-gam-Yan, means beautiful prairie. 

There is a cold, living spring at The Dalles, near 
the fishery called the Wasco Springs. The tradition tells 
of a young man's wife having died, and left him with 
two helpless children in his charge, who gave him 
much trouble and great anxiety. He would often try 
by all manner of means to quiet their cries, but to no 
avail. But at last he amused them by picking three 
holes in a rock, the largest one being in the center. 
These holes in the rock are still represented at the 
above mentioned spring. The father becoming dissatis- 
fied with his relatives on account of their mistreating 
his children, he concluded to leave them and come 
down and settle at Win-quatt, which soon got to be a 
large village. The inhabitants were known as the 
Wasco people, .signifying the makers of basins. The 
literal meaning of the word Wasco is a horn basin. 
Some of these can still be seen at their camps, fantasti- 
cally carved with certain hieroglyphics. 

There is a pond in the rocks near the fishery called 
Te-kai-kayots — the poleway pond. On the Washing- 
ton Territory side the village of Wish-Kam, opposite 
The Dalles fishery, was called Nech-loi-deth — station- 
ary people that never move. Rockville, Quallachin — 
the spotted rock. Opposite Crate's Point there used to 
be a large village called Kill-ka-hat. The Klickitat 
mountain, opposite here, Thle-ge-neuche-teche, signifies 
resembling persons looking or peeping over. 

I have given the names of most of the prominent 
points, and still there are others which I would like to 
give if they could be procured at present. * * * 

The Wasco tribe were the owners of this country, 
and the village of Win-quatt was their headquarters. 
They were considered by the early voyagers and traders 
as the most numerous and strongest of the bands living 
on the Columbia. They extended from The Dalles 
fishery down to the Wind mountains. Their influence 
with the other tribes was great ; their place was the 
central point for all the adjacent tribes, who resorted 
here in the summer during the fishing seasons from all 
quarters for the purpose of trafficking, gambling and 
indulging in sports of various kinds. The Indians from 
the north and east brought for traffic horses, buffalo 
robes, pauerfleshes, furs of all descriptions, dressed 
skins of several qualities, ropes, dried buffalo meat, 
etc. The southern tribes brought Modoc, Pitt River, 
Chasty and California Indians — to sell as slaves — elk, 
deer, mountain sheep and antelope skins, dressed, dried 
meats, furs of all qualities, ropes, hemp, dried and pre- 
pared roofs — such as looks, kouse, saweet, nonas, camas, 



peyahe, guiya, semame, hallo, and wocas — all very 
nutritious and part of their subsistence; all kinds of 
berries, such as mountain whortle, blue, savies, rasp, 
salal, salmon and straw; currents, cherries, etc., which 
will keep for a long time when properly dried. The 
western tribes — those from the Cascades and around 
Vancouver, Portland, Oregon City and Sauvil's island — 
brought prisoners from the coast, guns, ammunition, 
clothing, blankets, utensils, axes, knives, traps, fish- 
hooks, files, tobacco and whatever else they could pro- 
cure from the fur traders at Vancouver. The tribes 
that congregated here yearly for trading purposes and 
sporting in general, such as gambling, foot-races, 
wrestling, horse races, etc., were the Klickitats, Wana- 
ehapams, Illdepiers, Okanogans, Spokanes, Colvilles, 
Palouses, Walla Wallas, Yakimas, Umatillas, Long 
Islands, Kamilth, Dockspurs, Winwawe, Teninos, Til- 
chines, Tyghs, Klamaths, Cayuses, Nez Perces, Coeur 
d'Alenes, Pend D'Oreilles and Flatheads from above. 
Those from below were the Cascades, Multnomahs, 
Thalawelas, Clackamas and Molalas. The Wascos gave 
in exchange, aside from what has been enumerated, 
dried and pounded salmon. I could still go on and give 
a long account of their mode of living and passing away, 
but my intention was merely to show what our town 
was in early days while under the supervision of the 
Indians. 

There is at the present period abundant tes- 
timony that the Indians of the days of Oregon's 
first settlement availed themselves of every ad- 
vantage which their location gave them, invaria- 
bly making exhorbitant demands and charges 
for all privileges granted or services rendered. 
Quite often they deliberately robbed weak and 
unprotected parties. When Lewis and Clark 
passed through the vicinity of Wasco county ac- 
companied by a well-armed and disciplined force, 
they were unmolested; five years later the half- 
starved and worn out company headed by Wil- 
son P. Hunt were treated by these same savages 
with insolence and cruelty. Of the Wascos 
Washington Irving has written: "These Indians 
were shrewder and more intelligent than other 
Indians. Trade had sharpened their wits, but 
had not improved their honesty, for they were a 
community of arrant rogues and freebooters." 

One of the penalties of greatness is illustra- 
ted by the Indian nation on which has been con- 
ferred the name of "Flatheads." Among the 
Indians of the coast and the lower Columbia 
only such as are of noble birth are allowed to 
flatten their skulls. This is accomplished by 
placing an infant on a board corresponding to 
its length and breadth ; the papoose being con- 
fined in a stout sack to hold its limbs and body 
in one position. The head is confined with strings 
and lashings, which permit hardly any motion 






HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



oi the head. From the top of the rack upon 
"which the child is pinioned a small piece of board 
extends down nearly covering the eyes. T° this 
strings are attached to prevent the forehead from 
extending beyond the eyes, giving the entire head 
and face a broad and flat shape. From three to 
four months, or longer, the native infants of the 
t>lood royal — those born in the purple — were re- 
tained in these presses to such an extent as the 
infants could bear, or the aspirations of the 
pagan parents prompt. In 1870 it was the testi- 
mony of W. H. Gray that "For the last fifteen 
years I have not seen a native infant promoted 
"to these royal honors." 

The narrative of the United States explor- 
ing expedition of 1841, in charge of Commander 
Charles Wilkes, furnishes a clear and concise 
account of such Indians as were then at the 
Cascades and The Dalles, their occupations, life 
methods, dress, etc., together with an excellent 
description of the country in their immediate 
vicinity. We present several excerpts from this 
report, published in' 1845 : 

At the Cascades during the fishing season there 
are about three hundred Indians, only about one-tenth 
of whom are residents ; they occupy three lodges ; but 
there was formerly a large town here. Great quantities 
■of fish are taken by them, and the manner of doing this 
resembles that at Willamette Falls. They also con- 
struct canals on a line parallel with the shore, with 
rocks and stones, for about fifty feet in length, through 
which the fish pass in order to avoid the strong current, 
and are here taken in great numbers. There are two 
portages here under the names of the "new" and the 
"old." At the first only half of the load is landed, and 
the boats are tracked for half a mile- further, when the 
load is again shipped. The boats are then tracked to the 
old portage. A strong eddy occurs at this place, which 
Tiins in an opposite direction ; and here it is necessary to 
land the whole of the cargo ; after which the empty 
l)oats are again tracked three-quarters of a mile beyond. 

To a stranger unacquainted with the navigation of 
this river the management of these boatmen becomes a 
source of wonder ; for it is surprising how they can 
succeed in surmounting such rapids at all, as the Cas- 
cades. The mode of transporting the goods, and the 
facilities with which they do it, are equally novel. The 
load is secured on the back of a voyageur by a band 
■which passes around the forehead and under and over 
the bale; he squats down, adjusts his load, and rises 
-with ninety pounds on his back ; another places ninety 
pounds more on the top, and off he trots, half bent, to 
the end of the portage. One of the gentlemen of the 
company informed me that he had seen a voyageur carry 
six packages of ninety pounds each (540 pounds) on 
Ihis back ; but it was for a wager, and the distance was 



not more than 100 yards. The voyageurs in general 
have not the appearance of being very strong men. At 
these portages the Indians assist for a small present of 
tobacco. * * * # 

A short distance above the Cascades they passed 
the locality of the sunken forest, which was at that time 
entirely submerged. Mr. Dayton on his return visited 
the place, and the water had fallen so much as to expose 
the stumps to view. They were of pine and quite rotten, 
so much so that they broke when they were taken hold 
of. He is of the opinion that the point on which the pine 
forest stands has been undermined by the great currents 
during the freshets ; and that it has sunk bodily down 
until the trees were entirely submerged. The whole 
mass appears to be so matted together by the roots as 
to prevent their separation. Changes by the same under- 
mining process were observed to be going on contin- 
ually in other parts of the river. On the 30th of June 
they had a favorable wind, but it blew so hard that they 
were obliged to reef their sail, and afterward found the 
waves and wind too heavy for them to run without great 
danger ; they, in consequence, put on shore to wait until 
it abated. In these forty miles of the river it usually 
blows a gale from the westward ; in the summer time 
almost daily. In the evening they reached within seven 
miles of The Dalles, and four below the mission. Here 
the roar of the water at The Dalles was heard distinctly. 

The country had now assumed a different aspect ; 
the trees began to decrease in number, and the land to 
look dry and burned up. * * * The diversity of 
dress among the men was greater than even in the 
crowds of natives I have described as seen in the Polyn- 
esian Islands ; but they lack the decency and care of 
their persons which the islanders exhibit. The women, 
also, go nearly naked, for they wear little else than 
what may be termed a breech-cloth of buckskin. Some 
have a part of a blanket. The children go entirely 
naked ; the boys wear nothing but a small string around 
the body. It is only necessary to say that some forty 
or fifty live in a temporary hut. 20 by T2 feet in 
size, constructed of poles, mats and cedar bark, to convey 
an idea of their civilization. 

The men are engaged in fishing and do nothing 
else. On the women falls all the work of skinning, 
cleaning and drying the fish for their winter stores. So 
soon as the fish are caught they are laid for a few hours 
on the rocks, in the hot sun, which permits the skins to 
be taken off with greater ease : the flesh is then stripped 
off the bones, mashed and pounded as fine as possible ; 
it is then spread out on mats and placed upon frames 
to' dry in the sun and wind, which effectually cures it. 
Indeed, it is said that meat of any kind cured in this 
climate never become putrid. Three of four days are 
sufficient to dry a large matful, four inches deep. The 
cured fish is then pounded into a large basket, which will 
contain about eighty pounds; put up in this way, if kept 
dry, it will keep for three years. During the fishing 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



89 



season the Indians live entirely on the heads, hearts and 
offal of the salmon, which they string on sticks and 
roast nver a small lire. 

The fishing here is much after the manner of that 
at Willamette Falls, except that there is no necessity for 
planks to stand on, as there are greater conveniences 
at The Dalles for pursuing this fishery. They use hooks 
and spears attached to long poles ; both the hook and 
the spear are made to unship readily, and are attached 
to the pole by a line four or five feet below its upper 
end. If the hook were made permanently fast to the 
end of the pole it would be likely to break, and the large 
fish would be much more difficult to take. The Indians 
are seen standing along the walls of the canal in great 
numbers, fishing, and it is not uncommon for them to 
take twenty or twenty-live salmon in an hour. When 
the river is at its greatest height the water in the canals 
is about three feet below the top of the bank. 

The Dalles is one of the most remarkable places 
upon the Columbia. The river is here compressed into 
a narrow channel, three hundred 'feet wide, and half a 
mile long; the walls are perpendicular, flat on the top, 
and composed of basalt ; the river forms an elbow, being 
situated in an amphitheatre extending several miles to 
the northwest and closed in by a high basaltic wall. 
From appearances one is led to conclude that in former 
times the river made a straight course over the whole ; 
but having the channel deeper, is now confined within 
the present limits. Mr. Dayton on inquiring of an old 
Indian, through Ogden, learned that in the time of his 
forefathers they went straight up in their canoes. * * * 

The river falls about fifty feet in the distance of 
two miles, and the greatest rise between high and low 
water mark is sixty-two feet. This great rise is caused 
by the accumulation of water in the river above, which 
is dammed by this narrow pass, and is constantly in- 
creasing until it backs the waters, and overflows many 
low grounds and islands above. The tremendous roar 
arising from the rushing of the river through this outlet, 
with the many whirlpools and eddies which it causes, 
may be more readily imagined than described. * * * 
The number of Indians within The Dalles mission is 
reckoned at about two thousand ; in but few of these, 
however, has any symptom of reform shown itself. 
They frequent the three great salmon fisheries of the 
Columbia, The Dalles, Cascades and Chutes, and a few 
were found at a salmon fishery about twenty-five miles 
up the Des Chutes river. The season for fish- 
ing salmon, which is the chief article of food, 
in this country, lasts during five months, from May 
to September. The country also furnishes quantities of 
berries, nuts, roots and game, consisting of bear, elk 
and deer ; but owing to the improvidence of the natives 
they are, notwithstanding this ample supply of articles 
of food, oftentimes on the verge of starvation. 

After the fishing and trading season is over, they 
retire to their villages, and pass the rest of the year in 
inactivity, consuming the food supplied by the labors of 



the preceding summer, and as the season for fishing 
comes around they again resort to the fisheries. This is 
the ordinary course of life among these Indians. * * * 

The country about The Dalles is broken and the 
missionaries report that this is the case for some miles 
around. There are, however, also some plains and table 
lands which are considered very valuable, being well 
watered with springs and small streams ; excellent for 
grazing, and well supplied with timber — oak and pine. 
The soil varies in quality and portions of it are very 
rich. Garden vegetables succeed, but require irrigation. 
Potatoes also must be watered, by wdiich mode of culture 
they succeed well. Corn and peas can be raised in 
sufficient quantities. Wheat produces about twenty- 
five bushels to the acre; this is not, however, on the best 
land. They sow in October and March, and harvest 
begins toward the end of June. 

The climate is considered healthful ; the atmosphere 
is dry, and there are no dews. From May till November 
little rain falls, but in winter they have much rain and 
snow. The cold is seldom great, although during the 
winter preceding our arrival the thermometer fell to 
— 18 degrees Fahrenheit. The greatest heat experienced 
in summer was 100 degrees in the shade; but even after 
the hottest days the nights are cool and pleasant. 

During the early '6o's traces of what might 
now be termed a pre-historic race, well-defined 
traces of aboriginal occupancy, were easily dis- 
cernable in the country round and about The 
Dallas and throughout Wasco county. To the 
unexperienced eye these signs are without signi- 
ficance today. Well nigh gone forever are the 
rude implements, grotesque carvings, the far- 
reaching trails, stone mounds and unsymmetric 
paintings upon basaltic bluff-walls. In the '60's 
these deep-worn parallel paths mentioned, those 
primitive thoroughfares along which traveled 
Indians on their annual trips between winter 
abodes and the great fisheries above The Dalles, 
were entirely free from the intricate mesh of farm 
and field ; no obstructive fences, rail or wire, 
barred their way. Humming their legendary bal- 
lads or singing their low, rude melodies of moth- 
erhood, dusky princesses followed each a tall, 
stoical chieftain or warrior brave, in the same 
pathwav trod by their ancestors centuries agone. 

When on these periodical fishing expeditions 
Indians were invariably accompanied by a drove 
of parti-colored "cayuses" ; returning these ani- 
mals were loaded with heavy packs of dried sal- 
mon. Trails were worn deep into the arable 
soil by these horses driven loose. To> the earlier 
settlers these trails became of great service while 
on their way to town. And even after the first 
primitive official roadways were established 
Oregon pioneers continued the use of these high- 
ways. It was along one of these aboriginal trails 



9 o 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



leading in from the Tygh that a detail from the 
travelworn expedition of Meek rolled into The 
Dalles making their last encampment under the 
overhanging boughs of a lone pine tree which 
formerly stood on the farm owned, in 1889, by 
Mr. John Southwell, on Eight Mile creek, ten 
miles south of The Dalles. Sixteen years ago 
traces of this now forgotten roadway were yet 
to be found. To W. S. Campbell, in 1889, Hugh 
McNary, a member of the luckless Meek party, 
pointed out the old road and the campground. 
He told graphically of the subsequent fruitless 
search for the "blue bucket" diggings, and he 
related many stirring incidents of those days 
that "tried men's souls." Mr. McNary settled in 
the vicinity of the campground, where for a 
number of years he continued to reside, and was 
for a number of years identified with the pioneer 
freighting venture of Boise, Canyon City and 
other interior points. 

It was, indeed, a populous, dusky nation that, 
long years ago, inhabited the little sequestered 
valleys along the mountain streams, some of 
which are to-day known as Three, Five, Eight 
and Fifteen Mile creeks, on the south ; Mill and 
Chenoweth on the west; Five and Eight really 
being the lower portion of Fifteen Mile. The 
first bunch-grass sod of the Inland Empire — at 
least in a large portion of it — was broken not 
one hundred yards from Meek's last camp on 
Eight Mile. At that time the circular depres- 
sions — not unlike miniature circus rings long 
abandoned by the sawdust troupe — where form- 
erly stood the picturesque tepees of the Wascos 
were encountered ; the plow-point dulled on the 
round broiling stones in the long forgotten 
hearths. Often the deadly arrow-head, fash- 
ioned from flint, was picked up, curiously in- 
spected, or perhaps, taken to the hardy settler's 
cabin and placed among his rude and strangely 
assorted bric-a-brac. Here, when the summer 
sun shone brightly, in the long-ago, and the light, 
fleecy clouds floated lazily athwart the azure sky, 
the tribal youths rounded up their fleetest steeds 
and tested their endurance before matching them 
against the champions of rival bands. And under 
the pine the hides of deer and shaggy coats of 
bear were beaten by strong-armed squaws until 
.the finest of buckskins and most luxurious of 
robes were made for their lords and masters. 

The frames of their wickiups were alder 
poles ; the roofs were cedar bark brought down 
from near the sources of the streams. As evi- 
dence of this naked trunks still stand there, musty 
and old, among the firs and hackmetacks of the 
swamps. Of this locality Mr. W. S. Campbell 
wrote in the Times-Mountaineer, January 1, 
1889: 



Once, when engaged in the exploration of a cedar 
swamp near the head of Five Mile, we were startled by 
suddenly beholding the counterpart of an Indian woman, 
natural as life, almost, standing in the bog alone, the 
very picture of desertion and rigidity. Though on closer 
inspection it proved to be but a partially decayed stump, 
at the proper distance the likeness was wonderful, in- 
deed. And, as we came away, she still seemed to be 
looking toward the coming night in the east with the 
same hopeless attitude of desertion, making us half be- 
lieve we were turning our back on a stricken being 
whom cruel fate had decreed to remain in solitude to 
the end of time. 

The well-known stone figures of the Indian woman 
and child, to be seen from the deck of the Cascades boat 
as she runs near the Oregon shore a few miles below 
The Dalles, may be more enduring, but never more life- 
like than the wooden image of the swamp mentioned. 
Odd, it is, the number of singularly truthful statues 
formed by chance that are to be found in this vicinity. 
Near Mr. Sherar's toll bridge, on the left-hand side of 
the canyon, up which the Grass Valley road winds and 
turns toward its destination, half way up the canyon 
and hillside as well, is the stone figure of another Indian 
woman, sitting with her elbows on her knees and her 
averted face clasped in her hands as though weary, 
weary, weary, long weary ! And still further up the 
gorge, on the opposite hillside, the majestic figure of a 
noble chieftain stands out in bold relief against the 
eastern sky, perfect in attitude and outline, even to the 
regal war bonnet, once so familiar to the first settlers. 

In the days gone by Mount Hood was the center 
of a vast natural park, wherein the choicest game and 
the most delicious wild fruits were plentiful. Agile- 
limbed hunters, armed with bows and arrows, stealthily 
searched sylvan dells and brought to bay the monarchs 
of the forest beneath the very shadow of the grand old 
mountain. Now the timbered slopes are desolated by 
the roving bands of sheep which are driven there for 
pasturages every summer. 

Beginning - with the year 1838 Rev. Daniel 
Lee passed a number of years as a missionary at 
The Dalles, the mission which Dr. Marcus Whit- 
man, a short time previous to his assassination, 
purchased. From a work entitled "Ten Years in 
Oregon," by Rev. D. Lee and J. H. Frost, pub- 
lished in 1844, we make the following extracts : 

The nights among The Dalles Indians were spent 
in singing and dancing, and thier carousals could be 
heard a mile. One, and then another of the medicine 
men, would open his house for dance, where it was gen- 
erally kept up five nights in succession; men, women and 
children engaged in the chant, while a man, a woman, 
or both, danced on a large elk Skin spread down on one 
side of the fire that blazed in the center of the group, 
keeping time to the loud-measured knocking of a long 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



9i 



pole suspended horizontally, and struck endwise against 
a white cedar hoard — the dancer jumping and invoking 
his "tam-an-a-was," or familiar spirit, until exhausted he- 
falls as one dead, by the overpowering influence of his 
"familiar." 

To arouse him from this deep slumber required 
the skill of a medicine man, or "mesmeriser," who, go- 
ing around him, peeps and mutters, and whoops, and 
hoots at his toes, fingers and ears, and wakes his tam- 
an-a-was; when he shudders, groans, opens his eyes and 
lives again. With these dancers the feat of fire-eating 
is also connected. The writer going one night to witness 
a dance was told that a medicine man present could eat 
fire; at first he seemed not a little ashamed, and denied 
he could do it. "Let me see you eat fire," said the writer ; 
"you dare not do it ; you can not do it." This was 
calling his courage and power into question before 
many who had seen him devour the blazing torch, as 
they believed, again and again. This was too much; 
his reputation was in danger, and his friends were 
urgent, confident that the doubter would be convinced. 
"Al-ta-nan-ich ! Now see the doctor eat fire !" 
Having a bundle of small sticks of wood about two 
inches in diameter, and several inches long, he lighted 
one end, and while it blazed well, thrust it into his 
mouth, instantly closing his lips and extinguishing the 
flames. At this a smile of triumph rested on every face. 
"Give me a bundle of sticks," said the writer. 
The sticks being given were lighted and put into 
the hands of an Indian who was near. "Now, see, all 
of you ! He, only keeping the wind away from it, made 
it go out. He does not eat it. Putting my hands around 
this will do the same ; there, it is out, you see. My 
hands did not eat it; only shut the air out. Fire can not 
live without wind." 

All were mute. Speaking to the doctor, he said : 
"You deceive the people." 

"Oh, now-it-kah, certainly," he replied. The people 
appeared to be convinced; but probably thinking the 
writer was a very great medicine man, being more than 
a match for the fire-eater. 

Formerly it was a prevailing custom for the medi- 
cine men at the dancing festivals to lacerate their flesh 
with sharp sontes, or knives, making deep cuts, and 
while the blood was gushing out, scoop it up in their 
hands to drink it and appease their blood-thirst}' tam- 
an-a-was that raged within. Probably it was pretended 
by these deceivers that their "familiar" delighted in 
blood in order to inspire the poor dupes of their black 
art with an abiding dread of their displeasure, who 
could command the service of such malicious agents. 
The limbs and bodies of many exhibit scars which origi- 
nated in this diabolical practice. 

During the winter a circumstance came under the 
writer's notice, which may be related here, which is in 
keeping with the known character of The Dalles Indians 
since the whites first knew them. Several Indians from 
Wisham called one day at the mission, and being left 



alone in the room where they used to sit to converse, 
or came to get medicine, one of them when an oppor- 
tunity served went into an adjoining room and found 
a market under his blanket for two shirts and a vest, on 
which he and his party soon left, having lost their in- 
clination to remain there any longer. The next Sabbath 
he came to meeting wearing the vest which he carefully 
covered with his blanket, so that it was not seen until 
service closed, when he forgot to keep it hidden, and 
thus the thief revealed himself and proved that previous 
suspicions were well founded. The vest and one of the 
shirts only were recovered. 

Difficulties often arise about property on the de- 
cease of relatives. A case of this kind took place at 
The Dalles station this winter. Tah-lac-eow-it, the 
Indian mentioned before, was living there and at work 
for the mission. He occupied a small house with his 
family, consisting of his wife and her mother, which 
house belonged to the mission. After a time his wife, 
who had long been a consumptive, died. The writer was 
present at the time, and was engaged in prayer when 
her spirit took its flight. As he arose the watchful 
mother caught with her eye the last gasp, and was in- 
stantly overwhelmed with loud and frantic grief. When 
the burial and mourning had ended the brother of the 
deceased began to annoy the bereft husband about the 
property, and made his visits so frequent and urged his 
unreasonable claims so madly that a quarrel ensued 
and a battle of pulling hair, and after this a strife to 
wrench an axe from each other's grasp, that one might 
have it to fight the other to some purpose. At this 
stage of the affray the writer entered the little house 
where they were, seized the weapon and wrested it from 
them; and then laying hold of the aggressor's long hair, 
showed him the way out into the yard in a hurry, and 
there the war ended. It is seldom that their engage- 
ments can be depended on. One was paid for ten deer 
skins, and when he brought them five were poor ones;, 
and besides this cheat he wanted to get other property 
worth at least half the skins. Agree to give one a shirt 
for his services, and when he has done he will often 
want a vest or half a dozen small presents. * * * 
Before the revival among the Indians at The Dalles, 
and in the vicinity, which took place in the 
fall and winter of 1839 and 1840, and which 
in order of time has its place here, is treated of, 

reader to a more particular 
Indians in these parts and 

Ten miles above the station 
at the shoots are two villages, Tekin and Wiam. These 
are Walla Wallas. At the long narrows on the north 
side is Wisham. Here we first met with the 
Chinooks. Next, three miles below, is Ka-clas-ko, near 
which the mission houses stand (improperly called 
Wasco-pum). Ten miles you come to Clat-a-cut on the 
north side. Fifteen miles further down is Kle-miak-sac 
and Kow-il-a-mow-an. Three miles more Ne-nooth- 
tect, then Scal-talpe and Wah-he at the head of the. 



let me introduce the 
acquaintance with the 
with their character. 



9 2 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Cascades. Besides on the north side of the river, a 
short distance inland, were the Chick-atat Indians, and 
on the south, twenty-five miles, the village of Til-han-ne, 
inhabited by the Walla Wallas. The villages named 
along the river from The Dalles down to The Cascades 
are the winter residences of many who pass their sum- 
mer at or near the other of these fisheries. All these 
number less than 2,000 of all ages. From The Dalles 
Indians the Kinse used formerly to take an annual 
tribute of salmon, alleging that the fishery belonged to 
them. Whether or not their claims were well-founded, 
their superior power in war kept their stipendiaries in 
abject submission. These exactions were formerly more 
rigorous than now ; at present they are concealed under 

: the show of traffic. They buy at their own price, com- 
pelling them to sell even their own stock of provisions 
so as to have little left to subsist on themselves. An- 
other cause, nearly as oppressive, which occurs almost 
every year, and makes a draft on their salmon stores, is 
the aggression of some of their poorer neighbors of 

' the nearer inland tribes. These came to the fisheries 
after the end of the salmon season, while the fishermen 
are gone into the mountains to gather their yearly stock 
of berries, and rob their salmon caches. These are 
cellars which they dig in the sand where they deposit 
with much care and secrecy the fruits of their summer's 
toil and their winter's hope. Thus pillaged, every re- 
turning spring finds many of them in abject want. 
Formerly they had wars with the Clam-aths and the 
Zwan-hi-ooks, who inhabit the country far to the south 
and southeast. Some of the former tribe they hold in 
slavery. 

Many years ago the rich hunting ground of the 
Willamette valley attracted the Kinse thither in chase 
of 'deer. On their return they were waylaid in the 
wilderness, when within about twenty-five miles of The 
Dalles, by a party of the Chinook race residing between 

•this place and the Cascades, and nearly, if not entirely, 
cut off. This bloody conduct soon brought a war party 
of the Kinse upon the aggressors, when a battle ensued, 
and the avengers of their brothers' blood were con- 
querors. 

A disposition to take every advantage of white men 
in their power by force or fraud, has been more manifest 
in the Indians here than in any other part of the terri- 
tory ; from the first introduction of the traders among 
them. Such was their determination to plunder that for 
many years the Hudson's Bay Company was compelled 
to pass them with a large force, and restrain them by 

" the dread of their arms. So late as the year 1826, as 
Mr. M'Leod, a gentleman of the company, and Mr. 
Douglas, the naturalist, were passing there, they mani- 
fested hostile intentions. Mr. McLeod, being apprised 
of his danger, ordered his men to put their boats into 

• the water, on which the Indians interfered, and as Mr. 
M'Leod was pushing one of them away from the boat, 
another drew a bow to shoot him. Mr. Douglas, seeing 
this, uncovered his piece and aimed it at the Indian. 



At this moment a Kinse chief and three of his young 
men arrived, and set the matter at rest. When one 
of these Indians is detected in stealing, or with stolen 
property, and it is restored or taken from him, it is often 
the case among themselves that the thief receives some 
article of less value for which he has the boldness to 
stipulate with the owner of the stolen property. * * * 
Let the reader now be introduced to the most influ- 
ential persons among this people. These are the ''medi- 
cine men," or conjurers, who can, it is believed, set the 
evil spirit of disease at defiance ; cast it out where it 
has dared to enter, and make it seize with an unyielding, 
deadly grasp the object of their displeasure. The people 
believe that they hold intercourse with spirits ; that 
they can see the disease, which is some extraneous thing, 
as a small shell, or a pipe, or a piece of tobacco, or 
some other material substance which they (the doctors) 
describe. It is firmly believed that they can send a bad 
''tam-an-a-was" into a person and make him die, unless 
it can be cast out by some other "medicine man." If 
a threat is made, or it is intimated by one of them that 
a certain person will not live long, no sooner does he 
hear of it than he is alarmed and feels himself a dead 
man. For their services they are paid in advance, and 
often their demands are high, and their practice is lucra- 
tive. When their patients die they restore the fees.' 
This is necessary for their own security, for otherwise 
they might be charged with having caused his death, 
which would render them marks of revenge. If one of 
the order is his rival or enemy, and he wishes the 
obstacle to his own advancement removed, the affirma- 
tion that he caused the death of some person will 
probably be followed by his death by the relatives of the 
deceased. Several deaths from this cause took place 
at The Dalles the first year after the station was occu- 
pied, and this is a common occurrence among many of 
the surrounding tribes. Sometimes it happens that the 
doctor takes all the patient has, not leaving a dying 
man his last, perhaps his only garment or covering. 
A case of this kind occurred at The Dalles. A young 
man was in consumption and was in the writer's care. 
He was frightened away to the doctor by some one who 
saw he had a shirt and trousers, shoes and a light 
blanket, which he had received in part from me ; and it 
was not long before he had stripped him of the whole, 
and then left him to die, or hastened his death. The 
poor man had no friends and the doctor was safe. 

During the years 1839 and 1840 considerable 
religious excitement prevailed among the Wascos 
in the vicinity of The Dalles. It permeated nearly 
the whole tribe, and about a thousand of them 
professed to be converted, were baptized and re- 
ceived into the Christian church. But in 1850 
such of these converts as were then alive had, 
nearly all, relapsed into their former state. Their 
religion, according to Mr. G. Hines, appeared 
to be more of the head than of the heart. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



93 



May 4, 1843, Mr Hines and Dr. White came 
to the house of a Mr. Brewer, at The Dalles, 
where they found assembled about twenty In- 
dians. And these savages were congregated 
there for a purpose, which was subsequently re- 
vealed. At the time Dr. White was in the vicin- 
ity, the previous winter, he had prevailed on the 
[ndians to organize themselves into a kind of 
civil government. One high chief and three sub- 
ordinates had been elected ; laws had been pro- 
mulgated and the penalties for transgression of 
the same were whippings, more or less severe, 
according to the character of the crime or mis- 
demeanor committed. In the enforcement of 
these laws the chiefs had found much difficulty. 
Taken altogether this whole scheme of govern- 
ment devised by the well-meaning Dr. White ap- 
pears to have been most chimerical, visionary and 
impracticable. The chiefs said that on punishing 
some of the recalcitrant Indians, according to the 
"white man's law," they had resisted strenuously, 
even to the point of the knife. 

And now these chiefs who had been appointed 
through the influence of Dr. White, and upon 
whom rested the responsibility of executing the 
laws, were desirous, that the new "government" 
should continue, but too evidently solely because 
it placed the "governed" under their absolute 
control and gave them the power to regulate all 
their intercourse with the whites and with other 
Indian tribes. But there were others, and influ- 
ential men, too, who, not being in office, revolted 
against the corporeal punishment, and boldly de- 
sired to be informed what particular benefit this 
whipping system might confer on them. These 
men ingeniously said that they were willing it 
should continue provided they were to receive 
blankets, shirts and trousers as a reward for 
being whipped. No modern politician of the 
Twentieth Century ever sought more diligently 
for "graft" than did these Wasco Indians of 1840. 
They said they had been whipped a good many 
times, but had received nothing for it ; it had done 
them no good. Should this unsatisfactory condi- 
tion of "government" continue it was all (cultus) 
good for nothing, and they earnestly desired to 
do away with the entire system. 

Dr. White replied that he and Mr. Hines 
could not then be detained to adjust any pending 
difficulties ; that they were going farther into 
the interior, and were in something of a hurry, 
and that on his return he would endeavor to oil 
ihe wheels of government, but not exactly in 
the manner proposed, bestowing bribes on the 
whipees by the whippers. There would be no 
pay coming to them for being flogged whenever 
they deserved it. The assembled Indians laughed 
heartily and good-naturedly dispersed, but from 



that day the backbone of self-government, accord- 
ing to Dr. White's idea, was broken. 

In 1850 the Indian villages at The Dalles 
were separated. One was clustered around the 
Catholic mission ; the other was in the vicinity 
of Nathan Olney's store. Mrs. Elizabeth Lord, 
writing of early times, says : "Caskilla lived near 
the store, and Mark, his brother, at the mission. 
I loth were chiefs, though Caskilla was higher 
in authority. He was a fine type of Indian, tall, 
straight, dignified and an interesting talker. . 
Mark was fat and coarse." 

C. W. Denton, who was one of the pioneers 
of Wasco county and who took an active part in 
the Indian wars, has written as follows concern- 
ing the different tribes of Indians and their chiefs 
at the time of the first white settlements in the ■ 
early '50's : 

The Indians were very numerous and powerful. 
The following are the names of the tribes, their chiefs 
and locations ; Indian Chenowith was chief of the Cas- 
cade Falls Indians; Old Colwash of the Dog River and 
White Salmon Indians; Caskilla of the Indians at The 
Dalles and in the vicinity; Stock Whitley of the Des 
Chutes (or Won Woyas). At one time Cimetestas was 
their chief. Stock Whitley, at the time of our earliest 
recollection was quite a youngster, and to give an idea 
of his manly qualities, I will relate a little incident. 
During the summer of 1857 a party of Des Chutes 
Indians visited the garrison (at The Dalles). As their 
first thought is of something to eat, they turned their 
steps to the house of the only family in the place and 
asked for bread, which was given them. The man of" 
the house had been lying across the bed, reading, but 
now stepped out to look at the horses. The noble 
Stock Whitley gracefully reclined his fat body in the 
place vacated, and after arranging the pillows to suit 
his august head, picked up the book and seemed to be 
deeply engrossed in its pages, while he munched a crust 
of bread. The lady of the house who sat sewing, viewed 
these proceedings with disgust. Seizing a slipper which 
lay beside her she gave his majesty a blow which sent 
the crust flying into the yard. The savage with a yell 
and a bound landed beside it. He picked up the bread, 
vowing that he would be revenged. He went at once 
to the Indian agent (a specimen of wax work) with 
his complaint and said she must be sent away immedi- 
ately. The agent gave him some "taffy" and half a 
plug of tobacco to overlook the insult, which he read- 
ily did. 

Yoice was chief of the John Days and renegades; 
Camiackan of the Yakimas, Simcoes and Klickitats . 
(some of the most powerful tribes in the northwest) ; 
Simowe and White Owl of the Cayuses and Umatillas ; 
Peo-Peo-Mox-Mox of the Walla Wallas ; Snow-hollow,,, 
of the Priest Rapids and White Bluffs Indians ; Lawer 
and Nez Perce Dick, of the Nez Perces ; Wa-wa-wa, of " 



94 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



the Snake tribes on the Weiser and Payette ; Mowhigh, 
of the Malheurs ; Paulina, of the Ochocos and those on 
th~e upper John Day; Winnemucca, of the Piutes (whose 
principal hunting grounds then were within the limits 
of what is now the state of Nevada). 

I wish to say, in justice to the Wasco Indians, that 

. as a tribe they never have taken up arms against the 
whites, but a few renegades have at times joined the 
hostiles. While they, nominally, have always had a 

• chief, since the return of Billy Chinook in 1851 from his 
visit to the eastern states and California, with John C. 
Fremont, he has controlled the Indians more than any 
chief. He, being an intelligent and honest Indian, was 
worthy of the confidence the tribe placed in him. 

To this favorable comment on the character 
of Billy Chinook Mrs. Elizabeth Lord adds the 
following testimony : 

"In H. K. Hines' latest work he speaks of 
William Hendry. I had known Billy Chinook 
since 1851 and had never heard of him as any- 
thing else, so I was very much amused, but that, 
I suppose, was his Methodist name. He had in- 
troduced himself to father as Billy Chinook when 
he arrived at The Dalles in 185 1, as we supposed 
returning from his trip east with Fremont. He 
came by way of California, bringing a California 
Indian wife, and quite a large band of Texas and 
Mexican cattle. He moved into a cabin across 
Mill creek from where we then lived. He was as 
good and honest a man as could be found any- 
where. Father always had a warm place in his 
heart for Billy. He removed with the other 
Indians to the Warm Springs reservation and 
ended his days there." 

Of the Hudson's Bay Company's post at The 
Dalles there is only meagre information concern- 
ing details available. Certain it is, however, that 
this gigantic fur trust and syndicate of specula- 
tive English capitalists established a post, or "fac- 
tory" at this point in 1820, and that James Bir- 
nie, a Scotchman and native of Aberdeen, was 
in charge of the same. Dr. William McKay, an 
authority on Indian and Hudson's Bay Company 
history, states conclusively that such a post was 
established in the year mentioned. But it re- 
mained in existence only a short time and cut no 
important figure in the history of the territory 
to which this history is confined. It is, today, 
problematical if ever a building intended for per- 
manency was erected. 

In the early days of the Nineteenth Century 
perigrinating traders of the Hudson's Bay and 
American companies, with headquarters at As- 
toria, frequently passed the falls of the Colum- 
bia and mention of the place occurs at intervals 
in the journals of these companies. It is true 
that at this period (1820) the Hudson's Bay 



Company was intent upon extending its trade 
and territorial sovereignty throughout the coun- 
try east of the Northwest Coast. Therefore it 
would have been natural for them to project a 
post, fort or stockade at The Dalles, really a most 
eligible location. Still, the place was isolated ; 
Indian tribes were hostile, and it is quite prob- 
able that the post, temporarily located, was soon 
abandoned. It is known, however, that the canny 
Scotchman, Birnie, subsequently had charge of 
Fort George, Astoria, and, also, Fort Simpson. 
James Birnie, who has been designated the "first 
inhabitant of The Dalles," died at Cathlamet, 
December 21, 1864, aged sixty-nine years. 

From 1844 to 1846 the increase of immigra- 
tion, all of which trended in the direction of the 
Willamette settlement, and the terrors inspired 
by rafting their lares et penates down the Colum- 
bia from The Dalles, led a few of the more enter- 
prising pioneers to seek for a more feasible route 
over the mountains. The result was the "Barlow 
Road," connecting eastern and western Oregon. 
In 1847 this highway was declared open to trav- 
elers. A large proportion of the 7,000 emigrants 
of that year, being more accustomed to land, than 
water travel, preferred to risk the hardships of 
logs and canyons to the dangerous and treacher- 
ous currents of the Columbia. At that period the 
superior qualities of Wasco soil had been tested 
neither by scientific analysis or practical agri- 
cultural experiment. Here the pioneer, with his 
eyes fixed on the seductive valley of the Willa- 
mette, of which most attractive tales had floated 
eastward on the wings of rumor, saw no value 
in the meadows and bunch grass hillsides of 
Wasco save to feed his starving stock that they 
might be able to cross the last great divide sepa- 
rating him from the Willamette. The beautiful 
valleys of Wasco, with their pure streams, had no 
names to the pioneer ; to him they simply inda- 
cated so many miles less to travel. Thus the names 
Three Mile, Five Mile, Eight Mile, and Fifteen 
Mile creeks, referred to the distance from The 
Dalles to the crossing of those streams now his- 
toric in the annals of Wasco county, on the road 
across the Cascades. From the year of the open- 
ing of the Barlow road, 1847, trie valley of "Fif- 
teen Mile creek" became famous as a resting 
place to the emigrant. Its wild hay gave strength 
to many a foot-sore horse and ox that, otherwise, 
would never have passed their declining years in 
Oregon. 

It was in 1845 that the first effort was made to 
open a road over the Cascade mountains, near 
the base of Mount Hood, on the south side. It 
was the freely expressed sentiment of S. K. Bar- 
low that "God never made a mountain without 
some place for man to go over it, or under it." 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



95 



Assured by this philosophical reflection Mr. Bar- 
low, with eighteen men and women, besides chil- 
dren, struck out from The Dalles with thirteen 
wagons, sixteen yoke of cattle and seven horses. 
December 23d the party emerged frorn the moun- 
tains and arrived at Foster's farm — the welcome 
haven of later emigrants. The wagons had been 
abandoned — cached on the summit of the divide. 
Those accompanying Barlow and his family were 
William Rector, J. C. Caplinger and Mr. Gessner, 
and their respective wives ; John and William 
Bacon. Subsequently Rector returned to The 
Dalles. The following season this road, or trail, 
was cut through. So' steep was it on the western 
passes that it was necessary to lower wagons 
by ropes passed around stout trunks of trees. 
Only a few years since some of these trees still 
bore the marks of the cords and chains that cut 
through their bark. This was the last stage of 
the all-wagon route to the Willamette, and was 
in constant use by later arrivals. Of this com- 
mendable enterprise Mr. S. L. Brooks has writ- 
ten : 

Previous to the building of the Barlow road in 
1847 the immigrants, after reaching The Dalles, pro- 
ceeded by boat down the Columbia river to the Willa- 
mette valley. Their route through eastern Oregon to 
The Dalles was via the emigrant road. This highway 
entered the present confines of the state through the Blue 
Mountains. It passed through Pendleton, crossed the 
Umatilla river above the mouth of Butter creek, then 
followed a southwestern course to Willow creek, cross- 
ing that stream near the present station of Cecils ; thence 
west across the present Gilliam county to Rock creek ; 
followed Rock creek and crossed the John Day river 
below the mouth of Rock creek ; thence it crossed Sher- 
man county, passing through what is now the town of 
Wasco, to the mouth cf the Des Chutes river ; crossed 
that stream at the mouth and followed the Columbia 
-to The Dalles. 

The Barlow road extended south from The Dalles 
to Fifteen Mile Crossing (Dufur) ; thence to Tygh 
valley ; thence south and west, keeping to the north of 
White river, to the pass through the Cascades, between 
Mounts Hood and Wilson, and thence to Oregon City 
and other points in the Willamette. 

In its issue of January 1, 1898, the Times- 
Mountaineer said : 

"The Klinger family, consisting of father, 
mother and six children, were among the first 
to cross the Cascades on the Barlow road, which 
was completed that year (1847), an d en route 
cooked of their scant supply of rice (which with 
a smaller allowance of bread comprised their sole 
provisions) on the spot where Dufur now stands. 
The year 1847 was a hard one on the emigrants 
to Oregon ; 7,000 is the estimate of those who 



started; hundreds died on the road, and were 
buried between the wagon tracks that the sav- 
ages might not find and dig up the bodies, and 
hundreds that reached eastern Oregon were in a 
destitute and starving condition. For instance, 
one of the Klinger party traded a shirt for a sal- 
mon at Tygh valley, and was so starved that he 
ate so much that it killed him." 

In the introductory chapters of this volume 
we have related the incidents of the Indian war 
of 1847-8; the aftermath of the horrible Whit- 
man massacre at Waiilatpu. It is not our inten- 
tion to here repeat the story. But there are cer- 
tain details of that campaign which come di- 
rectly into the warp and woof of this history of 
Wasco county and these should, consequently, 
be noted. In 1847, after the massacre, Oregon 
volunteers took the field determined to punish the 
treacherous redskins guilty of the inhuman enor- 
mity perpetrated at the Whitman mission. Gen- 
eral Gilliam promptly proceeded to the front with 
his command. In the course of this campaign 
in the Walla Walla country the old mission 
where is now The Dalles was converted into 
barracks ; a military depot and base of supplies 
during the entire war extending over a period of 
eight months. Of the Oregon City volunteers 
Captain H. A. G. Lee was in command. They 
were stationed at The Dalles post until the death 
of General Gilliam, when Lee assumed command 
of operations against the hostiles. But the discov- 
er}- of the gold fields of California in the spring 
of 1848 so greatly demoralized this little army 
that the soldiers could not be induced to remain 
in the field, and again the country fell into the 
hands of the war party who held sway until 1850. 

During the occupancy by the troops of the 
old mission building at Wasco-pum (The Dalles) 
— the place was known first as Wasco-pum ; later 
as Fort Lee, in honor of its commander. In 
April, 1848, we find Captain H. J. G. Maxon 
commanding, and in August Lieutenant A. T. 
Rogers. Following is the resolution passed by 
the legislative assembly of the Oregon Territorial 
government : 

"That the governor is hereby required to 
raise, arm and equip a company of riflemen, not 
to exceed fifty men with their captain and subal- 
tern officers, and dispatch them forthwith to 
occupy the mission station at The Dalles, on the 
Columbia river, and to hold the same until re- 
inforcements can arrive at that point or other 
means be taken as the government may think 
desirable." 

These are the names of the volunteers, in the 
field and at the mission : Joseph B. Proctor, H. 
A. G. Lee, J. S. Rinearson, Thomas Purvis, J. 
Magoon, C. Richardson, J. E. Ross, Isaac Wal- 



9 6 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



gamoults, John G. Gibson, B. B. Rogers, Benja- 
min Bratton, Samuel K. Barlow, William Berry, 
John Bolton, Henry W. Coe, William Buckman, 
S. A. Jackson, Jacob Witchey, John Fleming, 
A. C. Little, A. J. Thomas, George Westby, Ed- 
ward Robson, Andrew Wise, D. Averson, J. H. 
McMillen, John C. Danford, W. M. Carpenter, 
Lucius Marsh, Joel McKee, H. Levalley, J. W. 
Morgan, O. Tupper, R. S. Tupper, C. H. Daven- 
dorf, John Hiner, C. W. Savage, G. H. Bos- 
worth, Jacob Johnson, Stephen Cummings, 
George Weston. 

These men organized themselves into a com- 
pany and selected their officers as follows : 

Captain, H. A. G. Lee ; first lieutenant, J. 
Magoon ; second lieutenant, J. E. Ross ; com- 
missary, C. H. Davendorf ; surgeon, W. M. Car- 
penter, M. D. ; first sergeant, J. S. Rinearson; 
second sergeant, W. Savage ; third sergeant, Wil- 
liam Berry ; first corporal, Stephen Cummings ; 
second corporal, J. H. McMillen. 

The following letter was written by Major H. 
A. G. Lee to Governor Abernethy, of Oregon, 
December 26, 1847, shortly after his arrival at 
The Dalles (then known as Wasco-puml : 

To Governor Abernethy : Sir — I reached this place 
on the evening" of the 21st instant, with ten men, in- 
cluding Mr. Hinman (who had been in charge of the 
mission at Wasco-pum), whom I met on his way to 
Wallamet at Wind River Mountain, thirty miles below. 
The boats being wind-bound, and hearing from Mr. 
Hinman that a party of the Cayuses and river Indians 
had been down and driven off some horses from the 
mission, and that he had left with his family soon after, 
thinking it unsafe to remain longer, I was induced to 
lead the few men that were with me (for we had been 
separated by the wind and could not get together), and 
press to this place by land, with all dispatch, to save 
the houses from destruction ; and I am very happy to 
inform you that we have arrived just in time, and that 
all is 1 now safe. The natives immediately about this 
place are friendly and hailed our arrival with much 
joy. Seletsa professes friendship, but I shall keep an 
eye on him ; his men have been killing cattle, and I sus- 
pect with his consent, though he promises to make 
them pay for them. We have been collecting the cattle 
and placing them below in order to stop the slaughtering 
that has been carried on above. We have not yet learned 
the amount of mischief done at this place, but are getting 
things under way quite as well as I could have antici- 
pated. Mr. Hinman has been of great service to me here ; 



he leaves today to join his family whom he left on the 
river * * * While writing the above one horse 
which had been stolen from the immigrants has been 
brought in, and others are reported on the way. I think 
most of -the property stolen near this place will be re- 
turned ; that above Des Chutes will probably be con- 
tended for. The Indians about this place are evidently 
terrified, and I shall avail myself of that fact, as far as 
possible, in furthering the object of our trip. I have 
no fears of an attack on this place, yet I shall be as 
vigilant as though an attack were certain. The boats 
which were wind-bound eight days arrived this morning 
all safe and well. 

I remain your most obedient, humbled servant, 

H. A. G. LEE. 

The forces under General Gilliam were rap- 
idly mobilized and on January 12, 1848, some of 
them left Portland, arriving at The Dalles on the 
23d. This force numbered fifty men. On the 
25th the remainder of the command came in, 
making a total force of about two hundred and 
fifty soldiers. Previous to the arrival of Gil- 
liam, Captain Lee engaged in a light skirmish 
with the Des Chutes Indians, capturing a num- 
ber of horses which proved serviceable as riding 
animals. These Indians, it was said, had been 
urged on by the Cayuses and Lee was sent for- 
ward to find them. He came up with them and a 
sharp skirmish resulted. At night this fact was 
reported to Gilliam by a scout. 

, The following day, with about thirty men, 
Gilliam moved forward- and found the hostiles in 
force on the hills above a point described as 
Meek's Crossing. On the morning of the 30th 
Gilliam ordered an attack. The Indians were 
quicklv dislodged, and abandoned their horses, 
some forty of which were collected ; also a few 
cattle. The only loss inflicted upon the volun- 
teers was by some Cayuses who attacked the ex- 
posed camp, killing two soldiers, Packwood and 
Jackson, who were guarding the horses. Finally 
the Des Chutes Indians were induced to give up 
the struggle, and they made a truce with the 
commissioner, saying that they had been forced 
into the difficulty through fear of the Cayuses. 
A forward movement was then commenced by 
Gilliam, February 15th, and subsequently the 
war was carried on in the northern country, now 
the state of Washington. Only a few soldiers 
remained at The Dalles post during the whole 
campaign. 




The Dalles Hospital 



CHAPTER II 



PASSING EVENTS— 1805 TO 1853. 



While these lines are being penned the city 
of Portland, Oregon, is making- elaborate ar- 
rangements for the opening, June i, 1905, of the 
Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition, com- 
memorative of the enterprise and daring of these 
two famous explorers, whose thrilling adven- 
tures, daring exploits and wonderful executive 
ability are thrown into bold relief in the history 
of the United States. In the opening chapters 
of this work a synopsis of the motive, plans and 
execution of their arduous labors has been given. 
It is only as their command impinged upon the 
history of Wasco county that we now have to 
deal. 

Just one hundred years ago the county at 
present embraced within the boundaries of 
Wasco count)- was. first visited by white men of 
whom there is authoritative data. We find the 
earliest mention of the localities of which this 
volume treats in the journals of that party, "first 
across the continent," while on their exploring 
expedition of 1805. They then went into camp at 
the mouth of Mill creek, where now stands a city 
known as The Dalles, at once the metropolis and 
capital of Wasco county. And here they found 
the Indian village of Win-quatt, the chief town 
of the Wasco Indians. Of these explorers' first 
view of The Dalles of the Columbia, and the 
course of their voyage through this section of the 
Territory, a full account is given in Chapter II, 
Part I, of this volume. 

It should be recorded to the credit of the na- 
tives of these then unbroken wilds that among the 
multitude of Indians encountered by Lewis and 
Clark they found none unfriendly. They even 
persuaded the Nez Perce, guides to visit the vil- 
lage below the great falls of Celilo, which at first 
the guides were unwilling to do, as they were at 
that time enemies. But a peace was arranged 
and no one was molested. Lewis and Clark 
reached Celilo October 22d, and the Cascades 
November 1, 1805. 

In 1892 there was found in an Indian grave 
near The Dalles a most curious and interesting 



relic of the Lewis and Clark expedition. It is 
supposed to be a branding iron owned by Captain 
Clark, and used by him for the purpose of brand- 
ing the property belonging to the expedition. We 
here produce a representation of the same : 



u s 



CAP. M. LEWIS 




A few years since Mr. George H. Himes, 
assistant secretary of the Oregon Historical So- 
ciety, addressed to the Morning Oregonian, pub- 
lished at Portland, a letter giving a short account 
of its discovery, and also accompanying his com- 
munication with the iron relic itself. The letter 
states : 

To the Editor : A very unique and interesting relic 
was discovered by the writer at Hood river a few weeks- 
ago, in the possession of Mr. W. R. Winans. Mr. 
Winans found it in an Indian grave, on an island in the 
Columbia river, three and one-half miles above The 
Dalles, in 1892, after a freshet. It was attached to parts 
of a human skeleton, presumably of an Indian. It is 
thought to be a branding iron belonging to the Lewis 
and Clark exploring expedition of 1804-6, as indicated 
by the lettering, "U. S. Capt. M. Lewis," Captain Lewis 
having been the leader of that Jeffersonian expansionist 
expedition. 



98 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



The space below the lettering is one and one-quarter 
inches deep, and was used, doubtless, to hold movable 
iron letters or lines, as the construction of the iron 
indicates that there were thumb-screws at each end to 
hold such letters or lines rigidly in place. The imple- 
ment was probably used to mark the "parfleche," or 
rawhide bags used by the explorers to pack their stores 
in, and also to mark their camping places ; and perhaps, 
too, it may have been burned into thin pieces of wood 
and distributed among Indians from time to time. 

The brand was constructed on lines of strength, 
rather than beauty, although the iron lettering evinces 
much skill on the part of the maker, notwithstanding 
the ravages of time since it was made, and it weighs 
two and three-eighths pounds. The purpose of its use 
as above set forth is purely conjecture, and in the ab- 
sence of better information is as good a theory as can 
be set up. The implement belongs to Mr. Winans, who 
has kindly placed it in the custody of the Oregon His- 
torical Society for safe keeping. 

GEORGE H. HIMES, 

Assistant Secretary. 

The denominational/ missions at The Dalles 
have proved important factors in the early devel- 
opment of this country. The pioneer attempt to 
establish a mission in this vicinity was made by a 
party comprising P. C. Pambrun, of the Hud- 
son's Bay post at Walla Walla, Dr. Marcus Whit- 
man, H. H. Spalding and W. H. Gray. The last 
three, it should be remarked, were the only ones 
deeply interested in the mission project. This 
was in 1836. They did not then locate at he 
Dalles, but proceeded up the Columbia river and 
established the Whitman mission at Waiilatpu, 
then in the territory now comprising the state of 
Washington. Of this venture W. H. Gray in his 
"History of Oregon" says : 

"Our mission party, with Captain Pambrun, 
his two boats loaded, two-thirds of the goods for 
the mission, on their way up the Columbia river, 
arrived all safe at The Dalles. Gray took a de- 
cided stand in favor of the first location at that 
point on account of its accessibility and the gen- 
eral inclination of all the Indians in the country 
to gather at these salmon fisheries ; Spalding and 
Pambrun opposed ; Whitman was undecided ; 
Pambrun would not wait to give time to explore 
nor assist in getting horses for the doctor and 
Gray to look at the country in view of a location." 

The second and successful attempt was made 
in 1838. The Dalles was considered a most prom- 
ising field for missionary effort, and it was de- 
termined by the members of the Oregon Mission 
Board to begin a new station at that place, about 
eightv miles above Fort Vancouver. Accord- 
ingly Revs. Daniel Lee and H. K. W. Perkins 
were appointed to proceed there for that purpose. 



In March, 1901, Mr. H. K. Hines, in an impres- 
sive address said : 

We are assembled today, my friends, on a historic 
spot to commemorate an important event in the thrill- 
ing story of Old Oregon. Sixty-three years ago (1838), 
on the 22d day of this present month of March, Rev. 
Daniel Lee and Rev. H. K. W. Perkins, who had been 
selected for that service by Rev. Jason Lee, super- 
intendent of the missions of the Methodist Episcopal 
church among the Indians of Oregon, arrived at this 
place, then known as "Wasco-pum," and on the Sun- 
day following formally opened their mission among the 
the Indians. The tribe of Indians then resident here 
was known as the Wascos. When Jason Lee, accom- 
panied by Daniel Lee, had entered the country, in 
September, 1834, the first missionaries, by two full 
years to enter the vast region west of the Rocky 
mountains, his statesmanlike mind had selected this as 
the proper place for the establishment of a mission east 
of the Cascade mountains. On arriving at the Willa- 
mette valley it was evident to him that that was the 
point for the central station for his missionary work, 
and it was accordingly located among the Calapooia 
Indians, near where the capital of Oregon now stands. 
The force of the mission was so small that it was not 
possible to occupy more than one point at the begin- 
ning, but it was the full and avowed purpose of Mr. 
Lee to occupy this place whenever enlargement could 
be undertaken. That time did not come until the spring 
of 1838 when, as before indicated, that purpose was 
put into execution, and the persons appointed to carry 
it into effect. 

At the Walamet station the missionaries em- 
barked, March 14th, in two canoes, with a small 
store of supplies. They passed down the river 
and then ascended the Columbia, arriving at their 
destination Wednesday, March 22d. Mr. Perkins 
had left his wife at the central mission in the 
Willamette valley. Early in April, with the as- 
sistance of Indians, they had so far completed a 
log building for a residence, that Mr. Perkins 
returned to the Willamette for his wife. Mr. 
Lee remained on the ground carrying forward 
the work. In May Mr. Perkins returned with 
his wife ; affairs at the new mission settled down 
into regular routine work. 

A valuable spring of water was found three 
miles below the narrows and one-half mile from 
the shore of the river. The land was rich ; there 
was a plentiful supply of timber, oak and pine, 
and an elevated and pleasant location for a house. 
Hilly and broken was the background and thinlv 
wooded. It was on this favored spot that a house 
was begun and completed. 

Meantime Rev. Jason Lee. on his way to the 
United States, arrived on the scene. He was ac- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



99 



companied by Mr. Edwards and another gentle- 
man, Mr. Ewing, of Missouri, W. M. Brooks 
and Thomas Adams, two Indian boys of the 
Chinook tribe who had been attending the mis- 
sion school at the Walamet station. And they 
were there with an object. It was to secure addi- 
tional facilities to more extensively carry on mis- 
sionary work in the Oregon territory. April 9th 
Jason Lee hired horses of the Indians and, with 
those who accompanied him, set out for Walla 
Walla. There he intended to purchase horses 
needed to make the tour of the mountains. This 
was on the same day that Mr. Perkins left in a 
canoe for the Walamet station for his wife. On 
his return his family occupied the new house 
long before it was roofed. During the ensuing- 
year a number of trips were made to the Walamet 
and Vancouver for supplies. Another journey 
was made to Walla Walla after horses ; another 
overland to the Walamet station to procure 
cattle. 

Meetings with the Indians were commenced 
immediately following the arrival of these mis- 
sionaries. They were addressed through the 
services of an interpreter in the "jargon," now 
-termed "Chinook," an important medium of com- 
munication with all tribes. This patois was de- 
veloped through the necessities of traffic between 
the whites and the natives ; it embraces some Eng- 
lish, some French and many Indian words, Chin- 
ook, Walla Walla and those of other tribes. 
These religious meetings were held among the 
•oaks or under a pine tree. Scattered stones af- 
forded seats for some ; others squatted upon the 
Dare ground. An American named Anderson, 
who had been hired by the year, supplied lumber 
for the mission, overseeing the natives. Farming 
utensils were required for the ensuing spring ; 
also bridles, collars, traces and full equipment for 
the horses, all of which were made at the mission. 
The scriptures were read and expounded to the 
Indians morning and evening. Sabbath services 
were continued ; the attendance increased. 

In the spring of 1839 about twenty acres of 
land were sowed and planted. One field was 
worked on shares by Indians, who assisted in 
fencing and plowing it. Returns were small as 
1:he ground was new, and a portion of these were 
stolen. Discouragements like these, combined 
with the plentitude of salmon, roots and berries, 
rather disgusted the savages with agricultural 
pursuits — the vaunted fruits of husbandry were 
treated as a joke. Still, the soil being irrigated 
from the spring, a few garden vegetables and a 
fine crop of potatoes were secured the first sea- 
son. Some of the potatoes were stolen by the 
Indians. Another house was under way and, 
Hearing completion ; it was utilized for meeting 



purposes during the winter. Writing in 1901 of 
this colony Mr. H. K. Hines said: 

The appointment of Messrs. Daniel Lee and Per- 
kins was, in itself, a most judicious one. Daniel Lee 
was the nephew of the superintendent, and had been his 
chosen companion in his journey across the plains, four 
years before. He was a plain, practical man, of solid 
rather than brilliant gifts, of undoubted integrity, and 
well calculated to gain and hold a strong influence over 
the minds of the Indians. His early life had familiar- 
ized him with toil and schooled him to brave and de- 
termined deeds. Mr. Perkins was a younger man, well 
educated and trained in the higher amenities of the 
best New England life. While Lee's piety was of that 
practical, business kind that passes, properly, for so 
much with the plain toiling multitudes around us, that 
of Perkins was rather of that lofty, mystical character 
that appeals so strongly to the cultured and sentimental. 
His spirituality was intense. While in some respects 
these men were the opposite of each other, they were, 
also, the complements of each other in such a work as 
they were to undertake at this place. 

In June, 1840, this mission at The Dalles was 
reinforced by the arrival of Dr. J. L. Babcock, 
H. B. Brewer and J. H. Frost and families, and 
Mrs. Daniel Lee, who was formerly Miss Maria 
T. Ware. This outpost of civilization was main- 
tianed by the Methodists for a trifle less than ten 
years. Rev. Daniel Lee continued as superin- 
tendent of the mission until 1844 when he left for 
the United States accompanied by his wife. Lee 
was succeeded by Rev. George Gary. The latter" 
remained in charge until 1847. That year Rev. 
William Roberts assumed control. For nearly an 
entire decade the Methodist mission constituted 
the sole settlement of white people at The Dalles ; 
it was the first permanent settlement made. This 
was during the period when the territory was 
claimed by both England and the United States, 
as has been shown in our chapter on "The Ore- 
gon Controversy" in Part I, of this work. It was 
a project dear to the hearts of Lee and his asso- 
ciates, particularly Dr. Whitman, to hold the 
country for the United States. These mission- 
aries, while disseminating the truth of the Gos- 
pel among the Indians, did not overlook the value 
of the country to our government ; in fact they 
fully realized it long before the politicians at 
Washington awoke to the significance of the real 
worth of the Inland Empire. The Dalles was the 
key to the Northwest Coast. Lee realized this 
fact. His best efforts were thrown forward to 
establish a permanent American settlement. 

The Methodists transferred the mission to 
Dr. Marcus Whitman in August, 1847. Whit- 
man was a propagandist of the Presbyterian Mis- 



IOO 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



sionary Society ; better known as the American 
Board. To Whitman and his associates The 
Dalles was an important station. They were at 
this time doing the greater portion of the mis- 
sionary work east of the Cascade mountains. In 
the Willamette valley the Methodists found a re- 
ligious field large enough to occupy all their 
talents and forces. At the period of the transfer 
it was mutually understood that the missionary 
work would be continued on such general lines as 
were then followed throughout the northwest. 
After the transfer Whitman returned to Waii- 
latpu leaving The Dalles station in charge of his 
nephew, Perrin B. Whitman, at that time a youth 
seventeen years of age. Until December, 1847, 
the latter remained in charge. Then he received 
news of the massacre at Whitman's Waiilatpu 
mission, and fled down the Columbia leaving the 
buildings in charge of some friendly Wascos. 
Soon after the houses were occupied by a mili- 
tary company in command of Captain H. A. G. 
Lee. It was never used subsequently as a mis- 
sionary station. 

Throughout the entire field of Indian regen- 
eration at The Dalles, during the winter of 1839- 
40, a wave of religious enthusiasm swept for- 
ward. This revival was under charge of Revs. 
Lee and Perkins. Business was laid aside ; the 
largest rooms were crowded ; great congregations 
assembled in the open air. The culmination of 
this revival came at a camp-meeting held near the 
mission house early in April, 1840. The place 
where the camp meeting was held was a point 
about six miles below The Dalles and three miles 
from the mission house. The place was called 
by the Indians Cow-e-laps. This point was in the 
vicinity of the Geo. Snipes brick residence below 
town. Nearly 1,200 Indians were in attendance, 
many of whom made a profession of religion ; 
one hundred and fifty were baptized ; four or five 
hundred partook of the sacrament. Of this 
awakening Mr. H. K. Hines says: "I believe 
they were mostly sincere, and their expressions 
real. Notwithstanding" within ten years the In- 
dians were dispersed and the mission itself given 
up, the causes are easy to find outside of the oft 
asserted superficiality of the work itself." 

In October, 1840, Mr. Jason Lee visited the 
mission and another camp meeting was held. 
This was attended by not one-third or one- 
fourth as many as at the spring meeting. 

Rev. J. S. Griffin, in the winter of 1839, at- 
tempted to pass the Salmon river mountains to 
Payette river, for the purpose of establishing a 
mission among the Snake Indians. He failed and 
went into the Willamette valley as a settler. While 
at The Dalles, as related by W. H. Gray, in his 
"History of Oregon," these three clergymen suc- 



ceeded "in converting, as they supposed, a large 
number of Indians. While this Indian revival 
was in progress the writer had occasion to visit 
Vancouver. On his way he called on the mis- 
sionaries at The Dalles and, in speaking of the 
revival among the Indians we remarked that, in 
our opinion, most of the religious professions of 
the natives were from selfish motives. Mr. Per- 
kins thought not ; he named one Indian that, he 
felt certain, was really converted, if there ever 
was a true conversion. In a short time Daniel 
Lee, his associate, came in and remarked, 'What 

kind of a proposition do you think , 

(naming Mr. Perkins' truly converted Indian) 
has made to me?' Perkins replied: 'Perhaps he 
will perform the work we wished him to do.' 
'No,' says Lee, 'he says he will pray a whole year 
if I will give him a shirt and a capote [coat].'' 
This fact shows that the natives who were sup- 
posed to be converted to Christianity were mak- 
ing these professions to gain presents from the 
missionaries." 

On the other hand we have the following tes- 
timony of Dr. McLoughlin, given to Rev. Jason 
Lee : "Before you came and began your mission- 
ary work here, we had to guard every boatload 
that passed The Dalles by forty armed men. 
Now our boats come and go alone and unguarded 
with safety." 

Concerning this mission, and its condition in 
1 84 1 we have some reliable and unbiased testi- 
mony. In the summer of that year a United 
States exploring expedition under command of 
Charles Wilkes, L T . S. N., made a trip up the 
Columbia river, accompanied by Peter Ogden, 
chief factor for the northern district of the Hud- 
son's Bay Company. The following in regard 
to the mission is taken from the report of Com- 
mander Wilkes, published in 1845. ^ gives an 
accurate idea of the mission as it was at that time, 
as well as the surroundings : 

t 
In the morning they were again on their route and 
reached Little river, from which the station of the 
Methodist mission is three-fourths of a mile distant. 
Here they were met by Mr. Perkins, who was wait- 
ing for his letters and some packages of goods which 
the brigade had brought. Mr. Drayton accompanied 
Mr. Perkins to the mission, while the brigade moved 
on towards The Dalles. Mr. Daniel Lee, the principal 
of the mission, was found near the house, reaping his 
wheat. 

At this station there were three families, those of 
the Rev. Mr. Lee, Mr. Perkins and a lay member, 
who is a farmer. The reception of Mr. Drayton was 
exceedingly kind. The mission consists of two log 
and board houses, hewn, sawed and built by themselves,, 
with a small barn and several outhouses. The build- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



IOI 



ings are situated on high ground, among scattered 
oaks, and immediately in the rear is an extensive wood 
of oaks and pines with numerous sharp and jagged 
knolls and ohelisk-looking pillars of conglomerate, in- 
terspersed among basaltic rocks; in front is an alluvial 
plane, having a gradual descent toward the river, and 
extending to the right and left. This contains about 
two thousand acres of good land, well supplied with 
springs, with Little river, and other smaller streams 
passing through it. The soil is of decomposed con- 
glomerate and in places shows a deep black loam. 
Around this tract the land is high, devoid of moisture, 
and covered with basaltic rocks or sand. 

They here raise wheat and potatoes by irrigation ; 
the latter grow in great perfection and wheat yields 
twenty to thirty bushels to the acre. They had just 
gathered a crop of two hundred bushels from land 
which they irrigate by means of several fine streams 
near their houses. They might raise much more if they 
were disposed. The summers here are much hotter 
than at Vancouver and consequently drier, the spring- 
rains cease here earlier and the people harvest in 
June. There are only a few Indians residing near the 
mission during the winter, and these are a very miser- 
able set. They live in holes in the ground, not unlike 
■clay ovens, in order to keep warm. They are too 
lazy to cut wood for their fires. The number that visit 
The Dalles during the fishing season is about fifteen 
hundred ; these are from all the country round, and are 
generally the outlawed of the different villages. The_ 
missionaries complain much of the insolent behavior 
and of their thieving habits, both of the visitors and 
those who reside permanently at the falls. They are, 
therefore, very desirous of having a few settlers near, 
that they may have some protection from this annoy- 
ance, as the)' are frequently under apprehension that 
their lives may be taken. 

It is not to be expected that the missionaries could 
be able to make much progress with such a set, and 
they, of course, feel somewhat discouraged, though 
they have succeeded in obtaining a moral influence over 
a few.- The missionaries have been stationed at The 
Dalles since 1838. The primary object of this mission 
is to give the gospel to the Indians ; next to teach them 
such arts of civilization as shall enable them to improve 
their condition, and by degrees to become an enlightened 
community. There are many difficulties that the mis- 
sionary has to contend with, in first coming among 
these people, none of which are greater than the want 
of knowledge of their true character. The missionaries, 
after a full opportunity of knowing these Indians, con- 
sider covetougness as their prevailing sin, which is 
exhibited in lying, dishonest traffic, gambling and horse- 
racing. Of the latter they are extremely fond, and are 
continually desirous of engaging in it. This sport 
frequently produces contentions, which often end in 
bloodshed. Stealing prevails to an alarming extent ; 
scarcely anything that can be removed is safe. The 



missionaries have several times had their houses broken 
open, and their property more or less damaged. The 
stealing of horses in particular is very common, but 
after being broken down the animals are sometimes re- 
turned. There are but few chiefs to whom an appeal 
for redress can be made, and they can exercise but 
little control over such a lawless crew. Those who 
gather here are generally the very worst of the tribes 
around. 

This is an extract from a decision of the 
United States District Court in the case of Dalles 
City and others against the Missionary Society 
of the Methodist Episcopal church, for the pos- 
session of The Dalles townsite, handed down De- 
cember 3, 1879 : 

In regard to the abandonment of the mission : 
It is claimed by the defendant that in August, 1847, 
it agreed to turn over the missionary station at The 
Dalles with the improvements thereon to Marcus Whit- 
man, the agent of the American Board of Commissioners 
for foreign missions, and then engaged as a lay mis- 
sionary of said board at a place called Waiilatpu, about 
one hundred and forty miles, east, northeast of The 
Dalles, upon the understanding that said board would 
maintain a mission there among the Indians, and that 
said Whitman would pay $600 for certain personal 
property belonging to the mission ; that in pursuance 
of said agreement said Whitman gave the defendant 
a draft upon said board for said $600, and the de- 
fendant's agents and missionaries between September 1 
and 10, 1847, surrendered the station to said Whit- 
man ; that owing to the death of said Whitman on 
November 29. 1847, said agreement was canceled in 
1849. by the surrender of said draft to the agent of 
said board and the "retransfer" of said station to the 
defendant, who thereupon resumed control of the same. 
* * * Defendant substantially admits that from the 
delivery of said station to Whitman as aforesaid it 
never actually occupied the same for mission purposes 
or otherwise, and claims that it was prevented from 
so doing by the danger from Indian hostilities grow- 
ing out of what was known as the Cayuse war. 

This decision, in effect, denied the claims of 
the missionaries, and sustained the contention of 
the city of The Dalles. 

At the conclusion of the Indian war of 1847-8, 
culminating in the subjugation of the Cayuse 
tribe and other northern hostiles, another mis- 
sion was established at, or near, The Dalles. This 
was by the Catholic church. May 16, 1848, they, 
formally began their work which, at this ppint, 
has been uninterrupted until the present day. 

Rev. L. Rosseau was the first father in charge, 
and in fact the actual founder of the mission. 
Father Rosseau crossed the plains with Rev. A. 



102 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



M. A. Blanchet, Bishop of Walla Walla, and 
others of their order late in 1847. They estab- 
lished missions in various parts of the country. 
Father Rosseau, an Italian, was an eloquent and 
impressive preacher, possessing great personal 
magnetism and he had much influence with the 
Indians. The mission was established near the 
Catholic cemetery, west of the city. 

Father Rosseau was succeeded by Father 
Mesplie, in 1851, under whose supervision the 
mission buildings were erected. This mission, 
which has proved an important factor in the 
growth and development of the town, has become 
a flourishing society with handsome structures. 

John Peter Mesplie, a brother of Father 
Mesplie, was an early worker at the mission. He 
came direct from France to the Catholic mis- 
sion at The Dalles. From that time he remained 
a resident of Wasco county, until his death, Jan- 
uary 22, 1905. At the time of his decease he 
was a pioneer of pioneers, having made his home 
in the county for fiftv-two vears. Writing in The 
Dalles Times of March 2,' 1881, "An Early Set- 
tler" says : 

* * * The Catholic mission was here in 1850 and I 
think it had ben here some time before ; for soon after 
that date the priest in charge told a friend of ours that 
he was discouraged and should leave ; as he had 
worked to instill sentiments of religion in the minds 
of the Indians, and yet, when he asked them to per- 
form the slightest religious duty, they invariably asked, 
"What will you pay me?" And this reminds us of an 
incident : A party attended the church one Sunday 
morning, and were quite highly entertained by hear- 
ing the priest preach to the Indians in Chinook, tell- 
ing them Bible stories — among others the ascension of 
Elijah — Copa Lah-alie illehee copa piah chick-chick 
co pa yaka — well, very highly dressed, trying to make 
them understand by these miracles the magnitude of 
the power of God. But he had to pay them to believe 
these things, so the good father left, and was replaced 
by Father Mesplie. 

In 185 1 the mission building was burned down, but 
was immediately rebuilt, as before, of logs. Father 
Mesplie built the old frame church which stands at the 
Catholic cemetery, as well as the St. Peter's edifice 
in town. 

The Catholic mission, as originally built, con- 
sisted of two log cabins, one the church and the 
other the home of the priest. The frame building 
built by Father Mesplie was put up in the late 
fifties and was near the old site. It supported a 
belfry and was a much more pretentious build- 
ing than the log structures that had preceded it. 

Before continuing the story of the early set- 
tlement of Wasco county let us consider the occu- 



pancy of the country around The Dalles by mili- 
tary forces ; the building of Fort Dalles and es- 
tablishment of the military reservation. In 1849 
the rifle regiment recruited in Missouri for serv- 
ice in Oregon, completed their journey overland, 
and tarried a short time at The Dalles on their 
route to Vancouver. These troops were bare- 
foot and scarcely able to walk ; their horses too 
weak to carry them. Remaining here a short 
period to recuperate they then extended their 
journey down the Columbia. Their means of 
conveyance were three Makinaw boats, one yawl, . 
four canoes and one whaleboat. A raft was also 
constructed to carry four or five tons. This was 
loaded with goods, eight men being on board to- 
navigate the awkward craft. Attempting to run 
the treacherous Cascades six of the crew were 
drowned ; according to the Spectator, of October 
18, 1849. A portion of this command with 
wagons, teams and riding horses, crossed the 
Cascade mountains via the Mount Hood road, 
losing nearly three-fourths of their exhausted 
horses on the way. The total loss on this disas- 
trous journey amounted to forty-five wagons, one 
ambulance, thirty horses and two hundred and 
thirty-five mules. 

May 13, 1850, Colonel Loring dispatched 
Major Tucker from Vancouver with two com- 
panies of this rifle regiment to establish a supply 
post at The Dalles. The officers detailed for this 
duty were Captain Clairborne and Lieutenants 
Lindsay, May and Ervine, and Surgeon C. H. 
Smith. These companies located the present site 
of the military garrison at The Dalles ; their tents 
were pitched under some trees near a sand bed. 
Four sides of one of the trees were blazed and 
branded "U. S." This represented the center of 
the military reservation, five miles each way ;. 
thus warning everybody within a radius of ten 
miles to "keep off the grass"- — which they didn't 
do to any apparent extent. 

In 1 85 1 the rifle regiment was ordered to Cal- 
ifornia. Therefore the two companies at The 
Dalles were relieved by two companies of the 
First Artillery, commanded by Lieutenant 
Woods. In the fall of 1852 two companies, K. 
and I, of the famous Fourth United States In- 
fantry arrived, in command of Captain Benjamin 
Alvord, and relieved the artillery. He was ac- 
companied by Captain Montgomery, chief quar- 
termaster. These troops came via the Isthmus of 
Darien. Major Rains and Captain Mallony sub- 
sequently relieved them, and the former made 
two separate surveys of the reservation under 
authority of the United States government. 
Major Granville O. Haller and Quartermaster 
Forsythe relieved Rains and Mallony. In the 
spring of 1853 the reservation, which until that 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL- OREGON. 



103 



time had been ten miles square, was ordered cut 
down to five, thus affording an opportunity to 
settlers to occupy lands nearer the post. The 
following is from the Wasco County Abstract 
Index : 

In the summer of 1853 Lieutenant Montgomery, 
then at Fort Dalles, commenced to survey a military 
rese'rvation, "not exceeding 640 acres," in accordance 
with section g of act of congress of February 14, 
1850. Montgomery commenced at the lower end of 
Washington street, about 150 feet north of Main street, 
and ran one mile southerly (south 32 degrees, 30 minutes 
w), thence westerly one mile; northerly one mile; then 
to beginning, thus making a reservation one mile 
square. But this survey was never approved, if ever 
sent on to Washington. 

In 1854 Major Rains, being in command at Fort 
Dalles, disapproved of Montgomery's survey, as he 
wanted the reservation to take in Mill creek, and also 
wanted to throw out a piece of ground on which set- 
tlers might establish a town and trading post. 
* * * In 1854 Rains, in laying out his reservation, 
abandoned Montgomery's beginning point, and started 
his survey at a large rock at the mouth of Mill creek, and 
running southerly to Sugar Loaf rock, thus leaving 
the triangular piece of land known as Dalles City at 
the east of his survey and thus lying between the east 
line of the Rains reservation and the west boundary 
line of Bigelow's claim taken with reference to the 
Montgomery survey. This was for the purpose of 
establishing a town under the townsite act just ex- 
tended to Oregon under act of congress of July 17, 
1854, being the original act of May 23, 1844. 

Mrs. Elizabeth Lord, in her book, "Remin- 
escences of Eastern Oregon," has the following 
to say of the garrison at The Dalles, as it was 
upon the arrival of the Laughlin family, October 
4,1850: 

"The only houses in the garrison at that time 
were the long, low barracks with six or eight 
rooms used for so many years as officers' quar- 
ters * * * and the commissary and guard 
house which was more like an outdoor cellar 
than anything else I can think of, the upper part 
being of logs. The soldiers were in tents until 
after the mill was built and sawed lumber could 
be procured. Over one hundred civilians, immi- 
grants, were employed during the winter to budd 
the mill and quarters for the men ; a barn for the 
horses and cottage for the commanding officer." 

The original garrison buildings were erected 
in 1850, and remained in about the same condi- 
tion until the arrival of Captain Jordan, in 1856. 
This military officer was quite luxurious in his 
tastes — considerably of a sabarite — and he ex- 



pended large sums of the government's money in 
the erection in 1858, of showy and ornate houses 
and in laying out elaborate grounds and lawns; 
The Dalles Chronicle lately said : 

In recent dispatches was announced the death of 
Captain Thomas Jordan, at one time in the regular 
army, and later in the Confederate service. Captain 
Jordan was stationed at The Dalles at the time the 
millitary post was there, and his death has caused a 
friend of the Chronicle to write the following 
reminiscent article which will be of interest to those 
who wish to learn of the early history of The Dalles : 

The death of Captain Jordan should be of more 
than passing interest to us in this vicinity, he having 
been quartermaster at the post of Fort Dalles during 
the erection of the buildings which succeeded the first 
log huts put up. It was he who sowed over the bluff 
around the government spring the seed of white clover, 
the sods of which have helped to start many a lawn in 
our city, and some of which still flourish where they 
have not been extirpated by the spade of improve- 
ment. 

Along with this, the horses of the cavalry regi- 
ment turned the sward of the native grass growing 
on their exercise ground into a desert which increases 
yearly. But this was not the fault of Captain Jordan, 
nor was he to blame for the charge of extravagant 
expenditure which was often brought against him. 
It is not easy to build well and inexpensively when 
carpenters, are paid ten dollars a day in gold and when 
planing mills are not, but every stroke in the con- 
struction has to be made by the strong hand of the 
builder unaided by mechanical invention. It is not 
easy to build posts for frontier protection, as Fort 
Dalles was built, and at the same time take advantage 
of the cheapening facilities of densely populated cities. 

Captain Jordan had fine taste in building, and 
Uncle Sam is supposed to have a long purse, and so it 
was that we boasted of as picturesque a collection of 
officers' quarters as could be found the world over. 
The customary tradition of "two rooms and kitchen" 
received its usual generous interpretation in army quar- 
ters. A room is but a room, though it may be sub- 
divided by any number of sliding doors, and any por- 
tion of the upper stories, the upper angle of which 
is cut off by the roof to ever so small a degree, does 
not count. It will be long before our city has another 
$100,000 building in its residence quarters. We had 
our little pride in the commandant's house. It went 
out in a blaze of glory. But one of Captain Jordan's 
buildings is still standing, called, we believe, the Cap- 
tain's quarters. 

The buildings are about through with their use- 
fulness ; the builder is at rest ; the parade ground is 
cut up into town lots, and grows roses and chrysanthe- 
mums. We do not forget that he raised his hand against 



io4 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



the government ; but we would "be to his virtues very 
kind," and remember his faithfulness wherein he was 
faithful. 

In her entertaining reminiscences Mrs. Lord 
says : 

"In March, 185 1, the rifle regiment was or- 
dered away. At this time the headquarters for 
the military for the northwest was at Oregon 
City, but the part of the regiment which had gone 
through the preceding year had lost a great many 
from desertion, as the men were simply wild to 
go to the recently discovered gold mines in Cali- 
fornia. Officers had pursued and returned sev- 
enty in one bunch, but many others had eluded 
them and were never heard of, probably perish- 
ing, either from starvation or being murdered by 
Indians. For this reason the government made 
The Dalles a stopping place for the late portion 
(those of the rifle regiment who came west in 
1850), because of its not being so easy to desert. 
Their leaving threw the two hundred men out of 
employment (those who were engaged in putting 
up the garrison buildings), as the buildings 
which had been completed were ample for the 
company of sixteen privates, two non-commis- 
sioned officers and one lieutenant, who were to 
take their place. Consequently there was a grand 
exodus of both soldiers and civilians, leaving 
quite a number of cabins vacant, although some 
of the people for different reasons did not make 
haste to leave." 

Major Granville O. Haller was stationed at 
Fort Dalles from 1853 to 1856. From this point, 
and under command of Major Haller, was the 
campaign of 1855 carried on against the hostile 
Yakima Indians. In May, 1855, Colonel Law- 
rence Kip, U. S. A., paid a visit to the post on 
his way to Walla Walla to participate in the great 
council which established the white race in full 
possession of eastern Oregon. In his journal he 
has this to say of the post at The Dalles : 

"This post possesses none of the outward at- 
tractions of scenery which distinguished that of 
Vancouver. Its principal recommendation is its 
healthfulness. The buildings are badly arranged, 
having been planned and erected years ago by the 
mounted rifles when they were stationed in Ore- 
gon. The officers' quarters are on the top of a 
hill and the barracks for the men some distance 
further down, as if the officers intended to get 
as far from them as possible. There is a want 
of compactness, as there is no stockade — nothing 
in the shape of a fortification ; in case of an out- 
break by any of the hostile tribes of Indians, the 
post might easily be surprised. At this time two 
companies of the Fourth Infantry were stationed 
there under command of Major Rains." 



In September, 1904, The Dalles was revisited 
by Mr. Louis Scholl, who at that time was mak- 
ing his home in Walla Walla. So early as 1856 
Mr. Scholl came to The Dalles with Captain Jor- 
dan, and was. the architect who prepared the plans 
for the buildings erected by that officer for gar- 
rison purposes. At one time an idea obtained 
that the lumber for these edifices was brought 
around the Horn. Mr. Scholl is authority for 
the statement that it was sawed at the mills on 
Fifteen Mile, at Mosier, on the site of the Urqu- 
hart place, on Mill creek, where stood a mill 
owned by Scholl & Noble, and, also, at the gov- 
ernment mill. At the period of Mr. Scholl's 
visit, in 1904, the local Sorosis at The Dalles was 
fitting up a museum in the old garrison building, 
and he presented to the ladies a number of in- 
teresting relics of pioneer days ; a lamp, an old 
dictionary used by Captain Allen, and presented 
to him by his clerk, Mr. Inman ; an old ledger 
once used in W. D. Bigelow's store, and the orig- 
inal plans of the garrison buildings. It is need- 
less to say that these valuable relics were greatly 
appreciated. May 1, 1904, a dispatch from The 
Dalles recorded the following : 

Through the efforts of the Sorosis Club, of this 
city, a recent act of congress has been passed by which 
one of the last remaining buildings of old Fort Dalles 
has come into the hands of the Oregon Historical 
Society for the purpose of preserving it as a landmark 
and relic of the pioneer settlement of this historic 
spot, with which some of our country's most famous 
soldiers and historians were identified. 

Although now falling into decay and rapidly meet- 
ing the same fate of rack and ruin which has over- 
taken the other old barracks, the building is still in a 
reasonable state of preservation, its present condition 
evidencing the excellent workmanship, material and 
care used in its construction. 

The house, which was built in 1858, was one of the 
row of officers' quarters, and was originally intended for 
the residence of the post surgeon. Its finishing lumber, 
window cases, mantle pieces, stair rails, window panes, 
etc., were brought around Cape Horn from New York, 
its dimension lumber and rough material being sawed 
out at the two government saw mills on Mill creek ; 
one at the falls near the old Catholic mission ; the 
other four miles up the stream. 

This latter statement appears to contradict 
that of Mr. Scholl. When we consider the im- 
mense cost of these buildings, we are forced to 
the conclusion that Mr. Scholl is correct and that, 
with the exception of the window glass men- 
tioned, the various finishing materials were the 
result of the handicraft of the workman employed 
at The Dalles on these once ornate edifices. 






HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



105 



The chimneys were worked out of the sandstone 
quarries east of the fort, all the work heing done 
by the soldiers of the post, with what little help could 
be secured from itinerant workmen picked up as they 
came and went on their way to the Willamette valley. 
Under the direction of Captain Thomas Jordan, the 
buildings were commenced, Louis Scholl, of Walla 
Walla, drafting the designs and architectural models ; 
Rev. P. S. Knight, of Salem, and Colonel N. H. Gates, 
now deceased, of this city, both being employed in their 
erection. 

Standing on the highest point of the old garrison 
enclosure in the southeast corner of the post, the old 
house faces northward across the abandoned parade 
ground and commands a magnificent view of the Colum- 
bia and its valley from the sharp turn in the river above 
the city to the gorge below Crate's Point. Although 
the history of its early occupancy is somewhat con- 
flicting, Captain Black, of Company G, Ninth United 
States Infantry, who came with his company to the 
fort in 1852, was probably its first tenant. 

According to the subsequent survey of The Dalles 
City, the old house occupies a peculiar location, being 
situated on the intersection of four city lots and directly 
across an alley. As the land upon which it is located 
was included in the bill donating it to the Historical 
Society, its old age will probably never be disturbed by 
the encroachment of modern homes, which have now al- 
most taken possession of the old military reservation. 

In years past the question of preserving this old 
building has been agitated without especial effort or 
result, until April, 1903, when Register J. P. Lucas, of 
The Dalles Land Office, at the request of the local 
board of the Woman's Federation of Clubs, took up the 
matter with the secretary of the interior with a view 
of securing the building to this society. In response 
to this correspondence and upon his representation of 
the dilapidated condition of the house, the local land 
officers were authorized by the secretary to sell the 
building, which had previously been appraised at a 
value of $1,100, for the sum of $100, if sold without 
the ground on which it stood, or for $140 including the 
site. This amount not being available in the local 
club, a conference was had with the officers of the 



Historical Society, at which it was determined to re- 
quest our delegation in congress to secure the passage 
of a bill prepared by that society donating the prop- 
erty to their corporation. * * * With proper re- 
pairs this landmark can be made to last for many years 
to come, the sole survivor of this once famous fort, 
where passing immigrants and settlers could look for 
military protection in the upper Columbia country. 

A picture of this historic edifice will be found 
in this work. An idea of the expense incurred in 
maintaining Fort Dalles may be gleaned from the 
fact that a quantity of hay purchased at San Fran- 
cisco for use at the post cost the government %yy 
per ton laid down at The Dalles. The post was 
abandoned in 1866. Of this historic place the 
Times-Mountaineer of a comparatively recent 
date says : 

"The old garrison buildings, the first erected 
at The Dalles, presents a picture of desolation 
sad to behold. Some of these were built at a 
great expense to the government, as material 
and labor commanded high prices. Many of 
them were elegant structures, but not having been 
repaired for many years, present the appearance 
of decay. The old guard-house in which many 
of the first soldiers on this frontier spent a re- 
pentant night, is almost a mass of ruins. Large 
stones have been dug out of the wall, and the 
building is gradually going to ruin. Several 
families are living in the houses, but the shiftless 
manner in which they leave the old historic land- 
marks to go to wreck is deplorable. Now that 
General Grant is nearing the end of his life's 
journey, very many will look upon this is a hal- 
lowed spot, as among its earliest associations 
was when Lieutenant U. S. Grant, then lately 
graduated from West Point, was stationed at 
this post." 

This last statement is incorrect. General 
Grant, when a lieutenant, passed two weeks only 
here, while on a tour of inspection. General 
Grant, when on a later trip to Oregon, told S. L. 
Brooks this, which is, undoubtedly authentic. 



CHAPTER III 



PASSING EVENTS— 1846 TO 1862. 



Thus far this History of Wasco County has 
been devoted to Indian affairs, the Hudson's Bay 
Company, Lewis and Clark, the missions, the 
military post at The Dalles and the short cam- 
paign against Indians of the Oregon volunteers. 
Previous to 1846 no actual settler had come into 
this portion of the Territory to build himself a 
home and blaze a trail for others. A few trap- 
pers had penetrated the country, and in a few 
localities east of the Cascade mountains missions 
had been established to teach and regenerate the 
savages ; later immigrants slowly won their way 
on a weary march to the Willamette valley, the 
ultima Thule of the earliest overlanders to 
Oregon. 

But the year 1846 witnessed the appearance 
of the first settler, Joseph Lavendure, a French 
trapper. Contrary to the character of the aver- 
age fur hunter, Lavendure established a land 
claim, built a log cabin, and fenced a few acres 
on what later became the Logan estate. But the 
discovery of auriferous deposits in California in 
the spring of 1848 induced him to abandon every- 
thing and he melted into oblivion, never to be 
afterward heard from by his successors in that 
locality. Later the military forces took posses- 
sion of his personal property. Mrs. Lord is au- 
thority for the statement that Lavendure's claim 
later became known as the "Chrisman place." 
He built two log cabins ; in the early '50's one 
of them was for a time occupied by a Frenchman 
named Narcisse Ramon. 

It has been authentically settled that Nathan 
Olney was the second settler in Wasco county. 
In 1847 ne "took up" a claim which was subse- 
quently known as the "John Irvine place." Like 
Lavendure Olney went to the California gold 
fields ; was financially successful, returned and 
retained his claim until 1853. He then sold it to 
Dr. Shaug, and secured another on Ten Mile 
creek for the purpose of raising stock. He dis- 
posed of this holding to James Bird and entered 
property subsequently known as the "Booth 
farm," on Five'Mile. Mr. Olney had the repu- 



tation of having been the first "permanent" set- 
tler in this locality. Of his personality Mrs. 
Lord writes : 

I have frequently mentioned Nathan Olney, who 
came to The Dalles in 1847. He was a prominent 
man in the country at that time, handsome, intelligent, 
genial, and a general favorite with men; but owing 
to his domestic relations he was not usually sought 
by women. (He was a squaw man.) * * * (In the 
middle fifties) Mr. Olney came to the conclusion that 
he was fitted to live a better life than he was then 
living. Times were changing. The country was set- 
tling up, and he craved the society of white women as 
well as white men. So he sent Annette to the reser- 
vation. They had two children at this time. He kept 
the elder and let her keep the babe. 

This man had left home at fifteen years of age 
and grown up on the frontier, respected and well 
treated by men, never realizing the light in which he 
stood with refined women. After he had, as it were, 
swept and garnished his home, he set about finding a 
wife. After several refusals he discovered a lady 
who accepted him, and after one week they were mar- 
ried, on the first day of April, 1856. They were separated 
within less than a month. A divorce followed, and the 
Indian woman returned to a place in his home. After 
passing the following winter in the Sandwich Islands 
(a law having in the meantime been enacted by con- 
gress that men should not be allowed to live with 
Indian women without being married to them), in the 
spring Nathan Olney and his two younger brothers 
took their squaws down to a justice of the peace, and 
were married. 

To Mr. Olney is accorded quite a prominent 
part in the early history of the county. Follow- 
ing the organization of Wasco county he was 
elected to a number of offices within its juris- 
diction. 

September 27, 1850, what was commonly 
called the Oregon Donation Claim law was 
passed by congress. This act granted to a mar- 
ried man and his wife who were in Oregon 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



107 



previous to the passage of the bill 640 acres of 
land, on the condition that they should cultivate 
and live on it four years, each receiving a title 
to 320 acres. It was under this law that the 
early settlers of Wasco county acquired homes. 
The donation law expired by limitation Decem- 
ber 1, 1855. 

Mr. J. W. Coventon has graphically described 
the country in the vicinity of The Dalles in 1850. 
That year he crossed the plains and in September 
camped near the mouth of Mill creek. This was 
a point where immigrants abandoned their horses 
and wagons and proceeded by the way of the 
Columbia river to the settlements in the Willa- 
mette valley. There were no steamboats; pio- 
neers were compelled to utilize almost every con- 
ceivable kind of craft in which to float down 
stream. Invariably some difficulty was experi- 
enced in making a portage at the Cascades ; but 
usually the sturdy pioneers were successful in 
getting their boats around the rapids. There is 
a chapter of hardships in this portion of the toil- 
some journey ; it may never be fully written. 
It is the testimony of Mr. Coventon that there 
were above one hundred old wagons in every 
stage of dilapidation scattered about the place 
where now stands The Dalles. Crippled and half- 
starved cows and oxen were seen on the hillsides. 
Too weak and emaciated to be driven further 
they had been turned loose to die or recuperate 
as fate might determine. On Mill creek there 
was one cabin, near the rock pile, and here a 
few articles of merchandise were kept for sale. 
On the bluffs were camped a company of soldiers, 
near where now stands the academy ; they then 
lived in tents. 

At this period the only residence house, aside 
from the mission, was owned by Nathan Olney. 
It was this house, doubtless, that Mr. Coventon 
referred to. The same year Judge William C. 
Laughlin built a cabin at Crate's Point, but hav- 
ing been notified by the military authorities that 
he was on the reservation, he promptly aban- 
doned it. Mr. Laughlin and Dr. Farnsworth 
settled at Hood River in 1852, built houses and 
there passed one winter. The season proved 
unusually severe ; nearly all their stock died, and 
they abandoned their claims. In the spring of 
1853 Judge Laughlin returned to The Dalles. 

Mrs. Elizabeth Lord, daughter of Judge 
Laughlin, in her "Reminiscences of Eastern Or- 
egon," thus tells of the building of their first 
home here : 

j 

Father, while hunting along the rivers and sloughs 

for ducks and geese, had frequently noticed Crate's 

Point, and thought it must be five miles from the 

post, and would be a place where he could raise stock 



if he concluded to stay; at any rate he would stay for 
the winter and try, so he moved the camp down there 
and set it up in front of a rock which was in the 
shape of a fireplace and served that purpose very well. 
He then began cutting trees and shaping logs for a 
house. He cut small ones, so with what assistance 
mother could give him, as there was no man he could 
get to help him, the work went on. It was interferred 
with by hours of hunting for game with which to sup- 
ply the table and an occasional trip to Olney's store 
for supplies which we were obliged to have. * * * 
After the cabin had been laid up ready to put the 
rafters on, we were notified that we were within the 
limits of the reservation, so of course the work ceased. 

After abandoning the partially prepared home 
at Crate's Point, the family lived in tents, making 
camp at different places in the vicinity of The 
Dalles. It was after this that in company with 
Dr. Farnsworth that they removed to Hood 
River. 

Crate's Point was named in honor of Edward 
Crate, at one time employed by the Hudson's 
Bay Company. Early in 1850 he located on the 
point that now bears his name. The Dalles 
Times-Mountaineer, of July, 1891, places the 
date in the year 1848. These dates, however, 
refer to his location at The Dalles. While in the 
employment of the Hudson's Bay Company he 
had passed through the Indian village of Win- 
quatt, on the present site of The Dalles, so early 
as 1837. 

Mr. Justin Chenoweth was engaged in carry- 
ing the United States mail and lived in a sort 
of cave on the banks of the river in 185 1-2, be- 
low a residence site later occuped by Mr. Klindt, 
at the mouth of a creek which now bears his name. 
In the fall of 1852 he erected a large, substantial 
building there, married and took a donation 
claim. For a number of years he strove to create 
a town in that vicinity, but realizing that his 
efforts would not prove successful he moved to 
where Mr. Vanbibber subsequently lived. 

Although he had come to the country some 
time previous Mr. Charles W. Denton, the pio- 
neer fruit raiser of this section, set out his first 
orchard on Mill Creek in 1854. In 1853 D. Bol- 
ton had located on Fifteen Mile, where he began 
farming on quite an extensive scale ; he is said 
to have been the first farmer to raise a crop of 
wheat in Oregon east of the Cascade mountains. 
These men mentioned were the pioneer agricult- 
urists of Wasco county, and to them is due great 
credit for having developed the agricultural re- 
sources of what has become one of the most pro- 
ductive grain sections of the northwest. 

In June, 185 1, the Herbert family, who had 
been living at The Dalles, removed across the 



io8 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Cascade mountains. With the departure of Mrs. 
Herbert, Mrs. Laughlin remained the only white 
woman in eastern Oregon ; until immigration 
began there was none other. In 1852 George 
Snipes first settled on what was later known as 
his "lower place,'' seven miles below The Dalles. 
L. C. Coe, James Jenkins and J. M. Benson set- 
tled at Hood River in 1854. The same year 
John A. Simms filed a donation claim on the 
"Chrisman place," long known as the "Logan 
estate." William Logan was the father of Dr. 
Logan. Early in the '50's James Mosier built 
a house on the bank of the creek which now bears 
his name ; Messrs. John Dyer and Green Arnold 
settled upon Three Mile ; R. R. Thompson, In- 
dian agent, filed east of the Logan estate, which 
property later became known as Thompson's 
addition, and O. Humason also came about this 
time. 

After 1852, and for a number of years during 
the '50's, the country which is now Wasco county, 
was settled quite rapidly. It would be impos- 
sible to mention all who came at that period to 
The Dalles and vicinity. With the gradual un- 
folding of important local events in the course of 
this history, many of their names will appear. 

During these earliest years of settlement and 
founding of the town of The Dalles — the first 
in eastern Oregon — there was gradually coming 
into existence on the Columbia river quite a fleet 
of steamers. These have entered into the history 
of Wasco county ; it is our purpose to briefly 
sketch the story of the early steamboating up to 
the formation of the Oregon Steam Navigation 
Company, which event will be reserved to a more 
appropriate place in its chronological order. 

From so reliable an authority as Mr. P. W. 
Gillette it is learned that the first steamboat built 
above the Cascades was the James R. Flint. 
The promoters and constructors of this pioneer 
river craft were the Bradfords, J. O. Vanbergen 
and James R. Flint, of San Francisco. She is 
described by Mr. Gillette as "a small, side-wheel 
boat, with single engine geared to the shafts, and 
when in motion sounded more like a threshing 
machine than a steamboat." Dr. Newell was a 
passenger on her first trip down from The Dalles. 
It is related that for some time he appeared 
nervous and somewhat disturbed. At length he 
ventured to ask one of the crew the cause of 
"that rattling sound." 

"Oh," replied 1 the fresh-water sailor man, 
"that's only the cook grinding coffee." 

The Flint was conveyed over the Cascades in 
the autumn of 1861 and traded between Portland 
and Oregon City. Eventually she was bisected, 
lengthened, the machinery of the old Columbia 



(the first steamer on the river to run as far in- 
land as the Cascades) placed within her, and re- 
named the Fashion. 

The Alary was the second boat navigated by 
steam to ply between the Cascades and The 
Dalles. She was, also, constructed by the Brad- 
fords. Soon after the completion of the Mary 
the Bradfords built the Hassalo to make the 
Cascades and Dalles run. In the meantime R. R. 
Thompson, L. W. Coe and others were not neg- 
lecting the opportunities offered in the way of 
steam navigation. A small craft was built by 
them at the upper Cascades to be taken to the 
upper Columbia beyond Celilo. When ready for 
her maiden trip, by some error of judgment her 
lines were cast off before she had aquired -suf- 
ficient head of steam, and she drifted over the 
falls. Yet so little was she injured that she was 
run down to Portland, refitted and sold for the 
Fraser river trade. 

At Celilo, in 1859, the same parties construct- 
ed the Wright, the first steam craft that ever 
lashed the waters of the Columbia bcyc nd Celilo. 
This boat was a money-maker. Prior to the 
appearance of the Wright all freight was trans- 
ported on schooner-rigged barges. During a 
portion of each year there prevailed a stiff breeze 
on that reach of the river, which often enabled 
these hermaphrodite craft to make good time: 
Thev continued in commission as late as 1862, 
when steam-power crowded them off the river. 
Captain Dick Williams, S. G. Reed and others 
built the Belle, the first boat to run regularly 
between the Cascades and Portland. There were 
few, if any settlers, in these days east of the 
Cascades. Consequently all transportation was 
for the government ; soldiers, guns, military sup- 
plies, etc. The Mountain Buck, built by Ruckles 
& Olmstead, was put into commission between 
Portland and the Cascades. Soon after these 
parties built the little steamer Wasco, for trade 
between the Cascades and The Dalles, which 
with their "portage road," gave them a through 
line to The Dalles. This was about 1859 or i860. 
By this line much business was deflected from the 
portage road on the north side of the river and 
the boats running in connection with it. 

The steamers Belle, Senorita and Multnomah, 
one of which ran down as far as Astoria, were 
owned by Benjamin Stark, S. G. Reed, R. Wil- 
liams, Hoyt and Wells. The portage road from 
Dalles City, around The Dalles to Celilo, fifteen 
miles. Was owned by O. Humason. This was a 
road traversed by immense freight wagons drawn 
by oxen and mules, for transportation of freight, 
and stages to carry passengers, until the con- 
struction of the portage railroad in 1862. The 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



109 



steamer Allen, built by tbe Hudson's Bay Com- 
pany in 1852, was commanded by Captain 
Thomas Gladwell. In 1854 she was wrecked 
near Mitchell's point. Tbe Idaho, built by Colonel 
Ruckles in i860, was subsequently sold to the 
Oregon Steam Navigation Company. This com- 
pain also built the Oiicouta in 1863, ant ^ sne was 
commanded by Captain McNulty. 

In the introductory portion of this work, L'art 
I, has been related the story of the evolution of 
the government of Oregon. Under what was 
termed the "Provisional Government" (which 
continued in force until August 14, 1848, when 
congress was, figuratively, whipped into granting 
a regular territorial form of government) there 
were no regular "county organizations." Instead 
Oregon was divided into four "districts," Tua- 
latin, Yamhill, Clackamas and Champoeg. The 
Clackamas district comprised what is now east- 
ern Oregon, all of Montana west of the Rocky 
mountains, and all of the present states of Idaho 
and Washington. These districts and their boun- 
daries as recommended by tbe executive commit- 
tee and approved by the people July 5, 1843, 
were as follows : 

First district to be called Tualatin District, com- 
prising all the country south of the northern boundary 
line of the United States; west of the Wallamet, or 
Multnomah river ; north of the Yamhill river, and east 
of the Pacific ocean. 

Second district, to be called the Yamhill District, 
embracing all the country west of the Wallamet cr 
Multnomah river, and a supposed line running north 
and south from said river ; south of the Yamhill river, 
to the parallel of forty-two degrees north latitude, 
or the boundary line of the United States and Cali- 
fornia, and east of the Pacific ocean. 

Third district, to be called the Clackamas District, 
comprehending all territory not included in the other 
three districts. 

Fourth district, to be called the Champoeg District, 
and bounded on the north by a supposed line down from 
the mouth of the Haunchauke river, running due east 
to the Rocky mountains ; west of the Wallamet or Mult- 
nomah river, and a supposed line running due south 
from said river to the parallel of forty-two degrees 
north latitude, south of the boundary line of the 
United States and California, and east of the summit 
of the Rocky mountains. 

By this it will be seen that the original Wasco 
county was formed from what had been the 
Clackamas and Champoeg districts. Apparently 
the second, or Yamhill district, did not come into 
existence although authorized by the first legis- 
lative bodv. 



WASCO THE MOTHER OF COUNTIES. 

It was created by the Oregon Territorial leg- 
islature January 11, 1854. It was then the larg- 
est county in the United States and included that 
part of Oregon territory lying east of the Cas- 
cade range to the Rocky mountains, and from 
the Columbia river and the 46th parallel south to 
the 42d parallel. Its area of about 130,000 square 
miles, embraced more territory than the British 
Isles, or than any present state of the union with 
the exception of Texas or California, and more 
than twice the area of New England. During the 
passing years since then the county has been sliced 
into a fraction of Wyoming, most of Idaho, and 
the counties of Baker, Umatilla, Union, Grant, 
Crook, Gilliam, Wheeler, Sherman, Morrow, 
Lake, Klamath, Harney and Malheur, in Oregon, 
until its present area is only 2,962 square miles, 
of which 324 square miles are in the Warm 
Springs Indian Reservation. 

In more detailed recapitulation it may be said 
that a part of Silver Bow and Ravalli counties, 
Montana, were once a part of Wasco — and of 
Idaho the southern part of the Xez Perce, all of 
Idaho, Lemhi, Washington, Boise, Custer, Fre- 
mont Canyon, Ada, Elmore, Blaine, Bingham, 
Owyhee, Lincoln, Bannock, Bear Lake, Oneida 
and Cassia, eighteen, and a fraction of another. 
Of the present Wyoming it contained Vinta, Fre- 
mont and Sweetwater counties, and, in addition 
to other territory heretofore described, the south- 
western corner of Yellowstone Park. January 
19, 1905, Mrs. C. J. Crandall, writing in The 
Dalles Daily Chronicle, said: 

"It is interesting to follow the metes and 
bounds of this county of such gigantic propor- 
tions. East on the Columbia river and the 46th 
degree near Wallula, crossing the Snake river 
near the mouth of Salmon river, on through the 
state of Idaho, with Grangeville and Mqunt 
Idaho on the Oregon side, crossing the Bitter 
Root mountains into Montana in the region of 
Silver Bow county, perhaps near Butte, which 
city stands on the crest of the Rocky mountains 
near the 46th parallel. Thence southerly along 
the summits of the Rockies, cutting off the south- 
western corner of the Yellowstone Park, and 
quite a chunk out of the western side of Wyo- 
ming, intersecting the 42d degree near the South 
Pass, through which was the old emigrant road ; 
thence west on the 42d degree to the Cascade 
mountains, having for southern boundary parts 
of Wyoming, Utah Nevada, and the eastern half 
of northern California." 

In its chronological order the loss of territory 
from the original Wasco county will be told as 



no 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



this work progresses. It is, however, proper to 
say here that by an act of March 3, 1853, the 
country north of the Columbia and the 46th par- 
allel was organized into a separate Territory and 
named Washington. In all this vast area known 
as Wasco county, there were not at the time of 
its organization to exceed three hundred white 
citizens, most of whom were trappers in the em- 
ployment of the Hudson's Bay, and American 
Fur companies. Less than half a hundred were 
actual settlers, and Mrs. Crandall records that 
Major Rains, of the Fourth Infantry, stationed 
during the winter of 1853-4 at The Dalles, op- 
posed the organization of the county, not only 
on account of its mammoth and unwieldly pro- 
portions, but for the further fact that, as esti- 
mated by himself, there were only thirty-five 
white inhabitants in the whole proposed county. 
Yet this little handful of patriots was composed 
of sturdy pioneers who carved from this tenant- 
less wilderness a mighty empire. They were in 
the main true and law-abiding citizens, who 
sought county government as a protection to their 
property and as a safeguard against the ravages 
of the lawless element that then, throughout the 
northwest, held sway. 

Following is the complete text of the organic 
act creating this historical political division : 

An Act to create and organize Wasco county : 
Section 1. Be it enacted by the Legislative Assem- 
: bly of the Territory of Oregon — that so much of said 
Territory of Oregon as is bounded as follows, to-wit : 
Commencing at the Cascades of the Columbia river, 
thence running up said river to the point where the 
southern shore of said river is intersected by the 
Southern boundary of Washington Territory, thence 
east along said boundary to the eastern boundary of 
Oregon Territory, thence southernly along the eastern 
boundary of said Territory to the southern boundary 
of the same ; thence west along said southern boundary 
to the Cascade mountains ; thence northerly along said 
range of mountains to the place of beginning ; be and 
■ the same is hereby created and organized into a 
separate county, to be called Wasco county, with the 
same organization, rights, powers and duties as apper- 
tain to other counties in this Territory. 

Sec. 2. That county officers, justices of the peace, 
and constables shall be chosen at the next general 
election on the first Monday of June, eighteen hundred 
and fifty-four, and until they shall be elected and 
qualified ; W. C. Laughlin, Warren Keith and John 
Tompkins be and they are hereby constituted and ap- 
pointed a board of commissioners in and for the said 
county of Wasco ; and that J. A. Simms be, and he 
hereby is constituted and appointed sheriff, and that 
Justin Chenoweth be and he is hereby appointed Judge 
of Probate, and that Chase be and he is 



hereby constituted and appointed clerk in and for said 
county of Wasco; all of whom shall continue to hold 
their respective offices until their successors are duly 
elected and qualified. 

Sec. 3. The persons hereby constituted and ap- 
pointed officers by the second section of this act, shall 
before entering upon the duties of their respective 
offices, qualify in the same manner and with like 
restrictions, as those elected at an annual or general 
election. 

Sec. 4. The commissioners hereinbefore mentioned 
shall be, and they are hereby empowered to locate 
the county seat of Wasco at or near the Grand Dalles 
of the Columbia river. 

Sec. 5. The said county of Wasco shall constitute 
a part of the second Judicial District, and until other- 
wise provided, the court shall be held at such times 
as the Judge shall appoint, not less than once in each 
year. 

Sec. 6. That until other provisions shall be made 
for the confinement of persons charged with, or con- 
victed of crimes, or committed to prison for other law- 
ful cause, the guard house of any military post within 
said county may, with the consent of the commanding 
officer of such post, be used as a jail or place for 
such confinement. 

Sec. 7. That this act shall take effect from the 
time of its passage. 

Z. C. BISHOP, 

Speaker of the House of Rep's. 
R. WILCOX, 

President of Council. 

Passed House of Representatives, Jan. 7, 1854. 
Passed Council, Jan. 11, 1854. 

(ENDORSED.) 
H. B. No. 28. An act to create and organize Wasco 
county. Originated in House of Representatives. John 
McCraken, clerk. Enrolled January 11, 1854. 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
State of Oregon — Office of the Secretary of State : 
I, F. I. Dunbar, Secretary of the State of Oregon, 
and Custodian of the Seal of said State, do hereby 
certify that the foregoing is a full, true and complete 
copy of "An Act to create and organize Wasco County," 
together with the endorsements thereon, as filed in my 
office and custody. 

In Testimony Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand 
and affixed hereto the seal of the State of Oregon. 
Done at the Capitol, at Salem, Oregon, this 24th 
day of February, A. D., 1905. 

F. I. DUNBAR, 

Secretary of State. 

The first meeting of the Wasco county board 
of commissioners, of which there is any record, 
was held April 3, 1854. Undoubtedly one or 



' 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



in 



more previous meetings had been held, following 
the approval of the organic act, January II, 
1854, and before April 3d. The gentlemen named 
in the enabling act as commissioners qualified 
and were present during the proceedings which 
follow. But little business was transacted at the 
meeting of April 3d. Precinct officers were ap- 
pointed, an account of which will be found in the 
political chapter relating to Wasco county. An- 
other meeting was held April 24th, but this was, 
practically, without result. 

Two clays later, April 26th, the commissioners 
again assembled, and this time they were more 
fortunate in finding some official material upon 
which they could work. William C. Laughlin 
was elected chairman of the board. Following 
are the proceedings as they appear on the com- 
missioners' journal : 

Granted license to Orlando Humason to keep a ferry 
on Snake river at any point within a distance of three 
miles above or below Fort Boise, said ferry only required 
to be kept in time of the emigration passing ; assessed 
the tax for license at fifty dollars per annum for the 
term of two years ; rate of ferrying to be for a wagon 
and persons belonging thereto, four dollars ; for cattle 
and horses, one dollar per head; for sheep twenty-five 
cents per head. 

Granted to Richard Marshall license to keep a ferry 
at or near Salmon Falls, on Snake river, for the term 
of two years with the same tax rates and provisions as 
to O. Humason. 

Granted to C. E. Irvine license to keep a ferry on 
Green river, at a point on said river eighty miles above 
the boundary line between Utah and Oregon Terri- 
tories, with the same tax rates, provisions, and the 
same term of years as before. 

Granted license to J. L. Henderson to keep a 
grocery at The Dalles for six months at the rate of 
fifty dollars tax per annum, commencing on the first 
day of April, A. D., 1854. 

The proceedings of July 3d were, in part, as 

follows : 

License was granted to Justin Chenoweth to keep 
a ferry across the Columbia river at or near The Dalles 
for the term of two years ; assessed the tax at five 
dollars, the rate of ferriage to be as follows : For each 
loose animal one dollar ; for horses with rider one 
dollar and fifty cents ; horse with pack, sheep or hog, 
twenty-five cents; for a man fifty cents. 

License was granted to Matthew Finlay to keep a 
ferry across the Columbia river at or near Wind 
mountain for the term of two years; assessed the tax 
at eight dollars with the foregoing rates. 

O. Humason's tax to keep a ferry on Boise river 
was reduced from fifty to twelve dollars. 



It also appears that the commissioners ap- 
pointed a place of voting at the house of Mr. 
Forsythe. At a subsequent meeting of the board 
held December 4, 1854, Wasco county was di- 
vided into three commissioners' districts, the 
boundaries being described as follows : 

"The first district beginning at the Falls of 
the Cascades, running east to Dog (Hood) river; 
south to the boundary line of the county. The 
second district commencing at Dog river, run- 
ning east to Five Mile creek ; the center of that 
stream being the divide between that district and 
the third district, which shall include the east- 
ern balance of the county ; the southern and north- 
ern line of each district being the established 
county line." 

This division into commissioners' districts is 
rather vague and indefinite. Hood river and Five 
Mile creek run only a comparatively short distance 
into the interior of the immense territory then 
embraced by Wasco county. Of course the only 
settlements at that period were in the northern 
part of the county in the vicinity of The Dalles. 
These • commissioners' districts were, also, the 
road districts, having the same boundaries and 
being numbered one, two and three. At the 
meeting of December 4, the commissioners au- 
thorized the levying of a tax of seventeen mills 
upon each dollar of taxable property in the 
county (and it is certain that at that period this 
tax could raise but little revenue, military prop- 
erty being exempt). This was in addition to the 
Territorial tax of one mill upon each dollar and 
two mills upon each dollar for school purposes. 
This brought the total tax up to two per cent. 

The first session of district court held in 
Wasco county convened at The Dalles August 
14, 1854. Judge Cyrus Olney, one of the jus- 
tices of the Oregon Territorial supreme court 
presided. Other officers of this court were William 
R. Gibson, clerk; B. M. Reynolds, sheriff; and 
N. Huber, prosecuting attorney. The court or- 
ganized by the selection of the following named 
gentlemen empaneled as a grand jury: W. C. 
Laughlin, foreman ; y John A. Sims, John Tomp- 
kins, R. Marshall, L. P. Henderson, J. A. Stoley, 
W. C. Keith, M. M. Cushing, J. H. Mosier, S. 
S. Moore, Charles E. Evelyn, John Irvin, Thomas 
Martin, Justin Chenoweth, John Wamsley and 
John Matthias. The initial cause given to the 
petit jury was an action at law ; Roger G. Atwell 
vs. Felix J. Imans. The plaintiff was represented 
by Mr. Chenoweth ; the defendant by Mr. Camp- 
bell. The jury summoned to try this cause con- 
sisted of L. W. Coe, William Jenkins, John 
Whitebread, George Cannon, Mark Cole, L. J. 
Kimberland, Matthew Duffa, Hiram Russell, 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



ii3 



The gold mines at that place had been discovered 
the year previous, and hundreds of desperate char- 
acters had flocked thither. Way was among the num- 
ber. His avarice induced him to murder a companion 
named Gallagher, and appropriate his money and horses. 
Gallagher's death soon became known to the miners, 
and the crime of his murder was then fastened upon 
Way. The deputy sheriff was the only peace officer 
in that section, and Way was taken in custody by that 
official. Jails were then unknown, and miners' wages 
being $5 a day, while the deputy's was only $2, he could 
not afford to stand guard over the prisoner or hire 
an assistant, so Way was tied to a log for safe keep- 
ing. One night he escaped, but was recaptured at 
Boise and brought back to Canyon City. Having been 
put to considerable trouble in recapturing the murderer, 
the deputy sheriff refused to further inconvenience 
himself by bringing the prisoner to The Dalles to be 
tried. It was a journey of 200 miles through an Indian 
country, with savages who were no respectors of even 
high officials, lurking behind every wayside hiding 
place. The deputy sheriff determined to be put to no 
more trouble by Way, and calling to his assistance 
a number of trusted friends, proceeded to serve in the 
capacity of judge, jury and executioner, and Berry Way 
expiated his crime on the gallows. 

The beginning of the gradual reduction in 
size of Wasco county was in 1859. February 
14th of that year Oregon was admitted to state- 
hood ; its bounds were defined as we now know 
them. This act of congress took from Wasco 
county fully one-third of its territory. To Wash- 
ington territory was annexed that portion of 
Wasco county east of the Snake river ; west of 
the Rocky mountains and between the 46th and 
42d degrees of north latitude. Five years later 
this tract became southern Idaho. Later in this 
work will be recorded the history of additional 
slicing from Wasco territory. 

But now it is eminently fitting that the Ore- 
gon Steam Navigation Company, which, in its 
day, proved so important a factor in the history, 
not only of Wasco county, but of the entire north- 
west, should be briefly noticed. We have previ- 
ously told of the earliest navigation of the Co- 
lumbia river ; by canoes, batteaux, schooner- 
rigged barges and pioneer steamboats. It is ours 
now to describe the formation of all the water 
transportation interests into one of the greatest 
and most oppressive monopolies of the new north- 
west. We quote from the Daily Astorian of Feb- 
ruary, 1892 : 

But it was the Oregon Steam Navigation Company 
that made the money. Probably no steamboat cor- 
poration ever run business on so liberal a scale or ever 
made so much money in a very thinly settled com- 
8 



munity. An old purser of one of the steamers told 
an Astorian reporter that one year the profits on the 
boat that he was on were over $65,000. The company 
gave considerable latitude to its employes. It got 
good men, gave them big wages, and so long 'as the 
boats made money didn't look after them very closely. 
The Oregon Steam Navigation Company came from 
small beginnings. Captain J. C. Ainsworth was the- 
prime mover. With him were R. R. Thompson, S. G. 
Reed and W. S. Ladd. When Jay Cooke was building 
the Northern Pacific railroad he bought out the Ore- 
gon Steam Navigation Company. When Cooke went 
broke in 1873 the original owners bought their former 
property back for one-third of what they had received 
for it from the great Northern Pacific financier, and 
then made more money than ever. 

The Dixie Thompson was built at Portland in 1871. 
The Emma Hayivard in Portland in 1878. She is 
still making money and was recently brought back 
from the Sound. The Bonita was built at Portland in 
1875 ; she is still making money for her owners. The' 
Welcome was built at Portland in 1874; the Wide 
West, the company's finest boat, at the same city in' 
1877. She was worth $150,000, and was broken up 
three years ago. The 5". G. Rccd was constructed at 
Portland in 1878; the R. R. Thompson, now plying be- 
tween Astoria and Portland, was built at The Dalles, 
the same year. The Mountain Queen was built at The 
Dalles in 1877. The Annie Faxon, now running to 
Lewiston, was built at Celilo in 1877, a »d the John 
Gates at the same place in 1878. The Harvest Queen, 
one of the Union Pacific boats, plying between Astoria 
and Portland, was built at the latter place the same 
year. 

In 1878 Henry Villard was appointed to represent" 
the German creditors of American railways. At that, 
time some of those parties had an interest in the Ore- 
gon Steam Navigation Company, and Villard managed 
his trust in such a way that it was found convenient 
to compromise with him. He relinquished his hold' 
upon the railway and secured an interest in the steam- 
ship business. At that time the Oregon Steamship 
Company had two vessels, the George W. Elder and 
the City of Chester. It is said that while managing 
this business for his principals he aided in placing the 
Great Republic in opposition. This vessel was wrecked 
at Sand Island in 1879. While that vessel was mak- 
ing inroads upon the ocean business of the pro-rating 
companies, experts were busy acquiring information 
as to the precise amount and character of business done 
by river steamers. On every steamer was placed an 
expert, whose business it was, pencil and book in hand, 
to note all freight received and discharged; the num- 
ber of cabin fares and the number of passengers carried 
on the lower deck. From such information furnished 
daily for several weeks, a pretty accurate idea of the 
value of the traffic was obtained and calculations made 
to determine the strength of the company and the 









114 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



probable cost of successful competition and the re- 
sultant gain. 

Villard had begun the scheme for the reorganization 
of the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company, and 
worked on it for some time. He gave up the idea of 
competition and concluded he would supplant the old 
company and made overtures for its purchase. He had 
no money himself, but relied on his ability to show 
capitalists an opportunity to make considerable. He 
talked with Ainsworth, Ladd and Reed for several 
months, but at last they told him he must put up some 
money or' quit talking. But while he was talking he 
was getting others interested, and at last he got an 
option on the Oregon Steam & Navigation Company 
for one year by paying $100,000. This option was 
.dated May 23, 1879. 

With considerable effort Villard got the $100,000, 
paid it to Ladd and Reed, and with his bonds, option 
and stock, started east. He had been in correspondence 
with Jay Gould, and tried hard to make that wily 
wizard take hold, but there wasn't enough in it for 
him, and he refused. Then Villard took his option and 
script to Germany, but couldn't make it work and 
came back to New York considerably discouraged. 
But he went to Boston and succeeded in getting Endi- 
cott and Pullman interested in the scheme. They put 
up the money, and twelve years ago he bought the 
Oregon Steamship Company. On the 31st of the fol- 
lowing March he bought the Oregon Steam Navigation 
Compnay, for which he paid $2,300,000. 

The stock and bonds were sold at a heavy discount 
to Boston capitalists, and with what was left after 
'buying the Oregon Steam Navigation Company, a rail- 
road was built from Celilo to connect with the Walla 
Walla & Columbia River Railroad. The stock went to 
a very high figure and all concerned made big money, 
Villard and his friends retaining control of the stock. 
This was soon worth twice what it had cost, and the 
stock was watered and watered again, until finally it 
■represented $15,000,000. 

Mr. P. W. Gillette, from whom we have pre- 
viously quoted, contributed the following histor- 
ical sketch of the Oregon Steam Navigation 
Company, October 24, 1900 : 

By 1859 the transportation business had greatly 
increased, and there being two complete through lines 
between Portland and The Dalles, produced strained 
relations between the two opposing companies, and a 
rate war seemed imminent. Several efforts had already 
been made to combine all the different interests under 
one management, .but all had failed. At length an ar- 
rangement was reached. The portage roads at the 
Cascades ; all the steamboats, wharfboats and property 
belonging with them, were appraised each at its cost 
value, the whole amounting to $175,000. On the 27th 
day of December, i860, articles of incorporation were 



signed, and filed at Vancouver, Clark county, Wash- 
ington Territory, incorporating the Oregon Steam Navi- 
gation Company, shares, $500 each. There were sixteen 
shareholders, the largest being R. R. Thompson, with 
120 shares; Ladd & Tilton, 80 shares; T. M. Lyles, 76 
shares; J. Kamm, 57 shares; J. C. Ainsworth, 40 
shares ; and so on down, the smallest share-holder 
having but three shares. 

In October, 1862, the company filed new articles of 
incorporation with the secretary of state at Salem, and 
also with the county clerk of Multnomah county, Ore- 
gon, with a capital stock of $2,000,000, represented by 
twenty-five shareholders, at $500 a share. Bradford 
& Company were the largest shareholders, having 758 
shares, R. R. Thompson, 672; Harrison Olmstead, 
558; Jacob Kamm, 354; and so on, the smallest share- 
holder having but eight shares. This corporation put 
both portage roads and the gorge of the Columbia into 
the hands of a corporation, giving it perfect control of 
all transportation to and from every point beyond the 
Cascades. Thus owning both portages and all the 
steamboats, it is needless to say that the Oregon Steam 
Navigation Company found it unnecessary to consult 
any one as to what prices they should charge. Such 
an opportunity, with such unlimited power seldom ever 
falls into the hands of men. It made them the abso- 
lute owners of every dollar's worth of freight and 
passage, going up or down the great valley on the 
second largest river in America. 

In 1855 there were no settlers living beyond the 
Des Chutes river, but after that date they began to 
spread out over the country pretty fast. Previous to 
that date, the government had given transportation 
companies nearly all the carrying they had. But by 
i860 the natural growth of the country was making 
considerable business. In 1861 the discovery of gold 
on Orofino awakened new life in the valley of the 
Columbia. As if by magic the tardy wheels of com- 
merce were unfettered; human thought and energy 
unshackled and turned loose with determined purpose 
to meet the great emergency and reap the golden 
harvest. 

From Portland to "Powder River, Orofino and 
Florence City" mines the country resounded with the 
busy whir of trade. All the steamboats and portage 
roads were taxed to their greatest capacity. So great 
was the demand for transportation the Oregon Steam 
Navigation Company had to build new steamboats and 
improve their roads at the Cascades. The old portage 
wagon road at The Dalles was entirely inadequate 
to do the immense business, and the company was 
obliged to build a railroad from Dalles City to Celilo, 
fifteen miles. 'So enormous were the charges for freight 
and passage, I am creditably informed, that the steamer 
Okanogan paid the entire cost of herself on her first 
trip. It makes my head swim now, as memory carries 
me back to those wonderful rushing days, when the con- 
stant fall of chinking coin into the coffers of the com- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



"5 



•pany was almost like the flow of a dashing torrent. 
The Oregon. Steam Navigation Company had become 
a millionaire-making machine. 

The price of freight from Portland to The Dalles, 
about one hundred miles, was $40 per ton ; from The 
Dalles to Celilo, fifteen miles, $15 per ton; from The 
Dalles to Wallula, $55 per ton ; and from Port- 
land to Lewiston, $120 per ton. All freights, ex- 
cepting solids, such as lead, nails, etc, were estimated 
by measurement; forty cubic feet making a ton. Pass- 
age from Portland to The Dalles was $8, and seventy- 
five cents extra for meals. From Portland to Lewis- 
ton passage was $60, and meals and beds were $1 each. 
* * * H. D. Sanborn, a merchant of Lewiston, 
in 1862 informed me that among a lot of freight con- 
signed to him was a case of miner's shovels. The 
freight, $120 per ton, made the freight on each shovel 
$1. A merchant at Hood River said that, always, be- 
fore the railroad was built, freight from Portland to 
Hood River, 85 miles, on a dozen brooms was $1. 
To better illustrate the method of measurement, I will 
"have to relate an anecdote : 

When O. B. Gibson was in the employment of the 
company at The Dalles, he was down to get the meas- 
urement of a small mounted cannon that had to be 
shipped for the government. After measuring several 
ways and figuring up the amount, he seemed so much 
perplexed that he attracted the attention of two soldiers 
who were lying in the shade of a pine tree near by. 
One of them finally called out, "What's the trouble, 
Cap?" 

"I am trying to take the measurement of this 
blamed gun, but somehow I can't get it right," replied 
Mr. Gibson. 

"Oh, I'll show you," said the soldier, leading up a 
pair of harnessed mules that stood near, and hitching 
them to the gun, "try it now, Cap." "Thanks ; that 
makes it all right. I see now why I could not get 
"the correct measurement." (Evidently he measured the 
mules, too, as would seem from the following:) 

In measuring a wagon or any piece of freight, the 
full length, heighth and thickness were taken and 
carried out full size, the largest way of the piece. 
To make the method of tonnage clearer, I will give you 
•one more illustration. "Old Captain" T. W. Lyles, of 
:San Francisco, was a large stockholder in the com- 
pany, and frequently visited Portland to look after his 
interests. Once while here he attended a meeting of 
the board of directors. After the principal part of the 
business had been transacted, Captain Lyles arose and 
said: 

"Mr. Chairman, I move that Eph. Day, a purser on 
one of our boats, be discharged from the service of 
this company." 

Now Eph. Day was one of the favorite pursers, and 
• everybody sprang up to know what was the matter 
with Eph. Day. After quiet had been restored Captain 
Lvles said : 



"I see, gentlemen, that Eph. Day is purser on a 
boat of only 150 tons register, yet I find that he comes 
in at the end of every trip with a report of having 
carried from 250 to 300 tons of freight, and, gentlemen, 
he substantiates his report by bringing in the cash for 
those amounts of freights. Now while I do not claim 
to be much of a steamboat man, yet I can see, gentle- 
men, that if you allow our boats to be overladen in this 
manner and made to carry twice as much as they are 
designed to carry, they will soon be worn out and we 
will have no boats." 

The meeting adjourned amidst roars of laughter and 
Eph. Day kept his place and still measured up big 
loads of freight. 

The Florence gold excitement of 1862 brought the 
Oregon Steam Navigation Company a flood of pros- 
perity. They could not possibly take all the business 
offered. At Portland the rush of freight to the docks 
of the company was so great that drays and trucks had 
to form in line to get their turn in delivering their 
goods. Their lines were kept unbroken day and night 
for weeks and months. Shippers were obliged to use 
the greatest vigilance and take every advantage to 
get their goods away. Often a merchant would place 
a large truck in line early in the morning, then fill it 
by dray loads during the day. That great rush con- 
tinued for months. * * * 

Unquestionably the Oregon Steam Navigation Com- 
pany held in check and kept back the growth of the 
country east of the Cascade mountains for years, though 
perhaps unintentionally on its part. It had so long 
been accustomed to receive such exceedingly liberal 
compensation for its service, that I have no doubt that 
they believed farm products could not be carried to 
Portland at rates that would leave anything to the 
farmer. Captain James W. Troup, who commanded 
one of the boats on the upper river, said to me that he 
had so many applications to bring wheat to Port- 
land, which he had no authority to do, that 
he finally went to the president of the com- 
pany and asked for permission to do so, but he 
was informed that it was impossible ; that wheat was not 
worth its transportation. The next season the people 
fairly begged him to carry their wheat to market, and 
he made another appeal. This time the company 
yielded, and President J. C. Ainsworth said : "Well, 
Captain Troup, you may try it ; do the best you can." 
Wheat has been pouring down the Columbia ever since, 
and the Inland Empire is one vast wheat field. * * * 

In reviewing the career of this most interesting cor- 
poration one can but view with wonder and amazement 
the ease and rapidity with which colossal fortunes were 
made. And I can but regret, on their own account, 
that not one of that company has left any little token 
of good will, or any memento of kindness to the place 
or people where they were so splendidly favored by 
fortune, and so liberally patronized by the business 
public. Had they even erected a small drinking foun- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



117 



17th— Violently cold; thermometer 30 degrees 
below. 18th — Cold ; thermometer 12 degrees be- 
low. iQtlv — Cold ; thermometer 4 degrees below. 
20th — Pleasant ; thermometer zero. 21st — Snow- 
ing ; 8 inches ; snow about three feet deep. 22d — 
Snow fell 2 inches ; rain and sleet. 23d — Thaw- 
ing all day. 24th — Thawing all day. 25th — 
Thawing all day. 26th — Colder ; thermometer 10 
degrees. 27th — Bitter cold; thermometer 1 3 de- 
grees below. 28th — Bitter cold ; thermometer 
10 degrees below. 29th — New snow, four inches ; 
thermometer zero. 30th — Very cold ; thermom- 
eter 24 degrees below. 31st — Moderate; snow 
54 inches deep ; thermometer 2 degrees below. 

February 1 — Milder; thermometer 10 de^ 
grees. 2d — Milder; thermometer 10 degrees. 
3d — Two inches more snow ; thermometer 2 de- 
grees. 4th — Milder ; thermometer 16 degrees. 
5th — Colder ; thermometer 16 degrees below. 6th 
— Cold ; thermometer 3 degrees below. 7th — 
Cold ; thermometer zero. 8th — Cold ; thermome- 
ter 13 degrees. 9th — Same. 10th — Same, nth 
■ — Same. 12th — Milder. 13th — Snow disap- 
pearing. 14th — Snow disappearing. 15th — Up- 
stream wind. 16th — Thawing and sloppy. 17th 
— Cooler. 1 8th — Snow today. 19th — Cold. 
20th — Cold ; thermometer zero. 21st — Snowed 
nearly all day, nine inches. 22d — Warm ; mer- 
cury up to 50 degrees. 23d — Two inches more 
snow. 24th — New snow, 1J/2 inches; thermometer 
52 degrees. 25th — Snow melting fast. 26th — 
Four inches more snow this a. m. 27th — Rain- 
ing, wet and sloppy. 28th — Warm ; mercury 55 
degrees ; snow 303/2 inches deep. 

March 17 — The first boat came up to the 
landing today ; ice all out. 

From the diary of N. Coe, deceased, kept at 
Hood River during the winter we take the follow- 
ing extracts relating to the weather : 



December, 1861 — Lowest thermometer, 14 
degrees ; general mean, 32.96 degrees ; deepest 
snow, 19 inches. 

January 1862 — Lowest thermometer, 25 de- 
grees ; general mean, 10.45 degrees ; deepest 
snow d^/i feet. 

February, 1862 — Lowest thermometer, 2 de- 
grees below ; general mean, 37.82 degrees. 

March, 1862 — Thirty inches snow fell in 
March. 

The discovery of gold in what is now Idaho, 
and the subsequent rush to the upper country, 
was a means of bringing Wasco county to the 
fore. The Dalles, then the only town, evolved 
into a city ; much of the county's history of the 
Dalles. The increased activity at this town also 
'6o's will be told in the chapter devoted to The 
had the effect of settling the adjacent portion of 
the county. The mining rush created a lucrative 
market for stock ; the stock interests of Wasco 
county began to attract attention abroad ; The 
Dalles became a center of this important indus- 
try. New settlers scattered themselves among 
the bunch-grass hills ; cattlemen drove their herds 
into Wasco county, where the abundance of feed 
and mild climate were favorable to the interests 
of stockmen. Before many years had elapsed 
the products of the ranges contributed as much 
wealth as did the mines of the northern and east- 
ern sections. True, lack of facilities for trans- 
portation to the markets of the east proved a 
serious drawback, but adventurous spirits were 
soon driving large bands of beef cattle across the 
plains and mountains to railroad connections at 
Cheyenne. The entire summer season was re- 
quired to complete the drive. The sheep industry 
received an impetus, and has since proved a lu- 
crative resource. 



CHAPTER IV 



PASSING EVENTS— 1862 TO 1905. 



Previous to the discovery of mines in eastern 
Oregon and Idaho, in the early '6o's, the greater 
part of the population of the mammoth county 
•of Wasco was at, or near, The Dalles. But with 
the influx of miners to the camps in the John 
Day, Birch Creek and Powder river regions, it 
became almost an impossibility for new settlers 



to transact official business with a county seat so 
far removed from their neighborhood. Peti- 
tions were therefore presented to the legislature 
in 1862 asking for the establishment of two new 
counties ; one to include the Powder river re- 
gions ; the other the settlements on John Day and 
Umatilla rivers. The legislature passed two bills, 



n8 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



one of which created Baker, the other Umatilla, 
county. In the compiled session laws of Oregon, 
1862, will be found the following : 

Boundaries of original Baker county : All that 
portion of Wasco county, commencing at a point where 
the 46th parallel of latitude crosses the summit of 
the Blue Mountains ; thence east along said line to its 
intersection with Snake river ; thence up the middle of 
the channel of said river to the mouth of the Owyhee 
river ; thence south to the 426 parallel of latitude ; 
thence west along said line to its intersection with the 
118th parallel of west longitude; thence north, along 
said line to the summit of the Blue Mountains ; thence 
along the summit of said mountains, between the waters 
of Burnt and Powder rivers, and the waters of John 
Day's river to the place of beginning. 

This act was approved September 22, 1862. 

The same year Baker county was amputated 
from Wasco county. It then embraced the terri- 
tory in the present counties of Baker, Union, 
Wallowa and Malheur counties. The session 
laws of 1862 also thus describe the boundaries of 
the original Umatilla county : 

All that portion of Wasco county, beginning in the 
middle of the channel of the Columbia river opposite 
the mouth of Willow creek ; thence up the middle of 
the channel of said river to the point where the 46th 
parallel of latitude crosses said river ; thence east 
along said parallel to the summit of the Blue Mountains ; 
thence southwest along the summit of said mountains 
to the divide between the middle and south fork of 
John Day's river; thence northwest along said divide 
to its intersection with the south fork of John Day's 
river ; thence down the channel of said river to its 
junction with the north fork of said river; and from 
thence northerly along the ridge dividing the waters 
of John Day's and Willow creek to the place of be- 
ginning. 

This act was approved September 27, 1862. 
The boundaries of Umatilla county included the 
present counties of Union, Grant and Mor- 
row. By act of the Oregon legislature of 
October 14, 1864, Grant county was cut off from 
Wasco and November 7th, of the same year the 
new political division was organized. The terri- 
tory at that time cut off as Grant county, em- 
braced the territory now comprising Grant, Har- 
ney, Lake and Klamath counties. But a small 
portion of this territory, it will be remembered, 
had already been separated from Wasco county, 
the upper part of the present Grant county hav- 
ing been set off as a part of Umatilla in 1862. 

In 1865 the population of the territory then 
included in Wasco county, according to a state 



census, was 1,898. The United States census of 
1870 accorded it a'population of 2,509. Until this 
latter year little attention had been given to agri- 
culture. When the whites first settled in this 
section the entire country was covered with a 
luxurious growth of natural grasses ; this fact 
suggested to the husbandman its adaptability tO' 
stock-raising. Wasco county was one vast cattle 
range, only so much land being cultivated as was 
necessary to supply home demand with flour and 
hay ; nothing was raised for export and, as has 
been shown in our story of early steam trans- 
portation on the Columbia and Snake rivers, 
freight rates left no profit to the shipper. Wasco 
■ county agriculture was — for a period — smothered 
at its birth by transportation monopolies. From 
the period of its earliest settlement to 1870 this 
county was the range of the "cowboy ;" but grad- 
ually cattle ranches gave way to wheat farms ; the 
bunch grass hills were converted into fields of 
golden grain. 

At first this agricultural industry was con- 
fined to the verdant valleys through which 
coursed the sparkling streams. The pioneer hill 
farmer — the typical western Highlander — was 
Mr. Edward ("Dutch") Mahn, of Fifteen Mile 
creek. In 1864 he planted a wheat field on the 
summit of the hills surrounding that creek. 
While his experiment was unqualifiedly success- 
ful, for a number of years thereafter only a few 
followed his example. But in 1875 hill farming 
became general ; large tracts of bunch grass land 
were sown to wheat and heavy harvests were- 
reaped. It was simply a duplicate of the agri- 
cultural history of Oregon's neighboring Terri- 
tory to the north, Washington. Not until late in 
the '6o's was the hill country of Wasco county 
considered fit for agricultural purposes. Janu- 
ary 1, 1898, The Dalles Times-Mountaineer said: 

"Up to late in the '6o's the hill lands of Wasco 
were considered worthless for agricultural pur- 
poses, and were valuable only as pasture lands for 
countless herds of stock ; but some time in this de- 
cade 'Dutch' Mahn, a settler some four miles east 
of the present site of Dufur, planted, unknown 
to himself a few grains of wheat that had acci- 
dentally become mixed with other seeds ; to his 
astonishment the grain produced well and ma- 
tured ; the experiment was successfully repeated 
and soon small fields began to appear on the 
higher lands. Strange to say the first settlers 
were the last to take advantage of the wonderful 
adaptability of the soil to grain, and to this day 
many of the old timers hold that before the land 
had been trampled and packed by stock it would 
not produce a crop of wheat." 

And now, in addition to being an important 
point for the outfitting of miners, the city of The 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



119 



Dalles became the center of an extensive farming 
community, and fully enjoyed that substantial 
prosperity which is only attained through the 
development of natural resources. 

In 1875 the taxable property of Wasco county 
amounted to $1,622,515; the levy being 19 mills 
for state and county purposes. The same year 
the population of the county, according to the 
state census, was 3,853. By 1879 the county's 
property had increased to a valuation of $2,496,- 
894 ; the levy was iSy 2 mills. The United States 
census of 1880 showed gratifying increase in 
population, it being that year 10,228, an increase 
of 7,719 over the census of 1870; over 307 per 
cent. With the exception of Clatsop, Wasco 
county had made the heaviest gains per cent, of 
any county in the state. And in 1880 it ranked 
fourth in size in the state. August 31st, of this 
year, the Dalles Times acknowledged obligations 
to Mr. S. J. Newsome for the following statistics 
of his last assessment, turned over to the board 
of equalization August 30th : 

Number of acres deeded land, 62,839; value $414,090 

City property 405,517 

Improvements 168,248 

Merchandise, etc 107,790 

Money, notes, etc 673,025 

Household furniture 107,790 

Horses 14,987 Value 459J99 

Cattle 73,090 Value ....... 522,567 

Sheep 294,070 Value 560,028 

Swine 2,074 Value 3,313 

Gross valuation 3,484,410 

Indebtedness 382,548 

Household exemptions 238,500 

Total taxable property 2,863,362 

Another severe winter was experienced in 
1880-81, nearly as memorable as the boreal sea- 
son of 1 86 1 -2. Again there were heavy losses 
in stock. Accustomed as were the ranchers to 
usually mild winters, they had not provided suffi- 
cient feed ; because of heavy snow cattle and 
horses, especially cattle, could not pick their feed 
on the ranges. The county of Wasco, even then, 
included a wide scope of country in eastern Ore- 
gon. In March the editor of The Dalles Times 
conversed with a number of stockmen who 
said : 

"The snow belt has been confined to the region 
of country along the Columbia river; in other' 
portions of the county the snow has not fallen 
to any great depth, and not lying on the ground 
any great length of time. For instance, from 
Antelope, seventy miles southeast of The Dalles, 
to Canyon City, a distance of 130 miles, the win- 



ter has not been severe, and the loss of stock is 
not so large as last year. 

"From Mr. A. Scherneckau, of Cross Hol- 
low, we learn that the loss may average about fif- 
teen per cent of cattle and sheep ; not any more. 
One man in his neighborhood had kept exact fig- 
ures of the loss in his flocks and it will amount to 
fifteen per cent, of the whole. Others in that 
section have not lost over five per cent. He thinks 
the average will be about fifteen per cent. West 
and south of Cross Hollow the loss has been 
slight, the snow not having been over three inches 
deep at any time, and soon disappearing from the 
effects of chinook winds. North and east (along 
the Columbia) the snow was much deeper and 
consequently stock suffered much more. Irt 
Grass Valley, for instance, he averages the loss 
of cattle and sheep at fully fifty per cent. Horses 
have not, as a general rule, suffered much, and 
the percentage of the loss of these will be much 
less than that of cattle and sheep. 

"Mr. Charles Schutz, from Rock creek, came 
in town and from him we learn the winter has' 
been very severe in that neighborhood. A great 
many cattle and sheep have died. The loss, he 1 
says, will be fearful among these. Strange to re- 
late, those which were fed in the first part of the 
season suffered the most when the severe weather 
came. These did not struggle to find feed like 
those which had none at all. This section is sit- 
uated in the 'snow belt' mentioned above. 

"Messrs. Nickelsen & Fredden have received 
a letter from Mr. W. H. Colwell, of Lone Rocky 
in which he says that only 175 head of sheep have 
died in that section out of 8,600. In Hay Creek, 
Mr. Colwell writes, the losses have been fearful. 
Out of 18,000 head of sheep there are only about 
8,000 left. Cattle, he says, will average a loss of 
80 per cent. 

"This winter is now an event of the past. The 
hills are covered with green grass, furnishing 
good sustenance for stock. It has been, without 
doubt the longest winter experienced in eastern 
Oregon for over twenty years. The pioneers of 
1 86 1 -2 say the snow lasted on the ground longer 
this year than that. In the common course of 
events we may not expect another such winter 
for a long number of years. The weather has 
not been as cold as many years previous, but the 
great detriment was the length of time the snow 
laid on the ground. The last winter the lowest 
range of the mercury at The Dalles was not at 
zero. We cannot believe, in the mind of any in- 
telligent man, this year will be taken as an aver- 
age one in Wasco county. We still claim to have 
the finest grazing section in the state and feel 
fully assured time will prove the truth of thi9 
assertion." 



120 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



A correspondent of The Dalles Times writing 
from Wapinitia, under date of February 13, 1881, 
says : 

"* * * * The late thaw caused very high 
water in the streams in this section, so as to stop 
all travel on the roads. The mail from The 
Dalles to Prineville could not make regular trips 
for ten days. The bridge over White river is 
partly washed away, so that it cannot be used 
until repaired. 

"Since the beginning of December to the pres- 
ent, the loss of sheep has been heavy in this sec- 
tions. The losses are as follows: William Lewis, 
1,500 out of 3,000; J. Curtis, 1,000 out of 2,000; 
J. Abbott, 400 out of 3,500; Jerry Young, 1,000 
out of 2,500 ; J. Kelly, 220 out of 300. The loss 
of cattle is not yet ascertained. One lot of 18 
head "were found dead in Oak Grove creek, under 
some rim rock where they had sought shelter dur- 
ing the deepest snow. Probably 100 dead cattle 
have been found in the settlement so far. Horses 
have not suffered extremely yet, and I learn of 
none having died." 

Railroad building through Wasco county 
commenced in 1880 and resulted in great activ- 
ity and an inflow of many who became per- 
manent settlers. Previous to this golden era of 
railroad development in eastern Oregon The 
Dalles was the one rich trading center of all that 
portion of the state lying east of the Cascade 
mountains. The enormous steamboat traffic on the 
Columbia river was transferred at The Dalles ; 
from that point freight teams departed for their 
heavy trips into the interior of the country as far 
distant as Yakima and Ellensburg, in Washing- 
ton Territory ; Prineville and Canyon City, Ore- 
gon. Completion of the line of the Oregon Rail- 
road & Navigation Company to The Dalles, and 
subsequent construction of the Northern Pacific 
across the Cascade range to Puget Sound, de- 
flected much of the trade formerly controlled by 
The Dalles! However, rapid settlement of the 
country directly tributary in a great measure 
compensated for the loss of the trade which rail- 
roads diverted to other points. 

Undoubtedly The Dalles was, during the first 
era of northwest development, a rather more im- 
portant factor than it is at present. But, as the 
Times-Mountaineer said, in January, 1895 : "its 
glory has not departed, although its citizens have 
never manifested the spirit of public enterprise 
commensurate with the natural advantages of the 
place. Since the completion of the Northern 
Pacific railroad, the trade of Yakima and Ellens- 
burg has been attracted to the Sound : but Canyon 
City, Prineville, and even the Silver Lake coun- 
try, 225 miles distant, have The Dalles as their 
market. Every season wool and produce from 



these portions of the state are brought to this 
city, and our wholesale merchants send the coun- 
try dealers in these regions their supply of 
goods." 

In May, 1880, work on the first railroad was 
progressing rapidly. The track was laid a mile 
beyond Celilo ; grading had been clone seven miles 
beyond the mouth of the John Day river. In June 
a portion of the right of way of the line of the 
Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company had 
been purchased as far as Hood River, the com- 
pany paying from $1 to $100. This was for the 
line from The Dalles to Portland. Some of the 
farmers were highly pleased to have a railway 
pass through their lands ; others strenuously op- 
posed it, and demanded heavy damages. Thurs- 
day, March 16, 1882, the last of the iron was laid 
between The Dalles and the Cascades ; the day 
following two locomotives and a number of flat 
cars were sent to the Cascades. 

In September, 1881, the returns of Wasco 
county's assessor showed the following : 

Number of horses and mules, 15,295 ; last 
year, 17,000. 

Number cattle, 30,745; last year, 71,000. 

Number sheep, 98,842 ; last year 280,000. 

Number swine, 1,223. 

A large proportion of this loss of stock may 
be accounted for by the fact that much of it had 
been driven to eastern markets ; still a certain 
percentage had, undoubtedly, been killed by the 
unusually severe winter of 1880-81. Despite this 
loss the assessor stated that the assessable prop- 
erty of 1 88 1 would approximate somewhere in 
the neighborhood of $3,250,000 in comparison 
with $2,800,000 in 1880. As a matter of fact the 
total taxable property of 1881 amounted to 
$3,221,200. 

Thursday, May 5, 1881, bids were opened at 
The Dalles applying for the contract for the erec- 
tion of a new court house. Following were the 
amounts of each bid: J. R. Addison, $25,895; 
W. R. Ransome, $25,868; A. R. McPhee, $24,- 
500; C. Kron and W. S. A. Johns, $23,719 ; C. A. 
Stowell, $22,933.50; R. W. Crandall, $22,200; 
H. Glenn, $22,162; N. J. Blagen, $22,000. 

Mr. Blagen being the lowest bidder was 
awarded the contract. For this commendable 
purpose the levy of an 8-mill tax was made. And 
yet there was, as is usual in such cases, opposi- 
tion to the project. Saturday, June 4, 1881, a 
bill in equity was filed with the county clerk, 
praying for a temporary injunction against the 
county judge, clerk, commissioners and Mr. 
Blagen, the successful bidder, until a judicial 
hearing could be had at. the next term of 
circuit court, when a permanent injunction 
would be prayed for. Upon this bill in 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



121 



equity appeared the names of thirty-five of the 
heaviest taxpayers in the county. Among the 
numerous allegations was one to the effect that 
Wasco county was already in debt above the 
amount of $5,000, the constitutional limit, and 
therefore the special tax levy illegal. 

It appears from such fragmentary data as 
can be obtained concerning this court house that 
the legal obstacles were swept aside and new bids 
received as follows: W. E .Sylvester, $24,400; 
C. A. Stowell, $24,000; R. W. Crandall, $21,700; 
N. J. Blagen, $23,000. The contract was awarded 
Mr. Blagen, although his bid was $1,300 above 
that of Mr. Crandall. In 1883 the building was 
completed and it is the structure now used for 
county purposes. 

In 1882 the assessed valuation of Wasco 
county was $3,221,200. 

Another large slice of territory was lost to 
this county by the legislative act of October 24, 
1882. She gave up what is now Crook county 
and that portion of Wheeler county lying south 
of the John Day river. To Wasco county was 
then left the territory now embraced in Wasco, 
Sherman, Gilliam and the northern part of 
Wheeler counties. The new Crook county con- 
tained over 8,000 square miles. 

During the early '80's the sheep industry 
greatly increased in importance. Large bands of 
sheep were driven on to the range and wool be- 
came one of the principal exports and revenue. 
The assessor's rolls for 1883 show a valuation of 
$3,160,170; and the rate of taxation 17 mills, 
producing a revenue for state and county of 
$53,983. At this period Wasco county was free 
from debt. There were at this time in the county 
13,022 horses, valued at $419,000, and the num- 
ber of men engaged in breeding these animals 
was 698. There were 531 persons and firms en- 
gaged in cattle raising ; the number of cattle was 
12,725 and their valuation $252,726. The num- 
ber of sheep was 172,148, the property of 124 
men or firms. The total valuation was assessed 
at $400,259; an average value of sheep of $1.70. 
From these animals the total value of wool de- 
rived was $123,947.28, the average clip being 
four pounds per sheep ; the average price per 
poung being estimated at 18 cents. 

We copy the following from the assessment 
roll of 1884: Deeded lands 178,391 acres; value 
$775,991 ; value of town property, $553,430; im- 
provements on railroad and government lands, 
$327,964 ; value of merchandise and implements, 
$521,965; money, notes and accounts, $796,746; 
furniture, etc., $189,198; horses 18,763, valued 
at $619,179; cattle, 16,523, valued at $330,540; 
sheep, 270,386, valued at $540,772; swine. 4,409, 
valued at $13,227 ; Oregon Railroad & Naviga- 



tion Company, $665,000. Gross value of all 
property $5,334,021. Indebtedness, $1,246,956; 
exemptions, $297,000. Net value of property, 
$3,790,056. 

At this period the estimated population of 
the county was 14,000. It must be remembered 
that about one-half of Wasco county had been 
lost in 1882, consequently the gain was a large 
one during the past four years. 

February 16, 1885, Morrow county, as it is 
today, was formed. Of its territory the greater 
portion was taken from Umatilla county, but a 
part was, also, sliced from Wasco, and thus the 
"Mother of Counties" suffered another curtail- 
ment. In this year, also, Gilliam county was or- 
ganized by legislative act, and more territory was 
"abstracted" from Wasco, although a portion of 
Gilliam, came from Umatilla county. The Ore- 
gon state census of 1885 gave Wasco a popula- 
tion of 7,757. In 1886 the total valuation of tax- 
able property was $2,281,015, and in 1887 it had 
increased to $3,085,360. In 1888 it rose to 
$3,246,700. 

Although nothing materialized there was 
some talk in 1889, of dividing Wasco county, and 
converting the town of Antelope into a county 
seat. Another mutilation of Wasco county oc- 
curred February 25, 1889, when by act of the 
Oregon legislature Sherman county was created 
and 684 square miles of land diverted from 
Wasco. County division was still in the air, and 
a meeting was called for November 15, 1890, to 
take up the matter of petitioning the legislature 
for a new county comprising portions of Wasco 
and Crook counties. But this movement failed 
of fruition, and the proposed meeting did not as- 
semble. 

A short time previous to the convening of the 
legislative assembly in January, 1891. an at- 
tempt was made to set off the Hood River coun- 
try into a new and distinct county division. To 
the legislature a petition to this effect, quite 
numerously signed, was presented, asking that 
the western portion of Wasco county to the 
amount of 525 square miles be set off and organ- 
ized into Cascade county. Thus it was seriously 
proposed to reduce what had once been the lar- 
gest county in the United States to- a position 
among the smallest in the state of Oregon. It 
was alleged in the petition that within the terri- 
tory asked for there were about 1,900 people, and 
that the assessment rolls of 1889 showed the 
taxable property to be about $415,000. Hood 
River coyly admitted that she would consent to 
become the county seat. Of this project the 
Times-Mountaineer, January 3, 189 1, said: 

"The movement did not have the solid sup- 
port of even that part of the country proposed to 



122 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



be made into a new county, and a remonstrance 
petition was at once put in circulation." 

On the ioth the same journal added: 

"The effort being made to create a new county 
out of the west portion of Wasco is premature, 
and should receive no support from our senators 
or representatives. There is not sufficient tax- 
able property in the proposed new county to war- 
rant action by the legislature, and it would be a 
hardship upon taxpayers to saddle upon them 
new burdens. We understand that the petition 
for division has not received many names in the 
proposed county limits, and that a remonstrance 
has already received numerous signatures." 

This "remonstrance" petition, dated at Falls 
Precinct, January i, 1891, signed by over one 
hundred tax-payers, respectfully represented 
"that we are not in favor of a new county as 
prayed for by the petitioners. That we do not 
believe that the interests of this part of the county 
would be subserved thereby, and we respectfully, 
but earnestly remonstrate against the said divis- 
ion or formation of a new county embracing this 
precinct." 

Organization of a county to be named Cas- 
cades was opposed by the residents of The Dalles. 
The Dalles board of trade passed a resolution 
condemning the attempt and worked against it. 
February 4, 1893, the Times-Mountaineer said : 

The legislative air is full of county division schemes 
and proposals to create new counties. The divisionists 
of Wasco county undeterred by emphatic protests, 
are seeking to almost obliterate that division of the 
state from the map of Oregon. The proposed new 
county of Stockman cuts out a large slice from the 
southern portion; Tygh county appropriates a big sec- 
tion out of the heart of the old county, and the pro- 
jectors of Cascade county, commencing at the eastern 
boundary of Multnomah, takes in Cascades, Hood 
River and Mosier, even running its eastern line 
within sight of The Dalles, but graciously leaving 
the city itself and the cemetery to the old regime. 
The only property within the proposed new county 
that will pay any considerable amount of taxes, is 
the railway line of the Union Pacific Company, thirty 
odd miles of which is to be taken in. There really 
doesn't seem much chance for the lines of Wasco to 
be disturbed. The delegation from there is divided 
on the question, and the protests against any kind of 
a division contain the names of all the prominent tax- 
payers of the county. Not satisfied with thus cutting 
up the mother of all eastern Oregon counties, the Sutton 
county boomers propose also to take four townships 
from the remaining portions being appropriated from 
Crook and Grant. 

This lot of bills for the formation of new 
counties were all killed. By January, 1893, the 



bill to create Stockman county had reached the 
second reading in the Oregon assembly. It was 
noted on the 28th inst. that no remonstrance had 
appeared, and it was urged that if the friends of 
the old county did not wish to see it still further 
dissected in a "most unseemly manner," it was 
high time that something was being contributed 
to the legislature in the way of information, as 
there were a number of citizens who were not 
favorable to the proposed division. This direct 
appeal was, evidently, followed by a remon- 
strance, and the division was not consummated. 

What is now universally recognized as the 
"Hard times era" of the United States, from 
1893 to 1897 was, of course, prevalent through- 
out Wasco county, and will be more particularly 
referred to in the chapters of this work relating, 
to The Dalles. The gross valuation of Wasco's 
taxable property in 1894 was $3,194,477; net, 
$2,974,183. The population of 1895 was found 
by the assessor to be 10,354, and from July 1, 
1894, until July 1, 1897, 188,207 acres of govern- 
ment land was entered by actual settlers. 

The principal event of the year 1896, within 
the confines of Wasco county, was the opening of 
the "Locks of the Cascades." Millions of dollars 
and more than a score of years were required to 
construct this magnificent boatway around a for- 
midable obstacle to navigation. Colonel W. E. 
Mc Arthur, writing in the East Oregonian in 
1884, is authority for the statement that in 1872 
the importance of constructing a canal at the- 
Cascades was brought to the attention of con- 
gress, but that it was not until 1877 surveys were 
made by the army engineers. Careful examin- 
ation of each side of the Columbia river deter- 
mined them to locate this canal on the Oregon 
shore. By July 1, 1884, congress had appropri- 
ated for this purpose a total amount of $955,000; 
of this $826,000 had been expended. 

Illustrative of the deep and absorbing inter- 
est manifested in this enterprise by Oregonians 
it should be noted that in the legislature, October 
20, 1876, a law was passed with only one dis- 
senting vote, authorizing the United States to 
take proceedings for condemnation of all land 
required for canal purposes, provided such prop- 
erty could not be purchased. Ultimately forty- 
three acres were bought from the Oregon Steam 
Navigation Company, with a perpetual right of 
way across the company's land to the county 
road, and the use of its houses so long as work 
on the canal was in progress. 

It has been stated by a Portland journal that 
a proposition to build a canal around the obstruc- 
tions in the Columbia river at the Cascades was 
first broached in congress so late as 1875. How- 
ever, in 1876 a government appropriation of 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



123; 



$90,000 was made for the commencement of the 
undertaking. In 1878 the original contractors, 
Bell & Piatt,' of New York, undertook for the 
sum of $340,000 to excavate for the locks and a 
portion of the prisms. Various sums were subse- 
quently appropriated by congress for continuing 
the work, and in 1892 J. G. and I. N. Day con- 
tracted, for the sum of $1,521,265, to complete 
the canal according to the plans and specifica- 
tions then at hand. The work was sufficiently 
advanced by November, 1896, to permit the 
passage of boats engaged in regular river service. 
In 1899 another appropriation of $100,000 was 
made. This was to complete the walls of the 
locks. When these were finished the grand total 
of expenditures to date had been $3,733,187.80. 
October 30, 1896, Captain W. S. Fisk, of the 
United States Engineer corps, issued the follow- 
ing bulletin : 

"The Cascade Canal and Locks will be opened 
to navigation at 2 o'clock p. m., Thursday, No- 
vember 5, 1896. For the present they will be 
operated for the passage of boats during the 
hours of daylight, and it may be necessary to 
still further limit their use to certain hours of 
the day in order not to interfere too much with 
work still in progress." 

On the arrival of this eventful day numerous 
excursions from all river points were made by 
rail and steamer. Thousands of people assem- 
bled ; The Dalles brass band enlivened the occa- 
sion with strains of stirring melody ; Battery A, 
Oregon National Guard, fired salutes. The Reg- 
ulator, from The Dalles, with full complement of 
passengers ; the Water Witch, Sadie B. and 
Maria, working boats for the contractors, floated 
in the basin, while below were the Dalles City, 
Sarah Dixon and Harvest Queen, from Portland. 
The craft from above steamed into the locks at 
2:30 p. m., greeted by the sternutation of 
whistles ; fanfare of horns and pealing of bells. 
The boats from below, forming a nautical proces- 
sion of seven steamers, entered the locks and 
passed through one at a time. On to The Dalles 
steamed the Dixon, Regulator and Dalles City. 
Here the citizens had erected two handsome 
arches, brilliantly illuminated by electricity ; 
through these marched one of the largest and 
most imposing parades ever before witnessed in 
the Inland Empire. 

The first boat to make the round trip between 
The Dalles and Portland was the Regulator, but 
the honor of the first trip from Portland to The 
Dalles belongs to the Sarah Dixon. 

Some idea of the immensity of this work 
at the Cascades may be gleaned from the follow- 
ing : Width of lock-chambers, 90 feet ; length of 
lock chambers, 400 feet ; depth of lower lock, 46 



feet ; depth of upper lock, 40 feet. Difference in 
level at upper and lower ends of canal : high 
water, 13 feet; low water, 24 feet. The fourteen 
upper gates weigh 325 tons and are 55 feet 2 
inches high, and 523/2 feet long on the curve — 
each leaf. The middle gates weigh 250 tons ; are 
41 feet two inches high, and 523/2 feet long. The 
lower gates weigh 305 tons, and are 47 feet two 
inches high. The lower guard gate weighs 252 
tons ; is 37 feet two inches high. It is only to be 
used when the lower lock is to be pumped dry for 
repairs. The total length of the canal is 2,900 feet. 
The gate engine cylinders are 18 inches in diam- 
eter with a thirteen-foot stroke. One foot travel 
of the engine moves the gate four feet. The cul- 
vert-valve engine cylinders are fifteen inches in- 
diameter and have a six-foot stroke. 

The locks are filled and emptied through large 
culverts built in the walls and the flow is regu- 
lated by vulvert valves. These engines are sup- 
plied from a ten-inch pipe line, 1^2 miles long, 
with a head of 500 feet, making a pressure of 217 
pounds to the square inch. 

Two 12-inch centrifugal pumps are placed in 
the pit near the lower gates and run by a 70- 
horse power turbine water wheel, which is sup- 
plied with water from a 13 to 24-foot head 
through a culvert built in the south wall. The 
high water of 1894 was (at the lower end of the 
canal) 60 feet above the low-water mark. The 
high water of 1894 would be four feet above the 
present upper guard gates. 

By the opening of the river to The Dalles the 
farmers of Wasco and Klickitat counties have an- 
nually reaped thousands of dollars on wheat 
alone. This does not include wool, live stock 
and other freights shipped out, or goods of all' 
kinds brought in. In 1888 a bill was passed by 
the legislature appropriating $60,000 for a port- 
age road around the Cascades, although at that 
period the canal was in process of construction. 
Prior to the opening of this road freightage on 
wheat from The Dalles to Portland was $4.50' 
per ton ; passenger rates $5. Following the 
opening of the locks the rate to Portland was 
$1.50 per ton, and the passenger rate has ruled 
as low as twenty-five cents. Of the portage rail- 
way at The Cascades Mr. P. W. Gillette wrote in 
1900: 

F. A. Chenoweth, afterward Judge Chenoweth, of 
Corvallis, settled at the Cascades, and in 1850 built 
the first portage road on the line of the old Indian, 
trail, which had been in use so long "that the memory 
of man runneth not to the contrary." His road was a.- 
railway built entirely of wood, and the car was drawn 
by one lone mule. The road was on the north side of 
the Columbia, at that time in Oregon. 



>I24 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Then there were no settlers east of the Cascade 
mountains, and no immediate prospect of any; so he 
sold his road to D. T. and P. F. Bradford, who were 
either more hopeful of the future or had better fore- 
sight than Judge Chenoweth. They rebuilt the road 
in 1856, making many improvements. The Indian massa- 
cre at the Cascades occurred while this improvement 
was being made. The men were attacked while at work 
and fled in all directions, one or two of them being 
killed. This road was rebuilt in 1861, with iron rails, 
and had steam locomotives. It was the first railroad 
of the kind built in Oregon and though small was the 
beginning of railroading in the northwest. 

Sometime later in the '50's, Colonel Ruckel and H. 
Olmstead built and operated a portage road on the 
-south bank of the Columbia. Before the portage roads 
and steamboats combined their interests, the portage 
company received half the freight charges on all freights 
to their destination. If the price was $40 per ton from 
Portland to The Dalles, and that was the regular price 
for many years, the portage men got $20 per ton for 
carrying it around the falls, six miles. 

Mr. Lyman, in his Oregon work says that the 
Oregon Steam Navigation Company, in 1859, es- 
tablished the first railroads with iron rails, over 
which ran steam engines. These were portage 
roads on the Washington Territory side of the 
•Columbia, from the lower to the upper Cascades, 
and from The Dalles to Celilo. 

For the year 1897 the assessed valuation of 
AVasco county property was $3,013,386. For the 
year 1898 the tax rolls showed an increase of 
$59463 over 1897. The average of deeded land 
increased 9,019 acres and the value of improve- 
ments on town lots totaled $41,085. 

Among the varied Wasco county resources of 
1897 wheat took the lead, 500,000 bushels being 
exported and 100,000 retained for home con- 
sumption and seed. The average price ruled at 
seventy-five cents a bushel, making the crop of 
1897 worth $450,000. Aside from this generous 
cereal return there were raised 90,000 bushels of 
•oats and 70,000 bushels of rye, valued at about 
$60,000; also 15,000 tons of hay worth $150,000. 
There were exported no oats, barley, rye or hay, 
all having been retained for home consumption. 
Among Wasco's resources sheep come next in 
importance. The 123,529 sheep in the county 
yielded an average of nine pounds of wool per 
head, or 1,200,000 pounds, which at an average 
price of 1 1 cents brought into the county some 
$132,000, to which may be added $30,000 for 
mutton exported, totaling the receipts for the 
sheep industry alone $162,000. 

Third in importance was the fruit industry. 
In the county about 6,000 acres were set to or- 
•chard, and some 300 acres in grapes. Fruit sales 



were handled by so many different parties, and 
fruit was shipped to so many points that it is im- 
possible to furnish an accurate estimate of re- 
ceipts. But during the season of 1897 there were 
shipped from The Dalles, Hood River and Mosier 
sixty car-loads of green fruit. These were the 
principal fruit shipping points in the county. 
Half of the above amounts was, also, shipped in 
less than car-load lots. The leading market for 
these fruit exports was Chicago, yet a number of 
carloads went through direct to New York, while 
Butte, Montana, received a number of cars and 
some went to Texas. Aside from the fruit mar- 
keted green, six carloads of dried prunes went 
from The Dalles, and quite an amount of dried 
peaches and pears. The "kitchen garden" had 
become a resource of considerable importance 
among farmers located near transportation lines. 
Large quantities of vegetables, cabbage, beans, 
peas, tomatoes, celery, mellon and egg-plant were 
this year shipped to Sound cities. It is needless 
to say that this industry has since largely in- 
creased. 

Throught the world the Columbia river is rec- 
ognized as an important fish-food producer. 
Along its banks in Wasco county has been built 
up a great source of wealth. Yet the seasons of 
1896 and 1897 were not profitable, the salmon run 
having been extremely light. The two species of 
fish caught in this stream for market are salmon 
and sturgeon. Fish wheels capture the former ; 
the latter are taken on hooks sunk to the bottom 
of the river. 

For the year 1899 the tax valuation of Wasco 
county was $3,367,607, an increase of $72,153 
over that of the year previous. By 1901 it had 
risen to $4,077,405, and in 1902 to $4,302,535 ; in 
1903 it was $4,640,800. 

There was a serious attempt in 1901 to make 
the Columbia an open river. An address deliv- 
ered by Civil Engineer Ernest McCullough be- 
fore the Lewiston (Idaho) Commercial Club that 
year is so lucid and clearly explanatory of the de- 
tails which it exploits, that we cannot resist the 
temptation to here reproduce a portion of it, as 
follows : 

To secure the open river and free competition, the 
obstruction between The Dalles and Celilo must be 
overcome. Then at high water a boat can go clear 
throught from Lewiston to Portland laden with the 
products of the country. * * * This twelve miles 
of rocky river retards the complete development of a 
country with an estimated area of 104,000 square miles, 
and if we would liken the Snake river to a bottle we 
would say that a little bit of cork twelve miles long 
steps a bottle nine hundred miles away. 

The project for making an open river consists of the 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



125 



canalization of a portion of the river between The 
Dalles and Celilo, and the construction of several locks. 
The estimated cost is about $4,000,000. In the dis- 
tance of twelve miles we have Three-Mile rapids, 
1,500 feet long, narrow crooked and full of rocks; 
then Five-Mile rapids (The Dalles), where for a mile 
and a half the river rushes with great velocity between 
sleep basalt walls; then Ten-Mile rapids, a similar gorge 
half a mile long; and lastly Celilo Falls, with a sheer 
drop of twenty feet. In these twelve miles the total 
fill of the river at low water is 80 feet. 

Many examinations and surveys have been made and 
the reports at various times till many books. But there 
is one little sentence ever recurring in all the reports 
and that is to the effect "that further improvements 
to give an open river to the sea would not involve any 
insurmountable difficulties from an engineering point 
of view." 

In 1874 and in 1879 examinations were made and 
projects proposed for widening and straightening the 
river. They were made at a time when little was 
known regarding the physics of the Columbia river and 
its tributaries. The estimated cost was $7,645,495.51 to 
provide for navigation during high water stages and a 
supplementary estimate to make the river navigable at 
all stages brought the estimate up to $10,517,343.17. 
But this was a lot of money, and in 1888 a board of 
engineers recommended a boat railway to cost nearly 
$3,000,000. Boats were to be lifted at one place to a 
height of yy feet and placed on a cradle, in a car, on 
a broad gauge track. The road was to be nine miles 
long and at the other end the boats were to be lowered 
62 feet into the water. A free portage road was recom- 
mended to be constructed to serve until the require- 
ments of navigation demanded the boat railway. 

In 1892 another board of engineers was appointed 
and the majority report condemned the boat railway 
and recommended a canal and locks as being better 
adapted to the needs of the country and a more perma- 
nent improvement. The idea of the free portage road 
until the canal and locks were constructed was advised. 
The minority report opposed the boat railway project 
and said nothing about the free portage road. Con- 
gress made two appropriations aggregating $250,000 to 
commence the construction of the boat railway. Sur- 
veys were made and very complete plans prepared in 
1892, 1893 and 1894. Nearly all the land was obtained 
that was necessary for the right of way, and it looked 
as though the thing would be a go. The estimated cost 
was $2,264,467. 

But there were grave objections to be urged against 
the boat railway. In the first place it would be, prac- 
tically, an experiment, the only other boat railway 
which is know to be operating successfully being used 
to convey boats which navigate the ocean near the 
coast and are built to withstand all kinds of strains. 
The river boats here are of extremely shallow draft 



and might be seriously damaged if lifted out of their 
natural element and placed in cradles on cars. It would 
render necessary a complete change 'in naval architecture 
on the Columbia and Snake rivers, and increased cost 
in building and operating boats. The owners of boats 
did not like the idea, and it was urged by many people 
that the men who principally favored the construction of 
the boat railway were those whose interests were best 
served by the presence of the obstruction in the river. 
It was urged that these men believed congress would 
never listen to any other project if the boat railway 
was built and proved a failure. 

Congress was besieged and the boat railway scheme 
was dropped, and the people hoped the canal and 
locks would be built. Then Mr. Mohr jumped in and 
commenced building a private portage railway. It was. 
thought that this would stop the clamor if the people 
saw that the obstructions were to be overcome. But 
it only made matters worse and the people became 
vociferous in their attempt to make congress see that 
it was a free open river that was wanted; not one 
where a man stood at the neck of the bottle and charged 
corkage. So the Mohr company quit work and it now 
looks as if the open river project will consist of a 
canal and locks between The Dalles and Celilo, a 
sensible way of doing the business. 

Saturday, May 24, 1902, what was known as 
the Paul Mohr portage road, on the Washington 
side of the Columbia, was sold at sheriff's sale at~ 
Goldendale. This forced sale was to satisfy out- 
standing claims held by contractors who had built 
it, and the road was bid in for $36,592. But there 
was destined to be a more extensive field for 
portage road construction. In 1903 an act of 
the Oregon legislature appropriated $165,000 for 
a portage railroad around the obstructions to nav- 
igation of the Columbia between The Dalles and 
Celilo. Governor Chamberlain approved the bill 
February 19th, and it became a law. Following 
the enactment of this measure difficulties were 
encountered in securing the right of way, it being 
necessary to purchase land owned by the Oregon 
Railroad & Navigation Company. The project 
was vigorously fought by that corporation, and 
the matter carried into the courts. 

December 23d, both houses of the legislature, 
in special session, passed a bill appropriating 
$100,000 more for securing the right of way for 
the "Celilo canal," it being then understood that 
congress would appropriate sufficient money to 
construct the canal provided the state of Oregon 
would furnish the right of way. In the early days 
of 1905, congress did make a small appropriation, 
despite the hysterical efforts of the scandalous 
railroad lobby which continually haunts the 
corridors of the nation's capitol, for commencing- 



126 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



this mammoth and invaluable undertaking. It is 
probable that at some distant time in the future 
it will be completed. 

The right of way for the canal had been given 
by the state of Oregon. Construction on the 
portage road, funds for which had, also, been 
provided by the legislature, lagged for a time ; the 
permanent improvement partly promised by a 
lobby-ridden congress, seemingly having the ef- 
fect of indefinitely postponing the temporary re- 
lief of the portage road. At last work was be- 
gun and at this writing is nearly completed. 

During a period comprising many years 
Wasco county labored under the handicap of an 
enormous public debt. Upon this was paid 
thousands of dollars in interest, and at an exor- 
bitant rate. This financial condition retarded de- 
velopment ; drove away capital that might other- 
wise have been invested in this locality ; prevented 
homesteaders from locating, as no one feels dis- 
posed to settle in a county where extremely high 
taxes prevail. It was the testimony of the Times- 
Mountaineer, May 6, 1904, that at that date 
Wasco county was out of debt. It, also, invited 
capitalists to invest in new enterprises. The fol- 
lowing statement of Wasco's fiscal condition in 
1904 will prove of interest for future compari- 
son : • „ , 

Value. 

Acres of tillable land, 116,805 $ 186,830 

Acres of non-tillable, 382,107 861,345 

Improvements on deeded lands 327,240 

Town and city lots 545.875 

Miles railroad bed, 69,75 360,475 

Improvements on city lots 584,110 

Improvements on lands not deeded 16,600 

Miles telephone and telegraph, 225 34,050 

Rolling stock 52,575 

Steamboats, sail boats, stationary enginee 

and manufacturing machinery 140,725 

Merchandise and stock in trade 261,325 

Farm implements, wagons, carriages, etc .... 69,837 

Money 100,160 

Notes and accounts 43-43° 

Shares of stock 48,350 

Household furniture, watches, jewelry, etc. . 119,770 

Horses and mules, 4,993 125,625 

• Cattle, 10,035 103,590 

Sheep, 94,060 144.750 

Swine, 5,040 10,560 

Gross value of all property $4,737,220 

An attempt was made in the 1903 session of 
the Oregon legislature to form a new county 
from that part of Wasco east of the Des Chutes 
river, and a portion of Crook county. This pro- 
posed new political division was to be known as 
Stockman county. By an almost unanimous vote 
the bill passed the house, but it was defeated in 



the senate. It was introduced January 15th by 
Representative Burgess, and located the tem- 
porary count}- seat at Antelope. February 10th 
it went down in the senate by a vote of 16 to 7. 

So far the last attempt to sequester Wasco 
county territory, and convert the same into new 
political divisions, was made in 1905. A bill for 
the creation of Cascade county, embracing the 
rich Hood River valley, was presented in the 
house of the Oregon legislature by Representa- 
tive Jayne, in January. This measure proposed 
to carve the new county out of the western por- 
tion of Wasco. 

Representative Burgess came forward with 
another bill for the creation of Jefferson county, 
by which it was proposed to take a part from 
Wasco, and another portion of territory from 
Crook county. This last measure was similar to 
one introduced by the same gentleman in 1903, 
at that time the proposed name of the new county 
— anticipated — was "Stockman." Anent this mat- 
ter the Oregon Journal, of Portland, said, Jan- 
uary 19th : 

"Popular sentiment in The Dalles is for the 
most part strongly opposed to the proposed se- 
cession of the Hood River valley from Wasco 
county, and Burgess is the exponent of this senfi-" 
ment. But while opposed to the creation of Cas- 
cade county the people of The Dalles are more 
than willing to part with the territory which 
Wasco would contribute to Jefferson county. The 
territory that would be lost to Wasco by the 
creation of Jefferson county is sparsely settled 
and by no means so rich as the Hood River val- 
ley. Burgess is, therefore, opposed to the bill 
introduced by his colleague, Jayne, to create Cas- 
cade county, and is working industriously for the 
enactment of his own measure, creating Jefferson 
county. 

"As it is practically impossible that both bills 
should pass, Jayne is of necessity forced into a 
position more or less antagonistic to that talcen 
by Burgess. The latter has, however, the hearty 
co-operation of Senator Whealdon of Wasco, 
whose home is at The Dalles and who shares the 
popular sentiment there as to the two measures." 

The bill for the formation of Cascade county 
and locating the county seat at Hood River, 
passed the house January 30th. Little, if any 
opposition was anticipated in the senate. Febru- 
ary 3d it was the opinion of the Salem corre- 
spondent of the Morning Oregonian that the Cas- 
cade bill would "surely pass the senate." He 
even went so far as to say in his special to the 
Oregonian that "The senate committee on coun- 
ties has practically decided to report favorably 
on the house bill for the creation of Cascade 
county." 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



127 



And yet this same paper on February 16th 
was forced to announce in its head-lines that the 
Cascade bill had been "Slain in the Senate." And 
even this news had been forstalled by The 
Dalles Chronicle on the 15th by the fol- 
lowing' item : 

"A late message from Senator Whealdon 
says: 'Senate committee this afternoon recom- 
mended that Cascade county bill pass with 
amendments to keep it in the fourth judicial dis- 
trict, but that no interference be made with pres- 



ent laws of Multnomah county. Senator Wheal- 
don moved that the bill be indefinitely postponed 
for further consideration and finally succeeded 
in getting a standing vote which was as follows : 
Sixteen for postponement; one absent; twelve 
against postponement. So it will be seen Cas- 
cade county is virtually settled for this term. 
Good for Senator Whealdon and old Wasco." 

All the county division fighting was now 
ended ; Jefferson surrendered ; Hot Lake was 
killed in the house and Cascade in the senate. 



CHAPTER V 



THE HISTORIC CITY OF THE DALLES. 



In the previous four chapters concerning 
Wasco county, we have avoided such details as 
were more exclusively connected with The Dalles. 
Such historic facts and their corollaries have 
been reserved for these chapters bearing more 
particularly on the fortunes of Wasco county. 
The citizens of The Dalles have made a sub- 
stantial portion of the history of Oregon. It is 
ours now to chronicle the stirring events of its 
half century and odd years of life — the first his- 
tory of the city ever written — in as complete and 
reliable form as is possible with available data. 

Perhaps it is within the limits of conservatism 
to say that in sensational happenings The Dalles 
remains unsurpassed by any place within the 
boundaries of Oregon. At one period, being the 
key to the entire Columbia basin, its possession 
was eagerly desired. During the earlier Indian 
wars it was the seat of military operations ; it 
was the point where the immigrants of 1847, an d 
later years, assembled and transferred themselves, 
their lares et pe nates, to boats and rudely con- 
structed rafts to proceed down the Columbia to 
the Willamette valley. During the years of immi- 
gration following the passage of the donation 
land laws — the avant coureur of the Home- 
stead Act of 1862 — the bench lands above The 
Dalles were oft-times twinkling with the camp- 
fires of those who had won their toilsome way 
"across the plains" with ox teams from the Mis- 
souri river. Today many a grizzled pioneer of 
Oregon can relate thrilling stories, replete with 
historical interest of their experiences while en- 
camped at The Dalles, and of their subsequent 
journey down the Columbia. 



The geographical location of The Dalles — 
always the county seat of Wasco — is latitude N. 
45 degrees 36 minutes 18 seconds ; longitude west 
from Greenwich, 122 degrees 12 minutes ; west 
from Washington, D. C, 44 degrees 20 minutes. 
Its elevation at the court house is 103 feet above 
sea level. Colloquially The Dalles is "on the 
Columbia river, at the mouth of Mill creek, in 
the northeastern part of Wasco county." By an 
amended charter granted Dalles City, February 
17, 1899, the boundaries of the city were de- 
scribed as follows : 

"Commencing in the middle channel of the 
Columbia river, at a point due north of the north- 
east corner of lot 4 of section 2, township one, 
north of range 13, east of the Willamette meri- 
dian, in Wasco county, Oregon ; thence south to 
the southeast corner of the southwest quarter of 
the southwest quarter of section 2, in said town- 
ship and range ; thence southwesterly to the 
southwest corner of The Dalles City grant ; 
thence north eighty and thirty-eight hun- 
dredths chains to the southwest corner of 
The Dalles military reservation ; thence north- 
erly along the westerly boundary of The 
Dalles military reservation to the line between 
The Dalles military reservation and the Method- 
ist mission claim; thence north sixteen and sev- 
enty-nine hundredths chains to the northeasterly 
line of the Catholic mission claim ; thence north, 
fifty-two degrees east, to the center of the main 
channel of the Columbia river to the place of be- 
ginning." 

According to the last United States census 
The Dalles was the sixth city in size in Oregon, 



128 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



those having a larger population at the time the 
census was taken ( 1900) being Portland, Astoria, 
Baker City, Pendleton and Salem. On that date 
the population was given as 3,542. Since this, 
however, the growth has been rapid and The 
Dalles today undoubtedly has a population of 
^over 5,000. This is a conservative estimate. A 
census at the present time would probably show 
a population of nearly six thousand. 

The Dalles is an attractive city. This can be 
said without the least tinge of exaggeration. 
Situated on the hills it presents a decidedly pic- 
turesque appearance. To the southwest is Mount 
Hood, crowned with the snows of centuries ; 
beyond the wooded hills of the state of Washing- 
ton Mount Adams looks down with fatherly be- 
nignity. These imposing heights saw the vastly 
superior race that antedated the Indian tribes ; 
they witnessed the rise and fall of the painted 
redskins of today ; they were regarded with si- 
lent or exultant admiration by the earliest pio- 
neers from Lewis and Clark to the hardy settlers 
of the '50's ; they now stand in bold relief against 
a background of sombre scenery, all that is left 
to remind us of the days before civilization had 
hewed its way into the "forests primeval." 

But years previous to the building of the 
white man's town that portion of the present city 
between the bluffs and the river — about half a 
mile in width — was the favorite camping ground 
of Indians and an oasis for weary voyageurs 
making the trip up or down the Columbia. Here 
the Lewis and Clark expedition paused to light 
their camp fires and smoke a friendly pipe with 
the savages ; and in future years their example 
was followed by thousands. 

In the current history chapters in re Wasco 
county, we have told of the Indian village, Win- 
quatt, which stood on the spot that later blos- 
somed into The Dalles. And were data avail- 
able what an interest-compelling history could be 
thrown into type concerning Win-quatt alone. 
There has been some confusion in the use of the 
names Win-quatt and Wish-ram, and the two 
have often been used as though they were one 
and the same place. Wish-ram was the Indian 
village at or near Celilo, ten or eleven miles 
east of The Dalles. It was always distinct and 
separate from Win-quatt. Lewis and Clark, in 
their journal, speak of Wish-ram, as also does 
Capt. Bonneville in the report of his expedition. 
By the Methodist missionaries the site of the In- 
dian village Win-quatt was denominated Was- 
copum. It was a central point and was dominated 
by the ancient and powerful tribe of Wascos, a 
remnant of whom are yet to be seen about the 
streets of The Dalles, and whose shanties and 
rude wickiups fringe the western bank of Mill 



creek. "Win-quatt" signifies a place encircled, 
or surrounded, by a bold circumvallation of rocks. 
The following is an extract from a poem written 
by Ruth Gatch : 

"By Columbia where the wild elk roams 
The Indians grouped their rude, rough homes ; 
Where laughter from the Indian child 
Mixed with songs and music wild, 
Flowed out the wigwam's open door 
To greet the wind's and water's roar. 
The town the Indians loved the best 
Was Win-quatt, place of peace and rest; 
For mountains high, with rugged cliff 
Kept from the village war and strife, 
And the Wasco tribe through all the land 
Was known a fearless, war-like band. 

"Now on Columbia's yellow sands 
The Dalles, a busy city stands ; 
But yet how great has been the change, 
Since clothed with beauty wild and strange, 
The Indians' homes alone were here, 
Mid rugged cliffs and pine groves drear. 
Now houses rise at every place, 
Where Indians came from far to race. 
And where the wild war-dance was held, 
Large stores and happy homes they build. 
Schools and churches crown the land, 
And good will flows from every hand." 

But we must, perforce, confine ourselves to 
the story of this town as builded by the white 
man. And this brings us to the comparatively 
recent year of 1850. A person hearing for the 
first time the name of The Dalles would be struck 
by its oddity ; more particularly so were he to 
see it in print. He would be disposed to ask 
"What is the 'The' there for?" and if it would 
not be in better literary taste to omit the article. 
Certainly it would not, and should he desire to 
retain the good will of the good people of The 
Dalles, he must invariably refer to the town as 
such. The official name of the town is "Dalles 
City," but it is only known thus in official pro- 
ceedure. The town is "The Dalles" and, prob- 
ably, always will be. The following in regard 
to the origin of the name is an extract from an 
address delivered by Dr. William C. McKay, an 
authority on the subject of names, at a festival 
given by the Ladies' Aid Society of the Congre- 
gational church in The Dalles, Tuesdav, May 18, 
1869: 

"The early French vayogeurs knew the falls 
of the Columbia at the Indian fishery, six miles 
above this place, as Lc Dalle, from the French 
word Dalle, signifying a trough — literally the 
trough of the Columbia. It has always been re- 




\V asco Indian Dancers 




Fish Wheel on the Columbia and Cascade Locks 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



129 



garded by them as the most dangerous point in 
navigating the Columbia, and it was customary 
at the proper stage of the river to run their boats 
clown the rapids, which always required great 
courage, dexterity and experience. But often, 
with all these accomplishments, many a poor 
voyageur found a watery grave in the whirlpools, 
and none can tell of his resting place. Within 
my own recollection many have perished in its 
turbulent waters. It is a noted point and much 
dreaded by them ; consequently they gave it the 
name of Lc Grande Dalle de la Columbia — The 
Great Trough of the Columbia." 

When a town first began to appear where The 
Dalles now stands it was, for a short period, re- 
ferred to as "The Landing," but was later christ- 
ened The Dalles, taking the name from the old 
French designation of the falls some distance up 
the river. In 1889 the Times-Mountaineer said: 

Frequent inquires are made by settlers why this city 
is named The Dalles. The postoffice was known for 
many years as Dalles City; but a somewhat similar name 
in Polk county — Dallas — caused considerable annoy- 
ance, and on the postal register it was changed to 
"The Dalles." The municipality, in the charter, is still 
called Dalles City. 

It will be entirely unnecessary to repeat here 
the events described in the current history chap- 
ters leading up to the founding of a town on this 
historic spot. Let it suffice that in 1820 a post 
of the Hudson's Bay Company was here estab- 
lished, but did not long remain; in 1838 a Meth- 
odist mission was founded ; in 1848 a Catholic 
mission ; in 1847-8 volunteer troops made this 
headquarters during the Cayuse war ; from the 
days of pioneer immigration it was the point of 
embarkation for the down-river trip to the Willa- 
mette settlement; in 1850 a company of United 
States troops was stationed here to protect these 
emigrants from the predatory Indians. 

This last named event led to the founding of 
The Dalles. In all the surrounding country there 
were only two or three settlers. First came, as 
an avant courcur the sutler's store; then others, 
attracted by the possibilities of this point as a 
trading place, opened stores, "grocery stores," 
and bowling alleys, all of which were institutions 
to be found in the vicinities of all government 
posts on the frontier. 

The first "merchant" was John C. Bell. He 
came from Salem and opened a sutler's store at 
the garrison in 1850. In 185 1 he disposed of his 
enterprise to William Gibson, and during the 
same year Allen McKindlay & Company, having 
obtained permission from the military authorities 
of the post, erected a frame building at a point 
9 



near the intersection of what are now Main and 
Court streets, and stocked it with goods. They 
placed it in charge of Perrin B. Whitman and 
the following year built a more commodious 
structure. Possibly the purist or stickler for 
technicalities would not term this the inception 
of The Dalles, as Bell's sutler store was located 
on the bluff with the garrison, while the town 
proper is situated on the "flat." In fact Bell's 
store was rather more like an army canteen than 
the nucleus of a city. "An Early Settler" in The 
Dalles Times of March 2, 1881, says: 

"In 1 85 1 the first house was built in the town 
of The Dalles (then called The Landing), by 
Messrs. Allen, McKindlay & Company. They 
built a shanty and used it for a store, which was 
kept by Mr. Nugent the first year, and the next 
by Mr. Henry M. Chase ; but was afterward taken 
charge of by Mr. John A. Simms, and I think 
Mr. O. Humason was in their employ at one 
time." 

In her "Reminiscences of Oregon" Mrs. Lord 
says : 

"In 185 1 we had a mail route established. 
The carrier ad a boat which he sailed when there 
was wind, and when there was none he rowed. 
Remembering him as I do, I think he must have 
whistled up a breeze most of the time, even if he 
had to force it with a dollar to an Indian to row 
for him. The mail carrier was Justin Chenoweth/' 

William R. Gibson was garrison sutler in 
1852, but moved his log store down to "The 
Landing," to a point now the foot of Union 
street. This business was subsequently pur- 
chased by Victor Trevitt. The same year Mr, 
William C. Laughlin secured a land claim and 
built a small frame house in the "town." W. D. 
Bigelow came up in 1852 with a small stock of 
goods, groceries and liquors, and "squatted," 
pitching a canvas house. Here, until 1853 be 
conducted quite a lucrative trade, then building 
a conventional store with lumber. There was a 
hotel built in the summer of 1852. This was a 
primitive affair and conducted by a man named 
John Tompkins, one of the commissioners named 
in the act organizing Wasco county. He had a 
family of several grown sons and one daughter, 
Minerva. Origen Thomson arrived at The 
Dalles early in September of that year. He de- 
scribed the town as "a dirty hamlet of a few 
mirerable huts giving no promise of the lively 
city of today," in a work published in recent 
years devoted to an account of his trip across the 
plains to Oregon. 

There were several houses in the new town 
in 1853. Mrs. Lord says that in Allen & Mc- 
Kindlay's store, Perrin Whitman clerked for a 
time ; also a man named Nugent, and a "young 



130 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



man named Chase." This explains the omission 
of \v hitman's name by "An Early Settler" from 
whom we have quoted. Concerning- the building 
of W. C. Laughlin's house, and the difficulties 
encountered in its construction, Mrs. Lord says : 

I started to show that with the increased number of 
people resident and the large military post, there was 
a great demand for freight facilities, and but poor 
service, so it was a long time before father got any 
lumber to begin the house, and we did not get into it 
until August (1853). We had three tents, one for the 
kitchen, one for the sitting room and one for sleeping. 
The sitting room was floored and made as comfortable 
as such a tent would permit, but it was fearfully hot, 
without even a bush for shade. As soon as the house 
had the roof and sheathing on the outside and inside, 
we moved in all but the kitchen. The weatherboarding, 
windows and shingles did not arrive until long after. 
Father had drawn poles from up the creek and fenced 
the garden and a small field south of our home, where 
he had cut grass for hay the first season, and the next 
season raised the finest oats I ever saw in my 
life. * * * 

By September all the material had come for the 
house. The doors and windows were put in (father 
made the doors) and the kitchen built with a rough 
stone fireplace. Father did not feel equal to building 
a chimney and fireplace in the main house from the 
material at hand, and wanted to have the comfort of 
one so much that he gathered up the loose stones lying 
about and built it on the low side of the long shed-room 
he had built for a kitchen and living room, and many a 
pleasant evening was spent around that wide, cheerful 
old fireplace. * * * 

The house set up off the ground and contained two 
large rooms, but was ceiled up with rough lumber and 
lined and ceiled overhead with cotton domestic. There 
were two steps down into the kitchen, and that opened 
up into a large woodshed which I think was not built 
the first year. In the fall the yard was fenced in with 
poles to keep the Indians from riding over us, for they 
would ride up to the very doors and leave their horses 
stand there, and could see no reason why they should 
not. They made a great fuss about our fences, anyway. 
They claimed the right to ride anywhere they pleased, 
and after father fenced the field in the valley above town, 
which he did in the winter of 1853-4, they would very 
often throw down the fence and ride through. The fence 
was of rails and easily taken down. 

Among those at The Dalles in 1853 were 
Messrs. Simms, Cushing, Humason, Low, Dr. 
Shaug, James Mosier, L. J. Henderson, W. C. 
Laughlin, Mr. Forman, and C. W. Denton. The 
same year there arrived a Methodist minister, 
Rev. James Gerrish. The latter preached the first 
sermon on the "flat," or "The Landing," now 



known as The Dalles. The Methodist and Cath- 
olic missions were some distance from this point. 
L. J. Henderson and Dr. Shaug had a store in a 
canvas house near the Oregon Steam Navigation 
Company's bridge. In 1854 they replaced this 
with a log structure. In 1853 Mr. Forman had 
erected a blacksmith shop. At this period Lieu- 
tenant Forsythe began a two-story frame house 
which he completed the following year. It was 
opened as The Dalles Hotel by Colonel Gates, 
and later was purchased by Moody & Company. 
In the '6o's Cushing & Son completed a log store. 
Many immigrants located in the fall of 1853. 
Others came back from the Willamette valley to 
trade with these new comers, and the place as- 
sumed a business, bustling air. Although a city 
of tents with all descriptions of signs, those of 
restaurants predominated. Stores and cattle 
buyers were plentiful. Later some of these im- 
migrants took up land, some erected houses and 
permanently established themselves. 

The even of momentous import during the 
year 1854 was the creation of Wasco county and 
consequent elevation of The Dalles to the dignity 
of a county capital. At this period The Dalles 
remained the only town between the Cascades 
and Rocky mountains. There was none other to 
contest for county seat honors, nor has this posi- 
tion occupied by The Dalles ever been assailed 
except through the schemes of county division, 
some of which fructified ; others failing. During 
the fifty odd years of Wasco county's existence 
no one has hinted at a proposal to remove the 
county seat from The Dalles. 

Mr. W. C. Laughlin, as has been recorded, 
took up his land claim in 1853. At that period 
the military reservation had been reduced to pro- 
portions considerably smaller than those origin- 
ally laid out. W. D. Bigelow, who had opened a 
store, also took . a land claim which at present 
forms Bigelow's addition to the city. In 1854 H. 
P. Isaacs opened a saloon and bowling alley in 
the Cushing & Low building, the latter having 
erected a two-story board house, the upper part 
of which was used for living apartments. Subse- 
quently it evolved into the Western Hotel. That 
year Dr. Craig built a house ; James McAuliff a 
log store. 

During the first years of the history of The 
Dalles, prior to 1855 — the place remained with- 
out a platted townsite and with no official organ- 
ization. The few business houses erected were 
located wherever fancy dictated, and with little 
regard to uniformity. Possibly the earliest resi- 
dents did not believe that a townsite or town 
government would ever be necessary. However, 
organization of the county, combined with sub- 
sequent settlement of the town rendered requisite 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



131 



.a townsite and some form of municipal govern- 
ment. Details of The Dalles townsite troubles 
would fill a good-sized volume ; involving the 
various suits at law between contesting claimants. 
For these a brief synopsis must suffice. 

Quieting of title to lands embraced within 
the corporate limits of The Dalles begins with the 
history of the Methodist mission ^established 
thereon in 1836, and claimed under the act of 
congress approved August 14, 1848, entitled "An 
Act to establish the Territorial government of 
Oregon." In this act, among other things, it 
was provided that title to the land, not exceeding 
■640 acres, then occupied as a missionary station 
among the Indian tribes in said territory, to- 
gether with improvements thereon, be confirmed 
and established in the several religious societies 
'to which said mission stations respectively be- 
longed. Under the provisions of this organic act 
the Methodist Missionary Society claimed at The 
Dalles title to the tract of land as set forth in this 
patent, together with 353 acres, one rood and 
twenty-eight poles, which had been appropriated 
by Major Rains for the Fort Dalles military reser- 
vation, making in all 643.37 acres claimed by the 
Methodist mission. 

By act of congress approved June 16, i860, 
there was appropriated the sum of $20,000 to be 
paid the missionary society of the Methodist 
Episcopal church for their release to the United 
States of all claim to the lands embraced within 
said military reservation as established by Major 
Rains, and this patent was thereupon issued for 
the remainder of the said 643.37 acres lying out- 
side of Rains' military reservation. But with this 
proviso ; "That the patent shall only operate as 
.a relinquishment of title on the part of the United 
States and shall in no manner interfere with any 
valid adverse right to the same land, nor be con- 
strued to preclude a legal investigation and de- 
cision by the proper judicial tribunal between ad- 
verse claimants to the same land." 

Dalles City having been laid out upon the 
fractional northwest quarter of section 3, town- 
ship 1, north 13 east, outside of the Rains military 
reservation under the "townsite act" upon that 
portion of the said Methodist mission claim which 
falls within the said fractional northwest quarter 
of section 3, thus became an adverse claimant and 
brought suit as a municipal corporation to set 
aside so much of the patent of the said Method- 
ist mission as was within the fractional north- 
west quarter of said section 3, upon which said 
Dalles City was laid out, and for which land the 
said Dalles City had applied for the purchase of 
at the United States land office April 18, i860, 
for townsite purposes, the said fractional north- 
west quarter containing 112 acres. 



This case was tried in the United States dis- 
trict court of the district of Oregon and the de- 
cree of the court was that so much of the premises 
described in the patent as was claimed by Dalles 
City, being the fractional northwest quarter of 
said section 3, containing 112 acres, be released 
from the operation of the said patent and the 
title thereto to vest in Dalles City in trust for the 
several use and benefit of the occupants thereof. 
An appeal was taken to the supreme court of the 
United States by the said Methodist Missionary 
Society, and upon hearing thereof the decree of 
the circuit court was affirmed, thus establishing 
the legal title to such land and the lots and blocks 
laid out thereon in Dalles City in trust as afore- 
said. 

Wasco county was established by an act of 
the Oregon legislature, January 11, 1854, and a 
board of commissioners selected who, acting un- 
der the act of congress May 23, 1844, "as judges 
of the county court," proceeded to enter the land 
embraced in the triangular tract, as the "fractional 
northwest quarter of section 3, township 1, north 
range 13 east," in the land office at Oregon city. 

Inasmuch as the United States surveys were 
not extended over the land until February, i860, 
no action was had in the land office until April 19, 
i860, when the corporate authorities of Dalles 
City made application to enter at the United 
States land office the fractional northwest quar- 
ter mentioned, containing 112 acres more or less, 
before this, however, the commissioners, acting 
under the act of May 23, 1844, employed Lieu- 
tenant B. M. Forsythe, Fourth Infantry, to lay 
off into blocks and lots, streets and alleys, as 
they now exist the town plat of Dalles City. The 
commissioners' journal of April 2, 1855, con- 
tains the following entry : 

"Located county seat at The Dalles and or- 
dered the clerk of the board of county commis- 
sioners to take immediate steps to survey a tract 
of 160 acres of land^ or as much as can be ob- 
tained without trespassing on private rights, the 
ground to comprise all the center of the town, 
running back to the hill." 

These blocks and lots were settled upon under 
the township act of May 23, 1844, an d the respect- 
ive settlements were recorded in the Dalles City 
archives, by order of the board of town trustees, 
and they thus became the first record of title and 
the basis of title to Dalles City lots. But the clear 
and complete title was not until after the decree 
of the federal supreme court, in 1883, when the 
Methodist mission title thereto under their pat- 
ent was overthrown. 

In pursuance of the act of the legislative as- 
sembly of Oregon, approved February 25, 1885, 
(special laws, 1885, pp. 406, 407), the council 



132 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



of Dalles City proceeded, in the spring or sum- 
mer, of 1885, to convey to settlers their lots un- 
der the new townsite law, which was re-enacted 
in place of the act of 1844, repealed (See United 
States Revised Statutes, Sec. 2387), and it was 
under this last act of congress that the titles were 
thus made to the original settlers or to those who 
had succeeded them by purchase. This act of 
1885 was passed the next session of the legisla- 
ture of Oregon, after the Methodist mission title 
was declared by the United Supreme court to be 
invalid. No title could be procured by them be- 
fore that time. By the terms of section 2387, 
Revised Statutes of the United States, the legis- 
lative authority of the state had the right to make 
regulations for the disposal of lots under the 
townsite law, and this regulation of the disposal 
of lots as aforesaid the Oregon legislature thus 
provided for by act of February 25, 1885, special 
laws, page 406, 407. 

In the proceedings of the board of Commis- 
sioners for Wasco county, of August 4, 1855, we 
find that the county auditor was authorized to 
advise with counsel as to the necessary steps to 
be taken to secure to the county the amount of 
land donated by the government for a townsite 
and other purposes, and they also authorized the 
auditor to procure a competent surveyor to lay 
out and survey a townsite at the present county 
seat. December 3, 1855, the commissioners au- 
thorized the payment to R. D. Forsythe, the sum 
of $150 for surveying the county seat at The 
Dalles. 

Let us return to the Alpha — or beginning — of 
the municipal existence of The Dalles ; to Sep- 
tember 15, 1855, which existence was largely 
brought about through townsite difficulties. On 
the date mentioned the residents of the village 
assembled in mass meeting and formulated rules 
for the division of property and for the govern- 
ment of the city. A set of resolutions was adopt- 
ed and a board of trustees elected who should by 
common consent be the executive officers of the 
settlement. The members of this board were W. 
C. Laughlin, president; R. D. Forsythe, J. C. 
Geere, W. H. Fauntleroy and O. Humason. 
These gentlemen served until their successors 
were elected and qualified the following spring. 
At this meeting it had been mutually agreed that 
the first election should be held April 7, 1856. 
The following is taken from the minutes of the 
first meeting of the citizens of The Dalles to take 
action in municipal matters : 

Pursuant to previous notice a meeting of the citi- 
zens of The Dalles was held September 15, 1855. On 
motion N. H. Gates was called to the chair, and J. A. 
Simms appointed secretary. 



On motion a committe of five, Messrs. W. C. 
Laughlin, R. D. Forsythe, J. C. Geere, W. H. Fauntle- 
roy and O. Humason was appointed to draft resolutions 
for the government and security of the citizens in hold- 
ing their town property in this place. On motion of 
Captain Fauntleroy, it was resolved that no person 
should pre-empt on lots or parcels of ground until the 
contemplated town site of 160 acres be disposed of. On 
motion the meeting adjourned to meet again Monday 
morning at ten o'clock, to hear the report of the com- 
mittee. 

PREAMBLE. 

That, whereas, the title of the land now occupied 
as a town site at The Dalles of the Columbia is believed 
to be vested in the citizens thereon in so much as it is 
known to have been a portion of the United States 
reservation and entirely unoccupied by any other claim- 
ant and that after a village was built thereon by permis- 
sion of the United States government officers command- 
ing at Fort Dalles, the land was released by said author- 
ity for the benefit of the citizens of said village. We, 
the citizens, in public meeting assembled, after due 
notice, do therefore resolve : 

1. That all persons are hereby warned from tres- 
passing upon the public property of this village, which 
we declare and give notice to be all that certain property 
released by the United States government officers (Ma- 
jor Rains, U. S. A.) to the citizens of this village lying 
west of and being adjacent to the present east line of 
the United States government reserve, and embracing 
the survey made by order of the commissioners of 
Wasco county, for citizens of this village. 

2. That there shall be on the first day of April, 
three trustees elected whose duty it shall be to hold 
monthly meetings and carry into effect the resolutions 
now and hereafter enacted. They shall be guardians of 
the public interests ; shall determine all local disputes 
regarding town property before described ; to prevent 
nuisance ; to call meetings of the citizens. They may 
adopt a seal or seals and to superintend and direct the 
morality of the village ; whose services shall be gratui- 
tous ; two of whom shall constitute a quorum for the 
transaction of business. 

3. That there shall be a clerk of record elected who 
shall be clerk to the board of trustees ; that it shall be 
his duty to record all local titles and claims in a book 
kept for that purpose alone and who may receive for 
each and every record the sum of one dollar, which 
record shall be liable to approval monthly by the trus- 
tees. For each lot of land recorded the clerk shall 
charge and receive five dollars additional to his fee, 
which five dollars he shall pay to the trustees to be used 
by them for the benefit of the village, and that the serv- 
ices of the clerk to the board be gratuitous. 

4. That all property shall be recorded and no title 
shall be valid unless recorded within ten days after 
this date. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



133 



5. That in all cases of dispute the rightful owners 
shall be placed in exclusive possession by the trustees. 

6. That all persons that have improved or enclosed 
property in the limits of the village shall be confirmed 
in the same, and that in case such enclosure does not 
correspond with the survey as ordered by the county 
commissioners (which the committee recommends for 
adoption) that they shall be entitled to the same area 
contiguously after the removal of the lines so as to 
correspond to said survey, and that in all cases privi- 
lege of improvements shall have precedence. 

7. That in case of unimproved lots the occupant 
shall be entitled, if a citizen, to two lots each upon 
recording the same as specified, provided, he shall fence 
the same within six months and build upon one of the 
two within twelve months, and in the meantime notice 
in writing on the property as the record shall be suffi- 
cient to hold possession. 

8. That every free white citizen of the age of 
twenty-one years and upward, and no others, shall be 
entitled to the provisions of these resolutions. 

9. That all persons entitled under the provisions 
of resolution sixth to two or more lots, shall not be 
entitled to the benefit of resolution 7th. 

10. That the citizens of The Dalles hereby pledge 
their support to each other and the trustees to protect 
these resolutions. 

11. That nothing in these resolutions shall be so 
construed as to interfere in any way with the laws of 
Oregon Territory or the United States government. 

12. That notice shall be given by posting these 
resolutions in seme conspicuous place within the limits 
of this village and by publishing the same in one or 
more papers of Portland, Oregon. 

13. The privileges of resolution 8th are hereby 
extended to unmarried women. 

After which we elected trustees and clerk. 
O. HUMASON, 
R. W. HALE, 
W. C. LAUGHLIN, 
Trustees of the Village of Dalles. 

J. P. Booth., Clerk. 



Local events at The Dalles were accentuated 
by the excitement attending gold discoveries near 
Fort Colville. Tnousands were attracted to this 
portion of the northwest as The Dalles was, for 
many of these gold hunters, on the line of march 
to the country now known as Stevens county, 
Washington. The Dalles was at the head of 
navigation ; merchants flocked thither ; it became 
an important outfitting and shipping point. 

Anterior to the Indian war of 1855-56, an 
account of which appears in a previous chapter, 
there was manifested considerable fear of In- 
dians. Mrs. Lord writes of this period as fol- 
lows: 



Father kept us children so closely at home that 
when the Indians broke out and people were forced to 
seek refuge in town, we children enjoyed it, even though 
we suffered more or less with fear. Every house was 
full for weeks and many who could went below. Father 
had made up his mind that he ought to take us all to 
Portland for safety, as the severe frights we had re- 
ceived had rather unnerved mother, and the work was 
enormous, keeping open house as we did; but before 
we got started there came the massacre at the Cascades 
and by the time we could have passed there he concluded 
the worst was over. 

As is always the case in any military movements, 
there was so much red tape that at times the towns- 
people felt they might all.be kdled before the soldiers 
would get down to protect them. There was a com- 
pany for home protection organized on the quiet. One 
night some one rode furiously into town, saying the 
Indians were coming, and fifty men were on the move 
to meet them within a very short time, but when they 
got to Three Mile they met something; I can't be sure 
whether it was loose stock, a pack train, or just what, 
but it was something perfectly harmless. 

After Major Haller made his unlucky reconnoitre 
through the Yakima country, The Dalles people felt very 
anxious. They would meet in gatherings on the cor- 
ner of the street or in their houses and talk the situa- 
tion over, speculating on what might happen until they 
were afraid for night to come. * * * In the spring 
■ of 1856, when the Cascades was attacked and the steamer 
came up after help, The Dalles went wild. 

The town election provided for by the citi- 
zens' meeting of September 15, 1855, was held 
April 7, 1856. Those who were elected and 
served until the charter was granted by the leg- 
islature of 1856-7, were H. B. Isaacs, chairman; 
N. H. Gates and James McAuliff, board of trus- 
tees ; J. P. Booth, recorder ; O. Humason, treas- 
urer. There were more than 300 people at The 
Dalles in 1857, and they were nearly unanimous 
for a city organization. Colonel N. H. . Gates 
was sent to the legislature, where he introduced 
a bill for the incorporation of "Fort Dalles." The 
measure was passed and signed by Governor 
Curry and Speaker Grover, and in 1857 the vil- 
lage was incorporated as a city ; a charter was 
written by Colonel Gates and a board of trustees 
elected. In the conclusion of the chapter relating 
to The Dalles will be found a list of all the execu- 
tive officers of this municipality since its organ- 
ization. June 26, 1857, the charter was granted 
to Dalles City, and from that time it is entitled 
to date its municipal birth. New charters were 
granted, or old ones amended in 1859, 1862, 1868, 
1870, 1880 and one or two since. The first 
officers elected under the new charter were N. H. 
Gates, nresident of the board ; E. G. Cowne, R. 



134 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Hall, B. F. McCormick and P. Craig, members 
of the board of trustees ; C. R. Meigs, recorder ; 
O. Humason, treasurer. 

During the earlier years of the town's history 
the business portion was confined solely to Main 
street. Later Union street was utilized for a 
distance of one block from Main. And later yet, 
an effort was made to build up Washington 
street and a few business houses were constructed 
there. At present the principal business thor- 
oughfare is Second street, and commercial enter- 
prise has extended to the east quite a distance be- 
yond the original business center of the town. 
It is recorded by Mrs. Lord that for nearly a de- 
cade a decidedly low state of morality existed at 
Tne Dalles. The town was under domination 
of gamblers and other representatives of the 
"tougn" element. There were a number of mur- 
ders and numerous cutting and shooting 
"scrapes." From an old resident yve learn that 
in 1858 there were the following business houses 
at Tne Dalles : 

Umatilla House, A. J. Nixon ; dishing Hotel 
and store ; Restaurant and lodging house, N. H. 
Gates ; Wasco Hotel, A. H. Curtiss ; Bradford & 
Company's steamboat office ; grocery, W. D. 
Bigelow ; Mount Hood saloon, B. F. McCor- 
mack ; saddle and harness shop, Powell & Com- 
pany ; saloon, Trevitt & Cowne ; grocery store, 
James McAuliff; assay office, W. C. Moody;- 
drug store, P. Craig ; general merchandise, H. P. 
Isaacs ; warehouse, R. R. Thompson & Company ; 
cigar store, J. Juker ; bakery, W. L. DeMoss. 

A picture of The Dalles as it appeared in 1858 
will be found in this volume. 

A new charter was granted in 1859. It was 
written by Mr. O. Humason, and, among other 
provisions it changed the limits of the city from 
the first t© the second bluff, and allowed the elec- 
tion of regular city officials instead of trustees. 

The discoveries of auriferous deposits in 
Idaho and eastern Oregon in 1862 resulted in 
bringing The Dalles into considerable promin- 
ence as a business center and point for outfitting. 
For many years, and until the completion of the 
Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company's line 
of railroad in 1881, it was the principal shipping 
point of the interior. With freight and passen- 
gers the boats of the Oregon Steam Navigation 
Company were constantly loaded, when en route 
to the new discoveries. For the entire country 
east of the Cascade range The Dalles was the cen- 
ter of trade. Long lines of freight trains and 
pack animals thronged the streets. At this period 
quartz mining was attracting but little attention. 
Placers were prime favorites and those of Can- 
yon City and Salmon City drew thousands, many 
of whom would return to The Dalles to winter. 



Coin was scarce; paper money almost unknown, 
or but faintly remembered as a species of cur- 
rency which some of the older miners had seen in 
a far distant period of their lives. Gold dust was 
the circulating medium and everything was, 
literally, on a gold basis. There was, too, plenty 
of it, and it was possessed by men who possessed 
little idea of economical expenditures. . They 
squandered their dust lavishly on whatever caught 
their fleeting fancy ; verily The Dalles was lively. 
And during that Golcondian period ample' for- 
tunes were rapidly made. 

Through the teeming streets of The Dalles 
passed prospecting miners, from California, 
Mexico, the eastern states and British Columbia, 
on to Orofino and Florence. While on the creek 
bottoms alone farming was prosecuted, all de- 
scriptions of produce were disposed of at fabulous 
prices. At one time The Dalles almost monopo- 
lized the trade of all the vast territory now com- 
prising the states of Idaho, Montana and a por- 
tion of eastern Washington. Merchants from 
Boise, Missoula, Walla Walla and Colville — 
from all towns within a radius of a thousand 
miles assembled in the streets of The Dalles and 
freely canvassed financial conditions of the times. 
During the days of the Salmon river excitement 
it was not unusual for The Dalles to have within 
its limits an army of prospectors and miners 
numbering not less than 10,000. Its merchants 
ranked among the most enterprising and wealth- 
iest on the coast. To a municipality located like 
The Dalles a mining fever was in those days a 
sincerely appreciated boon ; it was the main stay 
of the city's prosperity. Later, however, other 
supply points sprang up, farther within the upper 
country ; there was a decline in the industry of 
placer mining ; The Dalles lost a certain pro- 
portion of its former glorious prestige. For sev- 
years it was permeated by an air of dullness 
and business depression. This, however, was 
merely a transition period. It soon exhibited 
renewed activity ; a new and more substantial 
cause for prosperity had been discovered ; The 
Dalles was surrounded by one of the most arable 
and productive agricultural districts of the north- 
west. The once despised "hills" were cut up into 
fertile farms ; the produce was marketed at The 
Dalles ; the town again became a scene of activ- 
ity — but this is throwing us quite a distance 
ahead of our story. 

February 25, 1862, to James S. Reynolds a 
right of way was granted to lay water pipes 
through the streets and alleys of Dalles City. 
September 6th, of the same year the franchise 
was transferred to R. Pentland. The latter im- 
mediately commenced, and soon thereafter com- 
pleted the work. About November 1, water was 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



135 



piped into the city. It was in July, 1862, that 
Mr. Pentland had first come to The Dalles. He 
made a careful survey of the ground and decided 
that the city was ripe for a system of water 
works. In 1877 Mr. Pentland disposed of the 
system to S. L. Brooks and the O. Humason es- 
tate. In 1883 the plant was sold to The Dalles 
Milling & Water Company. The present water 
system is owned by Dalles City, and was mainly 
constructed in 1891. Although a matter of small 
moment, the fact is a curiosity, May 25, 1862, a 
right of way was granted to James S. Reynolds to 
lay a plank walk from Union street to low water 
mark on the Columbia river, and the right to 
collect toll on the same "plank walk." 

The melting of the snow in the mountains 
during the early part of summer greatly increases 
the volume of water in the Columbia and its 
tributaries ; in exceptional years the river over- 
flows its banks and at times works considerable 
damage to property at The Dalles. The first of 
these flood years is remembered as in 1862. Front 
and Second streets were submerged and water 
even reached as high as Third street. The highest 
stage of water was 48 feet ten inches above low 
water mark. 

To J. K. Kelly belongs the distinction of be- 
ing the first mayor of The Dalles. This was in 
1863. Previous to that period the board of alder- 
men — or common council — were known as trus- 
tees. Mayor Kelly drafted a compendium of 
rules for the city which were promptly adopted 
by the new councilmen for their guidance. The 
"boom" days of the early '6o's were accelerated 
by the establishment of many new enterprises — ■ 
or new projects, rather, as some of them missed 
fruition. Among these latter was a gas plant. 
A franchise for such a plant at The Dalles was 
issued to H. D. Green, February 5, 1863. He 
commenced the work ; abandoned it, and the 
plant was never completed. On oil lamps the 
town depended until the completion of the elec- 
tric light plant in 1882. The erection of the shops 
of the Oregon Steam Navigation Company was 
an important event of the important year of 1863. 
Those first in charge of these operations were 
John Torrence, foreman ; Thomas Smith, James 
M. Smith, John Wait, machinists ; William Har- 
man, blacksmith ; William Marshall, boiler- 
maker. James M. Smith became foreman in 
1866 and so continued until 1877, when the posi- 
tion was filled by J. F. Curtis, as master me- 
chanic. In 1882 Mr. C. C. Hobart became master 
mechanic. 

The nearest The Dalles ever came to possess- 
ing a United States Mint was in 1865, when a 
somewhat cloudy-minded and spasmodic con- 



gress apprqpriated $100,000 for that purpose. 
Work on the building was commenced by quar- 
rying rock from about five miles up Mill creek. 
The enterprise gave employment to a large num- 
ber of men. By the second summer the first 
story was completed. Then congress "threw 
another fit" and decided that it didn't want a 
mint at The Dalles. No further appropriation 
was made. 

Several conflicting stories are told concern- 
ing a portion of this congressional mint appro- 
priation. Some people have gone so far as to 
assert that a portion of the money was deflected 
into political channels, and used to defray cam- 
paign expenses of a certain place-hunter and cor- 
rupt politician of the sunset years of the '90's. It 
is claimed that the campaign was sharp, short 
and decisive, and that the candidate running on 
the "mint" appropriation was defeated by the 
narrow margin of one vote. 

The second experience of The Dalles with 
high water was during the flood of 1866, when 
the Columbia again overflowed the lower part 
of the city. Again in 1871 occurred another 
"flood" year, in which considerable damage was 
wrought. The same year fully half of the city 
was swept out of existence by fire, and a number 
of citizens left penniless. Yet the town soon 
regained its activity ; merchants and mechanics 
were again on their feet. The fire of August 17, 
1 87 1, broke out in the old Globe Hotel, corner 
of Second and Washington streets, destroying 
all the east portion of the town as far as Rev. 
Thomas Condon's residence on the corner of 
Third and Laughlin streets. This edifice was 
saved only by strenuous efforts of the citizens. 
The rows of handsome poplar trees surrounding 
the house were killed by the flames. The total 
loss by this conflagration was estimated at $100,- 
000. 

The first flouring mill to be erected in The 
Dalles was built by Robert Pentland in 1866. 
It was located in the west end of town and ran 
by water power from Mill Creek. It was of 
small capacity and used old-fashioned burrs of 
which it had two sets. 

In 1867, a company was organized at The 
Dalles called The Dalles Woolen Mills Company. 
The incorporators were Zelek Donnell, Henry 
Marlin, and W. P. Abrams. The capital stock 
was $20,000. This mill was built in 1867 and 
was run by water power taken from Mill Creek. 
A knitting machine was installed and cloth, 
blankets, socks, etc., were made here and put on 
the market, but owing to the poor finish of the 
articles manufactured they became a drug on the 
market. The company fell behind and borrowed 



136 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



$17,000 from Benjamin Snipes. The property 
was turned over to him. During- the 70's he sold 
the machinery and in 1880 with J. A. Smith con- 
verted it into a flouring mill of fifty barrel a day 
capacity. They continued to operate this mill 
until 1879. 

In 1876 the population of The Dalles was 
given as 900. The same year the annual flood 
reached the highest point in the history of the 
town. June 23d the Columbia, at 4 o'clock a. m., 
was 51 feet three inches above low water mark. 
Following this instructive episode the business 
houses which before the flood had been on Front 
were rebuilt on Second street, and the latter thor- 
oughfare became the principal street. 

With the decline of gold production in Idaho 
and Montana, in 1868, combined with the estab- 
lishment of other routes to the "diggings," The 
Dalles lost some prestige and for a number of 
years wore an air of depression and business 
stagnation. But this was the turning point of its 
civic existence. Heretofore it had depended 
solely upon the product of mines ; now the time 
had arrived when it must look to other resources 
for prosperity. Happily they were all around 
them in the valleys and on the hills — thousands 
of acres of as fertile land as ever warmed to 
generous fecundity beneath the rays of a kindly 
sun. What may be termed permanent develop- 
ment of The Dalles may be dated from 1877. 
From a mining outfitting "station" the city evol- 
ved into a center of substantial, permanent and 
continuous trade. Immigrants poured in from all 
sections of the United States and from beyond 
its shores so soon as the railroad was an estab- 
lished fact. 

October 27, 1878, another blaze licked up con- 
siderable property in The Dalles. It originated 
in Corumis' saddler shop on Second street, burn- 
ing Wingate's store and residences and all the 
property between Federal and Washington streets 
below Fourth. At this fire H. J. Waldron re- 
ceived injuries from over exertion which caused 
his death. Mr. Waldron was a pioneer and at 
the time of the conflagration was proprietor of a 
drug store in the old stone building adjoining 
the Cosmopolitan Hotel. 

May 21, 1879, The Dalles was afflicted by the 
most disastrous fire in her history, up to that 
date. The property loss was not so heavy as in 
the subsequent fire of 1891, but considering the 
size of the city in 1879 it was, really, more dis- 
astrous. Entire blocks melted away before the 
onward rush of the destroying element ; within 
three hours the business portion of The Dalles 
was laid waste — a mass of black and smoulder- 
ing ruins. It broke out in the Pioneer Hotel, 
Second street, about two o'clock p. m. East, 



west, north and south the flames spread 
from the hotel. Even the atmosphere joined 
in this fiery conspiracy, and the wind shifted 
so often that a large radius was swept 
over, the advance of which nothing in the way of 
fire-fighting appliances in the possession of The 
Dalles could check. The total loss was estimated 
at $500,000, a large portion of which was covered 
by insurance. However, the Times-Mountaineer 
of 1889, says that the loss was only $100,000, 
while The Dalles Chronicle asserts that this fire 
originated in the Kiss hotel, at that time located 
just west of Snipes & Kinnersly's drug store. 

But this fire was followed by a "boom." The 
latter portion of 1879 an d tne whole of 1880 were 
lively periods. About that time the extension of 
the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company's 
lines to Walla Walla and Portland was under way. 
This gave employment to a large number of 
workmen ; The Dalles again became a depot of 
supplies ; merchants were rewarded by a brisk 
trade. April 7, 1880, the Dalles Times said, "Im- 
migration is pouring so fast into our city that 
our hotels appear to be crowded to their utmost 
capacity." June 8th it added : "The increase of 
our vote yesterday shows the growth of our city 
in the last few years. Not long ago the popula- 
tion of The Dalles was not over 900, and now we 
poll 838 votes. Averaging three inhabitants to a 
vote (which we think quite small), and our 
population is over 2,500." The census of 1880 
gave the number of residents in the city proper at 
2,250 ; in the entire township, including The 
Dalles, there were 3,250. And now The Dalles 
ranked among Oregon cities fifth in size, the four 
larger being respectively Portland, East Port- 
land, Salem and Astoria. The number of persons 
residing within the city limits in 1880 should be 
added to those on the military reservation, 350; 
totalling 2,600. In 1876 the population claimed 
was only 900 at The Dalles, including those on 
the military reservation, showing a gain in four 
years of 1,700. 

Meanwhile The Dalles was building into a 
handsome and attractive city. Sills were planted 
one day to blossom into rafters the next. In 
places where a few years past not a building 
stood, were now clusters of dwellings and busi- 
ness blocks. There was not a sufficient number 
of carpenters and other workmen to supply the 
demand. Machine shops, car shops and round 
houses were established in the town. January 4, 
1881, The Dalles Times said: 

The growth of our city in the last three years has 
far exceeded the expectations of the most sanguine and 
this growth has been substantial in every particular. 
Not such as in years past followed a new mining ex- 






HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



137 



citement when box houses would be built as if by magic, 
but such as will last. What is the cause of this? Dur- 
ing the last few years a vast immigration has settled 
upon our lands, and the bunch grass hills have been 
made to produce abundantly. This has made The Dalles 
a market for a large agricultural population and is one 
reason for our prosperity. Another, and perhaps a more 
direct reason, is the great activity in railroads evinced 
by the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company. This 
has made The Dalles a railroad center for eastern Ore- 
gon — not as regards location, but on account of con- 
venience. Agriculture and the railroads have been the 
two principal factors in our present business importance. 

Descriptive of these railroad buildings the 
Times-Mountaineer of January 1, 1889, said: 

The works are located upon a peninsula jutting into 
the Columbia, containing about eighteen acres, but not 
more, perhaps, than ten acres are occupied upon which 
to operate the company's interests, comprising offices, 
tin shops, car-repairing shops, carpenter and machine 
shops, upholstering rooms, round-houses, blacksmith 
shops, drafting rooms, casting shops, pumping works and 
innumerable sheds, tanks and storage rooms. One 
would naturally conclude that great confusion would 
exist and that a chaotic condition would obtain ; but 
such is not the case ; the entire premises are kept 
scrupulously clean, the yards are swept regularly, a man 
being kept permanently employed for the work. Not the 
merest scrap of iron or splinter of wood will be found 
out of place — the system, the discipline, the mutual 
agreeability to do and perform can only be equalled by 
that upon shipboard, and a ship, it is said, has no better 
model upon earth for order and exactness. 

As is the condition of most towns during rail- 
road building, The Dalles in 1880, gained notori- 
ety as being a "tough town." The undesired ele- 
ment flocked to the city and the result was any- 
thing but satisfactory to the law-abiding citizens. 
Robberies and homicides became of frequent oc- 
currence and for a period almost a reign of terror 
existed. 

June 18, 1880, The Dalles was again visited 
by a fire which, but for the efficient work of the 
city's department would have proved fully as 
disastrous as the one of the year previous. It 
was the diabolical work of an incendiary. To the 
amount of several thousand dollars property was 
destroyed, and the principal losses were Emile 
Schanno, building, $2,500, insurance, $1,500; 
H. Groeninger, liquors, $600, insurance, $1,500; 
Gerson & Liebes, stock in store, $3,000, insur- 
ance, $2,000; Fred Drews, barber shop, $600, in- 
surance $500. Aside from this much property 
was destroyed in moving stocks, etc. 

The July flood of 1880 fully warranted the 
alarm previously felt among the citizens of The 



Dalles. For two weeks the waters of the Colum- 
bia lapped the front portion of the town, and drove 
business back to other streets. So excellent was 
the description of this casualty published in the 
Times of June 29, that we reproduce it : 

For many weeks past we have watched the river 
anxiously, fearing a flood at this place. All reports 
from the upper country left it beyond doubt that vast 
quantities of snow had fallen in the mountains dur- 
ing the winter, which had to melt and flow away 
through the Columbia. Until within the last three 
weeks the season had been propitious. The cold 
weather had kept the snow from melting and we 
had hoped a 1 gradual thaw would take place, and the 
surplus water would flow off without doing any ma- 
terial damage, Last week in the Times we told our 
readers we thought the highest stage of water had 
been reached, for it began to recede at that time. 
The first part of last week the weather became in- 
tensely warm and all said if there was much snow 
in the mourttains we should soon see the effect of 
its melting. Friday, June 25, the water began to 
raise, and kept gradually creeping over the surface 
of the town. On that evening it commenced to 
crawl over the street between the postoffice and the 
new Umatilla house. Friday night the river raised 
considerably and Saturday morning found it coming 
up Court street, between First and Second, and east 
through the alley to Moody's store. Early on that 
morning the machinists were awakened from their 
slumbers and hurried to their shop. They removed 
their lathe and some other machinery to the car- 
shop, some three of four feet higher. The machine 
shop was flooded during the day and the machinists 
had to stop work. 

All day Saturday the water increased and at 
night the company's grounds were overflown with, 
the exception of the raised track and the buildings 
raised to the new level. Mr. Moody's store was 
completely surrounded and all day Saturday he was 
busy removing his goods to a new building which 
he had in course of construction on Third street, 
beyond Mr. Michell's planing mill. Sunday the 
river assumed gigantic proportions, and verily the 
flood was upon us. It was a day of intense activity 
throughout our city. The Front street merchants 
were removing their goods to other parts of the 
city, and drays and wagons were constantly em- 
ployed. Snipes & Kenersley, of the drug store, 
completed removing their stock. The building 
stands on the old level, and on Sunday morning 
there were some five or six inches of water over the 
floor. By means of gum boots they worked faith- 
fully in getting their goods out of the store. The 
drays in going to the drug store and to Moody's 
store had to go through water up to the hubs of the 
wheels. 



138 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



The water had filled up Union street nearly to 
Third ; up Court it covered the streets to near the 
intersection of Second, and on Washington it had 
come up to the alley between Front and Second. 
The railroad track was covered in a few places near 
the corner of Front and Court. In the afternoon 
the company removed their wharf-boat to the east 
end of Front street, and moored her in front of Mr. 
Fitzgerald's store. 

Sunday night was an anxious night to all on 
Front street. The Columbia had become a torrent, 
and to look across, with the miniature white caps, 
it appeared like- a raging inland sea. The dull roar 
and tumble of The Dalles could be heard and sounded 
like Niagara. To add to the dreariness of this, the 
waves of a swollen, angry river were washing and 
beating into spray at the doors of the occupants on 
Front street. Another hour might see them sub- 
merged Messrs. Handley & Sinnott were deter- 
mined to stand at their post and at II o'clock Sun- 
day night, when the water of the river was up to 
the floor of the Umatilla house, we inquired of them 
whether they would move: "No," they said, "we 
shall have a false floor raised about two or three 
feet and try to weather it through." The sight on 
Front street at that hour was dismal in the extreme. 
The water covered the entire length of the street 
from Washington to Union. The river was the 
constant scene of attraction all day Sunday. Crowds 
of people thronged the sidewalks, anxious to get a 
sight of the swollen stream. They crowded the 
sidewalks where the water had not covered them and 
stood gazing at the angry flood. 

On Monday morning the river had submerged 
the lower part of town to a considerable distance. 
A clear sheet of water extended down Front street 
from the Columbia hotel. Mr. Nicholas maintained 
his position by making a raised walk to and from his 
hotel. The sidewalk of the Cosmopolitan hotel was 
even with the water's edge, and the proprietor 
moved his kitchen, etc. Six inches of water was 011 
the floor of the Umatilla house and boats were go- 
ing through Front street. Second street, between 
Union and Court, was covered with water. The 
sidewalks along Front street and the cross streets 
had been covered with stones which kept them in 
their places, and those who still remained had 
raised the contents of their store up on counters. 
Early in the day Freeman Brothers had occupied 
the building formerly used by Henry Groeninger, 
and Snipes & Kinersly had quietly ensconced them- 
selves on Second street in the brick store under the 
opera house. 

Everybody was anxiously watching the flood, 
not knowing where it would end. It had already 
surpassed the high water mark of 1871, and was 
fast approaching that of 1876. Looking down Front 
street at noon of that day nothing could be seen 



above the water but the buildings and a portion of 
the railroad bridge over Mill creek. That stream 
is truly at flood tide. It presents fully the appear- 
nace of a river, and has increased considerably 01* 
its banks. Mr. Baum, occupying the building formerly 
occupied by Mr. Alex. Smith, moved his household 
furniture, and we fear that the other residents on 
the bank of that stream will be forced to find other 
quarters. The amount of damage done by the flood 
cannot at present be ascertained. The cost of mov- 
ing heavy stocks of goods will be considerable, and' 
the necessary cessation from business will be a 
great loss. It will be some time before our city will' 
again assume its former activity, as business has 
been interfered with by the flood. It comes unusually 
hard so soon after the conflagration of 1879, but 
we have great faith in the resuscitating power of 
our city. If she could raise, Phoenix-like, from the 
conflagration of 1879, she can raise herself from the 
loss by the flood of 1880. At 12 o'clock noon, yes- 
terday, June 28th, the water lacked four feet two 
inches of the 1876 high water mark. The stage of 
water up to 2 o'clock yesterday afternoon was 47 
feet two inches above low water mark. 

July 2, 1880, the water reached 48 feet 7^ 
inches above low water mark. This was the 
highest point gained during the flood of, this year. 
July 6, 1880, the Times said : 

The present week will be known in The Dalles 
as "flood week." For eight or ten days a great por- 
tion of the business part of our city has been sub- 
merged. For nearly a week all business houses on 
Front street have been removed to other parts off 
our city and that active thoroughfare has been cov- 
ered by a sheet of water. The waves of the Colum- 
bia for seven days past have washed Court street 
within fifteen feet of the court house; Union street 
to an equal distance from Third; Washington the 
same. Anxious faces have watched the water con- 
stantly, and the inquiry has eagerly passed, "Is the- 
river rising or falling?" Boats have passed up and 
down Front street every hour in the day for a week 
past, passing business houses which only a little 
while ago were busy marts of trade. An air of 
desolation and destruction prevails that portion of 
our beautiful city. The river is king and we have 
bowed to its mandate. The Columbia has wedded 
The Dalles, and the nuptials were performed by hot, 
sweltering weather and swollen tides. We are not 
rejoicing over the bridal scene, but acquiesce. Our 
beautiful rivulet, Mill creek, generally not of suffi- 
cient proportions to be denominated a creek, has 
stretched out over its banks and fairly won the name 
of river. Buildings and bridges have been sub- 
merged by its outpouring waters, and orchards and 
gardens swept over by its angry floods. Second*. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



139 



street has become the thoroughfare of the city and 
is thronged every hour of the day. This street can 
only be traveled in some places by means of rais.ed 
walks, and it is here that that venerable individual 
so often mentioned by the press, takes his stand, 
and points to the raging, seething flood with his 
ominous finger and says, "I told you so." 

Some of our citizens on Front street amuse 
themselves from the upper doors and windows fish- 
ing. Quite a number of salmon have been caught 
with a dip-net. We don't know that the parties had 
a license for salmon fishing, and we don't think 
they thought of anything except the novelty and 
fun of pulling up the silvery salmon over the place 
where the tread of business formerly sounded. The 



salmon unwittingly cavort up our streets with 
naught to fear save a stray fisherman. 

Up to the hour of going to press the river has 
fallen about a foot from its highest stage. We hope 
the river will not rise any higher, but the present 
warm weather may swell the volume of water 
again. 

Saturday morning, July 10th, the water be- 
gan to recede, and by the following day the whole 
of Front street could be traversed. A little later 
the business firms moved back to their former lo- 
cations. This flood reached the highest mark of 
any in previous history (white man's), except 
the one of 1876. 



CHAPTER VI 



THE DALLES — Continued. 



The Oregon legislature convened in Septem- 
ber, 1880. During this session H. B. No. 3, to 
amend the city charter of The Dalles, was intro- 
duced. Monday, September 20th, the house 
passed the measure by a vote of 50 to o ; the vote 
in the senate was, also, unanimously in favor of 
it. Shortly afterward it went into effect and be- 
came a law. This bill was drafted by Judge Mc- 
Arthur. It conferred on The Dalles sufficient 
corporate powers to check the vicious element 
which, for a period, had everything their own 
way and, colloquially speaking, "ran the town." 

To a former resident, who had not visited the 
town for three years, the improvements on exhi- 
bition in June, 1881, might have awakened no 
small wonder and astonishment. But a few years 
prior some of the finest and most attractive streets 
had been occupied by rows of dilapidated 
"shacks" and "shanties." The fire of 1879 
wrought great destruction within a few hours ; 
a trifle over two years elapsed and the burnt 
district was adorned by many substantial struc- 
ures. The voice of the chronic croaker had been 
drowned by the din of hammer and saw. Only 
a few years prior to 1881 the Gates addition was 
a wheat field and garden patch. The latter year 
this space was occupied by lines of pleasant, 
comfortable homes and well-kept streets. Above 
them, on another bench, stood the Wasco Inde- 
pendent Academy ; an edifice pronounced by 



many the prettiest educational institution at that 
period in the state. On nearly ever}- corner new 
residences were being built; vacant lots were 
being utilized ; and The Dalles assumed a more 
definite and compact appearance, with evidences 
on every hand of taste and culture. Still, follow- 
ing the completion of the railroad to Portland, 
there was noticeable a certain reaction in busi- 
ness activity, and minor towns along the line ap- 
propriated considerable business — piecemeal — 
that formerly went to The Dalles. 

June floods in the Columbia have come al- 
most as regularly as annual holidays. The flood 
of 1882 was a replica of many preceding ones, 
with the difference that citizens were, perhaps, 
better prepared to resist its devastations. 
Waters of the river rose to the level of the floor 
of the Umatilla house and adjoining sidewalks; 
those in the west end of the city were covered to 
a depth of several inches. Portions of the track 
over the old railway bridge were entirely sub- 
merged and it was not considered safe for engines 
to cross. A hurricane wind whipped the water of 
the river and from Front street across to the 
northern ban}c it presented a sea of white caps. 
Again Mill creek assumed the proportions of a 
river. Gum boots again became stylish articles 
of wearing apparel ; raised sidewalks became a 
necessity to business transactions. The highest 
stage reached by the flood of 1882, 48 feet two 



140 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



inches above low water mark, was reached June 
14, at 5 o'clock p. m. The great flood years had 
been 1866, 1868, 1872, 1876, 1880 and 1882. 

in the spring of 1883 fish packing became a 
leading industry of the city. Two fish wheels 
were placed in operation in the river above The 
Dalles in 1884; thousands of salmon were thus 
taken each week. They were packed in ice and 
shipped in refrigerating cars to many points in 
the east. 

A $53,000 fire by which half a block of build- 
ings was consumed occurred January 23, 1884. 
Soon after midnight the fire alarm was sounded, 
and it was discovered that the flames had orig- 
inated in S. Baden's building. From the lower 
corner of Second and Court streets the fire de- 
partment laid a well-directed stream on the burn- 
ing buildings, but the flames spread with remark- 
able rapidity: At once the owners and renters 
of business houses in the doomed blocks bent 
their energies toward saving such of their 
stocks of goods as was possible. Finally 
the brick building of Snipes & Kinersley 
stayed further progress of the flames to 
the east, and men were stationed on the 
roofs of buildings on the south, and by 
means of wet blankets and buckets of water kept 
the shingles thoroughly soaked. Fortunately 
only a slight breeze prevailed, and the fire de- 
partment did excellent work. Following were the 
losses : Emile Shanno, buildings, $6,000 ; Hand- 
lay & Sinnot, $4,000; Dickerson & Neitz, 
$10,000; Wasco Sun, damages to presses and 
material, $500; Dumdi & Company, $300; Wal- 
dron & Covilland, $7,000; H. Gerson, $10,000; 
S. Baden, $3,000; D. A. Whitman, $2,500; M. T. 
Nolan, $7,000 ; R. Fulton, $2,000 ; W. E. Ganet- 
son, $800; W. S. Myers, law office, $200. In- 
surance on buildings and stock amounted to about 
one-third of the total loss. 

So rapid was the growth of The Dalles dur- 
ing the early '8o's that at the close of 1884 the 
Times-Mountaineer estimated the population at 
3,500. This was an increase of 1,250 over the 
census of 1880. During the years of 1884-5 
there was a steady and marked improvement in 
the appearance of the city. Blocks destroyed by 
fire had been rebuilt in a most substantial man- 
ner, brick, in many cases replacing wooden struc- 
ures. The suburbs were adorned by handsome 
dwellings greatly adding to the city's appearance, 
all contributing evidence to the patriotic enter- 
prise of the wealthiest citizens of The Dalles. 

It is a fact, notably attested in the series of 

wars participated in by the American nation, that 

the citizen soldier is far superior to members of 

the regular army. While the latter may be the 

better drilled machines, they are, almost invaria- 



bly devoid of patriotism and weak of heart. The 
same truth applies to other nations as well as our 
own. January 1, 1889, the Times-Mountaineer 
said: 

It is a source of gratification to know that the 
people of Oregon, while sleepy and sluggish in 
many other ways, are not without the old military 
ardor of the nation to which they belong, and that in 
forming militia corps for the protection of public peace 
and safety, they have done a laudable service. * * * 
It was in November, 1886, that Company C, of the 
Third Infantry, Oregon National Guard, was formed 
in this town by Charles E. Morgan, then captain of 
E company, First Regiment in Portland. At that 
time the gentleman issued a circular calling upon 
the citizens of The Dalles to meet him and aid in 
organizing a company to be attached to the Oregon 
National Guards. At the meeting a general re- 
sponse was made and some fifty men signed the 
muster roll for the purpose of forming the company. 
Immediately after the formation of the company 
an election of officers was held which resulted in 
the choice of Charles E. Morgan as captain, and 
William H. Sharp and George H. Bennett as first 
and second lieutenants. 

At first, and for sometime after, inspired by 
the action of Colonel Morgan, much interest was 
shown to make the thing a success. As in all other 
small towns in a new country the uniform soon lost 
its attraction to some, and while the number of men 
was kept up, the spirit of the soldier deteriorated. 
Such, indeed, it may be regretted, is the case today 
and the condition of the company, in different ways, not' 
all that could be desired. * * * At present the com- 
pany is under the command of Edward M. Williams, 
second lieutenant, owing to the resignation of the 
late captain and first lieutenant. This is as it should 
be. It is never known when the services of the mili- 
tia may be required. Since its organization there 
has always been a company of the National Guard 
in this city. 

The Dalles was visited by another serious 
fire Sunday morning, September 2, 1888. Nearly 
two blocks between Second and Fourth streets 
were consumed. It originated about 2 :30 and it 
was after 4 o'clock before the flames were under 
control. Losses amounted to about $42,500, and 
the insurance carried was about $22,500. This 
fire broke out in the rear of the furniture and 
auction store of Samuel Klein, on Washington 
street, and spread rapidly. It had a clear range 
along the alley between Washington and Federal 
streets, with the exception of the rear portions 
of the brick blocks on Second street. The flames 
then found their way to Third street, and al- 
though strenuous efforts were made they de- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



141 



stroyed the entire block with the exception of 
a blacksmith .shop, the brick buildings and I. C. 
Nickelson's book store. So soon as the old Bap- 
tist church and the red barn were afire it was 
known the block between Third and Fourth and 
Washington and Federal streets was doomed. 
Strung efforts were made to confine the fire to 
this block, but they proved unavailing. Cross- 
ing Third street the fire licked up Dietzel's cor- 
ner, Mrs. Hutchinson's millinery store, Edward's 
store, Doherty's residence and justice office, Con- 
gregational church, Tenino Packing Company's 
store, Johnson's residence and Miller Brothers' 
butcher shop. Up Washington street the fire 
swept everything clear to, and including, one of 
the cottages of Mr. P. J. Nichols. Fears were 
entertained that the flames would cross Federal 
street and in that emergency the whole eastern 
portion of this city would have been doomed. 

At last the flames were under control. There 
was but little breeze stirring or, with the pro- 
gress the fire had attained, a much more serious 
conflagration would have resulted. Following are 
a few of the heaviest losses : 

Max Vogt, $9,000; Mrs. Nichols, $1,800; 
French & Company, $1,350; George A. Liebe, 
$2,000; H. Glenn, $1,300; Mrs. A. Gray, $1,500; 
John Brookhouse, $1,500; W. Y. Wolf, $1,500; 
O. D. Taylor, $1,900; L. G. Sanders, $3,100; D. 
W. Edwards, $2,500 ; Dietzel Brothers, $3,000 ; 
A. H. Coy, $2,500; McFarland & French, $1,100. 

The Timcs-Mountaincer of January 1, 1889, 
concerns the "building boom" of 1888: 

When' a town goes on increasing in its build- 
ings, public and private, unobserved, as it were, 
from the force of local factors, position, surround- 
ings, resources and railroad facilities, it may be 
taken for granted that town has a future which 
cannot be checked, and that when the day of prog- 
ress comes its growth will be as rapid as it has been 
certain in the past. Such is The Dalles today. Few 
people have a correct idea of the number of build- 
ings erected in the town during the year now clos- 
ing. The following table speaks for itself and ought 
to convince the most skeptical of the future of the 
town : 

Electric light plant $20,000 

Max Vogt, two buildings S,ooo 

Max Vogt, two stores 3,000 

Max Vogt, two brick buildings in course of 

construction ($70,000) spent 20,000 

J. C. Baldwin,, four stores 5,000 

S. L. Brooks, brick store 17,000 

Lord & Laughlin, Armory Hall 2,000 

A. Buchler, bottling house 600 

Larsen & Saltmarsh, stockyards 600 



George A. Liebe, barn $250 

Handley & Sinnott, ice house 590 

A. R. Thompson, dwelling 2,000 

Congregational Church 6,000 

Barrels 3,000 

Other items 2,000 



$87,040 



The stockyards, stables, fences and other work 
were improved by Messrs. Larsen & Saltmarsh, 
$1,500. Mr. McCrum & Company also erected three 
new buildings — two private residences and one 
store, aggregating $3,600. The precise work done 
by other builders and contractors could not be ascer- 
tained, but taking it in all kinds of buildings, public 
and private, a leading contractor in town puts the 
total of this work at $50,000. These figures in the 
aggregate give a grand total of $142,140; quite a 
respectable showing. It is quite safe to say that 
next year the amount will be doubled. 

The year 1889 was, also, one of unusual activ- 
ity in The Dalles, about $500,000 having been 
expended that year in buildings, among them a 
roller mill, four stories high; an elegant brick 
opera house second to none other in the state. 
A resume of the combined enterprises of the '8o's 
is found in the following from the same issue of 
the Timcs-Mountainecr. 

The city now numbers over 4,000 population and 
boasts of many modern improvements. Within the 
last few years solid brick blocks have been erected 
and places which were once grain fields embraced 
within the city limits. A good system of sidewalks 
has been constructed, streets have been graded, 
fire limits established and other strides made in the 
direction of municipal growth. The industrial de- 
velopment has not been entirely neglected, and two 
large brick warehouses have been erected for the 
storage of grain and wool. Every season of the 
year large quantities of the rich products of the 
surrounding country find their way to these build- 
ings, and create quite a stir in business life and 
send a large amount of money in circulation. Then 
the long established shops of the Oregon Railroad 
& Navigation Company give employment to several 
hundred men, and the monthly pay-roll adds very 
largely to the amount of the circulating medium. 
These are all factors of development, and add very 
materially to the prosperity of the city. The elec- 
tric light system has been lately introduced and we 
have no doubt that when the arrangement is per- 
fected it will add brilliancy to our stores and streets. 
There no doubt has been a healthy growth in the 
last few years (but nothing commensurate with the 
advantages offered. * * * Capital is not want- - 



142 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



ing. On a rough estimate there is $7,000,000 now 
the same as lying dormant, which might be invested 
in enterprises tending to increase the population and 
wealth. But a fatal lethargy appears to possess our 
business men. * * * There are exceptions, we are 
glad to state, to this class of citizens, but they are the 
exceptions to a very general rule. 

Saturday, January 11, 1890, was the date, and 
9 130 p. m., the hour of another destructive blaze 
at The Dalles. Flames could be seen shooting 
up from the Chapman block, corner of Washing- 
ton and Second streets, and soon a steady stream 
of water was being piped on to the fiery element. 
A defective flue was supposed to have been the 
cause of this conflagration. Flames soon gained 
the wooden partitions and closets, and here the 
water appeared to have little effect. Three inches 
of snow on the roof prevented danger to other 
localities from the flight of sparks. About 1 130 
a. m. the flames were under control ; the people 
breathed more freely. The ladies of The Dalles 
were complimented by the hard-working fire de- 
partment and volunteer assistants for their 
thoughtful contributions of coffee and other re- 
freshments of a substantial character. The militia 
company was on the ground and afforded ample 
protection to goods on the sidewalks outside the 
fire zone. These were the principal losses : 

Max Vogt, building, $12,000 ; W. H. Moody 
& Company, $30,000; L. Rorden & Company, 
$10,000; H. Solomon, $5,000; D. L. Cates, $200; 
Dr. Waters, $100; John Cocker, $100; Dr. Boyd, 
$200; Dr. Rinehart, $100; Dufur & Watkins, 
$5,000; James Webster, $200; S. F. Boyer^ $250. 

In 1890 the federal census enumerators found 
in The Dalles 3,500 people. 

So far back as 1887 the electors of The Dalles 
municipality had voted in favor of a new water 
supply. During the following session of the leg- 
islature an amended charter was granted permit- 
ting Dalles City to bond itself in the sum of 
$100,000 for an adequate, healthful water supply. 
In April, 1890, the bonds were advertised for sale 
and purchased. But this action proved eventu- 
ally, a trouble-breeder. The city council passed 
an ordinance enabling the city to purchase the 
old plant of The Dalles Mill & Water Company 
for $50,000. On this question opinion was divided 
as to the better plan to secure a practical water 
system. The ordinance was vetoed by Mayor 
Moody and over this attempted nullification of 
the ordinance the city council passed the measure. 
A warrant for $50,000 for the payment of the 
plant was presented to the mayor for his signa- 
ture. He declined to sign it. At the behest of 
an interested party the city was enjoined from 
paying $50,000 or any other sum for the old 



plant. For some time matters remained in statu 
quo. Mayor Moody was impeached on charges 
of malfeasance, negligence and incompetency and 
reprimanded. 

At length the injunction was dissolved and 
November 29, 1890, the council passed a resolu- 
tion authorizing the purchase of the plant of the 
mill and water company, and it was, accordingly 
secured. The water works are owned by the 
city, a most excellent system — one of the best in 
Oregon — providing good water for domestic use 
and an adequate supply with strong pressure in 
case of fires. Although a trifle out of chrono- 
logical order the following from the Times-Moun- 
taineer of September 6, 1904, is interesting: 

Last Friday (September 2), the water commis- 
sioners, accompanied by a number of invited guests, 
made an inspection of the new water system that 
has just been completed from the Wicks place, eight 
miles up Mill Creek, to the city, and all were well 
pleased with the work that has been done by Con- 
tractor Wakefield. 

The new system consists of a reservoir at the 
Wicks place into which the water is fed from a 
flume that reaches from the Johns mill, receiving the 
water from the sources of Mill creek and Dog river, 
which are fed by mountain springs and melting 
snow, hence is perfectly pure. From the Wicks 
place it is led through a twelve-inch steel pipe, hav- 
ing a fall of some 500 feet in six miles, to a new 
reservoir at the Mesplie place, three miles from 
town, thence it is carried in a 14-inch main to the 
new reservoir on the bluff about 100 feet above the 
old reservoir. Thus it will be seen that the water 
is conveyed directly from the mountains into the 
supply reservoir without coming into contact with 
anything to impregnate it with impurities. 

By a special arrangement of the reservoir at 
Wicks the overflow is turned into the creek below 
and may be used for irrigating purposes along the 
farms, but none of the water thus used can find its 
way back into the mains that feed the supply reser- 
voir. This reservoir to which the mains that lead 
into the city are attached is constructed of concrete 
and is supplied with a contrivance that keeps the 
water in circulation, causing it to retain its purity. 
The new reservoir is connected with the old in 
which a stand-pipe is constructed so that only over- 
flow finds its way into it, thus keeping the new as 
well as the old reservoir full all the time. The lat- 
ter is to be used as a storage for water that may be 
utilized in case of fire. 

Those familiar with water works estimate that 
The Dalles now has a sufficient amount of water to 
supply a city of 20,000 inhabitants, and besides the 
volume being large the quality is the best, it being 
as pure as water can be. The improvements to the 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



143 



system have cost the city $50,000, but unquestion- 
ably the outlay has been judicious, since nothing is 
of greater benefit to a city than an abundant supply 
of pure, fresh water. 

The most destructive fire ever experienced at 
The Dalles occurred September 2, 1891. More 
than twenty blocks were burned to the ground ; 
many of the finest business structures were de- 
stroyed. This disastrous blaze originated in 
Skibbe's house. It was quickly carried onward 
by a light wind from the east ; within the space 
on an hour the flames were feeding on three 
streets at once, making a clean sweep of every- 
thing below the bluff. The flames ate their way 
to Pease & May's corner, consuming the city's 
best block, the ornate and attractive Vogt build- 
ing. On Third street to Joshua French's ; on 
Fourth street to George Ruch's, the flames swept, 
and on Fifth street many fine residences were de- 
stroyed, and beautiful trees and attractive gar- 
dens laid waste. 

In the course of this fire two lives were sacri- 
ficed. Michael Diamond was burned to death, 
his body being entirely consumed ; Joseph Fitz- 
gerald died from the effect of burns received in 
the conflagration. It began with an incipient 
kitchen blaze ; it developed into the most destruct- 
ive holocaust ever experienced by the citizens of 
The Dalles. Assisted by a stiff gale the fiery 
element leveled everything in its pathway. The 
loss was estimated at $1,000,000. 

From the dwelling house of Mr. Skibbe the 
flames shot across to the frame building occupied 
by Mr. Jones and the Eureka restaurant. These 
were soon wrapped in flames, and the saddlery 
shop of H. Kuck and Skibbe's saloon in the brick 
building were destroyed. The flames then ran 
along Main and Third streets, lapping up the 
frame buildings on the corner and Neabach's 
granger feed yard. On down Third street the 
flames rushed, leaving destruction in their wake. 
One by one the following edifices fell victims to 
the fire : Residences of Messrs. Sylvester and Allo- 
way, the dwelling houses west of Madison street, 
Mitchell's planing mill ; the dwellings on Third 
street and the buildings on Second, between Fed- 
eral and Laughlin streets. During this time de- 
struction was raging from Second street south 
to the bluff. The handsomt Fitzgerald building 
was soon gutted, and Gibbons, McAllister & 
Company's hardware store was wiped out of 
existence. The two-story stable of William 
Wiley followed, and then the building on the 
corner of Third and Federal streets was engulfed 
by flames. The three-story Vogt block and the 
opera house were soon a mass of ruins. The 
Vogt building was occupied by Mays & Crowe, 



hardware dealers ; George Anderson, gunsmith ; 
L. Rorden & Company, notions, cutlery, etc., 
exhibits of the board of immigration ; Eastern 
Oregon Co-operative Association, and Charles 
J. Strubling, saloon. The upper story depart- 
ments were rented to lawyers, physicians and in- 
dividuals, the latter for sleeping rooms. Resi- 
dences fell in rows, leaving blackened trails in- 
side the sidewalks, away up toward the bluff. 
Among them were the dwellings of Mr. Roscoe, 
Mrs. Clark E. Griffith and William Mitchell. The 
butcher shop of Chrisman Brothers and the gro- 
cery of Chrisman & Corson disappeared ; the 
residence of J. Doherty and Adams' shoe shop 
rolled away in smoke and ashes. Then followed 
the grocery store of A. A. Brown and the First 
Baptist church. This was followed by the burn- 
ing of the Methodist Episcopal church and the 
cottage of F. P. Mays. 

Another long line of handsome residences were 
snuffed out after the destruction of the Metho- 
dist church, concluding with the old building 
known as The Dalles brewery. Down Court 
street tongues of flame were leaping from the 
roofs and soon the residences of Messrs. Corson, 
Fitzgerald, Sellers and Grey were laid in ruins. 
The block south of the old brewery was wiped 
away, comprising the dwellings of William Mc- 
Coy, Mr. Glasius and P. Willig. To the west 
of Court street another block was sacrificed. Re- 
solved into smoke and ashes were the homes of 
D. W. Vanse, Mrs. Juker, Mrs. Knaggs, W. 
Weggerman and O. Kinersly, and the handsome 
edifice of the Congregational Society. Mean- 
while the block between Washington and Court 
streets, on the south side of Third street, was in 
flames. These buildings comprised the residences 
of Thomas Kelley, Mrs. Lacy, Frank Hill, A. 
A. Bonney, the engine house and the extensive 
building of the Columbia Packing Company. On 
Second street the McDonald Brothers' saloon, 
lodging house adjoining, and Mr. White's res- 
taurant, B. Wolff's residence, Max Vogt's tene- 
ment block, Wingate's brick block and D. W. 
Edward's art gallery, Mr. Berger's residence, also 
Mr. Cathcart's and Mr. Crowe's and the Pacific 
Fence Works were simply piles of coals. Then 
followed Filloon Brothers' implement warehouse ; 
residence of Mrs. Laughlin on the north ; Hood's 
livery stable and residence ; Jackson House, occu- 
pied by lodgers; Mrs. Ruch's tenement house; 
Mrs. Mitchell's and Mrs. Blakeney's residences ; 
Brown's fruit store and lodging house. At 
George Ruch's residence the flames fought for 
supremacy, but by herculean efforts it was saved 
from destruction. The list of personal casualties 
was small. There were a number of minor acci- 
dents and several prostrations from exhaustion. 



144 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Michael Diamond, a carpenter, was missing; 
a search among the ruins of the Fitzgerald build- 
ing where he was last seen, disclosed his charred 
remains. Joseph P. Fitzgerald, attempting to 
save goods belonging to his father and sister, fell 
into the flames. Wild with pain he ran out, was 
caught by bystanders, wet blankets thrown 
around him and the flames extinguished. Taken 
to the Sisters' Academy he died from the effects 
of his terrible burns. To Portland telegrams 
were sent for help. But the special train with 
a fire engine on board arrived too late to be of 
any assistance. The losses as reported in the 
Times-Mountaineer of September 5, 1891, were: 

Loss. Insurance. 

W. S. Graham $1,000 None 

L. Rorden 8,000 Insured 

William Neabach 500 None 

I. C. Nickelsen 38,000 $12,000 

George Rowland 5.000 5,000 

James Blakeney , 4,000 None 

Gibbons, McAllister & Co. . . 50,000 8,000 

Mrs. A. P. Brooks 1,500 1,000 

Congregational Church 10,000 Partially 

W. T. Jones 2,000 None 

Ben Wilson 2,600 1,500 

Chrisman & Corson 3,500 2,000 

Chrisman & Brothers 600 300 

French & Company 2,000 Insured 

Clough & Larsen 1,500 Partially 

Peter Nichols 4,ooo 2,400 

Snipes & Kinersly 4,ooo 1,400 

S. Kinersly 2,500 , 750 

W. H. Lockhead 1,000 None 

Eastern Oregon Co'tg Assn. 9,000 3,000 

Mrs. Laughlin 2,000 1,200 

Lord & Laughlin 9,ooo 4,500 

Mrs. T. Dehm 1,500 800 

W. Lord 6 > 00 ° Insured 

Mrs. Bolton 500 None 

Charles Dehm 1,200 None 

B. Wolff 6,000 2,200 

N. B. Whyers ., 3,ooo None 

R. A. Roscoe 3,ooo 1,500 

J. P. Mclnery 4,500 2,500 

H. Wentz 2,000 None 

Mays & Crowe 20,000 Partially 

W. C. Alloway 2,000 None 

Mrs. Juker 1,500 Insured 

Mrs. Krause 3,ooo None 

F. P. Mays 3,ooo 2,000 

William Mitchell 20,000 Partially 

W. Weggerman 2,000 None 

E. B. McFarland 13,000 7,500 

Mrs. S. Pease 2,400 1,800 

Mrs. Davis 2 ,ooo None 

Max Vogt 225,000 Partially 



Loss. Insurance. 

George Ruch $2,000 $800 

Hugh Glenn 1,000 500 

Glenn & Handley 2,000 1,000 

N. Harris 2,000 1,600 

G. Williams 2,000 600 

E. B. Dufur 4,000 1,500 

George Watkins 2,500 Partially 

Joles Brothers 15,000 7, 500 

McEachrans & McLeod 2,500 Insured 

Odd Fellows 6,000 2,000 

W. N. Wiley 5,000 2,500 

Baptist church and parsonage 2,500 Insured 

R. B. Hood 8,000 4,000 

James White 1,000 None 

F. W. L. Skibbe 10,000 None 

Mrs. J. M. Wingate 40,000 Insured 

G. J. Farley 2,500 Insured 

W. E. Sylvester 2,500 Insured 

O. Sylvester 5,000 Insured 

Mrs. T. W. Miller 4,000 Insured 

Mrs. A. M. Williams 12,000 8,000 

S. L. Young 3,000 Partially 

J. B. Condon 3,000 Insured 

Mrs. Berger 600 None 

McDonald Brothers 5,ooo None 

George P. Morgan 1,000 450 

E. P. Fitzgerald 40,000 None 

The damages awarded by insurance adjusters 
totalled over $200,000. September 3d Mayor 
Mays issued a call for the formation of a relief 
committee and a number of the leading citizens 
of The Dalles met and organized for this pur- 
pose. Sub-committees were appointed to ascer- 
tain where aid was necessary, and for receiving 
and distributing contributions. 

The investigating committee reported that 38 
families had been found by diligent search, who 
needed, and who were deserving of help. But 
sixteen of these left The Dalles, or declined to 
receive help. Eleven others were families of men 
who were at work, and needed clothing for 
women and children, and household furniture for 
a short time only. Five were placed in the hands 
of different religious societies of which they were 
members, and were cared for. Six were families 
of widows and received assistance. With these 
facts at hand a committee was appointed to 
solicit subscriptions in The Dalles. Many vol- 
untary subscriptions had been paid in ; many 
offers from outside cities were received, but the 
citizens patriotically decided that The Dalles peo- 
ple could amply provide for their destitute. Still, 
the cities of Astoria, Salem, Seattle, Wasco, 
Hood River, Walla Walla and several others had 
sent in voluntary subscriptions, and for these ex- 
pressions of good will hearty thanks were re- 







Methodist Episcopal Mission, established March 22nd, 1838, by Lee & Perkins 
known by Indians as "Perkins House. As it looked in 1849 




Salmon Fishing on the Columbia 



^^« 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



145 



turned. The city council appropriated $1,000 for 
relief of the needy sufferers. 

What was colloquially known as "the hard 
times" of 1893 fell upon The Dalles as upon the 
rest of the state and country. Up to this period 
there had been a steady and marked improvement 
in the appearance of the city. Many new busi- 
ness structures and handsome residences had 
been built. The growth of the town had been 
slow but steady. Values had not been over in- 
flated during the "boom" times of a few years 
previous and, as a result, what was known as the 
"financial crash of 1893" affected The Dalles but 
little. There were comparatively few business 
failures during the dark times when other locali- 
ties were "hard hit" by the prevailing panic. 
January 22, 1898, the Times-Mountaineer said: 

Of all the towns in the Inland Empire The 
Dalles has withstood the hard times better and came 
out with fewer business failures than any other 
c j ty * * * It is simply because The Dalles is 
more favorably located for doing business than any 
other city east of the mountain and because of the 
low freight rates it has enjoyed during the times 
when the prices prevailing in places located further 
interior, for the products of the country, would little 
more than pay the expense of getting them to 
market. Just before the hard times began steam- 
boat connection was established between here and 
Portland, made possible by the construction of the 
state portage at the Cascades, and while the produc- 
ers surrounding other trade centers were paying 
out nearly the price of. their products to get them to 
market, those here were getting lower rates and no 
matter how low the price, still had a little profit 
left for their labor; hence, as a rule were able to 
meet their obligations. The merchants also derived 
a benefit from these low freight rates, not alone in 
the matter of dollars saved on their freight accounts 
but by being able to offer prices that drew trade 
from all quarters. 

At The Dalles the high water of May and 
June, 1894, is known as the "big flood." Early 
in April the Columbia river had commenced ris- 
ing, and for six successive w r eeks was unusually 
high. The steady encroachment of the river was 
anxiously watched by hundreds daily and by 
many self-constituted sentinels at night. 

On the morning of May 27th, about 11 
o'clock, Frank Seufert arrived in the city after 
a furious drive, and sought to procure help to 
save from destruction his fish wheel which had 
been washed from its moorings. He secured the 
little steamer Inland Star, and steamed down the 
turbulent river, but was unsuccessful in saving 
the wreckage of his machinery. Later in the day 
10 



a fish wheel owned by Winans Brothers was 
washed down stream by the angry current. This 
was the second one they had lost during the 
week, and their total lost was $10,000, not includ- 
ing the prospective catch of salmon which would 
have netted a considerable amount. Other wheels 
were in great danger and the fishermen passed the 
whole of one Sunday in securing their property. 
There were no arrivals of trains on time ; the 
track between The Dalles and Hood River was 
in a dangerous condition and became, eventu- 
ally, impassable. 

Second street merchants who had goods 
stored in cellars moved them out, and later those 
on higher ground did the same. May 28th water 
had reached the stage of 49 feet ; a report from 
Umatilla indicated a rise of one foot four inches 
that morning. Riparia reported a rise of one 
foot one inch. The high water mark of 1876 
was eventually surpassed, and the flood stood at 
53 feet 6 inches above low water mark. The 
water encroached on the floor of the Times 
Mountaineer building to the depth of three inches; 
Saturday, May 29th, it was impossible to work 
in the office, the water being i l / 2 feet deep: no 
paper was issued. There was hardly a business 
firm in the city who was not forced to move 
goods or erect elevated platforms. Front street 
was submerged its entire length from east to 
west. There was a small plot of dry ground on 
Second street near the block west of the Colum- 
bia brewer}-. Third street was washed by the 
river, with the exception of the block between 
Court and Washington streets, to the corner of 
Federal street, and on Fourth street the water 
covered considerable ground at the east and west 
ends. The night of June 3d the river rose about 
six inches and continued rising through the day 
of the 4th, when it stood 51 feet ten inches above 
low water mark. 

At 3 o'clock p. m., June 6th, the river gained 
a stage of 59 feet 7 inches above low water mark. 
The night of June 10th the water receded suffi- 
ciently to permit some of the business men to 
clear their store rooms of accumulated mud and 
debris. June 12th The Dalles was once more 
in touch with the outside world. Mail from both 
east and west arrived. During the night of June 
nth the river fell six inches, and on the follow- 
ing morning more houses were cleared of the 
accumulated sediment. 

On the 13th the river fell seven inches and 
more land appeared above the surface. The debris 
left by this inundation was fearfully noisesome 
and offensive, and disinfectants were used freely. 
Preparations were rapidly made by the UJnion 
Pacific Railroad Company for rebuilding such 
portions of their roadbed as had been washed 






146 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



away. Thi's required a vast amount of work and 
heavy expenditure of money. One railway 
bridge half a mile in length, with the rails still 
adhering to the upper part of the timbefs, while 
floating down the river, was salvaged above the 
locks, and saved. June 20, 1894, the Times- 
Mountaineer said: 

Although some days have elapsed since the 
streets of the city have appeared above the surface 
of the water, incidents connected with the flood are 
still the principal topics of conversation. Last 
evening in company with some gentlemen this sub- 
ject was again discussed, and also the high water 
of 1876. Mr. Ed Crate St., one of the Canadian 
voyageurs, who came to this state with the Hud- 
son's Bay Company, says in 1842 he landed batteaux 
at the foot of the bluff near the Methodist church. 
This has been doubted until this year when, taking 
into consideration that there were no buildings here 
to furnish distinctive marks regarding particular lo- 
calities, and that the contour of the bluff is much 
the same for a long distance, the feat was not only 
possible, but probable. The bluff was reached in 
places this season, and may have been in former 
years; but there is evidence that the highest water 
known for a long time was experienced in 1894. In 
the Columbia river are several islands which the 
Indians have used for the sepulture of their dead 
for ages past, and these have been washed over 
during this flood. If this had happened previously 
the bleached bones of chiefs and warriors could not 
have been found — as they have been ever since 
white men inhabited this region — to show the action 
of the elements for many decades. All former high 
water marks are obliterated, and the one for 1894 
will stand out prominently in the future. 

Some idea of the volume of business trans- 
acted at The Dalles in 1897, and the importance 
of the shipping may be gained from statements 
then furnished by the O. R. & N. Co., and the 
D. P. & A. N.'Co., of the amount of traffic 
handled by each during a portion of 1897. The 
statement of the O. R. & N. Co. is for the months 
of January, February, August, September, Oc- 
tober and November, and is as follows : 





Merchandise 






Carloads 




c 





Received 


Forward 




<u 


0) 


a, 






Pounds 


Pounds 


J3 


irt 

















jg 


U 


X 


£ 


to 


January. .. 


1,075.825 


2.276,675 


37 


14 


— 


2 


— 


1 


February . 


.1.058,(590 


1,271,116 


— 


13 


— 


— 


15 


— 


August 


.1.375.292 


4.297,608 


5 


— 


— 


— 


31 


2 


September 


.3,233.320 


6,597.660 


86 


11 


25 


— 


53 


29 


October. .. 


.2.591,505 


9,239,482 


118 


42 


59 


6 


5 


5 


November 


.2,679,715 


4,816,367 


67 


17 


— 


4 


3 


8 



During the six months above quoted there were, 
also, shipped 24 carloads of horses and four car- 



loads of prunes. The traffic handled during this 
period was about an average of that handled the 
entire year, and approximately there were 
22,000,000 pounds of freight brought in and 
60,000,000 pounds shipped out over this railroad 
each year. These imports, however, were not all 
consumed at The Dalles, as perhaps one-third of 
them was reshipped by wagons to interior points. 
The D. P. & A. N. Co. made the following state- 
ment of the aggregate amount of traffic handled 
for eleven months of 1897. The figures show the 
amount both shipped into and out of The Dalles, 
from January 1st to December 1st, 1897: Cattle 
and horses, 2,181; sheep, $10,000; flour, tons, 
180; lumber, tons, 220; merchandise, tons, 4,197. 

The extension of the Columbia Southern rail- 
road south from Wasco, in 1898, was, finan- 
cially, a severe blow to The Dalles. Prior to 
that event the city had derived trade from a vast 
scope of territory throughout Sherman and Crook 
counties, but which was not deflected to other 
points on the new railroad. 

Company G, Oregon National Guard, of The 
Dalles, departed from that city Saturday morn- 
ing, May 14, 1898. They went to Portland 
where they were mustered into the United States 
service. This company left The Dalles sixty 
men strong. Reaching Portland much dissatis- 
faction was manifested in the manner of forming 
the regiment. Company G was annihilated. The 
men were distributed among other companies, 
and no fitting recognition was accorded the offi- 
cers. It was claimed, with most excellent proof 
of authenticity, that "peanut" politics played no 
unimportant part in the organization of the Sec- 
ond Oregon Volunteers. However, the members 
of the disorganized Company G went to the Phil- 
ippines where they performed duties assigned 
them in a soldier-like manner. 

Saturday evening, January 14, 1899, Com- 
pany D, Oregon National Guards, at The Dalles, 
was mustered in by Colonel J. M. Patterson, 
numbering 41 members. Captain O. C. Hollis- 
ter acted as examining surgeon. This company 
was composed of active, hearty young men, capa- 
ble of making excellent soldiers. The officers 
elected took a deep interest in the welfare of the 
company and greatly increased its efficiency. 
These officers were G. E. Bartell, captain ; R. A. 
Spivey, first lieutenant ; David Johns, second 
lieutenant. This company was organized to re- 
place the one whose members had crossed the 
ocean to the seat of war. It is still in existence. 

The federal census of 1900 gave The Dalles 
a population of 3,542. For several years pre- 
ceding March 15, 1901, the city had been, com- 
paratively, at a standstill in a business sense ; 
perhaps it had a trifle retrograded. But at the 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



147 



date above mentioned there was a decidedly more 
favorable outlook. One of the causes of this 
anticipated prosperity was the establishing of a 
wool-scouring plant. June 14th twenty men 
were to be seen sorting wool and dividing it into 
four different grades preparatory to placing it 
in vats for scouring. Steam was raised in the 
boilers, machinery started and every appliance 
was found to work smoothly. In the store rooms 
were several hundred thousand pounds of wool, 
sufficient to supply the plant for a long period.. 
Mr. Russell announced that he would keep the 
mill steadily in operation during the season, em- 
ploying about fifty hands. This enterprise 
brought much wool to The Dalles that else would 
have gone to other points. The Tiincs-Moitn- 
taincer said, March 15, 1901 : "Another feature 
of importance to The Dalles is the proposed new 
flouring mill that the Wasco Warehouse Com- 
pany intends building this season, that will be 
to the wheat market what the scouring mill has 
been to the wool market." 

Building steadily increased. Some forty new 
residences were constructed in 1901, and one of 
the largest flouring mills in Oregon was rap- 
idlv nearing completion. Aside from these sev- 
eral substantial business blocks were constructed. 
January 7, 1902, the Times-Mountaineer pub- 
lished the following: 

The Wasco Warehouse & Milling Company's 
plant at White river, just completed, is the most 
modern and complete on the coast. It consists of 
;a concrete dam across White river above the falls, 
with the necessary intakes and headgates, with a 
54-inch pipe line to convey water down the canyon 
to the power house below the falls, which is of 
masonry, with a steel roof, and in which are two 
impulse-turbine water-wheels of 650-horse power 
■each. These wheels are directly connected with 
two large generators of the revolving-field type, 
writh a total capacity of about 1,500 horse power, 
furnishing 2,300 volts to the transformers by which 
the current is stepped up to 22,500 volts, for trans- 
mission here. This voltage is received in the sub- 
station in this city, where it is stepped down to a 
•voltage suitable for lighting and other purposes. 
It is the company that today supplies illumination 
to The Dalles. 

In 1903 the total assessed valuation of the 
city was $1,218,804. Almost from its earliest set- 
tlement The Dalles has been recognized as the 
commercial center of Eastern Oregon. Before 
the building of the Oregon Railroad & Naviga- 
tion Company's line it was the distributing point 
for the entire Inland Empire, freights for all 
of Eastern Oregon and Washington passing 



through or being forwarded from this point. 
Since the completion of the railroad in 1882 it 
has lost some of its former business, still it re- 
tains a vast amount in this line. The large ware- 
houses and banking interests of The Dalles natur- 
ally draw a large trade to this point, because it 
can be taken better care of than at any interior 
place. And the extreme low freight rates prevail- 
ing, and not obtainable at any other point in 
Eastern Oregon, induces a vast volume of trade 
to center here that would go elsewhere. Having 
competing transportation lines The Dalles not 
only secures very low freight rates to and from 
Portland, but also gets terminal rates on all 
transcontinental traffic. Since the opening of 
the canal and locks at the Cascades, The Dalles 
has obtained the very lowest possible freight 
rates. Besides its shipping interests The Dalles 
is well -represented in the mercantile line. So 
close is competition that this city has the repu- 
tation abroad of competing with Portland on the 
price of all classes of merchandise. This fact, 
naturally, draws trade from a large scope of 
country, and farmers from Klickitat county, 
Washington, and Sherman, Gilliam, Grant and 
Crook counties, Oregon, some of them 250 miles 
away, are attracted here to purchase their sup- 
plies. The Dalles, too, enjoys the reputation of 
being the best wool market on the coast, and also 
the best wheat market in Eastern Oregon. Wool 
centers here from half a dozen different counties, 
and in consequence wool buyers from Boston, 
New York, and San Francisco visit The Dalles 
each year during the months of July, August and 
September and make purchases direct from pro- 
ducers of from 7,000,000 to 8,000,000 pounds. 

In view of the many sensational fire episodes 
through which The Dalles has passed, a brief 
history of its fire department ma}' not be out of 
place here. May 3, 1859, an ordinance was 
passed organizing Hook and Ladder Company 
No. 1. January 6, i860, this was disbanded. 
June 14th of the same year an engine house was 
ordered built, and it was completed and accepted 
October 28th. January 15, 1862, Dalles Diligent 
Hook and Ladder Company was formed. At its 
primary organization this company comprised as 
members : R. E. Miller, William De Moss, A. 
Loch, J. Elfelt, G. A. Liebe, William Logan, H. 
Wilmer, M. Reinig, W. Moabus, T. Kaufman, 
C. F. Mansfield. A. Shellworth, F. Bolter, F. C. 
Brown, F. Wvckman, T. B. Kelly, A. Langdon, 
J. Michelbach, A. Wintermier, J. Eppinger, O. 
S. Savage, L. Brown, C. B. Koegel, G. Erkskine, 
R. Lusher, P. Mask, A. Stangler, H. Wentz. 

January 15, 1863, Diligent Hook and Ladder 
Companv tendered its resignation to the city coun- 
cil, which was accepted and on petition of A. 



148 



HISTORY OF .CENTRAL OREGON. 



. 



Lauer and nineteen others, Jackson Engine Com- 
pany No. i, was organized. The members were: 
A. Lauer, J. Eppinger, J. Michelbach, A. W. 
Buchanan, R. Lusher, F. C. Brown, M. Reinig, 
' T. Kenny, F. Wyckman, G. A. Stangler, J . 
Elfelt, William Moabus, C. B. Koegel, F. Bolter, 
O. S. Savage, H. Gardiner, P. Mark, H. W. 
Headrick, L. Brown, F. C. Brown. 

Grant Hook and Ladder Company was or- 
ganized June 19, 1865, and the truck, etc., of 
Diligent Hook and Ladder Company turned over 
to them. Relief Hose Company No. 1 was 
organized September 28, 1865, and disbanded in 
1868. Columbia Hose Company was organized 
May 8, 1875. Wasco Engine Company No. 2 
was organized September 18, 1879, and dis- 
banded in April, 1882. In 1880 a new steam fire 
engine was purchased by the city and given to 
Jackson Engine Company. In 1882 a commodi- 
ous engine house was completed and turned over 
to the fire department. At present The Dalles 
has one of the best volunteer fire dapartments and 
apparatus of any town in the state. The appa- 
ratus consists of a steam engine, chemical engine, 
hand engine, five hose companies and one hook 
and ladder company, all thoroughly equipped 
with the latest improved appliances for fighting 
fires. 

In a previous chapter we have told of the 
establishment of the two missions at the point 
where subsequently was built The Dalles. In 
1854 Rev. James Gerrish, a Methodist minister, 
preached at The Dalles. In 1856 Rev. H. K. 
Hines was appointed to the charge, and through 
his exertions a church was organized. 

The Congregational society was organized in 
September, 1859, under the ministrations of Rev. 
W. A. Tenny. Their church edifice was erected 
in 1863. Rev. Thomas Condon was pastor. A 
Catholic church was built in i860 by Father 
Vermeersh. In August, 1869, the Baptist society 
was formed, Rev. Ezra Fisher being pastor in 
charge. This building was dedicated to religious 
services in 1874. 

In September, 1873, services were begun by 
the Protestant Episcopal denomination, by Rev. 
Dr. Nevius, who held occasional services until 
the completion of the church building. The 
corner stone was laid May 28, 1875, and the 
edifice was opened for services Christmas Day, 
1875. August 1, 1879, Rev. W. L. MacEwan as- 
sumed charge, becoming thus the first permanent 
minister. All debts having been liquidated the 
church was formally consecrated Sunday, No- 
vember 23, 1879. It is our purpose to present a 
brief, yet concise history of the organization and 
progress of each church in The Dalles. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church is, probably, 



the largest and most influential religious organi- 
zation in Wasco county. We shall not recapit- 
ulate the very earliest history of Methodist 
church work at The Dalles, or rather where 
the city now stands, as it has been treated 
in extenso in the current history chapter 
of Wasco county. We shall here consider 
its progress from the abandonment of the 
Methodist mission in 1847, or rather, from 
the first church work here after the town 
of Dalles City was founded. There was no 
stated religious work done by any church at The 
Dalles for nearly ten years after the abandonment 
of the mission. In 1856 the Methodist Episcopal 
Conference in Oregon sent to this place Rev. H. 
K. Hines, a young man of 27 years. He or- 
ganized into a class the few Methodists then re- 
siding in the vicinity. Rev. Hines purchased a 
beautiful quarter block of land on the opposite 
side of the street on which the church now stands, 
and one block nearer the river, paying for it 
$175, and donated it to the church. This was. 
afterwards exchanged for the lot on which the 
church now stands, and some cash. A little 
chapel, costing about $200, was built two years 
later by Rev. A. Kelly, who was then in charge 
of the church here. 

In 1861 and 1862 Rev. J. F. De Vore was 
pastor, and under his administration a good 
church for the time was erected on the lot where 
the present edifice stands. This remained un- 
changed until 1879-80 when H. K. Hines was 
again pastor, when the church was thoroughly 
remodeled and a fine parsonage erected at a cost 
of about $3,500. In the great fire of September, 
189 1, when a large portion of The Dalles was 
destroyed, both church and parsonage were con- 
sumed. With great recuperative vigor the mem- 
bers and friends of the church built, on the same 
ground, a larger, handsomer, building. In 1893. 
it was completed. The membership of the first 
church over which Rev. Hines presided com- 
prised : Dr. Shaug and wife ; George Herbert and 
wife ; William Connell and wife ; George Ban- 
burger; Mrs. Eliza McFarland ; Mrs. Hall; Mrs. 
White ; Mrs. Martin ; Mrs. Cantrell. 

The position which this organization has held 
among the churches of this coast is evidenced by 
the list of pastors who have been called to serve 
it since its organization, now nearly fifty years. 
Thev are as follows : H. K. Hines, J. W. Miller, 
A. Kelly, John Flinn, J. F. De Vore, B. C. 
Lippincott, I. D. Driver, J. T. Wolf, G. Hines, 
N. Doane, S. Van Dersol, J. C. Kirkman, E. J. 
Hawn, L. J. Whitcomb, J. D. Flenner, W. C. 
Grav, W. G. Simpson, John Whistler and J. H. 
Wood. 

In a report of a meeting of the Methodists of 






HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



149 



The Dalles, published April T2, 1882, the Times 
said, in part : ' 

* * * Short speeches were made by Grandma 
McFarlarld, J. B. Dickerson, A. M. Walker and William 
Mitchell. Grandma recollected well the first sermon 
ever preached in The Dalles. It was at her house in 
1855 by Rev. G. M. Berry, to a small congregation, at 
which time a Methodist class was organized. * * * 
J. B. Dickerson named the pastors — eighteen in all — 
who had served the church here since its organization, 
and said few could realize the struggle he and his class- 
mates had in those early days to pay the preacher and 
build the church. He remembered that the first par- 
sonage property cost $750, and that the main part of the 
present building was commenced and completed by J. 
F. DeVore, of the Oregon Conference. 

Writing to the Times April 19, 1882, a gentle- 
man signing himself "History," says : 

As history should be accurate, if written at all, 
will you permit one of the olden times to give you an 
item or two about the M. E. church at The Dalles. In 
1853 Rev. James Gerrish supplied the Vancouver and 
The Dalles circuit from the annual conference, in the 
spring of that year until October, when G. Hines took 
-charge of it. Both of these men visited The Dalles before 
December, 1853, in the work of their ministry, but I 
am not aw T are that any class was organized. G M. 
Berry followed them and probably organized the first 
class. H. K. Hines was the first pastor who ever re- 
sided at The Dalles, he removing there in the fall of 
1856, and organized the first Sunday-school, with 
Grandma McFarland, her daughter and Mrs. Hines as 
teachers. Mr. Hines bought the first property for the 
M. E. church, paying $175 out of his own pocket for it 
and donating it to the church. * * * Mrs. Hines 
taught a private school to enable them to live. * * * 
The first quarterly conference was organized by Mr. 
Hines. The church was removed and remodeled into its 
present form, and the parsonage — the best in the state — 
built under the second administration of Mr. Hines as 
pastor, in 1880 — twenty-three years after his first pas- 
torate. 

The Methodist Episcopal church at The 
Dalles at the present time has a strong member- 
ship, and an influential constituency, taking in 
many of the most substantial and influential citi- 
zens of the place. 

The foundation of St. Peter's Catholic Church 
was the mission established May 16, 1848, by Rev. 
L. Rosseau. The first church edifice was built at 
the rear of what is now the Catholic cemetery. 
February 26, 1855, tms church and all that be- 
longed to it was totally destroyed by fire. The 
church records, also, perished. But according to 



an estimate made by Rev. Mesplie about 500 
persons had been baptized, 30 confirmed and 
nearly 20 couples married in the old mission 
chapel. In 1851 Rev. Mesplie was appointed 
parish priest; he continued in this capacity until 
T863. The charge of St. Peter's church was then 
given successively to Rev. Fathers Vermeesh, 
Dielman, Thibau, Mackin, Demers, Gaudon, and 
in the year i88r to Rev. A. Brongeest. During 
this last. administration a new brick sisters' con- 
vent and an addition to the priest's residence were 
built. Mrs. Lord says: 

"About ten years after the founding of the 
Catholic mission (which was in 1848), and after 
Father Mesplie came, Bishop Blanchett came up 
and they decided to build a church in town. They 
were quite in favor of a site between Fourth and 
Fifth, Laughlin and Federal streets. I don't re- 
member why they decided on their present loca- 
tion." The following historical record of the 
Congregational church was contributed to The 
Dalles Chronical bv S. L. Brooks, September, 23, 
1899: 

The Dalles — formerly called Wasco-pum — forty 
years ago (1859) was an infantile town of scarce 400 
inhabitants, when Rev. W. A. Tenny, the pioneer 
preacher of Congregationalism, stepped ashore from off 
the little steamer Hassalo, at the "Gate City" of the 
Inland Empire — to be. After a few days' survey of the 
place and its surroundings, he found that the religion 
of the day, for the majority, was everybody for himself. 
Being a frontier town the revolver and bowie knife were 
the seat of justice outside of the courts. The roughs 
were in the ascendency so far as court justice was con- 
cerned. Need I say that His Satanic Majesty reigned 
in what today is our beautiful city, with its church 
spires pointing heavenward? 

A brave man was Mr. Tenny to face such a condi- 
tion of affairs. He saw, after his arrival, the awaiting 
opportunity for active work in this Godless field. The 
better class hailed this herald of the cross with favor. 
The Master had called him to "Go and preach the 
gospel." With this command he came to bring good 
tidings to the people. Tact, patience, perserevance and 
forbearance were requisites he possessed. Zealous work 
was commenced at once in the mission on which he was 
called. Days, weeks, months passed. Evidences of his 
labor were unseen. He thought — ■ 

"We do not know it, but there lies 
Somewhere, veiled under evening skies, 
A garden all must sometime see — 
Somewhere lies our Gethsemene." 

Mr. Tenny had secured from the county court the 
privilege of using the court room for church purposes 
until such time as circumstances would allow a better 



mo 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



place. Underneath the audience room was the jail, 
which was filled most of the time with criminals of 
various classes. I am told that during religious worship, 
vaporings of profanity and villainous songs mingled 
with the sacred exhortations from the minister's desk, 
and during the season of prayer the mocking "aniens" 
would be heard from the inmates below. 

With all these discouraging features Mr. Tenny 
pressed on in the work. As time passed on he con- 
cluded that steps must be taken toward the formation 
of a church society. After consulting with Messrs. E. 
S. Joslyn and E. S. Penfield in regard to the matter, 
it was decided to move in that direction at once. This 
encouraging conference resulted in Mr. Tenny making 
a call for a meeting of all those interested at the next 
Sabbath's morning service. At the stated time the acting 
pastor prefaced his invitation with a prayer, and asked 
that all those connected with the church assemble at his 
home on the evening of the 17th of September (present 
month) and formulate and complete an organization of 
the First Congregational Church of The Dalles. The 
following members appeared and signed the compact : 
Erastns S. Joslyn, E. S. Penfield, William B. Stillwell, 
Rev. W. A. Tenny, and Mrs. Tenny. This perfected the 
organization. Mr. Zelek, Mrs. Camilla Donnell and 
Mrs. Mary Joslyn not being in town at this time, were 
received into fellowship at a meeting a very short time 
afterward as charter members of this, the First Congre- 
gational Church of The Dalles. 

* * * The church shed a fresh influence upon 
the people after its organization, and an interest showed 
itself in the small community, from which some eight 
or ten were added to the record prior to the close of the 
pastorate of Mr. Tenny. From the first, church financial 
support was an unknown quantity. Popularity did not 
prove a barrier against the needed want for proper sup- 
port. In other words, to keep the wolf from the door. 
Providentially a call from the Forest Grove church came 
to him, and after due and prayerful consideration, be 
accepted the call and bade the little church farewell, late 
in the summer of 1861. 

The little flock was left without a leader until the 
early spring of 1862, when Rev. Thomas Condon, of 
Albany, having heard of the vacancy, came and took up 
the work left by its founder. Mr. Condon, after a short 
sojourn in the embryo city, found it absolutely neces- 
sary that a house of worship other than the old court 
room over the jail should be provided. On the 12th day 
of July, 1862, Rev. Condon called a meeting of the 
church people to meet him at his residence to discuss the 
subject of erecting a church edifice at an early day. 
Mr. H. P. Isaacs, a prominent citizen of the town, was 
very enthusiastic, as were, also, Messrs. Andrew Clark, 
and J. M. McKee, in the matter. Although the popula- 
tion was then hardly 700 souls, they conceded that $1,000 
could be raised from the people for that purpose. They 
felt that the people would be generous and do the right 
thing. They were not disappointed. After some dis- 



cussion and deliberation, Messrs. H. P. Isaacs, Andrew- 
Clark and J. M. McKee were appointed a building com- 
mittee with authority to purchase grounds and begin 
work as soon as practicable. They found it difficult to 
secure material to prosecute the work with rapidity. 
However, a building 30 by 50 feet was begun and en- 
closed so that in the early part of January, 1863, with a 
rough floor thrown down, improvised benches, and an 
old box stove to warm the building, the church people 
were gathered under their own roof. The summer and 
winter of 1863 and 1864 saw the building finished inside 
and out ; the seating was done by Messrs. Hogue and 
Abrams. The seats were made of cedar, covered with 
shellac varnish ; the pulpit was an elaborate piece of 
workmanship and was presented to the church by Col- 
onel J. S. Rickel, a prominent personage of transporta- 
tion fame. The colonel was not strictly a religious man, 
yet was a warm friend of the church and pastor, Mr. 
Condon. In 1867 an addition was put on the front of the 
building; on the northeast corner was a tower in which 
a large 800-pound bell was placed. This addition was: 
built by volunteer work. I well remember Mr. Zelek 
Donnell saying that his stock were fattening on the bunch 
grass and he could put in time for the Lord while his 
flock increased. * * * 

In the spring of 1867 Messrs. Robert Pentland, 
Zelek Donnell and Erastus S. Joslyn filed articles of 
incorporation incorporating the First Congregational 
Church of The Dalles. The capital was fixed at $2,000. 
After incorporation the following trustees were elected :' 
Messrs. E. S. Joslyn, W. P. Abrams, H. J. Waldron, 
Z. F. Moody and Zelek Donnell. Prior to the incorpora- 
tion Messrs. E. S. Joslyn, E. S. Penfield, Z. Donnell, W. 
B. Stillwell and Rev. Thomas -Condon were elected and' 
served as trustees up to the time of incorporation. Each 
year following the first general election, the vacancies 
have been filled by the following persons : 

E. B. Comfort, Zelek Donnell, H. J. Waldron, Rob- 
ert Pentland, Orlando Humason, John P. Booth, James 
B. Condon, Mrs. Camilla Donnell, Joshua W. French, 
Samuel Brooks, William R. Abrams, Eben B. McFar- 
land, Fred A. McDonald and R. A. Roscoe. The church- 
clerks have been as follows : E. S. Penfield, Rev. 
Thomas Condon (acting), Rev. W. R. Butcher (c.r- 
officio), S. L. Brooks, Mrs. E. E. Pentland, W. R. 
Abrams, Mrs. N. J. Simons, O. Sylvester. Mrs. E. J. 
Robinson, W. J. Strong, R. A. Roscoe, A. R. Thomp- 
son, B. S. Huntington and A. R. Thompson. * * * 

Mr. Condon was a very popular man and minister; 
his labor was a witness of it. At the close of his min- 
istry in the summer of 1873 the church roll numbered 
97 members, or communicants. On his retirement Rev. 
W. R. Butcher, of Albany, accepted a call to fill the 
vacant pulpit and began his ministry in the early 
autumn of the same year. During his ministry the 
church forged ahead as usual in additions to the 
roll. The fore part of June, 1876, he tendered his 
resignation. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



151 



This church was without a pastor from the pe- 
riod of Mr. Butcher's departure until the summer 
of 1X77, when Rev. J. \V. Harris, of Evansville, 
Wisconsin, was called to fill the vacancy. In the 
early fall of 1878 Rev. D. B. Gray came and 
commenced work in the church. He remained 
until July, 1887. November 7, 1887, Rev. R. V. 
Hoyt accepted a call from this church and re- 
mained one year. In 1888 Rev. W. C. Curtis 
accepted the pastorate. On September 2, 1888, 
fire destroyed the old church building. Then the 
society, being left roofless, fell back on first 
principals and worshipped in the court room — not 
the old one, but the new. In this room the church 
conducted services until January 27, 1889, a * 
which time the new and beautiful church edifice, 
erected upon property purchased of Judge O. S. 
Savage, was dedicated. The total cost of this 
building, grounds, furnishings, etc., was about 
$13,000. 

September 3, 1872, the First Baptist Church 
of The Dalles was organized. Articles of incor- 
poration were filed with the county clerk Janu- 
ary 8, 1873. Until 1881 the church was served 
by various pastors. In December of that year 
Rev. O. D. Taylor came from Orange, New Jer- 
sey, where he had been associated with Edward 
Judson, D. D., and assumed the pastorate of the 
church. In 1883 their property on the corner of 
Third and Washington streets was sold, and a 
new church and parsonage were erected at the 
corner of Washington and Fifth streets. In 1889 
it was considered one of the best church prop- 
erties on the coast. In May, 1887, Rev. J. C. 
Baker was called to the pastorate, which he 
held for one year, when he resigned and Rev. 
O. D. Taylor again entered into active charge 
of the church. Like all others on the coast the 
First Baptist Church of The Dalles has encoun- 
tered prosperity and adversity, but it is now on 
a firm foundation and its future most encourag- 
ing. 

April 20, 1889, articles of incorporation were 
filed with the clerk of Wasco county by the Sec- 
ond Baptist Church of The Dalles. The incor- 
porators were John Harper, M. J. and L. L. 
Hill. The capital stock was placed at $2,000. 

Calvary Baptist Church was dedicated at 
The Dalles January 27, 190 1. The cost of the 
edifice was $2,508.07, and when dedicated it was 
nearly free from debt. The building is a credit 
to the city and the funds for this handsome edi- 
fice were secured from a congregation of only 
about forty people. 

A concise and excellent history of St. Paul's 
Episcopal Church was published in the Times- 
Mountaineer of January 1, 1898, and we are 
highly favored in being able to reproduce it : 



Very little is known of the early history of this 
church in The Dalles. Some of the oldest residents re- 
member visits from the Right Rev. Thomas F. Scott, 
D. D., Rev. H. M. Fackler, D. D., Dr. McCarthy, 
Dr. Stoye, Dr. Nevius and others. A child of the 
Hon. J. K. Kelly was baptized by Dr. Fackler, D. 
D., in 1866, and in 1871 Rev. R. D. Nevius held two 
services in the Congregational church, through the 
courtesy of Rev. T. Condon, the pastor. From 
1871 to 1873 four services were held by Rev. R. D. 
Nevius, one by Bishop Morris, and one or two 
others by Rev. L. H. Wells. 

At this time there were found ten communi- 
cants of the church, and Dr. Nevius baptized four 
adult persons in the Congregational church. With 
this as a nucleus a congregation was established 
and an effort made to build a church. In 1874 Rt. 
Rev. Bishop Morris gave $500 towards it on con- 
dition that a like sum should be raised in The 
Dalles. This work was undertaken by Mrs. G. H. 
Knaggs, and successfully accomplished by her, the 
sum of $655 having been raised. In addition to this 
$105 was realized from a strawberry festival. A 
chancel window was then given by General Joseph 
Eaton, in memorial of his son, and an east window 
was, also, given by the Hon. L. L. McArthur. May 
28, 1875, Bishop Morris laid the corner stone of 
the present church, and deposited in it a copy of the 
Holy Bible, a book of Common Prayer, a copy of 
the Oregon Churchman of May 25th, and a copy of 
The Dalles Mountaineer, and copies of the Portland 
dailies, the Orcgonian, Bulletin and Evening Journal. 

January nth the church received its furniture, 
leaving an indebtedness of about $800. On the day 
the church was consecrated a draft on New York 
was received for $100 from St. Luke's Chapel, Mid- 
dletown, Connecticut, and a like amount was re- 
ceived from the Rev. John Bonney, from the east, a 
friend of Mr. William Beall. Bishop Morris also 
gave $100, and the balance of the indebtedness was 
provided for by the congregation. In 1877 a paten 
and chalice of solid silver was received from St. 
Mark's church, Augusta, Maine. From January n, 
1876, to July 7, 1879, sixty-three services were held 
by the Rev. Dr. Nevius, when he was succeeded by 
the Rev. Mr. McEwen, who took charge of the 
church, having been sent by Bishop Morris. In 
September, 1880, through a subscription circulated 
by Miss Anna Thornbury and Mrs. Stansbury, an 
addition of the vestry room was made to the church, 
and about November, 1885, the present rectory was 
built. 

The bell was purchased in 1883, and was on the 
Queen of the Pacific when she struck on the Col- 
umbia bar, and the framework of which was thrown 
overboard. The present mountings were made by 
Mr. John Clayton. About April, 1886, Miss Mary 



152 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Wall, a communicant of the church, died and left 
a bequest of $500. The Rev. W. L. McEwen offi- 
ciated as rector from 1879 to 1886, when he was suc- 
ceeded by the Rev. John C. Fair, about April 1, 
1887. From 1879 to 1886 there were four confirma- 
tion classes under Rev. Mr. McEwen, numbering 
seventeen persons in all, and from 1886 to 1887, un- 
der the Rev. John C. Fair, there were two confirma- 
tion classes, numbering eight persons. In the spring 
of 1889 Rev. Eli D. Sutcliffe took charge of the work 
and remained five years. Rev. Joshua N. T. Goss 
was rector for the year ending Easter 1897. 

The Dalles Presbyterian Church was organ- 
ized July 8, 1888, in the hall of the Young Men's 
Christian Association. This was at the. ter- 
mination of several weeks' diligent work by Rev. 
George A. Hutchison, of San Francisco. Mem- 
bership of this initial organization comprised six- 
teen persons. Mr. J. M. Patterson and Mr. G 1 . 
W. Filloon were elected ruling elders ; Mr. G. W. 
Swank and Mr. W. J. Strong, deacons. Immedi- 
ately afterward a Sunday school was organized 
with the pastor, Rev. George A. Hutchison, as 
superintendent; Mr. J. M. Patterson, assistant. 
Of both the church and Sunday school W. J. 
Strong was elected treasurer. Miss Sadie Whit- 
man was named as secretary of the Sunday 
school. January 5, 1889, the fimes-M ountaineer 
said: 

"The Presbyterian society was one of the 
first to occupy the great northwestern country 
and has already become strong in all our larger 
towns and in all our cities. On account of an 
agreement for many years with the Congrega- 
tional body she did not occupy this field. About 
two years ago the synod of Columbia, which 
covers Oregon and Washington Territory, felt 
free to enter upon work here and so determined ; 
as a result the present minister was sent." 

The Lutheran Church was dedicated Sunday, 
April 17, 1898. The building complete cost about 
$5,000. Prior to this the Lutherans had no 
church edifice and held services only when they 
could procure the use of a room. The pastor, 
L. Grey, should be credited with the work of 
raising the money to bring about the erection of 
the building. Rev. James F. Beates, of Seattle, 
delivered the dedicatory sermon. Rev. M. L. 
Zwizig, of Portland, conducted the dedicatory 
services, assisted by Revs. A. C. Anda, of Ta- 
coma ; W. Edlund, of Astoria, and L. Grey, of 
The Dalles. 

Fraternal societies are well represented at 
The Dalles. There are many of them and by 
far the greater number are in a prosperous con- 
dition socially and financially. 

The first order instituted in the city was the 



Independent Order of Odd Fellows. It came into 
being as a distinct organization November 1, 
1856. H. W. Davis, deputy grand master, or- 
ganized Columbia Lodge No. 5, the warrant for 
organization being issued by E. M. Barnum, 
grand master, and it was attested by Chester N. 
Terry, grand secretary. Petitioners for the char- 
ter were C. N. Shaug, E. G. Towne, J. M. Blos- 
som, F. Harbaugh, L. Colwell and M. R. Hath- 
away. During the great fire of 1891 the records 
of this lodge were destroyed, depriving us of the 
privilege of giving a complete history of this 
pioneer fraternal organization of The Dalles. 
From other sources, however, it is known that 
during the first term the membership increased 
to the number of twenty-five. Officers of this 
lodge, so far as known, were C. W. Shaug, noble 
grand ; E. C. Cowne, vice grand ; Charles R. 
Meigs, secretary. 

The second order to come into the local 
perspective of The Dalles was the A. F. & A. M. ; 
name and number Wasco Lodge No. 15. This 
lodge was instituted March 28, 1857, a dispensa- 
tion having been granted by A. M. Belt, grand 
master of the grand lodge of Oregon. A char- 
ter was issued June 8th, following ; the dispen- 
sation having been granted to R. R. Thompson, 
M. J. Kelly, John P. Booth, Nathan Olney, A. 
G. Tripp, H. J. Pope and J. Whitney, of whom 
R. R. Thompson was named as W. M. ; M. J. 
Kelly, S. W. and J. P. Booth, J. W. Two other 
charter members were present, H. P. Isaacs and 
J. R. Bates and the visiting brothers were Myers, 
Perrin and Geer. 

At this meeting steps were taken to perfect 
the organization of a lodge by the appointment 
of a full list of officers and committees to draft 
by-laws, provide a place of meeting and purchase 
jewels and needed paraphernalia. The first home 
of the lodge was in the second story of a stone 
building occupied as a merchandise store by H. 
P. Isaacs, situated near the present site of the 
Columbia hotel. Some years after the lodge 
moved into Gates' hall in the second story of a 
building located at the corner of Second and 
Court streets. Both of these two homes were 
jointly occupied by the Masonic and Odd Fel- 
low societies. Finally the Masons fitted up a hall 
in the upper story of the stone building on First 
street, occupied by H. J. Waldron as a drug 
store. In 1880 the lodge room was on the cor- 
ner of Third and Court streets. 

The Dalles Chapter No. 6. Royal Arch Ma- 
son*, was instituted under a charter granted 
June 17. 1864, with A. W. Ferguson, O. S. Sav- 
age and James K. Kelly as its officers. 

Columbia Chapter Eastern Star No. 33, was 
instituted February 7, 1895, by John H. Bridge- 






HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



153 



ford, worthy grand patron, O. E. S., of Oregon, 
assisted by Mrs. Margaret E. Kellogg, associate 
grand matron ; Mrs. Emily McLean, past worthy 
matron of Myrtle Chapter No. 15 ; and Mrs. Jen- 
nie G. Mnckle, worthy matron of Mizpah Chap- 
ter, No. 30. The chapter organized with the fol- 
lowing officers : 

Airs. Mary S. Myers, worthy matron; Henry 
A. Baker, worthy patron; Mrs. Ella Garretson, 
associate matron ; Mrs. Eleanor Crossen, secre- 
tary ; Mrs. Esther Harris, treasurer ; Miss 
Maude Burke, conductress; Miss Edna Errhart, 
Adah ; Mrs. Alice Crossen, Ruth ; Mrs. Evelyn 
Eshelman, Esther; Miss Nettie McNeal, Martha ; 
Mrs. B. J. Russell, Electra ; Mrs. Elmira Burget, 
warder; Mrs. M. Biggs, chaplain; Mrs. Sadie 
Clark, marshal; Miss Salina Phirman, organist; 
H. Clough, sentinel. The order was organized' 
with thirty-one charter members. 

The Ancient Order of United Workmen was 
instituted at The Dalles March 8, 1880. The 
name and number is Temple Lodge No. 3. Its 
charter officers were: W. M. Hurd, past master 
workman ; H. L. Waters, master workman ; T. 
A. Hudson, foreman ; D. A. Bunnell, overseer ; 
H. F. Comfort, recorder ; A. S. McAllister, finan- 
cier ; Emanuel Beck, receiver ; John D. Turner, 
guide ; George Anderson, inside watchman ; Peter 
Baluim, outer watchman. The present officers 
are: F. T. Mulliken, P. M. W. ; C. O. Bunker, 
M. W. ; F. W. Halfpapp, foreman ; J. A. Douthit, 
recorder ; W. S. Myers, financier ; F. Lemke, re- 
ceiver ; C. T- Crandall, guide ; W. H. Groat, I. 
W. ; Hans Hansen, O. W. 

The order of the Degree of Honor was insti- 
tuted April 7, 1894, by Mrs. Kate J. Young, of 
Portland. The order was organized with eighty 
members, and christened Fern Lodge No. 25, 
D. of H. 

Friendship Lodge No. 9, Knights of Pythias, 
was instituted September 24, 1881, by Ward S. 
Stevens, of Portland. The charter officers were : 
T. A. Hudson, C. C. ; S. E. Fancy, V. C. ; C. Y. 
Sanders, P.; O. Mangold, K. of R. S. ; D. L 
Cates, M. of F. ; R. E. Williams, M. of E. ; H. C. 
Hammond, M. at A. ; E. W. Garretson I. G. ; 
M. Sylvester, O. G. 

Harmony Temple No. 12, Rathbone Sisters, 
was organized January 22, 1895, by Mrs. Ella 
Houston, grand chief, of Roseburg, Oregon. The 
charter list numbered sixty-five members. Mrs. 
Alice Crossen was the first M. E. C. of Harmony 
Temple ; Mrs. Susie Phillips, E. S. ; Mrs. Lizzie 
'Lytle, E. J.; Mrs. Belle Berger, M. T. ; Miss 
Annie Newman, M. of R. and C. ; Mrs. Edith 
Menefee, M. of F. ; Mrs. Carrie Genning, P. of 
T. ; Mrs. H. Chrisman, G. of O. T. ; Mrs. Ella 
Michell, P. C. 



The order of Woodmen of the World was or- 
ganized in November, 1890, by Neighbor Ram- 
plin and the young camp was christened Mount 
Hood No. 59. Tts charter officers were : Consul, 
J. G. Farely ; adviser, J. M. Huntington; clerk, 
W. H. Michell ; banker, W. C. Allaway. 

Cedar Circle, Women of Woodcraft, No. 8, 
is the auxiliary to the Woodmen of the World, 
and was organized at The Dalles January 24, 
[895. It began its career with twenty-nine mem- 
bers, and its charter officers were Inez Filloon, 
guardian neighbor ; Georgia Weber, adviser ; 
Sallie Clark, great magician ; Elizabeth Joles, 
banker ; Delia Phirman, clerk. 

The Independent Order of Red Men was in- 
stituted July 24, T894, by A. A. Ellis, great 
sachem. The charter list numbered about forty 
prominent business and professional men. The 
first officers were : Sachem, John Michell ; senior 
sagamore, A. M. Kelsay ; junior sagamore, T. J. 
Driver ; prophet, C. C. Hollister ; chief of records, 
D. S. Dufur ; keeper of wampum, Frank Menefee. 

The Knights of Maccabees was organized 
Mav 27, 1895, by N. S. Boynton, and was chris- 
tened Dalles Tent, No. 20, K. O. T. M. Its 
charter membership numbered about 45, and its 
officers were : John Michell, P. Sr. Kt. Com. ; 
William Tackman, Sr. Kt. Com. ; H. H. Riddell, 
Sr. Kt. Lieut. ; J. F. Hampshire, Sr. Kt. R. K. ; 
W. G. Kerns, Sr. Kt. F. K. ; R. E. Williams, Sr. 
Kt. Chaplain ; Gus Brown, Sr. K. Sergeant ; 
James Sutherland, Sr. Kt. Phvsician ; W. I. 
Tohns, Sr. Kt. M. ; R. H. Lonsdale, Sr. Kt. 1st 
M. of G.; L. L. Lane, Jr. Kt. 2d M. of G. ; J. 
Zimmerman, Sr. Kt. Sent. ; J. Nitschke, Sr. Kt. 
Picket. 

Cascade Lodge No. 303, B. P. O. Elks, was 
instituted at Cascade Locks July 11, 1895, and in 
March, 1896, was removed to The Dalles. The 
charter officers of the lodge were as follows : 
T. W. Lewis, Exalted Ruler ; Charles C. Fields, 
Esteemed Leading Knight ; A. B. Andrews, Es- 
teemed Loyal Knight ; P. B. Burns, Esteemed 
Lecturing Knight ; V. C. Lewis, secretary ; D. L. 
Cates, treasurer ; J. B. Wood, chaplain ; L. Win- 
trier, Esquire : W. A. Calvin, Inner Sentinel ; A. 
A. Stuart, Tyler. The present officers are : Ex- 
alted Ruler, A. E. Lake ; esteemed leading knight, 
W. A. Johnston ; esteemed loyal knight, A. E. 
Crosby ; esteemed lecturing knight, Glenn O. 
Allen ; secretary, John Michell ; esquire, P. J. 
Sullivan ; inner guard, H. S. Harkness ; tyler, 
R. C. Robertson ; trustees, A. Bittengen, W. H. 
Moodv, Frank Menefee ; treasurer, George C. 
Blakel'ey ; chaplain, P. W. DeHalff. 

Dalles Lodge No. 2, Independent Order of 
Good Templars, was instituted July 12, 1893, and 
the charter officers were C. T., William Michefl ; 



154 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



V. T., Mrs. C. D. Nickelsen ; chaplain, John Par- 
rott ; secretary, C. D. Nickelsen ; treasurer, E. C. 
Martin. 

Court The Dalles No. 12, Foresters of Amer- 
ica, was instituted September 12, 1895, by Dep- 
uty Grand Chief Ranger, Samuel Kafka. Twen- 
ty-two names were enrolled on the charter list 
and the organization began its existence under 
most favorable circumstances with W. E. Gar- 
retson as presiding officer ; Charles Frazer, S. C. 
R. ; W. F. Grunow, secretary ; F. W. L. Skibbe, 
treasurer ; A. B. Estebennet, senior warden ; 
James Fisher, junior warden; M. J. Manning, 
Sr. B. ; David King, Jr. B. 

A branch of the Catholic Knights of Amer- 
ica, a fraternal insurance, was organized March 
21, 1886, the charter members being Rev. A. 
Bongeest, W. Chambers, F. J. Hadelman, Mau- 
rice Fitzgerald, Michael Fitzgerald, Con Howe, 
A. Floyd, David Burke, H. Tolty, W. Horan, F. 
Vogt, J. P. Benton, P. E. Farrelly and T. J. 
Thompson. 

The Artisans of The Dalles was instituted 
February 20, 1896, with forty-eight charter mem- 
bers. Its charter officers were : T. A. Hudson, 
M. A.; N. Whealdon, supt. ; D. H. Roberts, sec- 
retary. 

Following is the list of fraternal societies now 
existing in The Dalles with their auxiliary lodges : 

Wasco Lodge, No. 15, A. F. & A. M. ; Dalles 
Chapter No. 6, Royal Arch Masons ; Columbia 
Lodge No. 5, I. O. O. F. ; Cascade Lodge No. 
303, B. P. O. E. ; Friendship Lodge No. 9, K. of 
P.; Mount Hood Camp No. 59, W. O. W. ; 
Temple Lodge No. 3, A. O. U. W. ; Dalles Aerie, 
F. O. E. ; G. W. Nesmith Post G. A. R. ; Dalles 
Tent No. 20, K. O. T. M. ; Dalles Lodge No. 2, 
I. O. G. T. ; Court The Dalles No. 12, Foresters 
of America ; United Artisans ; Order of Wash- 
ington ; Modern Woodmen of America ; Frater- 
nal Brotherhood of America ; Modern Brother- 
hood of America. 

Auxiliaries : Eastern Star ; Rebekahs ; Cedar 
Circle Ladies of Woodcraft ; Degree of Honor ; 
Women's Relief Corps ; Ladies of Maccabees ; 
Royal Neighbors ; Rathbone Sisters. 

Aside from what might be termed the "old 
line" fraternal societies, there are a number of 
women's societies, or "clubs." in The Dalles. 
From the excellent Women's Edition of the 
Times-Mountaineer, issued May 17, 1898, we 
are permitted to give brief outlines of these or- 
ganizations devoted to culture and social im- 
provement : 

In September, 1893, a few ladies assembled 
for the purpose of forming a literary society. As 
"Taine's History of English Literature" was de- 
cided upon for the text book for the year, the 



assembly assumed the name of "The Taine 
Class." For the two ensuing years the study of 
English literature was pursued, and in the third 
year Guizot's "History of Civilization in Europe" 
was adopted as the text book. After that fol- 
lowed Draper's "Intellectual Development of 
Europe." 

Women's work in St. Paul's church began 
with an offer from General Eaton, of Portland, 
of $500 on condition that a like amount be con- 
tributed by the people of The Dalles. The ef- 
forts of Mrs. Knaggs in realizing $655 has been 
mentioned in our history of the churches, and 
this was the nucleus of the present St. Paul's 
Guild. Organization was effected in 1876. The 
life of the church at times has languished, but 
was revived by the able assistance of this faith- 
ful band of workers. 

The Ladies' Aid Society of the Congrega- 
tional Church was organized in 1863. Mrs. E. 
M. Wilson was president; Mrs. C. Z. Donnell, 
secretary. 

The Ladies' Aid Society of the First Chris- 
tian Church of The Dalles was organized Oc- 
tober 1, 1892, under the name of the Christian 
Church Ladies. It began with eight members 
and has steadily increased in numerical strength. 

The Lutheran Ladies' Society was organized 
under the constitution and charter of Zion Evan- 
gelical Lutheran Church, May 20, 1896. On this 
day a number of ladies met at the residence of 
Mrs. Stubling in response to a call from Rev. L. 
Grey, who presided at the meeting. 

The Women's Mission Circle was organized 
September 16, 1896, its aim being to raise funds 
for home, foreign and convention missions. 

The Willing Workers Society of the Calvary 
Baptist Church was organized October 19, 1894, 
with ten charter members and the following of- 
ficers : Mrs. E. K. Russell, president ; Mrs. W. C. 
Allaway, 1st vice-president; Mrs. S. P. M. 
Briggs. 2d vice president ; Mrs. H. H. Campbell, 
secretary : Mrs. M. Hill, treasurer. 

The Good Intent is the title by which the la- 
dies' aid society of the Methodist church is 
called. The organization was effected in 1879, 
the first president being Mrs. Eliza McFarland ; 
vice president, Mrs. Sarah Michell. These two 
efficient officers served continuously for a num- 
ber of years, being succeeded by Mrs. J. D. Lee, 
as president, in 1886. 

The Woman's Christian Temperance Union 
of The Dalles was organized in October, 1881, 
by the first state president, Mrs. E. J. Hines, in 
the Third street Congregational church, with 
Mrs. Smith French, president, and Mrs. Louisa 
A. Stowell, secretary. The earlier years of their 
work were principally juvenile. A Band of 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



155 



Hope was organized in 1882. At one time it 
numbered 150 members. A free reading room 
was established in 1882, and was maintained con- 
tinuously for thirteen years, when it was discon- 
tinued. Mrs. Henry Villard made the reading 
room a present of $100. 

The Woman's Relief Corps is the auxiliary 
to the Grand Army of the Republic and was in- 
stituted April 17, 1889, its name and number be- 
ing J. W. Nesmith Corps, No. 17. 

Azalea Rebekah Lodge No. 99, auxiliary to 
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, was in- 
stituted April 9, 1898, with 39 charter members. 
The instituting officer was Mrs. Ida Foster, pres- 
ident of the Rebekah Assembly of Oregon, as- 
sisted by Mrs. Grace Swank-Laurie and Mrs., A. 
B. Mauley, all of Portland. The following of- 
ficers were elected and installed : N. G., Mrs. Lulu 
D. Crandall ; V. G., Rebecca Wilson ; secretary, 
Alice Lyle ; treasurer, Elvira Neilsen ; W., Anna 
Rawson ; C, Almira Burget ; I. G., Mary Ward ; 
O. G., Anna Blakeney; R. S. to N. G., O. D. 
Doane ; L. S. to N. G., Emma Doane ; R. S. to 
V. G., Belle Cooper Rinehart; L. S. to V. G., 
Georgia Sampson ; chaplain, Mrs. Mary Learned. 
Several visitors from Star-Rebekah, of Dufur, 
were present and assisted very materially in the 
instituting and installing ceremonies. 

The German Ladies' Aid Society was organ- 
ized in 1893. It has accomplished much good 
and it may be safely predicted that its sphere of 
usefulness will be greatly extended. 

The ladies of The King's Daughters have ac- 
complished much good, their object being to 
make clothing for the poor, mostly children, and 
their charitable deeds will not be forgotten by 
those whom these kind ladies have aided. 

St. Vincent's Charitable Society of the Cath- 
olic church was established in 1885. Its aim is 
to help the deserving poor of the city and sur- 
rounding country. 

One of the private institutions of The Dalles 
which is deserving of especial mention is The 
Dalles Hospital, which was opened to the public 
in May, 1901. This hospital building is beauti- 
fully situated on the bluff overlooking the busi- 
ness portion of the town. It is a two-story build- 
ing. There are thirty beds, three physicians and 
from eight to ten nurses are employed. It is a 
private institution for the treatment of all sur- 
gical and medical cases, and is provided with an 
X-Ray bacteriological laboratory. In fact, it has 
one of the best, modern equipped surgery's in 
Oregon. In connection with the hospital is 
conducted a nurses' training school. From its 
inception this institution has been a pronounced 
success. Previous to its establishment there 
was no hospital of the kind nearer than Port- 



land, and plans are now being made for its en- 
largement in the near future. A picture of the 
building will be found in this work. 

In concluding this chapter concerning espe- 
cially The Dalles we deem it appropriate to ap- 
pend a list of the city officers since the initial 
movement in planting a city. The member of the 
council whose name appears first was selected 
president of the board. This, however, refers 
only to that part of the roster prior to 1863, at 
which time the charter was amended and a mayor 
took the place of president. 

1855 — Councilmen, W. C. Laughlin, R. D. For- 
sythe, J. C. Geere, W. H. Fauntleroy, O. Humason; 
recorder, J. P. Booth. 

1856 — Councilmen, H. B. Isaacs, N. H. Gates, 
J. McAuliff; recorder, j! P. Booth; treasurer, O. 
Humason. 

1857. — Councilmen, N. H. Gates, E. G. Cowne, 
R. Hall, B. F. McCormick, P. Craig; recorder, C. 
R. Meigs; treasurer, O. Humason. 

1858. — Councilmen, N. H. Gates, H. P. Isaacs, 
C. McFarland, E. G. Cowne, O. Humason; recorder, 
W. C. Moody; marshal, A. Y. Crabb; treasurer, T. 
Baldwin,* J. Juker.* 

1859. — Councilmen, L. W. Coe, Victor Trewitt,* 
L. Miller,* F. C. Brown, M. Cushing,* A. P. Dennison * 
I. W . D. Gillett,* A. J. Price, O. S. Savage ; recorder, 

E. R. Button,* G. E. Graves ;* marshal, H. Hedrick,* 
A. J. Crabb,* G. Barrington ;* treasurer, N. H. 
Gates. 

i860 — Councilmen, L. W. Coe, F. C. Brown, W. D. 
Bigelow, O. S. Savage, R. E. Miller; recorder, J. Mc- 
Auliff,* J. Murphy,* W. C. Moody. 

1861.— Councilmen, R. E. Miller, C. F. Mans- 
field, P. Craig, E. P. Fitzgerald, Fred Botler; re- 
corder, W. C. Moody,* J. S. Reynolds;* marshal, H. 
Headrick; treasurer, O. S. Savage. 

1862 — Councilmen, R. E. Miller, E. P. Fitzger- 
ald. F. Bolter,* L. Brown,* T. Gordon,* A. Clark, B. 

F. Drew; recorder J. S. Reynolds; marshal, H. W. 
Headrick ; treasurer, P. Craig. 

1863 — Mayor, J. K. Kelly; councilmen, W. C. 
Laughlin,* J. A. Odell.* J. Eppinger, A. Lauer.* F .C. 
Brown, Racy Biven ; recorder, T. Tallifero,* J. Rey- 
nolds ;* marshal, H. Headrick,* C. White ;* treasurer, 
P. Craig,* A. Buchanan.* 

1864 — Mayor, C. P. Meigs; councilmen, L. 
Brown, R. C. Munger, W. Harman, A. Clark, L. 
Coffin,* L. Lyon :* recorder, J. S. Reynolds.* W. A. 
Loring;* marshal, Nathan Olney ; treasurer, H. J. 
Waldron. 

1865 — Mayor, N. H. Gates; councilmen, E. R. 
Welch, H. A. Hogue, C. Miller,* J. Guthrie,* J. M. 
Bird, A. W. Buchanan; recorder, F. S. Holland; 



Served only part of term. 



>i56 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



marshal, Chas. Keeler; treasurer, O. S. Savage,* W. 
P. Miller.* 

1866 — Mayor, G. B. ; councilmen, I. 

McFarland, E. Wingate, R. H. Wood, G. A. Liebe, 

D. Handley ; recorder, H. Catley,* J. A. B. Stimson;* 
-marshal, Chas. Keeler; treasurer, C. S. Miller. 

1867 — Mayor, O. Humason; councilmen, N. H. 
Gates, E. Wingate, H. Waldron, G. Thatcher; re- 
corder, T. J. Callaway; marshal Chas. Keeler; treas- 
urer, F. Dehm. 

1868 — Mayor, E. Wingate; councilmen, H. 
Waldron, G. Thatcher, J. K. Kelly,* R. B. Reed,* W. 
Moabus, J. M. Bird; recorder, J. A. Campbell; mar- 
shal, Peter Ruffner; treasurer, F. Dehm. 

1869 — Mayor, E. Wingate; councilmen, N. H. 
Gates, Z. Donnell, Z. F. Moody, W. M. Hand; re- 
corder, J. A. Campbell; "marshal, Peter Ruffner; 
treasurer, F. Dehm. 

1870 — Mayor, William Harman; councilmen, J. 
T. Storrs, J. P. Booth, T. W. Miller, R. W. Cran- 
dall, W. Michell; recorder, E. B. Comfort. R. W. 
Crandall; marshal, Ed Roth; treasurer, Fred Liebe. 

1871 — Mayor, N. H. Gates; councilmen, E. 
Wingate, N. Wallace, J. B. Condon, V. Trevitt, R. 
Grant; recorder, J. A. Campbell; marshal, S. Klein; 
treasurer, L. Newman. 

1872 — Mayor, J. M. Bird; councilmen, R. W. 
•Crandall, H. Waldron, G. A. Liebe, J. W. French, 

E. Wingate; recorder, J. A. Campbell; marshal, S. 
Klein; treasurer L. Newman. 

1873 — Mayor, R. Grant; councilmen, F. Dehm, 
J. W. French, G. A. Liebe, N. H. Gates ;|| recorder, 
J. A. Campbell; marshal, S. Klein; treasurer, E. 
Wingate.- 

1874 — Mayor, G. A. Liebe; councilmen, J. W. 
French, P. Adams, Fred Liebe, A. Bettingen, J. C. 
Cartwright; recorder, J. A. Campbell; marshal, S. 
Klein; treasurer, E. Wingate. 

1875 — Mayor, G. A. Liebe; councilmen, C. Schultz, 
P. Adams, F. Liebe, A. Bettingen, J. C. Cartwright ; 
recorder, J. A. Campbell; marshal, S. Klein; treas- 
urer, L. Coffin. 

1876 — Mayor, E. P. Fitzgerald; councilmen, W. 
M. Hand, N. B. Sinnott, J. French, T. Miller, G. A. 
Liebe; recorder, J. A. Campbell; marshal, S. Klein; 
treasurer L. Coffin. 

1877 — Mayor, N. H. Gates; councilmen, G. A. 
Liebe, T. Gordon, N. W. Chapman, A. Bettingen, 
G. Williams; recorder, J. A. Campbell; marshal, S. 
Klein; treasurer L. Coffin. 

1878 — Mayor, N. H. Gates; councilmen, G. A. 
Liebe, A. Bettingen, G. Williams, N. B. Sinnott, 

F. Dehm; recorder, J. A. Campbell; marshal, S. 
Klein; treasurer, L. Coffin. 

1879 — Mayor, J. B. Condon; councilmen, G. A. 
Liebe, F. Dehm, B. Korten, J. A. Richardson, G. E. 
Williams; recorder, J. A. Campbell; marshal, J. W. 
Plain; treasurer L. Coffin. 



1880 — Mayor, J. B. Condon; councilmen, E. 
Schanno, Geo. Williams, S. French, W. L. Hill,* R. 
Mays,* T. Baldwin, Z. F. Moody; recorder, J. A. 
Campbell; marshal, C. P. Jones; treasurer, E. Win- 
gate. 

1881 — Mayor, G. A. Liebe; councilmen, F. Dehm, 
A. Wintermier, A. Gray, G. Williams, D. Handley, 
A. Bunnell; recorder, J. A. Campbell,* E. E. Calhoun;* 
marshal, A. Crossman; treasurer, E. Wingate. 

1882 — Mayor, G. A. Liebe; councilmen, D. 
Handley, T. Smith, J. Crossen, A. S. Macallister, R. 
Mays, S. B. Adams; recorder T. A. Hudson; mar- 
shall, S. Klein ; treasurer, G. Allen,* J. Fredden,* L. 
Rorden.* 

1883 — Mayor, G. A. Liebe; councilmen, D. Hand- 
ley, T. Smith,* B. Blumauer,* J. B. Crossen, W. N. 
Wiley, A. Wintermier, H. C. Neilson; recorder, T. 
A. Hudson; marshal, G. F. Beers; treasurer, L. 
Rorden. 

1884 — Mayor, O. S. Savage; councilmen, G. 
Williams, E. P. Fitzgerald, F. Dehm, A. Winter- 
mier, R. F. Gibons, J. H. Jackson; recorder, G. H, 
Knaggs; marshal, G. F. Beers; treasurer, L. Rorden. 

1885 — Mayor, R. F. Gibons; councilmen, E. B. 
Fitzgerald, G. Williams, J. S. Schenck, M. A. Moody, 
W. J. Jeffers, A. Bettinger; recorder, G. H. Knaggs; 
marshal, L. Rorden; treasurer G. F. Beers. 

1886 — Mayor, N. H. Gates; councilmen, J. S. 
Schenck, W. A. Moody, G. Williams, W. J. Jeffries, 
C. N. Thornbery, L. P. Ostlund; recorder, G. H. 
Knaggs; marshal, L. Rorden; treasurer, Bert -. 

1887 — Mayor, J. S. Storey; councilmen, G. W. 
Miller, J. S. Schenck, C. Thornbury, L. P. Ostlund, 
F. Dehm, W. A. Moody; recorder, G H. Knaggs; 
marshal, L. Rorden; treasurer, B. Thurston. 

1888 — Mayor, J. S. Storey; councilmen. C. W. 
Thornbury, T. A. Ward, L. P. Ostlund, John Lind, 
F. Dehm*, John Lewis*. G. W. Miller ; recorder, G. H. 
Knaggs ; marshal, L. Rorden ; treasurer, B. Thurs- 
ton. 

1889 — Mayor, M. A. Moody; councilmen, C. W. 
Thornbury, T. A. Ward, F. Dehm, H. Hanson, John 
Lewis, G. W. Miller; recorder, G. H. Knaggs; mar- 
shal, L. Rorden ; treasurer, Ralph Gibons. 

1890 — Mayor, M. A. Moody; councilmen, C. W. 
Thornbury, Hans Hansen, E. B. Dufur, J. Farley, 
J. T. Peters, J. Lewis, Paul Kreft; recorder, G. H. 
Knaggs; marshal, L. Rordan; treasurer, Ralph 
Gibons. 

1891 — Mayor, Robert Mays; councilmen, C. W. 
Thornbury, Hans Hansen, E. B. Dufur, H. J. Maier, 
C. E. Haight, Paul Kreft; recorder. F. Menefee; 
marshal, O. Kinersly; treasurer, R. Gibons. 



* Served only part of term. 

( I Tie vote cast for N. H. Gates. A. C. Phelps, 
L. Newman and J. M. Beal. N. H. Gates elected by 
the council. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



157- 



[892— Mayor, Robert Mays; councilmen, C. E. 
Haight, II. J. Maier, C. F. Lauer, E. B. Dufur, Paul 
Kreft, I. N. Joles; recorder, F. Menefee; marshal, 

D. Maloney ; treasurer, L. Rorden. 

1893 — Mayor, W. C. Rhinehart; councilmen, T. 
N. Joles, C. F. Lauer, Paul Kreft, G. C. Eshelman, 
T. A. Hudson, W. H. Butts; recorder, D. S. Dufur; 
marshal, 1). Maloney; treasurer, I. I. Burget. 

1894 — Mayor, G. V. Bolton; councilmen, W. H. 
Butts, T. N. Joles, S. S. Johns, G. C. Eshelman, M. 
T. Nolan, C. F. Lauer; recorder, D. S. Dufur; mar- 
shal, J. H. Blakeney. 

!§95 — Mayor, F. Menefee; councilmen, S. S. 
Johns, M. T. Nolan, S. E. Crowe, T. F. Wood, G. 
C. Eshelman, R. C. Saltmarsh, George Ross; re- 
corder, G. W. Phelps; marshal, J. H. Blakeney. 

1896 — Mayor, F. Menefee; councilmen, M. T. 
Nolan, S. S. Johns^. F. Wood, C. V. Champlin, R. 

E. Saltmarsh, Geo. Ross, Harry Clough, Henry 
Kuch; recorder, G W. Phelps; marshal, J. H. 
Blakeney. 

1897 — Mayor, M. T. Nolan; councilmen, .A. R. 
Thompson, T. F. Wood, R. E. Saltmarsh, S. S. 
Johns, Harry Clough, C. V. Champlin, Henry Kuch, 
Charles Stephens, W. A. Johnson; recorder, R. B. 
Sinnott; marshal, C. Lauer. 

1898 — Mayor, M. T. Nolan; councilmen, W. A. 
Johnson, H. Clough, A. Keller, C. F. Stephens, G. 
Barnett, S. S. Johns, W. H. Butts, F. S. Gunning; 



recorder, R. B. Sinnott ; marshal, C. F. Lauer. 

1899 — Mayor, H. L. Kuch; councilmen, Andrew 
Keller, Harry Clough, F. Gunning, Charles Stephens, 
Charles Michelbach, W. A. Johnson, William 
Schackleford, James Kelly, Samuel Johns; recorder, 
N. H. Gates; marshal, N. D. Hughes. 

1900 — Mayor, E. B. Dufur; councilmen, W. A. 
Johnson, F. Gunning, F. W. Wilson, H. C. Liebe, 
F. Lemke, James Kelley, William Schackleford, 
Andrew Keller, A. A. Jayne; recorder, N. H. Gates; 
marshal, T. J. Driver. 

1901 — Mayor, G. J. Farley; councilmen, C. W. 
Deitzel, M. Z. Donnell, F. Lemke, J. M. Toomey, 
F. II. Wakefield; William Schackleford, F. W. Wil- 
son, J. H. Worsley, C. E. Deitzel; recorder, J. Do- 
herty ; marshal, C. V. Champlain,* E. B. Wood.* 

1902-1903 — Mayor, F. S. Gunning; councilmen, 
F. W. Wilson, H. S. Wilson, J. H. Worsley, G. J. 
Farley, C. W. Deitzel, J. L. Kelley, J. P. Thompson, 
J. F. Peters, William Schackleford; recorder, Earl 
Sanders,* J. M. Filloon ;* marshal, E. B. Wood. 

1904-1905 — Mayor, Frank A. Seufert; council- 
men, J. H. Worsley, P. Fagan, F. W. Wilson, J. L. 
Kelley, F. H. Wakefield, W. E. Walther, William 
Shackelford, S. W. Chjldres, P. J. Stadelman; re- 
corder, J. M. Filloon; marshal, E. B. Wood; treas- 
urer, Ed Kurtz.* 



* Served only part of term. 



CHAPTER VII 



HOOD RIVER AND DUFUR. 



Hood River, the second city of Wasco county 
in size, prominence and importance, is most elig- 
ibly located on the south bank of the Columbia 
river twenty-two miles from The Dalles and six- 
ty-six miles frem Portland, on the line of the 
Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company. At 
present it has a population of 2,000 and this is 
steadily increasing. Very much alive are the 
citizens of Hood River ; a class of cultured, re- 
fined and eminently business-like people. The 
year round the climate in this vicinity is ideal ; 
the rigors of winter and the extremes of sum- 
mers are unknown. 

Few towns in the northwest equal Rood River 
— and none surpasses it — in the way of scenic 
attractions ; rapidly is it forging to the front as 
the most popular summer resort of the Middle Co- 



lumbia river ; it offers the happy combination of 
rest and quiet — "the sweetness and light" — and 
pure, exhilarating mountain air. Here, in the 
foreground, winds the majestic Columbia; across 
this historic stream, in the state of Washington, 
towering high over its neighboring peaks, is 
Mount Adams, crowned centuries since with a 
"diadem of snow," 12,224 feet above the level of 
the sea ; in the opposite direction — to the south 
27 miles — Mount Hood rears its lofty head 11,- 
225 feet, its torso clothed in a raiment of cloud- 
lets ; its peak like a crystal zone set into a back- 
ground of etherial azure, the eternal symbol of 
the heavens of every creed on earth. On the east 
and west are the forest-clad foothills of the Cas- 
cades. 

Hood River is, par excellence, the hustling 



i58 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



town of Eastern Oregon. It is provided with an 
excellent gravity system of water works ; good 
electric plant, a number of substantial and or- 
nate brick business blocks, with more in pro- 
cess of construction, and many beautiful resi- 
dence houses, surrounded by handsome shade 
trees and well groomed lawns. A contract has 
recently been let for a complete system of per- 
fect sewerage for the principal portion of the 
city. There are two elegant and commodious 
hotels — the Mount Hood, recently enlarged and 
refurnished, and the Waucoma, a new, three- 
storw brick edifice, and a number of superior res- 
taurants. All lines of business are well repre- 
sented. Among the more prominent manufac- 
turing interests are a large grist mill ; the saw- 
mill of the Oregon Lumber Company with a 
capacity of 1000,000 feet per day, and an exten- 
sive cannery. The altitude of Hood River 'is 243 
feet. One year ago (May 4, 1904,) The Hood 
River Glacier said of this city : 

The city of Hood River is a picturesque little town 
of 1,400 inhabitants. It lies nestled along the south 
bank of the matchless Columbia river on the line of 
the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company, 66 miles 
east of Portland, at a point on the west bank of Hood 
river, where that turbulent stream empties its waters 
into the Columbia. The river itself is a marvel of 
wonder and beauty from its source to where it min- 
gles its crystal waters with those of the Columbia, and 
together they flow peacefully on to the sea. 

The city is regularly laid out; has wide streets that 
are lined with oak trees — a species of that tree peculiar 
to the Pacific coast — with their wide, spreading branches 
under whose ample and inviting foliage restful mo- 
ments may be enjoyed on a summer day. On the 
south is a rise of 200 feet. Fringed along the gently 
sloping sides of this hill and facing the city and Colum- 
bia, are groves of small oaks and pines, and hidden 
away among these are some of Hood River's beautiful 
homes. 

The town has been called by the editor of The 
Dalles Times-Mountaineer "a spot of Arcadian 
beauty," and none will gainsay it who has ever 
lingered here for ever so brief a period. The stream 
upon which the city stands, and from which it took 
its name, was called "Labieshe's river" by mem- 
bers of the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1805. 
Prior to 1854 it was known as Dog river, as 
will be noticed in the current history chapters of 
Wasco county. In the year mentioned Nathaniel 
Coe, with his wife and four sons, settled on this 
place which had been abandoned by W. C. Laugh- 
lin. To the Coes the name Dog, was repugnant, 
and they rechristened it Hood River. 

Anterior to all this, however, is another pa- 



tronymic bestowed upon the stream by the In- 
dians. This was Waucoma, and means cotton- 
wood timber. It was so called by the natives by 
reason of the large groves of Cottonwood trees 
on the flat below the present site of the town. On 
the authority of The Glacier the earliest settle- 
ment of the place was made by W. C. Laughlin 
in 1852. As has been related the following win- 
ter was a most severe one, and both Mr. Laugh- 
lin and a companion, Dr. Farnsworth, lost all 
their cattle, subsequently removing to The Dalles. 
The eldest son of Nathaniel Coe, L. W., became 
one of the organizers and principals of the Ore- 
gon Steam Navigation Company. The three other 
sons were Charles, who died in 1872 ; E. F. and 
Captain H. C. Coe. With the Coe family came 
William Jenkins, who was drowned at the mouth 
of Hood River in the Columbia, together with 
his son and James Laughlin, in 1865. With Jen- 
kins came, also, James Benson and wife and A. 
C. Phelps. They settled at this point. 

During these pioneer days when the Colum- 
bia river was, practically, the only route between 
Portland and Walla Walla, Hood River was the 
ever welcome halting place. The Coe donation 
land claim on which the town is built is one of 
the oldest east of the Cascade mountains. For 
many years the influx of settlers was slow. In 
1861 there were only eight permanent locators 
and a meagre floating population of transients. 
In 1875 Dr. Parkhurst journeyed to Pennsyl- 
vania where he induced thirty families to come to 
this section of the northwest. This colony ar- 
rived in November ; some were dissatisfied, but a 
majority of them remained and permanently lo- 
cated. So near as can be ascertained the follow 7 - 
ing is a list of the earliest settlers in the Hood 
River country : 

Nathaniel Coe and family in 1854 ; they built 
the first permanent residence at Hood River in 
1858. William Jenkins, brother-in-law of Mr. 
Coe, and N. S. Benson, came in June, 1854. 
W. C. Laughlin and wife, and Dr. Farnsworth 
came in 1852 ; James Benson came in November, 
1854; Arthur Gordon and his cousin Henry came 
in 1858; Mr. Stadden, 1858; S. B. Ives and fam- 
ily and A. C. Phelps moved in from the Cas- 
cades in the summer of 1858. Others wdio came 
in 1858 were Cowperthwaite, Amos Underwood, 
John M. Marden and Mr. Wilson. Mr. and Mrs. 
Butler and Mr. and Mrs. Whiting came in March. 
1859 ; Peter Neal in i860 and in 1861 his son-in- 
law, Jerome Winched arrived. William Moss 
also came in i860. George P. Roberts came in 
1857 or 1858, and Hardin Corum in 1861. D. A. 
Turner, William Odell, Laban Stihvell and Jo- 
seph Wilkins arrived in 1861 and located on 
farms. Daves Divers arrived in 1862 and Dr. 






HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



159 



B. W. Mitchell and M. C. Nye came about 1863. 
In the fall of- 1864 S. M. Baldwin and Harry 
Tieman settled here. The Parkhurst colony of 
Pennsylvanians arrived in November, 1875, and 
did much to assist in the development of the 
valley. 

Available records are silent concerning the 
first postmaster of Hood River, but the date was 
probably in 1859. In his "Hood River Fifty 
Years Ago" Mr. H. C. Coe says that Mrs. Martha 
Benson was postmistress at that period, and that 
the office was at the place of N. S. Benson. Prev- 
ious to that time mail had come by way of the 
pursers of the steamboats, was frequently delayed 
and sometimes lost. Following is a list of post- 
office officials at Hood River since 1859: 

Mrs. Martha Benson, Charles Coe, H. C. 
Coe, W. P. Watson, Mrs. Delia Stranahan, R. J. 
Rodgers, George T. Prather, Mrs. Jennie Champ- 
lin, L. E. Morse and William M. Yates, present 
postmaster. 

Practically the first venture in the mercantile 
line was made by Mr. Allen in 1877. Having 
conducted it a short time he failed and the stock 
was purchased by the veteran Hood River mer- 
chant, Mr. E. L. Smith. Later he removed his 
stock to Frankton. Dr. W. L. Adams erected a 
drug store and in addition to his pharmaceutical 
stock he carried a small line of dry goods. This 
building was erected in 1880, a short distance 
west of what was afterward the original town- 
site of Hood River ; but this location is now 
within the enlarged city limits. The first build- 
ing erected within the original limits was by John 
Parker in July, 1881 : it was utilized by him as a 
general merchandise store. The second edifice 
was the Mount Hood 'hotel, built by T. J. Hos- 
ford in August, 1881. The third was by G. M. 
Champlin in September of the same year, and he 
carried within a general stock of merchandise. 
During the fall of this year and the spring of 
1882. a number of dwellings were erected. E. L. 
Smith removed to Hood River in the spring of 
1882, where he purchased a block of H. C. 
Coe for $250. On this he erected a two-story 
building and occupied it with a stock of general 
merchandise. This piece of ground is now valued 
at $15,000. Previous to this a grist mill had 
been built. In 1881, near the sanitarium of W. 
L. Adams a store building was erected by parties 
to whom Mr. Adams leased the ground on which 
it stood. 

The townsite of Hood River was platted in 
188 1 by H. C. and E. F. Coe. It was a portion 
of the original Nathaniel Coe donation claim and 
consisted of four blocks. To any one who would 
erect buildings on them lots were given ; those 
not desiring to build immediately could purchase 



lots for $50 and $75 apiece, and a prohibitory 
whiskey clause was inserted in every deed. After 
the division of the townsite by Messrs. Coe, Mr. 
E. F. Coe disposed of his half and abandoned 
the whiskey clause previously inserted in con- 
veyance. May 25, 1881, he Dalles Times said: 
"We learn from parties who arrived in this city 
yesterday that a new town has been laid out on 
Hood river. The lines are just inside of Mr. 
H. C. Coe's farm, one of the most delightful 
spots in that section. The blocks, lots and streets 
will be surveyed this week, and the plat placed in 
the clerk's office for record. Mr. Hallet has lo- 
cated the switch, thus giving the residents an idea 
of where the principal business will be done in 
that locality." 

Following the platting of the townsite set- 
tlers flocked in in greater numbers. ' Still the 
healthy, rapid growth of the town did not com- 
mence until 1899. In 1900 Hood River had a 
population of 622, and at the opening of 1904 it 
contained 1,402 inhabitants. A newspaper cen- 
sus taken by the Hood River Glacier in Janu- 
ary, 1905, showed over 1,800 people within the 
city's limits, thus revealing a gain of 400 since 
the year previous. More rapid than this, even, 
was the business growth. A decade since Hood 
River was unknown, geographically, otherwise 
than a brisk little stream losing its identity in the 
Columbia at this point. Today its horticultural 
reputation is world wide ; its apples find a market 
as far as Europe. In London in the early part of 
February, 1905, Hood River apples sold for 
$5.40 a box. 

But we have dropped out of our chronologi- 
cal line of march. May 28, 1881, a Hood River 
correspondent of The Dalles 'Times said : "Mr. 
E. L. Smith, our obliging merchant, contem- 
plates building a new store in the new town sit- 
uated at Captain H. C. Coe's place, which is a 
most beautiful location. All honor and thanks to 
Dr. Littlefield, the surgeon of the Oregon Rail- 
road & Navigation Company, for defeating the 
onlv prospective saloon of our place." 

Railroad rumors were in the air — rumors 
based on a solid sub-stratum of fact. The Dalles 
Times correspondent from Hood River October 
16, i88t, said : 

We have heard with much pleasure the rumble and 
turmoil which is the precursor of railroad communica- 
tion with the rest of the world. We are to be favored 
with a depot, and a little town has commenced to grow 
under very favorable conditions. The proprietors, the 
Captains Coe, as we are informed, refuse to give a deed 
to any one who will not agree to the clause, "no liquor 
sold thereon." * * * There are now four stores in 
the settlement, all seeming to flourish, as you will be- 



i6o 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



lieve when I tell yon that one of these four sold in one 
day the amount of $300 worth of goods in the first part 
of this month. We have three flourishing schools, 
averaging about fifty pupils, recipients of public money. 
Two preachers have settled among us and are not idle 
in dispensing the truths of the gospel. 

In 1885 it was admitted by the Times-Moun- 
tain eer that Hood River was surrounded by one 
of the best, perhaps the best, "fruit growing sec- 
tions of the northwest." At that early day many 
of the solid business and professional men of 
Portland hied themselves to Hood River during 
the heated term to enjoy their otium cum digni- 
tate under the luxuriance of its shady groves and 
beside its pellucid mountain streams. May 1 1, 

1889, it was modestly claimed by the Times- 
Mountaineer that "Hood River is rapidly im- 
proving. Several immigrants have settled there 
during the spring and the resources of the town 
are being fully developed." Following is the text 
of articles of incorporation filed February 21, 

1890, in the office of the secretary of state, - 
Salem, Oregon : 

"Hood River Townsite Company ; duration 
perpetual ; principal place of business, Hood 
River, Wasco county ; capital stock, $10,000 ; di- 
vided into 100 shares of $100 each ; incorporators, 
E. L. Smith, M. Y. Harrison, J. A. Wilson and 
L. E. Crowe; object, to purchase unsold por- 
tions of the townsite of Hood River and adja- 
cent tract or tracts of land in Wasco county." 

February 5, 1891, Company G, of the Oregon 
National Guard, was mustered into service at 
Hood River, including forty-eight members. The 
commissioned officers elected were: A. I. Blow- 
ers, captain ; A. D. Stranahan, first lieutenant ; A. 
Winans, second lieutenant. 

During this year the progress of building im- 
provement was satisfactory. Considerable real 
estate changed hands ; cozy cottages dotted the 
hillsides in all directions; manufactories were, 
breaking into the business scheme, and many of 
the rich, natural resources of the vicinity were 
being developed. 

The first city election following the incor- 
poration of the townsite company was held De- 
cember 4, 1894, with this result: Mayor, C. M. 
Wolfard ; recorder, C. P. Heald ; marshal, E. S. 
dinger ; treasurer, M. H. Nicholson ; council- 
men, S. E. Bartmess, F. H. Button, T- E. Rand : 
J. F. Watt, O. B. Hartley and S. E. Morse. The 
vote for incorporation stood 49 for, and 35 
against. A full list of the city's officials from the 
date of incorporation until the present will be 
found later in this chapter. The incorporation 
of the town in 1894 was, however, superseded in 
1 90 1 by a new corporation under a charter 



granted by the state in February. In December, 
1895, the foundation of a public library was 
laid, and about 1,000 volumes accumulated. These 
were donated to the public schools in September, 
1904. 

In 1903 the total assessed valuation of Hood 
River was $208,927. A fair idea of the growth 
of this town may be gleaned from a statement 
published in the Glacier of August 20, 1903, 
which claimed that since June 1, of that year, 
there had been built, and were then in course of 
erection, twenty-five residences within the cor- 
porate limits, the aggregate cost of which would 
be, when completed, $40,000. In addition to this 
residence property business buildings had been 
erected the same year at a cost of $20,000. 

Tuesday evening, June 19, 1904, the Hood 
River Commercial, or Hassalo Club, was reorgan- 
ized at the Hassalo club rooms. Thirty-five rep- 
resentative business men of the city were in at- 
tendance. These were elected as officers : Truman 
Butler, president ; A. W. Outhank, vice president ; 
A. S. Moe, secretary. The organization of the 
Hood River Fire Department is thus reported, 
November 24, 1904, in the Glacier : 

The Hood River Volunteer Fire Department is 
now ready to combat whatever fire should dare show 
itself within the city limits. While the boys have only 
the chemical engine as apparatus at present, the de- 
partment expects to organize a hose company as soon 
as the fire hydrants are placed in, and a hook and 
ladder department will also be formed. The organiza- 
tion of the fire department has been officially recognized 
by the city council, and the care of the chemical engine 
has been turned over to the boys. An engine house 
is being erected next to the city hall, where the chemi- 
cal will be stored. Room will also have to be made 
here for hose carts and a hook and ladder truck. The 
officers of the fire department elected last week are : 

W. B. McGuire, president ; Lou Morgan, vice- 
president ; Earl Bartmess, secretary ; Percy Cross, 
treasurer; W. E. Sheets, chief of department; S. J. 
Frank, assistant ; W. J. Gadwa, chief engineer ; Clar- 
ence Shaw, second assistant engineer ; Winn dinger, 
third assistant engineer. Many of the boys of the fire 
department have seen service in other towns and are 
■'tried veterans in the work. Sherman Frank, the 
assistant chief, held the same position at The Dalles. 
W. I. Gadwa, the chief engineer, was formerly a mem- 
ber of the Pendleton department. Will Sheets has 
won a number of medals for services with the Lari- 
more. North Dakota, team. This team came to be the 
champions of the state. Mr. Sheets has belonged to 
fire companies since he was eight years old. Will 
Morgan was at one time a member of the Brookfield, 
Missouri, team. Walter McGuire saw service at Mc- 
Minnvillc. The boys are arranging to give a Fire- 




Scene on the Columbia 




^ i! 




u 




Tifsfrpp; 

4 ■ Jl - 




Tne Dalles, Oregon, in 1858 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



161 



men's benefit ball on New Year night. Of course any 
tiling like this will be a great success. No one will 
refuse to buy tickets, and it is intended to make it one 
of the most popular social events of the season. 

The members of the Hood River Volunteer Fire 
Department are: W. E. Sheets, S. J. Frank, W. I. 
Gadwa. W. A. Morgan, Bert Stranahan, L. G. Mor- 
gan, A. Whitehead, Theo, KLoppe, T. Osborn, Clarence 
Shaw, A. G. Dobney, R. J. Woicka, Joe Vogt, Winn 
dinger, Percy Cross, Emmet Tompkins, W. I, Dickey, 
W. 1'.. McGuire, E. C. Wright, C. S. Jones, William 
Shipman, Arthur Cole, Earl Bartmess, Webster Kent, 
Mel Foley, Edwin Henderson. 

The Hood River Signal Station was estab- 
lished in September, 1889, by Dr. E. J. Thomas. 
However, a previous record of the rainfall had 
been kept by Dr. P. G. Barrett, who became the 
observer when Dr. Thomas resigned in 1891. 
Dr. Barrett continued the observation to within 
a few (lays of his death, which occurred January 
7, 1900. Joseph Hengst was then apppinted ob- 
server, keeping the records until May, 1904. He 
was succeeded by D. N. Byerlee. Until May 7, 
1904, the station was situated about five miles 
from the town, but on that date Mr. Byerlee re- 
moved the instruments to Oakdale, his country 
home. The present station is in latitude 42 de- 
grees 42 minutes N. ; longtitude 121 degrees 30 
minutes W. : elevation 243 feet. The maximum 
and minumum thermometers are exposed in a 
standard shelter located 120 feet south of the 
observer's house, a one and one-half story frame 
dwelling ; the bulbs of the thermometers are 
seven feet from the ground. The rain gauge is 46 
feet west of the shelter and 108 south of the 
house ; the top of the gauge is three feet above 
the ground. 

The highest recorded temperature at Hood 
River was 103 degrees, on August 15, 1901 ; the 
lowest was 10 degrees below zero on January 31st 
and February 1, 1893. The average number of 
days each year with the temperature above 90 
degrees is 9, and the average number of days 
with the temperature below the freezing point is 
74. Average date of first killing frost in autumn, 
October 17th; average date of last killing frost 
in the spring, April 17th. The mean annual pre- 
cipitation is 38.38 inches, and it is heaviest dur- 
ing the winter and spring months, and least in 
midsummer. The number of rainy days average 
129, and the yearly snowfall is 77.8 inches. The 
prevailing winds are from the west. 

The first school house erected in this vicinity 
was located two miles south of the present site 
of the town of Hood River, in 1863. The initial 
teacher was Mr. B. A. Lilly, and the school had 
an attendance of about fifteen pupils. Until 1881 
11 



this was tlie only school. That year a two-story 
school house was built at Frankton by subscrip- 
tion. During the fall of 1882 a subscription was 
headed by H. C. Coe, O. L. Stranahan and Dr. 
W. L. Adams for the purpose of raising funds 
to build another school house within the limits of 
the town of Hood River. About $800 was se- 
cured and a school house erected which was 
donated to the district clear of debt. The first 
teacher was Miss Nettie Cook, of Salem, and 
there were about twenty-five pupils. This build- 
ing was enlarged in 1888 and another teacher en- 
gaged. It is still utilized for the primary grade 
of the present city system. 

In i8<)7 the Park Street schoolhouse, con- 
taining six rooms, was built at a cost of $9,000. 
June 18, 1904, the total enrollment of the Hood 
River city schools was about 450 ; twelve teachers 
were employed. Ten grades were taught and 
the schools were then considered the best in the 
country. In the spring of 1905 a census of the 
Hood River school district showed a total of 
629 children of school age ; divided — 297 boys ; 
332 girls. This was an increase of 90 over the 
census of 1904. 

It is proper to here append a list of the city 
officials of Hood River since 1895, the year when 
incorporation of the town was consummated : 

1805— Mayor. C. M. Wolfard; council. F. Ff. Button,. 
S. E. Bartmess, O. B. Hartley, L. E. Morse, J. C. Rand.. 
J. F. Watt; recorder, C. P. Heald; treasurer, M. H. 
Nickelson ; marshal, E. S. dinger. 

1896 — Mayor, L. N. Blowers ; council, S. E. Bart- 
mess. H. F. Davidson, J. H. Dukes. L. Henry, L. E. 
Morse. J. P. Watson ; recorder, G. F. Prather ; 
treasurer, M. H. Nickelson; marshal. E. S. dinger. 

1897 — Mayor, L. N. Blowers ; council, J. H. Dukes, 
F. E. Jackson, W. N. West, C. A. Bell, L. Henry, 
J. P. Watson ; recorder, G. F. Prather ; treasurer, 
M. H. Nickelson; marshal, R. O. Evans. 

1898 — Mayor, E. L. Smith; council, C. A. Bell, 

B. F. Bradford, F. E. Jackson, J. H. Furguson, J. H. 
Dukes, G. F. Prather; recorder, J. R. Nickelson; 
treasurer, M. H. Nickelson; marshal, E. S. dinger. 

1899 — Mayor. E. L. Smith ; council, J. H. Dukes, 

C. A. Bell, G. D. Wo'odwath, Wm. Yates,* A. S. 
Blowers,* C. T. Bonney,* J. H. Ferguson, B. F. 
Bradford : recorder, J. R. Nickelson ; treasurer, M. H. 
Nickelson,* G. P. Crowell ;* marshal, E. S. Olinger- 

1900 — Mayor, F. C. Brosius ; council, C. A. Bell, 
A. S. Blowers, A. S. Davidson, J. J. Luckey, J. H, 
Dukes, D. McDonald; recorder, J. R. Nickelson; 
treasurer, G. P. Crowell ; marshal, E. S. dinger. 

1901 — Mayor, F. C. Brosius ; council, M. F. Shaw, 

D. McDonald, C. A. Bell, A. S. Blowers, A. S. David- 



Did not serve out term. 



1 62 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



son, J. J. Lucky ;| | recorder, J. R. Nickelson; treasurer, 
G. T. Prather ; marshal. E. S. Olinger. 

1902 — Mayor, F. C. Brosius; council, A. S. Blowers, 
C. N. Clark, H. F. Davidson, P. S. Davidson, J. C. 
Rand, D. McDonald; recorder, J. R. Nickelson; 
treasurer, T. Butler ; marshal, E. S. Olinger. 

1903 — Mayor, T. R. Coon; council, A. S. Blowers, 
P. S. Davidson, J. G. Gesling, Ed Mays, G. T. Prather, 
H. F. Davidson ; recorder, J. R. Nickelson ; treasurer, 
T- Butler ; marshal, J. H. Dukes. 

1904 — Mayor, T. R. Coon ; council, Ed Mays, J. E. 
Rand, C. T. Early, H. H. Bailey, St., D. McDonald, 
G. T. Prather ; recorder, J. R. Nickelson ; treasurer, 
T. Butler ; marshal, D. J. Triber. 

1905 — Mayor, A. S. Blowers; council, J. E. Rand, 
Ed Mays, H. H. Bailey, A. D. Moe, D. McDonald, 
C. T. Early ; recorder, J. R. Nickelson ; treasurer, 
E. L. Smith ; marshal, E. S. Olinger. 

The social side of life in Hood River is well 
represented by all the leading religious denom- 
inations and societies, and by numerous lodges, 
courts, camps, clubs and auxiliaries. Within the 
city limits are fine church buildings in which serv- 
ices are held by the following denominations : 
Congregational, Methodist, United Brethren, 
Unitarian and Episcopalian, while the Baptists 
will have completed a beautiful and ornate church 
edifice before the publication of this volume. In 
"the valley" are Christian, Methodist, Latter Day 
Saints, Congregational, Seventh Day Adventists 
and Union Churches. The Catholics and Luth- 
erans have organized congregations and church 
buildings will soon be completed. The churches, 
it is stated, are free from debt. 

Following is a complete list of the fraternal 
societies of Hood River : 

Hood River Lodge No. 105, A. F. & A. M. 
Truman Butler, W. M. ; A. D. Moe, secretary. 

Hood River Chapter No. 27, R. A. M. F. 
Chandler, H. P. ; A. D. Moe, secretary. 

Hood River Chapter No. 25, O. E. S. Mrs. 
J. L. Hershner, W. M. ; Mrs Theresa Castner, 
secretary. 

Idlewilde Lodge No. 107, I. O. O. F. William 
Ganger, N. G. ; H. C. Smith, secretary. 

Eden Encampment No. 48, I. O. O. F. L. E. 
Morse, C. P. ; H. R. Entrican, scribe. 

Laurel Rebekah Degree Lodge No. 81, I. O. 
O. F. Mrs. E. W. Udell, N. G. ; Mrs. Dora 
Thomson, secretary. 

Waucoma Lodge No. 30, K. of P. V. C. 
Brock, C. C. ; H. T. DeWitt, K. of R. and S. 

Hood River Camp No. 7,702, M. W. A. 
Charles Jones, V. C. ; C. U. Dakin, clerk. 

Hood River Camp No. 770, W. O. W. F. H. 
Blagg, C. C. ; H. W. Wait, clerk. 

Appointed. 



Hood River Circle, No. 524, Women of Wood- 
craft, Lenora Stuhr, G. N. ; Nellie Hollowell, 
clerk. 

Riverside Lodge No. 68, A. O. U. W. C. L. 
Copple, M. A. ; E. R. Bradley, financier ; Chester 
Shute, recorder. 

Riverside Lodge No. 40, Degree of Honor, 
A. O. U. W. Miss Cora Copple, C. of H. ; Miss 
Carrie Copple, recorder. 

Order of Washington, Hood River Union No. 
142. E. L. Rood, president ; C. L T . Dakin, secre- 
tary. 

Oleta Assembly No. 103, United Artisans. 
J. H. Koberg, M. A. ; C. D. Henrich, secretary. 

Court Hood River No. 42, Foresters of Amer- 
ica. George E. Songer, C. R. ; F. C. Brosius, F. C. 

Canby Post No. 16, G. A. R. A. L. Phelps 
commander ; Thomas Goss, adjutant. 

Canby W. R. C. No. 18. Ellen Blowers, pres- 
ident ; Lizzie Gee, secretary. 

Mountain Home Camp No. 3469, R. N. A. 
Mrs. Carrie Brosius, O. ; Mrs. Ella Dakin, re- 
corder. 

Wauna Temple No. 6, Rathbone Sisters. 
Amanda Whitehead, M. E. C. ; Stella Richard- 
son, M. of R. and C. 

In the matter of transportation Hood River 
is highly favored. The Oregon Railroad & Nav- 
igation Company, the western division of a great 
transcontinental system, furnishes six daily pas- 
senger trains, while competing boat lines reduce 
freight rates to a minimum, whereas in so many 
other sections they are nearly prohibitive. The 
rail and water service is first-class and all that 
could be reasonably asked by the traveling and 
shipping public. 

Concerning telephone service the manager of 
the Pacific States Telephone Company recently 
stated that the city of Hood River utilized more 
telephones, in proportion to its population, than 
any other city on the Pacific coast. With tele- 
phone lines the beautiful valley of the Hood 
river is netted, and within the city limits there 
are over five hundred instruments in daily use. 
The service is in continuous operation and re- 
quires three daily operators. Long distance wires 
afford connection with all telephone towns on the 
coast. 

With a daily mail two rural delivery routes 
supply the farmers of the valley. Competent, in- 
telligent men are the carriers and faithful in the 
performance of their duties. Daily mail, tele- 
phone and electric light services afford the neigh- 
boring farmers with the most important conven- 
iences of modern city homes. 

The postal receipts of the Hood River office 
show conclusively the steady increase of popu- 
lation. For the quarter ending September 30, 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



163 



1904, the receipts were only a few dollars short 
■of the requirements to bring Hood River into the 
•second class of offices. The total receipts for the 
year were $6,298.75, an increase over the prev- 
ious twelve months of $1,046.68. Postmaster 
Yates has recently secured new quarters in a fine 
brick building. 

Hood River supports two banking institutions, 
Butler & Company's bank, and the First Na- 
tional Bank. Both institutions are firmly estab- 
lished and enjoy the confidence of the business 
men and farmers. Reports from both houses in- 
dicate a healthy financial condition in the com- 
munity. Three large sawmills and lumbering 
camps, a flour mill, box factory and eordwood 
camps furnish employment to a large number of 
men. 

For manufacturing establishments Hood 
River offers exceptional advantages. An en- 
gineer's measurement of the stream shows 10,- 
000 horse-power every mile for ten miles, which 
is a total of 100,000 horsepower, or sufficient 
motor force when converted into electrical en- 
ergy to operate the machinery of the state. So 
far but little use has been made of this superior 
power. With exceptional transportation facili- 
ties at hand, the opportunities for investment of 
capital in industrial enterprises cannot be 
equalled in the state. The lumber industry brings 
to the valley over $350,000 annually. At the 
headwaters of Hood River there are millions of 
feet of standing timber, an amount sufficient to 
keep the big mills cutting 200,000 feet a day in 
operation for fifty years to come. Of the su- 
perior fruit resources the reader is directed to the 
"Descriptive Chapter of Wasco county, pub- 
lished in this part of the volume. 

DUFUR. 

South of The Dalles, fifteen miles, is situated 
the town of Dufur, the third in size and import- 
ance within the limits of Wasco county. With 
The Dalles it is connected by two daily stage 
lines. At present the population of Dufur is be- 
tween 400 and 500; the United States census of 
1900 gave its number of inhabitants as 336. 

It is a picturesque town and most eligibly' 
located on the north bank of Fifteen Mile creek ; 
that is, the larger portion of the town is thus sit- 
uated. Above the level of the stream the town- 
site varies in height between twenty and seventy 
feet at the highest water mark. It is well wa- 
tered by an irrigating ditch brought from the 
stream above the town, along the hillside to the 
north. This fluid is as pure and healthful as 
could be desired and at present the supply is 
ample. No one need travel afar from Dufur in 



quest of the most picturesque scenery. To the 
west is Mount Hood, one of Nature's grandest 
sentinels, whose snow-white poll is so familiar 
a sight from all portions of a large section of 
country. To the north and south lie the lesser 
heights of the great range commanded by Mount 
Hood, and yet in view are Mounts Jefferson, 
Adams, St. Helens and Ranier. They may all 
be seen, like commanding generals in grand re- 
view, from the hills immediately surrounding 
Dufur. A healthful town is Dufur, and the 
climate all that could be desired. 

And what of the history of this thriving town 
in the northeast corner of "the Mother of 
Counties?" It is related that so early as 1847 — 
the year of the Whitman massacre — Dufur be- 
came quite a noted place. That year the "Barlow 
Road" was opened ; the famous route crossed 
Fifteen Mile creek at the present site of the town, 
and during that and the succeeding year many 
thousands of immigrants passed the place, yet 
none of them at that period entertained a serious 
thought of stopping in Eastern Oregon ; the 
Willamette Valley was the bonne bouche of their 
pioneer aspirations. But Fifteen Mile Crossing 
was an eminently favorite camping place for 
these travel-worn and travel-stained argonauts of 
1847 ! the industrial pilgrims who antedated the 
Calif ornian pioneers of 1849. The location of 
this camping spot is still fresh in the memories 
of all who came to Oregon that year and for 
many succeeding seasons. 

In writing the history of Dufur it is neces- 
sary to hark back many years to the pioneer 
settlement of the country surrounding it. It 
was in 1852 that the first settler took up his 
abode on Fifteen Mile creek. L. P. Henderson 
was his name and he played an important part 
in the early annals of Wasco county. During 
the succeeding few years he was followed by 

Reynolds, John Marsh and J. P. Brown, 

all stock raisers, who located on Fifteen Mile 
within a small radius of the present Dufur. Up 
to the autumn of 1855 these were the only resi- 
dents in the vicinity. In the latter year this 
slender colony was reinforced by ten families. 
The cause of their locating comprises one de- 
tail of the many in the historical annals of 
Indian outrages in Oregon. In 1855 many im- 
migrants were wending their way to the "Upper 
Country" — the Walla Walla oasis. Some of 
these migrators to the Walla Walla country 
came from the Willamette Valley, as was the 
case with the ten families mentioned who set- 
tled on Fifteen Mile. The party arrived at The 
Dalles the very day word was received that 
Indian hostilities had begun in the Walla Walla 



164 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



country. They dared not face the grave dangers 
confronting them should they proceed to the 
vicinity of these Indian depredations. So they 
decided to build themselves homes on Fifteen 
Mile, and accordingly the ten families located 
here. At this period, it should be remembered, 
the entire country was seriously alarmed at the 
probability of a general Indian outbreak and, 
while they built homes, they, also, wisely con- 
structed a fort. This defense was located about 
two miles up Fifteen Mile creek, from the pres- 
ent site of Dufur. vVithin this rude stockade they 
passed the winter of 1855-6, and a portion of 
the following spring. 

During the '50's several more settlers lo- 
cated in the vicinity and their first thought was 
a school house for the education of their chil- 
dren. With indomitable will they began work, 
erected a building, and in time secured the forma- 
tion of a school district. This pioneer institu- 
tion was situated only one-half mile from the 
present site of Dufur. In the educational chap- 
ter of Wasco county the history of this school 
is given. It may be said here, however, that 
owing to dissensions among the patrons of the 
school it was abandoned in the late '6o's. 

The initial business enterprise on the site of 
the present Dufur was the Fifteen Mile House, 
erected in 1863 by David Imbler. While it was 
simply a farm house, accommodations might 
be obtained there for man and beast, and Fifteen 
Mile house became known far and wide. This 
primitive hotel is still conducted as such. It is 
located on the south side of the creek. While 
this may be claimed as Dufur's first "business 
house" it remains a fact that it began operations 
long before the idea of a town in this locality 
had entered the brain of man.* 

What was the inducement offered to early 
settlers to locate near what subsequently became 
Dufur? Primarily the several hundred acres of 
valley, or meadow land, lying on both sides of 
the stream, and extending to the west for a dis- 
tance of six or seven miles. The same old song 
was sung to the reverberating hills ; "Land that 
Cannot be Irrigated is Not the Land for Us !" 

Immigrants thefi believed — as did thousands 
of others in other sections of the country — that 
the hillsides were unfit for the production of any- 
thing but sage brush and bunch grass. So, of 
course, the valley of Fifteen Mile was chosen 
for homes, and all those taking them up plunged 
immediately into the business of stock-raising ; 
some making a specialty of horses, others cattle 
and not a few sheep. For years this latter was 



*In 1882, after the town sprang into existence, the old Fifteen Mile 
Hcuse was opened in modern style by Sylvester C. Simmons. 



the prominent industry of nearly the entire pop- 
ulation. But the range, being overstocked, was 
soon eaten out. Then came, providentially, the 
discovery that grain could be grown with profit ; 
farming came into vogue ; each successive year 
is likely to witness its increase. 

For several years following the downfall of 
the "school" there was scanty settlement in the 
neighborhood of Fifteen Mile Crossing. Affairs 
remained thus at a standstill until 1872, when A. 
J., and E. B. Dufur purchased a farm there and 
engaged in sheep-raising on an extensive scale. 
They secured adjoining lands, imported a large 
number of thoroughbred sheep and engaged in 
this prominent industry along extended lines. 
Gradually the rich fertility of the "Highlands" 
became known and appreciated — their sheep 
range became more and more contracted. 

We have spoken, perhaps too previously, con- 
cerning the first "business house" of Dufur — the 
hotel. In 1878 opportunities in this section at- 
tracted the attention of a Michigan merchant, C. 
A. Williams. That year he came to Fifteen Mile,, 
built a house and engaged in general merchan- 
dising. Shortly after this event the government 
was induced to grant a postoffice to the settlers 
on Fifteen Mile. It was named Dufur ; Mr. Wil- 
liams became the first postmaster. About this 
period the school house, of which we have spoken, 
was removed to the present location of the town, 
near Williams' store. Shortly after these im- 
portant events in the town's history Edward 
Bohna built a blacksmith shop, and this added 
materially to the encouragement of the industries 
at, and surrounding, the place. Then Mr. Bohna 
erected a residence ; by the time the townsite was 
platted there was quite a little settlement. 

July 11, 1891, a correspondent of The Dalles 
Times-Mountaineer wrote : 

A few years ago the traveler along the old military 
road would stop and rest his horses on the banks 
of Fifteen Mile, and while smoking his pipe after 
luncheon would remark: "What an elegant place 
for a town," but not until the Dufur brothers, A. J. 
and E. B., came into possession of the property was 
any effort made in that direction. They did no 
"booming," employed no real estate agents to photo- 
graph the Garden of Eden and pass it on an unsus- 
pecting public as the townsite of Dufur, but con- 
fident of the superior advantages of their property, 
surveyed off a small plat and soon wide awake busi- 
ness men and others, desiring pleasant homes, pur- 
chased lots and the town was started. 

December 1, 1880, the townsite of Dufur was 
platted by E. B. and A. J. Dufur, Jr. The patent 
to the land which comprised the original town- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



165 



site was issued by the United States to C. W. 
Broback, September 16, 1872, and at once came 
into possession of Joseph Iieezley. A few days 
later it was purchased by E. B. and A. J. Dufur 
who retained possession until the platting in 
t88o. Connected with the material advancement 
of Dufur will be remembered the names of Hon. 
A. J. Dufur, his three sons. Dr. L. Vanderpool, 
E. D. Bohna, William Heisler, A. J. Brio-ham, 
the pioneer merchant, C. W. Williams, D. E. 
Thomas, J. A. Guleford, A. J. Brigham, \V. R. 
Menefee, George Nedrow, Johnston Brothers, 
(T. H. and G. \Y., who purchased the business 
interests of C. A. Williams.) 

August 21, 1881, there were visible signs of 
permanent improvement in Dufur. The same 
year Ridgley Lodge, I. O. O. F., was organized 
and a commodious two-story hall and lodge room 
erected. It was the first "large building in the 
place, and as such, commanded a great deal of 
interest. 

In 1883 another business enterprise was es- 
tablished. This was a general store opened by 
William Heisler who conducted the business until 
1887, when it was disposed of to W. R. Menefee 
and A. J. Brigham. Describing the town of 
Dufur in 1885 The Dalles Times-Mountaineer 
said : "Dufur is the market for a large stock 
and farming country. Tri-weeklv stages arrive 
at this point carrying the United States Mail and 
passengers. This is one of the oldest settled por- 
tions of the county and is constantly increasing 
in population and wealth. The merchants are 
very enterprising, and the town presents every 
indication of thrift and growth." 

In 1885 T. H. Johnston and George Johnston 
came to the little town and bought out the store 
of C. A. Williams. T. H. Johnston became post- 
master and retained the office for about ten years. 
The Johnston Brothers enlarged the business 
and have become largely identified with Dufur's 
progress. In 1888 Dr. Whitcomb opened a drug 
store. The actual building up of this town was 
brought about largely through the desire of the 
people living in the valley of Fifteen Mile creek 
to secure educational advantages for their chil- 
dren. The school building erected in the town 
in 1888 induced many farmers to purchase lots 
and build houses in the neighborhood of this 
school, which they, or a part of their families, 
would occupy during the school term. 

In 1889 Dufur consisted of two drug stores, 
two hotels, two liverv stables, one good school 
house, used also as a church at that period, a shoe 
shop, two general merchandise stores, one res- 
taurant, a blacksmith and wagon shop combined, 
a roller mill, commodious hall and another for 



the use of the Odd Fellows. Many new buildings 
were in process of construction. This year and 
in 1 890- 1 a number of the suburban additions to 
Dufur were laid out and platted into lots. It 
appeared to have been the aim of the Dufur 
Brothers to sell property to those only who would 
improve the same. 

Dufur was incorporated as a town by a char- 
ter granted by the Oregon legislature and filed 
in the office of the secretary of state February to, 
1893. An amended charter was granted Febru- 
ary 17, 1899, and another in 1903. April 5, 
1893, the first city election was held and the fol- 
lowing were named for civic official positions : 
A. J. Dufur, mayor; W. L. Vanderpool, T. H. 
Johnston, L. J. Klinger, William Heisler, coun- 
cilmen ; A. J. Brigham, recorder ; C. P. Balch, 
treasurer. 

During the "hard times" of 1893-7 Dufur 
remained at a standstill. There was scarely a 
building erected in town. But with the passing 
of the great financial depression the place quickly 
recuperated from its temporary stagnation and 
once more resumed its old time activity. Within 
the past decade Dufur has been, practically, built 
up and many are the improvements that have 
been made. January 1, 1898, The Dalles Times- 
Mountaineer said : 

Without any attempt to boom but by legitimate 
advertising of the natural resources of the surround- 
ing country, Dufnr has shown a more rapid growth 
than ever before. In the past year there has been 
an increase of over 50 per cent, in the population. 
Twenty substantial residences and business houses 
have been erected and many old ones improved. An 
excellent water system sufficient for a city five times 
the size has been provided, showing the confidence in 
its growth. A large cemented reservoir on a hill some 
two hundred feet above the town, gives abundant 
pressure to the hydrants in nearly every residence, and 
with the large mains makes an ordinary conflagration 
easily controlled, thus making insurance rates reason- 
able. 

Dufur has a population of about 500. While her 
growth in the past has not been abnormal, it has 
been steady and healthy. * * * Aside from the 
improvement in the town, over a million feet of lum- 
ber have been consumed in improvements in adjacent 
communities ; over 600,000 bushels of wheat has been 
raised within a radius of twelve miles this season. 

April 8, 1899, the Times-Mountaineer added 
the following : 

"Two years ago Messrs. W. L. Vanderpool 
and T. H. Johnston bought a tract of land adja- 
cent to Dufur and laid out 34 blocks of 200 feet 
square and placed them on the market. So rapid 



1 66 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



has been the sale of this property that they have 
found it necessary to plat another addition of 34 
blocks to be known as the Fifth Addition to Du- 
fur. In the sale of this property they have made 
it a rule to never dispose of any ground for spec- 
ulative purposes, only selling" to such persons as 
would agree to build homes on the land, hence it 
will be seen that Dufur has enjoyed a substantial 
growth of late." 

The total assessed valuation of Dufur in 1903 
was $68,450. Considerable improvement was 
made in the way of municipal progress in 1904. 
Two large, handsome brick business houses were 
erected and, altogether, the town took long strides 
in the line of material and industrial improvement. 

In the air there was for many years agitation 
for the construction of a railroad to Dufur. Early 
in 1898 The Dalles, Dufur & Des Chutes Rail- 
road Company was incorporated, with the object 
to build railway lines into the interior. One of 
these projects was a road from The Dalles to 
Dufur. The incorporators were E. E. Lytle, D. 
C. O'Rielly and W. H. Moore. The capital stock 
was $300,000. So far nothing has materialized, 
although the survey was completed September 

15, !903- 

But at last this railroad "talk" which has kept 
the residents of this town on anxious seats for 



many years gives promise of something tangible. 
In the spring of 1904 the Great Southern rail- 
road began active preparations to construct a 
road from The Dalles to Dufur. Grading was 
commenced, representatives of the company ap- 
peared at Dufur for the purpose of securing de- 
pot location, right of way, etc. At this writing 
(April, 1905), the grading of the Great Southern 
to Dufur is completed ; the prospect is fair for 
finishing the line in time to move the crop of 
1905. Needless it is to say that this road will 
wonderfully benefit the town, and more especially 
so provided Dufur remains the terminus. 

Concisely speaking Dufur has an excellent 
water supply, fire department, electric lights, good 
schools, etc., and is universally up to date in al- 
most every particular. The buildings of the town 
are substantial — there are no "shacks." The 
churches comprise the United Brethren ; Rev. W. 
N. Blodgett, pastor ; Methodist Episcopal, G. 
R. Moorhead, pastor, and the Christian Church 
P. P. Underwood, pastor. 

Of fraternal societies there are Ridgley 
Lodge, No. 71, I. O.O. F. ; Star Rebekah Lodge 
No 23 ; Nicholson Encampment No. 44 ; Dufur 
Camp* No. 215 ; United Artisans, Dufur Assem- 
bly No. 112, and Mt. Hood Lodge No. 1331, M. 
B. A. 



CHAPTER VIII 



OTHER TOWNS. 



ANTELOPE. 

In size Antelope ranks fourth among the mu- 
nicipalities of Wasco county. It is situated in the 
heart of a great producing country, and at one 
time was the headquarters of the most extensive 
sheep and stock ranges in the United States. 
Prior to the extension of the Columbia South- 
ern road, this section furnished to the market 
more sheep and wool than any other country 
having double its area in the Northwest. Until 
Shaniko became a railroad town Antelope en- 
joyed all the wool prestige, but it yet remains the 
business center of a grand section of country. 

The city of Antelope is situated seven miles 
southeast of Shaniko, the present terminus of the 
Columbia Southern Railway ; beautifully located 
in a rich valley ; surrounded by hills on every 



side; an ideal residence locality. From The 
Dalles it is 97 miles southeast. It is surrounded 
by cool, living springs and there are innumer- 
able wells. Than Antelope a prettier townsite 
could not have been chosen. Green meadows 
stretch down to the west, and gradually sloping 
hills on either side render it a pleasant, desirable 
location. At present the population of the town 
is 300. 

Antelope derives its name from the once vast 
herds of these animals that browsed upon the 
hills surrounding the townsite. In early days 
bands of hundreds of antelope could be counted 
on the hillsides any day and in any direction 
from the town. But at present these "pert and 
piquant" little animals have entirely disappeared, 
and it is many miles to the nearest antelope - 
rangfe. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



167 



Howard Maujpin was the earliest settler in the 
Antelope country. In the '6o's he located on the 
site of the old Antelope, later moving to another 
place in the valley. This was about two miles 
from the present site of Antelope. At the time 
he settled there The Dalles-Canyon City road 
had not been built, but the place was on the pack- 
trail leading- from The Dalles to the Canyon City 
mines. This trail crossed the Des Chutes river 
about four miles above Sherar's Bridge, or Mau- 
pin's ferry. August 12,. 1872, a correspondent of 
the Antelope Herald said : 

"What changes have been brought to bear on 
Antelope since the time when Chief Paulina 
roamed over the Antelope hills, stealing and com- 
mitting all kinds of crimes, until one of the old 
pioneers, M. H. Maupin, caught him at one of 
his bold tricks on the hill just opposite the town 
of Antelope, to the northeast, and laid the chief 
low with a well aimed bullet from his Win- 
chester, thus putting an end to the war-whoop 
of Chief Paulina and his braves. Then Air. 
Maupin could look fpr and wide over the vast 
prairie, with nothing to disturb the monotony of 
the surroundings save the sight of his own hut. 
Those days are now gone, and look at the lovely 
valley and the beautiful town of Antelope today." 

On the old Antelope location, two miles east 
of the present town, Nathan W. Wallace settled 
in 1870. And it was in 1873 that the old town 
of Antelope came into existence. It was on the 
place first tenanted by Maupin that Wallace lo- 
cated, and about the year 1873 he officiated as 
host at the stage station which he there estab- 
lished. He, also, secured a postoffice which was 
named Antelope, and of which Wallace became 
postmaster. The town had that pioneer estab- 
lishment of all new western settlements, a black- 
smith shop. In 1879 the business of this hamlet 
was increased by a store conducted by *Nate 
Baird, who later became postmaster. These 
primitive business enterprises constituted the 
town of Antelope until its migration, in 1881, to 
its present location. The site of this "Hazard of 
New Fortunes" was then owned by N. R. Baird 
and B. F. Laughlin. 

During the earlier days of the '70's hostile 
tribes of Indians made frequent incursions into 
this section of country, and the old Wallace 
home, built on Stockade plan, with loop holes 
through the heavy hewn logs, was a frequent ren- 
dezvous for the scattered settlers of the country. 
Mr. Wallace continued to live in Antelope until 
his death, September 10, 1904. 

In 1 88 1 the stage route was changed ; no 
longer it passed the Wallace place. It was at this 
period that the town of Antelope changed its lo- 



cation. ( )n the present site of Antelope a stage 
station was built by Dr. Owsley, and was 
shortly afterward purchased by Mr. Wallace, 
who moved it to the new location, and brought 
the postoffice with him. Nathan Baird also 
moved his store down, and a man by the name of 
Carter erected in the new town a building which 
is now known as Tammany Hall. 

The patent to the land upon which Antelope 
is located was issued to Nathan Baird and B. F. 
Laughlin — that is the town was laid out upon 
land which had been homesteaded by these per- 
sons, the line separating their claims running 
through the town. September 14, 1882, the town- 
site was platted by Baird and Laughlin. But the 
official procedure did not, immediately, cause a 
stampede to the new place, nor did active build- 
ing operations immediately begin. Not until 1887 
was there much to show in the way of a town at 
Antelope. That year a store was moved down 
from Cross Hollow, one or two stores estab- 
lished, and, as Mr. R. C. Rooper said: "There 
was enough of a town so that you could see it 
with the naked eye." As an eye-witness of the 
town's sudden impetus in 1892 we quote from 
the Antelope Herald of September 2d : 

"Antelope is at present witnessing a great 
boom. Lumber is being hauled from the mills 
and piled up here every day only awaiting the 
action of the carpenters to convert it into busi- 
ness houses, residences, etc. Everyone is im- 
proving his property and erecting new additions 
thereto. Town lots are selling at a rapid rate and 
at good prices. Outsiders are beginning to real- 
ize the superior advantages of living at Antelope 
and are investing in lots here in order to build 
residences thereon so as to send their children to 
school when the new school house is completed." 

January 6, 1893, the Herald added this : 

"The town of Antelope, during the past year, 
has undergone a greater change and has wit- 
nessed greater prosperity than during any prev- 
ious year in the history of her existence. Prior to 
the above year the town neither improved very 
rapidly nor did it retrograde, but with the advent 
of 1892 the superior advantages and opportuni- 
ties which the town of Antelope furnishes, be- 
came established to the outside world, and the 
consequence was that the people from nearly 
every county in the state pulled up and settled 
here." 

Among other improvements this year, notable 
at the time, were the establishment of a general 
merchandise store by E. M. Wingate and Frank 
Irvine; the Antelope Herald; drugstore by Dr. 
Franke and J. Silvertooth ; remodeling of the 
Laughlin Hotel ; warehouse by W. Bolton ; new 



1 68 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



school house ; barber and shoemaker shops ; or- 
ganization of A. O. U. W. and W. C. T. U. 
societies, and a large number of residences. 

Of course the "hard times" of 1893 were ex- 
perienced in Antelope — as the epidemic was uni- 
versal — but in proportion to her size Antelope 
did not suffer so much as hundreds of other com- 
munities in the state. The town improved con- 
siderably during the early days of 1893. 

At last came the time when "incorporation'' 
■was in the air. It was in the summer of 1896 
that the citizens of Antelope petitioned the 
Wasco county court for the privilege of voting 
■upon the question of incorporation. They alleged 
that there were 170 inhabitants within the pro- 
posed boundaries, and the petition was signed by 
51 electors. This movement was decided upon 
at a mass meeting held August 7th, at which 
were present nearly every male citizen in the 
town, and all there were solid for incorporation. 
At the September session of the county court 
the petition was. granted and October 19th named 
as the day of election, and to select the first city 
officials. Judges of election named were T. J. 
Harper, P. A. Kirchheiner and W. Bolton ; 
clerks, M. E. Miller and E. M. Shutt. 

October 23, 1896, a canvass of the votes cast 
showed the following' : For incorporation, 33 ; 
against, 14. These were elected : Mayor, John 
L. Hollingshead ; Aldermen — S. W. Patterson, 
John McLennon, W. Bolton, N. R. Baird, W. H. 
Silvertooth, N. W. Wallace; recorder, (tie vote), 
Peter A. Kirchheiner and M. E. Miller, (Miller 
qualified); marshal, F. T. Cook; treasurer, 
Frank Irvine. This election was to name officers 
to serve only until the annual city election which 
was to occur December 8th. At this last election 
all the same officials were returned. The first 
meeting of the council was held November 18th, 
and from 1896 Antelope dates her existence as a 
city. 

Highly prosperous was the year 1897 for 
Antelope. The sluggish effects of "hard times" 
were thrown off ; the new blood of activity and 
business enterprise filled her veins. That year 
Antelope saw real prosperity ; the greatest in her 
history up to that date. At the close of 1897 the 
present town had two large general merchandise 
stores owned by Bolton & Company and Frank 
Irvine ; a commodious and complete drug store 
by Dr. R. J. Pilkington, who was, also, a suc- 
cessful surgeon and physician ; two blacksmith 
shops by Peter A. Kirchheiner and Antone Nel- 
son ; three saloons by F. W. Silvertooth, McLen- 
nan & McBeth and McKay & Tunny ; four large 
and well furnished hotels conducted by W. J. Ash- 
by, W. Wallace, McLennan & McBeth and Mrs. 
M. E. Perrin ; a barber shop and confectionery 



store owned by G. E. Patterson ; two large livery 
stables conducted by W. J. Ashby and Henry 
Dyce ; a harness and saddlery establishment by 
C. F. Perrin; a meat market by G. E. Patterson; 
the Antelope Herald printing office with M. E. 
Miller as editor and proprietor ; a furniture and 
undertaking store by E. J. Glisan ; also E. C. 
Dickerson had under construction a bowling al- 
ley and J. T. Bennett was erecting a new sta- 
tionery store and post office building. Besides 
these were the A. F. & A. M., the A. O. U. W., 
the Woodmen and the D. of H. lodges all in a 
flourishing condition.- 

After many happy escapes from disastrous 
fire the town suffered by quite a serious con- 
flagration. Monday, July 11, 1898, at 2:30 
o'clock, a. m. Citizens were aroused from their 
slumbers by the cry of "fire ;" in less than one 
hour and thirty minutes the business portion of 
Antelope was a mass of wreck and ruin. Only 
an apparently special act of Providence at an 
opportune moment, the changing of the wind, 
combined with the heroic efforts of the people, 
saved the town from destruction. This fire orig- 
inated in the Condon bowling alley. 

Within a few minutes the flames had spread 
so that this building was beyond saving. So rap- 
idly raced the flames that before people were 
thoroughly aroused the Antelope hotel was 
ablaze. Without clothing or personal property 
the guests and other inmates managed to save 
their lives. From the south side the flames 
spread to the livery stable ; thence onward down 
the street to Kirchheiner's blacksmith shop, Dr. 
Pilkington's drug store, the postoffice and store, 
Gilsan & Brown's furniture, McBeth's saloon and 
hotel and the Scott building. While the black- 
smith shop was burning Silvertooth's saloon 
caught ; Patterson's store and W. Bolton & Com- 
pany's big store were the last aflame. 

On the north side of Main street all the build- 
ings between Kirchheiner's residence and Riley's 
little house were destroyed. On the south side of 
Main street between the Union House and Silver- 
tooth's residence next to the Herald office. Very 
little was saved from any of the burned buildings. 
A conservative estimate places the loss at about 
$70,000, with insurance of $25,000, divided as 
follows : Masonic Lodge, $4,000, insurance, 
$1,400; Condon & Powne, $900: T. G. Condon, 
$250; W. J. Ashby, $2,000; W. D. Jones. $5,000; 
P. A. Kirchheiner, $2,500, insurance, $500 ; R. 
J. Pilkington, $2,000, insurance, $800 ; J. T. Ben- 
nett, $1,000, insurance, $250; Gilsan & Brown, 
$1,200, insurance, $300: F. McBeth, $6,000, in- 
surance, $1,500: D. Scott, $500; F. W. Silver- 
tooth, $1,250, insurance, $500; W. Bolton, $50,- 
000, insurance, $20,000 ; N. W. Wallace. $500 ; 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



169 



H. W. Gamble, $100; G. E. Patterson, $2,000, 
insurance, $800; F. M. Dial, $2,000, insurance, 
$1,500; John Ogle, $100; M. E. Miller, $100. 

By September the town of Antelope was in a 
fair way of recovery from the terrible disaster 
that had overtaken it. The new store buildings 
which were rapidly rebuilt, were much better 
structures than had been the old ones, in every 
way. And the new Antelope bid fair to become 
one of the handsomest towns in the interior and, 
for its size, one of the best. A splendid gravity 
system of water works was constructed in 1898, 
and supplies the city with pure water from the 
hills a mile and one-half distant. This system 
together with 500 feet of hose, hose-carts, lad- 
ders, hooks, buckets and a set of resolute fire 
fighters, makes the town comparatively safe from 
a repetition of a similar disaster. March 31, 
1899, the Antelope Herald said : 

"The $4,000 of city bonds will be sold to- 
morrow. This will place the city's finances in 
fine condition, as there will be no other indebted- 
ness except the bonded debt, and the city is well 
able to take care of that. To show for this debt 
we have a splendid system of waterworks, a good 
reservoir and well-equipped fire company. How 
many other towns of the size of Antelope can 
make so good a showing?" 

By certain pessimistic "gloomists" it had been 
predicted that when the Columbia Southern rail- 
road was extended and the town of Shaniko came 
into existence, which it did in the spring of 1900, 
Antelope would fade away from the surface of 
the earth. However, this was not the case ; if 
anything Antelope became more prosperous than 
ever. The philosophical editor of the Morning 
Oregonian said, July 7, 1900: 

"The theory that location of the town of 
Shaniko, at the terminus of the Columbia South- 
ern railroad within six miles of Antelope w r ould 
kill the place has been practically exploded. 
Trains have been running into that point now for 
about two months, and if there is any difference 
in the prosperity of Antelope, it is in Antelope's 
favor. AVhile Antelope is, comparatively an old 
town, it is just as live and always has been as a 
new town." 

The total assessed valuation of Antelope in 
1903 was $48,600. The fraternal societies of the 
town now comprise: Antelope Lodge No. 116, 
A. F. & A. M. ; Madeline Lodge No. 59, O. E. S. : 
Antelope Lodge No. 44, A. O. U. W. ; Purity 
Lodge No. 39, Degree of Honor ; Virtue Lodge 
No 146. I. O. O. F., Sheep Camp, No. 367, 
W. of W. 

The religious societies are represented by the 
Methodist Episcopal and Episcopalian churches. 
The town is supplied with splendid schools. 



SHANIKO. 

This town is the fifth in size in the county of 
Wasco, the youngest in age and among the first 
in business transactions. It is located some sixty 
miles south of the Columbia river ; 2,500 feet 
above sea level. The views of the Cascade range 
of mountains ; the snow-crowned peaks of the 
Three Feathers, Mounts Hood, Jefferson, Adams, 
St. Helens and Rainer (or Tacoma), cannot be 
surpassed from any other point in the entire 
state of Washington. Its location has been 
graphically described by the Morning Oregonian 
of January 1, 1900 : 

"The site is on a plain that slopes gently 
toward the northeast, in line with the prevailing 
winds. It is about 2,500 feet above sea level and 
commands an extensive view in all directions. 
From any part of the town eight perpetual snow 
peaks are visible. * * * No accurate data of 
the climate and temperature are available, but 
old settlers assure the writer that the mercury 
seldom touches zero, and the winters are usually 
short, and on account of exposure to the warm 
Chinook winds snow seldom lies on the ground 
for more than a few days at a time. The mod- 
erate elevation of the townsite secures it against 
oppressive heat in summer, and with abundance 
of pure air, the best facilities in the world for 
drainage, and abundance of cool, living water, 
Shaniko ought to make an ideally healthful 
town." 

As might be readily supposed from the sound, 
the name of this new metropolis is not of Indian 
derviation. It is an Americanized patronymic of 
a former honest German resident named Scher- 
neckau, whom his neighbors in proud defiance 
or all Teutonic orthography, persisted in calling 
bv the name of the new town. Thus the honest 
German became, practically, named after the 
town instead of the town being named after hinij 
which was the intention. 

The earlier history of Shaniko. paradoxical 
as it may appear, begins long before there existed 
such a place. At present it is located near what 
was long an important station on the main wagon 
road between The Dalles and Canyon City, 
known as Cross Hollow. In no sense was Shan- 
ico a boom town ; rather a child of necessity. To 
any one acquainted with the topography of 
Eastern Oregon it is unnecessary to state that 
lines of communication whether by rail " or 
wagon, almost invariably followed well defined 
routes. Thus, for many years the bulk of all the 
traffic between the interior of Eastern Oregon 
and the head of navigation on the Middle Colum- 
bia was conveyed over two wagon roads that con- 
verged at Bakeoven, a few miles west of the 



I/O 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



present. Shaniko. From thence to The Dalles one 
single expensive toll road carried the greater por- 
tion of all the traffic of a territory nearly as large 
as the states of Vermont and New Hampshire. 
It was at once seen that Shanico must eventually 
become a shipping point with railway facilities ; 
the prediction has been verified. All roads from 
the great stock ranges of the interior lead to 
Shaniko. 

While the history of the town of Shaniko 
does not begin until the spring of 1900, the site 
upon which it is built is an old one with an inter- 
esting history. Here, in 1878, A. Scherneckau 
built a place which he operated as a stopping 
point on the stage line, it being one day's jour- 
ney from The Dalles. In addition to his inn he 
conducted a small store, a preponderance of his 
goods being of an alcoholic character. He was, 
also, the proprietor of a blacksmith shop. In 
1882, the country having considerably developed 
by settlement, Scherneckau erected a separate 
building for his store besides making other im- 
provements. He opened an extensive stock of 
goods and for several years conducted an im- 
mense business — some have estimated it as high 
as $50,000 a year. This place was known as 
Cross Hollow. But finally the "Hollow" began 
to wane. The place ceased to be a stage station. 
Mr. Scherneckau disposed of his property to 
William Farr who, for awhile, conducted the 
business and in 1887, considering the new town 
of Antelope a more favorable location, moved his 
stock, store building and all to the new town. 
Cross Hollow was no more. 

Thus the site remained, a place in memory 
only, until the fall of 1899, when it became known 
that the Cross Hollow site had been selected as 
the terminus of the railway. In August, 1899, 
the surveyors, having laid out a site for the new 
town, returned to Moro. Moore Brothers, bank- 
ers, purchased the site and prepared to back the 
enterprise with hard cash. A bank, warehouse., 
hotel, general store with the terminal buildings 
of the Columbia Southern Railroad were antic- 
ipated as the nucleus of a thriving western city 
and the key to a vast region hitherto handi- 
capped by a long haul to a railroad point. Antici- 
pating the future of this town The Dalles Times- 
Mountaineer, September 20, 1899, said: 

There is no longer any doubt that the Colum- 
bia Southern will be pushed on south from Moro to 
the town of Shaniko (Cross Hollow), as rapidly as 
possible, and that the latter place will for years to 
come be the terminus of the road, for when the road 
is completed to that place there will be little reason 
for building it farther, as it will be in a position to 
handle all the freight traffic for many miles south. 



And so long as Shaniko is the southern terminus of 
the road it will be a lively and thriving place. 

Recognizing this fact a number of Dalles pjeo- 
ple have interested themselves in the place and will 
endeavor to make what they can out of it. Messrs. 
Lord and Laughlin have taken stock in the Shaniko 
Warehouse Company, which proposes to erect a 
large wool and grain warehouse at that place and 
do a general forwarding, storage and commission 
business. They have, also, with other Dalles peo- 
ple, taken an interest in the Shaniko Townsite Com- 
pany, incorporated yesterday with a capital stock 
of $48,000, the purpose of which is to acquire title 
to realty, build waterworks, electric light plants,, 
etc. The incorporators are B. F. Laughlin, E. C. 
Pease, D. M. French, W. Lord and J. W. French, 
of The Dalles; W. H. and H. A. Moore, of Moro. 
The fact that these gentlemen have interested them- 
selves in these enterprises is evidence that there 
is money back of the town of Shaniko, which is one 
of the principal things to put it going. 

The plat of the Shaniko townsite was filed in 
the office of the county clerk September 8, 1899. 
It was platted on the property of W. H. and 
Laura Moore. The first building erected was by 
G. G. Wiley, in March, 1900; this was followed 
by the Shaniko Townsite Company, who built a 
fine two-story house. In laying out the town- 
site the company established grades for streets 
and sidewalks, planned a magnificent system of 
water-works and a complete sewer system. The 
original site comprised thirty blocks of 12 lots 
each, 50x100 feet in size. The business streets 
are 100, and the residence thoroughfares, 80 feet 
in width. 

The Shaniko Warehouse Company was in- 
corporated the latter part of September, 1899, 
with a capital of $42,000. The incorporators 
were W. Lord, B. F. Laughlin and W. H. Moore. 
In January, 1900, the officials of the Shaniko 
Townsite Company advertised in the Morning 
Oregonian, a newspaper printed at Portland, that 
the Columbia Southern Railway would be com- 
pleted to Shaniko by April 1, 1901. In this ad- 
vertisement the company stated that Shaniko 
was destined to become the largest wool market 
in the world. In March, 1900, more than one 
hundred persons were employed in various works 
in progress in the new town. All of these boarded 
and slept in tents. At that period there was only 
one wooden building erected ; a mere temporary 
shack utilized as a saloon. Men were then flock- 
ing into town daily ; material was coming in fast. 
But not until April 20, 1900, did Shaniko enjoy 
the privilege of a postoffice. 

May 13, 1900, a railroad construction train 
rolled into the municipal boundaries of the town 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



171 



of Shaniko. Two days subsequently regular 
passenger and freight trains arrived and de- 
parted daily. On the 16th from The Dalles, want 
J. W. and D. M. French, E. C. Pease and W. 
Lord, of the Shaniko Townsite Company, to look 
over their new possessions. With them went 
William Henry for the purpose of establishing a 
drug store. The federal census of June 1, T900, 
gave Shaniko a population of 172 permanent res- 
idents ; the fifth town in size in the county. The 
water which supplies Shaniko is obtained from 
springs, pure and clear as crystal, gushing forth 
from the hillsides. These were cleaned out, ce- 
mented up and piped to a large receiving reser- 
voir holding 120,000' gallons, and from that the 
water is pumped into the auxiliary reservoir 
which stands high above all the buildings and 
holds 60,000 gallons. The water system was 
completed and mains laid over the city and con- 
nections made in July, 1900. It is owned by the 
Townsite Company and cost $20,000. 

Shaniko experienced its first fire October 2, 
1900, when the Pease & Mays store, an iron 
structure, 100 feet square, was destroyed, to- 
gether with Pease & Mays' general merchandise 
stock and Houghton & Henry's drug stock, which 
were located in the building. The fire, which 
was supposed to have originated from a defec- 
tive flue, was discovered about 8:30 a. m., in 
the drug store, but had gained such headway that 
it was impossible to save either the stock or 
building. The latter was constructed a year 
ago at a cost of $6,000. Pease & Mays carried 
a $20,000 stock of merchandise and their store 
fixtures were valued at $2,000. Houghton & 
Henry's stock alid fixtures were valued at $5,000, 
making a total value of $33,000. All was well 
insured. This was, of course, a serious loss to 
the town, since the stores burned were the lead- 
ing mercantile establishments of the place. Since 
then they have all been rebuilt. 

The election deciding the question of incor- 
poration of Shaniko was held February 9, 190 1. 
It resulted in the election of the following city 
officials : Mayor, F. T. Hurlbert ; recorder, E. 
Lewis ; marshal, Dell Howell ; treasurer, Don 
Rae ; councilmen, C. C. Cooper, N. M. Lane, Fen 
Batty, George Ross, H. Brunner, F. Lucas. 

January 1, 1902, Shaniko was a populous, 
growing community. Besides the railroad shops 
it contains the most extensive wool warehouse in 
the state, from which 4,000,000 pounds were mar- 
keted in 190 1. Throughout the country was a 
great cattle raising section, and for the fiscal 
year ending June 30, 400 car-loads were shipped. 

The total assessment valuation in 1903 was 
$72,435. June 14, 1904, there were sold in 
Shaniko 1,250,000 pounds of wool at prices 



ranging from 14 to 17 cents. June 2d, prev- 
iously, 1,000,000 pounds changed hands. It was 
estimated that the total wool sales .for that year 
ran close into the 5,000,000 mark. Shaniko, being 
the distributing point for an immense scope of 
country, is supplied with stages to all parts of the 
interior off the lines of railway. It is the present 
terminus of the Columbia Southern Railway, and 
the point of arrival and departure of Prineville 
and Bend stage companies. 

The fraternal societies of Shaniko are repre- 
sented by Shaniko Lodge No. 67, A. O. U. W. ; 
Shaniko camp No. 1012, M. W. A., and Ollie 
Lodge No. 79, Degree of Honor. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church is the only 
one in Shaniko. 

CASCADE LOCKS. 

This is a village on the Columbia river and 
the line of the Oregon Railroad & Navigation 
Company, forty-five miles east of Portland, and 
forty-three miles west of The Dalles. The re- 
ligious element is represented by Methodist and 
Catholic Churches ; it has a population of about 
300, a saw mill and a number of business houses. 

The town of Cascade Locks has grown into 
prominence since the building of the "Locks" in 
1 880. At the time the government commenced 
the work was a matter of necessity, buildings were 
erected and a few business houses opened. For 
many vears the existence of this town depended 
upon the locks, but with development of the fish- 
ing industry quite a number of wheels were 
placed in operation. The location is picturesque. 
The river, an angry current at this point, sweeps 
along a grass and moss-covered bank, and on 
either side giant mountains rear their summits 
often above the clouds. Groves of pine, fir, cedar 
and hemlock cluster in pleasant groups in the vi- 
cinity, affording a cooling shade in the summer 
and a pleasant resort for tourists. In the neigh- 
boring streams are many active yet sagacious 
trout ; in the forests and on the mountain sides 
elk and deer. This locality has been called the 
Switzerland of the Northwest, and it is certain 
that no Alpine scene excels in grandeur and 
beauty the Cascades of the Columbia. The gov- 
ernment work at this place was, practically, com- 
pleted in 1896, but there have been appropria- 
tions since. As a summer resort Cascade Locks 
has acquired prominence ; with the certain in- 
crease of Oregon population these picturesque 
hillsides will be dotted with the summer cottages 
of wealthy citizens, who will here resort for - 
temporary seclusion from active business life. 
July 19, 1 901, The Dalles Times-Mountaineer- 
said: 



172 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Few Oregonians realize all the attractive feat- 
ures of Cascade Locks as a summer resort, else the 
"white city" there would be counted by the hun- 
dreds instead of being a few score of pleasure 
seekers who have learned of its comforts and are 
selfish enough to enjoy them without letting the rest 
of the world know what a paradise there is. With- 
in a quarter of a mile of the depot is located the 
camp grounds, a romantic dell in the mountains, 
shaded so perfectly that the sun scarcely kisses mother 
earth during the entire day. The purest mountain 
water is led to the grounds by a pipe line, and the 
■air is as perfect and exhilarating as could be en- 
countered on the summit of Mount Hood. 

Besides all these advantages of the mountains one 
is still within civilization and within reach of every 
comfort to be had in the cities. The stores and mar- 
kets in the town of Cascade Locks are supplied with 
everything, and prices are as reasonable as in Port- 
land or The Dalles. Six trains and four boats pass 
there daily, hence the camper is not removed from the 
outside world ; in fact business men spending the 
summer there can superintend their business about 
as well from there as if they were at home, since 
they are an hour and one-half by rail from either 
Portland or The Dalles, and the place is also con- 
nected by telegraph and telephone with both these 
cities. True, Cascade Locks has not the attraction of 
mineral springs or anything to renew life except the 
pure water, mountain air and magnificent scenery, but 
it is only an half hour's ride by boat to either the 
Collins or Moffit springs. 

But in May, 1880, conditions were somewhat 
different. There were then two stores, three 
hotels (one quite commodious,) a restaurant, two 
saloons, another devoted exclusively to the sale 
of beer, a shoe shop, butcher shop, and a num- 
ber of private residences. A commodious school 
house was in process of erection. There were 
about one hundred residents exclusive of the 
employes on the locks who then numbered 350. 
Occasionally services were held by the Catholics. 

It was in 1880 that Cascade Locks was the 
victim of a great flood in common with many 
other river towns at that period. At certain 
times the inhabitants were compelled to seek 
higher ground for safety. However, no great 
damage was experienced. By autumn, 1880, 
Cascade Locks had arrived at the following pro- 
portions : stores, shops and dwellings, 10 ; sa- 
loons, including a building soon to be opened, 12. 

By July 20, 1881, there were 80 men at work 
on the locks. The town exhibited some signs of 
improvement, but business activity depended 
greatly on the government work. There was a 
line of coaches under charge of Mr. Bothwick, 
which conveyed passengers between the boat 



landings. In 1885 the population was transitory, • 
numbering about 200, nearly all of whom were in 
government employment. The exceptions were 
those attending fish wheels. Up to the time the 
boats went through these locks the government 
had expended $3,000,000 in their construction 
to overcome the rapids in the river, a more ex- 
tended description of this being given in the cur- 
rent chapters of the history of Wasco county. In 
March, 1905, the government appropriated $30,- 
000 for improvements on the locks. The census 
of 1900 gave Cascade Locks a population of 248. 
During the early history of the town Cascade 
Locks held its place on the map simply because 
of the government works. It now stands on its 
own business reputation ; the fishing industry ; 
its sawmills and general attractions as a summer 
resort. 

TYGH VALLEY. 

This village has a population of about 150. It 
is situated 30 miles south of The Dalles. Con- 
cisely speaking it has telephone connections ; 
daily stage to Kingsley, Dufur and The Dalles ; 
a newspaper, general store, blacksmith shop, etc. 
The religious element is represented by the 
United Brethren Church. The town is pictur- 
esquely located on the bank of Tygh Creek, a 
tributary of White River, amid groves of pop- 
lars and cottonwoods, forming an agreeable con- 
trast to the bare and rugged hills of the vicinity. 
The postofhce was established in 1885. 

"Tygh" is an Indian name, and Indians of 
the present clay pronounce it with an accent diffi- 
cult to imitate by speakers of English. At a 
time when there were few settlers in the neigh- 
borhood H. Staley built a store and conducted a 
thriving business with whites and Indians from 
Warm Springs reservation. Later he disposed 
of this store to J. M. and C. J. Van Duyne. The 
town was platted June 13, 1892, by Charles J. 
Van Duyne. 

MOSIER. 

So much has been written concerning the 
pioneer towns of Wasco county that present de- 
scriptions are necessarily abbreviated. The vil- 
lage of Mosier is located on the line of the Ore- 
gon Railroad & Navigation Company, fourteen 
miles west of The Dalles and six miles east of 
Hood River. It is theologically represented by 
the Methodist, Christian and Catholic churches. 
It has a saw mill, two general stores, a box fac- 
tory, blacksmith shop. etc. Mosier is. compara- 
tively, a new town, but is named after one of 
Wasco county's prominent pioneers, of whom 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



173 



much will be found in the current chapters of 
Wasco county- history. The Times-Mountaineer 
said, June 21, 1904: "J- N. Mosier, who was in 
the city today, said that the town of Mosier is 
showing a good and healthy growth this year. 
During the coming summer there will be a num- 
ber of buildings erected, including a hotel, store, 
hall and several residences." 

KINGSLEY. 

This town is located seven miles south of 
Dufur, and is the center of a large farming set- 
tlement. It contains a store, blacksmith shop, 
saloon, etc. Three times a week the place is 
visited by a stag - e to and from Dufur. The town- 
site was platted May 16, 1893. Kingsley is one 
of the oldest settlements of Wasco county, in a 
rich farming country in the eastern portion. It is 
distant twenty-four miles south of The Dalles. 
There is located here a Catholic church. 

WAPINITIA. 

Lies forty-five miles south of The Dalles, with 
a daily stage and mail between the two points ; 
has two stores ; hotel ; saloon and a blacksmith 
shop. H. T. Corum opened a store at this point 
in 1S83 ar >d became postmaster. It is one of the 
older towns of the county and in 1885 the Times- 
Mountaineer said of it: 

"Oak Grove takes its name from the settle- 
ment. A stage line runs three times a week, and 
it is about fifty miles from The Dalles. This is 
on the Tygh route and has a tri-weekly stage. 
The name of the postoffice is Wapinitia." 

WAMIC. 

This place is located on Three Mile creek, a 
tributary of White River, thirty-seven miles south 
of The Dalles, from which it has a daily stage. 
It contains a store, saw mill, hotel and blacksmith 
shop. It is six miles southeast of Tygh, on both 
banks of the stream, and on the very edge of 
Mount Hood's timbered foothills. It is a decid- 
edly pleasant and healthful location. Wamic 
came into existence in the early '80's, and for 
several years did business under the pseudonym 
of Prattsville, in honor of Mr. Jason Pratt, an 
old settler who owned most of the land where 
Wamic now stands ; Mr. Pratt came to the place 
from the east some forty-six years ago. He came 
to Wamic with ox teams and assisted many an 
early immigrant to take his wagons over the 
bluffs of Tygh before there was any sign of a 
wagon road in the vicinity. Although in poor 
health at that period he lived and raised sons to 



plow and reap above the old time wagon trails. 
Wamic is surrounded by a good belt of farming 
country. In the summer of 1889 Wamic con- 
sisted of a general merchandise store and post- 
office, millinery store, brickyard, and two saw 
mills in the vicinity. It is now a thriving vil- 
lage of about 100 population. 

BOYD 

Is on Fifteen Mile creek, eleven miles south 
of The Dalles and three miles northeast of Dufur. 
It has two churches, Methodist and Adventists, 
and two general stores. It is situated in the 
midst of a rich agricultural country, and sup- 
ports one store, church, school, etc. The post- 
office was established in April, 1894, and J. E. 
Barnett became postmaster. It is, evidently, a 
prosperous little city. 

BAKEOVEN. 

On Bakeoven Creek, is just south of the 
Sherman county line ; 50 miles southeast of The 
Dalles and eight northwest of Shaniko. It has 
a postoffice, general merchandise store, a hotel 
and blacksmith shop. The elevation above sea 
level of Bakeoven is 2,200 feet. 

Those who have seen the name "Bakeoven" 
on the map, or heard it pronounced, would be in- 
clined to believe that it was a decidedly warm 
locality. Such, however, is not the case. Here is 
the story of its christening : 

In the very early days when the settlers be- 
tween The Dalles and the Canyon City mines 
could be counted on the fingers of one hand, and 
the Indians were inclined to be saucy, a French- 
man started from The Dalles with a cargo of 
flour for the mines. When he reached the point 
now known as Bakeoven he went into camp. 
During the night the Indians ran off with his 
mules. He w r as in a grave predicament, but did 
not despair. Gathering some rocks he built a 
stone oven, and then and there baked his cargo 
of flour into bread. This is the story related by 
old timers. But some links to this tale must be 
left to the imagination ; for instance ; he must . 
have water and other ingredients with which to 
make bread that would not choke a mule. The 
story ends with the statement that the French- 
man sold the bread to the miners and realized a 
much greater profit than he would with the raw 
product. Old timers, to this day, will point out 
the blackened stones which were a part of the 
Frenchman's oven. Ever since this spot has been 
known as Bakeoven, becoming one of the early 
day postoffices of Wasco county. 

Of this place Mr. H. C. Rooper says : 



174 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



"In the early '70's Andy Swift located on the 
present site of Bakeoven, the meeting place of the 
Prineville and Canyon City stage roads, which 
here united into the road to The Dalles. He 
here built a stage house, opened a small store and 
secured the establishment of a postofhce which 
was named Bakeoven. This business was pur- 
chased by Burgess & Taylor in the early '70's. 
About 1877 Burgess bought his partner's interest 
and conducted the business there until recent 
years, disposing of it a few years ago." 

CELILO. 

With the construction of the Oregon Rail- 
road & Navigation Company's lines, in 1880, Ce- 
lilo came into existence. It is located at the fa- 
mous Celilo Falls of the Columbia, in the ex- 
treme northeastern portion of the county. Celilo 
is twelve miles east of The Dalles and consists 
mainly of a postoffice and fish-cannery. Novem- 
ber 23, 1880, The Dalles Times said: "Though 
Blalock's is now the landing, and the up-river 
boats are moored there, yet the old town of Celilo 
still remains, and the long wharf-boat is still at- 
tached to the bank." 

November 30th the Times added : 
"Celilo not deserted — At present there are at 
this point 25 carloads of car material; 11,000 
iron rails and about 1,400 kegs of spikes and bolts 
for the N. P. R. R., awaiting shipment. The 
car castings are now being transferred to Ains- 
worth, where employees of the N. P. R. R. are 
busilv at work constructing flat and box cars. 
This material will all be shipped to Ainsworth 
so soon as the track is completed." 

In 1885 The Dalles Times-Mountaineer said : 
"Celilo is a historic point, but since the com- 
pletion of the railroad it is a wayside station of 
no importance. All freight destined for the up- 
per country had to be transferred from the cars 
to the boat, as this was the terminus of the por- 
tage around the dalles of the Columbia. For 
many years it has been used as a 'bone yard' 
for boats of the company." 

Wrentham, named from an old town in Mass- 
achusetts, is a postoffice in the northeastern por- 



tion of Wasco county, a short distance east of 
Boyd. It is twelve miles southeast of The Dalles, 
with a semi-weekly stage from that point. 

Wyeth is a station and postoffice on the line 
of 'the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company, 
between Cascade Locks and Hood River. It is 
36 miles west of The Dalles and thirteen west of 
Hood River. 

Mount Hood is the name of a postoffice mid- 
way between Hood River and the mountains. 
The postoffice was established in July, 1895, 
when Oscar Fridenberg became postmaster. All 
that remain are the store and postoffice, black- 
smith shop and lumber yard. It lies about fifteen 
miles south of Hood River. 

Viento lies twenty-nine miles west of The 
Dalles ; a station on the line of the Oregon Rail- 
road & Navigation Company, and the Columbia 
river. It has a saw and planing mill, one store 
and is accommodated with daily boats to Port- 
land and The Dalles. 

Victor is a small village thirty-seven miles 
south of The Dalles with a semi-weekly mail 
service. It is in the White River country, at the 
foothills of' the Cascades. 

On the Warm Springs Indian reservation is 
Simnasho postoffice, sixty miles south of The 
Dalles. It has a tri-weekly stage to Wapinitia 
and The Dalles. Sherar Bridge is a postoffice 
on the Des Chutes, at the mouth of White river. 
It lies thirty-one miles southeast of The Dalles. 

Ridgeway consists of a postoffice located in a 
farm house and is fifteen miles southwest of 
Shaniko. 

Friend is a postoffice in central Wasco county, 
west of Kingsley. It is thirty miles southwest 
of The Dalles. It has a United Brethren church, 
a blacksmith shop and there are several saw- 
mills in the vicinity. 

West of Dufur and eleven miles south of The 
Dalles is the little village of Endersley, with a 
store. 

Menominee is a postoffice formerly known 
as Nicolai, on the line of the Oregon Railroad & 
Navigation Company and the Columbia river," 
thirty miles west of The Dalles, and a few miles 
west of Hood River. 



general 



CHAPTER IX 



DESCRIPTIVE. 






The boundaries of Wasco county, together 
with a full description of its once vast territory 
and subsequent frequent divisions, have been 
fully treated in the current history of this "Mother 
of Counties." It remains for us to detail its pres- 
ent condition, topographically, geologically and 
otherwise. 

As has been shown, Wasco county, in the 
year of our Lord, 1905, is only a remnant of a 
once mammoth territory. It is situated on the 
northern boundary of the state of Oregon, a 
trifle west of midway between the eastern and 
western portions of the commonwealth. The 
area of the county is 2,962 square miles ; it ranks 
eleventh in size among its sister counties ; its 
general elevation above sea level is 1,500 feet. 
These are the elevations of different points with- 
in its limits: The Dalles (at the court house) 
103 feet ; Bake Oven, 2,200 feet ; Cascade Locks, 
125 feet; five miles south of the town of Hood 
River, 920 feet; Cloud Cap Inn (slope of Mount 
Hood), 7,000 feet. January 1, 1898, The Dalles 
Times-Mountaineer said: "Could one be sus- 
pended in mid-air above the broad expanse of 
country, he would view stretched before him a 
picture of exquisite beauty and peculiar diver- 
sification of scenery. On the west he would see 
the heavily timbered Cascades, with their snow- 
capped peaks reaching to the clouds ; on the 
north the rolling hills and deep canyons, gradu- 
ally losing themselves and terminating at the 
bank of the mighty Columbia ; to the east a 
broad expanse of rolling hills and level valleys 
would present themselves to view, while to the 
south he would view an elevated plateau covered 
with a luxuriant growth of bunch grass and oc- 
cassionally intersected by deep canyons and sharp 
defiles, marking the course of the Des Chutes and 
other streams. The picture would be grand and 
would inspire the one viewing it with awe." 

It is no more than justice to say here that 
the railroad passing through eastern Oregon, and 
especially Wasco county, skirts along some of 
the worst lands — principally sand dunes and mas- 
sive blocks of basaltic rock. The farming land 



lies a few miles to the south, where one can pass 
for days through cultivated fields, in the early 
fall ripe for the harvest and in the spring green 
with growing grain. The surface of the country 
that includes Wasco county slopes east from the 
Cascade range. From the summits of these 
mountains sweep long ridges covered with heavy 
growths of timber, gradually giving place to high 
rolling prairies peculiar to the topography of 
Eastern Oregon. The northern portion of the 
county dips toward the Columbia, where it meets 
the gradual slope from the other side of that 
stream, in Washington. This northward slope 
of Wasco county affords good drainage, for it 
is indented with numerous creeks which convert 
this portion of the county into the greatest nat- 
urally irrigated (the best kind) section in the 
United States. Each side of these beautiful 
streams is lined with productive farms suscepti- 
ble of the highest state of cultivation and capa- 
ble of the production of any crop indigenous to 
this latitude. The southern and eastern portions 
of the county are drained by the Des Chutes 
and John Day rivers, and their numerous tribu- 
taries. The general topography of this part of 
Wasco county comprises high plateaus sloping 
toward the water courses, terminating in beauti- 
ful valleys along these streams. Fully seventy- 
five per cent, of this section is susceptible of reve- 
nue-producing cultivation, especially in the line 
of cereals. 

The western portion of the county from the 
summit of the Cascades range to the base is, 
as we have noted, covered with a heavy growth 
of yellow and white fir, hemlock, cedar, juniper, 
larch, oak and pine. The quality is fine; the 
quantity sufficient to supply the lumber industry 
for years to come. As one journeys eastward 
from the mountains this timber growth dimin- 
ishes until it can only be found along the banks 
of streams ; mainly cottonwood and willow. In 
1902 an estimate by an expert of the amount of 
standing timber in Wasco county placed it at 
7,100,000,000 feet. In 1904 Henry E. Reed, sec- 
retary and director of exploitation of the Lewis 



176 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 






and Clark Centennial Exposition, gave the esti- 
mate of feet of standing timber of Wasco county 
as 5,988,000,000. 

Concerning the soil of this county Mr. B. 
S. Pague, in The Dalles Times-Mountaineer, of 
January 1, 1898, wrote as follows: "The soil is, 
as a rule, of very fine texture. It is a light gray 
soil, which darkens slightly on moistening. It 
is abundantly supplied with potash, but phos- 
phoric acid is deficient. To one unacquainted 
with its peculiarities the soil would not be con- 
sidered especially favorable, but when the pres- 
ent production is considered and its possible pro- 
ductive capacity based on its present production, 
it is seen that the soil possesses constituents that 
produce unusual, and almost phenomenal crops of 
cereals, fruits, hay and vegetables, and when irri- 
gation is practiced the productive capacity is al- 
most doubled. The soil is of such a nature as 
to allow of the subsoil moisture to rise to the 
surface, and on this fact rests the production of 
the wonderful crops, that with an annual pre- 
cipitation of less than twenty inches would be 
impossible. The soil contains some lime, and 
humus is also found in some sections in consider- 
able quantities." 

An analysis of any agricultural section em- 
braces three distinct lines of inquiry : the geolo- 
gist tells us from what source the soil was de- 
rived ; the chemist deposes as to its composition ; 
the chief of the weather bureau exhibits the rec- 
ords of temperature, precipitation and average 
climate. It is now satisfactorily ascertained that 
this northwest territory at one period was sub- 
merged by tremendous overflows of lava. On 
every hand we see the effects of such ravages ; 
mountain ranges composed principally of basalt ; 
plateaus and prairies, superlatively fertile on the 
surface ; underlaid with the same foundation. It 
is conceded by most eminent geologists that sub- 
sequent to the lava inundation a vast inland sea 
occupied the region between the Cascade range 
and the Rocky mountains. This sea disappeared ; 
there remained a rich, alluvial, sedimentary soil 
largely consisting of decomposed basalt, ple- 
thoric in plant foods and colloquially known as 
''volcanic ash." Geologists affirm that this is 
the greatest mass of basalt in the world. The 
superior qualities of the soil warrant the asser- 
tion that it will sustain recropping to cereals 
longer than any other soil outside of certain local- 
ities in China which have been cropped for cen- 
turies. Wasco county soil yields generously even 
with the careless methods of cultivation pursued, 
and while not every season a full crop is har- 
vested, such a thing as a total failure is, so far, 
unknown. Professor G. W. Shaw, of the Ore- 
gon State Agricultural College, furnishes some 



data of the component parts of the soil of Ore- 
gon which shows that of the eastern part of the 
state to be superior to that west of the Cascade 
range, and equal, in material required to make it 
productive and durable, to the soil of any other 
locality in the United States. Following is an 
extract from his writings : 

The soil of Oregon, like all soils of volcanic origin, 
is of unsurpassed fertility. The greater portion of it 
is derived from a basalt which differs from most 
rocks in that it contains the fertilizing ingredients of 
a combination of rocks. This basalt is a complex 
mineral, very dark in color, exceedingly hard and quite 
heavy. Mineralogically it is made up of a plagioclase, 
augite. and olivenite. It nearly always contains more 
or less magnetic iron ore and other minerals. Chem- 
ically it contains silica, lime, potash, soda, magnesia 
and alumnia. The augite not infrequently carries 
phosphoric anhydrite occurring in a crystalline form- 
as apatite. 

The chemical composition of the basalt explains 
the transformation which a little more moisture affects 
in the apparently barren soil of the eastern portion of 
the state. In that section land seemingly worthless 
becomes very productive when supplied with the neces- 
sary water. Analysis of two typical soils of the state 
will serve to show the component physical parts. Soil 
1 is from The Dalles in Eastern Oregon and repre- 
sents a large extent of territory. Soil 2 is very common 
in the Willamette Valley in Western Oregon, taken 
from foot hills south of Eugene : 



Soil No. 1. 

Coarse sand 30.4 

Sand 24.0 

Fine sand 12.2 

Silt, or clay 33.4 



No. 2. 
80.2 

2-5 
3-0 

14.0 



The remainder of the mineral matter in the soil, 
not amounting to more than five pounds in 100 of soil, 
consists of chemical compound of lime, potash, soda, 
Magnesia, iron, albuminum, chloride, salicic acid, phos- 
phoric acid, sulphuric acid, nitric acid and carbonic acid 
and water in varying proportions. It is the compound of 
these substances that constitutes the plant food in the 
soil. The acids are united with the bases to form the 
salts, which occur as chlorides and silicates of potas- 
sium and sodium, calcium, magnesia and ammonium 
and, probably, salts of soda, potash and lime, and cer- 
tain vegetable acids. There are only three of these — 
lime, phosphoric acid and potash — which, as a rule, 
require attention, so far as deficiency of plant food is 
concerned, for the other mineral substances are furn- 
ished in abundance by natural agencies. The soluble 
portion only of the material being used by the plant 
for food. It is these substances that invite attention. 
What constitutes a sufficiency of these materials for 




Celilo Falls, Columbia River 






HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



177 



successfurly growing a crop will differ with the nature 
of the crop and the physical condition of the soil. 
The minimum per centage for the growth of general 
crops is given by Professor Hilgard, than whom no 
one is more competent to judge, as follows: 

"Lime — 0.10 per cent in the highest sandy soil ; 
0.25 per cent in clay loams ; 0.30 per cent in heavy clay 
soil; and it may rise with advantage to I or 2 per cent. 
The indication is that 0.80 per cent is a fair average 
for soil of the Willamette Valley. 

"Phosphoric acid — In sandy loams, 0.10 per cent, 
when accompanied by a good supply of lime. The 
maximum found in the best Mississippi table lands 
was 0.25 per cent ; in the best bottom land of the same 
region 0.30 per cent. This ingredient is, according to 
the California Experiment Station report for 1888, 
more abundant in the soils of Oregon than in the 
soils of California. In the basaltic soils it may run 
as high' as 0.30 per cent or more. 

"Potash — The per centage of heavy clay upland 
soil and clay loams ranges from about 0.8 to 0.5 ; 
lighter loams from 0.45 to 0.30 ; sandy loams below 
0.10, consistent with good productiveness and durability. 
Virgin soil with a less per centage than 0.6 is deficient, 
and virgin soil having 0.50 per cent or over will not 
warrant first on that side of mineral plant food, and 
much less will suffice in the presence of much lime and 
humus. 

"Sulphuric acid — In the best soils this ingredient 
is slight ; 0.02 per cent is adequate, but it frequently 
rises to 0.10 per cent. 

"Iron — Professor Hilgard put 1.5 to 4.0 as the 
ordinary per centage of ferric oxide in soils but 
little tinted; ordinary loams from 3.5 to 7.0; highly 
colored red lands, 7 to 12 and sometimes upwards of 20. 

"Humus — This is the storehouse of nitrogen supply, 
and its determination serves as a measure of the 
nitrogen. In oak uplands of the cotton states the 
range is usually between 0.70 per cent and 0.80 per 
cent; in the poorer sandy soils from 0.40 per cent to 
0.50 per cent; in black calcareous soils 1.02 to 2.80 
per cent." 

The appearance of soils in Eastern Oregon is al- 
together different from those of the western portion 
of the state. By far the larger part is of a gray, 
ashy appearance, and one coming from the darker 
soils of the eastern states would be unfavorably im- 
pressed. Experience, however, teaches that these soils 
are abundantly supplied with plant food, and analysis 
shows that they are probably the most fertile soils 
of the state. The wonderful fertility of these soils 
is shown in their enormous yields of crops from year 
to year. The soil is exceedingly deep in most localities 
and of such a texture as to be easily worked. The 
difference in composition between the soil of eastern 
and western Oregon is well shown by the follow- 
ing table, giving the averages of a considerable number 
of analyses : 

12 



Willamette 
Valley. 

Insoluble matter, 65.18 

Soluble silica, 5.02 

Potash, 23 

Soda, 18 

Lime, 83 

Magnesia, 79 

Iron, 16.45 

Aluminum 16.45 

Sulphuric acid 03 

Phosphoric acid 21 

Water and organic matter 10.77 

Humus 1.63 

Manganese, 08 

Total 117.85 



Eastern 

Oregon. 

66.69 

■43 

.22 

1.22' 

•75 
10.69 
10.69 

.04 

.14 
6.21 
1.44' 

.10' 



1 1 1.74 



An examination of this table in the light of the 
principles laid down above, will be of interest. It will 
be noted that the soils of Eastern Oregon are very 
rich in potash, richer than those of the Willamette 
Valley, but poorer in phosphoric acid. The lime con- 
tent of the soil east of the mountains is nearly three' 
times that of the western area. In view of the ex- 
ceptionally good supply of potash, augmented by an 1 
abundance of lime, it appears that these soils will not 
wear out first on the side of potash. The humus per 
centage seems to be a little lower than in the humid 
part of the state, as would be expected, but recent in- 
vestigations indicate that the humus of the arid re- 
gions carry nearly three times as much nitrogen as 
those of humid areas. If this be true of the soils of 
this state as of other localities of limited rainfall, 
and it doubtless is, there is certainly more nitrogen 
present in the Eastern Oregon soils than in those of. 
Western Oregon. 

The soil of Eastern Oregon is quite uniform ' 
what applies to the entire country applies with 
equal weight to each section. Professor Shaw's 
description of Eastern Oregon applies appropri- 
ately to Wasco county. 

It may, also, be added that what may be truth- 
fully said of the climate of Eastern Oregon applies 
with equal significance to Wasco. The mean 
temperature of Wasco and Sherman counties is 
49 to 52 degrees. As a rule the mean tempera- 
ture decreases with distance from the Columbia 
river and with elevation. The mean winter tem- 
perature, December-February, is from 31 to 36' 
degrees ; the summer, June-August, is from 58 
to 73 degrees. The mean of the highest tempera- 
ture during the year ranges from 56 to 62 de- 
grees, and of the lowest from 40 to 42 degrees. 
The mean of the lowest temperature is below the 
freezing point (32 degrees) during December, 
January and February; during the heat of sum- 



i 7 8 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



mer the lowest temperature which occurs, as a 
rule about sunrise, ranges from 55 to 58 degrees 
along the rivers and lower, dependent upon the 
elevation. 

The highest temperature during the heat of 
summer is from 98 to 105 degrees, extending 
from May to October ; during the winter the 
lowest temperatures are from I to 19 degrees 
below zero, extending from December to March, 
inclusive. With the exceptions of the higher ele- 
vations temperature below zero does not occur 
every season. The maximum temperature dur- 
ing the winter season always, for a month, aver- 
ages above the freezing point. The climate of 
Wasco county is not rigorous as might be hastily 
concluded from the wide range of maximum and 
minimum temperatures. Of exceeding short du- 
ration is any "cold spell" of winter weather; the 
heat of summer is not oppressive ; seldom uncom- 
fortable. Sunstrokes — termed in the eastern 
states "prostrations" — are unknown. There is 
little humidity in the air, especially during the 
warmer portions of the year. Rapid evaporation 
is produced by the dryness of the atmosphere. 
Comparatively cool are the nights during the 
summer months, or growing season. Yet they 
are, along the Columbia river, the warmest in 
the Pacific Northwest. Winters are short and 
not unusually severe. 

The precipitation of Eastern Oregon occurs 
principally between October and April, and the 
same is true of Wasco and Sherman counties. 
At Cascade Locks, over an area of a few miles, 
the annual precipitation is 80 inches. Local 
causes produce this large quantity of rainfall ; 
to the eastward it decreases mile by mile ; at Hood 
River 38 inches annually occurs, while at The 
Dalles, only 45 miles from the locks, the annual 
amount is 15 inches. Thus the precipitation 
steadily decreases from the Cascades through 
Wasco and Sherman counties, and on to Arling- 
ton, Gilliam county, where but 9 inches annually 
occur. An annual rainfall of less than 20 inches 
occurs over the greater portion of Wasco and 
Sherman counties from November 1st to April 
1st. But there is an increase of rainfall in Sher- 
man county as compared with the amount at 
The Dalles. The cause of this local increase is 
the topography of the country east of Sherman 
county. Showers occur from April to July, the 
total for any one month seldom exceeding one 
inch. During July and August an occasional 
thunder storm prevails ; otherwise this is a rare 
phenomenon, and there is seldom sufficient rain- 
fall to lay the dust ; the average for July and Au- 
gust combined is only 0.29 of an inch over the 
greater portions of both counties. In varying 
depths snow falls from November 15th to March 
15th. During exceptional winters the total will 



amount to several feet. In the southern and 
western portions of Wasco county the snow fall 
is heavier than in any other part of the county. 
Snow, owing to the prevalence of Chinook winds, 
seldom remains on the ground for a long period. 
These warm winds occur at various intervals, 
usually following a cold period ; they quickly re- 
duce the snow and clear the range for cattle feed. 
Wasco county has one of the largest, 
most complete and accurate weather re- 
ports ever made in the state of Ore- 
gon. The first record was made by the 
United States Hospital Corps at old Fort Dalles, 
commencing in 1850 and continuing quite regu- 
larly until 1867. In 1874 Mr. Samuel L. Brooks, 
of The Dalles, began making meteorological rec- 
ords which he yet continues. Without his valu- 
able record but little information could be given 
concerning the climate of these counties. From 
the report of the hospital corps we shall give only 
the averages of mean temperature and precipita- 
tion for the years from 1853 to 1865, following 
this with Mr. Brooks' report from 1876 to 1904: 

Year. Mean Temp. Precip. 

1853 534 1448 

1854 52.0 12.39 

1855 554 "-90 

1856, four months 41.8 3.25 

1857 54-1 29.34 

1858 53-3 43-65 

1859 51-3 35-96 

i860 54-3 24.32 

1861 54-0 28.85 

1862 497 16.29 

1863 55-0 1400 

1864 54-0 

1865 524 22.18 

1866, three months 35-0 4-91 

We follow with Mr. Brooks' report from 
1875 to 1904, taken at The Dalles : 



Year — Month 



1875- 

January • ■ • • 54 

February 63 

March 58 

April ....' 84 

May 74 

June 92 

July 101 

August 98 

September 94 



—9 

8 
30 
26 
32 

48 

54 
57 



31^4 



4.17 
■31 

2.13 
■59 
.81 

I.63 
• 14 
.12 



-Below zero. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



179 



Year— Month 

s 

October 88 

November 59 

December 66 

1876— 

January ' 55 

February 65 

March 60 

April 69 

May 83 

June 103 

July 100 

August 90 

September 91 

October 86 

November 58 

December 55 

1877— 

January 60 

February 60 

"March 66 

April 80 

May 84 

June 93 

July 99 

August 105 

September 83 

■October 75 

November 61 

December 49 

1878— 

January 54 

February 58 

March 78 

April 80 

May 92 

June 98 

July 94 

August 96 

September 88 

October 74 

November 69 

December 56 

1879- 

January 47 

February 63 

March 75 

April 78 

May 82 

June 86 

July 100 

August 98 

September 9 1 

October 69 

November 58 

T>ecember 60 



c 


So 

■cSS 


3 </) 

O O 


32 


— 


4.80 


19 


15/2 


6.18 


27 


1534 


4.80 


— I 


ioj4 


2.76 


28 


— 


1-39 


28 


— 


2.20 


32 


— 


1.09 


36 


— 


.20 


48 


— 


■34 


52 


— 


.07 


51 


— 


.02 


44 


— 


•13 


24 


— 


2-37 


23 


1 Ya 


4-31 


20 


— 


.46 


10 


Vz 


■78 


20 


— 


1.68 


18 


&A 


3-66 


30 


— 


1. 21 


34 


— 


1.03 


50 


— 


•15 


58 


— 


.28 


56 


— 


.10 


36 


— 


1.24 


24 


— 


1.66 


24 


— 


4.16 


23 


iYa 


1.56 


18 


2 y A 


2.96 


28 


— 


2.32 


30 


— 


1.99 


26 


— 


.20 


3i 


— 


.26 


50 


— 


.02 


52 


— 


.08 


46 


— 


■ 13 


38 


— 


I.OI 


22 


— 


1-53 


24 


— 


142 


14 


1 


1.61 


6 


2 J 4 


143 


14 


29% 


6.32 


25 


2 


3-15 


30 


— 


1-34 


34 


— 


294 


46 


— 


.11 


44 


— 


•31 


46 


— 


.48 


40 


— 


■79 


20 


— 


.88 


17 


— 


1.24 


-14 


14 


2-57 



Year— Month 

M 

s 
1880— 

January 59 

February 52 

March 68 

April 86 

May 86 

June 97 

July 100 

August 94 

September 87 

October 83 

November 67 

December 50 

1881— 

January 48 

February ' 58 

March 78 

April 80 

May 85 

June 88 

July I0O 

August .94 

September 86 

October 66 

November 64 

December 55 

1882— 

January 50 

February 57 

March 74 

April 88 

May 92 

June 98 

July 98 

August 96 

September 88 

October 66 

November 53 

December 61 

1883- 

January 50 

February 52 

March 76 

April 76 

May 83 

June 92 

July 100 

August 89 

September 86 

October 70 

November 65 

December 56 



d 


> v 

0- 

H a 




22 


9 


2.04 


38 


7 


1-33 


14 


X 


.16 


25 


— 


1.03 


35 


— 


•94 


40 


— 


.02 


47 


— 


.02 


47 


— 


43 


34 


— 


.08 


25 


— 


.12 


11 


— 


.69 


6 


57 


6-75 


15 


48 


6-37 


14 


29 3 A 


6.23 


26 


— 


.38 


34 


— 


1.29 


32 


— 


.14 


44 


— 


1.82 


44 


— 


.11 


43 


— 


•23 


38 


— 


.26 


23 


— 


2.67 


22 


y 2 


■75 


20 


H T A 


1.67 


6V 2 


6H 


1.49 


8 


3Va 


2.96 


22 


— 


■23 


26 


— 


•53 


32 


— 


•27 


45 


— 


.60 


47 


— 


.12 


4i 


— 


■72 


34 


— 


A3 


32 


— 


2.30 


15 


— 


•75 


10 


2 


5-14 


-3/2 


17 


4-83 


-I5H 


6 


.61 


28 


4 


2.32 


30 


— 


1.21 


37 


— 


-54 


43 


— 


.01 


48 


— 


— 


42 


— 


■ — 


36 


— 


.or 


26 


— 


.46 


24 


3/2 


2.19 


12 


% 


1.77 



-Below zero. 



i8o 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



105^ 7 



Year— Month H . ^ > I 

g « o-i 

1884— 

January 50 13 

February 55 — 19 

March 64 22 

April ■ 76 32 

May 93 4<> 

June 98 44 

July 94 47 

August , 102H 47 

September 80 40 

October 70 31 

November 59 28 

December 5° — J 8 

1885 — Max. Ther. Min. Ther. 

January 5 2 ° 

February 58 26 

March 75 26 

April 80 30 

May 90 39 

June 89 45 

July 100 52 

August 98 46 

September 88 40 

October 81 27 

November 57 28 

December 52 24 

1886— 

January 52 —4 

February 64 25 

March 72 J 9 

April 72 32 

May 90 32 

June 95 45 

July 98 44 

August 95 49 

September 89 33 

October 75 27 

November 63 15 

December 60 28 

1887— 

January 55 24 

February 55 — 6 

March 68 22 

April 78 27 

May 98 30 

June 96 40 

July 97 43 

August 90 47 

September 82 33 

October 72 22 

November 67 14 

December 54 17 



.S2.S 
o o 



36 3 

5^ 
— 1 



Precip. 

1. 10 

2.88 

• 14 

•3i 

.81 

1.01 

.00 

.00 

•87 

.28 

1.78 

2.64 

5-45 
■S3 
•95 
•30 
.11 
.07 
.00 
.02 

•14 

.70 

.21 

5.06 

4.01 

I-I3 

•79 

.46 

•32 

•67 

.00 

.18 

■3d 

■15 

1.06 

3.01 



1888— Max. Ther. 

January 45 

February 64 

March 70 

April 83 

May 96 

June 88 

July 98 

August , 96 

September . . . . 96 

October 75 

November 76 

December 52 

1889— 

January 46 

February 63 

March 72 

April 83 

May 87 

June 95 

July 98 

August 93 

September 86 

October 76 

November 60 

December 50 

1890 — 

January 48 

February 55 

March 62 

April 83 

May 86 

June 98 

July 98 

August 94 

September 87 

October 66 

November 64 

December 61 

1891— 

January 55 

February 47 

March 62 

April 76 

May 92 

June 89 

July 99 

August 98 

September 88 

October 80 

November 67 

December 53 

1892 — 

January 51 

February 60 

March 71 



Min. Ther. 


Precip. 


—13 


3-36' 


27 


.41 


19 


•94 


3i 


■05 


37 


.70 


46 


•92 


44 


.29 


48 


.00- 


40 


.02 


30 


•95 


23 


2-34 


21 


2.71 


15 


'•Si 


16 


.04 


26 


1.26 


31 


.42 


34 


.66 


48 


•29 


48 


Trace 


44 


Trace 


35 


.26 


32 


•94 


21 


1.27 


14 


2.00 


■ — 12 


2.97 


— 2 


4-33 


16 


i-79 


30 


.21 


4i 


.04 


43 


.27 


46 


.06 


47 


.04 


36 


.11 


32 


1.16 


22 


.00 


26 


1. 19 


20 


113 


10 


2.47 


- — 1 


•53 


27 


.01 


42 


■32 


40 


•5i 


43 


•24 


49 


.11 


39 


•13 


33 


1. 14 


26 


1-39 


23 


4.14 


18 


i-35 


22 


.68 


31 


.70 



— Below zero. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



181 



Max. Ther. 

'-April y3 

May 89 

June 101 

July 95 

August 90 

September 93 

October 82 

November 69 

December 52 

1S93- 

January 52 

February 55 

March 70 

April 72 

May 82 

June 90 

July 102 

August 97 

September 101 

October 69 

November 64 

December 62 

1894— 

January '. 54 

February 55 

March 70 

April 79 

May 93 

June 91 

July 97 

August 89 

September 84 

October y6 

November 72 

December 51 

1895- 

January 48 

February 61 

March 68 

April ! 84 

May 89 

June 101 

July 97 

August 98 

September 83 

October 80 

November 68 

December 57 

1896— 

January 52 

February 63 

March 70 ' 

April 72 

May 87 

June 98 

July 104 

August 95 



in. Ther. 


Precip. 


30 


1. 00 


38 


.67 


40 


.06 


49 


.27 


52 


Trace 


41 


■14 


32 


.90 


28 


1. 16 


2 


5-04 





.69 


—6 


1.84 


28 


.96 


32 


1.69 


42 


.69 


42 


.06 


47 


•30 


47 


.00 


37 


1.21 


30 


4.40 


21 


436 


26 


1.77 


16 


4.84 


3 


•1.83 


28 


3-73 


32 


.64 


32 


■47 


40 


LIS 


48 


.10 


Si 


Trace 


39 


1.02 


34 


2.08 


22 


•5i 


18 


1.6S 


8 


4.72 


21 


•47 


19 


.65 


20 


.24 


38 


■94 


40 


.00 


47 


■32 


48 


■05 


35 


1.14 


27 


.00 


17 


1-23 


18 


4-15 


19 


3-45 


26 


.72 


16 


1. 00 


28 


•95 


38 


■63 


42 


.10 


56 


Trace 


46 


.28 



Max. Ther. 

September 92 

October 79 

November 62 

December 53 

1897- 

January 65 

February 63 

March 62 

April 88 

May 95 

June 90 

July 98 

August ^ .108 

September 89 

October 82 

November 72 

December 56 

1898— 

January 52 

February 65 

March 65 

April 82 

May 87 

June 97 

July 103 

August 103 

September 91 

October 68 

November 67 

December 57 

1899— 

January 62 

February 62 

March 66 

April 74 

May 82 

June 90 

July 99 

August 92 

September 93 

October 78 

November 58 

December 59 

1900 — 

January 55 

February 62 

March 72 

April 86 

May 88 

June 96 

July 100 

August 84 

September 87 

October 75 

November 59 

December 59 

— Below zero. 



Min. Ther. 


Prccip. 


35 


.42 


35 


.60 


— 2 


5.87 


14 


2-74 


9 


1.09 


17 


2.98 


23 


1.94 


34 


•23 


38 


•27 


42 


1.07 


48 


.24 


46 


.08 


39 


■54 


29 


.24 


22 


3-84 


22 


403 


21 


.82 


28 


.98 


26 


•30 


30 


.11 


37 


•03 


42 


.90 


49 


•17 


5i 


.02 


42 


-57 


31 


-13 


27 


2.13 


7 


113 


9 


2.82 


— 1 


2.19 


28 


■94 


31 


•95 


34 


•45 


40 


•24 


45 


.00 


45 


.86 


42 


.81 


29 


1.56 


34 


3-57 


22 


2.29 


20 


1.90 


18 


1.92 


30 


1.62 


29 


.42 


40 


•03 


43 


■47 


47- 


Trace 


45 


•55 


34 


1.09 


31 


2.02 


3 


2.05 


23 


L33 



1 82 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1901 — Max. Ther. Min 

January 51 

February 69 

March 69 

April 75 

May 90 

June 93 . 

July 94 

August 102 

September 85 

October 77 

November 7 1 

December 60 

1902— 

January 57 

February 58 

March 65 

April 78 

May 92 

June 92 

July 101 

August 101 

September 92 

October 79 

November 55 

December 49 

1903— 

January 58 

February 58 

March 70 

April 76 

May 92 

June 99 

July 100 

August 95 

September 85 

October 71 

November 66 

December 56 

1904— 

January 59 

February 52 

March 65 

April 83 

May 88 

June 99 

July 100 

August 101 

September 92 

October 84 

November 64 

December 60 



In recapitulation of the above Mr. Brooks 
presents the following record for the period be- 
tween January, 1875, and April, 1904, at The 
Dalles : 

Mean annual temperature, 52 degrees; mean 



. Ther 


Precip. 


20 


346 


17 


4-15 


28 


.68 


28 


.09 


36 


•39 


40 


.20 


44 


.00 


48 


.16 


37 


1.84 


37 


•13 


30 


1.69 


22 


304 


—2 


1-52 


16 


379 


26 


•52 


3i 


1.82 


36 


.63 


40 


• 13 


43 


.10 


46 


.00 


36 


.36 


35 


.78 


26 


3-47 


16 


4.00 


16 


2.87 


19 


■47 


25 


.56 


28 


•23 


36 


•05 


42 


2.11 


45 


.12 


49 


.11 


35 


■15 


3i 


1. 00 


26 


4-44 


23 


•56 


25 


1-52 


21 


450 


28 


3.10 


3i 


.98 


36 


.09 


40 


.46 


46 


.40 


46 


.04 


39 


.61 


34 


1.44 


30 


I.OI 


14 


1.79 



maximum, 62 degrees; absolute, 1.08 degrees. 
Mean annual precipitation, 15.4 inches, divided 
into seasons as follows : Spring, 2.6 ; summer, 
0.9; fall, 4.1; winter, 7.8. Average number of 
days with fog, 3 ; average number with hail, 2 ; 
average number with snow, 12 ; average number 
with thunderstorms, 4. In January, 1905, Mr. 
Brooks figured the mean annual temperature for 
the past thirty years, and found it to be 53.3 
degrees. 

Following is a record of the winter weather 
at Hood River from 1854 to 1872, inclusive, from 
a diary kept by Nathaniel Coe, deceased. There 
is a difference of about five degrees in the ther- 
momter between Hood River and The Dalles, 
the latter place being that much colder. As 
a general rule there is more snow at Rood 
River : 



Year— Month . B a« a8i 

a a S 9 S 2 o 

S H S H Qi«h 

1854 — December 21 35-6o .... 

1855 — January 21 40.51 4.5 

February 19 40.47 l 

December : — 1 26.95 5 

1856— January 12 35.01 3.5 

February 21 39.98 3 

December 16 30.94 48 

1857 — January — 18 26.00 60 

February 21 39-23 12 

December '. .... .... 

1858 — December — n 29.05 3 

1859 — January 8 30.08 4 

February 18 38.00 6 

i860 — January 18 33.41 10 

February 24 42.17 ° 

December 25 34-8o 4 

1861 — January 15 34-66 10 

February 26 42.41 o 

December 14 • 3296 19 

1862 — January — 25 10.45 54 

February — 2 37.82 . ... 

March ** .... 30 

December 10 37.82 

1863— January 25 37-69 l8 

February 17 37-72 20 

December } 31 38.29 13 

1864 — January 4 36-55 8 

February 23 44.22 o 

December 9 33-01 

1865— January 4 31-47 8 

February n 33-46 3 

December — 3 28.00 13.5 

— Below zero. 

**Broke thermometer this month and could not re- 
place it. This winter rather mild. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



183 



Year— Month q g 

SH 

1866 — January 7 

February 1 

December 27 

1867 — January 27 

February 22 

December 22 

1868 — January — 2 

February I 

December 24 

1869 — January 26 

February 17 

December 19 

1870 — January 7 

February 22 

December 10 

1871 — January 21 

February 24 

December 5 

1872 — January 5 

February 6 

December 24 



SfeS 



« 


QuiS 


24-57 


48 


36.67 


*3 


36.82 


20.5 


36.04 


20 


39-20 


*n 


37-31 


6 


16.52 


5 


3107 


*i 


38.40 


tf 


37-35 


5 


42.09 


*i 


39-10 


2 


33-69 


*7-8 


40.89 





3I.I5 


m 


36.82 


*I2 


40.40 





31.64 


25 


27.00 


*33 


35-17 


*i 9 y A 


34.62 


24 



— Below zero. 
*Total fall. 

Unlike other portions of Eastern Oregon 
Wasco is not a county of big farms, not as "big 
farms" are understood west of the Missouri. 
True, it has a few ranches covering- from 1,000 
to 5,000 acres ; as a rule land is owned in tracts 
from 20 to 160 acres. The familiar bit of melody, 

"A little farm well tilled, 
A little barn well filled, 
Give me," 

is peculiarly appropriate to the agriculturists of 
Wasco county. And in sections convenient to 
transportation lines it has been demonstrated that 
the small farm well cultivated is far more profit- 
able than the large one poorly tilled. Especially 
is this true in the vicinity of The Dalles and Hood 
River. Small farming is remunerative because 
both climate and soil is especially adapted to 
growing fruits and vegetables. For all descrip- 
tions of vegetables and small fruits Portland sup- 
plies a ready market. So important has become 
the industries of fruit and market gardening that 
the larger tracts are being subdivided into 10, 
20 and 40 acre lots. Places of 160 acres on which 
a few years ago only one family subsisted at 
present support from four to eight thrifty fam- 
ilies. 

Under proper and judicious cultivation every- 



thing that can be grown in the temperate zone 
can be successfully raised here. Wheat, oats, 
rye, barley, potatoes and vegetables yield abund- 
ant crops on the high lands without irrigation ; 
the creek bottoms or valley lands are especially 
adapted to the production of timothy, clover and 
alfalfa. Wheat, however, is the staple crop of 
the country and the average annual yield is about 
15 bushels per acre, although fifty bushels have 
been harvested in some localities. Throughout 
the northern portion of the county the soil and 
climate are especially adapted to the cultivation 
of fruit and vegetables. For the export market 
the farmers raise large quantities of cabbage, 
potatoes, egg plant, celery and tomatoes. The 
best of these markets are Seattle, Tacoma, Port- 
land and Spokane ; some of this produce goes as 
far distant as Butte, Montana. Fruits that have 
proved the most profitable in Wasco county are 
apples, pears, prunes, plums, grapes and cher- 
ries ; a majority of the hill land sloping toward 
the north has been found especially healthy and 
yields abundant crops of the choicest fruits. No 
little attention has been given to the cultivation 
of strawberries, especially in the Hood River val- 
ley. The fame of the "Oregon seedling," the 
favorite fruit in eastern markets is world-wide. 
These berries are two weeks earlier from the 
time of blossoming than any others produced in 
the United States. Aside from being a vast 
orchard for other kinds of fruits the Hood Rivef 
valley is noted for its bounteous production of 
strawberries. The business first assumed im- 
portance in 1893, when 4,000 crates were mar- 
keted. Each year since then there has been a 
gradual increase in production until 1902 when 
60,000 crates, or over 100 carloads were gath- 
ered from about 450 acres of land. The net yield 
to the growers for this crop was $125,000. The 
season's crop of 1904 fully assured the perma- 
nency of the strawberry business, as the quan- 
tity grown fell far short of supplying the demand. 
This impossibility to meet the increasing eastern 
demand for the fruit has been the case each year 
since the beginning of the industry. An average 
acre of strawberries yields 150 crates each year 
for from four to seven consecutive seasons, which 
at an average net income of $2 a crate, gives the 
grower an income of $300 an acre. The cost of 
picking and packing is sixty-five cents a crate, 
of $97.50 per acre of berries, leaving $202.50 
for the land and cost of cultivation. The aver- 
age price for strawberries for the past three years 
has been about $2 a crate. 

Strawberries need no mulching here as the 
ground never freezes enough to do them any 
harm. No spot in Hood River valley has ever been 



1 84 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



treated which will not produce fine strawberries, 
and the shipping season lasts more than two 
months with but one variety. Quite a number of 
carloads are shipped to Winnipeg, Duluth, Min- 
neapolis, St. Paul, Fargo, North Dakota, Sioux 
City, Des Moines, Omaha, Kansas City, Denver, 
Lincoln, Helena, Butte and Great Falls, and 
orders have been received from many other cities 
which could not be supplied. 

Ideal conditions for the growth of peaches 
are found along the Columbia, Des Chutes and 
John Day Rivers, and while these sections are 
now taking rank as the first peach-growing locali- 
ties of Oregon, it will be only a few years until 
these two counties, Wasco and Sherman, will 
hold a leading place in the markets o.f the Pacific 
coast. On the slopes of Mount Hood almost to 
the snow line, apples grow to perfection and an 
excellent champagne grape can be profitably pro- 
duced. In the valley immense crops of hay are 
cut, especially on irrigated lands. Wasco is noted 
for the diversity of its crops, while Sherman 
county is almost an exclusively wheat producing 
locality. In the Woman's Edition of The Dalles 
Times-Mountaineer of May 17, 1898, the follow- 
ing description of general fruit cultivation in 
Wasco county was written by Charlotte F. 
Roberts : 

The history of the first trees planted is a leaf from 
the annals of these pioneers. With the exception of 
the orchard planted in the Walla Walla Valley, the 
trees planted at The Dalles and vicinity were the 
forerunners of all the orchards that were subsequently 
planted from the Cascades to the Mississippi valley. 

The government owned a military reservation five 
miles square along the Columbia at The Dalles, Indians 
were hostile and the early comers did not make perma- 
nent settlements of land until after the reservation 
was cut down. Judge Laughlin after making futile 
attempts at building a home at Crate's Point and Hood 
River, leased land from the military reservation the 
spring of 1853, but in a few days the military reserva- 
tion was cut down when he filed upon it as his dona- 
tion. Here he began his permanent home, planted 
a garden and the next spring set out his fruit trees. 
By 1857 the trees had grown remarkably, so that one 
of Justin Chenowith's small boys thought one tree 
of right size to fell and chopped it down. 

The place two miles west of The Dalles, now owned 
by George Snipes, was planted in trees in 1854 by Dr. 
Shaug, of the military reservation. A locust tree 
planted there still lives. Also some of these first 
apple and cherry trees still bear. While Mr. Snipes 
was away in the Indian war a man who had been in 
his employ and held some grudge against him chopped 
down rows of this valuable orchard. John Marden 
tells of eating apples from it in 1858. At the forks 



of Five-Mile and Eight-Mile creeks another permanent 
donation was begun by Nathan Olney in 1854. He 
planted apple trees of only the best varieties bought 
from the Walling nursery in Portland. 

On Mill creek Charles W. Denton settled in the 
fall of 1853. He ordered trees from Knapp & Dwight, 
of Brooklyn, New York. When they arrived most of 
them were dead, the effects of their long journey via 
the Isthmus. From the live ones he planted a few 
apple trees and grape vines. He shows today an 
immense grape vine, a souvenir of those then planted. 
The next year he set out several hundred grafts from 
a nursery. His place was a favorite camping ground 
for the Indians. When the war broke out he went 
as a government scout. On his return in 1857 he found 
only a few trees from his nursery left to tell the tale. 
Each of these places boast of owning the oldest trees 
in Wasco county but they must give precedence to an 
apple tree in the government gardens, the Academy 
grounds, which was planted from a seed in 1850, 
brought by one of the soldiers from the east. The 
apples would never get ripe because the boys would 
steal them while green. It was here, too, that Judge 
Laughlin raised the first water melons in 185 1. 

Mrs. Lord tells the following of the first apples 
she saw in Oregon ; "In the spring of 1854 Mr. Mc- 
Cormack, a brother of Mrs. Henry Cates, went to 
Portland and brought back two small apples for the 
three Laughlin children. In lieu of the third apple 
he gave the third child one dollar. The child's grief 
and jealousy over the loss of those wonderful apples 
was such that the mother cut the two apples equally 
among the five members of the family and the child's 
heart was soothed." Nothing since has ever tasted so 
good. When an apple was given away it was in this 
manner : "I will give you an apple if you will give 
me back the seeds." The apples bought in Portland 
were twenty-five cents a piece. When the first fruit began 
to be raised here it sold from fifteen to twenty cents 
a pound. On Three-Mile creek Green Arnold owned 
a donation claim, now the Whitney place, and in 1857 
planted trees from A. W. Denton's nursery. These 
first orchards were apple, pear and cherry ; it was not 
then certain that peach trees would live. 

The first farm on Fifteen-Mile creek was owned 
by Mr. Alsuph in 1850. In June of that year the frost 
cut down his melons and corn and he abandoned it. 
In 1852 Mr. Lou Henderson entered it as a donation. 
It proved valuable as a hay ranch but several years 
passed by before trees were planted. In 1856 Mr. 
Crooks bought out Woodward and Reynolds just above 
Dufur and in 1856 he planted the first orchard on 
Ffteen-Mile creek. The same year Mr. Herbert bought 
Mr. Marsh's right where Dufur now stands and the 
next year planted his young orchard. Mr. Mays bought 
his first place — The Mountain Ranch — from an old 
bachelor who had planted apple seeds as a start for 
his orchard. From this seedling orchard Mr. Mays 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



185 



saved a few of the best for his future use and planted 
others better. In 1862 they bought a place at the Tygh 
from Mr. Herbert, who had already planted another 
orchard. At the Tygh a Frenchman of the Hudson's 
Bay Company, Jondreaux by name, planted trees in 
1858. These came from the Denton nursery. This 
was afterward the Jeffries place. Also a Mr. McDuffy 
planted trees in 1859. On the Des Chutes a Mr. Wil- 
liam Nixon, in 1859, planted an orchard afterward 
the Gordon place. 

The oldest orchard at the Cascades was planted by 
Colonel N. H. Gates. At Flood River Hon. Nathaniel 
Coe was the pioneer orchardist in 1853. He was an 
educated horticulturist. A delicious plum, "Coe's 
golden drop," attested his ability to produce new varie- 
ties. Few orchards today are laid out with greater 
care or beauty. When they came into bearing fruit 
was so scarce that they had to net their trees to keep 
the fruit away from the birds. This history would be 
incomplete if we left out the old pioneers — the Joslyns — 
who settled at White Salmon, Washington, in 1853. 
They immediately began the beautiful home, which is 
crowded so full of happy memories in the minds of 
old timers. In 1856 they were obliged to leave theii 
home on account of the Indian war and when they 
returned in 1859 it was to find their home burned and 
their orchard entirely destroyed. They reset from the 
Coe nursery and many are the boxes of apples, pears, 
■cherries and plums sent to The Dalles friends and 
market. 

The close of the Indian war marks a change in 
donation claims. Many new farms were taken and 
new ones planted in orchards. Thus we find the Bol- 
tons, Menefees, Logans, Rices, Walkers, Ruddos on 
Fifteen Mile; Theodore Mesplie, Lafayette Caldwell, 
M. M. Cushing, John Moran on Mill Creek ; Captain 
Danragh on Three Mile; where Elder Fisher after- 
ward bought; Brownlees at Three Mile crossing; Bush- 
tree on the Floyd place ; Brown and Marshbank at 
the R. S. Thompson place; Talbot Low on the Frizzell 
place ; George Snipes on his lower ranch at Rowena ; 
John Irvine at Chenowith creek ; Mr. Curtis across 
the river ; Jim and Nate Benson and John Marden at 
Hood River ; J. H. Mosier at Mosier Creek ; Colonel 
Fulton and Z. Donnell at Ten Mile creek, Butlers and 
Shamrocks at the Tygh. 

In 1862 The Dalles had the following homes with 
bearing fruit trees and small fruits in their yards. 
The Lawrence Coe place, now the George Ruch and 
Congregational church property ; Mr. Graves in the 
same block, now the William Condon and McGee 
property, and the Juker place, between the two ; the 
Humason home, now the residence of William P. 
Lord ; the Vic Trevitt place, now E. Shanno's ; the 
Laughlin home and the Buchanan place ; the lot now 
occupied by Colonel Lang's family had a few trees and 
a vine-covered house. In 1861 Elder Fisher bought 
•out Captain Derrah and the following spring began 



the orchard and nursery which held so prominent a 
place in The Dalles markets for a number of years. 
He, too, was an educated horticulturist and florist. 
It was a rich treat to be a guest in that home and 
enjoy the fruit and flowers. It was his purpose to 
have the finest pear orchard in the state. 

It will be noticed that up to this time the orchards 
were planted on Creek bottoms or springy lands. Elder 
Fisher held the belief that fruit would do as well on 
dry land as on moist, and planted a few trees and vines 
as an experiment. The most desirable creek farms 
had been taken. People wanted homes. Miles upon 
miles of rich, fertile government land lay untouched 
because "fruits and vegetables will not grow without 
water," said the old timers. In 1854 Caleb Brooks 
settled on dry land, one mile south of The Dalles in 
Dry Hollow — renamed Amberdale. He planted a few 
trees in the valley, thinking to protect them from the 
winds and cold, thus making practical what Elder 
Fisher had before experimented upon. As men rode 
over the hills for their stock they reasoned thus : The 
natural growth of vegetation on these hills is as lux- 
uriant as on the creek bottoms ; cold and heat are not 
so intense ; frost is seen earlier and oftener on the 
creek bottoms than on these hills. Why should not 
cereals, vegetables and trees do as well ? Especially 
when under cultivation. The fall of 1868 Rev. E. P. 
Roberts settled in Amberdale and the following year 
Robert Cooper came as a pioneer in the same under- 
taking, making homes and raising fruit on dry, up- 
hill lands. The spring of 1872 saw the first trees planted 
on top of a hill by Mr. Roberts. It afterward proved the 
orchard most secure against frost. It bore peaches one 
year- when the entire peach crop grown elsewhere in 
the region was destroyed by frost. As is the case when 
men try something before considered impracticable, 
these men were the butt of many a jest and sarcasm. 
H. J. Waldron, a prominent citizen of The Dalles, 
said : "Roberts, I will have a large bust cast of you 
for your grandchildren if you succeed in making a liv- 
ing on that dry land." Not only were trees planted 
on top of the hill, but corn, potatoes and watermelons, 
also. This was going farther than any one had dared 
to think, for "watermelons must be irrigated." 

To raise fruits for the home market was all that 
any farmer attempted. The Columbia river steamers 
with their high freights, and the pack animals to the 
mines were the only means of transportation. When 
the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company's line of 
road was completed, an impetus was given to the fruit 
industry and the population of The Dalles increased 
for home consumption, and a market opened to Port- 
land and the east. To the Seufert Brothers belongs 
the honor of making fruit shipment a possibility to the 
farmers. Here begins a new chapter in the history of 
fruit raising. The few orchards that had been previously 
planted gave such evidences of good results that many 
were induced to set more largely. Red winter apples 



1 86 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



and strawberries were especially planted in the Hood 
River valley. When the Indian owned the country and 
hunted, fished and gathered "olallies," the Hood River 
valley was his finest strawberry patch, and when the 
white man came he, too, gathered them in their wild 
luxuriance. At first only sufficient quantity was planted 
for the household and local markets. Before 1889 
berries had been shipped to The Dalles and Portland 
markets, but in that year shipments were made to 
Montana points as an experiment. The returns were 
.so flattering that larger patches were planted, and in 
1890 a few hundred crates, of 24 pounds each were 
shipped. When the shipments reached 2,000 crates, 
growers began to fear the market would be over- 
stocked and hesitated about enlarging their patches. 
They could not understand where all the berries went, 
nor that their berries would stand shipment to such 
markets as now take them. This accounts for the com- 
paratively slow rate of increase in shipments, but in 1894, 
when 16,000 crates were shipped, and as much as two 
carloads were being sent every day, and telegrams from 
Omaha, Kansas City, St. Paul and Chicago were de- 
manding them in carload lots, the possibilities of the 
market began to be realized. At the Columbian Ex- 
position at Chicago the Clark's Seedling, grown here, 
took the premium over all other strawberries, even 
though they had been in the express car four days 
and had traveled 2,000 miles. While the cultivation of 
strawberries could be carried on to the base of Mount 
Hood, since they are found here in their native state, 
the farmers have found that at present distance must 
be taken into consideration in hauling the berries for 
shipment. But the apple crop in the upper valley is 
•as satisfactory as the strawberry crop in the lower 
valley. At the district fairs, the Mechanic's fair, the 
Columbian Exposition, the fruit of Wasco county — 
Hood River apples in particular — have taken the high- 
est rewards. Their size, splendid coloring, rich flavor, 
freedom from the fruit moth, and unsurpassed keeping 
and shipping qualities can not be excelled in any other 
known locality of the civilized world. In June, 1894, 
as an experiment, Mr. Shanno sent a few boxes of 
yellow Newton pippins to London, via Cape Horn. 
After their eight months' storage before shipping, and 
five months en route, they arrived in good condition. 

The sandy soil along the Columbia requires fertil- 
izers and irrigation, but are somewhat earlier with their 
crops. One of the most notable of the orchards of this 
class of soil is that owned by the Seufert Brothers, two 
miles east of The Dalles. It consists of cherries, prunes, 
pears and peaches and contains about forty acres. Ten 
years ago it was a tract of drifting sand dunes, but for 
six years it has been bearing abundantly, and yielding 
handsome returns. The cherries are particularly fine, 
the peaches will equal in size anything California ever 
produced, and in flavor rival those of New Jersey and 
Delaware. 

Bartlett pears have not proved a success in shipping. 



They ripen as the California crop is closing and the 
eastern markets are full. No finer fruit for canning is 
raised than the Bartlett pear, and to meet this emer- 
gency as well as to dispose of the many tons of other 
fruits just right to can, but too ripe to ship, the fruit 
raisers of Wasco county are in sore need of two can- 
neries ; one at Hood River to meet any strawberry 
emergency and other fruits, and another at The Dalles. 
The geologist, the chemist, the reports from the 
weather bureau, the pioneer orchardist, the progressive 
fruit-raiser of today, and prices quoted in eastern mar- 
kets for Wasco county fruits, have all proven that from 
the Cascade Mountains eastward along the Columbia 
river, from the base of Mount Hood to the Des Chutes 
and Columbia rivers, is a country unsurpassed in fertility 
and climate for successful raising and shipping of all 
kinds of large and small fruits — black-cap raspberries, 
apples, pears, prunes, plums, cherries and peaches. 

In a recent issue of the Hood River Glacier 
the following appeared : 

"Truman Butler, of Butler & Company, bank- 
ers, tells a good story that is significant of the 
world-wide fame Hood River apples have at- 
tained. The tale was told to Mr. Butler by Fred- 
erick Fisher, of the Fisher-Thorsen Paint Com- 
pany. Mr. Fisher is just home from Europe 
where he studied under some of the best por- 
trait artists of the land. 

"One day last winter Fisher was walking the 
streets of Hamburg, and desiring some fruit 
stepped into a stand and asked the dealer to give 
him some good apples — the best he had in stock. 
'Here are some of the best apples in .the world/ 
replied the fruit dealer, as he handed out a sam- 
ple of the big, red Spitzenbergs, so familiar to 
an Oregonian. 'These apples were raised in 
America,' went on the fruit man. 'They call 
them Hood River apples, and I can truthfully 
say that they are the best apples to be found in 
Europe.' " 

Well-deserved mention should be made of the 
wild flowers in the vicinity of The Dalles and 
throughout Wasco county. First to make its 
appearance is the little Erigenia, or Irish potatoe, 
as the children call it, which peeps out of the 
ground so early as January, if wooed by a few 
warm days. It has a delicate, heliotrope odor. 
The Golden Stars, fitly named, come next, and 
thev fleck the hillsides with paths of sunshine; 
then Purple-eyed Grass (the sisysincgrium) with 
its purple companion, the little Fritillearia, pro- 
claims that spring has really burst the bonds of 
winter. Then follow a constant succession of 
wild flowers until Jack Frost again resumes his 
sway over the flowery kingdom. Golden Esy- 
throniums (Rock Lillies), Crow's Foot (low- 
growing buttercups), Larkspurs, Peonies and 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



187 



Lupins of all shades, varying through the blues 
from deepest purple to white, also pink and yel- 
low ones, while underneath all is an infinite vari- 
ety of smaller flowers, too small to attract atten- 
tion of the casual passer by, yet when examined 
show a wonderful beauty. Among the shrubs 
come first the Oregon Grape, Service Berry, 
Wild Cherry, Yellow Currant Springe, the Ocean 
Spray and its near cousin with the Indian name 
of Shushula, bearing long successions of delicate, 
lilac-colored blossoms. The two last are spir- 
ceas, and well deserve a place in the flower cata- 
logues, as they are far superior to many of the 
shrubs sold. On the creeks are the lovely wild 
roses and White Clematis. These are all found 
in a short walk around The Dalles or Hood 
River. Midsummer brings up Painted Cup in 
fiery glow ; Penstemons and many others of the 
Lebriate family, with crowds of the Compositae 
family, headed by the sweet-scented prairie sun- 
flower. 

Stock raising was the sole industry during the 
early settlement of Wasco county. It yet re- 
mains an important resource. South of the Des 
Chutes river nearly the entire section is devoted 
to sheep and cattle raising. Animals were past- 
ured the year round for many seasons, the luxu- 
riant growth of natural grass being amply suffi- 
cient to provide them feed both winter and sum- 
mer. But as the flocks increased in size it became 
necessary to provide artificial feed for the winter 
months. Therefore thousands of tons of hay 
are annually put up in the stock country as a safe- 
guard against severe storms and deep snows. 
While at present wheat raising is the leading in- 
dustry, sheep and cattle come next ; the source 
of vast amounts of money coming each year into 
the country. 

Concerning the fish industry of Wasco coun- 
ty the Times Mountaineer in 1898 said: "The 
Dalles has always been noted for its superb sal- 
mon fisheries. Little attention was paid to them 
until 1883, when considerable capital was in- 
vested in developing them. The industry has 
flourished. Several canneries have been con- 
structed at different points along the river, and 
numbers of fish wheels are operated, catching 
large quantities each season. The business 
has grown to great proportions, and now 
constitutes one of the most important indus- 
tries." 

The next year the same paper added 1 the fol- 
lowing : 

The run of salmon in the middle river — from 
the upper Cascades to The Dalles — has always been 
enormous. During the visit of George Francis 
Train, in 1868, he wired to eastern papers that, at 



the rapids above the city he saw "a million salmon 
within a stone's throw." This may appear some- 
what Munchausen-like, but it will not sound extrav- 
agant to any who visited the place a few years ago, 
before fishing wheels had been introduced. The 
treaty with the Indians did not expire until recently, 
and since that time this industry has wonderfully 
developed. The salmon export has been very lucra- 
tive during the past few years, both in cans and in 
bulk. The Rockfield Canning Company, about three 
miles east, employs nearly a hundred men during 
the season, and ships large quantities of canned sal- 
mon to eastern points. These fish are of excellent 
flavor and command ready sale. On both banks of 
the Columbia, near this point, are a number of fish- 
ing wheels whose season's catch is usually sold to 
the canning company, but a large quantity is shipped 
in refrigerating cars by local merchants to eastern 
markets. Salmon caught near The Dalles form a 
savory dish for epicureans in New York, Chicago 
and other cities. The industry will yet admit of 
further development and one or more canneries 
could receive a supply of fish from these and neigh- 
boring waters. The number of salmon does not 
appear to be at all diminished notwithstanding the 
quantity taken from the river each year. The sal- 
mon find their way into the upper waters of all our 
great streams and have been caught as far in the 
interior as the Clearwater in the Bitter Root Moun- 
tains 1 . The salmon trout which are found in the 
mountain streams are, evidently, from spawn left 
there by the parent fish. These make most delicious 
eating and would furnish a princely banquet. Stur- 
geon abound in the Columbia and these are sold in 
the local markets and elsewhere. 

Hood River is unique among the lesser val- 
leys of Oregon. It stretches away from the base 
of Mount Hood to the Columbia river;, on the 
north, a distance of some twenty-five miles. A 
range of partly open and partly timbered hills 
forms a barrier to those winds which sweep the 
plains of the interior, dry and consuming in sum- 
mer; correspondingly cold in winter. On the 
west the rugged flanks of the Cascade mountains 
rise by successive ridges — rude, gigantic ter- 
races — to the crest of the range. An unlimited 
supply of the purest water is drawn from these 
mountain enclosures ; they contribute to the pro- 
duction of the equitable temperature for which 
this valley is noted. 

Simply an impetuous, • vociferous mountain 
stream is Hood River. It receives all the drain- 
age of the east and north slopes of Mount Hood ; 
at all seasons it carries a large volume of water. 
As the average descent of this river is not less 
than fifty feet to the mile its available water- 
power is, practically, unlimited. It is a beauti— 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



ful valley, that of Hood River. From the heart 
of the Cascades it sweeps through the undulat- 
ing slopes to lose itself in the voracious maw of 
the Columbia — that mighty reservoir of count- 
less streams and runlets. Where it mingles its 
contribution to this river it is only fifty feet above 
tide water. From three to five miles wide is its 
valley proper. In the Woman's edition of the 
Times-Mountaineer of May 17, 1898, Mrs. J. 
H. Cradlebaugh graphically wrote : 

The gentle slopes that bound it rise, at first al- 
most imperceptibly, growing gradually more and 
more inclined until the line of demarkation between 
valley and mountain can not be determined. Start- 
ing from the Columbia, almost at tide-water, one 
can drive for twenty odd miles due south and then 
only realize that the valley has been left behind 
when the snow-line of Mount Hood is but a half 
dozen miles away. Nature was in her happiest 
mood wrlen she designed it, and evidently intended 
it as the especial property of her lovely daughters, 
Flora and Pomona. 

To the north Mount Adams, distant thirty 
miles, lifts its snowy dome to the skies, while the 
Columbia pours its cerulean tide ever past on its 
way to the Pacific. To the south Hood pierces the 
summer sky with its snowy minaret, while on the 
east and west the evergreen forests lift terrace on 
terrace until the green shades into a purple, and 
then a misty blue, that meets and blends with the 
azure of the sky. Hood River, a typical mountain 
stream, winds its way from the glaciers of Mount 
Hood to the noisy Columbia, with its message from 
mountain to river. Majestic oaks, each fit abiding 
place for a laughing Dryad, gnarled of bole, rugged 
limbed and glossy leaved, dot the hillsides and send 
their long branches protectingly over trail and road. 
The grassy slopes show a brighter green by com- 
parison with the thousand wild flowers scattered 
by nature's hand in patterns too intricate for mortal 
ken. The violet peeps demurely through the green 
curtains of the sward, buttercup and spring beauties 
lift their yellow and pink blossoms from the long 
grass, the wild rose, bolder, flirts with butterfly 
and bee, blushing anon at her deceitfulness, and 
the wanton honeysuckle twines her tendrils caress- 
ingly on anything within reach, and pours from all 
her gold-lined chalices intoxicating perfumes on the 
wing of every vagrant breeze. The dog-wood opens 
its green-white petals, a delight to the eye, and on 
the hillsides the rhododendron flashes a crimson 
flame, as bright as that in the bush which Moses 
saw as he herded the flocks of the Midian priest in 
Egypt. * * * The roads are perfect; the wheel- 
man's paradise. But why attempt to describe it? 
Some future Goldsmith may do it in flowing verse. 
Some painter, yet unknown to fame, may here find 



inspiration, but the unpoetic pencil can but conceal 
the beauties it most would show. To be appreciated 
it must be seen, and just now it is at its loveliest. 
Spend a day there in May or June, see, feel, realize, 
and then tell if you can. 

A distance of twenty odd miles down the Colum- 
bia is the region of country known as Hood River. 
Steep and rugged are the banks until they termin- 
ate in elevated table lands. With handsome farms 
and residences these are dotted. As a superior 
health resort Hood River has gained an enviable 
reputation. The atmosphere is invigorating, the 
water crystaline and pure. The soil on the table 
lands is of a gravelly, sandy character; with irriga- 
tion it produces the finest crops. On the flats near 
the river the soil is rich and loamy, susceptible of 
any stage of cultivation. The principal settlement 
is four miles from the river, on a semi-circle plat- 
eau fringed on all sides by hills. 

South and west of the valley the mountains 
are covered with a heavy growth of timber. A 
company, has been formed to clear the channel 
of Hood River of obstructions, thus rendering 
it possible to drive logs and timber from the 
forests that line its banks, and those of its tribu- 
taries, to the mouth, where they may be availa- ' 
ble for the mills and for transportation. There 
are, in the valley, three large lumbering mills. 
This lumber is flumed to a point on the Colum- 
bia river, three miles west of town, where ship- 
ping facilities are had, and where a planing mill 
is kept in operation, furnishing labor to a large 
number of men. There are, also, three other 
sawmills which operate in the valley for local 
trade ; one at Tucker, five miles south of town ; 
the Harbison Brothers' mill, on Neal creek, five 
miles southeast of town, and the other, known 
as the Tomlinson Brothers' mill, located in the 
Mount Hood settlement. 

Hood River visitors in search of pleasure as 
well as health, will find little difficulty in passing 
their allotted time most agreeably. Any part of 
the country is easily accessible by means of ex- 
isting routes of travel, by boat, railway or well- 
traveled roads over which driving is a favorite 
recreation. The sportsman will find abundant 
material upon which to practice his skill. For 
the angler fishing affords unrivaled sport. Sail- 
ing, driving, horseback riding and other out- 
door forms of exercise are feasible during a 
greater part of the year. Proverbially excellent 
is the climate of Hood River. Even in the 
"heated term" the nights are deliciously cool, in- 
suring sleep and rest. Neither long nor severe 
are the winters. 

The receipts for Hood River crops for the 
year 1904 were about $275,000. It may be proper 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



189 



to remark here that Hood River received at the 
St. Louis Exposition two gold medals for their 
fruit exhibit, and that Wasco is the only county 
iu the United States that received a grand prize 
for a fruit exhibit. The strawberry crop of Hood 
River valley for 1903 sold for $148,500. There 
were shipped 90,000 crates and they were sold 
at an average price of $1.65 per crate. 

What is known as Lower Fifteen Mile creek 
embraces some of the choicest localities in Wasco 
county. Its natural advantages are a finely 
watered country, near and easy access to timber 
and a fine fruit producing - country. It is, also, 
in close proximity to The Dalles. The surface 
of this part of the county is quite broken, yet 
by far the larger portion of it can be cultivated 
to advantage. 

Tygh Ridge is a high tract of prairie land 
lying north of Tygh valley at an elevation above 
the valley of about a thousand feet. Its northern 
boundary is about twenty miles south of The 
Dalles. It stretches from the timber line of the 
Cascade mountains on the west to the Des Chutes 
river on the east, a distance of about twelve 
miles. Its breadth may be roughly estimated at 
about seven miles. A like estimate will give 
about 30,000 acres in cultivation. The Tygh 
ridge, beyond all question comprises the richest 
section of bunch grass land in all eastern Ore- 
gon. The soil is a rich clay loam, varying in 
color from a reddish brown to nearly black, and 
in depth from six to fifteen feet. Like the soil 
of all that great region lying between the Cas- 
cades and the Rocky mountains, it is the produce 
of decayed volcanic rock; but the soil of Tygh 
ridge differs from much of the surrounding 
neighborhood. It is darker in color, is of a more 
clayey texture, and has less the appearance and 
character of volcanic ashes. The subsoil is of 
like character, and varies little in color through 
all its depth, and the whole rests upon a bed of 
solid basalt rock. Hence the most remarkable 
property of this soil, next to its amazing fertil- 
ity, is its power of retaining moisture. 

The deep canyon of White River on the south 
separates Warnic settlement from Juniper Flat, 
a flat country as its name would indicate, lying 
between White river on the north, and the Mut- 
ton mountains and Des Chutes on the east and 
south. This flat contains about 60,000 acres, and 
is in the form of a triangle with the timbered 
foothills at the base and. the junction of the 
rivers forming the apex. On the southern por- 
tion of it are the settlements of Oak Grove and 
the village of Wapinitia. Juniper Flat has been 
since the very early days of Oregon famous as 
a stock country. 

Tygh valley, thirty miles south of The Dalles, 



is a deep valley about eight miles long t and from 
one to three miles wide, through which flows a 
large stream of clear, cold water. The admirer 
of nature cannot look unmoved on the valley of 
Tygh, with its timbered mountains at the west, 
its high rolling hills with their wave worn appear- 
ance, on the north, with its majestic cliffs on the 
south, its level valley lands made more beautiful 
by cultivation ; with Mount Hood looking coldly 
down, apparently from the very head of the val- 
ley, like a sentry guarding all this beauty. All 
things seem to feel the grandeur. Even the quiet 
stream which flows through the valley as though 
not content with the part it has taken in flowing 
tranquilly along joins the White river about two 
miles below the village, and with the water from 
that stream makes White river falls (186 feet- 
high). The water spreads out like a fan, and is 
dashed into foam and mist at the foot of the first 
and higher precipice, and then gathers into one 
deep, narrow channel, moves forward a few yards 
and makes a second leap into a large, round 
basin worn in the solid rock during past centur- 
ies ; from this basin it moves sullenly on toward 
the Des Chutes, as though reluctantly leaving the 
beautiful valley through which it has wandered . 
for several miles, and to which it has added 
beauty. 

The many streams of Wasco county are no • 
unimportant features of the territory. A glance 
at the map will reveal this fact. The numeral 
creeks are so named from the distance between 
their crossings on the old "Barlow Road" route • 
from The Dalles. On the authority of F. H. 
Balch it may be said : "The Indians had no gen- 
eral name for the Columbia, but each tribe had 
a special name, if any, for it. Some had no 
name for it at all. It was simply 'the big water,' " 
'the river,' 'the big salmon water.' What Wauna, 
the Klickitat name, or Wemath, the Wasco name, 
signify, the author has been unable to learn, even- 
from the Indians who gave him the names. They 
do not know ; they say their fathers knew, but it 
is forgotten now." 

One of William Cullen Bryant's most beauti- 
ful passages in "Thanatopsis" is this : 

"Where rolls the Oregon and bears no sound 
Save his own lashings — yet the dead are there, 
And millions in these solitudes, since first 
The flight of years began, have laid them down 
In their last sleep — the dead reign there alone." " 

■s 
Certain traditions tell us that Jonathan Carver 
first named this stream the "Oregon," but this 
is mythical. It is quite probable that Carver 
never saw it in its majesty, or even at its source, . 
as his explorations extended only a little west- 



n 



!i90 



7 

cvard of the headwaters of the Mississippi river. 
The mouth of the Columbia was discovered by 
.Robert Gray in 1792; he named it the Columbia. 
That portion of the Columbia forming the 
northern boundary of Wasco county is one of 
the most interesting in its whole course. In the 
current history of earlier days in Wasco it has 
been described. In May, 1855, Colonel Lawrence 
Kip, U. S. A., made a trip up this river to Ine 
Dalles, and from this point to the great council 
held at Walla Walla between Governor Isaac 
Ingalls Stevens and several tribes of Indians. 
From his journal of that period we extract the 
following account of a small portion of his trip: 

About noon, after a morning of almost inces- 
sant rain, we reached the Cascades, the head of 
navigation. Here a portage has been made as the 
river for more than two miles flows over rocks, 
whirling and boiling in a succession of rapids similar 
to those in the river St. Lawrence. Here is the 
great salmon fishery of the Columbia river, the 
season for which commences in the month of May, 
when the fish ascend the river in great numbers. 
The banks are inhabited by the remains of some of 

.the Indian tribes who display their skill in catching 
the salmon, which they dry for exportation. As 
we passed up we found them scattered along the 

-shore employed in this work. Little bridges are 
thrown out over the rocks, on which the Indians 
post themselves, with nets and hoops to which long 
handles are attached. With these they scoop up 
the fish and throw them on the shore. They are 
then pounded fine between two stones, cured and 
tightly packed in bales of grass matting lined with 
dried fish-skins, in which state they will keep for 
years. The process is precisely the same as it was 

■ described by Lewis and Clark. The aboriginal vil- 
lage of Wish-ram, at the head of the narrows, 
which they mention as being the place of resort for 

■the tribes from the interior, is yet in existence. 

One of the Indian names which has been cor- 

■ rupted by the tongue of the white man is that 
now commonly known as Wish-ram, the Indian 
village spoken of by Lieutenant Kip. The proper 
pronunciation of this word is Wish-ham and the 
word is so spelled in the early prints. Just how 
the pronunciation and spelling became changed 
is not known, as no Indian ever pronounced the 
word that way, it being physically impossible for 

• them to pronounce the letter "R." We resume 
the diary of Lieutenant Kip : 

We still notice, too, the difference which the 
early explorers observed between these Indians and 
those of the plains. The latter, living on horse- 
back, are finely developed and look like warriors; 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 

I _ . 



the former, engaged only in their canoes or stoop- 
ing over the banks, are low in stature and seem to 
have been dwarfed out of all manhood. In every 
thing noble they are several degrees below \he wild 
tribes of the plains. 

We walked for about five miles until we had 
passed the Cascades, and then took another little 
steamer which was to carry us to The Dalles. The 
scenery above is similar to that which we had al- 
ready passed. In one place the mountains seem to 
come down to the river, ending in a huge rock, per- 
fectly steep, which has received the name of Cape 
Horn. Above the precipices are covered with fir 
and white cedar; two small cascades, like silver 
lines, leap from point to point for a distance of 150 
feet, while below, in the dark shadows the water 
seems to sweep around the rocks with a sullen 
sound. At ten o'clock at night we reached the end 
of our journey, The Dalles. 

Unsurpassed is the scenery between the Cas- 
cades and : The Dalles. General Benjamin Al- 
vord, in his contribution to Harper's Magazine in 
February, 1884, "The Doctor Killing Oregon," 
writes : 

r 

The scenes to which I invite your attention are 
in the dalles of the Columbia, a region remarkable 
for its wild and weird character. The Columbia 
river is there throttled or compressed into "dalles," 
or long, narrow and broken troughs, bordered by 
rocky, misshapen ridges of volcanic rocks called 
by the Spaniards pedregal, thrown around in the 
most grotesque manner. And rightly did Theo- 
dore Winthrop (in his Canoe and Saddle,) there 
locate his war of demons, whose weapons were huge 
rocks hurled at each other and left up and down for 
several miles scattered and in the most fantastic 
manner. In that most delicious book, Irving's 
"Astoria," we find the following description: 

"The falls of the Columbia river are situated 
about 180 miles above the mouth of the river. The 
first is a perpendicular cascade of twenty-feet, after 
which there is a swift descent of a mile between 
islands of hard, black rock to another pitch of eight 
feet, divided by two rocks. About two and one- 
half miles below this the river expands into a wide 
basin, seemingly, dammed up by a perpendicular 
ridge of black rocks. A current, however, sits diag- 
onally to the left of this rocky barrier, where there 
is a chasm of forty-five yards in width. Through 
this the whole body of the river roars along swell- 
ing and whirling and boiling for some distance in 
the wildest confusion. Through this tremendous 
channel the intrepid explorers of the river, Lewis 
and Clark, passed safely in their boats ; the danger 
not being from the rocks but from the snags and 
whirlpools. At the distance of a mile and a half 






HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



191 



from the foot of this narrow channel is a rapid 
formed by two -rocky islands, and two miles beyond 
is a second fall over a ledge of rocks twenty feet 
high extending nearly from shore to shore. 

"The river is again compressed into a channel 
from fifty to one hundred feet wide, worn through 
a rough bed of hard, black rock, along which it boils 
and roars with great fury for a distance of three 
miles. This is called Long Narrows. Here is the 
great fishing place of the Columbia." 

Lest you should think that Irving, who had 
never seen the Columbia, wrote without knowledge, 
drawing solely upon imagination, it is well to call 
the attention to the fact that he credits the descrip- 
tion to a work seldom seen, that published under the 
names of Captains Lewis and Clark, giving an ac- 
count of their explorations. 

In the preface of that delightful romance of 
Indian Oregon, "The Bridge of the Gods," by 
F. H. Balch, the author says regarding the prob- 
ability of there having been at one time a natural 
bridge across the Columbia at the Cascades : 

"It may be asked if there ever was a great 



natural bridge over the Columbia- 



' Bridge of 



the Gods,' such as the legend describes. The an- 
swer is emphatically, 'yes.' Everywhere along 
the mid-Columbia the Indians tell of a great 
bridge that once spanned the river where the 
Cascades now are, but where at that time the 
placid current flowed under an arch of stone ; 
that this bridge was tomanowos, built by the 
gods ; that the great spirit shook the earth, and 
the bridge crashed down into the river, forming 
the present obstruction of the cascades. All of 
the Columbia tribes tell this story, in different 
versions and in different dialects, but all agreeing 
upon its essential features as one of the great 
facts of their past history. 'Anaitta, long time 
back," say the Turn water Indians, 'the salmon he 
no pass Tumwater falls. It too much big leap. 
Snake Indian he no catch um fish above falls. 
By and by great tomatiozuos bridge at cascades 
he fall in, dam up water, make rivef higher all 
way to Tumwater; then salmon he get over. 
Then Snake Indian all time catch um plenty.' 

' 'My father talk one time,' said an old Klick- 
itat to a pioneer at White Salmon, Washington, 
long time ago' liddle boy, him in canoe, his 
mother paddle, paddle up Columbia, then come 
to tomanozvos bridge. Squaw paddle canoe 
under ; all dark under bridge. He look up, all 
like one big roof, shut out sky, no see um sun. 
Indian afraid, paddle quick, get past soon, no 
good. Liddle boy no forget how bridge look.' 
"Local proof, also, is not found wanting. In 
the fall, when the freshets are over and the waters 
of the Columbia are clear, one going out in a 



small boat just above the cascades and looking 
down into the transparent depths can see sub- 
merged forest trees beneath him, still standing 
upright as they stood before the bridge fell in 
and the river was raised above them. It is a 
strange, weird sight, this forest beneath the river ; 
the waters wash over the broken tree-tops, fish 
swim among the leafless branches; it is desolate, 
spectre-like, beyond all words. Scientific men 
who have examined the field with a view to de- 
termining the credibility of the legend about the 
bridge are convinced that it is essentially true. 
Believed in by many tribes, attested by the ap- 
pearance of the locality, and confirmed by geo- 
logical investigations, it is surely entitled to be 
received as a historic fact." 

Gustavus Hines' History of Oregon (1850) 
says of the Indian tradition of the Bridge of the 
Gods at the cascades : 

"The probability is true that the tradition is 
true only in part. Doubtless the time was when 
there were no cascades here, and they were 
probably formed by the mountains sliding into 
the river in tremendous avalanches, and thus 
filling up the channel." 

Mrs. Lord in her "Reminiscences of Oregon," 
says : 

"The Indians told father a great many leg- 
ends. The only one which I recall now is the 
oft-told tale of 'The Bridge of the Gods,' though 
they told it a little differently. They said there 
was formerly a natural bridge at the Cascades ; 
that long ago the Indians said Mount Hood and 
Mount Adams were alive and moved about at 
will ; that at one time they quarreled and became 
so angry they first spit, upon each other ; then 
sent out fire, stones, smoke and ashes ; that the 
ashes covered the ground here very thickly and 
some stones fell, too. Then Mount Hood got 
so angry that she started to go over to fight 
Mount Adams, but she was so heavy that she 
crushed the bridge and could not cross, so she 
went back and settled down and stayed at home 
ever since, and while she has spit at Mount 
Adams some times since, she has not moved any 
more." 

One of the principal streams emptying into 
the Des Chutes is White river. Within only a 
few miles of its source it is a roaring torrent; 
sand and water shooting along in a direct line 
on a convex surface. The main body of this 
stream emerges from a spring on the eastern 
slope of Mount Hood. The White river is, how- 
ever, but one of a number of streams having 
their sources in or near the base of this majestic 
mountain. There are few mountain peaks shed- 
ding such enormous volumes of water. Mount 
Shasta, California, is a notable exception. 



ig2 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Winthrop Falls are about ten miles from The 
Dalles on Mill creek. For four or five hundred 
yards the trail lies along the side of a shell-rock 
declivity ; at each step loose stones slip from 
under one's feet. Soon this rocky road is left 
behind ; its place is taken by slippery, moss grown 
rocks in close proximity to a thunderous cataract. 
Crouching through a shower of spray one passes 
over a little creek, finding himself on the rocky 
bed of an island with the falls of Mill creek fifty 
feet distant. Here the water has a perpendicular 
fall of 125 feet. Below is a perfect basin with 
bluffs of basaltic rock on two sides. The only 
means of an entrance or exit is a steep declivity of 
shelving rock. With thunderous sound the water 
plunges into the pool below ; a portion of it rises 
in misty spray. The spirit of romantic adven- 
ture entices one behind the glittering sheet of 
water, but this romantic ardor is singularly damp- 
ened by a sensation of moistened limpness taken 
on by one's wearing apparel. He finds his gar- 
ments thoroughly saturated with Aqua pur a. 

Below The Dalles surrounded by a strong 
current, is a little island used by Indians as a 
place of sepulture. In this manner of burial 
there is something peculiar, if not grewsome. 
The dead are taken to a small house erected for 
this purpose ; laid in piles around the walls of 
the structure, the heads to the wall, the feet 
toward the center of the edifice. Hundreds of 
bodies have been piled here forming a heap to 
the height of several feet. 

There are a number of these small structures 
erected about ten feet apart each way. How 
many generations have here mingled their dust? 
Who can tell? This place is called Menaloose 
Island, in the Columbia river. This islet belongs 
to Oregon, and is situated about sixteen miles 
from the Dalles. Here have the Wascos and 
Klickitats buried their dead since time immemo- 
rial. Here are the bones of Melatowack and 
Powhensha, once famous Indian chiefs and war- 
riors brave. 

The elevation of Mount Hood, the loftiest 
peak in Oregon, is 11,225 feet. This mountain 
was named in 1792 by Lieutenant Broughton, an 
English explorer, in honor of Lord Hood. From 
a point near the juncture of the Willamette and 
Columbia rivers, named Belle Vue, many years 
ago, the peak of a large, conical mountain was 
observed a trifle south of due east. At sight of 
this wonderful natural structure Broughton was 
induced to believe that the mountain was the 
source of the Columbia. Little he dreamed that 
the river extended 2,000 miles above. The pow- 
erful current combined with a strong east wind 
made rowing slow and toilsome; his men com- 
plained bitterly of fatigue. At a point on the 



north shore, above a great sand bar, he arrived, 
and here Lieutenant Broughton estimated the 
stream as about one-quarter of a mile wide. This 
was in latitude 45 degrees, 27 minutes ; longitude 
257 degrees, 50 minutes east of Greenwich. This 
is a little above the Sandy, near the present point 
of Washhougal. With the magnificance of this 
scenery Broughton was quite impressed ; the pyr- 
amidal snow peak now bearing southeast. It 
was the same remarkable mountain that had been 
seen from Belle Vue Point S. 67 degrees east, 
and though the party were now nearer to it by 
seven leagues, yet the lofty summit was scarcely 
more distinct across the intervening land. Ac- 
cording to The Dalles Times-M ountahiecr this 
mountain was, in 1846-7, in a state of eruption — 
thus agreeing with the Indian legend — and was 
then called Mount Washington. It was ascended 
in 1854 by Mr. Belden. Mount Hood has been 
the study of the artist's pencil, and the theme 
of story, and song, but no pen or pencil is ade- 
quate to represent the weird, fantastic pictures- 
queness of its glaciers and tremendous canyons. 

Situated about one mile below the Cascades, 
on the line of the Oregon Railroad & Navigation 
Company, is the. famous moving mountain of 
Wasco county. This phenomenon has been ob- 
served for many years ; the entire mountain 
stretching back for a distance of six or seven 
miles, and about one mile in width, is gradually 
slipping down into the Columbia and being car- 
ried away to the sea. This sliding is not regular ; 
some years it makes more progress than others. 
In 1894 the most remarkable slide occurred, when 
it moved about 40 feet, pushing over a mile of 
the O. R. & N. track into the Columbia river. 
At present the company keeps employed at this 
point a large number of men shoveling away the 
accumulating earth. The scientific theory is that 
this mountain rests upon a substructure of con- 
glomerate, or soft sandstone, and as it is washed 
away by the waters of the Columbia on its lower 
side, the immense weight of this pile of earth 
and rocks is gradually forced toward the river. 

High above Lake Chelan, in Washington, 
pictured rocks are to be seen above The Dalles, 
indicative of the rude art of native tribes. They 
are also painted on an abrupt bluff four miles 
up the banks of the Columbia from The Dalles. 
They are of a peculiar pigment somewhat similar 
to a Venetian red and are quite dissimilar in 
shape and indications of artistic ability. Some 
are half-circles with a border of painted darts ; 
others are crescent-shaped, and a number of cir- 
cles may be discerned, one within the other. High 
up on one of the projecting rocks is a rudely 
shaped face ; close beside it something like a 
Greek cross surrounded by a distinct line. Below 




The Dalles, County Seat of Wasco County 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



193 



these are outlines of clubs and arrow heads. The 
most reliable information to be elicited from In- 
dians leads one to believe that these pictures com- 
memorate battles with contending tribes in which 
the Wascos were victorious. But they still re- 
main hieroglyphics which Indian tradition, itself, 
has failed to translate into a reasonable hypoth- 
esis. 

For the descriptive chapter of this history 
we have left the Warm Springs Indian Reserva- 
tion for the last, although the greater portion 
of it is historical. In 1887 the reservation con- 
sisted of an area 30 by 40 miles in extent ; a total 
of 768,000 acres. Four townships, 91,190 acres, 
were afterward added. The Times-Mountaineer 
said, July 9, 1887, that the new survey would in- 
crease the limits 49,600 acres, making a grand 
total of 908,760 acres to' be divided between 763 
Indians — men, women and children. This gave 
every single individual nearly 1,500 acres, or 
allowing five to each family, 7,500 a family. The 
Times-Mountaineer continues : 

"If tl _-; is not a waste of the public domain 
there can be no such thing. According to the 
old treat; limits (1855) there are 708,000 acres 
of land n the Warm Springs Reservation, and 
this is amply sufficient for 763 Indians. There 
never v as any reason for the addition of the 
four townships, and to perpetuate a further 
wrong ")y taking away from the settlers some 
of their best portions of timber and grazing lands 
is an outrage that should not be patiently borne. 
What impels Agent Wheeler in this action can- 
not be conjectured. The secretary of the inte- 
rior should be informed of .the facts in this mat- 
ter, and a thorough investigation should be had." 

October 6, 1888, "Otweis," in the Times- 
Mountaineer describes a visit he made to the 
reservation in that year as follows : 

My first visit to the Warm Springs Reservation 
occurred at that impressionable age of childhood 
when anything unusual, strange or romantic leaves 
so vivid an impression upon the mind that time fails 
to erase it. We left the W. V. & C. M. road at 
Willow Creek, and without anything to guide us 
except the points of the compass and one solitary 
and almost obliterated wagon-track — which had 
been left there several years before by the first set- 
tlers of Ochoco when escaping the ravaging Ban- 
nock Indians they fled to the protection of the 
friendly Warm Springs — traveled all day over bunch 
grass hills and scorching plains, finding ourselves 
at last upon the high rock-rimmed bank of Des 
Chutes river. Looking down hundreds of feet we 
could see the foaming and rushing water forcing its 
way between sage brush and boulder lined shores. 

We children and the ladies of our party found 
13 



a broken place in the rimrock, the only entrance 
through this otherwise impenetrable natural wall, 
and leaving the gentlemen to follow with the horses 
and wagons as best they could, walked, scrambled 
and tumbled on down the hill — no, mountain — for 
it seemed to me, indeed, a vast elevation of land. I 
do not remember whether they took the wagons 
down by pieces or not, but looking up now at the 
most impossible trail it seems to me it were im- 
possible to drag them down whole. Some Indians 
— the first I had ever seen, and who laughed when 
I drew back when they offered to shake hands — ■ 
rowed us over the river in a sort of rude flat boat; 
and 1 am sure the wagons were ferried across on 
this boat in pieces, and the horses were compelled 
to swim. This river 'forms the eastern boundary 
line of the reservation; and two miles more travel- 
ing up a narrow, fertile valley, dotted occasionally 
with Indian lodges and wigwams, brought us to the 
agency. Here were a half dozen houses or so, the' 
homes of the agent and his employes. 

During our visit which was of several weeks' 
duration, there occurred an Indian war dance last- 
ing eight days, which Captain Smith, the agent, in- 
formed us was the celebration of the anniversary 
of their victory over their bitter and life-long 
enemies, the Snakes, or Bannocks. Several hundred 
warriors would march on horseback to the brow of 
the slight eminence above the parade ground, where 
they would all stand abreast and sing, whoop and 
beat hideous sounding drums; then with a yell that 
would almost curdle one's blood, would dash down 
the hill and circle round the flag pole in the center 
of the square. Here they were joined by the women 
who formed in a circle, and joining hands danced 
round and round the flag. But the most horrible- 
sight of all was to see the slaves whom they had' 
captured in battle compelled to dance inside the 
ring holding aloft the scalps of their fathers, moth- 
ers, sisters and brothers. 

It was this savage and cruel people that Cap- 
tain Smith and his little band were endeavoring *to 
civilize, perhaps I should say, humanize, for they 
were little more than beasts in human form. Poly- 
gamy was a part of their religion, and vice and 
superstition the ruling elements of their govern- 
ment. They would steal and lie naturally, and be- 
lieved it something commendable to murder an 
enemy, white or Indian, whenever the opportunity 
presented itself. Do you think the lives of Captain 
Smith, his noble wife, and those of his faithful em- 
ployes in those days were without trial or hardship?' 
If so it is because you are unacquainted with the 
perils and dangers that surround them. I say all 
honor is due to Captain Smith and his faithful few 
who gradually won the confidence of this much de- 
ceived people, and little by little, one thing at a 
time, compelled them to throw aside one vice after 



194 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



another. Is it any wonder that he was over fifteen 
years accomplishing his work of humanizing this 
people? Missionaries have been thrice that length 
of time struggling with other savage nations, and 
have they accomplished more? And yet I hear a 
great many complaints made concerning the non- 
civilization of the Warm Springs. Yes, my friends, 
it was so easy for us to sit by our comfortable fire- 
sides and talk about what might have been done. 
But the question remains, would we have done bet- 
ter? Would we have given up comforts of society 
and civilization and have spent the best part of our 
lives with, and for a people who, like the Children 
of Israel, constantly yearned to go back? 

Visiting the agency now (1888), I see every 
tillable acre of land under cultivation. Instead of 
lodges and wigwams I see neat residences. Instead 
of the hideous scalp dance I attend church and listen 
to the gospel among well-dressed and well-behaved 
Indians, men and women, and yet you tell me they 
are not civilized. 

During 1887 John A. McQuinn was employed 
three months in surveying the boundaries of the 
"Warm Springs reservation, and subdividing it 



into farms. Having completed his work he re- 
turned to The Dalles. He declared that he had 
run about 900 miles of lines and seen the entire 
area of the reservation. Mr. McQuinn said that 
there were about 850 Indians on the reservation, 
Wascos, Warm Springs and Piutes, of which 
there were only about fifty of the latter. These 
were not given to agriculture or, in fact, to any 
other civilized habits. Of the three tribes the 
Wascos were the most highly civilized and intel- 
lectual. During the past three or four preced- 
ing years the Indians had slightly increased and 
there were enough of them to occupy all the good 
land on the reservation. 

The springs which give this government tract 
its name are about 40 in number ; the water, 
which is charged with sulphur and other min- 
erals, is of a temperature high enough to cook 
an egg within six minutes. These springs well 
up from seams in the rocks and form a stream as 
large as Johnson's creek. The original boun- 
daries were run where the Indians claimed they 
should be ; the persons who remonstrated being 
only two or three stockmen and a few others who 
had no interest in the matter. 



CHAPTER X 



POLITICAL. 



The political history of Wasco county covers 
a period of half a century. At the time the 
county was organized, 1854, two election pre- 
cincts were deemed amply sufficient to accom- 
modate the voters. June 6, 1904, there was held 
3, general county election — just fifty years to a 
day after the first battle of the ballots at the polls 
in the county — aud twenty-seven voting precincts 
were required. And this, too, after the limits of 
the county had been materially curtailed ; for the 
whole territory that fifty years before needed only 
two precincts now had several hundred, and the 
county which at the first election polled not to 
exceed one hundred, now cast many thousand, 
votes. In no other way has the steady advance- 
ment of this county made itself so apparent as in 
its political history. 

During the earlier period of the county's an- 
nals the Democratic party was supreme. With 
only an occasional exception the pioneers were 



Democrats. True, now and then an "old line 
Whig" was found among those whose business 
it was to safeguard the county's interests in an 
official capacity, but they did not gain their posi- 
tions because of their party affiliations, but in 
spite of them. They were, perhaps, more popu- 
lar, personally, than their Democratic competi- 
tors. But such instances were rare. Politics at 
that time was looked at from a far different view- 
point than it is at the present day ; a day when it 
has become a- "leading industry" if not an ac- 
knowledged profession. The paltry salaries 
grudgingly set apart for official emoluments did 
not stimulate men to struggle very strenuously 
for political preferment. At that period, fabu- 
lous as it may appear, to the reader of the Twen- 
tieth Century, acceptance of a county office was 
regarded in the light of a personal sacrifice ; a 
patriotic devotion to political duty and a self- 
abnegating interest in the community's welfare 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



'95 



instead of the prize-package feature so common 
nowadays in the bitter struggle for place, pap, 
patronage, suspicious perquisites and downright 
criminal "graft." The fact that many evaded 
these onerous duties was shown by the numer- 
ous resignations and difficulties experienced in 
finding men willing to fill the positions. Emphat- 
ically the place sought the man in those early 
primitive times, and not the man the place. Prior 
to the first shot in the Civil War party lines in 
Oregon were not of any appreciable tension. 
There were not a sufficient number of the Whig, 
or Republican party, as it was beginning to be 
known, to make a respectable contest ; the vital 
question at issue in county affairs was, "Which 
Democrat shall we select?" 

With the opening of the Civil War there came 
a decided change. Party lines were then drawn 
closely. Despite numerous accessions to Repub- 
lican ranks, the Democrats still retained a large 
majority : that element of the party which sup- 
ported John C. Breckenridge carried Wasco 
county at the first presidential election in which 
it was allowed to participate. And since that 
time the Republican and Democratic parties have 
contended for honors in the political field of 
Wasco county. Up to the early 80s the Demo- 
crats were the stronger party, and were, as a 
rule, successful in presidential, state, congres- 
sional and county elections. Following that 
period honors were about evenly divided be- 
tween the two dominant political elements. But 
commencing with the year 1888 the Republicans 
can claim political supremacy, gradually increas- 
ing their hold until the county is now conceded 
to be strongly Republican ; at the election of 1904 
seating every candidate on their ticket. 

Occasionally the Prohibition party has a por- 
tion of a ticket in the field,- but numerically it is 
not strong. Neither have the Socialists much of 
a following. During the days when Populism 
reached high water mark the Socialists gained 
some strength, vet not nearly so much as in 
other portions of the west. 

Among the notable men who came from 
Wasco county and served their country with dis- 
tinction were James K. Kelly, United States 
senator ; O. N. Denny and George L. Woods, 
both having served as county judge. O. N. 
Denny represented our government in China and 
subsequently became adviser to the king of 
Korea. George L. Woods was Wasco county's 
first governor of Oregon ; Z. F. Moody, second. 

It is now ours to trace the political history of 
the county from the date of its organization, giv- 
ing the result of each election in so far as is pos- 
sible with the data available. Wasco county was 
organized by act of the Oregon Territorial leg- 



islature in 1854, which act became a law, by be- 
ing enrolled January nth, of the same year. The 
original officers of the new county were named 
in the bill ; they were to serve until their suc- 
cessors, to be elected on the first Monday in 
June, 1854, should qualify. Apparently the leg- 
islator who introduced the bill did not consider it 
necessary to name a complete quota of county 
officials, as we find that those who were named 
were : commissioners, W. C. Laughlin, Warren 
Keith and John Tompkins ; sheriff, John Simms ; 

judge of probate, Justin Chenowith ; clerk 

Chase. Evidently the Christian name of Mr. 
Chase was unknown to the sapient legislator who 
fathered the bill, but subsequent delving in his- 
toric annals reveals the fact that it was Henri M. 
The gentlemen named as commissioners met and 
duly organized the county of Wasco. Mr. Laugh- 
lin was selected as chairman of the board. Prior 
to the election in June precinct officers were ap- 
pointed by the board : the appointments were 
made April 3d. They were : Nathan Olney and 
M. M. Cushing, justices of the peace, and David 
Butler, constable, for Dalles precinct ; G. Atwell, 
justice of the peace, and John Chipman, con- 
stable, for Falls precinct. These were the first 
and only officials in Wasco county prior to the 
initial election of June 6. 1854. 

Then the county, as has been stated, was di- 
vided into two precincts — Dalles and Falls. At 
the meeting of the county board, April 3, 1854, 
judges of these precincts were appointed as fol- 
lows : Dalles precinct, W. D. Bigelow, M. M. 
Cushing and William R. Gibson. Falls precinct, 
James Human, G. Atwell and John Chipman. The 
minutes of this meeting contain the following 
entry : "Appointed the place of holding elections 
to be at the house of Mr. Forsythe." This was 
for Dalles precinct, the other voting place not 
being mentioned. 

At this initial election Richard Marshall, 
Charles E. Evelyn, later made chairman, and L. 
P. Henderson were elected county commission- 
ers, and June 10th they qualified, their election 
being certified to by J. A. Simms, county auditor. 
At this meeting the county commissioners de- 
cided by lot the length of their respective terms. 
Charles E. Evelyn drew the short end and it was 
his misfortune (or fortune) to witness the ex- 
piration of his term at the next general election 
in June, 1855. R. Marshall's term was to ex- 
pire in two years from date of his election, and 
L. P. Henderson's in three years. By this plan 
the commissioners' term of office was fixed at 
three vears ; one to be elected each successive 
vear. The county records do not state definitely 
what other officers were elected. O. Humason 
was elected sheriff, but failing to qualify, Benja- 



196 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



min M. Reynolds was appointed July 3d to fill 
the vacancy. In addition to those mentioned 
above the following were elected : O. Humason, 
representative ; Nathan Olney, county (probate) 
judge ; D. W. Dauthitt, prosecuting attorney ; 
John A. Simms, clerk ; John Irvine, assessor ; J. 
Chenowith, school superintendent and surveyor; 
C. W. Denton, coroner. 

W. C. Laughlin was also elected justice of 
the peace, but failing to qualify, W. D. Bigelow 
was appointed to fill the vacancy. There appears 
to have been more or less trouble in retaining a 
justice of the peace, as we find that on September 
27th O. Humason and C. W. Shaug were ap- 
pointed justices in place of Nathan Olney and 
W. D. Bigelow, resigned. S. S. Moore was ap- 
pointed contable at the same time. From the 
commissioners' record it, therefore, appears, that 
in 1854 there were only three justices of the peace 
and three constables in all of Oregon between the 
Cascade and Rocky mountains. They were lo- 
cated at The Dalles and Falls (now Cascade 
Locks). - 

Prior to the admission of Oregon as a state 
in 1859, county elections were held annually. 
From the proceedings of the county commis- 
sioners of April 2, 1855, we learn that the two 
election precincts then existing were described as 
follows : "Second precinct, commencing at Dog 
(Hood) River, thence running east." and "First 
precinct — Commencing at Dog River, thence 
west." The voting place for precinct number 2 
was at Simms & Humasons store at The Dalles, 
and for precinct number 1 at N. Coe's house on 
Dog River. The judges of election for number 
2 were William C. Laughlin, N. H. Gates and 
W. D. Bigelow; for number 1, Rodger B. At- 
well, John Chipman and William Jenkins. 

At the June election of 1855 William Jenkins 
was selected commissioner and his hold-over col- 
leagues were L. P. Henderson and R. Marshall. 
Mr. Jenkins resigned July 22, 1856, and R. Mar- 
shall was appointed in his place. Although the 
commissioners had provided for only two elec- 
tion precincts, we find that three precincts had 
cast votes, the third being known as Umatilla. 
Among the election returns in the county arch- 
ives are those for this precinct, but it is doubtful 
if they were permitted to count in the result. Our 
belief is based on the termination of the contest 
between the two candidates for sheriff, which 
was decided by the district court July 10, 1855. 
Had the Umatilla vote been counted Jerry G. 
Dennis would have been elected. In the returns 
for this election, however, we include the Uma- 
tilla vote. 

The records show the returns from three pre- 
cincts for this election — Dalles, Falls and Uma- 



tilla. Sixty-four votes were cast at The Dalles ;: 
sixteen at Umatilla and twenty-nine at Falls.^ 
Following is the result : 





Q 


Ix, 


p 


H 


Delegate to Congress — 










Joseph Lane (Dem.) 


• 59 


28 


16 


103 


John P. Gains (Whig.) .... 


• 5 


2 




7 


Member Legislative House — 










N. H. Gates (Dem.) 


• 49 


23 


8 


80 


W. C. Laughlin (Whig.) . 


. 12 


6 




18 


Nathaniel Coe 


• 3 






3 


Judge of Probate — 


W. C. Laughlin (Whig.) . . 


• 42 


21 


8 


71 


C. Humason (Dem.) 


. 16 


7 




23 


Sheriff— 










C. W. Shaug (Dem.) 


• 35 


13 




48 


J. G. Dennis (Whig.) 


• 27 


16 


9 


52 


Assessor — 












. ^6 


13 


9 


58 


County Commissioner — 










William Jenkins 


. ^8 


17 


8 


63; 


Coroner — 










Thomas Martin (Whig) . . 


. 28 


16 




44 


C. W. Shaug (Dem.) 


• 7 






r 


C. W. Denton (Dem.) .... 


2 


1 




3 


Surveyor — 










Justin Chenowith (Dem.) . 


2 


2 




4 


A. Shumway 




1 




1 


Prosecuting Attorney — 
















13 


13 




P. A. Marquam 


1 






1 



Following is the opinion of the district 
court in the proceedings instituted by Jerry G. 
Dennis to contest the election of Sheriff C. W- 
Shaug : 

Jerry G. Dennis vs. C. W. Shaug. 

Contested Election. 

The contestant, Dennis, by Logan, his attorney, and' 
the incumbent, Shaug, by Campbell, his attorney, came 
and the court having heard the proofs and allegations 
of the parties, it is considered that the said Shaug was 
duly elected to the said office of sheriff for the said 
county of Wasco at the said election of the first Mon- 
day of June, 1855, and is entitled to hold the same as 
against the said contestant, Dennis, and that he recover' 
of the said Jerry G. Dennis his costs. 

For the election of June, 1856, four election- 
precincts were created. Their names and boun- 
daries were as follows : First, or Portage pre- 
cinct — Commencing at the southwestern boun- 
dary of Wasco county, thence east to a point of: 
rocks opposite Wind Mountain. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



197 



Second, or Dog River precinct — Commenc- 
ing- at the point of rocks opposite Wind Moun- 
tain ; thence east to Dog River. 

Third, or Dalles precinct — Commencing at 
Dog River and thence east to dividing ridge, be- 
tween Five and Ten Mile creeks. 

Fourth — Commencing at the divide between 
Five and Ten Mile creek ; thence east and south 
to Burton's gate ; thence east to the Des Chutes 
river, and south to the California line. 

The judges of election were: Portage pre- 
cinct — Messrs. Atwell, Chipman and Allen. Dog 
River precinct — Messrs. Coe, Benson and Jen- 
kins. Dalles precinct — Messrs. Laughlin, Bige- 

low and . Fourth precinct — Messrs. 

Combs, Crooks and Shumway. Apparently the 
election judges did not fully endorse the action 
of the county commissioners in naming these 
precincts, for we find the returns certified to 
from Dalles, Cascade and Fifteen Mile precincts. 
Therefore returns are available only from these 
so-called precincts, and there may, or may not 
have been more votes cast at this election. Here 
it is : 



Q 

Representative — 

W. H. Fountleroy (Dem.) . . 83 
W. C. Laughlin (Whig) ... 54 
W. D. Bigelow (Dem.) .... 26 

Auditor — 

J. R. Bates 85 

Treasurer — 

J. T. Jeffries (Dem.) 47 

M. M. Cushing (Dem.) .... 39 
.Assessor — 

William Logan (Dem.) .... 41 
John Todd (Dem.) 36 

School Superintendent — 

John H. Stephens 58 

'County Coroner — 

James McAuliffe (Dem.) . . 93 

' Surveyor — 

William Logan (Dem.) .... 28 

Public Administrator — 

N. H. Gates (Dem.) 19 



2 

11 

1 



13 



13 



13 



1 

4 
1 

11 



69 
28 

108 

54 
52 

62 
38 

75 
101 



8 36 



19 



For location of the capital of the Territory — 
Corvallis, 1 ; Portland, 2 ; Dayton, 1 ; Salem, 20 ; 
Eugene City, 7; The Dalles, 5. 

Another election, evidently a special one, 
was held November 17, 1856, to select a repre- 
sentative for Wasco county to the legislature. 
Apparently Dalles and Falls precincts were the 
only ones in which an election was held. N. H. 
'Gates received 130 votes and Colonel A. G. Tripp 



30, in Dalles. The judges of election were Ezra 
Craven, B. F. McCormack and J. G. Dennis. 
Clerks of election : A. P. Price and Robert W. 
Hale. Falls precinct's vote at this election was, 
Gates, 13. 

But little excitement appears to have material- 
ized at the general election of June, 1857. There 
was only one ticket. For joint councilman Wasco 
county gave its vote to O. Humason. The fol- 
lowing were elected county officers : 

Representative — N. H. Gates ; county com- 
missioner, John Crooks ; sheriff, A. Shumway ; 
coroner, James McAuliff ; assessor, L. P. Linsey ; 
school superintendent, H. K. Hines ; public ad- 
ministrator, N. H. Gates. With the exception of 
Linsey all these candidates were Democrats. 

But on November 9th, of the same year quite 
an interesting election was held, and one that in- 
volved a number of issues of grave importance. 
In one respect it was the preliminary to the final 
admission of Oregon as a state into the union, 
and this question brought before the people the 
adoption of a state constitution. W r e give the 
result in Dalles and what was erroneously called 
"Fifteen Mile" precinct. The vote in both pre- 
cincts was against the proposed constitution and 
slavery. And this vote, it should be remembered, 
was taken in a locality where the Democrats were, 
for the time being, the dominant party. The vote 
"for" and "against" negroes is, too, singularly 
significant. Although the vote in Fifteen Mile 
precinct was much smaller, the same political 
sentiment prevailed in about the same propor- 
tion. The result : 



Dalles. 

For Constitution 55 

Against Constitution 89 

For Slavery 58 

Against Slavery 85 

For Negroes 18 

Against Negroes 122 



Fifteen Mile. 
3 
5 
1 
8 
1 
7 



For the election of June 7, 1858, three new 
precincts were established — No. 4 at the cross- 
ing of the Des Chutes ; No. 5 at the Tygh, and 
No. 6 at the Walla Walla. The judges of elec- 
tion were: Precinct No. 1, Messrs, Allen, Chip- 
man and Atwell ; No. 2, Laughlin, Cowen, Jukes; 
No. 3, Crooks, Henderson, Logan ; No. 4, Trev- 
itt, Kingsbury, Martin ; No. 5, Bishop, Palmer, 
Flett. The following were elected : 

For senator, J. S. Ruckles ; representative, 
Victor Trewlitt, Dem. ; county judge, O. Huma- 
son, Dem. ; prosecuting attorney, D. W. Douthitt ; 
county commissioner, R. G. Atwell ; sheriff, A. 
Shumway ; clerk, W. C. Moody, Dem. ; treas- 
urer, James McAuliff, Dem. ; assessor, H. P. 



1 98 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Isaacs, Dem. ; school superintendent, C. R. Meigs, 
Whig ; surveyor, A. Fairfield ; coroner, W. 
De Moss. 

Of these officials elected, Shumway, Meigs, 
Fairfield and De Moss served only a portion of 
their respective terms. 

June 27, 1859, an election was held in Wasco 
county in which only two county offices were 
represented by candidates. Candidates voted 
for at this election were representative to con- 
gress, school superintendent and assessor. The 
result : 

** W in ?3 

too) <».2 „ u in « ta " ,. — 

gg 5s q.z QS « a « o 

CONGRESS: 

D. Logan, R 1 13 8 4 84 — 4 114 

L. Stout, D 24 10 4 24 143 18 18 241 

SUPERINTENDENT: 

W. Logan, D — 20 — 26 — — 46 

Fitz, D — — — — 126 — — 126 

McCoy — — — — 18—18 

ASSESSOR: 

C. White, D — 20 — 27 201 18 16 282 

In this election Tygh precinct cast one vote 
for Logan, fourteen for Stout and fifteen for 
White, not counted in above table. 

June 4, i860, another election was held with 
the following result : 

For Congressman — George K. Sheil, Dem., 
342; David Logan, Rep., 218. 

For Joint Senator — James K. Kelly, Dem., 
210; William Logan, Dem., 210; W. C. Laugh- 
lin, Rep. JJ. 

For Representative — Robert Mays, Dem., 
322; J. G. Sparks, 170. 

For Prosecuting Attorney — C. W. Douthitt, 
Dem., 251; W. L. McEwen, 116. 

For Sheriff — C. White, Dem., 414; J. Dar- 
raugh, Rep., 102. 

For Treasurer — J. McAuliff , Dem., 342 ; O. 
S. Savage, Dem., 158. 

For Clerk — W. C. Moody, Dem., 214; G. E. 
Graves, 90 ; E. F. Smith, 187. 

For Assessor — James Bird, Dem., 338; B. B. 
Bishopp, Dem., 149. 

For Surveyor — J. Chenowith, Dem., 147 ; H. 
H. Hill, 159. 

For School Superintendent — E. P. Fitzger- 
ald, Dem., 274; H. P. Isaacs, Dem., 5 ; E. S. 
Penfield, Rep., 5. 

For Coroner — W. D. Bigelow, Dem., 155 ; 
A. J. Hogg, 327. 

The general election of November 6, i860, 
afforded the citizens of Oregon their first oppor- 
tunity to vote for president, as residents of the 
Web-Foot State. Following this date general 
elections were held every two years. In Wasco 



county John C. Breckenridge secured a hand- 
some majority over the other Democratic com-" 
petitor, Stephen A. Douglas, the vote for Abra- 
ham Lincoln exceeding that for Douglas by a 
small majority. Only two other officials were 
voted for at this election. The result : 

For Presidential Electors, Stephen A. Doug- 
las — W. H. Farrar, 148 ; B. Hayden, 145 ; James 
Bruce, 147. 

For Presidential Electors, John C. Brecken- 
ridge — D. Smith, 255; D. W. Douthitt. 253; 
James O'Meara, 255. 

For Presidential Electors, Abraham Lincoln 
— T. J. Dryer. 168 ; B. J. Pingree, 168 ; William 
H. Watkins, 168. 

For County Commissioners — W. C. Laugh- 
lin, Rep., 205; J. M. Crooks, Dem., 113; N. Ol- 
ney, Dem., 81 ; R. Marshall, 180; C. Richardson, 
172. 

For Prosecuting Attorney — G. B. Curry, 
Rep., 204 ; C. R. Meigs, Dem., 220 ; A. J. Thuyler, 
104. 

At the general election of June 2, 1862, a 
full ticket from governor to county coroner was 
in the field. Result : 

For Congressman — J. R. McBride, Rep., 
6yy ; A. E. Wait, Dem., 304. 

For State Representative — O. Humason, 
Dem., 445 ; N. H. Gates, Dem., 166. 

For Clerk — W. D. Bigelow, Dem., 445 ; L. 
B. Hodgdon, 132. 

For Sheriff— C. White, Dem., 448; R. E. 
Miller, 158. 

For Treasurer — H. G. Waldron, Rep., 422; 
P. Craig, Dem., 156. 

For County Judge — G. E. Graves, 424; N. 
Olney, Dem., 120. 

For Prosecuting 'Attorney — C. R. Meigs, 
Rep. 458; W. L. McEwan, Dem., 11. 

For Coroner — J. N. Bell, 447 ; J. W. Hunter, 

9- 

For Assessor — M. M. Chipman, 415 ; M. M. 
Cushing, 134. 

For Surveyor — L. F. Carter, 538. 

For School Superintendent — E. P. Fitzger- 
ald, Dem., 466; H. P. Isaacs, Dem., 115. 

For County Commissioner — W. C. Laughlin, 
Rep., 410 ; J. M. Crooks, Dem., 413 ; R. Marshall, 
112. 

Before proceeding further with our record oi 
the successive elections held in Wasco county, it 
is considered best to invite the attention of the 
reader to a resume of the personality of the pio- 
neer political officials of the county. As we have 
stated the first county officers were appointed by 
the Territorial legislature — W. C. Laughlin, 
Whig ; William Keith and John Tompson, Dem- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



199 



ocrats, commissioners ; John A. Simms, Demo- 
crat, sheriff, and Justin Chenowith, Democrat, 
county judge. Of the first list of elective officers 
only one is still a resident of Wasco county (Jan- 
uary 19, 1905), and as far as known the only 
one living, the coroner, C. W. Denton. O. Hu- 
mason, Democrat, was first representative in 
1854 ; N. H. Gates in 1856, and Vic Trevitt, Dem- 
ocrat, in 1858. D. W. Douthitt was prosecuting 
attorney for three terms. There was no treasurer 
until 1856 when Mr. Cushing was elected. J. 
McAuliff was elected in 1858, and is still living 
in Walla Walla, Washington. The asessors for 
three terms successively were John Irvine, Will- 
iam Logan and H. P. Isaacs. William Logan 
and wife were lost off Crescent City, in 1865, m 
the steamer Brother Jonathan. H. P. Isaacs, one 
of the most prominent of Walla Walla's business 
men, recently died. The county clerks were John 
A. Simms, J. R. Bates and W. C. Moody. R. R. 
Thompson was school superintendent in 1858, 
and was succeeded by E. P. Fitzgerald for two 
terms. Colonel J. S. Ruckles, one of the earliest 
men in the Oregon Steam Navigation Company, 
was senator in 1858. 

It was a Republican year in 1864 in Oregon. 
The wave swept over Wasco county and pro- 
duced a marked uniformity in the vote for the 
various state, district and county candidates for 
offices. Patriotism was at floodtide. Yet by the 
time the next election rolled around Democrats 
were again in the saddle. In the June election of 
1864 Republicans had been successful in every 
instance. But the following presidential election 
of November 8th, of the same year, showed the 
Democratic candidate for president, McClellan, 
ahead by less than 75 votes of his competitor, 
Abraham Lincoln. Result of the election of June 
6, 1864: 

For location of the state capital of Oregon — 
Salem, 370; Portland, 54; Dalles City, 27; Eu- 
gene City, 16 ; Mount Hood, 2 ; Cornvalis, 
(Corvallis), 1. 

For Congressman— J. N. D. Henderson, Rep., 
883; James K. Kelly, Dem., 583. 

For State Senator — Z. Donnell, Rep., 720; 
D. D. Stephenson, Dem., 486. 

For Representative— A. G. Bertand, Rep., 
726; Thomas E 1 . Gray, Dem., 483. 

For County Judge — O. N. Denny, Rep., 718 ; 
J. H. >Jeyce, Dem., 486. 

For County Commissioners — John Irvine, 
Rep., 72j\ Horace Rice, Rep., 729; George Will- 
iams, Dem., 479 ; P. Roster, Dem., 479. 

For Clerk— R. B. Reed, Rep., 742; F. S. Hol- 
land; Dem., 478. 

For Sheriff — Charles White, Rep., 753 ; 
Thomas Howard, Dem., 479. 



For Coroner — A. H. Steele, Rep., 524. 

For Treasurer — H. J. Waldron, Rep., 731; 
A. W. Buchanan, Dem., 481. 

For Assessor — C. E. Chrisman, Rep., 731 ; T. 
M. Ward, Dem., 475. 

For Surveyor — William Logan, Rep., 736 ; 
J. Kinseley, Dem., 470. 

For School Superintendent — J. D. Robb, 
Rep., 729 ; M. Fitzgerald, Dem., 483. 

For Judge Fifth Judicial District— J. G. Wil- 
son, Rep., 736 ; J. N. Slater, Dem., 520. 

For Prosecuting Attorney — C. R. Meigs, 
Rep., 734; N. H. Gates, Dem., 542. 

The presidential election of November 8, 
1864, resulted, in Wasco county, in the following 
vote, slightly favoring General George B. Mc- 
Clellan : 

Abraham Lincoln, Republican electors — 
George L. Woods, 1146; H. N. George, 1148; J. 
F. Gagley, 1148. 

George B. McClellan, Democratic electors — ■ 
A. E. Wait, 1207; S. F. Chadwick, 1208; Benja- 
min Hayden, 1208. 

November 20, 1865, there was held a special 
election in Wasco county for the election of a 
state representative with the following result : 
H. A. Hogue, Rep., 238; N. H. Gates, Dem., 
281. 

Spring election of June 4, 1866 : 

For Congressman — Rufus Mallory, Rep., 
364; James D. Fay, Dem., 398. 

For Governor — George L. Woods, Rep., 
355 ; James K. Kelly, Dem., 413. 

For State Representative — H. A. Hogue, 
Rep., 293 ; C. B. Keogh, Rep., 275 ; O. Humason, 
Dem., 346 ; F. T. Dodge, Dem., 350. 

For Prosecuting Attorney, Fifth District— 
C. R. Meigs, Rep., 302 ; James H. Slater, Dem., 

389- 

For Sheriff— N. W r . Crandall, Rep., 278; A. 
W. Ferguson, Dem., 349. 

For Clerk— R. B. Reed, Rep., 307 ; F. S. Hol- 
land, Dem., 323. 

For Treasurer — G. W. Waldron, Rep., 283 ; 

A. W. Buchanan, Dem., 344. 

For County Commissioners — R. Mays, Rep., 
288; R. H. Wood, rep., 287; John Williams, 
Dem., 333 ; G. F. Hurbert, Dem., 326. 

For Assessor — L. L. Noland, Rep., 287 ; Har- 
rison Corum, Dem., 336. 

For School Superintendent — Thomas Cob- 
don, Rep., 300 ; E. P. Fitzgerald, Dem., 325. 

For Surveyor — W B. Campbell, Rep., 291 ; 
W. T. Newcomb, Dem., 322. 

For Coroner — W. B. Warner, Rep., 280; C. 

B. Brooks, Dem., 347. 

The spring election of 1868, held June 1, re- 
sulted as follows : 



200 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



For Congressman — Joseph S. Smith, Dem., 
451 ; David Logan, Rep., 282. 

For State Senator — Victor Trevitt, Dem., 
332; C. M. Lockwood, Rep., 331. 

For State Representatives — D. W. Butler, 
Dem., 338; George J. Ryan, Dem., 336; H. A. 
Hogue, Rep., 328; J. N. Moad, Rep., 322. 

For Prosecuting Attorney, Fifth Judicial Dis- 
trict— W. B. Laswell, Rep., 445; C. M. Foster, 
Dem., 254. 

For County Commissioners — John M. Mar- 
den, Dem., 350; J. H. Phillips, Dem., 339; Rob- 
ert Mays, Rep., 316; D. A. Turner, Rep., 310. 

For Sheriff — A. W. Ferguson, Dem., 351 ; W. 
P. Miller, Rep., 310. 

For Clerk— N. R. Packard, Dem., 364 ; J. W. 
Going, Rep., 299. 

For Treasurer — A. W. Buchanan, Dem., 332 ; 
G. W. Waldron, Rep., 332. 

For School Superintendent — E. P. Fitzger- 
ald, Dem., 337; E. P. Roberts, Rep. 319. 

For Assessor — Jeremiah Doherty, Dem., 344 ; 
T. M. Ward, Rep., 308. 

For Surveyor — C. M. Walker, Dem., 332; 
W. B. Campbell, Rep., 326. 

For Coroner — P. Craig, Dem., 355 ; William 
Miller, Rep., 305. 

For County Judge — E. L. Perham, Dem., 
339 : O. N. Denny, Rep., 325. 

Wasco county, at the presidential election of 
1868, gave its vote to Horatio Seymour, as 
against U. S. Grant. 

A state and general election was held in Ore- 
gon June 6, 1870. The vote of Wasco county 
was as follows : 

For Governor — L. F. Grover, Dem., 349 ; Joel 
Palmer, Rep., 341. 

For Congressman — J. G. Wilson, Rep., 344; 
J. H. Slater, Dem., 342. 

For District Attorney — W. B. Laswelh Rep., 
337 ; D. W. Leichenthaler, Dem., 332. 

For State Representatives — James Fulton, 
Dem., 315 ; O. S. Savage, Dem., 320; L. L. Row- 
land, Rep., 300; G. W. Waldron, Rep., 314. 

For County Commissioners — E. Wingate, 
Dem., 313; E. P. Fitzgerald, Dem., 316; E. 
Wood, Rep., 311 ; R. Mays, Rep., 303. 

For Sheriff — J. M. Bird, Dem., 329 ; John 
Daraah, Rep., 295. 

For Clerk — A. Holland, Dem., 319; C. Mc- 
Farlin, Rep., 303. 

For Treasurer — R. Grant, Dem., 311 ; George 
Ruch, Rep., 311. At this election the two can- 
didates for county treasurer having received an 
equal number of votes, on June 18th they drew 
lots, and Mr. Ruch won. 

For School Superintendent — D. D. Steph- 
enson, Dem., 328; W. M. Hand, Rep., 291. 



For Assessor — E. Schultz, Dem., 333 ; A. B. 
Moore, Rep., 289. 

For Surveyor — N. S. Brawley, Dem., 298 ; 
W. B. Campbell, Rep., 318. 

For Coroner — P. Craig, Dem., 283 ; B. .N. 
Mitchell, Rep., 57. 

Spring election June 3, 1872 : 

For Congressman — John Burnett, Dem., 500 ; 
J. G. Wilson, Rep., 468. 

For District Attorney— W. B. Laswell, 509. 

For County Commissioners — B. C. McAfee, 
Dem., 451; E. Wingate, Dem., 483; E. Wood, 
Rep., 430 ; Thomas Lester, Rep., 402. 

For Sheriff— E. Shultz, Dem., 465; J. T. 
Storrs, Rep., 412. 

For Clerk — A. Holland, Dem., 503; L. Cof- 
fin, Rep., 388. 

For Treasurer — J. Doherty, Dem., 464; 
George Ruch, Rep., 418. 

For School Superintendent — Thomas Smith, 
Dem., 452; Thomas Condon, Rep., 430. 

For Assessor — John Cates, Dem., 484 ; H. 
Helm, Rep., 398. 

For Surveyor — T. Slusher, Dem., 465 ; W. B. 
Campbell, Rep., 407. 

For County Judge — N. H. Gates, Dem., 491 ; 
Thomas Gordon, Rep., 378. 

For Coroner — C. W. Womack, 10 ; A. Sav- 
age, 6 ; A. Kelly, 12. 

The presidential election of the same year, 
November 5th, resulted as follows : 

Thomas A. Hendricks, Democratic electors — 
N. H. Gates, 313; George R. Helm, 314; E. D. 
Shattock, 314. 

Ulysses S. Grant, Republican electors — A. B. 
Muchan, 392; W. D. Hare, 392; James Gagley, 
392. 

Horace Greeley, Independent electors — H. K. 
Hanner, 28; A. W. Ferguson, 28; Benjamin 
Hayden, 28. 

There was held a special election, October 13, 
1873, f° r congressman. The vote of Wasco 
county was as follows : James W. Nesmith, Rep., 
293 ; Hiram Smith, Dem., 140. 

Spring election of June 1, 1874: 

For Governor-— L. F. Grover, Dem., 347; J. 
C. Tolman, Rep., 202 ; F. F. Campbell, 355. 

For Congressman — George A. La Dow, Dem., 
364; Richard Williams, Rep., 244; T. W. Dav- 
enport, Rep., 309. 

For State Senator — J. K. Roe, Rep., 380; 
Elisha Barnes, Dem., 470. 

For State Representatives — James M. Bird, 
Dem., 348; S. G. Thompson, Dem., 384: E. B. 
Dufur, Rep., 475. 

For Prosecuting Attorney — W. B. Laswell, 
392; J. C. Cartwright; Rep., 212; O. Humason, 
Dem., 287. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



201 



For County Commissioners — $. H. Mosier, 
Dem., 373; Joseph Martin, Dem., 403; Albert 
Savage, Rep., 465 ; John Chipman, Rep., 467. 

For Sheriff — E. Shutz, Dem., 366 ; George 
W. Bnrford, Rep., 184; George F. Sampson, 
Rep., 313. 

For Clerk — A. W. Ferguson, Dem., 408; R. 
F. Gibons, Dem., 443. 

For-Treasurer — H. M. Beall, Dem., 333; F. 
Dehm, Dem., 506. 

For School Superintendent — James M. Ben- 
son, Dem., 414; E. Fisher, Rep., 426. 

For Assessor — H. Staley, Dem., 414 ; A. H. 
Breyman, Rep., 441. 

For Surveyor — Thomas Slusher, Dem., 399 ; 
"W. E. Campbell, Rep., 339. 

Special election, October 25, 1875 : 

For Member of Congress — L. F. Lane, Dem., 
355; Henry Warren, Rep., 209: G. M. Whitney, 
35 : G. W. Dimmick, 6. 

Spring election June 5, 1876 : 

For Judge of the Fifth Judicial District — L. 
L. McArthur, Dem., 800. 

For Prosecuting Attorney — L. B. Ison, Rep., 
548; Robert Eakin, Dem., 338. 

For Joint State Senator — S. G. Thompson, 
Dem., 519; E. Barnes, Rep., 446. 

For State Representatives — D. W. Butler, 
Dem., 500 ; J. H. Mosier, Dem., 522 ; P. G. Bar- 
rett, Rep., 453 : William Bingham, Rep., 429. 

For Countv Judge — O. S. Savage, Dem., 
485 ; H. J. Waldron, Rep., 481. 

For County Commissioners — S. M. Baldwin, 
Dem., 539; J. H. Chastain, Dem., 525; John Ir- 
vine, Rep.. 474; Horace Rice, Rep., 374. 

For Sheriff — J. B. Crossen. Dem., 527 ; John 
Darrah, Rep., 419. 

For Clerk — M. M. Cushing, Dem., 428; R. 
F. Gibons, Dem., 544. 

For Treasurer — E. Wingate, Dem., 628 ; F. 
Dehm, Dem., 316. 

For School Superintendent — M. H. Abbott, 
Dem., 506; Troy Shelley, Rep., 453. 

For Assessor — J. M. Garrison, Dem., 528; 
Thomas Lister, Rep., 420. 

For Surveyor — Thomas Slusher, Dem., 525 ; 
W. B. Campbell, Rep., 436. 

For Coroner — J. A. Robbins, Dem., 491 ; 
Thomas Woodcock, Rep., 453. 

The November presidential election of the 
7th, 1876, showed the following result in Wasco 
county : 

Samuel J. Tilden, Democratic electors — H. 
Klippel, 621 ; E. H. Cronin, 621 ; W. B. Las- 
well, 619 . 

Rutherford B. Haves, Republican electors — 
"W. H. Odell, 491 ; J. W. Watts, 491 ; J. C. Cart- 
wright, 493. 



Spring election June 3, 1878 : 

For Governor — W. W. Thayer, Dem., 863 
C. C. Beckman, Rep., 623 ; M. Wilkins, 7. 

For Congressman — John Whiteaker, Dem. 
851 ; H. K. Hines, Rep., 618; T. F. Campbell, 4 

For State Representatives — N. H. Gates 
Dem., 793; A. B. Webdell, Dem., 812; A. Allen 
Rep., 528; E. C. Wyatt, Rep., 532. 

For Prosecuting Attorney, Fifth District — 
Luther B. Ison, Rep., 880 ; C. W. Parish, Dem., 

544-^ 

For County Commissioners — Thomas Bur- 
gess, Dem., 834 ; M. D. Harpole, Dem., 703 ; 
George E. Watkins, Rep., 538 ; J. A. Gulliford, 
Rep., ^563. 

For Sheriff — James B. Crossen, Dem., 814; 
John Luckey, Rep., 511. 

For Clerk — R. F. Gibons, 938 ; C. F. Back- 
us, Rep.. 384. 

For Treasurer — E. Wingate, Dem., 886; W. 
M. Hand, Rep., 24. 

For School_ Superintendent — A. S. Bennett, 
Dem., 794; G. H. Barnett, Rep., 528. 

For Assessor — S. G. Newsome, Dem., 726; 
George H. Churchill, Rep., 564. 

For Surveyor — J. H. Bird, Dem., 803 ; E. W. 
Sanderson, Rep., 501. 

For Coroner — R. B. Hood, Dem., 782 ; Henry 
Schnider, Rep., 525. 

The spring election of 1880 was held on June 
7th. Of this election The Dalles Times of June 
8, 1880, said: 

"The present campaign which has just ended 
has been one of the fairest in the history of our 
county. Both parties have evinced their usual 
interest in the success of their particular candi- 
dates, yet it has lacked that detestable feature of 
politics generally, and which has been indulged 
in by both parties to a certain extent. We have 
reference to that indecent practice of exposing 
all, however insignificant they may be, of the im- 
moral acts of opposing candidates during their 
lives, and in which the people take but little 
interest." 

On the 15th the Times added the following: 

At the first opening of the campaign we predicted 
that when the vote of this county was counted, even 
the unterrified would be surprised. And our prediction 
has come true, though we claim neither to be a prophet 
nor the son of a prophet. We were fully assured that 
a good, earnest campaign in this county would show 
that even the democracy of Wasco might be defeated, 
though for several years past a Democratic nomination 
has been considered equivalent to an election. This will 
be considered so no longer. The result of the election 
shows that Wasco county is very little, if any, Demo- 
cratic. There has been a vast increase in our population, 



202 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



and that has helped to lessen the Democratic majority. 
Other causes have been at work which have tended in 
the same direction. * * * 

The Republicans of Wasco county have gained a 
substantial victory over a vigilant and determined op- 
ponent. Messrs. Z. F. Moody, representative; John T. 
Storrs, sheriff; and O. D. Doane, school superintendent, 
have been elected on the Republican ticket by handsome 
majorities. This is the first time for years that a Re- 
publican has been elected in this county and we feel like 
crowing. 

At the state and county election held on Tues- 
day, June 8, 1880, there were 2,272 votes cast for 
the head of the ticket — congressman — a large 
increase over any election ever before held in the 
county. Following is the official count of the 
votes : 

For Congressman — M. C. George, Rep., 
1,139; J onn Whitaker, Dem., 1,133 — George's 
majority, 6. 

For supreme court judges the county was car- 
ried by the Democratic candidates. The candi- 
dates were : J. B. Waldo, Rep. ; W. P. Lord, Rep. ; 

E. B. Watson, Rep. ; J. K. Kelly, Dem. ; P. P. 
Prim, Dem. ; J. Burnett, Dem. The Democrats 
were elected by majorities of 104, 134 and 165 
respectively. For state printer T. B. Merry, 
Dem., carried the county over W. H. Odell, Rep., 
by a majority of 239. 

For District Judge — M. L. Olmstead, Rep., 
1,072 ; L. L. McArthur, Dem., 1,038 — Olmstead's 
majority 34. 

For Prosecuting Attorney — D. W. Bailey, 
Dem., 1,141; Robert Eakin, (not a candidate), 
Rep-, 53- 

For Joint Senator — N. B. Sinnott, Rep., 
1,020; N. H. Gates, Dem., 1,082 — Gates' ma- 
jority, 62. 

For State Representatives — Z. F. Moody, 
Rep., 1,125 ; J- L. Luckey, Rep., 963 ; J. B. La- 
follet, Dem., 985 ; J. H. Bird, Dem., 1,018. 

For County Judge — R. Mays, Rep., 989 ; O. S. 
Savage, Dem., 1,092 — majority for Savage, 103. 

For County Commissioners — N. Clark, Rep., 
970 ; A. A. Bonney, Rep., 1,024 ; Thomas Bur- 
gess, Dem., 1,103; 1- M- Benson, Dem., 1,075. 

For Sheriff- — J. T. Storrs, Rep., 1,142; G. A. 

F. Hill, Dem., 953 — majority for Storrs, 189. 
For County Clerk — G. E. Robinson, Rep., 

776; R. F. Gibons, Dem., 1,311 — majority for 
Gibons, 535. 

For Treasurer — G. E. Williams, Rep., 927; 
Benjamin Korten, Dem., 1,166 — Korten's major- 
ity, 239. 

For Assessor — A. M. Allen, Rep., 1,005; 
Charles Schutz, Dem., 1,073 — majority for 
Schutz, 68. 



For School Superintendent — O. D. Doane, 
Rep., 1,079; J- McCown, Dem., 985 — Doane's 
majority, 94. 

For Surveyor — E. Sanderson, Rep., 952; J. 
Fulton, Dem., 1,142 — Fulton's majority, 190. 

For Coroner — Joseph Beezley, Rep., 963 ; Dr. 
Robbins, Dem., 1,108 — majority for Robbins, 145. 

At the presidential election held November 2, 
1880, Wasco county was found still in the Dem- 
ocratic column, though by a reduced majority. 
The official count gave Garfield and Arthur 1,330 
votes and Hancock and English 1,510. 

Spring election June 5, 1882: 

For Congress — M. C. George, Rep. ; W. D. 
Fenton, Dem. — majority for George, 221. 

For Governor- — G. F. Wood, Rep. ; Joseph S. 
Smith, Dem. — majority for Smith, 54. 

For State Representatives — B. F. Nichols, 
Rep., 1,288; Newton Clark, Rep., 1,131; A. S. 
Bennett, Dem., 1,246; W. McD. Lewis, Dem., 
1,106. 

For County Commissioners — L. Tinel Rep., 
1,139; John Irvine, Rep., 1,222; B. C. McAlee, 
Dem., 1,181 ; Low Smith, Dem., 1,213. 

For Sheriff — J. T. Storrs, Rep., 1,494; Joseph 
Hinkle, Dem., 851 — majority for Storrs, 643. 

County Clerk — A. A. Bonney, Rep., 1,171 ; 
R. F. Gibons, Dem., 1,209 — Gibons' majority, 

38. 

For Treasurer — I. C. Nickelson, Rep., 1,240; 
A. Betringer, Dem., 1,137 — Nickelson's majority, 
103. 

For Assessor — J. R. Ladd, Rep., 1,276; J. 
Madden, Dem., 997 — majority for Ladd, 279. 

For School Superintendent — O. D. Doane, 
Rep., 1,276; H. Hackett, Dem., 1,078 — Doane's 
majority, 198. 

For Surveyor — W. E. Campbell, Rep., 1,193;. 
John Fulton, Dem., 1,201 — Fulton's majority, 8. 

For Coroner — E. L. Grimes, Rep., 1,285; J- 
W. Blackeny, Dem., 1,091 — Grimes' majority, 
194. 

Spring election June 2, 1884: 

For Congressman — Binger Herman, Rep., 
1,324; John Meyers, Dem., 1,232 — Herman's ma- 
jority, 92. 

For Judge Fifth Judicial District — F. J. Tay- 
lor, Rep., 1,311; A. S. Bennett, Dem., 1,243 — 
Taylor's majority, 68. 

For Prosecuting Attorney, Fifth District — T. 
A. McBride, Rep., 1,357; W. B. Dillard, 1,186— 
McBride's majority, 171. 

For Joint State Senator — C. M. Cartwright, 
Rep., 1,356: S. G. Thompson, Dem., 1,250 — 
Cartwright's majority, 106. 

For Joint Representatives — W. H. H. Dufur, 
Rep., 1,172; A. R. Lyle, Rep., 1,338; J. B. Con- 
don, Dem., 1,246; W. McD. Lewis, Dem., 1,211- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



203- 



A. Johns, Rep., 
1,458 — majority 



Following is 



For County Judge — W. S 
1,011 ; George A. Liebe, Dem 
for Liebe, 447. 

For County Commissioners— C. F. Backus, 
Rep., 1,199; J. D. Gibson, Rep., 1,282; D. A. 
Turner, Dem., 1,250; A. Weatherford, 1,311. 

For County Clerk — George H. Thompson, 
Rep., 1,256; George H. Knaggs, Dem., 1,249 — 
majority for Thompson, 7. 

For Sheriff — S. C. Simmons, Rep., 1,211; J. 
B. Crossen, Dem., 1,267- — Crossen's majority, 56. 

For Assessor — E. N. Chandler, Rep., 1,371 ; 
S. W. Emerson, Dem., 1,145 — Chandler's ma- 
jority, 226. 

For Treasurer — I. C. Nickelson, Rep., 1,341 ; 
L. D. Frank, Dem., 1,160 — majority for Nickel- 
son, 181. 

For School Superintendent — W. H. Wilson, 
Rep., 1,159; E. C. Herron, Dem., 1,215— Her- 
ron's majority, 56. 

For Surveyor — W. E. Campbell, Rep., 1,374; 
L. W. Darling, Dem., 1,125 — majority for Camp- 
bell, 249. 

For Coroner — C. L. Phillips, Rep., 1,315 ; J. 
A. Robbins, Dem., 1,159 — majority for Phillips, 
156. 

James G. Blaine carried Wasco county at the 
fall election of November 4, 1884. 
the official vote : 

Blaine, Republican electors — D. P. Thompson, 
1,646 ; Warren Truitt, 1,633 > J- C. Leasure, 1,634. 

Cleveland, Democratic electors — L. B. Ison, 
1,359; W. D. Fenton, 1,360; A. C. Jones, 1,346. 

Wasco county spring election, June 7, 1886: 

For Congressman — Binger Herman, Rep., 
1,171; N. L. Butler, Dem., 940; G. M. Miller, 
Pro., 118 — plurality for Herman, 231. 

For Governor — Thomas R. Cornelius, Rep., 
988; Sylvester Pennoyer, Dem., 1,105; J- E. 
Houston, Pro., 134 — plurality for Pennoyer, 117. 

For Judge, Seventh Judicial District — George 
Watkins, Rep., 1,104; J- H. Bird, Dem., 1,037- — 
majority for Watkins, 67. 

For Representatives — A. R. Lyle, Rep., 992 ; 
A. D. McDonald, Rep., 1,025; W. H. Biggs, 
Dem., 997; W. L. Wilcox, Dem., 1,021; W. H. 
Taylor, Pro., 148; A. T. Zumwalt, Pro., 124. 

For Sheriff — A. G. Johnson, Rep., 729; 
George Herbert, Dem., 1,125 ! S. B. Adams, Pro., 
219 — plurality for Plerbert, 396. 

For Clerk — George H. Thompson, Rep., 
1,243; John Fulton, Dem., 704; Samuel L. 
Brooks, Pro., 129 — plurality for Thompson, 539. 

For County Commissioners — George H. 
Chandler, Rep., 1,039; H. Rice, Rep., 864; H. 
"Steers, Dem., 1,013; W. Odell, Dem., 938; Will- 
iam Heisler, Pro. 164; Martin Myers, Pro., 114. 

For Assessor — O. L. Paquet, Rep., 996; F. 



G. Boyd, Dem., 937 ; M. G. Wiggins, Pro., 130 — 
plurality for Paquet, 59. 

For Treasurer — I. C. Nickelson, Rep., 1,069; 
A. S. McAllister, Dem., 858 ; Leslie Butler, Pro., 
151 — plurality for Nickelson, 211. 

For School Superintendent — A. C. Connely, 
Rep., 927 ; J. R. N. Bell, Dem., 929 ; P. P. Under- 
wood, Pro., 151 — plurality for Bell, 2. 

For Surveyor — E. F. Sharp, Rep., 1,042; 

Morrison, Dem., 938 — Sharp's majority, 

104. 

For Coroner— C. L. Philips, Rep., 956; H. 
Wentz, Dem., 076; T. G. Bagley, Pro., 139— 
plurality for Wentz, 20. 

Spring election, June 4, 1888 : 

For Congressman — Binger Herman, Rep., 
1,493 ; J- M. Gearin, Dem., 1,002 — Herman's ma- 
jority, 491. 

For Prosecuting Attorney, Seventh District 
— W. R. Ellis, Rep., 1,441 ; J. L. Story, Dem., 
1,054 — majority for Ellis, 387. 

For Senator, Seventeenth District — George 
Watkins, Rep., 1,418; J. B. Condon, Dem., 1,055 
— majority for Watkins, 368. 

For Senator, Eighteenth District — Charles 
Hilton. Rep., 1,447; W. H. Biggs, Dem., 1,028 — 
Hilton's majority, 419. 

For Representatives, Eighteenth District — E. 
L. Smith, Rep., 1,462 ; E. O. McCoy, Rep., 1,485 ; 
W. McD. Lewis, Dem., 1,000; B. F. Medler, 
Dem., 1005. 

For County Judge — C. N. Thornbury, Rep., 
1,322; G. A.. Liebe, Dem., 1,121 — Thornbury's 
majority, 201. 

For Clerk — George H. Thompson, Rep., 
1,477; J- B. Scott, Dem., 971 — Thompson's ma- 
jority, 506. 

For Sheriff— C. W. Moore, Rep., 1,143; 
George Herbert, Dem., 1,315 — Herbert's major- 
ity, 172. 

For County Commissioners — George A. 
Young, Republican,. 1,402; H. A. Leavius, Rep., 
1,119; Hugh Lacy, Dem., 996; W. L. Ward, 
Dem., 1,057. 

For Assessor — Hugh Gourlay, Rep., 1,340; 
Glavey, Dem., 1,094 — Gourlay's majority, 

1,340- 

For Surveyor — E. F.. Sharp, Rep., 1,418; A. 
F. Brown, Dem., 997 — Sharp's majority, 421. 

For Coroner — William Michell, Rep., 1,477; 
H. Wentz, Dem., 1,078 — Michell's majority, 399. 

For School Superintendent — A. C. Con- 
nelly, Rep., 1,262; Aaron Frazer, Dem., 1,178 — 
Connelly's majority, 84. 

For Treasurer — George Ruch, Rep., 1,395; 
H. M. Beall, Dem., 1,065 — majority for Ruch,. 

330- 

The presidental election of November 6, . 



-204 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1888, showed the following result in Wasco 
county: Republican electors: Harrison, 1,595; 
Democratic electors, Cleveland, 1,054; Prohibi- 
tion electors, Fisk, 72; Labor electors, Streeter, 
.4 — Total 2,725. 

Spring election, June 5, 1890: 

For Congressman — Binger Herman, Rep., 
1,044; Robert A. Miller, Dem., 824; James A. 
Bruce, Union, 323 — plurality for Herman, 220. 

For Governor — David P. Thompson, Rep., 
893; Sylvester Pennoyer, Dem., 1,257 — Pen- 
noyer's majority, 364. 

For Prosecuting Attorney, Seventh District 
— W. H. Wilson, Rep., 1,643; E - B. Dufur, 
Dem., 1,016 — majority for Wilson, 27. 

For Joint Representatives — George W. John- 
ston, Rep., 1,099; E. O. McCoy, Rep., 992; A. S. 
Bennett, Dem., 882; R. H.. Guthrie, Dem., 754; 
John Medler, Union, 335 ; E. C. Darnell, Union, 
.260. 

For Clerk — Hugh Gourlay, Rep., 830 ; J. B. 
Crossen, Dem., 919; J. A. Keeley, Union, 357 — 
Crossen's plurality, 89. 

For Sheriff — Theodore Cartwright, Rep., 
848; D. L. Gates, Dem., 872; J. E. McCormick, 
Union, 397 — plurality for Gates, 24. 

For Treasurer — George Ruch, Rep., 1,178; 
H. C. Neilson, Dem., 844 — majority for Ruch, 

-334- 

For Assessor — John E. Barnett, Rep., 904; 
H. M. Pitman, Dem., 895; P. P. Underwood, 
union, 323 — plurality for Barnett, 9. 

For School Superintendent — Troy Shelley, 
Rep., 1,043; Aaron Frazer, Dem., 844; W. A. 
.Allen, Union, 248 — plurality for Shelley, 199. 

For Surveyor — E. F. Sharp, Rep., 1,143 ! A. 
"F. Brown, Dem., 854 — Sharp's majority, 289. 

For County Commissioner — Frank Kincaid, 
Rep., 904 ; I. D. Driver, Dem., 892 ; W. L. Ward, 
Union, 328 — plurality for Kincaid, 12. 

For Coroner — William Michell, Rep., 1,138; 
H. Wentz, Dem., 854 — majority for Michell, 
284. 

Spring election June 6, 1892 : 

For Congressman — W. R. Ellis, Rep., 1,087; 
James H. Slater, Dem., 804; John C. Luce, Pop., 
114; C. J. Bright, Pro., 84 — plurality for Ellis, 
283. 

For Judge, Seventh District — George Wat- 
kins, Rep., 1,172; W. L. Bradshaw, Dem., 988 — 
majority for Watkins, 184. 

For Prosecuting Attorney, Seventh District 
— W. H. Wilson, Rep., 1,265 ! J- F- Moore, Dem., 
896 — Wilson's majority, 369. 

For Senator, Eighteenth District — W. W. 
Steiwer, Rep., 1,174: G. W. Rhinehart, Dem., 
964 — majority for Steiwer, 210. 

For Senator, Seventeenth District — Hibbard 



S. McDanel, Rep., 1,059; J- A - Smith, Dem., 
1,077 — majority for Smith, 18. 

For Representatives, Eighteenth District — E. 
N. Chandler, Rep., 1,154; Thomas R. Coon, Rep., 
1,016; S. F. Blythe, Dem., 903; H. E. Moore, 
Dem., 982. 

For County Judge — C. N. Thornburg, Rep., 
885 ; G. C. Blakeley, Dem., 1,135 — majority for 
Blakeley, 250. 

For County Clerk — J, M. Huntington, Rep., 
1,066; J. B. Crossen, Dem., 1,083 — majority for 
Crossen 17. 

For 'Sheriff— C. P. Balch, Rep., 947 ; T. A. 
Ward, Dem., 1,189 — Ward's majority, 242. 

For Treasurer— William Michell, Rep., 1,074; 
W. K. Carson, Dem., 1,051 — majority for Mi- 
chell, 23. 

For County Commissioners — H. A. Seavins, 
Rep., 988; J. M. Darnielle, Dem., 1,092 — major- 
ity for Darnielle, 104. 

For Assessor — J. W. Koontz, Rep., 1,151; 
George W. Prather, Dem., 971 — majority for 
Koontz, 180. 

For School Superintendent — Troy Shelley, 
Rep., 1,284; E. P. Fitzgerald, Dem., 798 — Shel- 
ley's majority, 486. 

For Coroner — N. W. Eastwood, Rep., 1,155 > 
J. W. Moore, Dem., 954 — Eastwood's majority, 
201. 

For Surveyor — E. F. Sharp, Rep., 1,254; P. 
P. Underwood, Dem., 899 — Sharp's majority, 

355- 

In the presidential election of November 8, 

1892, Wasco county was carried by the Republi- 
cans. Following is the official vote : 

Republican electors, Harrison — F. Caples, 
1,059; D. M. Dunne, 1,065; George M. Irwin, 
1,067; H. B. Miller, 1,068. 

Democratic electors, Cleveland — W. F. 
Butcher, 497; William M. Colvig, 512; George 
Noland, 512. 

People's Party electors. Weaver — N. Pierce*, 
857 ; W. G. Burleigh, 507 ; W. H. Galvanni, 
499 ; S. H. Holt, 502. 

Prohibition electors — George W. Black, 66 ; 
N. R. Norton, 65 : A. W. Lucas, 61 ; G. Parker, 

Spring election June 4, 1894: 

Although the Populists had entered the politi- 
cal field in Wasco county in the preceding elec- 
tion, and, also, made a respectable showing in 
this one, they did not here develop the strength 
that they did in so many of the other counties in 
the west. At this election of 1894 the Republican 
ticket was generally successful ; every Republican 



*One democratic elector resigned and Pierre was appointed to 
fill the vacancy, and he was, also, a people's party elector. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



205 



on the Wasco county ticket was elected. The 
total number of- votes cast was 2,32,7. The of- 
ficial count : 

For Governor — W. P. Lord, Rep., 1,277; 
William ( lalloway, Dem., 575 ; Nathan Pierce, 
Peo., 439; James Kennedy, Pro., 46. 

For Congressman, Second District — W. R. 
Ellis, Rep., 1,357; James H. Raley, Dem., 573; 
Joseph Waldrop, Peo., 410. 

For District Attorney, Seventh District — A. 
A. Jayne, Rep., 1,075; E. B. Dufur, Dem., 940; 
E. P. Sine. Peo., 293 — Jayne's plurality, 135. 

For Member State Board of Equalization, 
Seventh Judicial District — W. C. Wills, Repub- 
lican. 1,258; T. A. Lafollette, Dem., 583; B. K. 
Searcy, Peo., 424 — Wills' plurality. 675. 

For Joint Representatives — T. R. Coon, Rep., 
1,153; T. H. McGreer, Rep., 1,104; V- C. Brock, 
Dem., 461; M. V. Harrison, Dem., 443; Lucas 
Henry, Peo., 379 ; W. J. Peddicord, Peo., 335 ; 
E. G. Tozier, Peo., 33 ; 6. W. Axtell, Pro., 53. 

For County Clerk — A. M. Kelsay, Rep., 
1,144; Edwin Martin, Dem., 788; John A. Tay- 
lor Peo., 358 — Kelsay 's plurality, 356. 

For Sheriff — T. J. Driver, Rep., 1,172; L. E. 
Morse. Dem., 319; John W. Elton, Peo., 303 — 
Driver's plurality, 853. 

For County Treasurer — William Michell, 
Rep., 1,291; R. E. Williams, Dem., 639; G. W. 
Johnston, Peo., 350 — Michell's plurality, 652. 

For County Commissioner — A. S. Blowers, 
Rep., 1.370; J. G. Wing-field, Dem., 564: W. J. 
Harriman. Peo., 360 — Blowers' plurality, 806. 

For Assessor — F. H. Wakefield, Rep., 1,152; 
H. M. Pitman, Dem., 659; C. L. Morse, Peo., 
455 — Wakefield's plurality, 493. 

For School Superintendent — Troy Shellev, 
Rep., 1,180; Aaron Frazier, Dem., 666; H. L. 
Howe, Peo., 357 — Shelley's plurality, 514. 

For Coroner — W. H. Butts, Rep., 1,245; 
John Cates, Dem., 630 ; John Applegate, Peo., 
410 — plurality for Butts, 615. 

In the elections of 1894 the people's party 
just about held their strength. The elections of 
1896 was the last one in which they appeared as 
a separate organization. At the next election they 
"fused" with the democracy, and finally passed 
out of the political field. 
Spring election of 1896: 
For Congressman — A. S. Bennett, Dem., 998 ; 
W. R. Ellis, Rep., 947; F. McKercher, Pro., 29; 
H. H. Northrup, Ind., sound money, 287 ; Martin 
Quinn, Peo., 447 — Bennett's plurality, 51. 

For Supreme Judge — Robert S. Bean, Rep., 
1,444; John Barnett, Dem., 689; Joseph Gaston, 
Peo., 541 — Bean's plurality, 755. 

For District Attorney, Seventh District — 



John H. Cradlebaugh, Dem., 1,177; A.. A. Jayne, 
Rep., 1,452 — Jayne's majority, 275. 

For Joint Senator, Wasco and Sherman coun- 
ties — J. W. Armsworthy, Dem., 1,014; John 
.Michell, Rep., 1,553 — Michell's majority, 539. 

For Joint Senator, Wasco, Sherman and Gil- 
liam counties — E. B. Dufur, Dem., 1,316; W. H. 
Moore, Rep., 1,251 — Dufur's majority, 65. 

For Joint Representatives, W r asco and Sher- 
man counties — B. S. Huntington, Rep., 1,355; 
F. N. Jones, Rep., 1,242; L. Henry, Peo., 914; 
John W. Alessinger, Peo., 828; Thomas R. Coon, 
Ind., 228. 

For County Judge — George C. Blakely, Dem., 
1,008; Robert Mays, Rep., 1,195; Frank P. Tay- 
lor, Peo., 411 — Mays' plurality, 187. 

For Sheriff — T. J. Driver, Rep., 1,253; J orm 
M. Roth, Ind. silver, 38: W. H. Taylor, Peo., 
450 ; H. F. Woodcock, Dem., 875 — Driver's plur- 
alitv, 378. 

For Clerk— D. L. Cates, Dem., 859; H. L. 
Howe, Peo., 327; A. M. Kelsay, Rep., 1,421 — 
Kelsay's plurality, 562. 

For Treasurer — George A. Liebe, Dem., 834; 
William Michell, Ind. Rep., 513; Seth Morgan, 
Peo., 302; C. L. Phillips, Rep., 913 — plurality for 
Phillips, 79. 

For Assessor — George P. Morgan, Dem., 
1,035 I D. R. McCoy, Peo., 363; W. H. W nipple, 
Rep., 1,170 — Whipple's plurality, 135. 

For School Superintendent — Aaron Frazier, 
Dem., 769 ; C. L. Gilbert, Rep., 1,476 ; Josie Hans- 
bury, Peo., 273 — Gilbert's plurality, 707. 

For Surveyor — J. B. Goit, Rep., 1,452; 
Charles Schutz, Dem.. 942 — Goit's majority, 510. 

For Coroner — G. F. Arnold, Peo., 426 ; W. H. 
Butts, Rep., 1,454; W. H. Williams, Dem., 665 
— Butts' plurality, 789. 

For County Commissioner — John R. Doyle, 
Dem., 775 ; D. S. Kinsey, Rep., 1,267: George W. 
Patterson, Peo., 509 — Kinsey's plurality, 492. 

In the presidential election of 1896 the Re- 
publican candidate for the chief executive of the 
nation, William McKinley, carried Wasco county 
by an average majority of 329 over his opponent, 
William Jennings Bryan. The official count :- 

Republican electors, McKinley — John F. 
Caples, r.698: T. T. Geer, 1,701; E. L. Smith, 
1,680; S. M. Yoran, 1,688. 

Democratic electors, Bryan — N. L. Butler, 
1,367: E. Hofer, 1.363; W. H. Spaugh, 1,361;- 
Harry Watkins, 1,361. 

Prohibition electors — D. Bowerman, 33 ; C' J. 

Bright, 34 ; Leslie Butler, 35 ; C. E. Hoskins, 32. 

National Democratic electors, Palmer — Lewis- 

B. Cox, 28 ; Alex M. Holmes, 22 ; Frank A. Seu- 

fert, 25 ; Curtis J. Trenchard, 20. 



206 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



About 2,400 votes were cast at the state and 
county election held June 6, 1898. Despite the 
fact that the silver forces were united and had 
only one ticket in the field, the Republican party 
was successful at the polls and carried the 
county by large pluralities for every candidate 
on the state ticket, and elected the whole county 
ticket. On the district ticket one fusion candi- 
date was elected — the candidate for circuit judge. 
Following is the official vote : 

For Governor — T. G. Geer, Rep., 1,360; Will 
R. King, Fus., 933 ; H. M. Clinton, Pro., 58 ; John 
C. Luce, Regular pp., 41 — Geer's plurality, 427. 

For Congressman — Malcolm A. Moody, Rep., 
1,410; C. M. Donaldson, fusion, 859; G. W. Du- 
gall, Pro., 62 ; H. E.. Courtney, regular pp., 69 — 
Moody's plurality, 551. 

For Circuit Judge — H. S. Wilson, Rep., 
1,033 ! W. L. Bradshaw, fusion, 1,307 — Brad- 
shaw's majority, 274. 

For Prosecuting Attorney — A. A. Jayne, 
Rep., 1,314; N. H. Gates, fusion, 1,010 — Jayne's 
majority, 304. 

For Member of the Board of Equalization — 
C. C. Kuney, Rep., 1,233; O. P- King, fusion, 
1,020 — Kuney's majority, 213. 

For Joint Representatives — J. W. Morton, 
Rep., 1,070; Albert S. Roberts, Rep., 1,031; A. 
J. Grigham, fusion, 952; C. L. Morse, fusion, 
879 — Morton's plurality, 39. 

For Sheriff — I. D. Driver, fusion, 911 ; Robert 
Kelly, Rep., 1,390 — Kelly's majority, 479. 

For Clerk — M. J. Anderson, fusion, 1,022; A. 
M. Kelsay, Rep., 1,271 — Kelsay's majority, 249. 

For Treasurer — W. H. Arbuckle, fusion, 
897; C. L. Phillips, Rep., 1,349 — majority for 
Phillips, 452. 

For School Superintendent — P. P. Under- 
wood, fusion, 731 ; C. L. Gilbert, Rep., 1,504 — 
Gilbert's majority, 773. 

For Assessor — J. H. Aldrich, fusion, 1,027; 
W. H. Whipple, Rep., 1,235 — Whipple's major- 
ity, 208. 

For Surveyor — H. L. Howe, fusion, 972; J. 
B. Goit, Rep., 1,260 — Goit's majority, 288. 

For Coroner — J. H. Jackson, fusion, 848 ; W. 
H. Butts, Rep., 1,392 — majority for Butts, 544. 

For County Commissioner — F. M. Jackson, 
fusion, 1,050; N. C. Evans, Rep., 1,184 — major- 
ity for Evans, 134. 

Spring election of June 4, 1900: 

For Congressman — Leslie Butler, Pro., 187; 
Malcolm Moody, Rep., 1,611; J. E. Simmons, 
Ind. Dem., 338; William Smith, fusion, 498 — ' 
plurality for Moody, 1,113. 

For District Attorney — Frank Menefee, Rep., 
1,620; James F. Moore, Dem., 950 — majority for 
Menefee, 670. 



For Joint Senator for Ninth District — A. S. 
Bennett, fusion, 1,348; J. N. Williamson, Rep., 
1,263 — majority for Bennett, 85. 

For Joint Senator, Twentieth District — E. B. 
Dufur, fusion, 1,224; T. H. Johnston, Rep., 
1,355 — majority for Johnston, 131. 

For Joint Senator, Twenty-first District — V. 
G. Cozad, fusion, 1,005 '> W. W. Steiwer, Rep., 
1,468 — majority for Steiwer, 463. 

For Joint Representatives, Twenty-first Dis- 
trict — George T. Baldwin, fusion, 693 ; Josiah 
Burlingame, Pro., 126; R. A. Emmitt, Rep., 
1,233; Harry C. Liebe, fusion, 1,112; T. H. Mc- 
Greer, Rep., 1,292; A. S. Roberts, Rep., 1,290; 
G. Springer, fusion, 807 ; O. V. White, Pro., 
122. 

For Joint Representatives, Twenty-eighth 
District — George J. Barrett, Rep., 1,293 5 George 
H. Cattanach, Rep., 1,256; T. R. Coon, fusion, 
1,028; W. J. Edwards, fusion, 839; George 
Miler, Rep., 1,324; R. E. Misener, fusion, 839. 

For County Judge — George C. Blakely, Dem., 
1,472; A. S. Blowers, Rep., 1,105; Edgar M. 
Collins, Pro., 54 — Blakely's plurality, 317. 

For Sheriff — Robert Kelly, Rep., 1,360; 
Thomas A. Ward, 1,182; George Parsons, Pro., 
78 — Kelly's plurality, 178. 

For County Clerk — J. M. Filloon, Dem., 
1,135; A. E. Lake, Rep., 1,414; Danton Taylor, 
Pro., 73 — Lake's plurality, 279. 

For Treasurer — John F. Hampshire, Dem., 
1,324; W. Heisler, Pro., 133 ; C. L. Phillips, Rep., 
1,168 — Hampshire's plurality, 156. 

For School Superintendent — T. M. B. Chas- 
tain, Dem., 987 ; C. L. Gilbert, Rep., 1,608 — Gil- 
bert's majority, 629. 

For Assessor — Charles L. Copple, Dem., 
1,046; C. L. Schmidt, Rep., 1,273; A. W. Quinn, . 
Pro., 148 — Schmidt's plurality, 227. 

For Surveyor — W. E. Campbell, Dem-Pro., 
1,016; J. B. Goit, Rep., 1,389 — Goit's majority, 

373- 

For Countv Commissioner — W. J. Harriman, 
Dem., 1,170; P. A. Kirchheiner, Rep., 1,114; W. 
D. Richards, Pro., 1 67 — Harriman's plurality, 56. 

For Coroner — W. H. Butts, Rep., 1,647; 
George H. Williams, 817 — Butts' majority, 830. 

Again in the presidential election of 1900 Mr. 
McKinley carried Wasco county by a majority 
over Mr. Bryan of 532, McKinley receiving 1,552 
votes; Mr. Bryan, 1,020; John G. Woolley, the 
Prohibition candidate, received 80 ; Debs 37 and 
Barker, 8 votes. 

Spring election, June 2, 1902 : 

For Congressman — W. F. Butcher, Dem., 
960 ; D. T. Gerdes, Soc, 145 ; F. R. Spalding, 
Pro., 215; J. N. Williamson, Rep., 1,507 — plur- 
ality for Williamson, 547. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



207 



For United States Senator — T. T. Geer, Rep., 
1,326; C. E. S. Wood, Dem., 951— majority for 
Geer, 375*. 

For Representatives, Twenty-first District — 
J. N. .Burgess, Rep., 1,569; R. A. Emmitt, Rep., 
1,346; N. Whealdon, Rep., 1,403; P. B. Doak, 
Dem., 85: ; L. E. Morse, Dem., 1,074; Earl San- 
ders, Dem., 1,172. 

For Representatives Twenty-eight District — 
C. A. Denneman, Rep., 1,395 ! R- J- Ginn, Rep., 
1,386; C. P. Johnson, 1,393 J C. G. Hansen, Dem., 
975 ; C. G. Stevenson, Dem., 796 ; E. P. Weir, 
Dem., 795 ; L. J. Gates, Pro., 171 ; N. P. Hansen, 
Pro., 181 ; H. C. Schaffer, Pro., 234. 

For Sheriff— T. M. Filloon, Dem., 1,040; J. 
E. Hanna, Pro., 171 ; F. C. Sexton, Rep., 1,547 — 
Sexton's plurality, 507. 

For County Clerk — D. S. Dufur, Dem., 873 ; 
A. E. Lake, Rep., 1,753 — Lake's plurality, 880. 

For Treasurer — J. F. Hampshire, Dem., 
1.428; William Heisler, Pro., 203; James Kelly, 
Re])., 1,057 — plurality for Hampshire, 371. 

For Assessor — C. L. Schmidt, Rep., 1,261 ; 
H. F.. Woodcock, Dem., 1,366— majority for 
Woodcock, 105. 

For Countv Commissioner — H. J. Hibbard, 
Rep., 1,438; F. M. Jackson, Dem., 1,097 — ma- 
jority for Hibbard, 341. 

For Surveyor — F. S. Gordon, Rep., 1,416; 
A. C. Stubling, Dem., 1,024 — majority for Gor- 
don, 392. 

For Coroner— W. H. Butts, Ind., 779 ; C. N. 
Burget, Rep., 1,227; J. N. Lauer, Dem., 587 — 
plurality for Burget, 448. 

Spring election of June 6, 1904: At this 
contest at the polls every Republican on the 
ticket with the exception of W. L. Bradshaw, 
was elected by pluralities of from 48 to 1,853. It 
decided beyond a doubt that Wasco county was 
Republican by an enormous majority. The Dem- 
ocrats had hoped to elect two or three candidates, 
especially A. S. Bennett to the state legislature. 
The heaviest vote was for the office of sheriff, 
there being 3,132 votes cast. Compare this with 
the vote of 1855 wnen n0 more than 103 votes 
were cast in a territory many times larger than 
the present Wasco county. By precincts this vote 
for sheriff in 1904 was divided as follows : 

East Dalles, 308; Bigelow, 249; Trivitt, 213; 
West Dalles, 255; Antelope, 107; Tygh, 117; 
Bakeoven, 56 ; Eight Mile, 47 ; Mountain, 35 ; 
Mosier, 98; Dufur, 112; Boyd, 37; Kingsley, 96; 
Columbia. 65 ; East Hood River, 314 ; West Hood 
River, 248 ; Shaniko, 89 ; South Hood River, 150 ; 

* This election was held under a law similar to one in Nebraska 
allowing the people to give expression to their choice for United 
States Senator at the polls. The result of the vote was in nowise 
binding upon the legislature. 



Baldwin, 82 ; Falls, 100 ; Nansene, 45 ; Ramsey, 
78 ; Wapinitia, 34 ; Wamic, 100 ; Viento, 6 ; Des 
Chutes, 29; Oak Grove, 95 — Total 3,132. 

The official count of this election showed the 
following result : 

For Congressman — George R. Cook, Social- 
ist, 208 ; J. E. Simmons, Dem., 845 ; H. W. Stone, 
Pro., 234; J. N. Williamson, Rep., 1,791 — plur- 
ality for Williamson, 946. 

For Circuit Judge — W. L. Bradshaw, Dem., 
1,863; J- A. Collier, Rep., 1,148 — majority for 
Bradshaw, 715. 

For District Attorney — Frank Menefee, Rep., 
2,120; Daniel P. Smythe, Dem., 749 — majority 
for Menefee, 1,371. 

For State Senator — A. S. Bennett, Dem., 
L375; J- W. Elton, Soc, 166; W. D. Richards, 
Pro., 162 ; N. Whealdon, Rep., 1,423 — plur- 
ality for Whealdon, 48. 

For Representatives — J. N.. Burgess, Rep., 
1,671; A. A. Jayne, Rep., 1,706; I. D. Driver, 
Dem., 904 ; J. H. Dunlop, Dem., 741 ; C. W. Bar- 
zee, Soc, 225 ; Frank Lieblein, Soc, 153 ; L. C. 
Stephenson, Pro., 181 — plurality for Burgess, 
619; plurality for Jayne, 1,102. 

For County Judge — George C. Blakeley, 
Dem., 1,096; Thomas F. Gray, Soc, 152; A. E. 
Lake, Rep., 1,879 — Lake's plurality, 783. 

For County Clerk — Simeon Bolton, Rep., 
1,916; H. E. Brown, Soc, 192; M. D. Odell, 
Pro., 149 ; E. M.. Wingate, Dem., 829 — Bolton's 
plurality, 1,047. 

For Sheriff— A. J. McHaley, Soc, 157— F. 

C. Sexton, Rep., 2,022 ; James H. Wood, Dem., 
791 ; H. M. Wood, Pro., 162 — Sexton's plurality, 
1,231. 

For Assessor — George H. Riddell, Pro., 166; 
A. M. Roop, Soc, 195; Asa G. Stogsdill, Rep., 
1,468; H. F. Woodcock, Dem., 1,151 — plurality 
for Stogsdill, 317. 

For Treasurer — G. F. Arnold, Soc, 206; M. 
Z. Donnell, Rep., 1,624; H. C. Liebe, Dem., 933; 
A. W. Ouinn, Pro., 203 — plurality for Donnell, 
691. 

For School Superintendent — John Gavin, 
Dem., 983; Justus T. Neff, Rep., 1,718 — major- 
ity for Neff, 735. 

For County Commissioner — W. J. Harriman, 
Dem., 1,135; Charles H. Stoughton, Rep., 1,606; 
J. S. Taylor, Soc, 177 — plurality for Stoughton, 
471. 

For Surveyor — F. G. Buskuhl, Soc, 222 ; F. 
S. Gordon, Rep., 1,606; A. W. Mohr, Dem., 1,065 
— Gordon's plurality, 541. 

For Coroner — C. N. Burget, Rep., 2,144; A. 

D. Galloway, Pro., 282 ; J. B. Palmer, Soc, 291 — 
plurality for Burget, 1,853. 



20S 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



At the presidential election of 1904, Novem- 
ber 8th, Roosevelt carried Wasco county by a 
majority of 1,074 over all competitors. The offi- 



cial count : Roosevelt electors, 2,095 ; Democratic, 
536 ; Prohibition, 222 ; Socialist, 234 ; People's 
Party, 29. 



CHAPTER XI 



EDUCATIONAL. 



The first schools in the vast territory at one 
time known as Wasco county were those of the 
early missionaries and of the soldiers stationed 
at The Dalles. This military post erected a log 
school house in 1854, a trifle southwest of the 
point where now stands the Academy Park school 
building. Presiding over this school were a num- 
ber of teachers successively. Of the first in- 
structors in this primitive educational institution 
Miss Harriet Marden, under date Washington, 
D. C, February 9, 1898, writes to The Times- 
MountaineeTj at The Dalles: "In your souvenir 
number of January 1st, on page 4, you express 
a wish to know the name of the United States 
soldier who first taught school in your town. His 
name was Peter Fair, sergeant of Company E, 
Ninth Regular Infantry. He died in San Fran- 
cisco about eight years ago (1890)." 

In the same building Charles R. Meigs taught 
a private school a portion of the summer of 
1855. But in the autumn of that year the patri- 
otic pedagogue abandoned the school to join a 
company of volunteers organized by Nathan Ol- 
ney to fight Indians. 

Another pioneer school was presided over by 
Miss Sconce, a sister of Mrs. Put Bradford, and 
later the wife of Colonel Ebey. The sessions of 
this school were held in a private house on what 
is now Fourth, between Court and Union streets. 
January 1, 1899, the Times-Mountaineer said: 

The early Christian missionaries who first settled 
at The Dalles were educators in the fullest sense of the 
word. Besides their little churches, schools were erect- 
ed for teaching the aborigines the rudiments of the 
English language, and as the town partook of the least 
degree of permanency that great adjunct of free gov- 
ernment — the public school — found its proper position 
in the community. As the village grew by immigration 
these schools were improved and enlarged until the 
present status was attained. The primitive log struc- 



ture gave place to a more pretentious one of lumber; 
finally to the stately edifice of brick. There is no safer 
criterion by which to judge of the advancement of a 
nation, community or individual than in the structures 
which are used and the systems employed in imparting 
instruction. If a country is found which pays little or 
no attention to its schools, it can be placed in the un- 
enviable category of lacking the elements of progres- 
sion, and the same is true of the community or the in- 
dividual. * * * * The pioneers of this vicinity • 
were fully imbued with the American spirit, and their 
progress in this regard has been commensurate with the 
development of the surrounding country. 

It must be admitted that we are seriously 
handicapped in compiling the details of the edu- 
cational history of Wasco county by the fact 
that the earlier school records have been de- 
stroyed. But it is reasonably certain that the 
first school district was formed at The Dalles 
November 1, 1856,* although no records of its 
boundaries exist. In i860 the original public 
school building was erected, the log structure 
built in 1854 having housed simply a kind of 
subscription school supported entirely by indi- 
vidual effort. In 1898 the Times-Mountaineer 
stated that this ancient building had been several 
times remodeled and .several times removed, but 
that it still continued at that date to do service. 

Still, unless the proof-reader is at sea, Me- 
lissa Hill, writing in the Woman's Edition of the 
Times-Mountaineer of May 17, 1898, says that 
this school district was organized in 1859. She 
says : 

In November, 1859, the school district was organ- 
ized, and this foundation of the public schools of The 
Dalles was strengthened by building a public school 
house, or rather, a public school-room, as the school 



* W. C. Laughlin's diary says Nov. 1856. 




Mount Hood from Lost Lake 




HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



209 



house which was erected on the site now occupied by 
Dr. SiddalTs cottages on Fourth and Laughlin streets, 
had but one room; another was added a few years later, 
and in 1863 two more rooms were built, giving to the 
whole the form' of a T. The desks of the first two 
rooms gave sad proof of the fact that Young America 
is anxious to make his mark in the world ; profiting by 
experience the directors furnished one of the new rooms 
with desks two inches thick to give the boys sufficient 
material to whittle ! In 1888 it was removed to Union 
street, and is now called the Union Street Annex. 

Union Street school was erected in 1873. It 
first stood in the street, just below the "cut," 
the main entrance being from the north. The 
grounds were ample, and boys and girls found 
room for out-door games. Many flowers and 
beautiful mosses grew on the bluff near the building less 
than fifteen years ago, and great was the children's de- 
light when they were allowed to decorate their desks 
with the mosses. The little blue school house was not 
used for a time ; by 1880, however, the attendance of the 
schools had increased so that every room had to be used, 
and then not all of the pupils were accommodated. In 
the lower grades half-day sessions were maintained, and 
a room in the Methodist church was rented to provide 
for a primary class. Such were the conditions when the 
citizens voted a tax to erect a brick building of four 
rooms. This was completed in 1882 and is now occu- 
pied by the eighth grade and the high school pupils. 

A building of two rooms was erected at Eleventh 
and Union streets in 1889. This building was known 
as the East Hill Primary, and was moved to its present 
site in 1894. In the same year the Wasco Independent 
Academy, with all the property of the Academy Asso- 
ciation, was purchased by the school district. Academy 
Park School has replaced the term Wasco Independent 
Academy. Today the school district owns ten acres of 
land and five school buildings, the whole valued at 
$53,000, and a high school building is now being erected 
in the Academy Park grounds at a cost of $19,000. 
Little debt has been allowed to accumulate ; the liabili- 
ties being $7,000 in February, 1897. At that time the 
tax-payers voted to bond the district for $20,000 to pro- 
vide funds for the building now under erection. * * * 
H. J. Waldron was a pioneer teacher. We are not able 
to find just when he took charge of the schools, but the 
fact that a man of so much ability shaped the destinies 
of our early schools is worth more to us than any mere 
date. He was the last person who taught school alone. 
Other principals of the school were J. D. Robb, E. P. 
Roberts, J. W. Miller, Dr. O. D. Doane, Levi Walker 
Patton, S. P. Barrett, F. W. Grubbs, W. L. Worthing- 
ton, J. S. Browne, Charles Davidson, Nap. Davis, Price, 
and M. W. Smith. 

There were no grades, no examination, no "pass- 
ing," no graduation in the early schools. The 
modern system was worked out slowly, and sometimes 
painfully. But shall we say that the pioneer schools were 
14 



not efficient because they lacked all the modern ma- 
chinery? By no means. All work must be judged from 
its results. The boys and girls of the '60s who attended 
these schools; are the active men and women of today, 
and many of them are most successful. Indeed the very 
crudeness of the time enforced many lessons of sturdy 
independence. Mistakes were made then as mistakes are 
made now, but we find more to commend than to criti- 
cize. The pioneer school lost much by making arith- 
metic the test of a child's ability. It was a mistake of 
the time and not limited to The Dalles. "Your grades 
and methods serve you well," says a successful teacher 
of our early schools, "but we older teachers do not regret 
our lack of the present system; but could we have given 
more time to language our work would have been 
stronger." 

It was impossible to grade the school successfully 
when there were but few teachers, and as late as 1880 
there were but five teachers employed. Instead of the 
written examination of the present time, the teacher 
promoted the pupil when he thought best. No pupil 
asked, "Did you pass?" It was, instead, "Can you do 
these sums?" We are told that the first examinations 
were used in the schools in the early '70s, and from that 
time they were employed as best suited the teachers. The 
plaN now used of monthly examinations in every grade 
has been followed since Charles Davidson took charge of 
schools in September, 1884. 

In 1 87 1 a large frame building was completed 
at The Dalles, and in 1882 the brick edifice now- 
used as a high school. In 1881 the Wasco Inde- 
pendent Academy was incorporated, and in 1889 
was created a State Normal School by an act 
of the Oregon legislature. "The "new" Catholic 
academy was completed in 1884. But this edu- 
cational institution was founded twenty years 
previously — in 1864. In Oregon the Catholic 
church has not only furnished the pioneer mis- 
sionaries, but the pioneer educators, as well. 
With teaching the Indians the principles of 
Christianity they combined commendable energy 
in building up institutions of learning. In the 
early history of the state the Catholic academy — 
under the fostering care of the Sisters of Charity 
— stood side by side with the Catholic church. 
In 1864 the Catholic pioneers at The Dalles 
erected an academy under charge of the Sisters 
of the Holy Name, from Montreal, Province of 
Quebec, Canada. The present brick building, 
built in 1884, is supplied with all modern im- 
provements, and the friends of that institution 
came forward with generous contributions toward 
its erection. This academy is incorporated and 
authorized by the State of Oregon to confer 
academic honors. At present it is the only pri^ 
vate school in Wasco county. Of this institution 
the Times-Mountaineer said, January 1, 18985 



210 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



There is no institution of which The Dalles is more 
proud than St. Mary's Academy, conducted by the Sis- 
ters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. It is today 
one of the most complete among the educational institu- 
tions of the Inland Empire, and its patronage is by no 
means confined to The Dalles and Wasco county, but 
extends over the neighboring counties ; also into Wash- 
ington. A visit to this seat of learning some days ago 
elicited some facts regarding the institution and its 
work, which may be of interest to those who have not 
been there. Situated in the suburban portion of the city, 
on a large tract of land owned by the Sisters, the pupils 
have quiet and a sense of being at home in the very 
environs of this rapidly growing city. The Sisters are 
enabled to have large playgrounds for the various diver- 
sions of the students. A tour of inspection through the 
building shows how orderly, neat, and well arranged 
are the different rooms and places of the academy. 

Entering the institution by high steps in front, you 
are, really, in what is the second story of the building. 
On the ground floor is the kitchen, dining room and large 
recreation room used by the children in bad weather, or 
when it is not desirable for them to play outside. On 
the floor above are the parlors, office, two music rooms, 
three class rooms, community room and library. The 
sutdio, infirmary and dormitories are on the upper 
floor. The building is heated throughout by hot water, 
and special attention is given to ventilation, so that 
at all times there is an abundance of fresh air. The 
course of studies seems as complete and comprehensive as 
thirty-four years' experience in teaching and an efficient 
corps can make them, and no pains are spared to give 
the pupils at St. Mary's all the advantages of a first- 
class education. The classes in the academy are divided 
into thirteen grades, three primary, three intermediate, 
three preparatory, three senior and the graduating. Be- 
sides the ordinary studies the languages, general vocal 
music and needlework are taught throughout the course. 

Private lessons in instrumental music, including 
piano, organ,' banjo, violin, mandolin, zither and guitar; 
also in pastelle, oil, metallic, mineral and water-colors, 
and in crayon, are given by competent instructors. The 
instruction given at St. Mary's is of the most thorough 
and practical character, as it trains the heart as well as 
the mind, and intends to form noble women who will go 
forth in the world loving only that which is beautiful, 
pure and good and fitted for whatever life may impose. 

From the records of the clerk of the school 
district at The Dalles, June 18, 1872, it is learned 
that the city leased to School District No. 1, two 
and one-half acres of land on Union street, to 
be used for school purposes exclusively. This 
lease was signed by N. H. Gates, mayor, and 
James A. Campbell, recorder of The Dalles. 

The second school in Wasco county (and 
therefore in eastern Oregon), was established in 
the '50's at the point where the Barlow road 



crossed Fifteen Mile creek, just above the pres- 
ent site of Dufur. The founding and early his- 
tory of this school was graphically exploited in 
the illustrated edition of The Dalles Times-Moun- 
taineer of January 1, 1898. The following is an 
extract from the article : 

In the '50s men were neighbors though miles of dis- 
tance separated their cabins and, their animal wants 
provided for, with true American instinct they began to 
talk of schools. Wasco county then reached south to 
the California line; there was a school at The Dalles, 
but it was unsatisfactory to the settlers of Tygh, Fifteen 
Mile and Eight Mile creeks, and they discussed the 
advisability of having a school district struck off and 
a school house erected at some more convenient point. 
At a settlers' meeting called for that purpose it was 
decided unanimously that "Fifteen Mile Crossing" had 
more natural advantages as a school center than any 
other place in the county (a judgment that stands to- 
day as it did forty years ago — undisputed) . 

The law of that period provided that it was necessary 
to have a school in session in the proposed district before 
it could be set aside, but the settlers were equal to the 
occasion, and on the Herbert place, a half mile above 
the present town of Dufur, a double line of poles was 
driven into the ground, planks placed between them for 
walls, a covering placed over the rude structure, rough 
benches provided, and the school building was com- 
plete. A gentleman named Hill was secured as teacher, 
and with some eight or ten pupils in attendance the first 
school of Wasco county outside of The Dalles was in 
session. 

The law provisions were fulfilled and School Dis- 
trict No. 2 (The Dalles was No. 1) was established. 
Upon the granting of the new district a permanent site 
for a more pretentious school house was selected within 
the present corporate limits of Dufur, near the large 
pine tree opposite the present elegant cottage of Mrs. 
A. K. Dufur, and here Mr. W. R. Menefee, still an 
honored resident of Dufur, erected a 16 by 20 school 
building — the first regular school house of District No. 
2, a district that was bounded on the north by the divid- 
ing ridge between Five Mile and Eight Mile creeks, and 
on the south by an unexplored region from which several 
wealthy counties have been carved. The difficulties of 
maintaining a school in those days can be well im- 
agined when it is explained that according to law it 
was necessary to have at least six persons present at the 
annual meeting to legally conduct business, and it was 
impossible, owing to the sparse settlement, to get the 
necessary six together at a meeting — just how they held 
a legal organization is not the duty of your historian to 
find out. Sufficient is it that the 16 by 20 school house 
on the creek was a nucleus around which has formed 
one of the handsomest and most prosperous towns of 
Oregon. 

Forty years takes us back to the time when all the 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



211 



settlers of eastern Oregon were along the streams — 
when the famous bunch grass waved on the hills and 
table lands undisturbed by the farmer's plow ; when the 
whirr of the header or the hum of the threshing machine 
had never been in Wasco county, and it is with pleasure 
I chronicle the fact that even at that remote date the 
settlers of the beautiful valley of Fifteen Mile were 
willing to make sacrifices that it should be an educa- 
tional center. In order to maintain a good school, chil- 
dren residing at too great distance to attend from home 
were boarded free by the settlers more favorably situated, 
and School District No. 2 prospered for a number of 
years, but dark days were in store for it. 

War time came on and the war-clouds of the east 
spread their darkening shadows between homes that 
miles had failed to separate — war news that brought a 
bright, proud smile to the face of one was reflected in 
a second on the face of his neighbor. The hearty hand- 
shake gave place to the cold nod of recognition. During 
these troublesome times the school at Fifteen Mile 
crossing was kept alive only by great effort; but when 
at last peace was declared and old friendships patched, 
-all went in again with a will and the 16 by 20 school 
house by the big pine tree was once more their pride, 
and so it might have remained indefinitely had it not 
been for one of those unlooked for incidents, those trifles 
in themselves that tear asunder nations as well as school 
districts. About the year 1866 the school house on the 
creek burned down, and the germs of enmity planted in 
each breast during war times grew rapidly and blos- 
somed into a spirit of contrariness as to where the school 
house should be rebuilt, each patron of the school being 
afraid the other might reap some benefit by location. 

The usual result followed, and it was erected a mile 
south of its former location, on Pine Hollow, in the most 
inconvenient place possible to select. Again the bad 
-part of man's nature had triumphed, and all interested 
were dissatisfied, but even then matters might have 
quieted down had it not been for a strange combination 
of circumstances. It seems that in times like these the 
■devil gets in his work (such is not a matter of history, 
"but simply the opinion of your historian) and this 
occasion was no exception. Mr. Herbert and Mr. Chris- 
man were prominent patrons of the school, but differed 
widely on the slavery question. Mr. Herbert had a half- 
breed Indian girl, and she was a pupil of the school. 
Mr. Cushman had a negro boy whom he was bent 
-on proving the equal of any in intelligence. This boy, 
also, attended school. About this time the directors 
employed as teacher John Michell or his brother, Phil, 
1 am not positive which, but my readers in Wasco county 
will agree with me that it must have been John, for he 
seated the Indian girl and the negro boy together on 
the same bench. 

Mr. Herbert was terribly angry over the insult to 
'his Indian girl, and Mr. Cushman thought the insult 
•on the other side. The community which had grown 
-considerably in ten years, divided on the question, as 



they always do on trifling things that don't concern 
them, and war was declared. Result — School District 
No. 2 was cut in two with the negro boy in one district 
and the Indian girl in the other, and no school in either. 
As to what became of the three parties, the direct cause 
of the trouble, your historian has failed to trace the 
negro boy or the Indian girl, but John Michell, as might 
have been expected, went from bad to worse, and was 
for years proprietor and editor of The Times-Mountain- 
eer, but thirty years after was captured and sent to the 
Oregon legislature for four years. After the town of 
Dufur was founded the old school house was moved in 
from Pine Hollow and once more there was a school on 
Fifteen Mile. In 1884 the old school building that was 
so grand in 1867 became too small to accommodate the 
pupils. Mr. Bohna having built a large hall with lodge 
rooms above, the I. O. O. F. lodge removed to new 
quarters, and their first building was sold to the district 
for a school house, with two rooms 25 by 40, and the 
school question seemed settled for an indefinite period. 
In 1888 Professor Aaron Frazier, whose reputation 
as an educator was second to none in the state, was 
engaged as principal of the Dufur school ; the directors 
having confidence in his ability gave him full control, 
and the tax-payers backed him with funds when the state 
money was insufficient. Under his system the school was 
graded and so successful was his management that pupils 
were attracted from all parts of Wasco and adjoining 
counties ; the large building that was thought large 
enough to accommodate the increase of pupils for many 
years, was in less than five years crowded beyond com- 
fort. A new and handsome school building, modern in' 
style and convenience, has been built, with accommoda- 
tions for 250 pupils, and Professor Frazier, spoken of 
above, is in charge. 

From the records oi the clerk of School Dis- 
trict No. 12 (The Dalles), it is gleaned that 
Albertine H. Tackman and William Tackman, 
her husband, of Wasco county, June 8, 1894, 
sold to the directors of District No. 12, for $400, 
lots 8, 9 and 10, in block 4, Tackman's additiqjn 
to Dalles City. This became the East Hill Pri- 
mary. A suitable building was moved on to this 
property and school opened in September of the 
same year. 

It is in order now to give a short history of 
the Wasco Independent Academy which, aside 
from St. Mary's Academy, was the only private 
institution of any educational importance that was 
ever in Wasco county. In 1879 some of the citi- 
zens of The Dalles, believing that their home town 
should afford better educational facilities than 
those possessed, began an animated and enthusias- 
tic discussion of the propriety of building a "high" 
school or "academy." In May, 1881, the West 
Shore published the following concerning this 
institution : 



212 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



It is only a year since the project of building at 
The Dalles an institution of learning was seriously enter- 
tained. Half a dozen residents of the place meeting cas- 
ually, the practicability of such an enterprise was dis- 
cussed in a general way, and it was agreed to hold a 
meeting of the people and ascertain whether there was 
a reliable basis in the sentiments of the community on 
which to attempt the raising of funds for building. The 
meeting was held at the circuit court room and was well 
attended ; the spirit of the meeting was so favorable to 
the project that its active promoters resolved to make a 
determined effort to carry it through to success. A com- 
mittee, headed by Circuit Judge McArthur, was ap- 
pointed to report a plan for organization which would 
avoid the legal difficulties and dangers and the inherent 
evils of a mere voluntary association, and at the same 
time secure the institution against all temptations to get 
control of it for personal gain. This was admirably 
accomplished by the simple device of an ordinary in- 
corporation under the general corporation laws of the 
state, with a provision and fundamental condition in the 
articles of the corporation and in the contract for sub- 
scription to the stock, that no dividend should ever be 
allowed upon the stock, but all income of the corporation, 
no matter from what source, shall go into a fund to 
build up and maintain the institution. Upon this basis 
the corporation was organized in May, 1880, and before 
January 1, 1881, the splendid edifice was completed. 

Another account in detail gives, substantially, 
the following particulars : Soon after the organ- 
ization of the stock company for the erection of 
this building, in March, 1880, articles of incor- 
poration of the Wasco Independent Academy 
were filed. The object of the incorporation was 
stated as follows in article 2d : 

"The purpose for which said corporation is 
to be organized is to establish and maintain at 
The Dalles, Wasco county, Oregon, an academy 
at which shall be taught all of the branches of 
learning usually taught in grammar schools and 
academies ; the course of studies to be arranged 
and designated by the board of directors annu- 
ally, and not oftener, and the academy to be 
strictly and perpetually a non-sectarian institu- 
tion." 

The capital stock of this incorporation was 
placed at $20,000 ; in 400 shares of $50 each. To 
this a liberal response was made and all the stock 
was soon subscribed. The subscribers were : 

Five hundred dollars each : Samuel L. 
Brooks, Robert Mays, J. W. French, D. W. 
French, E. B. McFarland, Wentworth Lord, B. 
E. Snipes, Mary Laughlin, A. Rogers, D. J. 
Cooper, J. H. Sherar, Hugh Frazier. 

Two hundred and fifty dollars each : Thomas 
W. Miller, Z. F. Moody, Smith French, George 
Ruch, N. H. Gates, W. M. Hand, G. E. Williams, 



George A. Liebe, J. B. Dickerson, James Fulton, . 
O. S. Savage, August Buchler, Vogt & Chap- 
man, W. Lair Hill. 

Two hundred dollars each : J. B. Condon, D- 

E. Thompson, L. L. McArthur, George Allen, A. 
Bunnell. 

One hundred and fifty dollars each : Louis 
Davenport, A. B. Moore, I. C. Nickelson, P. T. 
Sharp, Blumaner & Son. 

One hundred dollars each : A. Baltimore, 
William Floyd, L. P. Henderson, T. Moore, 
Hugh Logan, J. A. Richardson, B. F. Laughlin,. 
R. F. Gibons, Emile Schanno, J. B. Crossen, Ben- 
jamin Korten, R. B. Hood, A. Wintermeier, W. 
Michell, W. H. Van Bibber, Hugh Glenn, R_ 
Lusher, O. Kinersly, F. Drew, Daniel Handley, 
N. B. Sinnot, A. H. Curtis, C. E. Chrisman, 
Joseph Beegley, T. B. Hoover, Daniel Bolton,. 
J. E. Atwater, J. A. Gulliford, William Grant. 

Fifty dollars each : F. P. Mays, J. H. Bird, D. 
Siddall, N. C. Long, O. Sylvester, L. D. Frank, 
Samuel Klien, George H. Holbrook, C. E. Dun- 
ham, E. Beck, G. W. Rowland, J. G. Fredden, 
J. W. Lansing, W. R. Abrams, W. S. A. Johns, 
Victor Trevitt, John M. Marden, H. L. Waters, 

F. Irvine, H. C. Neilson, C. J. Crandall, E. C. 
Price, H. E. Groenninger, J. B. Huntington, H. 
Callenbury, Peter Gotfries, T. J. Gehres, W. S.. 
Myers, John Moran, H. Klindt, Tim Baldwin, 
Thomas Smith, F. Dehm, John Michell, J. H. 
Jackson, J. L. Thompson, G. C. Munger, W. 
Wigle, A. Volarde, B. Wolf, J. M. Benson, Louis 
Klinger, George B. Halvor. 

May 10, 1880, a meeting was held at the 
county court house for the purpose of electing a 
board of directors. Messrs. N. H. Gates, S. L.. 
Brooks, E. B. McFarland, W. Lord, Robert 
Mays, L. L. McArthur and W. Lair Hill received 
a majority of votes and were declared elected. 
At an adjourned meeting held the following day 
Hon. W. Lair Hill was elected president, and Dr.. 
Hugh Logan, secretary. (D. M. French suc- 
ceeded N. H. Gates as director in 1881 ; G. A. 
Liebe succeeded L. L. McArthur in 1886; F. A. 
McDonald was elected president to succeed W. 
Lair Hill, in 1887, and B. F. Laughlin succeeded 

G. A. Liebe in 1889). 

August 21, 1880, Judge McArthur was au- 
thorized to advertise for bids for the erection of 
the academy building; September 1, 1880, the 
contract was awarded to W. E. Sylvester for 
$9,423.75, he being the lowest bidder. January 
5, 1 88 1, the academy was formally opened with 
T. M. Gatch as principal, assisted by a corps of 
proficient instructors. Professor Gatch was suc- 
ceeded by Professor R. H. Willis, as principal, 
in August, 1887. Attached to the faculty at the 
opening were Mrs. S. A. Stowell, preceptress,. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



213 



and Miss Marie Smith in charge of the primary 
department. January 12, 1881, The DallesTimes 
said : 

Last Saturday morning (January 5), according to 
previous announcement in these columns, the first term 
of the academy commenced, Prof. T. M. Gatch, principal, 
.Mrs. S. A. Stowell, preceptress, and Miss Marie E. 
Smith in charge of the primary department. The num- 
ber of scholars in attendance were about sixty. 

The structure is beautiful in design and finish, and 
: is quite an ornament to the city. It is the largest edu- 
cational building east of Portland, and was built with the 
design of establishing at The Dalles an institution of 
learning which should offer to those seeking a classical 
education an opportunity nearer than Portland or the 
State University at Eugene City. The present corps of 
•teachers are thoroughly competent ; Prof. Gatch stands 
at the head of the fraternity in this state} having had 
supervision of some of the best institutions in the state. 
Mrs. Stowell is very highly spoken of where she has 
•resided as a thorough scholar and a competent teacher. 
Miss Marie E. Smith is an alumnus of that pioneer 
institution of learning in the state, and which has pro- 
duced some of the leading professional men, the Willa- 
mette University. She is a young lady of ability, and a 
"better selection could not have been made. 

The academy starts under the brightest auspices, 
.and we have no doubt that ere long The Dalles will be 
the educational center east of the Cascades as it is now 
the commercial center. The board of directors are men 
• of active business habits, and they will leave nothing 
undone to make the Wasco Independent Academy the 
crowning institution of eastern Oregon and eastern 
"Washington. It is owing to their indefatigable exer- 
tions that the institution has progressed thus far, and 
we feel assured that encouraged by the present bright 
prospects, they will still continue their efforts in the 
'future. 

In 1889 by an act of the legislature this acad- 
emy was made a branch normal institute of Ore- 
gon. In May, 1889, David Torbet, A. M., was 
selected as principal to succeed Professor Willis, 
who had resigned. Following is a complete list 
of the graduates up to the year 1889 : 

1882 : Cora L. Allen, Annie M. Lang, Elnora 
Mays. 

1883 : Wilber Bolton, Bessie L. Lang, Gert- 
rude French, Minnie U. Michell, Leigh Gatch, 
Laura E. Rogers, Nettie G. Williams. 

1884: J. W. Condon, Eve M. Lord, E. C. 
"Hill, Eunice Mays, Minnie L. Wigle. 

1885 : Nannie P. Cooper, Ruth Gatch, Grace 
"M. French, Anna L. Moore, Anna L. Turner, 
Avis M. Smith. 

Lulu D. Bird, Maud E. French, C. J. 



Bright, Ethel W. Grubbs, Mary E. Frazier, 
Amanda Hildebrandt, Perry G. Rothrock. 

1887 : Mamie Cooper, Fannie C. Robinson, 
Hettie E. Goldstein, Sula S. Ruch, Mattie A. 
Johns, John A. Taylor, Jessie Kinsey, Jessie M. 
Welch, Edwin Mays, Laura H. Welch, Nettie 
Michell, Lee Wigle. 

1888: Nicholas Sinnott. 

In June, 1893, the Wasco Independent Acad- 
emy held its last commencement exercises, and 
soon afterward the directors, finding that the 
financial support was insufficient ; that they were 
compelled to meet running expenses from their 
private purses, made an assignment and deeded 
the property, or rather a majority of the stock 
of the corporation, to The Dalles School District 
No. 12. The amount of the indebtedness, $2,800, 
was assumed by the directors of the district, 
June 12, 1894. At that time Robert Mays was 
president and H. H. Riddell, secretary, of the 
association. Following is the text of the assign- 
ment as taken from the records of the clerk of 
the city schools : 

"We, the undersigned, stockholders in the 
W. I. A., a corporation, for and in consideration 
of the sum of $1 to each of us in hand paid, and 
for other good and valuable considerations, here- 
by sell, assign, transfer and set over unto the 
directors of School District No. 12, in Wasco 
county, Oregon, and unto their successors in 
office, to be held in trust by said directors and 
their successors in office for the use and benefit 
'of said School District No. 12, the number of 
shares of stock in said W. I. A., set opposite our 
respective names." 

Other branches of educational affairs indi- 
cated renewed vitality in 1880 within the confines 
of Wasco county. It may be said that they kept 
pace with the academy project, and all those in- 
terested in schools seemed determined not to 
permit interest to flag for a moment. At the 
closing exercises of The Dalles public schools, 
Friday, April 16, 1880, Professor L. J. Powell, 
state superintendent of schools for Oregon, was 
present, and delivered a stirring address. In the 
course of his remarks he strenuously advocated 
the organization of a teachers' institute at The 
Dalles. Following the dismissal of the pupils 
an impromptu meeting was held at which it was 
decided to hold an institute in the city commenc- 
ing May 6th and continuing through the 7th 
and 8th. To that effect preliminary arrange- 
ments were made and the following committees 
appointed : 

Executive Committee — A. S. Bennett, E, H. 
Grubbs, P. P. Underwood, Mrs. L. Sampson, W. 
Lair Hill. 



214 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Reception Committee — F. Pierce Mays, Mrs. 
Smith French, and Mrs. E. C. Benedict. 

Music Committee — Dr. O. D. Doane, Miss 
Wall, Professor James, Mrs. P. L. Price and 
Mrs. JLames. 

According to this arrangement the first teach- 
ers' institute ever held in Wasco county con- 
vened at The Dalles Thursday, May 6th, 1880, 
continuing in session three days. It was attended 
by a large number of educators and friends of 
education, and quite enthusiastic and interesting 
sessions were held. Prof. L. J. Powell presided ; 
Dr. O. D. Doane was secretary and Mrs. N. J. 
A. Simons was assistant secretary. 

The following gentlemen have held the office 
of county superintendent of schools in Wasco 
county since 1854: J. Chenowith, John H. Ste- 
phens, R. R. Thompson, H. K. Hines, C. R. 
Meigs, Thomas Gordon, William Logan, Thomas 
Condon, E. P. Fitzgerald, J. D. Robb, D. D. 
Stephenson, Captain John Darrah, Thomas 
Smith, E. Fisher, M. EL Abbott, A. S. Bennett, 
O. D. Doane, W. L. McEwan, A. C. Connelly, 
Aaron Frazier, Troy Shelley, C. L. Gilbert and 
Justice T. Neff. 

In March, 1891, articles of incorporation of 
the Wamic Academy were filed with the clerk 
of Wasco county. The capital stock was divided 
into 300 shares of $5 a share each ; the incorpora- 
tors were Martin Wing, Henry Driver and H. 
F. Woodcock. This institution, however, re- 
mained on paper and never materialized. The 
following is from the report of County Superin- 
tendent Neff, issued in February, 1905 : 

Owing to adverse circumstances only three local 
meetings were held in this county during the past year. 
In order that these meetings may be made more effective, 
a fund should be provided which would enable the 
county superintendent to procure the services of com- 
petent instructors. 

The number of pupils taking eighth grade examina- 
tions in this county is constantly increasing. It is no 
longer possible for the county superintendent to examine 
and grade the papers within a reasonable time after the 
examination. As this work should not be left to teach- 
ers, if uniformity of grading is desired, the suggestion 
that the County Superintendent be empowered to call 
to his assistance the other members of the board of 
county examiners is, it would seem, a good one. 

There has been a scarcity of teachers in this county. 
In several instances school boards were unable to pro- 
cure teachers until long after the time when it was de- 
sired ihzt school should begin. There has been little 
opportunity for choice in the selection of teachers, and, 
as a result, good teachers have not always been secured. 
Nearly every school in this county has a good library. 
During the year ending June 12, 1903, there were 530 



volumes purchased. Many more have been bought dur- 
ing the present year. Most schools were insufficiently 
supplied with supplementary reading matter. 

Five new school houses have been erected since my 
last report. Hood River district will put up one or 
two additional buildings this summer in order to accom- 
modate the increased school population. Thirty-eight 
districts this year voted a special tax of from one to 
twenty-two mills, the average rate being seven mills. 
The county court levied 6^2 mills for school purposes,, 
an increase of one and one-half mills over last year. 

Number of persons of school age: Male, 2,633; 
female, 2,609 ; total, 5,242. Number of persons of 
school age not attending any school — male, 500; 
female, 458; total, 958. Number attending schools* 
outside the district — males, 63; females, 86; total, 
149. Number of districts in county, 73 ; number 
of school houses, 76 ; number of school houses built 
during the year, 7. Total number of library books on 
hand, 4,722 ; number of books purchased during the year, 
786. Private schools, 1 ; number of teachers in private 
schools, 7; number of pupils enrolled in private schools,, 
male, 78 ; female, 102 ; total, 180. Value of school 
houses and grounds, $135,360. Value of school furniture 
and fixtures, $18,896.15. Average salary of male teach- 
ers, $59.20; average salary of female teachers, $44. In 
the whole county of Wasco there is only one deaf mute 
and one blind scholar. Number of teachers employed 
during the year — males, 20; females, 134. Paid for 
teachers' wages, $36,677.16. 

The following is a register of resident teachers- 
in Wasco county, Oregon, with postoffice ad- 
dress, on and after February 20, 1905 : 

The Dalles — J. S. Landers, J. H. Orcutt, 
Blanche Brigham, A. May Sechler, Effie A. Tay- 
lor, Mrs. E. D. Baldwin, Louise Rintoul, Ida 
Omeg, Mrs. Kate Roche, Maggie Flinn, Martha 
Baldwin, Grace L. Tillard, Kate Davenport, Tena 
Rintoul, Anna B. Thompson, Etta E. Wrenn, 
Dora Nielson, Hester Kent, Mary N. Campbell, 
Beatrice Burkhead, Lettie Burns, Bertha M.. 
Hammond, Anna C. Godbersen, Bess Isenberg, 
Elanor Loomis, Frank Fagan, Maud E. Michell, 
Mrs. Belle B. Brown, Bertha Henry, S. C. Ross- 
man, Martha Bartell. 

Mount Hood — Nan Cooper, Daisy E.- 
Thomas. 

Shaniko — Lillie Verdt. 

Cascade Locks — F. H. Isenberg, Maude 
Noble, Bertina Cramer, Elizabeth Neidigh, Han- 
nah L. Simpson. 

Antelope — Mable Crofutt, Ida Priday, Edna 
Hamilton. 

Endersly — George E. Walston. 

Hood River — L. A. Wiley, C. Crouse, Mary 
Mathews, Carrie Copple, Cora I. Copple, Mary 
E. Groves, Helen M. Deitz, Erma Benson, Amy 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



215 



L. Gove, Ethel Robards, Carrie M. Burlingame, 
Mrs. Lura Campbell, George W. Brown, Anna 
E. Shea, Stella Brown, Carrie Byerlee, C. D. 
Thompson, Ashley B. Cash, Ola B. Norman, 
Mabel Riddell, Nettie Gleason, Mara E. Smith, 
V. V. Willis, Blanche R. Wilson, Ida Stranahan, 
George A. Massey, Lizzie Elder, Pearl Eby, Ida 
M. Wright, Nora M. Sanborn, Hulda Hinrichs, 
Ella M. Evans. 

Dufur— H. H. White, Ella M. Wall, Lexie 
Strachan, Rebecca Wilson, Lottie Covey, Cor- 
delia Stevens. 



Wamic — Lelah Driver, Bessie Stakeley, 
Margaret Raz, Mattie Walton. 

Kingsley — Jessie McLeod, Susie Ward, Ce- 
celia LeDuc, Victoria McVey. 

Boyd — Marian E. Hetrick, Bertha Leader, 
Lucile Risch, Maud Bethun. 

Nansene — Ben Wilson. 

Wapinitia — Louis H. Arneson. 

Tygh Valley— E. A. Sayer, T. M. B. Chas- 
tain, Sarah E. McVey. 

Mosier — Agnes Gulovson, lone B. Splawn. 

Bake Oven — Bessie Blodgett, Leo Fleming. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 



WASCO COUNTY 



WILLIAM CATESBY LAUGHLIN, de- 
ceased. (Born December 27, 1814; died Septem- 
ber 7, 1864.) The memory of no man is held 
in higher respect by the little band of pioneers 
now living, who took part in the early history 
making period of eastern Oregon, than that of 
County Judge William C. Laughlin. Coming to 
that part of Oregon, where now stands the thriv- 
ing city of The Dalles, in 1850, preceded by only 
two or three settlers, he at once began carving out 
a home for himself and family. And there he 
resided until his death in 1864, taking a most 
prominent part in developing the country and 
building up the city of The Dalles. The few sur- 
viving neighbors of Judge Laughlin, those who 
were co-workers with him in the first fourteen 
years' history of The Dalles, never tire of telling 
of his sterling worth, of his kindness to his less 
fortunate neighbors, of his influence for good in 
the community. It is indeed a fitting tribute that 
his likeness should be a frontispiece of the his- 
tory of Wasco county. 

Judge Laughlin's ancestry can be traced only 
to early in the eighteenth century. At that time 
his grandfather, Thomas Laughlin, came to 
America from England. Tradition, says that he 
was of scotch descent, if not a native of Scotland. 
No record of data can be found in Thomas 
Laughlin's genealogy earlier than his marriage on 
November 27, 1755, to Sarah Madison, a cousin 
of President James Madison. Eleven children 
were born to them, as follows: Richard (1757- 
1759), Joanah (1758-1758), Thomas (1759 — date 
of death unknown), Robert (1762- 1788), James 
(1764 — date of death unknown), George (1766- 
1801), John (1769 — date of death unknown), 
Roger (1771-1845), Edmund (1773 — date of 
death unknown), Simon (1776 — date of death 
unknown), Hill (1782-1788). Thomas Laugh- 



lin died December 13, 1801. Sarah Laughlin 
died October 31, 1901. 

The seventh son, Roger, was our subject's 
father. He was married to Elizabeth Woodford 
in 1800 and their children were Richard, Mary, 
Nancy, Sarah, George, Lucy, Simon, Elizabeth, 
William Catesby, Mark Woodford, Thomas 
Catesby. Roger Laughlin died January 5, 1845, 
and Elizabeth Laughlin died in April, 1853. 
Shortly after their marriage, which occurred in 
1800, they moved to Kentucky, where they lived 
until 1832. 

It was during his parents' residence in Ken- 
tucky that William Laughlin was born, the date 
of his birth being December 2.y, 1814. Here he 
spent his boyhood days, moving with his parents 
at the age of eighteen to Illinois, locating near 
Quincy. He worked on a farm until he gained his 
majority. On April 8, 1840, he was united in 
marriage to Mary Jane Yeargain, at the resi- 
dence of her father, James Yeargain, in Illinois. 
This union was an exceptionally happy one, albeit 
the parties were destined to suffer the hardships 
known only to the pioneers of a new country. 
William Laughlin and his bride at once took up 
their residence in a little log cabin on a ridge run- 
ning down to Mill creek, in Gilmer township, 
about six miles from Quincy. It was their inten- 
tion to remain in Illinois only until arrangements 
could be made for a trip to a new home. The 
place they selected was Scotland county, Mis- 
souri, and after only a short residence in their first 
home, they loaded all their possessions onto a 
two-wheeled cart drawn by a yoke of oxen, and 
set out to seek their fortune in the west. They 
were brave young hearts, but with little except 
hope and self-reliance. Arriving at their destina- 
tion after a long and toilsome journey, they built 
themselves a modest little home and went to work 



2l8 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



with a will that they might accumulate enough 
to allow them to return to Illinois. The labors 
and struggles of the first few years in their Mis- 
souri home were those of pioneers to a new 
country. They worked hard and after the first 
few years the fruits of their labors were appar- 
ent. They become more prosperous and a fairly 
good house took the place of the little one. They 
were held in high esteem in the community in 
which they lived and Mr. Laughlin for a number 
of years served in the capacity of justice of the 
peace. During their residence in Missouri their 
three children were born : Elizabeth, on April 
29, 1841, married to Wentworth Lord January 
15, 1 86 1, now living at The Dalles, Oregon; 
James born February 17, 1843, died May 14, 
1864; Benjamin Franklin, born January 4, 1849, 
married to Sarah C. Adams, March 2, 1875, now 
living at The Dalles. 

The discovery of gold in California and the 
subsequent rush to the land of promise, in 1849, 
affected Mr. Laughlin as it did so many others 
who had tasted pioneer life, and arrangements 
were made for the long trip overland. The farm 
was sold and most of the personal property was 
sold or traded for provisions and the necessary 
equipment. On April 20, 1850, the family started 
out on their long journey across the plains, their 
possessions loaded into one wagon, drawn bv a 
team of oxen. Lack of space forbids an extended 
account of their trip across the continent. About 
three weeks were consumed in crossing the state 
of Missouri. After crossing the river at old Fort 
Kearney, they were joined by three other parties 
and the westward trip was resumed- in company. 
A few days later, they overtook a large train, 
fully organized, which had a commander and 
which was divided into squads for guard duty. 
To this, the Laughlin party did not align itself, 
preferring to travel in a smaller company. Fort 
Kearney, a little over two hundred miles from the 
Missouri river, was reached about May 25, and 
about June 1, the Platte river was crossed. Earlv 
in July they reached South Pass and twenty miles 
further was reached the forks of the emigrant 
road, one branch leading to California, the other 
to Oregon. Mr. Laughlin had originally intended 
going to California but the immigration to that 
country was so heavy that he decided that Oregon 
would offer greater advantages. So when the 
main party took what was known as "Sublet's 
cutoff," he proceeded on the road to Oregon, and 
the decision was never afterward regretted. A few 
others were bound for the same place and there 
was company all the way. Fort Hall was reached 
about the middle of August. The Grand Ronde 
valley was traversed for a distance and then came 
the Blue Mountains, which were crossed and the 



Umatilla river reached. At Willow creek, a gov- 
ernment wagon, drawn by a mule team, was met, 
sent out to relieve the suffering immigrants. Next 
came the John Day river, the Deschutes, and 
October 4, 1850, they arrived at the military post, 
where now stands The Dalles. 

It had been the intention to proceed by flat 
boat down the Columbia river from this point to 
the Willamette valley, there to make their future 
home, but it was not to be. When it came time 
to load their possessions on the boat, Mr. Laugh- 
lin found that the boats were already overloaded 
and they were obliged to remain behind. It was 
then decided to make a home in the vicinity of the 
post. A cabin was partly constructed on Crate's 
Point, where it was found to be on the military 
reservation, and had to be abandoned. The fam- 
ily lived in tents while Mr. Laughlin worked in 
the mountains making shingles for the post. Late 
in December, their tent was pitched on Mill creek, 
where the Bennett place is now. A little money 
having been saved from his work, Mr. Laughlin 
purchased a few cows and yearlings. In the 
spring a house was secured at the post in which 
to live, and board was supplied a few of the army 
officers. Immigration again setting in that fall, 
some of the stock were butchered and quite a start 
was made by the sale of it to the half-famished 
new arrivals. 

In 1852 the Laughlin family and the family 
of Dr. Farnsworth, old time friends in Missouri, 
decided to go to Hood River and engage in the 
stock business. Each family here built a cabin. 
This venture was a disastrous one. The severe 
winter of 1852-53 killed nearly all their stock. 
Provisions ran short, and, isolated as they were, 
they had a miserable time, part of the time living 
on venison and potatoes only. In the spring of 
1853, they returned to The Dalles. In May the 
government reservation was cut down and Mr. 
Laughlin secured a donation claim, upon which 
they lived in tents until a house could be erected, 
which was not until August. The house was re- 
placed by a much more pretentious one in 1857. 

Mr. Laughlin at once took an active part in 
the building up of the little town which sprang 
up at The Dalles and later in the organization 
of Wasco county. When the county was organ- 
ized, he was named as one of the county com- 
missioners. In 1856 he was elected county judge, 
and in i860 and 1862 county commissioner. He 
was a member of the first board of trustees for 
The Dalles and was elected president of that 
body in 1855. He also served as a member of the 
board in J 863. 

Judge Laughlin died September 7, 1864, and 
his wife on January 17, 1898. 

We know of nothing more appropriate with 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



219 



which to close this sketch than a eulogy by his 
daughter, Mrs. Elizabeth Lord, in her "Remi- 
niscence of Eastern Oregon," recently published. 
"His was a -life untarnished, his honor unques- 
tioned, truthful, honest, upright and just. A good 
son, a kind husband, a loving father, a generous 
neighbor and warm friend, naturally of an amia- 
ble and cheerful disposition, a quick temper, but 
unsuspicious, and slow to recognize insult ; never 
seeking a quarrel, but once convinced that insult 
was meant, seldom forgiving. He embodied 
within himself a code of morals and high sense 
of right and courtesy which would stamp him in 
any position he might have been called to occupy 
as a fine type of gentleman. Rather reserved, 
unassuming, and yet with a dignified and gracious 
manner, he was always winning and attractive. 
His sense of humor was very keen ; this, coupled 
with a talent for mimicry and ready wit, made 
him a very entertaining and amusing companion 
when he was in the mood to draw upon those 
resources." 



WILLIAM R. MENEFEE, one of the old- 
est settlers in the country now comprising Wasco 
county, and a retired farmer, resides at Dufur. 
He was born December 5, 1823, in Rappahan- 
nock county, Virginia, at the time of his birth 
known as Culpeper county. He is the son of 
John M. and Lucy M. (Partlow) Menefee, na- 
tives of Virginia. In 1837 John L. Partlow, the 
brother of Lucy M. Menefee was sheriff of Rap- 
pahannock county. 

In a subscription school in Virginia William 
R. Menefee, our subject, received his education, 
and in 1835 his parents removed to Henry county, 
Iowa. To reach this place they were obliged to 
travel overland with horse teams. It was in 
1852 that our subject came to Oregon, and lo- 
cated on a donation claim in Yamhill county, but 
it being not entirely satisfactory he secured an- 
other claim in the Walla Walla country, Wash- 
ington, and in 1855 started for that locality with 
his wife and two children. At The Dalles he 
learned of the horrible atrocities connected with 
the massacre of Dr. Marcus Whitman, and de- 
cided to postpone his advent into that territory. 
On the repeal of the donation law he came to 
this vicinity accompanied by seven other fami- 
lies. They concluded to build a fort and take up 
land on Fifteen Mile Creek. There were in the 
colony the Combs, Crooks, Bolton, Zachery, 
Flett, Walker and two other families. They ran 
up part of a stockade, but as there was no im- 
mediate trouble with the Indians completion of 
the stockade was abandoned. It is true that some 
stock was stolen, but they were not fully con- 



vinced that this was not the work of white men 
instead of Indians. 

Until quite recently our subject has been a 
Republican. At present he is a Prohibitionist. 
For eight years he was justice of the peace, and 
has been school director, and was the first clerk 
of school district No. 2 upon its organization. He 
has never been an office seeker, but has always 
taken an active interest in party politics. For 
many years he followed the business of farm- 
ing and stock raising, but in 1885 he disposed of 
his land, of which he at one time had six hundred 
and eighty acres, and removed into the town •■ of 
Dufur. During one year he was in the hotel bus- 
iness, conducting the old Fifteen Mile House, 
and one year he was engaged in improving his 
town property. In company with two partners 
he erected a windmill and built waterworks, 
drawing water from the creek. These were 
the pioneer water works of Dufur. Later a com- 
pany of eight was organized, including Mr. Men- 
efee, and they enlarged the system, and of this 
plant he is now the superintendent. Since 1889 
he has been a notary public. Our subject's wife 
owns residence lots in Dufur, and a house on . 
Main street. Mr. Menefee had one brother, 
Elijah L., who died in 1875. Four sisters are de- 
ceased, Clarinda, Lucy, Sarah and Catherine. 

February 8, 1849, Mr. Menefee, at Grand 
View, Louisa county, Iowa, was united in mar- 
riage to Nancy J. Benefiel. She has one brother 
living, William, in Spokane, Washington. She 
had three sisters, Susan, widow of Robert Ire- 
land ; Louisa and Hester, deceased. Mr. Mene- 
fee has seven children living, Henry, of Dufur; 
Frank; William R, a druggist in Gaston, Ore- 
gon; Mary, wife of F. M. Gilliam, of Fossil; 
Carrie, married to E. B. Dufur, of Goldhill, Ore- 
gon ; Hannah, widow of Warren Emmerson and 
Evaline, widow of Hugh Moorehead. Both Mr. 
and Mrs. Menefee are members of the Christian 
church. 



AUGUST DECKERT claims the distinction 
of having been born in Wasco county and he is a 
man who has shown commendable industry and 
integrity during the years of his career. He is 
the son of Gabriel and Mary (Berninger) Deck- 
ert, whose farm adjoins that of our subject and 
is the homestead where he firsts saw the light, the 
date being November 14, 1869. The parents are 
both living on the old homestead and are both 
natives of Germany. The father was born near- 
Frankfort and came to the United States in 1862. 
After a few months spent in San Francisco, he 
came on to Wasco county and took the home- 
stead which is the family place now. He added. 



.220 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



.as much more by purchase and has a good place, 
where he has labored all the intervening years 
with display of great industry and thrift. Mr. 
Deckert has so lived that he has the approbation 
and respect of all and the results of his labor 
show him to have been wise and far-seeing. Our 
subject was educated in the district schools and 
in the academy in The Dalles. Then he married 
and purchased six hundred acres where he now 
resides. Half of this is cropped to wheat an- 
nually and he receives abundant returns. He also 
raises some barley and other crops. Mr. Deckert 
remained with his parents until the date of his 
marriage which occurred on February 7, 1901. 
Then he removed to his present place and here 
he has bestowed his labors since. His wife was 
formerly Miss Vera Simpson, and was born in 
Albany, Oregon. Her father, Charles D. Simp- 
son, now dwells in Woodland, California. Mr. 
Deckert has one brother, Charles, with his pa- 
rents ; and three sisters, Mrs. Emma Odell, Mrs; 
Lena Hettman, and Miss Nellie. Mrs. Deckert 
has four half brothers, Charles, William, Nor- 
man, and four sisters, Mrs. Ethel Hunt, a 
widow, Mrs. Zuma Cramer, Mrs. Elva Vosburg, 
and Carmel. One child has come to gladden the 
home of Mr. and Mrs. Deckert, Ivan, aged three 
months. Mr. Deckert is a member of the M. W. 
A. and of the Red Men. 



JOSEPH T. PETERS was born in Balti- 
more, Maryland, on June 21, 1856. His father, 
George H. Peters, was born in the same city and 
his father, the grandfather of our immediate 
subject, was also a native of that city, and fol- 
lowed contracting and building. The father 
married Sarah Cordray, a native of Baltimore, 
as were her ancestors for several generations 
back. Both ancestral families were prominent 
Americans, and were well represented in the colo- 
nial struggles and the war of independence. Con- 
cerning the youth of our subject, we are not 
■specially informed, but as his later life shows, he 
was the recipient of splendid training and im- 
bibed the stanch business principles that have 
won so well in the commercial realm since. He 
was married on November 27, 1890, at The 
Dalles, Oregon, to Lucy P. Wilson, whose par- 
ents, Joseph G. and Elizabeth (Miller) Wilson, 
are especially mentioned in another portion of 
this work. The children born to this marriage, 
are Helen A., Grace G., Elizabeth W., and Janet 
B. Mr. Peters has the following named brothers 
and sisters : Winfield, a broker in Baltimore ; 
Helen, the wife of Ernest Nosworthy, a commer- 
cial traveller residing in Denver, Colorado; and 
Mary, the wife of Elijah J. Bond, an attorney in 



Washington, D. C. He is active for the welfare, 
advancement and improvement of the town and 
county in which he resides, has held many posi- 
tions connected with public matters and is char- 
acterized by upright principles, by good business 
ability, and by integrity. 

Mr. Peters is numbered with the leading citi- 
zens of the thriving town of The Dalles, and is a 
man who has left his imprint for good on the 
business and social world where he moves, and 
as a man and good citizen is respected by his 
many friends and associates. 

More especially regarding his business ca- 
reer, we note that Mr. Peters came from Balti- 
more, Maryland, to The Dalles, in 1878. He left 
a position of five years standing with a large 
house and in The Dalles accepted a place in a 
lumber yard, to which new enterprise he adapted 
himself so well that he was soon given entire 
charge of the business. Less than two years later 
he bought out the interests of his employer and 
began handling lumber on commission, which 
was the start of his present large lumber commis- 
sion business, the largest of its kind in this sec- 
tion. He employs at present twenty men. He 
is also director of The Dalles & Rockland Steam 
Ferry Company, being also part owner, owns 
and operates several wood schooners plying on 
the Columbia, a planing mill and box factory at 
The Dalles, with his lumber yard, and deals in 
all kinds of building material and hardware, util- 
ized in this community. Mr. Peters personally 
directs all these enterprises besides caring for 
his other property interests he has accumulated. 
He is sold owner of the business although the 
firm name is Jos. T. Peters & Co. Having begun 
without capital or friends, his success but shows 
what an industrious and upright young man can 
do in Wasco county. 



C. ERNEST HEMMAN, who is a man of 
business ability and worth, is also a leader in 
social lines and stands with the best people of 
Hood River. His present position, secretary and 
treasurer of the Prather Investment Company, 
places him in touch with the leading interests of 
the county and he has shown himself a man of 
mature judgment and wisdom in discharge of 
its duties. He was born in Milwaukee. Wiscon- 
sin, on January 17, 1875, the son of Frederick 
and Louise (Wall) Hemman, natives of New 
England. Thev were of German ancestry, and 
the father died when our subject was four years 
of age. The mother died on September 2T. tqoi. 
at Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After completing the 
course in the Milwaukee public schools, Mr. 
Hemman took a special course in surveying and 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



221 



civil engineering. Then he was engaged with the 
Miller Manufacturing Company of Milwaukee, 
as chief accountant for seven years. After this 
extended service, he spent one year in Denver, 
Colorado, for his health. Then he returned to 
Milwaukee and eight months later journeyed 
thence to Oregon, where he fully recovered his 
health. He had endured a severe attack of pneu- 
monia and the results of it were hard to eradi- 
cate. However, in this salubrious climate ne is 
benefitted, therefore it was a strong reason to 
induce him to locate permanently here. Also 
the magnificent opportunities presented here led 
young Hemman to cast his lot with the Webfoot 
state. He was soon installed with Captain Charles 
Wanzer, assistant engineer for the O. R. & N. 
railroad, and for three years he wrought in that 
capacity. Then he accepted the position which 
he now fills and has given his attention to' this 
since that time. He is a good business man, a 
keen financier and a trustworthy investor. 

At Hood River, Oregon, on July 25, 1901, 
Mr. Hemman married Miss Bertha Prather, and 
to them one child has been born, Nellie L. Mr. 
Hemman is a member of the K. P. and holds the 
office of keeper of the records and seal of the 
order. Politically, he is a Republican and active 
in the interests of his party. He is clerk of the 
school board, and was treasurer of the Hood 
River Commercial Club. In the summer of 1903, 
Mr. Hemman was secretary and treasurer of the 
Hood River base ball team. Mr. Hemman is an 
active factor in the community for progress and 
improvement and has done much good labor to 
this worthy end. 



HON. JOSEPH G. WILSON was born at 
Acworth, New Hampshire, on December 13, 
1826. He was the youngest of eight children 
and was descended from Scotch Presbyterian 
ancestors, who were part of the colony of one 
hundred families of Scotch Calvinists that set- 
tled in the town of Londonderry, New Hamp- 
shire, as early as 17 19. His parents, Samuel and 
Sallie Wilson, with their family removed to Cin- 
cinnati in 1828 and later settled on a farm near 
Reading in Hamilton county. Joseph G. at- 
tended district school until fourteen years of age, 
when he became a student in Cary's academy 
where he remained until sixteen, in which year 
he entered the sophomore class in Marietta col- 
lege. This was in the autumn of 1843. I n 1846 
he graduated from that institution, the event 
being marked by a beautiful and brilliant oration, 
one of the best gems ever pronounced from the 
college platforo^ Three years later he returned 



to his alma mater and received his second de- 
gree, and in 1865 it conferred upon him the de- 
gree of Doctor of Laws. Following his gradu- 
ation, Mr. Wilson was a professor in Farmer's 
college, near Cincinnati, where his labors re- 
ceived high commendation. In 1850 he left his 
birth place and traveled through the New Eng- 
land states. In 1852 he graduated at the Cin- 
cinnati Law School and was admitted to the bar. 
In the same year he went to Oregon where he 
commenced the practice of law and soon took 
rank as an able advocate and advanced to vari- 
ous positions until he was judge of the highest- 
court in the state and served in that capacity 
eight years. He was a man of keen and penetrat- 
ing mind, never swerved from dispensing abso- 
lute justice, by either political or other influ- 
ences, and the result was that he held the position 
in the hearts of the people never shadowed by 
any other incumbent of the supreme bench. In 
1870 he made a race for congress and came near 
being elected. At the next election he gained it 
by a handsome majority and was installed as the- 
representative from Oregon in the forty-third, 
congress. 

Hon. Joseph G. Wilson was elected by the 
alumni of Marietta college to deliver the annual" 
oration in July, 1873. On the second of July he 
was struck suddenly with paralysis and died in 
the city of Marietta, Ohio, before his oration was 
delivered. As a most untimely stroke, viewed': 
from the human side, came this sudden death of 
one of the most brilliant men ever graduated 
from Marietta College and one of the most- 
stanch and worthy statesmen that the west had' 
produced. It was one of those events in human 
existence which reason can never compass and 
to which faith bids us bow in silent acquiescence. 
From the rude pioneer hamlets amid the hills of - 
Oregon to the halls of the chief legislative body 
of the United States, came cries of sorrow at 
this great and good man's demise and sincere 
weeping and mourning were prevalent with every - 
class who knew him. He was laid to rest with 
becoming honors, surrounded by representatives-, 
from every station in life, on July 3, 1873, in the 
college town of Marietta, Ohio. Of" him one- 
said, "His memory and the memory of "his deeds 
'will outlive eulogies and survive monuments.' " 

"He has outsoared the shadow of our night ; 

Envy and calumny, and hate and pain, 
And that unrest which men miscall delight, 

Can touch him not and torture not again." 

Mr. Wilson left a wife and" four- children.. 
The children are Genevieve, the wife of F. P. 
Mays, an attorney residing in Portland; Oregon ; : 



222 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Grace G., the wife of Charles W. Taylor, a rail- 
road man in Grenville, Wyoming; Lucy P., the 
wife of Joseph T. Peters, a lumber merchant at 
The Dalles ; Frederick W., an attorney living 
with his mother at The Dalles. He graduated 
first from Whitman College at Walla Walla and 
in 1893 from Johns Hopkins University. The 
widow of Hon. Joseph G. Wilson was, in maiden 
life, Elizabeth Miller. She was born at South 
Argyle, New York, on June 8, 1830. Her father, 
James O. Miller, was born in Western Pennsyl- 
vania and was a Presbyterian preacher. He also 
took a great interest in the west, having become 
enthused by the reports of Lewis and Clark and 
as early as 185 1, came via the isthmus of Pan- 
ama to the Willamette valley, where he settled, 
He was soon installed the pastor of a church, 
and proclaimed the gospel faithfully until April, 
1854, when he was killed by the explosion of the 
Gazelle. He had married Amanda Davisson, 
who was born in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, and 
came to Oregon with her husband. After his 
death she removed to Washington, D. C, and 
resided with her daughter, Mrs. Kelley, until her 
death. The Davissons are an old American fam- 
ily of Welsh descent, distinguished through many 
generations. Mrs. Welsh's paternal grandfather 
was a native of Ireland and followed the avoca- 
tion of farming. 

Mrs. Wilson received her education in New 
York and there remained until 1851, when she 
came to Oregon as one of the teachers sent out 
by the national board of public instructions. She 
followed the work of the educator until 1854, 
when she married Joseph G. Wilson, whose life 
has been mentioned in the earlier part of this 
article. After her husband's death, Mrs. Wilson 
returned to The Dalles, Oregon, where she has 
made her home since. During the years since, 
she has been occupied in educational and literary 
work and is one of the most prominent ladies 
of the state of Oregon. Mrs. Wilson has one 
brother, James Franklin, who was killed by the 
Apache Indians in Arizona ; and two sisters, 
Ella, the widow of General Cuvier Groner, living 
in Rome, Italy ; and Mary, widow of the late 
Senator James K. Kelley, of Washington, D. C. 



GRIFFITH E. WILLIAM'S, deceased. The 
subject of the following memoir, late of The 
Dalles, Oregon, was a prosperous and progres- 
sive merchant of that city. He was born in 
Wales about 1835, the son of Evan and Phcebe 
(Roberts) Williams. Both of the parents died 
when our subject was nine years of age, and he 
came to the United States with his brothers and 



sisters, arriving at the port of New Orleans. 
The father of our subject was a farmer near 
Bedd-Gelert, of an ancient and distinguished fam- 
ily in Wales. The father was a life-long student, 
and possessed considerable literary ability. On 
the death of the parents of our subject the estate 
was sold and the proceeds divided among the 
children, of whom there were nine. The share 
of Griffith E. Williams supported and educated 
him until he was thirteen years of age. At that 
period he left his brother and learned the trade 
of a cabinet-maker, which he successfully fol- 
lowed in Dodgeville, Wisconsin, until 1852, when 
he crossed the plains with a brrther, Robert B., 
who died en route. 

Our subject continued on to Portland, Ore- 
gon, where he found employment in a sawmill, 
remaining two years, at which period the mill 
was destroyed by fire. He had drawn but little 
of his two years' earnings, and he lost it all. He 
then purchased a cayuse and outfit and went to 
Yreka, California, where he was employed two 
years building cabins for the miners in that local- 
ity. Returning to Oregon he was employed in 
different mills in that state, and in 1862 went to 
The Dalles, accompanied by his wife, and for 
many years subsequently was in the employment 
of the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company, 
engaged in car building. At the same period 
he was associated with Mr. Edward Wingate in 
the hardware business, the latter conducting the 
enterprise while our subject remained in the 
employment of the company. The business, 
however, soon increased to an extent warranting 
the attention of both gentlemen, and he assumed 
an active management of the affairs of the hard- 
ware firm. On the death of Mr. Wingate he 
continued the business for himself and widow 
of his former partner. Gradually the hardware 
store was merged into a general merchandise 
business. Mr. Williams died March 6, 1886. He 
.was a member of the city council and through- 
out life was a stanch Republican. 

At Beaver Creek, near Oregon City, May 26, 
i860, Mr. Williams was married to Anna M. 
Marshall, born in London, England, March 26, 
1846. She was the daughter of George and Mary 
Spencer Marshall, the father a native of Staf- 
fordshire, and the mother of Hull, England. The 
father died at Southampton, England, when Mrs. 
Williams was six years of age. Her maternal 
grandfather was a gentleman farmer, and his 
daughter, the mother of Mrs. Williams, passed 
many years in Paris. There she married and 
lived' four years longer, then returned to Eng- 
land with her husband. He died in Southamp- 
ton, England, when subject was about six years 
old. Thev came to the United States, the widow 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



223 



and children, settled in Chicago, remaining until 
1852 when the mother married William Harmon. 
They then crossed the plains, the party consist- 
ing of subject, three brothers, mother and step- 
father. The journey to The Dalles occupied six 
months and ten days. Indians stole their horses 
and their cattle died for want of water. The 
party wearily walked the last six hundred miles, 
having only one yoke of cattle left. The mother, 
being crippled, rode with a two year old step- 
child in the one remaining wagon. They were 
scantily provided with provisions, had endured 
many hardships, yet withal they arrived at The 
Dalles in comparatively good health. Pushing 
on to Portland they remained two weeks, and 
.then located at Oregon City. Here the step- 
father, who was a skilled mechanic, procured 
employment in a foundry and blacksmith shop. 
He was a distinguished temperance worker, and 
was known as "Father Harmon*' throughout the 
:northwest. He died in 1890. Mrs. Williams 
has two brothers living, John Marshall, former 
chief engineer of the Oregon Railroad & Navi- 
gation Company, now retired, engaged in the 
real estate business in Portland ; and Edward T., 
of Sturgis City, North Dakota. Our subject left 
nine surviving children, Jeanette, wife of Arthur 
G. Dunn, of the firm of Ainsworth & Dunn, 
Seattle ; Edward M., mentioned elsewhere ; Grif- 
fith C, of Spokane; Mary E., married to Rus- 
sell E. Sewell, an attorney at Portland ; Annie 
G., wife of H. W. French, of Wapinitia; Pearl 
E., wife of Dr. George Marshall ; Carl P., of The 
Dalles ; Robert A., a student at the college of 
Physicians and Surgeons, New York City ; Flor- 
tence J., living at home; Grace (deceased). Mrs. 
Williams has one sister, Mary E., widow of Web- 
ster A. Clark, of Chicago. 



ALBERT WHITEHEAD is proprietor of 
the popular and well patronized cigar store in 
Hood River. He was born in Canton, Illinois, 
on June 1, 1870, the son of Savill and Hannah 
(Ogden) Whitehead, natives of Oldham, Lanca- 
shire, England. The father came to the United 
States in 1850 and settled in Canton, Illinois, 
where he "followed his trade as mechanic. Dur- 
ing the Civil War he was assistant engineer in the 
"United States Navy. He died at Canton, Illi- 
nois, in 1898, aged seventy-four. The mother 
still lives at Canton, Illinois. Our subject studied 
in the public schools until twelve years of age 
then entered the employ of Parlin and Oren- 
dorff, Plow Company. One year later, he began 
to learn the cigar maker's trade and attended the 
commercial college in the evenings. For about 



fourteen years, he continued cigar making, then 
spent one year in market gardening. He also 
traveled on the road for a produce house for some 
time. In February, 1900, he came to Hood River 
and entered the employ of the Davidson Fruit 
Company. Then he opened a cigar store and 
restaurant. A month later he sold the restaurant 
and kept the cigar store which he has handled 
since. Mr. Whitehead is a genial and generous 
man who has hosts of friends and stands well in, 
the community. 

In March, 1897, at Canton, Illinois, Mr. 
Whitehead married Miss Amanda B. Davidson, 
a native of Ohio and sister of Horatio F. David- 
son, president of the Davidson Fruit Company, 
named elsewhere. Mr. Whitehead has two 
brothers : Joseph E., at Colorado Springs ; ana 
Elmer E., at Fairview, Illinois, editor of the 
Fairview Bee ; and two sisters : Mary, the wife of 
B. R. Bogle, a real estate man of Chicago, and Ida 
M., the wife of Charles Chaffee, a railroad con- 
tractor in Canton, Illinois. One child has been 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Whitehead, Mariwhitmer. 

Mr. Whitehead is a member of the K. P. and 
the United Artisans. 

Recently Mr. Whitehead sold his cigar store 
and has become a member of the Davidson Fruit 
Company, being vice president of the same. 



FRANK MENEFEE, District Attorney of 
the Seventh Judicial District of Oregon, of the 
firm of Menefee & Wilson, resides at The Dalles, 
where he was born January 31, 1866. He is the 
son of William R. and Nancy J. (Benefiel) Men- 
efee, the father a native of Virginia and the 
mother of Indiana, who are mentioned also in this 
volume. William R. Menefee is from an old and 
distinguished Virginia family. Jonas Menefee, 
one of the ancestors, was a lieutenant in the Brit- 
ish army, under Captain John Smith, whose life 
was saved by the Indian maiden, Pocahontas. He 
married Captain Smith's sister, Hannah. The 
Menefees were, a majority of them, planters. At 
the present day the members of the later genera- 
tion are prominent in judicial circles and in com- 
mercial life, throughout Virginia and elsewhere. 

Frank Menefee, our subject, was reared in 
Wasco county on his father's stock ranch. He 
was educated at the Wasco Independent Acad- 
emy, at The Dalles, read law with E. B. Dufur, 
commencing in 1887, and in 1889 was admitted 
to practice. He was elected city recorder in 1891, 
served two years, and then formed a law part- 
nership with E. B. Dufur, which was continued 
until 1900. At that period he was elected dis- 
trict attorney and entered into a law partnership 



224 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



with Fred W. Wilson. Mr. Menefee has served 
two terms as mayor of The Dalles, in 1895 and 
1896. Politically he is a staunch and influential 
member of the Republican party, has frequently 
been a delegate to county conventions, and was 
two years chairman of the McKinley Club, and 
two years a member of the county Republican 
central committee. 

January 6, 1903, at St. Paul, Minnesota, our 
subject was united in marriage to Mabel C. 
Cowles, born in Chardon, Ohio. Her father, Clif- 
ford S. Cowles, is general agent of the Royal In- 
surance Company, residing at St. Paul, Minne- 
sota. The mother, Eliza B. (Canfield) Cowles, a 
native of Chardon, Ohio, is with her husband. 
Mrs. Menefee has one sister, Mary, wife of 
Harry B. Humason, assistant cashier of the 
American National Bank, St. Paul, Minnesota. 
Mr. Menefee is a member of Friendship Lodge, 
No. 9, K. of P., of which he is Past C. C, and 
also a member of the grand lodge ; Cascade Lodge 
No. 303, B. P. O. E., at The Dalles; Wasco 
Tribe No. 16, I. O. R. M., of which he is Past 
Sachem, and has been Keeper of Wampum since 
its organization ; the W. O. T. W. ; the K. O. 
T. M. and the Rathbone Sisters. 



NATHANIEL W. WALLACE, deceased. 
No man had a better claim to be classed as a 
pioneer and builder of Wasco county, if honest 
efforts and continuity are to be reckoned, than 
Nathaniel W. Wallace. His memory is cherished 
by the old timers of central Oregon and he was 
one of the stanch men of the country, whose life 
is wound up in and interwoven with the history 
of this part of the state. He was born in Miami 
county, Ohio, on May 23, 1832, the son of 
Ephriam and Elizabeth Wallace, natives of Ohio. 
The father's parents were also born in Ohio and 
came from Scotch ancestry. When Nathaniel was 
a child the family came to Illinois, and a few years 
later they all journeyed to Iowa, where the 
father died. The mother then married John 
Smales. Our subject remained at home until 
twenty, then came across the plains with ox teams 
to the Willamette valley. After a short stop in 
Portland, he located in Yamhill county whence 
he removed to Washington county, later. On 
February 21, 1856, he married Miss Sarah 
Naught, a native of Schuyler county, Illinois, 
being born on March 5, 1836. Her parents, John 
and Elizabeth (Gholston) Naught, natives of 
Kentucky and Virginia, respectively, married in 
Illinois, and crossed the plains to Yamhill county 
in 1853. The ancestors of both parents were 
born in Virginia for some generations back, and 



were stanch Americans. Our subject and his 
wife dwelt a short time in Washington county 
then returned to Yamhill county. In 1864, they 
came to The Dalles and for four years Mr. Wal- 
lace conducted a blacksmith shop there. Then they 
lived two and one half years on Current creek in 
Crook county, still continuing blacksmithing, and 
also handling stock. After that they returned to 
The Dalles for three years and in 1872, came 
hither. They were in The Dalles in the early 
sixties when the smallpox raged, and Mr. Wal- 
lace was occupied much of the time in carry- 
ing patients to the hospital and his wife in nurs- 
ing them. They took up land near where Ante- 
lope now stands, and raised cattle, farmed, did 
blacksmithing, and conducted a road house. He 
was active until 1897, handling cattle and horses 
and doing blacksmithing, then retired from busi- 
ness. Mr. Wallace kept the first postoffice here 
and had it named Antelope long before the town 
was started. N. R. Baird moved his store to the 
town site he had platted and Mr. Wallace brought 
his blacksmith shop to the same place, and so the- 
town started. Mr. Wallace saw the need of a 
hotel and so erected the Union house, which they 
conducted for nearly twenty years. 

Finally, on September 11, 1904, Mr. Wallace 
responded to the summons of death and departed 
after an illness of four months. He had one sister, 
Temperance, the widow of T. C. Rice, of Hood 
River: Mrs. Wallace has two brothers: Francis 
M., retired in Oregon City; and~ Benjamin, in 
Whitman county, Washington ; and three sisters 
Cynthia, the wife of Elmer Knight at St. John, 
Oregon ; Martha ; and Jane, the wife of James 
Turner, a mining man of Kendrick, Idaho. Mr. 
and Mrs. Wallace had six children : Frederick N., 
a bookkeeper in Hay Creek, for the Hay Creek 
Company ; Charles H., near Antelope : Olivia, 
wife of Jay P. Lucas, a merchant of Goldendale, 
Washington ; Minnie L., the wife of George A.- 
Herbert, a mining man and hotel keeper in- 
Cornucopia, Oregon; Jessie, the wife of James 
H. Oakes, a merchant and sheep raiser, in Wheel- 
er county; and Annie L., the wife of Charles 
Winnek, a druggist in Prineville. Mr. W r allace 
was a member of the A. F. & A. M. many years 
in The Dalles, and at Antelope. He and his wife 
were both active members of the O. E. S., while 
in political matters, he was a Democrat. They 
both belonged to the Methodist church and he 
was an active worker in fraternal and general 
matters. Mr. Wallace was five months in service 
in the Yakima war with the Indians, under 
Captain Hayden and Colonel Armstrong. Just 
before his death he secured his pension. For 
many vears Mr. Wallace was an intimate friend 
of Samuel Brooks, and was a great worker for 





Mrs. Natnaniel W. Wallace 



Nathaniel W. Wallace 





Mrs. Edwin T. GLsan 



Edwin 1 . Glis 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



225-. 



the Masonic order. He had hosts of friends and 
his demise was mourned far and near. Mrs. 
Wallace is a lady of graces and has done a noble 
work in the many years she has lived here, assist- 
ing to build up and improve the country, besides 
raising an interesting family. 



EDWIN T. GLISAN, who has the dis- 
tinction of being one of the earliest pioneers to 
many sections in the west, and now residing on 
his estate of one half section, one and one fourth 
miles southeast from Antelope, was born in Erie 
county, New York, on July 12, 1835. His father, 
Solomon Glisan, was born in Maryland, as were 
his parents, and their parents were also Ameri- 
can born. The mother of our subject, Mary 
(Taylor) Glisan, was also born in Maryland as 
were her parents. Our subject's parents came to 
Iowa in 1844 and the father traded his New 
York home for a place in Henry county, Iowa, 
near Hillsboro. For eight years they lived there 
and Edward was educated in the public schools 
and the West Point school in Lee count}', that 
state, which was taught by his brother, James. 
After that he was on the farm with his parents 
who removed to Missouri in 1852. In the spring 
of 1853, he fitted out and came west to Oregon. 
He had two brothers precede him in that journey, 
they going in 1850. One came back from Cali- 
fornia and the other returned from Oregon. In 
1854, Frank took a drove of cattle, while his elder 
brother, John, remained in Missouri. Our sub- 
ject was with a party of neighbors and wended 
his way with ox teams to Salem, then went to the 
mines near Jacksonville, where he spent a few 
months in seeking the riches of the earth. Then 
he went to Cottonwood just south of the Oregon 
line in California. After wintering there he sold 
his interests to the other members of the party 
and came to Scottsburg, Oregon. A year was 
spent on the steamer for Allen McKinley & Com- 
pany, then went to Salem, joining his brother, 
Frank. In the fall they went to Barker's Bay, 
mouth of the Columbia, with James D. Holman, 
the father of the Holman Brothers, of Portland. 
Returning to Salem the following September, he 
enlisted in Company F, First Oregon Mounted 
Volunteers, Captain Charles Bennett, and Colonel 
J. W. Nesmith, and served eight months. He 
now draws a pension for this service. Returning 
to Salem after the war, he handled stock for a 
year, then spent four years with his brother, 
Frank, conducting the old Union House in Salem. 
On June 17, i860, he married Miss Minnie 
Starkey, who was born in Zanesville, Ohio, on 
May 15, 1844. Her father, John Starkey, was 
15 



born in Pennsylvania, coming from old Dutch 
stock, and his ancestors were prominent in the 
colonial wars, in the Revolution and in the War 
of 1812. All of the Starkeys in the United States 
come from this same family. John Starkey mar- 
ried Miss Jane Scott, a native of Ohio, where her 
parents were also born. They were related to 
General Winfield Scott. Mrs. Glisan's father 
came to Oregon in 1845, returned to Iowa, 
whither the family had removed when this daugh- 
ter was an infant. In 1849 ne returned to Cali- 
fornia and in 1852 sent for his family and met 
them at The Grande Ronde with fresh teams, 
returning to Salem. He built the first large frame 
house in Salem ; in partnership with Joseph Hol- 
man, built and opened the first store there and 
later built a brick structure, still standing in 
Salem, and known as the Starkey block. He was 
a prominent and influential citizen and took great 
interest in building up and improving the coun- 
try. His health failed and on November 3, 1872, 
he died from consumption. His widow died 
January 29, 1878. Mrs. Glisan had one brother, 
Winfield Scott Starkey, who died in Iowa, and 
also has one sister, Ella, the widow of Robert 
Bybee, who was one of the first settlers in East 
Portland, and a prominent man there. He was 
associated with Hen Halliday. She also had two 
sisters, deceased, Nettie, who died from injuries 
received in a railroad accident at Salem, in the 
Lake Lobish wreck, on November 7, 1893 ; and 
Mary, ths wife of James Fisher, who died at The 
Dalles, March 26, 1880, from consumption. Mr. 
Glisan had three brothers : Frank, a mining man 
at Sumpter, Oregon ; Albert, who died in Sump- 
ter, being caught in a mine cave in ; and John, 
who lives in Missouri, a plow manufacturer. Mr. 
and Mrs. Glisan have ten children, named as fol- 
lows : Edward, a painter and undertaker in Ante- 
lope ; William, a blacksmith at Hay Creek ; Al- 
bert, a restaurant keeper in Weaverville, Cali- 
fornia ; Benjamin, a sheepman in Lake county, 
this state ; Eugene, a warehouseman in Shaniko ; 
Robert, who runs the home ranch ; Mable, wife 
of James Warren, at Prosser, Washington ; Net- 
tie, wife of William Kemp, a contractor and 
builder in Pendleton ; Bessie, at home, aged 
eighteen ; Inez, formerly the wife of Horace 
Gamble, and now single. Glisan street, Portland, 
is named after our subject's first cousin, Dr. R. 
Glisan. 

After marriage Mr. Glisan went to the Flor- 
ence and Orofino mining districts and in 1862' 
returned to Salem and conducted a farm owned 
by his father-in-law. After the death of that 
gentleman, Mrs. Glisan inherited the place and 
they remained there until 1881, then came to' 
Antelope. Mr. Glisan went into the sheep busi-- 



226 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



ness with Sol Durbin two years and then removed 
to the vicinity of Shaniko and raised sheep until 
he came to this place in 1886. This estate con- 
sists of one-half section and produces good grain 
and hay. Mrs. Glisan is a member of the Episco- 
palian church and her father, when in Salem, was 
in business with David McCully, the father of the 
McCullys in Wallowa county, this state ; and also 
with E. N. Cook, Walter Smith, and Charles 
Cartwright, all old pioneers. Mr. Glisan is a 
Republican, and although stanch, is not especially 
active. He took a more prominent part in this 
line in Salem than here. He and his wife are 
kindly and genial people and have many friends. 
They have walked the way of life for many years 
and may look back with pride on the work they 
have achieved. 



HON. JOHN N. WILLIAMSON, congress- 
man from the second district, Oregon, and a 
prominent stock-raiser of Crook county, resides 
at The Dalles. He is a native of Oregon, having 
been born in Lane county, November 8, 1855, the 
son of Joseph and Minerva A. (Wilson) Will- 
iamson. The father, a native of Ohio, traversed 
the plains with ox teams so early as 1852, and 
settled on a half section of donation land in Lane 
county. His parents were Pennsylvanians, of 
an old and distinguished American family of 
Scotch descent. Joseph Williamson died in 1869 
at Salem, Oregon. The mother was a native of 
Indiana, was married in Iowa, and one week 
later began the perilous journey across the plains 
with her husband. She died in Portland, in 
1901, at the age of seventy-three. 

The Willamette valley was the scene of our 
-subject's youthful exploits, and when he was 
■ eight years old his family removed to Salem. 
His education began in the graded schools, and 
this was supplemented by a classical course in 
Willamette University at Salem. In 1876 he 
removed to Prineville, then in Wasco county, 
where he engaged in stock-raising and farming. 
"From 1893 to 1896 he owned and edited the 
Prineville Review, which he disposed of and re- 
turned to the stock business. Mr. Williamson 
;and his business partner, Dr. Van Gesner, own 
ra stock farm in Crook county, and winter from 
:seven thousand five hundred to ten thousand head 
of sheep. In 1886 he was elected sheriff of Crook 
county, serving one term. In the spring of 1888 
he was elected to the lower house of the state leg- 
islature, served one term, and retired from the 
political field until 1898, when he was returned 
to the legislative house of representatives, and in 
1900 elected joint senator from the counties of 
Wasco, Crook, Lake and Klamath. In the 



spring of 1902 Mr. Williamson was elected to 
congress- from the second Oregon district. He 
has been prominently identified with the Republi- 
can party since he cast his first vote. 

For the purpose of educating his children our 
subject and his family reside temporarily at The 
Dalles. He has one half brother, Jefferson F., a 
stock-raiser in Malheur county ; one sister, Anna, 
wife of S. E. Starr, a farmer residing near 
Wasco ; and one half sister, Sarah, widow of Dr. 
Jay W. Shipley, of Morrow county. January 16, 
1882, Mr. Williamson was married to Sarah V. 
Forrest, born in Polk county, Oregon. The cere- 
mony was solemnized at Albany, Oregon. Mrs. 
Williamson's father, Moses Forrest, came to Ore- 
gon about 1852, crossing the plains with ox teams, 
and taking a donation claim. He died a few 
months before she was born. Her mother, Ma- 
delia (Neeley) Forrest, accompanied her husband 
across the plains, and now resides at The Dalles, 
the wife of F. H. Wakefield. Mrs. Williamson 
has one brother, Frank, a farmer and stock-raiser 
near Prineville, and two half brothers, Edwin and 
Erwin, twins, Crook county stock raisers. She 
has three sisters ; Hettie, wife of J. L. Kelly, a 
farmer residing near The Dalles ; Ida and Effie, 
residing with their parents at The Dalles. 

Three children have been born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Williamson, Jennie F., Katie Z. and Edra 
E., aged nineteen, seventeen and fourteen, re- 
spectively. They are living at home. Our sub- 
ject is a Scottish rite mason, of the thirty-second 
degree, a member of Portland Consistory ; Prine- 
ville Lodge, No. 76, A. F. & A. M., Al-Kader 
Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Port- 
land ; Prineville Lodge K. of P., of which he is 
past C. C; the A. O. U. W., and O. E. S., 
Prineville Chapter, of which he is past patron. 
Mr. Williamson is one of the best known men in 
Oregon, and has led an eventful and useful life, 
being a progressive, broad-minded citizen, and 
patriotically interested in all that makes for the 
welfare of his native state. 



CHARLES BERNARD is one of the wealthy 
farmers and stockmen of Wasco county and re- 
sides about four miles out from The Dalles at the 
forks of Eight Mile and Ten Mile creeks. He 
was born in France, on January 5, 1866, the son 
of Charles and Josephus (Rons) Bernard, both 
natives of France. The former died in 1889 and 
the latter in 1881. The father followed carpen- 
tering and farming. Our subject was brought up 
in his native country and there received his edu- 
cation. In the spring of 1883, he came to Los 
Angeles, California, via New York and there 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



227 



began herding sheep, continuing until 1886, when 
,he went to Kern county, California, and did the 
same business. After that, we find him two 
years in Re-no, Nevada, herding sheep and then 
he began sheep raising for himself. A year later, 
he sold out there and came to Crook county, Ore- 
gon, and embarked in the sheep industry which 
he continued steadily until the time he came to 
Wasco county and purchased a farm where he 
now resides. The deal was closed for this prop- 
erty in 1902. It consists of two thousand six 
hundred acres, three hundred of which are choice 
tillable land. The balance is used for pasture 
and gardening. Mr. Bernard has something 
over two thousand head of sheep in Crook county 
now where he also owns eight hundred acres of 
land. He has one place well improved and 
handles from sixty to one hundred head of cattle 
and is one of the most successful stockmen of the 
country. 

At Prineville, Oregon, on October 1, 1891, 
Mr. Bernard married Miss Rosa Delore, who 
was born at Wapinitia, Wasco county, Oregon. 
Her father, Peter Delore, was born in Oregon. 
His father came from Canada to this country in 
very early day and was a trapper and hunter for 
the Hudson Bay Company. He was one of the 
first settlers in the Willamette valley and there 
remained until his death. Mrs. Bernard's father 
:married Miss Coyce, who died at Wapinitia when 
'this daughter was four years of age. The father 
still lives in Grant county and although about 
ninety years of age, he is still vigorous and 
hearty. During the early days, he was prom- 
inent in the Indian wars and was a noted trapper 
and hunter. Mr. Bernard, has the following 
named brothers and sisters, Joseph, Peter, Au- 
gust, Baptiste, Alexander, Bazil, and Mrs. Mary 
Senecal. To our subject and his wife the fol- 
lowing children have been born, Andrew, Henry, 
Naomi, and Ivy. 

Mr. Bernard is a member of the I. O. O. F., 
•the W. W. and the Order of Washington. He 
is an active Republican and at the present time 
is school director in his district. Mr. and Mrs. 
Bernard are members of the Roman Catholic 
church and are good substantial people. He is a 
man of marked thrift and energy and has shown 
his ability in the accumulation of the vast prop- 
<erty that he now owns. 



J. FRANKLIN FULTON is a native born 
son of Wasco county, and one, too, that brings 
credit on his birthplace. He is a young man of 
industrious habits and sound principles and has 
• dwelt in the place of his birth since. He has 



achieved a good success here and now owns a 
fine estate of one section of land about fifteen 
miles east from the Dalles, on Fifteenmile 
creek. The place is well improved, has five hun- 
dred acres of wheat land and is laid under trib- 
ute to produce bounteous crops each year. Mr. 
Fulton has usually about thirty hogs, some 
twenty or more horses and as many cattle, and he 
usually raises considerable wheat, although he 
is a diversified farmer. 

On the old Cooper place, on Tenmile, J. 
Franklin Fulton was born, on November 28, 
1867. Mr. Cooper was grandfather to the little 
Oregonian and the parents of the lad were James 
«md Georgeann (Foss) Fulton. He was reared 
in this vicinity and his education was begun in 
the school in district No. 16, and finished in the 
schools in The Dalles, both public and private. 
The interims between periods of study were spent 
on the farm and in riding the range, both in Ore- 
gon and in Washington, and he remained with his 
parents thus until twenty-five years of age. In 
1900, Mr. Fulton had been so prospered that he 
was justified in purchasing the farm where he 
now dwells. It consists of one-half section of 
land and he settled on the same the following 
year. In that year he bought another half sec- 
tion which corners the first one and they now 
constitute his estate. Mr. Fulton brings an in- 
dustry and mature judgment to combine in the 
good work of improving this estate and making 
it one of the choice and valuable homes of the 
county and he is meeting with the success that 
these virtues deserve. 

October 30, 1898, was the glad day when Mr. 
Fulton took to himself a wife, Miss Lillian Hurl- 
burt being the lady of his choice. The wedding 
occurred in The Dalles. Mrs. Fulton was born 
in La Crosse, Wisconsin, on April 26, 1876, the 
daughter of Daniel R. and Catherine (Miller) 
Hurlburt. The father was born In Michigan and 
his father was a pioneer of that territory and was 
killed by a falling tree when this son was twelve 
years old. When Daniel R. grew up he mar- 
ried and his family now dwell in Portland. He 
has for the past twelve years been keeper of the 
light house at the mouth of the Willamette river. 
His wife was born in Germany and came to the 
United States with her parents when three years 
old. In 1852 her parents came to Kansas and 
later settled in Iowa, and at Burlington, that 
state she was married. Mrs. Fulton has the fol- 
lowing named brothers and sisters, Walter B., 
Elmer A., Leon L., Arthur P., Mrs. Flora Bunn, 
Mrs. Ida M. Shaw, Katie and Rosie M. Two 
children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Fulton, 
Glenn, aged three, and an infant unnamed. Mr. 
Fulton is a Democrat but not especially active. 



228 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



He takes a keen interest in the affairs of edu- 
cation and in all movements for the progress and 
upbuilding of the country. 



CAPTAIN HENRY C. COE, a capitalist of 
Hood River and Portland, Oregon, is one of the 
best known men in the state of Oregon. From 
the earliest days until the present time, he has 
been closely identified with the upbuilding of the 
whole northwest and has been an active and 
aggressive worker along lines which have re- 
sulted in the most important improvements and 
upbuilding in the entire northwest. His labors 
and those of his brothers can not be separated 
from the opening and upbuilding of the country 
because they are a part and parcel of the history 
of the country itself and in the volume that treats 
of the Inland Empire and of the Pacific coast, 
mention is sure to be made of the large enterprises 
that they inaugurated and conducted. 

Henry C. Coe was born in Livingston county, 
New York, on August II, 1844. His father, 
Nathaniel Coe, was a native of New Jersey, born 
in 1788, and his parents were natives of England. 
He was captain of a company in the War of 1812 
and a well known patriot. In 185 1 he came to 
Oregon as a representative of the postoffice de- 
partment, being special postal agent, embracing 
the territory from California to British Columbia. 
He continued in this capacity for four years, or 
until the election of Pierce. After that, he came 
from Portland to Hood River with his family. 
Later, he filed on a donation claim which was 
the family home for many years. In 1868 he 
died. He had married Miss Mary White, who 
was born in New York city in 1801. Her father 
was a native of England and her mother of New 
York city. Our subject was educated in the 
university at Forest Grove, entering when he 
was nineteen years of age,- and after completing 
his course he went to work on the river from deck 
hand to master of the craft, and has fiMed every 
position on board the river boat and knows the 
business thoroughly. He took out master's 
papers in 1877 and has been on the river more or 
less since the time he first started. In 1869 he 
iamigurated a side venture of cattle raising in the 
Yakima county, Washington, and continued the 
same for five years. During this long period of 
active business life, a man of Captain Coe's 
energy and wisdom could but amass a large for- 
tune which has been the gratifying result of his 
labors. He owns a cosy and beautiful home in 
Portland, where the family remain most of the 
time, besides a large amount of property at Hood 
River and in other places. Owing to his extensive 



property interests in various sections, Captain Coe 
spends considerable time in their oversight and 
therefore is away from home a great deal. 

On March 17, 1869, Captain Coe married 
Miss Kittie Catton, born in Independence, Iowa. 
She was the daughter of Benjamin and Ellen: 
(Chandler) Catton, natives of New York, and 
from old and prominent families of the Empire 
State. The mother came here, via the isthmus,. 
in 1867, her daughter and brother accompanying 
her. The father enlisted to fight in the Civil 
war and was killed in battle shortly after his en- 
listment. To Captain Coe and his wife, five chil- 
dren have been born : Katherine, wife of Lindsley 
Hoyt, a marine engineer at Portland, Oregon ; 
Irma, a music teacher, living at home in Portland ; 
Nell, a school girl in Portland ; Mollie L. and 
Charles E., deceased. Captain Coe had one 
brother, Lawrence W., who died in San Fran- 
cisco in 1899. He was one of the leading river 
men in Oregon, and with Captain R. R. Thomp- 
son built the first steamer on the upper rivers, and 
with Thompson, Reed and Ainsworth, organized 
the Oregon Steamship and Navigation Company, 
which did more to assist in the settlement of the 
country tributary to the upper Columbia and 
Snake than any one other enterprise in the Inland 
Empire. Lawrence W. Coe was the chief owner. 
One brother of our subject was Charles Coe, who 
died in 1870. He was chief clerk in the Oregon 
Steamship and Navigation Company's office at 
The Dalles. Still another brother was Eugene 
F., who died at Portland in 1893. He was for 
many years captain with the Oregon Steamship 
and Navigation Company, commencing in 1861. 
When that company sold out to the Oregon Rail- 
road and Navigation Company he remained in 
their employ for some years, then entered the 
employ of the government on river work. 

Captain Coe is a member of the I. O. O. F., 
the K. of P., and the A. O. U. W. He has passed 
through the chairs in these orders and is popular 
and influential. 

Politically, he is a Republican and although 
never anxious for personal preferment, he has 
been active in the conventions and is known as 
a man of prominence and prestige in political 
matters. He assisted to organize the Hood River 
school district. Upon his father's death, the old 
homestead was left to his widow and our subject 
and his brother, Eugene, bought it from her. He 
built the city of Hood River on this land and from 
time to time added various tracts until he has 
now but fourteen acres of the original farm left. 
Captain Coe is a man of indomitable will and de- 
termination, yet kind and genial, and possessed of 
that excellent judgment and oversight which have 
made him the successful person he is today. He 




Henry C. Coe 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



229 



is well known to every one in this portion of the 
country, is a familiar figure and can be seen active 
in the business today as in the years gone by, 
when he assisted so materially to build up the 
country. His labors have never abated and in 
addition to gaining the magnificent property that 
he owns today, he has intrenched himself in the 
hearts and love of the people, so that he is the 
recipient of their admiration, good will and affec- 
tion. 



THEODORE C. DALLAS was a well 
known business man of Hood River and oper- 
ated a tinning and plumbing shop there. He did 

. a nice business and stood well throughout the 
community. He was a genial, public spirited, 
generous man and had hosts of friends. For 
many years, he dwelt at Hood River and was 
really one of the builders of the country. He was 
born in Lagrange county, Indiana, on February 
5, 1854. His father, Joseph S. Dalles, was born 
in Preble county, Ohio, and his father, the grand- 
father of our subject, was born in Pennsylvania. 
That gentleman's father, the great-grandfather 

■of our subject, came from England and amassed 
a large fortune in the Carolinas but later in life 
lost it all. His son, the grandfather of our sub- 
ject, was an Indiana pioneer and located in the 
wilds, seventy-five miles out from where Fort 
Wayne is now, which was their nearest postoffice. 
He erected a sawmill and did a large business 
and a good work in opening up the country. Our 
subject's father was a farmer in Lagrange 
county, Indiana and there died in 1884. He was 
a first cousin to the Mr. Dalles, who was vice- 
president in Polk's administration. Our subject's 
mother was Emily (Clark) Dallas, a native of 
New York. She died on the old homestead in 
Lagrange county, Indiana, in 1861. For twelve 
years, our subject lived in Indiana, then went to 
Michigan where he remained until twenty-three. 
He was educated in the district schools in these 
two states, then went to Iowa, where he worked 
for wages. After that, he returned to the old home 
place in the east and was with his father and 
stepmother until 1886 when he came to Cali- 
fornia. Various enterprises employed him for 
sometime, when he journeyed north to Hood 
River in 1888. He was occupied in different call- 
ings until 1893, when he opened a tinning shop. 
Not being master of the business himself, it re- 
quired considerable ingenuity and pluck on the 
part of Mr. Dallas to start in this business. How- 

-ever, he hired skilled operators and learned from 
them until he became master of the tinning and 
plumbing trades. Since that time s * he has contin- 



ued uninterruptedly in the prosecution of these 
allied occupations and is doing a good business 
today. Mr. Dallas was never married. He had 
one sister, Osola, the widow of George W. Burke 
and one half sister, Charlotte, wife of George W. 
Cone, a farmer in Middle valley, Illinois. 

Mr. Dallas was a member of the K. O. T. M. 
and the United Artisans. He was a stanch Re- 
publican but not especially active. 

In May, 1904, Mr. Dallas was called hence by 
death. 



PETER STOLLER lives near the forks of 
Five and Ten Mile creeks and is one of the pros- 
perous men of Wasco county. His thrift and en- 
terprise have accumulated the property that he 
now owns as he started without capital. He was 
born in Switzerland, on November 27, 1862. His 
father, Peter Stoller, was born in the same 
country and came to the United States in 1865. 
He resided in Illinois and Iowa until 1877, when 
he brought his family to Klickitat county, Wash- 
ington, and lived there near Trout Lake until 
1890 when he moved to Marion county, Oregon, 
where he resides at the present time. He mar- 
ried Miss Margaret Ritter, a native of Switzer- 
land, who now resides with her husband. She is 
eighty years of age and her husband is seventy- 
five. Our subject was educated in Iowa, Illinois, 
and Klickitat county, Washington, and did farm 
work during the early days of his life. When 
about twenty-four, he began raising cattle, having 
saved his earnings to buy a band of heifers with. 
He was being prospered nicely at this business 
until the hard winter swept away his stock leav- 
ing him almost penniless. Then he went to work 
on the farm again, this time in Polk county, until 
he saved money enough to get another start. 
Then he came to Wasco county and xtook a home- 
stead. Later, he traded that for the place where 
he now resides, having now two hundred and six- 
ty-four acres. He handles some stock, cultivates 
one hundred acres of land and is a prosperous 
man. He expects soon to increase the acreage as 
he wishes the range more exclusively in both 
farming and stock raising. Mr. Stoller is raising 
some very nice O. I. C. hogs. 

On April 21, 1892, at Portland, Mr. Stoller 
married Louise Mayer, a native of Germany and 
the daughter of John Mayer, who died in Ger- 
many. Mrs. Stoller's mother also died in Ger- 
many, when this daughter was but six years of 
age. Mrs. Stoller has the following named 
brothers, John, Ludwig and Carl. Mr. Stoller 
has three sisters, Mrs. Marguerite Stadelman, 
Mrs. Susan Pearson and Mrs. Lyddia Stoller. To 
our subject and his wife, two children have been 



230 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



born, Ludwig and Lena. Mr. Stoller is a mem- 
ber of the M. W. A. and they both belong to the 
Baptist church. He is an active Republican and 
has served both as school director and road su- 
pervisor. Mr. Stoller is a genial man, well spoken 
of and possessed of integrity and public spirit. 
The improvements upon his place are tasty and 
neat and everything indicates a man of thrift and 
enterprise. 



WILLIAM BROOKHOUSE was born in 
Wasco county, on February 22, 1864. The place 
was the farm owned by his parents on Tenmile 
creek, which is in the family now. His father, 
Richard Brookhouse, married Miss Ann J. Clark, 
and they were both natives of Ireland. The 
father came to the United States in the fifties, 
worked in the coal mines of Pennsylvania for 
four years, then came to the mines in the west and 
in i860 came to the vicinity of The Dalles, and 
that winter is said to have been the coldest since 
the white men lived here. He took a homestead 
on Tygh ridge which he relinquished to his 
brother, and then bought out James and Thomas 
Woolery on Tenmile creek, the place being three 
hundred and twenty acres. Here our subject 
was born and reared. When fifteen he was called 
to mourn the death of his father and then he was 
brought face to face with the responsibilities of 
assisting to make a living for the family. The 
mother came to Oregon shortly after her hus- 
band did and her marriage occurred at The 
Dalles, where she now dwells. William re- 
mained on the place except two years in stock 
raising in the Big Bend country, Washington, 
where he lost all by a hard winter, returning to 
the home place with no money and thirty dollars 
of debts. With his brothers he operated the 
home place until recently and then purchased his 
present place, a half section near by. This is 
well improved and is one of the good farms of 
the county. Mr. Brookhouse is a thrifty and' re- 
spected farmer and is making a good success of 
his labors. He has two brothers, John and 
Richard. 

On March 17, 1900, at The Dalles, Mr. 
Brookhouse married Miss Johanna Shelly, a na- 
tive of county Tipperary, Ireland. Her father, 
John Shelly, married Miss Anastasia Harney 
and did a large implement business in Thurles, 
Ireland until his death. His widow resides there 
now. Mrs. Brookhouse has two brothers and 
two sisters, James, Hugh, Margaret and Mary A. 
To our subject and his wife, two children have 
been born, Mary M. and Kate. Mr. and Mrs. 
Brookhouse are members of the Roman Catholic 



church. He is a Democrat, has been delegate to- 
the county conventions, is now serving his sec- 
ond term as justice of the peace, and has been 
school director. He is a man of force and is in- 
terested in the upbuilding of the county. He and. 
his wife are popular and well known, and mani- 
fest a public spirit and geniality that win them 
many friends. 



ARTHUR M. HARRIMAN, a prosperous- 
and well to do agriculturist of Wasco county, re- 
sides on the Steel road about seven miles east 
from The Dalles. He was born in England, on 
May 17, 1857, the son of John and Elizabeth 
(Hanford) Harriman, both natives of England. 
The father died there in 1867 and the mother died: 
at The Dalles in 1889. They had followed farm- 
ing. After spending the first eighteen years of 
his life in his native country acquiring. an educa- 
tion, Mr. Harriman came to the United States in 
1875, making the first settlement in Missouri 
where he bought a farm and there remained un- 
til he came to Wasco county in 1898. Here he- 
purchased the farm where he now resides, a very 
valuable property, well improved and consisting- 
of three hundred and eighty-six acres. In addi- 
tion to this, Mr. Harriman owns one hundred 
and sixty acres taken as a homestead in the tim- 
ber near by. He is a very thrifty and enterpris- 
ing farmer and has received due reward for his 
industry in bounteous returns in harvests each 
year from his estate. 

At Green Ridge, Missouri, on March 3, 1880, 
Mr. Harriman married Miss Helen Morris, a na- 
tive of Missouri. Her father, Chastine L. Mor- 
ris, was born in Tennessee and came from old and 
prominent colonial families. He married Jane 
Summers, a native of Virginia, whose ancestors 
were prominent in colonial affairs from their 
first settlement in the New World. On June 2, 
1890, Mrs. Harriman died at Green Ridge, Mis- 
souri, leaving two children. In November, 1891, 
at Nevada, Missouri, Mr. Harriman married' 
Miss Emma Fuller, who was born at that place. 
Her parents were Sylvester and Frances (Caton) 
Fuller, natives of West Virginia and Missouri, 
respectively. The father's parents were born in 
Ohio and came from old American families. He 
died in Missouri, on February 21, 1895. The 
mother's parents were pioneers to Missouri from 
Tennessee and in the early days, the father was a 
pioneer to Oregon but he afterward returned to 
Missouri and died near Nevada in that state in- 
1874. Mrs. Harriman has two full brothers, 
Chester and George, one half brother, Hutler, 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



231 



one sister, Mrs. Ella Craig, and one half sister, 
Mrs. Cornelia Current. Mr. Harriman has 
three brothers, John, William J., and Edward M. 
Mr. Harriman has the following named children : 
Constance, wife of Oscar Johnson, in business in 
The Dalles ; Arthur. These two children were by 
his first wife. To the second marriage, five chil- 
dren have been born, Homer, Herbert, Lovena, 
Glendo, and Rosie. 

Mr. Harriman is a member of the M. W. A., 
a stanch Democrat and a zealous laborer for good 
schools, roads and government. He and his wife 
belong to the Methodist denomination. 



GEORGE W. JOHNSTON, of "Johnstons" 
successors to the firm of Johnston Brothers, deal- 
ers in general merchandise, Dufur, Wasco 
county, was born in Centreville, New Bruns- 
wick, January 11, 1859, the son of James and 
Amy (Coggswell) Johnston, who are now living 
on the old farm near Centreville. The parents of 
James Johnston were natives of Ireland. The 
mother was born in Nova Scotia, a descendant of 
an old and prominent Canadian family, many of 
whom are now in the United States and distin- 
guished in judicial and commercial circles. 

George W. Johnston, our subject, attended 
the public schools of New Brunswick, where he 
was reared, until he was nineteen years of age. 
He then came west and passed one year in Kan- 
sas, going thence to The Dalles, Oregon, where 
he joined his brother, T. H. Johnston, and of 
whom mention is made elsewhere. For five years 
he was in the employment of the Oregon Railroad 
& Navigation Company, and following that per- 
iod he went to Dufur, Wasco county, and en- 
gaged in the mercantile business with his brother. 
They carry a heavy stock, and their trade extends 
far into the rich and productive surrounding 
country. Aside from their mercantile enterprise 
they are largely interested in farming and stock- 
raising, wintering about five hundred head of 
cattle, and our subject is personally interested in 
the Wasco Warehouse and Milling Company, 
and is one of the board of directors. He has five 
brothers and five sisters, mention of whom will 
be found in another portion of this work. 

September 23, 1888, at Salem, Oregon, Mr. 
Johnston was married to Miss Kittie Reed, born 
at The Dalles, the daughter of Robert B. and 
Mary J. (Davis) Reed, both natives of Michi- 
gan. In the earlier days of the California excite- 
ment the father came to the coast by way of the 
Isthmus of Panama. Subsequently he was agent 
for the Wells-Fargo Express Company at The 
Dalles, and was clerk of Wasco county during 



its early days. He died in 1888, and was fol- 
lowed by his devoted wife one year later. 

Mrs. Johnston has one brother, Charles H. 
Reed, an attorney at Dufur. She has one child, 
Lucile, aged five years. Mr. Johnston is a mem- 
ber of Wasco Lodge No. 15, A. F. & A. M., the 
R. A. M., Friendship Lodge K. of P., and the' 
W. O. T. W. He is a Republican, politically, and 
was a member of the Oregon state legislature of 
1890. He has been frequently delegate to county 
and state conventions, and has always exhibited 
a patriotic interest in the welfare of the com- 
munity in which he resides, and the state at large. 
He is progressive, broad-minded and one of the 
energetic, influential business men of Wasco 
county, and a highly respected citizen. 



ORVILLE WINGFIELD was born in fair 
Oregon, a son of a native Oregonian. The birth 
of our subject occurred in Clackamas county, on' 
December 20, 1874. His father, Joseph C. Wing- 
field, was born in Oregon and his parents, the 
grandparents of our subject, crossed the plains 
with ox teams in 1844. He now lives in Thomp- 
son's addition in The Dalles. The mother of our 
subject, Alice G. (Ramsby) Wingfield, was also, 
born in Clackamas county. Her parents were 
natives of Ohio and crossed the plains with ox 
teams also. A more extended mention of these 
worthy pioneers is made elsewhere in this vol- 
ume, however, we are constrained to and that 
our subject came from that stanch and worthy' 
blood which supplied the soldiers and made the 
desert blossom as the rose. He was educated 
principally at Dufur where the family moved 
when he was about eight years of age. Whera 
three, the family had gone from Clackamas county 
to Grant county, Oregon whence they removed to 
Dufur. He remained with his parents until 
about twenty-one years of age then started in life 
for himself. For three years, he was occupied in 
working for wages at various places and then he 
purchased two hundred and forty acres of land 
where he now resides. To this he has added until 
he now has seven hundred and twenty acres, one 
of the fine farms of the country. Nearly five- 
hundred acres are placed under tribute to pro- 
duce wheat and he harvests annually about thir- 
ty-five bushels to the acre. He also handles from 
twenty to thirty head of horses. It then is seers 
that Mr. Wingfield is a man of energy and ag- 
gressiveness, that he is possessed of skill and 
wisdom, all of which have opened to him the fine 
abundance that he now possesses. He has one' 
brother, Elton, a mining man of Baker City, Ore- 
gon, and two sisters, Cora A., living at BakeP" 



232 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



City, Oregon, who graduated from The Dalles 
high school in 1893, and Iva L., living with our 
subject. Politically, Mr. Wingfield is indepen- 
dent. He is a well informed man on the issues 
and questions of the day, keeps abreast of the 
times and is an energetic and enterprising citizen. 



ANDREW J. DUFUR, Jr., the founder of 
-the town of Dufur, Wasco county, is recognized 
as one of the most enterprising and progressive 
citizens of the county. His interests at present 
are confined chiefly to stock-raising, in which he 
has been eminently successful. He was born 
in Williamstown, Vermont, August 29, 1847. 
His father, Andrew J., Sr., was a native of New 
Hampshire, as were his parents. His father 
served through the entire War of 1812 and drew 
a pension for a partial disability. The great 
grandfather of our subject was a French Hugue- 
not, a refugee from France at the time of the his- 
toric French revolution. They were of the aris- 
tocratic element whose lives were forfeited 
through the edict of the leaders of the Sans Cul- 
lottes, Marat and Robspierre. Andrew J. Dufur, 
Sr., crossed the plains to California, in 1859. His 
wife, Lois (Burnham) Dufur, was a native of 
Williamstown, Vermont, descendant of an old and 
distinguished New England family. She passed 
from earth at Dufur in 1895. She and her son, 
the subject of this article, went to Portland, Ore- 
gon, via the Isthmus of Panama, .arriving in 
April, i860. They had been preceded by the 
father, Andrew J., Sr. For twelve years the fam- 
ily resided six miles out from Portland, on a farm 
owned jointly by father and sons, comprising 
■eight hundred acres. This property they dis- 
posed of in 1 87 1. The father of our subject died 
at Dufur, in June, 1897. 

The education of our subject was received 
principally in district schools, supplemented by 
a term at the Pacific University, Forest Grove. In 
1872 our subject and his brother, Enoch B., came 
to the vicinity of where is now the town of Dufur, 
and jointly purchased between five and six hun- 
dred acres. They were pioneers ; only one settler 
was there before them, Joseph Beasley, deceased. 
The brothers platted the townsite in 1880. Our 
subject and his wife at present own about 2,300 
acres of land. With his son-in-law, Charles P. 
Balch, of whom a sketch is elsewhere published 
in this work, he is engaged profitably in stock- 
raising. Mr. Dufur has two brothers, Enoch 
B., a practicing attorney at Portland, Oregon. 
William H. H, a farmer near Dufur, and one 
sister, Arabelle, wife of William Staats, a farmer 
residing three miles from Dufur. 



May 2, 1869, at Portland, Mr. Dufur was 
united in marriage to Mary M.Stansbury, of Indi- 
ana, daughter of John E. and Ann M. (Hughes) 
Stansbury. The father came to Oregon in 1862, 
settling on Columbia Slough, where he lived until 
the time of his death, in 1889. The mother lives 
at East Portland. Mrs. Dufur has three broth- 
ers and five sisters ; John E. and Stephen E., at 
Woodlawn, Oregon ; William G., on the Yukon 
river, in Alaska ; Elizabeth, married to Milton 
M. Sunderland, a Portland capitalist; Susan, wife 
of James Wendell, of Portland ; Lucetta, widow 
of John Foster, late of Hood River, Oregon; 
Rosabelle, married to Daniel Zeller, a builder and 
contractor at Dawson, Alaska ; and Frances, wife 
of Morgan A. Zeller, of Portland. 

Mr. and Mrs. Dufur have two children living, 
Lois, wife of Charles P. Balch, and Anna, married 
to H. A. May, a merchant at Portland. Frater- 
nally Mr. Dufur is a member of Ridgely Lodge, 
No. 71, I. O. O. F., of which he is Past Grand; 
of the grand lodge and Nicholson Encampment, 
all of Dufur. He is a Democrat and has fre- 
quently served his party at county and state con- 
ventions, and although not particularly active, nor 
a partisan, is stanch and patriotic, taking a deep 
interest in the public welfare of the community 
in which he resides, the county of Wasco and the 
state. 



JOSEPH C. WINGFIELD, a prosperous 
fruit grower of Wasco county, resides in Thomp- 
son's Addition in The Dalles. He was born in 
Clackamas county, on January 16, 1848, the son 
of Joseph T. and Hannah (Knapp) Wingfield, 
natives of Virginia. The father's ancestors were 
among the very earliest settlers in the New 
World, some of the family being on the May- 
flower and others having settled in Virginia be- 
fore that. They were prominent in all the colo- 
nial struggles and were a strong family. The 
mother's people were also a very prominent col- 
onial family and many of them engaged in a pro- 
fessional life. The parents crossed the plains 
with ox teams in 1846 and settled on a donation 
claim in the Willamette valley. Our subject had 
scanty opportunity to gain an education from the 
frontier schools but made the best of his chances 
and when fifteen, started out for himself. He 
worked out in the vicinity two years, then came 
to eastern Oregon and rode the bell horse on a 
pack train from Umatilla to Bear gulch, Mon- 
tana. After this, he was engaged in sawmilling 
in Grant county, then did mining. Later, he was 
in the Williamette valley for six years then re- 
turned to Grant county and did stock raising until 
1883, when he moved to Eightmile creek in 




Andrew J. Dufur 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



2 33 



Wasco county. He bought one hundred and 
ninety acres which was the family home for sev- 
enteen years or until 1900, when he removed to 
the place where he now lives. It is a fine piece 
■of land and consists of nine acres, well improved, 
with fruit trees, buildings and so forth and is a 
valuable place. Mr. Wingfield recently sold his 
farm on Eightmile creek and purchased another 
which he rents to his son, Orville. 

In Clackamas county, Mr. Wingfield mar- 
ried Miss Alice C, the daughter of Max- 
well and Eliza (Smith) Ramsby, natives of 
Ohio. The father crossed the plains in 1846 with 
a pack train and outfit and now lives with our 
subject, aged eighty-three. His father was born 
in Germany and his mother in Pennsylvania of 
Welsh parentage. His wife's parents were born 
in Wales and his marriage occurred in Marion 
county, Oregon. He was for many years a 
farmer in the Willamette valley and was second 
lieutenant in the Cayuse war under Colonel Cor- 
nelius Gilliam. After Colonel Gilliam's death, he 
was under the command of Colonel Waters. In 
1862, he was a member of the Oregon legislature, 
has been justice of the peace for twelve years, 
was once assessor in Clackamas county and fre- 
quently was delegate to the state and county con- 
ventions. Once, he was a delegate to the national 
convention. Grant's first nomination, and assisted 
to organize the Republican party in Oregon. Mr. 
Ramsby had very limited opportunity for an edu- 
cation but hired a teacher for his children and 
studied with them, thus showing the energy and 
spirit of the man. He has been a very careful 
and close reader and the result is, that he is one 
of the best informed men in this section. Our 
subject has one brother, George W., and two 
sisters, Mrs. Lucy Worsham, and Mrs. Hannah 
Graham. Mrs. Wingfield has one brother, Hor- 
ace S., and one sister, Mrs. Alwilda Dickey. To 
our subject and his wife, the following named 
children have been born : Orville, on Eightmile 
•creek; Elton E., in Baker county, Oregon; Cora 
A., a school teacher in Baker City; and Iva L., 
with her brother, Orville. 

Mr. Wingfield is a member of the W. W. It 
is of interest to note that the first Cayuse war 
pension was issued to Mr. Wingfield's father-in- 
law. 



CHARLES H. REED, an attorney of Dufur 
•of recognized ability is also editor of the Dufur 
Dispatch, a bright and newsy sheet, which cham- 
pions every cause for the upbuilding of central 
Oregon, and is a lucid and convincing exponent 
of the Republican party. 

Charles H. Reed was born in Fentonville, 



Michigan, on June 9, 1856. His father, Robert 
B. Reed, a native of New York city, and a pioneer 
of Michigan, where he was married, followed the 
mercantile business several years in the Wolver- 
ine State and then came to Oregon via the isth- 
mus in 1859. He was in the internal revenue 
service for some years and later was one of the 
trusted employes of Wells Fargo & Company. 
He remained with them fifteen years, until his 
death. He came direct to The Dalles from San 
Francisco and there resided until his death in 
1890. He was a man of unquestioned integrity 
and stamina and had the respect and admiration 
of all good people. He was a member of the 
Masonic and Odd Fellow fraternities. Our sub- 
ject's mother, Sarah J. (Davis) Reed, was born 
in Michigan and died about two years after fier 
husband, and they both lie buried in The Dalles 
cemetery. Mrs. Reed's father was a native of 
Ireland. Our subject completed his educational 
training in The Dalles high school and then stud- 
ied law with L. L. McArthur, now deceased. 
After he had practiced law for several years in 
Idaho, he removed to Portland and there prac- 
ticed for one year. From that point he came to 
Dufur and bought the Dufur Dispatch and has 
been manager and editor of the same since, in 
connection with his law practice. Mr. Reed was 
chairman of the Republican central committee of 
Ada county, Idaho for five years and was there 
prominently identified in Republican politics. 

In September, 1884, at Boise, Idaho, Mr. 
Reed married Ella Carter, a native of Salem, 
Oregon. Her father, Lafayette F. Carter, was a 
native of Pennsylvania and a well known pio- 
neer of Oregon. He built the old portage road 
from The Dalles to Celilo and was surveyor gen- 
eral of Idaho for many years. He is now de- 
ceased. Mrs. Reed's mother was Mary Bell Car- 
ter, a native of Pennsylvania and also deceased. 
Our subject and his wife have one child, Snow- 
den M., a young lady of eighteen years, still at 
home. 

Mr. Reed is a member of the K. P. and the 
W. O. W., being past C. C. of the former order. 



CHARLES P. BALCH, farmer, druggist 
and prominent business man of Dufur, Wasco 
county, and one of the leading citizens of the 
community, was born in Wisconsin, April 21, 
i860. His parents were John A. and Caroline 
(Stevenson) Balch, the father a native of Ver- 
mont and the mother of the state of New York. 
The father was, by trade, a millwright. The 
Balch family is one of the most distinguished in 
the United States, and its members have contrib- 



234 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



uted much to the history of the country. Mem- 
bers of the family were participants in the Revo- 
lution and the War of 1812. Captain Balch was 
with General Knox during the former war. He 
died in June, at Iola, Wisconsin. The father of 
Caroline (Stevenson) Balch, mother of our sub- 
ject, was a native of England ; her mother of 
Scotland. She died in 1878 at Iola. 

In the latter town our subject was reared until 
he had reached the age of eleven, and the family 
then removed to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where he 
attended graded and high schools. He followed 
various employments after leaving the educa- 
tional institutions, and in 1883 came to Oregon. 
He located in Wasco county, on the Des Chutes 
river and filed on a claim which he improved and 
sold later. He then removed to Dufur and en- 
gaged in the drug business, continuing in the 
same ten years. He disposed of this property, 
but three years later purchased a half interest 
in this business which he still retains, but taking 
no active part, in its conduct. Principally he is 
engaged in stock raising in company with A. J. 
Dufur. They winter between three and four 
hundred head of cattle. Mr. Balch has four sis- 
ters ; Jennie, wife of J. W. Bishop, of Wausau, 
Wisconsin, a prominent mining man ; Clara, wife 
of E. J. Goodrick, an attorney, residing in Wis- 
consin ; Elizabeth E., wife of A. K. Dufur, of 
California ; and Kittie, married to George Rock, a 
railroad engineer, living at Spooner, Wisconsin. 

At Dufur, June 28, 1889, Mr. Balch was 
united in marriage to Lois Dufur, born in Port- 
land, Oregon, the daughter of Andrew J., Jr., and 
Mary M. (Stansbury) Dufur. The father is a 
native of Vermont, mentioned elsewhere, and 
the mother of Indiana. Mrs. Balch has one 
sister. Fraternally Mr. Balch is a member of 
Wasco Lodge No. 15, A. F. & A. M., at The 
Dalles; R. A. M., Ridgeley Lodge No. 71, I. O. 
O. F., A. O. U. W., W. O T. W., and the United 
Artisans, all of Dufur. He is a stanch Republi- 
can, and has frequently served his party as dele- 
gate to county conventions. 



JOHN H. HARRIS, an industrious and sub- 
stantial farmer of Wasco county, resides about 
two miles north from Endersly, where he handles 
a rented estate, farming it to wheat, mostly. He 
is an enterprising man, well spoken of and es- 
teemed by all. His birth occurred in Missouri, 
on June 21, 1849, the son of William and Sarah 
(Beaver) Harris, natives of Ohio and Pennsyl- 
vania, respectively. The father came from Dutch 
stock and the mother was from an old colonial 
family that was prominent in the Revolution and 



also in all the colonial struggles. They both died 
in the vicinity of The Dalles. Our subject accom- 
panied his parents across the plains with ox 
teams in 1865. It was an easy trip aside from 
one fight with the Indians on Rock creek in the 
Black Hills, where they killed one renegade white 
man, who was with the Indians, but received no 
injury to the train. The train was a large one, 
numbering one hundred and nineteen wagons, 
when it left the Missouri. Our subject's parents 
settled in Idaho and a year later came to Sca- 
poose bay, where they remained until 1883. Then 
came a move to this section and here the mother 
died in 1884 and the father in 1895. Our sub- 
ject took up a homestead here and in 1889 sold 
the same. Then he removed to St. Helens and 
rented land there until 1895, when he came to 
his present place which he has rented since. It 
is his old homestead and he is quite at home in 
handling this estate. It is owned by W. J. Har- 
riman. 

At The Dalles, in 1887, Mr. Harris married 
Miss Hester Williams, who was born on Eight- 
mile, on February 16, 1868. Her parents are 
Henry and Amanda (Abbott) Williams, now liv- 
ing on Eightmile and mentioned in this work in 
another place. Mr. Harris has two brothers and 
one sister, George, Joseph and Jane, the widow of 
Robert Hayes. Six children have been born to 
Mr. and Mrs. Harris, Frederick L., Cora L., 
John W., Willard, Letha and Martha. They also 
had one child who died, February 14, 1902, Burly,, 
aged at the time of death, seven years, eight 
months and thirteen days. 



JACOB A. GULLIFORD, a pioneer of Ore- 
gon in its territorial days, and a prominent 
farmer and stock raiser of Wasco county, resides 
at Dufur. He was born in Sangaman county, 
Illinois, near Springfield, September 7, 1834, the 
son of William and Eliza (Shoup) Gulliford. 
The father was a native of Pennsylvania ; the 
latter of Ohio. The mother, descended from a 
prominent Dutch family, accompanied her hus- 
band to Oregon, coming across the plains with 
ox teams. They settled in Lane county, secured 
a donation claim and remained there all their 
lives, the father dving in 1865, the mother in 
1857. 

Jacob A. Gulliford, the subject of this sketch, 
was educated in the public schools, and in 1859 
went to Klickitat county, Washington, and there 
engaged in stock-raising, continuing the same 
with good success until 1864. That year he and 
his brother went to Oak Grove, with a band of 
three hundred cattle. The spring of 1867 he 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



235 



drove the second band of cattle into the Prine- 
ville country, Oregon, and squatted on land eight 
miles north of the present site of Prineville. The 
country at the time was just beginning to be set- 
tled. In 1878 he removed with his family to a 
point near Dufur, and purchased a farm two 
miles west of the present site of Dufur, on Fif- 
teen Mile Creek. Later he disposed of his Prine- 
ville property interests. Six years afterward he 
bought land six miles below Dufur which he still 
owns, eight hundred and forty acres in all. Mr. 
Gulliford owns a handsome house in Dufur in 
which his family reside. In 1899 he purchased a 
flouring mill at Boyd, of twenty-five barrel 
capacity. 

In 1855 our subject was for six months in 
the Rogue River Indian war. He has one brother 
and four sisters : Jasper N., a merchant at Pen- 
dleton, Oregon ; Sarah, wife of William R. 
Cooper, of Whitman county, Washington ; Em- 
ma, married to William M. Allen, a capitalist of 
Halsey, Linn county ; Anne, widow of J. M. 
Probst, late of Whitman county ; and Mary M., 
wife of J. D. Butler, of Portland, Oregon. 

June 16, 1872, Mr. Gulliford was married to 
Martha E. Vanderpool, born in Missouri. The 
ceremony was solemnized at Prineville. She is 
the daughter of Kinman and Dulcina (Tomlin- 
son) Vanderpool, both natives of Missouri. They 
crossed the plains in 1852, enduring many hard- 
ships and encountering many dangers. The same 
year the father died in Oregon. The mother still 
lives at Dufur. Mrs. Gulliford has one brother, 
three half brothers and two half sisters : Mead- 
ows Vanderpool, a Prineville farmer ; Silas, Alec 
and Sherman Hodges, of Prineville ; Ollie, wife 
of Horace Dillard ; and Mary, married to Charles 
H. Stoughton, of Dufur. Our subject has one 
child, William C, aged nineteen, a student of 
Hill's Academy, Portland. 

Mr. Gulliford is a member of the I. O. O. F., 
and his wife of the Rebekahs and the Women of 
Woodcraft. Both are members of the Christian 
church. 



JOSEPH HAYNES, a highly respected cit- 
izen of Wasco county, a patriotic soldier in the 
Union Army, and at present a retired farmer re- 
siding at Dufur, was born in Worcester, Massa- 
chusetts, December 24, 1826, the son of Joseph 
and Sallie (Chapin) Haynes, both natives of 
Massachusetts. They both were descended from 
old American families dating back several cen- 
turies. 

Our subject was reared and educated in Wor- 
cester, Massachusetts, attending the graded 
schools in that city, and he then learned the trade 



of a shoemaker, in which he continued until he 
was twenty-five years of age. At that period he 
went to Rock Island county, Illinois, remaining a 
few months, going thence to Jackson, Michigan. 
Here he passed four years, but returned to Illi- 
nois and enlisted, August 5, 1862, in Company 
A, Ninety-third Illinois Infantry, Captain Ash- 
baugh, Colonel Holden Putnam commanding. 
The latter was a lineal descendant of General 
Israel Putnam, of Revolutionary fame. Colonel 
Putnam was killed at the battle of Missionary 
Ridge, and our subject and comrades carried the 
body three miles from the battle field to the di- 
vision surgeon's headquarters. Mr. Haynes 
participated in the battles of Fort Gibson, Ray- 
mond, Jackson, Mississippi, and Champion Hills. 
During the last engagement one hundred and 
sixty men in our subject's regiment were killed 
and wounded within the space of one hour. He 
was also engaged in a number of other heavy bat- 
tles in the Vicksburg campaign. He was with 
General Tecumseh Sherman "From Atlanta to 
the Sea," and participated in the terrible battle of 
Altoona pass, which raged for thirteen hours. 
After the fall of Atlanta, he went on to Sav- 
annah, thence into the Carolinas, being at the 
battle of Bentonville. After Lee's surrender his 
command marched from Raleigh, to Washington, 
D. C. Mr. Haynes served three years and was 
mustered out with the rank of corporal June 25,. 
1865. 

He resumed work at his trade at Milan, Illi- 
nois, and in 1869 he removed to Kansas, where 
he was four years, engaged in shoemaking and 
farming. In 1879 he came to Oregon, crosssing 
the plains with horse teams, and settled in Wasco 
county. Here he filed on land twelve miles from 
the present site of Dufur, owned and cultivated 
a half section for nineteen years, and then moved 
into the town of Dufur, built a residence and has 
since lived there with his family. February 25, 
1853, at Jackson, Michigan, Mr. Haynes was 
married to Lucinda Freeman, born in New York, 
who went to Michigan with her parents when a 
small child. Her parents were descendants of 
old American families in New York. Mrs. 
Haynes has one brother and two sisters : Marvin, 
of Shasta county, California; Lorain, widow of 
Colonel Samuel S. Everson ; and Mrs. Jane Hath- 
away. Four children have been born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Haynes : William R., of Wasco ; Austin F., 
carpenter and builder, of Dufur ; Ellsworth A., a 
Wasco county farmer ; and Burt H., also of 
Wasco county. Our subject is a Republican, hav- 
ing cast his first vote during the original cam- 
paign of that party when John C. Fremont was 
the candidate, and since the party was formed he 
has never deserted its colors. Although he never - 



^3(5 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



aspires to office he always manifests a lively and 
patriotic interest in the successive campaigns of 
his party. In all educational affairs he has ever 
taken a deep interest ; has been a member of the 
•school board and headed generously a subscrip- 
tion for the first school house built in his district. 
Mr. Haynes has eighteen grand-children, of 
•whom he is justly proud. 



CHARLES F. WILLIAMS, who was born 
in Oregon City, on September 20, 1861, was 
brought when eighteen months of age east of the 
Cascades and in this part of the state he has re- 
mained since. His parents, William H. and 
Amanda A. (Abbott) Williams, are mentioned 
elsewhere in this volume. Charles was educated 
in the district schools of Wasco county and be- 
tween terms was occupied with his father in 
freighting. When fifteen he took charge of a 
freight outfit from The Dalles to Canyon City 
and all other interior points of Oregon. In those 
days the freighter took his life in his hands when- 
ever he turned the teams on an outward trip as 
the Indians were constantly on the watch, not 
only when on the war path, but at all times 
were seeking to waylay and murder and secure 
plunder. So, were we to detail all the thrilling 
incidents of our subject's life, we would have a 
volume in itself. During the Snake Indian out- 
break, he was forced to lay one entire summer in 
Canyon City to avoid the savages. His brother 
was out scouting at this time and was in a battle 
-on Murder creek, which is the headwater of the 
John Day river. One white man was killed and 
several reds bit the dust. The white man killed 
was Mr. Aldridge. When twenty-one, Mr. Will- 
iams determined to cease from this arduous work 
and accordingly engaged with The Dalles Lum- 
'ber Company, where he remained for four years. 
Then he did draying until 1899, when he bought 
a quarter section about nine miles south from The 
Dalles, where he now resides. Since that time 
he has been improving his place and has a good 
property. He raises considerable poultry and 
does general farming. 

On June 29, 1888, at the residence of the 
bride's parents in Fairview, Mr. Williams mar- 
ried Miss Katherine Teague, a native of Ala- 
bama. Her parents, Elias and Elizabeth (Bur- 
ton) Teague, were also natives of Alabama. The 
father's parents were born in the same state and 
came from Scotch extraction, being among the 
early colonists. He served in the confederate 
army under Lee, and now dwells at Goldendale, 
Washington. The mother of our subject was de- 
scended from colonial stock and her parents were 



born in Virginia. Mr. Williams' brothers and 
sisters are mentioned in another portion of this 
work. His wife has three brothers, Henry, 
Thomas, Robert, and two sisters, Mrs. Wilma 
Nelson, and Mamie. Three children have been 
born to our subject and his wife, Lloyd, aged 
ten, Harold, aged four, and Carl, ten. months 
old. Mr. Williams is a member of the W. W., 
while he and his wife belong to the circle. He 
is a Democrat and is interested in the questions of 
the day. 



GEORGE I. SLOCOM is conducting a book 
and stationery store, in the new brick block 
owned by his uncle, E. L. Smith. He is a young 
man and gives his attention strictly to business 
and is working up a fine business. He was born 
in Illinois, on September 19, 1878, the son of 
Charles and Eva (Hartman) Slocom, natives of 
Woodstock, Illinois, and Pennsylvania, respective- 
ly. The Slocoms came right from New York and 
are a very old and prominent family, John Slocom 
of the Civil war, being a member of that family. 
The mother's people were Pennsylvania Dutch. 
The father died in 1884 and the mother in the 
same year. This occurred in Illinois and our sub- 
ject was left an orphan when five years of age. 
His aunt brought him and his brother, Charles 
L., aged three, to Oregon to live. They were in 
the care of their uncle, E. L. Smith. Fate had 
given them a very excellent home and they re- 
ceived as kind^care and treatment as though chil- 
dren of that family. George I. studied in the 
graded schools of Hood River then spent some 
time in Pacific university at Forest Grove. After 
that, he was occupied with his uncle on the fruit 
farm for three years then he entered the employ 
of the American Steel and Wire Company of 
Portland. That continued for three years. At 
the end of that time he was appointed on the 
exhibit corps for the Buffalo and Charleston 
World's Fairs in the department of horticulture 
for the state of Oregon. This occupied him for 
two years, then in June, 1902, he returned to 
Hood' River. His father was a newspaper editor 
and our subject imbibed naturally, a liking for 
books and the business which he is now following 
appealed strongly to him. consequently he opened 
a shop in Hood River. He has a neat, attractive 
place, supplied with everything carried in this 
kind of a store. His genialty and deferential 
treatment of all have brought him a nice patron- 
age and his business is growing rapidly. 

Mr. Slocom is a member of the order of 
Pendo. Politically, he is a strong Republican 
and was secretary of the Roosevelt league. He 
has two brothers and one sister: L. Leroy now 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



237 



employed in the American Wire and Steel Com- 
pany in San Francisco ; James B., a school boy 
in Chicago ; and Elinor, wife of Fred Greiner, a 
bookkeeper in the Illinois Terra Cotta Lumber 
Company, of Chicago. 



WILLIAM H. WILLIAMS is known far 
and near in Wasco county as one of the earliest 
settlers on Eightmile creek, where he lives to this 
day. His estate is about ten miles south from 
The Dalles and is one of the choice places in the 
community. He was born in Terre Haute, Indi- 
ana, on November 18, 1838, the son of Washing- 
ton and Hester (Stevens) Williams, both natives 
of Indiana. Their ancestors were among the 
hardy pioneers of the then wilderness of the east- 
ern part of the United States. In 1842, our sub- 
ject came with his parents to Cincinnati, Ohio, 
and in 1845 to Iowa. On April 8, 1850, they all 
started from Ottumwa, Iowa for Oregon, and 
arrived on November 8, the same year, after a 
journey accompanied with much suffering. Sam- 
uel Brooks, well known here, was in the same 
party. The father took a donation claim and in 
1858 returned to Chicago, where his death oc- 
curred in 1861. The mother died at The Dalles, 
in 1886. William H. was educated in the various 
places where the family dwelt and grew up amid 
frontier surroundings. He was in the Indian 
wars of 1855-6, being in Company C, under Cap- 
tain Stafford, Lieutenant Colonel Kelley, and Col- 
onel Naismeth. After the war he went to Yreka, 
California and wrought in the mines until the 
spring of 1858. Then he joined the rush to 
Fraser river and at Okanogan river in Washing- 
ton, his party was attacked by Indians and for 
twelve hours they fought the savages with the 
loss of two men and then the battle ceased. A 
Mr. Robinson was in charge of the party. After 
a few months in the Fraser country he returned 
to Oregon City and married. In March, 1863, he 
came thence to his present place. His marriage 
occurred on August 11, 1859 and Amanda Ab- 
bott was the lady who became his wife. She was 
born in Oskaloosa, Iowa, the daughter of John 
and Catherine Abbott. Mr. Williams has one 
brother, Taylor S., and two sisters, Lettie Hol- 
land, and Mary Graham. Mrs. Williams has two 
brothers and two sisters, John, Robert, Mrs. 
Catherine Kelley and Mrs. Tillie Hatch. To Mr. 
and Mrs. Williams the following named children 
have been born : Richard H.,at Goldendale, Wash- 
ington ; Charles F., farming near by ; Frank, at 
Macy, Washington; Jerry M., at home; Harry, 
also at home ; Lew, in the stock business in Wash- 
ington ; Clyde, a railroad man at Macy, Washing- 



ton ; Kate, the wife of Clarence Garrison, at St. 
Helens, Oregon ; Hester, wife of John Harris, 
mentioned in this volume ; Nellie, the wife of John 
W. Harris, a stock man and liveryman in Macy,. 
Washington ; Hazel, the wife of Charles Creigh- 
ton, on Threemile creek ; Fay, wife of Andrew 
Dufur, Jr,. a farmer on Fifteenmile ; and Clara,. 
single at hame. Mr. Williams is an independent 
Democrat and well informed on the topics of the. 
day, being also interested in school matters. He 
was road supervisor for many years, and has 
labored for over forty years in building up this 
country and is a highly esteemed man. 



CHRISTIAN DETHMAN is one of the 
leading orchardists of Wasco county and through, 
his individual efforts to a large extent has Hood 
River gained her extended and enviable reputa- 
tion for choice apples. Skilled in horticulture 
and seeing here the conditions that would bring, 
the best results, he has demonstrated with a mag- 
nificent orchard the skill and the conditions that 
produce fruit of the choicest kind. 

Christian Dethman was born in Germany, on. 
January 1, 1859, the son of Henry and Weibke 
(Peters) Dethman, both natives of Germany. The 
father was a farmer and fought in the war of 
1848. He died in his native country. The mother 
lives in Crawford county, Iowa. After studying 
in the schools of his country until 1872, our sub- 
ject came to the United States and lived with a 
cousin in Iowa. He attended district school for 
two years and then went to Jones county and 
worked for another cousin for three years. Then* 
he joined his brother and mother who had come 
to Crawford county, Iowa and with his brother- 
John, came one year later to Hood River. April 
17, 1879 was tne date of his arrival here and he 
soon went to the Willamette valley but later re- 
turned to The Dalles, arriving there just after the 
fire. He wrought for Henry Klingt for six 
months and then came with his brother to Hood 
River where they filed on claims. Since that 
time Mr. Dethman has given his attention to hor- 
ticulture and also does some general farming.. 
He has won a remarkable success, thus dem- 
onstrating his skill and ability, while his large- 
forty acre orchard, judging from the results ob- 
tained, is one of the very best in the United" 
States. It has largely assisted to give Hood" 
River her famous reputation for apples and she 
stands one of the choicest apple producers in 
the world at this day. 

At The Dalles, on November 20, 1886, Mr. 
Dethman married Miss Emma Jetter, of Hood 
River and a native of Iowa. Her father, Johni 



.2 3 8 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Jetter, was born in Germany and married a 
maiden of his country and came to the United 
States. He followed mason work and stone cut- 
ting and now resides in Jones county, Iowa. Mr. 
Dethman has the following brothers and sisters, 
Andrew, John, Claus, Hanna Bolster, Katy, and 
Weibke Sacho. Mrs. Dethman has one sister. 

Eight children have been the fruit of the mar- 
riage mentioned: Frank C., Herman, Anna, Al- 
fred, Laura, William McKinley, Jessie and Fred 
T. Mr. Dethman is a member of the A. O. U. W., 
and the Foresters. He is a good substantial 
citizen and has done a splendid work here. His 
place is improved with fine residence and all the 
accessories and is one of the choicest in this 
-country. 



J. HENRY JOHNSTON, of the Dufur Drug 
Company, a public-spirited citizen and progres- 
sive business man, and well known throughout 
Wasco county, resides at Dufur. He was born 
at Centreville, Carlton county, New Brunswick, 
and his parents are mentioned elsewhere in this 
work, with their ancestry. 

Our subject was reared and educated in Cen- 
treville. His grandfather was the first settler in 
that district, and the founder of the town. In 
1885 J. Henry Johnston went to Colorado, where 
he engaged in various employments, and thence 
came to Oregon, having remained but one year 
in Colorado. He was three years with Gilman, 
French & Company, near Fossil, Wheeler county, 
engaged in the stock business. Two and one-half 
years later he came to Wasco county, where he 
worked a short period for his brothers and also 
engaged in farming on his own account. He pur- 
chased and rented land and cultivated the same 
three years, and then disposed of all his farming 
interests to his brother, Samuel. He then entered 
the store of Johnston Brothers, in Dufur, and 
was, also, on the road one year traveling for a 
medicine house. In 1899 Mr. Johnston pur- 
chased an interest in a drug store from C. P. 
Balch, which he has since successfully conducted. 
He has four brothers and five sisters, mentioned 
in another portion of this work. 

November 12, 1898, at Dufur, Mr. Johnston 
was married to Maud Peabody, a native of Iowa. 
Her parents were Frank and Celia (Hewitt) 
Peabody, her father a native of Salem, Massa- 
chusetts, and a descendant of the old and distin- 
guished American family of Peabodys, whose 
eventful biographies are closely identified with 
the history of this country. Her parents both 
reside at Dufur. She has one brother and one 
sister. Mr. and Mrs. Johnston have three chil- 



dren, James H., Genevieve E., and Gwendoline C. 
He is a member of the I. O. O. F., W. O. W., 
and politically a Republican. In November, 1904, 
the Dufur Drug Company was organized by our 
subject, C. P. Balch and Dr. Dodds. 



HIRAM C. DODDS, M. D., physician and 
• surgeon, Dufur, Wasco county, Oregon, was born 
in Lapeer county, Michigan, at North Branch 
Postoffice, July 18, 1867. His parents were Arch- 
ibald and Maria (Baker) Dodds, the father a na- 
tive of Scotland and the mother of New York. 
In the early '50's Archibald Dodds came to the 
United States and located in Michigan, having 
previously lived a short period in Ohio. He died 
in 1888. The mother still lives at North Branch, 
Michigan. 

Hiram C. Dodds, our subject, was reared in 
Michigan, receiving the elements of an excellent 
education in the public schools, and graduating 
with honors from the high school at North 
Branch. Then he taught school two years in 
Lapeer county and subsequently he was matri- 
culated in the State Normal School at Ypsilanti, 
Michigan. In 1893 he commenced the study of 
medicine, entering the Detroit College of Medi- 
cine, the oldest and most famous medical institu- 
tion in Michigan. Dr. Dodds was graduated in 
May, 1897, and began practice in Honey Creek, 
Wisconsin, where he continued one year, going 
thence to Dufur, in 1898, where he has since re- 
sided and where his practice has been eminently 
successful. Dr. Dodds has three brothers, Rob- 
ert, Albert and Edwin, Michigan farmers, living 
near North Branch, and one sister, Alice M., a 
school teacher in Michigan, and a graduate of 
the state normal school at Ypsilanti. 

November 10, 1898, at The Dalles. Dr. Dodds 
was united in marriage to Elena M. Henry, born 
in East Troy, Wisconsin, the daughter of Will- 
iam Henry, a native of Germany, now living in 
Wisconsin. She has four brothers and one sister : 
Charles, of Townsend, Montana; Frank, a mer- 
chant in Colby, Wisconsin; William, of East 
Troy, Wisconsin ; John, of Milwaukee ; and 
Louise, wife of George H. Babcock, a farmer and 
stockman of Honey Creek, Wisconsin. Dr. and 
Mrs. Dodds have two children, Mildred E. and 
an infant unnamed. 

Our subject is a member of Ridgely Lodge, 
No. 71, I. O. O. F., and Nicholson encampment, 
Dufur, the W. O. W., and K. O. T. M., Silver 
Creek Tent, No. 15, Michigan. Mrs. Dodds is a 
member of the Rebekahs, and the Women of 
Woodcraft. During the Civil war the father of 
our subject, Archibald Dodds, served thirteen 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



239 



months in Company K., Twelfth Michigan Vol- 
unteer Infantry. 

Dr. Dodds is the only physician in Dufur, and 
he has an extensive practice throughout Wasco 
and adjoining counties. He is a broad-minded 
and progressive citizen, and has the confidence of 
the entire community in which he resides. He is 
interested in the Dufur Drug Company and is 
mayor of Dufur. For several years he was a 
member of the city council. 



ALFRED FERGUSON, who resides on the 
Eightmile road about eight miles out from The 
Dalles, was born in Broome county, New York, 
on June 24, 1842, the son of Elijah and Clarinda 
(Blair) Ferguson. The father was born in Chen- 
ango county, New York. His parents were na- 
tives of Scotland. His father, the grandfather of 
our subject, was a participant in the War of 
1812. The mother was born in Broome county, 
New York and came from an old family. In 
1 85 1, our subject was brought by his parents to 
California via the isthmus. Settlement was made 
in Tuolumne county and the father did mining 
and farming for many years. He died there in 
1887. Alfred was educated in the frontier 
schools and in 1868, started in for himself. He 
soon came to Portland and for eight years was a 
resident of that city. Then he came to the place 
where he now lives, and to the quarter he pur- 
chased, he has added as much more by pre- 
emption right. He does general farming and 
raises some stock. His labors have been blessed 
with prosperity and he is one of the well to do 
men of the county. In his career, he has not 
been so sordid as to believe that money is the only 
thing for man, and consequently has so con- 
ducted himself that he has merited and today 
receives generously the confidence and esteem of 
his fellows. 

At Portland, in 1869, Mr. Ferguson married 
Miss Martha J. Robertson, who was born in Cass 
county, Missouri. Her parents were John and 
Emily D. (Pinnill) Robertson, natives of Mis- 
souri and Kentucky, respectively. The father 
died when Mrs. Ferguson was an infant and she 
came here with her mother who had married 
again. The trip was made via the isthmus in 
1862. They are now both dead. Mr. Ferguson 
has one brother living, James, and one deceased, 
John, who died in Sonora, California, in 1903. 
He was a prominent man and owned the city 
water works, and also did mining. Mr. Ferguson 
has two sisters, Mrs. Jane Pease, a widow, and 
Mrs. Frances Booker. Mrs. Ferguson has one 
brother, Joseph and several half brothers and 



half sisters. Three children have been born to 
Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson : John E., Ashford, and 
Miles. The last named is at home and the others 
are millmen in The Dalles. Mr. Ferguson is a 
member of the A. F. & A. M., and politically is 
allied with the Democrats. He is zealous in 
building up the community and is a citizen who is 
looked up to and is possessed of excellent wisdom 
and integrity. 



JOHN C. JOHNSTON, another member of 
the firm of "Johnstons," an enterprising and 
prominent citizen of Dufur, Wasco county, was 
born in Centre*dlle, New Brunswick, March 21, 
1854. His parents and their distinguished ances- 
try are mentioned elsewhere in this work. 

While living at home with his parents our sub- 
ject attended the public schools in his vicinity, 
where he secured a liberal business education, and 
in 1876 he went to San Francisco, California, 
and thence to Sonoma county, same state, re- 
maining there two years, one year of which he was 
employed in a hotel and one year on a ranch. He 
then came to The Dalles, Oregon, with his 
brother, Thomas H., and subsequently was with 
the firm of French & Gilman, stock-raisers, in 
Wheeler county. He remained with them nine 
years, during which period he raised cattle for 
himself, and quite successfully. He disposed of 
his stock to the firm in 1887, and the following 
two years traveled in the vicinity of Portland and 
the Puget Sound country, engaged in various 
employments. He came to Dufur in 1890, and 
purchased an interest in the business being con- 
ducted by his brothers, George and T. H. He 
at present has charge of the hardware depart- 
ment. Our subject is one of the five Johnstons 
who are mentioned in sketches elsewhere. 

Politically Mr. Johnston is the only Democrat 
in the family. He has frequently been delegate 
to state and county conventions, and has served 
one term as mayor of Dufur, one term as coun- 
cilman, and one as school director. With his 
brothers he is interested in the Wasco Ware- 
house & Milling Company, farm lands and stock. 

He was united in marriage, May 31, 1888, at 
Dufur, to Josie I. Laing, of Portland, Oregon, 
born in Worcester, Massachusetts. Her father, 
Colonel John K. Laing, was a native of Wood- 
stock, New Brunswick, in the same county in 
which our subject was born. During the Civil 
War Colonel Laing commanded the Fourteenth 
Maine Volunteer Infantry, having enlisted as a 
private and risen from the ranks. He was in 
active service four years, and was frequently pro- 
moted for bravery on the field. He lives in Port- 
land, Oregon. Her mother, Frances (Hay ward) 



240 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Laing, was a native of Maine, born near Ban- 
gor. She died in Portland, Oregon, in 1887. 
Mrs. Johnston has two brothers and one sister : 
Edward, a Southern Pacific railway engineer, of 
Rosebery, Oregon ; Everett, a school boy, at 
home, in Portland, a»d Elizabeth, at home with 
her father in Portland. Mr. and Mrs. Johnston 
have three children living, Hazel, Lucile and 
Helen, aged thirteen and five years, and eleven 
months, respectively. Our subject is a member 
of the I. O. O. F., of which he is past grand, the 
Rebeckah Lodge and Nicholson encampment, at 
Dufur. 



ANDY M. ALLEN, proprietor of a feed yard 
at The Dalles, Wasco county, is a native Ore- 
gonian, having been born in Polk county, January 
23, 1848. He is the son of James M. and Han- 
nah J. (Riggs) Allen, the father a native of Mis- 
souri, the mother of Illinois. The father was a 
descendant of the old colonial family of Aliens, of 
Revolutionary fame, a prominent member of the 
family having been Ethan Allen, commander of 
the "Green Mountain Boys." The parents of our 
subject came to Oregon in what was known as 
the "Meeks Cut-Off Train." Losing their way 
they suffered many hardships, but were, fortu- 
nately, well provisioned. Following various loca- 
tions in the territory of Oregon the family finally 
removed to what was then Wasco county, set- 
tling near Prineville, where James M. Allen built 
a flouring mill, the first in what is now Crook 
county, with the exception of the Indian Agency 
mili. Disposing of this property later he removed 
to Fifteen Mile, erected another mill, which is 
now owned by J. A. Guilliford, mentioned else- 
where, and resided in Boyd until his death. The 
mother of our subject died on the old home farm 
in Polk county, in i860. 

In the district schools of his neighborhood our 
subject was prepared for Monmouth College, but 
owing to an illness covering three years he did 
not enter that educational institution. At the age 
of twenty-five years he married and began life 
for himself. He taught school, was engaged in 
farming and stock raising in Crook county, and 
purchased an interest from his father in the mill 
at Prineville. In the latter town he taught the 
first school. Mr. Allen is an expert accountant, 
and was, at different times, bookkeeper for sev- 
eral firms successively. Father and son disposed 
of the mill at Boyd about 1882, and our subject 
then purchased a farm on lower Fifteen Mile 
Creek, four miles below Boyd, comprising one 
hundred and sixty acres, also filing on an adjoin- 
ing quarter section. Here he remained nine 
years, sold the property and in 1890 came to The 
Dalles, where for ten years he was employed in 



clerking. Subsequently he became interested in 
horses, began training them, and followed the 
circuit over the northwest, and is at present the- 
best known horse trainer in the state. In March, 
1902, our subject, with a partner, purchased the 
old Brooks and Beers feed yard, and now have 
the oldest established institution of this kind in 
The Dalles. In May, 1904, our subject purchased 
the interest owned by his partner. 

Our subject was married in June, 1871. at 
Prineville, to Cynthia A. Butler, born in Illinois, 
the daughter of Elijah and Sarah E. (Lucas) 
Butler, both deceased. The wife of our subject, 
died February 2J , 1876, at Prineville. The sec- 
ond marriage of our subject took place at Boyd, 
when he was united to Lucy A. Smith, a native of ' 
Lane county, Oregon. She is the daughter of 
Henry and Sophia (Cook) Smith, the "father a 
native of Iowa, the mother of Oregon. The 
father is deceased, the mother lives in Oregon 
City. Mr. Allen has four brothers : Albert, of 
Crook county ; John, the same ; Isaac M., a glass, 
manufacturer in Indiana ; and Elam, in the stock 
business in Wallowa county ; and three sisters — ■ 
Ellen, wife of Hardy Holman, of Dallas, Oregon, 
justice of the peace and ex-county sheriff ; Nancy, 
married to James Crawford, of Pendleton, Ore- 
gon ; and Pauline, wife of James A. Bradley,. 
Anatone, Washington. Our subject has ten chil- 
dren : Sylba, wife of D. D. Bolton, and Glenn O., 
by his first wife ; and Mable, wife of John Miller : 
Owen, Edith, Mernie, Wayne, Delta, Gladys, and 
Uarda, by his second marriage. 

Fraternally Mr. Allen is a member of the I. O. 
O. F., having been an Odd Fellow thirty-five 
years, past grand of Ocheco Lodge, No. 46, Prine- 
ville, and many times a delegate to the grand 
lodge. He is a Republican, and has been delegate 
to county conventions and clerk of election. Mrs. 
Allen has three brothers, C. Sumner, Henrv G., 
and William L., and one sister, Cornelia, a widow 
living at Oregon City. 



HIRAM CHITTENDEN, deceased. Al- 
though Mr. Chittenden has gone to the rest pro- 
vided for the faithful, still the work that he did" 
in Wasco county may not be overlooked by any 
one who would write a correct history of the peo- 
ple and of the place. Therefore it is very proper 
that a memoir of his life should be granted space 
here at this time. He was a noble. Christian 
man, well known and highly esteemed- by all. In- 
dustrious and substantial, the long time he spent 
in Wasco county could but bring forth results, 
not only in temporal things but in moral and other 
ways which result in much good". 

Hiram Chittenden was born in Ohio and died 






Andy M. Allen 



Hiram Chittenden 



Mrs. Hiram Chittenden 





James Fulton 



Mrs. James Fulton 






Riley V. Drake 



Mrs. Riley V. Drake 



William M. McCorkle 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



241 



at the old homestead at Dutch Flat in June, 1902, 
aged seventy years. His father died before he, 
was born and his mother very shortly afterward 
so he never knew the kind care and love of fond 
parents. He was reared by his father's brother 
and gained his education in the frontier schools 
and then followed steamboating with his head- 
quarters in New York state. About ten years 
were spent thus and then he did warehouse work 
for five years. After that, he bought land in 
Michigan and farmed for some years. Finally 
he determined to come west and accordingly 
went to San Francisco, whence in the spring of 
1880, he journeyed to Wasco county. After look- 
ing the county over, he decided to take the place 
that is now the old homestead and accordingly 
filed on it. It was one solid mass of timber and 
brush and Mr. Chittenden had a great work be- 
fore him in clearing it for farm purposes. How- 
ever, little by little he did so and began raising 
diversified crops and the result is that now the 
place is a very valuable farm. 

On Marcli 17, 1888, at The Dalles, Oregon, 
Mr. Chittenden married Katherine Overmyer, 
who was born in Fulton county, Indiana. Her 
father, Jacob Overmyer, was a native of Lindseyj 
Ohio, and came from a Pennsylvania-Dutch fam- 
ily. For many years they had resided in the col- 
onies and the states and are a very numerous 
family. They are well represented in all the 
learned professions and many prominent minis- 
ters, lawyers, physicians and merchants are found 
in the family, especially in central United States. 
Mrs. Chittenden's paternal grandfather was a 
wealthy merchant in Ohio. Her father married 
Susan Jones, both natives of Pennsylvania and of 
Dutch stock. Mrs. Chittenden resided in Fulton 
county, Indiana, until she came west and mar- 
ried Mr. Chittenden whom she had known for 
many years. They lived very happily until he 
was called to the world beyond. They were both 
members of .the Methodist church and active in 
Sunday-school work as is also the widow at this 
time. Mrs. Chittenden has taken up the added 
burdens of life with fortitude and courage and is 
overseeing the estate and attending to the prop- 
erty that was left. She is a noble Christian 
woman highly esteemed in the community and 
has many friends. Mr. Chittenden belonged to 
no denomination, but was a stanch supporter of 
the faith of the Bible and showed by his walk 
his Christian character and his sterling integ- 
rity and honesty. 



JAMES FULTON is one of the wealthy pio- 
neers of the Pacific slope. He was born in Mis- 
souri, on February 17, 1847, and now lives about 

16 



eleven miles east from The Dalles on Tenmile 
creek. His parents were James and Priscilla 
(Wells) Fulton, natives of Missouri and Indiana, 
respectively. They both died in Sherman coun- 
ty. They crossed the plains when our subject 
was an infant and settled first in the Willamette 
valley where the father took a donation claim- 
which he farmed for ten years. This was in 
Yamhill county, then later lie sold out and came 
to Wasco county, settling about a mile and one 
half below the place where our subject now re- 
sides. A number of years were spent there and 
in 1870, they went to The Dalles, the father hav- 
ing sold his farm. For a time he was retired, 
then he invested considerable money in the east- 
ern part of Wasco county, which is now Sher- 
man county, building a warehouse and engaging 
in general merchandise at Des Chutes station. 
Here he was burned out and then he resumed 
farming on his Sherman county estates, where he 
continued until the time of his death, owning at 
that time, several sections of fine wheat land. 
Our subject was educated in the district schools 
and in the public schools in The Dalles and re- 
mained with his parents until his marriage on 
February 23, 1867, which occurred at The Dal- 
les. Georgiana Foss, who was born in Illinois, on 
March 11, 1848, then became his wife. Her fa- 
ther, George S. Foss, married Joanna Johnson. 
He was a native of Maine, coming from an old 
colonial family, which was prominent there for 
many generations. His death occurred in Gold- 
endale, Washington, in 1882. He had come to the 
coast with horse teams across the plains in 1862, 
and made settlement first on Temmile creek. 
Later, we find him in the Willamette valley, 
after which he resided in Klickitat county, Wash- 
ington, and did farming and stock raising. The 
mother was also born in Maine and came from 
an old and prominent family. She died in the 
Palouse country, in 1884. Mrs. Fulton was edu- 
cated in the public schools and has two brothers, 
Jessie and Frank, and one sister, Mrs. Susan 
Hoeye. Mr. Fulton has three brothers, John, 
David and Frank, and three sisters, Mrs. Lucinda 
Isaacs, Mrs. Elizabeth Seholl, and Anna. To 
our subject and his wife, six children have been 
born ; J. Frank, mentioned elsewhere in this 
work; Nellie, wife of William W. Floyd, at 
Prosser, Yakima county, Washington, a farmer 
and stockman ; William, a farmer near The 
Dalles ; Ada, the wife of Fred Stone, a farmef 
and sawmill man of Okanogan county, Washing- 
ton; Mace C, at home; and Bessie P., who died 
March 14, 1891, aged six years and eleven 
months. Mr. Fulton is a good strong Democrat 
and is very active in the conventions and cam- 
paigns. He has been elected judge at various 



242 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



times and also school director and road super- 
visor. His brother, John, has been judge of 
Sherman county for years. His son, Mace, is at 
the present time road supervisor of this district. 
Mr. Fulton is a prominent and substantial citi- 
zen and one of the real builders of this county 
as was his father before him. 



RILEY V. DRAKE, a respected and vener- 
able resident of Wasco county, is now dwelling 
at the family home, seven miles out from The 
Dalles, on the Canyon City road. He was born 
in Chautauqua county, New York, on February 
15, 1833, the son of Riley and Betsey (Matteson) 
Drake, both natives of the same county as our 
subject. The father's parents were also natives 
of that county. The Drake family is an old and 
prominent English family and one of the illus- 
trious ancestors is the well known Francis Drake, 
of historic fame. The mother died when our 
subject was three weeks of age and he was reared 
by Linus Sutliff. When twenty-three, his father 
died. In 1853, our subject crossed the plains 
with an ox team train and they experienced much 
suffering, being for four days without food and 
three days without water. Much of the road 
they had to construct, as they were on the new 
route. They started on the Meek's cut-off, but 
got lost, which entailed this suffering. 

However, they eventually reached Marion 
county, and there he remained until 1879. He 
participated in the early Indian wars of the fifties 
and now draws a pension from the government 
for those services. He was in Company F, First 
Oregon regiment, under Captain Charles Ben- 
nett, who was killed. Later he was under Cap- 
tain William Cason. About 1879, or 1880, he 
took a homestead on Eightmile and then bought 
the place where he now resides. 

On February 12, i860, near Jefferson, Mr, 
Drake married Miss Sarah J. Johnson, who was 
born near Bowling Green, Kentucky. Her fa- 
ther, George Johnson, was born in the same place 
and came from a prominent southern family. He 
married Miss Emily E. Dyer, a native of Ken-' 
tucky and from one of the leading southern fam- 
ilies. Miss Dyer's grandfather was in the Revo- 
lution and was terribly tortured by the British 
soldiers by having his feet burned to force him to 
confess where his money was. Her brother was 
killed in the Mexican war. Many members of 
the family participated in all the wars and strug- 
gles in the colonial and later times. Mrs. Drake 
crossed the plains with an ox team train in the 
same year as her husband. Her father was a 
Baptist and took much interest in church work. 



He died in Marion county in September, 1869, 
his wife having preceded him across the river, 
the date of her death being February 12, 1859. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Drake the following named 
children have been born ; Linus, a carpenter in 
Spokane ; Fred, with his parents ; Monroe, who 
married Jessie L. Quinn, on January 1, 1905, 
born in Wasco county, the daughter of A. W. 
Quinn ; Ettie, the wife of James Ferguson, a 
drayman in The Dalles ; Mary, wife of John Fer- 
guson, of The Dalles ; Alzora, wife of Charles 
Thompson, at Dufur ; Arlie married to Teel Ottis, 
of The Dalles, August 31, 1904 ; Joseph, who died 
on March 31, 1890, aged twenty-four years and 
ten months ; George, who died April 14, 1894, 
aged twenty-one ; Mary E., who was burned to 
death in Marion county, in October, 1868 ; and 
one infant, unnamed, who died in Wasco county. 
Mr. and Mrs. Drake are members of the Chris- 
tian church. He is a Republican and has always 
taken a keen interest in educational and public 
matters. He is a well educated man, has kept 
himself abreast of the times and is a man of ex- 
cellent principles. Mr. and Mrs. Drake have 
shown themselves worthy pioneers, noble and up- 
right people and have done a worthy work in 
Opening farms, in raising a fine family of children 
and in always so conducting themselves that they 
merited and received the esteem and good will 
of all. 



WILLIAM M. McCORKLE, one of the pio- 
neers of Oregon, as well as California, is now 
dwelling in a comfortable home two miles west 
from Tygh valley, where he has been a resident 
for some time. He owns various property and 
has been prospered financially so that he is 
justified now in retiring from the arduous labors 
which have occupied him all his days. He is a 
man of sound principles and has so lived in his 
long career that he has won and still retains the 
friendship and approval of all good people, with 
whom he has been associated. He is a valued 
member of society here and is looked up to by all. 
William M. McCorkle was born in Indiana, 
on February 25, 1829. His father, Richard B. 
McCorkle, was the son of one of three brothers 
who came from the north of Ireland to the 
colonies before the Revolution. He settled in 
North Carolina and with his brothers partici- 
pated in the Revolution. His son, Richard B. 
McCorkle, was the father of our subject, and was 
born in North Carolina and died in Illinois, in 
1863. He married Miss Isabella Campbell, a 
native of Kentucky and descended from an old 
colonial family. She died in Illinois in 1867. 
The family had removed to Illinois when our 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



243 



.subject was only three years old. There he grew 
up and was educated, remaining on his father's 
farm until 1850, in which year he went thence to 
California. For a year he washed the golden 
sands of that Utopia and gained a comfortable 
fortune with which he wended his way back to 
the states. In 1852, he crossed the plains a 
second time, on this occasion to Oregon. Mule 
and horse teams were used both times for trans- 
portation. .He first settled on a donation claim 
in Linn county and sixteen years later sold it 
and moved to the Indian agency, taking a gov- 
ernment position as miller. Four years later he 
resigned from that post and bought land on Fif- 
teenmile creek in this county, which was two 
miles above the present site of Dufur. The farm 
is now owned by William Vanderpool. An in- 
corporated company began the erection of a mill 
in Tygh Valley, and sent for our subject to in- 
stall the machinery and operate the plant. He 
did so and later the company became insolvent 
and the sheriff sold the plant. As Mr. McCorkle 
had not been paid wages for some time, he had 

:a claim and bought in the property and has oper- 
ated it since. He is now retired from the active 
work of the mill, but rents it. He owns a fine 
home adjoining, which is beautifully situated in 
an ideal spot for a home. 

On May 15, 185 1, in Illinois, Mr. McCorkle 
married Miss Mary A. Smith, a native of Ohio. 
She was the daughter of Captain John Smith, 
a native of Kentucky and captain in the Black- 
hawk war. He accompanied our subject to Ore- 
gon and was twice sheriff of Linn county, this 
state. Then he was appointed Indian agent at 
Warm Springs agency by A. Lincoln, and for 
nineteen years he held the position. He was the 
most popular and best liked man ever in that 
position. His death occurred while in that ser- 
vice. He married Miss Jane Ruggles, a native of 
Kentucky. She was married in Ohio and came 
with the family to this state. Her death occurred 

• at the home of our subject, in 1877. Mr. Mc- 
Corkle's wife died at the farm near Dufur, on 
April 27, 1877, leaving a family of small children. 
Then Mr. McCorkle contracted a second mar- 
riage, Mrs. Abbie Zumwalt becoming his wife. 
Her parents died in Illinois and she came here 
with a sister and kept house for a brother until 
she married Mr. Zumwalt, who died soon after, 
leaving' no issue. To Mr. and Mrs. McCorkle 
two sons have been born ; Philip S., living three 
miles north from his father's place; Ernest V., 
near the Des Chutes. By his former marriage, 
Mr. McCorkle has six children ; Frank E., a 
farmer on Tygh creek ; Chester, a stockman in 
Crook county; John and Rufus, on Juniper flat; 
Amanda, wife of Dr. M. A. Flinn, in Portland; 



and Annie, the wife of R. L. Willoughby, a den- 
tist in Eugene. Mr. McCorkle is a stanch Re- 
publican and never voted but for one Democrat, 
a neighbor, for justice of the peace. He has at- 
tended every county convention of his party in- 
cluding the first one and has been to the state 
conventions. He is a prominent man and influ- 
ential. For thirty-two years he has been school 
director and has always given his influence for 
the advancement of educational facilities. He is 
a member of the Presbyterian church, while his 
wife belongs to the Methodist. They are both 
prominent in church work and he has been super- 
intendent of the Sunday school for some time. 
Mr. and Mrs. McCorkle are among the most 
highly esteemed people of this part of the county, 
and are certainly worthy of this pleasant distinc- 
tion. 



HANS LAGE. There is no more substan- 
tial class of people under the stars and stripes 
than those who have come to our shores from the 
fatherland. They are people of industry and 
thrifty habits, with good ideas of government, in- 
dustrious and loyal and they are representative 
Americans in every respect, and much of the 
brilliant success of this great nation is due to the 
wise and devoted efforts of her German citizens. 
Among these people we are constrained to men- 
tion the gentleman, whose name appears above, 
who has performed a work in Wasco county that 
entitles him to the position of pioneer builder of 
the country. He is well known and is consid- 
ered one of the leading and influential men of 
Hood river valley. He resides on the east side 
of the river, about four miles south from Hood 
River, where he has a fine large estate, productive 
and valuable. He was born in Holstein, Ger- 
many, on March 18, 1847. His father; Joachim, 
was a native of the same place and died there in 
1875. He married Miss Abel Weise, also a native 
of the same locality where she is now living, 
aged eighty-seven. For a score of years, Hans 
Lage lived in Germany and gained his education 
there and learned well the way of the farmer 
and husbandmen, then it being 1867, he jour- 
neyed to the United States and settled in the vi- 
cinity of Davenport, Iowa, where he did farm- 
ing. He rented until 1875, when he came to 
Hood River and after due investigation, selected 
the place where he is now residing and took it as 
a homestead. One hundred and ten acres are 
under cultivation and his crops are diversified. 
His farm is a model of neatness, thrift and wis- 
dom and for thirty years he has not only done 
a good work in this line but has stimulated scores 
of others to worthy efforts. 



244 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



At Davenport, Iowa, in 1871, Mr. Lage mar- 
ried Miss Lena Hock, a native of Germany. Her 
father, Claus Hock, came from Germany to the 
United States in 1854, this daughter then being 
two years of age. He farmed in Iowa for many 
years and in 1875, came to Hood River and took 
a homestead near where our subject now lives. 
His death occurred in 1887. His wife is a native 
of Germany and died at Davenport, Iowa. He 
served for nine months in the Civil War and was 
discharged on account of injuries. After his 
wife's death, in 1874, he married Miss Bertha 
Miller, who died in Hood River in 1886. Mr. 
Lage has two brothers in Davenport, Iowa, Claus 
and Ferdinand ; two brothers in Germany, Hein- 
rich and Peter; and two sisters, Trena, wife of 
Henry Viedal and Marguerite, wife of Dilloff 
Haas, both natives of Germany. Mrs. Lage has 
one half brother, Julius C. and one half sister, 
Minnie, wife of Carl Jenson. To our subject and 
his wife, the following named children have been 
born : Henry F., manager of the Moody farm, and 
mentioned elsewhere in this work; Bernhardt, in 
Hood River ; Edward E. and Charles, at home ; 
Meta A., wife of W. P. Scobey, Hood River, a 
farmer; Emma, wife of John Koberg, at Hood 
River ; Laura, wife of Alex. J. Henderson, Big- 
ham, Washington ; Alfred, William and Celia, 
deceased. 

Mr. Lage is a member of the K. O. T. M. and 
in politics, he is a stanch and active Republican. 
He is frequently at the conventions, where he is 
an influential and active figure. At the present 
time, he is road overseer of his district and a 
school director. Mr. Lage is one of the whole 
souled, genial and generous men who look on the 
bright side of life and takes his joy as he goes 
along. Consequently, he has won very many 
friends and is admired and beloved by all. 



WILLARD L. VANDERPOOL, one of the 
earlier settlers and pioneers of Crook county, is 
a native of the present state, having been born in 
the territorial days, December 24, 1856. His 
parents, Larkin and Mary (Turnidge) Vander- 
pool, were natives of Missouri, the father a de- 
scendant of an old Dutch Pennsylvania family. 
They crossed the plains in 1852 and settled in 
Benton county, Oregon, where Dr. Larkin Van- 
derpool practiced medicine, in 1869 migrating to 
Prineville, Crook county, where he continued the 
practice of his profession. In 1884, the family 
removed to Dufur, Wasco county, where he died 
ten years later. The mother was married in Mis- 
souri, and accompanied her husband in the peril- 
ous, journey across the plains in 1852. Her pa- 



rents were natives of the North of Ireland. She: 
died in Dufur. 

Until the period of his marriage our subject, 
Willard L., continued to reside with his parents, 
attending the district schools and working on the 
homestead. His wife was Miss Mary Heisler, 
also a native of Oregon, born in Lane county.. 
Her parents were William and Martha (McCon- 
nell) Heisler, mentioned elsewhere. Mrs. Van- 
derpool has four brothers and five sisters,, 
sketches of whom appear in other portions of 
this book. Our subject and his wife are parents 
of one child, John K., aged seven years. They 
have lost one little girl, Ada, who died at the age 
of five. 

The fraternal affiliations of Mr. Vanderpool 
are with the A. F. & A .M., Wasco Lodge, No. 
15; The Dalles Chapter, R. A. M. ; Ridgely 
Lodge, No. 71, I. O. O. F. ; Nicholson Encamp- 
ment ; Star Rebekah Lodge, No. 23, all of Dufur ; 
of the Grand Lodge, I. O. O. F., the A. O. U. W.,. 
and W. W. His political affiliations are with the 
Republican party, and he has frequently been a 
delegate to county conventions. At present he is 
mayor of Dufur, serving his second term. In 
partnership with Hon. T. H. Johnston he owns 
eight hundred acres of land, six hundred acres 
of which are devoted to the production of wheat. 
He is recognized as an active, enterprising citi- 
zen, with the best interests of the community at- 
heart, and he has won the confidence of all of his 
acquaintances by his social characteristics and un- 
impeachable integrity. 



LOUIS J. KLINGER, a retired farmer re- 
siding at Dufur, Wasco county, is one of the 
earliest of Oregon pioneers, having come into the 
country in 1847. He was born in Warren county, 
Missouri, October 19, 1837, the son of John and 
Mary Klinger, natives of Germany. The father 
was born on the River Rhine, and came to the 
United. States in the early 30's, settling in War- 
ren county. He came west and died in Clacka- 
mas county in the fall of 1862. The mother died 
when our subject was six years of age in War- 
ren county, Missouri. When Louis -was ten 
years of age he came across the plains accom- 
panied by his father and five other members of 
the family, and they were among the first to 
cross the Cascades with ox teams on the Barlow 
road, which was completed that year, in 1847. A 
scantv supply of rice with a small allowance of 
bread made up their sole provisions, towards the 
last of the trip. The journey to the spot where 
now stands the town of Dufur, a distance of three 
thousand miles, was fraught with hardships and; 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



245 



•peril. At The Dalles our subject saw a house, 
and shouted, "A house, a house !" this being the 
first building they had seen, with the exception 
of Forts Laramie, Hall and Boise, since leaving 
Independence, Missouri. Mr. Klinger remem- 
bers seeing many campers along the road who 
had killed their last ox for food. It is estimated 
that seven thousand immigrants started that year 
for Oregon, hundreds of whom died en route, 
and other hundreds reached Oregon in a starv- 
ing condition. When the Klinger family arrived 
in Oregon City the father had only twenty-five 
cents in money, and wheat was worth six dollars 
-a bushel. Dr. McLaughlin, for many years with 
the Hudson's Bay Company, sold him grain, tak- 
ing his note. They settled on Mollala Prairie, 
ten miles above Oregon City, taking a donation 
claim, where our subject grew to manhood, being 
educated in a "subscription" school. Mr. Klinger 
has one half brother, Frank, and of his five full 
■brothers and sisters, Christina, wife of Clifton 
Callahan, died in 1897 ; Therese, died in 1893 in 
inyo county, California; William in 1867 and 
Frederick in 190 1, both in Clackamas county. He 
has one sister living, Mrs. Matilda Clock, whose 
husband is a farmer living in Modoc county, 
California. 

March 17, 1861, Mr. Klinger was married to 
Melissa J. Woodcock, born on the plains in 1844 
-while her parents were en route for Oregon. 
Her parents were Wilson D. and Keziah (Bun- 
ton) Woodcock. She has four half brothers, 
Wilson D., Thomas P., William and Abner, and 
one full sister. Mary, married to Ephraim Rams- 
"by, of Klamath Falls, Oregon. 

In 1863 our subject came to Wasco county, 
settling on Eightmile creek, four miles northeast 
of Dufur, where he engaged in farming and 
stock raising. While teaming in this country he 
crossed the creek one hundred and nineteen times 
while en route to Boise, Idaho, in five miles on 
one trip. In company with John R. Doyle, Jack 
McHaley and Robert Clark he purchased the first 
separator ever brought into Wasco county. In 
1889 our subject had amassed a modest com- 
petence and, selling his farm, he removed to the 
"town of Dufur, where he owns a cosy story and 
a half house in a city block in the center of the 
town. He also owns another choice block which 
he utilizes for the purpose of a pasture. Mr. 
Klinger is an enthusiastic hunter, and fisherman, 
passing a large portion of the summer in the 
mountains. He is a member of Ridgely Lodge 
No. 71, I. O. O. F., and is recognized as a pro- 
gressive, broad-minded and influential citizen. He 
"has served two terms as mayor of Dufur, but 
cares more for his superior camping outfit than 
'he does for political honors. He is a Democrat, 



although not at all partisan. On several inven- 
tions our subject has taken out patents, one of 
them, a weeding machine, being of inestimable 
value. He has also invented a baling press and 
hand hay press, which he never patented although 
it is conceded to be of great value. 



CHARLES W. JOHNSTON, deceased.— 
The subject of the following memoir came to The 
Dalles from his home, in Centreville, New Bruns- 
wick, about 1882. For thirteen years he was in 
the employment of the Oregon Railroad & Nav- 
igation Company in various capacities, having 
been an engineer nearly seven years. He was 
injured in an accident, his engine being capsized 
in a sand drift, and he was crushed and bruised, 
surviving the fatality only one hour. He was 
buried at The Dalles, the funeral being under the 
auspices of Wasco Lodge, A. F. & A. M. Mr. 
Johnston was a Knight Templar and a popular 
member of the K. P., being in the V. C. chair at 
time of death. He was highly esteemed by his 
friends and business associates, and one who had 
won the highest confidence of the officials of the 
Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company. 



JAMES W. DICKSON is an example of one 
who has seen sorrow and much of the hard side 
of life in his younger years, but who, in spite of 
all adversity and trying times, has fought his own 
way to a successful position in the community 
todav and has won from the shy maid of fortune a 
goodly competence which is a justly bestowed re- 
ward for his industry and faithfulness. He re- 
sides about a mile south from Endersly post- 
office where he owns two hundred acres of choice 
land, which produces an abundance of general 
crops each year. He uses half for pasture and 
half for crops. In addition to handling his farm, 
Mr. Dickson does considerable freighting and 
teaming and is well known all through the coun- 
try. Wherever he is known he has friends as his 
walk has been such as to win the esteem of good 
people. 

James W. Dickson was born in England, on 
December 16, 1856. When three months of age, 
his parents embarked for the United States and 
while on the voyage, the father was lost over- 
board, and our subject does not even know his 
Christian name. The mother died soon after 
landing in Illinois, while James was still an in- 
fant. Then he was taken by a brother of his 
mother, who lived in the province of Quebec, 
Canada, and with this man he remained until thir- 



246 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



teen. During those years of service, he had 
things rather severe, and his education was sadly 
neglected by the man who should have looked 
after it. However, young Dickson was made of 
the stuff that would not down and at the age 
mentioned stepped forth from this position to 
start in life for himself. He then applied him- 
self at all opportunities and learned readily and 
stored his mind with a good fund of knowledge 
for life's battle. He went from Canada to New 
York upon leaving his uncle and from that day 
to this, he has always supported himself. He 
worked in the lumber woods and on the farms 
and in May. 1878, landed in Oregon City. He 
was in various places in the Willamette valley 
for three years and then came to Wasco county. 
After this he spent a year in sawmilling on Puget 
sound and late in the eighties he took his present 
place as a homestead. He added a railroad iorty 
by purchase and since then has bestowed his 
labors here with the happy result that he has a 
choice place. On January 2, 1888, Mr. Dickson 
married Miss Mary Fligg, the wedding occurring 
at the home of the bride's sister. Her father is 
George Fligg and he is mentioned elsewhere in 
this volume with the other members of his fam- 
ily. Mr. Dickson had one brother, William, who 
was killed in the battle of Fredericksburg, in the 
Rebellion. Four children have been born to our 
subject's household, Wilbur, Ernest, Ruth and 
Delbert. Mrs. Dickson is a member of the Chris- 
tian church. Mr. Dickson is a Republican, chair- 
man of the school board and a member of the 
A. F. & A. M. 



MRS. ALMA L. HOWE is too well known 
in the Hood River country to need an introduc- 
tion but on account of what she has been and 
what she is, a review of her life will be very in- 
teresting to all. She is the proprietor of the 
Cottage Farm which lies a mile and one-half 
from the town of Hood River and is one of the 
ideal spots in the great Columbia valley. She 
was born in Marion county, Oregon, on June 
7, i860, the daughter of Isaac N. and Harriet 
(Millsap) Lawrence, natives of Missouri. The 
father died in 1886 in Knappton, Washington, 
and the mother died in Marion county, Oregon. 
The father crossed the plains in 1854 and the 
mother in 1855. He was one of the well known 
mill men of Oregon, building the first sawmill in 
East Portland. He did more than can be writ- 
ten tn place the sawmilling industry upon its 
feet in Washington and Oregon in pioneer days. 
He was a man of great energy and stamina. 
When our subject was nine years of age the 
father moved to Portland and she was educated 



in the Portland schools. On September 8, 1878, 
at Portland, she married Samuel T. Howe, a 
native of Indiana. One child was born to this 
union, Hester A., a lady of culture and refine- 
ment. While still very young, Mrs. Howe- 
learned the profession of a nurse and has fol- 
lowed it more or less since. Owing to adverse 
circumstances, she was obliged to support her- 
self and daughter continuously. Owing to her 
courage and spirit, she accepted her lot with 
graciousness and has done a noble work as will, 
be seen. In 1885, she bought forty acres where 
she now resides near Hood River. The place 
was only slightly improved, but as she was able- 
a little each year she added improvements and 
today it is one of the model homes in the state 
of Oregon. In 1897, she sold twenty acres and 
since then has given her entire attention to the- 
management of the twenty acres remaining. Fif- 
teen acres of this are devoted to strawberries, 
while the other five produce clover, vegetables- 
and orchard. The farm is beautifully laid out 
and no better kept place can be found in the- 
west. At first she did diversified farming, but 
as soon as the water for irrigation was provided- 
she had the place planted as mentioned above.. 
In 1894, Mrs. Howe erected a large house for 
the accommodation of summer boarders. The 
popularity of her place is well shown in that she 
since erected four cottages for the same purpose- 
and now accommodates about thirty-five board- 
ers during the summer months. Her place is 
most beautifully situated, overlooking the coun- 
try for miles, is supplied with plenty of pure 
water and in every respect is as choice a place- 
as can be found. The climate is healthful and 
invigorating and no word need be said in refer- 
ence to the kindly care that Mrs. Howe takes of 
all her guests. In all the labors of the farm she 
has attended to the details and the direction en- 
tirely alone, having no male relatives to assist 
her. It speaks very highly of her ability and' 
courage to undertake to carry on this great 
work and she certainly deserves the most un- 
bounded success which she has earned. Mrs.. 
Howe has one half-brother, Chester, deceased, 
and three sisters, Mrs. Mary L. Parmenter. Mrs. 
Alice J. Darling, and Mrs. Ella F. Baird. Mrs. 
Howe is a devoted member of the Methodist 
church and a liberal supporter of the faith. It 
is very interesting to know that Mrs. Howe has 
in her family a woman known as Indian Xellie, 
who is aged seventy and now entirely helpless 
on account of rheumatism. She is caring for 
this poor aged woman and expects to until her 
death, which is a true Christian work. Indian' 
Nellie is the last of her family and is indeed a. 
very pathetic creature. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



247 



Mrs. Howe is highly esteemed by every per- 
son who knows her and receives the unbounded 
admiration and commendation of the entire Hood 
River country. 



EDWARD M. HARRIMAN is one of the 
leading farmers and stockmen in Wasco county. 
His estate lies just west from Endersly, where 
he has five hundred and forty acres, about half 
of which is cultivated. The balance is utilized 
for pasture. He has all the improvements needed 
on a first class estate and his residence, which has 
recently been remodeled and added to, is a com- 
fortable and tasty structure. In addition to his 
farming, he handles blooded stock and has choice 
specimens, both of horses and cattle. He winters 
about thirty head of each kind. Mr. Harriman 
has displayed an energy and sagacity in the con- 
duct of his business and in the acquirement of his 
property which commend him as one of the lead- 
ing men of the community and his sound prin- 
ciples and integrity have given him an unsullied 
reputation. 

Edward M. Harriman was born in England, 
on September 16, 1855, the son of John and 
Elizabeth (Hanford) Harriman, both natives of 
England. The father died there in 1876 and was 
of the seventh generation of his family that had 
been born in Leicestershire. The mother died at 
The Dalles in 1889. In the National school in 
Sielby parish, Leicestershire, our subject re- 
ceived a splendid education and then for two 
years worked in a hardware store. When eigh- 
teen years of age, he landed in the United States, 
and after a few weeks spent in New York and 
six months in New Jersey, he came on to Illi- 
nois, landing there in May, 1874. The next 
March, he went to Marysville, California and in 
that vicinity and various other places in the 
Golden State, including San Francisco, he 
worked at different employments and during the 
four years there he took a trip of four months to 
Oregon. In 1879, he was again in the Willam- 
ette valley and in 1880 he came to The Dalles. 
He worked for the O. R. & N., and for farmers 
for a couple of years, and then bought school 
land where he now lives. He has since that time 
given his attention to the improvement and cul- 
tivation of his estate and has made a good suc- 
cess, as his possessions indicate. 

At The Dalles, on February 17, 1886, Mr. 
Harriman married Miss Ada E., the daughter 
of Williston D. and Alazanna (Cornelius) 
Woodcock. She was born in Clackamas county, 
twelve miles out from Oregon City, on February 
7, 1868. Her father was born in New York, 
crossed the plains with ox teams, having a very 



hard trip. He died when this daughter was two 
years old. The mother, who was her husband's 
second wife, was born in Ohio, crossed the plains 
with her parents and died in the Willamette 
valley. Mr. Harriman has two brothers, who 
are mentioned elsewhere in this work. Mrs. 
Harriman has the following named brothers and 
sisters, Williston D., Thomas P., William, Absa- 
lom C, Newton and Jasper, twins, Francis M.-, 
died in 1884, Mrs. Sophia Ramsby, and two sis- 
ters who are deceased. She also has one half- 
brother, Alonzo, deceased, two half-sisters living, 
Mrs. Melissa Klinger and Mrs. Mary A. Mc- 
Haley, and two half-sisters deceased, Eliza and 
Sarah. To Mr. and Mrs. Harriman five chil- 
ren have been born: Nellie H., aged seventeen; 
Edna C, aged fifteen ; Arthur A., aged thirteen ; 
Fred E., aged eleven ; and Dickson L., aged 
eight. Mr. Harriman is an independent Repub- 
lican and is frequently at the different conven- 
tions. He has been school director and road 
supervisor and has always manifested a lively in- 
terest in the advancement and upbuilding of the 
country. 



GEORGE W. FLIGG, the popular and genial 
postmaster at Endersly, Oregon, is one of the 
capable men who have labored for the advance- 
ment of Wasco countv and is now one of its rep- 
resentative citizens. He was born on October 
10, 1833, in Morgan county, Illinois, the son of 
John and Martha H. Fligg, natives of England, 
where they were married. A few years previous 
to the birth of our subject, they came to the 
United States and settled in Morgan county, Illi- 
nois. When George was four years of age, his 
father died and he early learned the hardships of 
life, being obliged to work hard as soon as he 
was able to do even a boy's work. When ten, 
he went to Iowa, and from that time he was 
practically for himself in this world. He was 
with a brother-in-law and other relatives until 
his marriage, on October 15, 1855, to Mary F., 
the daughter of Jackson and Parthemia (Mer- 
rill) Gregory. The father was born in Alabama 
and his parents in North Carolina, being de- 
scended from colonial settlers. The mother was 
also born in North Carolina and her ancestors 
were among the earliest settlers in the colonies. 
Mrs. Fligg was born in Alabama. Forty years 
after his marriage were spent by our subject in 
Fairfield doing carpentering and building. Then 
he went to Omaha, Nebraska, and in 1895 came 
to Oregon and took a homestead which he in- 
creased by the purchase of eighty acres. About 
1899, he sold this property and removed on the 
small farm where the postoffice of Endersly is 



248 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



now located. When in the east, Mr. Fligg had 
an interest in a coal mine and was possessed of 
town property besides. In addition to the post- 
office, he handles a store and is patronized well 
from the surrounding country. Mr. Fligg has 
one sister, Mrs. Sarah Rowland. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Fligg, the following named children have 
been born; Charles, in Fairfield, Iowa; Allen, a 
farmer near by ; Sarah E., the wife of George 
W. Covert, on Pleasant ridge; Louisa, the wife 
of Frank Still ; Belle, the wife of J. C. Bailey, a 
carpenter in Fairfield, Iowa ; Cora, wife of Will- 
iam Endersby; Mary, the wife of James Dick- 
son, mentioned elsewhere; Edwin, died April 
24, 1872, William, died August 24, 1876; Minnie, 
died December 18, 1876; Franklin, died January 
18, 1878; and Martha E., died October 19, 1880. 
Mr. Fligg is a stanch Republican, used to be a 
Whig, and has voted for every Republican candi- 
date for president since the party was organized. 
He has been road supervisor and is now serving 
his third term as justice of the peace. He and his 
wife belong to the Christian church and are high- 
ly esteemed people. 



MILO M. CUSHING is one of the earliest 
pioneers of the territory now occupied by Wasco 
county, and having weathered the storms of half 
a century here, is now permitted to see the coun- 
try developed which was a wilderness when he 
came. He resides about three miles east from 
The Dalles and there owns a good farm. He is 
well known all over this part of the country and 
has the good will and esteem of everyone who 
knows him. 

Milo M. dishing was born in Truxton, New 
York, on July 3, 1820. His father, Charles dish- 
ing, was born on January 3, 1793, and died at 
Hillsdale, Michigan. His father, Asaph L., the 
grandfather of our subject, was born in 1767, 
while this venerable gentleman's father, Nathan 
dishing, which would be the great-grandfather 
-of our subject, was born in 1730. The family 
were of old colonial stock and prominent both as 
pioneers of the country and as patriots in the 
various wars. The mother of our subject, Han- 
nah (Morris) dishing, was a native of New 
York and died on October 18, 1824. The Morris 
family is one well known in the early history of 
this country. Asaph L. dishing was a musician 
in the war of 1812. When Milo M. was five years 
old his mother died and he was reared by his 
grandparents, on his father's side, until the fa- 
ther married Airs. Harriet Maxon. When four- 
teen, our subject began life for himself and 
wrought variously, attending school in winters 



until eighteen. He then went into the grocery 
business in Shawnee and was deputy postmaster 
of the town. Two years later he sold out and 
soon went to Michigan, where his grandfather 
Morris was. Then we find him operating in a 
hotel in Armada and also he handled a grocery 
store. Two years later he opened a grocery in 
Hillsdale, but was taken ill in two years. Upon 
his recovery he bartered dry goods to the In- 
dians for furs for a year, then, on June 6, 1845, 
he married Miss Mary A. Burlingham, in Wash- 
ington, Michigan, who was born in Warsaw, New 
York, on March 30, 1822. In December, 1848, 
he enlisted in the regular. army and handled the 
officers' mess at fort Gratiot, Michigan. On Sep- 
tember 9, 1849, his wife died and then he gave 
up that position and took up the regular duty of 
a soldier from which he was promoted to ser- 
geant. In 1852, he came to Oregon, being under 
Captain Alvord, Colonel Bonneville, Grant being 
regimental quartermaster. He was in regular 
quartermaster service and in the discharge of 
other duties until December, 1853, when he re- 
ceived his discharge at The Dalles. He then ob- 
tained permission to erect a building on the gov- 
ernment reserve, which is now the ground oc- 
cupied by The Dalles. He soon had a good block 
house made of hewn logs on the river front. Later 
he erected a hotel and also a merchandise estab- 
lishment. His were the first business buildings 
in the now prosperous town of The Dalles. His 
hotel was known as the dishing House, and the 
rates were seventy-five cents per meal and fifty 
cents for a bed. After operating the hotel for a 
year, Mr. dishing rented it but continued with 
the mercantile business for five years then took a 
homestead on Millcreek. Mr. dishing owned a 
quarter interest in the steamboat "Wasco," which 
plied between' The Dalles and the Cascades. He 
held this interest for three years. This was the 
first boat built east of the Cascades for this run. 
Later he sold all his town property and did farm- 
ing on Mill creek. 

On April 6, 1854, he married Miss Mary Pig- 
gott, a native of Ireland. Later he engaged in 
business in The Dalles until 1876, when he sold 
out and retired to the farm where he now re- 
sides. He bought state land here and for many 
years handled the poor farm. Mrs. dishing 
came here in 1853. She is the daughter of Will- 
iam and Catherine (Noonon) Piggott, natives of 
Ireland, where they remained until their death. 
.Mrs. dishing has no near relatives in the United 
States. Mr. dishing has one sister, Mary E. 
Evans, a widow, and one half brother, James N., 
and one half sister, Jane E. By his first marriage, 
Mr. dishing had one child, Charles B., a mer- 
chant in Tacoma. also one deceased. Mary A., 




Milo M. Cusking 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



249 



who died in McComb county, Michigan. To Mr. 
Cushing and his present wife, the following 
named children have been born; Eliza E., Frank 
L., Caleb, Joseph M., Morris A., all dead; Milo 
M., Jr., in Mayville, Oregon ; and William H., 
who is mentioned elsewhere in this work. Mr. 
dishing succeeded the suttler as postmaster of 
The Dalles and was elected the first justice of 
the peace but did not qualify. He was, also, the 
first treasurer of the county, being elected on the 
Democratic ticket. Mr. Gushing's name is in- 
dellibly written in the history of Wasco county 
and the labors he has done are far reaching and 
•excellent. He and his wife are among the most 
highly esteemed people in the county at this day, 
and these venerable Christian people, dwelling 
in security in the country they assisted to wrest 
from the wilderness, is one of the beautiful sights 
of the west. 



WILLIAM H. CUSHING is a native son of 
Wasco county and has showed himself one in 
which the qualities of worth and substantiality 
together with wisdom and geniality are happily 
blended. He was educated in the public schools 
of The Dalles and during the hours when not at 
his books was helping his father in the latter's 
store. This life continued until the lad had 
reached fourteen when the father sold his town 
property and repaired to the country, purchasing 
land where our subject now resides, three miles 
•east from town. Since then, Mr. Cushing has 
devoted himself to farming and now is handling 
his father's farm and one of his own, which ad- 
joins his father's land. He has a choice place of 
eighty acres and another of two hundred and 
forty acres and is one of the thrifty farmers of 
Wasco county. 

William H. Cushing was born in The Dalles, 
•on June 4, 1862, the son of Milo and Mary (Pig- 
gott) Cushing, natives of Lockport, New York, 
and Ireland, respectively. They both now dwell 
on the farm near our subject. The father de- 
scends from a prominent family which has al- 
ways been influential in American politics even 
before the time of the Declaration of Independ- 
ence. 

On November .30, 1884, Mr. Cushing mar- 
ried Miss Josephine, the daughter of Thomas 
and Mary (Gates) Knebel, and a native of Iowa. 
Her father came from Germany, his native coun- 
try, to the United States when six years old. 
The family settled in Iowa and in 1868, he came 
to Oregon, settling near Eugene. Later he came 
to Wasco county and died on his farm, near that 
of our subject. The mother now lives in The 
Dalles. Mr. Cushing has two brothers who are 



mentioned in this work. Mrs. Cushing has two 
brothers, Joseph and Daniel, and five sisters, 
Mrs. Theresa Anlauf, Mrs. Thomas Denton, Mrs. 
Odelia Harvey, Mrs. Ida Jackel, and Mrs. Kate 
Nowak. The following named children have 
been born to Mr. and Mrs. Cushing, Frank, Katie, 
Olive, Benie, Esther, Sybil, and Morris. Mr. 
Cushing is a member of the M. W. A. and is a 
well informed Democrat. He has often been to 
the conventions and is now on the school board, 
having served five consecutive terms. He has 
also been road supervisor for two terms. Both 
Mr. and Mrs. Cushing are members of the Roman 
Catholic church. They are well respected people 
and have shown a progressive spirit in their ca- 
reers. 



MILTON J. ANDERSON, second ranger 
of the United States Forest Reserve, residing at 
The Dalles, Wasco county, was born in Sacra- 
mento county, California, October 11, i860. His 
father, Hartford Anderson, was a native of Scot- 
land, coming to the United States and locating 
in Pennsylvania with his parents when a child. 
He was a ship carpenter, and died in Sacra- 
mento, California. The mother, a native of the 
North of Ireland, died in 1874. 

Folsom, California, was the scene of our sub- 
ject's youth and early manhood. He was edu- 
cated in the public schools of that town, attended 
the high school and acquired an excellent busi- 
ness education. He remained in California until 
he was twenty years of age, was four years a 
drug clerk, and four years in the Pacific Carri- 
age Works in Sacramento, and became a car- 
riage ironer. In 1884 he came to Wasco county 
and opened a blacksmith shop, manufacturing 
all descriptions of carriage iron. He organized 
the Summer Fallow Machine Company in 1889, 
and began the manufacture of cultivators. The 
company discontinued business in 1902, and 
shortly afterward he was appointed to his present 
position with the forest reserve. For many years 
Mr. Anderson has been an enthusiastic advocate 
of forestry and forest protection, and was a mem- 
ber and prime mover in the first Forest Protec- 
tion Association, organized in Oregon. He was 
secretary of the association four years, and his 
efforts in that line were cordially recognized by 
the government. On being appointed to the 
position of ranger he removed to The . Dalles 
from Dufur, disposing of his home in the latter 
town. 

Politically he is a Republican and has served 
as delegate to nearly every state and county con- 
vention since 1883. He has served two terms as 
mayor of Dufur, and one term as chairman of 



250 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



the board of school directors. Mr. Anderson 
drafted the original charter of the city of Dufur, 
and in 1893 proceeded with it to Salem and se- 
cured its adoption. He is a member of the W. 
O. T. W., No. 215 ; charter member of the Coun- 
cil and was commander the first three years of 
its existence. He has four brothers and one sis- 
ter : Levi H, a miner of Sacramento, California ; 
Charles A. and Edward H., in the employment of 
the Central Pacific Railway, in California; Will- 
iam A., an attorney and ex-member of the Cali- 
fornia legislature, now probate judge in Sacra- 
mento : and Maggie, single, a teacher in the 
grammer school of Sacramento. June 2.7, 1886, 
at Wamic, Wasco county, Oregon, Mr. Ander- 
son was married to Ella M. Rodman, born in 
Utah. Her parents are William R. and Louisa 
Rodman, living at Wamic. She has one brother 
and four sisters : Hugh, a farmer near Walla 
Walla, Washington ; Ruth, wife of Daniel Crow- 
ley, of Antelope ; Laura, married to James Pal- 
mer, of Portland, Oregon ; Belle, wife of Joseph 
H. Prout, a forest ranger living at Wamic ; and 
Elsie, wife of David Campbell, a farmer near 
Wamic. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson have four 
children, Alvis M., H. Vernon, Malcolm and 
Irene, aged sixteen, thirteen, eleven and one 
years, respectively. Our subject has been clerk 
of the house or senate of the Oregon legisla- 
ture every session since 1891. He is a member 
of the American Forestry Association, Washing- 
ton, D. C. 



ELI T. HINMAN, contractor and builder, 
residing at Dufur, Wasco county, was born at 
Augusta, Oneida county, New York, January 
23, 1834, the son of Eli and Ann (Foote) Hin- 
man. The father was born in Oneida county, 
and his parents were descendants of A. Hinman, 
who came from England early in the seventeenth 
century. Many of this family still live in New 
England and New York, and are distinguished 
members of the bench and bar and commercial 
circles. The mother of our subject was born in 
Madison county, New York, a descendant of the 
old Foote family of England, members of which 
have been eminent in literary, military, naval 
and dramatic circles for several centuries. 

Eli T. Hinman, our subject, was reared prin- 
cipally in the Empire state, where he attended the 
public schools and the Munnsville (Madison 
county) high school. When twenty-three years 
of age, he removed to Illinois where he was en- 
gaged in farm work, remaining there twenty- 
five years. He came to Oregon in t88t and en- 
gaged in sheep raising on the Des Chutes river, 



Wasco county. Six years thereafter, in 1887,. 
he disposed of his interests in this business and 
located in Dufur, or what is now Dufur, for at 
that period there was but one house in the vicin- 
ity. Here Mr. Hinman engaged in building and 
contracting. In company with his partner, Mon- 
roe Heisler, he built the Methodist and United 
Brethren churches, the city school and many 
residences and business blocks. Mr. Hinman 
has one brother and one sister, Orin W., in Mc- 
Donough county, Illinois, and Zerlina, wife of 
S. B. Black, of Henderson county, Illinois. 

Our subject was married May 13, 1857, at 
Horseheads, Chemung county, New York, to 
Mary E. Reynolds, a native of that county. Her 
father, Henry, and mother, Melinda (Corning) 
Reynolds, were, also, natives of the Emprie 
State. Mrs. Hinman has one sister, Esther, 
widow of Barney Stryker, of Elmira, New York. 
Mr. and Mrs. Hinman are the parents of three 
children: Henry, in the United States army; 
Esther, wife of Thomas Robison, a blacksmith, 
living in Dufur ; and Edwin, of The Dalles. Mr. 
Hinman is a member of the A. F. & A. M., and 
the church of the LJnited Brethren in Christ. 
For manv years he has been a devoted and con- 
scientious class leader. His wife is a member of 
the Methodist Episcopal church. Politically he 
is a Prohibitionist, though not particularly active, 
and for two years was city marshal of Dufur. 

In 1864 a recruiting officer visited the home 
of our subject in Illinois, and the latter assisted 
him in organizing the Farnsworth Light Bri- 
gade. Mr. Hinman was to have been a First 
Lieutenant, but before the company w r as com- 
pleted news was received of the death of Captain 
Farnsworth, at Gettysburg, and the scheme fell' 
through. Our subject was busily engaged in an 
endeavor to raise a new regiment at the close of 
the war. He could not conscientiously enlist at 
the commencement of the Rebellion, as he had 
a young family, but during the last year he ex- 
pended his time and money, and through no 
fault of his own, he was not at the front. 



AUGUST W. LONGREN, who is one of the 
well-to-do farmers and stockmen of Wasco coun- 
ty, has gained his propertv holdings bv virtue of 
his industry and his careful management. He 
has the satisfaction of knowing that he has paid 
value received for everything that he owns and 
although he started with his bare hands he has 
now a fine property. Where he dwells, one half 
mile west from Endersly, he has a body of two 
hundred and forty acres, and eighty more across 
the road. In addition he owns two lots and ai 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



251 



residence in The Dalles, and considerable blooded 
stock. His place is a valuable one and is well 
improved. ' 

August W. Longren was born in Sweden, on 
January 8, 1853, the son of Gustav and Mar- 
greta (Peterson) Longren, natives of Sweden, 
where they also died, on June 1, 1894, and in 
1886, respectively. The ancestors were farmers 
in the old country for many generations. After 
gaining his education, Mr. Longren left his na- 
tive country for the United States in 1873. He 
came direct to Rockford, Illinois, and two years 
later went to Jamestown, New York. Returning 
to Rockford, he came thence in 1876, to the Wil- 
lamette valley, and the next fall to The Dalles. 
He was employed by the O. R. & N. and ran a 
scow on the Columbia until 1882, when he took 
a portion of his present place as a homestead. 
Since that time he has continued here laboring 
in that which occupies him now. He has good 
success, raises hay and potatoes and other crops 
and breeds stock. 

At The Dalles, on October 2, 1886, Mr. Long- 
ren married Miss Madama Fleming, who was 
born in Indiana, Grant county. She came to 
Oregon for her health in 1884 and dwelt with 
her cousins, Ephraim and Thomas Badger, Mr. 
Longren has one brother, Charles F., and two 
sisters, Sophie Johnson and Mrs. Christine Nill- 
son, a widow. Three children have been born to 
Mr. and Mrs. Longren: Matilda, aged sixteen; 
Minna, aged fourteen, and Charles A., aged 
twelve. Mrs. Longren is a member of the Christ- 
ian church. Mr. Longren is a Republican, but 
not especially active, although he is always ready 
to give his influence for the support of his party. 
He has always refused to hold any office, al- 
though he has frequently been importuned to do 
so. Mr. Longren has one of the best places on 
Eightmile creek and he well knows how to skill- 
fully handle it. He is a great reader and spends 
much time in informing himself on the subjects 
of the day. He and his wife are popular and 
esteemed people. 



ALBERT G. DOYLE, deceased. In giving 
a memoir of the esteemed gentleman, whose name 
is at the head of this page, we feel that it is quite 
in place with the object of this work, which is 
to make mention of the leading men and women 
of Wasco county, since he was a man of excel- 
lent Christian character, possessed of abilities 
and worth that stamped him a leader among men 
and one who won friends wherever he was. 

Albert G. Doyle was born in Illinois, on 
March 7, 1832, the son of Daniel Doyle. He was 
a native of Virginia, of Swiss ancestry. The 



name was probably anglicised after the family 
came to America, in the early colonial days. He 
married Miss Godfrey, the mother of our subject. 
She died when Albert was an infant and then the 
father married Mary Lowe. They were both 
from prominent Virginia families. Our subject 
was reared in Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri, . 
and after the high schools were completed, he en- 
tered Lebanon college and received a fine clas- 
sical training. Then he matriculated in the med- 
ical college of Cincinnati, Ohio, but owing to 
a failure of his health he was obliged to abandon 
the study of medicine, which was his life's ambi- 
tion. However, he gave it up cheerfullv and 
went to teaching, which he had followed before. 
Then he did farming until his marriage in Illi- 
nois. In 1865 in company with his father and the 
entire family, our subject fitted out horse and 
mule teams and made the trip across the plains 
to the Willamette valley. After three years there 
he found the climate did not agree with him and 
accordingly came to this side of the mountains. 
He spent a winter on Fifteenmile and then came 
and purchased the right of Louis Klinger and 
preempted the place where his widow now resides 
about three miles west from Endersly. Here he 
lived until the time of his death, on January 23, 
1880. He was then aged forty-eight. He was 
a man of prominence among his fellows and bore 
the best of reputation, being a faithful Christian. 
He and his wife were zealous members of the 
Methodist church. Mrs. Doyle has remained on 
the home place since and is a woman of many 
graces and virtues. She is most highly esteemed 
by all and is spending the golden years of her- 
life secure in the faith that has cheered and sus- 
tained her all the journey up to this time. 

On April 5, 1857, at Highland, Illinois, the 
marriage of Mr. Doyle and Sarah Hines oc- 
curred. She was born in Illinois, on November 
17, 1837, the daughter of William and Sarah 
(Robbins) Hines. The mother died when she 
was five months old and the father when she had 
arrived to the age of twelve. Her childhoood 
life was 'spent with foster parents, William and 
Susanna (Hormsby) Husong. Mr. Doyle had 
no full brothers or sisters, but had two half broth- 
ers, John and Charles, and two half sisters, Mary 
F. Fonts, and Rosie Hemmingway. Five child- 
ren were born to Mr. and Mrs. Doyle : Mary 
F., the wife of Benjamin Southwell, and now de- 
ceased ; Joseph, who died when aged seventeen ; 
Bessie, the wife of Charles Wagonblast, who died 
in July, 1894; Edwin, the eldest son, who died 
on May 31, 1900, aged thirty-eight years and- 
four months ; and William, single and living with 
his mother. The children were men and women ■ 
of fine character and were well esteemed. 



2^2 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



MICHAEL M. GLAVEY, of the firm of 
Glavey Brothers, stock-raisers and farmers, re- 
siding five miles south of Dufur, Wasco county, 
is a native of St. Louis, Missouri, born March 
31, 1863. His parents, Thomas and Honor 
(Welch) Glavey, natives of County Mayo, Ire- 
land, are mentioned elsewhere. 

Newton county, Missouri, was the field of our 
subject's earlier days, and there he was reared 
and partially educated in the graded schools, at- 
tending school also in Newton county, and also 
in Portland, Oregon, whither his family removed 
about 1875. When he was thirteen years of age 
he came with his parents to Wasco county, set- 
tling in his present location and here he has since 
resided. 

On the home farm, in 1895, November 23, 
Mr. Glavey was united in marriage to Annie A. 
Bolton, born in Petaluma, Sonoma county Cali- 
fornia. Her parents were Patrick and Bridget 
(O'Neil) Bolton, natives of Ireland. They at 
present reside on a farm near Dufur. Mrs. Glavey 
has six brothers and two sisters : Henry, John and 
Edward, Wasco county farmers and stock rais- 
ers ; William, a druggist, in Portland ; Mary, wife 
of George Thompson, a farmer residing in Sher- 
man county ; and Nellie, single, living at home. 
Mr. and Mrs. Glavey have four children living, 
Irene and William, aged five and three years, 
respectively, and Thomas and Marie, twins, one 
year old. 

Politically Mr. Glavey is a Democrat, and 
for years has been a delegate, annually, to county 
conventions. In 1870 he served as a delegate to 
the Democratic state convention. Two terms he 
was clerk of the school board, and has been as 
active in politics as his business would permit. 

John Glavey is the third member of the firm 
of Glavey Brothers. He was born in St. Louis, 
Missouri, on September 9, 1854, and dwells on 
the ranch with his brothers. He is still enjoying 
the freedom of the celibatarian and is highly 
esteemed. 



THOMAS W. GLAVEY, of the firm of 
Glavey Brothers, extensive farmers and stock- 
raisers, residing five miles from Dufur, Wasco 
county, was born in St. Louis, Missouri, April 
17, i860. He is the son of Thomas and Honor 
(Welch) Glavey, natives of County Mayo, Ire- 
land. About 1848 the father came to the United 
States and located in New Orleans, and for many 
years worked on Mississippi river steamers. He 
died January 6, 1888, on the Wasco county ranch. 
The mother passed away March 18, 1897. 

Until he was nine years of age our subject 



was reared in the city of St. Louis, and the family 
then removed to Franklin county, Missouri, three 
years later to Newton county, coming to Oregon 
in 1875. Mr. Glavey was educated in the graded 
schools of St. Louis, and other district schools 
in Missouri. The family remained one year in 
Portland, Oregon, and then came to the locality 
where the brothers now reside. The father set- 
tled on a quarter section of land five miles south 
of the present site of Dufur. This land was 
claimed by both the railroad and the government, 
and, consequently he never secured a title to the 
same, but following his death our subject, Thomas 
W. Glavey, succeeded in getting a clear title from 
the government. Later he filed on a homestead. 
He remained with his parents until their death, 
since when he and his brothers, Michael M. and 
John, who are mentioned elsewhere, have added 
to the original farm and now reside there. To- 
gether they own about fifteen hundred acres, 
raise considerable stock, but devote their atten- 
tion mainlv to the cultivation of wheat. 



RICHARD SIGMAN is one of the best 
known men of Dufur, and a veteran of the terrible 
conflict which raged to preserve to us the rights 
and privileges of freedom when base treason 
would have trodden under foot the stars and 
stripes and rent asunder the land of our fore- 
fathers. He has achieved a good success in the 
financial world and has thus far passed a career 
which is unblemished and filled with industry and 
good deeds. 

Richard Sigman was born in Ohio, on July 
26, 1844, the son of James and Ruth A. (Lucas) 
Sigman, natives of Ohio. The mother died in 
the spring of 1865. The father came to Cali- 
fornia in 1849 an d about eighteen months later 
returned to Ohio where he died in 1903. His 
father, the grandfather of our subject, was in the 
War of 1812, and the father of that veteran, which 
is the great-grandfather of Richard Sigman, 
fought in the Revolution. His wife was the 
mother of twenty-two boys. Our subject was 
reared and educated in Ohio and in 1862 enlisted 
in Company H. One Hundred and Twenty-second 
Ohio Volunteer Infantry, captained by Mr. Gor- 
don under Colonel Ball. He was soon sent to 
the front and paticipated in the Oak Grove and 
the Winchester engagements. Then he was taken 
prisoner at the battle of the Wilderness and for 
weary months was detained in the Andersonville. 
Libby, and Florence prisons. He weighed one 
hundred and eighty when he entered those death 
pits, but scarcely tipped the beam at one hundred 
when he was finally released. A living death. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



253 



although the people of the land know well what 
those horrible places were and something- of what 
the poor bo.ys in blue suffered, still never can it 
be written the horrors that becloud the per- 
petrators of that cruelty nor can the anguish of 
the poor victims ever be adequately told. Living 
in the midst of the awfullest death, and dying by 
inches, Mr. Sigman eked out the days until the 
glad news of his deliverance came and a drawn 
skeleton, he staggered out to welcome it. After 
that he returned home and for eighteen years was 
farming in Illinois. 1884 was the year in which 
Mr. Sigman came to The Dalles and made settle- 
ment in Dry Hollow. This was near Dufur and 
he took railroad land which afterward reverted 
to the government. Then he took government 
claims and also purchased land until he had an 
estate of nearly one section. Since the years of 
prosperity have come to Mr. Sigman, he has sold 
a greater portion of this land to his son and in 
1901, he came to Dufur to spend the remaining 
days of his life in quiet retirement from the bustle 
of active business. 

At Pana, Illinois, in 1870, Mr. Sigman mar- 
ried Miss Ward, a native of Ohio. She died on 
the home farm here in Wasco county, on March 
6, 1890. Her parents were John and Martha 
(Griffith) Ward, natives of Ohio. The father's 
parents were born in Ireland. Mr. Sigman has 
eight sisters, all in the east. His wife had three 
brothers and two sisters in Illinois. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Sigman seven children have been born : 
Melvin and Alvin, farmers near Dufur; Alberta, 
the wife of Neil O'Leary, a farmer in Sherman 
county ; Jessie, the wife of Darius Smith, on 
Eightmile creek; Maud, the wife of Milton 
O'Brien, in the employ of Johnson Brothers ; 
Margareta, teacher in Sherman county; Nettie, 
a girl of seventeen and now with her father. Mr. 
Sigman is a member of the G. A. R. and is often 
at the county conventions. He is a prominent and 
highly esteemed man and is looked up to by all. 



GEORGE W. VANDERPOOL, who resides 
about a mile up the creek from Dufur, was born 
in Prineville, Oregon, on May 12, 1873. He is 
the son of William T. and Susan (Heisler) Van- 
derpool, who is mentioned in another portion of 
this work. The first ten years of his life were 
spent in his native place, then he came with the 
family to Fifteenmile creek and his education was 
completed at Dufur. He remained with his father 
on the farm until 190 1, when the latter removed 
to Dufur and he rented the estate. Since that 
time, he has been handling the same with good 
success, displaying energy and skill in his labors. 



At Dufur, on January 1, 1900, Mr. Vander- 
pool married Miss Lillie Temple, who was born, 
in Nevada, on February 24, 1874. Her parents 
were William B. A. and Lavina (Watson) 
Temple, natives of Indiana and now living retired . 
at Dufur. Mrs. Vanderpool has three brothers,. 
Edward, Harry and Pearl, and two sisters, Mrs. 
Lottie Mulkins and Erma. 

Fraternally, our subject is affiliated with the 
I. U. O. F. and he and his wife belong to the. 
Rebekahs. He adheres to the Republican party 
but is not especially active. One child has been 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Vanderpool, Fern. Mr. 
Vanderpool has taken up the work of handling- 
his father's estate when the latter retired and 
owing to his natural ability and the careful train- 
ing he received at the hands of his father, he has 
been enabled to make an excellent success. The- 
Vanderpool estates are some of the best in the 
county and the father has been known for years 
as one of the leading stockmen in this part of the • 
state. Presaging the future by the past, one is 
safe in asserting that our subject is destined to be ■ 
one of the leading citizens of the county and one - 
of its worthy and substantial men. 



LYMAN SMITH, a genial and benevolent 
gentleman, who has spent many years in the Web- 
foot State, and is now dwelling in the vicinity of 
Hood River, is conducting a choice fruit farm- 
and is one of the well known and esteemed men 
of this part of the county. He was born in Brad- 
ford county, Pennsylvania, on September 29,. 
1834, the son of William and Jane (Blanvelt) 
Smith, natives of Pennsylvania. The father came 
from an old colonial family and the mother's 
people came from Holland in the generation pre- 
ceding her. Our subject was educated in 
Chemung county, New York, and when eight 
was called to mourn the death of his father. Then- 
he lived with a neighbor for five years, after - 
which he was with his brother-in-law until sixteen. 
He labored hard and saved what money he could 
and studied as the opportunities presented them- 
selves. He remained in that county until twenty- 
tour when he married and rented land. Three 
years later he bought a farm. After two years 
on that he removed to Michigan and bought land. 
He became homesick after a year, however, and 
returned to New York and bought another farm 
there. Ten years were spent in tilling that and' 
again the adventurous spirit of our subject led' 
him west, this time clear across the mountains 
to Oregon. This was in 1875, and he located rail- 
road land which later reverted to the government. 
He purchased the same from the government and ' 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



since then he has remained here. He owns eighty- 
five acres and cultivates about thirty. The same 
is well set in the fruit producing trees of this sec- 
tion and other things and is a source of a good 
income. Mr. Smith married in 1858, November 
2d, while in Chemung county, the lady of his 
choice being Helen Jackson, a native of Chemung 
county. Her death occurred in 1892 at Hood 
River. Her parents were William and Elizabeth 
Jackson, natives of Pennsylvania. Mr. Smith has 
three sisters, Mary A. Baldwin, Adeline, widow 
of John Lyons, and Henrietta Doney. Mrs. 
Smith had two brothers, Lyman and Jahiel. To 
Mr. Smith three children have been born : 
Eleanor L., the wife of S. J. LaFrance, in Port- 
land ; William J., traveling salesman for Tatrum 
& Bowen, of Portland ; and Charles D., engineer 
on a tug at Cascade Locks. Mr. Smith is a mem- 
ber of the A. O. U. W. He is a strong Republi- 
can and voted for John C. Fremont the first Re- 
publican candidate for president. Since that 
time, Mr. Smith has never cut his ticket and he 
is well posted in all the issues that have been 
before the people for the last fifty years. He has 
held various minor offices, but never allowed his 
name presented for public positions, as he prefers 
the retirement of private industrial life. 



WILLIAM T. VANDERPOOL is one of the 
wealthy farmers and stockmen of Wasco county 
and has met with such abundant success in his 
labors that retirement from active business life 
is justified. He resides in Dufur, where he nas a 
cosy, one and one-half story dwelling, provided 
with all modern conveniences. He owns two 
ranches, aggregating something over one section 
of land which he is handling at the present time. 
He also has considerable other property. 

William T. Vanderpool was born in Polk 
county, Oregon, on December 8, 1852, the son of 
Larkin and Mary (Turnage) Vanderpool. He 
was reared in Benton county until thirteen, then 
the family went to Marion county and in 1869, 
they moved into the Prineville country, where he 
remained until 1883. His education was received 
in the various places where he lived and in the 
last year mentioned, he came to the vicinity of 
Dufur. He bought a ranch from Jacob Gulliford, 
which was the family home for ten years, then 
he bought the Henderson donation claim which 
was taken up in 1852. the first one taken in this 
vicinity. Mr. Vanderpool has given especial at- 
tention to stock raising, doing also diversified 
farming. ITe has some well bred cattle and some 
choice Poll Angus bulls. He usually winters 
about four hundred head of stock and is one of 



the most successful handlers of stock in this part 
of the country. 

On June 24, 1872, at Prineville, Mr. Vander- 
pool married Miss Susan Heisler, who was born 
in Lane county, Oregon. Her parents and 
brothers and sisters are mentioned in another 
portion of this work. To this union, six children 
have been born : George and William C, operat- 
ing their father's farm ; Floyd and Charles, school 
boys at home ; Eva, the wife of Melvin Sigman, a 
farmer, two miles north from Dufur ; Olivia, wife 
of Archie Moad,. a blacksmith at Tygh. 

Mr. Vanderpool is a member of the A. O. 
U. W. and of the I. O. O. F. He is a good 
strong Republican, has filled the office of road 
supervisor and school director and is frequently 
a delegate to the conventions. He is one of the 
substantial and leading citizens of the county. 



MONROE HEISLER, a native of Oregon, 
born in Marion county, September 27, 1852, now 
resides at Dufur, Wasco county, engaged in build- 
ing and contracting. He is the son of William 
(Grandpa) and Martha (McConnell) Heisler. 

Our subject lived with his parents and at- 
tended district school in Lane and Linn counties, 
Oregon, and removed to what is now Crook 
county. He also worked at teaming and black- 
smithing x and for ten years was in the business of 
raising sheep in company with his father-in-law, 
E. N. White, in Crook county. He came to 
Wasco county about 1885, locating at Dufur, 
where he was engaged in the general merchandise 
business with his father. For two years they con- 
ducted the first store in the place. They disposed 
of the property and our subject returned to Crook 
count}- and went into the mercantile business in 
Prineville, removing thence to Dufur where he 
was employed two years in carpenter work. Go- 
ing to Lagrande he remained one year, where he 
purchased an interest with Crandall, the jeweler, 
returning to Dufur. He then went onto a ranch 
for which he and his father had traded the store, 
and was for eight years engaged in farming. 
They had in all six hundred and forty acres, in- 
cluding railroad land which they had purchased. 
In 1897 the oldest son of our subject, Charles M., 
purchased "Grandpa" Heisler's interest in the 
ranch, on which he now lives. Since that time our 
subject has resided in Dufur engaged in building 
and contracting. In company with E. T. Hinman 
he built the Dufur school house. Mr. Heisler 
has served as school director several years and 
has been road supervisor for a term of two years. 
He is politically independent, although not an 
active partisan, and he has been a member of the 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



255 



city council of Dufur. He is a member of 
Ridgely Lodge, No. 71, I. O. O. F., of which 
he is past grand ; Nicholson Encampment ; A. O. 
U. W-. ; W. O. W., and he and wife are members 
of Star Lodge, No. 23, Rebekahs, and the 
Christian church. 

At Prineville, June 4, 1876, Mr. Heisler was 
united in marriage to Cynthia L. White, born in 
Linn county, Oregon. Her parents Edward N. 
and Catherine (Burkhart) White, were natives of 
Iowa. The father, a prominent western pioneer, 
•crossed the plains so early as 1840, and is now 
living near Prineville. The mother is dead. Mrs. 
Heisler has three half brothers living ; Grant, en- 
gaged in mining in Canada ; Aaron and Edward, 
at Prineville ; one full sister, Abbie, wife of T. 
C. Baker, a stockman near Corvallis ; and three 
half sisters ; Jennie, married to J. L. McCully, 
•of Prineville ; Docia, of Boise City, Idaho ; and 
Ella, wife of James Cram, of Prineville. Mr. and 
Mrs. Heisler have five children, Charles, Claud, 
Clarence, Harold, and Minnie, wife of Park Bol- 
ton, a farmer residing near Wrentham, Oregon. 



WILLIAM HEISLER, better known as 
"Grandpa Heisler" is one of the pioneers of the 
Pacific coast and a detailed account of his career 
is very interesting in a work of this character, 
therefore, for the benefit of all, we append the 
same. 

William Heisler was born in Schuylkill county, 
Pennsylvania, on April 13, 1828, the son of John 
and Catherine (Yost) Heisler, also natives of the 
Keystone State. They were both descended from 
prominent and old Dutch families. The father's 
father was a patriot in the Revolution. Our sub- 
ject was reared and educated in his native county 
and when 1846 came he went to Pittsburg and 
wrought at his trade of tobacconist and cigar 
maker. Then he traveled to Adelphia, Ohio, 
thence to Louisville, Kentucky, later to Bethlehem, 
Indiana, and thence to St. Louis, where he en- 
listed in Colonel Powell's Battalion, being en- 
rolled in Company A, under Captain Sublett. His 
service was for eighteen months or until peace 
was declared with Mexico. When they got as far 
as Fort Leavenworth, word came of the Whit- 
man massacre, and his command was ordered to 
that section. The following winter was spent 
near the present site of Omaha and in the spring 
they made their way to Grand Island in the Platte. 
As peace was declared, they were discharged, but 
at that time the government built Fort Kearney 
and they remained until the regulars relieved them 
in the fall of 1848, and they were formally dis- 
charged at Fort Leavenworth. In the spring of 



the following year, Mr. Heisler with four friends 
came with ox teams to California and soon was 
working in the mines, first at Weavertown, sixty 
miles northeast from Sacramento and then in 
other places with moderate success and then re- 
turned to Missouri via Panama. From June 22, 
185 1, to March 12, 1852, he remained in Missouri, 
then came overland with his wife, having married. 
His brother-in-law and others accompanied them 
and they arrived at Foster's ranch in Clackamas 
county on August 16, 1852. Soon he took a do- 
nation claim nine miles south from Salem and 
later sold it to Gaines, who was the second gover- 
nor of Oregon. Then he took another claim in 
Lane county and there made his home until 1868. 
Next he bought a forty acre tract near Browns- 
ville, and in 1870 sold it and came to Prineville. 
There were but thirteen settlers in that part of the 
country upon his arrival and he contracted to have 
lumber brought over from Linn county at three 
cents per pound for freighting, with which he built 
the first store in Prineville. He remained in busi- 
ness there until 1880, when he sold one half inter- 
est to Arthur Breyman, and later the balance to 
John Summerville, and removed to The Dalles. 
In September, 1882, Mr. Heisler opened a store 
in Dufur, there being but five houses and a black- 
smith shop there then. For four years Mr. Heis- 
ler continued there and then he sold to A. J. Brig- 
ham, who is mentioned elsewhere in this work. 
Next we see our subject in the cattle business 
with his sons, they handling the stock in Crook 
county, which continued until 1897. Then he sold 
his cattle and land in Crook county and purchased 
a flour mill in the edge of Dufur which he oper- 
ated until the spring of 1903. At the present time 
Mr. Heisler is dwelling in Dufur and has a com- 
fortable cottage in the centre of town, which is 
situated in a block well set to trees and ornamental 
shrubs. He is widely known and is as highly es- 
teemed as he is known and is one of the true his- 
toric characters of this part of the state. Mr. 
Heisler has one sister, Mrs. Catherine Lyser, a 
widow at Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Mrs. 
Heisler has one sister, Susan Cheshire, a widow in 
Sodaville, this state. 

The marriage of Mr. Heisler and Martha, the 
daughter of John and Polly (Hill) McConnell, 
natives of Kentucky and South Carolina, respect- 
ively, occurred in Cedar county, Mi'ssouw, at the 
home of the bride, on December 4, 1851. Mrs. 
Heisler was born in Missouri, on August 8, 1834. 
The children born to this worthy couple, are; 
Munroe, a carpenter in Dufur ; Alexander, a farm- 
er near Dufur ; Jefferson D., with his father ; 
William H., a miller in Portland ; Louisa, wife of 
George Cary, a groceryman in North Yakima ; 
Susannah, wife of W. T. Vanderpool, a farmer of 



256 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Dufur ; Alary, wife of W. L. Vanderpool a farmer 
of Dufur ; Catherine, wife of Andrew Howie, a 
farmer four miles out from Dufur ; and Annie, 
the wife of John McAtee, a clerk in Dufur. Mr. 
and Mrs. Heisler are members of the United 
Brethern church and have always been devout and 
worthy people. For twenty-two years they have 
favored the prohibitionist movements and are 
stanch supporters of all that tends to build up' the 
community. The descendants of these venerable 
people are nine children, twenty-one grandchil- 
dren, and eleven great-grandchildren, only two 
of the entire number being deceased. 



JOSEPH H. SHERAR. There is not a 
community in eastern Oregon where Sherar's 
Bridge is not known. For nearly thirty-five 
years it has been a prominent point in the map of 
the state and the almost ceaseless travel that 
wends its way across the bridge comes and goes 
to all points of the northwest. The roaring Des 
Chutes, a greater obstacle to the early travel than 
the Cascades, themselves, refused to allow pas- 
sage of its precipitous banks or any traveler to 
pass in safety over its waters, unless the tribute 
of great labor was performed to make a place of 
descent and a bridge to span it. No ferry could 
live in its wild flood. Like the water of Lodore 
it comes down in a maddening rush, roaring, 
booming, foaming, and fighting, like a wild ty- 
rant, furious at any restraint, never quiet until its 
bewitched waters are held in the firm grasp of 
old Columbia, in whose mighty arms they find 
their way to ocean's expanse. Beautiful and wild 
in a high degreee, the waters of a heaven blue that 
beggars description, everything connected with 
the stream bespeaks a decisiveness in nature that 
finds expression with no tamed spirit or mellowed 
lines. The very rocks rise in sheer precipices 
that defy intrusion or hang in beetling cliffs where 
only the eagle's aery may be found. Through 
countless ages the busy waters have eroded these 
stalwarts until naked and bare they stretch hun- 
dreds of feet from the blue, galloping waters at 
their feet towards the clouds above. Only at re- 
mote intervals, even in this day of advanced 
civilization's skilled engineering, do the wise at- 
tempt to make a crossing of the untamed Des 
Chutes. Nature saw the wildness of the scheme 
and in a determination to assist the man who was 
to come, jutted out two huge abuttments of flinty 
rock and bade the river pour its torrents between. 
There on their flat tops forty feet across the 
chasm and hundreds of feet below the surround- 
ing country, she invited man to span the mad 
waters, and to aid his efforts in expediting com- 



merce, she cast a canon, tortuous and rough, up- 
on either side. Four of the tough gnarled pines 
which cling here and there to the rocks, were 
brought up, hewed and two huge capital A's 
were planted across the chasm, their prongs rest- 
ing on either rocky wall and their obtuse angles- 
meeting in mid air. These served for side sup- 
ports and the bridge was swung. A more com- 
plete account of the opening of this important 
thoroughfare is given elsewhere in this work. 
Many thousands of money were expended before 
a safe road could be hewed up the canons, but 
since it was first opened it has been one of the 
great arteries of travel in eastern Oregon, and 
the toll bridge is famous in the history of this- 
part of the state. Mr. Sherar has had charge 
of the property for many years and his name is 
indelibly connected with the enterprise. 

Since he is thus one of the promoters of set- 
tlement and traffic in this part of the state, and 
since he is a pioneer and one of the leading men 
of this county, we are pleased to speak more par- 
ticularly of Mr. Sherar's life. He was born in 
Vermont, on November 16, 1833, and his father 
John Sherar, was a native of Ireland. He mar- 
ried an Irish maiden and a few years before the 
birth of our subject came to the United States 
with his wife and three children. He settled to- 
farming in the Green Mountain State and there 
our subject passed the first two years of his life.. 
Then the family came on west to St. Lawrence 
county, New York, and there he gained his edu- 
cation and was reared. He remained with his 
parents until 1855, when he was led by an ad- 
venturous spirit and the glow of a strong con- 
stitution to push out into the west in search of 
that which lures the true pioneer to the wilder 
portions of Nature's domain. Fortune glim- 
mered in the west and beckoned him,, while a 
taste for the wild and adventurous also impelled'. 
him and soon he had decided to come by the isth- 
mus to the sunny land of California. Mining and. 
packing attracted him and these occupations kept 
him busy until 1862, with also a short time spent 
in farming on the Klamath river in the north 
part of the state. Then he sold all his property 
and came on to Oregon. He soon had an outfit 
and was packing out from The Dalles to the vari- 
ous mining camps of eastern Oregon and Idaho.. 
There were no roads then, only trails in most 
places, and the business was attended with great 
danger. For two years, however, he followed the 
business with good success and then he sold to 
Robert Heppner for six thousand dollars. The 
second trip of that man was attended by the loss 
of the entire outfit from Indians. Mr. Sherar- 
had experienced no difficulty with the savages. 
After that, Mr. Sherar devoted himself to stock: 




Joseph H. SK 



erar 




Mrs. Joseph H. Sherar 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



2'57 



raising on a farm he secured near the present site 
of Dufur. Two years later he removed to Tygh 
Valley and took a preemption and continued 
stock raising until 1871. On October 3, of that 
year, Mr. Sherar came to his present location and 
since then he has done a world of good to this 
country by opening and keeping in excellent re- 
pair this crossing of the Des Chutes. At immense 
cost he made a proper grade from the plateau 
above to the bridge and thence to the heights on 
the opposite side of the river. He has maintained 
the same continuously since then and is known 
as one of the best and most careful road makers 
of this part of the state. He constructed a hotel 
when he settled here and has operated the same 
since. In 1893, on the west bank of the river, 
he erected a fine hotel of thirty-three rooms and 
furnished it with all the modern conveniences. 
It is supplied with the purest spring water and 
nestles under the protection of the rolling heights 
on that side of the river and is an ideal retreat 
for one who wishes to enjoy the quiet and wild- 
ness of a summer outing with the. comforts of 
a home. The scenery is beyond description and a 
little nook of land made fruitful with the spring 
water, produces all the fruits found anywhere in 
the country. Mr. Sherar has been guided with 
excellent wisdom in the planning and construc- 
tion of his hotel, as the rooms are all commodious 
and pleasantly arranged both for comfort and 
view. Mrs. Sherar, a lady of refinement and in- 
telligence, spares no pains in making the place so 
comfortable and inviting that it is a most popular 
resort for summer tourists and the traveling pub- 
lic. Under her skillful supervision, the Sherar 
Bridge Hotel has won a wide and enviable fame. 
In addition to the other beauties mentioned, the 
Des Chutes makes a leap of many feet here, pre- 
senting a scenic effect that is inspiring. 

On April 26, 1863, Mr. Sherar married Miss 
Jane A. Herbert, the wedding occurring on fhe 
ranch on Fifteenmile creek. She was born in 
Joe Daviess county, Illinois, on October 11, 
1848. Her father, George F. Herbert, was born 
in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and his ancestors 
were an old and prominent Virginia family. His 
grandfather was a patriot in the Revolution. 
George Herbert married Miss Elizabeth McCor- 
mick, a native of the same place as her husband 
and descended from Scotch ancestry. In 1850, 
he crossed the plains with ox teams, landing in 
The Dalles the day Mrs. Sherar was two years 
old. The trip occupied six months and was no 
more eventful than the ordinary one. Mr. Her- 
bert took a donation claim near Eugene and in 
1856 bought land on a portion of which Dufur 
now stands. Later he sold to Mr. Imbler and re- 
moved to Tygh Valley. After that he purchased 
17. 



another place near Dufur and there his death 
occurred on February 6, 1866. His widow died 
at The Dalles, on July 12, 1899. Mrs. Sherar 
has one brother, George, a hotel man in Cornu- 
copia, Oregon. Mr. Sherar has no brothers or 
sisters. In political matters, Mr. Sherar is in- 
fluential, but will never accept office, although 
importuned frequently so to do. He is a Re- 
publican and can give a good reason for his 
stand. In addition to the enterprises mentioned,. 
Mr. Sherar handles much land which he owns in 
this and Sherman counties and also raises many 
sheep and cattle. 



ALVIN SIGMAN. On August 5, 1872, it 
was announced to Richard Sigman that a son was 
born to him. He was living with his wife at that 
time in Christian county, Illinois, and there they 
remained until 1883. The son born on that day 
was christened Alvin and he grew up as the youth 
of the Prairie State, gaining educational training 
from the district school and spending the times 
between on his father's farm. He made good 
progress and in 1883, when the father decided to 
try the west, he came with them, landing in Du- 
fur, where he continued his educational training, 
as also in the Starve-out hollow school, where the 
father located and secured land. The journey 
west was a time of anticipation to all the members 
of the family and so well were they pleased with 
the country and its opportunities that they decided 
to remain and the good things of the west have 
been showered upon them in profusion, owing to 
the wise industry that the father practiced and 
taught his children. In good time, our subject 
began the duties of life for himself and finally the 
father sold him the farm where he now dwells, 
about two miles up Fifteenmile creek from Dufur. 
He has the estate nearly all paid for and is pros- 
pering in his labors. He was well trained by a ' 
skilled father and is exemplifying the wise and 
good principles instilled in earlier life. He has a 
good place, has shown himself a careful and good 
farmer and stockman and is among the popular 
young men of this part of the county. 

On January 7, 1902, Mr. Sigman married Miss 
Margaret E. Thomas, who was born in Clacka- 
mas county, Oregon, the daughter of Alvin A. 
and Mary J. Thomas. Mr. and Mrs. Sigman 
started out in life with bright prospects and with 
every indication that they will achieve the success 
that is so gratifying to all who win their way in 
this world. They are kind, genial people, have 
many friends, and are worthy of the confidence 
and esteem which is generously bestowed. 

It is interesting to note that the place some- 



-2 5 8 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



times called Dry Hollow, was originally known as 
Starve-out Hollow, so named because the first 
settler there was literally starved out. 



CHARLES M. HEISLER, one of the enter- 
prising, public-spirited young men of Wasco coun- 
ty, is a farmer living one mile southwest of Dufur. 
He is a native Oregonian, having been born in 
Prineville, June 3, 1879. His parents, sketches of 
whom will be found elsewhere in this work, were 
Monroe and Cynthia L. (White) Heisler. 

Our subject attended district school two years 
in Prineville, and also the Dufur and Lagrande 
graded schools, and this education was supple- 
mented by a year at Albany College, Albany, Ore- 
gon. Returning home he remained with his par- 
ents engaged in farm work and stock-raising, 
which business he has since followed successfully. 
In 1897 he purchased an interest in the property 
from "Grandpa" Heisler, and later purchased two 
hundred acres adjoining his land. They culti- 
vate four hundred acres of wheat and barley, 
which averages forty bushels to the acre. They 
•winter about one "hundred head of cattle, and the 
■same number of hogs. Our subject has a substan- 
tial story and a half frame house, supplied with 
the first barb-wire telephone in Wasco county, 
connecting at Dufur with long distance telephone. 

Mr. Heisler was married August 26, 1900, to 
Eva L. Powell, born near Dufur, July 13, 1883, 
the daughter of Isaac J. and Adelia E. (Colver) 
Powell," the father a native of Illinois and the 
mother of Marshfield, Coos county, Oregon. Her 
father came to Oregon when a small boy, and is 
now a farmer at Tygh Valley. Mrs. Heisler has 
three brothers and four sisters. Our subject and 
his estimable wife have lost one daughter, Blanch 
Agatha, who died August 26, 1903, at the home, 
aged two years, one month and two days. 

Fraternally Mr. Heisler is a member of Ridge- 
ly Lodge, No. 71, I. O. O. F., and W. O. W. 
Both are members of Star Lodge No. 23, Re- 
bekahs, and Mrs. Heisler is a devoted member of 
the United Brethren church. 



MH1.Y1X SKAI AN, one of the industrious 
young men of Wasco county, who devotes his 
energies to tilling the soil, is also one of the 
popular and genial dwellers near Dufur. He is 
owner of the old Sigman estate, which lies about 
two miles up Fifteenmile creek from the town of 
Dufur and this lie purchased from his father, who 
is mentioned elsewhere in this work. He was 
born in Illinois, on May 17, 1871, and there he re- 



mained for the first fourteen years of his life. 
Then he came with his parents to Oregon, and 
here he completed the education begun in the 
Prairie State. He remained with his father and 
learned well the industries of stock raising and 
farming. In 1901, he purchased the estate men- 
tioned and since that time has been handling it 
for himself. In addition to this, he rents a farm 
from William T. Vanderpool and the two are pro- 
ducing fine crops of grain. Mr. Sigman'' s plan is 
to summer fallow one farm and raise grain on the 
other, alternating each season. In this manner, 
he secures the best results and his yields are up 
to the best in the country. His places are kept in 
order and an air of thrift and industry pervades 
everything. 

At the residence of the bride's father, on De- 
cember 18, 1897, Mr. Sigman married Miss Eva 
M. Vanderpool, whose parents and brothers and 
sisters are given space elsewhere in this work. 
To this marriage one child has been born, George 
R. Mr. Sigman is a member of the United Arti- 
sans and in political matters is allied with the 
Republicans. He is a bright and popular young 
man, and he and his wife have the good will and 
esteem of all who know them. They both come 
from good families, well known in this county 
and all have labored wisely and well in the de- 
velopment and advancement of Wasco county. 



JAMES H. GILLMORE, an eminently suc- 
cessful business man of Wamic, Wasco county, 
is engaged in the blacksmith and wagonmaking 
enterprise, and general woodworking. He "was 
born near Marion, Linn county, Iowa, December 
24, 1858, the son of James and Emily (Pardee) 
Gillmore, the former a native of New York, the 
latter of Vermont. The parents of James Gill- 
more were, also, natives of the Empire State, their 
ancestors coming from Ireland. They were farm- 
ers for many generations. The father of our sub- 
ject was a cooper. He died in Clackamas county, 
Oregon, in 1895. The mother passed from earth 
in 1868. 

It was in 1876 that our subject, accompanied 
by his father, came to Oregon, arriving July 3. 
When he was five years of age his family had re- 
moved from Iowa to Missouri, where he received 
a fairly good practical education in the public 
schools. James Gillmore, the father, purchased 
land in Clackamas county, and with him our sub- 
ject remained until he was twenty-three years of 
age. He then came to the vicinity of Wamic, re- 
maining one summer, and going thence to Ellens- 
burg. A year later he came to the neighborhood 
of Wamic, where he has since continuously re- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



259 



sided. He conducted a saw mill near Kingsley, 
where he was burned out. One winter he worked 
in a cooper shop, and at different periods for ten 
years herded sheep. Accumulating one thousand 
three hundred sheep of his own he disposed of 
them to a firm which failed, and could not pay for 
them. For the second time our subject found 
himself "broke," but he energetically went to 
work, and purchased a ranch on credit, near the 
•town of Wamic, and engaged successfully in 
farming two years. This he sold and bought a 
blacksmith shop at Tygh, which he conducted 
thirteen months, disposing of the same and pur- 
chasing a ranch on the hill overlooking Wamic, 
and this property he still owns. In April, 1900, 
he purchased a shop in Wamic where he at pres- 
ent carries on a successful blacksmith business. 
Mr. Gillmore is an expert mechanic, and although 
he never served a day at his trade, he can shoe 
a horse, build a wagon or house or barn, and, in 
fact, can efficiently turn his hand to almost every 
thing in the mechanical line. With the exception 
of the fire which consumed his first sawmill ven- 
ture and the loss of his sheep, our subject has 
prospered greatly, and is at present recognized as 
one of the most substantial and progressive citi- 
zens of Wasco county. He has four sisters; 
Effie, wife of John Churchill, of Clackamas 
county; Ida, married to S. E. Phillips, a farmer 
of Cresswell, Lane county, Oregon ; Emily, wife 
of S. L. Dart, of Mollala, Clackamas county ; and 
Elsie, wife of William White, of San Francisco, 
California. 

August 3, 1897, at The Dalles, Mr. Gillmore 
was married to Mrs. Minerva A. Chamberlain, 
daughter of R. B. and Nancy B. (Corum) San- 
ford. She has one brother and one sister, Alfred 
C, and Mary, wife of Eugene Pratt, of Wamic. 
Mrs. Gillmore has one child by her first marriage, 
Burrell S., Chamberlain, residing at Wamic. 

Mr. Gillmore is a member of Assembly No. 
122, United Artisans, being Master Artisan. Po- 
litically he is a member of none of the parties, be- 
ing independent. In 1876, accompanied by his 
father, our subject came to San Francisco, in 
March, and thence coasted up from Point Arena 
to Humboldt Bay. They returned to Point Arena 
and took passage on the steamer Great Republic 
for Portland. 



JOHN B. MAGILL, who is one of the most 
prominent and enterprising farmers in Wasco 
county, resides three-quarters of a mile east of 
Wamic. He was born March 10, 1837, in St. 
Clairsville, Belmont county, Ohio, the son of Ar- 
chibald G. and Sarah A. (Bailey) Magill, both na- 
tives of Virginia. The parents' of the paternal 



grandfather of our subject were, also, natives of 
Virginia, springing from an old and distinguished 
iamily. In 1816 they emigrated to Ohio over- 
land. He was a wagonmaker by trade, dying in 
Nebraska in 1899. The mother of our subject 
died when he was a lad ten years of age. The 
paternal grandfather of our subject participated 
in the war of 1812. 

Until he was twenty years of age John B. 
Magill remained in Ohio where he attended dis- 
trict schools, one of them being under the tuition 
of Judge Matthew Deady, deceased, once a prom- 
inent citizen of Portland, Oregon. The aunt of 
our subject taught in one of the rooms of this 
school ; Judge Matthew Deady in the other. In 
1857 our subject went to Iowa and for eighteen 
months worked there burning brick used in the 
construction of the State insane aslyum. Thence 
he removed to Iron Mountain, Missouri, where he 
was employed burning charcoal and farming, 
about three years. At the opening of the war of 
the Rebellion he was in the state militia four 
months, participating in several skirmishes and 
guarding bridges, etc. At the expiration of his 
term of service he went to Iowa that he might 
again enlist, but the enlistment of his brothers 
William and Thomas in the First Iowa Cavalry, 
compelled our subject, patriotic though he was, to 
remain at home for the purpose of caring for his 
father and the homestead. Thomas was killed at 
the assault on Little Rock, Arkansas, and William 
died from disease contracted during the war. In 
1874 Mr. Magill went to San Francisco and 
thence to Portland, Oregon, where he remained 
two months treating his children who had con- 
tracted the measles en route. At the time of his 
arival in Portland he had one thousand dollars, 
but after purchasing an outfit he had remaining 
the sum of twelve dollars when the family left ovei 
the old Barlow road for Spokane Falls, Washing- 
ton. On his arrival in the vicinity of where Wamic 
now is he was warned that it would not be safe to 
continue his journey as the Indians were quite 
hostile. He then camped on his present home- 
stead the first night and decided to remain. Since 
that period it has been his home. He at first filed 
on eighty acres, and later purchased eighty acres 
of railroad land, adding thereto from time to time 
until he at present has, all told, five hundred and 
sixty acres. Mr. Magill was among the first to 
engage in sheep breeding, and at this he has been 
eminently successful. Owing to his wife's ill 
health he has been compelled to suspend personal 
active operations on the ranch. For eight years 
she has been confined to her bed and is a great 
sufferer. Mr. Magill has four half brothers liv- 
ing, Franklin and James, in Nebraska, and Sam- 
uel and Wesley in Indiana, all farmers. 



260 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Our subject was married July 4, i860, at 
Farmington, Missouri, to Emily J. Gardner, born 
in Indiana and reared near Burlington, Iowa. Her 
parents were William and Rachel (Banta) Gard- 
ner, the father a native of New York ; the mother 
of Kentucky. Mrs. Magill has three brothers liv- 
ing; Julius and James, living at Nevada, Mis- 
souri ; and William, an Indiana farmer. Her 
brother Adolphus, who was a member of the 
Twentyninth Missouri Volunteer Infantry, was 
at the siege of Vicksburg, and died shortly after- 
ward. Mr. and Mrs. Magill have seven children ; 
William F., in Wasco county ; Fred G., at Wamic ; 
George G. ; Annie, wife of Elmer Remington, of 
Grass Valley, Sherman county, Oregon ; Edith, 
married to John Eubanks, of Wamic ; and Jessie, 
wife of Rufus McCorkle, of Wapinitia ; and May, 
married to Charles Crofoot, of Wamic, who as- 
sists his father-in-law in conducting the exten- 
sive farm. Mr. Magill is a Republican, but not 
active. 



ARTHUR W. FARGHER. In the Irish sea, 
midway between Ireland and England, and seven- 
teen miles south from Scotland, lies the well- 
known Isle of Man, the ancient Eubonia, and 
sometimes called Manx Mannin, or Manx Van- 
nin. It is a small country, thirty odd miles long 
and one-third as wide, but supports a population 
of over fifty thousand souls. At no point in this 
little kingdom can one get so far inland that the 
sighing of the sea is not heard. Here, where his 
ancestors had lived for generations, dating back 
far beyond a connected record, and evidenced by 
the moss-grown headstones that bear dates cen- 
turies ago, the subject of this sketch was permit- 
ted to first see the light. A genuine Manxman, 
he inherited the sturdiness and independence of 
his country and his family and from the date of 
his birth, December 10, 1855, until the present, 
he has shown a spirit and worth that characterize 
the true man in any country. His parents, 
Thomas C. and Susan (Christian) Fargher, were 
born in the Isle and the mother's family, as well 
as the Farghers, was one of the old and prominent 
ones of the land. On both sides they were Quak- 
ers for many generations back but now are allied 
with various denominations. The father was a 
prominent real estate owner there and had much 
land, which he left to his children. The parents 
both died in that country. The spirit of advent- 
ure overcame the love for home land and in 1870 
our subject accompanied his father to the United 
States to search for new locations and attain 
greater success. They came direct to San Fran- 
cisco and there remained with an elder brother, 
Thomas, who is mentioned elsewhere in this 



work. Another brother, Horatio, had also come: 
with our subject. Arthur learned the blacksmith 
trade from his brother Thomas, and wrought 
there for eight years. During that time, Thomas 
had come to Oregon and thither Arthur came in 
1878, and for a time was employed with the O. R. 
& N. After that he took land near Bakeoven,. 
but for five years remained in The Dalles, having 
previously spent one year in Portland. Then he 
drifted into the sheep business as his brothers- 
were both engaged in that industry. He did well 
from the start, owing to his care and industry, and 
now he owns nearly six thousand of these profit- 
able animals. He has four thousand acres of 
deeded land and leases much besides. He is one 
of the heavy sheep owners of The Dalles and 
while his property is located in Bakeoven, he 
makes his home in The Dalles, his residence being 
at 804 east Third street. 

On July 2, 1885, Mr. Fargher married Miss 
Maria Baker, the wedding occurring at The 
Dalles. She was born in Nanaimo, British Co- 
lumbia, on February 11, 1865. Her father, 
George Baker, was employed by the Hudson's 
Bay Company and came from his birthplace, Bir- 
mingham, England, to America in 1852. He is 
now a capitalist in Nanaimo. For many years he 
was foreman for the company in their large mine 
of coal. He was associated with Mr. Dunsmuir, . 
who after located the famous Wellington mines. 
Mrs. Fargher's mother was born in the same place 
as her husband and was married just before their 
trip which consumed five months around the 
"Horn" in a sailing vessel. She lives in Na- 
naimo. Mrs. Fargher's brothers and sisters are 
named as follows, Benjamin, Joseph, James, Dan- 
iel, Mrs. Esther Nichols, and Mrs. Mary A. 
Shaw. Mr. Fargher's brothers are alredy men- 
tioned. To this worthy couple the following 
named children have been born ; Clarence, aged 
eighteen ; Frederic, aged five ; Arthur, aged 
twelve ; Mona, aged fifteen ; and Ellen, seven 
years old. Mrs. Fargher is a member of the- 
Methodist church and also of the relief corps. 
She is an active worker in church lines. Mr. 
Fargher is a Republican, well informed and active, 
but never an aspirant to office. He stands well in 
the county, is a man whose judgment and advice- 
are sought and is of influence and prominence in 
the community. 



ALVIN A. THOMAS, deceased. Among - 
the worthy pioneers of the great state of Oregon, 
the name of Alvin A. Thomas appears well up in 
the roll of honor. He was a man of stanch Chris- 
tian character and lived the faith that makes 
faithful and manifested in his career the principles 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



261 



of Christianity in every day life. He was born in 
Michigan on October 6, 1837, the son of Laren L. 
and "Mary A. (Mathews) Thomas, natives of the 
eastern part of the United States. The mother 
died when this son was small. The father died 
in Marion county, Oregon. Our subject was edu- 
cated in Michigan and Oregon whither he came 
with his father, who had married Eliza Spoors. 
Settlement was made in Marion county and they 
took a donation claim, where the father remained 
until his death. His widow still resides there. 
The date of this journey across the plains was 
the forties. Our subject was reared principally 
in the Wallamette valley and there on April 12, 
i860, he married Miss Mary J. Quinn, the wed- 
ding occurring in Clackamas county. Mrs. 
Thomas' parents were Joseph and Polly 
(Walker) Quinn. They were married in the east 
and crossed the plains in 1852. The father suf- 
fered terribly from the cholera, but survived. 
The mother was born in Orange county, Indiana, 
-on November 10, 1822, and died in Clackamas 
county, on August 7, 1888. Mrs. Thomas was 
born in Indiana and well remembers the trip 
.across the plains. After her marriage in Clack- 
amas county she and her husband resided there 
until 1900, July 4, when they came east of the 
mountains and since then she has resided with her 
daughter, Mrs. Sigman. At Dufur, on March 22, 
1904, Mr. Thomas was called to depart from the 
scenes of his earthly labors and enter into the- 
realities of the world beyond this wilderness way. 
He died as he had lived, a true Christian, and all 
knew that a good man had that day been taken 
from among them. He was buried with becom- 
ing ceremonies and his remains rest in the Dufur 
• cemetery. He had for many years been a member 
of the Christian church as his widow is now and 
they supported the faith with zeal. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Thomas six children have been born; Mar- 
garet E., the wife of Alvin Sigman, who is men- 
tioned elsewhere in this work ; Polly A., the wife 
of Cyrus Covey, on a farm. nearby ; Walter A., a 
teamster at Boyd; Lorenzo M., a farmer near 
Prineville; Charles K., at Dufur; and William 
H., who die'd March 1, 1884, aged eighteen. Mrs. 
Thomas' mother bore sixteen children ; she was a 
woman of whom it may be said, because of her 
Christian life, that she was a real "mother in 
Israel." 



THOMAS STACKPOLE LANG, deceased, 
one of the old-time settlers, was well and 
favorably known throughout Wasco county. A 
memoir of him is fittingly placed in a history of 
Central Oregon, since he had much to do with 
business and political events in that section. 



Thomas S. Lqng was born in North Berwick, 
Maine, on June 16, 1826, and was the eldest son 
of John Damon and Anne (Stackpole) Lang. 
His father was a native of Gardiner, Maine, 
whose ancestors were among the early settlers of 
Massachusetts ; his mother was born and reared 
at North Berwick. John D. Lang was promi- 
nently identified with many large enterprises in 
his native state. He built the first steamboat on 
the Kennebec river, was one of the promoters of 
the Maine Central Railroad, was' an extensive 
woolen manufacturer, and one of the most promi- 
nent Quakers of New England. 

Thomas Lang was educated principally at the 
Friends' boarding school in Providence, R. I., 
which is now Brown University, and while a lad 
removed with his parents to Vassalboro, Kennebc 
county. After his days of school life were over 
he was associated with his father many years in 
charge of the Vassalboro woolen mills, in which 
they were both deeply interested. On December 
4, 1856, he was married to Miss Mary M. Var- 
ney, of Brooks, Maine, the eldest daughter of 
Moses and Margaret McClure Varney, who were 
both natives of Sandwich, N. H. He was also 
interested in lumbering, owning large tracts of 
timber lands in the north of Maine and operating 
an extensive lumber business on the Kennebec 
river and at Bath, where his mills were situated. 
He was also intensely interested in and owned 
much fine blooded stock, horses and cattle, at 
times owning the finest herds of Jersey, Hereford 
and Alderney cattle in New England. 

In 1867 Mr. Lang was appointed commis- 
sioner from the United States to the Paris Expo- 
sition, and, retiring from business for the time, 
traveled for about two years in Europe. After 
his return he resided in Augusta. For two terms 
he was in the State Senate and for one term in the 
House of Representatives. He was a very promi- 
nent man in his state and was marked by those 
sterling virtues of integrity and uprightness 
which characterized him through life. His politi- 
cal colleagues were Reed, Dingley, Blaine, Frye 
and others. 

Owing to ill health he determined to try the 
west, and in 1875 came to Oregon, spending the 
winter in the Willamette valley at Rickreal. The 
following year he went to The Dalles, investing 
in sheep and ranches near Heppner. For twenty 
vears before his death he had resided in The 
Dalles, at one time being part owner and editor 
of the Wasco Sun, and also edited the Times- 
Mountaineer. From 1890 to 1894 he was receiver 
of the U. S. land office at The Dalles. His death 
occurred on June 18, 1896. Mr. Lang had lived 
a good life, had shown himself a man of patriot- 
ism, ability and faithfulness, and was sincerely 



262 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



mourned in many places. His widow and two 
daughters, Anne M. and Elizabeth L. Lang, 
survive him, his eldest child, a son, having died 
shortly after the family's arrival at Rickreal. 
Mrs. Lang and her daughters reside at The 
Dalles. Mr. Lang's only brother, the one sur- 
viving member of the Lang family, John Alton 
Lang, is still living at YVaterville, Maine. 



JOHN L. EL WOOD, M. D., physician and 
surgeon, residing at Tygh Valley, Wasco county, 
was born at Leesburgh, Highland county, Ohio, 
September 8, 1868. His parents, Clark and Char- 
lotte (Hisky) Elwood, were natives of the same 
state, as were the parents of Clark Elwood. The 
latter was a druggist, and he died January 13, 
1904. The mother comes from Pennsylvania 
Dutch ancestry, her father having been a pioneer 
of the states of Ohio and Iowa, and is now living 
at the advanced age of ninety-two in Iowa. The 
mother of our subject resides at Ellensburgh. 

John L. Elwood was reared in the state of 
Ohio until he reached the age of seventeen years, 
receiving his elementary education in the graded 
and high schools. Subsquently he was matricu- 
lated in the Presbyterian seminary, Oakdale, Ne- 
braska, taking a preparatory course comprising 
eighteen months. He then entered the Missouri 
Medical College, St. Louis, from which he was 
graduated in 1890 with honors. This course was 
supplemented by a term at the Ainsworth Medical 
College, St. Joseph, Missouri, from which he 
was graduated in 1891. He began practice with 
his uncle, Robert P. Elwood, at Oakdale, Ne- 
braska, who was one of the oldest practitioners in 
the state, his practice covering a period of fifty 
years. With his uncle, Dr. Elwood, he remained 
eight months. Coming to Oregon afterward he 
appeared before the state board "of medical exam- 
iners, and subsequently was appointed state 
health officer of Oregon, at Gardiner, and began 
practice at Gardiner, where he remained five 
years. He was, also, assistant United States 
marine surgeon. In 1898 Dr. Elwood disposed 
of his practice and came to Tygh valley, where 
he bought out Dr. N. G. Pown, and has since 
remained here. He owns a six hundred acre 
ranch, one-half mile from Tygh valley, which is 
stocked with one hundred and fifty head of hogs. 
Dr. Elwood recently sold one hundred head of 
cattle, having at present twenty head of graded 
stock, lie has two standard bred horses, two 
thoroughbreds, and three Percheron mares, each 
of them weighing about sixteen hundred pounds. 
Altogether Dr. Elwood lias twenty-one head of 
horses. 



Dr. Elwood has two brothers, Harry S., a< 
prominent citizen of Ellensburgh, Washington, 
in the drug business, and Robert, a farmer and. 
dairyman, living near Ellensburgh. Three uncles 
of our subject are physicians, as are seven of his 
first cousins. During thirty-eight years the 
father of our subject was the leading druggist 
in Leesburgh, Ohio. The political affiliations of 
Dr. Elwood are with the Republican party, he 
was a delegate to the last county and state con- 
vention, and he takes as active a part in the cam- 
paign issues of his party as his practice will per- 
mit. He was a school director at Gardiner, and. 
fills the same office at Tygh valley. 

At Ellensburgh, Washington, January io, 
1893, Dr. Elwood was united in marriage to Ora 
F. Hatfield, born near Ellensburg. Her father, 
John Hatfield, was one of the early pioneers of 
Kittitas valley. Mrs. Elwood has four brothers : 
John, at Northport, Washington; Henry, of 
North Yakima, Washington; Herman, a drug 
clerk in Spokane ; and Lloyd, a school boy. Dr. 
Elwood is a member of the A. F. & A. M. ; R. A. 
M. ; Gardiner Lodge, No. 21, I. O. O. F. ; A. O. 
U. W., of which he is past master workman; In- 
dependent Order of Foresters; K. O. T. M.; 
Degree of Honor, of which Mrs. Elwood is, also, 
a member ; and the M. W. of A., of Tygh valley. 

Mrs. Elwood's people, the Hatfields, are pio- 
neers of Washington, and are prominent and. 
esteemed people. She has three sisters ; Mrs. 
Ella Conner, in Seattle ; Prudence, an accom- 
plished vocalist now living in Wilbur, Washing- 
ton ; and Geneva, a school girl at home. 



CHARLES W. WING, the popular proprie- 
tor of the Tygh valley hotel, in Tygh valley,. 
Wasco county, was born April 20, 1856, in Port- 
land, Oregon, the son of Martin and Margaret 
(Cleggett) Wing. The father is a native of Wis- 
consin, who came to Oregon in 1852 with ox 
teams, striking first. The Dalles, after which he 
went by boat to Portland. The mother of our 
subject was born in Missouri, crossing the plains 
with her parents. At present she resides at Wa- 
mic, Wasco county. 

Twelve miles east of Portland our subject, 
Charles W. Wing, was reared on a farm, attend- 
ing "district school" in a log building. When he 
was eighteen years of age his family removed to 
the Wamic country, Oregon, and in 1885 he pre- 
empted and homesteaded land, also purchasing 
Other tracts until he now owns five hundred acres, 
three hundred acres of which he cultivates. He- 
winters from thirty-five to forty head of cattle, 
mainly graded stock. October 15, 1902, he pur- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



263. 



chased the hotel from Samuel Broyles, which has 
a commodious feed barn in connection. Mr. 
Wing 'has made this hotel a most popular re- 
sort for the traveling public, and it is conducted 
in a highly satisfactory manner. Mr. Wing has 
seven brothers and six sisters; Milton I. R., 
Alonzo, Stephen, Frank, Henry, Joseph, and Ed- 
ward, of Wamic ; Ella, wife of Fred Chandler, of 
Yakima county, Washington ; Emma,, married to 
Charles Hayward, of Hood River, Wasco county ; 
Mollie, wife of Orrin Britton, a farmer living 
near Wamic ; Flattie, widow of John Johnson, of 
Wamic ; Dollie, wife of Andrew Knissner, of 
North Yakima, Washington ; and Martha. 

Mr. Wing was married January 18, 1886, at 
The Dalles, to Miss Perly Hayward, born in 
Iowa, daughter of Horace and Susan (Russell) 
Hayward, natives of the Empire State. The pa- 
ternal grandparents were natives of Massachu- 
setts, of an old New England family. The mother 
was born in Livingston county, New York, as 
was her father, who was a descendant of promi- 
nent New York and New England families, the 
Russell family having been distinguished for 
many generations in political, legal and commer- 
cial circles, one of whom has been governor of 
Massachusetts, and prominently mentioned as a 
candidate for president of the United States. Her 
mother was a Blanchard, another distinguished 
family in the New England states. Mrs. Wing 
has two brothers and three sisters : Charles, of 
Hood River ; Horace, of Wamic ; Amelia, de- 
ceased, the wife of William Magdll ; and Essie 
M., deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Wing four chil- 
dren have been born : Grace, wife of James Whit- 
man, with our subject; Ivy, Louis, and Martin, 
boys. 

Politically Mr. Wing is independent. Mrs. 
Wing is a devoted member of the United Breth- 
ren church. Martha, a sister of Mr. Wing, was 
married to Timothy Brownhill, a prominent attor- 
ney of The Dalles. She died in November, 1894, 
at Portland. 



TOHN W. WATERMAN, a well known 
stockman of influence and wealth, resides at 1107 
Lewis street, in The Dalles, Oregon. He was 
born on April 10, 1845, in Missouri, the son of 
Ezekiel H. and Mary A. (Stroud) Waterman, 
natives of New York and Ohio, respectively. 
Thev are mentioned elsewhere in this volume. 
The mother died in Marion county, Oregon, in 
1866 and the father then married Nancy Smith. 
Our subject came to California with his parents 
in 1852. and six years later journeyed with them 
to the Willamette valley, where he grew uo and 
was educated in the district schools and Jefferson 



institute. In 1862 he came to eastern Oregon 
with cattle, accompanied by his father, and was 
also interested with his father in the mercantile 
business at Jefferson, Marion county, whither 
they returned in 1864. When twenty-one he en- 
tered the drug business for himself and continued! 
at that for two years. After that, he came east 
of the mountains, settling in Grant county, that 
portion which is now Wheeler county. His exact 
location was about twenty miles east from Mitch- 
ell. There he did a large stock business and for 
six years gave his entire attention to it, then again 
he removed to the Willamette valley and took up 
sawmilling. He was occupied by that for four 
years, then opened a general merchandise store 
at Caleb postoffice, in Grant county. In the spring, 
of 1882- he had again taken up stock raising in- 
Grant county. In 1895, Mr. Waterman turned' 
the various business interests which he possessed 1 
over to his sons and they are handling the stock 
and operating the general merchandise store at 
the present time, with excellent success, having 
recently removed the business to Mitchell. Mr- 
Waterman retired from active business entirely 
in 1903 and removed to The Dalles where he 
purchased his present residence. 

On February 13, 1867, at Jefferson, Oregon, 
Mr. Waterman married Miss Mary E., daughter 
of Absolam and Sarah (Cullison) Smith, natives 
also of Illinois where also they were married. The 
father was accidentally drowned in the Willa- 
mette valley and the mother still lives at Jeffer- 
son. Mrs. Waterman was born in Illinois, crossed 
the plains with her parents with ox teams, and 
died in 1882 at the ranch near Caleb. 

On April 15, 1895, Mr. Waterman married' 
Mrs. Angie M. Laswell, the daughter of Enoch' 
and Eliza (Mundy) Bamford, and a native of 
Canada. Mr. Waterman has one half brother and! 
one half sister. He also has seven children ; 
Hanley A., a merchant at Mitchell ; Everett O., 
who is handling his father's stock ; William, in 
the livery business at Moro ; Virgil, with his 
father; Mattie M., the wife of Everett Knox, x 
merchant at Antone. Wheeler county ; Veva, wife 
of V. E. Boardman, a graduate of the Washing- 
ton University, and taking a post-graduate course 
at Chicago University : Mary, single and with her 
grandmother in Jefferson. By her former hus- 
band, Mrs. Waterman has four children ; James 
E., in Montana ; Lulu, wife of C. P. Johnson, a 
merchant at Tohn Day, Oregon; Anna, wife of 
Frank McCallum, a merchant at John Day; and 
Rena, wife of Hanley Waterman, our subject's 
son. Ernest V., eldest son of our subject, died 
at Caleb in 1897, aged thirty. He was asso- 
ciated in business with his brother, Hanley, and.' 
his father. 



264 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Politically, Mr. Waterman is a Republican 
and is active at the county and state conventions. 
He has been justice of the peace for many years 
and is a refined, gentlemanly citizen, progressive 
and highly esteemed. 



OSCAR L. STRANAHAN, a successful and 
retired business man of Hood River, Wasco 
county, Oregon, was born in St. Lawrence coun- 
ty, New York, March 6, 1838. His father, James 
K. Stranahan, a native of Essex county, New 
York, was a carpenter. His parents were natives 
of the Empire State, but his grandparents came 
to this country from Scotland. An uncle of James 
K. Stranahan presented the city of Brooklyn, New 
York, with his homestead for park purposes, 
and it is now a portion of the beautiful Prospect 
Park, of that city. Stranahan Avenue is named in 
his honor, and his statute is in the park. James 
K. Stranahan died at Hood River, in 1897, at 
the age of eighty-eight years. The mother, Paer- 
melia (Reynolds) Stranahan, a native of Ver- 
mont, was a descendant of the prominent old col- 
onial family of Reynolds, who contributed much 
to the early history of the United States. She 
passed from earth at Hood River in 1895, at the 
age of seventy-five years. 

In July, 1855, there arrived in Cannon Falls, 
Minnesota, a party of immigrants from Michigan, 
which might have been called the Stranahan 
colony, as a majority of its members bore that 
family name. James K. Stranahan, the head of 
one of the families, being a carpenter accepted 
opportunities to ply his trade in Cannon Falls 
and vicinity. He was in charge of the construc- 
tion of the first flour mill in that city, which was 
completed in 1857, while Minnesota was yet a 
territory. He was known among the settlers as 
"J. K." and remained there about ten years, re- 
moving to Xorthfield, Minnesota, where he 
worked at his trade. 

Until he was sixteen years of age Oscar L. 
Stranahan, our subject, remained in New York 
state, attended the public schools and learned the 
carpenter's trade. With his family he became one 
of the "Cannon Falls," Minnesota, "colony," 
going thence to Xorthfield, same state, where he 
conducted a foundry and machine shop fifteen 
years. In 1877 he came to Oregon, and was em- 
ployed three or four years by the Oregon Steam 
Navigation Company, making his home in Hood 
River. Pie filed on a claim adjoining Captain C. 
11. Coe's, who was the first settler in that vicinity. 
At the initial election in that district only fifteen 
votes were cast. The city of Mood River is now 
built on land once belonging to Messrs. Coe and 



Stranahan. In 1881 our subject, who had been 
engaged in building steamers, cars, etc., for the 
O. S. N. Company, now the Oregon Railroad & 
Navigation Company, settled on his farm of one 
hundred and forty-six acres, which he continued 
to cultivate for twenty years. He then platted 
sixty lots which he called "Stranahan's First 
Addition" to Hood River. In 1896, entering into 
partnership with Captain Coe, they installed a 
sash and door factory, disposing of the same in 
1901. 

In December, 1859, our subject was united 
in marriage to Adelia Berdan, born in Lake coun- 
ty, Ohio. The ceremony was performed at Can- 
non Falls, Minnesota. Her father, Albert, was a 
native of Canada; her mother, Statira (Conley) 
Berdan, was born in Elmira, New York, as were 
her parents. Her grandparents were natives of 
Ireland. Our subject has three brothers and two 
sisters living; Henry M., of Northfield, Minne- 
sota ; C. Horace, manager of the Wasco Ware- 
house, at Hood River ; William C, of Minne- 
apolis, Minnesota; Ann E., wife of Charles 
Hayes, of Hood River, a surveyor ; and Mary B., 
wife of George Crowell, dealer in generad mer- 
chandise, Hood River. Mrs. Sarah J. Sheets 
died at Larimore, North Dakota. Our subject 
has three children ; Albert K., mentioned else- 
where ; Mary, wife of S. M. Baldwin ; and Jessie, 
wife of Charles C. Mooney, who died August 3, 
1904. Mr. Stranahan is past commander of 
Canby Post, G. A. R., No. 16. He enlisted Janu- 
ary 2, 1862, in Company A, Fifth Minnesota In- 
fantry, Colonel B. Roder, remaining with that 
regiment one year, when he was transferred to 
the United States Signal Corps, serving three 
years in the same. He was with Gen. Sherman 
in the historic "March to the Sea." He received 
wounds at the battles of Corinth and Shiloh. 

Mrs. Stranahan taught school when young, 
in Goodhue county, Minnesota, and has been a 
member of the Methodist church since she was 
twelve years of age. She was superintendent of the 
Sunday school here for three years and has taken 
an active interest in Sunday school work all her 
life. She was postmistress of Hood River for 
seven years. Mr. Stranahan is a member of the 
Methodist Episcopal church. Politically he is a 
Republican, and has been a delegate to county 
conventions. Throughout Wasco county, Mr. 
Stranahan is highly esteemed and is an influential, 
progressive citizen. 



CHARLES HORACE STRANAHAN. 
manager of the Wasco Warehouse & Milling 
Company's warehouse in Hood River, and the 
first Stranahan to come to the coast, is a man of 





Mrs. Oscar L. Stranahan 



Oscar L. Stranahan 





Charles H. Stranahan 



Mrs. Charles H. Stranahan 



264 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Politically, Mr. Waterman is a Republican 
and is active at the county and state conventions. 
He has been justice of the peace for many years 
and is a refined, gentlemanly citizen, progressive 
and highly esteemed. 



OSCAR L. STRANAHAN, a successful and 
retired business man of Hood River, Wasco 
county, Oregon, was born in St. Lawrence coun- 
ty, New York, March 6, 1838. His father, James 
K. Stranahan, a native of Essex county, New 
York, was a carpenter. His parents were natives 
of the Empire State, but his grandparents came 
to this country from Scotland. An uncle of James 
K. Stranahan presented the city of Brooklyn, New 
York, with his homestead for park purposes, 
and it is now a portion of the beautiful Prospect 
Park, of that city. Stranahan Avenue is named in 
his honor, and his statute is in the park. James 
K. Stranahan died at Hood River, in 1897, at 
the age of eighty-eight years. The mother, Paer- 
melia (Reynolds) Stranahan, a native of Ver- 
mont, was a descendant of the prominent old col- 
onial family of Reynolds, who contributed much 
to the early history of the United States. She 
passed from earth at Hood River in 1895, at the 
age of seventy-five years. 

In July, 1855, there arrived in Cannon Falls, 
Minnesota, a party of immigrants from Michigan, 
which might have been called the Stranahan 
colony, as a majority of its members bore that 
family name. James K. Stranahan, the head of 
one of the families, being a carpenter accepted 
opportunities to ply his trade in Cannon Falls 
and vicinity. He was in charge of the construc- 
tion of the first flour mill in that city, which was 
completed in 1857, while Minnesota was yet a 
territory. He was known among the settlers as 
"J. K." and remained there about ten years, re- 
moving to Northfield, Minnesota, where he 
worked at his trade. 

Until he was sixteen years of age Oscar L. 
Stranahan, our subject, remained in New York 
state, attended the public schools and learned the 
carpenter's trade. With his family he became one 
of the "Cannon Falls," Minnesota, "colony," 
going thence to Northfield, same state, where he 
conducted a foundry and machine shop fifteen 
years. In 1877 he came to Oregon, and was em- 
ployed three or four years by the Oregon Steam 
Navigation Company, making his home in Hood 
River. He filed on a claim adjoining Captain C. 
H. Coe's, who was the first settler in that vicinity. 
At the initial election in that district only fifteen 
votes were cast. The city of Hood River is now 
built on land once belonging to Messrs. Coe and 



Stranahan. In 1881 our subject, who had been 
engaged in building steamers, cars, etc., for the 
O. S. N. Company, now the Oregon Railroad & 
Navigation Company, settled on his farm of one 
hundred and forty-six acres, which he continued 
to cultivate for twenty years. He then platted 
sixty lots which he called "Stranahan's First 
Addition" to Hood River. In 1896, entering into 
partnership with Captain Coe, they installed a 
sash and door factory, disposing of the same in 
1901. 

In December, 1859, our subject was united 
in marriage to Adelia Berdan, born in Lake coun- 
ty, Ohio. The ceremony was performed at Can- 
non Falls, Minnesota. Her father, Albert, was a 
native of Canada ; her mother, Statira ( Conley) 
Berdan, was born in Elmira, New York, as were 
her parents. Her grandparents were natives of 
Ireland. Our subject has three brothers and two 
sisters living; Henry M., of Northfield, Minne- 
sota ; C. Horace, manager of the Wasco Ware- 
house, at Hood River ; William G., of Minne- 
apolis, Minnesota; Ann E., wife of Charles 
Hayes, of Hood River, a surveyor ; and Mary B., 
wife of George Crowell, dealer in generad mer- 
chandise, Hood River. Mrs. Sarah J. Sheets 
died at Larimore, North Dakota. Our subject 
has three children; Albert K., mentioned else- 
where ; Mary, wife of S. M. Baldwin ; and Jessie, 
wife of Charles C. Mooney, who died August 3, 
1904. Mr. Stranahan is past commander of 
Canby Post, G. A. R., No. 16. He enlisted Janu- 
ary 2, 1862, in Company A, Fifth Minnesota In- 
fantry, Colonel B. Roder, remaining with that 
regiment one year, when he was transferred to 
the United States Signal Corps, serving three 
years in the same. He was with Gen. Sherman 
in the historic "March to the Sea." He received 
wounds at the battles of Corinth and Shiloh. 

Mrs. Stranahan taught school when young, 
in Goodhue county, Minnesota, and has been a 
member of the Methodist church since she was 
twelve years of age. She was superintendent of the 
Sunday school here for three years and has taken 
an active interest in Sunday school work all her 
life. She was postmistress of Hood River for 
seven years. Mr. Stranahan is a member of the 
Methodist Episcopal church. Politically he is a 
Republican, and has been a delegate to county 
conventions. Throughout Wasco county, Mr. 
Stranahan is highly esteemed and is an influential, 
progressive citizen. 



CHARLES HORACE STRANAHAN, 
manager of the Wasco Warehouse & Milling 
Company's warehouse in Hood River, and the 
first Stranahan to come to the coast, is a man of 





Mrs. Oscar L. Strananan 



Oscar L. Strananan 





Charles rl. Stranahan 



Mrs. Charles H. Strananan 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



265 



broad experience in the business field and lias ac- 
quired a fair amount of this world's goods as a 
result of his honest endeavors and industry. He 
was born in St. Lawrence county, New York, on 
February 12, 1845, tne son °f James K. and 
Permelia (Reynolds) Stranahan, mentioned else- 
where in this work. Our subject was reared 
principally in Minnesota, whither the family went 
when he was small, four years of age. He re- 
mained on the farm with his parents during the 
summers and attended school in the winters. In 
September, 1862, Mr. Stranahan enlisted in Com- 
pany C, Sixth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry un- 
der Captain H. F. Bailey and Colonel William 
Crooks. He served until May 31, 1865 and then 
received his honorable discharge in Montgomery, 
Alabama. The first eighteen months were spent 
in fighting the Indians and then his command 
went south where he participated in much heavy 
fighting. He was active at Fort Blakely and 
Spanish Fort and in many other engagements. 
After the war he returned to Minnesota and there 
did farming until 1875, when, with his wife and 
three children, he came overland to Oregon, set- 
tling in Clackamas county. Two years later, in 
company with his brother, Oscar, who is spoken 
of in this volume, he came with pack horses over 
the trail from Portland to Hood River and 
squatted on railroad land. He farmed the same 
until 1897, when he purchased a section of choice 
wheat land in Sherman county, about the largest 
wheat farm there, and tilled it for two years. He 
then sold and returned to Hood River, his sons 
having handled his farm here in the meantime. 
In 1902, Mr. Stranahan sold this property and 
purchased other property and accepted a position 
where we find him at the present time. He has 
made a good success in his business ventures, 
is a prosperous man, and like his brother, Oscar,, 
is a leading and influential citizen here. 

On November 11, 1869, Mr. Stranahan mar- 
ried Miss Margaret McKinley, a native of Balti- 
more, Maryland. The wedding occurred in Good- 
hue county, Minnesota. Mrs. Stranahan's pa- 
rents, John and Mary (Dunns) McKinley, were 
natives of Scotland. The father came to the 
United States with his parents when a child and 
the family is a very old and prominent one. 
President McKinley was from the same family. 
Mrs. Stranahan's uncle, William McKinley, was 
known as the "Fighting parson" and was chaplain 
of the Eighth Wisconsin Infantry during the 
Civil War. Following that struggle he was for 
many years president of the Hamlin College in 
Minneapolis. Mr. Stranahan has three brothers 
and two sisters, who are mentioned elsewhere in 
this volume. Mrs. Stranahan has two brothers, 
Alexander and George, and two sisters, Mrs. 



Mary McCorkle, and Mrs. Kate Sumner. In 
political matters, our subject is a stanch Republi- 
can and is frequently at the county conventions, 
and is a careful and enterprising man. Fratern- 
ally, he is affiliated with the A. F. & A. M., and 
the R. A. M., while in church matters he is allied 
with the Unitarians. Mrs. Stranahan belongs to 
the Methodist church. 

The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Stranahan 
are named as follows : James A., mentioned else- 
where in this work ; George F., a contractor and 
builder ; Charles H., a farmer ; John L., also a 
farmer; Maud M., a teacher; Ida E., also a 
teacher ; and Eva B., a bookkeeper. All are in 
Hood River. Maggie A., died in 1898, aged 
eleven. Bessie P. and Oscar E., are school chil- 
dren. Misses Maud and Ida are very popular 
and thorough educators, the former having 
charge of the school in the Crapper district, the 
largest single room school in the county, having 
more than fifty pupils, while the latter is now 
teaching in Sherman county. They maintain a 
very high standing and enjoy a well merited 
popularity. 



SAMUEL S. JOHNS, who resides at the 
corner of Bridge and Eighteenth streets, in The 
Dalles, is one of the best known and most pro- 
gressive stockmen of the state of Oregon. He has 
not excelled in raising large numbers of stock, 
but he has certainly excelled in bringing in and 
raising some of the finest horses and cattle to 
be found. This, in realty, is one of the greatest 
works for the upbuilding of Oregon that one 
could do. It is eminently a stock state and one 
that makes such strides in getting good breeds 
into the country is bringing the entire standard 
to a higher point, and the value of it can scarcely 
be overestimated. Mr. Johns has, also, made a 
first-class success in financial matters and has a 
holding in valuable property, both personal and 
real, that does credit to his business ability. He 
owns a fine stock ranch ten miles out on Mill 
creek, which is well improved and where he has 
a choice herd of one hundred and fifty thorough- 
bred Shorthorns. A part of the herd are regis- 
tered animals and are among the choicest to be 
found in the west. In addition to these, Mr. 
Johns owns some fine horses, among which we 
mav mention Vespasian, a Suffolk Punch draught 
stallion, registered in 1898, number 2498. He 
has one of the best records of any stallion and is 
one of the choicest ever imported to the United 
States. He weighs two thousand and ten pounds 
and is making the seasons at The Dalles. Mr. 
Johns also owns a three year old colt of Vespa- 
sian, which seems to be in every point equal to 



266 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



his famous sire. These two animals cost three 
thousand dollars. Mr. Johns is making a record 
of excellence in stock breeding and is one of the 
most skilled men in this line in this part of the 
country. 

Samuel S. Johns was born in Wales, on No- 
vember 14, 1863, the son of Thomas and Bessie 
(Pritchard) Johns, also natives of Wales. The 
father comes from an old Welsh family which has 
resided in the vicinity of Cardiff for many gen- 
erations. He followed stock breeding and dairy- 
ing. His death occurred in The Dalles, in July, 
1902. The mother's father, Captain Pritchard, 
was an Englishman and was drowned in the 
wreck of his vessel on the Loochoo or Liu Kiu 
islands, before the birth of this daughter. She 
died at Spokane, in 1897, aged fifty-eight. The 
family came to the United States in 1868 and 
settled in Kansas, two of the father's brothers, 
John and Henry, coming with them. For thirty 
years they did railroad work there, the father 
being master mechanic on the Kansas City & 
Southern railroad. In 1880, the family came to 
Wasco county and the father entered the employ 
of the O. R. & N. Six years later he engaged 
in the sawmill business. While in this business 
he erected a flume from Mill creek to The Dalles, 
a distance of sixteen miles, and later sold that 
flume to The Dalles. It is utilized today for the 
city water supply. After a good high school edu- 
cation in Ottawa, Kansas, our subject learned 
the machinist trade and wrought at it five years 
with the O. R. & N. Then he was with his father 
in the mill business until they sold the flume. 
He had purchased the land on Mill creek for 
stock purposes and gave his attention to that ex- 
clusively as soon as released from the mill propo- 
sition. He owns twelve hundred acres and all 
the improvements required on a first-class stock 
farm, besides a good residence and property in 
The Dalles. 

On December 22, 1887. at The Dalles, Mr. 
Johns married Miss Alice Walker, who was born 
near St. Helens, Oregon, and died in June, 1882, 
at The Dalles. Her parents, Robert and Julia 
(Hull) Walker, were early pioneers of Oregon. 
The mother died in The Dalles, on March 5, 
1902, and the father a few days before Mrs. 
Johns. On November 14, 1895, at The Dalles, 
Mr. Johns married Mary Zable, a native of Kan- 
sas. Her parents, Frederick and Louisa Zable, 
were natives of Germany, and are now both de- 
ceased. They dwelt many years in Wisconsin and 
Kansas. Mrs. Johns has the following named 
brothers and sisters, William, Frederick, Ferdi- 
nand, Mrs. Christina Rabensdorf, Mrs. Dora 
Martin, Mrs. Louisa Mayer, Mrs. Lena Geyer, 
and Mrs. Amelia Stenber. Mr. Johns has two 



brothers, Walter I. and David P., and three sis- 
ters, Mrs. Mary O'Neill, Mrs. Martha Campbell, 
and Bessie. Mr. Johns has two children by his 
first wife, Dora, aged fifteen, and Alice, aged 
twelve. He is a member of the United Artisans, 
while he and his wife belong to the Baptist church. 
He is deacon of that institution and also superin- 
tendent of the Sunday school. He is active in 
church work as also in all lines of enterprise for 
upbuilding and betterment of the community and 
is considered one of the best men of the commu- 
nity. In politics, Mr. Johns is a strong Republi- 
can and has been city councilman for six years. 



AUSTIN C. RICE, who resides on Jackson 
street in The Dalles, was born on Fifteen Mile 
creek on October 29, 1865, the son of Horace and 
Eliza J. (Bolton) Rice, natives of Ohio and West 
Virginia, respectively. They are mentioned else- 
where in this work. The district schools of this 
county supplied the educational training of our 
subject and in studying and working on the farm 
with his father, he spent the days of his youth. 
In early manhood he was with his father on the 
ranch and in raising cattle and was well trained. 
When twenty-four, he purchased land from the 
military road grant and farmed it for six years. 
Then he sold his entire property and engaged 
in the grocery business at Ashland. Two years 
later he sold that business and came again to 
Wasco county and took up stock raising and 
farming. He purchased a farm from his brother, 
three miles from the old home estate, and after 
handling it for three years, he sold it and came 
to The Dalles, where he resides at the present 
time. In all his career, Mr. Rice has been an 
active and wide awake business man and has 
shown marked financial ability and thus has se- 
cured for himself a fine competence. 

At The Dalles, on November 11, 1890. Mr. 
Rice married Miss Ada A. Waller, who was born 
in Polk county, on August 11, i860. Her par- 
ents, George T. and Marv J. (Doty) Waller, were 
born near Quincy, Illinois. The father's father 
died when that son was an infant and then the 
mother brought her children across sthe plains 
with ox teams in 1849. Mrs. Rice has three 
brothers, Oliver, Lorin W., Alton J., and three 
sisters, Emily C. Fell, Minnie Winters, and Lulu 
Henritt. Mr. and Mrs. Rice have three children: 
Darrell L., aged eight; Verl W., aged four; and 
Dale G. 

Politically, our subject is a good Republican 
and displays' an interest in all matters both pub- 
lic and educational. His wife belongs to the Chris- 
tian church. She is a graduate of the Monmouth 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



267 



college and for thirteen years previous to her 
marriage she was one of the educators of Ore- 
gon, teaching both in the Willamette valley and 
in Dufur. 



ARCHIBALD C. MOAD, one of the pro- 
gressive and popular citizens of Tygh valley, 
Wasco county, is a general blacksmith and wagon 
maker. He is a native Oregonian, having been 
born in Bovd, Oregon, June 19, 1874. He is the 
son of John N. and Mary E. (Flett) Moad, the 
father a native of Missouri, the mother of Quebec 
Province, Canada. In 1848 the father came 
alone across the plains to California, where for 
a few years he was engaged in mining. He went 
thence to Oregon and engaged in packing from 
The Dalles to Canyon City, in which business he 
remained for eight or ten years. He then located 
on Lower Fifteen Mile creek, eight miles from 
the present site of Dufur, where for twenty years 
he resided, with occasional visits to other locali- 
ties. He came to Tygh valley in 1886, purchased 
a farm on the creek, one and one-half miles from 
Dufur, where he died in 1899. The mother came 
to Oregon in 1841, accompanied by her father, 
one of the earliest pioneers of the country. He 
was in the" employment of the Hudson's Bay 
Company, and stationed at Oregon City. He 
died and she was adopted by Archie McKinley, 
another attache of the Hudson's Bay Company, 
who conducted a store for the company at Cham- 
poeg in the vicinity of the present Oregon City. 
At the age of twenty-two she was married, and at 
present resides with our subject's brother, Ed- 
ward, on White river, one and one-half miles 
from Tygh. 

Mr. Moad was reared and has lived all his 
life in Wasco countv, attending the public schools, 
in youth, being nine months in Tacoma. On 
completing his education he was on the ranch 
with his father, and rode the range. In 1898 he 
worked through the winter in a blacksmith shop, 
in Dufur, and during two years was a member of 
the forest rangers. In the autumn of 1900 Mr. 
Moad purchased the blacksmith shop of James 
Gillmore, mention of whom is made elsewhere, 
and has since conducted the same. Mr. Moad 
has two brothers and three sisters : Adolphus and 
Edward, the former of Wapinitia, and the latter 
residing one mile and a half from Tygh valley, 
on the White river ; Frankie, wife of Mark 
Painter, residing three miles west of Dufur ; Net- 
tie, married to James Easton, four miles from 
Boyd ; and Tillie, wife of Edward Henderson, 
of Wapinitia. 

Mr. Moad was married at the residence of 
the bride, near Dufur, May 5, 1897, to Levie 



Vanderpool, born near Prineville, Crook county, 
the daughter of William and Susan (Heisler) 
Vanderpool,. both of which families are mentioned 
in another portion of this work. Fraternally, our 
subject is a member of Ridgely Lodge, No. 71, 
I. O. O F., the Rebekahs, of which Mrs. Moad is 
also a member; and the M. W. of A., of Tygh, 
of which organization he is banker. He is a Re- 
publican. 

*-»-* 

KATHLEEN D. LINTON, who resides at 
1 107 Elm street, The Dalles, was born in Ashta- 
bula, Ohio, on November 28, 1844. Her father, 
Stephen Shuart, was a native of New York and 
his ancestors were prominent and among the early 
colonial families. The descendants have a re- 
union every year in August, and at the last time 
one hundred and thirty-seven sat down at the 
table. He married Mary M. Beckwith, a native 
of Vermont. The Beckwith family is one of the 
old colonial families that dates their ancestry far 
back before the settlement of the colonies. The 
Beckwiths were very prominent in the early his- 
tory in the new world and purnished many rep- 
resentatives to the colonial struggles and the wars 
since. Of Mrs. Linton's family it is stated that 
every male representative who was eligible was 
in the Civil war and fought for the stars and 
stripes. From these families came many promi- 
nent educators both in the classics and mathe- 
matics and many professional men. Mrs. Linton 
was well educated and followed school teaching, 
as did her mother. September 28, 1861, at Gi- 
rard, Pennsylvania, she was married to George 
S. Roberts. He had served three months in the 
Civil war and in 1864, enlisted again and died of 
a fever in New Orleans. Mrs. Roberts had two 
small children, one six weeks old and the other 
less than two years of age, when he enlisted the 
second time. Robert Calder was with Mr. Rob- 
erts at the time of his death and later became ac- 
quainted with Mrs. Roberts, the widow, and on 
May 22, 1866, they were married. They remained 
in Pennsylvania seven years, when he was called 
away by death, leaving one son. He was a tan- 
ner "by occupation and had served through the 
entire Civil war in the Independent Battery B, 
of the Ohio Volunteers, being in active service 
at Vicksburg, Shiloh, Pea Ridge, and in other 
large battles. He was clerk for his company 
during the war and was promoted to first lieu- 
tenant just before the war closed. After his 
death, Mrs. Calder taught school in Girard until 
1875. On May 10, of that year, she arrived m 
Nevada, in response to a telegram from her sis- 
ter, who was sick. Her two oldest children were 
left in the soldiers' orphan school in Pennsylva- 



-268 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



nia, and the youngest she brought with her. She 
attended her sister and taught school and was 
there married to Joseph Kerr, a mining man and 
a native of St. Johns, New Brunswick. To this 
union two children were born. On November 
II, 1878, he was shot by an intoxicated man 
shooting into a crowd, and this resulted in his 
death. After that, Mrs. Kerr taught school for 
five years and then married Andrew J. Linton, 
on September 11, 1883, the nuptials occurring 
at Salt Lake City. Andrew J. Linton was born 
in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on December 19, 1838. 
His parents were natives of Glasgow, Scotland, 
where they were married. Their death occurred 
at Fort Wayne. Andrew J. was educated in the 
public schools and then started to learn the ma- 
chinists' trade, but owing to the death of his 
father, which brought responsibility to him, he 
was obliged to take more remunerative employ- 
ment. At the time of the breaking out of the 
Civil war, he promptly enlisted and served three 
years then was honorably discharged and re- 
turned home. A relative offered him fifteen hun- 
dred dollars to enlist as a substitute and he took 
the money and again faced the enemy. This nice 
sum of money was sufficient to meet all the needs 
of his mother and the children, but while Mr. 
Linton was serving this last time, his mother died. 
He was in Company A, under Captain Kellogg, 
Sixteenth Army Corps, and was in the heat of 
the fiercest battles throughout the entire war. 
After the surrender of Lee, he was honorably 
discharged and came direct to Utah where he 
did mining. He later operated in various places 
in the west and discovered the placer camp at 
Osceola, White Pine county, Nevada. Owing to 
ill health, he sold his property and came to 
Wasco county, purchasing a farm on Ten Mile 
creek. He made a specialty of raising prunes and 
built the first dryer in the county. For twenty 
years the farm was his home, and on November 
27, 1903, he was called hence by death. Mrs. 
Linton's children are named as follows: Ida M. 
Roberts, the wife of Frank Jeanney, who is a 
blacksmith at Wells, Nevada ; Wesley S. Roberts, 
a stockman, whose death occurred at Baker City, 
Oregon, on November 5, 1902; Gerald M. Calder, 
a popular mining man of Ba_ker City ; Florence J. 
Kerr, now the wife of D. F. Cruise, in Seattle ; 
Joseph Kerr, Jr., who lives at home with his 
mother. 

Mrs. Linton has just rented her farm for' 
five years and is living a retired life in The Dalles. 
She has a goodly competence that is sufficient for 
all the needs of life and is entitled to the enjoy- 
ment of the same owing to her faithful labors 
in the years gone by. She is a highly esteemed 
and popular lady and active in all labors of 
charity. 



THOMAS F. MORRIS, farmer and stock- 
raiser, residing one-half mile west of Kingsley, 
Wasco county, was born in Wyandotte, Kansas, 
July 4, 1861. His parents, William R. and Cath- 
erine (Fox) Morris, were natives of Ireland, the 
father of Tipperary and the mother of County 
Carlow, Village of Nurney. When a small child 
William R. came to the United States with his 
parents, and they lived in New York, New Jer- 
sey and Ohio. At the age of six years Catherine 
Fox came, accompanied by her parents, to the 
United States. She died April 5, 1902, on our 
subject's place. During the Mexican war our 
subject's father enlisted in the Sixth Ohio Volun- 
teer Infantry, serving one year and nine months. 
He was shot twice in the right leg, and almost in 
the same place on the limb. Following the close 
of the war he came to Kansas, where he found 
employment as a cabinet maker, going thence to 
Calaveras county, California, where he engaged 
in the sawmill business and mining. He drifted 
to Sonoma county, remained two years, and in 
1869 came to this location in Wasco county, pre- 
empted land and lived here until his death in 
1882. On the death of his mother, Thomas F. 
Morris inherited the ranch. 

During his boyhood days he had attended 
the public schools in California. At present he 
has a handsome fourteen-acre orchard, the largest 
in that neighborhood. He cultivates mainly win- 
ter apples, having four hundred "Ben Davis,"' 
one hundred Springdale, one hundred Mammoth, 
Black Twig, Stayman Winesap, Arkansas Sena- 
tor trees, and thirty other varieties. He owns 
about six hundred and eighty acres of land, his 
principal business being hog raising. He has 
recently erected a handsome story and a half 
cottage. His brother, John, died a short time 
after the family came to Wasco county, aged 
four years. Annie, a sister, died at the age of six, 
two weeks previous to the death of her brother. 
Mr. Morris never married. While he is, politi- 
cally, a Republican, he is by no means a partisan, 
and not active in the various campaigns. He is 
a whole-souled, genial and popular man, broad- 
minded and progressive, and his devoted atten- 
tion to his invalid mother for many years won the 
respect of the entire neighborhood in which he 
resides. 



SAMUEL B. JOHNSTON, one of five broth- 
ers, progressive men and leading citizens of 
Wasco county, sketches of whom appear in other 
portions of this work, resides two and one-half 
miles west of Dufur. He was born in Centre- 
ville. New Brunswick, April 20. 1870. Biograph- 
ical articles concerning his ancestry appear else- 
where. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



269 



Mr. Johnston came to the Pacific coast in 189 1, 
the last of the family to remove thither. On leav- 
ing school he conducted the old home farm in 
Centreville, New Brunswick. In Wasco county 
he purchased three hundred and twenty acres of 
land and began the cultivation of the same. The 
extensive farming operations of the family are 
described in other sketches. At present the sub- 
ject of this article is in charge of all the farming 
lands of the five brothers. 

July 27, 1896, Mr. Johnston was united in 
marriage, at Dufur, to Miss Annie Neal, born at 
Hood River, the daughter of Milton and Marga- 
ret J. (Ward) Neal. Mrs. Johnston has one 
brother and one sister, Richard, a farmer, near 
Boyd, Wasco county, and Clem, wife of Charles 
Acker, of Portland, Oregon. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Johnston two children have been born, Kate and 
George, aged seven and two years respectively. 
Politically the affiliations of Mr. Johnston are 
with the Republican party, although he takes no 
very active part in the various campaigns, and is 
bv no means a partisan. Personally, he is 
a public-spirited citizen, liberal minded and pro- 
gressive, and one who has won the confidence of 
a host of friends. 



S. I. EVERETT, proprietor of the Central 
Hotel, at Dufur, Wasco county, Oregon, was 
born in Ohio, March 27, 1858. His father, Isaac 
Everett, a native of Ohio, was a descendant of an 
old and distinguished American family, running 
down through many generations. He died in 
Iowa when our subject was eight years of age. 
The mother, Amelia (Cosgrove) Everett, born in 
Pennsylvania, was a descendant of a prominent 
family of the Keystone state. 

The parents of our subject remained in Ohio 
until he was four years of age, removing thence 
to Iowa. Here the father purchased a farm, upon 
which young Eeverett worked, alternately attend- 
ing district school. On the death of his father, 
he remained with his mother on the farm, in com- 
pany with two elder brothers, until he was twenty. 
He then came to Dayton, the county seat of Co- 
lumbia county, Washington, passed one winter 
there and after that came to what is now Sher- 
man, then Wasco, county. He settled seven miles 
northeast of Wasco, filed on a homestead, and 
purchased an adjoining quarter section of land 
and upon which ranch he remained fifteen years. 
This property he rented and came to Dufur, 
bought the hotel and liverystable attached to the 
same, occupying half a block, the stable facing 
on Main street. The Central Hotel is the lead- 
ing one in the town of Dufur and is exceedingly 



popular with commercial travelers and tourists. 
Mr. Everett has two brothers and six sisters liv- 
ing, viz : John, a merchant and farmer, of Glen- 
wood, Iowa ; Edward, of Sherman county ; Mary, 
widow of Harrison Dolley, residing near Nelson- 
ville, Ohio; Mrs. Sarah Connor, near Nelsonville ; 
Priscilla, widow of James Carson, in Morrow 
county ; Nancy, widow of Samuel Ornduff , of 
Sherman county ; Ida, married to William Flee- 
nor, a dealer in horses at Abington, Iowa ; and 
Clara, wife of John Connor, a farmer residing 
near Beulah, Kansas. 

At The Dalles, October 19, 1890, Mr. Everett 
was married to Minnie Frazier, born in Nor- 
mandy, Indiana, December 31, 1863, the daugh- 
ter of Aaron Frazier, of Dufur. Before mar- 
riage, Mrs. Everett had been engaged in teaching 
school and so popular was she throughout the 
county that she came very near being elected as 
county school superintendent although her party 
was more than two to one in the minority. She 
came of Scotch-Irish ancestry. Mr. and Mrs. 
Everett have the following named children, Olga, 
Hazel Esther, Verne Frazier, and Gladys. The 
first three were born on the farm in Sherman 
county and the last one at Dufur in Wasco county. 
Hazel E. died at Dufur, February 28, 1904. 

Mr. Everett is a member of the I. O. O. F. 
and the Encampment at Dufur. 



. ALEXANDER HEISLER, who is now op- 
erating a meat market in Dufur, is one of the 
industrious and enterprising business men and 
land owners of Wasco county. He has been in 
this part of the county only a few years, but he 
has dwelt in Oregon all his life and is 
entitled to the honor of the pioneer for 
many sections of this great state. He was 
born in Lane county, on December 12, 1857, the 
son of William and" Martha (McConnell) Heis- 
ler, who have mention in another portion of this 
work. Alexander was educated in the district 
schools and remained with his parents until eigh- 
teen years of age. Then he took up the cattle 
business with his brother, Monroe, who, also, is 
sketched in this work. Two years later he leased 
his father's farm on Wilson creek, Crook county, 
and a year later engaged in the stock business 
again, this time, with another brother. For four- 
teen years they were thus associated, and then 
our subject bought the entire business and con- 
ducted it for six years more. This was all in 
Crook county, then Mr. Heisler sold out his in- 
terests there and came to Dufur. He soon pur- 
chased a choice farm of fertile bottom land on 
Fifteen Mile and after conducting it for a time, 



270 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



rented it to his son-in-law and opened the meat 
market where he is at present engaged in a lucra- 
tive business. He is a man of good business abil- 
ity and integrity and stands well in the com- 
munity. 

Mr. Heisler's first marriage was celebrated in 
Canyon City, Oregon, in 1882. At Dufur, on 
September 11, 1892, he married Mrs. Agnes Gil- 
more, the daughter of Benjamin F. and Elizabeth 
(Lantzenhizer) Saunders, natives of Akron, 
Ohio, and England, respectively. Mrs. Heisler 
was born in Indiana. Her mother's father was 
adopted by a German family and hence the Ger- 
man name. Mrs. Heisler was married first to 
Harry Bradshaw, who died before she was 
twenty. By this marriage she had two children : 
Byron H, at Twisp, Washington; and Richard 
H., a telegraph operator in Oklahoma. In 1887, 
she was married to Professor Herbert Gilmore, 
a professor in the Iowa Agricultural college. 
Three years after his marriage, he died. To Mr. 
and Mrs. Heisler four children have been born : 
Ada, wife of Cossie Woodford, now renting his 
father-in-law's farm ; Eva, Bruce, and John, all 
at home. Mr. Heisler is a member of the I. O. 
O. F., and the Encampment and has passed all 
the chairs, having also been representative to both 
grand lodges. Mrs. Heisler belongs to the United 
Brethren church, also to the Maccabees, the Fra- 
ternal Union, the Rebekahs, and the B. O. A. 
She was well educated, graduating from the Pris- 
cilla Academy in Ohio, in 1877. Mr. Heisler is a 
well informed Democrat. 



JAMES M. NOLIN, a prosperous farmer liv- 
ing two miles up Fifteen Mile creek from Dufur, 
was born in Ontario, Canada, on July 18, 1856. 
His father, William Nolin, was born in the Prov- 
ince of Quebec and his parents in the same place. 
His grandparents, the great-grandparents of our 
subject, came from France. William Nolin mar- 
ried Isabel Laird, a native of Ireland, who died 
here in Wasco county, in 1896. William Nolin 
had come here with his wife in 1886, and since 
her death he has resided' with our subject. He is 
a man eighty-six years of age, remarkably well 
preserved, both physically and mentally, one of 
the best for his age that one will find in searching 
the state over. This indicates, a wisdom and care 
on the part of Mr. Nolin that are very commend- 
able for during the long years of his life he has 
so conducted himself as to preserve intact his 
powers. 

Our subject was raised principally in northern 
New York near the Canadian line and for many 
vears worked on the St. Lawrence river on a 



logging. With his brothers, he owned also a 
large farm in that country. In 1877, Mr. Nolin 
determined to explore the west and accordingly 
made his way to California where he followed 
dairying for two years in Gilroy. In the fall of 
1879, h e came north to Oregon and for a few 
years worked out in this vicinity, then rented the 
place upon which he now lives, also handling the 
Cates farm with it for nine years. Then he went 
to the Willamette valley and bought the farm 
which was his home for four years. After that, 
he sold out and came back to Wasco county and 
purchased the place where he now lives. For a 
few years before going to the Willamette valley, 
he was in the employ of the Staver and Walker 
agriculture firm of Portland and traveled for 
them extensively, during this employment, then 
moved to the valley and purchased the farm men- 
tioned before. It was 1900 when he bought the 
place that he now lives upon, from Mrs. Louisa 
E. Turner. It consists of one hundred and sixty 
acres of as fine wheat land as can be found in 
this part of Oregon, and averages forty bushels 
to the acre and last year produced forty-seven 
bushels. All improvements neccessary have been 
provided and Mr. Nolin is considered one of the 
first class farmers of the county. 

On October 25, 1885, in Clackamas county, 
Mr. Nolin married Miss Flora E. Frost, a native 
of Illinois. Her father, Elam Frost, was also 
born in Illinois and is now deceased. He came 
to the coast with his family in 1869, settling in the 
Willamette valley where he died. His father 
died at Hood River. Mr. Nolin has three broth- 
ers, George E., Edward and David. His wife 
has one brother, Walter, and three sisters, Mrs. 
Mary Stevens, Mrs. Laura Turner and Mrs. 
Luella Shank. Mr. Nolin has been a school di- 
rector for a number of years, has filled other 
offices and is active in the interests of the com- 
munity and for general improvements. He be- 
longs in the Democratic harness and is often seen 
at the conventions. Altogether, he is a man of 
stabilitv, intelligence, genialty and kindness and 
enjoys 'an excellent standiing in the community. 



CLAUDE E. MARKHAM resides on the 
west side of Hood River about five miles south 
from the town, where he has a choice farm of 
fifty-seven acres. Three acres of this are devoted 
to strawberries, about fifteen to apples and the 
balance to general crops. He is one of the prosper- 
ous men of this section of Wasco county and has 
labored here for nearly fifteen years, in the good 
work of fruit growing in which he has gained a 
first class success. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



271 



Claude E. Markham was born in Dane coun- 
ty, Wisconsin, on September 28, 1866, the son of 
John W. and Agnes E. (Blount) Markham, na- 
tives of New York and Wisconsin, respectively. 
The father died in 1889, January 24, and the 
mother is now married to T. J. Cummings, a re- 
tired capitalist in Hood River. The first twelve 
years of our subject were spent near Madison, 
Wisconsin, then the family went to Kansas, where 
they engaged in the loaning business at Clay 
Center and there remained sometime. After com- 
pleting the graded and high schools, Mr. Mark- 
ham finished his education in the Lawrence busi- 
ness college. Returning to his home, he was em- 
ployed in an insurance office for three years. It 
was 1890, when he came to Puget Sound and 
labored one year in the vicinity of Tacoma at 
various occupations then came in the spring of 
1891, to Hood River where he bought eighty 
acres of land. He at once gave his attention to 
the cultivation of the same and its improvements 
and has labored continuously at that since. The 
place is well laid out and improved with good 
buildings, fences and so forth and is one of the 
nicest farms in the valley. 

On July 28, 1891, at The Dalles, Mr. Mark- 
ham married Miss Mattie A. Morton, a native of 
Sparta, Illinois. Her father came from Ireland 
and died in Sparta, Illinois, in 1901. Her mother, 
Catherine (Stewart) Morton was a native of Ire- 
land and died on January 27, 1904, on the old 
homestead in Illinois. Mrs. Markham was en- 
gaged in teaching school some years before her 
marriage, being employed in Kansas and Illinois. 
She has eight brothers and two sisters living and 
one sister deceased. Mr. Markham has no broth- 
ers or sisters living. Three children have been 
born to our subject and his wife, Wesley, Agnes 
and Edward. 

Mr. Markham is a member of the K. of P. 
and served three terms as C. C, and has also 
been a delegate to the grand lodge several times. 
He is a strong Republican and active in the cam- 
paigns and attends the conventions. 



JOHN J. GIBBONS, who resides about four 
miles southwest from Hood River, is one of the 
substantial and industrious fruit raisers of the 
valley. He was born in Ireland, on May 21, 
1846, the son of Martin and Annie (King) Gib- 
bons, natives also of Ireland. The father died in 
Mayo county and the mother lives there at the 
present time. He was a civil engineer and a 
farmer. Our subject came to the United States 
when nine years of age with his older brothers 
and sisters. They settled in New York city and 



John obtained work as an errand boy in a large 
store where he continued two years. Then he 
went to St. Louis and joined relatives there and 
spent two years in learning the carpenter's trade 
after which he entered the car shops and was 
employed in that capacity for ten years in St. 
Louis and St. Joe. About 1878, Mr. Gibbons 
came to San Francisco and took a place in the 
Southern Pacific shops. In 1881, we find him 
in The Dalles, operating for the O. R. & N. In 
1892, he decided to quit the railroad and retire 
to the farm, where he now lives, which he had 
bought during his service in the shops. Then 
he settled down to the cultivation of his farm and 
to raising fruit. He has about eleven hundred 
fine apple trees, Spitzenberg mainly, and sold 
many hundreds of boxes last year. He also 
raises grapes, pears and berries but apples are 
his main crop. 

On October 9, 1870, at St. Joseph, Missouri, 
Mr. Gibbons married Miss Sarah McSherry, who 
was born in Maryland, opposite Alexandria, 
Virginia, whence her parents moved when she 
was an infant. Her father, Richard M., was a 
native of north Ireland and came to the United 
States when a young man. He served in the Con- 
federate army and died in Kansas in 1899. Mrs. 
Gibbons' mother was also a native of Ireland 
and there was married. She died in Kansas. Mr. 
Gibbons has six brothers, Edward, Peter, Mich- 
ael, Patrick, David, deceased, and James. The 
latter died in India as a member of the British 
Heavy Artillery. Mrs. Gibbons has two broth- 
ers, James and Thomas, and four sisters, Alice 
Goldsberry, Mary Magney, Theresa Dever, and 
Maggie Gurry. Mr. Gibbons has five children 
living, Frank, Charles, Albert, Willis and Emma, 
and three deceased; David M., who served in 
Company D, Second Oregon infantry in the 
Philippines where he died from disease con- 
tracted in the army ; John, who died at Hood 
River when eighteen ; and Richard, who died at 
Hood River, on September 18, 1898, aged twenty. 

On October 29, 1898, Mrs. Gibbons was 
killed by a runaway horse. Mr. Gibbons is a 
member of the A. F. & A. M. and also belongs 
to the Christian church. He is a Republican 
and has been delegate to the conventions although 
he is not especially active. In all school matters, 
Mr. Gibbons manifests a marked zeal and interest. 
He has held the office of director a long time and 
with John Wilson, succeeded in establishing the 
Barrett district school which is a fine property of 
three rooms and one of the largest of its kind 
in the county. Mr. Gibbons spent a great real 
of time in bringing the matter before the people 
and raising funds for the enterprise and finally 
was successful and it is a monument to his wis- 



272 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



dom and labor in which he may well take pride. 
Mr. Gibbons is a good man, highly respected by 
all, and has shown marked industry in the labors 
he has performed in this valley. 



MRS. ELEANOR POTTER, a prominent 
and influential lady of Hood River valley is well 
known as a church worker and a zealous laborer 
for all enterprises that tend to benefit and upbuild 
the community. She resides about three miles 
south from the town of Hood River and the 
estate is known as Wild Rose farm. It is one 
of the largest in the valley. 

Mrs. Potter was born in Bradford county, 
Pennsylvania, on January 10, 1843. Her father, 
William C. Burgess, was a native of Chenango 
county, New York and came from an old and 
prominent family. His mother was Eleanor Cleve- 
land of the house of Cleveland of whom ex-Presi- 
dent Cleveland is a member. The mother of Mrs. 
Potter was Mariette Burgess not a relative of 
her husband although bearing the same name. 
She was born in Bradford county, Pennsylvania 
where also she was married, and is a lineal de- 
scendant of William Burgess, who came over in 
the Mayflower. 

The subject of this sketch completed her edu- 
cation in the high school at Troy, Pennsylvania 
and when nineteen was married in that county 
to Miles Potter, a native of the same place and 
born in September, 1841. His father, Elisha 
Potter, was a native of Pennsylvania, descended 
from an old colonial family. Seven brothers of 
the family came from England in the early days 
to New England and were among the very first 
settlers in Pennsylvania. The mother of Mr. 
Potter was Minerva Moore, also a native of 
Pennsylvania and from an old and prominent 
family. Mr. Potter is a cabinet maker by trade. 
At the time of the Civil war, he enlisted in 
Company C, Seventh Pennsylvania Cavalry, and 
served three years. Since that time, he has been 
broken in health and has been unable to work 
at his trade only at intervals. He followed the 
same in Pennsylvania as he could until 1875 
and then came with his family as a member of the 
Pacific colony to Hood River. They bought 
their present home of one hundred and fifty acres, 
built a large three-story, eighteen room house 
and made other important improvements. They 
have now about ten acres to strawberries, six 
acres to orchard and the balance to general crops. 
The estate is one of the very best to be found 
in this part of the country and is valued at 
over thirty thousand dollars. 

Mrs. Potter has no brothers and sisters living. 



Mr. Potter has one brother and one sister liv- 
ing. Four children have been born to this, 
couple : Ida, the wife of Frank McFarland, an 
insurance man at Portland ; William B., a mer- 
chant at Spray, Oregon; Happy D., wife of 
Homer McFarland, who died at Los Angeles, 
on May n, 1897, aged twenty-five; Edith P.,. 
wife of B. L. Davison, who died at Hood River, 
on March 21, 1900, aged twenty-one. Mr. Davi- 
son is a Methodist preacher and now a student 
at the Willamette University at Salem, Oregon.. 

Mr. and Mrs. Potter are both active members 
of the Methodist church. Mrs. Potter has been. 
especially active in church work and she and her 
husband with others were the builders of the 
Methodist church which is opposite their home, 
known as the Belmont M. E. church. They are 
highly respected people and are well known 
throughout the valley. 

The Belmont church was the first to be or- 
ganized in the Hood River valley. Mrs. Potter 
was a prime mover in the organization, there 
being but six charter members. Mr. Potter spent 
the greater part of a year in the erection of the 
church building, and was obliged to secure a hand 
to attend to his farm work while he wrought on 
the church. Frank Sherrieb hauled the lumber 
and assisted Mr. Potter all he could in the erec- 
tion of the building. 



CAREY H. JENKINS. D. M. D.. is one of 
the younger professional men of Hood River, 
who has achieved a worthy success and bids fair 
to be one of the leading dentists of the entire- 
northwest. He is a careful and conscientious 
student, tireless in his research and thorough in 
every detail of his important professsion. His 
endowments by nature have especially fitted him 
for this line of work and the careful and extended 
training in the best institutions of the west have 
so fortified him that he is master of dentistry and' 
dental surgery in a high degree. 

Carey H. Jenkins was born in The Dalles, 
Oregon, on October 2, 1874. the son of James H. 
and Hattie (Bolton) Jenkins, natives of Mis- 
souri and Iowa, respectively. The father was a- 
heavy stockman and died at Columbus, Washing- 
ton, when our subject was thirteen. The mother 
came with her parents across the plains in 1849 
and was married in The Dalles. Her family 
settled on Fifteenmile creek when The Dalles 
was but a post for government soldiers and Grant 
and Sherman were there. Carey's father first 
came to California in the forties with his parents. 
His grandfather was engaged in mining and in- 
in the fifties they moved to southern Oregon.. 




Mrs. Eleanor Potter 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



27S 



Later they came to Klickitat county, Washington, 
being pioneers there and our subject's father's 
father bought the old block house on Spring 
creek. His mother died when he was twelve years 
old and later he went to live with an uncle, Simeon 
Bolton, now clerk of Wasco county. Carey 
H. Jenkins was educated in the schools of Klick- 
itat county and then entered the Portland Uni- 
versity, completing" a three years' course. He 
entered the North Pacific Dental College in Oc- 
tober, 1898, graduated in 1901, and commenced 
practice in Portland. In November, 1901, he 
came to Hood River and since then has secured a 
fine practice and has made a success in which he 
may well take pride. 

At The Dalles, on October 10. 1899, Mr. 
Jenkins married Miss Ethel Riddell, who was 
born near Corvallis, Oregon. Her father, George 
H. Riddell, was born in Brooklyn and came west 
around the Horn, in 1852. He settled in Salem 
and spent the greater part of his life as a con- 
tractor and builder. According to the family 
record, Mr. Riddell's ancestors came from Scot- 
land to Holland in 160S, and the next year mi- 
grated to the New World, settling where Brook- 
lyn now stands. The Brewers were, also, in the 
company. George H. Riddell's great-great- 
grandfather, on his mother's side, was a Brewer 
and married a daughter of Anaca Jens. Angeline 
(Hamilton) Riddell, Mrs. Jenkins' mother, was 
born in 1847, while her parents were crossing the 
plains. Her people were southerners and her 
father held slaves before the war. Dr. Jenkins 
has one brother. Coke, and one sister, Josephine. 
Mrs. Jenkins has three brothers, Havward. Clvde 
and Xenophen, and three sisters, Grace Parish, 
Maybel, and Bessie. To Dr. and Mrs. Jenkins 
two children have been born, Boyd, aged three, 
and Louise, one year old. Dr. Jenkins is a mem- 
ber of the K. P., and is very popular in fraternal 
circles. He and his wife belong to the United 
Presbvterian church. Politically, he is a stanch 
Republican, but not active. 



MARTIN H. NICKELSEN owns and oper- 
ates a fruit farm on Belmont street about two 
miles out from Hood River. It is one of the 
finest places on the street and has been brought 
by Mr. Nickelsen to a high state of cultivation 
and is very productive. 

In the little Island of Fohr in the North Sea, 
on March 8, 1848, occurred the birth of Martin 
H. Nickelsen. At that time the island was owned 
half by Denmark and half by Germany. It is but 
a small piece of land containing from thirty to 
fifty square miles and has a population of over 

18 



five thousand. Our subject's father was Peter 
Nichelsen, a native of Schleswig. Martin was 
educated in the public schools and then learned 
the blacksmith trade which he followed until 
1871, the year in which he came to the United 
States. Pie first settled in California and oper- 
ated a shop for five years then came to The 
Dalles in 1879, an< l worked for the O. R. & N. 
railway. In 1884 he bought twenty acres on 
Belmont street where his family resided and he 
opened a shop. Later he gave up work in his 
shop and came to his farm which he cultivated 
for two years and then sold. The place is now 
owned by Robert Jones. Mr. Nickelsen then 
moved into town and engaged in the mercantile 
business for six years after which he sold out 
and bought his present place of fifteen acres. He 
raises the usual varieties of fruit and has made 
a good success of his labors. 

On October 22, 1867, m Germany, Mr. Nick- 
elsen married Miss Inge Rorden, who was born 
in the same island as her husband. It is interest- 
ing to note that the island contains eighteen vil- 
lages and is very busy and full of enterprise. 
Mrs. Nickelsen's father, Nickels Rorden, was 
born in the island as also was her mother, Re- 
gina (Olufs) Rorden. They are both now de- 
ceased. Mr. Nickelsen has one brother, Ingwert 
C, and three sisters, Marie Wyss, Dorethea, and 
Catherine. Mrs. Nickelsen has two brothers, 
Frederick and George and one sister, Nandina 
Bruhn. Mr. Nickelsen is a member of the K. 
of P. and of the A. O. U. W. He has held the 
chairs in these lodges and has been a delegate to 
the grand lodge. Politically, he is a good stanch 
Republican and has been school director for 
years. He was the first treasurer of Hood River. 
Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Nickelsen, namely; John R., a blacksmith of 
Hood River; Christian D., a farmer near 
Hood River; Rosa S., wife of Ha Nealiegh, one 
mile sowth from our subject; Ida, wife of An- 
toine Frohm, one mile west and foreman in a 
lumber yard ; and Margaret, a school girl, at 
home. 

Mr. and Mrs. Nickelsen are very genial and 
kindly people, having hosts of friends through- 
out the country. They have labored wisely and 
well here, have a nice place and have raised a 
very interesting family. 



JOHN A. WILSON was born in Indiana, on 
May 21, 1841, and now resides about three miles 
southwest from Hood River where he has one of 
the fine farms of the valley. He is known as a 
substantial and good citizen and has manifested' 



274 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



real worth . and industry since coming to this 
country. His father, Samuel Wilson, was born in 
South Carolina, as were also his parents, and was 
a pioneer settler in Indiana, being sixteen years 
of age when he came with his parents to that 
country. He died in Missouri, in 1875. He had 
married Dinah Martin, also a native of South 
Carolina, the wedding occurring in Indiana. Her 
parents were pioneers to Indiana, coming thither 
on horseback, and the mother, who was a Smith 
before marriage, carried Dinah in her arms. They 
came from an old and prominent family. Our 
subject was educated in the district schools where 
he lived, and on April 23, 1861, in response to the 
first call for men, enlisted in Company H, Eighth 
Indiana Infantry, and served ninety days then re- 
enlisted in the Forty-sixth Indiana, the date 
being October, 1861. His entire service in the 
war being one month over four years. His first 
battle was at Rich Mountain, West Virginia, and 
the next at New Madrid, Missouri. Later, he 
was in the battles at Biddies Point, Missouri, 
Fort Pemberton, Mississippi, Fort Gibson, Cham- 
pion Hill, Siege of Vicksburg, Jackson and at 
Grand Chaton and Mansfield, Louisiana. At the 
latter place he was taken prisoner and spent four 
months at Camp Ford, Texas and four months at 
Camp Gross, Texas. On December 8, 1864, he 
was exchanged and continued in the service un- 
til September 4, 1865, when he was discharged 
at Louisville. Mr. Wilson has great reason to 
take pride in his service as a soldier for his coun- 
try as he endured all the hardships incident to 
that life and showed a fortitude and bravery 
which commend him to every patriotic citizen. 
After the war, he returned to Illinois whence his 
parents had moved and remained there six years 
then he married and moved to Missouri and 
bought a farm in Caldwell county. Four years 
later, he moved to Oregon and purchased the land 
right from a squatter, where he now lives, and 
since that time, he has continued here. He has five 
acres into strawberries and the balance of the 
land is devoted to general crops. 

The marriage of Mr. Wilson occurred on Feb- 
ruary 4, 1869, at Ancona, Illinois. Nancy Cham- 
berlain a native of Ohio, then becoming his bride. 
Her father, Washington Chamberlin, was born 
in Washington county, Pennsylvania, and his fa- 
ther in New Jersey, and his mother probably in 
that state also. Mrs. Wilson's mother, Eliza- 
beth (Eggy) Chamberlin, was also born in Wash- 
ington county, Pennsylvania, and is now living 
with our subject. She came from a Pennsylvania 
Dutch family. Mr. Wilson has one brother, 
William L., and one sister, Mrs. Caroline Martin. 
Mrs. Wilson has three brothers, Leander, John, 
and Newton. Seven children have been born to 



our subject and his wife; Austin at Mullan, 
Idaho ; Laura in The Dalles ; George, Lee, Grace, 
Flora and Viola, all at home. 

Mr. and Mrs. Wilson are members of the 
Christian church and are liberal supporters of 
the faith. Politically he is a Republican and act- 
ive. In school matters, Mr. Wilson has shown a 
marked zeal and activity and with Mr. Gibbons 
was instrumental in establishing the Barrett 
school. He worked very hard for this fine enter- 
prise and deserves much commendation from the 
community for his aggressiveness and zeal in 
bringing about this desired end. 



HON. W. H. HARRISON DUFUR is a 
man well known by his labors, both in business 
life and in the political arena. He has achieved 
remarkable success as the owner of a magnificent 
estate, five miles up from Dufur on Fifteenmile 
creek. He is one of the leading men of this part 
of the state and has made a brilliant success in 
every line in which he has operated and without 
doubt is to be classed as one of the builders of 
this prosperous section. His influence has been 
felt far and near and his work bears the stamp 
of sagacity and executive ability. He was born 
in Williamstown, Vermont, on February 22, 
1854. His parents and the balance of the family 
are named in the biography of Andrew J. Dufur, 
Jr., which appears in another portion of this 
work. Our subject came to Oregon with the 
rest of the family in i860 and for many years 
they all remained together. He received his 
educational training in the district schools in and 
about Portland, in the high school under Pro- 
fessor Johnson and in the Portland Academy 
under Professor T. M. Gatch. After this, he was 
in the employ of Bradley, Marsh and Company 
and other large firms, then second assistant man- 
ager of the Northwest Storage Shipping Com- 
pany, two years. In 1876, he moved to Fifteen- 
mile creek with his brother for a time and rented 
ranches. Two years later, he bought two hun- 
dred and ninety-four acres and kept adding to 
it until he had nearly fifteen hundred acres. He 
has sold considerable and still owns over one 
thousand acres, six hundred of which are tillable. 
He does general farming, raises cattle and horses 
and Poland China hogs. He has been very suc- 
cessful in his labors here and has accumulated a 
fine fortune. On November 11, 1902. Mr. Dufur 
leased the Columbia hotel in The Dalles and fur- 
nished the same at an expense of over four thou- 
sand dollars and on October 22, 1903. the same 
burned to the ground. 

The political career of Mr. Dufur is worthy 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



275 



of especial mention and it is with pleasure that 
we are. privileged to append a review. He has 
been a life long Republican and one of the prom- 
inent men of his party in this part of the state. 
He is one of those unswerving, progressive men, 
who have made Republican politics what it is to- 
day, the most powerful influence in the grandest 
nation on earth. In 1882, he was chosen a mem- 
ber of the state legislature at a special election at 
the Dolph Mitchell contest, he belonging to the 
Mitchell faction. Under Harrison's administra- 
tion, Mr. Dufur was commissioner and disburs- 
ing agent for the Warm Springs and Colville In- 
dian commission. The object of this commission 
was to settle the disputed line between Indians of 
the Warm Springs agency and the white settlers 
and to purchase lands from the confederated 
tribes of the Colville Indians. Mark A. Fuller- 
"ton of the supreme bench of Washington was 
chairman of the committee and Hon. James F. 
Paine of North Carolina was the other member. 
In 1898, he was appointed forest supervisor of 
the northern division of the Cascade reserve and 
■of the Bull Run reserve, which supplies Port- 
land with water. For four years he did excellent 
service in that capacity. He is always at the 
county and state conventions where he is an in- 
fluential and leading figure. 

On July 16, 1876, at Portland, Mr. Dufur 
married Mary L. Alexander, who was born in 
Topson, Maine. Her parents were both natives 
• of that state and came from old colonial families. 
The father died some time since and the mother 
married Richard H. Holmes and they are now 
dwelling with our subject. They came to Ore- 
gon in the early fifties and for many years he was 
a contractor and builder in Portland. He is a 
veteran of the Rogue river and Cayuse and other 
Indian wars of the fifties. Mrs. Dufur has one 
.sister, Nellie, the wife of William Humbert, in the 
government employ at Los Angeles, California. 
Two children have been born to our subject and 
his wife, Blanche, the wife of R. E. Batty of 
Grangeville, Idaho, and Andrew B. at home. He 
was married on July 9, 1903, to Iva Williams 
who was born on Eigditmile. Her father, W. H. 
Williams, is mentioned elsewhere in this work. 

Mr. Dufur is a member of the A. O. U. W., 
the W. W. and the United Artisans. He is a 
sturdy up-to-date man dominated by sound prin- 
ciples and guided by a keen foresight and wisdom 
that stamp him as a leading figure in the county. 



JOHN CHAPMAN PEABQDY.— The sub- 
ject of the following article, better known as 
""Frank," who has led an evetltful life, encount- 



ering its vicissitudes as well as the smiles of for- 
tune, is now comfortably located at Dufur, 
Wasco county, Oregon. His avocation is that of 
a painter, grainer and paper hanger. He is the 
son of Daniel H. and Levina (Cummings) Pea- 
body, the former a native of New Hampshire; 
the latter of Vermont. It is claimed that the fam- 
ily of Peabody is of kingly descent, and that it 
springs from Boadicia, famed in history as the 
Bristfsh Queen who so valiantly resisted the Ro- 
mans when they invaded Britain. Her own name 
and that of her kinsman, Boadie, is considered to 
be the origin of the name Peabody, Pabodie, 
etc. 

Our subject's father, Daniel Harris Peabody, 
is of the family of Isaac Peabody, one of a num- 
ber of brothers. Isaac Peabody was born Novem- 
ber 28, 1775, and was married in January, 1799, to 
Mary Dodge. He died January 23, 1832, and his 
wife January 9, 1846. Their children were Nancy 
who died in infancy, in August, 1802, and John, 
born June 10, 1803. December 3, 1809, he mar- 
ried Mary Hopkins, and died August 21, 1865. 
Their children were John Dalton, born July 31, 
1831, and died May 9, 1869. December 17, 1856, 
he was married to Ann Greene. Their children 
were Ada Satira, born November 12, 1857, and 
Miles, born February 24, 1862. Nancy Jane, 
daughter of John Dalton, was born May 1, 1833, 
and December 18, 1856, was married to Josiah 
Loveren, to whom were born John Edward Lov- 
eren, February 2, 1858, and George Miles Lov- 
eren, born August 14, 1866, and Satira Wad- 
leigh, born November 18, 1836, dying in Novem- 
ber, 1869. May 12, 1858, she was marrried to 
John F. Burnham. Their children were Herbert 
Byron, born April 7, 1859 ; Susie W., born May 
15, 1861 ; Addie Leona, born December 19, 1863; 
Mary Ella, born October 22, 1866. 

Isaac Peabody's second child, Hannah Bach- 
elder (Mrs. Coggins) resided in Medford, New 
Hampshire. Her son, Charles H., also lived 
there. The other son, Isaac C, is a miner and 
farmer in California. Isaac's fifth child, Eliza- 
beth (Mrs. Hersey), resided in Meriden, New 
Hampshire. She also lived in Croydon, Sharon, 
Vermont and in North Grantham, New Hamp- 
shire. Her third child, John F. served in the Fifth 
New Hampshire Volunteers and was killed at 
Fair Oakes, June 1, 1862. Emily C. was her 
fourth child. She was a young woman of marked 
literary ability, some of her compositions having 
been published in the Boston Transcript. 

Daniel Harris, the father of our subject, was 
Isaac's sixth child. He was married in New 
Hampshire, dying in Hooksett ; his wife passing 
awav in Lowell, Massachusetts. Their second 
son, John Chapman, left home at an early age to 



■2J6 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



seek his fortune. Lydia, the seventh child of 
Isaac, was an invalid most of her life, and never 
married. Isaac and Jacob were twin children. 
Isaac's first wife was born in Lebanon and died 
in Lowell, Massachusetts, during his absence in 
the army, Jacob lived in Bridgeport, Connecti- 
cut, and at one time was a member of the police 
force in that city. Ezra, Isaac's youngest child, 
lived in Medford, New Hampshire. He served 
in the Third New Hampshire Volunteers and 
was greviously wounded in a skirmish in South 
Carolina. He was a man of great natural ability 
and force of character. His daughter, Celia, 
married Benjamin F. Foster. 

John Chapman Peabody, our subject, was 
reared in New Hampshire. He was born in Lo- 
well, Massachusetts, from which city his parents 
removed when he was three years of age. When 
he was fifteen years old he returned to Lowell and 
worked in the cotton mills up to the time they 
were closed by a financial panic. At Boston he 
shipped before the mast on the Flying Fish, for 
a voyage around the world, but deserted in San 
Francisco. He was penniless, and while in this 
condition was drugged and "shanghaied" aboard 
a Danish vessel, but the effects of the drug wore 
off and he escaped. Following many exciting 
and perilous adventures in California he enlisted 
in Company C, Seventh California Infantry, 
Colonel Lewis commanding. Our subject's com- 
pany was sent to Fort Mojave, where it remained 
fifteen months. Having been mustered out of the 
army he returned to the Atlantic coast via the 
Isthmus, and while en route was robbed of six 
hundred dollars. He returned to Lowell and se- 
cured employment in the mills, and also worked 
in the laboratory of Dr. J. C. Aver. In 1881, 
with his family, our subject went to Oregon, lo- 
cating at The Dalles, where he was employed two 
years in the car shops, and then opened a paint 
shop on his own account. In 1884 he located a 
ranch thirteen miles southeast of Dufur, where he 
resided with his family five years. In 1895 he 
disposed of the ranch and purchased property in 
the town of Dufur, and erected a fine, two-story 
residence in which he now lives, owning another 
v/hich he rents. 

September 14, 1871, at Rock Island, 
Illinois, Mr. Peabody was married to Celia 
L. Hewitt, a native of Michigan, having 
been born at Jackson. Mrs. Peabody has 
one half brother, Frank Hathaway, a 
painter at St. Johns. To Mr. and Mrs. Peabody 
have been born three children ; Edith M., wife of 
Andrew J. Douglas ; Maud M., wife of James H. 
Johnston, one of five Johnston brothers ; and 
Roy H., born October 10, 1880, at Juniata, Ne- 
braska. Mr. Peabody is a member of Ridgeley 



Lodge, No. 71, I. O. O. F., of which he is past 
grand ; Nicholson Encampment, of which he is 
chief patriarch, and James Nasmith Post, G. A. 
R., The Dalles, of which he was a charter mem- 
ber. He has been a delegate to the grand lodge- 
of Odd Fellows, and is universally esteemed by 
all his numerous acquaintances. It is important 
to notice that our subject's father was a first 
cousin of Nathaniel Hawthorne's wife. Eliza- 
beth Peabody, a second cousin to our subject, was 
the first to introduce the famous kindergarten- 
system from Germany into the United States. 
She was a well known educator and famous over 
the civilized world. Horace Mann, the famous: 
educator, and one time superintendent of educa- 
tion for the state of Massachusetts, married a 
sister to Elizabeth Peabody. Elizabeth Peabody 
never married. Julian Hawthorne is now com- 
piling a record of the Peabody family. 



EDWIN M. HILL, of the firm of Hill & 
Robinson, blacksmiths and wagon makers, resides 
at Dufur, Wasco county. He is a native son 
of this grand state, having been born in Malheur 
county, April 22, 1872. The house in which he 
was born stood on the Idaho and Oregon state 
line, one-half of the edifice in Oregon, the other 
half in Idaho. The family postoffice was at Silver. 
City, Idaho. His father, Marshall Hill, is a na- 
tive of Tennessee, his parents being descended, 
from a prominent Pennsylvania Dutch family. 
His mother, Prudence (Thomas) Hill, was born 
in Linn county, Oregon, her ancestry being, also, 
of Dutch extraction. Her parents grossed the 
plains so early as 1849. Marshall Hill r father of 
our subject, accompanied -his parents on the 
perilous journey over the plains, in 1852. He was 
an active participant in the Indian war of Rogue 
River, in 1855 and 1856, and in the Piute war in. 
Idaho. He is a fruit grower, residing one mile 
south of The Dalles, on a farm, with his wife, 
the mother of our subject. 

With his parents young Hill moved to Gilliam 
county when he was about six years of age. Two 
years afterward they moved to The Dalles, and 
our subject attended public schools and worked 
on the farm. He received the benefit of a course 
at the high school at The Dalles. In 1897 he- 
went with the Lane brothers of The Dalles where 
he learned the trade of a blacksmith. With them 
he remained until March, 1902, when he located 
at Dufur, and purchased his present shop from 
the Summer Fallow Machine Company. Later 
he associated himself with Mr. Robinson as a 
partner. They have one of the best equipped" 
shops of the kind in the country, doing all descrip- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



277 



tions appertaining to the trade. They employ 
one man the year ronnd, and the greater portion 
of the time they have two helpers. Mr. Hill 
has one brother and three sisters ; Roy, with his 
parents at The Dalles ; Melissa, who taught school 
at The Dalles twelve years, and is now one of the 
faculty of McMinnville College; Julia, who has 
taught ten years ; and Bertha, wife of J. B. Spite, 
a Baptist minister at Hood River, Oregon. 

Mr. Hill was married at The Dalles, Septem- 
ber 6, 1898, to Lulu J. Berrian, born at Golden- 
dale, Washington, the daughter of James and 
Leona (Wendell) Berrian. Her father died when 
Mrs. Hill was nine years of age. At present her 
mother resides at Hood River. Mrs. Hill has 
three brothers and one sister ; James, in the em- 
ployment of the government fish hatchery at Rose- 
burg, Oregon ; George, with a mercantile firm, at 
Portland ; Howard, at Portland ; and Ada, wife 
<of Lucius Clark. Mr. and Mrs. Hill have two 
children, Lois and Howard. Our subject is a 
member of the United Artisans, the I. O. O. F., 
and politically is a prohibitionist. Personally he 
is a fine, progressive gentleman, and an influential 
-citizen. 



AARON FRAZIER, a most efficient and 
•cultured school teacher at Dufur, Wasco county, 
was born in Kenton county, Ohio, October 22, 
1834. He is the son of Abraham Frazier, a native 
•of North Carolina, whose parents were born in 
the same state. The paternal grandfather of our 
subject was born in 1748. During the War of 
the Revolution the Fraziers owned a' mill on Deep 
River. They were a Quaker family and remained 
neutral during the conflict, although the old 
Scotch Fraziers had been valiant fighters for over 
six hundred years, or longer. At the historical 
battle of Colloden Field the Clan Frazier fought 
fiercely and many of them were killed in the 
engager ent, some of them having been tortured 
to death by the English soldiery. 

Abraham Frazier, our subject's father, was a 
farmer, and on his place young Frazier grew to 
manhood, having attended a Quaker school at 
Martinsville, Ohio. Here he perfected himself 
in mathematics. He thence went to New Vienna, 
Ohio, where he was matriculated in the academy 
at that place, studied the languages and was there 
four years. Later he entered Yellow Springs Col- 
lege, at Antioch, Ohio, remaining only one year 
owing to illness. One year later he entered the 
Southwestern Normal School, at Lebanon, Ohio, 
where he studied industriously two terms. Fol- 
lowing this thorough course of study he began 
teaching, which he since continued most success- 
fully, until 1902. He taught six years at Frank- 



fort, Indiana ; three years at Berlin, Wisconsin ; 
seven years at Leon, Iowa ; three years at Mc- 
Minnville, Oregon ; nine years in Dufur, besides 
a short period in Sherman county and other places, 
aggregating four hundred and fifty-two months 
of teaching. 

In 1883 Mr. Frazier filed on a claim in Sher- 
man county. Seven years thereafter he sold it. 
He owns property in Dufur. At present he is 
not teaching, but devoting his attention to fire 
insurance and newspaper work. He also holds 
the office of justice of the peace. Our subject 
is the youngest of seven brothers : William C, 
of Clinton county, Indiana ; Madison, a farmer in 
Kansas ; Lewis, of Ohio ; John, Moses and Abra- 
ham, deceased. He has two sisters, Eliza, wife 
of Jacob Quigley, of Ohio, and Margery A., 
married to Abraham Skein, of Clinton county, 
Indiana. 

August 15, i860, Mr. Frazier was married, 
at Blanchester, Ohio, to Jennie Williams, a native 
of that city, the daughter of Walter and Huldah 
Williams. Mrs. Frazier died October 20, 1872, 
at Farmers Station, Ohio, where she was visit- 
ing. The second marriage of our subject took 
place in Leon, Iowa, November 5, 1873, when he 
was united to Huldah H. Ham, born near Cleve- 
land, Ohio. Mrs. Frazier has one brother and 
four sisters. Mr. Frazier is a member of the 
A. F. & A. M., and past master ; of the R. A. M., 
and past high priest, and a K. T. of Osceola Com- 
manclery, Iowa ; the I. O. O. F., being past grand; 
and he and his wife are members of the Christian 
church. 

Our subject is a Democrat and has been a 
delegate to county and state conventions, ever 
active and stanch ; has served as county superin- 
tendent of schools in Oregon and Indiana ; has 
been county surveyor in Yamhill county six 
years ; city recorder in various places including 
Dufur ; nine years principal of Dufur school, and 
was principal of high schools in Frankfort, Indi- 
ana, Berlin, Wisconsin, Leon, Iowa and McMinn- 
ville, Oregon. He assisted in the framing of a 
legislative bill, and was instrumental in the or- 
ganization of the present excellent school system 
in Iowa. Mr. Frazier has two children by his 
first marriage ; Minnie A., wife of S. I. Everett, 
mentioned elsewhere ; and Guy L., in the United 
States army, stationed in Alaska. By his second 
marriage he has Frederick D., of Dufur, and 
Annie, wife of James Adamson, of Mitchell, 
Oregon. 



CHARLES N. BURGET, coroner of Wasco 
county and associated with C. J. Crandall, under- 
taker and embalmer, resides at The Dalles. He 



278 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



was born in Little Rock, Lyon county, Iowa, 
March 4, 1875, the son of Isiah I. and Nannie 
(Fisher) Burget, natives of Michigan. The pa- 
rents of Isiah I. died when he was three years of 
age. He was engaged in the undertaking and 
furniture business in Iowa manv years, coming 
to the Pacific coast in 1875. He returned to Iowa, 
remaining until 1883,' when he removed his fam- 
ily to The Dalles and worked four years as a 
carpenter. Associating himself with C. J. Cran- 
dall he engaged in the undertaking and furniture 
business, dying September 1, 1895. 

Up to the time of the death of Isiah I. Bur- 
get, he was city treasurer of The Dalles and past 
master of The Dalles Lodge A. F. & A. M. The 
mother of our subject died at his birth. She was 
the daughter of Charles A. and Rebecca Fisher, 
natives of the Empire State, descended from an 
old an distinguished New York family. 

Our subject was educated at The Dalles 
graded schools and' the high school. He is a 
member of Columbia Lodge, No. 5, I. O. O. F., 
the A. O. U. W., and The Dalles Aerie, No. 156, 
Eagles. In June, 1902, he was elected coroner 
of Wasco county as a Republican, running far 
ahead of his ticket. There were three tickets in 
the field, and he lacked but eight votes of tying 
the other two opposition tickets. 

January 1, 1900, at The Dalles, Mr. Burget 
was married to Miss Jennie Young, born in 
Wasco county, November 17, 1878, the daughter 
of William and Julia (Clark) Young. The father 
is a native of Pennsylvania, a blacksmith, at pres- 
ent residing at Prineville, Crook county. The 
mother is a native of Cottage Grove, Oregon. 

Mr. and Mrs. Burget have one child living, 
Viva Elizabeth, born July 11, 1901. Mr. Burget 
has two half brothers, Guy, aged twenty, and 
Roy, aged eighteen, now living with their mother, 
the subject's step-mother, at The Dalles. Mrs. 
Burget has one brother, Grover, living at Prine- 
ville with his parents, and four sisters, viz : Carrie, 
wife of Will J. Van Dorn, engaged in the livery 
business at Mountain View, California ; Elnora, 
married to William C. Palamountain, of Palo 
Alto, California; Bessie, with our subject; and 
Estella, residing with her parents at Prineville. 



MRS. ELIZABETH L. LORD, a most cul- 
tured and estimable lady of The Dalles, Wasco 
county, was born in Scotland county, Missouri, 
April 29, 1841. Her parents, William C. ana 
Mary ( Yeargain) Laughlin, were natives of Ken- 
tucky. An extended mention of her father ap- 
pears in this volume. 

For our subject, the foundation of her educa- 



tion was laid in the public schools of The Dalles,, 
which was continued at the Convent at Van- 
couver. In those early pioneer days school 
facilities were meagre, so Judge Laughlin de- 
voted considerable time, personally, to educating 
his children. 

January 15, 1861, at The Dalles, our subject 
was united in marriage to Mr. Wentworth Lord. 
Mr. Lord is a native of Denmark, Maine, and the 
date of his birth is May 4, 1832. His parents, 
Job C. and Evelyn (Ingalls) Lord, were resi- 
dents of the Pine Tree State, and the mother 
died when Wentworth was an infant. Mr. Lord 
was reared and educated in Maine and remained 
there until 1857, when he came to California by 
water. After a short time spent in work at camp 
Angels, he came to Portland in 1858. Late in the 
same year, he made his way to The Dalles and 
engaged in mercantile business and followed it 
for years. He has always been identified with the 
business interests of The Dalles, but is now re- 
tired, although he is still president of the Wasco 
Warehouse and Milling Company. He has shown 
himself a capable and good business man and 
stands well in the county. Two children have been 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Lord, one dying when one 
year old. The other, Evel3'n, is the wife of Fred 
L. Houghton, of The Dalles, engaged in the hay 
and feed business. Mrs. Lord is a member of the 
Christian Science church, of The Dalles, of which 
she is First Reader, and also a distinguished mem- 
ber of the Sorosis Club. She has one brother 
living, Frank Laughlin, a wheat dealer and 
capitalist at The Dalles. Mrs. Lord is a lady of 
marked literary taste and ability, and the author' 
of a number of interesting: articles and books. 



JOSHUA W. FRENCH, of French & Com- 
pany, bankers in The Dalles, is one of the fore- 
most financiers in eastern Oregon. He was born 
in Holland, Vermont, on September 13, 1830. 
His brothers, Daniel and Smith French, are men- 
tioned elsewhere in this work. Joshua W. was 
educated in the district schools and by personal' 
investigation and reading. Until twenty-one, he 
labored on the farm between school terms and 
knows well the rugged life of the agriculturist. 
In 1852, he journeyed via the isthmus to the 
Mecca of the west, California, and for two years 
was industriously engaged in panning the golden 
sands of that favored region. With his brothers, 
Daniel and Joseph, he was also engaged in oper- 
ating a ferry on the Stanislaus river and also 
handled a roofing business in San Francisco. As- 
early as 1864, Mr. French landed in The Dalles, 
joining his brother, Daniel, who had preceded" 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



279 



him to this location. They established the first 
bank in The Dalles and since the day it opened 
its doors it has taken and held the position of 
one of the sound moneyed institutions of the 
land. Its policy has been dictated by men of 
marked financial ability and there is no more 
thoroughly established banking house on this 
coast. Our subject has had a great part in form- 
ing the policy and conducting this business, being 
always associated with his brother, Daniel, who 
has since passed away. Since the death of his 
brother, Mr. French assumed charge of the bank 
and has stood at its head maintaining the most 
excellent reputation the institution has always 
borne and conducting its affairs with an- aggres- 
siveness, yet always tempered with a wise con- 
servatism, sagacity, and breadth of grasp, that 
have added still greater triumphs to the bank and 
demonstrated, as well, the manner of man at the 
helm. In addition to this responsible position, 
Mr. French is associated with various other enter- 
prises of importance and is sought after in coun- 
sel by all who may have the good fortune to ob- 
tain his ear and receive his expressed judgment. 
His personal attention is given to the bank and 
other enterprises are secondary when compared 
with this. He is president of the Arlington Na- 
tional Bank and also director in several com- 
panies with which he is associated. 

Like his brothers, Daniel and Smith French, 
Johsua W. French is a man of strong individual- 
ity and with them has been an important factor in 
the development and growth of eastern Oregon. 

Mr. French married Miss Ellen Burke, a na- 
tive of Maine, the wedding occurring in Cali- 
fornia. The children born to this happy union 
are: Mrs. Nellie J. Bolton, of The Dalles; Ed- 
ward H., paying teller in French & Company 
Bank ; and Vivian H. assistant manager of the 
Wasco Warehouse and Milling Company. Mr. 
French is a leading member of the A. F. & 
A. M. and in politics is Republican, but not active. 



JOHN W. NOLIN, deceased. In the per- 
son of Mr. Nolin, Wasco county lost one of her 
respected and substantial citizens, a good man, a 
patriotic citizen and a kind father and husband. 
His brother, James M. Nolin, is mentioned else- 
where in this work. Like his brother, James, he 
was reared on the St. Lawrence river in New 
York and for several years engaged in the fish- 
ing business, which was very profitable. The same 
being prohibited by law, they then turned their 
attention to farming in 1882, after which they 
came to Oregon. Our subject purchased two 
hundred and eighty-six acres about four miles 



up Fifteen-mile creek from Dufur, where his 
widow resides at the present time. He gave his 
attention to the cultivation and improvement of 
the same continuously until his death, on Febru- 
ary 1, 1903, he being then aged fifty-two years 
and ten months. Had he lived until April 11, 
he would have been fifty-three years of age. In 
Canada, Mr. Nolin was a prominent member of 
the Orangemen and after removing to New York 
was a stanch Democrat. He also took an active 
interest in politics both in New York and here 
in Oregon. He was clerk in Jefferson county, 
New York and was offered the nomination the 
second time, but owing to the fact that he had 
decided to come to Oregon, he refused it. Here 
for nineteen successive years, he was clerk of the 
Remsey district and no one was more zealous for 
good schools and general upbuilding than Mr. 
Nolin. He was frequently judge of the election 
and even delegate to the conventions. His educa- 
tion had been carefully looked after in his younger 
days as he had received a thorough high school 
course from the famous Kingston schools in 
Ontario. 

Fraternally, he was a member of the United 
Artisans at Dufur and in church affiliations of 
the Episcopal denomination. He was a good man, 
intelligent and kind, and was deeply mourned 
at his death. 

On June 8, 1875, at Gananoque, Ontario, Mr. 
Nolin married Miss Cora Potter, who was born 
in that place on September 1, 1858. Her 
fathre, Augustus Potter, was a native of 
Rhode Island and came from the old Pot- 
ter family, which was prominent on the At- 
lantic seaboard all through the early days. His 
great-grandfather fought for independence in the 
Revolution and many of the Potter's fought in 
the War of 18 12, and the Mexican and Civil 
Wars, they were prominent in governmental 
affairs, were represented liberally at the 
bar and are large manufacturers through- 
out New York and in New England. The pro- 
genitor who first landed in this country, came on 
the Mayflower. Augustus Potter's father, the 
grandfather of Mrs. Nolin, was one of the first 
school teachers in western New York and later 
became a very successful physician. With Mrs. 
Nolin's father and another son, he was later 
engaged in the woolen manufacturing business. 
After heavy loss by fire, in this business, Mr. 
Potter began farming in 1868. His death oc- 
curred in Clayton county, New York, on January 
6, 1894 at his son's home, being aged seventy- 
nine. He had married Mary McCuen, a native 
of Glasgow, Scotland and from an old lowland 
family. She lives with Mrs. Nolin's sister in 
New York state. The children of this family be- 



280 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



sides Mrs. Nolin, are Albert, Ulysses, Nelson, 
Ernest and Mrs. Elizabeth Miirdick. To Mr. 
and Mrs. Nolin, three children were born ; Ella, 
the wife of Charles Magee, a retired farmer at 
Dufur ; Wilbur and Earl. Mrs. Nolin, like her 
husband, was well educated and was a graduate 
of the Lewiston seminary at Gananoqua, Canada. 
Since the death of her husband she has taken up 
the management of affairs with a display of cour- 
age and wisdom and receives the respect and ap- 
probation of all. 



HENRY KLINDT resides about two miles 
west from The Dalles, where he has a valuable 
farm and one of the most beautiful locations for 
a residence in the country. His house is so situ- 
ated that it overlooks the river for miles, and 
commands a view of The Dalles, and the foot 
hills of Klickitat county, Washington, across the 
Columbia. It is an ideal location and one of the 
most beautiful in this part of the country. His 
land produces two crops each year, in this respect 
being better than any around. Before the high 
water comes he sows wheat and cuts it for hay 
and then the' land overflows from the Columbia. 
When the water has subsided, he plants vege- 
tables, and in the fall he harvests abundant crops. 
His potatoes are known far and near as the finest 
in the entire country. Altogether he is one of the 
most successful and thrifty tillers of the soil in 
the country. 

Henry Klindt was born in Schleswig-Hol- 
stein, Germany, on February 22, 1830, the son 
of Goris and Viebke (Stuhr) Klindt, also natives 
of the same province as our subject. The father 
served in the Danish army when that nation had 
cnarge of the Schleswig province. The parents 
both died in their native country. Our subject 
was educated in the public schools and learned 
the trade of the mason in his native land. In 
the spring of 1851, he came to the United States 
and after a few days in New York, he came on to 
Connecticut, whence he went to Cumberland, 
Virginia and later journeyed on to Iowa. There 
he followed his trade until 1859, when he started 
for Pikes Peak, but owing to unfavorable reports, 
he turned aside to California. There he spent 
two years and in 1862, he returned to Iowa, via 
the isthmus. His family had been left in Com- 
manche and a tornado swept away all his prop- 
erty. The family were in a stone building, which 
was blown to the ground, but none of the inmates 
were killed. Selling his property, he brought his 
family across the plains with ox teams and since 
then has remained in Wasco county. The first 
six years were spent in town, doing building 
and contracting. Three buildings still stand in 



The Dalles, which he erected, while many of the 
bricks went down before fire and flood. In 1868, 
Mr. Klindt bought his present place and since 
that time he has continued steadily in producing 
the fruits of the field. 

At Davenport, Iowa, on November 16, 1854, 
Mr. Klindt married Miss Doris Stottenberg, a 
native of Germany. When eleven she came to 
the United States in 1847 with her parents, Hans 
and Angie (Mundt) Stottenberg. The father died 
the year he landed in Iowa, and the mother passed 
away when Mrs. Klindt was an infant. Mr. 
Klindt has one brother, Hans, now deceased, and 
formerly a sea captain. He has the following 
named sisters, Annie Niehs, Trina, Viebke, Abel 
and Gretchen. Mrs. Klindt has the following 
named brothers and sisters, Hans, Claus, Lenke, 
Trina, Silke, Beke, Abel and Angie. All the 
family are very wealthy. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Klindt five children have been born, who are 
living ; George E., in the Horseheaven country ; 
Charles A., at home ; Alvina, wife of Hans C. 
Nielsen, a merchant in The Dalles ; Amalie, with 
her father's sister on Puget Sound ; and Walter 
in the Horseheaven country. Mr. Klindt has ac- 
cumulated a handsome fortune by his wise ef- 
forts and skill and has also won the esteem and 
confidence of all who know him. 



HENRY PRIGGE, deceased, was one of the 
substantial men of the Hood River valley and 
labored long and assiduously for the improve- 
ment and upbuilding of the country. He was 
born on January 28, 1850, near Hanover, Ger- 
many and died on September 10, 1903 at his home 
in Hood River. His parents, John and Laura 
Prigge, were natives of Germany where they re- 
mained until their death. He came to the United 
States in 1872, having received a liberal educa- 
tion in the latter country. Settlement was ma J.: 
at Winona, Minnesota first, and two years lattr, 
he went to San Francisco. After spending s« me 
time in various employments, he engaged In the 
saloon business and there remained until t88o. 
Then came the journey to Oregon and they Anally 
selected the place which is the family home ( oday. 
Mr. Prigge bought a settler's right and filed on 
a homestead cf one hundred and sixty acres. 
It is especially fine soil, well improved and shows 
the marks of his long and wise labors bestowed 
here. Mr. Prigge was a zealous advocate of good 
roads, excellent schools and general advance- 
ment and labored here to attain these ends. He 
served as school director and road supervisor at 
various times and did excellent work in these 
public capacities. During the last five or six 





Henry Klindt 



Henry Prigge 





William J. Harriman 



William H. Davis 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



281 



years of his life, Mr. Prigge was ill much of the 
time, being afflicted with cancer of the stomach. 
Finally, at the time mentioned, death claimed him 
and he passed from the scenes of his labors here 
to the world beyond. He was well known and 
highly respected and was deeply mourned at the 
time of his decease. 

At San Francisco, on March 12, 1880, Mr. 
Prigge married Miss Wilhelmine Hillman, who 
was born in Saxony, Germany, on September 2.7, 
1850, the daughter of Carl A. and Laura 
(Petculd) Hillman, natives of Saxony. The 
father was a tailor and musician and died there 
in 1890. The mother still lives there aged 
seventy-five. Mr. Prigge had the following 
named brothers and sisters, Lewis, John, Heinrich 
and Clans. Mrs, Prigge had three brothers, 
Clemence, Emil and F. Henry and two sisters, 
Augusta and Emma. To Mr. and Mrs. Prigge, 
six children have been born, Herman, Louis, 
Freda, Emma, Annie, and Laura, all at home. 

Mr. Prigge was a member of the A. O. U. W., 
while he and his wife were members of the 
Lutheran church. Miss Freda attended school 
at Napa, California, after attending the district 
schools in this place. Mrs. Prigge is a woman 
of many virtues and has many warm friends in 
this part of the country. She has a very fine 
family of children and is taking up the added 
burdens of life since the death of her husband 
with a fortitude and wisdom that are com- 
mendable. 



WILLIAM J. HARRIMAN is at the pres- 
ent time one of the commissioners of Wasco 
county. He is one of the leading farmers in 
this portion of the state and now resides at 
1 103 Elm street, The Dalles. He was born 
in Leicestershire, England, on November 11, 
1854. His father, John Harriman, who is given 
mention elsewhere in this volume, was a native 
of the same place. For many generations back, 
the family has lived there and our subject's 
cousin now owns the old Harriman estate. He 
married Miss Elizabeth M. Hanford, also a na- 
tive of that shire. Her father was a noted imple- 
ment manufacturer for many years and took a 
fine prize of a ten guinea gold cup for the best 
plow manufactured in the realm. Mrs. Han- 
ford's brother succeeded to the business and after 
"his death, the factory passed out of the hands 
of the family. Both the Hanford and the Harri- 
man families were very prominent and influential 
people in Leicestershire. Our subject was well 
educated in the public and private schools and 
after fourteen remained on the farm with his 
father until twenty-six. After that, he was em- 



ployed on the street railway in Nottingham, then 
traveled for Robinson and Company, brewers of 
Burton. After that he was distributing agent 
for a large newspaper and in May, 1882, came 
to the United States, locating in Wasco county. 
Although he had been active at various labors 
in the old country, he had not amassed sufficient 
funds for the trip and so was supplied by his 
mother. Upon arriving here, he immediately 
took a preemption and went to work for A. J. 
McHaley. His wages were used to make im- 
provements upon the farm and he labored along 
gradually improving the place until he had a fine 
farm with capital enough to buy, another quarter 
section, which he did from J. H. Harris. He 
soon bought another quarter from J. H. Harris. 
He has in this farm now, five hundred and two 
acres. He owns another farm on Eightmile creek, 
near Endersly postoffice, of four hundred and 
forty acres, a portion of which is very rich bottom 
land. It is one of the finest places in the county. 
Both of the farms he handles through tenants and 
hired overseers and he is thus largely retired 
from active business. In the fall of 1903, Mr. 
Harriman retired from the farm and moved to 
The Dalles, purchasing the property where he 
lives at the present time. 

At The Dalles, on March 20, 1888, Mr. Harri- 
man married Miss Jane M. Nelson, who was born 
in Glasserton, Wigtonshire, Scotland, on Decem- 
ber 6, 1865. Her parents are James and Eliza- 
beth (McKeand) Nelson, natives of that same 
country. The father died in 1902 oil our sub- 
ject's ranch near Endersly. The mother died at 
the home of her son-in-law, William Hastings. 
Mrs. Harriman has two brothers, Thomas H. 
and David, and three sisters, Jessie, single, Mrs. 
Agnes Hastings, and Mrs. Elizabeth Nicholson. 
Mr. Harriman's brothers, Edward M. and Arthur 
M. are mentioned elsewhere in this work. To our 
subject and his wife, seven children have been 
born: William T., December 17, 1888; Charles 
N., March 23, 1890; George E., November 30, 
1892; John H., November 21, 1894; Florence 
M., June 10, 1896; Lizzie M., June 18, 1899; and 
Jane C, April 20, 1903. 

Mr. Harriman is 
and has always been very active in the cam- 
paigns and for the interest of his party. He 
is frequently at the county conventions, has been 
justice of the peace and in 1900 was elected 
commissioner of Wasco county, running two hun- 
dred and seventy-five votes ahead of his ticket. 
At the time he was installed in office, the county 
owed one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. 
On May 1, 1904, it owed a little over eleven 
thousand dollars. This speaks well of the 
financial ability and sound wisdom of our sub- 



1 good stirring Democrat 



282 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



ject and his associates. Mr. Harriman has given 
considerable personal attention to building good 
roads and is a strong advocate of the best in 
every line. He has the reputation throughout the 
country of being one of the best farmers and 
stockmen to be found. In the fall of 1903, at 
The Dalles, he took the prize for the best team 
of carriage horses, first prize for roadsters, first 
prize for mare and colt, first prize for plow team 
under fourteen hundred pounds, first prize for 
Shorthorn yearling, first prize for yearling Here- 
ford and won the farmer's team and buggy race. 
In 1902, he took four first prizes on fruit but in 
1903, he did not enter fruit. 

Mr. Harriman is a member of the I. O. O. F. 
and was raised in the Episcopalian church. His 
wife was a member of the Congregational church. 
On April 2, 1904, after a continued illness of 
typhoid fever, which was succeeded by pneu- 
monia, Mrs. Harriman was called to pass the 
river of death. She was a noble Christian woman 
and left a record unsullied. 

Since the above was written, Mr. Harriman 
again entered the race for county commissioner, 
but as the Republicans were in the majority he 
lost, but by a small majority. 



WILLIAM H. DAVIS is a man of kindness, 
affability and geniality, always ruled by a sense 
of honor and justice and guided by unswerving 
integrity. His birth occurred in Linn county, 
Missouri, on August 28, 1843. The parents, 
James and Nancy (Johnson) Davis, were na- 
tives of Ireland and Kentucky, respectively, and 
died when our subject was a small boy. The 
father preceded his wife, some time over the 
river of death, and when this lad was about 
seven, he awoke to the sad fate of being an 
orphan. He was bound out and lived the life oi 
an ordinary boy, but had little opportunity in 
those early days to attend school. But young 
Davis was not made of the stuff that wilts at one 
adverse blast, for he picked his way along with 
the training to be had and became fitted for 
life's duties. About twenty-one, or a little before, 
he departed from his guardian and in 1862 en- 
listed in Company F, Forty-second Missouri In- 
fantry, and served* throughout the entire struggle 
with distinction, being called on to do much heavy 
fighting and the arduous duty of the soldier. He 
acted as a scout and a spy and would often be 
called to headquarters to doff his uniform for 
citizen's clothes to undertake some hazardous 
mission where his life would pay the forfeit 
should his identity become known. Frequently 



he made his way into the rebel lines, fraternized 
with them and always left without exciting sus- 
picion, his successful plan being to act the part 
of a green, gawky boy. His services were highly 
appreciated and he was intrusted with many very 
important enterprises. When the war ended 
and the time came to lay down his musket and 
take again the plow, he had t^e satisfaction of 
knowing that he had done what he could for his 
country. While he participated in none of the 
large battles he had a life of the most trying 
danger during the entire service. Being mustered 
out in 1865, ne returned to Linn county and there 
engaged in farming until 1877, when he came 
to Oregon and settled on Wapinitia flat. He 
landed here in July and since that time he has 
continued in the business of stock raising and 
farming. He owns eleven hundred and "sixty 
acres of land, the beginning of the estate being 
secured through the homestead act. Half of this 
is cultivatable, and he reaped this year three hun- 
dren acres of good grain. Last winter, Mr. Davis 
fed nearly two hundred head of cattle. He 
started with Shorthorn breeds but is now hand- 
ling Hereford, almost exclusively. He has some 
fine registered animals and ships as far as Mis- 
souri. His stock is of the best and the thrift, 
care, and wisdom manifested in all his enter- 
prises, show a man of ability and one who could 
but be crowned with success. 

In Linn county, Missouri, on December 12, 
1865, Mr. Davis married Miss Eliza H. Wood- 
ruff, a native of Linneus, Missouri. Her parents, 
David and Frances (Alexander) Woodruff, were 
born in Kentuckv and are now deceased. On 
March 19, 1904, after many years of faithful life, 
Mrs. Davis was called hence by death. She had 
many friends, being, like her husband, popular 
and highly esteemed. No children have been 
born to this marriage. Owing to the fact that 
Mr. Davis had little opportunity to gain an edu- 
cation, and his knowledge of books being cir- 
cumscribed, he relied more especially on his faith- 
ful wife to assist him in his business relations. 
She was a woman of refined and gentle nature, 
possessed of excellent business qualifications, and 
her loss was most keenly felt bv her husband as 
well as by all who knew her. Mr. Davis is one 
of the active Republicans of the county and 
is almost always at the conventions, where he is 
an influential participant. He never seeks office 
for himself, but is greatly interested in putting 
good men into the places of importance. 

Mr. Davis is justly entitled to credit for im- 
proving the cattle stock of Wapinitia flat, and 
also of this section of Oregon, as he was the first 
settler to brinsr Shorthorns to the flat. Some 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



2.83 



time since he returned to Missouri and brought 
back eleven cows and five bulls, all fine registered 
stock. He has devoted his entire time to cattle 
raising and his enthusiasm along that line has 
resulted in his nick name, "Cow Davis," by which 
he is known all over central Oregon. 



JONATHAN N. PATTERSON, deceased. 
For many years, the subject of this memoir was 
identified with the growth and the upbuilding of 
Wasco county. He was one of the best known 
pioneers throughout the west and was engaged in 
arduous duties that required much fortitude and 
genuine grit, for many years. He was born on 
July 11, 1835, the son of Jonathan and Teena 
(Foster) Patterson, natives of Kentucky and 
North Carolina, respectively. Both families came 
from Tennessee to Illinois thence to California. 
The father died en route in Bear Valley, Nevada, 
while the mother with nine children came on 
through to California where she was married six 
years later to Mr. Robinson. Our subject was 
thirteen years old when they crossed the plains 
with ox teams, it being then 1848, and he mined 
and drove stage in California, making two good 
fortunes. After that, he engaged in the livery 
business. Burning out in that, he turned his at- 
tention to mining in Nevada, Idaho and Montana. 
He made frequent trips to Oregon with stock 
and in 1867, he drove stage from The Dalles to 
Boise City. In 1875, he drove stage from The 
Dalles to Canyon City. About this time, he filed 
on a homestead in Rail Hollow and after five 
years sold it and took railroad land near by. 
Abandoning this, he came to his present place 
which Mrs. Patterson bought. He was then 
broken in health and suffered much. Mr. Patter- 
son had served in the Rogue river and other 
Indian wars of the fifties and participated in the 
Kern creek Indian struggle at which place he 
received a hernia as the result of heavy lifting. 
From this, after a short illness, his death occurred 
on March 18, 1901. 

In February, 1874, Mr. Patterson married 
Miss Jane Hurst, who was born in Linn county, 
Oregon, on March 17, 1857. Her father, James 
Hurst, was a native of Kentucky and his ances- 
tors were born in Virginia and England, and were 
early pioneers to Tennessee, Kentucky and Mis- 
souri. He married Melinda Davis, a native of 
Illinois, whose father was born in Germany. They 
crossed the plains with ox teams and in 185 1, 
settled in Linn county on a donation claim and 
now live on Ten-mile creek near the free bridge 
in Wasco county. Mr. Patterson had three broth- 
ers, George, Daniel and William, and one sister, 



Mrs. Carrie Zekehouse. Mrs. Patterson has the 
following named brothers and sisters, Benjamin, 
Marion, James, William, Uriah, Mrs. Susie Gray, 
Mrs. Emily Love, Mrs. Melissa Evans, Mrs. Sina 
Brown, Mrs. Nancy Brown, Minerva and Mrs. 
Millie Boles. 

Mrs. Patterson has managed her estate with 
becoming wisdom and is a lady whose labors are 
worthy and whose life has been such as to win the 
confidence and esteem of all who know her. She 
has had much to endure and to try her during 
her life, owing to the illness of her husband, but 
she has borne all patiently, manifesting a wisdom 
that has enabled them to pass successfully along 
and it has won a good competence for her to en- 
joy in these later years of her life. 



ANDREW J. HOWIE, one of the industrious 
and thrifty agriculturists of Wasco county, is 
residing about four miles up Pine Hollow from 
Dufur. His place consists of one section of 
choice land and has been secured, as the result 
of his own labors and sagacity. He took a home- 
stead here first and later purchased adjoining 
land until he has now six hundred and eighty 
acres, three hundred of which are annually 
cropped to wheat. The place bears the marks of 
a man of intelligence and care in his labors and 
it is one of the profitable estates of the county. 
Recently Mr. Howie erected a fine two-story eight 
room dwelling, where his wife presides with the 
graciousness of which she is so well possessed. 
Their home is a beautiful place and they are 
dispensers of excellent hospitality. They are sub- 
stantial, intelligent and leading citizens of this 
part of the county and are real Oregonians with 
the true patriotism of the genuine American. 

Andrew Howie was born in Scotland, on May 
12, 1866, the son of Robert and Marion 
(Stevenson) Howie, both natives of Scotland 
and farmers. They remained in their country 
until death. In 1886, Mr. Howie, having gained 
a good education in his home place, determined 
to try his fortune in the land of the free, and 
accordingly set his- face westward. His journeys 
landed him first in Essex county, Ontario, where 
he wrought for wages for about four years. Then 
he came hither and went to work on the farms. 
In 1889, he filed his homestead right on the land 
where he now lives and continued his labors. He 
soon began to improve and subdue the place and 
as the time went by added by purchase as stated 
above until the place is now one of the large ones 
of the county. In addition to general farming, 
Mr. Howie winters about thirty-five head of cattle, 
raises a great many Poland China hogs and has 



.284 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



some fine thoroughbred animals. He has all the 
improvements needed on the farm and it is well 
kept. 

On November 28, 1895, at Dnfur, Oregon, 
Mr. Howie married Miss Katherine Heisler. She 
was born in Lane county, Oregon, on September 
24, 1864, the daughter of William and Martha 
(McDonnell) Heisler, who are mentioned else- 
Avhere and are better known all over the country 
as "Grandpa and Grandma Heisler.'' Mrs. 
Howie's brothers and sisters are all mentioned in 
this work. Mr. Howie has two brothers, James 
and John, and two sisters, Mrs. Marion Gray 
and Mrs. Mary Welsh. Fraternally, the subject 
of this article is affiliated with the I. O. O. F. 
and the W. W., while he and his wife belong to 
"the Rebekahs. They are also members of the 
United Brethren church, and in politics, Mr. 
Howie is a good Republican. 



HON. ZELEK M. DONNELL, deceased. 
The following memoir is devoted to one of the 
earliest pioneers of Oregon, a worthy man, and, 
"in life, a most excellent citizen. His occupation 
was that of a stock raiser. He was born in 
Indiana, May 5, 1829, the son of James Donnell, 
of Scotch-Irish ancestry, who came to America 
early in the eighteenth century. The youth of our 
subject was passed on a farm with his father, 
sixty miles south of Indianapolis, in Decatur 
county. 

February 3, 1852, our subject was married, 
and March 1st, of the same year he left with his 
bride by steamer from Cincinnati, Ohio, for St. 
Joseph. Here he outfitted, and with ox teams 
hegan the long journey across the plains. This 
trip was uneventful, and in September, 1852, they 
arrived at The Dalles. As the company was 
mostly made up of young couples they walked the 
greater portion of the way, the train being known 
as Dr. Crawford's company. Leaving The Dalles 
our subject and his young wife went down the 
Columbia river to Portland. During this trip 
Mrs. Donnell went through the Cascade Rapids — - 
with a sick child whose mother died en route — in 
an Indian bateau. The Donnells finally located 
near Brownville, on donation land. Here they 
lived until November, 1858, and then disposed of 
the claim to Captain James Blakeley, father of 
Judge George Blakeley, of The Dalles, elsewhere 
mentioned in this work, and engaged in the cattle 
business and was among the first to range cattle 
between the Des Chutes and John Day rivers. 
In this business he continued until his death, No- 
vember 28, 1873, at the age of forty-four years. 
In 1866 Mr. Donnell and his family removed to 



The Dalles in order to provide his children with 
educational advantages. June 4, 1864, he was 
elected Territorial senator from Wasco county, 
serving one term each in two regular sessions, and 
one special session held for the purpose of ratify- 
ing the Thirteenth Constitutional Amendment. 
At this period he was a prominent and leading 
Republican. Mr. Donnell was a charter member 
of the first Congregational church organized in 
The Dalles, in 1859. 

The marriage of Mr. Donnell took place at 
Greensburg, Indiana, the bride being Camilla 
Thomson, a native of Indiana, born April 3, 1827, 
in Decatur county. Her parents, John and Spicy 
(Hamilton) Thomson, were natives of Kentucky 
and pioneers of Indiana. Mr. Donnell left four 
children, Lulu, wife of Charles J. Crandall, else- 
where mentioned ; Orvilla, living in Montana, and 
Martin Z., a druggist at The Dalles. At present 
Mrs. Donnell resides at The Dalles with her son, 
Martin. 



SMITH FRENCH, a retired merchant in The 
Dalles, has been one of the heaviest operators in 
commercial lines in this portion of Oregon. Dur- 
ing a long career in active business life here, he 
manifested ability and energy, coupled with in- 
dustry and uprightness that won both success 
liberally and for him a standing that is certainly 
enviable. A well outlined account of his life 
will be interesting and we append the same. 

Smith French was born in Holland, Vermont 
on March 26, 1837. His father, Joshua French, 
a native of New Hampshire, was born in 1803, 
went to Vermont when a young man, became a 
successful farmer, and died in April, 1857. The 
mother, Polly (Mead) French, was born in New 
Hampshire, the year being 1801, and died August, 
1850. In 1875, Mr. Smith French came to The 
Dalles to visit his brothers and see the country. 
After a month spent here, he returned to the 
east and one year later went to California, whence 
he journeyed to The Dalles arriving there Febru- 
ary, 1877, an d bought the interest of Mr. Samuel 
Brooks, in a mercantile establishment owned by 
Brooks and McFarland. Mr. Brooks is mentioned 
elsewhere in this volume. The title of the firm 
was changed to McFarland and French. They 
did a large and successful business for fifteen 
years, then sold out and Mr. French retired from 
the very active duties of business life. At the 
present time he is president of the Gilman French 
Land and Live Stock Company, one of the largest 
cattle raising companies in the state of Oregon. 
He is a member of the firm of Bolton and Com- 
pany, general merchants, at Antelope. He is a 
large stockholder in the Wasco Warehouse Mill- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



285. 



ing Company. He is a stockholder and director 
in the Arlington National Bank at Arlington, 
Oregon. In addition to which, he has minor in- 
terests in different parts of the state. 

Politically, Mr. French has always belonged 
to the ranks of the Republican party until recently, 
being now a Prohibitionist. 

On September 18, 1861, at Stanstead, province 
of Quebec, Canada, Mr. French married Miss 
Esther B., daughter of James F. and Sallie 
(Brown) Magee. The father was born in Leb- 
anon, New York and was a carpenter. He went 
to California in 1854, via the Isthmus, and fol- 
lowed his trade and mill work there for twelve 
years. After that, he returned to Canada and in 
1877, came to Oregon with the subject of this 
article. He remained here until his death, on 
June 23, 1894, being aged eighty-three years. 
The mother of Mrs. French was born at Andover, 
New Hampshire, on February 19, 1812. Her 
parents moved to Canada in 1821. Mrs. French- 
was born in Stanstead, Quebec, Canada, on De- 
cember 5, 1838 and has one brother, William B. 
Mr. and Mrs. French are the parents of three 
children : C. Gertrude, a doctor of medicine, and 
practicing in Portland, Oregon ; Grace Maude, 
who married J. W. Condon, in November, 1889 
and died on November 20, 1898, leaving her hus- 
band and one son, Clifton French Condon ; Frank 
Arthur, who is the manager of the New York 
Cash Store, a mercantile house in The Dalles. 

Daniel M. French, eldest of the three French 
brothers of The Dalles, came to The Dalles in 
1862, and for many years was a leading business 
man here. A sketch of his life with that of his 
widow are found elsewhere in this work. Joshua 
W. French, brother of our subject, came to The 
Dalles in 1864 and for many years was engaged 
in the mercantile business with his brother Daniel. 
In 1877, they established the first banking house 
in The Dalles, and the same is now owned by 
Mr. Joshua French and the estate of Daniel M. 
French. Our subject is one of the executors of 
the estate of his brother, Daniel M. deceased. 

Joseph M. French, the eldest one of the broth- 
ers, went to California from Massachusetts, in 
1849, and died in the Golden State in 1889, a 
retired merchant. Marsh French, the youngest 
brother, came to the coast about 1863 and now 
lives at Port Townsend, Washington. 

Mr. and Mrs. French are members of the 
Methodist church and for twenty years, he has 
been a trustee. Mrs. French was superintendent 
of the M. E. Sunday school for more than twenty 
years, is now president of the W. C. T. U., and is ■ 
closely identified with the social functions of the 
city. She was appointed chairman of a committee 



by the Columbia River Conference of the M. E. 
church to formulate plans for the removal from 
Stanstead, province of Quebec, Canada, the re- 
mains of the late Rev. Jason Lee, the first 
Protestant missionary sent across the Rockies, to 
be interred by the side of his wife and child in 
the Lee Mission cemetery, at Salem, Oregon.. 
From early life Mrs. French has been an aggres- 
sive worker in the church and for the cause 
of temperance. 



LUTHER E. CROWE, of the firm of Mays 
& Crowe, dealers in hardware, implements and 
groceries, and having a magnificent store at The 
Dalles, was born in Nova Scotia, March 22, 1858. 
His parents were Jacob and Maria (Fletcher) 
Crowe, the father a native of Massachusetts, of 
an old New England family, the ancestors of 
whom came from the North of Ireland. The 
mother was born in Nova Scotia. Both parents 
are deceased. 

In the spring of 1868 our subject came to 
California accompanied by his mother and step- 
father, D. A. Faulkner. They located in San 
Jose valley, Alameda county, where he attended 
school at Centreville until he was sixteen years 
of age, when he entered the service of the Cen- 
tral Pacific Railroad Company. He removed to 
Oregon in 1880 and obtained employment with 
John L. Hallett, superintendent of construction 
of the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company's 
road, as operator and electrician. Later he was 
with Julius Thielsen, in the construction depart- 
ment of the Northern Pacific Railroad. Subse- 
quently he returned to the Oregon Railroad & 
Navigation Company, and was station agent at 
Hood River five years. He came to The Dalles 
in 1890 and associated himself with his father-in- 
law, Robert Mays, and purchased the hardware 
business from Abrams & Stewart. During the 
autumn of the same year they were burned out 
and they then took over the hardware business of ' 
Fish & Bardon, and erected a building on the 
corner of Second and Federal streets. In 1897 
they were again burned out, and until they had 
completed the present handsome brick building 
thev occupied a store room across the street. 
Their store is a two-story edifice, one hundred 
feet square, containing two stores and a commo- 
dious basement, affording them about twenty-five 
thousand square feet of flooring. Their plumb- 
ing shop is in a separate building, of corrugated' 
iron, in the rear of the main store. They have 
also, stables, warehouses, implement sheds, etc., 
covering four lots, extending from Second to 
Third streets, and one other lot which they lease. . 



286 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



They carry a stock of from $30,000 to $50,000. 
From fourteen to twenty clerks and artisans are 
employed in the establishment. 

At The Dalles, in September, Mr. Crowe 
was united in marriage to Eunice Mays, born in 
Tygh valley, Wasco county. Our subject has two 
half brothers and one half sister : Fletcher Faulk- 
ner, of Ogden, Utah; George A. Faulkner, of 
Oakland, California; and Letitia, wife of Fred 
A. White, of San Francisco, California. Mr. 
Crowe is a Republican, though far from being a 
partisan, and he has been a member of the city 
council. Fraternally, he is a member of Cascade 
Lodge No. 303, B. P. O. E., of which he is past 
exalted ruler, and a member of the grand lodge ; 
Friendship Lodge No. 9, K. of P., past C. C. 



JOHN F. HAMPSHIRE, ex-treasurer of 
Wasco County, residing at The Dalles, and one 
of the popular and influential citizens of that 
progressive town, was born in Marysville, Cali- 
fornia, October 6, 1872. His parents were John 
A. and Kate (Sweeney) Hampshire, the father a 
native of Pennsylvania, the mother of New York 
state. John A. Hampshire was descended from 
old English ancestry. He was a machinist and 
blacksmith, and went to California in the early 
50's, and for many years he was interested in the 
Marysville foundry. He came to The Dalles in 
1877 and was connected with the Oregon Rail- 
road & Navigation Company, with which corpora- 
tion he remained until his death, June 3, 1887. 
The mother, born in Binghampton, New York, 
of Irish ancestry, now lives in San Francisco, 
California. 

John F. Hampshire was educated in Wasco 
county, attending the Wasco Independent Acad- 
emy, until the death of his father. He then entered 
the employment of the Oregon Railroad & Navi- 
gation Company as errand boy in the office of 
the master mechanic; was subsequently in the 
ticket office and various other positions seven 
years. He was then with The Dalles, Portland 
& Astoria Navigation Company in the office, and 
as purser, two years, and subsequently with Mays 
& Crowe as bookkeeper. Mr. Hampshire pur- 
chased an interest in the firm, in 1903. In June, 
1900 he was elected county treasurer on the Demo- 
cratic ticket, receiving at his first election a ma- 
jority of one hundred and fifty-six, and at his 
second election about four hundred. Mr. Hamp- 
shire was the first Democratic county treasurer 
elected in twenty-four years. 

He is a member of The Dalles Athletic Club, 
of which he was directer two years ; of Cascade 
Lodge B. P. O. Elks, No. 303; K. O. T. M., 
The Dalles Tent, No. 20, of which he is past 



commander. He is a member of the Roman 
Catholic church. Mr. Hampshire has never mar- 
ried. He has one brother, D. Harry Hampshire, 
residing at The Dalles. 'Our subject is eminently 
popular with all classes and is an influential citi- 
zen who is highly esteemed and respected 
throughout Wasco county and eastern Oregon. 



GREGOIRE TRUDELL, who dwells on Fif- 
teenmile, about five miles up from Dufur, 
in what is known as Rail hollow, is one of the 
thrifty and intelligent residents of Wasco county. 
He owns a good farm, raises much grain, as bar- 
ley, oats, wheat, besides brome grass and other 
farm productions. He handles some stock and is 
a man of energy and push. 

Gregoire Trudell was born in Ontario, Can- 
ada, on February 20, 1859, the son of Benjamin 
and Argon (Lovloewy) Trudell, natives of Essex 
county, Ontario. The father's father came from 
Paris. The mother's parents came from France 
and dwelt many years in Michigan. After com- 
pleting a good education in the public schools of 
his native county, our subject followed various 
occupations and then came to Michigan, where he 
wrought in the logging camps. Later he did the 
same work in Wisconsin and Minnesota. He had 
served his first lessons in the lumber business in 
Canada. Finally, in 1891, Mr. Trudell deter- 
mined to seek what could be found in the west 
and accordingly, he came hither. He purchased 
a half section of land where he now lives, being 
pleased with this country, and since then he has 
devoted himself to farming and stockraising. He 
has won good success in his labors and is rated as 
one of the well-to-do men of the county now. 
Recently Mr. Trudell purchased one hundred and 
twenty acres more land. 

Mr. Trudell has the following named brothers 
and sisters : Benjamin, Frank, and Anthony, 
farmers in Canada ; Alfred, a farmer at Kingsley 
in this county ; Nellie, the wife of Alexander Co- 
chois, in Massachusetts ; Annie, the wife of Paul 
Pasnote, of Ontario ; Argon, the wife of Dennis 
Mayhew, in Massachusetts. Mr. Trudell is a 
member of the I. O. O. F., and of the Encamp- 
ment. He is a Republican in politics and intelli- 
gent in the issues that interest the people. 

His father died in Canada in 1888. leaving 
a farm valued at ten thousand dollars besides a 
large property in Stony Point, which town he 
had promoted. He gave first a portion of land 
for a Catholic church and then the place grew 
to a thrifty village. He was always interested 
in public affairs and was a man of genial ways 
and Q-ood spirit. He never would hold office but 
sought other good men to fill all places. He 
was an influential and upright man. His wife 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



287 



died in 1870, at the same place. The name of 
the postoffice was Chevalier. Our subject has 
never seen fit to take a wife, but contents him- 
self with the more quiet joys of the bachelor's 
life. His standing Is first class and he has many 
friends. 



GILFORD D. WOODWORTH owns Teal 
estate in various places in the Hood River val- 
ley and is one of the heavy fruit producers of 
the section. His home place is about three miles 
southwest from town. He was born in Berwick, 
Nova Scotia, on December 25, 1853, the son of 
Gilford D. and Salina (Corbett) Woodworth, 
also natives of Nova Scotia. Two brothers, 
Woodworths, came to the New World on the 
Mayflower and from one of them descended the 
family of our subject. Part of them were loyal- 
ists during the struggle for independence and 
part of them were patriots. Our subject studied 
until eleven and then went to sea and obtained 
a good education from various places. In 1869, 
he went to San Francisco and shipped from there 
on the bark, Helen Snow, for the Arctic regions. 
They were obliged to abandon her in the ice 
and with the balance of the crew Mr. Woodworth 
was twenty-one days in open boats. They finally 
reached Point Barrow, by sea and by land, where 
they were all taken in by the ship, Josephine. 
Two weeks later the Helen Snow drifted out of 
~the ice and our subject, with three boats' crews 
and six men from the vessel that picked her up, 
brought her to San Francisco, where she was sold 
to the Russian government. Mr. Woodworth 
again shipped for the Arctic regions, this time 
on the bark, Alaska, and was gone seven months. 
Their vessel was crushed in the ice and our sub- 
ject came back to San Francisco on the bark 
Minerva. For about two years after that he was 
coasting out of San Francisco. Then he went 
to Contra Costa county where he remained until 
1880, when he came to what is now Sherman 
county and took land to which he added by pur- 
chase until he had thirteen hundred and fifty 
acres, which was known as the Locust Grove 
wheat farm. Mr. Woodworth was a pioneer in 
the Sherman county country and was one of the 
first wheat raisers in that favored section. There 
were only twenty-five or thirty families in what 
is now Sherman county, and those pioneer days 
brought their hardships and trying times to Mr. 
Woodworth as they did to the other pathfinders. 
In 1894 he raised the largest crop of wheat ever 
produced by any one individual in that section, it 
amounting to forty thousand bushels. In 1899, 
"he sold his estate to William Barzee. Three years 
before that Mr. Woodworth had brought his 



family to this place, and on November 26th, of 
that year, bought fifteen acres. Now he has 
thirty-five acres in this piece. He has another 
orchard of five acres near by, one of twenty acr^s 
on the east side and eighty acres one mile east. 
He handles twenty acres of strawberries, has two 
thousand trees, Newtown and Spitzenberg apples, 
besides other fruits, and the balance of the land 
raises diversified crops. Last year he cleared 
three hundred and sixty dollars on Newtown 
apples from three-fourths of an acre. 

On December 18, 1878, Mr. Woodworth mar- 
ried Miss Rose Benton, at Martinez, California. 
She was born in Noble, Michigan, the daughter 
of Clark N. and Marietta (Gillett) Benton. The 
father was born on Lake Superior and was named 
from the captain of the craft. His parents were 
of Scotch descent. The mother was born in 
New York. Both are now deceased. Mrs. 
Woodworth came to California with friends in 
1874. Mr. Woodworth has two sisters: Mrs. 
Amanda Pineo, and Ermina, single. Mrs. Wood- 
worth has three sisters, Mrs. Esther Andrews, 
Mrs. Myrta Catelle, and Lulu, single. She 
also has three half brothers, Dudley, Ora, 
and C. N. Four children have been born 
to this worthy couple : Roy N. and Guy, farmers 
in the Hood River valley ; Ethel, in Sacramento 
county, California ; and Idell, at home. Mr. and 
Mrs. Woodworth are members of the United 
Brethren church and are zealous workers for 
the faith. They are prosperous and industrious 
people and have many friends. 



RICHARD J. GORMAN, of the firm of R. J. 
Gorman & Company, engaged in the real estate, 
loans and insurance business, and one of the 
active, progressive citizens of The Dalles, Wasco 
county, was born in Kingsley, this county, Novem- 
ber 22, 1878. His parents are Patrick and Sarah 
(Brookhouse) Gorman, natives of Ireland. They 
now reside at The Dalles. Patrick Gorman came 
to the United States in 1861, locating at Chicago 
where he engaged in the tanning business. He 
migrated to Oregon in 1876, and in this state he 
filed on a homestead near Kingsley, devoting his 
energies to farming and stock raising until .1900. 
At this period he retired from active business and 
came to The Dalles to reside. 

The public schools of Kingsley, the Wasco In- 
dependent Academy and a literary and commercial 
course at Mount Angel College, Marion county, 
contributed each to the really excellent education 
of our subject. From the latter institution he 
was graduated with honors in 1897, and he then 
began the study of law with Judge Bennett. !%b- 



288 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



sequently for eighteen months he was editor of 
the Chronicle, and was with the Times-Moun- 
taineer two years as city editor. In April, 1903, 
he commenced his present business in company 
with silent partners, and it is but just to say that 
he has been eminently successful. Our subject 
is a member of the Y. M. I. and the Roman 
Catholic church. He is a Republican, but not 
particularly active and not at all partisan. He 
still remains a bachelor, and has one sister, Mary, 
wife of T. J. Senfert, of The Dalles. His two 
half brothers are John, a mining man in Mexico, 
and Patrick, now on the home ranch at Kingsley, 
their names being McGrail. Mr. Gorman is an 
estimable gentleman, and one who has won the 
confidence of a large community. 



DAVID A. TURNER is one of the oldest 
living pioneers of the Hood River valley and has 
done a labor here that commends him to sub- 
stantial and good citizens. He was born in Ran- 
dolph county, Missouri, on September 21, 1836, 
the son of David and Jane (Cloyd) Turner. The 
father was a native of Virginia, and his father 
was born in England. The grandfather of our 
subject came to the New World and made a 
settlement in Virginia, where he died. The 
widow then married again and the family 
moved to Kentucky, our subject's father being 
then a child two years of age. David Turner 
grew to manhood in Kentucky, then learned the 
carpenter's trade, then went to Missouri. His 
mother lived to be ninety-nine years and seven 
months of age. The mother of our subject was 
born in Kentucky and her parents in Virginia. 
She died in 1838, David A. being Mien two years 
of age. The father married again. In 1857, our 
subject came to San Francisco via the isthmus 
and clerked in a store in Eldorado county. In 
1 86 1, he invaded the wilds of the Hood River 
valley and bought a squatter's right to land. Soon 
after, however, he went to Baker county and 
worked in the mines near Auburn. A year later, 
he returned to this valley and bought another 
squatter's right and since then has remained here. 
His farm was five miles south from Hood River 
and he continued in his labors until 1902, when he 
sold out and removed to Hood River and pur- 
chased town property which he now rents. He 
and his wife have six dwellings and these with 
his other property, give them a good income. 

On March 19, 1866, Mr. Turner married Miss 
Amanda J. Neal, who was born in the Willa- 
mette valley in 1850. Her father, Peter Neal, 
was a native of Virginia and a pioneer of Mis- 
souri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Texas and Oregon. 



He crossed the plains in 1844 and settled at 
Oregon City, where he was a mill man and 
blacksmith for the Hudson's Bay Company. He 
came to Hood River in 1861 and built the first 
mill in this vicinity. His death occurred in Rose- 
burg, in 1901. Mrs. Turner died on the ranch, 
on November 25, 1887. In June, 1897, Mr. 
Turner married Miss Laura E. Frost, a native of 
Illinois, the wedding occurring at The Dalles. 
Her parents were Elam and Samantha Frost, 
now deceased. Mr. Turner has the following 
named children by his first marriage : Luella, the 
wife of Ed Rand, city marshal of Sumpter, Ore- 
gon ; William W., Roswell C-, and Arthur M., 
all deceased. The sons were aged twenty-eight, 
twenty-four, and twenty-two, respectively, at the 
time of their death. Two died in one week, and 
the other two years later. Mr. Turner is a non- 
affiliated Mason, while he and his wife belong to 
the Methodist church. In politics, he is a stanch 
Republican, but not especially active. 

Mr. Turner had six brothers all older than 
himself and two are now living, Richard B., in 
San Luis Obispo county, California ; and Samuel, 
at St. Joseph, Missouri. He also had one sister 
who died recently. Mrs. Turner has two broth- 
ers, Edward, who died September 22, 1886; and 
Walter H. Frost, living near Mohler, Idaho. She 
also has three sisters ; Mrs. Mary E. Stevens, of 
Portland; Mrs. Flora E. Nolin of Dufur, Ore- 
gon, and Mrs. Luella M. Shank, of Canby, 
Oregon. 



JESSE W. RIGBY is now retired in Hood 
River, after a long life of service as a minister 
of the gospel for the Methodist church. He was 
born in Morrow county, Ohio, on January 10, 
1843. His father, Caleb P. Rigby, was a native 
of Washington, Virginia, and his. parents were 
Titus and Elizabeth (Pumphrey) Rigby, natives 
of Maryland. The mother's father, John 
Pumphrey, was born in Wales and her mother 
was a Cromwell of England. Our subject's father 
was a tanner by trade, learning the same in Bel- 
ville, Ohio. Later he did farming and his death 
occurred on August 5, 1871 at Mechanicsville, 
Iowa. He married Miss Christiana Fait, who 
was born in Utica, Ohio. Her father, Martin 
Fait, was a prominent Methodist preacher and 
weJl known all over the state of Ohio. His parents 
came from Holland. The mother's father was a 
native of England and her mother, Jane Watson, 
was born in Ireland. Our subject spent his 
boyhood days in Cedar county, Towa, where the 
family moved in 1846. His first education was 
obtained in the district schools and then he en- 
listed on July 25, 1862, at Mechanicsville, Iowa, 






David A. Turner 



Jesse W. Rigby 



William L. Clark 





Thomas R. Coon 



Mrs. Thomas R. Coon 






Alexander Stewart 



Benjamin F. Belieu 



Larkm Lamb 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



289 



in Company B, Twenty-fourth Iowa Volunteer 
Infantry, under Captain R. S. Rathbun and 
Colonel 'E. C. Byam. He was in active service 
until August 5, 1865, being mustered out at 
Davenport, Iowa. He was confined for four hun- 
dren and fourteen days at Camp Ford prison in 
Texas. He participated in the siege of Grand 
Gulf, battles of Fort Gibson and Champion Hills, 
in the siege of Vicksburg — forty-seven days under 
fire — and with his company was on provost duty 
at Vicksburg. He was also in the siege of Jack- 
son. Then he fought at the battle of Carrion 
Crow Bayou and next at Sabine Cross Roads 
where he was kept a prisoner until the close of 
the war. He returned home in August, and the 
following September he entered Cornell college, 
Mt. Vernon, Iowa, six years later graduating 
with the degree of Master of Arts. He then 
entered the ministry and in 1871 was ordained 
at Webster City, Iowa by Bishop E. S. Andrews. 
Then he preached two years at Sargent Bluffs, 
Iowa and was later stationed at Smithland, Sib- 
ley, and in 1879, came to Lewiston, Idaho. He 
was prominent in the work there, organizing the 
Methodist church at that point and at Asotin, 
Juliaetta, Kendrick and other places, plodding 
steadily along all the years in this vicinity until 
1892 when he came to Hood River and took 
charge of the Belmont church. Two years later, 
he organized the Asbury church and was in that 
church for two years. Then he went to Fossil, 
Wheeler county, thence to Bickleton, Washington, 
after which he was placed on the superanuated 
list in 1896, and returned to Hood River where 
he still resides. Although relieved of churches 
in the ministry, Mr. Rigby is still active in the 
Master's work and is one of the highly esteemed 
men of this part of the country. 

On August 17, 1871 at Mount Vernon, Iowa, 
Mr. Rigby married Miss Julia A. Case, who was 
born in Mount Morris, New York. Her parents 
were David and Mary (Bassett )Case. She died 
at Bickleton, Washington, in 1894. Mr. Rigby 
married again on May 22, 1901 at East Pitts- 
burg, Pennsylvania, to Martha R. Weaver, who 
was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. 
Mr. Rigby has the following brothers and sisters, 
Elmer C, Martin F., Thomas H., Washington 
H., deceased, Joshua C, deceased, Eliza J. de- 
ceased, and Mrs. Melissa D. Todd. Mrs. Rigby 
has four brothers, Hon. Frank Weaver, James R., 
Stewart, Homer, and several sisters. 

Mr. Rigby is a member of the G. A. R. and 
prominent in that organization. Four children 
were born to Mr. Rigby and his first wife ; Ethel 
J., wife of Rev. G. R. Archer, pastor of the 
Methodist church at John Day, Oregon ; Ruth 
E., at home ; Gertrude M., wife of Rev. C. D. 

19 



Nickelsen, she died June 6, 1898, and Nellie J.,- 
wife of Claude E. Weathered and now deceased.- 
Mr. Rigby has been a very faithful and con- 
scientious preacher and has wrought well in the 
vineyard. He is a man whose faith has made 
him upright and careful in his walk to show forth 
the principles that he taught. Ke and his first 
wife endured many hardships and together they 
labored both in church work and Sunday school 
for the upbuilding of the faith. He and his 
family now Jiave the satisfaction of seeing much 
good result from these labors, while they are se- 
cure in the love and esteem of hosts of friends. 



WILLIAM L. CLARK, resident engineer for' 
the United States government at the Cascade 
Locks and a man of a vast fund of practical ex- 
perience, is one of the leading civil engineers in- 
this part of the country. He has gained every 
part of this instruction while he followed work- 
ing, by careful study after hours. While in 
some respects the college man has the advantage 
of trained professors, still there is nothing that 
can take the place of practical fieM work and the 
man who studies principles out at night and puts 
them into practical execution the next day, is 
more thoroughly drilled and equipped in his 
profession than can be done by any other method 
William L. Clark is thoroughly conversant with 
every part of his profession and has mastered 
it as few men have. He was born on May 19, 
1867, in Sauk county, Wisconsin. His father, 
Newton Clark, was a native of Illinois and a civil 
engineer of great experience through Wisconsin. 
He is now residing in Portland. Our subject's 
parents moved to Hood River when he was about 
eleven years of age and there he completed his 
literary education in the public schools and the 
private school of T. R. Coons. He soon took 
a position under his father who was in the 
government employ and by him was thoroughly 
trained in civil engineering and remained with 
him until nineteen. Then he entered the employ 
of the Northern Pacific railroad under John Q. 
Jamison, assistant engineer of the Northern 
Pacific railroad. He was then in charge of the 
construction of Stampeded tunnel and our sub- 
ject worked there until that enterprise was com- 
pleted, being associated with various leading en- 
gineers during that time. Then Mr. Clark en- 
gaged on the Southern Pacific Railroad in 
various engineering enterprises until 1893, when 
he was appointed to the important work at the 
Cascade Locks under G. W. Brown. In July, 
1900, he resigned that position and accepted the 
position of district city engineer in Portland. In 



290 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



May, 1903, he was appointed to his present posi- 
tion and is discharging the duties encumbent upon 
him in a very efficient manner. 

At Middleton, Idaho, Mr. Clark married Miss 
Mary E. Mabee, on November 6, 1898. She was 
born in Dade county, Missouri, the daughter of 
S. P. and Jane Mabee, natives of Indiana. The 
father enlisted in the Civil war when very young 
and served four years. He is now living in 
Missouri. Mr. Clark has two sisters, Grace 
Dwinnell and Jeanette. 

Mrs. Clark has five brothers, George, Frank, 
John, Joseph and Jacob H., and two sisters, Ada 
Pyle and Cora Polly. Mr. Clark has one son, 
Newton, Jr., four years of age. Our subject is 
affiliated with the A. O. U. W., while his wife is 
a member of the Christian church. 

In political belief, he holds with the Republi- 
cans and is an active worker for the interests 
of his party. He is a young man of promise and 
scholarly attainments and stands exceptionally 
.well with the people in his profession. 



HON. THOMAS R. COON is the present 
efficient mayor of Hood River and a prominent 
fruit grower of the valley. Formerly he was 
occupied in the work of the educator and made 
an excellent record in the same. He was born 
in Marion county, Oregon, on March 4, 1854, 
the son of Thomas L. and Polly L. (Crandall) 
Cnon. The father was born in Allegany county, 
New York and followed school teaching. He died 
on January 10, 1854, before cur subject was 
born. He came from an old colonial family of 
: Scotch and English ancestry. The mother was a 
native of New York and died in Salem, Oregon, 
the widow of Stephen Price. The Crandall fam- 
ily descended from John Crandall, who came to 
Massachusetts in 1636 and married Elizabeth 
(Gorton, daughter of Samuel Gorton, a noted 
leader in the .colonies. Crandall was very 
prominent among the promoters of the con- 
stitutional guarantee for religious toleration in 
Rhode Island. He was five times chosen to 
•represent his town, Newport, as a commis- 
sioner of the general court of Rhode Island. 
He was appointed by this court a member of a 
committee to draft a letter that should be pre- 
sented to "His Highness and Council" of Eng- 
land asking- for protection against the hostile ef- 
forts of the other colonies of New England in- 
sisting that Rhode Island should prevent the 
Quakers from having "theire liberty amongst us. 
as entertayned into our houses or into any of 
our assemblies." The idea of full religious toler- 
ation which this colony alwavs maintained toward 



each of its inhabitants was quaintly expressed in 
this letter as follows: "Plead our case in such 
sorte as wee may not be compelled to exercise 
any civill power over men's consciences soe longe 
as humane orders in poynt of civility are not 
corrupted and voyalated." 

Speaking of the descendants of John Crandall 
one writer says : "The peculiar features in the 
character of the Crandall famil}' are seen to have 
been patient industry, unvarying independence, 
firmness in adhering to principle, soberness of 
mind and unflinching- support of high moral and 
religious views and movements, though some 
times very unpopular." 

Our subject's parents came to Oregon in 1850 
and settled on a donation claim where Silverton 
now stands. Mrs. Coon laid out the town of 
Silverton and lived there until 1861. Our subject 
was educated in the public schools of Salem, and 
in the Willamette University and commenced 
teaching when twenty. He took a teacher's life 
diploma at the earliest age possible and was the 
first native teacher of Oregon to secure a 
diploma by examination. He helped organize, 
the first state teacher's association in Oregon and 
also the first territorial teacher's association in 
Washington. He was principal of the Mt. Tabor 
school and the Central school in Portland, of 
one of the Seattle schools and of the city schools 
in Astoria. In 1883, he came to Hood River, 
bought state land near town and was one of the 
first strawberry raisers of the country. He was 
first to discover the value of the Clarke's Seed- 
ling strawberry, an Oregon variety, now known 
all over the United States as "The Hood River 
Strawberry." He shipped the first berries from 
Hood River and helped to organize the Hood 
River's Fruit Growers Union and wrote articles 
of incorporation. 

On April 12, 1874, at Tacoma, Washington, 
Mr. Coon married Miss Delia McNeal. who was 
born on Green Bay, Wisconsin, on April 12, 
1854. The Tacoma Ledger claims that they were 
the first couple married in Tacoma. Mrs. Coon's 
father, Abraham McNeal, married Miss Beebe. 
Mr. Coon has one half-brother, Eugene Price. 
Mrs. Coon has three sisters, Sarah Orchard, 
Jennie Cooper and Annie Coad. Our subject and 
his wife are members of the United Brethren 
church and are prominent people of Hood River. 
In politics, he is independent and was for many 
years identified with the Republican party. He 
lias held various prominent offices and is a man of 
ability and energy. He served two terms as joint 
representative, in the sessions of 1893 and 1895. 
He was elected mayor of Hood River on the ticket 
called the Majority Rule but recently resigned 
the position. In 1894 Mr. Coon representing the 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



29 i 



Hood River Fruit Growers Union was one of 
four delegates from Oregon who took part in or- 
ganizing the Northwestern Fruit Growers Asso- 
ciation at Spokane, Washington. Mr. Coon has 
labored zealously for the advancement of the fruit 
growing industry throughout the northwest, and 
has accomplished more than can be written in 
promoting the same, and it is with pleasure that 
we have the privilege of mentioning these items 
wherein he has done so much labor, beneficial to 
the Hood River country. 

Mr. Coon, assisted by his two sons, now owns 
and operates a large orchard and fruit ranch 
overlooking the Columbia just below Lyle, Wash. 
Here and at the old home on Hood River Heights 
Mr. Coon, a pioneer, will follow the bent derived 
from his ancestors, many of whom in their 
later years engaged in literarv and reformatory 
pursuits. 



ALEXANDER STEWART, a merchant of 
Mosier, is a man of large experience in the 
business world and is now handling a thriving 
.trade. He carries a five thousand dollar stock of 
well assorted general merchandise and is the 
recipient of a generous patronage. He was born 
in Wisconsin, on March 2, 1856, the son of Alex- 
ander and Elizabeth (Clark) Stewart, natives 
of Pennsylvania and descended from prominent 
Scotch and American families, respectively. They 
are now deceased. When Alexander was five 
years of age he went with his parents to Illinois, 
and later to Iowa, where he finished his education 
in the Brighton high school. " Following that, 
he taught for a term and then clerked in a gen- 
eral store for a time. After that he was engaged 
in mining in California for seven years. Then 
he turned his attention to railroading, and for a 
series of years was clerk in the road master's 
office on different lines in Kansas, Missouri, 
C®lorado, Arkansas, and Wyoming. Also he had 
charge of sections at different times. He came 
to Oregon in 1893, and accepted a position as 
section foreman at Mosier. Three years were 
spent thus, and then Mr. Stewart bought the 
store which he is now operating. R. A. Powers 
was the former owner. He has shown himself 
an enterprising and competent business man and 
; is doing well. 

At Mosier, in 1898, Mr. Stewart married 
Miss Rachel Roland, nee Warren, a native of 
Portland, Oregon. Mr. Stewart has two brothers 
and two sisters, James, Joseph L., Mrs. Lizzie 
Arnold, and Hannah. No children have been 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Stewart, but by her former 
husband Mrs. Stewart has three : Ira W. Roland, 



the owner of the ferry at White Salmon ; William 
L., a farmer near by ; and Myra, the wife of 
Orrin Depee. Mr. Stewart is a member of the 
A. F. & A. M., the I. O. O. F. and the M. W. A. 
He is a Republican and is frequently a delegate 
to the conventions. He is clerk of the school 
board, and was postmaster for four years. Mrs. 
Stewart now holds that office. 



BENJAMIN F. BELIEU, a prominent con- 
tractor and builder in Hood River, Oregon, was 
born in Grundy county, Missouri, on July 26, 
1 85 1. His father, Jesse Belieu, was a native of 
Tennessee and his father, the grandfather of our 
subject, was born in Massachusetts. That vener- 
able gentleman's father came from France and 
the name was originally Ballou and many of the 
family still retain that spelling. Some of the 
Ballou's of Boston were well known publishers. 
Many of the family are preachers and professional 
men and our subject's grandfather and three of 
his father's brothers were preachers. The father 
died in 1862, in Grundy county, Missouri. Our 
subject's grandfather was sheriff fourteen years 
in Tennessee, then resigned that office and com- 
menced preaching. When eleven years of age, 
Mr. Belieu was left an orphan and soon there- 
after came to Iowa and remained until twenty 
years of age, receiving his education in the pub- 
lic schools. In 1877, he went to California and a 
year later to Oregon where he did saw milling at 
Salem. He was employed in various other por- 
tions of the state and in 1883, landed in Hood 
River and was occupied with sawmilling at Lost 
Lake for three years. Then he took up carpenter 
work and wrought for the O. R. & N. building 
tanks and cars for several years. After that, he 
was occupied in Portland in general building and 
contract work and in 1899, came to- Hood River 
and built a home. He traded the same for a 
twenty acre fruit farm. Then bought more land 
and built another home. He has completed many 
residences here and with S. W. Arnold, built the 
Knights of Pythias hall. 

On August 27, 1871, Mr. Belieu married Miss 
Sarah I. Cox, a native of Decatur county, Iowa, 
where the wedding occurred. Her parents, Mar- 
tin A. and Eliza (Sutherland) Cox, were natives 
of Indiana, her father springing from a Ten- 
nessee family and her mother from an old south- 
ern family. Mr. Belieu has three full brothers, 
William H., Arch, and Richard R. and one 
half brother, John H. Drinkard, and one sister, 
Mrs. Rachel Starkey. He also had one brother, 
Columbus Belieu, and one half brother, A. 
Drinkard, who died in the Civil war. Mr. Belieu 



292 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



is a member of the K. P. and the Order of 
Washington. He and his wife have four children, 
Nancy, wife of John Nasmythe ; Albert M., Perry 
G., and Eva B. 

Mrs. Belieu is a member of the Seventh Day 
Adventist church. Mr. Belieu is a relative of the 
Gilliams of eastern Oregon. One of his uncles, 
Leander Belieu, came to Oregon in 1843, cross- 
ing the plains with ox teams. Michael Belieu 
came in 1845, James, two years later, and John 
in 1864. Michae) Belieu took the first stock of 
goods south of Oregon City in what is now Polk 
county and opened a store there in 1849. Eliza 
Belieu, our subject's grandfather's sister, was 
the mother of President Garfield. 



LARKIN LAMB is one of the pioneers of 
Wasco county. At present, he resides in Mosier. 
He recently sold a fine farm that was taken as a 
homestead many years ago. He was born in 
Iowa, on September 30, 1841 and his parents, Wil- 
liam and Fanny (Garr) Lamb, were natives of 
Virginia. The father's father was born in Scot- 
land and his mother in Virginia. The Garr family 
have been written up and found to extend back 
for many years. John C. of Jacksonville, Florida, 
has been compiling their history which is very 
interesting. Lorenz G. came to America on the 
ship Royal Judith when sixteen, sailing from 
Dinkels Buehl, Bavaria over two hundred years 
ago. He settled in Virginia and from him de- 
scended the Garr family of America. They spell 
their name, Gar, Gaar and Garr. Many of the 
family fought in the various Indian wars of 
colonial days, in the Revolution, in the War of 
1812, and in the Civil war. Through the middle 
west and the south, they are prominent in the 
manufacturing circles and so forth and are a very 
thrifty and enterprising family. The men are 
usually all large in stature and the women espec- 
ially thrifty housewives. Our subject was raised 
and educated in Iowa and when twenty-two, came 
to Wasco county, landing at The Dalles, on Octo- 
ber 16, 1864. Since then, he has given his at- 
tention to farming in this part of the country. 
In 1879, he homesteaded the place which he just 
sold. Mr. Lamb is a carpenter and works at 
his trade some, but is practically retired now. 
At The Dalles, in 1869, Mr. Lamb married Mary 
J. Marsh, who was born in the vicinity of The 
Dalles. Her parents are Josiah and Bell Marsh, 
natives of Tennessee. They crossed the plains 
with ox teams in 1850 and settled near The Dalles. 
Sometime since, Mr. and Mrs. Lamb secured a 
divorce and she now resides at Colfax, Wash- 
ington. Mr. Lamb has three brothers, Wallace, 



Smith and Jackson and four sisters, Katherine,. 

Mrs. Martha Cooper, Mrs. Rosanna Newcomer, 

and Mrs. Elizabeth Young. To Mr. and Mrs.. 

Lamb two children have been born, Lizzie, the 

wife of Andrew J. Knight at Wardner, Idaho and 

Katie, wife of George W. Millson, of Kalispel,. 

Montana. 

Mr. Lamb is a member of the M. W. A. and a. 

strong Democrat. For the past ten years, he has 

always been in the conventions yet never aspires 

to office himself. By way of reminiscence, it is 

interesting to note that Mr. Lamb's paternal 

grandfather was one of Daniel Boone's party of 

Scotch Highlanders that were ambushed by the 

Indians in Kentucky when Daniel Boone lost two; 

sons. 

*—+ 

WILLIAM E. WALTHER, of the enter- 
prising and progressive firm of Sexton & Wal- 
ther, dealers in hardware, farming implements, 
wagons, carriages, etc., at The Dalles, was born 
in Saxony, Germany, January 28, 1862, the son 
of Gustav and Wilhelmina (Traetner), natives- 
of Germany. The mother died in San Diego, 
California, in 1894; the father is now engaged 
in the hotel business in Redding, California. 

In May, 1881, accompanied by his brother, 
Adolph, our subject came to the United States,, 
locating at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where he was 
employed in a trunk factory. One year later the 
brothers were joined by their parents, and in the 
spring of 1885 the entire family migrated to 
San Diego, California. Our subject, his father 
and two brothers each purchased ten acres of 
wild land fifteen miles from San Diego, and 
planted vineyards. There Mr. Walther remained 
until the spring of 1888, when he came to The 
Dalles, following, a short visit east. Ten years 
he was in the employment of Mays & Crowe, as 
manager and buyer, and his abilities won de- 
served recognition, not only from his employer, 
but from all with whom he was thrown in busi- 
ness relations. In 1901 Mr. Walther engaged 
in his present business in partnership with Felix 
C. Sexton. They occupy a substantial and com- 
modious building on the corner of East Second 
and Jefferson streets, utilizing a space 100x150^ 
feet square, including their plumbing, locksmith- 
ing, gun and tin shop. They do an extensive 
business in dynamite, blasting powders, etc., and 
are agents for the California Powder Works, 
Mitchell & Lewis Company. Racine, Wisconsin, 
wagons, Champion harvesting machinery, J. I. 
Case farming implements. Hancock disk plows, 
Mitchell, Lewis & Staver & Company. Portland, 
buggies and spring wagons, and Flint & Walling" 
windmills. Commencing with a limited capital' 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



2 93 



the firm has increased to large proportions, em- 
ploying not less than fourteen people, and doing 
an approximate business annually of $100,000. 

At Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in September, 1883, 
Mr. Walther was united in marriage to Susan 
A. Heitz, born in New York state, the daughter 
>of Gregory and Carolina (Oldfield) Heitz. The 
father, deceased, was a native of Germany; the 
-mother of Rome, New York. Her parents were 
New Englanders, and she now resides at Wa- 
pinitia. Our subject has two brothers, Adolph 
with Mays & Crowe, and Theodore, at El Cajon, 
'California, employed on the vineyards which the 
brothers purchased in 1883. He now has thirty 
acres in grapes and peaches. Mrs. Walther has 
two brothers and two sisters; Gregor J., of Spo- 
kane, Washington ; George, with his mother at 
Wapinitia ; Aulousia, wife of M. Speischinger, 
of The Dalles, a farmer ; and Tinney, married 
to B. Tapp, a farmer residing near Susanville, 
Oregon. 

Three children have been born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Walther ; Harry E., aged sixteen ; May Z., 
aged fourteen ; and Gertrude, eleven years of age. 
Mr. Walther is a member of Friendship Lodge 
No. 9, K. of P., of which he has been master of 
exchequer for the past twelve vears ; Cascade 
Lodge No. 303, B. P. O. E. ; and" the W. O. W. 
He and his estimable wife are members of the 
Pathbone Sisters, of which she is mistress of 
finance. Our subject is a Republican and has, 
.although not persistently active, been a member 
of county conventions. He at present carries life 
insurance to the amount of $22,000 ; $10,000 of 
-which is co-partnership insurance. 



JOSHUA T. ADKISSON has shown what 
a man can do in Wasco county, by taking hold 
with his hands and attending strictly to business. 
He came here with only ten dollars and five 
horses, having a wife and five children to support. 
He immediately rented land of J. A. Gulliford, 
who is mentioned in this work, and commenced 
the good work of carving out for himself a home 
and a fortune. The place which he first rented, 
he still rents, which shows his continuity. During 
the intervening years, he has purchased two 
farms, one of four hundred and fifty-three acres, 
which lies about one mile southeast from Boyd, 
and is the family home, and another of two hun- 
dred and twenty-three acres. This shows that 
Mr. Adkisson has achieved the best of success 
in his labors. He raises about three hundred 
■acres of wheat annually, and has bred and handled 
-.a great many horses. Recently he has commenced 



raising mules and he finds a ready sale for all 
his animals in this county, especially, as he raises 
the choicest that are to be found here. After a 
review of these facts, it is needless to say that 
Mr. Adkisson is a man of enterprise, energy, 
wisdom, and industry. He has shown it well in 
the successes he has achieved. 

Joshua T. Adkisson was born in Franklin 
county, Virginia, on May 10, 1861, when the 
dark clouds of the Rebellion were settling in 
their horror on the land. His father, Thomas 
Adkisson, was a native of the same place, as were 
also his parents, the grandparents of our subject. 
The great-grandfather of our subject was one of 
the earliest pioneers in the Virginia wilds and his 
descendants were large planters there. They lived 
and died in the old Virginia colony. The mother 
of Joshua T. was Cynthia E. (Richardson) Ad- 
kisson. She was also born in Virginia and her 
parents and grandparents were natives of that 
colony. The original Richardson family was 
prominent in colonial affairs and fought in the 
early wars including the Revolution and that of 
1812. Our subject's father fought in the Con- 
federate army, and died during the war. His 
mother died in Davies county, Missouri, in 1896. 
She married Mr. Faulkner when our subject was 
twenty-one. Joshua was reared and educated 
principally in Davies county, Missouri. Owing 
to poor health, he came to Oregon in 1882 and 
located a claim in Washington county, Oregon, 
where he spent twelve years in trying to clear 
land, which was heavily timbered. He had thirty- 
five acres clear in that time and finally closing 
out he got to The Dalles on the boat with five 
head of horses and the ten dollars mentioned. 
Since then, he has done well, as we have outlined 
above. 

In Davies county, Missouri, on August 16, 
1882, Mr. Adkisson married Martha J. Snyder, 
the daughter of Samuel C. Snyder, a native of 
Indiana and of German ancestry. He married 
Miss Nancy Stevens. Mr. Adkisson has two 
brothers, Reuben and Eli, and one sister, Mrs. 
Mary A. Wise. His wife has the following 
named sisters : Mrs. Frances Ritchardson, Mrs. 
Adeline Joy, Mrs. Alice Elliott, Mrs. Ella Horner, 
Mrs. Belle Bauer, and Mrs. Susan Coarth. Seven 
children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Adkis- 
son : Willard E., Elwood, Raymond, Alva, Flos- 
sie A., the wife of Gus Underhill, living near 
our subject ; Elsie and Agnes, at home. Mr. Ad- 
kisson is a member of the W. W., and is a strong 
Republican. For twenty years he has been a 
school director and is zealous in labors for edu- 
cational advancement. He and his wife belong 
to the United Brethren church and are liberal 
supporters of the faith. 



294 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



JOSEPH H. McCOY, a native of the 
Occident, is one of Wasco county's enterpris- 
ing young farmers and stockmen. He resides 
near Boyd, adjoining the old McCoy estate, which 
is owned by his mother. In fact, his farm is a 
part of the original estate. He is enterprising, 
energetic and wide awake, is well known through 
this part of the country and is a man whose ac- 
tions and achievements indicate good ability. He 
was born in Tulare county, California, on April 
15, 1871, the son of Henson and Clarissa 
(Rusher) McCoy, who are named elsewhere in 
this volume. The district schools of Tulare 
county furnished the educational training of our 
subject then he came with the family to Wasco 
county where he continued his studies in the 
public schools. He remained with his parents 
until the death of his father, being occupied on 
the farm and in handling stock. In the latter 
business, he became especially skillful in break- 
ing and taming wild horses both for riding and 
driving, and he has never met the animal yet 
which he has not been able to subdue to quietness 
and docility. 

At The Dalles, on January 28, 1895, Mr. 
McCoy married Miss Lillian M. Phipps, who 
was born in Ballston, Oregon, on October 28, 
1877. _ Her father, John S. Phipps, was a native 
of Missouri, where also his parents were born. 
He came from an old American family and his 
mother was a Boone, related to Daniel Boone. 
He crossed the plains with ox teams with his 
parents in 1855 " and now lives with his family 
near Boyd postoffice. Mrs. McCoy's mother, 
Amanda (Davidson) Phipps, was born in Polk 
county, Oregon. Her father was a native of 
Tennessee and her mother of Indiana. Mrs. Mc- 
Coy has one brother, Clarence, and three sisters, 
Inez M., Lois B. and Wanda S. Her brothtr 
is only four years of age. To Mr. and Mrs. 
McCoy four children have been born: Frances, 
aged nine ; Ernest, aged seven ; Dora, aged four ; 
and Joseph, thirteen months old. Mr. McCoy is 
serving his second term as president of the Uto- 
pian Literary Society, is deputy stock inspector 
of Wasco county, and is an active man in political 
matters and school affairs. For three years he 
was a member of Company C, of the Oregon Na- 
tional Guards, under Captain Crisman. He is a 
member of the M. W. A., and has filled all the 
chairs. 



JOHN H. STIRNWEIS is one of the sub- 
stantial and thrifty farmers in the vicinity of 
Boyd. He was born in Germany on October 20, 
1837, the son of Frederick and Kunigunda (Wal- 
ters) Stirnweis, both natives of Germany. The 



father came to the United States in 1851, settling 
first in Baltimore where he remained until 1855^ 
then he went to Westminster in that state and 
there he remained until the time of his death 
in 1859. He practically retired from busi- 
ness after coming to the United States having, 
made a goodly competence before. The mother 
died in Baltimore, in 1863. Our subject learned 
the shoemaker trade in Baltimore, after having 
received a good education, and worked at the 
same for many years. On April 20, 1863, he came 
via Nicaragua to San Francisco, and in various 
places in California worked at his trade, finally 
settling in Tulare county. There he bought land 
and raised sheep for twenty years. On January 
I, 1886, he landed in The Dalles and shortly after 
bought two hundred and forty acres of land 
where he resides at present near Boyd. He is 
giving his attention to general farming, and- raises 
horses, cattle and hogs. He is thrifty, prosper- 
ous and a leading farmer. 

On January 4, 1870, at the residence of the 
bride's parents, in Tulare county, California, Mr. 
Stirnweis married Miss Mary A. McCoy, who 
was born in Missouri, on April 24, 1854, the 
daughter of Henson and Clarissa (Rusher) Mc- 
Coy, who are mentioned elsewhere in this work. 
Mr. Stirnweis has no brothers and two sisters, 
Mrs. Margaret Bachman, a widow, and Mrs.. 
Mary Gabriel. To Mr. and Mrs. Stirnweis the 
following named children have been born : Wil- 
liam, who resides on the farm two miles distant 
from the home place ; George, at Nansene post- 
office ; Washington, at home ; Omer, a school 
boy ; Annie, the wife of Frank Hathaway, of 
Portland ; Maggie, the wife of James Underbill, 
in Tygh valley ; Hattie, the wife of Marshall 
Poppleton, in Portland. 

Mr. Stirnweis is a member of the A. O. U. 
W. and also belongs to the Lutheran church. Po- 
litically, he is a Democrat and always takes a 
lively interest in the affairs of the county and 
state. He has been director in district number 
thirty-one since coming here and is a zealous 
advocate of good schools. 



JOHN S. PHIPPS resides on Center Ridge 
eight miles southeast from Boyd, where he owns 
a half section of land, two-thirds of which are- 
cropped. He was born in Missouri, on August 
18, 185 1, the son of William and Sarah (Boone) 
Phipps, natives of Indiana and Missouri, respec- 
tively. The father's parents were also born in- 
Indiana and died when he was a small child. 
They were of Scotch-English extraction. The 
mother's parents were born in Missouri. Her 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



295 



grandfather was a brother of Daniel Boone. Onr 
subject's parents now live in Yakima county, 
Washington. The father is aged nearly eighty 
and the mother is past seventy. They crossed the 
plains to Oregon in 1853 settling on a donation 
claim in Washington county, where they remained 
sixteen years, then journeyed to Yamhill county 
and eight years later went thence to Polk county. 
John S. was educated in the various places where 
the family lived during his youth and when twen- 
ty-two started out in life for himself. He first 
rented land and about 1879, went to Klickitat 
county, Washington and spent four years near 
Bicklcton, then we find him teaming in Portland 
for ten months after which he was in Polk county 
for two years. Then he came to the east side 
of the mountains and filed on the claim where he 
now lives and also purchased railroad land. Since 
then, he has given his time and attention to 
the improvement and cultivation of this place 
and he has a good farm which pays good annual 
dividends. 

On January 1, 1877 in Polk county, Mr. 
Phipps married Miss Arminda Davidson, the 
daughter of Andrew and Rachel (Goodrich) 
Davidson. Her marriage occurred near Ballston, 
Oregon. She was born in Polk county on No- 
vember 24, 1858. The father and his parents 
were born in Tennessee from an old colonial fam- 
ily of Scotch-Irish ancestry. He died in 1884. 
The mother was born in Indiana and died in Au- 
gust, 1 90 1. Both were on the old Polk county 
donation claim at the time of their death. They 
crossed the plains with ox teams in 1846 and set- 
tled on the donation claim where they remained 
the balance of their lives. The trip was fraught 
with great hardship and suffering. At the point 
where the Applegate cut off branched from the 
old road, one-half of the train took that and the 
balance came- on the usual route. Mrs. Phipp's 
grandfather came to Oregon in 1844 and when 
word was brought him that his son-in-law and 
family would come by the Applegate cut off, he 
immediately with all speed fitted out a supply 
train to meet them as he well knew what they 
would have to encounter. Hurrying to the rescue, 
he arrived just in time as they were nearly starved 
to death and sick besides. Their cattle were dead 
and he was obliged to leave the wagons and all 
their luggage- He finally transferred them to the 
valley and they arrived in Dayton in a condition 
well expressed by the homely phrase "more dead 
than alive." To add to the trouble, the mother 
had broken her arm and her husband was down 
with mountain fever and two small children were 
to be cared for. However, they were nursed back 
to health in the Willamette valley and there lived 
for many years. Mr. Phipps has one brother, 



Ellis, and five sisters, Mrs. Eliza Goldie, Mrs. 
Annie McLean, Mrs. Wilmina Hayden, Mrs. 
Mary Godaberg, deceased and Cassandra, who 1 
died when fifteen years of age. 

Mr. Phipps is a good active Democrat and has 
been school director for twelve years. To our 
subject and his wife, the following children have 
been born, Lillian, Inez, Blanche, Wanda, and 
Clarence. 



AUGUST BUCHLER, proprietor of the 
Columbia Brewery, The Dalles, Oregon, a popu- 
lar and influential citizen of Wasco county, was 
born in the Canton of Appenzell, Switzerland, 
August 8, 1841, the son of Anton and Francisca 
(Neff) Buchler. They were, also, natives of 
Switzerland, where the father died in 1853, the 
mother in 1871. For many years Anton Buchler 
was proprietor of a summer resort which was 
freely patronized by tourists and others. 

Our subject was sixteen years of age when he 
left school, and entered a wholesale grocery and 
wine house for the purpose of thoroughly learn- 
ing the business. Later he traveled for the same 
firm, successfully selling goods in Switzerland, 
Germany, Italy, Sicily and France. It was in 
1864 that he came to the United States, going 
directly to Montana, where for seven years he 
was engaged in mining. In November, 1871, he 
migrated to Portland, Oregon, and for seven more" 
years was in the employment of the Weinhardt 
brewery. He arrived at The. Dalles April 16, 
1877, where he purchased a brewery and eleven 
and one-half lots from Emil Schanno, which he- 
has since prosperously conducted. Throughout 
the counties adjacent to Wasco his beer is freely 
sold, and Mr. Buchler employs from five to seven 
men in its manufacture. 

He was united in marriage, October 8, 1875, 
at Portland, Oregon, to Sarah Buckhalter, a na- 
tive of Pennsylvania, the daughter of Stephen and 
Susan (Jacoby) Buckhalter, both of whom were 
born in the Keystone State, and descendants, 
each, of old Dutch families. The paternal great- 
grandfather of our subject's wife came from 
Switzerland. Stephen Buckhalter died in Hills- 
boro, Oregon, November 26, 1903. His widow 
still lives at Hillsboro, where she came with her 
husband in 1874. Mr. Buchler has one brother 
and two sisters : Albert, a retired merchant, pass- 
ing the sunset of life amid the picturesque scenes- 
of Switzerland ; Paulina, widow of Jacob Breiten- 
moser, of Switzerland ; and Amanda, wife of Ed- 
ward Grass, also of Switzerland. Mr. and Mrs. 
Buchler have seven children: Dollie, wife of 
Charles Tibbetts in the dairy business, Monterey, 
California ; Bertha, married to Ernest Gerichten,- 



* 



296 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



bookkeeper in our subject's brewery; Rosie, wife 
of James Shim, of Baker City, Oregon ; Mamie, 
wife of Claude Martin, a miller in The Dalles ; 
and Herbert, Adolph and Jennie, school children. 
Mr. Buchler affiliates with the B. P. O. E., and 
the A. O. U. W. He is, politically, independent, 
and for many years was water commissioner of 
The Dalles. Mrs. Buchler has two brothers and 
three sisters. 



JOHN L. HENDERSON, who came to 
Hood River with a capital of two hundred and 
fifty dollars, has property now valued at over 
twenty-five thousand dollars. He is a prominent 
citizen, an attorney at law and also a practical 
surveyor. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, 
on September 11, 1851. His father, John Hen- 
derson, was a native of Indiana and his father, 
also John Henderson, the grandfather of our sub- 
ject, was born in Scotland and came to the United 
States when young, settling finally in Mississippi. 
The grandfather was admitted to the practice of 
law in Cincinnati. He was prominent in state 
and national affairs, being the only Whig ever 
elected to the United States senate from Missis- 
sippi, and was a colleague with Webster, Clay and 
Calhoun in the senate, receiving from Daniel 
Webster the commendation of being the best land 
lawyer in the United States. In 1850, he was 
impeached for assisting in a fillibustering scheme, 
known as the "Lopez Expedition," connected 
with Cuba's struggles. The officers of that expe- 
dition had their headquarters in his office in New 
Orleans. He defended himself in the senatorial 
trial and was acquitted. At one time, he took 
several Spanish claims against the United States 
for a large tract of land, of over twenty miles 
frontage on the Gulf of Mexico and gained his 
.case after seventeen years of fighting. He received 
as fee, a portion of the land, part of which he 
sold later for one hundred thousand dollars. His 
son, our subject's father, was also an attorney at 
law and one of the principal leaders of the Re- 
publican party in New Orleans right after the 
war. He was shot in a riot there, in July, 1866, 
and died soon after. Our subject's mother, Cath- 
erine Leland, was born in Boston and commenced 
teaching school when fifteen years of age and 
taught until seventy-five, thus spending sixty 
years in that worthy work. She is now eighty- 
six, being born in 1818, and has traveled all over 
the civilized world and spent three years abroad, 
after being seventy years of age. She is a 
linguist of rare ability and speaks French, Span- 
ish, Italian and German, besides her native tongue 
and is thoroughly educated. For many years, she 
fitted students for Cornell Universitv and was 



known as one of the best educators of the day. 
Her home is at Hood River but she spends much 
time in the east. Our subject's father was con- 
scripted in the confererate army, but deserted at 
the first opportunity and joined the union army, 
fighting under General Banks. 

John L. first attended school at North Fork, 
Arkansas and when six years of age, went to 
Boston, with his mother, where he attended six 
months in a private institution. Later, he re- 
ceived instruction in a private school his mother 
conducted in Mississippi then studied in the Jesuit 
college, and high school in New Orleans. After- 
ward, he took a course in a military school at 
Brattleboro, Vermont and until 1869, in Cornell 
University. He came west during his sophomore 
year and finally, on August 4, 1870, arrived in 
Portland. For eight years he was teaching in the 
Willamette valley, holding the prinqipalship of 
several schools. Later, he taught in a military 
academy in Oakland, California. Then he was 
principal of the public schools in Helsboro and 
Olympia, Washington for two and one years re- 
spectively, and was head of the Olympia collegiate 
institute in the same city for six years. Next we 
find him in charge of the Chehalis Indian reser- 
vation, after which he took up real estate and ab- 
stract business in Olympia and made considerable 
money. In January, 189 1, Mr. Henderson went 
to Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, in the same line 
of business and was there admitted to the practice 
of law, which he has followed since. In Febru- 
ary, 1898, he opened an office in Hood River and 
since that time has continued here in the practice 
of his profession. Up to the time of the Spanish 
war, Mr. Henderson was a stanch Democrat but 
is now a Republican, having imbibed the doctrines 
of expansion from his grandfather. Senator Hen- 
derson. He holds a prominent position in politics 
in his county and is a very active and influential 
man. 

In 1873, Mr. Henderson married Miss Har- 
riett E. Humphrey, at Harrisburg, Oregon, her 
native place. Her father, Alfred Humphrey, a 
native of Ohio and a graduate of Oberlin Col- 
lege, crossed the plains in 185 1. Mr. Humphrey 
married Miss Pollv Loomis, a native of New 
York, and descended from an old and respected 
family of noted ancestors. Mr. Henderson cele- 
brated his second marriage, July 29, 1897. Marian 
I. Grimes, a native of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, 
then becoming his bride. The father. John C. 
Grimes, came from an old Scotch family, the 
name being originally called Graeme. He mar- 
ried Mary White, a native of Louisiana and of a 
verv prominent southern family. Mr. Hender- 
son has one brother, Louis F. Henderson, for ten 
years a professor in the state university at Mos- 




John L. Henderson 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



297 



cow, Idaho. Mr. Henderson has the following 
named children : Leland, at New Orleans, 
Louisiana, in the real estate business ; Louis A., 
a student at the state university at Eugene, Ore- 
gon ; Edwin A., at Hood River, Oregon ; Sidney 
E., in the high school at Olympia ; and Mrs. Faith 
F. Lott. To the second marriage two children 
have been, born, Lynn R. and William E., aged 
about six and two years, respectively. 

Mr. Henderson is a member of the I. O. O. F., 
of the Encampment and the K. P. He has passed 
through nearly all the chairs in these orders and 
has frequently been a delegate to the grand lodge. 
Mrs. Henderson is a member of the Congrega- 
tional church. 

They are respected people, whose kindly and 
genial ways have won the admiration and esteem 
of all who have had the pleasure of their acquaint- 
ance. Mr. Henderson has won a splendid success 
during his interesting career and has fully merited 
the many encomiums which have been generously 
bestowed upon him. 

We desire to state in this connection that 
Mr. Henderson is a man of great physical en- 
durance and powers. Among other feats he has 
performed, we would mention that of swimming, 
in which art, he is very expert and skillful. He 
has made many long and difficult tests, and one 
was to swim from Cat Island lighthouse to Bay 
Saint Louis, in the Gulf of Mexico, and another 
was to swim from Hood River to Cascade Locks. 
The former was a distance of sixteen miles and 
the latter was a stretch of twenty-two miles. 



DENNIS R. McCOY is a well known mem- 
ber of the McCoy family which has been promi- 
nent in Wasco county for many years. He was 
born in Tulare county, California, on March 31, 
1873, the son of Henson and Clarissa (Rusher) 
McCoy, who are mentioned elsewhere in this 
work. He remained with his parents during his 
youthful days and was educated in the public 
schools. In 1896, he went to The Dalles and 
learned the barber trade from his brother, 
Thomas, who was then running the O. K. shop, 
the leading tonsorial parlors in The Dalles. His 
brother, William, who is now a prominent phy- 
sician in Salt Lake City, had first opened this 
shop. After one year there, aur subject went to 
Heppner, then to Portland, Salem and other 
places. After this, he spent two years prospect- 
ing in British Columbia and in the fall of 1901, 
returned to Wasco county and leased the home 
place from his mother, where he is at the present 
time. He has shown himself an industrious and ' 
thrifty farmer and is one of the substantial men 



of the community. In political matters, Mr. Mc- 
Coy has been very prominent and is deeply in- 
terested in the welfare and success of his party. 
He is frequently at the county conventions, is 
clerk of the school board, and supports at all 
times the Democratic ticket. For three years he 
was a member of Company C, of the Oregon 
National Guards under Captain Crisman and is 
now constable of his precinct, which is Nansene, 
and he is serving nis second term. 

On October 6, 1904, Mr. McCoy married Miss 
Myrtle Markham, the daughter of James F. and 
Minnie (Page) Markham, who are mentioned 
elsewhere in this work. 



JOHN H. KOBERG is one of Hood River's 
able business men and has achieved a first class 
success here in various enterprises. At the pres- 
ent time he is to be found in the office of the 
Hood River Electric Light, Power and Water 
Company, where he holds the position of manager. 
He is efficient and reliable and has the confidence 
and esteem of all. His birth occurred in 
Schleswig Holstein, Germany, on August 26, 
1865. His father and mother were natives of the 
same section and are living there now retired. 
The father was an engineer and machinist. Our 
subject received a good normal school education 
and has been a close reader since. He learned 
the dry goods business and followed it seven 
years in his country. Then, it being 1887, he 
came to the United States and joined his uncle, 
Hans Lage, who is mentioned elsewhere in this 
work. He was unable to speak a word of Eng- 
lish but soon secured a job in a sawmill, but owing 
to its burning, he lost all his wages. Then he 
engaged with Tackman & Company, grocers at 
The Dalles and one year later went to the red- 
wood country of California. Returning thence 
to Oregon he was car inspector for the O. R. & 
N. at Albina until 1892, when he went to Walla 
Walla and took charge of a wrecking crew for 
this company. In 1895, he came thence to Hood 
River and purchased the old Stanley estate about 
two miles east from town. It consists of one 
hundred and eighty acres and he cultivates about 
thirty acres, raising mostly alfalfa and some 
corn. In addition, Mr. Koberg operates a small 
dairy and handles a large hennery, having about 
five hundred of these fowls. It is the largest es- 
tablishment of its kind in the county. On January 
1, 1904, Mr. Koberg accepted his present position 
and oversees his estate in addition to this work. 

On March 21, 1894, Mr. Koberg married Miss 
Emma Lage, the wedding occurring in Hood 
River. Mrs. Koberg: was born in Iowa and is 



298 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



the daughter of Hans and Lena (Hoek) Lage, 
who are mentioned in this work. Our subject 
has two brothers, William and Christian and two 
sisters, Tina Dolfs and Clara Ehmsen. Two 
children have come to bless the home of our sub- 
ject and his wife, Lena, aged nine and Earl, aged 
seven. Mr. Koberg is a member of the A. F. & 
A. M. and the United Artisans. He is a Demo- 
crat and quite active. Mr. Koberg has mastered 
the English language since coming to this coun- 
try and is a close reader. 

Since the above was written Mr. Koberg has 
sold his holdings in the electric light company 
and has retired from the management of the 
same to give his entire attention to handling his 
fine farm, which is known as "Gibralter." 



JAMES F. MARKHAM, who resides about 
seven miles southwest from Dufur in Rail hollow, 
was born in Missouri, on January 24, 1844. His 
father, Thomas B. Markham, was born in Vir- 
ginia, in 1800 and his parents were also natives 
of the colonies. His father fought in the Black 
Hawk war and one of the progenitors of the 
family was sent to Pennsylvania by William 
Penn. The Markham family is very large and 
well scattered. Thomas B. died on April 1, 1855. 
He was a Methodist preacher of note and a 
pioneer in Missouri. He married Sarah Jones, 
a native of Kentucky, who died October 9, 1875. 
Our subject was raised in Missouri until 1857, 
when the family moved to Kansas and in the 
latter place, he completed his education in the 
public schools. In 1863, he enlisted in Company 
I, Fifteenth Kansas Cavalry under Captain S. 
W. Greer and Colonel C. R. Jamison and served 
a little over two years, mostly in scouting and 
provost duty. Afterward he returned to the farm 
and in the spring of 1866, moved to Missouri, 
where he spent thirteen years. After his mother's 
death in 1875, ne returned to Kansas with his 
family and followed the dairying business for a 
short time after which he went back to Missouri 
and in December, 1882, came to Oregon. He has 
owned several places, at Prineville, at Mitchell 
and finally in 1895, filed on the homestead where 
he now resides. He has purchased a quarter 
section additional and does diversified farming. 

On October 27, 1870, at Pleasant Hill, Mis- 
souri, Mr. Markham married Miss Minnie Page, 
who was born in Marion, Ohio, on August 18, 
1845. Her parents were Jay and Mary (Young) 
Page, natives of Virginia and Ohio, respectively. 
The father's parents were pioneers to Marion 
county, Ohio when he was an infant. He died 
in 1898 in Bates county, Missouri. The mother 



died at Pleasant Hill, Missouri, on October 1, 
1875. Mr. Markham has two brothers, John S. 
and Thomas F. and one sister, Mrs. Margaret 
V. Colville. Mrs. Markham has two brothers, 
Jacob and John. Five children have been born to 
our subject and his wife: Bernard P., who has a 
farm adjoining his father; Minnie C, wife of 
Charles F. Douglas, a farmer near Boyd ; Myrtle 
A., a teacher in Wasco county ; Teresa G. and 
Harriet A. both at home. Mr. Markham is a 
stanch Republican. 



ROSWELL SHELLEY is an enterprising 
merchant and fruit raiser in the Odell district, 
seven miles out from Hood River on the east 
side. He was born in Jefferson county, Iowa, 
on September 26, 1846, the son of Michael and 
Sena (Mays) Shelley, natives of Kentucky and 
Tennessee, respectively. The father's ancestors 
came from Holland and the mother was from a 
prominent southern family. In 1848, the father 
with his family and our subject's grandparents 
started in early spring from Monmouth, Illinois, 
for the Pacific coast, using ox teams and milch 
cows. At the Platte river the grandfather was 
stricken with cholera and he was buried on the 
dreary plains. After great hardship and suffer- 
ing, besides much trouble with the hostile sav- 
ages, they arrived in Oregon City in September. 
The father's uncle. Elijah Bristow, was at Pleas- 
ant Hill, having settled there in 1845, a "d thither 
the family went. That was the home, the father 
having taken a donation claim, until 1857. when 
he came to Monmouth and assisted to found the 
Christian College, now the state normal. The 
mother died there in 1859. Then the old place 
was sold and a farm bought near Independence, 
which the father sold in 1870, to accompany our 
subject to Antelope where they started a stock 
r?nch. Two years later he sold to this son and 
returned to the valley west of the mountains. 
He died in Yamhill county, in 1894, aged eighty. 
He was a good and highly respected man and had 
done much for the cause of education and for the 
church. In 1874, our subject sold his stock and 
removed back to Independence and entered the 
employ of Isaac Van Duyn. a general merchant. 
Later he was elected county clerk on the Repub- 
lican ticket, the first one on that ticket in twenty- 
four years. Following his service, Mr. Shelley 
bought a third interest in the mercantile estab- 
lishment where he had worked and continued 
there until 1886. Then he sold to his partners 
and for five years was variously employed. In 
1897, he was appointed receiver of the land office 
in Sitka, Alaska, but after two years, he was so 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



299 



dissatisfied with the climate and the lonesomeness 
that he resigned. He promoted some enterprises 
until 1902, when he came to Hood River to visit 
his brother, and being taken with the country, 
he located where we find him now. With his son, 
he owns twenty acres of land near by and this 
is being put into fruit. Mr. Shelley is also doing 
a real estate business. 

At Independence, in 1878, Mr. Shelley mar- 
ried Miss Mary L., daughter of James Tatum, 
and a native of Jackson county, Oregon. The fa- 
ther was born in Missouri and came to Oregon in 
1850. He married Miss Berry. Mrs. Shelley 
died in 1891, August 26, at Independence. On 
September 24, 1902, Mr. Shelley married Mrs. 
Rose McCoy, nee Sherrieb, and a native of Ger- 
many. Mr. Shelley has the following brothers 
and sisters, Hon. James M., Troy, Rolandes L., 
Mary M. Silton, who died June 30, 1904; Ellen 
E. Sommerville, Lodema Huston, Henry, de- 
ceased. Ransom, deceased, and Martha, deceased. 
To our subject three children have been born, 
Ralph D., a partner with his father ; Hugh T., in 
Independence; and Fay S., who died in 1901, 
aged fourteen. Mrs. Shelley is a member of the 
Congregational church and is very influential and 
active in labors for the same. 



JAMES B. CROSSEN, superintendent of the 
city water works of The Dalles, Wasco county, 
was born in County Donegal, Ireland, August n, 
1838, the son of Anthony and Ellen (Baxter) 
Crossen, natives of Ireland. In 1839 or 1840, the 
father came to the United States with his family 
and settled in New York city, where he died in 
1897. He was engaged in the furniture business 
many years. The mother died in Ireland. 

Our subject passed through the graded 
schools of New York, and later was clerk in his 
father's store until May 20, 1859, when he came 
west, passing the first four years in California, 
mining on the south fork of Scott's River, Sis- 
kiyou county. For several years he was con- 
stable of South Township, and also served as de- 
puty foreign tax collector under M. Sleeper. In 
February, 1863, he passed through The Dalles 
en route for Placerville, Idaho. December 7, 
1863, he returned to The Dalles where he has 
since resided. Following a few days' work on the 
Cascade railroad he was connected with the Uma- 
tilla hotel several months, and then engaged in 
draying, which business he conducted profitably 
for five years, disposing of the same to Bulger 
Brothers. In 1876 Mr. Crossen was elected sher- 
iff of Wasco county, on the Democratic ticket, 
by a majority of one hundred and eight. He was 



re-elected in 1878 by a majority of three hun- 
dred. While he was in office the Klamath Indian 
outbreak occurred. Mr. Crossen retired from 
office in 1880, and engaged in the furniture busi- 
ness at The Dalles two years, when he disposed 
of the same and followed the occupation of an 
auctioneer. In 1880 he was re-elected sheriff, 
serving two years, and then he received the ap- 
pointment of postmaster of The Dalles, by Presi- 
dent Cleveland. He served four years, and was 
elected county clerk, serving two terms. Mr. 
Crossen was eighteen months in the grocery busi- 
ness, and when he disposed of the same he was 
appointed superintendent of the city water works 
which position he still efficiently fills. Our sub- 
ject has one sister, Delia, widow of John Mc- 
Bride, now living in New York city. 

At Callahan ranch, California, February 11, 
1863, Mr. Crossen was married to Frances C. 
Gray, who died at The Dalles in February, 1870. 
The second marriage of our subject took place 
at The Dalles, August 21, 1872, when he was 
united to Laura A. Marlin, born near Astoria, 
Oregon, the daughter of Henry and Emily (Ol- 
ney) Marlin, the father a native of Pennsylvania, 
the mother of Ohio. Henry Marlin was a pio- 
neer of the Pacific coast, coming west in 1845. He 
was engaged in the lumber business, owning 
mills at Tongue Point, and several schooners. He 
died in Seattle about 1889. The mother accom- 
panied her husband west. She is a first cousin 
of Richard Olney, attorney general under the ad- 
ministration of President Cleveland. She now 
lives with our subject at the age of eighty years. 
Mr. and Mrs. Crossen have four children; James 
A., in California, with the Southern Pacific rail- 
road ; Grace, wife of John Dexter, Vallejo, Cali- 
fornia, an engineer in the United States Navy 
Yard; G. William, with the Oregon Railroad & 
Navigation Company, residing at The Dalles ; 
and Emily, at home. Fraternally Mr. Crossen is 
a member of the A. F. & A. M.,~R. A. M., B. P. 
O. E., K. of P., A. O. U. W., and O. E. S., his 
wife and daughter belonging to the latter. Po- 
litically he is a Democrat. Ellen Olney Kirk,, 
the celebrated authoress of Chestnut Hill, Massa- 
chusetts, is Mrs. Crossen's first cousin. 



JEREMIAH M. PATTERSON, the effi- 
cient and popular postmaster of The Dalles,. 
Wasco county, was born in Guernsey county, 
Ohio, November 26, 1845, the son °f J°hn and 
Eliza (Glenn) Patterson, the father a native- 
of Ohio and the mother of Pennsylvania. John 
Patterson died in Salem, Oregon, in 1873, and' 
the mother in i£ 



.3°° 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



In the graded schools of Ohio, most excellent 
institutions, our subject received a good busi- 
ness education. He was a patriotic youth, and, 
fully realizing the duty owed to his country, he 
enlisted before he had reached the age of sixteen 
years, in Company A., Fifteenth Ohio Infantry, 
and served gallantly three years during the prog- 
ress of the Civil war. He participated in the 
heavy battles of Shiloh, Pittsburgh Landing, Cor- 
inth, Stone River, Perry ville, Chickamauga and 
many other minor engagements and skirmishes. 
Mr. Patterson was in the signal service, during 
the latter portion of his enlistment, and was, 
also, telegraph operator. At the breaking out of 
the war he had just learned telegraphy, with the 
valuable assistance of his father, who had charge 
of the railway station at New Concord, Ohio. 
Following his discharge he went home on a visit 
and then entered the government employment in 
the capacity of a telegraph operator, in which he 
continued until May, 1865. Although not yet 
sixteen years of age at the time of his enlistment 
young Patterson carried a musket and saw active 
service during the first eighteen months. For- 
tunately he was not wounded, with the exception 
of a slight scratch on the finger. He emerged 
from the war none the worse for his hardships 
and exposures, and in perfect health. The family 
■removed to Iowa where our subject engaged in 
the mercantile business with his father in Des 
Moines, one year, and then they disposed of the 
property and our subject found employment with 
the Northwestern Railway Company until 1868, 
as telegrapher. January 9, 1869, he left New York 
for Oregon ,via the isthmus, whither he had been 
preceded by his father a short time previous. 
Our subject and the rest of the family arrived at 
Salem, Oregon, February 11, 1869. He lived 
there sixteen years. During two years Mr. Pat- 
terson was assistant postmaster, and the follow- 
ing ten years he was engaged in the real estate 
business. He conducted a machine shop and 
foundry three years, was burned out and the fol- 
lowing year again became assistant postmaster. 
In April, 1885, he went to the Warm Springs In- 
dian Agency in the capacity of clerk, remained 
one year and then came to The Dalles to become 
bookkeeper for A. M. Williams and Company, 
with whom he remained eight years. He then be- 
came cashier of the First National Bank, at The 
Dalles, during a period of three years, and after- 
ward was engaged in various enterprises until 
1900 when he received the appointment of post- 
master of The Dalles. During his incumbency 
the system of free delivery has been installed, and 
the office is well equipped with verything neces- 
sary for a proper and convenient conduct of the 
business, including a Doremus cancelling ma- 



chine and other labor saving devices. The office 
is served by an assistant postmaster, two carriers, 
for city work, two clerks, and one rural delivery 
carrier. 

December 18, 1872, at Salem, Oregon, Mr. 
Patterson was married to Blanche Gray, born in 
Iowa, who came to Oregon via the isthmus in 
1865. She is the daughter of George W. and 
Minerva (Berry) Gray, the father a native of 
Pennsylvania, the mother of Iowa. George W. 
Gray died in August, 1900, and his wife in De- 
cember, 1903, at Salem. Mrs. Patterson has three 
brothers and two sisters living: William T. and 
George B., engaged in the hardware business at 
Seattle ; Charles A., a contractor, living at Salem ; 
Mrs. G. G. Lownsdale, of Portland: and Jennie 
G. Kyle, of Salem. Mr. and Mrs. Patterson have 
four children : Edward G., a merchant at Water- 
ville, Washington; Beulah G., Prudence M., and 
William G., living at home. Our subject is a 
member of J. W. Nesmith Post G. A. R., at The 
Dalles, and for the past 'five years he has been 
commander. He also belongs to the W. O. W., 
and Order of Washington. He and his wife are 
members of the Congregational church. He is 
a Republican and has frequently been delegate 
to county conventions, and was two terms chair- 
man of central committee, Wasco county. While 
in the real estate business in Salem he served two 
terms as city recorder. 



JESSE W. BLAKENEY, engaged in the 
transfer and draying business, at The Dalles, 
Wasco county, was born at Georgetown, Dan- 
ville county, Illinois, November 21. 1850, the 
son of John W. and Nancy J. (Phelps) Blake- 
ney, the father a native of Kentucky : the mother 
of Illinois. John W. Blakeney died at The Dalles, 
in 1900. The mother at present resides twelve 
miles from The Dalles, with her daughter, Mrs. 
Emma J. McClure. The parents of our subject 
crossed the plains to Oregon in 1852. Starting 
from Georgetown, Illinois, they were nine months 
on the road, and though amply provisioned at 
the inception of their long journey they ran short 
of food before gaining their destination, through 
dividing with others less fortunate. They paid 
as high as one dollar apiece for biscuits with 
which to feed our subject and the other children. 
Following . great hardships they arrived in the 
Cowlitz countrv, where the father of our subject 
filed on a donation claim. In 1862 they came to 
The Dalles, bringing their furniture and house- 
hold effects and twenty-five head of cattle on a 
scow, from the Cowlitz river, to the Lower Cas- 
cades. Above the Cascades, thev took a river 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



301. 



steamer to The Dalles. Our subject had attended 
school three months in the Cowlitz country, and 
when he came to The Dalles he continued his 
studies in the public schools. His first employ- 
ment was driving a yoke of oxen in the brick 
yards. He, also, went to North Yakima and 
worked in the hay fields. Following this he was 
engaged in a variety of employments, and for 
twelve years he was in the shops of the Oregon 
Steam Navigation Company and for six years on 
the boats. He began teaming in The Dalles in 
1889 and has continued it ever since. 

In March, 1883, at The Dalles, he was married 
to Ianthe A. Jones, born in Lane county, Ore- 
gon. She died fifteen months later. His second 
marriage took place at Antelope, Wasco county, 
when he was united to Laura F. Smith, born in 
California. Her father, Milton Smith, is a native 
of Pennsylvania, of Dutch ancestry, and -now 
resides in the Puget Sound country. Mr. 
Blakeney has three brothers and two sisters : 
Hugh T., of Baker City, Oregon ; James Henry, 
a dealer in horses, at Portland and The Dalles; 
Decatur A., a mining man at Baker City ; Mary 
A., wife of Frank Thompson, of Baker City ; and 
Emma J., married to William T. McClure, a 
farmer living near Mosier, Oregon. Mr. and Mrs. 
Blakeney have three children, Jessie F., Thomas 
W. and Cedric A. Mr. Blakeney is a member of 
Friendship Lodge, No. 9, K. of P., of which he 
has served two terms as C. C, the I. O. O. F., 
and the W. O. W. He and his wife are members 
of the Rathbone Sisters. 



ABIEL S. MacALLISTER, one of the lead- 
ing business men of The Dalles and prominent 
stock raiser of Wheeler county, resides at The 
Dalles. He was born in Maine, November 1, 
1841, the son of Abiel and Lucinda (Atkinson) 
MacAllister, natives of the Pine Tree State. The 
parents and grandparents of our subject's father 
were natives of Maine, the great-grandparents 
coming from Scotland. The maternal grand- 
father of our subject served in the Revolution- 
ary war and for many years he was High Sheriff 
of the state of Maine. The Atkinson family, from 
which came the mother of our subject, were early 
New England settlers, coming from the parent 
country, England. 

Mr. MacAllister came to Portland, Oregon, 
in 1877 and to The Dalles, in 1878. 

January 1, 1867, Mr. MacAllister was married, 
at South Jefferson, Maine, to Sarah T. Peaslee, 
a native of Maine. She is the daughter of Mer- 
rill and Mary (Curtis) Peaslee, both descendants 
of old colonial families, representatives of whom 



were prominent in the Revolutionary war. For" 
many generations the Curtis family has been dis- 
tinguished in literary, commercial and legal cir- 
cles. Mrs. MacAllister has one brother, Frank 
W., a farmer, residing near Salem, Oregon. 



JOHN B. McATEE is a native of Wasco 
county and the energy and enterprise he has mani- 
fested in his life here show him to be made of 
the metal that wins success. He has chosen 
thus far to cast his lot in the county where 
he was born, and to such young and energetic 
men as he are the almost boundless resources of 
fertile Wasco county opening, and they are carry- 
ing on to a commendable consummation the noble 
work commenced by their forefathers, who lab- 
ored here when the Indians were the main inhabi- 
tants, and who braved the storms of life in a new 
country, suffering the hardships and doing the- 
arduous labor incident to opening a country for - 
the ingress of civilization's accompaniments. Our 
subject was born at Tygh Valley, on April 14, 
1876. His parents are mentioned in the article 
relating to Mrs. McAfee, found in another por- 
tion of this work. His early life was spent on 
the farm and his primary education was gained 
from the district schools near his birthplace.. 
Later he attended school in Dufur and made the- 
best of his opportunities. After the days of school 
books were past, he wrought for four years in the 
flour mills of Dufur, then engaged with Johns- 
ton Brothers, a well known business firm in 
Dufur. Since that time, he has been actively oc- 
cupied here and is well and favorable known. He 
is a young man of promise and has shown an 
ability that presages a bright future. 

At Dufur, Oregon, on April 12, 1898, Mr.. 
McAtee married Miss Anna Heisler, the youngest 
daughter of Grandpa and Grandma Heisler. To 
this marriage, one child has been born, John L. 
In political matters, Mr. McAtee is a Democrat 
and evinces an interest that is becoming the 
American citizen. He has held various offices, 
as city marshal and city judge. In fraternal cir- 
cles Mr. McAtee is popular and belongs to the- 
I. O. O. F., the W. W., and the Rebekahs. His 
wife also belongs to the last named order. She 
is also a member of the United Brethren church. 
Mr. and Mrs. McAtee are popular young people 
and have many admiring friends. 



LINDSEY B. THOMAS, who is well and 
favorably known in Wasco county and through- 
out the adjacent country, is now dwelling in 
Dufur. He was born in Prineville, Oregon, on: 



3 02 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



October 7, 1874, the son of Daniel E. and Can- 
dace (Smith) Thomas, who are mentioned in this 
work elsewhere. After commencing' his educa- 
tion in the schools of his native place, our sub- 
ject came with his parents to Dufur, where he 
• studied in the graded schools. Then he took 
a course in a Portland business college and fol- 
lowing that taught for several years in this county. 
He next embarked in the typographical work and 
on the Dufur Despatch and the Times-Moun- 
taineer learned the art of the printer and type- 
setter. He followed the same for some time and 
then took up merchandising. Owing to his health 
he was forced to abandon this in one year and 
was for one year in Portland under the doctor's 
care. Then he returned to Dufur and entered the 
employ of Johnston Brothers as bookkeeper, and 
upon the opening of their bank, February 5, 
1905, he became cashier of the same. 

Mr. Thomas is a member of Ridgely Lodge, 
No. 71, of the I. O. O. F. and is prominent in 
fraternal circles. He has filled the chairs of this 
order and is also a member of the Nicholson En- 
campment, of which he is scribe. He has been 
delegate to the grand lodge and takes a great 
interest in the welfare of his orders. 

In political matters, Mr. Thomas evinces a 
keen interest and he is well posted on the ques- 
tions that are before the people. He has been 
justice of the peace at different times and for 
several terms was city recorder. 



JACOB CRAFT, well known as "Grandpa 
Craft," is a venerable citizen of Wasco county. 
He spends much of his time is Dufur and The 
Dalles, but his home is at Nansene. Everyone 
who knows of him, and there are hosts, will be 
greatly pleased to read about his career. He is 
a benevolent gentleman, always cheerful and 
' kind, and the result is that everyone loves Grand- 
pa Craft. 

Jacob Craft was born in Botetourt county, 
Virginia, on June 25, 1819. His father, Daniel 
Craft, was born in Pennsylvania, of native Ger- 
man parents and was bugle major in the War 
of 1812, in General Breckenridge's command. 
• He was in the entire conflict and his old bugle 
is now owned by John Craft, a son, if he is still 
living, in Virginia. That venerable gentleman 
married Mary Hamilton in his youth. She was 
a native of Botetourt county, Virginia, and her 
parents were natives of Scotland. He moved 
to Virginia shortly after the war and there re- 
mained until his death. During those days he 
would not hold slaves, being opposed to the 
principles. When our subject was nineteen, hav- 



ing previously secured a fair education, he came 
west to visit his uncle, George Craft, who lived 
in wnio. His mother had died just previous to 
his journey. In Ohio he learned the molder's 
trade at Leffel's foundry in Springfield and con- 
tinued there seven years. Then he went to Cincin- 
nati, and for seventeen years followed his trade 
there, his home being across the river in New- 
port, Kentucky. During this time, he enlisted in 
Company I, of the mounted Riflemen, under Cap- 
tain Ruff and Colonel Harney, afterward General 
Harney, and fought through the entire Mexican 
war. He was in the battles of Cerro-Gordo, San 
Antonio, Contreres, Terrebustoo, Melina-Del-Rey, 
Tepultepec, and entered with the balance of the 
victorious army through St. George's gate into 
the City of Mexico, after fighting two days and 
nights without cessation. Mr. Craft was shot 
in the forehead at the battle of Melina-Del-Rey, 
and also had a shoulder broken by the fall of his 
horse. After the war was closed he was honor- 
ably discharged and he has been of late years re- 
ceiving a pension for his services. At the break- 
ing out of the Civil war, he bought a farm near 
Coldsprings, Kentucky and thither moved his 
family, there being a United States camp there. 
Here he gave his time freely to drill recruits, 
being too crippled to go to the front himself. For 
this service he received no pay, doing it for his 
friend and neighbor, Colonel Murnann. In 1867, 
he sold his property and removed to Shelbyville, 
Illinois and for two years did stone mason work 
and prospected for coal. He discovered a two 
foot vein but the expense crippled him financially. 
Cholera broke out there and he went to Nevada, 

' Missouri, and there he did building and contract- 
ing until 1883, when he crossed the plains with 
a party of ten families. They came direct to 
Wasco county and here he selected land on Cen- 
tral Ridge and settled to farming. Since then he 
has followed that business until his retirement 
from active life. He still owns four hundred 
acres of good land and the income of this is suf- 
ficient to'make his years comfortable in this the 
golden period of his life. 

On October 22, 1852, Mr. Craft married 
Miss Rossana Decker, the wedding occurring in 
Cincinnati. Mrs. Craft was born in Missouri 
and her parents died of cholera in Cincinnati. 
She was then reared by a wealthy maiden lady. 
On September 12. 1899, after a long life in 
the Christian faith, she fell asleep, amid many 
friends and relatives. She was comforted and 
sustained by her faith to the last and her memory 
is fragrant' with the virtues of Christianity. To 
Mr. and Mrs. Craft, the following named chil- 
dren have been born : William, a farmer near 

' Dufur and ex-citv marshal of that town ; Edwin, 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



303 



farming near his father's place ; Joseph, a farmer 
near Nansene ; Walter, a blacksmith in the rail- 
road shops in Sacramento ; Alice J., the wife of 
Charles Edmonds, a drayman in Nevada, Mis- 
souri ; Katurah, the wife of William R. Haynes, 
a farmer near Nansene; Emma, the wife of Ells- 
worth Haynes, a farmer near Nansene ; and Edith 
J., the wife of Thomas Harris, a sheepman at 
Payette, Idaho. Mr. Craft had six brothers and 
two sisters, John, George, Jacob, Joseph, Daniel, 
David, Margaret and Annie. These were all liv- 
ing in Virginia before the war and since then 
Mr. Craft has never been able to ascertain the 
whereabouts of any of them, although he has 
frequently attempted so to do, except he ascer- 
tained that his brother, Daniel, was a captain in 
the confederate army and was killed at the battle 
of the Wilderness, having been pressed into it 
contrary to his will. Mr. Craft joined the I. O. 
O. F. in Springfield, Illinois, when twenty-one 
years of age, passed the chairs, was demitted 
when he came here, but has never affiliated since. 
He also belonged to the K. P. and passed all the 
chairs in that order in the east, but is not active 
here. When he was sixteen years of age he was 
baptized in the Missionary Baptist church, was 
deacon when twenty-two and in 1862 transferred 
his membership from that denomination to the 
Christian church, in which capacity he is at this 
day. He has traveled along the pilgrim way 
for many years in the power of the faith that 
sustains him now and his life has been such that 
he has been a bright testimony for the truth. 
He is honored by all and holds a warm place in the 
love and esteem of evervone. 



TROY SHELLEY, a farmer residing about 
seven miles south from Hood River, has also 
spent a considerable portion of his life in preach- 
ing the gospel. In addition to this, for nearly 
forty years, he has been prominently identified 
with educational work. He was born on Janu- 
ary 6, 1845, m Jefferson county, Iowa and crossed 
the plains with his parents, as mentioned else- 
where in this volume. He completed his educa- 
tion in the normal school at San Francisco and 
then taught two years there before coming to 
Wasco county, in 1870. He taught school all 
over Wasco county for thirty years, during which 
time he has given considerable attention to 
preaching as well, being an ordained minister in 
the Christian church. He has the distinction of 
teaching the first school in Tygh valley when he 
was only nineteen years of age. He came to 
Hood Kiver' in 1885. In June 1890, Mr. Shelley 
-was elected county superintendent of schools for 



Wasco county on the Republican ticket and was 
twice reelected ; thus serving six years. For a 
part of this time he lived in The Dalles. Later, he 
removed to the place where we now find him and 
is devoting his attention to general farming and 
preaching. 

On June 20, 1871, in Polk county, Oregon, 
Mr. Shelley married Miss Annie Lewis, who was 
born in Massachusetts, on February 15, 185 1. 
The fruit of this union has been eight children: 
Marguerite, now teaching in the school of elocu- 
tion in Portland ; Ralph S., a student at the state 
university in Eugene ; Percy T., in the street rail- 
road business, in Portland; Pauline, wife of Guy 
Talmage, a manufacturer at Houston, Texas ; 
Albert B., in Portland ; Annie H., Jolly M., and 
Ellen K., all at home. 

Mr. Shelley has always taken an active interest 
in political matters and educational affairs and is 
a good and upright man. 

In his work in the ministry, Mr. Shelley has 
always labored to get all Christians to work to- 
gether, believing it the right plan, and as a happy 
result of this method, there has been erected in his 
neighborhood a union church. 



WILLIAM EHRCK is one of the substantial 
men of Wasco county, and he has shown himself 
possessed of those qualities which win, for he 
came here with limited means. He located his 
family on the homestead where now is the family 
home, and went to The Dalles to work at his trade 
of mason to procure means for the improvement 
of his place. He spent the winters here and 
gradually improved the place until he now has 
seventy acres in cultivation and all the buildings, 
fences, and other things needed. He is a man of 
thrift and energy and has labored faithfully here. 
He has a good home and his wife, who is a woman 
of many virtues, has been a good helpmeet to him 
in all the years that have passed. They have 
reared an interesting family and all are highly 
respected people in the various walks of life. Mr. 
Ehrck lives about seven miles up the river from 
town, on the east side. He was born in Germany, 
on January 1, 1845, the son of Hans and Minnie 
Ehrck, both natives of the Fatherland and both 
deceased. From his father, our subject learned 
the art of the mason and was also educated in the 
public schools of his native country. In 1872, 
he bade farewell to all the dear ones at home and 
sailed to America. He stopped first in Chicago 
and two years later came on to Iowa, whence in 
1879, he journeyed to Oregon, having spent the 
intervening years at his trade. He followed the 
same in Portland and The Dalles and then took 



3°4 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



the land where he now lives. He has one of the 
finest places in the valley, thirty acres being into 
apple orchard and the balance in general crops. 
His labor has wrought all of this, for it was a 
wild when he came here. 

In Germany, in 1871, Mr. Ehrck married 
Miss Caroline, the daughter of Christian and An- 
nie (Kroeger) Wilkins, both natives of Germany 
and now deceased. The wife accompanied Mr. 
Ehrck on his journeys westward and they are 
the parents of the following named children , 
Otto and Willie, at home and popular young men 
of the community ; Lizzie, the wife of James 
Eggirt, a farmer dwelling near ; Emma, the wife 
of Harry Imlay, a hotel steward in San Francisco ; 
Marie, wife of Claud McCoy, in Portland. Mr. 
Ehrck has one brother, Henry, a hotel keeper in 
Hamburg, Germany, and one sister, Hennie, the 
wife of William Stoeck, a potter in Germany. Mrs. 
Ehrck has no brothers nor sisters. Both are con- 
sistent members of the Lutheran church and are 
well to do and esteemed people. Mr. Ehrck is a 
Republican but is not active, although stanch. 



EZEKIEL H. WATERMAN, deceased. No 
one who has dwelt in Wasco county needs an in- 
troduction to Ezekiel Waterman. He was known 
as one of the bright and enterprising business 
men of this part of the state, and indeed, he 
operated all over the state, and withal, he was 
better known as a man of uprightness and gen- 
erosity, having always bestowed the abundance of 
wealth which his labors brought him, in a manner 
to benefit and assist all needy ones, who came 
within the range of his personal acquaintance. 
His death was universally mourned and he left 
a place in the hearts of his fellow citizens where 
fond memories of a good man will remain for 
many vears to come. 

Ezekiel H. Waterman was born in Cayuga 
count v, New York, on February 24, 181 2, and 
died at his farm residence just southeast from 
The Dalles, on December 3, 1903, aged ninety- 
one. His father, John W. Waterman, was born 
in New York and came from Dutch and Scotch 
extraction. The mother died when our subject 
was small. He was reared and educated in his 
native state and in 1852 came thence to Cali- 
fornia. Four vears later he made his way from 
the Golden State to Oregon and bought land 
near Jefferson. He opened a mercantile establish- 
ment there and also handled a pork packing house. 
Later he sold his interests there and came to the 
vicinity of Fort Watson in Grant county where 
he spent six years in raising stock. Then he 
sold his property there and repaired to The Dalles, 



where he did a loaning business for ten years. It 
was in this latter capacity where the true gen- 
erosity of Mr. Waterman shone out most. It is 
well known that human nature as a rule takes ad- 
vantage of this business to show its greed, but 
with Mr. Waterman it was used to assist and help 
others. In any case where he was forced to take 
a piece of property on a loan, he never hesitated 
to pay in addition cash to its full value to the 
unfortunate party and many have given him sin- 
cere blessings for these kind and truly benevolent 
acts. During the time he was loaning money he 
purchased three farms and after his son, as men- 
tioned in connection with that young man, had 
operated them successfully for a year, Mr. Water- 
man removed to the place where his widow now 
resides. There he spent the remaining years of 
his life esteemed and beloved by all. At the 
advanced age of ninety-one, nearly ninety-two, the 
angel summoned him and he quietly lay down 
to sleep to awake in the better world where the 
scenes of time fraught with sorrow never more 
arise. He was a devout Christian all his life and 
a liberal supporter not only of the denomination 
to which he belonged, which was the Methodist, 
but of all worthy causes. 

On September 18, 1866, Mr. Waterman mar- 
ried Mrs. Nancy Miller, the daughter of Martin 
and Eliza J. (Mitchell) Smith. The wedding 
occurred in Marion county, near Jefferson, and 
Mrs. Waterman was born in Iowa. Her father 
was a native of Ohio and comes from an old 
colonial family. His father, the grandfather of 
Mrs. Waterman, fought in the Revolution under 
the noted general "Mad Anthony Wayne," and it 
was his lot to endure great hardship and suffer- 
ing. Still he was of the true patriotic blood and 
fought through to the end and assisted materially 
to achieve the victories that gave to the American 
people the heritage of a free country. Mrs. 
Waterman's maternal grandfather fought with 
Perry when he gained his brilliant victory on 
Lake Erie. To Mr. and Mrs. Waterman, one 
son, Martin, and one daughter Jennie, were born. 
The former is mentioned elsewhere in this work 
and the latter is the wife of Howard Percy, a 
farmer on Eightmile creek. When Mr. AYater- 
man was nineteen he married and this wife lived 
for thirty years. By her he had two sons, 
John W.. retired in The Dalles, and Oscar, killed 
in a mine cave-in, in California. Mr. Waterman 
was a well informed Democrat and a public 
minded man as well as patriotic citizen. Mrs. 
Waterman is a member of the Methodist church 
and she has taken up the added burdens of hand- 
ling her husband's large property, in which 
capacity she shows marked wisdom and excel- 
lent judgment. She is a woman of many virtues 






Mrs. Ezekiel H. Waterman 



Ezekiel H. Watei 



Ingwert C. Nickelsen 





Mrs. Walter Henderson 



Walter Henderson 






Horace Rice 



Mrs. Horace Rice 



Absalom D. Bolton 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



305 



and stands well in die community. Her father 
is ninetv-pne and her mother ninety, and they are 
both in good health for that advanced age. She 
is sixty-seven and the years of her life sit lightly 
as she is of a long lived family and is now in 
excellent health. ^ 



INGWERT C. NICKELSEN. a leading bus- 
iness man of The Dalles, is located at 315 East 
Second street, where he handles a fine art, music 
and stationery store. He is skilled in his business 
and does a large and profitable trade. His goods 
are the best and up-to-date in every particular and 
Mr. Nickelsen is well known as a man of in- 
tegrity and good principles, thus having gained 
the confidence of the public. 

In giving a detailed account of his life, we 
would note first that he was born in the island 
of Fohr, which belongs to the province of 
Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, on January 20, 
1842. His parents, Peter and Christina ( Peter- 
sen) Nickelsen, were natives of the same place 
and are mentioned more fully elsewhere in this 
work. The first seventeen years of his life were 
spent in his native land and there he gained a 
good education. In the year 185Q we find him in 
New York city engaged in the restaurant busi- 
ness and for eight years he followed it faithfully. 
Then he came to San Francisco via the Nicaragua 
route and two weeks later shipped on the 
steamer California, for Portland. After a rough 
passage and just escaping a total wreck at the 
Columbia bar, he landed in safety and came on 
to The Dalles. Here he wrought in the Umatilla 
house for two and one-half years and then opened 
his present business. He was burned out in the 
big fire, but started from the ashes a better busi- 
ness than he had before and is now located in a 
fine store, twenty-five by seventy-five feet, where 
he has a choice stock of about seven thou- 
sand dollars worth of the best goods, well selected. 
He carries Kranich & Bach pianos, is agent for 
the Hamburg-American steamship line and has a 
fine stock of music, instruments and stationerv, as 
well as books. Mr. Nickelsen has, also, a full line 
of art supplies and goods. 

On August 30, 1872, in Germany, Mr. Nickel- 
sen married Miss Josine Fredden, a native of 
that country and the daughter of Jorgen and 
Gardina (Nagel) Fredden, also natives of Ger- 
many. The father was a seafaring man and was 
lost on the ocean in 1857. To this union three 
children have been born : Christina, the wife of 
Harry Gfubb, with the O. R. & N., in The Dalles ; 
Julia, at home; Clara T.. a graduate of the 
Holmes Business College in Portland and now 



stenographer for Bennett & Sinnot, in The 
Dalles. On October 18, 1883, Mrs. Nickelsen 
was called from the duties of life and her family to 
enter upon the realities of another world. She 
was an active and prominent member of the 
German Lutheran church and a devoted Christian. 
She was deeply mourned and was known as a 
good Christian woman. Mr. Nickelsen has one 
brother, Martin H., and three sisters, Mrs. 
Dorethea Brothersen, Mrs. Catherine Salzer and 
Mrs. Maria Wyss. Mr. Nickelsen is a member 
of the I. O. O. F. and has been for thirty-four 
years, and is past grand. He has represented his 
lodge in the grand lodge several times. Politic- 
ally, he is a Republican and was county treasurer 
from 1882 to 1888. He was water commissioner 
one term, and in T870 was a member of the fire 
department. He is frequently a delegate to the 
county conventions hut does not take the part in 
politics he sustained in years past, preferring to 
devote more time to his business. Mr. Nickelsen 
is an active member of the English Lutheran 
church and is a man of excellent standing in the 
community. 



WALTER HENDERSON is a man of in- 
dustry who has labored for many years in agri- 
culture in Wasco county and has today a nice 
farm about one mile northwest from Kingsley. 
He was born in Washington county, Oregon, on 
September 6, 1862, the son of Aaron and Sarah 
(Butts) Henderson. They crossed the plains with- 
ox teams in early days and settled in Oregon - 
when the hardships of the pioneer were not light 
to bear. Their donation claim was about five 
miles from Portland and there the father labored 
some years, then went to Douglas county where 
he died when our subject was a small boy. Later- 
the widow gathered her substance together and' 
came east of the mountains. Walter had gained 
his education from Forest Grove and Hillsboro 
schools and came with his mother to Wasco 
county. He labored on the homestead she took 
and for the farmers near by and in 1895 took the 
place where he now lives as a homestead. Mrs. 
Henderson married William Nichols, who lived 
but a short time. She remained on the home- - 
stead with our subject until her death which oc- - 
curred on August 13, 1890. Mr. Henderson has 
continued in his chosen occupation since coming 
here and is a man whose life testifies of his 
sound principles of honesty and uprightness. 

At the home place, on October 26, 1884, Mr. 
Plenderson married Miss Alice Brown, who was 
born in Butte county, California. Her father, John 
Brown, followed farming and died at Roseburg,, 
Oregon, in 1902. He had married Miss Cath- 



io6 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



erine Higgins, a native of Iowa, and now lives 
in Modoc county, California. Mr. Henderson 
has two brothers, John F., and Silvio, and one 
sister, Mrs. Laura Hutchison. Mrs. Henderson 
has the following named brothers and sisters, 
George, Milton; Mrs. Susan Cole, Mrs. Sarah 
Wamac. To Mr. and Mrs. Henderson ten chil- 
dren have been born, whose names and ages are 
given below : Perry, eighteen, John, seventeen, 
Mary, fifteen, Arthur, thirteen, Rena, eleven, 
Lillie, nine, Arlie, seven, Louis, five, Willie, three, 
and Orville, an infant. Mr. Henderson is a 
Republican and evinces a lively interest both in 
politics and educational affairs. 



HORACE RICE has so labored in Wasco 
■county and the Willamette valley that he is en- 
titled to be classed both as one of the builders 
of the country and one of its most substantial 
citizens at this time. He was born in Portage 
county, Ohio, on May 20, 1829, and now lives 
on Jackson street in The Dalles. His father, 
William K. Rice, was born on December 30, 1793, 
in Connecticut and came from an old colonial 
family, the progenitors of which on this side of 
the ocean were brought hither on the Mayflower. 
Members of the family participated in all of the 
struggles of the colonies and down until the late 
war and have been prominent as professional men 
and commercial operators for many generations. 
Mr. Rice's father went from Connecticut to New 
York and was there married and later journeyed 
to Portage county, Ohio-. There he followed 
his trade of cooper and finally die,d in Illinois, 
on December 29, 1839, where the family had 
stopped temporarily, while en route to Iowa. He 
. and his wife were members of the Methodist 
church. Before marriage, she was known as Mary 
-Pettingill and was born in Maine, from an old 
colonial family, some of which came to this coun- 
try in the Mayflower. She was born on February 
5, 1790, and died on February 5, 1874, the latter 
event occurring in Polk county, Oregon. When 
our subject was nine years of age, he went with 
the balance of the family to Illinois and there 
his father died near Ottawa. The mother took her 
five children and moved on to Iowa in the spring 
of 1840, and there married Beckwith Cook, a 
miller. Horace was with, the family most of the 
time until his marriage. In 185 1, with his own 
family, with his mother, stepfather, and other 
relatives, he made the trip across the plains to 
Oregon. They used ox teams until arriving at 
Bridger, Wyoming, when they traded them for 
horses. The trip was continued with much hard- 
ship and suffering. Their food was exhausted 



and at Fort Boise, they traded a portion of their 
bedding for dried salmon skins prepared by the 
Indians. They were obliged to dig roots, eat 
hazel brush and roseballs to keep themselves alive 
until they arrived in The Dalles. At Umatilla 
our subject assisted some Indians to butcher and 
dress a steer which gave them a feast, as the 
Indians gave them meat enough to last several 
days. At The Dalles, there was a trading post 
and a tent. From The Dalles to the Cascades 
the trip was made on the steamer Flint and from 
there to the mouth of the Big Sandy in a bateau 
and Judge Taylor drove them from that point 
to Milwaukee. Mrs. Rice soon obtained em- 
ployment at one dollar per day, cooking in a 
boarding house, and her husband at two dollars 
and fiftv cents per day, in a sawmill. Later, he 
made excellent wages, from ten to forty-five dol- 
lars per' day in handling wood and timber. 
Typhoid fever attacked his family and much suf- 
fering ensued and finally they journeyed on to 
Lane county and took a donation claim where 
they remained twelve years then sold out and 
came to what is now Wasco county. He took a 
homestead on Fifteenmile creek and bought rail- 
road land until the estate was one of one thousand 
acres. He was the first man to plant grain on the 
upland of Fifteenmile creek. The neighbors 
laughed at him and he was the butt of ridicule 
until they saw the excellent crops which he raised 
when they too took up land and commenced to 
raise wheat. Thus Mr. Rice may be noted as the 
leader in opening up the hills of Fifteenmile 
creek. They continued on their ranch, one of the 
best in the county, with an ideal residence loca- 
tion, until 1 901, when they moved to The Dalles; 
then he sold out to his oldest son, George W. r 
and since has been enjoying the well earned re- 
tirement of his life. 

On February 19, 1849, m Cedar county, 
Iowa, Mr. Rice married Miss Eliza' J. Bolton, 
who was born on June 8, 1830, in Giles county, 
West Virginia. Her father, George Bolton, was 
born in Virginia, on December 25, 1802, and 
died on March 6, 1848. His father was stolen 
by a press gang and brought to the United States 
from Holland. Daniel Bolton, George Bolton's 
brother, is well known. The mother of Mrs. Rice 
was Margaret Duncan, born in Virginia, on July 
10, 1800, and died at the age of eighty. She 
came from a prominent Virginia family. Mr. 
Rice has one brother, Cyrenius, deceased ; and 
four sisters, Nancy, Mary, Lucinda and Ruth, de- 
ceased. Mrs. Rice has one brother, Charles H., 
and four sisters, Margaret, the widow of A. 
Smith, and Elizabeth A., Mary F. arid Louisa, 
all deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Rice the follow- 
ing named children have been born : George W., 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



307 



on the old home place; Austin C, a farmer in 
The Dalles ; Emma, wife of Charles H. Southern, 
mentioned elsewhere in this work; Nellie D., wife 
■ of Daniel W. Mann near Collins, Washington ; 
Ettie M., wife of M. M. Waterman mentioned 
elsewhere in this work; Charles W., who died in 
Riverside county, California, on February 10, 
1899, a £ e d forty-five; and Amelia A., the wife 
of Lemuel Gassaway, who died on Fifteenmile 
creek, on January 4, 1885. Mr. Rice is a good 
stanch Republican, has been county commis- 
sioner, justice of the peace and held various 
offices both here and in the valley. He and his 
wife are estimable people, having labored long 
and faithfully to build up and improve the coun- 
try and are highly deserving of the retirement 
they are now enjoying and the admiration of a 
large circle of friends. 



ABSALOM D. BOLTON, deceased. Among 
the pioneers of Wasco county and the state of 
Oregon, it is fitting that we should make mention 
of the gentleman whose name appears above, 
since he was one of the sturdy men who labored 
.assiduously to open up the country and brave 
.the dangers and hardships incident to such a life. 
He was a good citizen and an industrious man, 
capable and upright and won hosts of friends 
wherever he dwelt. 

Absalom D. Bolton was born in Virginia and 
died at the family home just east of Boyd, on 
February 18, 1903, aged eighty-two years'. His 
parents were Jacob and Elizabeth (Inksell) Bol- 
ton, natives of Virginia. The father's father was 
kidnapped from Germany when a boy and 
brought to Virginia and forced to work on a 
plantation seven years to pay for his passage. 
During the Revolution, he was a teamster in the 
army. His son, our subject's father, served in 
the War of 1812. The mother of our subject died 
in Iowa where she went during the Civil war. 
Mr. Bolton married in the east and in 1852, 
with ox teams, crossed the plains to Lane county, 
Oregon. Later he sold his property there and 
came to the vicinity of Boyd, bought the rights 
•of a settler and began farming. He was prospered 
in his labors and became a well to do and prom- 
inent citizen. Upon his death, he left to his wife 
the old home place of seven hundred acres and a 
half section to each son besides. His marriage 
occurred on March 4, 1852 and Oliva Bolton, his 
half cousin, became his bride. Mrs. Bolton's 
parents were William and Sallie (Southern) Bol- 
ton, both natives of Virginia. Mrs. Sallie 
(Southern) Bolton is an aunt of Charles H. 
.Southern, mentioned elsewhere in this volume. 



She died in Iowa in 1884. Her husband died in 
Iowa during the war. Mr. Bolton had two broth- 
ers, Daniel and George. His widow has two 
brothers, John and George, and three sisters, Mrs.. 
Virginia Van Meter, Mrs. Agnes Fierce and Mrs. 
Condace Emmons. To Mr. and Mrs. Bolton six 
children have been born : Lee and Park, farmers 
in Wasco county near by their mother's place ; 
George, a druggist at Moro ; Dean, a harness 
maker in The Dalles ; Addie, wife of Lewis Bol- 
ton, a farmer in Wasco county ; Tind A. Grant, 
at home with his mother. 



JOHN M. MARDEN, who came to The Dal- 
les, Wasco county, about the time of the admis- 
sion of the state of Oregon into the union, is now 
retired from active business. He was born in 
Georgetown. D. C, November 30, 1838, the son 
of Nathaniel M. and Mary A. (Lutz) Marden, 
the father a native of Virginia, of an old southern 
family, the mother having been born in George- 
town. The father died in the eighties, aged sixty- 
four, the mother passed away in 1853 at the age 
of fifty-six years. 

In his youth our subject attended priv- 
ate schools and a preparatory school con- 
nected with Columbia College, Washington, D. C. 
Later he learned the carpenter trade, and April 2, 
1849, he joined a party of sixty-four men, known 
as the Washington City & California Mining As- 
sociation, and crossed the plains with mule teams. 
He arrived at Lassen's ranch, California, October 
13, 1849, an d here he mined on Bidwell's Bar 
until January 1, 1850, going thence to Sacramento 
in the hope of receiving letters from home. In 
February he went to Marysville and assisted in 
building the first frame edifices in that town. He 
soon went to Shasta with a pack train, thence to 
Scott's Bar, Weaverville, and back to Marysville. 
Here he disposed of his mules, in the spring of 
1856, returned to Shasta and filed on a placer 
claim on the headwaters of Whiskey Creek, where 
he panned out considerable coarse gold and many 
large nuggets, one of which was worth eight hun- 
dred dollars. That fall he left for Marysville, 
and thence north up the Yuba river, to Trask Bar, 
where for six years he remained mining success- 
fully. In July, 1858, he went to Fraser river, dur- 
ing the excitement incident to that period, with 
three other men in an Indian log canoe, from Vic- 
toria, up as far as Fort Langley, B. C. Finding 
nothing there worth their time they paddled down 
into the Sound to Olympia, and from there he 
went to Monticello, Oregon, at the mouth of the 
Cowlitz river, where he took a steamer for Port- 
land, and thence to the Cascades. The following 



3 o8 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



March he came to The Dalles since which time he 
has lived in Wasco county. In the autumn of 
1859 ne fil e d on a pre-emption claim, where for 
thirteen years he made his home. During the 
Snake Indian uprising he had some experience in 
savage warfare, when buildings were burned at 
the Warm Springs Agency, and Briggs and his 
sons were massacred, at Barlow's Gate, in i860. 
With his family Mr. Marden came to The Dalles 
in 1883, where he engaged in the mercantile busi- 
ness with R. F. Gibbons and A. S. MacAllister, 
mentioned in another portion of this book. When 
they were burned out in 1891, our subject and 
Mr. Gibbons settled up the affairs of the com- 
pany and engaged in the real estate and insurance 
business which was continued until July, 1902, 
when they dissolved partnership. Mr. Marden 
has two brothers, Henry F. and Thomas S., the 
former a farmer in Prince George county, Mary- 
land, the latter a machinist in Washington, D. C. 
At The Dalles, February 13, 1869, Mr. Marden 
was married to Harriet A. Reed, daughter of Cal- 
vin Reed. Her parents came to Oregon in 1850 
and located near the present site of Troutdale, 
Multnomah county. Mr. Marden is a member of 
the California Pioneer Association, of San Fran- 
cisco; the A. F. & A. M., and is a Royal Arch 
Mason. Politically he is a Democrat and has 
served one term as county commissioner of Wasco 
county and delegate to county conventions. 



DANIEL E. THOMAS, deceased. To the 
memory of him whose name appears above, this 
brief review is given, as he was a man closely al- 
lied with the pioneer life of Oregon and did many 
worthy things during his career as a frontiers- 
man, and also assisted materially to build up the 
country and bring to its present prosperous state 
this great section. 

Daniel E. Thomas was born in Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania, on November 29, 1826. His par- 
ents were born in Germany. He studied in the 
public schools until ten years of age and was then 
apprenticed to learn the carpenter trade. For 
four years he wrought at that and then journeyed 
west to Indiana and Illinois. He traveled to 
various other middle states and enlisted in an Illi- 
nois regiment to fight in the Mexican war. He 
was a non-commissioned officer and after the war 
came back to the middle states whence he crossed 
the plains with ox teams to the Willamette valley 
in 1859. Later he was identified with the Granite 
creek mines in eastern Oregon and followed min- 
ing for some years. Then he returned to the 
Willamette valley and followed his trade there 
until 1869, when he went to the country around 



Prineville. He did carpentering for a time then, 
started a mercantile establishment. He was ap- 
pointed the first postmaster of Prineville and for 
a time conducted the office in Heisler's store, then 
formed a partnership with Mr. Pickett and did 
merchandising for ten years. Then he brought 
his family to Dufur and here followed his trade 
until about two years previous to his death. That 
event occurred in Dufur, on August 30, 1895. 

In 1869, at Beuna Vista, Oregon, Mr. Thomas 
married Miss Candace Smith, who was born in 
Utah while her parents were en route to Oregon. 
She died at Prineville, in 1876. Three children 
were born to this union ; Agnes, the wife of Wil- 
liam Wright, a farmer near Dufur ; Lindsey B., 
mentioned elsewhere in this book ; and Freeman, 
who died in infancy. In 1879, M f - Thomas mar- 
ried a second time, Miss Mary A. Batty becom- 
ing his wife, and to them three children have been 
born ; Inez, the wife of F. B. St. Martin, of Boise^ 
Idaho ; Amy, living with her mother ; and Essie 
E., deceased. 



VICTOR MARDEN, harnessmaker and sad- 
dler, residing at The Dalles, Wasco county, is a 
native of the county, born September 20, 1874, the 
son of John M., mentioned elsewhere, and Har- 
riet (Harn) Marden, the former a native of Mary- 
land, born in Baltimore, and the latter of Indiana. 

Young Marden attended the public schools at 
The Dalles, the Bishop Scott Academy, Portland, 
and the Pacific University, Forest Grove. He be- 
gan learning the harnessmaker s trade in 1892, 
with Farley & Trout, with whom and others, he 
remained until 1900, when he commenced business 
on his own account. In September, 1903. he 
moved into his present quarters, corner of Second 
and Laughlin streets, where he has a handsome 
store 30x100 feet in dimensions. It is by no 
means flattery to assert that our subject produces 
some of the most artistic work in his line in the 
entire state of Oregon, including Mexican leather 
work saddles, and everything in the way of 
stamped goods. At the county fair of 1903 he 
took the prize for a double harness made for Gif- 
ford, the photographer. This is, generally, con- 
ceded to be the handsomest piece of harness work 
ever made in the state. He employs four men, 
and his business is eminently successful. 

Mr. Marden is a member of the A. F. & A. 
M., being past master of Wasco Lodge, No. 15, 
and a member of Chapter, No. 6. R. A. M. Po- 
litically he is a Democrat. He manufactures 
many high-priced saddles" but one which he re- 
cently delivered to a customer in Harney county, 
Oregon, is probably the handsomest and most 
costly of any in the northwest. The price was 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



309 



three hundred dollars and there was used in its 
■construction one hundred and fifty dollars worth 
of gold and silver in trimmings. The leather was 
•exquisitely embossed and the workmanship could 
not be excelled. 



JAMES A. NICHOLSON is the son of John 
and Nancy (Frew) Nicholson, worthy pioneers 
of Washington county, Pennsylvania, who are 
mentioned more in detail in the sketch of C. J. 
Nicholson. Our subject was born in Washing- 
ton county, Pennsylvania, on October 15, 1847, 
and was there reared and educated. He did vari- 
ous work after arriving to manhood and remained 
in his native county until 1875. Then he deter- 
mined to see the great west and accordingly de- 
cided on California as the objective point to his 
first journey. He arrived there in good time and 
soon found employment on a farm. For three and 
one half years he continued at that labor and in 
that time had the best of opportunity to see the 
country and try the climate. In 1878. he decided 
to explore the Pacific coast more and so left the 
Golden State and turned his face to the north. 
Marion county, Oregon, was the first place to at- 
tract him and there he remained one month look- 
ing over the country. After this he traveled about 
some and finally, in July, 1879, he concluded the 
best place to locate was in Wasco county, and he 
then took a pre-emption in the vicinity of Boyd. 
While he did improvement work on this, he also 
wrought in the sawmills and thus spent some time. 
Later he was engaged by the O. R. & N. company 
and continued four years as night watchman an^» 
four years in the repair department. Then he re- 
turned to the farm and devoted himself to its cul- 
tivation and improvement. This continued until 
1899, when he rented his lands and gave himself 
more to a life of retirement. This gave him 
leisure to investigate other enterprises and he has 
busied himself variously since that time. He has 
secured two farms, one here and the other in 
•Sherman county, both of which are rented. In 
addition to this he owns a house and eight lots in 
Boyd, besides other property. He has been pros- 
pered, owing to his careful industry and his wise 
management of the resources placed in his hands. 
He is a good business man, a kind and accommo- 
dating neighbor, and a patriotic and well informed 
citizen. He is a supporter of Republican prin- 
ciples and also affiliates with the Methodist 
church. Mr. Nicholson, like his brother, is a 
careful and extensive reader and few men of the 
country are better posted than he on the questions 
-of the day and general items. 

. Mr. Nicholson acknowledges his prosperity as 



due to the kind hand of Providence which has 
marked his way with plenty and blessed him in 
basket and store, and he remarks that he has al- 
ways had sufficient cash on hand to accomplish 
the purposes of life. He has taken three trips 
east. One was in 1887, after having been in the 
west thirteen years. He visited parents, and re- 
latives with friends remaining four months. 
Again, this time it being 1895, he journeyed to 
the home scenes, remaining nine months. On De- 
cember 1, 1904. Mr. Nicholson received a tele- 
gram that his brother, H. J. Nicholson, was lying 
at the point of death. He took the first flyer and 
sped as fast as the mighty train could carry him., 
but death would not stay, and he was only in 
time for the funeral of the loved one. He re- 
mained sometime in the east, nearly a year, but 
arrived in Oregon in time to visit the Lewis & 
Clark Exposition. Although the east has many 
attractions for him, still the beauty and re- 
sourcefulness of the west come first, and while 
on his visits he always quotes the words of the 
grand old abolitionist, Horace Greeley, "Go west, 
young man, go west." 



CHARLES N. GILMAN, of the firm of Gil- 
man & Son, resides at The Dalles, Wasco county, 
engaged in the real estate business. He was born 
January 20, 1863, in Kent county, Michigan. His 
parents, Nathan and Emma (Rose) Gilman, were 
natives of New York state. The father is a de- 
scendant of the old and distinguished Gilman 
family, early settlers in New England and of Eng- 
lish ancestry. The mother's family were equally 
eminent, her grandfather coming from Germany. 
Nathan Gilman served a year in the Civil war, 
in Company D, Twenty-second Indiana Cavalry, 
and was killed in a skirmish with guerrillas. The 
mother lives with her son, Charles N. Gilman, as 
does his stepfather, A. B. Fairchild. 

Young Gilman was reared on a farm, at- 
tending district and high schools at Cedar 
Springs, Michigan, graduating with honors at the 
age of eighteen. While employed in a lumber and 
shingle mill he found time to apply himself dili- 
gently to the study of steam engineering, in which 
he perfected himself. For six years he was in 
charge of the company store and lumber yard. 
He located in Sherman county and filed on a tim- 
ber culture claim, and purchased railroad land. 
He lived there eleven years, during which time 
he was a clerk with Scott & Company four years, 
and the rest of the time was on the farm. In 
April, 1 901, he disposed of his land, four hundred 
and eighty acres, and removed to The Dalles, 
where he was in the employment of Joseph Peters, 



3io 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



in a planing mill, one year. He then engaged in 
his present business, in which he handles consider- 
able farm and city property. 

Our subject was married May 31, 1883, at 
Cedar Springs, Michigan, to Estella Smith, born 
in Michigan, the daughter of Peter K. and Ar- 
minda (Evans) Smith. Her father, a native of 
New York state, served with distinction during 
the Civil war, and now lives in Michigan. Mrs. 
Gilman has two brothers, Eugene D. and Meno 
C, masons, contractors and farmers, living at 
Cedar Springs, Michigan. Mr. and Mrs. Gilman 
have two children, Earl D., in the real estate busi- 
ness with his father, and Yerta E., a girl of nine 
years of age. Politically Mr. Gilman is independ- 
ent. He is a member of the M. W. A. at The 
Dalles. 



C. JOHANN STUBLING, proprietor of a 
wholesale liquor, wine and cigar house, The 
Dalles, Wasco county, was born October 21, 1846, 
in Saxony, Germany, the son of Thielman and 
Margreta (Sharfenberg) Stubling, natives of 
Saxony. The mother died in 1869 and the father 
in 1884. 

In the public schools of Saxony our subject 
received his education, and then served four years 
in the army. During his third year a war broke 
out and he saw much active service. He parti- 
cipated in the battle of Noasville, where he was 
wounded, and was in the battle of Metz and a 
number of others. With his father he learned the 
trade of a blacksmith, and in 1872 came to the 
United States, going to Canada and subsequently 
to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he followed his 
trade two years, thence going to Belleplaine, Min- 
nesota, for one year. After this he was seven 
years in Hudson, Wisconsin, going from there to 
Pembina county, North Dakota, he conducted a 
blacksmith ship and in 1883 came to The Dalles. 
Finding no opportunity to work at his trade he 
opened a saloon which he conducted until 1889, 
when he disposed of the same, and now conducts 
a wholesale liquor house on the corner of Federal 
and Second streets. Mr. Stubling enjoys a large 
and constantly increasing trade in Wasco and 
adjoining counties. 

Our subject was married at Belleplaine, in 
April, 1877, to Anna Bernau. born in Germany, 
the daughter of Carl Bernau. 

Mr. and Mrs. Stubling have two children, Ar- 
thur C, at home, and Anna A. Fraternally our 
subject is a member of the K. of P., being vice- 
chancellor ; B. P. O. E. ; F. O. E., and the Rath- 
bone Sisters, and his wife and daughter are mem- 
bers of the Relief Corps. Arthur C. Stubling, son 



of our subject, is a veteran of the Spanish- Amer- 
ican war, having been quartermaster sergeant of 
Company F, Second Oregon Infantry. He served 
six months in the Philippines, and was discharged 
on account of illness. He is the chancellor com- 
mander of Friendship Lodge, No. 9, K. of P. ; be- 
longs to The Dalles Aerie, F. O. E., of which he 
is Conductor ; and to the Cascade Lodge, No. 303, 
B. P. O. E. Young Stubling is a genial gentle- 
man, very popular and highly esteemed for his 
many social qualities. 



CHARLES J. NICHOLSON is one of the 
industrious and up-to-date farmers of Wasco- 
county and his residence is four miles east from 
Boyd. He owns a choice farm there and so- 
handles it that it is one of the productive ones and 
brings in annually a fine dividend. It is a place 
of neatness and thrift, and good taste and wisdom 
are everywhere evident in the premises. 

Charles J. Nicholson was born in Washington 
county, Pennsylvania, on June 22, 1859. His fa- 
ther, John Nicholson, was also born in that coun- 
ty and came from Scotch-Irish ancestry. His an- 
cestors followed farming and were prominent and 
substantial people. He was well educated, settled 
in the county where he was born, took a prom- 
inent part in affairs there, was school director for 
twenty-seven years, often was appointed admin- 
istrator for estates, and was very prominent in the 
Methodist church there. He was a respected and 
influential man and died in the county where he 
was born, in 189 1. He had married Miss Nancy 
Frew, a native of the same county, and descended 
from parents who were born in Pennsylvania. 
They, too, were Scotch-Irish people and the family 
was one of prominence. Her father was influ- 
ential in church circles and was a member of the 
Methodist denomination. He rode the circuit for 
years and preached the gospel. He opened his 
house and later his large brick barn, when it was 
new. for gospel services. His stone house was 
erected in 1799, and the services held there in the 
early days were, so far as is known, the only ones 
held regular west of the Allegheny mountains. 

Our subject was reared and educated in Wash- 
ington county and there remained until 1896, 
when he came to Wasco county, bought a farm 
and homesteaded eighty acres adjoining. Here 
he has bestowed his labors since and is one of the 
substantial citizens of the county. 

On July 5, 1889, Mr. Nicholson married Miss 
Lizzie Johnston, who was born in Ireland, on De- 
cember 8, 1869. Her father, Thomas 
Tohnston, was born in Ireland of Scotch- 
Irish ancestors and lived near Dublin. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



3ii 



For many years he was an enthusiastic Orange- 
man. He married iviiss Mary Allen, a Scotch- 
Irish maiden born and reared near Dublin. They 
were both members of the Episcopal church, came 
to the United States in 1875, and settled in Wash- 
ington county, Pennsylvania, where the father 
bought a farm. He died there in 1901, and his 
widow followed the way of all the earth on April 
24, 1904. Our subject and his wife were both 
educated in the public schools there. He has two 
brothers, James A., and Homer J., who died in 
November, 1904, and four sisters, Sarah D., Mrs. 
Nellie J. Gregg, Mrs. Annie Carroll, and Mrs. 
Mary R. Sprowls. Mrs. Nicholson has one 
brother, Robert A. and two sisters, Mrs. Emily F. 
Baker, and Mrs. Margaret Holmes, who died 
March 4, 1899. Four children have been born to 
Mr. and Mrs. Nicholson, Mary B., John C, Rus- 
sell W., and Romaine, aged fourteen, nine, six, 
and two, respectively. Mrs. Nicholson is a mem- 
ber of the Methodist church. Mr. Nicholson is 
a good Republican, is school director and a pro- 
gressive man. 



LEWIS P. BOLTON was born in Cedar 
county, Iowa, on October 17, 1855, and now re- 
sides about four miles east from Boyd, in Wasco 
county. He is one of the leading farmers of the 
county, is also interested in stock raising and is 
known as one of the substantial and capable men 
of the section. His parents, Charles H. and Louisa 
(Bolton) Bolton, were born in Virginia and the 
father now lives at Macedonia, Iowa. The mother 
died in Pottawattamie county, Iowa, in October, 
1886. Our subject was reared in Cedar county 
until seventeen, then went with the family to Pot- 
tawattamie county, where he remained until 1886. 
In these two places he gained his education and at 
the date last mentioned put into execution the de- 
sire long cherished, to see the west. We find him 
shortly after in Wasco county where he resides 
and in this county and southern Washington he 
remained until 1883, when he returned to Iowa. 
Three years later he came back to Oregon and 
since that time, he has remained in this county. 
For several years after returning he rented land 
and in the spring of 1898 bought three fourths of 
a section near his present home. He continued to 
hold that land until 1903, when he sold it and pur- 
chased the estate upon which he resides now. It 
consists of nine hundred and sixty acres, half of 
which is tillable. He owns another half section 
nearby, making two entire sections of land. He 
raises grain on about four hundred acres annually 
and is a prosperous, well-to-do farmer. He hand- 
les some cattle and horses and has his place well 



supplied with all implements and improvements 
necessary for a good farm. 

On April 13, 1885, at Council Bluffs, Iowa, 
Mr. Bolton married Miss Adda L. Bolton, who 
was born near Boyd, on September 25, 1859. Her 
parents,, Absolam and Oliva Bolton, are men- 
tioned elsewhere in this work. Mr. Bolton has 
one brother, George A. and one sister, Mrs. Cora 
Pettit. Seven children have been born to this 
marriage ; Esta, aged eighteen at school in Tip- 
ton, Iowa ; Roy, aged seventeen ; Erma, fifteen ; 
Clyde, thirteen ; Gail, eleven ; Elma, eight ; and 
Clair, four. 

Mr. Bolton is a well informed Republican and 
is often at the county conventions ; takes keen in- 
terest in school matters and labors for the success 
of his party. He and his wife are both members 
of the Advent Christian church and are people 
governed by sound principles and unswerving in- 
tegrity. 



SIMPSON COPPLE, who resides about 
seven miles south from Hood River, is one of the 
prosperous farmers of this valley and a skillful 
fruit raiser. He was born in Marion county, 
Illinois, on July 12, 1842, the son of Andrew and 
Christina (Fine) Copple, natives of North Caro- 
lina and from German extraction. The father 
died in Illinois, in 1881. While our subject was 
studying in the public schools, the Civil war broke 
out and he enlisted in Company C, Eleventh Illi- 
nois Infantry, under Captain George C. McKee 
and Colonel W. H. L. Wallace, and fought 
through the most of the war. His regiment is 
well known in history as one of the hardest fight- 
ers in the army and it was so depleted by service 
that it absorbed the one hundred and ninth to fill 
its ranks. Our subject participated in the fight 
at Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Pittsburg Landing, and 
through Grant's campaign and the capture of 
Vicksburg. He was wounded at Pittsburg Land^ 
ing where his regiment lost heavily. His regi- 
ment was among the very first to occupy Vicks- 
burg. On August 15, 1864, he was honorably 
discharged at Vicksburg and went to Indianapolis 
where he attended school then looked after his 
brother's family and farm until the latter was 
through with his service in the war. After that 
our subject studied and taught in various places 
until he married and settled to farming in Illinois. 
There he remained until 1886, when he sold and 
came to Hood River, landing here on October 10. 
He bought the right of a squatter to his present 
place and when it reverted to the government 
from the railroad he homesteaded it. Since then he 
has given his attention to farming and fruit rais- 
ing and is one of the successful men of the valley, 



312 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



He has twenty acres of choice winter apples and 
has taken prizes many times at the county and 
district fairs. 

On June 15, 1868, at Centralia, Illinois, Mr. 
Copple married Miss Alice F. Williamson, who 
was born in Vermilion county, that state. Her 
parents, Robert E. and Lydia (Madden) William- 
son, were natives of Kentucky and North Caro- 
lina, and of Irish and Welsh extraction, respect- 
ively. The father's father was born in Ireland 
and was a riverman for many years. Mr. Copple 
has one brother, Jacob and one sister, Mrs. Mary 
E. Sanders, while his wife has four brothers, 
Thomas J., Lina H., John P. and James E. Ten 
children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Copple; 
Claud E., of the Davenport Lumber Company; 
Robert A., a merchant and preacher in Pendle- 
ton ; Clarence, on his father's farm ; Hugh W., a 
school boy; Cora L., a teacher in Hood River; 
Bertha, wife of J. W. Taylor, a captain on the 
Columbia ; Lillie B., wife of George W. Fisher, 
m the postoffice in Portland ; Carrie C, teaching 
in the Hood River graded schools ; Edith, a school 
girl ; and Hugh, also in school. Politically Mr. 
Copple is a Democrat, or rather has been until re- 
cently he joined the ranks of the Prohibitionists. 
He has held various offices in the east but since 
coming west has not been active in these matters. 
His first vote was cast for Lincoln. It is interest- 
ing to know that Mr. Copple was discharged as 
sergeant and never missed an engagement while 
with his regiment. He was in many hard and 
trying places but showed the true stuff of a sol- 
dier and made a first class record. He and his 
wife belong to the Christian church and he is an 
elder in that denomination. 

Misses Cora and Carrie Copple are very pop- 
ular educators of Wasco county. The former has 
taught six years and the latter has taught three 
years. Both hold first class certificates and have 
won their present enviable positions by real merit 
and constant attention to the business in hand. 



JOHN J. WOOLERY, who resides about 
•twelve miles southeast from The Dallec, is one 
of the leading and substantial farmers of the 
county. He was born in Cooper county, Missouri, 
on September 25, 1830, the son of Henry and 
Lettitia (Beatty) Woolery, natives of Pennsyl- 
vania and Missouri, respectively. The father's 
people were of German ancestry. The mother 
died in this county. Missouri was the home of 
our subject until 1852, and during that time 
he became an excellent farmer and received a 
good education from the common schools. In 
the vear last mentioned he crossed the plains, 



his mother accompanying him, and they used ox 
teams for the trip. The journey was completed 
without incident other than is customary on such 
a trip, and they settled first in Yamhill county. 
Here Mr. Woolery took a claim and after six 
months abandoned it. After that he was em- 
ployed in the valley for wages until 1856, when 
he joined the Oregon rangers, Company B, under 
Captain Hiram Wilber. They were out for' two 
months after the redskins and had one pitched 
battle. In the following spring he came to this 
side of the mountains and settled on Tenmile 
creek, some ten miles * below where he now re- 
sides. After eight years there, he sold his im- 
provements and located near where his home is 
now. He preempted, homesteaded and bought 
other land until he has nine hundred and six 
acres. He cultivates five hundred and pastures 
the balance. 

Mr. Woolery's marriage occurred in Wasco 
county, when Mrs. Ada Wilson became his 
bride. She was born in Clatsop county, 
Oregon, and her death occurred in this 
county, on September 5, 1881. Mr. Woolery has 
two children, Ina A., and Floyd, both born in 
Wasco county. In politics we find our subject 
a stanch Republican, and his interest in matters 
of educational import and general enterprises is 
lively and worthy. Mrs. Woolery's parents 
crossed the plains in the early forties. Her father 
was Francis Drake Shane, a Kentuckian and de- 
scended from a prominent southern family. The 
Shanes were related to the Drakes and Mrs. 
Woolery's father was named from the great 
navigator, Drake. 



HEZEKIAH C. CROCKETT is one of the 
prosperous farmers in the Odell district, south of 
Hood River, where he has a quarter section of 
land. He was born in Maine, on January 16, 
1854, the son of James and Mary S. (Spofford) 
Crockett, natives of Maine. The father came 
from an old American family, who were ship 
owners. He died at Rockland, Maine. The 
mother's family was very prominent in the seven- 
teenth century in the colonies and also in the 
Revolutionary war and the War of 18 r 2. They 
are a very large family and now "hold annual re- 
unions. Our subject was raised in Maine and 
there educated. In the fall of 1875, he came to 
Oregon and filed on a quarter section, sixteen 
miles southeast from The Dalles. He bought an- 
other quarter of railroad land and fanned the 
same until 1893, when he went to Troutdale and 
raised hay and did dairying. He had rented his 
wheat farm in Wasco county and continued at 




John J. Woolery 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



313 



Troutdale for six years, then he came to Hood 
River and traded a part of his wheat farm for a 
quarter section he now owns here. He has four 
acres in fruit and is clearing the balance of the 
land which, is quite fertile and valuable, a portion 
now being in hay.. Mr. Crockett has improved the 
place and by his own industry and thrift has made 
it one of the valuable farms of the county. 

At the bride's residence, in the vicinity of The 
Dalles, Mr. Crockett married Miss Hattie E. 
Chapman, a native of Illinois and the daughter of 
George D. and Mary A. (Roberts) Chapman, now 
deceased. Mr. Crockett has three brothers, 
Charles S., John T. and George A., all masons 
and builders, and three sisters, Mrs. Ada Free- 
man, Mrs. Ellen S. Johnston and Mrs. Anna M. 
S. Weeks, deceased. He also has three other sis- 
ters, deceased, Frances H., Flora Mel., and Lucy 
S. Mrs. Crockett has three brothers, Arthur M., 
John and Leroy, and two sisters, Alice Fridley and 
Gertrude Taylor. 

Mr. Crockett is a member of the Foresters 
and is a good stanch Republican. He holds the 
position of read overseer and school director and 
has shown himself an enterprising and progressive 
man. To our subject and his wife, eight children 
have been born, Claire C, Mable G., Fred P., Ada 
M., Veva G., Margie Helene, Hildred Marie, and 
Kenneth M., who is deceased. 



LUCIUS E. CLARK, who resides five miles 
southeast from Hood River, is one of the leading 
fruit raisers of the valley and is a man of energy 
and ability as his excellent success testifies. His 
residence is one of the choicest in the county and 
about the finest in this valley. It is a modern 
structure of tasty architectural design and pro- 
vided with all conveniences known. It has seven 
rooms, commodious and supplied with pantry, 
closets, bath, and so forth, while a full basement 
is provided with fine furnace and throughout it is 
equipped with the best of the market. Mr. Clark 
manifests wisdom and thrift and has one of the 
choicest orchards of the county. It is of the best 
winter apples and embraces twenty acres. His 
farm consists of one hundred and twenty-six 
acres. 

Lucius E. Clark was born in Peoria county, 
Illinois, on January 9, i860, the son of Willard 
and Mary (Berrian) Clark, natives of New Eng- 
land and New York, respectively. The father 
died when Lucius was an infant and the mother 
married Enos Mack, and she died eighteen years 
later. The district schools furnished the edu- 
cational training of our subject and when seven- 
teen he went to Kansas to search employment. 



After renting a farm for a time he engaged on the 
construction of the railroad until 1887. Then he 
entered the lumber business at Wasco and Biggs, 
locating in the former place when the railroad 
came through there. In April, 1902, he removed 
from that place, having sold his property there 
except a one-fourth interest in the Wasco Milling 
Company's mill, at that point. Then he came to 
this valley and built his present residence and is 
now giving his attention to raising fruit. In 
politics, Mr. Clark votes for Republican leaders 
but still adheres to Prohibitionist principles. He 
has one brother, Walter, and two half brothers, 
Fred and Edward Mack. 

On September 6, 1883, Mr. Clark married 
Miss Ada Berrian, who was born in Boltonville, 
Wisconsin, on October 21, 1866. The wedding 
occurred in The Dalles. Mrs. Clark's father, 
James A. Berrian, was born in New York, Bing- 
hampton, and died May, 1883, at Columbus, 
Washington. He comes from an old and prom- 
inent family and was a pioneer on the coast in 
1849. He married Miss Imilda Wendell, a native 
of New York and now dwelling in Hood River. 
Mrs. Clark has three brothers, James W., George, 
and Howard, and one sister, Lulu, wife of Ed- 
ward Hill. Five children have been born to Mr. 
and Mrs. Clark, Nellie Bliss, Willie, Gladys, and 
Florence, aged nineteen, fifteen, thirteen, eight, 
and four, respectively. Our subject and his es- 
timable wife are members of the Methodist church 
and faithful workers in the cause. They take a 
great interest in this work as well as educational 
matters and strive for the upbuilding of the com- 
munity and the betterment of all. 



HENRY J. HIBBARD, one of the prominent 
men of Wasco county, is now living a retired life 
at Hood River. He has been very active in labor- 
ing for the benefit of the country and was for a 
time one of the most skillful and successful fruit 
raisers of the section. He was born in Vermont, 
on July 19, 1846. His father, Joseph B. Hibbard, 
was a native of Vermont as were also his parents 
and their parents so far as is known were of Eng- 
lish descent. The Hibbard family have been lead- 
ing people for many generations and were well 
known in business circles, at the bench and in 
other professional lines. Especially in the medi- 
cal profession were they prominent in Massachu- 
setts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. The mother 
of our subject, Olive H. (Pratt) Hibbard, was 
also born in Vermont. The Pratt family is well 
known as one of the colonial families of patriot- 
ism and spirit. They were especially prominent 
in manufacturing lines, having some very large 



314 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



establishments in Connecticut, and also through- 
out New England. When Henry J. was four 
years of age, his parents- came to Wisconsin which 
was then a pioneer country. He did freighting 
and various work after arriving at manhood's es- 
tate and in 1877, as stated above, came west. He 
located in Klickitat county, Washington, and 
gave his attention to stock and grain raising and 
took up government land. In 1891, he closed out 
the stock business and came to Oregon, settling in 
Hood River. Here he purchased forty acres of 
first class fruit land, four miles out from town 
and planted an orchard. He displayed marked 
skill and care in this labor and when he sold the 
property in 1902, it was considered one of the 
best orchards in the entire valley. The place was 
in every respect, a model. After that, Mr. Hib- 
bard purchased land in Hood River and erected 
a residence where he dwells at the present time. 
In political matters, we find Mr. Hibbard a strong 
Republican and he has participated in campaigns 
for years. He attends most of the conventions 
and is a prominent figure there. In 1902, he was 
elected commissioner of Wasco county and is giv- 
ing excellent satisfaction in that important office. 

On November 1, 1866, in Wisconsin, Mr. Hib- 
bard maried Miss Emma Axtell, a native of Maine 
and descended from an old and prominent family. 
Her mother, Nancy Judkins, was also a native of 
Maine as were her ancestors for many genera- 
tions. The father of Mrs. Hibbard was Thomas 
Axtell, born in Massachusetts and an agricult- 
urist. Mr. Hibbard has no brothers or sisters, 
living and his wife has one brother Alvin, re- 
tired at Fairview, Oregon, and two sisters, Ellen, 
the widow of Peter Damon at Sumas, Washing- 
ton and Mary, widow of Judson Owen, in Dodge 
Center, Minnesota. Mr. and Mrs. Hibbard have 
one child, Edwin T., a carpenter of Hood River. 

Our subject is a member of the A. F. & A. M., 
of the I. O. O. F., and the Encampment, while he 
and his wife both belong to the O. E. S. and the 
Rebekahs. Mr. Hibbard assisted in organizing 
the I. O. O. F. lodge here and is a director and 
charter member of the same and was the first 
noble grand. He has frequently been delegate to 
the grand lodge and is prominent in political cir- 
cles. 

Edwin T. Hibbard has married and has three 
children. Florence M., Mary L., and Fred H., 
aged seven, five and two years, respectively. 



FREDERICK CLAUSEN, who resides about 
ten miles east from Dufur on one of the finest es- 
tates in this part of Wasco county, was born on 
February 1, 1858, in Denmark. His father, Nico- 



lai Clausen, was born in the same place and mar- 
ried Karen Dinsen, a native of Denmark, and there 
remained until his death. His widow is still liv- 
ing in that country. Our subject was well edu- 
cated in his native country and in 1874, came to 
the United States and finally landed in Sacra- 
mento county, California, where he labored for 
seven years. Then he came to Oregon and in 
April, 1878, filed on the homestead where he now 
lives. He also took a timber culture claim and be- 
gan the good work of improving and making a 
choice farm. From that time, which was a quar- 
ter of a century ago until the present, he has con- 
tinued steadily in the labors of building up and- 
improving his farm and in stock raising. From 
time to time, he has bought land adjoining until 
he now owns one thousand six hundred and ten 
acres, half of which is under cultivation. From 
that in cultivation, he raises most bounteous crops 
of wheat every year and is one of the heaviest 
wheat producers in this part of the country. He 
also raises much stock, wintering generally about 
one hundred and twenty head of cattle and one 
third as many horses. He has some fine thorough- 
bred animals, among which is a choice Hereford 
bull, which is registered. About a year ago, Mr. 
Clausen erected a fine nine room modern resi- 
dence, complete in every detail and one of the best 
places in the county. It is supplied with pure 
spring water which is forced all over the house 
by a windmill, has all the conveniences known to • 
modern architecture and is a most comfortable 
place. Other improvements commensurate there- 
with are on the farm and the entire estate bears 
marks of a thrifty and wise proprietor. 

On August 31, 1 88 1, in Sacramento, Cali- 
fornia, Mr. Clausen married Christine Peterson, 
a native of Sweden and an emig-rant to the United 
States in the same year that our subject came. 
Mrs. Clausen had one sister, Mrs. Carrie Liken. 
Mr. Clausen has three brothers, Erik, James and 
Jorgvn. To Mr. and Mrs. Clausen, eight children 1 
have been born, Arthur Nicolai, deceased ; James, 
aged twenty-one ; Otto, aged sixteen ; Arnold, 
aged fourteen ; Cora, aged nineteen ; Edna, aged . 
seventeen; Emmie, aged ten; and Clara, aged 
eight. They are all living- at home at present. . 
James is taking a course in the Portland Business 
College and will graduate in the winter of 1904- 
1905. 

On October 17, 1902, at The Dalles, Oregon, 
after a year's illness, Mrs. Clausen was called to 
cross the river of death. She was a good Chris- 
tian woman, had been a faithful wife and a kind 
mother and had assisted very materially to accu- 
mulate the fortune which Mr. Clausen now owns. 
It was with great grief that she was at this time 
taken from her home and family. She had many. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



315 



friends and was for years a devout member of 
the Lutheran church. 

Mr. Clausen is a member of the A. F. & A. M. 
and the W. W. He is an active Republican, is 
usually a delegate to the county conventions, has 
been a school director for nineteen years and is 
central committeeman of his precinct. He was 
one of the very first settlers in this vicinity where 
he now resides and has done very much to open 
up and build up the country. 

Mr. Clausen and his wife had a very unique 
wedding journey, which was commenced the day 
after their wedding, with a team and continued 
overland through northern California and Oregon 
to The Dalles. They had a very pleasant trip and 
many sweet memories are attached to it. 

Mr. Clausen is one of the highly respected 

men of the county and is looked up to and advised 

with because of his wisdom, integrity and sound 

judgment. 

+-+*+■ 

WILLIAM L. BRADSHAW, judge of the 
Seventh Judicial District of Oregon, residing at 
The Dalles, was born in Putnam county, Missouri, 
September 28, 1858. His parents, Edward C, 
and Elizabeth (Lindsey) Bradshaw, were natives 
of Kentucky and Mississippi, respectively. The 
family of Bradshaws is of English ancestry, and 
many generations of them were prominent in Ken- 
tucky as farmers, planters and in professional cir- 
cles. The mother, a descendant of an old and dis- 
tinguished southern family, crossed the plains 
with her husband so early as 1864, when William 
Bradshaw, our subject, was only six years of age. 
The family arrived ajt Boise City, Idaho, in Octo- 
ber of the same year, and the following summer 
came to The Dalles. Here they disposed of their 
oxen and embarked on a steamer for Portland, lo- 
cating in Lafayette, Yamhill county. Edward C. 
Bradshaw opened an office and there he contin- 
ued in the practice of law until 1886, when he re- 
moved to The Dalles. The mother of our subject 
died the year before. At The Dalles the father 
associated himself in the practice of law with 
Colonel N. H. Gates, until 1888, when death 
suddenly called him while in his office. Politically 
Edward C. Bradshaw was always active, taking 
a lively and patriotic interest in the campaigning 
issues of the Democratic party. He represented 
Yamhill county in the senate and house of repre- 
sentatives, was an eloquent speaker and a persist- 
ent and indefatigable worker in the interests of 
his party. He was a man of great force of char- 
acter, broad minded, progressive and influential, 
and his sudden death was a sad blow to his son, 
to whom he was a comrade as well as a father. 

The foundation of our subject's education was 



laid in the public schools of Yamhill county. He- 
attended the State Agricultural College at Cor- 
vallis from 1878 until 1879, going thence to St. 
Louis where he entered the law department of the 
Washington University, from which he was grad- 
uated with honors in 1881. Returning immedi- 
ately to Lafayette, he formed a law partnership 
with his father, and practiced until 1886. He re- 
moved to The Dalles in 1889, where he associated 
himself with J. L. Story, the partnership contin- 
uing successfully until 1891. On the death of 
Judge J. H. Bird, our subject was appointed by 
Governor Pennoyer to fill out the unexpired term 
as judge of the district. To this office he was 
elected in 1892, on the Democratic ticket, his Re- 
publican opponent being George Watkins, at pres- 
ent residing in Spokane, Washington. He re- 
ceived a majority of two hundred and in 1898 
was reelected by eight hundred majority. 

October 9, 1883, Judge Bradshaw was united 
in marriage, at Lafayette, to Sarah E. Littlefield,. 
born in Chicago, daughter of Horace R. Little- 
field, a physician and native of Illinois, and now 
practicing in Portland. Mrs. Bradshaw died at. 
The Dalles April 19, 1900. The second marriage 
of our subject took place at Portland, June 25,. 
1902, when he was united to Agnes Cooke, born 
at Lafayette, the daughter of Amos and Mary 
Fanny (Scott) Cooke, sister of Harvey W. Scott,, 
editor of the Portland Oregonian. 

Judge Bradshaw has one child, Robert C, 
aged fourteen years, living at home. Judge Brad- 
shaw has one sister, Harvey E., widow of Westley 
B. Carey, living at Lafayette. Fraternally Judge- 
Bradshaw is a member of Friendship Lodge, No.. 
9, K. of P., is past and grand C, and at the last 
session of the grand lodge he was elected supreme 
representative. He is, also, a member of the Rath- 
bone Sisters, the B. P. O. E., the W. O. W., Royal' 
Artisans and the Commercial Club, of which he 
was the second president. Judge Bradshaw en- 
joys wide popularity, and numbers hosts of friends 
regardless of social or political lines. This was 
especially evidenced in June, 1904, by his re-elec- 
tion with a majority of twelve hundred and' 
eighty-five. 



BERNARD E. SELLECK is one of the 
younger agriculturists of Wasco county and has 
gained a good success in his chosen calling. He 
resides about six miles east from Boyd, where, in' 
partnership with his father, he owns one half 
section of land. 

His birth occurred in Pulaski, Oswego county, 
New York, on May 28, 1876, and his parents are 
Menzo C. and Nettie (Parker) Selleck, who are- 



3*6 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



mentioned elsewhere in this volume. Our sub- 
ject has practically spent his life in this portion 
of Oregon for when he was five years of age his 
parents came here and took a preemption, one 
mile south of the present town of Moro, in Wasco 
county. Our subject's uncle had selected the pres- 
ent site of Moro as a town site but was three days 
too late to get it at the time the land was opened. 
After a year's residence on the pre-emption, the 
family moved to The Dalles, where for nine years, 
the father was employed in the O. R. & N. shops 
as a carpenter. During that time, Bernard E. Was 
busily engaged in gaining a good education from 
the schools in The Dalles and when that was com- 
pleted, he entered the office of the Times-Moun- 
taineer and under the instruction of John Mitchell, 
spent one year in learning the printing business. 
After that, he was eighteen months as a typo 
on the Wasco Sun. About that time, the family 
moved to the place where they now reside and Mr. 
Selleck came here and joined his father in stock 
raising and farming. They have half of the es- 
tate producing grain, have good improvements, a 
nice orchard and are doing well. The soil is es- 
pecially adapted for fruit and Mr. Selleck expects 
to plant large orchards in the near future. Mr. 
Selleck also owns a fine threshing outfit and does 
work each year throughout the neighborhood. He 
is an enterprising, energetic and industrious young 
man and has won the esteem and respect of all 
who know him. 

In political matters, he is a Republican but 
never seeks office. He is a member of the Meth- 
odist church and also of the order of jolly bachel- 
ors. Mr. Selleck has three brothers and three 
sisters : Royal, at the agricultural college in Cor- 
vallis ; James A., a clerk for Mr. Butler at Boyd ; 
Howard V., Marcia M., Myrtle B., and Ruby R., 
who are at home. 



FRANK G. CHURCH resides three miles 
from town on Belmont street, where he owns a 
choice fruit farm and a beautiful residence. 
Everything about his premises shows thrift, good 
taste, and neatness, and his is one of the choice 
and happy homes of the valley. Mr. Church has 
a bright and interesting family and they are all 
popular people in society and in church work. 

Frank G. Church was born in Lacrosse, Wis- 
consin, on June 10, 1858, the son of Archibald L. 
and Susan (Cheney) Church, natives of Pennsyl- 
vania. The father followed carpentering and died 
at Grand Forks, North Dakota, in 1897, Septem- 
ber 26. His ancestors were of English, Scotch and 
Welsh extraction and were prominent people in 
colonial days and since. The mother's grand- 



father, who was a noble Christian worker, was 
one of the organizers of the First Baptist church 
in Wisconsin, and preached without pay. The 
Cheney family is prominent not only in Wiscon- 
sin, but also on the Atlantic coast. There are 
many professional men among them and states- 
men as well as commercial operators and bankers. 
Farther east, they are engaged in manufacturing, 
and are people of ability and enterprise. Our 
subject was educated principally in Michigan, 
whither the family had moved when he was ten 
years old and when fifteen, he started to assume 
the responsibilities of life for himself, first fol- 
lowing working for wages a few years. When 
eighteen he went to Iowa and four years later 
went to Wisconsin again, engaging in a flour mill, 
and in a store. Later we see him in Minnesota 
where he resided for twenty years, seventeen of 
which were spent on the farm and the balance in 
mercantile pursuits. He lived just across the line 
in Minnesota from Grand Forks and was em- 
ployed in a store in that city. In 1900, Mr. 
Church came to the Hood River valley and bought 
twenty acres where he now resides. He has the 
estate well planted to berries and fruits and is one 
of the prosperous fruit raisers of this section. 
The place is called the Ideal Fruit Farm, and is 
certainly a choice spot. 

On January 5, 1881, Mr. Church married Miss 
Sarah S. Sproat, the daughter of William C. and 
Ann (Hoover) Sproat, natives of Vermont ana 
New York, respectively, and both descended from 
prominent New England families. Mr. Church 
has one brother, Daniel, while his wife has two 
brothers, Charles and Boyd, and one sister, Mrs. 
Jessie Gleason. Mr. Church is a member of the 
A. O. U. W., while he and his wife belong to the 
Methodist church, being associated with the Bel- 
mont class, of which Mr. Church is a trustee. 
Two children have come to gladden the home of 
Mr. and Mrs. Church, Alice and Ethel, both at 
home and the latter organist at the Belmont 
church, and a music teacher. 



THOMAS BISHOP has one of the choice 
farms of the Hood River valley and although not 
as large as some is exceptionally well tilled and 
from it Mr. Bishop produced apples and potatoes 
which took the prize at The Dalles fair. He lives 
about four miles southwest from Hood River near 
the Christian church in the Barrett school district 
and is a director of the same. 

Thomas Bishop was born in Guelph, Ontario, 
on October 6, 1847, the son of Thomas and Sarah 
A. (Burns) Bishop, natives of England and Dub- 
lin, respectively. Their marriage occurred in 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



317" 



Manchester and the mother died in Guelph in 
1866. The father came to Canada in 1841 and 
died in -1881 on his farm near Guelph. Our sub- 
ject was educated in the district schools and grew 
up on a farm which he rented when twenty-two, 
for ten years. Then he came to Umatilla county, 
Oregon, it being 1882, and located ten miles out 
from Pendleton where he purchased a half section. 
For eleven years he was numbered among the 
progressive wheat growers in that country and in 
1893 he came to Hood River and purchased eighty 
acres near where he now lives. He sold his place 
in 1 90 1 and bought ten acres which he has im- 
proved in good shape and it is his home now. 
Nine acres of this land are producing fruit and 
vegetables while on the other acre is a most beau- 
tiful fir grove and a number of choice springs. 
The soil is equal to any other place in the valley 
and Mr. Bishop's thrift and industry have made 
the place both a valuable producer and beautiful. 
On June 18, 1871, at Fergus, Ontario, Mr. 
Bishop married Miss Jane A. Kerr, born near 
Montreal, Canada. Her father, Robert Kerr, was 
born in Ireland and died in Ontario in 1884. Mr. 
Bishop has no brothers nor sisters but his wife has 
those, named as follows, George, Robert, Mar- 
guerite, Till, Matilda and Elizabeth. Five chil- 
dren have been born to our subject and his wife; 
Sarah A., wife of Christopher Simpson in Port- 
land, Oregon ; Maggie J., wife of Edgar Miller, 
near Moro, Oregon ; Thomas G., at home ; Laura 
B., a student in the business college at Portland; 
and Lloyd, at home. Mr. Bishop and his wife are 
both members of the Christian church and as- 
sisted in the organization of the same. He is now 
one of the trustees. Politically, Mr. Bishop is a 
Republican and while not especially active in the 
campaigns, he has always taken a deep interest in 
educational matters and has served on many occa- 
sions as director. He has also been road super- 
visor for a long time and was director of the 
Water Supply Company in Hood River valley, 
being a stockholder in that company. He is a 
good substantial man and is known as a thrifty 
and stanch citizen. 



MENZO C. SELLECK. Many pioneers have 
toiled in the territory now occupied by Wasco 
county for many years to make it the prosperous 
section that it is today. Perhaps the most import- 
ant ones of this large number are the farmers 
and among them we are constrained to mention 
the subject of this sketch, who resides about six 
miles east from Boyd where, in partnership with 
his son, who is mentioned elsewhere in this work, 
he has a nice farm. He has shown those stanch 



cmalities possessed by the pioneer, has achieved 
results in the building up of the county affairs 
and the work that he has done speaks for itself. 
He first came to this country in about 1882 and 
settled on a preemption in Sherman county. A 
year later, he abandoned that and entered the 
employ of the O. R. & N., where he was occupied 
in building bridges, stations and so forth one year, 
then entered the shops at The Dalles, remaining 
nine years. Later, he settled on a place which is 
now the family home and since then has given 
his entire attention to general farming. 

Menzo C. Selleck was born in Richland, New 
York, on December 17, 1848, the son of Hinman 
and Lucy J. (Philbrick) Selleck, natives of New 
York and New Hampshire, respectively. The 
father's parents came from England and the 
mother descended from an old New England 
family. Our subject was raised and educated 
in New York and there remained until 1878, when 
he journeyed west to Iowa. For three years he 
followed his trade, that of carpenter, there, 
which he had learned in New York, and then 
came on to Oregon as stated above. 

On July 4, , at Carthage, New York, 

Mr. Selleck married Miss Nettie I. Parker, who 
was born near North Adams, Massachusetts. Her 
parents were natives of the same place. Mr. Sel- 
leck has the following brothers and sisters : 
Charles H., in Wright county, Iowa; Edgar A.; 
at Willapa, Washington; Wilfred F., in Wright 
county, Iowa; Ellen A., wife of Charles Parkis, 
in Rome, New York ; Frances and Emma, de- 
ceased ; and Gertrude, deceased, the wife of John 
Grant. 

Mr. Selleck's children are mentioned in the- 
sketch with his son. He a'nd his wife are mem- 
bers 'of the Methodist church and have been for- 
many years. He is a school director, supports 
the principles of the Republican party and is a 
progressive and up-to-date citizen. 



SAMUEL COCHRAN is a stanch and patri- 
otic citizen of Wasco county where he has 
wrought for some time, and is now retired, en- 
joying the fruits of his former labor. He resides 
about three miles south from town on the Mt. 
Hood road, where he has an estate of seven acres, 
which is devoted largely to hay. 

Samuel Cochran was born in Iowa, on May 
17, 1846, the son of Artemus and Mary (Whit- 
more) Cochran, natives of. Ohio. The father's 
people were pioneers of that country and the 
mother's ancestors came from Pennsylvania' 
Dutch stock. Our subject was reared and edu- 
cated in Iowa, his youthful days being spent on- 



-3i8 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



the farm with his father. On November 29, 
1866, he married Miss Louisa J. Ruckman, a 
native of Iowa and the daughter of William and 
Mary (Miller) Ruckman, natives respectively of 
Pennsylvania and Ohio. The father was of 
Dutch ancestrage and was born in 1804. The 
mother came from Scotch and Irish extraction. 
After marriage Mr. Cochran bought a farm and 
dwelt in his native place until 1872, when he sold 
out and assayed the journey to Union county, 
Oregon. Arriving there in good time, he selected 
state land and purchased seven hundred acres, 
which he tilled until 1900, when he sold all but 
three hundred and forty acres of that estate and 
moved to the Hood River valley. Here he pur- 
chased the place mentioned above and since that 
time has continued here in quiet retirement. The 
Union county estate is rented and produces a fine 
income annually. 

Mr. Cochran has three brothers, William J., 
Rufus, and Milton D., and one sister, Rachel F. 
Johnson. He also has the following named 
brothers and sisters deceased : Charles, Mrs. 
Sarah Elizabeth Collins, Mrs. Rebecca Ellen 
Kah, and Mrs. Lucy Catherine Rae. Mrs. Coch- 
ran has three brothers, William H., George W., 
and Thomas M., and one sister, Elizabeth Con- 
nelly, and two brothers deceased, John N. and 
Robert D. Three children have been born to Mr. 
and Mrs. Cochran : Mary M., the wife of Charles 
L. Copple, whose farm adjoins that of our sub- 
ject ; Charles E., a prominent attorney in Union 
count)- and a graduate of the Ann Arbor Uni- 
versity ; and George T., a graduate of Leland 
Stanford University, and in the employ of the 
government in Manila, being in the forestry 
bureau. Mr. Cochran is an elder of the Christian 
church while he and his wife are faithful mem- 
bers of this denomination, and have labored for 
the advancement of the faith for many years. 
They are very genial and affable people and are 
worthv of the esteem in which thev are held by all. 



BOYD N. SPROAT, one of the prominent 
horticulturists of Wasco county, resides about 
five miles south from Hood River, where he has 
an orchard of thirty-three acres, of the choicest 
varieties of fruit. He has forty acres in the 
farm, but devotes the balance to general crops. 
"He and his brother, who has a farm adjoining, 
raise fruit which has frequently taken the pre- 
mium at the fairs. 

Bovd N. Sproat was born in Racine county, 
Wisconsin, on August 10, 1867, the son of Wil- 
liam C. and Phcebe A. (Hoover) Sproat, men- 
tioned elsewhere in this work. He was raised in 



Minnesota, principally, whither the family moved 
when he was eleven. His life was spent on the 
farm and in the district schools until grown to 
manhood, then he studied in the North Dakota 
University. After that he engaged in farming 
and dairying, and also handled thoroughbred 
Jerseys and raised many fine specimens. He was 
town supervisor and school clerk for many years. 
His father was the first school clerk in his dis- 
trict. On October 8, 1890, Mr. Sproat married 
Miss Agnes C. Cameron, at Grand Forks, North 
Dakota. She was born in Lanark county, On- 
tario, the daughter of James and Margaret 
(Geary) Cameron, natives of Canada, and de- 
scended from Sctoch and Irish ancestors, re- 
spectively. Mr. Sproat's brothers and sisters are 
mentioned elsewhere in this work. His wife has 
three brothers, James, George A., and Richard 
E., and four sisters, Elizabeth Love, Mary Mc- 
Callum, Theresa Slater, and Annie McCullough. 
The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Sproat are 
William L., aged eleven, Edna, aged five, and 
Norman, aged four months. Politically, Mr. 
Sproat is a Republican, but he is not a politician 
in the common sense of the word, although he is 
keenly alive to the interests of his party and the 
welfare of the community. He owns a timber 
claim in Crook county and has other property. 
His farm produces about fifteen hundred boxes 
of fancy apples per year, besides a great quantity 
of seconds, and when all is in bearing, it will pro- 
duce tons more of the choicest fruit. Our sub- 
ject's father was a Mason for fifty years and held 
all the chairs of his lodsre. 



HENRY O. SIEYERKROPP, who resides 
south from Hood River, in the Pine Grove dis- 
trict, is one of the leading horticulturists of this 
well known fruit region. He has a farm of eighty 
acres, which his labor has improved in fine shape. 
He took the place as a homestead and with his 
wife went to work to make a first-class fruit farm 
out of it. However, owing to lack of capital, 
thev were forced to labor most arduously and 
he was away from home earning money for the 
improvements, much of the time in early years. 
Finally, by dint of economy and wise manage- 
ment, they succeeded in getting a portion of the 
land to producing and since then they have been 
adding" more each year until now they have six- 
teen acres planted to apple orchard and seven 
acres are bearing. The farm is located in one 
of the most beautiful spots of the valley and is a 
choice and excellent place. Recently Mr. Siever- 
kropp lins erected a large modern dwelling and 
the same is tastily set and amid beautiful sur- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



V9 



roundings, makes one of the finest rural abodes 
•of this -entire valley. 

Henry O. Sieverkropp was born in Germany, 
about five miles out from Kiel, in Schleswig, on 
August 16, 1853. His parents, Claus and Chris- 
tina (Jasper) Sieverkropp, were both natives of 
that section and are now deceased. The father 
was a shoemaker, and died when Henry was three 
years old. In the public schools of the Father- 
land, our subject studied and also in his youth 
learned to do good hard work. He continued 
there until 1886 when he came to the United 
States, and via the Northern Pacific to Portland. 
He wrought on a dairy farm for a time then came 
to what is now Bingham and worked for C. 
Hise r for whom he had worked twelve years in 
Germany. One year after that he took the land 
where he lives now and here he has resided 
since. 

On November 9, 1879, while in Germany, Mr. 
Sieverkropp married Miss Christina Anderson, a 
natiye of Sweden and the daughter of Andrew 
S. and Christina (Nillson) Peterson, farmers 
in Sweden. Mrs. Sieverkropp had gone to Ger- 
many to work in a large dairy where they em- 
ployed twelve young women, and there she 
wrought for nine years before her marriage. She 
has labored faithfully with her husband in the 
improvement of their home and the building of 
the same and it is pleasant to see them now en- 
joying the fruits of this toil. Our subject has 
two brothers, Johann and Henry, while Mrs. 
Sieverkropp has one brother. August. Seven 
children have been born to this household : Henry, 
at home ; Herman, a school boy ; Sophie, in Hood 
River ; Susie, Amanda, Huldah and Emma, all 
at home. Before coming to this country Mr. 
Sieverkropp had the name Heinrich, but preferr- 
ing the English he spells it now, Henry. He 
and his wife are members of the Lutheran church 
and are good, thrifty people and stand well in 
this community. Mr. Sieverkropp was three 
vears in the German army. 



VENZ BAUER, a pleasant, genial gentle- 
man, and one of Wasco county's foremost fann- 
ers and stockmen, resides in the vicinity of Boyd, 
where he has a choice and large estate. He was 
born in Austria, on June 19, 1873, tne son °f 
Jacob and Johanna (Schandal) Bauer, both na- 
tives of Austria, also. The father died at the 
home of our subject on March 13, 1896, and the 
mother still lives with him. Mr. Bauer came to 
the United States in 1889, after having secured 
a qood education in his native country. He came 
'■direct through to Wasco county to join his 



brother, Antone, who had been here for several 
years. He was unable to discourse in English 
at all, and faced the problem to master an intri- 
cate tongue in a new land and make for himself 
a home and name. He has succeeded admirably. 
He handles the English well, has so conducted 
himself that he has won the admiration and re- 
spect of all good people who know him, while 
in financial matters, the characteristic thrift of 
his family, and wisdom in handling means, have 
been so well exemplified in him that he is pos- 
sessed of a fine property, sufficient to make him 
one of the wealthy men of the county and to pro- 
vide for his needs and of those dependent on him 
for all their lives. All this has been accumulated 
by his careful industry and he stands at the head 
of a valuable estate, which is managed in every 
detail with a care and sagacity that could but 
win the success which crowns his efforts. When 
Mr. Bauer landed here he was a lad of sixteen 
and he at once went to work for his brother, and 
then later wrought for other parties until he had 
means sufficient to justify him in taking a home- 
stead. This he did and improved the same and 
began the good work of making a home. He 
purchased adjoining pieces until he now has 
seven hundred and twenty acres of good land, 
four hundred of which he cultivates and upon 
which he raises bounteous crops of wheat. He 
winters from fifty to sixty *head of cattle, has a 
nice lot of choice Percheron and Clydesdale 
horses, and raises many Poland China hogs. He 
has a registered boar which is a choice animal. 
Good improvements are in evidence and all this 
is the result of the careful industry of the lad 
who came here with neither means nor friends. 
He purchased, among other pieces, the farm his 
brother had when he came. He has also bought 
and sold some land. His brother is now in Ne- 
braska. 

Mr. Bauer became aware of the fact that to 
have a first-class home he needed a helpmeet and 
accordingly he sought one, a charming young 
lady, who was born in the vicinity of Glencoe, 
Oregon, Miss Annie Neabeack. The date of 



her birth was September 25, 1880, and her wed- 
ding occurred at The Dalles on January 19, 
1898. Her father, William Neabeack, was born 
in Germany and left an orphan when nine years 
of age. He then came to the United States'with 
an uncle, a sea captain, who was to raise the 
child. But as the sea did not suit the lad, he 
ran away and was reared by benevolent people 
with whom he became acquainted. He dwelt 
in many places of the United States, including 
Arizona, California, Oregon and so forth. He 
finally married Miss Emma Haddicks, who was 
born in the Willamette valley. Her parents were 



320 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



early pioneers there and came thither across the 
plains with ax teams. Her father is deceased, 
but her mother, who would be the grandmother 
of Mrs. Bauer, dwells in Portland. Mrs. Bauer 
has four brothers, Edward, William, Benjamin 
H-, and George W., and one sister, Mrs. Effie 
Craft. To Mr. and Mrs. Bauer one child has 
been born, Fred, on June 24, 1901. He is a 
bright and very attractive child and the happy 
home circle of Mr. Bauer is complete with the 
dear old grandmother, a refined lady of excellent 
virtues, his thrifty, and kind wife, and then the 
father who has demonstrated his ability and love 
in securing and providing for his dear ones. It 
is a happy, pleasant Oregon home and from such 
as that come the men and the principles of true 
freedom. 



THOMAS W. S. SLUSHER, deceased. In 
giving a memorial of the distinguished gentle- 
man whose name appears above, we are aware 
that he was a man of ability and unswerving in- 
tegrity and held a leading place in Wasco county 
where he was so well known. His birth occurred 
in Washington county, Pennsylvania, the post- 
office being Scenery Hill. The date of this event 
was 1847. and his death occurred at The Dalles 
in this county, on April 2, 1890. His parents 
were Christopher and Pamelia (Reese) Slusher,, 
natives of Pennsylvania and descended from 
Dutch and Irish ancestors, respectively. When 
still a lad of thirteen, Thomas Slusher enlisted 
in Company F, Twenty-second Pennsylvania 
Cavalry, and was in active service until the close 
of the war. He was a noncommissioned officer 
and did gallant service with display of remarkable 
faithfulness. Following- the war he attended col- 
lege and then, upon graduating, took up the 
teacher's work. He followed this in the Willa- 
mette valley, having come west, and in Wasco 
countw Then he took a homestead, which is 
a part of the present Slusher estate. He gave 
his attention to farming and stockraising and so 
well did he succeed in these ventures that when 
he died he left an estate of eight hundred and fifty 
acres embracing one of the finest and most 
fertile tracts of bottom land on Fifteenmile 
creek. He also had much other property which 
left his family in excellent shape, besides which 
Mrs. Slusher had in her own personal right ?. 
large farm. In 1872, Mr. Slusher was elected 
county surveyor and in 1876, he was reelected to 
the same position. During Cleveland's adminis- 
tration, Mr. Slusher was appointed receiver of 
the United States land office in The Dalles, and 
he proved to be a most efficient and faithful 
officer. Fraternally, he was a member of the 



G. A. R. and was popular in those circles, as 
he was in all his relations. 

On October 28, 1878, Mr. Slusher married 
Miss Arabelle H. Dufur, who was born in Iola, 
Wisconsin, on July 13, 1856. Her parents, An- 
drew J. and Lois (Burnham) Dufur, are men- 
tioned elsewhere in this work. To this union 
the following named children were born : Thomas 
R., at home; Eva L., the wife of C. N. Clark: 
Harvey D., Roy S., Ruby A., Grover C. Aleda 
P., who died when two years of age; and an in- 
fant unnamed. Mr. Slusher had three brothers. 
William, James and Simeon, the last two deceased ; 
two sisters, Ray Hazlett, and Elizabeth Tom- 
bough ; and one half sister, Mary Cox. Mr. 
Slusher died as he had lived, a brave and con- 
scientious man, buoyed and sustained by an un- 
faltering hope which lighted his last journey 
over the river. Another has said of him, "He 
was a brave soldier, good citizen, faithful public 
officer, and kind husband and father." Laid to 
rest amid a great concourse of mourning friends 
who had ministered as far as human could do 
in the last trying ordeal, the remains of the noble 
man rest awaiting that great day's animation for 
the world to come. 

Mr. Slusher was a man who would attract 
attention among men, being handsome, athletic 
and the picture of health and good spirits, and 
he won friends from all classes. He left a very 
interesting family. The children all have ex- 
cellent musical talent and for years were in the 
band organization and are accomplished on var- 
ious instruments. 



WILLIAM H. STAATS. who was born in 
Champoeg. Marion county. Oregon, now dwells 
near Dufur, Oregon, where he is handling 
an estate of one and one-half sections of 
fine wheat land. He and his wife own also one 
and one-half sections besides this, located near 
Victor, all told, making three sections of wheat 
land, all in Wasco county. 

Our subject's father, John G. Staats. was born 
in Scotland, in 1832, and came with his parents 
to Paris, Canada, when still a boy, receiving there 
his education. About T857.be migrated to Marion 
count's-, Oregon territory, and engaged in the mer- 
cantile business in a small place known as St. 
Paul. He continued there until 1870, when he 
removed thence with his family to the vicinity 
of Dufur, Wasco county. He did general farm- 
ing, but paid most attention to raising stock. 
In this he continued uninterruptedly . until his 
death. February 19, 1889. In 1866, he had mar- 
ried Mary A. Toupin. a native of Portland. ( )re- 






Thomas W. S. Slusher 



Mrs. William H. Staats 



William H. Staats 







Daniel O. Davis 






Mrs. Daniel O. Davis 





Mrs. Matthew A. Tkorburn 



Matthew A. Thorburn 



Oliver M. Bourland 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



3^1 



gon, who died on the farm in Wasco county. Her 
parents had come to Oregon in early days and 
were aiiftong the sturdy pioneers who assisted to 
open up this fertile and resourceful country. Mr. 
John G. Staats was well known as was, also, 
his wife, both being substantial and highly re- 
spected people. 

William H. received his early education in 
the schools of his adopted county and when grown 
to manhood, followed the occupations of general 
farming and stock-raising as his father had done 
before him. He has made a splendid success in 
his labors and has a choice and valuable holding 
of property in the county at this time. 

In political matters, Mr. Staats is a Republi- 
can, and although not a politician, in the sense 
of the word as often used, he is very active in 
the campaigns of his party and takes the interest 
that becomes every good and loyal citizen of this 
country. He is often at the conventions and has 
served at the congressional convention of the 
state. In fraternal matters, Mr. Staats is popular 
and is affiliated with the A. O. U. W., W. W., 
United Artisans, the Foresters, and the Redmen. 
In religious persuasion he is an adherent of the 
Presbyterian faith and has always liberally sup- 
ported church matters. Mr. Staats is a great lover 
of music, and was a charter member of the Dufur 
band. 

On February 14, 1900, Mr. Staats married 
Mrs. Arabella H. Slusher, who is mentioned 
particularly in the sketch of Thomas Slusher, de- 
ceased. Mr. Staats has two brothers living, John 
W. and James W., one in government employ, and 
one employed with the railroad. He also has a 
sister, single, also one sister and one brother 
deceased. 

Mr. and Mrs. Staats are popular people, have 
many friends and are esteemed leading people of 
the county. 



DANIEL O. DAVIS, a hospitable and genial 
man, is one of Wasco county's leading citizens, 
and resides about one mile southeast from Wrent- 
ham. He owns a fine estate there and has shown 
skill and sagacity in the culture of the same as 
in all his career. He was born in Dutchess county, 
New York, on January 28, 1848, the son of Daniel 
O. and Hannah J. (Rogers) Davis, also natives 
of New York. The father died when this son 
was ten years old. The mother's father was in 
the Revolution and was for many years a boot 
and shoe merchant in Wassaic, New York. Our 
subject's paternal grandfather also was a patriot 
in the struggle for freedom of the colonies. The 
Davis family are largely mechanics and builders. 
Daniel was reared and educated in New York 
21 



and when fourteen enlisted in Company E, One 
Hundred and Fifth New York Infantry,^ under 
Captain Abe Moore and Colonel Thomas. He 
participated in the battles of Thoroughfare's Gap, 
Second Bull Run, Cedar Mountain and on the 
way to Antietam he was taken sick and languished 
in the hospital for three months. Being then hon- 
orably discharged, he went home and at that time 
his weight with boots and overcoat was ninety-six 
pounds. On August 10, 1863, he enlisted in the 
Twenty-first New York Cavalry, Company Gy 
under Captain J. B. Root, and Colonel Wm. B; 
Tibbits. He was in the Shenandoah valley and in 
West Virginia till the close of the war. Besides 
many skirmishes, he fought in the battle of Win- 
chester. After the war his regiment was sent to 
Dakota and he was at Fort Collins some time and 
then was mustered out at Denver, Colorado. For 
eleven years after that he farmed and teamed 
there, then came to Baker county, Oregon, in 
1877, and a year later settled in Union county; 
In 1885, he came hither and filed a homestead and 
since then he has acquired land by purchase until 
he has eight hundred and eightv acres, six hun- 
dred of which are tillable. He has considerable 
stock and does general farming. He is one of the 
successful and substantial citizens of this county. 
At Fort Collins, on October 2.J, 1872, Mr 4 
Davis married Miss Helen C. Remington, a na- 
tive of Livingston county, New York. Her father, 
John E. Remington, was born in Troy, New York, 
was a well known artist, went to Pikes Peak in 
1859, and at Dixon, Illinois, enlisted in the Seven- 
ty-first Illinois Volunteers. He was at once ap- 
pointed assistant quartermaster with the rank of 
captain, the date being October 13, 1863. Ori 
March 13, 1864, he was made lieutenant coloneL 
He was mustered in September 22, 1862, and re- 
ceived his honorable discharge on March 13, 1866. 
On March 13, 1865, he was given the rank of 
major. He was closely associated with the lead- 
ing men and one of his commissions bears the 
signature of Abraham Lincoln. After the war 
he engaged in farming in Illinois, in 1871, went to 
Fort Collins and was there postmaster for four 
years and in 1877, came on to Oregon with our 
subject. Here he took land and farmed until 
his death on October 7, 1900, being then aged 
eighty-four. He had married Electa S. Morse, 
a native of Connecticut and descended from the 
well known Morse family. She died here on 
November 24, 1891, aged seventy-three. The 
paternal great-grandfather of Mrs. Davis was a- 
captain in the Revolution. Mr. and Mrs. Davis 
are members of the Congregational church and 
liberal supporters of the faith. To this house- 
hold seven children have been born : Edward O., 
at home ; Cora C, the wife of Charles Fagan, a 



322 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



farmer near The Dalles ; Leon L., a farmer near 
The Dalles ; Lulu B., the wife of Fred Chapman, 
in Valley county, Montana ; Grace I., the wife of 
Edgar A. Johnson, of Portland ; Wilfred E., a 
student in a business college in Portland ; and 
Nellie G., at home. Charles Remington, first 
cousin to Mrs. Davis, was one of the first two 
men killed by the fire on Ft. Sumter. His 
brother, Edward, piloted Burnside's expedition. 
Mr. and Mrs. Davis are highly esteemed people 
and have done much to build-up Wasco county 
and to forward all enterprises for the good of the 
people. 

On January 6, 1905, at the family residence, 
Mrs. Davis was called hence by the angel of 
death. She was a noble woman and greatly be- 
loved because of her kindness and good works. 



MATTHEW A. THORBURN is a native 
son of Wasco county and a citizen of excellent 
standing here today. He was born at Kingsley, 
on April 29, 1879, the son of Matthew and Mar- 
garet (Fay) Thorburn. The father was born 
in Scotland and for many years lived in Australia 
and New Zealand, whither he went by himself 
when young. He was educated in the school of 
experience and followed farming and mining for 
many years in New Zealand and Australia. In 
1873, he found his way to the Golden State, and 
for some time mined there, then he came to Ore- 
gon, settling in Wasco county where he has been 
since. He is a very popular man, well respected 
and influential. The mother was born in Ross- 
common, Ireland, and is living on the old home 
place in this county. It was 1876, the centennial 
year, when the}- first settled on Tygh ridge. They 
secured land in small quantities at first but have 
added bv purchase since until they have now six- 
teen hundred acres of excellent land adapted to 
wheat raising and pasture. They are prosperous 
and substantial people. 

Matthew A. was educated in St. James col- 
lege in Vancouver, and then graduated from Mt. 
Angel college in 1897. After that he spent some 
time in Armstrong's business college in Portland, 
completing a course -there. After that, Mr. Thor- 
burn returned home and since that time he has 
given his attention to farming and stock raising. 
The first year after his studies were completed, 
he spent on the farm with his father, then he 
purchased a quarter section and since has added 
enough to make it a complete section, and here 
he has bestowed his labors. He tills about half 
of the section and is rewarded with bounteous 
crops. Mr. Thorburn is a model farmer and 
owing to his industry is being prospered. His 



land adjoins his father's estate, and his sister also 
owns four hundred and eighty acres contiguous. 
Mr. Thorburn has one sister, Catherine, who 
graduated from St. Mary's college at The Dalles. 
Mr. Thorburn is a member of the Maccabees, 
and is a Republican, but not especially active in 
politics. 

On August 28, 1904, Mr. Thorburn married 
Miss Frances M. Easton, at the M. E. church in 
Dufur. Mrs. Thorburn was born in Wasco county 
and was reared here, and has hosts of warm 
friends. Her parents were John and Elizabeth 
(Limmeroth) Easton, pioneers of this county. 
The father is deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Thor- 
burn are young people of good standing and have 
the good will and admiration of a large circle of 
friends as they start on matrimonial journey. 



OLIVER M. BOURLAND was born in 
Illinois, on February 27, 1858, the son of 
Ebenezer and Elizabeth (Carnahan) Bourland. 
The father was born in Indiana, and came from 
German ancestry. He died in Illinois, in 1902. . 
The mother was born in Kentucky and now lives 
in Illinois. Oliver was educated in the public 
school of Illinois and was reared on a farm. He 
was trained by a skillful and thrifty father who 
made a fine success of stock breeding" and the art 
of agriculture. Until twenty-four he remained 
with his father and then, it being 1882, he determ- 
ined to come west, and selected Oregon as the 
objective point. He reached the Willamette val- 
ley in due time and there spent some months in 
various employments. Then he came to this 
county and for a time wrought for wages on the 
farms. Then he rented, and later he took a home- 
stead, to which he added a preemption and a 
timber culture. Desiring more, land, he pur- 
chased until his estate is of the generous propor- 
tions of eight hundred acres, a large proportion 
of which is tillable. He reaped this year over 
four hundred acres of grain, mostly wheat, and 
his entire estate shows the marks of a skillful and 
wise farmer and business man. In addition to 
grain raising, he raises much stock, and he pos- 
sesses some of the finest specimens in the county. 
He owns a fine registered Poland China boar, and 
has about one hundred other hogs. Of cattle, 
he has twenty choice Shorthorn animals and some 
other grades. Among this herd is a thorough- 
bred, registered. Shorthorn bull, a splendid ani- 
mal. Mr. Bourland also has twenty-five or more 
well bred horses, all Percheron and Clydesdale. 
In all the animals on the place is exemplified the 
skill and care of Mr. Bourland, for he believes and 
puts into practice the principle that it is just as 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



323 



easy to raise a good animal as a poor one. He 
knows the business, is a careful and sagacious 
man and has won the success he enjoys by virtue 
of his own worth and ability. 

At The Dalles, Mr. Bourland married Miss 
Mary Hanna, a native of the Willamette valley. 
She was called hence by death on October 4, 
1894, after an illness of eight days, wherein she 
suffered from diphtheria. She was a noble woman 
and had won the hearts of all who knew her. 
Mr. Bourland was greatly stricken and his chil- 
dren mourn a beloved mother who dwells now 
only in sweet memories in their midst. The chil- 
dren of the family are Ebenezer F., George L., 
Jasper B., Jud F., and Lillie J. Mr. Bourland 
has two brothers living, James E. and Francis 
A., in Illinois, and one dead, William W., who 
met his death during the Civil war. He also has 
three sisters, Hulda, the widow of G. Mitchell, 
Mrs. Phoebe Watson, and Mrs. Rachel Hardy. 
In politics, Mr. Bourland is independent. He is a 
man of means and is one of the leading men of 
this part of the county. 






ROBERT E. HARBISON, proprietor of a 
fine eighty acre fruit and hay ranch, known as 
Meadow Farm and located some five miles south 
from Hood River, is one of the leading citizens of 
the valley. He was born in Warren countv, Iowa, 
on September 30, 1861, the son of Matthew H. 
and Mary L. (Weir) Harbison, natives of South 
Carolina. His parents' ancestors were of Scotch- 
Irish lineage, who came from north Ireland to 
the colonies prior to the Revolution and were 
stanch American patriots. Our subject's father 
was born on May 18, 1833, and his wife was 
born on August 3, 1833. When they were two 
years old the two families moved to Indiana, and 
at Bloomington, in that state, they were married 
on September 28, 1854. They soon moved to 
Iowa and when the war broke out the father 
enlisted in Company C, Thirty-fourth Iowa Vol- 
unteer Infantry, on August 13, 1862, under Col- 
onel Clark, and Captain Dan Lyons, and died in 
service, on January 20, 1863. He is buried in 
an unknown grave in the national cemetery near 
Memphis. The mother, still a widow, resides at 
Tangent, Oregon, with a son. Our subject was 
raised principally in La Crosse county, Wiscon- 
sin, and received a good education from the 
graded and high schools. When twenty-two he 
went to California and did various work for two 
years, then came to the Big Bend country, Wash- 
ington, where, in 1885, he and his brother, J. S., 
and Charles Davis, started the town of Almira, 



then called Davisine. A year later he came 
thence to Hood River, where his mother bought a 
quarter section on the east side of the valley. 
Later she sold one hundred and twenty acres and 
deeded the remaining forty to our subject and 
his brother, John S. They erected a saw and 
grist mill in 1889 and operated the same until 
1901 when the brother sold to Mr. Harbison, 
and he continued the operation of the mill until 
February, 1903, then sold out to Wilson Fike. 
Immediately afterward Mr. Harbison purchased 
the eighty where he now lives, which was a part 
of what his mother had sold. Mr. Harbison has 
thirty acres of apple orchard, mostly young trees 
just beginning to bear, and he has frequently 
taken prizes at the fairs. He has the famous 
banana apples, of which there are very few in 
the state. He has an elegant thirty acre meadow 
which produces about four tons of hay to the 
acre annually, it being irrigated from Neal creek. 
On January 1, 1887, at Hood River, Mr. Har- 
bison married Miss Lucy Rand, a native of La 
Crosse county, Wisconsin, and the daughter of 
Martin V. and Elizabeth (Feak) Rand, natives 
of Virginia and New York, respectively. The 
father enlisted in Company E, Second Wisconsin 
Infantry and served four years in the Civil war, 
and is now retired, living' in University Park, 
Portland. Mr. Harbison has two brothers, John 
S., of Tangent, Oregon, and Luther J. at Vaca- 
ville, California. Mrs. Harbison has the follow- 
ing brothers and sisters : Jason, Bert, Harvey, 
Minnie Clelland and Lulu Horning, all of Port- 
land. To Mr. and Mrs. Harbison four children 
have been born, Blanche, Hester, Ruth and Mary. 
Politically, Mr. Harbison is a stanch Repub- 
lican, although not very active. He and his wife 
belong to the Congregational church, and Mrs. 
Harbison is a member of the Women's Relief 
Corps. They are highly esteemed people and 
Mr. Harbison is looked up to as one of the enter- 
prising and successful farmers and fruit raisers 
of the valley. 

Every genuine American loves to read ac- 
counts of patriotism and brave acts in defense of 
country. Among other incidents occurring in 
the Harbison family of earlier generations, we 
mention the following, which is taken from Eliza- 
beth E. Ellet's "Women of Revolution," now out 
of print. William Strong, relative on the mother's 
side to our subject, was a stanch patriot in the 
time of the Revolution and did all in his power 
to forward the cause of the struggling colonists. 
On June 11, 1780, on his own farm, in South 
Carolina, he was faced by a detachment of Brit- 
ish, led by one Huck, and refusing to renounce 
his loyalty to the colonists and the cause they 
all loved, he was shot in cold blood. 



3 2 4 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



FRANCIS M. JACKSON, a well known 
and highly respected horticulturist and farmer of 
the Hood River valley, resides about seven miles 
south from the town of Hood River, and was 
born in Athens, Tennessee, on December 13, 
1836. His parents, John B. and Dorcas (Cox) 
Jackson, were pioneers in Tennessee. The father 
was born in North Carolina, as were also his 
parents, and when sixteen he went alone to Ken- 
tucky, where he married and whence he returned 
later to Tennessee. He was a man of refinement 
and education, being especially skilled in math- 
ematics and music. He was professor in Monti- 
cello academy, Kentucky, and later taught music. 
He finally published a musical work that netted 
him a nice profit. He was clerk of McMinn 
county, Tennessee, for many years and died in 
Morristown, that state, in 1858. His wife died 
in the same town in 1853. She was descended 
from an old southern family. Our subject lived 
in Morristown from the age of six to seventeen 
and received an academic education there. Then 
he traveled with ox teams to Missouri, and in the 
spring of 1856 continued his journey on to Cali- 
fornia, where he wrought for two years and six 
months at mining. Owing to his father's death he 
then returned to the east and remained on the old 
place for some time and bought a farm and some 
slaves. Owing to rumors of war, Mr. Jackson 
did not return to California as he originally in- 
tended to do, and in June, 1861, enlisted in the 
Fourth Battalion of Tennessee Cavalry, his com- 
mand being known as Peck's Light Dragoons. 
He had served only two months as private when 
he was promoted to a lieutenancy. Previous to 
enlistment, he had assisted to organize another 
company, but as there was not a probability of 
their being allowed to go to the front, they were 
disbanded. His regiment was mostly in Kentucky 
and upper Tennessee, and he served as first lieu- 
tenant until the Wild Cat fight, General Nelson 
federal commander and General Zollicoffer con- 
federate. The captain of Lieutenant Jackson's 
company resigned and he was unanimously elected 
to the position by acclamation. He was in Fisher 
Creek battle, near his father's old home, in which 
conflict General Zollicoffer lost his life ; our sub- 
ject's regiment was defeated and fell back into 
Tennessee. Captain Jackson was in two fights 
near Vicksburg, but did rot participate in the 
siege. He was captured in the Black River bat- 
tle and suffered eighteen months at the war 
prison in Johnson's island near Sandusky, Ohio. 
Being exchanged, he visited at his old home and 
then returned to his regiment and was acting 
colonel until the close of the war. His commis- 
sion was on its way for a colonelcy when the 
war closed. Captain Jackson fought hard and 



long for the cause he thought to be right and. 
after the war returned to his old home only to- 
find the war feeling so strong that his life was 
in danger. His finances were ruined by the war 
and what little he could recover he promtly used, 
to liquidate debts he owed for slaves bought on 
credit. When his debts were all paid, he had 
little left and so started life anew. For the last 
two years in his town, Morristown, he was city 
recorder and was nominated for mayor when he 
had decided to some west again. He came to 
The Dalles via San Francisco and Portland, and 
soon after arriving took the place where he re- 
sides at this time. Since then, the Captain has 
bestowed his labors here with a good measure of 
success. He is skilled in horticulture and also 
does some general farming. Captain Jackson 
is a man of integrity and honor and his keen 
sense of justice and uprightness are known to 
all by virtue of a worthy and commendable life. 

0» June 8, 1859, at Morristown, Mr. Jack- 
son married Miss Elizabeth L. Thurman, the 
daughter of William M. and Mary (Bibb) Thur- 
man. The mother of Mary Bibb was Elizabeth 
Lewis, related to Captain Lewis of Lewis and 
Clark fame. Mrs. Jackson was a member of the 
well known Thurman family, one of whom was 
candidate for vice president with Cleveland. Her 
mother's mother was a member of the Suther- 
land family, prominent in the south, of Scotch 
extraction, members of which served in the Rev- 
olution, among which was Mrs. Jackson's grand- 
father. Our subject has two brothers, David 
C, a captain in the confederate army, for many 
years postmaster at Summitville, Tennessee, and 
now farming; George W., a preacher in Denton 
county, Texas. Also, he has one sister, Elizabeth 
S., wife of S. M. Sawyers, a civil engineer of 
DeSoto, Kansa-s. Mrs. Jackson had one brother, 
Preston C, an attorney in Bonham, Texas. She 
had four sisters : Martha C, who dwells with 
our subject; Mary J., widow of J, B. Jones, of 
Fannin county, Texas ; Lucy V., single, in Texas ; 
and Josephine, wife of Mr. Wood, in Fannin 
county, Texas. Captain Jackson has five chil- 
dren living: Carrie L., wife of John H. Gerdes, 
proprietor of Gerdes house in Hood River ; Wil- 
liam F., a farmer near Moro, this state ; John B., 
living with his father and owner of the adjoining 
farm ; David M., with his father ; and Francis 
R., living on a homestead near his father's home. 

It is of interest in this connection to state that 
our subject was a member of the escort of Jef- 
ferson Davis up to the time of the capture. Mr. 
Davis left the escort the dav before the capture 
to visit his family. Our subject is a Democrat in 
politics and for twenty-nine years he has been- 
director of the district school where he lives.. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



3 2 5 



He was the prime mover in the organization of 
the Pine Grove district and has shown commend- 
able interest in the building up of the country. 
He has twice been nominated for county com- 
missioner, and, although running far ahead of his 
ticket, still suffered defeat. 



ISAAC N. SARGENT, a retired farmer and 
merchant, living in a beautiful one story cottage 
on Liberty street, is one of the venerable pioneers 
-of the northwest and stands to-day, high in the 
admiration and esteem of ever}' person who 
knows him. He was born in 1817, on September 
25, at Chester, Vermont. His father, Isaac Sar- 
gent, was also a native of Vermont and married 
Miss Sallie Pratt, who came from a prominent 
colonial family and was a native of Vermont. 
She died in Wisconsin about ten years after her 
husband who passed away in Vermont, on June 
12, 1834 at the old homestead. William Sargent 
sailed from Northampton, England with his 
family to Charleston, Massachusetts, in 1638 and 
since then, the Sargent family has been prom- 
inent in business at the bench and bar and in pro- 
fessional life. They are well known throughout 
New England and elsewhere and are amongst the 
oldest families in the United States. Four of the 
William Sargent descendants fought in the Rev- 
olution. Samuel Sargent was a member of Cap- 
tain Seth Washburn's Company of Minute men 
and his wife, in 1875, melted the weights of the 
clock and moulded them into bullets for her hus- 
band's use in the army. Such acts and many 
others that could be mentioned, demonstrate the 
patriotism and spirit of this influential and prom- 
inent family. Our subject possesses a history of 
the Sargent family which dates back many cen- 
turies in England, before Willliam Sargent came 
to the Colonies. A later edition of the same has 
been compiled by Aaron Sargent, who is a prom- 
inent attorney in New York. Our subject has 
great reason to take pride in his ancestors and 
their achievements, which indeed has been a great 
stimulus to mold the success he has reached in a 
long and useful career. 

Isaac N. Sargent was educated in the private 
schools of his native place and the academy and 
upon his fathers death, went to work in the store, 
continuing the same until he was of age. In 
1838, he went to Wisconsin and there taught 
school and did farming until 1862, when he came 
to Oregon with horse teams. Being pleased with 
The Dalles and the outlook of this country, he 
settled here, and in The Dalles and eastern Ore- 
gon, has been ever since. After farming for 
some time in this vicinity, he moved to Grant 



county and filed on a homestead. Four years 
later, he came thence to Mitchell, Crook county 
and engaged in the mercantile business for eight 
years, then sold owt and moved to The Dalles, 
since which time he has been largely retired, liv- 
ing upon the income his industry and wisdom pro- 
vided. In addition to the home place, he owns 
other residence property in The Dalles and is one 
of the substantial men of the country. 

On August 4, 1838, at Lowell, Massachusetts, 
Mr. Sargent married Miss Hannah H. Brown 
who was born in Springfield, Vermont, on Au- 
gust 19, 1817, the daughter of George and Anna 
(Bemis) Brown, natives of Vermont. Both are 
old colonial families and are well known in New 
England circles. Mr. Sargent has no living 
brothers or sisters but his wife has one sister, 
Martha, widow of William Honey in Omaha, 
Nebraska. Five children have been born to Mr. 
and Mrs. Sargent : Frederick A., a farmer on 
Five Mile Creek near The Dalles ; Chester C, a 
farmer in the vicinity of The Dalles ; Frank, a 
mining man at Baker City ; Fanny, wife of Frank 
Hunsaker, now deceased ; and Hattie, the wife of 
Edward Wilson, of Portland. They have also 
raised one adopted daughter, Katherine, who was 
their grand daughter. 

Mrs. Sargent is a member of the Methodist 
church. Mr. Sargent is a stanch Republican and 
held these principles long before the Republican 
party was organized. Mr. and Mrs. Sargent 
have traveled together in their wedded life for 
sixty-six years, a most remarkable and pleasant 
fact. Although both are nearly four score and 
ten years, still they are active and hearty, with 
all their faculties unimpaired and are excellent 
citizens of The Dalles. It is pleasant indeed to 
be enabled to chronicle the fact that this aged 
and highly respected couple, who have been pio- 
neers in various sections, are now enabled to en- 
joy the fruits of their labor in this populous coun- 
try, where they assisted to open the wilds and 
bring in civilization. 

Since the above was written, the reaper, death, 
visited Mr. Sargents home and took hence his 
beloved and faithful wife. Like the ripened 
grain, she was ready for the sickle, and having 
completed life's duties well, she has stepped for- 
ward to the rewards awaiting the faithful. The 
day of departure was December 8, 1904. 



PEREZ A. COX lives about five miles south 
from Hood River in the Odell district, where he 
has a choice and well improved farm. He was 
born in Illinois, on October 17, 1854, the son of 
Abner and Nancy (Barker) Cox, natives of 



326 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, respectively. 
The father was of Dutch extraction and the 
mother came from an old colonial family prom- 
inent in the Revolutionary War. She died when 
our subject was twenty-eight years of age and 
the father aged eighty-eight lives with Mr. Cox 
at the present time. While Mr. Cox was small, 
the family moved to Iowa and in Wright county 
he received his education and was reared. When 
twenty-one, he started out in life for himself and 
did various kinds of work for a time and then 
went to Kansas and took up a homestead. For 
twelve years, he devoted himself to its improve- 
ment and cultivation and in 1889, came thence 
to Hood River. He bought forty acres and re- 
mained on the same until 1904, when he traded 
it for the place where he now lives. Twenty 
acres of this have been sold and the balance, Mr. 
Cox is making into a very choice fruit farm. He 
has recently erected a story and a half cottage, a 
large barn and outbuildings. A special air of 
thrift and neatness is evident everywhere and the 
place is one of the most tasty and valuable in 
this part of the valley. He has put out seven 
acres to apples and expects to handle considerable 
more ground to this profitable fruit. Mr. Cox is 
still a single man. He has two brothers, Seaman 
and Judson, both farmers, the former in Hood 
River and the latter in Kansas. 

Politically, our subject is independent, yet 
he is always active in local affairs and in the 
campaigns. He is well posted on the questions 
of the day and is an energetic man. 



ELLSWORTH A. HAYNES, who is bet- 
ter known as "Smith" Haynes (the reason for 
the bestowal of this sobriquet we are not told), 
is an industrious and leading farmer and stock- 
man of Wasco county. His residence is located 
on the fertile soil about ten miles east from Boyd, 
where he has a fine large estate. He was born 
in Rock Island county, Illinois, on January 9, 
1862, the son of Joseph Haynes, who is more 
especially mentioned elsewhere in this work. 
Wiien this son was a small boy, the family went 
to Missouri and there and in Kansas he attended 
the district schools, completing his education in 
these important institutions. About two' years 
after his father had come west, or in 1882, our 
subject was stricken with the western fever and 
the only hope of recovery was a trip to the Pa- 
cific slope. This remedy was speedily adminis- 
tered, and the result is that Wasco county has 
another of the hustling men of the east a perma- 
nent resident of her fertile" domain. The same 
year he filed on a homestead where he now re- 



sides and since then he has made this his head- 
quarters. He was soon taken with the great 
sheep industry of the west and learned sheep 
shearing. He has wrought at this for twenty 
years in all parts of the west and is today one 
of the most expert at the business. He handles 
readily from one hundred to one hundred and 
twenty-five animals in a day, relieving them of 
their valuable coats with a dexterity and agility 
that is marvelous in the eyes of those not sophis- 
ticated in this art. Mr. Haynes has made a rec- 
ord of one hundred and fifty-six sheep in one 
day. Even in the eyes of those accustomed to 
shearing, this is a wonderful physical feat, and 
truly it is one which should take its place among 
the most difficult physical accomplishments that 
humans have achieved. Mr. Haynes has about 
one section of land and cultivates to the cereals 
about three hundred acres. He has excellent 
crops and in addition to this handles considerable 
stock. He winters usually about sixty head of 
cattle, thirty horses and seventy hogs. He has 
some fine animals and among his hogs he owns 
one boar, thoroughbred Poland China, of regis- 
tered stock. Mr. Haynes makes a splendid suc- 
cess of his enterprises and is one of the prosper- 
ous men of the county today. 

On October 16, 1886, at his father's house, 
on the ranch, Mr. Haynes married Miss Emily 
M. Craft, the daughter of Jacob Craft, who is 
mentioned in this work elsewhere. To this union 
five children have been born, Albert W., Omer 
K., Pearl, Ruby, and Thomas. Mr. Haynes is a 
member of the I. O. O. F., the Encampment, and 
the M. W. A. He is a good strong Republican 
and is often at the conventions, while he serves 
as road supervisor and school director. He and 
his wife are highly esteemed people, they both 
come from prominent families and have hosts of 
friends. 



WILLIAM R. HAYNES. Wasco county 
is not wanting in progressive and intelligent 
farmers and among that number, well up in the 
roll, we are constrained to mention the gentle- 
man whose name heads this article. He is a man 
of ability and integrity and has displayed this in 
a many years' residence here. A detailed account 
of his career will be interesting to the citizens of 
this county and we append the same with 
pleasure. 

William R. Haynes was born in Michigan, 
near Jackson, on December 26, 1853. the son of 
Joseph Haynes, of whom we have already writ- 
ten. When this boy was two years of age, the 
family went to Rock Island, Illinois, and there in 
the First ward schools, William received his ed- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



3 2 7 



ucation. When sixteen, he went with his father 
and the 'balance of the family to Garnet, Kansas, 
and there he engaged in teaming. Later he 
rented four acres of garden land near town and 
to teaming, and farming this he gave his time. 
One winter he spent in hunting buffalo and many 
a fine animal has he taken. When the family re- 
moved to Nevada, Missouri, he rented land with 
his father and in that Missouri town, he met the 
lady who afterward became his wife. In 1879, 
he came with his father to the Pacific coast and 
he took railroad land on Centre ridge. This he 
abandoned a year later and sold his improvements 
to his father. Then he went to California and 
spent one year in logging among the giant red- 
wood forests of the Golden State. Then he 
returned to Kansas and there married the lady 
who had captured his heart before he left Ne- 
vada, Missouri. The wedding occurred at the 
home of the bride's father, Jacob Craft, who is 
mentioned in this work. The lady was Mary K. 
Craft, who was born in Newport, Kentucky, on 
March 7, i860. Then, accompanied by his father- 
in-law and others, Mr. Haynes made the trip 
overland to Oregon, which was a unique wed- 
ding journey and one which possessed many 
charms of its own. He filed a homestead on land 
where he now lives and since then he has pur- 
chased seven forties from his father, and a 
quarter section from his brother. Altogether he 
has six hundred and eighty acres of good land. 
He raises wheat, barley and other crops and de- 
votes much attention to handling stock. Mr. 
Haynes believes in the right theory that it is as 
easy to raise a good animal as a poor one, and the 
returns are much better, so he has choice breeds 
of all kinds of stock that he handles. He owns a 
registered three year old Hereford bull, Pa- 
tience, No. 124099 which is a choice animal, 
sired by Premiere Dam Arminta Second, and 
raised by the well known breeder, O. Harris of 
Harris, Missouri. With this animal he has also 
many other well bred ones and his herd is about 
sixty. He also owns Lafayette, the well known 
Clyde- Percheron stallion and twenty other horses. 
Besides this he has two hundred hogs, well bred, 
and a choice Poland China registered boar. He 
owns the Hereford animal in partnership with. his 
brother, Ellsworth. Mr. Haynes is a skilled man 
in stock breeding and has some of the best ani- 
mals to be found in this part of the country. He 
is prosperous and a leading man of the county. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Haynes the following named 
children have been born : Lee, aged twenty ; 
Floyd, aged eighteen ; Hallie, aged fourteen ; 
Paul J., two months old ; Rosanna, sixteen ; 
Gladys, thirteen, and Edith J., two years old. In 
politics, Mr. Haynes is independent and always 



takes an intelligent interest in the affairs of the 
county and state. He is school director and has 
been off and on, for many years. He and his 
wife are well known and popular people and win 
many friends by their many excellent qualities. 



THEODORE J. SEUFERT, of the firm of 
Seufert Brothers, is one of the leading business 
men in The Dalles. He has been closely identi- 
fied with commercial interests here for a good 
many years and has shown himself to be a man' 
of ability and integrity and has so wisely man- 
aged his business enterprises that he has won a 
remarkable success in the same. He was born in, 
Queen's county, New York, on January 3, 1859. 
His father, John Seufert, was a native of Ger- 
many and came to the United States when nine- 
teen years old locating first in New York city, 
where he followed his trade of tailoring for many 
years. Then he moved to Long Island and oper- 
ated a summer resort hotel and did farming until 
his death in 1870. Our subject was educated in 
the public schools of New York city then em- 
ployed in a g-ents furnishing and dry goods busi- 
ness. In 1878, he came to San Francisco and 
learned the butcher trade and in 1882, came to 
The Dalles to join his brother, Frank A., who 
had come west previous to our subject's journey. 
They went into partnership in The Dalles in the 
meat business but after one year they found it 
unprofitable and engaged in buying fruit from 
local raisers to ship to Montana, Idaho and other 
eastern points. They shipped the first carload of 
fruit ever sent out of the state over the Northern 
Pacific and probably the first ever shipped over 
that road. Soon after that, they began to pur- 
chase salmon and can them. In 1885, they leased 
the Whitcomb fishery and the next year sub- 
leased a part of the plant for canning to parties in 
Portland for ten years and furnished them fish 
for canning. In 1896, the Seufert brothers pur- 
chased the whole establishment and since then 
have conducted it themselves. They have a ca- 
pacity of fifteen hundred cases daily and in the 
season employ one hundred and twenty-five 
people. The business has been a success from 
the time they first began it and is one of the large 
enterprises of the coast. 

On June 20, 1886, at Kingsley, Mr. Seufert 
married Miss Mary A. McGrail, a native of Phil- 
adelphia. Her father was accidentally killed 
when she was small. The mother, Sarah 
(Brookhouse) McGrail, a native of Ireland, then 
married Patrick J. Gorman and they now live on 
Ninth street in The Dalles. Our subject has one 
brother, his partner and four sisters, Louisa A* 



3 2S 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Wenner, Mary Walter, Katie Hoffman, and 
Theresa A. Kudicker. Mrs. Seufert has two 
brothers, John and Patrick J. and one half 
brother, Richard J. Gorman. Four children have 
been born to Mr. and Mrs. Seufert, J. Roger, 
Theodore J., Jr., Leland and Mildred M. 

Mr. Seufert is a member of the K. P. and the 
Elks. 

+-—+ 

FRANK R. STRATTON, a genial and popu- 
lar young man of Wasco county, is, also, one 
of its leading farmers and business men. He is 
in charge of three to four thousand acres of 
land, part situated on the Des Chutes, and part 
on the fertile upland five miles south from Dufur. 
On the former ranch he cultivates five hundred 
acres, and at the latter place he handles one 
thousand. The estates are the property of Hon. 
M. A. Moody, one of Wasco county's heaviest 
land owners. The Des Chutes ranch is a fine 
peach producing place and the orchard there 
shipped twelve hundred boxes of fruit last year. 
It is a valuable place and in the hands of Mr. 
Stratton, has been made one of the most pro- 
ductive and profitable ranches in this part of 
the county. When Mr. Stratton took charge of 
these two farms, they were not in a thrifty condi- 
tion, but were run down and not paying well. 
He has brought to bear, not only energy and 
enterprise, but a wealth of sagacity and skill 
that have secured the happy results that now they 
are two of the finest farms in the county. They 
are both paying well and show a master hand 
in their conduct. Mr. Stratton is a thorough 
man and allows no detail to escape his attention. 
He has had the best of training in farming, and 
consequently the management of two such large 
properties is exactly in line with his ability and 
liking. The excellent order, the thrift evident, 
and the annual returns of good dividends all 
combine to manifest the ability and up-to-date 
ways of Mr. Stratton. He is popular and liked 
by all and stands one of the leading young - men 
of this part of the county. Frequently he is at 
the county conventions and strongly supports his 
partv, the Republican. 

Frank R. Stratton was born in Queens 
county. New Brunswick, on February 8, 1869, 
the son of Samuel and Rebecca (Parkhill) Strat- 
ton. The father was born in New Brunswick, and 
followed farming. His ancestors were Scotch- 
Irish people. The mother was a native of Ire- 
land and owns county Kerry as her native place. 
Our subject was reared and educated mostly in 
his native land, then completed his training here 
on the Pacific coast, having come to Pacific 
county, Washington with his parents about 1880. 



His father bought land in the Willapa valley and 
for several summers operated a summer hotel 
resort. He and his wife are now dwelling in that 
valley with their son, J. Thomas. Our subject 
followed various callings in Pacific county, then 
bought thirty-two acres of bottom land which he 
tilled two or three years. Then he sold it and 
migrated to Wasco county and wrought on the 
farms for several years, after which he took 
charge of the estates mentioned and since that 
time has been successfully conducting them. His 
brothers and sisters are J. Thomas and Ever- 
mond, loggers in Willapa valley ; Stephen L., 
a farmer there ; Corressa A., wife of John Gil- 
bert, a preacher in the Methodist church in 
Clarke county, Washington ; Lovicia, the wife of 
John Morgan, a logger in Pacific county ; Evedna, 
wife of Mr. Finch, in Dawson, Alaska ; and Mrs. 
Amelia Sperrill, in Seattle. Mr. Stratton is a 
member of the I. O. O. F., and the Encampment, 
and is a highly respected citizen. 



F. LEROY GRIMES, of the firm of Parkins, 
Grimes & Company, who have a large and beau- 
tiful book and music store at 314 E. Second 
street, The Dalles, was born on Fifteenmile 
Creek, eight miles out from Dufur, on October 
24, 188 1. His parents are mentioned in another 
portion of this work. Being thus a native son of 
Wasco county, Mr. Grimes is doubly entitled to 
representation in any work that purports to 
speak of the leading men of the country. His 
early educational training was received at The 
Dalles graded schools and then he completed the 
same at Pacific University at Forest Grove, Ore- 
gon. In 1900, he completed his studies then re- 
turned home to take up the cattle business. After 
a few ^months in the same, however, he found it 
not congenial to his tastes, consequently, he dis- 
posed of his property to his father and accepted a 
position as bookkeeper with J. H. Smith & Com- 
pany, hardware merchants of Grass Valley, Sher- 
man county, Oregon. For nine months he la- 
bored in this capacity then resigned his position 
to take up the business that he is now following. 
He entered into partnership with Herby D. Par- 
kins and from that time until the present they 
have been attending strictly to the building up of 
a fine trade. They have a choice stock of all the 
late books, artworks and literature, carrying all 
kinds of musical supplies and handle all the lead- 
ing brands of pianos, organs and other musical 
instruments. Owing to their ability, their push 
and their integrity, they have secured both the 
confidence of the people and a large patronage 
and are making their store one of the best in Ore- 




Frank R. Stratton 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



3 2 9 



gon. They are both respected business men and 
are highly esteemed in this county. 

Mr. Grimes has never seen fit to retire from 
the quiet joys of bachelorhood, although a very 
popular young man. 

Fraternally, he is affiliated with the K. P. and 
the I. O. O. F. In politics, he is a strong Repub- 
lican but not particularly active. He is a product 
of Wasco county in which the county may well 
take pride, and bids fair to become a leading 
business man of the country. 



ELMER E. FERGUSON, M. D., one of 
Oregon's leading physicians, is handling a large 
practice in The Dalles in connection with Dr. 
Reuter, who is also mentioned in this work. He 
was born in Missouri, on December 3, 1869, the 
■son of James M. and Mary M. (Marquis) Fer- 
guson, natives of Missouri and Indiana, respec- 
tively. The father's ancestors came of strong 
Scotch blood and were among the earliest set- 
tlers in Jamestown, Virginia. They have been a 
prominent and leading family in America since 
the days of colonial times. The parents now 
dwell in Pendleton, Oregon. The mother's father 
was a preacher of the United Brethren denomin- 
ation and died in Indiana. Our subject studied 
in the graded schools in Missouri until 1878, 
when he came west with the family and com- 
pleted the high school course in Pendleton. After 
that he graduated from the commercial college 
and the same year matriculated in the Willamette 
University. After completing his course there 
he entered the Rush Medical College in Chicago 
and graduated with distinction in 1897. Then he 
returned home and after a visit spent consider- 
able time in traveling to different portions of the 
globe. He was as far north as the Arctic circle 
and finally went to New York and took an ex- 
tended post graduate course in the Polyclinic of 
New York city. He returned to Oregon and es- 
tablished himself in practice in The Dalles. Here, 
in 1900, Dr. Ferguson married Dr. Belle Rine- 
hart and together they continued in practice. 
Their wedding occurred on February 24, 1900, 
and the following fall they began the erection of 
a hospital, which was completed in the spring. 
They operated it together one year and then Dr. 
Reuter was taken into partnership. He was an 
old room and classmate of Dr. Ferguson and they 
had studied together for years. Since his com- 
ing here he has been actively engaged in prac- 
tice with our subject and they are considered 
physicians of great ability and skill. The hospital 
mentioned is one of the best equipped institu- 
tions in the west. It is built according to the 



latest approved plans and having been recently 
erected has had the advantage of every point 
known to medical science in the entire world. The 
appliances are the best and most perfect made 
and The Dalles is to be congratulated in secur- 
ing a modern institution like this. 

Dr. Ferguson has one brother, William S., 
and three sisters, Ida Peringer, Laura Lieuallen, 
and Mrs. May Adams. One child has been born 
to Dr. and Mrs. Ferguson, Ruth, on November 
12, 1901. Dr. Ferguson is a member of the I. O. 
O. F., of the Elks, of the W. W., of the M. W. 
A., and of the K. O. T. M. 



JOHN A. REUTER, M. D., who, with Dr. 
Ferguson mentioned in another portion of this 
work, is handling the hospital in The Dalles, is a 
skillful surgeon and a physician of marked 
ability. He has had the finest training to be 
found in the civilized world and this added to a 
native ability of generous endowment, makes Dr. 
Reuter one of the men sought after over a large 
scope of country, and especially so as he stands 
high with his colleagues. He was born in Kau- 
kauna, Wisconsin, on January 2, 1876, the son of 
Alexander L. and Christina Reuter, natives of 
Germany. The father came to this country with 
his parents when three years of age. They set- 
tled near Milwaukee, Wisconsin and the father 
followed farming and mason work. Alexander 
was well educated and soon became of prom- 
inence in the commercial and manufacturing 
world, and later was a prominent banker. He 
died in 1893, at Jacksonville, Oregon. The 
mother was brought by her parents to this coun- 
try when an infant of two years. They settled 
near the Reuters in Wisconsin and she grew up 
and was educated there. John A. came with his 
parents to Jacksonville, Oregon, in 1884. There 
the father took up the real estate business and 
this son was placed in the best schools. After 
studying in the grades, he went to Saint Marys 
in Oakland, California, and later was a student 
in the Willamette University. From that institu- 
tion he went direct to the well known Rush Med- 
ical College, in Chicago, and received his degree 
in 1897. Returning to Oregon, he wasjnterne 
in the St. Vincent hospital in Portland for one 
rear and then came to the eastern part of the 
state and took charge of the hospital for the 
Snake river railroad, where they were employ- 
ing four thousand men, for one year. After 
that service was completed with distinction, Dr. 
Reuter went to Europe and spent eighteen months 
in the leading medical institutions at London, 
Vienna and Berlin. Then he established himself 



33Q 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



in practice in Portland and a year later joined his 
old classmate,. Dr. Ferguson at The Dalles, where 
they have been associated for the time since and 
are handling a large practice, besides operating 
one of the most complete hospitals on the coast. 
Dr. Reuter is a member of the Elks, of the Red 
Men, of the A. O. U. W., and of the United Ar- 
tisans. He is known far and near as one of the 
most skillful surgeons in the northwest and has 
certainly demonstrated his ability in many deli- 
cate and trying cases. 



CLAYTON M. GRIMES, a prominent stock 
raiser of eastern Oregon, who resides at The 
Dalles, was born in Scio, Lane county, Oregon, 
on May 24, 1849. His parents reside at North 
Yakima, Washington. The district schools of his 
native country and eastern Oregon furnished the 
educational training of our subject and at the age 
of seventeen, he began to ride the range. For a 
while he worked for Colonel Nye then was in the 
employ of other prominent stockmen until twen- 
ty-six years of age, when he engaged in the stock 
business for himself at Grass Valley. From that 
time until the present, he has continued in this 
important enterprise and has achieved a marked 
success in the same. In addition to various other 
interests throughout the country, he owns an 
eleven hundred acre stock ranch in Malheur 
county, Oregon. He is a worthy and substantial 
citizen and has labored wisely and assiduously 
both in his private enterprises and for the general 
welfare of the country. 

At The Dalles, in 1880, Mr. Grimes married 
Miss Susan E. Shearer, a native ' of Colorado. 
She is an adopted daughter of Joseph H. Shearer 
of Shearar Bridge, Sherman county. Her own 
father is A. W. Turner, who lives in Malheur 
county, Oregon. Her mother died when she was 
an infant. Two children have been born to Mr. 
and Mrs. Grimes, F. Leroy, of the firm of Par- 
kins and Grimes, mentioned elsewhere in this 
volume ; Pearl, a music teacher at home. Mr. 
Grimes has one brother, Clamon, mining at Daw- 
son City, and four sisters, Cornelia, Amelia, 
Clara and Nettie. Mrs. Grimes has one brother, 
John Turner, a butcher in Malheur county. Mr. 
Grimes belongs to the K. P. and is a good 
stanch Republican. 



GUSTAV E. BARTELL, a mechanic of ex- 
cellent ability, is one of The Dalles' leading busi- 
ness men, and has demonstrated his worth and 
integrity here for years. He is owner and oper- 
ator of a large shop where he handles an extended 



trade as blacksmith, wagon maker, and painter. 
He employs three men all the time and more in 
the busy seasons. Mr. Bartell has his shop fitted 
for all kinds of work and is a master in handling 
tools and directing intricate jobs of all kinds. He 
has gained a fine reputation as a builder of first 
class stage coaches and his vehicles are used all 
over this western country. He takes great pride 
in his work and operates on the motto that what 
is worth doing is worth well doing. No job ever 
leaves his shops that is not completed in first 
class shape and in the best style of the art. 

Gustav E. Bartell was born in Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania, on June 29, 1875. His father, Gus- 
tav P. Bartell, was born in Germany, came to the 
United States in 1874 and followed harness mak- 
ing and saddlery until his death in The Dalles, on 
January 14, 1894. He had married Miss Julianna 
Loux, a native of Germany, also, and now living 
in The Dalles. In 1888, the family came to Ore- 
gon and settled in Pendleton, where two years 
were spent. Then came the move to The Dalles, 
and here our subject has remained since. He 
graduated from the high school here in 1895 and 
then completed his trade, which he had been 
learning during the vacations for three years 
previous. He wrought for George T. Thompson 
and also for L. L. Lane. In 1899, Mr. Bartell 
purchased the shops and business of St. Arnold 
and Schoren, and since that time has conducted 
the business, adding to it as the patronage in- 
creased, until he has one of the best equipped 
shops in this part of the state. He does all kinds 
of wagon and carriage building and blacksmith- 
ing and vehicle painting. Mr. Bartell is a genial 
and social man and has many friends. He lives 
with his mother and two brothers. He has three 
brothers : Max J., studying at Leland Stanford 
LJniversity ; Henry, in the high school in The 
Dalles ; Albert, in school ; and five sisters : Lena, 
wife of Ben Buschke, a farmer of Sherman 
county ; Emma, wife of Charles Koehler. a 
stockman in Dnfur : Louisa, wife of John O. Con- 
ner ; Minnie, a milliner in The Dalles ; and 
Martha, a teacher in Wasco county. Mr. Bartell 
is a member of the K. P. and past C. C. He is 
captain of Company D, Third Oregon National 
Guards. He organized this company from the 
members of the defunct Company G, during the 
Spanish war and has been captain for five years. 
His zeal and labors have accomplished much for 
the organization and he is well posted in military 
tactics. His brother. Max, enlisted in Company 
L. Second Oregon Volunteers at the first call 
and was in the twenty-eight engagements of his 
regiment in the Philippines. Our subject's reg- 
iment was the first to enter Manilla and he par- 
ticipated in the event. He was sergeant and. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



331 



served for seventeen months. Our subject de- 
serves great credit for the zeal and spirit dis- 
played in the organization of his company and 
for the manner in which he has enthused the 
minds of all to keep it in good shape to the 
present. 



AUGUSTUS A. BONNEY, a well known 
dairy man and cattle raiser of Tygh valley, was 
born in Marion county, Oregon on April 14, 
1849. His father, Bradford S. Bonney, is a na- 
tive of Ohio and comes from an old American 
family. His father, the grandfather of our sub- 
ject, was a pioneer in Ohio, Illinois, California 
and Oregon. The mother, Alzina (Dimick) 
Bonney, was a native of Ohio and came across 
the plains with her father and stepmother in 
1847, settlement being made near Woodburn, 
Oregon. Her father died there in 1863. Her 
mother had died when she was two weeks old and 
her step mother died in i860. Our subject's 
grandfather died in 1868, having been a physician 
of the old school. The father and mother of our 
subject died July 22, 1904, and April 2, 1897, re- 
spectively. The district schools furnished his 
education until he entered the Willamette Uni- 
versity whence he graduated in 1871. Then he 
taught at Buena Vista and other points until 
March 1, 1875, when he bought a flock of six 
hundred sheep and filed on a government claim 
where he now resides in Tygh valley. He has 
purchased railroad land and other until he has 
an estate of fifteen hundred acres, half of which 
is tillable. He irrigates one hundred and sixty 
acres. This is especially rich bottom land and 
produces from five to six tons of alfalfa per acre 
annually. Mr. Bonney continued in sheep rais- 
ing for twenty-five years and as the range began 
gradually to be used up, he sold his sheep and 
began the above business. He has seventy-five 
fine dairy cows and expects soon to handle one 
hundred. He has some of the finest stock in the 
state, among which may be mentioned, one bull, 
Linour, which took first prize at The Dalles fair 
and one cow, Moma B., which also took first 
prize. These are Jersey stock. He has several 
others that took first prize in the Oregon and 
Washington state fairs. Mr. Bonney has been 
very successful in handling stock and is one of 
the well-to-do and prominent dairy men of east- 
ern Oregon. 

On October 1, 1871, at Gervais, Oregon, Mr. 
Bonney married Miss Elizabeth Jones, a native 
of Indiana and the daughter of Silas W. R. and 
Elizabeth (Allen) Jones, natives of Indiana. The 
father lives in Indiana but the mother died some 
time since. They crossed the plains in 1852 and 



settled in Marion county. On February 26, li 
Mrs. Bonney was taken hence by death. On De- 
cember 22, 1889, at The Dalles, Mr. Bonney mar- 
ried Miss Emma Reavis, a native of San Fran- 
cisco. Her father, William Reavis, came to the 
coast in the early days and was a confectioner 
in San Francisco for many years. In 1885, he 
moved to Oregon and now lives with his daughter 
in Portland. Mr. Bonney has three brothers, 
George, Charles and Wisewell, and five sisters, 
Mrs. Sarah Hall, Mrs. Carrie M. Young, Mrs. 
Esther Hall, Mrs. Laura W. Shaw and Ina. Mrs. 
Bonney has two brothers. Arthur, in Australia, 
Walter H. and one sister, Mrs. Lillian Blue. Mr. 
Bonney has four children by his first wife : Clyde 
T., a dairyman in Marion county; Emma E., a 
bookkeeper for Mays Brothers in Hood River ; 
Georgia, a teacher in the graded schools at Wood- 
burn ; and Arthur, at home. By his second wife, 
Mr. Bonney has four children : Bessie, aged thir- 
teen ; Dale, eleven ; Loris, four ; and Verl, six- 
teen months. 

Politically, our subject is an active Republi- 
can and has frequently been delegate to the 
county and state conventions. Since being of 
age, he has been school director most of the time 
and is very active in promoting the welfare of the 
community. His wife is a member of the Con- 
gregational church and they are substantial and 
exemplary people. 



DR. BELLE (RINEHART) FERGUSON 
needs no introduction to the people of Wasco 
county or the surrounding country, for her pro- 
fessional services and her high standing as a 
lady of refinement and culture have won for her 
hosts of admirers from every quarter and she is 
rightly considered one of the leading physicians 
of central Oregon. Her birth occurred in Kan- 
sas and when still an infant she was brought by 
her parents, Daniel J. and Arvazena (Spillman) 
Cooper, who are mentioned in another portion of 
this work, to The Dalles. After completing a 
thorough public and high school education, Miss 
Cooper entered St. Helens Hall, in Portland and 
pursued literary studies farther. Then she mat- 
riculated at the state university medical depart- 
ment and graduated at Portland in 1897. For 
two vears subsequent to that event, we find 
Dr. Rinehart practicing in The Dalles, and then 
seeing the vast fields of erudition to be had, and 
well knowing the need of especial skill and knowl- 
edge in the all important profession of medicine, 
we find the doctor in the famous Polyclinic insti- 
tution in New York where she took a thorough 
post graduate course. Returning to The Dalles, 



33 2 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



she was married to Dr. Ferguson, of whom men- 
tion is made in another place of this work. 

Formerly, Miss Cooper married Dr. Willard 
E. Rinehart, who was born near Albany, Oregon. 
He was a member of the well known Rinehart 
family of Oregon, representatives of which are 
in various portions of the state. The doctor was 
for some time professor of anatomy in the Will- 
amette University, Oregon. He was a skilled 
and leading physician, having been graduated 
from the Jefferson Medical College of Philadel- 
phia, and the Bellevue Medical College of New 
York city. The marriage of Dr. Rinehart and 
Miss Cooper occurred in The Dalles, in 1881, and 
to them four children were born, named as fol- 
lows : Willard S., in the United States naval 
service ; J. Carl and H. Earl, twins, the former a 
graduate of the Agricultural College at Cor- 
vallis, and the latter now studying; and Phillip 
C, at college in Corvallis. 

Mrs. Rinehart commenced the study of med- 
icine under the direction of her former husband 
and then completed as mentioned above. Dr. 
Rinehart died in 1893. 

Mrs. Dr. Ferguson is .connected with her hus- 
band and Dr. Reuter in the management of the 
fine hospital which they have erected in The 
Dalles, a cut of which appears elsewhere in this 
work. 



DAVID C. WILSON is a well known 
farmer residing on Center Ridge. He was born 
in Adams county, Illinois, on December 15, 1844. 
His parents, David and Amanda (Hiler) Wilson, 
were natives of Bourbon county, Kentucky and 
died in 1869 and 1895, respectively. The father's 
parents were born in Virginia and pioneered to 
Kentucky. David C. was reared principally in 
Illinois, and there, too. received his education, 
the district schools supplying that important for- 
tification for the battles of life. He remained 
under the parental roof until the year of his ma- 
jority and then he began working out for the 
nearby farmers, and also for his father. Then, in 
1868, he went to Nevada, Missouri, and in 1870, 
returned thence to the home place in Illinois and 
purchased a portion of the old homestead. After 
cultivating that some time, he went to Texas, 
then returned to Nevada and in 1888, came thence 
to Oregon. He wrought at the carpenter trade 
in The Dalles, which he had learned in earlier 
years and made his home in that city until 1900, 
when he came to his present place and filed a 
homestead. Since that time, he has devoted him- 
self to farming and is one of the men whose 
labors have been bestowed with an industry and 
■energy that bring good results. 



On April 28, 1869, Mr. Wilson married Miss 
Susan A., daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Wil- 
son) Hinksbn, natives of Kentucky. The mother 
was a distant relative of Mr. Wilson. Mrs. Wil- 
son was born in Lewis county, Missouri. She has 
two sisters, Mrs. Elmira Wilson, and Mrs. 
Martha Wilson. Mr. Wilson has four brothers, 
James H., John A., Daniel, and Joseph, and 
three sisters, Mrs. Delilah H. Yates, Mrs. Fanny 
Cummings, and Mrs. Margaret Horney. To Mr. 
and Mrs. Wilson, twelve children have been born, 
named as follows : Elmer O., Thomas, Floyd, 
near their father and dwelling on farms ; Everett 
and Charles, at home ; Alice A., wife of Ebon 
Butser, a farmer near Nansene ; Effie, the wife of 
Bert H. Haynes, mentioned in this work ; Hattie, 
the wife of David Reardan, in The Dalles ; Rosie, 
Minnie, and Nellie, single ; and Ethel Pearl, the 
twin sister of Everett ; she died at The Dalles 
when fourteen. Mrs. Wilson owns land in addi- 
tion to the quarter section which her husband 
owns. They are good substantial people and 
have labored long and well to build up the 
country. 



VIRGIL WINCHELL has the distinction of 
having been born in the Hood River valley. This 
event occurred on August 31, 1865 on his father's 
homestead, a part of which he rents and resides 
upon at the present time, and which lies a short 
distance from the town of Hood River. The 
father, Jerome W., was a native of Calais, Maine 
and came from an old colonial family of prom- 
inence. Governor Winchell of Massachusetts 
and other leading men were members of this fam- 
ily. Jerome W. Winchell married Julia Neal, 
who was born while her parents were crossing 
the plains. Her father, Peter Neal, was a prom- 
inent settler of the east side of the Hood River 
valley. Our subject's father came to Oregon in 
1857, via the isthmus and was married at The 
Dalles in i860 and came to the Hood River val- 
ley one year later, where he took up land and re- 
sided six years. Owing to his illness, he re- 
turned to The Dalles and there died in 1870. His 
widow returned to the farm with her four chil- 
dren and there lived until 1888, the year of her 
death. In 1873, she was married to John Divers. 
Our subject has made his home here all of the 
time and on April 2, 1887 at Hood River was 
married to Maggie Knapp, a native of California, 
whose parents, George and (Vealy) Knapp. were 
natives of New York and Michigan, respec- 
tively. The father was a wealthy railroad con- 
tractor and the mother died when Mrs'. Winchell 
was eleven years of age. Mr. Winchell had one 
brother, Markham, who died in 1899 ; five half 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



333 



brothers, Divers, James, Perry, John and New- 
ton ; two, full sisters, Josephine Ditmer and Ara- 
bella Hoffman ; and three half sisters, Dollie Eng- 
lish, Mary Sellinger and Julia Estes. Mrs. 
Winchell has one brother, Clarence, and one sis- 
ter, Minnie Sorenson. Mr. and Mrs. Winchell 
are the parents of seven children, Arline, Edith, 
George, Grace, Joseph W., Maude, and Lena. 

Fraternally, Mr. Winchell is allied with the 
W. W., the United Artisans and the Foresters. 
He is a stanch Democrat and takes a keen inter- 
est in the campaign. He has served for many 
years on the school board and is a zealous advo- 
cate of better educational facilities. He and his 
wife are both members of the Union church and 
are substantial people. 



ALBERT I. MASON, a leading horticul- 
turist of the Hood River valley, lives about four 
miles south from town. He has a good place 
and has bestowed much labor in improving the 
same. His birth occurred on April 26, i860, and 
his parents are Jerome B. and Harriett (Rum- 
baugh) Mason, natives of Ohio and Pennsyl- 
vania, respectively. Both are now living. Our 
subject was educated in the public and normal 
schools of Missouri and began teaching soon 
after his graduation. Later, he went to Kansas 
and filed on a preemption upon which he proved 
up then returned to Missouri and taught school 
one winter in his home district. The next year, 
he went to Kansas and filed on a piece of land for 
the relinquishment of which he paid seven hun- 
dred dollars. After commuting on the same, he 
went to work as a carpenter in building depots 
for the Rock Island railroad. This trade he had 
learned in his younger days. Later, we see him 
in Kansas City laboring at the same trade. Then 
he left his family with relatives in the east and 
came to Portland, landing in that metropolis with 
two dollars. He followed the carpenter trade 
until 1893, when he passed the civil service ex- 
amination for a letter carrier. In that capacity, 
he worked in the Portland office for nine years. 
In 1896, he purchased eighty acres in the Hood 
River country which was covered with heavy 
pine timber, paying nine dollars and twenty-five 
cents per acre. His family resided here and he 
remained in the Portland office for six years 
longer. Mrs. Mason took charge of the im- 
provements of the farm while her husband was 
away and wisely expended the money in getting 
a nice orchard started and had a three years 
orchard growing when he arrived. They now 
have five hundred bearing trees and sixteen acres 
that will soon be bearing. Owing to a fraudulent 



nurseryman who sold him trees different from 
the kind he ordered, Mr. Mason has been set 
back some in the fruit industry and was com- 
pelled to cut down a great many acres and graft 
them to the proper varieties otherwise he would 
have a great many more trees bearing. They ex- 
pect to plant about seventeen acres more to apples 
which will make one of the largest orchards in 
the valley. 

Mr. Mason has one brother, Thomas O., and 
one half brother, James Swindler, and two half 
sisters, Maude Meyers and Lula Swindley. 

At Nescatunga, Kansas, on September 9, 
1889, Mr. Mason married Miss Ollie Magill, a 
native of Tennessee and the daughter of John W. 
and Jennie L. (Taylor) Magill, also natives of 
Tennessee. Her father died in Indian Territory,, 
in June, 1892, and the mother is living at Okla- 
homa City. Mrs. Mason has one brother, Will- 
iam F., and three sisters, Mrs. Dora Foster, Miss 
Orva, and Mrs. Allie Russell. The last was 
born on April 6, 1873 and died in Indian Terri- 
tory in 1898. Mr. Mason is serving his second 
term as president of the Hood River Apple 
Growers' union, having been the only incumbent 
of that office. He was one of the organizers of 
the union and has labored zealously for its pros- 
perity. 

Mr. and Mrs. Mason have two children,. 
Thomas Floyd, born on the farm, on August 27, 
1900, and Hattie Joy. born September 13, 1891, 
at Portland. Mr. Mason is a member of the Let- 
ter Carrier's Mutual Benefit Association of Port- 
land and was president of that branch when he 
left the service. Formerly, Mrs. Mason followed 
dressmaking and was in that capacity when she 
met Mr. Mason. Our subject's father was in the 
Civil War, Company D, Second Missouri Cav- 
alry, and came west with the G. A. R. excursion 
last fall. Mrs. Mason's father enlisted in Com- 
panv K, First Tennessee Infantry and later was 
promoted to the office of captain, the former cap- 
tain being forced to resign owing to the mutiny 
of the company. Mr. Mason enlisted for three 
years which continued for nine months longer 
after his term of enlistment and was mustered out 
during the battle of Atlanta. He was in very 
active service during all the time. 



EBER R. BRADLEY, a stirring business 
man of Hood River, owns and operates a first 
class job printing office. He is an expert in his 
business and turns out excellent work. He w T as 
born in the vicinity of Coburg, Northumberland 
county, Ontario, on March 18, r862, and when 
thirteen went with his parents to Sault Ste.. 



334 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Marie, where he remained until twenty-two. His 
parents, George W. and Julia M. (Carter) Brad- 
ley, were natives of Canada. The maternal 
grandfather was born in Ireland and his wife was 
a native of England. He died in Canada, on 
August 19, 1886 and the widow passed away in 
Tacoma, in 1898. Our subject entered the print- 
ing office when fourteen and learned the trade 
thoroughly. Later he spent two years on a farm, 
then sold the property and went to Nebraska, 
where he took a homestead. Later he sold this 
and established the Litchfield Monitor, an inde- 
pendent Republican organ, which he operated 
with a job office for seven years. Then he sold 
out and went to Texas, where he launched the 
Deepwater Enterprise, which suspended after a 
year in the field. Then Mr. Bradley raised cot- 
ton and finally went to the printing business again 
in Houston. It was October, 1899, that he sold 
out and came to Hood River, where he leased the 
Sun, which was discontinued a few months later. 
Since then, Mr. Bradley has given his attention 
to the job printing business, and is doing well. 
He handled the stationery business with this but 
sold the same recently to George I. Slocum. 

On May 24, 1882, at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich- 
igan, Mr. Bradley married Miss Sarah A. Lamo, 
who was born in Woodstock, Ontario, in 1865, 
September 27. Her parents and brothers and 
sisters are mentioned elsewhere in this work, 
Mr. Bradley has one brother, George Willis, and 
five sisters,' Mrs. Esther M. Hubbert, Mrs. Sally 
M. Christner, Mrs. Samantha A. Stephenson, 
Mrs. Rebecca S. Perry, and Mrs. Martha L. 
Irvine. Two children have been born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Bradley, Pearl E., on November 30, 1889, 
and Eldon R., on April 20, 1892. Mr. Bradley 
is a member of the I. O. O. F., the K. P., the A. 
O. U. W., the M. W. A., and the Order of Pendo. 
He is prominent in fraternal associations. Polit- 
ically, he is a Prohibitionist and is influential and 
prominent in the party and its conventions. He 
and his wife belong to the Methodist church and 
Mr. Bradley is a Bible class teacher. He is a 
member of the Hood River Commercial Club, 
and during his life has held various offices as 
postmaster, justice of the peace, city councilman 
and others. He is a popular young man and has 
many friends, who esteem him for his worth amd 
his integrity. 



POLK BUTLER is to be classed as one of 
the builders of Wasco county for he has labored 
here steadily for a quarter of a century and has 
so bestowed his industry and conducted himself 
that he has won a good holding of property and 
the esteem of his fellows. 



Polk Butler was born in Indiana, on Septem- 
ber 25, 1845, the son of Isaac and Ann L. (Jones) 
Butler, the former a native of Virginia, descended 
from old colonial settlers, and the latter born in 
Ohio. The father died in Warren county, Illi- 
nois, in 1875. The mother lives in Illinois, aged 
ninety-five. In his native place our subject was 
reared and educated, attending the district 
schools a part of each year and the remainder of 
the time being spent on the farm with his father. 
When eighteen, he went with the balance of the 
family to Illinois and in Monmouth of that state 
he married Miss Dell Coy. She was born in 
Indiana, the daughter of Hiram and Phcebe 
(Mindenhall) Coy, natives of North and South 
Carolina, respectively. The father died when 
Mrs. Butler was six years of age. Her mother 
later married Mr. Shelby and now is a widow liv- 
ing in California. Mrs. Butler's parents were 
among the early pioneers of Indiana, and her 
mother and Mrs. Shelby were pioneers to Ore- 
gon. In 1879, Mr. Butler came to Oregon and 
sought out a homestead, where he now lives. The 
place lies about one and one half miles southeast 
from Nansene. To the original homestead Mr. 
Butler has added by purchase until he has an 
estate of four hundred and eighty acres, two 
hundred of which he is cultivating to grain at 
this time. He has improved his place well and 
is one of the substantial men of the community. 
He has two brothers. Daniel W., Isaiah, and two 
sisters, Mrs. Nellie Bridenthall, Mrs. Eliza Gay- 
nor. Mrs. Butler has two brothers, Elihu and 
Arthur, and one sister, Mrs. Roxanna Hale. To 
Mr. and Mrs. Butler, four children have been 
born : Maud, the wife of Edward Griffin, at The 
Dalles ; Omer, a preacher in Idaho ; Roy D., a 
merchant at Boyd, and mentioned elsewhere in 
this work ; and Earl C, at home. Mr. Butler is 
a member of the I. O. O. F., the Rebekahs, and 
the Encampment. He has passed the chairs and 
has been delegate to the grand lodge. Politically, 
he is a stanch Jeffersonian Democrat. Mrs. But- 
ler is a member of the Christian church. For 
twenty years Mr. Butler has been school direc- 
tor and is considered one of the leading and sub- 
stantial men of this community. 



THOMAS J. CUNNING is a retired citi- 
zen of Hood River. He and his wife have a very 
lovely residence on the top of the hill from which 
they have a surpassing view. They are well to 
do and popular people and have hosts of friends. 

Thomas J. was born in Ohio, on November 
8, 1838, the son of Edward and Jane (Officer) 
Cunning, natives of Maryland and Ohio, respec- 
tively. The father followed carpentering and 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



335 



his parents came from Ireland. The mother de- 
scended from Scotch-Irish people, who were na- 
tives of Pennsylvania. Our subject was raised 
and educated in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, and 
after completing the high school course, learned 
the miller's trade. In 1861, he enlisted in Com- 
pany K, T went}-- fourth Ohio Infantry, and served 
until June, 1865, when he was honorably dis- 
charged at Washington, D. C. For eight months 
he was detailed to handle stock in the quarter- 
master's department. He was under almost con- 
stant fire for the years of his service, and honor- 
ably did the part of the brave defender of the 
nation's flag. He participated in the battles of 
Green Brier, Cheat Mountain, Murfreesboro, 
Perryville, Stone River, Chickamauga. all of the 
engagements before Corinth, and in all of those 
participated in by the Army of the Cumberland. 
He was at Missionary Ridge, Lookout Mountain 
and many others, with skirmishes too numerous 
to mention. In many of these, Mr. Cunning was 
in imminent danger and once his clothing was 
riddled with bullets but he never suffered a 
wound and was active from the time of his enlist- 
ment to the day he was mustered out. After the 
Rebellion was put down, he returned to milling 
in Ohio, and in 1869 moved to Missouri where 
he lived for twenty-five years and followed mill- 
ing. He was postmaster for four years at Mt. 
Moriah, Harrison county, Missouri, and owned 
a mill for six years. During the whole twenty- 
five years of his residence in Missouri, he was 
school director and prominent in politics and edu- 
cational matters. In 1895, he came to Hood 
River, and since coming here has been mostly re- 
tired although devoting some attention to buying 
and selling real estate and loaning money. 

In October, 1865, m Tuscarawas county, Ohio, 
Mr. Cunning married Mary Kinsey, who was 
born in Baden, Germany, and the daughter of 
John Kinsey, a native of Switzerland. She died 
on October 4, 1889, at Mt. Moriah, Missouri. 
On February 24, 1894, in Mt. Moriah, Mr. Cun- 
ning married Mrs. Agnes Markham, the daugh- 
ter of Piatt and Amanda C. (Lathrop) Blount, 
natives of New York and descended from old 
New England families. The father's father is a 
patriot of the Revolution. Mrs. Cunning's par- 
ents settled in Wisconsin before it was a state 
and did much excellent pioneer work there. Mr. 
Cunning has two brothers, John D., Captain of 
Company G, Fifty-first Ohio in the Civil war, and 
William E. Mrs. Cunning has two brothers, 
Luke D., a veteran of Company D, Seventh AVis- 
consin, in the Civil war, and Jerold L., and one 
sister, Amelia Green. Mr. Cunning has the fol- 
lowing named children : Thomas O., a railroad 
man in Texas ; Rosa, wife of Charles Linthicus, 



Boise, Idaho; H. Alton, living in Hood River; 
Emma, wife of Frank Butler, a stockman at 
Boise, Idaho; and Arthur, at home. Mrs. Cun- 
ning has one son, Claude E. Markham, living on 
the west side. Mr. Cunning's mother's brother, 
David Officer, while attending a free soil meet- 
ing in Ohio was killed by a man whom he was 
ejecting from a church building on account of 
creating a disturbance. One of the Officer family 
was a preacher and missionary to Africa. Mr. 
Cunning is a member of the G. A. R., and one 
of the substantial and affable men of the town. 



HENRY F. LAGE is overseer and manager 
of the farm owned by Hon. M. Moody, which is 
located south from the town in Hood River val- 
ley. He was born in Davenport, Iowa, on Feb- 
ruary 24, 1875, the son of Hans and Lena (Hoek) 
Lage, who have a biography in this work. Henry 
F. was one year old when his parents came here 
and so his life has practically been spent here, 
and his education gained in the schools of the 
valley. After school days were over he gave his 
entire attention to the work of the farm, where, 
also, he had wrought during his youth. For the 
six years, last past, he has been in his present po- 
sition and is considered one of the substantial 
and upright men of this county. The farm pro- 
duces hay, principally, and under the skillful care 
of our subject is made one of the best about. 

At Hood River, on January 1, 1902, Mr. Lage 
married Miss Violet George Frances Rose Etta 
Grace Lamon, who was born in Sault Ste. Marie, 
Ontario, Canada, on February 11, 1882, the 
daughter of Henry and Matilda J. (Thompson) 
Lamon, natives respectively of W T oodstock, On- 
tario, and county Tyrone, Ireland, and now dwell- 
ing on a farm near the birthplace of Mrs. Lage. 
Mir. Lage's brothers and sisters are mentioned in 
another portion of this work. His wife has one 
brother, William H. and three sisters, Mrs. 
Sarah A. Bradley, Airs. Mary E. Magill, and 
Mrs. Matilda L. Prescotte. Two children have 
been born to our subject and his wife, Florence 
Beatrice, aged eighteen months ; and an infant 
girl unnamed, born May 25, 1905. Mr. Lage is 
a member of the United Artisans and his wife 
belongs to that order and the Ladies Degree of 
Honor of the A. O. U. W., while they both are 
members of the Congregational church. 

Mrs. Lage's paternal grandfather, Douglas 
Lamon, was born in Glasgow, Scotland and mar- 
ried Rebecca Watson, a native of Dublin, Ireland. 
He was a soldier all his life and won many 
medals. He was a member of the Fortyninth 
Highlanders in the battle of Waterloo. He was 



336 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



drowned in Woodstock, Ontario, in 1837. Mrs. 
Lage's maternal grandfather was a native born 
Highlander and followed school teaching and 
linen weaving. He married Sarah J. Curtis, a 
native of Tyrone, Ireland, and still living. She 
was born just two years previous to the birth of 
Queen Victoria, to a day, and is now ninety- 
three. Mr. Lage's grandmother is now ninety- 
three and is living in Schleswig, Germany. Mrs. 
Lage's father is of Scotch ancestry and was a 
pioneer where he now lives near Sault Ste. Marie, 
and has been there for forty years. His children 
who are dead are John J., died May 18, 1899, 
aged thirty-seven ; Margaret R., died February 
7, 1888, aged eighteen ; Martha J., died in 1885, 
aged eleven ; George F., died when seven. An- 
other named George F. was born in 1884 and died 
one year and a half later. All passed away in 
Sault Ste. Marie. 



HON. EZRA LEONARD SMITH was born 
in Vermont, on September 17, 1837, the son of 
Ezra and Avis (Barker) Smith, natives of Con- 
necticut and Haverhill, New Hampshire, respec- 
tively. The father came from a prominent Amer- 
ican family, the first .of whom, Richard Smith, 
came to Massachusetts in 1630. 

Ezra L. Smith was educated in the Orleans 
Liberal Institute of Glover, Vermont and at Lom- 
bard University of Galesburg, Illinois. On March 
4, 1 86 1, he was married at Woodstock, Illinois to 
Georgiana Slocum, second daughter of Ira and 
Marietta (Sheldon) Slocum. 

Going to California in 1 861, he lived six years 
in that state, most of the time in Eldorado county, 
where he was interested in mining. In 1865-66, 
he was a member of the California legislature 
and during his whole residence in California, 
was an enthusiastic Republican. In 1867, he was 
appointed secretary of Washington territory, upon 
the recommendation of William H. Seward, by 
President Johnson. A portion of the time he 
served as secretary, he also acted as governor 
of the territory, owing to the illness and enforced 
absence of Governor Marshall Moore. 

Mr. Smith with George A. Barnes and Wil- 
liam H. Avery established the first bank in Olym- 
pia, under the name of George A. Barnes & Co. 
Mr. Smith also served as a member of the terri- 
torial council. 

After a residence of nine years in Olympia, 
on account of failing health, he moved to Hood 
River, Oregon, in 1876, where he engaged in 
farming and also had a general merchandise store. 
He was appointed register of The Dalles land 
office in 1883 and after his term of office expired, 



he returned to Hood River, where he has resided 
continuously since 1886. In 1888 he was elected 
to the Oregon Legislature and he was made speak- 
er of the House of Representatives. He was three 
times president of the Columbia River Waterway 
Association. For three years, he has been presi- 
dent of the State Horticultural Society and is 
serving his fourth year as president of the State 
Board of Horticulture. Mr. Smith is an en- 
thusiastic horticulturist and devoted to the up- 
building of his home town. 

Mr. Smith's family consists of his wife and 
four married daughters ; Jessie, wife of Dr. J. F. 
Watt; Avis, wife of William M. Stewart; 
Georgiana, wife of J. E. Rand ; and Anne C, wife 
of Rev. O. J. Nelson. 



FRANK C. SHERRIEB, deserves to be es- 
pecially ranked as one of the pioneers of this 
portion of Wasco county, since he was the first 
one to settle in his vicinity and since he did much 
to open the country then and has labored faith- 
fully since in building it up and developing the 
same. He was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, 
July 14, 1845, the son °f Ignatius and Elizabeth 
(Miller) Sherrieb, also natives of the same place 
as this son. They came to Pennsylvania and 
and there the father died in 1874 and the mother 
in 1878. Frank was nine years old when he came 
with his parents to Erie county, Pennsylvania 
and he remained with them until twenty-two. He 
was well educated in the district schools and then 
went to Michigan and labored two years. After 
that he engaged with the Union Pacific on con- 
struction and labored all along the line from 
Wyoming west. In 1871, he landed in Portland, 
Oregon and three months later came to the Hood 
River and homesteaded the place where he now 
resides about four miles southwest from the town. 
During all the intervening years he has labored 
steadily and has made a clean and excellent repu- 
tation for himself. Of the original quarter sec- 
tion that he homesteaded, he still owns one hun- 
dred and thirty-five acres. Mr. Sherrieb does 
diversified farming and in addition raises fruit 
and operates a dairy. 

At Hood River, on May 1, 1887, Mr. Sherrieb 
married Mrs. Isabel Rohrabach, nee Boorman, 
and a native of Trumbull county, Wisconsin. Her 
father, William Boorman, was born in England 
and married Miss Lucy Rand, a native of West 
Virginia. They both are retired and living in 
Hood River. Mr. Sherrieb has one brother, 
Robert, and three sisters, Mrs. Rose Shelly, Mrs. 
Victoria Baskervillc, and Mrs. Sophia Fogle- 
bausrh. Mrs. Sherrieb has one brother, Alfred 





Ezra L. Smith 



Frank C. Sherneb 





George Perkins 



Mrs. George Perkins 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



33? 



A., and one half brother, Scott Boorman, and four 
sisters: Ellen A., the wife of J. H. Ackerman, 
superintendent of public instruction of the state 
of Oregon ; Mrs. Emma Ellis, Mrs. Minnie Caddy, 
and Mrs. Alice Miller. Six children have been 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Sherrieb, Lora, Grace, 
Caroline, Leslie, and Ralph, all school children, 
Mildred, an infant. Our subject and his wife are 
members of the Belmont Methodist church. He 
is one of the official board and assisted to organize 
the church. Mr. Sherrieb was a moving spirit 
in the construction of the present tasty building 
belonging to this class and has labored zealously 
for the prosperity of the church. He also assisted 
to organize and build the first Methodist church 
of Ogden, Utah, where he lived about two years. 
Mr. Sherrieb assisted to organize the first irriga- 
tion company in the Hood river valley, The Water 
Supply Company, and is now president of the 
same. He has held some important office in the 
organization for twenty-seven years, having been 
president for the past six years. He is serving 
his tenth year as director of the Barrett district 
and helped to organize the same. He has been 
an enthusiastic and hard laborer for the advance- 
ment of the school interest of this district from 
the beginning and its present prosperous and ad- 
vanced condition has been brought about by his 
wise labors together with others. Politically, Mr. 
Sherrieb is a Prohibitionist and a stanch man of 
principle. He stands excellently in the com- 
munity. 



GEORGE PERKINS, a well known and in- 
dustrious agriculturist of Mount Hood, was born 
in Gloucestershire, England, on December 14, 
1 84 1. His parents were John and Sarah (Gibbs) 
Perkins, natives of the same place and now de- 
ceased. Until 1882, our subject labored in his 
native land and then went direct from England 
to New Zealand and after one year in that coun- 
try, came to San Francisco, whence he made his 
way to Oregon and settled in the Antelope valley 
for one year. After that, he resided in the Hood 
River country and remained there a short time, 
near where the town of Hood River is now lo- 
cated. After that, he spent a little while at 
Mosier, then he came to the place where we now 
find him. The land was in dispute between the 
government and the railroad and he settled on a 
quarter section which reverted to the government 
and upon which he proved up. Mr. Perkins took 
out his citizenship papers at The Dalles one year 
after arriving here. 

He has bestowed his labors upon the farm 
since settlement and has now a good portion under 



cultivation and owns eighty acres, having sold 
eighty. He is a man of good standing in the 
community, industrious and enterprising and has 
many friends. 

On March 1, 1895, at Mount Hood, Mr. Per- 
kins married Mrs. Ann Demmic, a sister of the 
well known pioneer, David R. Cooper. By her 
former marriage, Mrs. Perkins has the following 
named children, Joseph, George, John, Zibe, James 
and Belle, the wife of Charles Schmidt. Mrs. 
Perkins was born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, on 
March 3, 1839. She came to Oregon in May ; 
i860 and remained in the Umpqua valley until 
June, 1862, when she came thence to The Dalles; 
In i860, she married Hezekiah Russel Demmic. 
She remained in The Dalles until 1884, when she 
came to Mt. Hood. Mr. Perkins has a fine apple 
orchard of four and one half acres, all bearing, 
and an acre and one-half of prunes. He also has 
five acres of clover, and cultivates fifteen acres. 
His place is well improved with house and barn* 
and so forth. He took nearly five hundred boxes 
of apples from his orchard and cut fifty-eight tons 
of clover from the five acres. 



WILLIAM H. TAYLOR, one of 'the earliest 
pioneers to Oregon, and now one of the largest 
orchardists in Wasco county, residing about one 
mile south of The Dalles, was born in Knox 
county, Illinois, on September 11, 1844. His 
parents, James and Elizabeth (Smelser) Taylor, 
came from prominent families, the father's of 
New England birth and the mother's natives 
of the southern part of the L T nited States. The 
paternal grandfather of our subject was a wagon 
boy in the Revolution and died aged ninety-seven; 
Our subject's parents were pioneers in Illinois; 
Indiana and Oregon. The father died on March 
14, 1888, and the mother on March 2.7, 1889, 
both in Baker county, Oregon. , They crossed 
the plains in 1852 with their children and, al- 
though the trip was hard, they were fortunate 
not to lose any life by Indians. Still some stock 
was stolen and some died. They started with 
four yoke of oxen and two horses and arrived at 
The Dalles with three oxen. One was traded for 
a trip down the Columbia and they finally reached 
the Willamette with one pair of oxen. Settle- 
ment was made in Linn county, and in 1883 tne y 
came to Umatilla county where our subject had 
preceded them three years. William H. had very 
little opportunity to gain an education, being com- 
pelled to work on the farm then having to walk 
three miles each way to school. They came td 
Umatilla county and raised stock for ei°ht vears 



22 



33,8 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



in that portion which is known as Morrow 
county. In 1878, he came to the place where he 
now resides and together with his children, owns 
nine hundred acres of choice land. He has an 
orchard of forty acres, mostly prunes, and pro- 
duces many thousands of boxes of fruit. He 
also raises melons and other vegetables. The 
place is a valuable one, excellently improved, 
while his residence is a large two story white 
house, situated in a beautiful lawn with good 
shade trees and ornamental shrubbery. An air 
of thrift and neatnesss pervades the entire premi- 
ses and Mr. Taylor is known as one of the lead- 
ing men of this part of the country. 

On December 20, 1865, in Linn county, Mr. 
Taylor married Miss Mary E. Wigle, a native 
of Illinois. Her parents, John and Katherine 
(Hunsaker) Wigle, crossed the plains to Ore- 
gon in 1852. They were of German descent, and 
Mrs. Wigle died in Wasco county. Mrs. Taylor 
died on June 10, 1900. 

On October 16, 1901, in Linn county, Mr. 
Taylor married Nancy E. Kizer, born in Linn 
.county and the daughter of Marion and Mary 
(Wigle) Kizer. The father came to Oregon in 
1853 an d dwells on the farm his father bought 
after selling his donation claim. The mother was 
born in Illinois and came to Linn county with 
her people in 1852. They both reside there at 
the present time. Mr. Taylor has the following 
brothers and sisters : Isaiah T., Susan J. Hearing, 
Malinda A. Savage, Julia A. Long, Mary E. 
Simon, Lizonia Burnside, and John J., who died 
in Umatilla county, in 1870, aged nineteen. The 
rest all reside in Baker county, Oregon. Mr. 
Taylor's present wife has six brothers and two 
sisters, all but one living in the Willamette val- 
ley. His first wife had three brothers. Mr. 
Taylor's children are named as follows : John 
A., a native of Linn county, now at Riverside, 
California ; James E., born in Linn county and 
associated with his father in fruit growing ; Al- 
bert R., born in Wasco county, at home ; Wil- 
liam R., born in Wasco county, a school boy ; 
(Otis J., born in Umatilla county and died when 
•an infant ; Archie T., born in Wasco county, and 
died when an infant ; Martha E., wife of James 
Clark, in North Yakima, Washington ; Rettie, 
the wife of Earl Livenspire, born in Umatilla 
county and living with her father ; Alice and Car- 
rie, boru in L'matilla county, both deceased, the 
former at twenty-six and the other at three years 
•of age. Alice had married Perry Morgan, and 
had two children, Velma A., living with our sub- 
ject, and Cecil C, deceased. 

Mr. Taylor is an active Democrat, an enter- 
prising man and one of the best orchardists in 
Wasco county. 



Since the above was written, Mr. Taylor has 
erected a fine house at 822 Elm street, The Dalles, 
where he resides with his family. One child, 
Byron K., in addition to those mentioned, was 
born to him and his wife on May 7, 1904. 



ARTHUR A. MARVEL, who resides at 
Boyd, is one of the wealthy and solid men of 
Wasco county, and has for the years of his resi- 
dence here manifested great industry and sagac- 
ity in the conduct of his business. He has won 
the success that these qualities deserve, and has 
also esconced himself in the good will and esteem 
of every one who knows him. The birth of Mr. 
Marvel occurred in Dewitt county, Illinois, on 
September 8, 1870, and his parents were George 
W. and Samantha (Lever) Marvel, natives of 
Indiana. The father's father was born in Mary- 
land, descended from an old colonial family. He 
now lives in Gilliam county. The mother of our 
subject died when he was seven years of age. 
In Pottawatomie county, Kansas, Arthur was 
reared principally, and there received his educa- 
tion. The family had come thither when 
he was three years of age. In 1887 they all 
came overland to Gilliam county and there 
Arthur wrought until 1898, when he went 
to Morrow county, in this state, and there 
purchased a thousand acres where the town of 
Douglas now stands. He sold some lots for the 
town, then farmed the balance of the land until 
1902, when he sold the entire property and pur- 
chased a section of land which he recently sold. 
Of this he placed over two hundred acres in cul- 
tivation, and improved it in excellent shape. He 
was thrifty as a farmer and cared for all details 
of the estate with the same untiring care that is 
displayed in the larger matters of the business. 
After selling his farm Mr. Marvel purchased the 
mill at Boyd, where he now resides. 

At Heppner, on October 31, 1900, Mr. Mar- 
vel married Miss Millie D. Wilson, a native of 
Clackamas county, Oregon. Her father, George 
W. Wilson, was born in Maine and came from 
English and Scotch ancestry. He came west to 
California, then to Clackamas county in 1878, 
where he died in July, 1902. He had married 
Alice Garrison, a native of Iowa, who came 
across the plains with her parents with ox teams 
when a child about eleven years old. She died 
in Clackamas county in September, 1883. Mr. 
Marvel has two brothers, George F. and Charles 
B. ; one sister, Mrs. Mary E. Atkinson ; one half 
brother, Wiley R. : and five half sisters, Florence 
G., Nellie E.," Ruth G.. Lottie L., and Lillie E. 
Mrs. Marvel has one brother, Samuel S. On 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



339 



October 13, 1901, a son was born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Marvel, whose name is George A. They also 
have an 'infant son unnamed. Mr. Marvel is a 
stanch Republican, has been school director and 
coroner, but while intelligent in politics, he does 
not press for personal preferment. He is affil- 
iated with the W. W. He and his wife are esti- 
mable people, good patriotic and substantial citi- 
zens, and are among the most popular people of 
the community. 



RALPH E. BUTLER, an enterprising and 
genial young man, whose residence is in the 
vicinity of Nansene, was born in Tygh valley, 
Wasco county, on February 23, 1879. His 
father, Jonathan Butler, was born in Indiana and 
came to California in 1849, crossing the plains 
with ox teams. Later he mined in the Rogue 
river country and then settled in the Willamette 
valley. After that he came to Wasco county and 
in 1879 was hving in the Tygh valley where our 
subject was born. After holding land there by 
squatter's right for several years, he came to the 
place now owned by our subject and remained 
until his death. He had married Mary A. Fos- 
ter, who came to Oregon with her parents in 
1849, crossing the plains with ox teams also. 
The first settlement of the Fosters was in the 
Rogue river valley. After Mr. Butler's death, 
his widow homesteaded the land where they 
lived and also bought more. She handled the 
estate until her death, which occurred on July 
16, 1 90 1. Our subject purchased from the heirs 
three hundred and forty acres of the estate and 
since then has given his attention to the cultiva- 
tion and improvement of the same. He has also 
taken a homestead near by where he resides at 
this time. He is one of the well known young 
men of the community and has shown commenda- 
ble industry and thrift in his labors and in hand- 
ling his property. His education was received 
from the public schools here, and he is a product 
■of which Wasco county may well be proud. As 
yet, he has chosen to take the path of single 
blessedness and is a bachelor, jolly and genial. 
Mr. Butler has four brothers ; William H., a 
mining man in the Greenhorn district in Baker 
county, this state ; Robert L., with his elder 
brother; Ebon P., at Nansene; Miron S., also 
at Nansene ; he also his two sisters, Leonore 
the wife of Avisson F. Haynes, at Dufur ; Nellie 
M., the wife of Walter J. Jones, in Crescent City, 
California. 

Mr. Butler is an active and well informed 
Democrat and gives of his time to serve on the 
.school board. 



HON. NEWTON CLARK, who is grand 
recorder for the A. O. U. W. at Portland, Ore- 
gon, having office at 203 Commercial block, and 
a residence at 400 Broadway, in that city, is 
entitled to representation in this volume since he 
has lived for many years at Hood River and did 
much to open up and build up this portion of 
Wasco county. He was born in Illinois, on May 
27, 1838, the son of Thomas L. and Delilah 
(Saddoris) Clark, natives of Indiana and Ohio, 
respectively. The mother's parents were Ger- 
man and she is now living with our subject, aged 
ninety. The father came to Wisconsin as a 
pioneer in the early forties. In 1877, accom- 
panied by his wife and our subject, he drove 
across the plains to Oregon. Our subject's wife 
and children came a year later. Our subject was 
a small child when the journey to Wisconsin 
was made, and he remained in the Badger state 
until grown to manhood, receiving there his edu- 
cation from the district schools and the Point 
Bluffs institute, graduating from the latter with 
honors. After that, Mr. Clark followed farming 
and the mercantile business for some time. After 
that, he journeyed to Oregon in 1877 and did 
farming and surveying in Wasco county. He 
bought state land at Hood River and resided 
here eleven years. He also owns property here 
at the present time. After that period had 
elapsed, he was appointed to his present position 
and still retains the same. 

On October 14, i860, at North Freedom, Wis- 
consin, Mr. Clark married Mary A. Hill, a native 
of Scotland and the daughter of William Hill, 
who was born in the same country and followed 
milling. Mr. Clark has no brothers or sisters, 
and Mrs. Clark has the following named brothers 
and sisters : William, James, Douglas, Mrs. Eliz- 
abeth Lehmer, Jeanette Petteys. 

Politically, Mr. Clark is an active and influ- 
ential Republican. In South Dakota he was a 
member of the territorial legislature and made 
an excellent record in that body. He was chair- 
man of the board of county commissioners in 
Minnehaha county for many years and Clark 
county was named in his honor. He has been 
active in the conventions since coming to Ore- 
gon, but has aspired to no political office. 

Fraternally, he is allied with the G. A. R. 
and the A. O. U. W. In September, 1861, Mr. 
Clark enlisted in the Fourteenth Volunteer In- 
fantry, Company K, as private, and was mustered 
out in October. 1865, as regular quartermaster. 
He was in fourteen of the principle battles under 
Grant and was all through the western campaign. 
He participated in the Red River campaign under 
General Canby and was under him at the siege 
of Mobile when peace was declared. Mr. Clark 



34Q 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



furnished the flag put up on the Vicksburg court 
house when the war was ended. He has been 
a prominent and progressive citizen in the various 
places where he has resided and is remembered 
in Wasco county as a man of bright mind and 
public spirit. 



HEWITT RING is well known, not only 
in Wasco county, but all through this part of 
Oregon. Since 1875 he has handled the well 
known stage station located at Nansene where 
he has demonstrated himself a genial and capa- 
ble host to the traveling public. His place is well 
known and greatly appreciated. In addition to 
this, he owns a fine farm besides other property. 

Hewitt Ring was born in Missouri, on Sep- 
tember 12, 1850, the son of Thomas and Mar- 
garet (Hewitt) Ring. The father was a native 
of Virginia and his parents came from old col- 
onial stock. He died in Benton county, Oregon, 
on November 19, 1865. His father was born -n 
Pennsylvania and her father came thither from 
Germany. Her mother was a native of the Em- 
erald Isles. She died on November 10, 1885, 
at Salem, Oregon. They had crossed the plains 
with ox teams in 1852 when our subject was an 
infant. When their train reached the Clearwater 
Mr. Ring was taken with cholera and suffered 
from that dread disease while they traveled four 
hundred miles. He was the only member of 
the train that had the disease, and finally recov- 
ered. They settled in Polk county and then went 
to Benton county, where they took a donation 
claim. Our subject was educated in that county 
and when sixteen went to the mines at Canyon 
City. Three years later, he went to Nebraska 
and rented land for three years. Then he re- 
turned to Oregon and was married on March 
7, 1877, at Jefferson, Marion county, to Amanda 
Montgomery, who was born in Georgia, on Au- 
gust 20, 1857. Her father, King Montgomery, 
was also a native of Georgia and his parents of 
the same state. The Montgomery family is an 
old and influential one there. He married Mary 
Hemphill, a native of North Carolina. Her par- 
ents were of colonial stock and she and her hus- 
band came to Oregon in 1875, settling near Mar- 
ion county. Mrs. Ring has two brothers, John 
and George, and two sisters, Mrs. Mary Shelton 
and Mrs. Sophronia Taylor. Mr. Ring has two 
brothers, Jesse and Rufus, and one sister, Mrs. 
Virginia Wagner. Following his marriage, our 
subject rented a farm in Marion county and re- 
mained in the Willamette valley until September 
4, 1875, when he arrived in Wasco county, where 
he filed on a homestead near Nasene postoffice. 
After fanning it for seven years, he sold out 



and bought the place where he now resides,, 
which was known as the John Adams estate. It 
has been a stage station ever since 1874 and also 
a postoffice, Mrs. Ring being postmistress. Five 
children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Ring: 
Winfred, at home; Cora, wife of George Stirn- 
weis at Nansene ; Caledonia, wife of William 
Taylor, a farmer at Dufur ; Lelia, the wife of 
Paul Maxwell in Yamhill county ; and Maude at. 
home. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor have two children,. 
Helen G. and Malcolm. 



DANIEL L. GATES is a popular man in 
Wasco county and has been prominent for years 
in business circles and political life. He was 
born in Lane county, Oregon, on May 7, 1857, 
the son of John and Sarah E. (Grice) Cates. The 
mother was born in Maryland and died in i860, 
our subject being a small boy. The father was 
born in Kentucky, in 1825, and came from a 
family of early pioneers. He crossed the plains 
with ox teams in 1849, then returned east the 
next year via the isthmus. After that he thread- 
ed the dreary plains again and settled in Lane 
county. In 1859, he came to Wasco county 
and raised stock until 1872 when he moved to 
The Dalles and now resides there. Daniel L. 
was educated in the district schools and then, 
completed in the high school at The Dalles. 
Following those days he did sawmilling until 
1886, when he entered the sheriff's office as 
deputy and continued until 1890. Then he was 
nominated on the Democratic ticket for sheriff 
of Wasco county and was elected by a good ma- 
jority, being one of two Democrats chosen in the 
county. After a term of excellent service Mr. 
Cates turned his attention to other business and 
soon came to Cascade Locks, where he resides at 
the present time. He purchased a large quantity 
of timber land and has given his attention to 
lumbering largely since that time. He also is 
interested in salmon fishing and has two wheels.. 
He owns a farm across the Columbia in Wash- 
ington, and other property. Mr. Cates was con- 
ducting a merchandise business for some time 
here. 

On October 9, 1889, at The Dalles, Mr. 
Cates married Miss Alice DeHuff, a native of 
Portland. Her parents, Peter and Mary F. 
(Stryker) DeHuff, reside in The Dalles and 
were born in York, Pennsylvania, and Kenosha, 
Wisconsin, respectively. The father is engaged 
on the O. R. & N. as a mechanic. Our subject 
has one brother, William A., and two sisters, 
Sarah E. Frizzell, and Susan C. Wilson. Mrs. 
Cates has two sisters. Marv F. McCornack and 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



34i 



Katrina Morris. To Mr. and Mrs. Cates three 
children, have been born, Harold DeH., Ruth, 
and Albert L. Mr. Cates is a member of the 
K. P., the A. F. & A. M., the R. A. M., the W. 
O. W., and the Elks. v He and his wife belong 
to the Circle of the W. W. Mr. Cates has passed 
through the chairs of the K. P. Lodge, and has 
been prominent in organizing different lodges. 
He is a popular fraternal man and well known. 
His wife was the first guardian neighbor of the 
W. W. Circle, No. 232. Politically, Mr. Cates 
is an active and well informed Democrat of much 
influence and well liked throughout the county. 
He is secretary and stockholder of the Cascade 
Locks Water Company. Mrs. Cates belongs to 
the Episcopal church and is an active worker. 
) 



MARTIN JAKSHA has achieved in Wasco 
county a success in which any man might take 
great pride. Many things happened to defeat 
him and would have overcome a less resolute 
and determined man. The obstacles in his path- 
way only developed in him a corresponding deter- 
mination to overcome them and make himself 
•master of the situation. A public spirited, gen- 
erous man, industrious and upright, he has. won 
"his way through from a position in which he 
possessed no property until he is now one of the 
well-to-do citizens of Wasco county. 

Mr. Jaksha was born in Austria, on October 
17, 1848, the son of John and Anna (Golovich) 
Jaksha, natives of the same country, where also 
they remained until their death. In 1878, we find 
our subject in Chicago. After a few days in that 
•metropolis he came on to Joliet, Illinois, and 
worked out for six months. His next move was 
to Iowa, and, after working on a farm for some 
time there, he landed in Portland, in 1879. He 
worked for one month in the city and then six 
months in Washington county, and in the spring 
of 1880 came to Wasco county with scarcely 
enough money to file on a homestead. His place 
is situated near the free bridge road ten miles 
out from The Dalles. He at once started to work 
to improve the homestead and make of it a choice 
farm. Although his progress was very slow still 
he has succeeded admirably and now has an estate 
of over five hundred acres, four hundred acres 
of which are choice tillable soil. This year sees 
two hundred and seventy acres of this estate 
bearing excellent crops of wheat, and the im- 
provements on the farm show Mr. Jaksha's taste 
and sagacity. In addition to all this, he pur- 
chased a fine farm which cost him two thousand 
five hundred dollars and presented it to his step- 
daughter. 



On January 31, 1884, at The Dalles, Mr. 
Jaksha married Mrs. Albina Pashek, who was 
born in Bohemia. She has five brothers and two 
sisters, Carl, Frank, Wentzel, John, Anton, Mrs. 
Anna Divokey, and Mrs. Mary Schuster. Mr. 
Jaksha has two brothers, John and Peter, and two 
sisters, Mrs. Anna Pasich and Apolona. To 
Mr. and Mrs. Jaksha two children have been 
born, Andrew, a student at Mount Angel, and 
Joseph, at home. By her first marriage in Bohe- 
mia, Mrs. Jaksha has one daughter, Anna, the 
wife of George Jacobson. She is the daughter 
to whom Mr. Jaksha presented the farm. In 
addition to this, he purchased the right of a 
homestead adjoining that farm and she and Mr. 
Jacobson reside there at this time. 

Mr. Jaksha has been prominent in political 
matters and has held various offices. He and his 
wife are both members of the Roman Catholic 
church. In addition to the property mentioned, 
he owns two lots in The Dalles. Mr. Jaksha 
was not favored with a good opportunity to 
secure an education, but owing to his inquiring 
mind and a determination to master all obstacles, 
he can read and write and speak the English 
language fluently, and in addition thereto, can 
read and write four other languages. This indi- 
cates the manner of man Mr. Jaksha is, and he 
is to be greatly commended upon his achieve- 
ments. 



GEORGE A. HARTH has made a record 
in Wasco county that speaks very plainly of his 
ability and sagacity. A brief epitome of his life 
can but prove interesting and with pleasure we 
append the same. 

George A. Harth was born in Wisconsin on 
September 4 7, 1848, the son of Frederick and 
Teresse (Best) Harth, natives of Germany. The 
father came to the United States, settling in 
Milwaukee, then a small village, in 1834, then 
took a homestead in the heavy timber twenty- 
three miles from that town and spent twenty 
vears in clearing up the land and improving it. 
Later, he sold and moved to Trempealeau county, 
Wisconsin, and bought government land where 
he remained until his death in 1887, being then 
aged seventy-seven. He was a very active and 
enthusiastic Republican, was prominent and in- 
fluential in early days in Wisconsin, held various 
offices and was an excellent man. His wife came 
with him from Germany, where they were mar- 
ried, and died in 1889, aged seventy-two. Her 
parents came from a very prominent family and 
are related to the famous brewer. Best. Our 
subject remained with his parents until twenty- 
six, having received, in the meantime, a good 



34^ 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



public education. Then he went to Dakota and 
took land and remained until 1891. 

On December 25, 1875, at Sioux Falls, South 
Dakota, Mr. Harth married Miss Phebe J. Sims, 
who was born in Iowa. Her father was born 
in New York and married Miss Sarah Josslyn. 
The Sims family is a very prominent and influ- 
ential one in all professions and commercial life. 
The noted Dr. Marion Sims is one of tnis family. 
The Josslyns were promoters of a very large 
land grant in the early days of the colonies and 
many of them were in the Revolution. Many of 
Mrs. Harth's immediate ancestors were among 
the brave minute men in those days of trouble. 
Mr. Harth has three brothers, Philip, John W., 
and Fred, and the following named sisters : Mrs. 
Effie Uhl, Mrs. Christian Uhl, Mrs. Kate Boul- 
ing, Mrs. Rachel Jacobus, Mrs. Mary Adams, 
and Mrs. Rosie Neely. Mrs. Harth has two 
brothers, Thomas L. and Charles A., and one 
sister, Mrs. Adeline Park. Four children have 
been born to our subject and his wife: Charles 
A., a stockman at Canyon City ; Rosie, Mabel 
and George, at home. 

Mrs. Harth is a member of the Evangelical 
church. In politics, Mr. Harth is independent, 
well informed and active. In 1891, Mr. Harth 
was forced out of Dakota by the drouth and 
came to Multnomah county, Oregon. Three 
years later, he landed in Wasco- county with 
eighty-five dollars and four horses, that being 
the only property that he owned. He was be- 
friended by Mr. J. A. Gulliford, who rented him 
land, and since that time he has prospered ex- 
ceedingly. Mr. Gulliford, by the way, has taken 
great pleasure in assisting many men in the same 
position in which Mr. Harth found himself, and 
owing to these kind and manly deeds many a 
man has come from a place of poverty to com- 
petence. Mr. Harth has bought land at different 
times until now he has nine hundred acres, all 
tillable soil, one half section of which is said 
to be as fine as is found in northern Oregon. He 
is a man of thrift and industry and his estate 
shows it. When all the improvements, that he 
is contemplating, are made, he will have one 
of the finest places to be found in the west, and 
Mr. Harth is to be congratulated upon the brill- 
iant success he has achieved. 



GEORGE W. RICE is practically a product 
of Oregon, having crossed the plains with his 
parents when only a year old. He was born in 
Iowa, on January 7, 1850, the son of Horace 
and Eliza J. (Bolton) Rice, who are mentioned 
specifically in another portion of the volume. 



The journey across the plains was fraught with 
great suffering and trial, but our subject was too 
young to remember these incidents, and his. 
earliest recollections are of the Web-foot state 
and with it his fortune has been linked since. 
When the weary immigrants arrived in the Wil- 
lamette valley they were all recuperated and 
found work and our subject was reared and edu- 
cated until about thirteen, the old donation claim 
in Lane county being the home place. Then he 
came east of the mountain with his father and in 
this section completed the education he had begun 
in the west. He labored under the direction of a 
skillful father, one of the most prominent men 
of the county, and was well trained in the art 
of farming and stock raising. Until he was- 
twenty-seven, he remained with his father and 
then he took a homestead for himself, about three- 
miles southeast from his present home. This 
was the scene of his labors and successes until 
1902, when he sold it and purchased the old 
home place from his father, — the place where 
so much of his life had been spent and around 
which so many pleasant memories cluster. Here- 
Mr. Rice is established and is manifesting the 
same sagacity that made his father successful. 
It will be remembered that this estate is the one 
where the first orchard of any size was raised 
in this county, where the elder Rice demonstrated 
that the up land will produce the best of grain, 
and with it are thus connected some of the most 
important items of Wasco history. It consists 
of one thousand acres, six hundred of which are- 
tillable. Mr. Rice cultivates this year about 
four hundred acres, and the entire estate shows 
his care and thrift. 

At The Dalles, in 1880, Mr. Rice married 
Miss Ella Southern, the sister of Charles H. 
Southern, who is mentioned elsewhere in this 
work. She was born in Delaware county, Iowa, 
on July 3, 1863. To this marriage one child has 
been born, Naomi, who first saw the light on 
February 15, 1901, in The Dalles. Mr. Rice 
is a Republican, but not especially active although 
he is often at the conventions. He is a man of 
stability and influence as his father before him, 
and stands well in the community. His wife is 
a well known lady and comes from an excellent 
family. They are popular and good people and 
have done much to assist in making Wasco- 
county prosperous as it is today. 



ENOCH E. ANDERSON has achieved a 
good success in Wasco county and is to be num- 
bered among its prosperous and enterprising agri- 
culturists at this day. He was born in Sweden, 
on January 3, 1866, the son of Carl E. and Ka- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



343' 



trina (Broman) Anderson, both natives of Swe- 
den. The father was a graduate of a prominent 
Stockholm college and devoted his life to preach- 
ing the gospel in the Lutheran church. He was a 
powerful preacher and held some of the best 
churches in the kingdom. For some years he also 
preached in Christiana. His home place ad- 
joined a village and there our subject studied as 
well as in other places where the family lived 
during the father's life work. The elder Ander- 
son was a great worker for education and used 
to give much of the fruit of his farm for presents 
to the young for incentive to better study. He 
died in Sweden in 1894. The mother still lives 
there. She was a faithful helpmeet to her hus- 
band in his work and for years was an active 
Sunday school worker and teacher. About 1884. 
Enoch E. came to the United States and for two 
years wrought in Nebraska. Then he spent six 
years in California in railroad work, and after 
that came to Coos bay, Oregon, and there and in 
various other places west of the mountains, he 
wrought for a number of years, and finally came 
to this county. He worked for one year for Mr. 
Callaghan and then he took a homestead which 
he later sold. In 1901, Mr. Anderson bought 
the place where he now resides, and since" that 
time he has continued here in the cultivation and 
improvement of it. The estate consists of four 
hundred acres, three-fourths of which are tilla- 
ble. It is one of the best medium sized farms in 
the county and is being brought to a high state 
of cultivation by the care and skill of Mr. An- 
derson. 

At The Dalles, in 1891, Mr. Anderson mar- 
ried Miss Julia Ryan. She was born in Califor- 
nia, and her parents, Thomas F. and Catherine 
(Morrissey) Ryan, who are natives of Ireland, 
are mentioned elsewhere in this volume. Mr. 
Anderson has one brother, Carl, and two sisters, 
Lydia Johnson and Elizabeth Lundquist. To 
our subject and his wife five children have been 
born, Carl, Gust P., Kate, Lucille, and Selma. 
Mr. Anderson is a member of the W. W., and in 
politics is a strong Republican. He is a member 
of the Lutheran church and his wife belongs to 
the Roman Catholic church. They are good sub- 
stantial people and have made a good record. 



MARSHALL HILL, who resides about one 
mile south from The Dalles, is one of the earliest 
pioneers of Oregon and has. passed a thrilling 
and eventful career. He is one of the highly 
esteemed men of Wasco county and is respected 
by all. His birth occurred in Knoxville, Ten- 
nessee, on April 17, 1836, being the son of Clai- 



borne and Polly (Cates) Hill, both natives of 
eastern Tennessee. The father's ancestors were 
natives of Virginia and of English extraction, 
while the mother's people were a prominent 
southern family. Our subject came to Iowa 
with his parents in 1839, where the father bought 
a large quantity of land from the government. 
Being a sickly man.; he depended on his sons to 
handle the extensive farm, and our subject 
learned to handle the plow when a lad of twelve 
years. The schooling was three months in the 
winter, and as the opportunity was limited, young' 
Hill was forced to rely largely on his own per- 
sonal research for his training. In 1852, the 
father sold his Iowa land and purchased two 
hundred cattle and twenty horses and mules and 
came west to Oregon. Upon arriving here he 
had fifty cattle, three horses and two mules. 
They settled near Brownsville, and the father 
died in 1855. Marshall enlisted in Captain 
Blakeley's company to fight in the Rogue river 
war and served until peace was restored. Fol- 
lowing that he joined his uncle in care of his 
cattle at Suisun, California, and remained until 
the stock was destroyed in a flood. Then they 
both went to mining on the Colo river in Arizona. 
They organized a company with Judge Watson 
and other prominent Californians as stockholders, 
and went to developing the claims. All was pro- 
gressing smoothly until the Apache Indians at- 
tacked them and they fled for their lives. They 
hurried across Death valley and only by the 
friendly occurrence of a terrible simoon were 
they saved from the murderous savages. Several 
of their party were killed by the storm. Mr. 
Hill and his uncle were not to be thwarted and 
later, as they had done before, thev dealt telling 
blows to the savages and many an one bit the 
dust in mortal combat with these successful In- 
dian fighters. Mr. Hill eventually made his way 
back to Oregon, and then to Idaho, near Silver 
City, and finally he came to the vicinity of The 
Dalles, where he has been since. His time has 
been devoted to stock raising and he has suc- 
ceeded well in a financial point of view. Mr. 
Hill has done much excellent labor for the church 
to which he belongs as well as for the cause in* 
general, and he is known far and near as an 
enthusiastic worker in this line, as well as in 
political matters, being a zealous Prohibitionist. 
At Albany, Oregon, on March 29, 1868, Mr. 
Hill married Miss P. Belinda Thomas, who was 
born in Illinois, the daughter of Argalous and 
Julia Thomas, natives of New York. To Mr. 
and Mrs. Hill the following named children have 
been born : Edwin M., operating a blacksmith 
shop in Dufur ; Roy, with his parents ; Melissa, 
a member of the faculty of the McMinnville col-- 



344 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



lege ; Julia, a teacher of experience ; and Bertha, 
wife of J. B. Sprite, a' Baptist minister at Har- 
rington, Washington. Mr. and Mrs. Hill are 
zealous and faithful members of the Baptist 
church in The Dalles and are great workers in 
the cause of the gospel and prohibition. Mr. 
Hill is vice-president of the Prohibition League 
of The Dalles. 

Mr. Hill was one of the most fearless Indian 
fighters on the frontier, and was in many engage- 
ments in various places. He was in charge of the 
scouts under General Crook, in Idaho, in if 



HON. THOMAS H. JOHNSTON, of the 
mercantile firm of "Johnstons," Dufur, Oregon, 
was born at Centreville, New Brunswick, Can- 
ada, on November 30, 1852. 

Sketches of his parents appear elsewhere in 
this work. Until 1876 our subject was reared and 
educated in Canada, in that year going to Cali- 
fornia where he settled in Sonoma county, remain- 
ing three years. He then came to The Dalles, 
Oregon, and for one year was employed as purser 
on the river steamers. Mr. Johnston then en- 
gaged in the fruit, fish and vegetable business and 
a year subsequently was in the employment of 
Wingate & Company. With that firm he re- 
mained two years, going thence to Dufur, where 
he purchased the general merchandise business 
of C. A. Williams, in company with his brother, 
George, as a partner. In the fall of 1904, our 
subject, with his brother, George, and his brother 
John, and W. A. Johnston of The Dalles, organ- 
ized a company, incorporating under the laws of 
the state, the name being "Johnstons," with a 
capital of $50,000. They have erected a hand- 
some, two story edifice of brick, eighty by ninety- 
four feet, with electric elevator, the only one in 
the town, and electric lights, with other modern 
conveniences. They carry on an extensive busi- 
ness and are one of the leading establishments in 
this part of the state. Mr. Johnston has for 
years worked assiduously to secure a railroad to 
Dufur from the main line, and has at last gained 
the proper concessions. He is also interested in 
the Wasco Warehouse & Milling Company, 
Johnstons Stock & Land Company, Johnstons 
Bank, and is the real promoter of the Great 
Southern Railroad, being also director of it. 

Our subject has four brothers and five sisters, 
viz. : George W. and John C, partners ; J. Henry, 
a druggist at Dufur; Samuel B., a farmer resid- 
ing near Dufur ; Mary E., wife of George Brings, 
cattle man and butcher ; Annie, married to George 
McClintock, a contractor and builder ; Sophia, 
wife of Horace Estebrooks, a farmer; Clara, wife 



of Samuel Gallagher, a farmer ; and Rose, mar- 
ried to Harry Clark, a farmer and machinist. 

December 6, 1882, at The Dalles, Mr. John- 
ston was married to Laura E. Krause, born at 
The Dalles, the daughter of George and Emma 
(Murhard) Krause, both natives of Germany. 
In 1853 h er father came to the United States, 
settling first in California. In 1862 he came to 
The Dalles, and for years he was engaged in the 
wholesale and general merchandise business. He 
erected the first brewery in The Dalles. He died 
in 1876. The mother, who was married in Ger- 
many, accompanied her husband to Oregon, where 
she passed from earth in 1897. Mrs. Johnston 
has one brother, George, a farmer and fruit raiser, 
residing near The Dalles : and two sisters, Ida, 
wife of David Creighton, farmer and fruit raiser, 
near The Dalles ; and Caroline, widow of Benja- 
min Korten, late of Portland, Oregon. Mr. and 
Mrs. Johnston have two children, Amy L., aged 
twenty, a student in Portland Academy, and Edna 
V., aged twelve years, living at home with her 
parents. 

The fraternal affiliations of our subject are 
with the K. of P., of which he is Past C. C, and 
member of the grand lodge; B. P. O. E., and 
A. O. U. W., being past noble grand. He is a 
Republican and was elected state senator from the 
Twenty-first senatorial district of Oregon in 1900. 
He has been chairman of the county central 
committee and is a member of the Republican 
state central committee, and always active in 
campaigns, taking a patriotic interest in all politi- 
cal issues. 



F. HOWARD ISENBERG, the present pop- 
ular and efficient principal of the Cascade Locks 
school, was born in Huntington county. Penn- 
sylvania, on July 25, 1874, the son of Miles P. 
and Tillie A. (Jones) Isenberg, natives of Penn- 
sylvania, and mentioned elsewhere in this vol- 
ume. When Howard was an infant, the family 
came to Iowa, settling in Grinnell county, thence 
they went to Hastings, Nebraska, and a short 
time later, settled in Kansas. After that, the 
father entered the employ of the government, and 
came to the Hood River in 1892. Our subject 
had attended public school in the various places 
where he had lived and began teaching' near 
Boyd. He also taught at many other places 
throughout this portion of the state and studied 
at the same time. He was a member of the Ore- 
gon State Militia Hospital Corps and was called 
to go to the Philippines while teaching. He 
went with the Second Oregon, and when he ar- 
rived at Cavite he was transferred to the regular 
armv First Corps, reporting to Major Herbert 







Thomas H. Johnston 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



345 



W. Cardwell. He acted as clerk of this office 
and then, was made acting hospital steward until 
his discharge. During action he was orderly to 
John Lawton, and when he came home he was 
noncommissioned officer' on the staff of Colonel 
Victor Duboce. He was mustered out at Pre- 
sidio on September 13, 1899. Then he returned 
home, entering the university at Portland. After 
that, he again began teaching and on January 2, 
1901, took the position that he now occupies, 
having held the same continuously since. He 
has shown himself to be a capable and faithful 
educator and his work is among the best in the 
state. 

On April 28, 1901, Mr. Isenberg married 
Miss Zelda F. Steel, a native of Michigan, the 
wedding occurring in Cascade Locks. Her 
father, Frank W. Steel, was a native of Penn- 
sylvania and died at Cascade Locks on January 
12, 1904. He was a veteran of the Civil war 
having been in the naval department during the 
entire struggle. By trade, he was an engineer. 
He married Miss Margaret Downey, a native of 
Ireland, who came to the United States when 
eight years of age. She died at Macosta, Mich- 
igan, in 1894. Mrs. Isenberg has three brothers, 
Frank W., George R., and James, and four sis- 
ters, Hannah Simpson, Lydia, Eunice, and Nellie. 
Mr. Isenberg is a member of the K. P., while he 
and his wife belong to the Rathbone Sisters. 
She is also a member of the circle of the W. W. 
Mr. Isenberg was a delegate to the last three 
Republican county conventions and secretary of 
"the last two. He is prominent and influential in 
politics and has always taken a keen interest in 
the affairs of the county and state. For the 
past four years, during vacation, he has acted as 
bookkeeper for the Hood River Fruit Growers' 
Union. He is a man of ability and integrity and 
stands especially well in this county. 



CHARLES H. SWETT is a native son of 
Oregon and has spent the major portion of his 
life in the state. He was born in Douglas countv, 
on March 21, 1867, the son of James B. and Julia 
E. (Potter) Swett, natives of Illinois and Ore- 
gon, respectively, and now dwelling near Ellens- 
burg, Washington. The mother's parents crossed 
the plains with ox teams in 1849,. and her father, 
William Potter, filed on a donation claim six 
miles out from Oregon City. The parents of 
our subject lived in various places in Oregon, 
and his education was gained in Jackson, Doug- 
las and Crook counties, Oregon, and in Kittitas 
county, Washington. About 1886, he came to 
Wasco county and filed a homestead on an eighty i 



where he now lives. In addition to this, Mrs. 
Swett owns a half section here which makes a 
nice estate of four hundred acres. Mr. Swett 
devotes himself to general farming and also 
raises some stock. He was married in The 
Dalles, on May 28, 1894, to Mrs. Alice J. Potter, 
who was born in Lane county, Oregon, on Au- 
gust 3, 1867, the daughter of John and Lucinda 
(Moore) Hanna, natives of Indiana and Illi- 
nois, respectively. The father crossed the plains 
with ox teams in 1852, and the mother came 
across with her parents in 185 1. Settlement was 
made in the Willamette valley and in 1870 they 
came to this county and now reside near Boyd 
Mr. Swett has the following named brothers and 
sisters: Cornelius C, Lord M., Frank E., Wil- 
liam A., Harry, James R., Mrs. Mary E. Roland, 
Mrs. Eveline N. Fowler, Mrs. Elmira DeWese, 
and Sadie M., single. Mrs. Swett has brothers 
and sisters as named below : George, Henry, Jo- 
seph, John, Fred, Stephen, and Mrs. Lucy Swett. 
The last one named is the wife of Mr. Cornelius 
Swett, our subject's brother. To our subject 
and his wife four children have been born, Elmer 
J., Annie M., Ernest E., and Thomas L. In 
political matters, Mr. Swett is independent, and 
is intelligently posted on the issues and questions 
of the day. He is a man who has continued 
steadily along in the work of farming and has 
done his share to build up the county. 



MILES P. ISENBERG is one of the well 
known men of Wasco county. He was born on 
September 1, 1843, i n Huntington county, Penn- 
sylvania. His father, William, was a native of 
the same place and was born in 1797, and his 
parents came from Maryland, in 1761. They 
were natives of Germany who were brought to 
America when children, bv their parents. The 
name was originally Von Isenberg, and they are 
one of the old German families which dates back 
for many centuries. Arnold Von Isenberg was 
archbishop of Treves during the time of King 
Rudolph of the fourteenth century. He had 
charge of the fictitious holy coat of Christ, and 
the family still hold important positions in the 
German government. Prince Karl Isenberg is 
today a member of the Prussian house of lords. 
Robert Barr, in his historical novel, Tekla, gives 
a history of Arnold Von Isenberg and his times. 
They were a race of warriors, priests, preachers 
and patriots. In this country, the Isenbergs have 
been prominent in every American struggle and 
on October 11, 1861, our subject enlisted in Com- 
pany E, Fifth Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, 
and first saw action in Drainsville, fighting under 



346 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



McClellan. He was in the battles under that 
general and was wounded in the battle of Cat- 
lett Station, by a saber cut on the arm. In 
August, 1865, Mr. Isenberg was mustered out 
of service, having participated in nearly all the 
battles of. the Army of the Potomac. After the 
war, he prospected for some years and in 1876, 
went to Iowa, later to Nebraska, then to Kansas^ 
where he lived fourteen years. He was twice 
sheriff of Rooks county, Kansas, and then was 
appointed special agent for the general land 
office. Afterward he came to Hood River, in 
that office, and, liking the country, resigned his 
position and bought property here. He was later 
appointed supervisor of the Cascade Forest Re- 
serve with division headquarters at Hood River. 
He owns a farm on Belmont place and raises 
strawberries and apples. 

On October 9, 1866, at Alexander, Pennsyl- 
vania, Mr. Isenberg married Miss Tillie A. Jones, 
who was born in Franklin Forge, Pennsylvania. 
Her parents, Isaac and Tillie A. (McMutrie) 
Jones were natives of Pennsylvania. Mr. Isen- 
berg has the following named brothers and sisters : 
Three pairs of twins, who died in infancy ; Ben- 
jamin, Rebecca, Sarah, Alfred K., Susannah, 
Rosanna, Marie, Louisa, and Marshall. Mrs. 
Isenberg's brothers and sisters are named as fol- 
lows : Arthur, Henry, Ella, Katie, Marietta, 
Fanny, and Jane. To our subject and his wife 
ten children have been born ; Lydia E., wife of 
S. W. Arnold, contractor and builder at Hood 
River ; Bess, a teacher in the Hood River valley ; 
William, now in the employ of William Steward, 
of Hood River ; Howard, principal of the schools 
at Cascade Locks ; Marshall H., at home ; Walter 
A., a merchant in Hood River ; Elbe E., Elmer 
W., Pearl I. and Lena L., at home. 

Mr. Isenberg is a member of the G. A. R., 
and has been very prominent in these circles, hold- 
ing many important official positions. He is a 
strong Republican and a man of ability and influ- 
ence. He has, at this writing, just completed a 
term as sergeant-at-arms of the twenty-third ses- 
sion of the Oregon legislature, having the record 
of being a very efficient officer. 



FRANK CHANDLER is a very active and 
progressive business man as will be noticed in 
perusing a review of his life. He is one of the 
wealthy and leading land owners of Wasco 
county and resides at Hood River. He was born 
in Iowa, on September 23, 1850. His father, 
David M. Chandler, was born at St. Catherines, 
Canada, whither his parents moved from New 
York, where they were born. His father, the 



grandfather of our subject, was a wagonmaker 
by trade. He had several hundred acres of land 
in Canada and also was engaged in flour milling 
and various other enterprises. During the re- 
bellion there he was colonel of the militia on the 
side of the British, later he joined the rebels. He 
was taken prisoner by the government officers 
and sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered. 
Owing to Masonic influence, his sentence was 
afterward commuted to banishment to Van Die- 
men's land. Through the influence of a brother 
Mason, who was a captain of a vessel, he was 
taken thence and afterwards brought to the 
United States and lived the balance of his days 
in Jackson county, Iowa. His name was Samuel 
C. Chandler. Our subject's father was fourteen 
years of age then and was put in prison, but the 
government later decided he was too young to. 
have criminally participated in the rebellion and 
was released and ordered out of the country. 
With his mother and the rest of the children, 
eleven, they all came to Iowa where the father 
joined them. There he was reared and educated 
and lived. His brother. Samuel C, was for many 
years professor of Geology in Columbia College 
and presented the famous Chandler collection to 
that institution. He was a prominent writer on 
geological and theological questions. Our sub- 
ject's father died in 1884. He had married Eliza 
Goodenough, a native of New York and from a 
very prominent colonial family. The Chandler 
family as well as the Goodenough family were 
all very prominent people during colonial days 
and participated in all the wars connected with 
the colonies and the United^ States. Some of the 
ancestors came to this country on the Mayflower. 
The mother of our subject died when he was three 
years of age and then he was raised by his step- 
mother and received a good education from the 
district schools, the academy and the business 
college. After that, he worked on his uncle's 
farm then took a position as steamboat agent in 
Lyons, Iowa, and two years later, kept books m 
various places then went on the road as traveling 
salesman for Durands and Company, wholesale 
grocers of Chicago. Later, we find him in a gen- 
eral merchandise business in western Iowa, 
whence he moved to Bancroft, Nebraska and sold 
out. After that, he was in the drug business in 
Omaha and finally sold to M. B. Howell and went 
on the road for- D. M. Steel, a wholesale grocer' 
of Omaha. Finally, at 2 p. m. one October day, 
he resigned his position for this house and at 6 
p. m., on the same day took the train for Oregon. 
He was engaged with Wadhams & Company of 
Portland then located a farm in the Hood River 
valley and a vear later resigned the same and went 
on the road again for Liggitt and Meyers a 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



347' 



large tobacco house. He was division manager 
later, for. the Wetmore Tobacco Company, hand- 
ling Montana, Wyoming, New Mexico, Washing- 
ton, Arizona and Colorado. Finally, in 1902, Mr. 
Chandler retired from the road and settled down 
in Hood River and purchased a fine home on the 
hill. He sold his farm for eleven thousand dol- 
lars and had in the meantime, purchased four 
hundred acres more of very fine fruit and grain 
land. One hundred acres are in cultivation and 
the balance is all tillable. He has three separate 
farms and has a bearing orchard of over twenty- 
five acres. He personally supervises the places 
he owns and is a very active and energetic man. 
On April 13, 1880, at Jefferson, Iowa, Mr. 
Chandler married Mrs. Mary E., the daughter of 
Arza T. Lyons. She. was born in Whithall, New 
York, and her father was a native of the same 
state. The family was a prominent American one 
and the father at the time of his death in 1905 
was a large paint manufacturer. Mr. Chandler 
has one brother living, Delos B. Mrs. Chandler 
has one sister, Eliza Davis. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Chandler, one child has been born, William O. 
Our subject is a member of the A. F. & A. M., 
and a good substantial Republican. 



WILLIAM S. CRAPPER, whose father 
founded Crapper district, is one of the industrious 
farmers of the Hood River valley and lives about 
six miles south from town. He was born in 
Clayton county, Iowa, on January 24, 1865, the 
son of Dorsey S. and Elizabeth (Cottrell) Crap- 
per. The father was born in Kentucky, and his 
father was a native of Scotland and a ship owner. 
Our subject's great-grandfather was a patriot in 
the Revolution and served four years in the field 
and three chained to the deck of a prison ship. 
He was a companion to Daniel Boone and with 
that wortny man fought the Indians. He died 
in Indiana aged one hundred and seven. Our 
subject's grandfather was drowned at sea, and 
many of the family were killed by Indians in Ken- 
tucky. Our subject's mother was born in Mich- 
igan and her people are prominent railroad men. 
Her mother was of Irish extraction. Her father 
was a prominent railroad builder. She died at 
the home of this son, October 31, 1897, and her 
husband died in Portland, on March 11, 1903. 
Our subject was with his father in Webster City, 
Iowa, where the latter operated a drug store. He 
was a pioneer of the town, and a prominent man 
there. His education was secured from the pub- 
lic schools and he tried to enlist in the Civil war 
but was rejected on account of poor teeth. In 
1877, the family came west overland and after 



five years of residence in Portland came to Hood 
River, landing here in March, 1884. They took 
land and our subject now owns eighty acres of 
his father's original homestead. He devotes his 
land to general crops and is a substantial resident, 
and leading citizen. 

On September 4, 1890, in the house where he 
now lives, Mr. Crapper married Miss Rosa M. 
York, and Mr. Crapper's sister, Mrs. McCurdy 
was married at the same time. The parents of 
Mrs. Crapper, Frank and Johana (Writer) York, 
are natives of Switzerland and Germany, respect- 
ively, and now live in Bellingham Bay, Washing- 
ton. Mrs. Crapper was born in Iowa and has 
two brothers, Henry A. and Frank N., and one 
sister, Flora Hennis. Mr. Crapper has two sis- 
ters, Belle McCurdy and Nettie Hackett. Three 
children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Crapper, 
Nettie B., Viola, and Mildred, aged twelve, nine, 
and four, respectively. 

By way of reminiscence we note that in the 
winter of 1856-7 our subject's father started with 
his family and equipage from Spirit Lake, Iowa, 
to Hamilton county, but were caught in a bliz- 
zard and lost all stock except one horse. Finally 
they got in only to find the people mourning their 
death, and one man stoutly maintaining he had 
buried them. The next spring they went back to 
pick up their stuff and found nearly all the old 
neighbors murdered by the Indians. Mr. Crap- 
per is a pioneer and comes from a race of stanch 
pioneers and they have all done much to open up 
various sections from the colonial days to the 
present. 



JOHN I. MILLER, one of the good and sub- 
stantial citizens of the Hood River valley, dwells 
on the west side about seven miles up from the- 
town. He has a choice place and is engaged in 
horticulture and general farming. Last year his 
shipment of berries was eight hundred crates, 
while also he has a great many apples. He was 
born in Illinois, on November 6, 1856, the son of 
William M. and Susan E. (Stephens) Miller, na- 
tives of Indiana. The father died in Missouri, 
and the mother in Sherman county. The father 
settled in southeastern Kansas in 1866, and there 
our subject was educated and in Missouri, and 
when arrived at manhood's estate, he farmed un- 
til 1886 when the entire family came to Oregon 
and settled in Sherman county. They farmed 
there on the government land they took until 
1895. when Mr. Miller traded that property for 
the place where he now resides and since then he 
has made this his home. He is a man of thrift 
and industry and has made a fine showing here in 
the last eight years. 



.348 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



At Mt. Vernon, Missouri, on October 21, 
1881, Mr. Miller married Miss Hannah Badger, 
.a native of Indiana, and the daughter of George 
and Margaret (Mars) Badger. The father was 
born in Indiana on August 7, 1821, and died 
January 12, 1888. The mother was born in Penn- 
sylvania, May 24, 1821, and died September 15, 
1877. Mrs. Miller has the following named 
brothers and sisters; Daniel, born May 25, 1847; 
Philip, born May 27, 1849, an d died January 17, 
1874; Margaret, born September 18, 1851 ; Mary 
Catherine, born September 18, 1856; Ebenezer, 
born January 20, 1859 ; and George R., born Feb- 
ruary 16, 1862. Mr. Miller has two brothers, 
Abraham H. and Edgar B. and three sisters, 
Clara H. Roark, Alice S. Brock, and Ida M. 
Strong. Mrs. Miller has three brothers, Daniel, 
Eben and George R., and two sisters, Margaret 
Stephens, and Katherine Canady. Six children 
have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Miller, William 
A., Ephraim A., Ivan J. and Irma, twins, Vir- 
ginia B., wife of Thomas A. Van Ausdal, and 
Maud M. Mr. Miller is a Republican, but not 
especially active in this realm. He is clerk of the 
school board and has been for many years in dif- 
ferent places and is now serving his fourth term 
in the Crapper district. 



JOSEPH PURSER resides about two miles 
out from Hood River, on Belmont street and is 
■one of the leading and thrifty horticulturists of 
the valley. He was born in England on Novem- 
ber 20, 1848, the son of Thomas and Martha 
(Wast) Purser, natives of England. The father 
was a brick maker and came to the United States 
with his family in 1851, settling in Danville, Illi- 
nois. He followed his trade until 1872, when he 
sold his property and came to Oregon. For two 
year's he lived in Portland, then removed to Hood 
River where he died in 1861. The mother died 
here in 1897. Their marriage occurred in Eng- 
land, in May, 1841. The father was a very skill- 
ful brick maker and manufactured all the brick 
used in the capitol building at Springfield, Illi- 
nois. Our subject was raised and educated in 
Danville and labored with his father until they 
came to Oregon. He was employed for a couple 
of vears in Portland, then came to Hood River 
and homesteaded eighty acres, where he has since 
lived. He is one of the early settlers here and has 
labored continuously for the building up of the 
country. His land is unexcelled in quality and 
owing to his nearness to town, he has advantage- 
ously sold all of it except eighteen and one half 
acres. He has six acres of strawberries and the 
balance to other fruit and general crops. 



At Danville, Illinois, in 187 1, the day of the 
Chicago fire, Mr. Purser married. He was a 
member of the Danville fire department and just 
after the ceremony as he was accompanying his 
bride down the street the fire alarm sounded and 
he hurried to headquarters just in time to be 
rushed away on the train to Chicago and did not 
see his wife again for four days. 

In Portland, in 1874, Mrs. Purser died. A sec- 
ond marriage was contracted by Mr. Purser, the 
same being in 1880, when Ellen Swan, a native of 
England and the daughter of George and Mary 
Swan, became his wife. She came to the United 
States in 1869. Her parents lived at White Sal- 
mon. Mr. Purser has two brothers, David and 
John and two sisters, Mrs. Phoebe Foss and Mrs. 
Mary Noble. Mr. Purser is the father of six 
children ; Nora, wife of R. A. Phelps in the val- 
ley ; Hattie, wife of John Tyler, also in the valley ; 
David J., Rena P., Winnie D. and Ira D., all at 
home. 

Politically, our subject is independent. He 
has served as road supervisor here in the valley 
and made a record for himself in building the first 
gravel road in this section. It was an excellent 
piece of work and has stimulated good road build- 
ing, one of the most important factors of a civil- 
ized country. In Illinois, Mr. Purser was road 
supervisor for seven years and he is skilled in 
the way of building good roads cheap. He has 
made a study of the matter and is one of the best 
posted men on roads in the county. He is very 
enthusiastic in the improvement of the country 
in every line and a progressive and good man. 



JOHN M. ROTH is one of the wealthy and 
leading citizens of Wasco county. His farm of 
one thousand acres lies five miles east from Kings- 
ley and has seven hundred acres under cultivation. 
In addition to this, he owns about five thousand 
acres of land near Rock Island, Chelan county, 
Washington. His home place is well improved 
and provided with all equipment needed on a first 
class Oregon grain farm. 

John M. Roth was born in Germany, on May 
18, 1838, the son of Johann M. and Sophia 
(Klaenfaller) Roth, both natives of the Father- 
land. The father followed blacksmithing and 
farming, as did his ancestors and his death oc- 
curred in Germany on February 22. 1848. The 
mother died in Ohio. In 1856, his education hav- 
ing been completed in his native country, our sub- 
ject came to the United States, settling in Wis- 
consin. There he labored for wages and rented 
land until t86i, in which year he enlisted in Com- 
pany C, Eleventh Wisconsin Regulars, under 






HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



349 



Captain Perry and Colonel Harris. For three 
years he did faithful service and then on account 
of disability was honorably discharged. He was 
in active service all the time and saw much hard 
fighting in Arkansas and Missouri. Following 
the war he returned to Wisconsin and shortly 
went to Minnesota. In 1867, he went thence to 
Kansas, and in 1875, he came to Oregon. On 
June 8, of that year he arrived in Albany and on 
November 5, he located on land in Wasco county. 
Since that time he has been assiduously following 
the occupation of the agriculturist and stockman. 
He has accumulated considerable property and 
has wisely bestowed his labors all these years and 
.is to be classed as one of the pioneers and sub- 
stantial citizens. 

While in Wisconsin, in August, 1864, Mr. 
Roth married Miss Margaret Unselt, a native of 
Germany and an immigrant to this country with 
her parents in her infancy. Eight children have 
been born to this union ; Emma, wife of Horatio 
Fargher, a wool grower/ mentioned elsewhere in 
this volume; Sophia, wife of Orwen Jones, a 
farmer near Nansene ; John, living near our sub- 
ject; Ella, at home; William and Victor, living 
on the estate near Rock Island; Carl, at home; 
and Lena, a school girl. Mr. Roth is a member 
of the order of Washington. Politically he is 
one of the active men of the county and is a 
strong Democrat. He was put in nomination for 
sheriff, but suffered defeat with his ticket. Mr. 
Roth has reared a very bright and interesting 
family, and they are good members of society and 
all being highly respected. 



THOMAS C. FARGHER, a sturdy Manx- 
man, and now one of Wasco county's citizens, is 
located about seven miles southeast from Dufur. 
At this point he owns an estate of sixteen hun- 
dred acres. In addition, he owns much other 
land in various parts of the county. He does an 
extensive business in sheep raising and is a pros- 
pered man in this enterprise. He handles about 
thirty-five hundred sheep. His flocks are ranged 
in various parts of the country and he also owns 
several rendezvous as headquarters for sheep 
raising. Mr. Fargher directs his business in per- 
son, and his skill is such that he has been blessed 
with continued success. He is a genial man, 
kindly disposed to all, and very optimistic in his 
views and beliefs. He thoroughly puts into prac- 
tice the principles of enjoying today's sweets in 
today, and taking from each occasion its charms 
and pleasures when presented. No less is he 
careful to execute in the day the business and 



duties that belong to that day and the result is 
that he is a man of today, living, thinking, and 
doing in the present, not, however, without a keen 
foresight and prudence for the future. 

Thomas C. Fargher was born in the Isle of 
Man, as would be gathered from the foregoing, 
and the date of that event was October 18, 1841. 
His parents and brothers are mentioned else- 
where in this volume therefore we will not give 
details of them here. Suffice it to say, our sub- 
ject spent his boyhood days with his father on 
the farm. When sixteen he went to Manchester, 
England, and there for six years toiled at the 
carriage maker's trade. He became master of 
the art of skillfully handling wood and after five 
years in the business, he came to the conclusion 
that the colonies presented greater opportunities 
for him than the mother country, and so he went 
to Melbourne, Australia. He wrought there in 
his business until 1868, when he came to San 
Francisco and thence to Sacramento where he 
did carriage making for wages and then for him- 
self until he sold his shop to his partner in 1874. 
After that, he was with his brother, Horatio, one 
winter on the Stickeen river in Alaska, and the 
following spring he came to Wasco county. Here 
he took land and for ten years operated with his 
brother in the sheep business. Then he went for 
himself and since then, he has continued one of 
the leading citizens of this county. He purchased 
his present home place in 1886. He has recently 
erected a handsome and comfortable residence 
and all the other improvements are commen- 
surate therewith. 

At Vancouver, on September 12, 1895, Mr_ 
Fargher married Miss Ollie E., the daughter of 
Frank E. and Jane (Crate) Huott. The father 
was born in Canada and now dwells on Eight- 
mile creek. The mother is living there also. She- 
was born in Walla Walla, the year of the Whit- 
man massacre, 1847. Her father had come to the 
west for the Hudson's Bay Company and was 
in the territory now occupied by Wasco county 
when no white man lived here. He took a dona- 
tion claim on what is known as Crate's point, 
where he expected the town of The Dalles to be. 
He remained on that place until his death, which 
occurred in The Dalles, in 1894. Mrs. Fargher 
has two brothers, Frank and Alfred, and three 
sisters, Mrs. Josephine Barter, Mrs. Mollie Bul- 
ger, and Mrs. Charles Zigler. To our subject 
and his wife, one son has been born, Thomas C.,. 
on February 14, 1897. Mr. Fargher is a Repub- 
lican but never seeks office, although he takes an 
intelligent interest in the matters of politics and 
educational affairs. He is popular, and he and 
his estimable wife are among the substantial peo- 
ple of the county. 



350 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



WILLIS A. HENDRIX has the distinction 
of having been born in the Web-Foot State, 
where also, he has passed the years of his life, 
mostly, He is a son of Oregon in which the state 
may take pride, being one of those substantial 
producers, who make the strength and the sta- 
bility of any good country. He was born in 
Yamhill county, on May 8, 1861, and his parents, 
Abijah and Mary J. (Dickerson) Hendrix, were 
worthy pioneers to this state when it was a wil- 
derness, and when they had to endure all the 
hardships known on the frontier and battle with 
the trying opposition found so plentiful in those 
days and conditions. The father came to Ore- 
gon in 1843, thus being one of the first few white 
men who planted the stars and strips in this now 
great and rich territory. He was a native ot 
Georgia and came from an old and respected 
American family. The trip across the plains was 
made with ox teams and some trouble was ex- 
perienced with the Indians. The mother came 
.across the plains with her parents in 1845, being 
then sixteen years of age. The Indians attacked 
them and they had great trials. Their stock was 
stolen and some died and they finally reached The 
Dalles with a couple of cows, having suffered 
from Indians, from shortage of provisions, and 
from cholera. She was born in Virginia, and her 
mother was also a native of that state. Her fa- 
ther was born in Kentucky. Mrs. Hendrix is 
now living with the son, who is the immediate 
subject of this article. Her husband died on the 
old donation claim in Yamhill county where they 
spent so many days of pioneer life, and the date 
of that sad event was July 29, 1872. It is of in- 
terest to note that when Mrs. Hendrix's parents 
got to The Dalles in 1845, they were not able to 
get over the mountains, but lashed two canoes 
together and thus transported what they had left 
to Portland. Our subject was reared and edu- 
cated in the native county and on November 9, 
1876 landed in Wasco county, the balance of the 
family coming at that time, also. He has labored 
here since and he now has to show a fine farm of 
seven hundred and twenty acres, six hundred of 
which are tillable, and he cut this year four hun- 
dred and fifty acres of grain. The improve- 
ments are in good taste and plenty and Mr. Hen- 
drix is considered one of the leading farmers of 
this section. 

On December 8, 1883, at the house on the 
farm, Mr. Hendrix married Miss Amy F. Grif- 
fin, who was born in Lane county, Oregon, on 
September 1, 1861. Her father, Joseph Griffin, 
was one of the early pioneers to Oregon, cross- 
ing the plains with ox teams in 1852. He took 
a donation claim in Yamhill county and upon a 
trip to the east side of the mountains, his team 



backed off the grade and killed him on August 
13, 1884. He had married Mary Mayhew, who 
crossed the plains with her parents in early days. 
Her wedding occurred in this territory and she 
died when Mrs. Hendrix was an infant, she be- 
ing an only child. Mr. Hendrix has five brothers, 
Wilbur, his twin, Edward, Campbell, John, and 
James. To our subject and his wife three chil- 
dren have been born, Claud, Guy, and Harry, all 
at home. Mr. Hendrix is a member of the United 
Artisans, to which order his wife and sons 
Claud and Roy also belong. He is an active 
Republican and is frequently at the county con- 
ventions. To various offices he has given his 
time, but he is never reaching for the emoluments 
of office. Mr. Hendrix owns a cozy home in 
Dufur, where the family dwells about half of the 
time. 



GEORGE R. CASTNER, who resides about 
four miles out from Hood River, just off Belmont 
street, is one of the most progressive and pros- 
perous horticulturists of the Hood River valley. 
Last year was a banner year for him and his place 
netted him many dollars. The farm is known as 
Stony Fell and is one of the most productive and 
best handled places here. He has an elegant two 
storv residence, barns, outbuildings, fences and 
everything to make it comfortable and valuable. 
Mr. Castner is one of the up-to-date men well in- 
formed and progressive. He was born in Milo, 
New York, on January 6, 1846. His father, 
George R. Castner, was a native of New Jersey, 
and died in Michigan in 1901, aged eighty-six. 
He had married Julia Baker, a native of Dutchess 
county, New York, of the old Baker family, prom- 
inent in America. She was of Dutch stock. The 
great-great-great-grandfather of our subject on 
his father's side, and two brothers, came from 
Germany in the seventeenth century and settled 
in New York and New Jersey. They became very 
prominent and members of the family have been 
identified with every American war. One of them 
was a currier under Washington in the Revolu- 
tion. 

Our subject was raised and educated in New 
York until seventeen and then moved with his fa- 
ther to Michigan. In 1865, he enlisted in Com- 
pany H, Twelfth Michigan Infantry, under Cap- 
tain James H. Follets and Colonel Dwight C. 
May. He was discharged on account of illness 
and returned to Michigan, remaining on the farm 
until 1870. Then he married and moved to Jack- 
son, Michigan, where he was brakeman and con- 
ductor on the Michigan Central Railroad, until 
1880. In that year, he was promoted to the posi- 
tion of trainmaster and held the same until 1894, 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



351 



then he resigned his position and removed to Hood 
River, purchasing forty-two acres where he now 
lives. He gave his attention largely to the produc- 
tion of strawberries and apples and has one of the 
largest places in the state of Oregon. 

On January 9, 1870, at Kirkland, Ohio, Mr. 
Castner married Miss Florence L. Gildersleeve, a 
native of that town. Her father, Samuel L. Gil- 
dersleeve, married Miss Burnette. They were 
both natives of New England. Mr. Castner has the 
following named brothers and sisters, James B., 
Charles W., John B., of the Fifth Mich- 
igan Cavalry, who died at Andersonville 
prison, Mary E. Longcor, Amanda M., de- 
ceased, Julia A., deceased, and one who died in 
infancy. Mrs. Castner has one brother, Wilbur 
F. and three sisters, Mary E. Galligan, Helen M. 
Traver and Carrie M. Ayer. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Castner two sons have been born, John B. and 
Charles ; the former at home and the latter em- 
ployed with the Davidson Fruit Company. Mr. 
Castner is an active Republican and chairman of 
the precinct committee. He and his wife are both 
devout members of the Congregational church and 
he has served as deacon for a great many years. 
Fraternally he is affiliated with the A. F. & A. M. 
and R. A. M. 

Mr. Castner comes from the same family as 
Captain Castner of the United States army who 
made such a wonderful record in enduring hard- 
ships and privations on the government expedi- 
tion to Alaska some time since. 



JOSEPH A. WILSON; a substantial and 
enterprising business man of Hood River, is at 
present the owner of a fruit warehouse and a 
waterpower plant. He was born in Indiana 
county, Pennsylvania, on October 17, 1854. His 
father was William Wilson, a native of the north 
of Ireland and of English parentage. His mother, 
Letitia (Mac-Dugh) Wilson, was born in Wash- 
ington county, Pennsylvania. The father came 
to the United States in 1828 and died in Pennsyl- 
vania, in 1883. The mother's parents were from 
old Highland Scotch stock and descended from 
the Cameron clan. Joseph A. was reared and 
educated in Pennsylvania, and when thirty came 
to Oregon. He was graduated from the state 
normal school at Millersville, Lamerton county, 
Pennsylvania, and taught thereafter until he went 
to Oregon. The well known Brooks, the author 
of a series of mathematical text books, was prin- 
cipal of the normal and Mr. Wilson received ex- 
ceptionally good instruction. He followed the 
lumber business and in the spring of 1884, took 
the journey west. He engaged on the govern- 



ment survey here after the winter of 1884, well 
remembered on account of its deep snow, which 
accumulated to the depth of five feet, and worked 
all the following summer on the survey. The 
next year he bought land and has followed farm- 
ing and surveying considerably since. 

Mr. Wilson's mother died in 1871 and his fa- 
ther passed away in 1883. On September 20, 
1893, occurred the marriage of our subject and 
Gertrude M. Kinports, a native of Pennsylvania 
and the daughter of Porter and Margaret B. 
(Mahaffey) Kinports, natives of Pennsylvania. 
The father followed merchandising for fifty years 
and is now president of the First National Bank 
in Cherrytree, Pennsylvania, where the mother 
was born. They are highly respected people. 
The wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Wilson occurred 
in Cherrytree and they have one son, Porter K., 
with his grandparents in Pennsylvania. Mr. 
Wilson has one brother, Thomas S. and one sis- 
ter, Mary C. Mrs. Wilson died in Pennsylvania, 
on February 21, 1898. Mr. Wilson is independ- 
ent in political matters and is free and untram- 
meled to view all issues and questions without 
party bias. 

He is greatly interested in the fruit business 
and packed the fruit that took the grand prize for 
the state of Oregon and Wasco county at the 
World's Fair in St. Louis. 

In the fall of 1904, Mr. Wilson built a million 
gallon reservoir on the hill above town and 
brought water in from the Indian creek. Water 
is piped to the city for power purposes. He is 
also interested in the formation of a milling com- 
pany, being a stockholder. They have erected a 
fine flour mill plant with a daily output capacity 
of one hundred barrels. 



THOMAS F. RYAN, deceased. When the 
clods cover deep the familiar forms of our loved 
ones, and we hear their voices no more, memory 
loves to dwell in the past where cluster the things 
they did and said. It is very fitting to gratify 
this desire, and to aid in it we often times resort 
to the written page to outline there somewhat of 
the careers of those gone on before, where we 
shall all, soon enough, travel. It is our purpose 
to grant here, as much as may be from the in- 
formation furnished, an epitome of the life of the 
esteemed gentleman whose name stands at the 
head of this article. He was a man of kindly ways 
and geniality and won the hearts of all. He 
passed a life in which he manifested true worth 
and integrity and had a deep appreciation of the 
stewardship entrusted to him. His death occurred 
on the ranch, where resides his widow at this 



3E 2 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



time, six miles west from Dufur. The last illness 
of Mr. Ryan steadily became more and more seri- 
ous until it was evident death had marked him for 
departure. All was done that mortals could do, 
but on December 17, 1 891, he fell asleep and thus 
closed a life in which his record had been good, 
and in which true principles of uprightness and 
honesty had guided his ways. 

The birth of Mr. Ryan occurred in Tipperary, 
Ireland, on May 1, 1826. He received in his 
younger days a fine education, and was always a 
student and great reader. Mr. Ryan had a de- 
cided gift in composition and wrote many fine 
poems, and we regret that we have none at hand 
for this article. Those acquainted with him 
were all familiar with this gift and many times 
it was displayed with marked effect. 

On April 16, 1865, at Maryville, Uba county, 
California, Mr. Ryan married Miss Catherine A. 
Morrisey, who was born in Cork, Ireland, April 
19, 1 841. Her parents were Patrick and Cath- 
erine (O'Brien) Morrisey, the former born in 
Carrick and the latter in county Waterford, Ire- 
land. The father was a dyer and presser by 
trade. Mr. Ryan enlisted in the Civil war and 
fought with distinction in that struggle. 



HENSON McCOY, deceased. Among the 
most honored citizens of Wasco county is to be 
placed the gentleman whose name heads this 
memoir. He was born in Illinois, on Novem- 
ber 17, 1833, and died in Wasco county, at Dufur, 
on October 27, 1898. His parents, James M. and 
Mary A. (Moore) McCoy, were natives of Ken- 
tucky. The father's people had been pioneers for 
several generations previous. They were fron- 
tiersmen in Virginia, Illinois, Kentucky and Mis- 
souri. He died in Texas. The mother's family 
also were pioneers for generations. Our sub- 
ject was but four years of age when they came to 
Missouri, where he grew to manhood and mar- 
ried, and thence he, with his wife and father, 
went on to Texas, his mother having died in 
Missouri. In 1858 they made the trip across the 
plains with ox teams to California, subject and 
wife, and had a hard time, losing much of their 
stock. Although others were very sick, still they 
were not sick, themselves. Two years were spent 
in Los Angeles and there he lost eight hundred 
dollars in buying a bogus Spanish grant piece of 
land. With low funds they started north and 
finally landed in Yamhill county, Oregon. They 
bought and sold land, and rented some then re- 
turned to California, settling in Tulare county, 
where they purchased seven hundred acres of 



land. After eleven years of labor there they sold 
that property and came back to Oregon in 1878. 
Here Mr. McCoy bought school land, took a tim- 
ber culture and so forth until he had an estate 
of five hundred and sixty acres a little way out 
from Boyd, where the widow resides at this time. 
Just before his death sold eighty to one son. 
Here he bestowed his labors until the time came 
for him to lay down the burdens of life. This 
he did with the same assurance of the faith which 
had buoyed him through a long Christian life. 
Formerly, he was a member of the Methodist 
church but in later years was with the Baptist 
denomination. 

Un January 29, 1853, i n Linn county, Missouri, 
Mr. McCoy married Miss Clarissa Rusher, who 
was born in Chariton county, Missouri, on No- 
vember 5, 1832. Her father, William Rusher, was 
born in Kentucky from an old Virginia family, 
which came in early colonial days. He married 
Mary A. Sportsman, a native of Kentucky. Her 
mother was born in Virginia and her father in 
Ireland, whence he was brought to the United 
States when seven, being an orphan. Mrs. Mc- 
Coy's father died when she was four and her 
mother died in Los Angeles, having crossed the 
plains with them. Mr. McCoy had four half 
brothers, Benjamin F., Joseph, Francis M. and 
Abner, and one sister, Mrs. Mary A. Fogle. Mrs. 
McCoy has one half sister, Mrs. Ellen Neal, one 
sister, Mrs. Sarah A. Shakely, and one half 
brother, William L. Barnes. To Mr. and Mrs. 
McCoy, ten children were born : Thomas, a barber 
in Seattle ; William, a physician in Salt Lake City ;. 
John, at Cripple Creek, Colorado ; Joseph H., 
near by on a farm ; Dennis R., with his mother ; 
Mary A., the wife of John H. Sternweis, near 
by ; Ellen, the wife of Abraham Mowery, in Port- 
land; Sarah J., the wife of Isaac Fowler, a car- 
penter in Portland ; Nancy, the wife of Herbert 
Powell, at Rockland, Washington; Zoodie B., the 
wife of Albert Connelly. Her death occurred 
at The Dalles, in 1892. Mr. McCoy was for forty 
years a member of the I. O. O. F., had passed 
all the chairs, was at the grand lodge many times, 
and took a prominent part in fraternal circles. 
He was a prominent man in the community, had 
always taken an active part in politics, public 
matters, and educational affairs, had held various 
offices and was greatly respected and beloved. He 
was a man of marked integrity, and his influence 
was always for good. He did much, both in 
person and by example, for the building up of 
the community in every way, and his death was 
a great loss. His widow resides on the farm, 
and is a devout Christian lad}', whose life has- 
been a lisrht to many. 








Henson McCoy 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON.. 



35$ 



SERAPHINE NACE, who resides about 
three miles southeast from Kingsley, was born 
in Wisconsin, on February 17, 1866. His father, 
Joseph Nace, was born in Belgium, June 29, 
1829, and died October 31, 1904, on his farm in 
Marion county, Oregon. He married Miss Flor- 
ence Garraux, who was born in France. She is 
still living and is at the home in Marion county. 
She and her husband both were brought to Wis- 
consin when children, by their parents, who were 
pioneers of the Green Bay country. There they 
hewed out homes in the forest and there these 
children were married. The mother's father 
died there and her mother came on to the Willa- 
mette valley where she died. Our subject came 
to the valley with his parents in 1876 and there 
attended school until his education was com- 
pleted. He continued on the farm with his father 
until 1887, then he worked for other farmers 
there until 1896. Then he came to Wasco coun- 
ty and here he filed on a homestead and then 
worked for A. A. Bonney. He gradually im- 
proved his land and has gathered a good stock 
of cattle and horses about him, also adding to 
his estate betimes until he has five hundred and 
twenty acres. He cultivates three hundred acres, 
and has forty fine cattle. At the head of the herd 
is a choice thoroughbred bull, three-fourths Here- 
ford and one fourth Shorthorn. Of horses, he 
owns about forty, all good animals. Mr. Nace 
is a dealer in horses as well as a breeder and 
handles many head each year. He has been pros- 
perous in his labors, owing to his energy, indus- 
try and skill, and is one of the good, substantial 
citizens of this part of the county. Mr. Nace has 
the following named brothers and sisters ; 
Adolph, on a farm near by ; Bernard, Joseph, 
Polyte, and Albert, in the Willamette valley ; 
Carrie, the wife of John Fisher, in Salem ; Rea- 
gin, married to Benjamin Brown, at Woodburn, 
Oregon ; Cynda, the wife of John Stuart, in 
Marion county, farming ; Mary, the wife of Ellis 
Stevens, in Marion county ; and Maggie, the wife 
of Albert Klane, also in Marion county. 

Thus far on life's journey, Mr. Nace has 
seen fit to travel as a bachelor, preferring the 
quiet enjoyments and freedom of that life to the 
cares and responsibilities of matrimonial exist- 
ence. 



ISAIAH J. BUTLER is one of Wasco coun- 
ty's good men and his labors here for many years 
testify that he is possessed of industry and has 
accomplished a great deal for the improvement 
and upbuilding of the country. He is a man of 
good principles and is guided by integrity. At 
the present time, Mr. Butler resides on his farm 

23 



about two miles east from Kingsley. In' addi- 
tion to this he has some timber land. He does 
general farming and is a good substantial 
farmer. 

Isaiah J. Butler was born in Wayne county, 
Ohio, on February 26, 1835. His parents are men- 
tioned in the sketch of his brother's life, Polk 
Butler. In his native country, our subject was 
educated and reared and gave his attention to 
farming. He had traveled some before he turned 
his face to the west and finally located in Oregon, 
whither his brother, Daniel W., who is now in 
Coleville, California, had come in 1852. It was 
in the spring of 1877, that our subject landed 
here and in the fall of the same year, his brother, 
Polk Butler, came on. The three brothers estab- 
lished a saw mill and operated it for some time. 
But the enterprise proved disastrous and they 
lost nearly all the capital they possessed. Then 
they gave that up and our subject filed on a home- 
stead of disputed railroad land which he later 
secured and where he lives now. The balance 
of his land he secured by preemption and by pur- 
chase. 

In Illinois, Mr. Butler married Miss Em- 
meline Riggs, who was born in Warren county, 
Illinois, and whose parents, David C. and Eliza- 
beth (Smith) Riggs, were natives of Missouri. 
The father was one of an old southern family of 
distinction and the mother's ancestors were prom- 
inent colonial people. Mrs. Butler has the follow- 
ing named brothers and sisters, John, Reuben,. 
Mahlori, Douglass, Mrs. Nancy Galbraith, Mrs. 
Angeline Henderson, Mary, deceased, and Mrs. 
Ka];e Wickery. To Mr. and Mrs. Butler two 1 
children have been born, D. Clyde, and Stella, 
who died July 30, 1904. At the first call for 
troops to defend the flag, our subject promptly 
enlisted in an Illinois regiment and served three 
months. In political matters he is independent. 
He is a man who has the esteem of all and he and 
his wife have traveled the pilgrim journey many 
years together and are faithful and good people. 



HON. JOSEPH W. MORTON is a prom-\ 
inent and wealthy citizen of Wasco county, living^ 
three miles out from Hood River on the State 
road. He owns the Riverside farm which lies 
south of the Columbia and consists of four hun- 
dred acres. Three acres are planted to straw- 
berries and the balance of the land produces otlier 
fruit and general crops. The place is valuable 
find one of the best in this part of the county. 
Mr. Morton has it well improved and manages 
the estate with a display of wisdom and thrift.. 

Joseph W. Morton was born in Henry county, 



354 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Iowa, the son of Charles R. and Caroline (Wal- 
lace) Morton, natives of Ohio. The mother's 
family is allied with the old Scotch Wallace fam- 
ily, well known in Scottish history. The father 
came from the Morton family which has been 
identified with America long before there was a 
United States. They came on the good ship, 
Ann, soon after the Mayflower landed, and are 
well known in various portions of this country. 
Levi P. Morton, at one time vice president, was 
a member of the family. The father died at 
Salem, in 1894. He crossed the plains in 1852 
and returned east and came west again in 1875. 
Our subject was raised principally in Oregon. 
The family came here when he was ten years of 
age. After completing his studies in the dis- 
trict school, he graduated from the business col- 
lege in Portland then remained with his father 
on the farm until he came to this place in 1889. 

On February 14, 1886, at Hood River, Mr. 
Morton married Miss Annie M. Haynes, a 
native of 'Portland and the daughter of Charles 
H. and Elizabeth J. (Quick) Haynes. She 
died in June, 1889, at Portland. On May 1, 1902, 
at Hood River, Mr. Morton married Miss 
Pearl Groshong, a native of Kansas and the 
daughter of Peter and Malinda (Miller) Gro- 
shong, natives of Ohio. Mr. Morton has one 
brother, Elijah, and two sisters, Mrs. Carrie E. 
Haynes and Nellie G. Mrs. Morton has four 
brothers, Frank, Abraham B., Hood, and Joseph 
P., and four sisters, Mrs. Clara E. Jones, Mrs. 
Grace Elliott, Mrs. Jennie Hixon, and Mrs. 
Mary Gordon. 

Politically, Mr. Morton is a very active Re- 
publican. He has been a delegate to many of the 
conventions and in 1898, was elected to repre- 
sent this district in the state legislature. He was 
active and influential in that capacity and en- 
dorsed the bill, which afterward became a law, 
that provides for the especial care of trees and 
shrubbery in the state, and has done a great deal 
in keeping the state clean from various pests 
which are detrimental to horticultural interests. 
Mr. Morton is a member of the I. O. O. F., and 
a popular and influential man. 



ALFRED TRUDELL, of the firm of True- 
dell & Deni, is a man of good standing in Wasco 
county, where he has labored for nearly twenty 
years in the related occupations of farming and 
stock raising. He is a man of ability in these 
lines, having gained a good success in his labors, 
and having, also, discharged the responsibilities 
of a patriotic citizen and a leading man in the 
community. In partnership with Mr. Deni, Mr. 



Trudell owns seventeen hundred and ninety-five 
acres of land about six miles east from Kingsley. 
It was secured through the homestead right and 
by purchase from the railroad and is one of the 
large estates of the county. It is utilized both 
for pasture and for raising grain. This year, they 
cut five hundred acres of wheat and the same 
made a handsome return. The farm is supplied 
with all the improvements needed and is one 
which shows skill and thrift in the management. 
In addition to what is mentioned, Mr. Trudell 
handles a large number of cattle each year, win- 
tering usually about eighty to one hundred head. 
They buy and sell stock and always have fat cat- 
tle on hand for the markets. 

In the matters of the county and state, Mr. 
Trudell akes a lively interest and is always on the 
side of the Democratic ticket in national politics, 
while in other questions, he decides according to 
the merits of the question and the standing of 
the candidate, as he deems best for the interests 
of all. In school matters, he takes a keen inter- 
est and has given of his time to serve as director. 
Mr. Trudell is still in single blessedness and 
takes great pleasure in the freedom and quiet- 
ness of the bachelor's life. 

Alfred Trudell was born in Ontario, Canada, 
on August 17, 1867, near Stony Point. His 
parents are mentioned in the biography of his 
brother, which is in this volume. He was edu- 
cated in the famous schools of Ontario and re- 
mained at the home place until 1887, in which 
vear he came hither. Since then he has remained 
here a steady and enteq^rising young man. 



JAMES C. BOGGS is a farmer and fruit 
raiser of the Hood River valley, residing about 
three miles south from Hood River. He was 
born in North Carolina, on March 3, 1849, rne 
son of Joseph and Mary (Wyant) Boggs. The 
father was born in North Carolina and his pa- 
rents were natives of Virginia, coming from old 
colonial families. Various members of the fam- 
ily were in the Revolutionary War, among which 
was our subject's grandfather. His great grand- 
father bought a Bible in South Carolina which is 
now owned by our subject and is probably over 
two hundred years old. There is no date on it. 
The family were all planters. The father died in 
Marion county, Illinois, in 1884. The mother of 
our subject was born in Pennsylvania and de- 
scended from a Dutch family. She now lives in 
Marion county, Illinois. There James C. com- 
pleted his education and remained with his father 
until twenty-five years of age. Then he worked 
at various occupations until 1889, when he came 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



355 



to the Hood River valley and bought fifteen acres 
of fine fruit land. Since then he has sold seven 
acres and still handles the place, three acres to 
strawberries and the rest to various crops. 

On December 10, 1874, in Marion county, 
Illinois, Mr. Boggs married Miss Martha Mcin- 
tosh, a native of Marion county, Illinois. Her 
father, Tilton Mcintosh, was born in Tennessee 
and married Lucy A. Mercer, a native of Illinois. 
He died soon after marriage and his widow then 
married Andrew Copple in Marion county, whose 
father, Simpson Copple, lives in the Hood River 
valley and is mentioned in this volume. 

On June 10, 1888, in Marion county, Illinois, 
Mrs. Boggs was called away by death. She left a 
family of three children, the oldest Grace, ten 
years of age. Mr. Boggs took up the burdens 
of life bravely after the departure of his wife 
and has raised his family and made a good show- 
ing with his labors. He has now three children 
living: Grace, wife of Arthur Getchell in the 
Hood Riyer valley ; Rosie, keeping house for her 
father ; and Harvey. 

Mr. Boggs is a member of the Christian 
church of which also his wife was a devoted 
member for sixteen years. They have three chil- 
dren who died in infancy, Ivy, Scott and an in- 
fant unnamed. 



DAVID CREIGHTON resides three miles 
south of The Dalles and for over forty years has 
continued in this same place. He has shown 
himself a man of most excellent qualities and in 
these long years has so conducted himself that 
he is the recipient of the good will and deep re- 
spect of all who have known him. His place is 
a valuable one and is wisely and beautifully im- 
proved. His residence is a commodious struc- 
ture tasty and beautifully surrounded by pleas- 
ant grounds, while his entire farm is a model of 
good husbandry. His labors have been constant, 
and wisely bestowed and his prosperity is but 
the due reward for such industry and thrift. 

David Creighton was born in Pittsburg, 
Pennsylvania, on January 8, 1835, the son of 
James and Maria (Hart) Creighton, natives of 
Ireland and Delaware, respectively. The father 
came with his parents when fifteen and settled 
in Pennsylvania. He became a marine engineer 
and followed river steamboating for many years. 
The mother died in Ohio, in 1858. When David 
was four years of age he was brought by his 
parents to the frontier of Ohio and there he was 
reared and educated. He was of studious habits 
and acquired a good education, even though on 
"the frontier, and soon began the important work 
•of teaching school. In 1855, his father and older 



brother came west to Oregon, via the isthmus 
and California. They settled in Clackamas coun- 
ty and took a donation claim. The mother re- 
mained with our subject until her death in 1858, 
when he came on to Oregon, arriving here in the 
spring of 1859. He immediately went to teach- 
ing school in Clackamas county. After that he 
went to the mining regions of Idaho and dug the 
golden sands on the Salmon river. In 1862, he 
came to The Dalles and bought the land where 
he now resides, and since then has been one of 
the leading and substantial men of the county. 
He has shown excellent wisdom and has wrought 
with a determination and stability that have 
stimulated much worthy effort in this country 
for its development. 

At The Dalles, on May 27, 1876, Mr. Creigh- 
ton married Miss Ida Krauss, a native of Port- 
land. Her parents were natives of Germany. 
Mr. Creighton has one brother, Samuel, retired 
in The Dalles, and his wife has one brother, 
George, a fruit grower near by, and two sisters, 
Caroline, widow of Berhard Rorten, of Portland, 
and Laura, wife of J. H. Johnston, of Dufur. 
To this worthy couple six children have been 
born; Elva M., at home; James G, a druggist in 
San Francisco; Emma L., Lola A., Leland, and 
Vera, all at home. Mr. Creighton is a Repub- 
lican and as much as his business allows takes an 
active part in the political campaigns. He is 
very stanch and well informed and is a man of 
benevolence and integrity and has hosts of 
friends. 



FREDERIC H. HILLGEN is one of the 
leading farmers of the Tygh ridge. He is a 
member of the family of Hillgens, all of whom 
have made excellent success in farming and 
stock raising in this county. The father is one 
of the heaviest land owners in Wasco county and 
is a man of remarkable ability in his chosen en- 
terprise. Our subject dwells about nine miles 
south from Dufur, and owns a nice estate of five 
hundred and forty acres, half of which is under 
cultivation. The place shows marks of thrift and 
enterprise and its annual returns are very grati- 
fying. The improvements on the farm are of the 
best and the residence is a two story, tasty and 
elegant building. Mr. Hillgen has labored since 
childhood in this county and on this place for 
about five or six years. He is well acquainted 
with Wasco county and many of its citizens and 
is himself numbered with the leading young men. 
Frederic H. Hillgen was born in San Fran- 
cisco, California, on February 14, 1872, the son 
of Henry and Louise (Hagan) Hillgen. The 
father came from Germany, where he was born 



356 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



and reared. Then he dwelt some time in Cali- 
fornia and later came on to Wasco county where 
he took a timber culture, a homestead, and a pre- 
emption on Tygh ridge. Since those days, he 
has been one of the leading farmers of the county 
and each year he has added more land by purchase 
until he has now between three and four thou- 
sand acres of fine wheat and grazing land. He 
resides in The Dalles and on the farm, and de- 
votes himself to the oversight of his various prop- 
erties. The mother of our subject was born in 
Canada. 

When Frederic H. was four years of age, he 
came with the rest of the family to Wasco coun- 
ty, and here he was educated in the district 
schools and in the Wasco Independent Academy. 
Following the days of school books, he went to 
work on the farm and remained with his father 
until 1898, when he purchased railroad land and 
settled down to make a home for himself, in 
this he has succeeded admirably and has a choice 
place on the ridge. He is one of the most thrifty 
and careful farmers and receives good rewards 
for his labors. 

On July 1, 1901, at The Dalles, Mr. Hillgen 
married Miss Agnes LeDuc. To this union two 
children have been born, Marcella, on September 
12, 1902, and J. Hugh, November 8, 1904. Mr. 
Hillgen has five brothers, George, Arthur, Wal- 
ter, Frank, and Cleveland, and three sisters, Vir- 
ginia, at home, Nellie, the wife of Ferd Deitzel, 
and Alice, at home. In political matters, Mr. 
Hillgen is a Democrat, but is not a politician in 
the usual sense of that word, although he is well 
posted and active. 



1 ROBERT RAND, owner and operator of the 
Wau-Guinn-Guinn hotel, one of the most beauti- 
ful summer resorts in Oregon, is well known in 
Wasco county and is a man of enterprise and 
ability. He was born in Jefferson county, Ohio, 
on August 28, 1836, the son of William and Mar- 
garet (Winters) Rand, natives of Vermont and 
Jefferson county, Ohio, respectively. They both 
came from prominent New England families. 
Reed, one of the signers of the Declaration of 
Independence, was a relative of the Rands. Rob- 
ert was reared in Virginia, whither the family 
had moved when he was small. He gained his 
education by hard labor, having to walk three 
miles to the district school, and working between 
times on the farm. When seventeen, he came 
with the family to Wisconsin and then he started 
for himself. Lumber work occupied him some 
and in 1859 he came to Amador county, Califor- 
nia, where he mined for two years. He returned 
to Wisconsin via the isthmus, having come over- 



land to the coast. He farmed five years in Wis- 
consin and then married and came west to Iowa.. 
In 1884, the winter of the deep snow, Mr. Rand 
came hither, and bought fifty acres on the Mt. 
Hood road and other land later. Also he was 
in Hood River in the hotel business, having 
bought the Mt. Hood hotel in the fall of 1885. 
This he conducted eight years and sold it to 
Charles Bell. During this time he sold his Mt. 
Hood land and bought one hundred and sixty 
acres on the east side. He took up merchandis- 
ing with his son, J. E., after selling the Mt. Hood 
hotel. After five years in business with the son 
they sold to A. S. Blowers & Son. In 1904, he 
erected his present hotel, and, considering his 
late start, had a very successful season the first 
year. The hotel is situated in full view of the 
falls, which take a leap of two hundred and fifty 
feet, and is where the scenery of Mt. Hood, the 
other mountains, and the broad Columbia are in 
full view, all of which combine to make it one 
of the most entrancing spots in the country. The 
building itself is commodious and well supplied 
with all modern conveniences including the latest 
sanitary plumbing, and is conducted on strictly 
up-to-date principles. The grounds are choice, 
having rustic seats, minature lake, beautiful shade 
and flowers. Mr. Rand is a business man and 
understands the way to cater to the comfort ot 
guests. He has a farm of thirty-five acres and 
oversees that in addition to his present business. 
On September 16, 1857, Mr. Rand married' 
Miss Cristiana Gillespie, a native of New York, 
and a daughter of John and Charlotte Gillespie, 
natives of Scotland and New York, respectively. 
Mr. Rand has three brothers, Martin, James B., 
and Thomas B., and one sister, Mrs. Lucy Boor- 
man. To Mr. and Mrs. Rand five children have 
been born, J. Elmer, William F., Delbert E., 
Ernest C, and Mrs. Henrietta Rham. Mr. Rand 
is a member of the A. F. & A. M., having joined 
in 1866. He has a choice collection of Indian 



curios and is a student of these things. On Janu- 
ary 29, 1899, at Hood River, Mrs. Rand was 
called away bv death. 



CHARLES CHANDLER is the owner of 
one of the choicest farms in Wasco county. It 
consists of two hundred acres of excellent land 
and is situated in the Hood River valley. He has 
recently sold about two hundred and eighty acres 
and still owns the amount mentioned. Excellent 
house, good barns, and all other improvements 
needed are in evidence and the thrift and good 
taste of Mr. Chandler make the place not only 
profitable, but a delightful rural abode. He was- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



JD> 



born in Maine, on April 28, 1856. His father, 
Jesse Chandler, was also born in Maine, as were 
his parents, and the family is an old and prom- 
inent one. Many members were in the Revolu- 
tion and Moses Chandler was an officer in that 
war. Our subject's father was a farmer and 
died in Greenville, Texas, in 1888. He had mar- 
ried Mary Wright, who was born in Farmington, 
Maine, and descended from a leading family. 
When Charles was a year old, the family went to 
Wisconsin, and a year later they went to Kansas 
where the mother died in i860. He lived eleven 
years in Kansas and gained his education from 
the common schools. He had a farm bought and 
paid for in Texas before twenty years old. It 
consisted of one hundred and twenty acres and 
there he remained until twenty-eight, when he 
sold and journeyed west to Oregon, selecting the 
Hood river valley as his objective point. He took 
a government claim, which he now dwells on, and 
since those days has given his undivided attention 
to general farming and fruit raising. About nine 
acres are devoted to apples, and the balance of 
the land to general crops. 

At Greenville, Texas, on September 17, 1876, 
Mr. Chandler married Miss Arabella Fox, who 
was born in Holden, Missouri. Her death oc- 
curred in February, 1888. On February 2, 1892, 
Mr. Chandler married a second time, Mary B. 
Millner becoming his wife at this time, and the 
nuptials occurring in Steveson, Washington. Her 
parents are Alexander and Mary (Thrasher) 
Millner. Mr. Chandler has three children, Fred, 
Ruby, and Ollie M. The last named married 
Robert L. Neves and died at Hood River, on 
June 28, 1902. Mr. Chandler has one brother, 
George, one half sister, Mary Mcintosh, and one 
half brother, John F. Mrs. Chandler has neither 
brothers nor sisters. Our subject has always 
evinced an interest in political matters and is an 
upholder of Republican principles. He has served 
as school director for many years and always 
takes a great interest in every measure that is for 
improvement in any line or betterment of the 
■conditions of the countrv. 



JOSEPH DENI is one of the substantial men 
of Wasco county, the kind who do things and 
materially assist to build up the county and 
augment its wealth. He is an industrious man, 
well liked and always attentive to the business 
in hand. His labors here have been faithful, and 
it is interesting to note that when he came here 
he was without funds, but with a determination 
to win his way to wealth and prominence, he took 
hold with his hands, working- on the farms for 



wages, and the result is that today he is one of 
the wealthy men of the community. Mr. Deni 
::ame to Wasco county in 1887, with Mr. Tru- 
dell, who is now his partner, and they both 
worked out on the farms. After a time at that, 
they had saved enough money to warrant them 
taking land and starting for themselves. This 
they did, securing homesteads where the estate is 
now located, about six miles east from Kingsley. 
With characteristic pluck and stability, Mr. Deni 
began the improvements on his homestead and 
little by little made the place valuable, besides 
laying by enough money to purchase more land. 
Step by step the two men have toiled along until 
their estate is now of the mammoth proportions 
of seventeen hundred and ninety-five acres. A 
portion of this is used for pasture and a part is 
laid under tribute to produce grain. This year 
they had five hundred acres of wheat and there is 
much more of the estate that can be broken up 
and tilled. Messrs. Trudell and Deni are enter- 
prising and thrifty men and are making money 
in their labors. In addition to the farming, they 
handle a good ' many cattle and winter about 
eighty to one hundred. 

Joseph Deni was born at Stony Point, On- 
tario, on September 3, 1864, the son of Peter and 
Jadik (Trudell) Deni. His father was born in 
Montreal and now is farming in Ontario. His 
mother was born at Stony Point, the aunt of his 
partner, on the father's side. She is still living 
in the old home place. Our subject was reared 
and educated at his home place and in 1887, as 
stated before, came west with his partner. Since 
then they have continued here together. Mr. 
Deni has five brothers, Frank, Daniel, Ernest, 
Alexander, and Ralph, all in Stony Point, except 
Ralph, who rents land in Wasco county. He also 
has three sisters, Cecilia, Adele, and Adeline. In 
politics, Mr. Deni is a Democrat and is always 
keenly interested in public matters and educa- 
tional affairs. 



P. H. MARTIN resides about six miles south 
from Hood River in the Crapper district, where 
he has a nice farm and gives attention to fruit 
raising largely. He was born in Missouri, in 
1862, the son of William and Martha (Mc- 
Quown) Martin, natives of Missouri and Vir- 
ginia, respectively. The father resides near our 
subject and his father was born in Kentucky. The 
mother was descended from Irish ancestry. 
Henry was raised in Missouri and Iowa and re- 
ceived his education from the common schools. 
The family moved to Iowa in 1865 and returned 
to Missouri in 1856. In 1883, Mr. Martin came 
to Washington and there conducted Dr. Blalock's 



358 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



fruit ranch for seven years. After that, he was 
eighteen months at Yaquina Bay, Oregon, and 
then went to Prineville, where he was in the stock 
business for seven years. He sold out that and 
came to the Hood River valley in 1899. He 
finally purchased the place he now owns from 
Captain A. S. Blowers and has given his atten- 
tion to its cultivation and improvement since. He 
has an eight acre orchard and handles some fruit 
besides other crops. 

In 1895, at Prineville, Oregon, Mr. Martin 
married Miss Emma Lister, who was born in 
Crook county, Oregon. Previous to her coming 
to the Hood River valley, she had lived in Crook 
and Wasco counties, this state. Her father, 
Thomas Lister, was born in England and came to 
the United States when two years of age, in 
1828. He enlisted in the Mexican War and 
crossed the plains in 1852 with ox teams, set- 
tling near Eugene. After that, he came east of 
the mountains and did stock raising at Prineville. 
His death occurred there in 1898. He was a 
very prominent man, especially in politics and 
was always identified with the Republican party 
but never sought office for himself. He married 
Miss Mary E. Jeter, a native of Kentucky and 
descended from an old southern family. Mr. 
Martin has one brother, K. Duncan and four 
sisters : Sue, wife of William L. Purdin ; Celeste ; 
Mary, wife of Fred W. Webber; and Inez V. 
Mrs. Martin has the following named brothers 
and sisters, Charles M., Joseph, Hugh J., Cathe- 
rine, Florence E. Holbrook, Marie Pond, Anna 
F. Belknap, and Ida M. McEwen. Mr. Martin 
is a member of the A. O. U. W. and a good 
strong Republican. He and his wife belong to 
the Methodist church and she is steward in the 
same. They have two children, Helen D. and 
Mary L. Mr. Martin is director in his district 
and is a prominent and substantial man. Be- 
fore marriage, Mrs. Martin taught school for 
several years in Crook county. They are highly 
respected people. 



LEON RONDEAU, a man of stability and 
enterprise, has demonstrated his ability to make a 
first class success in . Wasco county, where he 
has been a leading farmer for many years. He 
resides about six miles east from Kingsley and 
is one of the best known and most popular men 
on the ridge. He has bought and sold consider- 
able land, handling twelve or fifteen, sections, and 
now owns eleven hundred and twenty acres of 
land including three-fourths of a section of tim- 
ber land. This year he harvested five hundred 
acres of wheat, all first class, and in addition to 



that he handled, as he does each year, a steam 
thresher. Mr. Rondeau has a choice farm, and 
it is provided with all the improvements that 
could be suggested for a first class Oregon 
wheat farm and everything indicates him a man 
of thrift and sagacity. He is a leader in the com- 
munity and numbers his friends from every 
quarter. 

Leon Rondeau was born 111 Montreal, Can- 
ada, on June 11, i860, the son of Elzeard and 
Seraphine (Gilbeau) Rondeau, both natives of 
the place where our subject was born. In fact, 
the ancestors on both sides of the house were born 
in that vicinity for generations back, the first 
ones there being among the earliest settlers of 
the section. The father was a mechanic and 
later removed to Vermont. The mother died in 
that state. Our subject was twelve when the 
family made that move and until 1878, he worked 
in the factories of Vermont. Then he came with 
his father to Wasco county, coming via San 
Francisco. The father took a homestead near 
Kingsley and remained here until his death, 
which occurred in the house where our subject 
now lives. The last years of the father's life were 
spent in the home of his son. He was a man of 
many virtues and had many friends. Our sub- 
ject lived here continuously since coming and has 
labored steadily with the result that he is now 
possessed of a very valuable property. For twelve 
successive years he sheared sheep and his record 
is one hundred and fifty-five in one day. This 
seems marvelous and is worthy of a position 
along side of some of the wonderful feats of the 
land. In fact, it far surpasses those which are 
made simply for pastime or for the sake of the 
record alone. Physical effort placed in a call- 
ing of commercial value like this is much more 
worthy than that simply for the name. 

At McMinnville, Oregon, occurred the wed- 
ding of Mr. Rondeau and Miss Elizabeth Touzin, 
and the date was October 28, 1889. Mrs. Ron- 
deau was born near Montreal, the daughter of 
Alexis and Amedile (Boucher) Touzin. The 
parents were both natives of Montreal and their 
ancestors for generations back were also born 
there. They were among the old and prominent 
French families there. Mr. Rondeau has the fol- 
lowing named brothers and sisters, Reme. Jo- 
seph, Edward, Mrs. Delia Pattenaude, Mrs. 
Celia Williams and Mrs. Louisa Perrault. Mrs. 
Rondeau has one sister, Mrs. Cordelia Poulette. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Rondeau the following named 
children have been born : Alexis, a student in 
Rigaud College, in Canada : Cordelia, studying 
in a sisters college in Quebec ; Alfred E. and 
Rosaline, both at home ; Dona, deceased ; and Jus- 
tine. Mr. Rondeau is a member of the W. W. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



359 



and the Maccabees. He and his wife belong to 
the Roman Catholic church and are devout sup- 
porters of the faith. They are people of prom- 
inence in this part of the county and have won 
the admiration and good will of all. 



ASENATH L. PARKER owns one* of the 
best fruit farms in the Hood River valley. It 
lies about three miles out from Hood River on 
the Mt. Hood road and is an ideal spot. Her 
tasty twelve room residence is modern and com- 
plete in every respect and one of the most beauti- 
ful houses in Wasco county. She has been here 
many years and is well and favorably known 
throughout the valley. 

Mrs. Parker was born in Illinois, on Febru- 
ary 18, 1854 the daughter of Hugh W. Moore, 
who was born in Nova Scotia. His father was a 
Scotchman and his mother an Englishwoman. 
The former died in 1899, in Indiana. Mrs. 
Parker's mother, Tryphena (Edmonds) Moore, 
was born in Canada and died in Indiana, in 1882. 
After completing the high school- course at 
Lowell, Indiana, Miss Moore married John 
Parker, a native of Yorkshire, England, born on 
July 12, 1845. The wedding occurrred May 27, 
1872, at Crown Point, Indiana. Mr. Parker had 
come to the United States when nineteen years 
of age and thereafter farmed and raised stock. 
After the marriage they remained seven years in 
Illinois and finally came to Oregon in the fall of 
1879. After remaining five months in Portland, 
they journeyed to Cascade Locks where he did 
carpentering one year and then started the town 
of Hood River. He located a business building 
on the lot donated by Captain H. C. Coe and put 
in a stock of general merchandise. This was the 
beginning of the town. He handled the stock for 
five years and then sold out to John Middleton 
and soon after bought Roger's sawmill which he 
operated for seven years, then sold to the Oregon 
Lumber Company. While in the store, Mr. 
Parker had purchased the place where Mrs. 
Parker now resides and after disposing of his 
mill, he lived on the place. In 1893, he erected a 
beautiful residence, located in an ideal spot which 
commanded a view of the river, and since then 
that has been the family home. For some years, 
Mrs. Parker kept summer boarders and in 1900, 
owing to failing health, she desisted from that 
enterprise. She has three brthers, Enoch, James 
W. and Charles W. and the following named sis- 
ters, Ursula Brandon, Mehetable W. Smith, and 
Ruby D. Hayner. Mr. Parker has four broth- 
ers, Jonas, Jobe, James, Thomas. James was a 
member of the King's guard in the English army. 



To Mr. and Mrs. Parker four children have beeri 
born : James W., a merchant in Elgin, Oregon ; 
Frank E., at home; Maude, the wife of N. C. 
Sears in Winlock, Washington ; Walter Ray, de- 
ceased. 

Mr. Parker was a member of the A. O. \J> 
W. and the Episcopal church while Mrs. Parker 
belongs to the Methodist church. 

On August 27, 1897, at the family home, Mn 
Parker died after an illness of eight months, 
from cancer of the stomach. He was a substan- 
tial and popular man and had labored with much 
zeal and influence for the building up of the 
country. Mrs. Parker is an educated and refined 
lady,- and has managed the estate in a very be- 
coming: manner. 



MANUEL D. ADAMS lives five miles south 
of The Dalles on Three Mile creek. He was born 
in Marion county, Oregon, on July 2, 1855, the 
son of Stephen B. and Nancy (Cox) Adams, 
mentioned elsewhere in this volume. The high 
school of Salem gave Mr. Adams his education 
and in 187 1, he engaged in the sheep, cattle and 
horse business in Grant county, Oregon. For 
eighteen years, he continued that, then moved 
to Sherman county, purchasing a half section of 
land in the vicinity of Moro. In 1896, he sold 
out and came to his present location where he 
purchased two hundred acres of land. Later, 
a forty of this was sold and the balance he de- 
votes to fruit raising and pasture. He has about 
forty-five acres in fruit, producing as fine as 
there is in the county. 

On September 6, 1881, Mr. Adams married 
Miss Laura Peppers, the wedding occurring in 
Canyon City. She was born in Polk county, Ore- 
gon, the daughter of John and A. M. (Prather) 
Peppers, natives of Pennsylvania and Polk 
county, Oregon, respectively, and early pioneers 
to Oregon. The father died when Mrs/ Adams 
was seven years of age. Her parents were among 
the earliest settlers in Oregon and are widely 
known. To this marriage, one child was born, 
Effie, the wife of Ashford Ferguson, in The 
Dalles. On February 19, 1887, Mr. Adams was 
called to mourn the death of his wife. On No- 
vember 6, 1893, at The Dalles, he married Miss 
Leela Hendricson, a native of Linn county and 
the daughter of Marion and Laura (Bennett) 
Hendricson, natives of Illinois and Linn county, 
Oregon, respectively. The father came to Ore- 
gon in 1853, and now resides in Wasco county on 
the Des Chutes. To this marriage, four children 
have been born, Pearl, Ruby, Earl and Delia. 
Mrs. Adams has three sisters, Eva Blaker, Cora 
Haskell and Grace Steward. 



3 6 ° 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Fraternally, Mr. Adams is affiliated with the 
I- O. O. F. and is past grand. In politics, he 
adheres to the Democratic principles. His wife is 
a member of the Christian church and they are 
highly esteemed people. 



LOUIS L. LANE, a resident of The Dalles, 
Wasco county, is one of the most expert me- 
chanics in his line in the entire northwest. He 
is a blacksmith and wagon maker, making heavy 
coach work a specialty. He was born in Linn 
county, Oregon, July 24, 1861, the son of An- 
drew W. and Indiana (Smith) Lane, natives of 
Indiana. The father comes from the old and dis- 
tinguished Lane family of Kentucky and Indiana, 
and he crossed the plains in 1853, locating in 
Linn county, where he followed the business of 
wagon making. He is now retired from busi- 
ness and lives with his son at The Dalles. The 
mother preceded her husband in Oregon a few 
years, and they were united in marriage in Linn 
county, where she died in 1876. 

When he was eighteen years old our subject 
left Linn county and removed to Tygh valley, 
with his parents. They remained there but two 
years, going thence to Susanville, Lassen county, 
California. During his nine years' residence in 
that locality our subject attended the district 
schools, and -learned his trade from his father. 
From Susanville he went to Seattle, and two 
years subsequently came to The Dalles where he 
opened a blacksmith shop at the corner of Third 
and Jefferson streets. Mr! Lane employs from 
four to eight men. He has built many stage 
coaches that have been satisfactorily in commis- 
sion all over the state of Oregon. He made the 
handsome photograph wagon, owned by Gifford, 
which captured a prize at the last Wasco county 
fair. 

Mr. Lane was married at Milford, California, 
October 8, 1884, to Hattie E. Miller, born in 
Pennsylvania. Her father, Elisha Miller, was 
lolled during the Civil war by bushwhackers. 
Later the widow married Henry Washburn. Mr. 
Lane has two brothers and three sisters : Morris 
M.. of Shaniko, a wagon maker and blacksmith ; 
Andrew W., in Nevada; Belle, wife of Isaac N. 
Williams, of Portland ; Hattie. married to G. E. 
Stewart, of Portland ; and Agnes, single and re- 
siding at Portland. Mrs. Lane has three half 
brothers and one half sister : Charles, at Mount 
Vernon, Washington ; Ray. at San Francisco ; 
Vernon H., at Big Lake. Washington ; and Ida 
May, wife of A. H. Brunsing, of Calgary, Al- 
berta. Mr. and Mrs. Lane have one child, 



Gladys, aged five years. Fraternally he is a 
member of the A. F. & A. M., K. of P., I. O. 
O. F. and W. O. W. Although a stanch Republi- 
can he is not particularly active and by no means 
a rabid partisan. They are both members of the 
Methodist Episcopal church. 



ANDREW W. LANE, now retired from 
active business, resides with his son, L. L. Lane, 
in The Dalles, Oregon. He was born in Fountain 
county, Indiana, on February 11, 1830. His 
father, David Lane, was a native of Yirginia 
and his parents came from England. His father, 
the grandfather of our subject, was in the Revolu- 
tionary war and David Lane was in the War of 
1812. David Lane's mother was of Scotch de- 
scent and died aged ninety-seven, her husband 
having died at the same age. The mother of our 
subject was born in Kentucky and her maiden 
name was Drusilla Swearingen. Her parents 
were natives of Virginia and Kentucky and came 
from German ancestry. Her father was a re- 
markably strong man and could carry two bushels 
of wheat into his grist mill at the age of one 
hundred. He died, aged one hundred and two. 
Our subject grew up on his father's farm in 
Indiana and when sixteen came with his parents 
to Missouri. Two years later, he returned to 
Indiana, where his mother died. Then he started 
out in life for himself, taking up the patent right 
business, having a fine ditching machine that he 
handled. For four years he traveled through the 
middle states with that, then farmed with his 
brother. Afterward, they decided to come west 
and in 1853 a train captained bv our subject's 
brother wended its way from Benton county, 
Indiana to the Willamette valley. The journey 
was uneventful, save that our subject was de- 
tained in the Grande Ronde valley, Oregon ten 
days, by mountain fever. No hostilities of the 
Indians were experienced except on one occa- 
sion one drew his bow quickly to kill our subject, 
but he observing the action covered him with his 
revolver so much quicker that the Indian dropped 
hostilities and said "How do. How do." Re- 
covering from his fever in the Grande Ronde val- 
ley. Mr. Lane started for the Willamette valley 
and the first house he came to, twenty miles east 
from Oregon City, was Foster's. Later, he passed 
on to Salem where he was confined eighty-four 
days by typhoid fever. Then he removed to 
Harrisburg, where he began wagon making with 
Mr. Macy, a pioneer blacksmith. 

There, on January 10, 1858, Mr. Lane married 
Miss Indiana Smith, a native of Illinois. Her 






Louis L. Lane 



Andrew W . Lane 



Thomas A. W ard 





Horatio A. Farther 



Mrs. Horatio A. Fargher 






Morvin Hendricson 



Mrs. Morvin Hendricson 



A. Ad Keller 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



361 



father, Abraham Smith, was born in Tennessee 
from agricultural stock and died when one hun- 
dred years of age. He married a second time 
when ninety-eight years of age and in 1852, had 
crossed the plains with ox teams. Mr. Lane 
and his wife lived in Harrisburg eighteen years, 
where he followed wagon making and did a good 
business. He never used his land rights but later 
moved to Springfield, Linn county and put up a 
wagon shop, where he could utilize water power. 
There his wife died on October 6, 1876. Soon 
thereafter, our subject's health failed and he was 
practically an invalid for twenty-five years. For 
nine years of his life he was in California and 
assisted by his three boys conducted a cooper 
shop. He also patented a windmill, which netted 
him considerable money. At various times, he 
had hemorrhage of the lungs but constantly 
fought off death until at the present time, in the 
riper years of his life, his health is splendid, 
practically no trace of his former sickness re- 
maining. Mr. Lane is a natural mechanic and 
has invented many useful appliances. He is the 
thirteenth of a family of fourteen children. 

Mr. Lane is a venerable and esteemed pioneer 
and it is with pleasure that we are permitted to 
give this epitome of his interesting career. 



THOMAS A. WARD, deceased. The birth 
•of Mr. Ward occurred in Wisconsin on October 
17, 1846 and he died at The Dalles on April 6, 
1903, aged fifty-seven years. His father before 
him had been one of the prominent men in Ore- 
gon and one of the most intrepid of pioneers. 
He was associated with him in various capacities 
and came to be one of the leading citizens of the 
state of Oregon. His death occurring in the 
prime of life, snatched away one beloved and 
•esteemed and he was widely known and recog- 
nized as a leader. His father, John H. Ward, 
was born in New York state and went to Wiscon- 
sin in the early days and there followed mining. 
Afterwards he lived in Missouri then came on 
west to California and later to Virginia City, Ne- 
vada, and mined in both places. His family joined 
him in California after he had mined seven years. 
Five years later, they came to Oregon and about 
1864 took land in the Cross Hollow country, the 
present site of Shaniko. The family home was 
there for many years and stock raising occupied 
them. They also kept hotel and our subject 
drove stage for many years. The Wards were 
among the first settlers and were the most promi- 
nent people in this part of the country. All over 
western Oregon they were well known and about 
1874, the father sold out his property and re- 



moved to The Dalles. Some three years later, 
he was called away by death. He was a man 
of the most unswerving integrity and sterling 
worth. Our subject continued to drive stage 
until the winter of 1876, operating on the Canyon 
City line. In the following spring, he took a 
claim in Long Hollow and conducted a stopping 
station for the stage in addition to raising grain 
and stock. For nine years, he dwelt there and 
then sold the property and moved to The Dalles. 
Here he was engaged in the hotel business for a 
few months and then took up the livery business 
with Jim Eglin. Eglin sold later to Mrs. Ward's 
brother. In 1892 Mr. Ward was elected sheriff 
of Wasco county on the Democratic ticket and 
after serving for one term, he again engaged in 
the livery business. He continued in this until 
the time of his death, the firm being known as 
Ward and Robertson. After his demise, his son 
succeeded as his mother's agent and is conducting 
the business with Mr. Robertson at this time. 

In political matters, Mr. Ward was a strong 
Democrat and held many important offices, as 
member of the city council, water commissioner, 
president of the fire department, and so forth. 

In Grant county, in Spanish Gulch, on August 
27, 1876, Mr. Ward married Miss Mary L. Kerns, 
who was born near Mt. Tabor. Her father, Wil- 
liam Kerns, crossed the plains in 1852 and took 
land near Mt. Tabor. He died in 1878. He fol- 
lowed mining for many years and was killed at 
Spanish Gulch by a cave-in from a mine. He 
had married Miss Lois Allen, a native of Maine 
and a member of the old colonial Allen family. 
The marriage occurred in Indiana and Mrs. 
Kerns died in Oregon City, in 1894. Mr. Ward's 
mother is now eighty-eight years of age and lives 
with his widow. He had one brother, John, who 
was killed accidentally in traveling from Nevada 
to Oregon. He has two sisters, Mary J., the, 
widow of Robert Milligan, and Bercia A., widow 
of William Saltzman. Mrs. Ward has two broth- 
ers, Wilbur G. and Elmer B., and one sister, 
Lulu Westervelt. Three children were born to 
our subject and his wife, T. Elmer, attending to 
the stable, Rex A., employed in the stable and 
Lulu L. at home. 

Mr. Ward was a prominent member of fra- 
ternal circles, assisting in organizing Ridgeley 
Lodge, I. O. O. F., of Dufur, of which he was 
the first noble grand and also a representative to 
the grand lodge and encampment. He and his 
wife were members of the Rebekahs and the 
Women of Woodcraft. He belonged also to the 
W. W., being a charter member in The Dalles. 

His life speaks for itself and he is cherished 
in the hearts and memories of those who knew 
him. Fearless and brave, yet guided by a keen 



362 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



sense of honor and a due appreciation of his 
stewardship, he conducted himself both in public 
and private so that his reputation was flawless 
and unsullied. In discharging the trying duties 
of sheriff of Wasco county, he was always known 
as humane yet strictly executing the wish of the 
law. His friends are numbered by legion in all 
parts of Oregon, and no man was more highly 
esteemed or widely known than Thomas A. 
Ward. 



HORATIO A. FARGHER, a prominent and 
extensive stockman of Wasco county, resides in 
The Dalles. He was born on the Isle of Man, 
on November 14, 1849. His father, Thomas C. 
Fargher, a native of the same place, came from 
an old Manx family that dates back for many 
centuries. He came to the United States in 1870, 
returned to his native home, in 1888, and died six 
years later. The mother of our subject was Susan 
(Christian) Fargher, a native of the Isle of Man, 
where she died when Horatio was about thirteen 
years of age. After receiving his education in a 
private school, the subject of this article came to 
the United States in 1867, apprenticed on the 
ship, Cairnsmore. In 1868, he came on another 
trip and deciding that he had seen enough of sea 
faring life, severed his connection with the vessel 
at San Francisco, having been two years on the 
ocean. For a time, he wrought on the bay 
schooners then went to Alaska on the ship Czaro- 
vitch. Six months later, he signed articles on the 
ship Favorite, from San Francisco to Liverpool 
then visited his old home and in 1870, his father 
returned with him to the United States. After 
a short visit in Sacramento, they came to Port- 
land and there our subject wrought on the river 
steamers for two years. Then he took a trip to 
Fort Wrangel, Alaska and after arduous travel- 
ing over ice and overcoming great difficulties and 
finding but little gold in the ground they thawed 
out, they returned to Puget sound. In 1875, M r - 
Fargher came to Wasco county with his brother, 
Thomas C, Jr., and bought out a man's rights 
on railroad land three miles from Dufur. Later, 
he sold his interest in the farm to his brother and 
purchased his present estate which consists of 
twenty-six hundred acres. A portion of it is 
grain land and the balance is used for pasture. 
He handles a large quantity of stock and is one 
of the prosperous men of the communitv. 

On February 7, 1889, at The Da'lles, Mr. 
Fargher married Miss Emma Roth, born in 
Minnesota, on September 18, 1865, the daughter 
of John M. and Margaret (Unselt) Roth, na- 
tives of Germany, and mentioned elsewhere in 
this volume. Mr. Fargdier has the following 



brothers and sisters, Arthur W., Thomas C, Jr., 
Frederick D., Walter A., Alexander, and Susan- 
nah. The last four mentioned are deceased. The 
names and dates of the births of our subject's 
children are given as follows : Susannah, July 5, 
1890; Albert, October 23, 1891 ; Margaret, No- 
vember 23, 1893 ; Walter, December 27, 1895 ; 
Stanley, March 5, 1898; Cecil, May 12, 1902. 

Mrs. Fargher is a member of the Women of 
Woodcraft. Mr. and Mrs. Fargher are well 
known and highly esteemed people and have so- 
conducted themselves that they have an unsullied 
reputation. 



MORVIN HENDRICSON, who resides some 
eighteen miles east of The Dalles, on Tenmile 
creek was born in Albany, Oregon, on September 
22, 1852. His father, William F. Hendricson, 
married Miss Sarah Jackson, who died at Albany, 
Oregon, in 1892. The father now lives there. He 
crossed the plains first in 1845, having been form- 
erly a farmer in Indiana and Iowa. He returned 
to his residence in 1847 an d then recrossed the 
plains to the west. In the fall of 1852, he took 
a donation claim in Linn county and for the past 
thirty years has resided in Albany, renting the 
donation claim, which he still owns. Our sub- 
ject was educated in the district schools and in 
Monmouth college, spending two winters in the 
last named institution. Then he rented his father's 
farm for two years after which he bought two 
hundred and forty acres near Harrisburg which 
was his home for nine years. Then he came to 
Wasco county and filed on a homestead and pre- 
emption, which he still owns. In addition he is 
farming seven hundred and eighty acres, which 
belongs to his brother-in-law, Mr. Belshaw, a 
capitalist of Spokane, Washington. Mr. Hendric- 
son raises about five hundred acres of wheat each 
vear and handles many cattle and horses. He 
has fine well bred stock and also owns a threshing 
outfit. He has two brothers. Omar P. and Wil- 
liam, and two sisters. Mrs. Leona Huston and 
Mrs. Mary Belshaw. 

On May 3, 1874. Mr. Hendricson married 
Mrs. Alvira Bennett, a native of Linn county. 
The wedding occurred at Lebanon, Oregon. Mrs. 
Hendricson was the daughter of William and 
Laura (Rexford) Bennett, who crossed the plains 
to the Willamette valley in the early forties. To 
this union four children have been born : Lela, 
the wife of Manuel D. Adams, who is also men- 
tioned in this work; Eva, the wife of Frank 
Blaker in East Portland ; Cora, the wife of George 
Haskell, a farmer residing in The Dalles. Oregon ; 
and Grace, the wife of Charles Stewart. Owing 
to incompatibility Mr. and Mrs. Hendricsoa 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



363 



finally separated and secured a divorce. After 
that, occurred the marriage of Mr. Hendricson 
and Mrs. Mabel Gannon, who was born in Polk 
county, Oregon, on July 22, 1861, the daughter of 
Daniel C. and Mary (Abbott) Dougherty, natives 
of Pennsylvania and Iowa, respectively. The 
father died in 1903, and the mother in 1901. The 
mother's brother was Dr. John Abbott, a well 
known physician of Iowa. By her former mar- 
riage, Mrs. Hendricson had one child, Charles 
Stewart, who died on February 3, 1904, after an 
illness of two and one-half years. He was a very 
popular young man and highly respected. His 
Christian life was exemplary and the church to 
which he belonged, the Baptist, possessed in him 
one of his choicest members. He left a wife, 
Grace, who was the daughter of Mr. Hendricson 
by his former marriage, and one child, Eileen. 
Mrs. Hendricson has also had one other child 
by her former marriage, Birdie, the wife of Pro- 
fessor Messenger, who is an instructor in a col- 
lege in Quebec, Canada. Mr. Hendricson be- 
longs to the Christian church and his wife is a 
member of the Baptist church. They are good 
substantial people, well esteemed, upright and 
thrifty. 

Since' the above was written Mr. Hendricson 
has sold his farm and is erecting a neat two-story 
house on Third street, 706^, The Dalles. 



A. AD. KELLER, who conducts a real estate, 
insurance and employment agency at The Dalles, 
No. 317 East Second street, was born in Switz- 
erland, April 28, 185 1, the son of Nicholas and 
Susanne (Schwendiman) Keller, natives of 
Switzerland. The father was a butcher and stock 
raiser. Both parents are deceased, the mother 
dying in 1877. 

Our subject was educated in the Swiss public 
schools in Berne, supplemented by a course in the 
"Realschule," a college in the same city. Mr. 
Keller was graduated from the literary depart- 
ment, in 1867. He then assisted his father in 
business until 1878, entering the Swiss army and 
serving until 1878, on leave of absence, with the 
rank of First Lieutenant, during all of which 
time he, also, attended to his duties in his father's 
meat market, and working his way upward in the 
army, a task that involved much hard study and 
work. He came to the United States in 1878, 
going direct to Portland, Oregon, where until 
1883 he was employed in the butchering business. 
That year he came to The Dalles and was book- 
keeper in the Columbia Brewery two and one-half 
years, subsequently engaging in the saloon busi- 



ness, until 1902, when he sold out and has con- 
ducted his present enterprise since. 

October 10, 1886, Mr. Keller, at The Dalles, 
was married to A. Louise Strasser, born in Swit- 
zerland in the same Canton as her husband, the 
daughter of Johann and Anna (Lewenburger) 
Strasser, natives of Switzerland, the father dying 
in that country in 1871, the mother passing away 
at The Dalles, in 1887. Mrs. Keller came here 
with her mother and three brothers; Henry, who 
is now a practicing physician in Minneapolis ; 
Emil, a farmer on Fivemile creek, Wasco county ; 
and another brother who died in 1882. Mr. Keller 
has one brother living, Edward, and one sister, 
Mary, both residing in Berne, Switzerland. Mr. 
and Mrs. Keller have six children, Albert, aged 
sixteen; Louisa, Marie, Grover, Julius, and 
Henry, aged respectively, fourteen, thirteen, 
eleven, ten and four years. Politically Mr. 
Keller is independent. Fraternally he is a mem- 
ber of Wasco tribe, I. O. R. M., of which he is 
chief of records and Past Sachem ; of Friendship 
Lodge, No. 9, K. of P., being past C. C, and 
The Dalles Aerie, No. 156, F. O. E. For thir- 
teen years he has served in the Oregon National 
Guard as Inspector of small arm practice, with 
rank of captain. He was a notary public eight 
years, is a member of the fire depaitment and is 
ex-president and secretary of Jackson Engine 
Company, No. 1, but is at present exempt from 
service. In June, 1904, Mr. Keller was chosen, 
justice of the peace for The Dalles district, run- 
ning well ahead of his ticket, 1 lie Republican. 



ALEXANDER J. ANDERSON resides - 
three miles west from The Dalles, where, he owns 
a choice farm with his brother. It is especiall 
adapted to the culture of fruil and he is one of 
the leading orchardists and general farmers in 
this part of the country. His place is known far - 
and wide as a land mark urar the Columbia 
river and personally he is respected and esteemer 

He was born in Delaware county, New York, 
on September 19, 1836, the son of John and Mar- 
garet (Sims) Anderson, natives of Scotland. - 
They both died in Illinois, the father in 1896 
aged eighty-two, the mothci was aged eighty. . 
They had come to the United States when chil- 
dren and were married in Delaware county, New 
York. The father followed farming and did 
millwright work. He was a prominent citizen - 
and for thirty years was justice of the peace in 
Illinois, holding that office until the time of his 
death. They had moved to that state in 1845,. 
our subject being then nine years of age and had 



3 6 4 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



settled about one hundred miles w,est from where 
Chicago now stands. Alexander remained with 
his parents until twenty-four years of age and 
then enlisted in 1861 in the first United States 
Regiment, Mechanics and Fusileers, and served 
three months. Being mustered out, he reenlisted 
in the cavalry but was not sent to the front. Then 
he offered his services on the gunboat but was 
not accepted on account of no more men being 
needed. In 1864, he came to Idaho then visited 
the Boise Basin in Idaho and the next year 
landed in Eugene, Oregon. Three years were 
spent there in carpentering then we find Mr. An 
derson in Portland in the sash and door factory. 
Two years later, he took up cabinet work and 
followed the same until 1879, when he came to 
The Dalles and took charge of the furniture store 
for J. F. Rowers. In the year of 1884, he sold 
out and our subject and his brother purchased 
three hundred and twenty acres of land on the 
river below The Dalles. Part of it is devoted to 
pasture and eighty acres of it are especially 
adapted to fruit. He has a very large orchard 
and produces some of the most excellent frnil 
in the valley. In addition to this, Mr. Anderson 
raises a great deal of Wyandotte poultry and 
other fowls, as peacocks, turkeys, geese and so 
forth. He produces abundance of vegetables 
each year and handles some stock. 

In 1867, at Eugene, Mr. Anderson nianied 
Miss Sarah J. Powers, a native of Illinois and 
the daughter of Benjamin Powers, born in Ver- 
mont and descended from an old and prominent 
colonial family. In 1852, Mr. Powers started 
across the plains and while en route, his wife was 
taken away by death. Mr. Anderson has three 
brothers, George, James and John and three sis- 
ters. Jane Monroe, Nettie Pierce and Margaret 
Gibbs. Mrs. Anderson has four brothers, Ben- 
jamin F., John, William and Albert. Three chil- 
dren came to bless the home of Mi. Anderson, 
Minnie, the wife of Henry L. Knek, a harness 
manufacturer of The Dalles, Nellie, a music 
teacher in Portland, and Albert who died. 



RUSSELL PEALER is a reliied farmer, re- 
siding about four miles up from Hood River on 
the west side. He was born in Knox county, 
Ohio, on March 18, 1833, the son of John and 
Rachel (Bright) Pealer, natives of Pennsyl- 
vania and descended from Dutch ancestry. Our 
subject was reared and educated in his native 
country and there married. 'I Itree vears after 
that event, he went to Towa and in 1862, enlisted 
in the Twenty-ninth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, 
•Company G, under Captain A / Huggins and 



' olonel Benton of Council Bluffs. For two years 
and nine months, Mr. Pealer was on the White 
River expedition and was discharged on account 
of disability. After the war, he remained in Iowa 
until 1869, then went to San Francisco by rail, 
lie took a steamer from there to Portland and 
later we find him at Camas Prairie, near Mt. 
Adams, Washington. In 1875, he came to Hood 
Uiver and bought eighty acres of land where he 
resides. He has cleared sixty acres from timber 
and has made it a very valuable and beautiful 
farm. The place is handled by his son and pro- 
duces diversified crops. 

On January 1, 1854, at Mt. Vernon, Knox 
county, Ohio, Mr. Pealer married Miss Louisa 
J. Nichols, who was born in the same neighbor- 
hood as her husband. They were playmates to- 
gether. Her father, Amos Nichols, was a native 
of Virginia and came to Ohio with his parents 
when twelve years of age. His father was in the 
War of 1812 and his great grandfather was in 
the Revolution. They all followed farming. He 
married Sarah Davis, who was born at Hagers- 
town, Maryland and came from an old southern 
family. Mr. and Mrs. Pealer have one child, Mil- 
ton W, who was born in Knox county, Ohio on 
March 10, 1855. He has been with his parents 
the past three years and has two children, How- 
ard W. and Guy. The latter is in Seattle and the 
former is married and has one child. He is liv- 
ing on the old home here, which makes four gen- 
erations on this farm. The men are Republicans 
but not active and Milton W. belongs to the 
A. O. U. W. Howard W. belongs to the M. W. 
A. In 1884, Mr. and Mrs. Pealer lost one son, 
Alvin R., who was eighteen years of age. Our 
subject and has wife have labored long and 
faithfully in this valley and are deserving of 
credit as substantial people and real builders of 
this part of Wasco county. 



CARL F. MEHL was born in Germany, on 
February 6, 1840, the son of Godfried and Eliza 
(Fischer) Mehl, natives of Germany where they 
remained until their death. In 1863, having se- 
cured a good education in the fatherland and an 
excellent training from his parents, our subject 
bade farewell to home and friends and sailed 
away for America. The first four years here, he 
spent in Wisconsin, then he lived eight years in 
Minnesota, following farming and the meat bus- 
iness. He also devoted some time to railroad 
contracting. In 1876, he came to The Dalles and 
opened a meat market. Later, he was employed 
on the O. R. & N. for six years, then he bought 
land in Klickitat county, across the Columbia 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



365 



river, and farmed for thirteen years. Then he 
sold his property and retired to The Dalles, where 
he and his wife have lived since. 

In 1866, while in Minnesota, Mr. Mehl mar- 
ried Miss Eustina Zeigenhagen, a native of Ger- 
many. Her parents were natives also of the same 
country and her father is now living with one 
of her brothers, aged eighty-eight. Mr. Mehl 
has one brother, August and one sister, Eustina 
Tetzloff. Mrs. Mehl has one brother, Herman. 
To our subject and his wife, seven children have 
been born : Emily, in Coos Bay, Oregon ; Rudolph 
at Heppner, with railroad company ; Helena, wife 
of Julius Pankonin, a builder and contractor; 
Fred in The Dalles, railroading, and Eustina, 
Amalia and Frank at home. 

Mr. Mehl is a good strong Kepublican and a 
well informed man. He also belongs to the A. O. 
U. W. while he and his wife are members of the 
Lutheran church. They are highly respected 
people and have won Ihe confidence of all who 
know them. 



WILLIAM A. HUNTER is a man of good 
standing, is possessed of much property, and is a 
leading citizen in Wasco county. He resides 
about seven miles east from Kingsley, and there 
owns an estate of about one thousand acres. The 
same is well improved, has all the marks of being 
handled by a thrifty and skillful owner, and is 
one of the choicest ones of the county. This past 
year, Mr. Hunter reaped about four hundred 
acres of good grain, which is the average of his 
farming. He raises considerable stock, has some 
fine cattle and many hogs. Among the swine, he 
owns one registered Poland China boar, which 
is a choice animal. Mr. Hunter has been pros- 
pered in all lines and the secret is not hard to find, 
as his wisdom, industry, and skill are evident in 
all his ways. 

William A. Hunter was born in Ontario, 
Canada, on December 28, 1869. His father, Mur- 
doch Hunter, was born in Canada and his parents 
were natives of Scotland. He died in 1884. He 
married Ann Finlayson, a native of Scotland, 
who died at Kingsley, in 1901. In the world fa- 
mous schools of Ontario, Mr. Hunter received 
his education and remained with his father until 
eighteen, then came to Oregon, and spent four 
years on the farms for wages. Later he took a 
homestead and preemption and bought another 
quarter, all in Sherman county. This was the 
scene of his labors until recently when he sold it 
and purchased a section and a half where he now 
resides. Here he has been occupied since and his 
life demonstrates him a man of tenacity, stabil- 
ity and uprightness. 



Mr. Hunter took unto himself a life partner 
on July 4, 1899, the nuptials being celebrated at 
The Dalles, and the lady was Miss Gertrude 
Badger, a native of Michigan. Her father, . 
George Badger, is a builder and architect in Port- 
land. He was born in Michigan and his father 
was a native of Boston, Massachusetts, and came 
from an old and prominent American family of 
the colonial days. George Badger served through 
the Civil War in the Sixth and First Michigan ■ 
Cavalry. He has erected some fine edifices, as 
the state insane asylum in Ionia, Michigan, the 
first capitol at Lansing, and others, being a prom- 
inent contractor. He married Miss Sarah A. 
Raymond, a native of Connecticut. Her father, . 
Russell G. Raymond, was a native of the same 
state. He married Asenath Hoyt. The first 
Raymonds came to the Colonies from England 
in 1625 and settled where Salem, Massachusetts 
is now. Their names were Richard, William, and 
John. Richard was a seafaring man and from him 
descended that branch of the family to which 
Mrs. Hunter belongs. The family tree is com- 
plete back for many generations previous to even« 
the early dates given. They were prominent 
people for centuries past. Mr. Hunter has three 
brothers, John, David and James, and three sis- 
ters, Mrs. Margaret McLeod, Mrs. Betsey Mc- 
Leod, and Mrs. Catherine Longhurst. Mrs. 
Hunter has two brothers, Frank and George and 
two sisters, Mrs. Jennie Vassal, and Sarah. Mrs. 
Hunter was well educated, in the graded school 
of Ionia and the Portland University. Following 
her day of graduation, she taught school for 
four years. Mr. Hunter is a Democrat, and a 
man of influence in the community. He is well 
posted on all questions of the day and is a great 
reader. 



GEORGE COOPER, one of Wasco county's 
popular and rising young men who has shown 
marked thrift and industry in his labors, which 
presage a bright future for him, resides about a-' 
mile south from The Dalles and has spent his 
entire life in this section. 

He was born in The Dalles, on March 25, 
1868. His father, Robert Cooper, was a native 
of' Aberdeenshire, Scotland and came to Canada 
when nineteen years of age. After six years' res- 
idence there, he came to Douglas county, Oregon 
in i860 and two years later, removed to The 
Dalles and engaged in teaming. In 1870, he filed 
on a homestead just south from The Dalles, 
where he now lives. He married a native Scotch 
girl who is still living with him. The high schools 
of The Dalles and a business college of Portland 
completed the education of our subject, then he- 



3 66 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



took up commercial work for a short time. After 
that, he bought forty acres of land from the 
Marshall Hill estate and is devoting the same 
almost entirely to orchard. He also raises melons 
and other vegetables and has a very beautiful 
and valuable place. 

On June 15, 1898, at The Dalles, Mr. Cooper 
married Miss Frances E. Rowe, who was born 
in that part of Wasco county which now forms 
Wheeler county. Her father, Joseph K. Rowe, 
was a native of Baltimore, Maryland, and his 
-father, of England. He came to the United 
States with his parents when an infant, and 
served in the Civil War, confederate army, For- 
tieth Missouri Infantry, under Captain George 
B. Clark. During the latter part of the war, he 
was engaged in the repair shops and in 1866, 
came to Oregon. He settled in the John Day 
- country, which was then almost uninhabited, and 
■ there remained until 1881, then moved to The 
Dalles and took a position in the Oregon Rail- j 
road and Navigation shops and later, went to 
Portland. In June, 1903, at St. Vincent hospital, | 
Portland, he was called away by death. He was 
a member of the Congregational church, the 
A. F. & A. M. and a highly respected citizen. 
The mother of Mrs. Cooper was Martha V. 
(Dedman) Rowe, a native of Tennessee and de- 
scended from an old and prominent southern 
"family. Her father had extensive machine shops 
and foundries at Camden, Arkansas when the 
Civil War broke out. They were confiscated by 
the confederate army and he was pressed into 
service. After the war, he secured three thous- 
and dollars for his entire property for which he 
had been offered thirty thousand dollars pre- 
viously. His death occurred in Idaho, on July 
13, 1902 and he was a Mason of sixty-two years' 
standing. After the war, he settled in Texas, 
tra'veling later to Oregon. Mr. Cooper has one 
-brother, John Cooper and three sisters, Ella Tay- 
lor, Annie, Katie and Lura. Mrs. Cooper has one 
brother, Walter C, and two sisters, Nona, wife 
•of Henry Readel, in The Dalles, and Lulu C. 

Mr. Cooper is a member of the I. O. O. F., 
the Artisans and the Methodist church. Mrs. 
Cooper is a member of the Congregational 
church. They have two children, Helen, born 
May 7, 1901 and Glen R., born October 3, 1903. 
Mr. Cooper is a Republican, has attended the 
conventions but is not very active in this work 
although stanch. 



STEPHEN B. ADAMS, deceased. The his- 
-"-•orv of Wasco county and in fact a large portion 
of Oregon, could not be thoroughly written with- 
out especial mention of Mr. Adams. He was born 



in Pennsylvania, near the Ohio line, on May 9, 
1829, the son of Abner and Zeruiah (Griswold) 
Adams. The father is a close relative of the 
noted John and John Quincy Adams and the 
family is too well known in American history to 
need further comment. The Griswolds were old 
and prominent people and Mrs. AdamSj the 
widow of our subject, has a property deed made 
to the Griswold family prior to the Revolution. 
Our subject was reared and educated in the east- 
ern part of the United States and in 1853, with 
his wife and one child joined a train for Marion 
county, Oregon. In due time the horse and ox 
teams brought them safely through and then they 
took a donation claim near the present site of 
Jefferson. However, previous to that, they 
moved to town and later bought other land near 
by. Owing to the asthma of his wife, Mr. Adams 
removed to Grant county, Oregon, in 1871 and 
engaged in stock raising. He did very well and 
soon had large bands of cattle, sheep and horses. 
In 1880, he came to The Dalles and engaged as 
a wool buyer for the Oregon City mills. Later, 
he bought wheat. During his residence in The 
Dalles for nearly a quarter of a century, he was 
one of the leading figures in its improvement and 
progress. For nine years, he held the director- 
ship of The Dalles public schools and was most 
prominent in bringing them to their present ex- 
cellent condition. He was a moving spirit in se- 
curing the high school building and was tire- 
less in his efforts in any line where he could bring 
improvement and betterment. In 1898, Mr. 
Adams retired from active business life and on 
March 27, 1903, came the summons of the death 
angel to depart from this scene. He was beloved 
by all and widely known throughout this state 
where he had made a reputation for himself as 
an honorable, noble and capable man. 

On December 31, 1849, at Knoxville, Illinois 
whither the Adams family had moved when our 
subject was fifteen years of age, he married Miss 
Nancy C. Cox, who was born in Indiana, on 
January 24, 1831. Her parents, Benjamin B. and 
"Elizabeth (Vangilder) Cox, were natives of 
Ohio and from German and Dutch extraction, 
respectively. They married in Ohio and came to 
Oregon with Mr. Adams and his family, bring- 
ing with them a family of two sons and three 
daughters. Mr. Cox died in 1878 at Camp Wat- 
son, Grant county. His wife had died at Oregon 
City, in 1853. Mr. Adams has no brothers or 
sisters living but his widow has one sister, 
Louisa, widow of Willis Osborn of Milton, Ore- 
gon. To Mr. and Mrs. Adams two children 
were born. M. D., mentioned elsewhere in this 
work and Elizabeth, the widow of C. M. Brown 
and now livinsr with her mother. Her son, the 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



367 



grandson of our subject, Harry E., is a young 
man of promise and well known as a carpenter 
and builder in Tbe Dalles. 

For many years, Mr. Adams was a member 
of tbe I. O. O. F. and was prime mover in the 
establishment of the Oddfellow cemetery at The 
Dalles. Politically, he was a Democrat but never 
active, preferring always to asssist his friends to 
public positions than to take them for himself. 



DANIEL L. ZACHARY, who resides about 
four miles south of The Dalles on Three Mile 
creek, is one of the venerable citizens and sturdy 
pioneers of Oregon. He gives his attention to 
farming and fruit raising, overseeing his place 
and is now largely retired from active life. His 
father, Alexander Zachary, was born in Arkan- 
sas and descended from a very prominent fam- 
ily. His father, the grandfather of our subject, 
was a patriot of the Revolution. Alexander 
Zachary died in Oregon in 1859. He came among 
the very first who made their way across the 
plains, his train arriving in 1843. Settlement was 
made just east from the present site of Portland. 
He was born in 1804. Alexander Zachary mar- 
ried Miss Sarah Luster, a native of Kentucky and 
from a prominent southern family. She died in 
Dayton, Washington, in 1894. Our subject was 
reared in Arkansas and attended the school there 
and in Oregon until 1853 when he started in life 
for himself. His first venture was stock raising 
in Linn county, where he took a half section as a 
donation claim. For fourteen years, he labored 
assiduously there, then came to Gilliam county, 
taking a homestead, preemption and timber cul- 
ture claim. He was for sixteen years one of the 
leading stockmen of Gilliam county. It was 
1897, when he came to his present location and 
purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land 
which is the home place. Ten acres of this are 
devoted to orchard which produces Italian 
prunes, grapes and so forth, and the balance to 
general farming'. 

On July 16, 1862, Mr. D. L. Zachary married 
Miss Martha Dinwiddie. The wedding occurred 
in Linn county and the bride was born in Indiana. 
Her father, David Dinwiddie, was born in Ohio 
and descended from the old and prominent Din- 
widdie family, well known in colonial days, mem- 
bers of which held important offices as governor 
and so forth. Mr. Dinwiddie married Miss Elsie 
Hildreth, a native of Indiana in which state the 
marriage occurred. The Hildreth family was also 
connected with the inception of colonial history 
and were prominent for many generations. Mr. 
Dinwiddie brought his family to Oregon in 1853. 



Mr. Zachary has no brothers living but three sis- 
ters, Katherine Davis, Jane Bowen and Nancy. 
Mrs. Zachary has two brothers Joseph and 
James and two sisters, Mary and Harriet. To 
Mr. and Mrs. Zachary the following children 
have been born : Elmer, a farmer in Linn county; 
Ellsworth, a farmer near Dayton, Washington; 
Albert, a stockman in the Yakima country ; Ira 
with his father; Daniel, also at home; Elsie, wife 
of Wilfred Cecil, a farmer in Morrow county; 
Maggie, who died on July 16, 1903, aged four- 
teen years and five months ; and Wills W. 

Politically, Mr. Zachary is a stanch Democrat 
while in local affairs, he is active and well posted. 
His standing in the community is of the best 
while he and his wife are known far and near 
as hospitable people. 



OWEN JONES, who is one of the leading 
farmers of the Tygh Ridge country, is a man of 
stability and industry, as is evidenced by the fact 
that when he came here he was not possessed of 
any earthly goods, but went to work with his 
hands and is now the owner of twenty-two hun- 
dred acres of good land, farm and pasture, be- 
sides having much stock. The place has been 
improved from time to time as he has found the 
need, and is today a valuable estate. Mr. Jones 
is a man of sagacity and plans carefully in his 
enterprises and then with a sure hand executes 
his plans to the line. This, with his untiring care 
of details insures him the best of success and 
his business could but prosper under his guid- 
ance. 

Owen Jones was born in Wales, on June 9, 
1869, the son of Robert and Sarah (Jones) 
Jones, both natives of Wales. The father died in 
his native place, but the mother is still living 
there. Our subject was well educated in the 
public schools, and in 1888, came to the new 
world to find the fortune that was awaiting him 
here. He spent the first eighteen months in 
Utica, New York, then came to the land of 
promise, Oregon, where he soon decided to try 
his fortune in Wasco county. After looking over 
the country, he decided on the place where he 
now dwells as a homestead and filed. Since then 
he has transformed the prairie claim into a valu- 
able farm and has added betimes by purchase 
until he owns now the magnificent estate we 
have already mentioned. It is no small task to 
start on the raw prairie with one's bare hands 
and in a few years have a fine farm, plenty of 
stock and all improvements needed, as any one 
will testify who has tried the scheme. But Mr. 
Jones was equal to the task and he has now to 
show a handsome property. He winters many 



3 68 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



cattle and sells annually about seventy-five hogs, 
all being the fine Poland China breed. His cattle 
number usually about one hundred head, some- 
times more. His place is neat and thrifty, and 
he is making the wealth that his labors deserve. 

At The Dalles, on July 10, 1899, Mr. Jones 
married Miss Sophia Roth, who was born in 
Kansas, on September 21, 1872. Her parents, 
John and Margaret (Nunselt) Roth, are men- 
tioned elsewhere in this work. Mr. Jones has 
the following named brothers and sisters : John, 
William, David, Robert, Ellis, Thomas, Mrs. 
Sarah Pritchard, Mrs. Elizabeth Seufert, and 
Catherine. 



FELIX C. SEXTON, sheriff of Wasco coun- 
ty, and member of the firm of Sexton & Walther, 
dealers in hardware and implements, at The 
Dalles, was born in Henry county, Tennessee, 
April 13, 1854. His parents were James and 
Milberry (Ellis) Sexton, natives of Tennessee. 
The father's father was born in Ireland. The 
father, who was a farmer, died about 1873, and 
the mother passed away in September, 1900, in 
Kansas, at the age of seventy-eight. Her mother 
lived to be ninety-eight years old. 

Until 1859 our subject was reared in Tennes- 
see, and the family then moved to Illinois where 
he received his education in the district schools in 
his locality. At the time he was working on a farm 
with his father he split the log seats for the log 
school house at which he received his elementary 
education. The Sexton family moved to Kansas, 
and when our subject was eighteen years of age 
his father died. Young Sexton and his brother 
purchased a farm and they cultivated the same 
until 1880, when, in common with their neigh- 
bors, they suffered greatly from drought and the 
grasshopper pest. Then our subject and his wife 
came to Oregon, she remaining in Portland visit- 
ing while he came to The Dalles arriving April 
16, 1880, with a cash capital of five dollars. He 
immediately went to work on a ranch, remained 
through harvest, and then went into the timber 
where he split rails and chopped cord wood, and 
for three years followed various employments, 
and saved money sufficient to purchase a ranch 
about two miles from Kingsley postoffice, and 
here the family resided for thirteen years. Dis- 
posing of this property they came to The Dalles, 
and prepared to return to Kansas. Owing to high 
water in the Columbia they could not get away, 
and when they attempted to leave by the rail- 
road the strike on the line prevented them from 
doing so. It was the wish of Mrs. Sexton to 
remain, and in the various obstacles thrown in 
their way she could see the hand of fate, and the 



eastern trip was abandoned. Mr. Sexton then 
engaged in the feed business three years and 
when he disposed of the same he was appointed 
deputy sheriff by Robert Kelly, now living in 
Spokane. In June, 1902, our subject was elected 
to the office of sheriff of Wasco county, receiving 
a majority of five hundred and seven on the Re- 
publican ticket, running ahead of his ticket two 
hundred votes. He has served nearly every sea- 
son as delegate to county conventions and has 
always taken as active an interest in politics as 
his business would permit. In January, 1901, 
he entered into partnership with W. E. Walther 
in his present business. Our subject, however, 
is justly proud of being a successful farmer, and 
holds to the opinion that that is the ideal life 
for one to lead. 

February 12, 1879, Mr. Sexton was married, 
at Abilene, Kansas, to Vinelda Y. Bradfield, a 
native of Kansas, born in Dickinson county. Her 
father, Erasmus W., and Mary (Bell) Bradfield, 
are both dead. Mr. Sexton has six brothers and 
two sisters living: William H., of Kansas ; George 
W., of Sherman county, Oregon ; James T.. Jo- 
seph M., Isaac A., and Henry, all of Kansas; 
Jerline H., wife of Samuel W. Scoggins. of Den- 
ver, Colorado ; Martha J., married to J. H. Dunn, 
a farmer, living in Kansas. Mrs. Sexton has 
three brothers and three sisters : Benton P., min- 
ing in Alaska ; Jesse J., a contractor and builder 
in Kansas; Ellis E., an Oklahoma farmer; Dora 
D., wife of David Sommers, of Kansas : Annie 
A., married to William Swartz. of Kansas ; and 
Montie M., single, residing in Kansas. Our sub- 
ject has nine children living, having lost one: 
Francis M., bookkeeper in the hardware store; 
Millie M., Dora M., Guy A., Leona, Felix N., 
Harold, Nello, and Theodore D. 

Mr. Sexton is a member of the B. P. O. E., 
I. O. O. F., of which he is past grand and repre- 
sentative to the grand lodge, and the W. O. W. 

In June, 1904, Mr. Sexton was reelected 
sheriff by a majority of over twelve hundred. 



DANIEL J. COOPER resides on Tenmile 
creek about ten miles up from The Dalles. He 
was born in Bradley county. Tennessee, on 
August 23, 1836. His' father, Elbert E. Cooper, 
was a native of Kentucky. His parents were also 
born in Kentucky. The mother's father, the great- 
grandfather of our subject was George Frederick 
Cooper, a native of Germany. During the Revolu- 
tion such was the intense feeling against King 
George that he dropped the name George and it 
was never used by him afterward, he always being 
known as Frederick. He fought during the Revo- 





Felix C. Sexton 



Mrs. Felix C. Sexton 





Daniel J. Cooper 



Mrs. Daniel J. Cooper 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



3O9 






lution and was finally married in North Carolina 
to Dorothy Call, who came from a prominent and 
influential colonial family, which is still a lead- 
ing- family in the south. He made several trips 
to Kentucky with Boone and finally settled there 
where he died. It is stated that his little log 
cabin is standing there to this day. Our sub- 
ject's father was reared in Kentucky until six- 
teen years of age when his father died and he 
went to Tennessee where he was married to 
Nancy Wann, a native of Meigs county, Ten- 
nessee. Her parents were natives of Virginia 
and their ancestors originally came from Wales, 
among the early settlers of the Virginia colony. 
Nancy (Wann) Cooper's mother, our subject's 
grandmother, was Lydia Stockton before her mar- 
riage to Mr. Wann. Her father, Clayton Stock- 
ton, married Nancy Patton. Clayton and Nancy 
(Patton) Stockton were born Quakers, but later 
became Baptists. They migrated from Virginia 
to Tennessee. Clayton Stockton served in the 
War of 1812. Our subject was raised principally 
in Missouri where his parents moved when he 
was two years of age. He was well educated 
in the district schools and the high school and 
when twenty left home for California with his 
uncle, Michael W. Buster. They crossed the 
plains with ox teams to Santa Rosa and vicinity. 
He did well cutting wood for the Santa Rosa 
mills, then went to Fraser river and finally came 
back to San Francisco broke and disgusted. He 
spent two years in charge of a cattle ranch and 
then took steamship to New York, finally landing 
in Missouri, in 1861. He tried several times to 
enlist but the company every time was disbanded 
or broken up. Finally, he was enlisted in Com- 
pany D, Seventy-sixth Missouri, on August 30, 
1862, and was in several battles and skirmishes 
and was then discharged honorably as second 
sergeant. Then with his wife and one child, and 
his parents, he turned his face westward with no 
definite place in view except to get out of the 
unsettled and uncertain state of affairs in Mis- 
souri and Kansas. When they came to the forks 
of the road on the Platte river, they finally decided 
to come to Oregon and in the fall of 1863, reached 
Polk county where they remained fourteen years. 
After following farming and stock raising for this 
time, our subject was in the mercantile business 
for three or four years, having purchased a ware- 
house on the river in company with his brother. 
In 1876, he sold out this property and went to 
Marion county, near the Silverton mills. He 
did well in business there for a couple of years 
then came to eastern Oregon and bought a por- 
tion of the place which he now owns. He has in 
this estate now twenty-nine hundred acres of 
land, sixteen hundred of which are tillable. This 

24 



year he has seven hundred acres of grain and 
rents the balance. Mr. Cooper is one of the lead- 
ing farmers of eastern Oregon and has made a 
fine success in his labors. 

On May 9, 1861, in Lawrence county, Mis- 
souri, Mr. Cooper married Arvazena Spillmanj 
who was born in Allen county, Kentucky oil 
April 13, 1845. Her parents, Nathan and Emily 
(Prewett) Spillman, were natives of Kentucky. 
Mr. Cooper has six brothers, William H, James 
S., Jacob C, Riley D., John E. and Albert and 
three sisters, Mrs. Sarah Gildow, Patience, single, 
and Mrs. Elizabeth Mann, deceased. Mrs. Cooper 
has the following named brothers and sisters, 
Lewis, Brownlow, John, William, Luther, Mrs-. 
Pardee Cooper, the wife of our subject's brother, 
Jacob C, and Mrs. Julia Mize. To Mr. and Mrs; 
Cooper the following named children have been 
born : Charles C, a harness maker in Dufur ; El- 
bert N., a stockman at Billings, Montana; Cyrus, 
with his father ; Daniel J., in Wyoming ; Avery 
J., a lieutenant in the regular army at Fort 
Stevens; James A., at home; Kenneth L., at the 
agricultural college at Corvallis ; Belle, the wife 
of Dr. Elmer E. Ferguson, who is mentioned 
elsewhere in this work, and who, with her hus- 
band and Dr. Reuter owns The Dalles hospital 
and is one of the most successful physicians in 
this part of the state ; Mary, wife of James F. 
Thompson, a flour mill owner at Lewiston, Idaho ; 
Nancy, a teacher in The Dalles public school ; 
Prudence, the wife of Fred W. Bailey, in charge 
of the grocery department of Pease and Mays 
establishment; Ruth, a trained nurse at Portland; 
Bingilia, the wife of Harry E. Northrup, an at- 
torney of Portland ; and Mildred, a school girl. 

Mr. and Mrs. Cooper are members of the 
Congregational church. He belongs to the G. A. 
R. and his wife to the Relief Corps. In political 
matters, Mr. Cooper is a Republican and is fre- 
quently delegate to the state and county conven- 
tions. After coming to Oregon our subject was 
a special agent in the land office with his head- 
quarters in Washington, D. G, for some time. 
Mr. Cooper's father was a Baptist preacher and 
for forty years preached the gospel, never ac- 
cepting any pay for this service. He was well 
known in the Willamette valley, where he labored 
for many years. 



FRANK CADDY is one of the most progres- 
sive and successful farmers in the Hood River 
vallev. He resides near Frankton school and was 
born in Dubuque, Iowa, on July 5, 1854. His 
father, Thomas Caddy, was born in Stafford- 
shire, England and the family were farmers and 
blacksmiths for many generations back, they hav- 



37o 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



ing lived in the same house since the reign of 
Queen Ann. The father came to the United 
States when twenty-one and settled in Dubuque 
and followed his trade. In 1877, he moved to 
Fayette county and in 1883, went to Nebraska, 
where he followed blacksmithing and in the win- 
ter of 1883, was caught in a blizzard and froze 
to death in Wheeler county. He was an en- 
thusiastic Republican and a school director for 
riwelve years in Centergrove, Iowa and the sub- 
urbs of Dubuque. He married Lucy E. Day, a 
native of New York. For many generations, her 
ancestors lived in Day Hollow, near Binghamp- 
: ton. Several of the family fought in the Revolu- 
tion and her grandfather came from an old 
'Scotch family that dates back to the time of 
King James. Our subject remained with his 
parents until he came west in 1885 and rode the 
range for many years. His favorite trip was to 
/go to the Pecos valley in New Mexico, purchase 
j horses and drive them to Iowa where they were 
sold to -advantage. He made the trip each year 
• until '.he came to the Hood River valley. On No- 
vember 10, 1890, he took a homestead which he 
still owns. For seven months he worked for 
William Slingerland when he first came, and in 
March, 1896, he bought five acres where he re- 
sides at present. Later, he added ten more by 
purchase and here he has bestowed his labors 
: since. 

On April 30, 1891, at the Belmont church, 

jMr. Caddy married Miss Minnie E. Boorman, 

rthe daughter of William and Lucy (Rand) 

Boorman. To this union the following children 

have been born, Leon, Dorothy, and three who 

died in infancy. Mr. Caddy has four brothers, 

Charles, Thomas, Wilbur A. and Joseph, and two 

/sisters, Mrs. Hannah Ohler and Alice E., besides 

: three sisters dead, Ella, Neva, and Blanche. 

Mrs. Caddy belongs to the Methodist church. 
Mr. Caddy's father was an Oddfellow of many 
years' standing and very influential, having 
passed all the chairs of the order and was dele- 
gate to the grand lodge. Mr. Caddy has an ex- 
, cedent place and well improved. From about 
four acres, he has sold five hundred and sixty- 
two dollars worth of strawberries. He cuts as 
high as twenty-two tons of hay from four acres. 
On one acre, he cut seven tons at the first mow- 
ing, a record which is hard to beat. 



HENRY L. MAYHEW is a man of large 
experience in the industrial world and has passed 
through many hardships and much arduous work 
to attain the position he now occupies. He re- 
sides about eight miles east from Kingsley, where 



he has an estate of four hundred acres, over half 
of which is now under the plow. He took the first 
part of it as a homestead and after improving 
that, purchased the balance. He raises grain and 
stock and is one of the thrifty and leading men 
of this section. Mr. Mayhew is a man of wide 
information and keeps himself well posted in the 
literature of the world and its progress. He was 
well educated in the French schools of his youth, 
but when he came to the United States he took 
up the task of mastering the English language, 
so as to speak, read and write it correctly. 
He has accomplished this task, which is no small 
one, and entirely without instruction, which 
shows his tenacity and ability. 

Henry L. Mayhew was born near Stony 
Point, Ontario, on April 16, 1863, the son of 
Jacob and Lucy (Brunnett) Mayhew, both na- 
tives of Stony Point. The father came from a 
French colonial family and remained in his native 
place until his death, which occurred when our 
subject was seven. The mother also descended 
from a French colonial family and now dwells at 
Stony Point. After being educated, Henry L., 
went to Michigan, being then seventeen. Two 
years later he returned to Ontario and then entered 
the employ of the Canadian Pacific. Later he 
contracted on the construction of that line in Brit- 
ish Columbia and following that he took a trip 
overland, with his blankets and provisions on his 
back, to Sandpoint, Idaho. Two companions ac- 
companied him and they had a hard time. Then 
Mr. Mayhew did contract work on the Northern 
Pacific, and after that did logging at Chehalis. 
Two years later he came to Wasco county and 
took the homestead mentioned. He went to work 
with a will to make a home and gain a fortune 
and he has succeeded well. He started without 
means, but has prospered exceedingly in his work 
since. 

At The Dalles, on November 25. 1895. Mr. 
Mayhew married Mrs. Lulu Wiklrick, the daugh- 
ter of Harvey and Jennie (Brown) Smith. The 
father died in the east, but the mother lives with 
this daughter. The former was born in Ver- 
mont, and the latter in Pennsylvania. Mrs. May- 
hew was born in Michigan. By her former mar- 
riage she has one son, Willie, who is a student 
in Holme's business college in Portland. To 
Mr. and Mrs. Mayhew one son has been born, 
Arthur. Mrs. Mayhew is an only child. Mr. 
Mayhew has the following named brothers and 
sisters : Patrick, Napoleon, Mrs. Emily Bully, 
Mrs. Delama DeMarrais, and Mrs. Selema De- 
Marrais. Mr. Mayhew was the first one to come 
here from Stony Point, and now several of his 
early associates are here and prosperous men. 
In politics, he is a Republican and active in the 






'I ■ 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



37* 



interests of his party. He is school director and 
has been for a long time. Fraternally, he is 
affiliated with the W. W., and is also chairman 
•of the precinct committee. 



HENRY H. TOMLINSON, surveyor and 
farmer, resides about a mile out from Mount 
Hood. He is one of the pioneers of this country 
and has been very active in many lines of devel- 
opment work throughout the state. He was born 
in England, on January 22, 1855, the son of Sam- 
uel and Harriett (Hindley) Tomlinson, natives 
also of England, where they were married. The 
wedding occurred in Lincolnshire. They came 
to the United States in 1857 and settled in Gene- 
see county, Michigan, where the father now lives 
retired. The mother died on June 4, 1902, aged 
seventy-two. Our subject was raised and edu- 
cated in Michigan, and in 1874 went to Nebraska 
and engaged in overseeing a crew on the railroad. 
Later, he returned to Michigan and came to Ohio, 
after which he went to Michigan and learned the 
carpenter trade. In 1883 we find him in Hood 
River, Oregon, and he filed on a preemption a 
little south from where he lives at the present 
time. In 1884 he worked for H. C. Coe, on the 
Mt. Hood stage line. The next year he relin- 
quished his preemption and went to Douglas 
county, Oregon. The same year he returned to 
Hood River, then went to Washington and 
worked for Lyman Smith as engineer in sawmill. 
In 1890, we find him working for the Southern 
Pacific railroad at Woodburn. Soon thereafter, 
he came to the valley to clear his homestead, 
which he had taken up in 1878. Since that time 
he has farmed here. In the spring of 1893, Mr. 
Tomlinson bought the Baldwin sawmill and oper- 
ated the same for nine years. In May, 1902. he 
sold his propertv to John Koontz. Ever since 
learning the art in younger years, Mr. Tomlinson 
has given more or less attention to surveying 
and has operated in various sections of the coun- 
try. He has sold one hundred and twenty acres 
of his quarter section and is improving the other 
forty in an excellent manner. He has a very 
tasty cottage together with other improvements 
and is making an ideal home of his place. He 
Las a fine apple orchard and expects to plant 
more. 

On February 20, 1877, at the residence of the 
"bride at Mount Hood, Mr. Tomlinson married 
Miss Emily E. Edick, who was born in Illinois, 
on August 7, 1859. Her father, Henry Edick, 
was a native of New York, and his father, Henry 
Edick, lived to be one hundred and four years 
•of age. He was born in Deerfield, Oneida county, 



New York, on June 28, 1770, and was a pioneer 
there and in various sections of the country. He 
married Miss Amelia Edick. He was the father 
of ten children and at the time of his death, six 
were living, the eldest being seventy-four and the 
youngest forty. 

Mrs. Tomlinson's mother was Alice (Sey- 
mour) Edick, a native of McHenry county, Illi- 
nois, where she was married. She now resides 
in Mount Hood, the widow of Oscar Sandman. 
Our subject has two brothers, Lewis W. and 
Franklin, and five sister6, Mary E. Allen, Sarah, 
Hattie Montague, Ida and Lucy Meyers. Mrs. 
Tomlinson has one brother, William H., and 
one half brother, Delbert Sandman. Mr. Tom- 
linson is a member of the A. F. & A. M., and 
a good strong Republican. The children born 
to this worthy couple are Myrtle E., Delbert V., 
and Ivy, aged fourteen, eleven and two respec- 
tively. Mr. Tomlinson has had two severe acci- 
dents, each of which nearly cost him his life. 
While piloting a number of tourists to Mount 
Hood, on one occasion, he stooped to drink water 
from a spring and a falling rock struck him in 
the forehead, fracturing his skull. After recov- 
ering, he was one clay in his mill when the emery 
wheel burst and a portion of it struck him in 
the same place, again fracturing his skull. He 
is one of the enterprising and progressive men 
of this valley, has a broad acquaintance and many 
friends. 



CHARLES FRALEY resides at 922 Ninth 
street, The Dalles. He was born on April 29, 
1849, in Iowa, the son of Daniel A. and Jincey 
C. (Goslin) Fraley, natives of Ohio and Indiana, 
respectively. The father's ancestors were promi- 
nent American people in colonial days, and he 
was brought up on the farm. He died at Rosco, 
Missouri, on November 20, 1887. The mother's 
ancestors were also settlers on American soil 
long before there was a United States, and she 
died at Rosco, Missouri, on February 6, 1872. 
Our subject was reared principally in Indiana. 
Montgomery county, where he was taken when 
six years of age. The graded schools of Linden 
furnished his educational training and he re- 
mained with his father until twenty-two years of 
age, then he began farming for himself continu- 
ing in the same until 1889, when he came to Ore- 
gon. Wasco county appealed to him more 
strongly than any other place and he selected 
land ne'ar Kingsley, securing a half section, half 
of which he still owns, the balance having been 
deeded to his son. During the winters he resides 
in his home in town, but spends most of the sum- 
mers on the farm, having been prospered in his 



372 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



labors since coming here and having secured a 
sufficient fortune to warrant his retiring from the 
arduous labors of life, and it is pleasant that he 
is enabled to enjoy the fruits of his toil. 

On March 31, 1871, at Rosco, Missouri, Mr. 
Fraley married Miss Margaret J. Pugh, a native 
of Columbus, Ohio. Her father, Andrew J. 
Pugh, was also born in Ohio, being descended 
from Welsh parents. His father, the grandfather 
of our subject, was born in Wales. The mother 
was Christina Wolf, a native of Ohio and from a 
Virginia family. The parents of our subject are 
now both deceased. Mr. Fraley has two 
brothers, Horace G. and Oliver M., and two sis- 
ters, Jincy C. Leslie, and Lizzie Lasley. Mrs. 
Fraley has three brothers, James M., Archibald 
and Jacob, and two sisters, Frances Hobkins and 
Martha Evick. 

Politically, we find Mr. Fraley allied with the 
Republican party where he is considered a stanch 
wheel horse. He is a member of the A. F. & A. 
M. To our subject and his wife seven children 
have been born : Athel V., who owns a ranch 
adjoining our subject's and is a partner with him ; 
John, on the home place; Nettie, wife of Ernest 
Mayhew, at Victor, Oregon; and Nannie, Ellen, 
May and Stella at home. 



WILLIAM S. GRIBBLE, a prominent and 
popular citizen of Wasco county, is located at Mt. 
Hood, where he handles a general merchandise 
establishment and also is postmaster. He has a 
choice stock of well selected goods and is doing 
a fine business. His birth occurred in Clackamas 
county, Oregon, on November 28, 1862, and he 
carries the distinction of being a native of the 
Web-Foot state and is a son of whom Oregon 
may be proud. His father, Joseph B. Gribble, 
was born in Missouri and crosed the plains with 
his parents in 1846, with ox teams, being then 
twelve years of age. They had an uneventful 
journey, as the Indians were quiet ; but they 
broke out the next year. Our subject's father 
took a donation claim and also traded for unsur- 
veyed land, giving a gun and pony for a large 
tract. The grandfather died on the old donation 
claim. The fatber also died in the Willamette 
valley. He had married Miss Eumice Fish, a 
native of Clackamas county, and her parents were 
early pioneers of that country. William was edu- 
cated and reared in the Willamette valley, and, 
excepting a trip of six months to California, he 
remained there until T892. In that year he came 
to this section and filed on a homestead, which 
lies one mile north from the store. He cultivated 
that for several years, and in 1902 decided to 



embark in the mercantile business. He accord- 
ingly erected a commodious two story structure 
and selected a stock of goods and opened for 
business. He had a good patronage from the 
start and is a man of good ability in this enter- 
prise. He possesses a geniality and affability that 
wins friends and he has the confidence and esteem 
of the people. In January, 1904, he was ap- 
pointed postmaster and is giving the best of satis- 
faction in this capacity. 

While in Clackamas county Mr. Gribble mar- 
ried Miss Hattie E. Hodges, a native of Iowa, 
and to them two children were born, Alta G. and 
Hazel B., who are with their mother in Los An- 
geles county, California. Owing to sufficient 
reason, Mr. Gribble secured a divorce from this 
woman, and, at The Dalles, on March 18, 1903. 
he married Mrs. Nettie M. Booth, a native of 
Maine, and the daughter of Charles Hobart, who 
is now in Massachusetts, but he was for many 
years master mechanic for the O. R. & N. at 
The Dalles. Mr. Gribble has the following 
named brothers and sisters : Raymond N., Wal- 
ter J., Elmer W., Martin J., Clarissa E. Cooper, 
and Kate E. Cooper, and one half brother, Bruce 
O. Billings, our subject's step-father being Amos 
Billings. By her former marriage, Mrs. Gribble 
has two children, Hobart and Leah Booth, both 
living with our subject and his wife. Mr. Grib- 
ble is a member of the Lmited Artisans, and is- 
an influential and active Republican. Mrs. Grib- 
ble belongs to the Congregational church, while 
her husband is a member of the Methodist. 



REMI RONDEAU is well known in the 
country adjacent to Kingsley and is a highly 
esteemed and popular man. He is one of those 
substantial men who form the boast and strength 
of any well regulated community and is a man 
whose labors have always been bestowed wisely 
and for the upbuilding and improvement of the- 
country and his property. He is a native of the 
province of Quebec, Canada, and was born on 
June 11, 1850. His parents are mentioned in 
the sketch of his brother's life, which appears 
in this work. In the French schools of his native- 
country, Mr. Rondeau acquired a good education 
and in 1872, he came to Wasco county, whither 
his father, his brothers. Leon, Joseph. Edward 
and his sisters, Delia Celia and Louisa, came 
five years later. The mother had died in Ver- 
mont where the family dwelt for some time. 
Mr. Rondeau immediately took up land upon 
reaching this place and soon thereafter purchased 
railroad land and now has an estate of four hun- 
dred and forty acres. It is good land and half 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



373 



of it is bearing bounteous crops of wheat and 
other cereals. A portion of the land was dis- 
puted between the railroad and the government 
and finally the title became settled. Mr. Ron- 
deau has given his attention to the cultivation of 
his farm and has succeeded well, having now a 
choice farm, well improved with fine new dwell- 
ing and other accessories needful on a first class 
place. He has always shown a marked interest 
in the affairs of the county, state and nation, as 
well as laboring untiringly for the betterment 
of educational facilities. He gave freely of his 
time for this good end and progress in all lines 
is his motto. In 1888, Mr. Rondeau suffered a 
stroke of paralysis in his lower limbs and of late 
it has grown so that he is confined to a wheel 
chair. It is one of those things in life which 
reason cannot compass, but to which the heart 
can only bow in submission. Mr. Rondeau has 
•manifested a spirit of resignation and his life 
has endeared him to all. 

At The Dalles, on July 3, 1882, Mr. Rondeau 
•married Miss Jessie McLeod, who was born in 
Michigan. Her father and mother, Alexander 
and Ellen McLeod, were born in Ontario, and 
Wales, respectively. The father is descended 
from Scotch ancestry. They now live at Ash- 
land, Oregon. Mrs. Rondeau has two half sis- 
ters, Mrs. Allie Bessoni and Mrs. Annie Herbert. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Rondeau four children have 
been born : Remon, aged twenty-one, and now 
on the farm at home ; Nellie, Minnie, and Annie, 
aged respectively, six, twelve, and ten, and all 
now deceased. Mr. Rondeau is a Republican 
and has always labored for the success of his 
party. He is a great reader and has acquired 
a mastery of the English language, both in speak- 
ing and writing, that shows an attention and stu- 
diousness commendable. 



CAPTAIN AMBY S. BLOWERS, well 
known and highly respected, is one of the lead- 
ing business men and the mayor of Hood River. 
He is a merchant of experience and ability and 
has enjoyed a large patronage in his business in 
the years that have gone by, but at present he is 
not personally active in these relations, although 
interested in the Hayness Hardware Company of 
this town. He stands as one of the prominent 
men of Wasco county and has displayed integ- 
rity and stamina that commend him to all good 
people. 

Ambv S. Blowers was born in East Otto, 
Cattaraugus county, New York, on December 
3T. 1845, and is tne son of Asa S - and Charlotte 
(Heti:^ Blowers, natives respectively of Ben- 



nington, Vermont, and Washington countv, New 
York. 

The first Blowers who is recorded as visiting 
the New World is Thomas, who landed at Bos- 
ton, in 1635, having sailed in the ship, Truelove 
from England. This patriarch's son, Thomas 
Blowers, Jr., was a ship master, and in partner- 
ship with his brother-in-law, Andrew Belcher, 
owned the ship, Adventure. Thomas Blowers, 
Jr., purchased a house and four and one-half 
acres of land at the corner of Brattle and Mason 
streets, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1672. 
There he died in June. 1709. His son, the third 
Thomas, graduated from Harvard in 1695 and 
was the second preacher at Beverly, Massa- 
chusetts. John Blowers, the son of this last 
named man, died at the siege of Louisburg, a 
lieutenant in the British army. Lieutenant 
Blowers' son, Sampson S., graduated from Har- 
vard in 1763 and was for thirty-six years chief 
justice of Nova Scotia. His death occurred in 
Halifax, in 1842, being aged one hundred and 
one years. Six of this venerable jurist's brothers 
and cousins were patriots in Washington's army 
and displayed that true zeal and love of country 
which assisted so to win the day. One of these 
cousins, ' William by name, had a son named 
Solomon, who fought with eleven others of the 
Blowers family from New York state, in the war 
of 1812. Solomon Blowers married and raised 
a family, among which was Andrew Blowers, 
who in turn begat Asa S. Blowers, the father of 
our subject. Andrew Blowers was a native of 
Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Asa S. Blowers, 
his son, was a prominent merchant and died 
when thirty-one. Our subject well remembers 
sitting on the knee of his great-grandfather, 
Solomon Blowers, when that patriot related the 
thrilling times of 181 2 and subsequent years. 
Thus is traced a chain of patriots, pioneers, pro- 
fessional men, scholars and artisans, in _ whose 
breasts burned that love of country which in- 
spired the action leading to independence and 
this great nation, that is calculated to stir the 
hearts of descendants, now remote, with true 
pride for their forefathers and a determination 
to achieve also, things worthy to be remembered 
by those yet to come. The full record of th* 3 
family is* given in Savage's Genealogical 
Dictionary of New England Families, and 
tbev were among the prominent ones of col- 
onial days. 

Captain Blowers' maternal grandfather, Jacob 
Heth, came from a prominent old southern fam- 
ily, which traces its early ancestrage to the rugged 
hills of Sotia. His daughter, the mother of our 
subject, is still living in Minnesota, advanced in 
asre. 



74 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



At Preston, Minnesota, on April 18, 1866, 
.Mr. Blowers married Miss Ellen L. Damon, a 
native of Vermont. She comes from a prominent 
New England family and has one sister living, 
Lucinda, the widow of David Reed, at Granger, 
Minnesota. She also has one brother, Alonzo M., 
at Hebron, Illinois. Mr. Blowers has one sister, 
Anis, the wife of Joseph Fountain. Eight chil- 
dren have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Blowers : 
Lawrence, mentioned elsewhere in this work ; 
Laura M., the wife of William Yates, the post- 
master of Hood River ; Charlotte E., wife of 
Charles Early, manager of the Mt. Hood Lum- 
ber Company, at Hood River ; Amelia E., the 
wife of John R. Nickelsen, a blacksmith ; Eva B., 
wife of William Haynes, a hardware merchant 
in Hood River; Samuel M., the partner of Mr. 
Haynes, in Hood River ; Blanche and Aubry S., 
at home. 

Mr. blowers is a member of the A. F. & A. 
M., the R. A. M., and the G. A. R., being officer 
of the day in the latter order. 

In December, 1862, Mr. Blowers enlisted in 
the Sixteenth United States regulars and served 
for four months. On October 19, 1863, he en- 
listed in Company A, Second Minnesota Cavalry, 
under Captain R. A. Fields. His honorable dis- 
charge occurred on April 3, 1866. He had par- 
ticipated in the heat of the great Civil War, and 
for one year after its close, he was detailed to 
r ght Indians on the frontier and participated in 
'he Black Hills struggle, being much of the time 
en scout duty. He was also at times in his career 
associated with the noted Buffalo Bill, Major 
William F. Cody. 

For twelve years in Minnesota, Mr. Blowers 
\ as county commissioner, and for four years he 
filed that important position in Wasco county. 
I "e is school director at this time and has been 
i 1 that office since he was twenty-one. In De- 
cember, 1904, Captain Blowers was chosen mayor 
of Hood River. He was mayor of New York 
Mills, Minnesota, and has been city councilman 
six years in Hood River. He is a stanch Repub- 
lican, serves in both county and state conventions, 
and is an influential and active man. 

Captain Blowers organized Company D, Ore- 
gon National Guards, and held the office of cap- 
tain for three years. In April, 1904. with his 
son, Samuel, and his son-in-law, William Haynes, 
be organized the Haynes Hardware Company 
rnd purchased the hardware business of E. E. 
S~vage & Sons. They enlarged the business and 
pre now handling a fine patronage. They exnect 
: ii the near future to still further enlarge their 
business and will have one of the most complete 
'tocks in this part of the state. Captain Blowers 
br.s a srood interest in the business, but is not 



personally active in its operations. The splendid 
success he has achieved in the business world 
and the enviable standing he now enjoys indi- 
cate the manner of man and place him as one 
of the leading men of Wasco county. 



JOHN D. WHITTEN, a progressive and 
substantial citizen of Wasco county, dwells about 
one mile north 'from Kingsley. He owns a 
choice farm there and does general farming and 
stock raising. He has been quite successful owing 
to his industry and sagacity, being a man of abil- 
ity and energy. He handles about a section of 
land, much of it to grain and hay, and raises con- 
siderable stock, all graded and thoroughbred.. 
His horses. Cleveland Bays, are among the best 
to be found in this part of the country. At the 
head of the band was a choice Cleveland Bay 
stallion, imported by Ladd & Reed, of Portland, 
Duke of Wenlock, and whose get are among the 
best horses of this {.art of the county. Recently 
this valuable animal died. Mr. Whitten also- 
handles some cattle, and raises a great many hogs. 
He breeds the Poland China, having a choice 
registered boar of that blood. The improve- 
ments of the place show thrift and up-to-date 
methods, while Mr. Whitten is considered one 
of the best farmers of this part of the county. 

John D. Whitten was born in county Armagh, 
Ireland, on August 29, 1845, the son of John and 
Jane (Douglass) Whitten. The father was born 
in the same county as our subject, as were his 
ancestors for many generations back. The family 
originally came from Holland. The father had 
one brother, a clergyman in the English church, 
but the balance of the family was Presbyterian 
in faith. The mother of John D. was born in 
county Monaghan, Ireland, and her ancestors 
were natives of that county for many generat- 
tions back. Our subject was educated in public 
and private schools and was trained by his father 
on the farm. When twenty-six. he came to the 
United States and settled in Philadelphia, where 
he was city salesman to the trade for a wholesale 
house for five years. Then he went to New York, 
and travelled in the south and west as salesman 
for M. Lineau & Co. After eighteen months in 
that business, he went to Edgar, Nebraska, and 
opened a lumber yard, where he was occupied 
until 1884, the year he came to this county. For 
a time after coming here he wrought manufact- 
uring furniture for the farmers, then rented a 
farm, and later bought the place where he now 
resides. To this he has added by purchase until 
he has one half section, and in addition he rents 
some land. He cultivates about four hundred 
acres of grain land. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



375 



In Philadelphia, on January 16, 1876, Mr. 
Whitten married Miss Isabella, daughter of 
Thomas and Emily (Geary) Whitten, and a 
native of county Derry, Ireland, tier father was 
born in county Armagh and there remained until 
his death. The mother was born in Market Hill, 
Ireland, and died at the home of our subject, aged 
ninety-three. Mr. Whitten has brothers and sis- 
ters, named as follows : William J., George, 
Mrs. Martha J. McCormick, Mrs. Eliza- 
beth Scott, Mrs. Mary Scott. Mrs. Sarah 
A. Rantin, and Mrs. Isablla Edgar. Mrs. 
Whitten was one of four children. To our 
subject and his wife four children have been 
born : Andrew, a student at Philomath college, 
Oregon ; John A. and Edith I., twins, the former 
at home and the latter a student in college with 
her elder brother ; Harry, at home. Mr. Whitten 
and his wife belong to the United Brethren 
church, as do Andrew and Edith. He is a class 
leader and is a prominent and influential man 
both in this capacity and in the neighborhood. 
In political matters, he is a Republican and is 
often at the conventions, and has held various 
offices. He is a well read man -and keeps well 
abreast of the advancing times. 



HORACE S. RICHMOND, who resides at 
Mt. Hood, is one of the prosperous and enter- 
prising farmers of this valley, and owns and oper- 
ates a place which is valuable and highly produc- 
tive. He was born in Springfield, Ohio, on May 
12, 1855. His father, Shephard W. Richmond, 
was born at Sherburne Falls, Massachusetts, and 
his parents were natives of the same place and 
from a prominent New England family- He 
married Miss Lucretia Patch, a native of Wake- 
field, Massachusetts. The Patch family dates 
back to colonial days and Johnson Patch, the 
father of Mrs. Richmond, fought under Ethan 
Allen. The ancestors of our subject are all de- 
ceased, as are his brothers and sisters. He was 
married in New Hampshire, on September 11, 
1879, to Martha A. Bade)', a native of Brookline, 
New Hampshire. The Bailey family came from 
Great Britain in 163S, and were of Scotch-Irish 
extraction. Our subject was educated in the 
public schools of Ohio and New Hampshire, 
whither the father removed. He was a skilled 
cabinetmaker and carpenter. During the Civil 
war he enlisted in an Ohio regiment and served 
with distinction in that struggle. Horace S. re- 
mained with his father until the latter's death in 
Brookline, then went to Reading, Massachusetts, 
and wrought at cabinetmaking. This was in 



1886, and three years later, he came to Spokane, 
it being just after the fire, and followed various 
occupations until he journeyed to Whatcom, one 
year latef. Laundry work engaged him a year 
and next we find him in Portland, city salesman 
for Beach & Company, paint merchants. He re- 
mained with them until 1893, when he came to 
Hood River valley and filed on the place where 
he now resides. He has cleared twenty acres 
and raises diversified crops. Mr. Richmond has 
been in partnership with Willard W. Nason, and 
together they owned half a section. They have 
sold one quarter and are nOw giving their atten- 
tion to the development and cultivation of the 
other one hundred and sixty acres. Mr. N?son 13 
a native of Maine and is an industrious agricult- 
urist of the valley. Politically, our subject is a 
Republican and stanch, but not especially active 
in the campaigns. 

Since the above was written, Mr. Richmond 
sold his farm te> B. F. Gray, and will make his 
home in Hood River. He contemplates entering 
the mercantile world, and his sterling business 
ability will insure success in his ventures. 



JOHN H. FITZPATRICK, who is at pres- 
ent head bookkeeper for Van Duyn & Adams,- 
was born in Tygh valley, Oregon, where he is- 
now engaged. He has been practically reared 
here and his education was received from the 
public schools and from the business college of 
Portland. The date of his birth is November 26, 
1879. His father, Edward C. Fitzpatrick, came 
across the plains with his parents to California 
when a young lad. His father, the grandfather 
of our subject, was accidentally killed while cross- 
ing the plains to California, after a visit to the 
east. Edward C. came on to Oregon with an 
uncle and for a time rode the range for Pete 
French, in Harney county and vicinity. Then he 
married Miss Malinda Steers and they settled -in 
the Bakeoven country and engaged in stock rais- 
ing. When his mother was on a visit to her 
mother, Mrs. A. H. McAtee, here in Tygh val- 
ley, our subject was born, but the family did not 
come here until the early eighties. Then the fa- 
ther bought land here and raised stock. The fam- 
ily home was here until recently. The father sold 
all his interests and removed to Klamath county 
where he is now freighting. John H. was asso- 
ciated with his father in stock raising, mostly 
sheep, for the last few years and they made their 
sale of all the property on November 1, 1903. 
Previous to that time,- our subject had been en- 
gaged w'th the firm where he is now, occasionally, 
but last November he accepted a permanent po- 



376 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



sition with the house and there is engaged at 
this time. His mother was born in Illinois and 
crossed the plains with her parents in early days. 
Her mother, now Mrs. McAtee, resides in Tygh 
valley. Mr. Fitzpatrick has two sisters, Maud 
and Lois, both with their parents in Klamath 
county. In political matters, Mr. Fitzpatrick is 
a Democrat and is well posted in the issues of the 
day and takes an intelligent part in the cam- 
paigns. He is affiliated with the I. O. O. F., the 
M. W. A., and the Royal Neighbors. He is a 
popular citizen and has many friends. 



LUCERN B. KELLY. On December 28, 
1865, it was announced to Hampton and Margaret 
(Fitch) Kelly that a son was born to them, and 
that individual is the gentleman whose name is at 
the head of this sketch. Multnomah county was 
the native place of Lucern B. and his education 
was received from the schools of Portland, the 
Clinton Kelly school, which was situated on his 
grandfather's donation claim, being the place 
where the major portion of the training was re- 
ceived. After he had arrived at man's estate, 
Mr. Kelly came east of the mountains with his 
father and took land, a homestead, a timber cul- 
ture claim and later bought railroad land until he 
owns at this writing sixteen hundred acres of 
good soil. It is located on Juniper flat, and is 
utilized both for grain raising and for handling 
stock. Mr. Kelly is a man of enterprise and in- 
telligence and has made a first class success in his 
labors. He stands well in the community and is 
a respected citizen. In stock raising Mr. Kelly 
has been prosperous and each year he turns off 
lots of hogs, Poland China, and also winters many 
cattle. This year he had about one hundred and 
twenty-five, and among them are three registered 
Hereford bulls, all excellent animals. He also 
owns a fine Percheron stallion, a beauty, one of 
the finest horses in the county. He has a band 
of horses, grades, and all his stock is of the best. 
Mr. Kelly cultivates about two hundred acres of 
land each year, and has good returns from the 
same. 

On December 28, 1893, Mr. Kelly married 
Miss Zilpha Snodgrass, a native of Wasco, Ore- 
gon. To this marriage one son, Floyd, aged ten, 
has been born. Mrs. Kelly's parents, Joseph P. 
and Arvesta A. (Stearns) Snodgrass, crossed the 
plains with ox teams and now dwell on Juniper 
flat four miles distant from her home. She has 
the following named brothers and sisters ; Mer- 
ton J., Elmer, Clyde, Ralph, Fay, Tina, and Lena. 
Mr- Kellv has three brothers and one sister, 



Plympton J., Linus, Lestei and Mrs. Helen Man- 
ley. In politics, Mr. Kelly is Republican and al- 
ways active. He has held various offices and is 
frequently at the conventions. 



HAMPTON KELLY, deceased. A fitting 
tribute to the memory of Hampton Kelly is called 
for in a work of this character, since he was a 
pioneer of this country, since he was a man of 
integrity and uprightness and since the people 
had learned to love him as a good and kind man, 
as he was. He was born on April 16, 1830, in 
Kentucky. His father, Clinton Kelly, was also 
born in Kentucky, and his father, the grandfa- 
ther of our subject, was a patriot in the Revolu- 
tion. They all came across the plains to Oregon 
in 1848 and the father and son both took dona- 
tion claims in what is now East Portland. Later 
Clinton Kelly donated an acre of this claim for 
the school now known as the Clinton Kelly grad- 
ed school of Portland. The father and son were 
both prominent and influential people in Port- 
land and were very progressive, public spirited 
and enterprising. They were always the ones to 
head any general improvement or movement for 
the good of the city and the people. Both were 
generous men and were very liberal in support- 
ing and founding churches, being true blue Meth- 
odists, and also in supporting every measure that 
had for its end the betterment of the people and 
the community. In 1875, Clinton Kelly was 
called to the world beyond. He died as he had 
always lived, a devout and trusting Christian, 
and the time of his demise was a day of sincere 
mourning far and near, for by his kindness and 
generosity, Clinton Kelly had endeared himself 
to all, and everyone was aware that a true, noble, 
and good man had that day gone from their midst. 

On account of the asthma, our subject came 
east of the mountains in 1879, and from that time 
until 1881, he was back and forth between Juniper 
flat and Portland. Finally, on August 7, 1881, he 
brought all of his family hither and settled down. 
He became the proprietor of about sixteen hun- 
dred acres of good land and made his headquar- 
ters here until the day of his death. It was on 
October 16, 1898, that the summons came for 
Hampton Kelly to resign the duties of life and 
come to a better world. He was willing to go and 
passed quietly into the realities of the world that 
is to be. Like his father, his life had been filled 
with good deeds, and he had won the hearts of 
all who knew him. He left a widow and the chil- 
dren mentioned in L. B. Kelly's sketch to mourn 
his demise. 

On March 22, 1827. in Coshocton county, 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



377 



( )hio, Margaret Fitch was born to David and 
Sarah ( Wiggins) Fitch, natives of Pennsylvania 
and Virginia, respectively. In 1844. the family 
came on to Illinois, where the father died two 
years later and the mother in 1847. Being thus 
left without a home, Margaret decided to accom- 
pany a brother and some friends to California. 
Aec< irdingly they all set out on the trip, but upon 
arriving at the point where the Oregon trail 
branched from the old California road, they were 
confronted with rumors of great sickness in Cali- 
fornia, and so they turned aside to Oregon. At 
the crossing of the Snake, the brother was per- 
suaded to try and float down the Snake with 
calked wagon beds, but owing to many portages, 
he was forced to abandon the scheme. However, 
he arrived in The Dalles before his sister and 
friends, and together they came down the Colum- 
bia in scows. This was in the year 1852. Miss 
Fitch began to cast about for employment and 
met. Clinton Kelly, who wished to hire her ser- 
vices. She wrought for them some time and then 
occurred the marriage of Hampton Kelly and 
Miss Margaret Fitch, the date being January 30, 
1853. The nuptials were celebrated in the old 
Clinton Kelly log house on the donation claim. 
The date of Miss Fitch's arrival in Portland, 
which was then a town of six hundred people, 
was November 11, 1852. She was a faithful help- 
meet to her husband until the day of his death 
and since then has conducted the estate in a be- 
coming manner. She is highly esteemed in the 
neighborhood and is a faithful Christian woman. 



JEFFERSON N. MOSIER, a real estate 
dealer at Mosier, Oregon, is a man whose life 
"has practically been spent in Wasco county. He 
was born here on September 28, i860, the son of 
Jonah H. and Jane (Rollins) Mosier, who are 
mentioned elsewhere in this work. The father 
hired George J. Ryan, a well educated Irish gen- 
tleman, as tutor of his children for twelve years. 
Jefferson was with his father until 1876, then 
went to Walla Walla and w r orked in a furniture 
store for one year and in a meat market for two 
years, learning thoroughly meat cutting. When 
the O. R. & N. came through here he returned to 
Wasco county and was engaged with the en- 
gineer corps as a helper until the road was com- 
pleted. Then he accepted a position with Du- 
bois & King, handling all their meat supplies for 
their boarding houses on the Northern Pacific. 
After that, he was employed in a market in The 
Dalles for two years and finally retired to a farm 
of one hundred and seventy acres which his father 
had given him. He improved the same and also 



did stock raising. Recently Mr. Mosier sold thi| 
property and moved to Mosier station where he 
had purchased one hundred and twenty acres 
of the old Mosier estate from the heirs a few 
years before. This he has platted and recorded 
as the Town of Mosier. Mr. Mosier devotes his 
attention to disposing of this property and the 
upbuilding of the town where he has cast his 
lot. He is still interested in stock raising and 
has sixty head of cattle. Mosier is beautifully 
situated on a sloping rise overlooking the Colum- 
bia and is starting with good promise of being 
one of the lively centers of prosperous Wasco 
county. Mr. Mosier has recently erected an or- 
nate Queen Anne cottage near the old Mosier 
home and is taking steps to beautify and make 
popular the town of Mosier. 

On February 16, 1889, Mr. Mosier married 
Miss Mary A. Sivener, who was born in St. 
Louis. Missouri. The ceremony was per- 
formed by Father Bronsgeest. Mrs. Mosier's 
father, John Sivener, was born in Paris, France, 
followed cabinet making until November, 1903, 
when he retired from active business and now 
resides in Portland. He married Miss Mary A. 
McNamee, a native of Missouri, of Scotch-Irish 
ancestry and now dwelling in Portland. Mr. 
Mosier has the following named brothers and 
sisters : Mrs. Alice S. Faucette, Mrs. Mary S. 
Adams, Lydia S., Benjamin F., deceased, Mrs. 
Emily A. Mansfield, deceased, and Mrs. Jose- 
phine E. Willoughby, deceased. Mrs. Mosier has 
one brother and four sisters, who are now living, 
Joseph P., Mrs. Jennie T. Glenn, Mrs. Kate M. 
"Bradley, Mrs. Nellie E. Eber, and Mrs. Agnes 
R. Zander. Mr. and Mrs. Mosier have no chil- 
dren of their own but have adopted one, Alice K., 
the daughter of Mrs. Mosier's sister, Mrs. Lizzie 
A. Kaege. who is deceased. Mr. Mosier is a 
member of the K. P., the I. O. O. F., the M. W. 
A., and the LJnited Artisans. Mr. Mosier re- 
members well the trying and dangerous times 
of earlv davs. 



DAVID R. COOPER, who resides at Mount 
Hood, is one of the largest land owners in that 
section and has the distinction of being a pioneer 
farmer and settler in this portion of the valley. 
He was born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, on De- 
cember 9, 1845, the son of George and Eliza 
(Kid) Cooper, both natives of Scotland, wdiere 
they remained until their death. The father came 
from an old Highland family that had dwelt in 
Aberdeenshire for over three hundred years. Af- 
ter receiving a good education in his own country 
and remaining there until 1872, our subject came 



378 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



to the United States, landing in Oakland, Ore- 
gon, where he joined his brother, James T., who 
had crossed the plains with burros and jacks in 
1849. He took his citizen papers out at Rose- 
burg, in 1873, then bought a farm near his brother 
and remained on it for ten years. In 1882, he 
came over the mountains from The Dalles to the 
place where the settlement of Mount Hood is now 
located. There were then no roads and no set- 
tlers except fwo bachelors, Sam Baldwin and 
Harry Teimen, the latter now deceased. Mr. 
Cooper selected a quarter section and filed on the 
same. A few months thereafter, he made the 
acquaintance of Captain H. C. Coe, and made ar- 
rangements to build a road from this settlement 
to Mount Hood. They completed it and then sold 
to William Ladd, of Portland. They soon 
brought settlers here in great numbers and tour- 
ists constantly and Mr. Cooper is justly entitled 
to the credit of opening up and building up of this 
country. A few months later, Mr. Cooper's wife 
and six children joined him and they were the 
first family to settle in this wilderness. He now, 
has a large orchard in the upper settlement, hav- 
ing over three thousand bearing trees. He also 
has a large pear orchard. He still owns a rich 
quarter, which he homesteaded, except for a half 
acre, which was donated for school purposes. He 
was a leading spirit in the organization of district 
number six, and started the school and since has 
been director almost constantly. In political mat- 
ters, Mr. Cooper is independent, reserving for his 
own decision all the questions of the day without 
being trammeled by party lines. He has been a 
delegate to the various conventions and is an 
influential man. 

At Glasgow, Scotland, on September 13, 1870, 
Mr. Cooper married Miss Marion Porteous, who 
was born in Hollytown, Scotland. Her father, 
John Porteous, was a native of the same place as 
also were his ancestors for many generations 
back. He died there in 1901 and his widow still 
lives there. Mr. Cooper has the following named 
brothers and sisters, James T., John, Robert, Ann 
Perkins and Isabella, in Scotland. Mrs. Cooper's 
brothers and sisters are John, James, Alexander, 
Daniel, Mary, Christina, Jessie and Margaret, all 
in Scotland. To our subject and his wife, ten 
children have been born ; James T., in Scotland, 
and now a sheep man at The Dalles ; Warren, 
John, George and David, at home ; Wyoming, the 
wife of James A. Cook, a farmer at Hood River ; 
Christina, married to Elmer Gribble, a fanner at 
Mount Hood ; Lizzie, May and Hattie, at home. 
For six years after the road was opened, Mr. 
Cooper followed the business of guiding parties 
to Mount Hood and also operated a tent hotel 
for tourists. He has labored faithfully during 



the years of his residence here and has secured a 
fine competence as the result of his industry. He 
is a leading man in the community and deserves 
the esteem and confidence of the people which 
are generously given. 



JAMES J. LEWIS is a farmer at Mosier, 
Oregon. He was born near Harrisburg, in Linn 
county, Oregon, on September 1 1, 1857. His 
father, John Lewis, was born near Gallipolis, 
Ohio, and his father, the grandfather of our sub- 
ject, owned a large grist mill there. He was a 
native of Pennsylvania and came from a prom- 
inent American family. Our subject's father 
came to Oregon in 1847 and settled first in Port- 
land, where he had a donation claim in what is 
called Goose Hollow and is now a choice resi- 
dence part of Portland. He sold out later and 
bought a pack train and transported goods from 
Portland^ to Yreka, California, and from The 
Dalles to the Salmon river country and to many 
other points. In 1852, he was ambushed by In- 
dians who destroyed his train and killed two of 
his men. He was forced to flee for his life and 
after great destitution found his way to General 
Joe Hooker's headquarters, who gave him succor 
and finally secured a contract for him to build the 
Cow creek canyon road. He made thirty-five 
hundred dollars on this enterprise and with that, 
started in the stock business in which he contin- 
ued until his death. In 1864, he was engaged in 
the steamboat business on the Willamette with 
Church, McCullv and others. He was a member 
of the A. F. & A. M. He married Martha W. 
Howard, a native of Harrisburg, Oregon, and 
the daughter of James Howard, who crossed the 
plains with his family in 1844, and was a gun and 
blacksmith at Whitman station. The Indians, 
who killed Dr. Whitman, guided Mr. Howard 
and his family to Portland. The guide and other 
Indians considered Mr. Howard a supernatural 
being, owing to his skill in working metals and 
this accounted for his act of guiding them to 
safety. His name was Telokite or Teloket and 
he said Dr. Whitman was cultus. The family 
were afraid of him and were glad when they 
reached civilization. When crossing the streams, 
he would carry Mrs. Lewis, who was then a 
girl, on his shoulders. They came past where 
Mosier and other settlements are now located in 
this vicinity. Our subject's father married in 
1856 and after his death his widow married Jonah 
H. Mosier, in 1865. She died at The Dalles, on 
September 25, 1903, after an illness of nine years. 
She was a consistent member of the Methodist 
church, a woman of strong character ami highly 






HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



379' 



esteemed. Our subject was educated in the public 
schools in the various places where he lived and 
now resides with his half sister, Dollie C. Mosier, 
on the old Mosier estate. He has two sisters, 
Mrs. Emma Taylor and Mrs. Ida Cook, one step- 
brother, Jefferson N. Mosier, and three step- 
sisters, who are mentioned elsewhere. Mr. Lewis 
is a member of the M. W. A. and the United Arti- 
sans. He is a Democrat in political belief but not 
especially active. After completing his education 
in The Dalles high school, he engaged in stock 
raising and owned thirteen hundred acres in the 
Klickitat county. After that, he came to the place 
where he now resides and has continued here 
since. It it an estate of thirteen hundred acres 
and is owned by our subject, his half-sister and 
three other heirs, Lewis and Mosier's children. 
Miss Dollie C. Mosier was born in the original 
house on this estate, which later burned, and was 
educated in the convent at The Dalles. She be- 
gan teaching when sixteen years of age at Bake- 
oven and other places, then completed her educa- 
tion and after graduation, taught in various sec- 
tions. She keeps the inn and is a highly esteemed 
lady. 



CLINTON L. GILBERT is one of the most 
enterprising and successful educators in the state 
of Oregon. Should he do no more in this im- 
portant field, he has already accomplished suffi- 
cient to place his name indelibly on the records in 
the state of Oregon as one of the leading- men of 
his day. At present he is proprietor of the 
Mount Hood hotel at Hood River, which is under 
the management of his son and doing a good 
business. 

Clinton L. Gilbert was born in Mount Blanc'h- 
ard, Ohio, on January 26, 1859, the son of James 
H. and Phcebe A. (Wingate) Gilbert, natives of 
Pennsylvania and Ohio, respectively. The father 
was a contractor and enlisted in 1862, in Com- 
pany B, Ninety-ninth Ohio Volunteers, as sec- 
ond lieutenant. He served for ten months and 
then was killed at the battle of Murfreesboro. 
His father came from England and is a well 
known builder and contractor. Our subject 
studied in the common schools of Mount Blanch- 
ard and when less than sixteen years of age be- 
gan teaching, having secured a county certificate. 
Later, he spent three years at a normal school at 
Lebanon, Ohio, then studied medicine at the 
Miami Medical College. After this, he taught 
again in Ohio and Kansas until 1887 then went 
to Los Angeles and took a position in the faculty 
of the Los Angeles Business College, the train- 
ing school. Later, he was principal of the same 



and in 1889 came to Oregon and immediately 
took up teaching. He was for two years the 
principal in the public schools in Hood River 
and in 1894, was appointed deputy county as- 
sessor and assistant county school examiner and 
in this latter position, he served for five years. 
In 1895, he was deputy county clerk and in 1896 
was elected school superintendent of Wasco 
county, holding the same for eight years, being 
reelected twice. He has been instrumental in es- 
tablishing libraries in every district school in 
Wasco' county. Mr. Gilbert was appointed sec- 
retary of the Oregon State Teacher's Association 
and in this capacity formulated a plan of holding 
uniform examinations for the eighth grade 
throughout the state. The practicability and ben- 
efit of the same was immediately seen and the 
plan was adopted and under the efficient direc- 
tion of state school superintendent, Ackerman, it 
was carried out successfully throughout the en- 
tire state. The benefit derived from this will be 
readily seen when it is understood that pupils 
having completed the eighth grade receive diplo- 
mas which will entitle them to higher instructions.- 
in any part of the state, this being a great stim- 
ulus for the youth to complete the grades. It is 
working admirably throughout the state. At the 
present time, Wasco couny is leading the entire 
state, as shown in the school exhibit at the world's 
fair at St. Louis. 

In 1900, Mr. Gilbert bought the hotel which 
his son now operates. 

On December 14, 1878, Mr. Gilbert married 
Miss May A. Wells, who was born December 10, 
1 86 1 in Henry county, Ohio, where her wedding- 
occurred. Her parents, James and Clara (Scrib- 
ner) Wells, were natives of Ohio. The father 
was killed in the Civil War when this daughter 
was two years old. The mother is a member of 
the well known Scribner family. Mr. Gilbert has 
three brothers, Melville S., J. M., and Zealand T. 
The latter died in 1895. Mrs. Gilbert has two' 
brothers, Clarence E. and Frank W. Our sub- 
ject and his wife have two children, Maude F., 
the wife of Fred H. Shoemaker, manager of the 
Washington Life Insurance Company at Pendle- 
ton, Oregon, and Clarence F. 

Mr. Gilbert is a member of the A. F. & A. M., 
the K. P. and the A. O. U. W. He is a stanch 
Republican and influential in the conventions,, 
besides being a very, active laborer for educa- 
tional affairs. 



HON. JONAH H. MOSIER, deceased. The- 
records of the Mosier (Mozer) family have been 
twice destroyed by fire, therefore but little, com- 
paratively, can now be obtained. Some time in- 



3 8o 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



the seventeenth century members of the family 
came from Germany and landed on Chesapeake 
Bay, Maryland. Some time before their emi- 
gration eighteen million dollars left by early an- 
cestors was givein to the Catholic church instead 
of being divided among the heirs, as they would 
not conform to some requirements of the be- 
quest. This points out to what church the Mo- 
sier's originally adhered. Our subject was prob- 
ably married in Maryland and had a family of 
six children. They had five sons and one daugh- 
ter, Jonah H., born March 10, 1821, being the 
youngest. The mother died when he was an in- 
fant and the family moved to Fayette county, 
Pennsylvania and some years later came to Ohio, 
settling in what is now Crestline Crossing. In 
1839, we fi n d our subject's father in Platte 
county, Missouri, he having in the meantime 
married a widow, with two sons, whose name 
was Leveridge. Two sons of the family re- 
mained in Ohio and one died there. Jonah served 
an apprenticeship with a cabinet maker and 
later, they moved to Gentry, Misouri, the date 
of this, being about 1844. Our subject followed 
carpentering there and also clerked in a dry goods 
store. He later became one of the proprietors of 
the store and soon afterwards went to Clay 
county, where he met Miss Jane Rollins, whom 
he married on May 14, 1846. In 1849, a party 
of six or seven young men, among them, J. H. 
Mosier, formed a partnership and equipped them- 
selves far the gold fields of California. After a 
"hard trip they arrived at their destination and 
for some time, made and sold hay. The partners 
refused to assist him and he did all by his own 
personal efforts, making a good stake for him- 
self. Eighteen months later, he returned home 
"by way of Panama. In the early months of 
185 1, his father died, probably in Nodaway 
county. In April, 1853, Mr. Mosier joined an 
emigrant train then fitting for Oregon and in 
company with a friend, Hiram Smith, made the 
long trip with his wife and children to the Pa- 
cific slope. He arrived at The Dalles with one 
dollar and seventy-five cents in cash and three 
head of oxen, three having died while on the 
way, one cow and an old, worn out wagon. Noth- 
ing daunted, however, he cast about for some 
occupation. The Dalles was a military post and 
the only store was kept in a large tent with a 
hewed log for a counter. Only two dwellings 
were in evidence and some tents completed the 
entire settlement. Mr. Mosier took hold as a 
builder erecting a store for W. D. Bigelow and 
another for M. M. Gushing and Lowe. After 
that, he put up several dwellings and with Col. 
N. H. Gates and Judge Laughlin laid out a 
town. Owing to a scarcity of building material, 



Mr. Mosier saw the opportunity of supplying 
the same and early in 1855, sought out a mill site 
which he found sixteen miles below The Dalles 
on a stream tributary to the Columbia. Here he 
took a donation claim and this was the head- 
quarters for the remainder of his life and here 
he lies buried beside his faithful wife who pre- 
ceded him to the grave twenty-nine years. His 
death occurred in 1894, when he was aged sev- 
enty-four. He erected a mill in 1855 in part- 
nership with Thomas Davis. There was money 
in the lumber business and also there was very 
much hardship and trial and labor connected with 
the same. His family increased, expenses were 
high, the Indians troubled him and all these 
things had to be overcome. Mr. Mosier never 
used a gun or a knife upon the savages and never 
knew fear. When they were committing their 
depredations he would appear in their midst and 
with telling blows from his first or club scatter 
them. Owing to this and also to his just and fair 
treatment of them, they learned to respect him. 
The firm took another partner, Mr. Noah Mull. 
Later, Mr. Mosier bought Mr. Davis' interest 
and finally purchased the interest of Mr. Mull. 
A freshet carried away the mill, which however 
was soon rebuilt. In those days, lumber sold for 
fifty dollars per thousand but it was an expen- 
sive proposition to produce it. However, little 
by little, Mr. Mosier improved his place and 
good buildings replaced the log cabins. His 
home was headquarters for travelers and many 
were entertained in those days. His better build- 
ings were burned and later he erected a fine, mod- 
ern, two storv structure, which still stands. In 
the spring of 1862, Mr. Mosier went into the 
Caribou country, with cattle, being accompanied 
by a partner, who died at Deep Creek, British 
Columbia, in that year. Our subject realized 
a handsome profit in this venture, and in 1865 ne 
again gathered a herd of cattle and went to the 
Kootenai mines where he established butcher 
shops in the various camps, where he made a 
small fortune with his partner, E. D. Warbass. 
Late in the fall, he learned that his wife had died 
during the summer and he hastened to collect 
what he could of the outstanding indebtedness 
and placing the balance in the hands of his part- 
ner hurried home in December. He never re- 
ceived any further returns from the business 
he had left. However, in the next year he gath- 
ered another herd of cattle, going to the Willa- 
mett valley to purchase the same. There, he 
met his old friend, Hiram Smith, who introduced 
him to a fascinating young widow, Mrs. Lewis, 
who had three children and to whom he was mar- 
ried on December 16, 1866. His seven children 
at home and these three, with two more that were 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



38i 



born made an even dozen for Mr. Mosier to 
look after. t In 1867, he drove his cattle to Mon- 
tana but did not realize so well on the venture. 
In 1868, he drove another bunch to that terri- 
tory. Mr. Mosier was chosen representative to 
the territorial legislature and in politics, he was a 
stanch Democrat. His death occurred on Oc- 
tober 5, 1894. Jane (Rollins) Mosier was the 
daughter of Lee and Susan (Penn) Rollins, be- 
ing the second child in a family of fourteen and 
was born February 14, 1824, near Paris, Ken- 
tucky. Her paternal grandfather, Joshua Rol- 
lins, married Sophia Kennedy, who came from 
old Virginia and Pennsylvania families. John 
Kennedy, the father of Sophia, fought in the 
Revolution and with a neighbor was taken pris- 
oner at Guilford courthouse and held on the old 
Jersey prisonship until his death, then being bur- 
ied by the British in the sand of the seashore. Lee 
Rollins and Susan Penn were married in Paris, 
Kentucky. In 1830, they removed to Clay 
county, Missouri where they remained until their 
death. All of their fourteen children, except one, 
who was accidentally poisoned, lived to become 
the honored heads of large and respected fami- 
lies. The material grandparents of Jane (Rol- 
lins) Mosier, were Joseph and Charlotte (Aker) 
Penn, natives of Pennsylvania, Joseph being a 
direct descendant of the noted William Penn. 
Thus in the union of Jonah Mosier and Jane Rol- 
lins, two long lines of pioneers joined their for- 
tunes to form another pioneer family. While the 
greater part of Oregon was yet an unbroken wil- 
derness, teeming with hostile savages, Mr. and 
Mrs. Mosier pushed their way into the untrod- 
den wilderness and made a home amid the craigs 
of the Cascade mountains. Their first dwelling 
was situated on the banks of the broad Columbia, 
and these two faithful pioneers toiled steadily on 
until called to rest. From a family of seven chil- 
dren, four are still living, three daughters and 
one son. Two daughters by the second marriage 
also reside in Oregon. At the time of the Indian 
massacre at the Cascades when so many pioneers 
were killed, the Mosier family fled in the middle 
of the night on horseback over the almost impass- 
able roads, to the fort at The Dalles. Mr. Mosier 
was shot at many times and although the bullets 
grazed his body, he was never seriously injured. 
Much rest and peace were enjoyed when finally 
the cruelties of the savages were put down and 
people were assured that they would not be 
driven from their homes in the midst of the night 
by murderous redskins. Mr. Mosier was a faith- 
ful man and did his work well. He was a mem- 
ber of the A. F. & A. M., a zealous laborer for 
educational advantages, a genuine path finder and 
a noble man. Although he made several fortunes 



during his life time, he died in only reasonable 
circumstances. The estate of one thousand acres 
was largely wild land, which has been improved 
by his son since. At the present time, a town is 
growing up on the old donation claim, called 
Mosier, the same being promoted by his only liv- 
ing son. 



LEWIS E. MORSE stands at the head of a 
prosperous livery and transfer businesss in Hood 
River. His ability as a business was is well known 
and his stirring and energetic qualities have won 
for him a lucrative business. He was born in 
Otisco county, Michigan, on August 5, 1858. 
His father, Charles F. Morse, was born in New 
York and followed farming. Three brothers of 
the Morse family came to the colonies in 1704 
and from them descended the present large fam- 
ily of Morses, who have been prominent in all 
the struggles from colonial days down to the 
present. They have produced many men of note, . 
and one, known all over the world, is Prof. S. F. 
L\ Morse, the inventor of the telegraph. Many 
men of prominence in the professions and the 
leading walks of life have been numbered in this 
family. Charles F. Morse married Anabel Beld- 
ing, a native of Massachusetts and from a prom- 
inent colonial family of New England. Her 
mother was an Ellis, also a leading family. Both 
of these families, whose genealogy our subject 
possesses, were prominent in all the wars on 
American soil and always on the side of 
the rising nation, now so great. Our sub- 
ject was reared in Michigan until sixteen, 
when he went to Kansas, whence in 1889, 
he came to Hood River. His education 
was secured in the public schools and he was', 
well trained in business ways. He took a timber 
claim here and two years later opened up a liv- 
ery business in Hood River. Two years after 
this he sold this and accepted the postmastership 
under Cleveland, holding the same for four years. 
Then came two years in general merchandising in- 
White Salmon, Washington. After that venture, . 
he sold out and bought the business where he is 
operating today. He does a good business and 
also owns other property besides a good resi- 
dence and three lots. 

On August 3, 1879, Mr. Morse married Miss 
Dora Markley, the wedding occurring at Beloit, 
Kansas. Mrs. Morse was born in Illinois, and' 
died in September, 1890, leaving two children. 
In 1893, Mr. Morse married Frances McCoy, at 
Hood River, who was born in Texas, the daugh- 
ter of Isaac and Mary McCoy, natives of Vir- 
ginia. The father is now living with our sub- 
ject. Mr. Morse has two brothers, Charles L.,.. 



38- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



and Fred, and one sister, Mrs. Nellie D. Raines. 
Mrs. Morse has one brother George, and two 
sisters, Mrs. California Wolford and Mrs. Re- 
becca Taylor. Mr. Morse has two children, 
Theresa, the wife of Charles Castner, of Hood 
River, who is mentioned elsewhere ; and Charles 
with his father. Mr. Morse is postmaster of 
Hood River, No. 105, A. F. & A. M. ; is past 
grand Idlewild, No. 107, I. O. O. F. ; high priest 
of the Encampment ; and past patron of the O. 
E. S. Mrs. Morse is past noble grand of Laurel 
lodge of the Rebekahs. 



LAURENCE N. BLOWERS was a prom- 
inent business man of Hood River for fifteen 
years, but tiring of the exacting and arduous life 
of a merchant, sold his business here in March, 
1904, and was appointed Deputy United States 
Marshall upon the recommendation of United 
States Senator Charles W. Fulton and Represen- 
tative J. N. Williamson. He is therefore resid- 
ing temporarily at Portland. His birth occurred 
in Iowa, on April 18, 1867, his parents being 
Amby S. and Ellen (Damon) Blowers, who are 
particularly mentioned elsewhere in this volume. 

When an infant, our subject was taken by his 
parents to Minnesota and thence, with the fam- 
ily, which consisted of his parents and eight chil- 
dren, he came to Oregon. His education was re- 
ceived from the schools in the various places 
where he had resided and when fifteen years of 
age, he embarked in business with his father. In 
1889, they came to Hood River, and soon there- 
after, they bought out E. L. Smith, a leading mer- 
chant, and since that time they have continued at 
the head of a large business. However, our sub- 
ject has spent one year in Sumpter, Oregon, 
where he was in the mercantile business and 
while in that town, he was elected mayor. He 
was also, the second mayor of Hood River, and 
in these public capacities, as in private life, the 
same care and faithfulness characterized his acts. 
For three years, Mr.. Blowers served as lieuten- 
ant of Company D, Oregon National Guards, his 
father being captain. 

At Hood River, on August 29, 1891, Mr. 
Blowers married Miss Bertha Mifflin, a native 
of Washington, D. C. Her father, Charles H. 
Mifflin, was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 
coming from a family well known in history for 
worth and prominence. One of the family. Major 
General Thomas Mifflin, was president of the 
Continental Congress and later, first governor of 
Pennsylvania. The county and town of Mifflin, 
Pennsylvania were named from this family. 
Charles H. Mifflin married Miss Alice Lipscomb, 



a native of Washington, D. C, and descended 
from a leading Virginia family. Mrs. Blowers 
has one sister, Elizabeth, wife of W. J. Parker, 
a merchant in Denver, Colorado. Four children 
have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Blowers, namely 
Paul Mifflin, Loyd Mifflin, Ellen and Ruth. Mr. 
Blowers is a member of the A. F. & A. M., and a 
man of excellent standing and prestige in the 
community. 



ASA G. STOGSDILL, who at the present 
time is assessor of Wasco county, is one of the 
leading and substantial men of the county and is 
well and favorably known to nearly every inhabi- 
tant of this part of the state. He is a man of 
integrity, has inspired in the people a confidence 
in his ability and worth and has so conducted 
himself that he is eminently worthy of this le- 
gacy. 

Asa G. Stodsdill was born in Illinois, on Sep- 
tember 17, 1862, the son of Asa G. and Keziah 
(Collins) Stogsdill. The father was born in 
Indiana, his parents in the same state, and his 
grandparents were among the earliest settlers in 
that country. They were Scotch people and fol- 
lowed farming. For three years the father fought 
for the stars and strips in Company B, Second 
Illinois Light Artillery. He was a prominent and 
influential Republican and in 1876 brought his 
family to Oregon. He purchased land in Clack- 
amas county and his death occurred at Canby, in 
1898. The mother of our subject was born in 
Ohio and her parents were natives of Virginia. 
Her marriage occurred in Illinois. Our subject 
completed his education in the Monmouth Nor- 
mal and then taught school for ten years, two in 
Clackamas county and the balance in Wasco 
county. He was five terms the teacher in the first 
school on Juniper flat. In 1881, Mr. Stogsdill 
took land on this flat, which is his home at this 
time, the same being two miles from Victor. The 
farm consists of three hundred and sixty acres, 
and a third of this is producing grain. Air. 
Stogsdill has paid considerable attention to rais- 
ing cattle and also until this year, has annually 
turned off many hogs. He has always taken an 
active and intelligent interest in political and ed- 
ucational affairs and is a man of ability and wide 
research. 

At the residence of the bride's parents, on 
Juniper flat, Mr. Stogsdill married Miss Kate J. 
Gordon, on December 25, 1888. Mrs. Stogsdill 
was born in Wasco county, her parents being 
Thomas M. and Mary (Foreman) Gordon, na- 
tives of Scotland and Illinois, respectively. The 
father came to Oregon in early days, there being 
but two houses at The Dalles when he arrived. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



383 



He had previously been in California and his 
trade was shoemaking. His death occurred in 
California, in 1893. The mother died in Port- 
land the next year. Mr. Stogsdill has two broth- 
ers, Hezekiah K., Don, and one sister, Mrs. Mary 
A. Cassidy. Mrs. Stogsdill has two brothers, 
William, George, and three sisters, Mrs. Maggie 
A. Gordon, Mrs. Susan Bickford, and Mrs. Mary 
Gibson. Six children have been born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Stogsdill, Viva, Frances, Willis, Guy, Ruby, 
and Eula. Mr. Stogsdill is a member of the 
I.iO. O. F. He and his wife are progressive and 
popular people and have hosts of friends. 



FRANK GINGER, an industrious fruit 
raiser and farmer, resides at Mosier, where he 
handles a half section of land. One quarter of 
this is his own property and the balance is owned 
by his mother. He was born in Indiana, on 
April 14, 1867, and was there reared until twelve. 
Then he came with his mother and stepfather to 
the Black Hills, Dakota. His stepfather, Thomas 
Harlan, was timber agent for the government. 
Three years later the family went to Nebraska 
where they bought land. Frank remained with 
his parents until twenty-two ; then they all re- 
moved to Jackson county, Oregon, and he there 
proved up on a preemption, which he still owns. 
After that he went to Lagrande, Oregon and fol- 
lowed various callings until 1892, when he came 
hither. His stepfather and brother had claims 
near the depot and in 1901, he purchased the one 
owned by the former and since then has given 
his attention to the cultivation and improvement 
of the same. He has a nice cherry orchard and 
various other fruits growing and his place is a 
good farm. 

Fraternally, Mr. Ginger is affiliated with the 
A. F. & A. M., the I. O. O. F., the Encampment, 
and is politically, with the Socialists, but is not 
active in the promulgation of these political doc- 
trines, although he is well informed on these 
questions. 



ALVIRA McATEE, who resides one mile 
west from Tygh valley, is one of the pioneers of 
this section and is a lady whose life has been 
such that she is the recipient of great respect and 
esteem from all. She was born in Logan county. 
Illinois, on March 4, 1836. Her father, James 
Hieronymus, a native of Kentucky, came from an 
old and prominent family of great renown. The 
first record of the family is from Syrian history 
where we see General Hieronymus, who operated 
some three hundred vears before Christ. The 



next important one we mention, is the saint fa- 
miliarly known as Jerome, who was Eusebius 
Hieronymus, and who is one of the most learned 
men known to those times. He was private sec- 
retary to Pope Damasus and later translated 
from the original tongues the version of the 
Scriptures commonly known as the Vulgate, 
from which comes the Douay Bible, the one now 
used by the English speaking portion of the great 
Roman Catholic church. The family came on 
down through the ages and in 1765, Henry Hier- 
onymus migrated to the American colonies from 
Germany and became the founder of the Ameri- 
can branch of the family, many members of 
which have been prominent in various offices and 
leading positions. Mrs. McAtee's father married 
Miss Melinda Thompson, a native of Tennessee, 
where also her parents were born. Her father 
fought in the War of 1812. The family is a 
large one and mostly given to agriculture, being 
wealthy. Mrs. McAtee was educated in the 
public schools in the start, but has been a care- 
ful reader and student all her life and is now 
well informed and abreast of the questions of 
the day. When eighteen she married James F. 
M. Steers, a native of Kentucky, and the son of 
Hugh and Elizabeth (Darnell) Steers. She 
came west with her husband across the plains 
with horse teams in 1865. They experienced 
great trouble with the Indians, had much sick- 
ness and several deaths in the train. They spent 
the first winter in the Willamette valley and the 
next year came over to Wapinitia flat, where they 
spent a year. Then they settled in Tygh valley, 
being the first white settlers there. Mr. Steers 
was ill when he settled here and shortly after- 
ward, he died Mrs. Steers was called upon to 
meet great hardship with a family and m a new 
country with slight means. In the fall of 1867, 
she married Benjamin C. McAtee, a native of 
Illinois and from Scotch ancestry. He had 
crossed the plains with ox teams in 1852, accom- 
panied by his mother. He took the homestead 
where Mrs. McAtee now resides, it being a very 
rich and valuable piece of land. In October, 
1893, Mr. McAtee went to the Grande Ronde 
country to collect a large sum of money on his 
brother's estate, and it is supposed he was mur- 
dered for his money, as he has not been heard of 
since. Mrs. McAtee has three brothers, Benja- 
min R., John P., and Thomas H. Mr. Steers had 
one brother, Henry P. Mr. McAtee had one 
sister, Mrs. Drusilla Robinson. By her first 
marriage, Mrs. McAtee has the following named 
children: Alson W., a preacher of the Adventist 
church in Vancouver, British Columbia ; Vincent 
P., a farmer near Tygh valley; Marion L., a 
stockman in Grant county, Oregon, and Melinda, 



3§4 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



the wife of Edward C. Fitzpatrick, who is men- 
tioned in this work. By her second husband, 
Mrs. McAtee has two children ; William EL, with 
his mother; and John B., with Johnston Brothers 
in Dufur, Oregon. 



HORATIO F. DAVIDSON stands at the 
head of the Davidson Fruit Company, one of the 
important enterprises of the Hood River country. 
He is president and manager of the same and 
owing to his genius and energy it is making an 
unbounded success. He is one of the most suc- 
cessful young business men of the county and 
has demonstrated his ability in many ways. The 
company handles fruit, owns sixty acres of fruit 
producing grounds, twenty-five of which are de- 
voted to strawberries and the balance to apples, 
peaches, and so forth. The company does a 
general manufacturing business in fruit lines, 
making vinegar, jams, jellies, and so forth, be- 
sides canning much fruit for export. They manu- 
facture and sell to the trade, fruit boxes of all 
kinds, besides handling all kinds of farm imple- 
ments in the line of Studebaker wagons, Parin 
plows, cultivators, and in fact all articles needed 
in the fruit culture business. In addition to this, 
Mr. Davidson has made a special study of the 
chemistry of the soil in this part of the country 
and ascertaining the salts lacking, has supplied 
a complete line of fertilizers to make up the var- 
ious deficiencies. In all these lines mentioned, 
he has shown a spirit of progression which has 
done more good than can be told in upbuilding 
and improving the country and bettering the con- 
ditions to make fruit raising remunerative. 

Horatio F. Davidson was born in Ohio, on 
July 20, 1868, the son of Charles and Elizabeth 
(Rice) Davidson, natives of Knox county, Ohio. 
The mother died at Canton, Illinois, in 1900. The 
father followed carriage painting for many years 
and is now secretary of the Davidson Fruit Com- 
pany. He comes from an old American family 
of Scotch extraction. The first thirteen years of 
our subject's life were spent in Ohio and then 
he went with the balance of the family to Can- 
ton, Illinois. After completing the high school 
course, he entered the employ of the Parlin & 
Orendorff Plow Company. For three years he 
wrought and it is of interest that Mr. Davidson 
is now selling the same brand of plows that he 
used to paint and handle at that time in the shop. 
After leaving this company he came west and 
spent two years in traveling about. In the spring 
of 1891, he selected Hood River as a proper lo- 
cation and settled down, and gave his attention 
to carpentering. Three years later he assisted 



to organize the fruit growers' union and was 
installed secretary and manager. It is inter- 
esting to note the increase in values, that at that 
time he purchased forty acres of land for thirty 
dollars per acre, which was sold the other day 
for three hundred dollars per acre. 

Mr. Davidson was one of the prime movers 
in the formation of the Valley Improvement 
Company, which does irrigation, and has been 
responsible for much of the increase of values- 
in this country. He has bought and sold much 
land in the vicinity of Hood River and has al- 
ways been active in the establishment of proper 
values. 

At Canton, Illinois, on September 14, 1893, 
Mr. Davidson married Miss Mary Brewin, who 
was born near Canton. Her father, William 
Brewin, was a native of England and died when 
she was small. Her mother, Julia (Winegar) 
Brewin, was a native of Virginia and lives with 
her daughter. To Mr. and Mrs. Davidson three 
children have been born, Helen, Harry, and Mer- 
rill, the last two having died in infancy. Mr. 
Davidson is a member of the A. F. & A. M., of 
the R. A. M., of the O. E. S., and of the A. O. 
U. W. He has passed the chairs of these orders 
and his wife is past matron of the O. . S. Mrs. 
Davidson has one brother, William and the fol- 
lowing named sisters, Jennie Miner, Emily Sosey, 
and Minnie King. Politically, Mr. Davidson is 
independent and reserves for his own decision the- 
questions of the day. He has frequently been a 
member of the city council. 

In August, 1904, the cannery and warehouse 
were consumed by fire. Owing to subject's many 
and varied interests, in business lines, he will 
probably not rebuild. He is erecting a cold 
storage plant and will continue the manufacture 
of fruit boxes and the handling of fresh fruits. 
Mr. Davidson is president of the Hood River 
Electric Light Company and the Hood River 
Water Company, which he recently reorganized, 
being a heavy stockholder in these enterprises. 



CLARRENCE L. MORRIS is a representa- 
tive citizen of Wasco county and is one of the- 
earliest pioneers to the section where he now re- 
sides, Juniper flat. His labors here and in other 
portions of the state have made him well to do, 
and as he is now in the golden time of his life, 
he is entitled to the retirement that is so becoming 
to those who have toiled so hard for years prev- 
ious. The home place is about five miles east 
from Victor and there Mr. Morris resides on 
the old homestead, having sold the balance of the- 
large estate that he used to handle. 




Horatio F. Davidson 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



385 



Clarrence L. Morris was born in Illinois, on 
January 6, 1837, the son of Preston and Adaliza 
(Miller) Morris, natives of Kentucky, as also 
were the father's parents, Bourbon county being 
the home place. The parents were married in 
Quincy, Illinois and the mother died when our 
subject was a lad of eight. He attended the 
district schools until 1850, when the father with 
his family, he having married in the meantime, 
started across the plains with horse teams to Ore- 
gon. They were in the same train with Samuel 
Brooks, Henry Williams, and others who are 
mentioned in this volume. In due time they 
landed in Linn county and there the father took 
a donation claim, where he remained until his 
death, which occurred in 1863. Clarrence L. fin- 
ished his schooling in Linn county and then 
started in life for himself. He rented land in 
the valley for three years, then came to this flat, 
where he remained three years and then returned 
to the vallev for some time. Few settlers were 
here when he first came. In 1886, he came back 
and took as a homestead the place where he now 
resides and since then he has given his attention 
to farming and stock raising, and has been pros- 
perous in his labors. 

On December 27, 1857, Mr. Morris mar- 
ried Miss Catherine Thomas, who was born in 
Nodaway county, Missouri. The wedding oc- 
curred at the home of her parents, Turpine T. 
and Nancv (Curl) Thomas, natives of Virginia 
and Indiana, respectively. They crossed the 
plains with ox teams in 185 1, and had great hard- 
ship, owing to the hostility of the savages, who 
stole all their cattle and harrassed them contin- 
ually. When the cattle were stolen, all the 
wagons were abandoned but one or two to each 
family and the company had to walk. There 
were twenty or more young ladies in the camp 
and on one occasion an Indian chief came asking 
to purchase one of them. A would-be smart 
young man told him to take his pick and he could 
have her for twenty horses. The chief not doubt- 
ing soon appeared with the twenty horses, and 
of course a row was precipitated, which resulted 
in all the cattle being stolen. The young man 
was banished from the train, which made its way 
amid the most trying hardships and deprivation 
to the end of their journey. Mrs. Morris was 
nine years of age at that time and well remembers 
how she used to cry from hunger and fatigue 
almost every day. Her father settled in the 
valley and in 1857 came to Eightmile creek. He 
died in Los Angeles, in 1872. The mother died 
in Waitsburg, Washington, in 1870. Mr. Morris 
has the following named brothers and sisters, 
Andrew B., Sarah J., Catherine, Nathaniel, Mrs. 
Josephine B. Marshall, and Mrs. Mary A. Powell 

25 



who died in 1903. They all crossed the plains. 
Mrs. Morris has brothers and sisters, named be- 
low : Mrs. Caroline Shelton, Perry, Jasper, de- 
ceased ; Marion, Newton, William, Mrs. Susan 
Bateman and Mrs. Lou Bilopps. The children 
born to our subject and his wife are mentioned 
below : Preston G., Milton M., William G., Har- 
vey L., all on the flat ; Callie, the wife of C. Big- 
bee, in Linn county ; Mary E., wife of George 
Young, in Wasco county ; Leonora, wife of John 
Novvlin, superintendent of schools in Pendleton; 
Marcia, wife of George Woodruff, on the flat; 
and Hattie A., the wife of James Davidson, also 
on the flat. 



BENJAMIN L. FORMAN, who resides 
about two miles west from Wapinitia, is one of 
the representative and leading men of Juniper flat, 
and has one of the choice places to be found in 
that fertile region. He was born in Linn county, 
Missouri, on November 17, 1859, the son of 
Major Luther T. and Arminta (Brown) Forman, 
natives of Kentucky. The father was a native 
of Bourbon county and his parents, who were 
Scotch, were born in the same place. He fought 
all through the Civil war and held the rank of 
major when he was mustered out. He was a 
prominent stockman and merchant and died in 
Linn county, Missouri, in 1902. The mother's 
parents were born in Kentucky and she died when 
our subject was four years old. Benjamin L. 
grew up on the farm, gained his education from 
the district schools and assisted his father in the 
stock business, being closely associated with him 
in shipping stock from Texas. He remained at 
the home place until March, 1889, when he came 
to this county and took land where he now re- 
sides. He now owns twelve hundred acres, 
which is well provided with water, both living 
and that pumped from various wells with wind- 
mills. He has improvements of the best, a large 
story and one-half white residence, commodious 
barns and outbuildings and all the paraphernalia 
needed on a first-class farm. Mr. Forman win- 
ters about one hundred and fifty cattle, raises 
lots of horses and sells many hogs each year. 
He is one of the most successful men of the 
county and is a leading figure in the conventions 
and in public matters generally. 

On July 4, 1890, at the Davis ranch, Wapini- 
tia. Mr. Forman married Miss Eliza Abbott, who 
was born in Miami county, Ohio. Her parents, 
Curtis G. and Catherine (Dils) Abbott, were 
born in Ohio, the mother in Montgomery county. 
The father died here on June 29. 1901. The 
mother's father was native to Miami county, 
Ohio, and her mother was born in Virginia. Mr; 






3 86 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Forman has two brothers, Charles, John ; two 
half brothers, Joseph, William, and five half sis- 
ters, Mrs. Kate Stanley, Lida, Mrs. Virginia Den- 
boe, Stella, and Mrs. Maggie Hill. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Forman one child has been born, William, 
aged fourteen. Mrs. Forman's people removed 
to Indian in 1848, settling in St. Joseph county. 
In 1857, her father went to California and after 
mining some, raised hogs in Humboldt county. 
He brought the first sheep to this county and to 
Prineville and was one of the earliest settlers on 
the flat. He remained here until his death. He 
was a very prominent man and was one of the 
leading stock breeders in Oregon. He was known 
as a liberal, enterprising and good man. Mrs. 
Forman has two brothers, Joseph C, James P. 
and two sisters, Mrs. Mary Brown, Mrs. Sarah 
Washburn. Mr. Forman is a member of the 
Christian church, and he and his wife are highly 
respected people. 



CHARLES N. CLARKE, one of the 
younger business men of the Hood River, is at 
the head of a prosperous drug trade which he 
owns and operates. He is a genial, upright and 
popular man, wide awake to the interests of the 
state and is to be classed among the substantial 
men of Wasco county. He was born in Kansas, 
on April 5, 1874, the son of Levi and Mary J. 
(Keys) Clarke. The mother was a native of 
Vermont and her parents were born in Ireland 
and Wales, respectively. The father was a native 
of New York and his father of England, while 
his mother was born in Pennsylvania, of old 
• English Quaker stock. He was a tinner, gas 
fitter and plumber by trade and came to The 
Dalles about 1889 where he opened a shop and 
conducted it for eight years. After that, he sold 
his shop and came to Hood River where he is 
retired and living with our subject. Charles N. 
was educated in the graded schools of Eldorado, 
Kansas, and at The Dalles. In 1890, he came 
from Texas, where he had been one year with 
his sister. His oldest brother had come to Wasco 
county in 1888 and for seven years was in the 
employ of Snipes and Kinersly, druggists at The 
Dalles. Then he opened a store for himself and 
later moved to Aberdeen, Washington, engaging 
in the business where he was burned out in the 
fall of 1903. After finishing his education at 
The Dalles our subject entered the employ of 
Snipes & Kinersly. With them, and his brother 
later, he spent seven years in learning and fol- 
lowing the drug business. In August, 1898, he 
came to Hood River and bought the business of 
J. H. Cradlebaugh and has since conducted the 
same. He has since increased his stock and busi- 



ness materially and is handling a large trade at 
the present time. Mr. Clarke is an up-to-date 
business man and carries a very fine stock of 
goods to supply his increasing trade. His 
genialty and faithfulness have won him an ex- 
tensive trade besides hosts of friends. He is 
well known as a careful and accurate man. 

At Dufur, Oregon, in 1890, Mr. Clarke mar- 
ried Miss Eva L. Slusher, a native of Portland. 
Her parents, Thomas and Arabel (Dufur) 
Slusher, were natives of Pennsylvania and Ore- 
gon, respectively. Her father is now deceased 
and her mother is married to William Staats, a 
farmer residing four miles west from Dufur. 
Mr. Clarke has three brothers : Frank J., a drug- 
gist in Portland ; Frederick W., a jeweler and 
watchmaker in Hood River ; and G. Arthur, the 
manager of a large cigar store at Portland ; and 
one sister, Minnie, wife of W. O. Hadley, a jew- 
eler, at Moro, Oregon. Mr. and Mrs. Clarke 
have two children, Beryl A. and Charles E., de- 
ceased. Our subject is affiliated, fraternally, with 
the A. O. U. W., the United Artisans, and the 
A. F. & A. M. 



ROBERT A. LAUGHLIN is certainly en- 
titled to be classed as one of the earliest pioneers 
of this cotmtry and also as one of the most sub- 
stantial builders of it. He is now residing three 
miles west, some south, from Wapinitia, and 
there owns a fine estate of eight hundred acres of 
choice land. The same is well provided with 
improvements and Mr. Laughlin devotes his at- 
tention to general farming and stock raising. He 
is a man of influence in the community, has an 
excellent standing and is entitled to the enco- 
miums and respect which he is accorded by all 
who know him. 

Robert A. Laughlin was born in Lincoln 
county, Missouri, on April 19, 1846. the son of 
Alfred and Lucy (Kent) Laughlin, natives of 
Missouri. The father's parents were born in 
Virginia and descended from Scotch ancestry. 
The mother was of Pennsylvania Dutch stock 
and died in Missouri, in 1864. In Missouri our 
subject secured his education and there remained 
until 1865, when acompanied by his father, 
step-mother and the balance of the family, he 
came west, with ox teams, encountering much 
hardship en route. Settlement was made in 
Yamhill county and there he remained until 1872, 
when he came to Juniper flat and took land. He 
is the only one of the few settlers of that time 
who now remains. He took land by the govern- 
ment rights and then bought until his estate is 
of the proportions mentioned. Mr. Laughlin is 
now handling the farm and stock larg-ely in part- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



387 



nership with his son, Fred G., who is one of the 
capable and leading young men of the vicinity. 
They winter about seventy-five cattle each year, 
sell about forty to fifty hogs and have some 
horses. The place is well handled and is one of 
, the valuable estates of the county. 

Here on the farm, on December 5, 1876, Mr. 
Laughlin married Miss Sallie J. Magill, a native 
■of Missouri. Her parents were also born in that 
state. The father, Caleb Magill, died in Califor- 
nia, on July 4, 1902, and is buried here. On Oc- 
tober 12, 1887, here at the family home, Mrs. 
Laughlin was called away by death. She had 
been a good and noble woman and left many 
friends. The following named children were 
left with the devoted husband to mourn the de- 
parture of the beloved mother and wife : Fred 
G., on the farm with his father; Claud W., with 
W. H. Davis; Ralph R., at The Dalles; Kate 
M., wife of Alonzo Amen, at Wapinitia ; May, 
wife of Henry Trowbridge, a stockman in Grant 
county ; and Gertrude, unmarried and at home. 
Mr. Laughlin has one brother, John S., and two 
sisters, Mrs. Catherine Wright, and Mrs. Ellen 
■Clark. Mrs. Laughlin had one brother, David. 



JOHN I. WEST, a prosperous farmer and 
stockman, residing at Wapinitia, came to Juniper 
flat when a young man of eighteen. He was 
without means and had the capital of a riding 
cayuse and a saddle when he landed one day in 
Tygh valley. That was twenty-five years since. 
Perceiving the opportunities offered the industri- 
ous here, he took hold with his hands and thor- 
oughly made up his mind to win the smiles of 
dame fortune. He has done it, and in a becoming 
manner, too, as the following sketch will testify. 
Having been a great benefactor to this country, 
and now being a leading citizen, it is with great 
pleasure we embrace the opportunity to epitomize 
liis career. 

John I. West was born in Yamhill county, 
Oregon, on January 6, 1861. His father, William 
M. West, was born in Missouri, Dade county, 
and when fourteen years of age crossed the plains, 
it being 1847, accompanying an elder brother. 
He made settlement in Yamhill county and his 
death occurred at Tygh Valley on December 15, 
1902. He had married Miss Eliza Harris, a 
native of Dade county, Missouri, who crossed 
the plains with her parents when four years of 
age. She was in the same train with Mrs. Dr. 
Elwood's father and mother. She died when our 
subject was a lad of four years. Then he was 
bound out bv his father to Mr. and Mrs. Johnson 
Basket, in Polk county, where he remained, re- 
ceiving his education and working on the farm 



until he was eighteen. Then he started out for 
himself and in due time with his riding cayuse 
landed in this flat, as stated above. He soon 
went to work and for ten years he saved his 
wages until he was justified in starting into the 
stock business for himself. He secured land by 
homestead right and went to work. He now 
owns an estate of eighteen hundred acres, well 
improved and supplied with all the things neces- 
sary for a first-class stock and farm place. Mr. 
West associated with Mr. Davis, sent east for 
the best strains of Shorthorn and Hereford cat- 
tle and they introduced them into this neighbor- 
hood, which has resulted in great benefit to the 
people. He has been an enterprising stock 
breeder and has always the best. He winters 
about two hundred head, and also sells some 
hogs. Mr. West had one brother, James, who 
died in infancy, and no sisters. 

On September 15, 1902, Mr. West married 
Miss Anna N. Horton, who was born in Indiana, 
on April 4, 1873. The wedding occurred at The 
Dalles. Mrs. West's father, Jeremiah Horton, 
was born in Indiana, and his parents came from 
Yorkshire, England. He married Miss Nancy 
Wallace, an Indiana maiden, whose parents were 
natives of Tennessee. Her father, William Wal- 
lace, was first cousin of General Lew Wallace, 
the famous writer. Mr. Horton dwells in Ness 
county, Kansas, and follows dairying. He is a 
veteran of the Civil war, having served in Com- 
pany C, Twenty-sixth Indiana Volunteer In- 
fantry, and was in many of the most hotly con- 
tested battles of the war, including the siege of 
Vicksburg, Shiloh, and others. He lost one 
brother and one brother-in-law in the siege of 
Vicksburg, one brother at Shiloh, and one 
brother-in-law at Corinth. He is a prominent 
and influential citizen. He carries a ball in his 
breast received at Vicksburg. Mrs. West has 
the following named brothers and sisters : Fran- 
cis J., William J., Samuel G., Charles B., Mrs. ' 
Emma Zickefoose, Mrs. Elizabeth Schapher, 
Lenna A., and Mrs. Minnie Collins. Mrs. West 
is a normal graduate and an experienced teacher. 
She also did dressmaking and wrought as sales- 
lady in a dry goods store. She belongs to the 
Rebekahs and the Women of Woodcraft. Mr. 
and Mrs. West are popular and genial people, 
and are valued members of society here. 

To Mr. and Mrs. West one son has been born, 
Isham H., on August 3, 1903. 



THOMAS J. McCLURE is one of the 
earliest pioneers of this section and he now is 
a heavv real estate owner in WasT> countv. The 
old home place is situated about four miles east 



3§8 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



from Mosier, where he with his brother and sis- 
ter own seven quarter sections and one eighty, 
making a total acreage of twelve hundred acres. 
Thomas J. McClure was born in Buchanan 
county, Missouri, on November 20, 1846. In 1852, 
his parents, William C. and Amelia H. (Sulli- 
van) McClure, who were married May 26, 1842, 
crossed the plains with ox teams. They started 
out from Missouri with twelve ox teams, making 
three outfits. When they arrived in the Willa- 
mette valley they had one ox and one cow, the 
latter having been bought en route. The father 
was born in Tennessee, of Scotch-Irish stock. 
His father, the grandfather of our immediate 
subject, participated in the War of 18 12, his 
captain being James Bennett, and he drew a pen- 
sion until his death, which occurred where our 
subject now lives, on December 31, 1878, he 
being aged eighty-two. He had crossed the 
plains with the son and was a pioneer of this 
country. William C. McClure died here at the 
old homestead on May 21, 1895. His widow, 
also of Scotch-Irish ancestry, died here on Sep- 
tember 29, 1896. Thomas J. was reared and edu- 
cated principally in Yamhill county, where the 
family settled first. In 1864, they sold out there 
and removed to The Dalles. They rented a place 
on Threemile creek until the fall of 1865, then 
removed to town and on May 12, 1866, they came 
to the place where our subject now lives and took 
a homestead. The grandfather took a claim also 
and when our subject was old enough, he took an 
adjoining quarter. He and his brother have 
bought since until they have the magnificent estate 
mentioned already. Mr. McClure gives attention 
to raising hay mostly, and also does some general 
farming. His brother, William T., lives near. 
His sister, Mrs. Amanda A., widow of Andrew 
Marsh, keeps house for Mr. McClure. She has 
one son, William A., who dwells with them. Mr. 
McClure is a Democrat and a man well posted 
in the questions of the day, and also vrell posted 
in the history of the country, having seen it 
developed from the wild state, in which it was 
when thev came, to its present prosperous con- 
dition. He has done a good part in this work 
and is to be classed with the leading men of the 
county. 



-♦-•-♦- 



AMOS ROOT, a substantial farmer and 
fruit raiser, who resides about two miles east 
from Mosier, was born in Ohio. His parents, John 
and Sarah (Hurst) Root, were natives of Penn- 
sylvania and from Dutch stock. They both died in 
Ohio. Our subject was raised in Ohio until twen- 
ty-one where he received his education, then jour- 
neyed west to Iowa. After four or five vears' 



residence there he went to Colorado and worked 
in the mines about six years. Returning home, 
he spent two years in the Buckeye State and two 
in Indiana and in 1875, he came to Oregon. 
He spent several years in the Willamette valley, 
ranching and then came west of the mountains 
and raised sheep but was driven out of that busi- 
ness owing to the uprising of the Indians. In 
1878, he bought the place where he now resides 
and since then has made it his home. The farm 
consists of one hundred and sixty acres, forty 
of which are under cultivation. Thirty acres 
of the forty are planted to apples, cherries, 
peaches, prunes and so forth. Mr. Root is a 
skillful and thrifty horticulturist and turns off 
many boxes of fruit each year. 

In Indiana, Mr. Root married Miss Hannah 
Holderman, a native of that state. Her parents, 
Samuel and Sarah (Boyer) Holderman were 
born in Ohio and died in Indiana. Mrs. Root 
has several brothers and sisters and Mr. Root 
has the following named brothers and sisters, 
Henry, Samuel, William, and Elizabeth Zaner. 
To our subject and his esteemed wife eight 
children have been born; Elmer R., a farmer 
near The Dalles ; Leo, with him ; Leslie and 
Clyde, school boys ; Alice, wife of Wallace A. 
Husband, living four miles east of Mr. Root's 
place ; Zilla, the widow of Mr. Jones, residing 
with her father ; Nora and Edna, at home. 

Politically, Mr. Root has formerly been a 
Democrat and attends many of the conventions, 
but recently he has embraced the Socialist faith 
which he believes to contain the right principles 
for the settlement of the political questions. He 
takes a lively interest in school affairs and has 
been a director for manv vears. 



LEANDER EVANS, one of the prominent 
fruit raisers of Wasco county, resides about a 
mile southeast from Mosier. He owns one hun- 
dred and seventy five acres on the home place, 
most of which is tillable and he has an orchard 
of about thirty acres. Last year, he shipped 
something over three thousand boxes of fruit 
and this year will probably dispose of over five- 
thousand. In addition, Mr. Evans has a fine 
fruit drier with a capacity of five thousand 
pounds per day and he ships many tons of 
dried prunes and apples. 

Leander Evans was born in Bloomington, 
Illinois, on November 6, 1849. His father, 
Samuel Evans, was a native of Ohio and was 
brought by his parents to Illinois when three 
years of age. They were also born in Licking 
countv, Ohio. His father, the grandfather of our 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



389 



subject, laid out the city of Bloomington on his 
homestead and died there in 1869. He was a 
man of strong character and noted for his charity 
and public spirit. For many years, he was 
very wealthy but met with reverses late in life. 
He died when ninety-three years of age. The 
father of our subject came to this vicinity in 
1898 and died in 1900. He had married Eva- 
line King, a native of Illinois. Her father was 
born in Wales and her mother in England. She 
died here in 1901. After completing the high 
school in Bloomington, our subject was about 
to enter the normal school but was deterred on 
account of ill health. He went with his parents 
to Missouri and farmed for seven years, then 
he moved to Kansas where the parents remained 
until they joined our subject here in the west. 
He came with his family and one brother here 
about 1887 and homesteaded the place where he 
now resides. 

' On May 16, 1875, in Cowley county, Kan- 
sas, Mr. Evans married Miss Mary E. Swasey, 
who was born in Clark county, Missouri. Her 
father, George C. Swasey, was born in New York 
and his family was prominent for many years 
there. 

Mr. Evans has five brothers, William H., Ira 
D., George E., Samuel E. and Oscar. He also 
has four sisters, Calista Depew, Mary E. Hunter, 
Louisa Graham, and Lillie E. Johnson. Mrs. 
Evans has one child. Two children have been 
born to our subject and his wife, Frederic E., a 
graduate of the Philomath college in 1903 and 
married to Carrie Gray, the daughter of H. J. 
Gray; George C, who received his education in 
the "high school at Hood River and married Elva 
Coyle, mentioned elsewhere in this work. He is 
now living on the farm adjoining that of our 
subject. 

Mr. and Mrs. Evans are members of the 
Methodist church as are also their sons. Polit- 
ically, Mr. Evans is a Democrat but not active. 
He is well informed on the issues and questions 
of the day and keenly alive to the interests of 
education. Mr. Evans is one of the wealthy 
men of the country, having secured a fine holding 
by virtue of his skill and industry while also he 
has stimulated many to meritorious labor which 
has resulted in great good to this part of the 
state. 



GEORGE D. CULBERTSON, of the firm 
of George D. Culbertson & Company, is one of 
the leading business men of Wasco county. He 
is established at Hood River as his headquarters 
and does a large business all over Wasco county, 
southwestern Washington and other portions of 



the country. The firm handles real estate and 
also does insuring and loaning. 

George D. Culbertson was born in Denton 
county, Texas, on March 1, 1868, the son of Eli- 
jah H. and Helen H. (Curtner) Culbertson. The 
motner was born in Galatin, Missouri and her 
parents were natives of Crab Orchard, Kentucky. 
Her uncle, James Gerrard Curtner, was the sec- 
ond governor of Kentucky. The family were of 
Scotch descent and were early pioneers to Vir- 
ginia. The father of our subject was born in In- 
diana, on December 28, 1824, and died on Febru- 
ary 18, 1902, in Savanna, Indian Teritory. He 
founded the village of Stringtow, Indian Ter- 
ritory, and was a merchant and mill owner there 
before railroads came. He also lived in Texas 
and raised stock and did contracting and building, 
when Tarrant, Denton and Wise counties were on 
the frontier. He built the first court house at 
Fort Worth and was there when it was a mere 
army post. In addition to his business career, 
the father was a noted Indian missionary, having 
for many years labored faithfully among the In- 
dians and the whites and was instrumental in 
founding many Methodist churches. He was a 
man of power and eloquence and was known far 
and near in central United States. Being fearless 
and brave, he won the admiration of the savages 
and was enabled to reach them arid on many oc- 
casions quiet them. At a good ripe age, having 
performed a noble work, he went to the reward 
that was waiting for him, sustained by the faith 
which had buoyed him over life's seas. The 
mother of our subject still lives at Savanna, In- 
dian Territory. Her father was a pioneer of Wise 
county, Texas, and died there in 1878. George 
D. was educated in the district schools of Indian 
Territory and in an academy in north Texas. 
After graduating, he taught school in Choctaw 
and other nations for three years, having as pu- 
pils, Indian and white children. After that, we 
find him engaged as secretary and one of the fac- 
ulty in the Fort Worth Business College, at Fort 
Worth, Texas, and later he engaged in the gen- 
eral merchandise business with his brother, at 
Savanna, Indian Territory. For three years, they 
did a nice business, then burned out. Next we 
see him in Oregon, where he resided for two 
years as head accountant of a dry goods house at 
Salem. After this, he returned home to attend 
to some personal business and remained there for 
several months, then he journeyed west to Port- 
land. Here he accepted a position as chief ac- 
countant for a large wholesale boot and shoe 
house but finding the position too confining, he 
resigned and came to Hood River. He at once 
opened a real estate office, the year being 1901, 
and since that time has continued actively in busi- 



39Q 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



ness here. He handles property all over the coun- 
try for hundreds of miles in every direction and 
does a large business. They confine their efforts 
to no particular line but handle farm, fruit, tim- 
ber, grazing land and town property and in fact 
every kind of property in the business world. In 
February, 1905, Mr. Culbertson was chosen vice- 
president for Oregon of the National Real Estate 
Association at Des Moines, Iowa. 

On November 26, 1903, at Hood River, Mr. 
Culbertson married Miss Caroline Booth, a native 
of The Dalles. Her parents, John P. and Mary 
L. (Kiggs) Booth, were natives of Michigan and 
are mentioned elsewhere in this volume. Mr. 
Culbertson has four brothers, William T., Charles 
E., Jesse W., and John M., who is partner with 
our subject; and four sisters, Mrs. Frances Robin- 
son, Mrs. Dora J. Smith, Mrs. Anna Collard, and 
Mrs. Alice M. Ingram. Mrs. Culbertson has one 
brother and two sisters who are mentioned in an- 
other portion of this work. Our subject is a 
member of the M. W. A. and in politics is a 
stanch Democrat, and takes an active interest in 
party politics. 

Mrs. Culberston is a member of the Episcopal 
church. Mr. Culbertson's grandfather, Andrew 
J. Culbertson, went to Oregon in 1852 with ox 
teams and remained in Powell valley, Multno- 
mah county, until his death. 



JAMES McH ARGUE, who is proprietor of 
the Hotel Shaniko at Shaniko, Oregon, was born 
in Linn county, this state, on February 5, 185 1, 
being the son of James and Sarah J. (Montgom- 
ery) McHargue, natives of Kentucky and Mis- 
souri, respectively. The father's parents and 
grandparents were of Scotch ancestry and were 
among the early pioneers of the Blue Grass State, 
The mother's parents were born in Missouri and 
the Montgomerys were an old and prominent 
southern family. Our subject's parents were mar- 
ried in Missouri and in 1847 crossed the plains 
with ox teams to Linn county, Oregon, where 
they took donation claims. Our subject was born 
there and also was raised on the old home place, 
receiving his education from the public schools. 
The father died at Brownsville, Oregon, on Octo- 
ber 18, 1897, aged seventy-five. The mother died 
at the old home place, on May 12, 1897, aged 
seventy-four. Our subject had followed farming 
on the old home place most of the time and con- 
tinued there until 1902, when he sold out and 
came east of the mountains. Previous to that, 
however, he had been engaged in the Albany 
Woolen Mills for four years. After arriving east 
of the Cascades, lie selected Shaniko as the place 



to invest and purchased equipments for the Sha- 
niko hotel, leasing the building. Since that time,, 
he has been conducting a first class hostelry and 
is favored with a very fine patronage. His house 
is made attractive and is very popular with the 
traveling public. 

At Brownsville, Oregon, on March 25, 1874, 
Mr. McHargue married Mary E. Keeny, who was 
born in Linn county, on October 12, 1858, the 
daughter of Elias and Margaret J. (Hyatt) 
Keeny, natives of Missouri. The father crossed 
the plains in 1846 with ox teams, being accom- 
panied by his brother. They selected donation 
claims in the Willamette valley and then returned 
to Missouri, married and in 1848, crossed the 
plains again. The mother died in the Willamette 
valley in 1861. Mr. McHargue has two brothers, 
living, George W. and Robert H., in Washing- 
ton ; and three sisters, Ida, wife of George Han- 
sen, a mining man at Grant's Pass, Oregon ; Cath- 
erine, the wife of Joseph Hume, a hop raiser at 
Brownville ; and Elizabeth, wife of James A. 
McPheron, a custom house employee in Portland. 
Our subject and his wife have become parents of 
five children ; William C, in Arizona ; Lillie, the 
wife of William E. Reese, manager of Moody's 
Warehouse in Shaniko ; John, with his father ;: 
Margaret J., the wife of Angus A. Shaw ; and 
Flora, at home. 

Mr. McHargue is a member of the W. W. 
and in politics is a Democrat. He and his wife 
both belong to the Methodist church and are 
highly esteemed people. 



JOHN W. BROWN, a native son of the 
Webfoot State, has labored in Oregon for many 
years and is now living on his fine fruit farm 
about six miles southeast from Mosier. He has a 
very choice place of one quarter section, one hun- 
dred acres of which are fine fruit land. He has 
ten acres of this cleared and into orchard and 
various other improvements upon the place. 

John W. Brown was born in Portland, Ore- 
gon, on October 30, 1856, the son of James and 
Sarah J. (Stanley) Brown, natives of Tennes- 
see and Texas, respectively. The father's par- 
ents and grandparents were also born in Tennes- 
see. He served in the Mexican war and now lives 
in Jefferson county, Washington and does farm- 
ing. The mother of our subject died in 1884. 
In 1853 our subject's father went from Missouri 
to California and was all through the various In- 
dian wars in Oregon and lost all he had at the 
Cow Creek Massacre, all his household goods be- 
ing: taken from him with his entire outfit. He was 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



39 1 



left entirely destitute with a wife and one child. 
In 1855', they came to Oregon and later took a do- 
nation claim about fifteen miles up the Columbia 
from Portland where our subject resided. In 
1 87 1 the family went to Umatilla county and two 
years later, moved to Southern California. After 
two years there, they went back to southern Ore- 
gon and then went to Nevada, where our subject 
started for himself. Mr. Brown was accompan- 
ied by his wife, who was not afraid of the In- 
dians, having had much experience with them in 
Texas. Her father was all through the Black 
Hawk war and lost a hand in the struggle. After 
our subject began operations for himself in Ne- 
vada, he remained one year and then came back 
to Portland. After that, he went to Umatilla 
county and did wheat farming until 1894. He 
has taken a preemption there, which he sold and 
homesteaded the one hundred and sixty acres 
where he now resides. 

On January 18, 1892, at The Dalles, Mr. 
Brown married Miss Martha E. Hurst, who was 
born in Idaho. Her parents, Joseph and Nancy 
J. (Cowsert) Hurst, were born in Oregon. Mr. 
Brown has one brother, George W., but no sis- 
ters. His father has no brothers, but one 
sister residing in Independence, Oregon. He is 
an active Socialist, an industrious and enterpris- 
ing man and is making a very fine place where he 
now lives. 



SAMUEL E. BARTMESS, a leading busi- 
ness man of Hood River, is one of the respected 
and highly esteemed citizens of Wasco county. 
He stands at the head of a large furniture and un- 
dertaking establishment and also deals in all kinds 
of building material. His trade is far reaching 
and has been gained by his careful and upright 
business methods and constant attention to the in- 
terests of his patrons. 

Samuel E. Bartmess was born in Dayton, In- 
diana, on September 15, 1853, the son of Oliver 
Cromwell and Sarah (Clark) Bartmess. The 
father was born in Preble county, Ohio, in 1819 
and his father, Jacob Bartmess, the grandfather 
of our subject, was born in Maryland. He mar- 
ried Sophia Riser. In 1829, they moved to 
Indiana, being pioneer farmers of that country. 
Their ancestors came from Germany. The 
father is now living with our subject. The 
mother of our subject, was born in Butler 
county, Ohio, in 1823 of English parentage and 
is now deceased. Samuel E. grew up on a farm 
and after completing the graded schools, took a 
course in the Otterbein university at Westerville, 
Ohio, graduating in 1879. After that he 
turned his attention to farming near Dayton, In- 



diana until 1890 when he moved to Hood River. 
A few months later, he bought out Hanna and 
Zeigler, who were handling a furniture busi- 
ness. Since that time, Mr. Bartmess has given 
his attention to his business, which is increasing 
and has closely identified himself with this coun- 
try. He is an energetic worker in all lines of 
building and progress and has done a lion's share 
in building up Hood River. 

On January 27, 1880, at Dayton, Indiana, Mr. 
Bartmess married Miss Elda E. Crouse, a na- 
tive of that town. Her father was born at Ger- 
mantown, Pennsylvania, in 1812, and came of 
German ancestry. He was a physician and about 
the first one in Tippecanoe county, Indiana, 
where he practiced for forty years. He was a 
very prominent man and for two terms repre- 
sented his county in the state legislature, his 
name appearing on the Republican ticket. He 
married Miss Rachel Baker, a native of Indiana 
and of English parents. They are both now de- 
ceased. Mrs. Bartmess is finely educated, having 
graduated from the Logansport academy in Indi- 
ana. 

Mr. Bartmess is a member of the I. O. O. F., 
while he and his wife belong to the United 
Brethren church. He is a trustee of that denomi- 
nation and was one of the organizers of the 
church in Hood River and has been a devout and 
zealous worker in it since. Mr. and Mrs. Bart- 
mess are very active Sunday school workers and 
are esteemed and highly respected people. Their 
son, Earl K., is superintendent of the Sunday 
school. They have four children ; Earl K., at 
home ; Meigs, a graduate from the agricultural 
college at Corvallis, now a member of the faculty 
of Hill's Military Academy, Portland ; Sallie A., 
a school girl, aged ten ; and Marie Louise, six 
years of age, who shows marked talent in music. 

Politically, Mr. Bartmess is a zealous Pro- 
hibitionist. He is a genial, bright minded man, 
always interested in public enterprises and one 
who lives out his faith in daily life, consequently, 
he has hosts of friends and stands exceptionally 
well in the community. 



TRUMAN BUTLER, the junior member of 
the banking house of Butler & Company, at Hood 
River, is a careful and capable young business 
man, who is considered one of the rising men of 
Wasco county. He is associated with his father 
in the banking business and has shown himself 
possessed of ability that presages for him a bright 
future. He enjoys the confidence of the public, 
and his careful attention to the banking business, 
his courtesy, geniality, and integrity have made 



392 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



him one of the most popular young men of the 
county. 

Truman Butler was born in Ottawa, Kansas, 
on January 4, 1872, the son of Leslie and Carrie 
(Bixler) Butler, who are especially mentioned 
in another portion of this volume. When ten 
years of age he came to The Dalles with his 
father and after attending the public schools 
entered the Wasco Independent academy. Later 
he graduated from the Lane University, at 
Lecompton, Kansas. He immediately returned 
to The Dalles, it being 1891, and for seven years 
subsequently, he was purser on the Regulator 
line of steamers. In 1900, he came to Hood 
River and was associated with his father in the 
banking business where he has remained since. 

On October 23, 1895, Mr. Butler married 
Miss Ella Learner, a native of Kansas. The 
nuptials were celebrated at Lecompton, Kansas. 
Mrs. Butler's father, William Learner, was born 
in Pennsylvania, coming from the old Pennsylva- 
nia Dutch stock. He was a pioneer in Kansas, and 
for fifty years was a merchant in Lecompton, 
being one of the leading men of that part of the 
state and well and favorably known all over it. 
He married Miss Emma McCormick, a native of 
Pennsylvania. They are both living in Lecomp- 
ton. Mrs. Butler has the following brothers and 
sisters, Edward B., Coates W., Henry G., and 
Mrs. Mary Snyder. Mr. Butler is amember of 
the A. F. & A. M. and the A. O. U. W., being 
worshipful master of the former and receiver of 
the other. 



LESLIE BUTLER, senior member of the 
firm of Butler & Company's bank, is one of the 
leading business men in northern Oregon. He 
has a wide and varied experience in many lines 
of enterprise and has accumulated a fund of 
wisdom and experience, which, added to his na- 
tive talent, makes him strong, capable and up- 
right in the financial field. The bank is estab- 
lished at Hood River and does a large business. 

Leslie Butler was born in Randolph county, 
Indiana, on November 10, 1847, the son of 
Robert H. and Ann M. (Thompson) Butler, na- 
tives of Campbell county, Virginia, and Center 
county, Pennsylvania, respectively. The family 
is an old and prominent one and the grandfather 
of our subject, Jonathan Butler, was a patriot in 
the Revolutionary War. Robert H. Butler died 
in Kansas in 1869. His widow died at The 
Dalles in 1898. She was of Pennsylvania Dutch 
stock. When Leslie was seventeen years of age, 
the family moved to Kansas, where the father 
died soon after. Our subject being the only son, 
responsibilities of the family devolved upon him 



and he attended to matters until twenty-two when 
he went to work in a grocery store in Ottawa. 
He had been well educated in the schools where 
he had lived until his father's death and for eight 
years he continued in the store, gaining a large 
fund of experience and thoroughly mastering the 
details of the business. The last year in this 
service was spent on the road as commercial 
salesman. After that, he was three years in rail- 
road work and in 1881, came to The Dalles and 
opened a grocery store. For twelve vears he 
continued in that, and at the time of the big fire 
was very fortunate in that his property was not 
destroyed. He sold out at that time and opened a 
large grocery and wholesale establishment which 
he conducted for five years, then he closed out 
and became credit man, with Wadhams and Keer 
Brothers, one year at Portland. Then in com- 
pany with his son, he opened a banking business 
at Hood River in April, 1900, and since that 
time they have done a fine business. 

On November 10, 1867, at Peoria, Kansas, 
Mr. Butler married Miss Carrie Bixler, a native 
of Illinois. Her father, Noah Bixler, was a na- 
tive of Peoria and from Dutch stock. He was a 
pioneer to Ohio, Indiana and Illinois and married 
Nancy Brown. They both died at Ottawa, 
Kansas. Mr. Butler had three sisters, Mrs. 
Lydia Raglan, Sarah and Martha. The last two 
are deceased. Six children have been born to 
Mr. and Mrs. Butler ; Cora, wife of Hon. George 
Dysart, an attorney at Centralia, Washington; 
Truman, with his father in the bank ; Nellie, wife 
of Dr. E. L. Kniskern, at Centralia, Washington ; 
Carrie, wife of C. H. Vaughn, bookkeeper of the 
bank ; Pearl and Jessie, deceased. 

Politically, Mr. Butler is a stanch Prohibi- 
tionist. He is not a member of any church de- 
nomination but a liberal supporter of them all and 
a bright minded and public spirited citizen. Mr. 
Butler is a man that impresses one as being 
possessed of much wisdom and business ability, 
while his genialty and kindness are evident to 
every one. The result is that he is looked up to 
and advised with by all and his example and wise 
principles have done much to build up and assist 
him in this section. 



GEORGE A. YOUNG is one of the lead- 
ing stockmen of the state of Oregon. He has 
operated very extensivelv in the country ad- 
joining Shaniko and is known both far and near 
as a successful stock breeder. At the present 
lime, lie is not so actively engaged as hereto- 
fore but is takine the deserved retirement that 
he has earned. He was born in Middlesex vil- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



393 



lage, Massachusetts, on November 25, 1833. 
John H. Young, his father, was a native of New 
York state and his parents 01 the same place. 
They were of Welsh ancestry and early settlers 
in the colonies. John H. Young died at West- 
ford, Massachusetts. He was a mechanic and 
also followed merchandising and hotel keeping. 
He married Nancy Nutting, whose father, Dan- 
iel Nutting, was the maternal grandfather of 
our subject. He had his thumb shot off while 
serving with the patriots in the battle of Bunker- 
hill. He fought all through the Revolution, be- 
ing in action for eight years, and our subject 
has a detailed record of the same, together 
with his discharge which was signed by General 
Bancroft. Our subject's mother died in 1866 
at Westford, Massachusetts. George A. was 
educated in the public schools of Lowell and 
then learned the carpenter trade. Afterwards 
he learned the butcher business and remained in 
Massachusetts until 1857. Then he came to 
Oregon in company with L. E. Pratt, journey- 
ing via the isthmus. Mr. Pratt had come out to 
take charge of erecting and operating the first 
woolen mill on the Pacific coast and Mr. Young 
assisted in constructing the same. It was com- 
pleted and began operations in 1857. Then 
Mr. Koung wrought for the government in 
building the barracks at Fort Yamhill. Later, he 
was in charge of a hotel in Salem but burned out 
there in 1863. After that, he journeyed to 
Idaho City and mined for one season. In 1864, 
we find him at Boise, where he built the Over- 
land hotel in partnership with B. M. Du Rell 
and Thomas Mallony. In 1866, Mr. Young 
sold his interests to his partners and prospected 
and mined until 1870. In that year he returned 
to Portland and took a meat contract on the 
Northern Pacific railroad where he was engaged 
until 1874, when he took up the sheep business 
with a partner here at Shaniko. While the part- 
ner attended the stock, Mr. Young conducted 
the Clarenden hotel in Portland. Later, he was 
proprietor of the Occidental there in company 
with Sam Smith. In 1880, Mr. Young came 
to this section to visit his sheep ranch and was 
so taken up with the country and prospects that 
he decided to locate. Accordingly he made 
arrangements for the same and in the spring 
of 1881, purchased his partner's interest and 
since that has been one of the leading stockmen 
in the state of Oregon. His son, Fred, was in 
partnership with him much of the time until 
1904, when they sold their entire stock interests. 
At that time, thev disposed of seven thousand 
acres of land, sixteen thousand sheep, fifty 
"horses and about one hundred and fifty cattle. 
"Since he sold, Mr. Young has been devoting his 



attention to investments and believes that this 
portion of Oregon is about to make some of the 
greatest strides of the entire western country. 
While in the stock business, the firm was known 
as George A. Koung and Son. 

On June 12, 1859, at Brighton, Massachus- 
etts, Mr. Young married Lydia B. Heald, who 
was born in Anson, Maine, on November 25, 
1 84 1, being just eight years younger than her 
husband, to a day. Her father, Andrew Heald, 
was a native of Maine and descended from an 
old and prominent colonial family. He married 
Mary Houghton, also a native of Maine and 
from an old an prominent family. Mr. Young 
has one sister, N. Jane, the wife of Henry S. 
Bemis, a general merchant at Graniteville, Mas- 
sachusetts. Mrs. Young has two brothers, 
Llewellyn and Fred, in Wheeler county, this 
state, and three sisters, Dorcas, the wife of 
Joseph W. Twinkham, a farmer in Columbia 
county, Oregon, and Philena, the wife of John 
Raulett, a mining man in Oakland, California, 
and Elizabeth, wife of Charles Hilton, a stock- 
man in Wheeler county and now residing in 
Portland. Mr. and Mrs. Young have three 
children : Fred A., for many years in partnership 
with his father ; Agnes, wife of Sheridan W. 
Soule, a real estate man in Billings, Montana ; 
and Georgie, wife of F. D. Shepherd, residing in 
Portland, Oregon. Mr. Young is a demitted 
member of the A. F. & A. M. and the R. A. M. 
Four generations previous have been members 
of the same order and at one time, three genera- 
tions sat in the same lodge. He is also a member 
of the Elks, the A. O. U. W., the Sons of the 
Revolution, and the Oregon Pioneers. Politi- 
cally, Mr. Young is a strong and influential 
Republican. He takes an active part, has been 
delegate to the conventions and commissioner of 
Wasco county. He was a member of the board 
of pilot commissioners in Portland. For many 
years, Mr. Young was president of the Oregon 
Wool Growers' Association and was one of the 
leading members in promoting the same. He 
is a man of stamina and wealth and the splendid 
success he has achieved in Wasco county in the 
stock business shows him a man of ability in 
business relations. He has labored faithfully for 
the improvement and building up of the country 
and many good things have been traced as the 
result of his labor and wisdom. 



CHARLES V. CHAMPLIN resides three 
miles west from The Dalles, where he has a fine 
fruit farm. He is one of the thrifty and lending 
horticulturists of the county and his estate shows 



394 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



good taste and neatness in every detail. He 
handles twenty-five acres to bearing orchard and 
contemplates setting out more. Each year he 
ships about thirty tons of prunes, besides much 
other fruit. He also raises hay and some stock. 
His place consists of one hundred and fifty acres 
and he secured the same by purchase. 

Charles V. Champlin was born in Illinois, on 
December 25, 185 1 the son of John and Rachel 
(Wilcox) Champlin, natives of New York. The 
Champlin family is an old and prominent one in 
American affairs and hold leading interests in the 
commercial world in Illinois. The father died in 
Illinois, in 1868. The Wilcox family are from 
colonial days and were leading people in the pro- 
fessions and in the business world. Charles V. 
lived in Illinois until 1877, there securing his 
education. Then he went to California and for 
one year was engineer in a large mill, having 
learned that trade in Illinois. Later he went from 
Petaluma to New Orleans where he was with an 
uncle, who was a large planter there, for seven 
years. Mr. Champlin came here from California 
on a visit, not expecting to stay. But being 
pleased with the country, he engaged in the O. R. 
& N. shops and wrought for twelve years. Then 
he purchased the place where he now dwells and 
since then has been a leading fruit raiser of 
Wasco county. 

On December 25, 1882, Mr. Champlin mar- 
ried Miss Lizzie Agnew, a native of Sonoma, 
California, where the wedding occurred. Her 
parents, Samuel and Emma (Champlin) Agnew, 
were born in Virginia and Illinois, respectively. 
The father comes from an old and prominent 
southern family. He has a brother of noted 
character, Jim Agnew, the well known sheriff 
of Ada county, Idaho, in early days. His son, 
Jim Agnew, is now sheriff of the same county. 
Mrs. Champlin has two brothers, Newton, 
Asahel, and four sisters, Ida Dunbar, Mollie 
Weyl, Ella Cooper, aiad Sadie. Mr. Champlin 
has three brothers, William, Horace, Frank, and 
one half brother, Orlando. Mrs. Champlin's pa- 
rents are still residing at Petaluma, California. 
Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Champlin, Leroy and Eddie, both at home. Mr. 
Champlin is a member of the W. W. He is a 
man of integrity and uprightness and has the 
confidence of all who may have the pleasure of 
his acquaintance. 



FRAMTON C. BROSIUS, M. D.. is too 
well known in Hood River and vicinity to need 
any introduction by us. He is a man of ability 
and has gained an extensive practice of medicine, 
wherein he has shown remarkable ability and 



achieved excellent success. His education was 
thorough and in one of the best institutions of 
the land and since his graduation he has kept well 
abreast of the advancing science of medicine by 
careful reading. He is a close student and a 
great devotee of his profession. 

Framton C. Brosius was born in Beloit r 
Ohio, on August 26, 1859. His father, Amos P. 
Brosius, was a native of Alsace-Lorraine, and 
came to the United States in 1840. In 1863, he 
enlisted in the Fourteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry 
and served until captured at Cedar Creek, West 
Virginia, on the morning of Sheridan's famous 
raid. He was taken to Salisbury, North Carolina, 
and incarcerated in a war prison. The North Car- 
olina records show that he mysteriously disap- 
peared and no trace of him could be found. In 
1884, our subject desired to sift the matter more 
carefully and through the efforts of the adjutant 
general at Washington, it was ascertained that 
he died at Andersonville prison. Thus it is sup- 
posed he made his escape and was retaken and 
died later. He had married Miss Mary A. E. 
Core, a native of Churchville, Pennsylvania. She 
died here in Wasco county, on November 19, 1893, 
Her father was a pioneer physician in Pennsylva- 
nia, and his father was a Church of England 
clergyman. Dr. Brosius has one half brother,. 
Arkley Lindsay, and one sister, Mathalie Gordon. 
On November 19, 1889, at Kenesaw, Nebraska, 
Dr. Brosius married Miss Emma Williams, a. 
native of Iowa. She has one brother. George E. 

After his father's death, our subject moved 
with his mother to Tipton, Iowa, where he at- 
tended the high school. Then he took a course 
at the Millville academy, Pennsylvania. When 
seventeen he taught school and when nineteen 
he entered Rush Medical College, Chicago, 
whence on February 19, 1883, he was graduated 
with honors. He immediately began the practice 
of his profession in Omaha, Nebraska, then went 
to Kenesaw, the same state, and continued in 
practice until 189T. On November 16. of that 
year, he came to Hood River and since that time 
has continued uninterruptedly in his profession, 
with the exception of the time spent in the service 
of his country in the Spanish war. He enlisted 
in the Second Oregon United States Volunteer 
Infantry as chief hospital steward with the rank 
of captain and artillery surgeon. He served the 
full time and was mustered out at San Francisco, 
on August 7, 1899. having been fifteen and one- 
half months in active service in the Philippines. 
The doctor is now captain and artillery surgeon 
of the Oregon National Guards. He is a member 
of the A. F. & A. M.. being past master; of the 
R. A. M., being past high priest ; of the O. E. S., 
being past patron ; of the I. O. O. F. ; of the 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



39 = 



United Artisans, having been eight successive 
terms master ; of the Order of Pendo, being past 
master; of the W. W., being past council com- 
mander; of the Women of Woodcraft; of the 
K. O. T. M., being past sir knight commander ; 
of the A. O. U. W. ; of the Fraternal Brother- 
hood ; and of the Foresters of America, being 
president and financial secretary and past chief 
ranger. To Dr. Brosius and his estimable wife 
three children have been born, Ed Este, Florence 
A., and Frampton Williams. The first one was 
born in Nebraska, and the last two in Hood 
River. 



_ ABEL Y. MARSH, who resides about four 
miles west from The Dalles where he owns an 
estate of four hundred acres, is one of the heav- 
iest fruit producers in Wasco county. He has a 
model ranch which is made a place of beauty and 
value by his thrift and wisdom. Last year, he 
shipped over seven thousand boxes of fruit and 
tomatoes, being one of the heaviest shippers in 
the entire valley. In addition to his large fruit 
interests, he raises general crops and handles 
cattle and horses. 

Abel Y. Marsh was born in Wapello county, 
Iowa, on March 12, 1849. His father, Josia'h 
Marsh, was also a native of Iowa and crossed the 
plains in 1854, making settlement down the 
Columbia from The Dalles, where he took a dona- 
tion claim. He married Elizabeth Bell, a native 
of Wapello county, Iowa, who is deceased. Our 
subject remained with his parents until twenty- 
five years of age, gaining a good education and a 
first class training as a farmer, stockman and 
fruit raiser. Then he rented a farm for himself 
until 1889, when he purchased the place where 
he now resides. It is a magnificent estate and Mr. 
Marsh is making it still more valuable. Our sub- 
ject well remembers that in the early days the 
family had very much trouble with the Indians 
and manv nights were forced to stay in the 
woods. The neighbors also suffered very much 
from their depredations but our subject's father 
was a man of courage and stability and weathered 
those days and assisted materially in building 
up the country. 

On December 7, 1871, at The Dalles, Mr. 
Marsh married Miss Sally Lyle. who was born 
in Iowa and is now deceased. On Mav 19, T891, 
Mr. Marsh contracted a second marriage. Marv 
E. Doyle, a native of Iowa then becoming his 
wife. Her father, Michael Doyle, was born in 
Illinois, came to Oregon in 1874 via the Isthmus 
and now resides on Chenoweth creek a few 
miles awav. He married Selinda Beers, who re- 
sides with her husband. The other children of 



the family besides Mrs. Marsh are Ralph, 
Charles, Edna Kauffman, and Ina. By his first 
marriage, Mr. Marsh has four children ; Effie, the 
wife of Michael Thornton a farmer in Klickitat 
county, Washington; Ina, the wife of E. C. 
Fitzgerald, who lives with our subject; Josiah, 
deceased ; and Minnie, deceased. To the second 
marriage, two children have been born, Willie 
and Harold. 

Mr. Marsh is a member of the W. W. and a 
good strong Democrat, though not particularly 
active. His farm requires from three to ten 
hands all the time besides many more during cer- 
tain seasons. Mr. Marsh has shown his ability 
in making a fine success in fruit and stock rais- 
ing and his labors have resulted in much good, 
both in building up the country and stimulating 
others to worthy efforts. 



NORRIS M. LANE, a blacksmith and 
wagonmaker at Shaniko, Oregon, has one of the 
finest establishments in this part of the city and 
is known as a master mechanic. He was born 
in Eugene, Oregon, on August 26, 1866, being 
the son of Andrew W. and Indiana (Smith) 
Lane, who are mentioned elsewhere in this 
volume. Until ten years of age, our subject at- 
tended the public schools at Springfield, a little 
place three miles 1 east from Eugene and studied 
there until eighteen, when the family moved to 
California. Then he learned wagonmaking and 
the blacksmith trade. After that, he wrought 
as a cooper making butter kegs at Buntingville 
for three years. He remained in Lassen county 
until twenty-four, then returned to the Willa- 
mette valley and worked a few weeks at Port- 
land. It was 1 89 1, when he landed at Bakeoven 
without a cent in his pocket, and an entire 
stranger. After looking the country over for" 
three days, he bought a small shop, giving his 
note payable in one year for the property. The 
following June, he sent for his brother, Lewis, 
who was then in The Dalles for his health. Lewis 
joined our subject and together they wrought 
until fall, then they began partnership and for 
nine years they conducted a business both in 
Bakeoven and at The Dalles. They sold out at 
Bakeoven in 1894. When the railroad came to 
Shaniko, the Lane brothers dissolved partner- 
ship and our subject came here in March, 1900. 
He erected a little shop eighteen by twenty and' 
the first job he did was on April first for the 
townsite company. Lewis remained in The 
Dalles, and our subject began at once to build up 
a good trade here at Shaniko. By June first, he 
commenced to erect a commodious building thirty 



396 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



by sixty feet, with an addition twenty by forty 
feet to be used as a harness shop. Mr. Lane 
employs three men all the time and sometimes has 
five. He is a splendid mechanic, having the 
reputation of being one of the best workmen in 
the country. The result is, that he is handling 
a large trade and is known as one of the sub- 
stantial business men of the town. 

On November I, 1896, at the residence of the 
bride's parents, in Lane county, Oregon, Mr. 
Lane married Elizabeth A. Whitsett, who was 
born near Eugene, the daughter of George W. 
and Betty (Harlow) Whitsett. The brothers 
and sister of our subject are named in the 
biography of his father found in this volume. 

Mr. Lane is a member of the K. P. and in 
politics, is Republican. He has been two years 
school director and councilman, since the town 
was incorporated. 

Mr. and Mrs. Lane have one child, Flovd M. 



GEORGE E. WILLIAMS, who is one of 
the busy men of affairs in Hood River, is at 
the head of a nice drug trade, which he owns. 
He is a man of experience in various walks, of 
"life and has shown himself worthy of the con- 
fidence of the people, which is generously be- 
stowed. He was born in West Irving, Iowa, on 
October 23, 1871, the son of Josephus and 
Malceena (Conger) Williams, natives of Ohio 
and Illinois, respectively, and now dwelling in 
Kenesaw, Nebraska. They both came from old 
and prominent families. When our subject was 
seven, the family removed to Kenesaw, Ne- 
braska, where he attended the public schools. 
When fifteen, he learned telegraphy and followed 
the same for several years. He was in the em- 
ploy of the Burlington and the Santa Fe, princi- 
pally as train dispatcher, until 1894, when he re- 
signed his position and came west. Hood River 
attracted him and he soon bought an interest in 
the drug business owned by Dr. Brosius, which 
he had established two years previous. In 1896. 
Mr. Williams went to San Francisco and entered 
the University of California, taking the Pharma- 
ceutical course, and graduated with distinction 
in 1898. Immediately upon graduation, he re- 
turned to Hood River and took up his business 
in the drug store. He continued as partner with 
Dr. Brosius until 1902, when he bought the 
doctor out and since that time has been handling 
the business alone. His carefulness and accu- 
racy have commended him to the people, while 
his geniality and good principles have won hirn 
hosts of friends. Mr. Williams has a nice busi- 
ness and is well esteemed in the community. 



At Hood River, on August 15, 1900. Mr. 
Williams married Miss Alice Graham, a native of 
Chicago, and a charming lady of refinement and 
culture. Her father, James Graham, was born 
in the Isle of Guernsey and came to the United 
States when a young man and married Miss 
Margaret Tostiven. They both dwell in Hood 
River, retired from active business. For many 
years he was an extensive contractor and builder 
in Chicago. Mrs. Williams has two brothers and 
two sisters, Albert, William, Carrie Pitch, and 
Grace Bartch. Mr. Williams is a member of the 
A. F. & A. M., the K. O. T. M., and the For- 
esters. Politically, he is a Republican, but is 
not active. Mr. and Mrs. Williams are excel- 
lent people and are among the leading citizens of 
Hood River. 



EDWARD S. MAYES, of the firm of May 
Brothers, who handle an extensive meat business 
in Hood River, is one of the younger business 
men there, who have achieved an excellent suc- 
cess. He is a bright, energetic and up-to-date, 
and with his brother is handling a good business. 
He was born in Kansas on September 9, 1870, 
the son of Benjamin F. and Annis (Calvin) 
Mayes, natives of Illinois. The mother now lives 
at Hood River. The father's parents were born 
in New York and came from an old American 
family. The father and his father, served in the 
Civil War in Company E, Fortieth Illinois In- 
fantry, also two of the father's brothers were in 
the same regiment. Benjamin F. Mayes served 
three vears, and participated in some of the heav- 
iest battles of the war, among which are Shiloh, 
Missionary Ridge, Lookout Mountain and vari- 
ous others. His time expired during the battle 
of Lookout Mountain. He was wounded at 
Shiloh, but not severely, and there his father was 
killed. Our subject's parents moved to Portland 
when he was eight years of age and his father 
was engaged in farming and stock raising for 
several years. In 1888. he was killed in the 
vicinity of Portland, bv a falling tree. 

Edward S. attended the graded schools in 
Portland until seventeen years of age and then 
engaged in the stock business and has been iden- 
tified with that and in other business for himself 
ever since. In July, t8qq. he located perma- 
nently in Hood River where he had had business 
relations for several years before, then he en- 
gaged in the meat business with his brother, 
losenh W., who had, with their mother, came 
to Hood River previously. Thev bought out a 
shop and since then, have conducted a thriving 
business. 

At Portland, on December 28. 1891. Mr. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



397 



Mayes married Miss Susannah Cummings, a 
native of Nebraska. Her father, Robert Cum- 
mings, was a native of Canada and lives at St. 
Helens, Oregon. Mr. Mayes has the following 
named brothers and sisters : Esther J., the wife 
of James Watson, a railroad man at San Jose, 
California ; Fanny, the wife of John E. Ross, in 
Portland ; Lizzie, the wife of David Gee, at 
Portland ; Mattie C, the wife of Clyde T. Bonny, 
of Brooks, Oregon ; and Cora B., wife of Ben 
Theyson, at Hood River, Oregon. Our subject's 
partner is his only living brother and he is men- 
tioned elsewhere in this work. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Mayes three children have been born, Vera M. 
I., Olive I. Z., and Annis S. 

Fraternally, our subject is affiliated with the 
I. O. O. F., and the Order of Washington. He 
and his wife belong to the Methodist church and 
are consistent Christians, who believe in the faith 
that makes faithful and that is good for every 
day. 

Politically, he is a good strong Republican 
and takes a keen interest in all matters of public 
import. Being genial and generous, he has won 
hosts of friends and his real integrity and worth 
hold them. Mr. Mayes deserves to be ranked 
with the most substantial of Hood River's busi- 
ness men and her best citizens. 



HOWARD L. DUMBLE, M. D., has not 
spent so many years in Hood River as some of the 
pioneer men, yet he has so thoroughly identified 
himself with the country and its interests, that 
he deserves to be mentioned among its leading 
citizens. He stands at the head of a lucrative 
practice and is an energetic and progressive man, 
skilled in his profession, capable and up-to-date. 

Howard L. Dumble was born in Ohio, on June 
I, i860. His father, Samuel Dumble, was a 
native of Pennsylvania and his parents came 
from Cornwall, England. For thirty years, the 
father was a newspaper man and editor of the 
Marion Independent at Marion, Ohio. In 1861, 
he enlisted in the Ninety-sixth Ohio Volunteer 
Infantry and served for three years with distinc- 
tion and bravery. Then he was honorably dis- 
charged and returned to Marion and resumed 
his editorial work. He died at Marion, in 1895. 
Politically, he was one of the stanchest and best 
informed Republicans in his city and did much 
for the success of the party in manv hotly con- 
tested campaigns. He married Miss Elizabeth 
Corn, a native of Ohio and descended from an 
old Maryland colonial family. She now lives 
at Marion. Our subject completed the high 
school course in 1878, then matriculated at the 
Weslvan Universitv at Delaware, Ohio. So 



thoroughly was he occupied with the spirit of his 
studies that in two years he successfully com- 
pleted a three year course. After graduating, he 
taught for several years, then was appointed, 
examiner for the pension bureau at Washington, 
D. C. In this capacity he served until 1890, 
when he entered the medical department in the 
National University, at Washington, D. C, and 
graduated therefrom in 1893, with the title of. 
Doctor of Medicine. He continued some time 
as medical examiner in the pension bureau then 
accepted the position as physician in the Indian 
service at Fort Hall reservation, Idaho. He also 
served at Crow Creek, South Dakota, and Fort 
Yates, North Dakota, and Pendleton, Oregon,, 
resigning from government service in 1901. In 
that year, Dr. Dumble was attracted to the beau- 
tiful town of Hood River and located at this, 
point. He immediately opened an office and took 
up the practice of medicine, wherein he had be- 
come exceptionally skillful through long years 
of experience in active service. Since that time, 
the doctor has been favored with a fine practice- 
and has won for himself hosts of friends through- 
out the country. His office is fitted up in a be- 
coming manner. Owing to the doctor's studious 
habits, he has kept fully abreast of the science of 
medicine besides doing much original investiga- 
tion. 

At Marion, Ohio, on October 10, 1883, Dr. 
Dumble married Miss Kate C. Idleman, a native 
of that town. Her father, Silas Idleman, was a 
native of the same country, and his family had' 
been pioneers in various sections of the United 
States and the colonies. He married Miss Cath- 
erine Poutens, a native of Ohio, descended from' 
an old American family. Dr. Dumble . has two 
brothers, Marion M. and Martin L., and one 
sister, Bessie. Mrs. Dumble has nine brothers 
and sisters, one of whom, C. N., was formerly 
attorney general of the state of Oregon. 

Dr. Dumble is a member of the A. F. & A. 
M., the R. A. M., the O. E. S.. the Order of 
Washington, the W. O. W., and the M. W. A. 
Mrs. Dumble belongs to the O. E. S. Mr. Dum- 
ble belongs to the Methodist church while Mrs. 
Dumble is a member of the Episcopal denomina- 
tion. He is a good strong Republican, a well 
informed and an up-to-date man. 



ALFRED C. SANFORD of the firm of San- 
ford & Sill, general merchants of Shaniko, is one 
of the leading business men in this part of Wasco 
county and has been active for many years in 
building up the country. He was born in Leaven- 
worth, Kansas, on April 1, 1864, the son of 
Richard B. and Nancy B. (Corum) Sanford.. 



.398 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



The father was born in Kentucky and his father, 
the grandfather of our subject, was a native of 
Scotland and died of yellow fever in the Mexican 
war. Richard B. Sanford followed tailoring in 
the east and now lives retired at Wamic, Wasco 
county. The mother of our subject was born in 
Missouri and there they were married. Later, 
the family moved to Kansas, and in 1862 the 
father tried to enlist but he was not accepted. 
They remained in Kansas all through the border 
struggles and were much harrassed by guerrilla 
forces. Once the father was held prisoner by 
the confederates two days. The mother had two 
brothers in the confederate army. Her father 
was a Kansas slave owner at the outbreak of the 
war and had a very large farm near Leavenworth. 
In 1876, our subject being about twelve years of 
age, the entire family came by rail to San Fran- 
cisco, then by boat to Portland and the first 
winter was spent near Olex on Rock creek. The 
following spring they moved to Grass Valley 
canyon, near the present town of Moro. At that 
time, the families of Price, Eaton, Harrington, 
Miller, Pearson, Gordon, and Fulton were the 
only people living in what is now Sherman coun- 
ty. The elder Sanford took a homestead and 
engaged in raising stock. He had some capital 
and bought land and cattle and remained there 
eighteen months. He was very successful in his 
ventures and then removed the family to Wamic, 
to give his children school advantages. He pur- 
chased a quarter section there which was the 
family home until 1903, but now they live on a 
four acre tract in Wamic, retired. Our subject 
received the balance of his education in the 
Wami'c schools, and assisted his father until six- 
teen years of age, when he started out for himself. 
He herded sheep two seasons, then sheared sheep 
and also worked at sawmilling and rode the range. 
He bought and sold horses, operated a stage line 
for three years and was in very many enterprises. 
His stage line was from The Dalles to Wapinitia 
and he took it from 1882 to 1885. Then he sold 
out and for two years he followed different em- 
ployments. Following that he took the position 
of salesman for Fillon Brothers in The Dalles 
and remained with them five years or until they 
were burned out. Then he continued with the 
house of French & Co., bankers, for a year in 
settling up the affairs of his old employers. He 
was engaged in various other employments first, 
and then was on the road in Washington, Ore- 
gon, and Idaho for a large eastern hardware 
firm. After that, he was a year with M. Wil- 
liams & Co., of The Dalles and went thence to 
Wasco, in Sherman county, being there one of 
the incorporators of the O. T. Company. He 
sold his interests there in a few months and went 



to Moro, during the building of the railroad and 
opened up a general merchandise store. When 
the road came, in 1900, to Shaniko, he opened 
the first store here and in May, 1903, he sold 
a one-half interest to Henry B. Sill and they now 
do a large business. They carry a stock of about 
twelve thousand dollars. 

On October 11, 1888, Mr. Sanford married 
Effie Batty, who was born in Douglas count)-, 
Oregon! The wedding occurred at The Dalles. 
Mrs. Sanford's parents are Thomas and Alice 
Batty. Mr. Sanford has four brothers deceased, 
three who died in infancy, and James W. who 
was killed by the O. R. & N. cars at Deschutes 
Station in 1886, he being then twenty-four. He 
has two sisters living, Minerva, wife of James H. 
Gilmore, a blacksmith at Wamic; and Mary E., 
wife of Eugene Pratt, also of Wamic. He also 
has one sister, who died in infancy. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Sanford four children have been born, 
Gladys, Ulla, Ailene, and Fenda L. 

Mr. Sanford is a member of the A. O. U. W., 
of the United Artisans. He is a Republican in 
politics, has been delegate to several county con- 
ventions and has served two terms as city council- 
man. He takes a great interest in school mat- 
ters and was the first school director elected in 
Shaniko, which office he still holds. He has done 
much for the upbuilding of the cause of educa- 
tion and is an ardent supporter of everything that 
tends to forward these interests. On November 
12, 1902, Mr. Sanford was appointed postmaster 
at Shaniko and has discharged the duties since 
with efficiency and to the satisfaction of all. 

By way of reminiscences, we wish to note 
that during the days when Mr. Sanford rode the 
range, he was considered one of the best men in 
that business in the country. He was especially 
successful in subduing fractious horses, and on 
one occasion in company with another deputy 
sheriff, rode four hundred and twenty miles in 
four days and three nights in pursuit of the mur- 
derer Hawkins, whom they captured eighty miles 
south of Prineville. Mr. Sanford is a man well 
known and highly esteemed for his worth and 
integrity and is considered one of the leading 
citizens of this part of Wasco county. 



HON. ANDREW A. JAYNE is well known 
through central Oregon as a man of ability and 
influence. He is one of the prominent attor- 
neys of this portion of the state and has made a 
record for himself both enviable and brilliant. 
At the present time, he is residing at Hood 
River and is giving attention to the oversight of 
his property, and the practice of law. He was 
born in Washington, Iowa, on January 29, 1861. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



399 



His father, Daniel Jayne, was born in Pennsyl- 
vania and the family, of English extraction, 
elates far back before the colonies. He enlisted 
in Company A, Twenty-fifth Iowa Volunteer In- 
fantry, in 1862 and served for six months to de- 
fend the flag of the nation. Then he was taken 
by disease and died at Napoleon, Arkansas, on 
January 18, 1863, a martyr to the cause of free- 
dom. He had married Martha A. Young, a na- 
tive of Fleming county, Kentucky, who was 
born on May 1, 1822 and died on June 6, 1901. 
Our subject spent the first twenty-five years of 
his life in Iowa, gaining a fine academic educa- 
tion, after which he went to Chicago and read 
law for two years in the office of his cousin, Ed- 
gar L. Jayne, being admitted to the bar at the 
expiration of that time. Next we see him in 
Colorado, located at Ouray. From that point, he 
moved to Arlington, Oregon and commenced the 
practice of law. In the spring of 1897, he went 
to The Dalles and had a private practice there for 
three and one half years. In June, 1894, he was 
elected prosecuting attorney for the Seventh Ju- 
dicial district, which embraces Wasco, Sherman, 
Gilliam and Crook counties. In 1896, he was re- 
elected and in 1898, the people chose him the 
third time for the same position. This demon- 
strates beyond a doubt the popularity of Mr. 
Jayne who in such an important office could only 
be sustained by integrity and ability. In the 
fall of 1900, Mr. Jayne retired from public life 
and gave himself to the practice of law and 
farming. In that year, he removed to Hood 
River, which is his home at the present time. He 
owns one hundred and thirty-seven acres of very 
valuable land about seven miles southwest from 
Hood River and has there fifteen acres of orchard 
and two acres of strawberries. One hundred 
acres of land are tillable and the estate is being 
rapidly made by Mr. Jayne a very valuable piece 
of property. 

On February 13, 1890, at Portland, Oregon, 
Mr. Jayne married Miss Minnie M. Sperry, who 
was born in Brownsville, Oregon, on July 18, 
1868. Her father, John L. Sperry, came to Ore- 
gon in 1852 by ox teams and now lives at Port- 
land. He is a mining man. Mr. Jayne has one 
brother, Robert A., a physician in Lane county, 
Oregon. Mrs. Jayne has three sisters, Mrs. 
Dollie Halvor, Mrs. Ettie I. Burke, and Mrs. Lou 
Lempke. The home of Mr. Jayne has been glad- 
dened by the advent of three children : Maurice 
R., born on February 13, 1891, in East Portland ; 
Burton H., born on December 26, 1893, at Ar- 
lington, Oregon, and Andrew A., born on Janu- 
ary 9, 1903, at The Dalles. They are very bright 
and interesting children and Mr. Jayne has a 
very happy home. 



He is a member of the A. F. & A. M. and his 
wife belongs to the Episcopal church. Mr. 
Jayne is a man of education and ability and is one 
of the leading men of central Oregon. His wife 
is a lady of refinement and many virtues and they 
are exceptionally popular people. 

In 1904, Mr. Jayne again determined to enter 
the political arena, being repeatedly solicited by 
his friends, and so allowed his name to appear 
on the Republican ticket for representative to 
the state legislature, and in June he was promptly 
elected at the polls, by a good strong party vote. 
His services in the halls of legislation are highly 
appreciated and his influence has always been 
on the side of such legislation as the interests 
and the best wisdom of the state dictate. 



JAMES W. MARQUISS. The Edict of 
Nantes secured by Henry IV of France insured 
to the Huguenots of France political and civil 
liberty. In 1685 this precious law was repealed 
by Louis XIV of France and the resulting perse- 
cution drove those good people to all parts of 
the world. Many found refuge in the colonies 
and especially did they settle in South Carolina. 
Among these were the Marquiss families from 
whom comes the subject of this article. He was 
born in Missouri, on December 26, 1841, the son 
of Jacob and Esther (Ellis) Marquiss, natives 
of North Carolina. The father died when our 
subject was a year old. The mother then came 
across the plains with her sons in 1847, "sing ox 
teams. Her people were prominent in the early 
colonial days and fought in the Revolution and 
the other wars of those times. One of her pro- 
genitors came over in the Mayflower. Shortly 
after arriving in the Willamette valley, Mrs. Mar- 
quiss married Mr. George Jeffry, who had 
crossed the plains in 1846. They took a donation 
claim and our subject was reared on the same. 
In November, 1861, Mr. Marquiss enlisted in 
Company C, First Oregon Cavalry and served for 
three years. He was stationed in southern Ore- 
gon and was a non-commissioned officer. Fol- 
lowing the war he located in what is now Morrow 
county, Oregon, then Umatilla, and farmed and 
raised stock from 1865 to I &79> having a home- 
stead. He sold his homestead in 1879 an d 
bought the place where he now dwells. He has 
two hundred and forty acres and tills about thir- 
ty-five acres. He has an orchard of seven acres 
and raises much stock. 

In 1866, Mr. Marquiss married Miss Adeline 
Adams, a native of Germany. She died in 
1901. On November 12, 1901, Mr. Marquiss 
married Mrs. Clara M. Allison, a native of Penn- 



400 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



sylvania. Her father, James D. Shaw, was a na- 
tive of Scotland, and came to the United States 
in 1840. He married a Scotch lass, who came to 
the United States in the early forties, the wed- 
ding- occurring in 1845. Mr. Marquiss has no 
brothers living, but has three half sisters, Ellen 
Kuney, Jennie Stanley and Annie Maxfield. By 
his first wife, Mr. Marquiss has three children: 
Frank, a farmer near Goldendale, Washington ; 
Lester, at home ; and Ada, the widow of A. A. 
Urquhart, and living in The Dalles. Mrs. Mar- 
quiss has one child by her former marriage, 
Frank, an oil operator in West Virginia. Mr. 
Marquiss is a Republican and displays a zeal and 
activity commendable in the interests of his party. 
Mrs. Marquiss has the following named brothers 
and sisters, William A., Elmer, Howard, Ira C, 
Robert H., Ella Anderson, Sarah Kennedy, and 
Addie Kneedler. Mrs. Marquiss is a member of 
the O. E. S. Mr. Marquiss is a man of excellent 
standing and has wrought with industry and wis- 
dom here for the general progress. 



SAMUEL L. BROOKS, one of the earliest 
and most enterprising of the west coast pioneers 
of Oregon, is at present a retired merchant re- 
siding at The Dalles, Oregon. He was born 
November 8, 1830, at Burton, Geauga county, 
Ohio, the son of Linus and Eliza (Humiston) 
Brooks. The father was a native of the same 
town and county, and his father, Jonathan, came 
from Cheshire, Connecticut, with the first survey- 
ing party in 1798. With him he brought a 
quantity of apple seeds and raised the first apples 
in that county. The preserved genealogy of the 
Brooks family dates back more than two centuries. 

Henry and John Brooks, brothers, came from 
Cheshire, England, in 1660, to New Haven 
county, Connecticut, where they located on lands 
given them by the Crown. Laying out a town- 
site on the tract they conferred upon it the name 
of Cheshire in honor of their old home. It is 
presumed that these brothers were unmarried on 
their arrival in the new world. Henry was united 
in marriage to Miss Martha Hotchkiss, and to 
them a son was born in 1679 to whom they gave 
the name of Thomas. Thomas Brooks, Jr., son 
of Thomas Brooks, Sr., was born in 1706. He 

married a Miss Desire , and to them were 

born Joshua, in 1730; Deborah, February 5, 
1732; Thomas, December 2, 1733; David, July 
7, 1736; Samuel, April 4, 1738; Desire, Febru- 
ary 9, 1740; Jonathan, Sr., August 25. 1743; 
Isaac, August 24, 1745 "- Gideon, August 29. 1747. 
Jonathan Brooks, son of Thomas and Desire 
Brooks, was married, and to them were born 



Gideon, Joshua, Jonathan, Ichabod and Amadeas. 
Jonathan was born July 25, 1777. These of the 
Brooks family were born in the old home town 
of Cheshire, Connecticut. Jonathan Brooks, Jr., 
was married to Miss Rachael Clark, in Burton, 
Ohio, who was born July 22, 1789; their mar- 
riage took place in 1802. Their family consisted 
of three sons and one daughter ; Selden, born 
April 2, 1803 ; Linus, born April 25, 1805, an d 
married Miss Eliza Humiston, April 19, 1827; 
Lovira, born August 13, 1809, and died in 1891. 
Jonathan was born October 7, 1820. Miss 
Rachael Clark Brooks was the daughter of Cap- 
tain Ephraim Clark, of Revolutionary fame, and 
died September 4, 1852. 

The children born to Linus and Eliza 
Brooks were : Samuel Linus, on November 8, 
1830, who is the immediate subject of this sketch ; 
Eliza Maria, on February 20, 1835 ; Edgar Sel- 
den, on January 31, 1838; and Henry Jonathan, 
on March 7, 1842. Samuel Linus was married to 
Miss Anna Pentland, on August 7, 1872, and they 
have no children. Eliza Maria was married to 
William E. Brainard and they have two sons, 
Sherman Humiston and Linus Brooks. Edgar 
Selden, who died on July 26, 1900, married Miss 
Emma Perkins, on May 5, 1870, and to them were 
born two daughters ; Iva C, on August 18, 1873, 
now the wife of Eugene J. Collins, of Dufur, 
Oregon; and Emma Seldena, on July 26, 1877, 
now deceased, having been the wife of William 
Hillis. Henry Jonathan married Miss Mary 
Rhodes, in 1870, and they were the parents of 
three children, named as follows : Wilson Henry 
Linus, born April 6, 1871, and died September 
30, 1897; Lavina, deceased; and Esther Eliza, 
born June 20, 1882. Henry Jonathan Brooks 
died January 18, 1901. His wife, Mary, who was 
born October 8, 1854, died May 15, 1888. 

The mother of our subject, Eliza (Humiston) 
Brooks, was born at Wallingford, Connecticut, 
and died October 11, 1888, at the age of eighty- 
four years. At different times, she journeyed 
from New Haven, Connecticut, by team, to the 
Pacific slope. Until he was seven years old 
Samuel L. Brooks was reared in Ohio, going 
thence with his parents to Illinois. With his 
parents, he crossed the plains in 1850 with ox 
teams, being six months on the road. Locating 
on the south part of French prairie, Oregon, the 
father filed on a section of land, and they were 
the second white family to settle in that vicinity. 
The town of Brooks, named in honor of our sub- 
ject's father, stands today where their first house 
was built. Until 1863 our subject remained with 
his parents, with the exception of about a year 
passed in California, mining. Mr. Brooks was 
revenue collector for eastern Oregon of the dis- 




Samuel L. Brooks 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



401 



trict of Oregon, from March, 1866, to August, 
1870. He then entered into a partnership with 
E. B. McFarland, now of Portland, engaging 
in the general merchandise business, which part- 
nership' was continued until about 1877. Owing 
to the failure of his health he sold out and with 
a partner purchased The Dalles city water works, 
later selling the same to the city. He has always 
taken a deep interest in educational affairs, and 
w r as one of the incorporators of the Wasco Inde- 
pendent Academy and a director during the 
twelve years of its existence. He was, also, the 
incorporator of the Wasco Warehouse Company 
and was interested in the same for several years. 
Between 1890 and 1892 he was prominently 
identified with the Portland & Astoria Naviga- 
tion Company. At present Mr. Brooks is retired 
irom active business life. 

August 7, 1872, our subject was married, at 
The Dalles, to Anna Pentland, a native of Eng- 
land, born May 26, 1842. When eight years of 
age she came to the United States with her pa- 
rents. Her father, Robert, was a native of Eng- 
land, who crossed the plains in 1845. He installed 
the first water works in the city of Portland, 
Oregon, and later, in 1862, removed to The 
Dalles, where he put in the original water sys- 
tem. He removed to the Willamette valley where 
he died July 5, 1887. Our subject and his wife 
are members of the Congregational church, and 
reside in a handsome, two-story residence at the 
corner of Third and Union streets. 



JOSEPH W. WARD is to be numbered with 
the oldest pioneers of the Wasco country, and he 
is descended from a family of pioneers. He is at 
present handling a thriving business in Dufur, 
where he does undertaking and deals in building 
material. He is also interested in sawmilling, 
and owns seven hundred and sixty acres of choice 
wheat, land besides two hundred and forty acres 
of timber land. He has a choice cottage resi- 
dence in Dufur and a large one story business 
block, where he has his headquarters. Mr. Ward 
is a successful business man, as well as a sub- 
stantial citizen and valuable member of society. 
He was born in Noble county, Ohio, on February 
25, 1852, the son of William L. and Hannah 
(Potts) Ward. The father was born in Ohio, 
his parents was also natives of that state, and his 
grandparents were born in Ireland. The mother 
descends frm an old and prominent Pennsylvania 
Dutch family. Pottsville, of that state, was 
named from Mr. Pott, who came from Germany 
and was a blacksmith for General Washington at 
Valley Forge, in Revolutionary days. The first 

26 



coal in Pennsylvania was discovered on the old 
Pott homestead. Mrs. Ward was born in Ohio. 
Our subject was brought by his parents across 
the plains with ox teams in 1859. Settlement 
was made near where Dufur now stands, on Fif- 
teenmile creek. Later they rented a farm on 
Eightmile, then they went to The Dalles. After 
that they spent some time in Vancouver, Wash- 
ington, and later dwelt for seven years in the 
Hood River valley. The old homestead there is 
now owned by Mr. Button. Our subject at- 
tended the schools which his father helped to 
establish, assisting also to erect the buildings, 
both on Eightmile and Hood Rivers. Then the 
father took land ten miles out from The Dalles 
and there died,_ December 28, 1897. He was 
born on March 26, 1826. The mother now lives 
in The Dalles. In 1870, our subject started for 
himself and assisted to construct the telegraph 
line from Umatilla to Walla Walla, the first one 
in this part of the country. In 1873, he was one 
of six who took up land out from Dufur on the 
ridge. The stockmen laughed at them, but they 
soon demonstrated that the land would produce 
the best of wheat and the result is that Mr. Ward 
has continued in the enterprise, until he is today 
one of the well-to-do men of the county. In 
September, 1899, he took up his present business 
in Dufur and since then has resided here. 

At The Dalles, on March 21, 1887, Mr. Ward 
married Mrs. Josephine E. Endersby, who was 
born in Iowa, on March 30, .1862, the daughter 
of Hamlin Starkey, a native of Pennsylvania and 
descended from an old and prominent American 
family. He died in Iowa, in 1898. He had mar- 
ried Sophia Fee, a native of Pennsylvania and 
descended from French Huguenots. She died in 
Oklahoma, in 1901. Mr. Ward has four broth- 
ers, Frederick H., John C, Samuel P., and Vic- 
tor T., and two sisters, Mrs. Alice Kelly and 
Mrs. Margaret J. Neal, deceased. Mrs. Ward 
has four brothers and one sister, John L., Will 
iam B., Grant F., George W., and Mrs. Anna 
Truitt. Mr. Ward is a member of the I. O. O. 
F. and the A. O. U. W., while his wife belongs 
to the United Artisans and the Women of Wood- 
craft. To Mr. and Mrs. Ward, four children 
have been born, Joseph W., Edward L., John S., 
and Violet M. By her former marriage Mrs. 
Ward has one child, Mary, the wife of James 
Robbins, who lives in Iowa. 



11 



WILL FITZPATRICK, a young and enter- 
prising man of Shaniko, was born in San Joa- 
quin county, California, on September 30, 1872. 
His father, William Fitzpatrick, a native of Illi- 



402 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



nois, came to California in 1850, crossing the 
plains with ox teams. He did mining- a short 
time, then took up farming in Calaveras county. 
where he remained until 1887, and there our 
subject received the beginning of his education, 
the same being completed in Oregon. After 
leaving California at the date last mentioned, the 
family came to Douglas county, Oregon and did 
stock raising for two years. Then he came to 
the vicinity of Shaniko and engaged in sheep 
raising, renting land near Sherar's bridge. Later, 
they drove their flocks to Wallowa county where 
they bought land and continued until 1892. In 
1899 they journeyed to Lewis county, Washing- 
ton, and there the father lives on a ranch owned 
by our subject. The father married Sophronia 
Gaines, a native of New York, and living in Ill- 
inois at the time of her marriage. After finish- 
ing his school work, Will Fitzpatrick attended 
camp for his father for four years. In the same 
capacity he worked for George Young & Son 
about four years, and then rented sheep from H. 
C. Rooper of Antelope. A year later he took his 
share of the sheep to Washington and sold the 
same. In 1899 he bought a ranch of sixty acres 
in Lewis county and since that time, his father 
has been conducting that place. He was there 
one year himself and in the spring of 1904, came 
to Shaniko and bought a one fourth interest in 
the business Mr. Sanford owned. He had worked 
for Mr. Sanford some years previous. Later Mr. 
Fitzpatrick disposed of his interest in the estab- 
lishment with Mr. Sanford. 

On March 19, 1903, at Shaniko, Mr. Fitz- 
patrick married Margaret C. Moody, a native of 
North Carolina, whose father was born in North 
Carolina and mother in Tennessee. Mr. Fitz-- 
patrick has one brother, George S., a farmer in 
Wallowa county, Oregon. Mrs. Fitzpatrick has 
three brothers, Frank, John and Grant in Ten- 
nessee. One child has been born to our subject 
and his wife, Elmer G. 

Mr. Fitzpatrick is a member of the A. ( ). 
U. W. and the Degree of Honor. He is a Repub- 
lican in politics and is a progressive, public spir- 
ited man. 



ROY D. BUTLER is the present postmaster 
at Boyd, Oregon, where also he is doing a good 
business as a general merchant. He is one of 
the younger business men of Wasco county, who 
have achieved a good success here and he has 
shown a stamina and reliability that commend 
him to all. He was born in Warren county, Illi- 
nois, on January 10, 1874, the son of Polk and 
Dell (Coy) Butler, natives of Indiana. The 
father's parents were born in Ohio and came as 



early pioneers to Indiana. Our subject's parents 
now live at Dufur and own a fine farm a few 
miles southeast from that town. The family 
came to Wasco county when our subject was 
three years of age and he was educated in the 
graded schools of Dufur. After that, he taught 
in the Boyd district one year and then pin- 
chased an interest in a store which he now owns, 
from C. H. Southern. Later he bought out his 
partner entirely and since that time has been con- 
ducting a good store here. He has a well as- 
sorted stock of general merchandise and is an 
accommodating and substantial business man. 

On November 14, 1902, Mr. Butler married 
Miss Ethel Southern, who was born in Wasco 
county, the daughter of C. H. and Emma (Rice) 
Southern, mentioned elsewhere in this volume. 
Mr. Butler has the following named brothers and 
sisters, Omer, Earl and Mrs. Maude Griffin. One 
child has been born to our subject and his wife, 
Agnes. 

Mr. Butler is a member of the I. O. O. F. 
and his wife belongs to the Methodist church. He 
is a Democrat in politics and is frequently found 
at the conventions. He is now serving as clerk 
of the Boyd school board and is a progressive and 
public minded citizen. 



CHARLES H. SOUTHERN is one of the 
pioneers of the Boyd country where he has dwelt 
constantly since coming to Oregon. He is a well 
known business man and property owner and one 
of the prominent citizens of the place. He was 
born in Iowa, on May 14, 1855, the son of Mar- 
tin and Elizabeth (Bolton) Southern, natives of 
Virginia. The father's parents were also born in 
Virginia. The mother came from an old Vir- 
ginia family. In the fall of 1871, the family 
came to Oregon and settled in Wasco countv, 
near Boyd. The father died on November 8, 
1877, in the house where our subject dwells at the 
present time. The mother died on May 5, 1900. 
Our subject always lived with his parents and 
upon his father's death he purchased the old 
homestead from his mother, which is a residence 
and eighty acres where he now lives, and four 
hundred acres of choice wheat land adjoining. 
Charles H. was educated in the place where the 
family lived in his early days and was married 
on November 4, 1878. at The Dalles. The lady 
of his choice was Miss Emma Rice, who was 
born in Lane county, Oregon. Her father, Hor- 
ace Rice, was a native of Ohio and his father died 
when he was a small lad. He came to Oregon 
with his mother and brothers and sisters in 1851. 
His mother had married Beckwith Cook. She 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



403 



died in Polk county, Oregon, in 1874. Mr. 
.Southern , has no full brothers living, one half 
brother, William, two sisters, Mrs. Ella Rice and 
Mrs. Lenna Seeley, and two half sisters, Mrs. 
Jane Mann and Mrs. Minerva Wanamaker. Mr. 
and Mrs. Southern have two children, Ethel, wife 
•of Roy D. Butler, a merchant at Boyd and men- 
tioned elsewhere in this work, and Harry dwell- 
ing at home. Mrs. Southern has the following 
named brothers and sisters, George, Austin C, 
Mrs. Etta Waterman and Mrs. Nellie Mann. 

Mr. and Mrs. Southern are both devout mem- 
bers of the Methodist church while he holds the 
office of trustee. He also belongs to the W. W. 
Politically, he is a Republican and active in the 
support of the principles of his party, being fre- 
quently at the conventions and also taking a keen 
interest in the campaigns. He has been school 
director many terms and is a zealous supporter 
of educational advancement. Mr. Southern laid 
out the townsight of Boyd in 1895 but he had 
been in business there since 1889 as a general 
merchant. About 1899, he sold his store to his 
son-in-law and now gives his attention to the 
oversight of his property interests. 



JOSEPH W. MAYES is a popular young 
business man of Hood River, where he, with his 
brother, mentioned elsewhere in this work, is at 
the head of a nice butcher and meat market bus- 
iness. He is a man of excellent standing, and 
has won his position by virtue of his uprightness, 
his geniality and his integrity. In business, he is 
careful and a zealous worker and the wisdom of 
his methods is evident by the success he is win- 
ning. He was born in Kansas, on March 27, 
1873 and came to Oregon with his parents, who 
:are mentioned elsewhere in this work. His educa- 
tion was completed by a course in a Portland bus- 
iness college and he has since given close atten- 
tion to business operations for himself. In 1893 
he came to Hood River with his mother but did 
not take up permanent residence here until later. 
The meat business which he owns now with his 
brother, was started by Clyde Bonney, who sold 
to his father, A. A. Bonney. He, in turn, sold to 
the Mayes Brothers, in May, 1903 and since then 
they have personally operated the same. Pre- 
vious to that, our subject had charge of the 
Byrkett dairy ranch at White Salmon, Wash- 
ington. 

On December 31, 1892, Mr. Mayes married 
Miss Myrtle Horner, the wedding occurring at 
Hood River. She was born in Heppner, Oregon, 
the daughter of Daniel and Alice (Baker) Hor- 
ner, natives of Iowa, and now dwelling in Plepp- 



ner, where the father conducts a saddle store. 
Mrs. Horner's father was for many years a 
Methodist preacher, but he and his wife have 
both gone to their rewards in the world beyond. 
They were faithful and devout Christians and 
were instrumental in doing much good in their 
pilgrim journey. Mrs. Mayes has two brothers, 
Charles and John, and three sisters, Mrs. Maggie 
Emmerson, Mrs. Belle Parsons, and Nellie. Mr. 
Mayes is a member of the M. W. A., while he 
and his wife both belong to the Methodist 
church. He is a local preacher in the work and 
a fervent exhorter. Mr. Mayes is a man of the 
true ring and believes in a religion that is for 
week days as well as Sunday, in fact the faith that 
makes faithful. He has hosts of friends and is a 
hard worker both in business and in church mat- 
ters, while in public matters and educational af- 
fairs, he is progressive and always allied on the 
side of right and principle. 



WILLIAM D. RICHARDS, a substantial 
and progressive farmer of Wasco county, resides 
about nine miles southeast from The Dalles on 
Ferry Canyon road. He was born in Easton, 
Pennsylvania, on August 8, 1844, the son of Dan- 
iel and Mary S. (Raub) Richards, natives of the 
same country as our subject. The father's fam- 
ily were of English extraction and the mother 
descends from Pennsylvania Dutch. She now 
lives in Kansas and her husband died in Kansas, 
in 1878, near Silver Lake. William D. was edu- 
cated and reared in Pennsylvania and there re- 
mained until thirty-four years of age, havinj 
learned the carpenter trade in the meantime. He 
followed that craft and teaming and farming until 
he left Pennsylvania in 1879 f° r Kansas, where 
he operated his mother's farm for two years. 
Then he spent two years at carpentering and in 
1883, came thence to Oregon, settling in The 
Dalles, where he worked at carpentering for five 
years. In the meantime, he had taken a govern- 
ment claim upon which the family resided. He 
gradually improved the same while he was con- 
tinuing in town, until 1888 when he gave up car- 
penter work and came out to the ranch. Since 
that time, he has given his attention entirely to 
farming and has made a marked success of the 
same. He has purchased two farms adjoining 
the home place and owns altogether seven hun- 
dred and thirty-five acres, five hundred of which 
are good wheat land. The entire estate bears the 
marks of thrift and enterprise and in all the im- 
provements, good taste is manifested. His resi- 
dence is a tasty story and a half cottage in neat 
surroundings and everything comports with the 
same in neatness and good taste. 



404 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



In 1867, while in Pennsylvania, Mr. Richards 
married Miss Abbie Hummel, a native of New 
Jersey. She died on May 30, 1879, in Kansas. 
Her father was Elijah Hummel, a native of Penn- 
sylvania. On January 26, 1882, at Topeka, Kan- 
sas, Mr. Richards -married Miss Abbie J. Adams, 
who was born in Loudon, new Hampshire, the 
daughter of Jonas Jefferson and Betsey K. (Fos- 
ler) Adams. The father was a native of Carl- 
isle, Massachusetts, and came from the old colo- 
nial Adams family, well known in American his- 
tory. The mother was born in Tewksbury, Mass- 
achusetts, and came from an old and prominent 
colonial family of English extraction. Mr. Rich- 
ards has two brothers, Jacob T. and Robert A., 
and one sister, Mary S. Frost. Mrs. Richards 
has three brothers, George F., Samuel F., and 
Daniel J. and three sisters, Julia A. Hayward, 
Mary A. Warren, and Emma E. Cutler. By his 
first marriage, Mr. Richards has five children ; 
Mary C, wife of Clarence M. Sisson, a school 
teacher at Palouse, Washington ; Susan E., wife 
of John M. Mann, a farmer in Wasco county ; 
Lillie A., wife of Richard E. Howarth, at Uni- 
versity Park, Portland ; Harry R., who operates 
his father's farm ; and Edith A., the wife of J. 
Frank Howarth, a printer at The Dalles. 

Mr. and Mrs. Richards are both zealous and 
active members of the Methodist church and he is 
a steward and trustee for the past ten years in 
that denomination. Politically, Mr. Richards is 
a stanch Prohibitionist and ran for state senator 
in 1904. 



PETER A. KIRCHHEINER is now hand- 
ling a furniture business at Antelope, Oregon. 
He also handles general house furnishing goods 
and is doing a very nice business. He was born 
in" Denmark, on September 25, 1862, the son of 
Alexis and Marie (Peterson) Kirchheiner, both 
natives of Denmark. The mother is still living 
there but the father died in 1901, aged seventy- 
one. He was a graduate of a teacher's seminary 
and followed the work of the educator during 
his life. After completing the public schools, our 
subject took a course in the Handelskole, a com- 
mercial college in Aalberg, Denmark, after which 
he served five years in the grocery business. Then 
he came to the United States in 1883 and jour- 
neyed from New York to California direct. Soon 
after, he came to Sherman county and took a pre- 
emption and timber culture at the head of Fin- 
negan Canyon. Having no capital whatever, it 
was a time of much hardship and labor. Nine 
years later, he sold out and came to Antelope and 
engaged in the blacksmithing and wagonmaking 
business with his brother, Alexis M. F., who is 



now living in Prairie City. They were together 
two and one half years when he purchased the 
business and conducted it until 1902, in which 
year he sold out and engaged in his present busi- 
ness. 

On December 15, 1895, at Portland, Mr. 
Kirchheiner married Mrs. Florence I. Glenn, who 
was born in the Willamette valley, the daughter 
of John and Diona (Strickland) Howell, natives 
of Oregon. The mother died at Wamic. Our 
subject has two brothers, Carl, a bookbinder irr 
Chicago and Alexis M. F., an attorney at law in 
Prairie City. He also has four sisters ; Agnetha, 
the wife of Nicolai Stalhr, a merchant in Forest 
Grove ; Emma, wife of Jems Clausen, a farmer 
in Denmark ; Gurli, a trained nurse in Denmark,, 
and Vitta, with her mother in the old home. Mrs. 
Kirchheiner has four brothers and one sister; 
Delmar, who owns a livery stable at Shaniko ; 
Sylvester, in Nome, Alaska ; William, a farmer 
in Crook county ; Alfred, a sheep man ; Lizzie, 
wife of John Nester, Portland-Albina, O. R. & 
N. railroad conductor. Mr. and Mrs. Kirchheiner 
have no children by this marriage but by her 
former marriage she has one, Guy S., who is at 
home. 

Our subject is a member of the A. F. & A. M., 
being junior warden and was secretary several 
years. He also belongs to the O. E. S. and is 
secretary. His wife is past matron of the same. 
In politics, Mr. Kirchheiner is a Republican and 
quite active. He takes keen interest in everything 
that is for the improvement and advancement of 
the country and is a good substantial citizen. He 
and his wife are both members of the Lutheran 
church. 



MARTIN M. WATERMAN, who resides 
about seven miles southeast from The Dalles, is 
one of the most prominent and successful agri- 
culturists, stockmen, and business men of Wasco 
county. Few men have made as brilliant a rec- 
ord as he has and an epitome of his career will be 
very interesting to the residents of this county. 

Martin M. Waterman was born in Jefferson, 
Marion county, Oregon, on July 24, 1870, the 
son of Ezekiel and Nancy (Smith) Waterman, 
who are mentioned elsewhere in this volume. He 
was educated in the public schools in The Dalles, 
and then completed this important part of his life's 
training in the Wasco Academy and a Portland 
business college. At the early a°e of sixteen, he 
was permitted by his father to take charge of two 
farms on Eightmile creek, and such was his 
success in handling them that the father came 
from The Dalles to join him in the enterprise the 
next vear. That venture marked the beginning 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



405 



of young Waterman's successful career and from 
that time until the present he has been known as 
one of the brightest and most successful of busi- 
ness operators in Wasco county. His tact, his 
ability, his energy and his untiring care of all en- 
terprises under his hand account for this achieve- 
ment which he has won so plainly, and it is not 
in any measure the result of "luck" or favorable 
circumstances as the idler would fondly dream. 
The next year after his success on the two farms 
of his father, young Waterman used the first 
thousand dollars which he had saved from his 
labors to purchase an estate of seven hundred 
acres, assuming- an indebtedness for the balance 
of the purchase price. Thus at the age of seven- 
teen, he started out as a farmer and land owner 
and he has added by purchase until he has now 
■one thousand and mty acres of choice land. The 
next year Mr. Waterman married Miss Etta 
Rice, who was born on Fifteenmile creek, on July 
26, 1868, the sister of Mrs. C. H. Southern, who 
is mentioned elsewhere in this volume. Two chil- 
dren have been born to this union, Ira L. and 
Lelah. Together Mr. and Mrs. Waterman took 
hold of the enterprises at hand and they have 
wrought a work that deserves the best of credit. 
Mr. Waterman raises diversified crops and gives 
■especial attention to the industry of hog raising 
and breeding. He captured every prize on swine 
in classes entered at the Oregon state fair at Sa- 
lem in 1903, much to the discomfort of many of 
the older hog breeders in various sections of the 
state. He breeds the O. I. C. hogs and has the 
boar, Ohio, which weighs eight hundred and 
sixty pounds, and is one of the finest animals in 
the west. He markets about three hundred hogs 
-each year. He also raises fine thoroughbred Jer- 
seys and has a choice herd of thirty head. In the 
spring of 1903, Mr. Waterman started a cream- 
ery on the ranch and now has a fine plant turning 
out about two hundred pounds per week. Un- 
like many, and indeed most, of the youth of the 
land, Mr. Waterman would not receive from his 
father any money besides what he earned, and the 
result is that he has a choice estate, all made by 
his own efforts and which is producing annual 
dividends that make him a goodly competence. 
His standing in the community is of the best and 
he is looked up to by all as a man of unusual 
ability and wisdom. 



HON. J. NEWTON BURGESS, a popular 
and well known- man in the state legislature of 
Oregon wherein he has made a splendid record, 
is no less favorably known and appreciated in 
business circles, being one of the heaviest stock 
handlers in eastern Oregon. He resides at An- 



telope and was born in Douglas county, Oregon, 
on March 5, 1872, his parents being Thomas and 
Ellen (Smith) Burgess, natives of Columbus, 
Ohio, and Douglas county, Oregon, respectively. 
They now dwell at The Dalles and are mentioned 
elsewhere in this volume. The father came to 
California via the isthmus in 1859 and followed 
mining several years in the Golden State, after 
which he journeyed to Idaho and Oregon, and 
engaged in the same business. Later, he settled 
in Douglas county and became interested in stock 
dealing. He married in 1871, and shortly after 
our subject was born came to eastern Oregon. In 
1873 ne settled at Bakeoven and there remained 
until 1902, conducting a wayside inn for travel- 
ers and handling stock. In the year last men- 
tioned he sold out his interests there and moved 
to The Dalles. Our subject grew up on the farm 
and was educated in the Wasco Independent 
Academy and the Portland Business College. 
When seventeen, he became a partner with his 
father and they conducted the business under the 
firm name of T. Burgess & Son, handling on the 
average, a thousand head of cattle each year. Our 
subject looked after the books and the outside 
business, while the father conducted the home 
ranch and the inn which is known far and near 
as one of the choicest places to give entertain- 
ment to travelers in this part of the state. On 
account of that, it enjoyed an exceedingly large 
patronage. In 1895 our subject bought a section 
of land six miles west of Antelope creek and has 
been operating there largely. They milk at pres- 
ent sixty cows and it is a profitable enterprise. 
Mr. Burgess lives in Antelope and in addition to 
his stock business, conducts a meat market. Mr. 
Burgess simply oversees these various interests 
and gives a good portion of his time to buying 
and selling stock. In the first part of last year he 
shipped over twenty-five thousand sheep, be- 
sides much other stuff and is known as one of 
the most active stock buyers in eastern Oregon. 

On May 10, 1897, at Salem, Oregon, Mr. 
Burgess married Miss Mary M. Ashby, who was 
born in Walla Walla, the daughter of William 
and Nancy M. Ashby, who now 'live in Califor- 
nia. The father crossed the plains with ox teams 
in early days and was engaged in stock raising 
for many years. Mr. Burgess has one sister, 
Laura, the wife of Hon. Dan J. Malarkey, an at- 
torney in Portland and state senator. Mr. and 
Mrs. Burgess have two children, Ralph and 
Madeline. 

Mr. Burgess is a member of the A. F. & A. 
M., having been past master for two terms. Pie 
also belongs to the R. A. M. Politically he is a 
Republican, and very prominent and influential. 
He was elected representative to the state senate 



406 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



from Crook, Klamath, Lake and Wasco counties 
:n 1902. Since then, this territory has been re- 
districted and in June, 1904, he was returned to 
the legislature from Wasco county. He has 
shown himself a man of force and ability in the 
halls of legislation and has fostered some very 
important measures. Mr. Burgess is president 
of the Wasco Southern Telephone Company, 
which has its headquarters at Antelope and he 
has been a moving spirit in this enterprise. 
Personally, Mr. Burgess is a generous minded 
man and has won the esteem and confidence of 
all who know him and he is as widely known as 
any man in this part of Oregon. He is generous, 
public minded and ever on the alert to foster any 
movement which is for the welfare of the country. 
In busineSs, he is aggressive, yet careful and has 
the executive ability to put through any enter- 
prise that he takes up. 



FRANK IRVINE is one of the leading busi- 
ness men of Wasco county and now stands at the 
head of a large general merchandise establish- 
ment at Antelope, which his skill and progres- 
siveness have made one of the best in this part 
of the county. He has an extensive town and 
country trade which is growing very rapidly. Mr. 
Irvine is known as a man of stamina and prin- 
ciple and his business is conducted in such a man- 
ner that he wins and retains the friendship of all 
who come in contact with him. 

Frank Irvine was born on his father's farm 
two miles northwest from The Dalles, on October 
24, i860, his parents being John and Catherine 
(Keith) Irvine, the father a native of Indiana 
and the mother descended from an old southern 
family. The father's parents came from Scotland 
and he died at The Dalles in 1902. The mother 
died at The Dalles, in 1898. She and her husband 
both came to Oregon in 1852. He came alone, 
being sixteen years of age, and she made the 
journey in company with her parents. They set- 
tled near The Dalles and later moved to southern 
Oregon. Our subject's father remained near 
The Dalles and later took a donation claim which 
is now owned by a man named Allen. Mr. Irvine 
lived on the place some years and was there dur- 
ing the Indian troubles. He spent one year at 
the Cascades and also was occupied in the Snake 
war. About 1895, ne s °ld his form to Eel Kel- 
say and Joles Brothers. Kelsay soon sold the 
place to Mr. Allen. The elder Mr. Irvine had 
poor health the latter part of his life and went to 
California, Klamath county, Oregon, and other 
places to recuperate. Our subject was educated 
in the district schools and in the Wasco Independ- 



ent Academy, after which he entered the employ- 
ment of the O. R. & N. Following that, we find 
him engaged with Wingate & Company, and 
French & McFarland. In 1891 he came to Ante- 
lope and worked for Bolton & Company two 
months. Then he entered into business with Ed- 
ward Wingate, the firm being known as Wingate 
& Company. Later, Mr. Irvine purchased his- 
partner's interest and has conducted the business 
alone since. He carries a fifteen thousand dollar 
stock of well selected general merchandise and 
caters so thoroughly to the interests and wants 
of the people of the town and surrounding coun- 
try that he has a very extensive and substantial 
patronage. He is a business man of ability and is 
also public spirited and broad minded so that he 
gives generously of his time and attention to every 
enterprise that is for the building up of the 
country. 

In February, 1882, at The Dalles. Mr. Irvine 
married Lydia M. Walker, a native of California 
and the daughter of William H. and Julia Walker, 
both now deceased. The father was a native of 
Missouri and came to California in early days. 
Mr. Irvine has one sister, Alice, the wife of Henry 
Lorenzen, who lives near The Dalles. Mrs. Ir- 
vine has one brother, Jeptha, who lives at St. 
Helens, Oregon, and three half brothers, Orville, 
Clarence and Preston, near Portland. Mr. and 
Mrs. Irvine have one child, Bertha E. 

Mr. Irvine is a member of the A. F. & A. M.,. 
the I. O. O. F., the A. O. U. W. and the W. W. 
He is past grand of Virtue lodge, No. 40, of the 
I. O. O. F. and has twice been representative to 
the grand lodge of that order. Politically he is a 
Republican and takes especial interest in school 
matters. He has also served considerable time 
as city treasurer and is now a member of the 
council. In addition to the business above men- 
tioned, Mr. Irvine has a half interest in a store 
at Ashwood, Crook county, known as the Irvine 
& Hamilton Mercantile House. 



MICHAEL DOYLE, one of the popular and 
intelligent farmers and stockmen of Wasco coun- 
ty, dwells about seven miles out from The Dalles, 
on Chenoweth creek, where he has a fine estate 
and a large band of cattle. He was born in 
Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, on June 23, 1842, 
the son of Patrick and Eleanor (Graham) Doyle. 
The father was born in Pennsylvania and his fa- 
ther was a native of Ireland, while his mother 
was a Welsh woman. The mother of our subject 
was also born in Pennsylvania, she, her husband, 
and Michael, our subject, were all natives of 
Franklin county. Her parents came from Scot- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



407 



land and her father fought in the Revolution. He 
was David N. Graham, from the old Highland 
clan of Graham. Our subject's father and mother 
died in Illinois, in 1879 and 1883, respectively. 
In March, 1878, Michael Doyle landed in Ore- 
gon. When eleven he had migrated from his na- 
tive state to Illinois with his parents. There he 
obtained a good education and for several years 
he taught school. When he came to Oregon, he 
gave his attention to farming, taking a homestead 
where he now resides. He operated a dairy 01 
forty cows until recently, and now he devotes his 
entire attention to raising cattle. He winters 
about one hundred and fifty head usually. 

In October, 1867, at Geneseo, Illinois, Mr. 
Doyle married Miss Sylinda Beers. Her father, 
George F. Beers, was born in New Jersey, Octo- 
ber 11, 1824, married Miss Mary E. Roberts, on 
April 16, 1846, and in 1878 came to The Dalles. 
He was a substantial man, held many positions 
of trusty and died in The Dalles, in 1893. He was 
universally mourned, and the entire business of 
The Dalles was closed during the afternoon of his 
funeral. He was prominent in church circles and 
in Sunday school work and did a world of good 
by his faithful and conscientious labors. His 
widow resides in The Dalles. Her father, John 
Roberts, died November 18, 1878, aged seventy- 
nine. He had married Susanna Gates, and dur- 
ing his life had labored faithfully in the Master's 
work, and went to rest sustained and soothed by 
the faith of the true Christian. He had pre- 
viously commended his children to his heavenly 
Father, and his only regret was to leave his be- 
loved companion. 

Mr. Doyle has the following named brothers 
and sisters; John, who died in Andersonville 
prison, a member of Company I, One Hundred 
and Twelfth Illinois Infantry; William; Mrs. 
Nellie VanWinkle; Mrs. Evaline Lewis, Mary 
and Rebecca, deceased. Mrs. Doyle has one 
brother, David, and two sisters, Permelia Thomas 
and Elizabeth Joles, deceased. Mrs. Doyle's par- 
ents came to this country with the Joles family 
and were pioneers. Her father was with Sam- 
uel Brooks for ten years, the firm being Brooks 
& Beers, general merchants, and they conducted 
the feed yard now owned by Smith & Allen. He 
was for many years city marshall of The Dalles 
and was a prominent citizen until his death. Mr. 
and Mrs. Doyle have five children, named as fol- 
lows ; Ralph E. and Charles H., both at home; 
Mary E., the wife of A. Y. Marsh, mentioned in 
this work; Edna M., the wife of Adam Kauflf- 
man, of The Dalles ; and Ina. 

Mr. Doyle is a stanch Democrat and frequent- 
ly in the conventions. He and Mr. Marquiss cut 
the logs and built the little log school house in 



district, No. 10. He has always shown a marked 
interest in building up the country and advancing 
educational interests. He was road supervisor 
for ten years. 



JOHN W. ELTON, who resides- six miles 
out from The Dalles, is one of the prosperous 
farmers of Wasco county. He was born in Mont- 
gomery county, Missouri, on August 27, 1848, 
the son of John W. and Louisa J. (Pennington) 
Elton. The father was born in Missouri, and his 
parents in Maryland. His grandfather was a na- 
tive of France and came to America with the 
French troops and fought in the Revolution for 
the independence of the colonies. Our subject's 
father died when this son was eight. The mother 
was born in Kentucky and now lives in Missouri, 
the wife of William Jasper Skinner. John W. 
was reared and ' educated in Missouri and Wis- 
consin, to which latter state he went in 1865. In 
1870 he came west to Oregon, settling in Wash- 
ington county. For five years he did farming 
there and also wrought in the logging camps. In 
1876, he came to Wasco county and then went to 
Klickitat county, Washington, where he lived for 
eight years. Then he sold his homestead there 
and bought the place where he now lives. It con- 
sists of one hundred and twenty acres, ten of 
which are bearing orchard. As the soil is es- 
pecially adapted for cherries, he is planning to 
plant many more trees of the best varieties. He 
also raises prunes and peaches and berries. Last 
year he sold one thousand boxes of fruit besides 
much dried. He also raises fine blooded Jerseys 
and some hogs, and is a prosperous man. 

On May 19, 1875, at Cornelius, Oregon, Mr. 
Elton married Miss Mary J. Davis, who was born 
on "Five Oaks Farm," in Washington county, 
Oregon, on August 30, 1856. The farm was 
taken by her mother's father in 1843. Mrs. El- 
ton's parents were Andrew J. and Catherine 
(Zachary) Davis. The father was born in Illi- 
nois and came from an old American family. His 
father was in the war of 181 2, and some members 
of the family have been in all the struggles from 
the earliest colonial days until the war in the Phil- 
ippines. The mother was a native of Texas and 
came to Oregon with her parents in 1843. Her 
father took a donation claim called the "Five 
Oaks" and there she was married. Mr. Elton 
has the following named brothers, Thomas J., 
Samuel H., W. Albert, Robert T., and James A., 
and two half brothers, David L. and John W. 
Heebner, and two sisters, Rebecca Holder, and 
Jane Mounts. Mrs. Elton has three brothers, 
Ralph A., James, Albert, and one sister, Zillah 
Metsdorff. To Mr. and Mrs. Elton, the follow- 



4o8 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



ing named children have been born; Mary E., 
superintendent of the telephone office in The 
Dalles ; Minnie J., a teacher in the primary de- 
partment of the schools in The Dalles, and the 
possessor of a life diploma from the state of Ore- 
gon ; James, graduate of the Pullman college and 
now civil' engineer at Mace, Idaho, and formerly 
a noted athlete in college circles, and a veteran 
of the Philippine war of Company L, Second Ore- 
gon Infantry ; Albert J., a student at the state 
university at Eugene ; Eugene R., a mining man 
in Baker City ; Ruby C, aged nine ; and Ruth, 
aged six. Mrs. Elton's grandmother on her 
mother's side was Zillah Grant, a cousin of the 
late U. S. Grant. Mr. Elton is a member of the 
A. F. & A. M., of the I. O. O. F., and of the W. 
W. Politically he is a socialist and nominee of 
his party for state senator. 

In 1904, Mr. Elton went to the World's Fair 
at St. Louis as a representative to the National 
Good Roads Convention, he being an enthusiastic 
promoter of good roads. Also, he wished to study 
concerning building and architecture, being a 
building contractor, and he had the pleasure of 
meeting many noted men in that line, from whom 
he received much profit. To make the journey 
more enjoyable, Mr. Elton visited his mother at 
Jonesburg, Missouri, and the occasion was utilized 
for a family reunion and four generations were 
represented, there being forty-eight relatives at the 
meeting. Mr. Elton was much gratified to find 
all of the voters of the family on both sides ardent 
Socialists, and good expounders of the doctrines 
of that growing party. However, he returned to 
his pleasant western home, more than ever satis- 
fied with the bountiful resources and good things 
Nature has strewed here with a lavish hand. 



AUGUSTUS HIXSON, who is owner and 
operator of the Antelope livery stable at Ante- 
lope, Oregon, was born in Clinton county, Ohio, 
on August 10, 1867. His parents, Albert and 
Elizabeth (Lane) Hixson, were natives of Ohio 
and Indiana, respectively. The father's parents 
were born in Ohio also and followed farming and 
stock raising. He died in Illinois when our sub- 
ject was six years old. The mother, after her 
first husband's death, married Isaac Robinson, 
who died two years later. Then she married Wil- 
liam Borthwick and they now reside on a farm in 
Pike county, Illinois. Our subject began life for 
himself early, being but thirteen years of age 
when he went out to work. He was thus em- 
ployed until twenty, then rented land for himself 
in Illinois. Eleven years later, he came to this 
country and took a homestead two miles south 



from Antelope, that being in January, 1899. In 
August, 1900, he bought out William Ashby's 
stable in Antelope and since has given his per- 
sonal attention to the same. He still owns his 
farm, which is devoted largely to the production 
of hay. Mr. Hixson owns twenty head of horses 
and in addition to doing general livery business, 
operates the stage from Shaniko to Antelope. He 
is a careful and skillful horseman and is doing a 
good business. 

In 1888, Mr. Hixson married Nellie Spencer, 
in Pike county, Illinois. Mrs. Hixson was born 
in Indiana, the daughter of John and Emily 
(Biggs) Spencer, natives of Indiana and Ohio, 
respectively, and now residing in Wasco county. 
Oregon. Our subject has two brothers, Charles 
and Isaac, who are farmers near Antelope and 
two half brothers, Fred Robinson, a farmer in 
Illinois and Omar Borthwick, living near Ante- 
lope. • Mrs. Hixson has two brothers, Ralph, in 
Antelope, and William in Oklahoma territory. 
She also has four sisters ; Inez, wife of Bert Fox, 
in Kansas ; Mamie, wife of Charles Hixson, of 
Antelope ; Leona, the wife of Harry Coleman ; 
and Lela, single, with her parents. Mr. and Mrs. 
Hixson have six children, Albert, Fern, Iva, Au- 
gustus, Arthur, and Nellie. Our subject's father 
served several years in the Civil war. Mr. Hix- 
son is a member of the I. O. O. F., of which he 
is past grand of his home lodge and a lodge in Il- 
linois. He has also been delegate to the grand 
lodge of the Rebekahs and his wife is noble grand 
of that order at the present time, both being mem- 
bers. He belongs to the A. O. U. W. and is past 
M. W. of the order, having also been a delegate 
to the grand lodge. Politically, he is a stanch 
Democrat, though not especially active. Mrs. 
Hixson was delegate to the grand lodge of the 
degree of honor in 1904. He and his wife are 
members of the Methodist church. 



OSMER W. COOK, who resides en Thre> 
mile creek seven miles south from The Dalles, 
was born in Iowa, on October 30, 1847. His 
parents were Seeley M. and Nancy (Rice) Cook, 
natives of New York. The father's father was 
born in Connecticut and his mother in Maine. 
He now lives in Jefferson, Oregon. His father, 
the grandfather of our subject, was a patriot of 
the war of 1812. Osmer W. was raised princip- 
ally in the Willamette valley whither he came with 
his parents in 1852, crossing the plains with ox 
teams. The father selected a donation claim there 
and this son remained with him until twenty-five 
years of age when he crossed the mountains to 
Wasco county. Two vears later, he filed on the 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



409 



place where he now resides and since that time, 
has resided here. He has shown industry and 
substantiality during his life and now has a very 
fine property. It consists of a half section of land 
in the home place and eighty acres more a mile 
and a half distant. The farms are well improved 
and productive and Mr. Cook is one of the lead- 
ing agriculturists -in the county. 

At the residence of the bride's parents, on Oc- 
tober 12, 1873, Mn Cook married Mary Gilliam, 
who was born in Polk county, on January 9, 
1854. Her father, M. Porter Gilliam, was born in 
Missouri, Andrew county and came to the Willa- 
mette valley with ox teams across the plains in 
1844. He took a donation claim in Polk county 
and his death occurred in Klickitat county, Wash- 
ington, in March, 1888. During the Civil war, 
he was lieutenant in the Home Guards Company 
at The Dalles but was never called to the front. 
He was a veteran of the Cayuse Indian war and 
for many years was justice of the peace and 
school director at The Dalles. He was a prom- 
inent and influential man and in political matters 
was a strong Republican. Pie married Sarah C. 
Hagey, a native of Iowa, who dwells near our 
subject. Mr. Cook has one brother, Edward, and 
four sisters, Mrs. Chloe Laird, Mrs. Martha 
Longsworth, Mrs. Eliza Connett, and Mrs. Har- 
riett Connett. Mrs. Cook has three brothers and 
one sister, William A., Homer, Samuel, and Mrs. 
Jennie Bly. To our subject and his wife, eight 
children have been born ; Jennie, wife of Frank 
Moore, at Boyd ; Nettie M., wife of George Mann, 
at The Dalles; Grace, wife of Frank B. Friedley 
in Hood River valley ; Charles E., a farmer ad- 
jacent; Ehrman, at Hood River; William M., in 
The Dalles ; Annie M., at home, aged twenty ; and 
Florence, at home, aged thirteen. 

Politically Mr. Cook is a good strong Repub- 
lican and interested in the questions of the day. 
His wife belongs to the Methodist church and is 
superintendent of the Sunday school. It is said 
that Gilliam county is named from Mrs. Cook's 
father's uncle and a more extended account of the 
matter is made in the historical portion of this 
work. 



ALEXANDER FRASER. True it is that 
no one can travel through the civilized world 
without meeting in every portion the sturdy sons 
of Caledonia. True also, that the bravest soldiers, 
the brightest scholars and the most zealous pio- 
neers come from the stanch race who have, with 
every race of people, and on their native hills, 
made history for the world. America owes much 
in many ways to Scotland's sons and many of our 
best citizens are descended from these people. It 



is our pleasant task at this time to be permitted to 
outline the career of one closely connected with 
the leading clans of Scotland. 

Alexander Fraser was born in Scotland, on 
October 23, 1852. His father, John Fraser, was 
a direct descendant of the old Frasier clan and 
married Jane Holmes, also a native of Scotland. 
Both are now deceased, having passed away from 
the old home estate in Scotland. In 1872, after 
having received a good education, our subject 
came to Ottawa, Canada, and thence six years 
later, went to Manitoba. In this latter place, he 
served three years on the mounted police under 
Colonel J. F. McLeod. In May, 1881, he re- 
turned to Scotland and spent one year in the old 
familiar scenes and in visiting his friends. Then 
he came to the United States and located in Colo- 
rado where he was engaged in the smelting work 
for sometime. It was in the spring of 1884, that 
Mr. Fraser came on to Oregon and was in busi- 
ness in Portland for five years. Then he came to 
The Dalles country and bought the rights of a 
settler and homesteaded the place where he now 
resides about seven miles out from town on Three- 
mile creek. Since then, he has purchased other 
land and now has one hundred and seventy-five 
acres in cultivation. The principal crops are 
wheat and potatoes although he has a fine three 
acre orchard. He is a prosperous and thrifty 
man, and is well known through this portion of 
the county and is one of the most substantial men 
here. He is progressive and public minded and 
always takes a keen interest in every question of 
public import. 

At Portland, Oregon, on October 14, 1884, 
Mr. Fraser married Miss Jessie McDonald, who 
was born in Victoria county. Cape Breton, Can- 
ada, on August 10, 1854. Her father, Angus 
McDonald, was born in Scotland, and descended 
from the old McDonald clan of the Highlands. 
He was an overseer on a large estate for many 
years. He married Isabella Stewart who was a 
member of another one of Scotland's most noted 
families. They are now both deceased, the 
mother passed away in Cape Breton, on Decem- 
ber 16, 1882, and the father at Portland. Ore- 
gon, on April 12, 1884. Mr. Fraser has one 
brother, Thomas, and one sister, Mrs. H. Adams. 
Mrs. Fraser has also one brother, Murdoc D., 
and one sister, Mrs. Mary Carrel. Two children 
have been born to this marriage, John A., on 
September 30, 1885, and Jessie J., on January s, 
1887. Mr. and Mrs. Frasier are prominent and 
devoted members of the Methodist church and 
take a very lively interest in church matters. .He 
is assistant superintendent of the Sunday school, 
and teaches a Bible class. 

Politically Mr. Fraser is a Prohibitionist and 



4io 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



an influential figure in his party. He was school 
director and road supervisor for many years. 
Three years previous to coming to the United 
States, Mr. Fraser followed the sea as fireman on 
the Anchor Line of steamers that plied from Glas- 
gow to New York and. from Glasgow to the 
Mediterranean ports. Our subject and his wife 
are genial and kind people, having many friends 
and by their wisdom, industry and wise manage- 
ment have made themselves well to do. They 
are progressive people and have labored well for 
the advancement of the community along every 
line, being especially interested in school matters 
and church work. 

It should also be stated that Mr. Fraser se- 
sured the rural mail delivery for his district. 



MAX LUEDDEMANN. The Antelope 
Herald, a bright and newsy sheet, well known in 
central Oregon, is now edited by the subject of 
this article. He also conducts the Madras 
Pioneer and owns a half interest in the Bend 
Bulletin. Mr. Lueddemann is a thorough and 
capable newspaper man and a very worthy citi- 
zen. He was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama, on 
September 29, 1873. His father, Guido Luedde- 
mann, was born in Germany and came to the 
United States when seven years old with his 
parents, it being then 1848. His father, the 
grandfather of our subject, was an officer in the 
German army and settled on Lake Michigan, in 
Wisconsin, where he cleared a place out in the 
timber. When eighteen, our subject's father 
went to New York and enlisted to serve in the 
Civil War, continuing there for three, years. 
After the war, he located in Tuscumbia, Ala- 
bama and engaged in the mercantile business, 
which occupied him there for thirty-six years. 
Then he retired from business and moved to Los 
Gatos, California, where he now resides. He 
married Joanna Chisholm, also a native of Tus- 
cumbia. She was the granddaughter of John 
Seveir, the first governor of Tennessee. She is 
still living in Los Gatos, California. Our sub- 
ject began studying in the graded schools of his 
native town and then completed a course in the 
Alabama University. After this, he graduated 
from the law department of the Cumberland Un- 
iversity at Lebanon, Tennessee, and took up the 
practice of law at Tuscumbia for two years. Then 
he came west and bought the Antelope Herald. 
Later, he sent for his old friend, E. C. Goodwin, 
of Tuscumbia, who came here and took an inter- 
est in the business. They were together one 
year and since that time, Mr. Lueddemann has 
been conducting the business alone. In April, 



1899, Mr. Lueddemann was appointed United 
States commissioner and was reappointed in 
1903. He is also city recorder of Antelope. 

On October 7, 1903, at Moscow, Idaho, Mr. 
Lueddemann married Miss Ollie McConnell, a 
native of Oregon, the wedding occurring at the 
home of the bride's parents, Hon. William J. and 
Louise (Brown) McConnell, natives of Ohio. 
Mr. Lueddemann has two brothers, Fred, at San 
Jose, California, and Ernest L., assistant cashier 
in French and Company's bank at The Dalles. 
He also has one sister, Freda, living with her 
parents. Mrs. Lueddemann has the following 
nanied brothers and sisters, Benjamin, William, 
Mamie, the wife of W. E. Borah, an attorney in 
Boise, Idaho, and Carrie, dwelling with her pa- 
rents at Moscow. Mr. Lueddemann is a Repub- 
lican in politics and has been delegate to the state 
and county conventions. He is very active and 
is well informed in political matters. Frater- 
nally, he belongs to the A. F. & A. M. He and 
his wife are members of the Presbyterian church 
and are highly respected people. 



J. ELMER RAND, a genial and pleasant 
business man of Hood River, who is conducting 
one of the leading mercantile establishments of 
the city, was born in Wisconsin, on May 16, 
1865. His father, Robert Rand, mentioned else- 
where in this work, is a native of Ohio and mar- 
ried Miss Christina Glispie, a native of New 
York, who died in Portland, in 1900. Our sub- 
ject lived in Wisconsin until sixteen, being em- 
ployed on his father's farm, which adjoined West 
Salem, and in attending school. In 1880, he came 
with the balance of the family to Iowa, where he 
was engaged in agricultural work with his father 
for four years, when they all moved to Hood 
River. The father purchased a farm near town 
and was assisted by J. Elmer one year in tilling 
the same. Then our subject went to Portland 
and took a course in the business college. After 
that he clerked in the Merchants hotel, in Port- 
land about one year, then he returned to Hood 
River and with his father opened a hardware 
store. The following year, they put in a large 
stock of general merchandise and conducted the 
business successfully until the sale to A. S. 
Blowers and Sons, which has already been men- 
tioned in this volume. Upon being released from 
the store, Mr. Rand made a trip to the east in the 
interests of the Davidson Fruit Company, which 
occupied some months. Then he returned to 
Hood River and purchased the stock and busi- 
ness of G. D. Woodworth, a general merchant. 
Since that time, Mr. Rand has conducted the 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



4Tl> 



store and has a fine business at this time. He 
carries a very complete stock and is up-to-date 
in every respect. Mr. Rand is a stirring business 
man and has shown excellent ability in handling 
the enterprises which have been placed in his 
hands. He has the confidence of the people and 
is a public minded and progressive man. On No- 
vember i, 1904, Mr. Rand moved into E. L. 
Smith's handsome new brick building. 

At Hood River, on September 12, 1892, oc- 
curred the marriage of Mr. Rand and Miss Geor- 
giana Smith, the daughter of Ezra L. and Geor- 
giana (Slocom) Smith, who are mentioned else- 
where in this work. Two children have been the 
fruit of this union, Everett L., and Anna L. Mr. 
Rand has three brothers, William F., Delbert E., 
and Ernest C. and one sister, Mrs. Henrietta 
Rahm. Mr. Rand is a member of the A. O. U. 
W., the K. O. T. M. and the K. P. He by- 
passed the chairs in each of these orders and is 
popular and influential in fraternal circles. Mr. 
Rand and his wife are members of the Unitarian 
church, having assisted to organize the society 
here. He is serving his third term in the city 
council and is now president of the same. 



ALBERT K. STRANAHAN, one of the 
proprietors of the Fashion Livery & Dray Com- 
pany, of Hood River, Wasco county, was born in 
Northfield, Minnesota, the son of Oscar L. and 
Adelia (Berdan) Stranahan, who are mentioned 
elsewhere. The date of his birth is August 22, 
1871. Albert K. attended the public schools at 
Hood River, Wasco county, to which city his 
parents removed from Minnesota when he was 
quite a young lad, and worked on his father's 
farm. At the age of fourteen years he left 
school and subsequently engaged in teaching, 
and at three different periods he was interested 
in the livery business. Two years and six 
months he was in the employment of the Oregon 
Railroad & Navigation Company, at one time 
being foreman of a pile-driving crew. March t, 
1903, he entered into partnership with J. T. Bag- 
ley and his cousin, James Stranahan, and they 
began the livery anddraying business under the 
style of the Fashion Livery & Dray Company. 
They have a well equipped stable. 

On February 22, 1905. at Rufus, Oregon, 
Mr. Stranahan married Miss Cora Fowler, the 
daughter of William and Lettie (Schautleaur) 
Fowler, who are agriculturists of Sherman 
county, this state. Mrs. Stranahan is a talented 
and refined young lady, very popular and the 
centre of a large circle of admiring friends. 

Fraternally Mr. Stranahan is a member of 



Waucoma Lodge, No. 30, K. of P. Politically 
he is a Republican, but is not actively interested 
in politics. He is an eminently popular young 
man throughout Wasco county, highly esteemed 
and respected. 



DOCTOR S. KIMSEY resides eighty miles 
southwest from Antelope where he owns a sec- 
tion of land and devotes his attention to stock 
raising. He was born in Polk county, Oregon, 
on September 6, 1848. His father, Duff Kimsey, 
was born in Howard county, Missouri and HV 
parents, the paternal grandparents of our subject, 
were born in Virginia and Kentucky. They were- 
descended from an old American 'family that 
dwelt in the colonies about the time of the Revo- 
lution and participated in the struggles to bring- 
forth this great nation and also suffered much 
from Indian depredations during the War of 
1812. They were pioneers to Missouri and were 
substantial people. The father of our subject 
married Mandana Smith, born in the same- 
place as her husband and her father was born in 
North Carolina and her mother in Virginia. Our 
subject's parents crossed the plains with ox 
teams in 1847 an d settled in Polk county. Two 
years later, they journeyed thence to Marion 
county and took a donation claim where they re- 
mained until our subject was eleven years old. 
Then he went with his mother to Thurston" 
county, Washington, his father having died the - 
year before. Then the mother married W. O. 
Bush and our subject remained with them off' 
and on until 1871, when he went to Salem and in 
the spring worked on his uncle's farm near by. 
In the spring of 1872, he came to the vicinity of 
Antelope and after renting for four or five years 
bought a man's right to a piece of lieu land where 
he now resides. He took a homestead and pre- 
emption, then bought a half section of land and 
since that time he has given his attention to cul- 
tivating this and raising stock. He winters about 
one hundred and fifty head of cattle and utilizes 
the alfalfa and rye, which he raises, for hay, not- 
threshing anv grain. In September, 1874, in the 
Antelope valley, Mr. Kimsey married Catherine 
Ashby, who was born in Illlinois, the daughter 
of Joseph and Mary (Savage) Ashby. The 
father was a native of Canada and came to Cali- 
fornia in the fifties, where he mined for some 
time. He returned east in 1853 and in 1865 
crossed the plains to the Willamette valley. He- 
came east of the mountains in 1872, and died in 
1894. His wife was born in Vermont, and died 
in 1894. Mr. Kimsey has two brothers,' James- 
D., near Olympia, Washington and Franklin P., 
a farmer near Antelope. He also has a half 



412 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



brother, John S. Bush, living near Olympia, 
Washington, and two sisters, Hannah J., single, 
living near Olympia and Viola, wife of David 
L. Burntrager, who lives nine miles southeast of 
Olympia. He also has one half sister, Isabel, 
-wife of George Gaston, dwelling near Olympia. 
Airs. Kimsey has four brothers : William J., near 
Cottonwood, California ; Joseph B., in the vicin- 
ity of Salem, Oregon ; Grant, living near Ore- 
•gon City ; and George W. at Weiser, Idaho. She 
also has three sisters ; Mary, wife of Henry 
Steers, a retired stockman at The Dalles ; Hattie 
R., wife of William Humphrey, near Salem ; and 
Grace, wife of Orange D. Glover, a bookkeeper in 
Portland. Mr. and Mrs. Kimsey have three chil- 
dren : Ernest J., on a farm which his mother in- 
herited from her father's estate ; Ray U., a tenant 
on Indian creek; Grace E., single, and living at 
home. 

Mr. Kimsey is a good active Republican and 
is frequently at the conventions. He served four 
years as county commissioner from 1896, to 1900 
and was justice of the peace in the eighties. He 
has been twelve years school director and has 
served as road supervisor. Mr. and Mrs. Kim- 
sey are enterprising and substantial people and 
have labored long and faithfully for the upbuild- 
ing of this portion of Wasco county. 



FINLAY McBETH. the proprietor of the 
•Occidental hotel at Antelope, is a well known 
and popular citizen in this portion of W T asco 
county. He is a generous, public spirited man, 
always looking on the bright side of life and 
lending cheer and sunshine to those about him. 
He was born amid Scotia's rugged hills, Perth- 
shire being his native heath, on February 8, 1845 
and inherited from stanch and prominent ances- 
tors much of that stability and worth, which have 
made his race noted the world over. His father, 
John McBeth, was born in Perthshire and his 
father, the grandfather of our subject, came from 
north Scotland and settled in Perthshire. John 
McBeth married Elizabeth McBeth, a native of 
the same place but not related. They were sub- 
stantial and worthy residents of Perthshire where 
they remained until death called them to the 
world beyond. Our subject was educated and 
reared in his native place and there remained 
until hurried by the western fever, to the New 
World. He landed on American soil on May 2, 
1887 and went direct to Colorado where he en- 
gaged in sheep herding for three months. Then 
lie migrated to Idaho and started in the sheep 
business where he owned a flock for himself. Sev- 
eral years later, we see him in Montana, engaged 



in the same business and prosperity seemed to 
follow him all the way. owing to his care for his 
business and the thrift with which he continued 
with the enterprises in hand. Later, he jour- 
neyed west to Oregon and still prosecuted the 
sheep business until his attention was called to 
the fact that Antelope needed a good hotel. Then 
he erected the Occidental which has twenty-five 
well equipped sleeping apartments, good office, 
dining room, parlor, kitchen and so forth and is 
a very popular stopping place for the traveling 
public. Air. AIcBeth attends to everything that 
can contribute to the comfort and happiness of 
his guests and is very widely known and popular. 
Thus far in life, Air. AIcBeth has never seen fit 
to take to himself a partner of his joys and suc- 
cesses but is content with the quieter joys of the 
celibatarian. 

Fraternally, he is connected with the Elks at 
The Dalles, while in political matters, he is a 
good strong Republican. He is frequently seen 
at the county conventions where he is an influ- 
ential figure and has been several years a mem- 
ber of the city council. Air. AIcBeth has hosts of 
friends and is considered one of the substantial 
and leading business men of the town. 



JACOB OBRIST has labored long and well 
in Wasco county and the result is that he has a 
fine farm about ten miles south from The Dalles 
on Fairview, formerly known as Dutch Flat. He 
was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on No- 
vember 9, 1833, the son of John and Annie 
(Clawges) Obrist, natives of Switzerland and 
Philadelphia, respectively. The father came to 
the United States in 1818 and settled in Phila- 
delphia. He died in Brooklyn, Illinois in 1879. 
The mother's ancestors were German and lived in 
Pennsylvania for several generations. Her pa- 
rents were Daniel and Anna AI. Clawges and 
were born August 11, 1760 and September 16, 
1864. respectively. Daniel Clawges was the first 
sheriff of Philadelphia county after the Revolu- 
tionary War. Our subject was brought by his 
parents to northern Illinois when he was three 
years of age and remained on the farm with his 
father until twenty-one. Then he worked out 
and later rented land. After this, we find him in 
St. Louis county, Alissouri, where he farmed 
rented land for ten years. Then he removed to 
Henry county in the same state and in 1883. came 
to Oregon and took the place where he now lives. 
as a homestead. He was one of the first actual 
settlers here. Two others. Nelson and Chitten- 
don, had taken claims before Mr. Obrist. The 
land was all covered with heavy timber and 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



413; 



brush and Mr. Obrist had no small task to open 
it up. However, he has one hundred acres all 
cleared and raises wheat, hay, potatoes and so 
forth and has a fine nine acre orchard. 

On April 4, 1861, at St. Louis, Missouri, Mr. 
Obrist married Miss Ellen Kirkman, who was 
born in New Orleans, on July 20, 1841. Her 
parents were George and Mary (McBride) 
Kirkman. The father is a native of Wheeling, 
West Virginia and his parents of Scotland, while 
the mother was born in Pennsylvania. Her 
father, Alexander M., was a patriot in the Rev- 
lutionary War. Mr. Obrist has the following 
named brothers and sisters, Mrs. Mary A. 
Weygh, Mrs. Harriett Williams, Amanda, Mar- 
guerite, Charles and John, deceased. Mrs. 
Obrist has one sister, Mrs. Anna Smith, living, 
and three sisters and one brother deceased, Eliza- 
beth, Mary, Caroline, and Alexander. To Mr. 
and Mrs. Obrist the following children have 
been born, William G., Frances A., Harry F., 
John E. and Charles, and two deceased, Mary 
E. and Jacob. 

Mr. and Mrs. Obrist are members of the 
United Brethren church and he has been school 
director for many years. He assisted very ma- 
terially in erecting the first school house here and 
has always labored for the advancement of edu- 
cational interest. He is a Democrat but not ac- 
tive. Mrs. Obrist is a lady who has shown 
marked virtues and although a great sufferer 
from rheumatism, is a patient and kind Christian 

woman. 

+-+-*■ 

ORRE L. WALTER, one of the industrious 
and exemplary young men of Wasco county, re- 
sides on his father's farm some nine miles west 
from The Dalles. He has a fine estate of his 
own adjoining his father's, which comprises two 
hundred and forty acres of good land. He is 
handling his father's farm together with his 
own, and is showing a marked industry and wis- 
dom. Mr. Walter has shown as a young man, 
fine characteristics which presage a bright and 
successful future. He has won the respect and 
esteem of all who know him and his habits are 
of the best. Mr. Walter has always been a care- 
ful reader and at the present time is carrying 
several courses of special studies from corre- 
spondence schools, which is very praiseworthy 
indeed. 

Orre L. Walter was born at Machias, New 
York, on July 9, 1874. There he received the 
beginning of his education and later studied at 
The Dalles. His life was spent largely on the 
farm and when he arrived at manhood's estate, 
he was well skilled in farming and stock raising 



and he is abundantly able to be classed with the- 
leading farmers of the country. In politics, he is 
an active Republican and committeeman for the 
mountain precinct. Mr. Walter is a man of en- 
ergy and is a careful weigher of all questions of 
public import, reading carefully both sides of 
the issue that he may in a proper manner, make 
his decision. He is deeply interested in the ad- 
vancement of educational interests, always striv- 
ing for better roads and general progress and up- 
building. 

Fraternally, he is affiliated with the I. O. O. 
F. and the Rebekahs. In the former order, he has 
passed all the chairs and is very popular. 



ALBERT A. WALTER, who resides about 
nine miles southwest from The Dalles on the 
John, Mill road, was born in Germany, on Feb- 
ruary 27, 1845. His father, Andrew Walter, was 
a native of Germany and died when our subject 
was a child. He had married Caroline Schlick, a 
native of Germany where also she remained until 
her death. Our subject was educated in his na- 
tive country and learned the tinner's trade. After 
that, he served three years in the German army 
and three years in the navy. This time having 
expired, he entered the merchant marine and vis- 
ited nearly all the principal ports of the world. 
Then he came to the United States in 1869 and 
worked at his trade in Machias, New York for 
twelve years. It was 1883, when he came to 
Oregon and settled in The Dalles. A few weeks 
later, he took a homestead where he now lives 
and shortly afterwards added another quarter 
section by purchase. He improved the farm and 
also worked at his trade at various times and 
places until he came to be one of the well-to-do 
citizens of the country. He has shown integrity 
and uprightness in his walk and has the entire 
confidence and esteem of the people.' 

On September 14, 1873, at Machias, New 
York, Mr. Walter married Miss Melissa Lamor- 
eaux, who was born in Ontario, Canada, on July 
13, 1857. Her father, Andrew Lamoreaux was 
also a native of Canada. His father was a native- 
of France. His mother was born in New York 
and his grandfather on his father's side came to 
the United States when a child with his parents, 
after having fled from France during the terrible 
massacre. They settled in New England and 
when the grandfather grew to manhood, he mar- 
ried and moved to Canada near Toronto and 
from him and two brothers, the Lamoreaux set- 
tlement was made. The grandfather of Mrs. 
Walter died at the age of one hundred and four- 
teen years, at Pickering, Ontario. Mrs. Walter's 



4i 4 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



mother was Rebecca (Stoner) Lamoreaux, a na- 
tive of Scarborough, Ontario. She died in 1901. 
Mr. Walter has one brother, Robert. His wife 
has one brother, James, and three sisters, Mrs. 
Martha Patton, Mrs. Mary Eaton and Mrs. Hat- 
tie Fair. To Mr. and Mrs. Walter, the follow- 
ing named children have been born : Orre-L., who 
is mentioned elsewhere in this work ; Robert J., a 
mining man in British Columbia ; William P., 
George M., Harold A., and Frederick T., the last 
four are living at home. Two girls died in in- 
fancy. 

Mr. Walter is a member of the W. W. and 
is a good strong Democrat, though not particu- 
larly active. 



GEORGE BUNN is one of the thrifty and 
successful agriculturists of Oregon. He was 
born in Germany, on November 28, 1849 and 
now resides at number 1906 Mt. Hood street, The 
Dalles, where he has a fine large property, well 
improved and valuable. He also owns eighty acres 
just a little south from The Dalles and consider- 
able wheat land in Sherman county. He comes 
of the good substantial German stock that has 
made its march the world around and Mr. Bunn 
is characterized by those qualities of substan- 
tiality and continuity which are so prominent in 
his race. His father was George Bunn and he 
married Katerina Boxheimer ; both were born in 
the same place as our subject and there they re- 
mained until their death. Their birthplace was 
Hessen-Darmstadt. George Bunn was well edu- 
cated in the public schools and by private tutors 
and then learned the baker's trade. For eight 
months in time of peace and eleven months in 
war, he served in the Franco-Prussian war as 
corporal and was wounded slightly at the battle 
• of Gravellotte. He was in nine hard fought en- 
gagements and proved himself a soldier of brav- 
ery and faithfulness. After the war, he engaged 
at his trade in Germany until 1879, then came to 
the United States. He was in the Puget sound 
country and settled in Lewis county later, where 
he remained four years, doing farm work and 
mail carrying. In 1884, he came to Sherman 
county and filed on a homestead. Later, he 
bought a half section and gave his attention to 
raising horses and wheat. He was very skillful 
in this enterprise and later gave up horse breed- 
ing and confined himself entirely to the produc- 
tion of wheat. In 1896, he removed his family 
to The Dalles that they might have the oppor- 
tunity of a thorough education, being a strong 
believer in good education. He purchased the 
place where he now lives which consists of four- 
teen lots planted nicely to orchard, good buildings 



and so forth. Mr. Bunn has given his attention 
to overseeing his various properties, since coming 
to The Dalles and he is now living a more re- 
tired life than formerly. 

In Germany, on December 29, 1874, Mr. 
Bunn married Opolonia Brant, who was born in 
the same vicinity as her husband. Her parents 
were Philip and Eliza (Adrian) Brant, natives 
of the same place where she was born and where 
also they died. Mr. Bunn has five brothers and 
one sister, all in Germany, John, William, Len- 
hardt, Jacob, Nicholas, and Lena Keifer. Mrs. 
Bunn has one brother, Peter, who is also in Ger- 
many. To our subject and his wife, seven chil- 
dren have been born : Charles, a graduate of the 
high school and now farming in Sherman county ; 
George, John, Alma and Mary, at home ; Clara, 
at home and in high school ; Barbara, a milliner 
in Portland. Mr. and Mrs. Bunn are members 
of the Roman Catholic church and are consistant 
representatives of their faith. In political mat- 
ters, he is independent. For nine years, he was 
school director in Sherman county and he takes a 
zealous interest in educational and political mat- 
ters. Mr. Bunn has the good will and esteem of 
all who know him and he is considered one of the 
best citizens of our county. 



JULIUS and GEORGE C. CAMPBELL, 
well known as Campbell Brothers, leading fruit 
men in the vicinity of The Dalles, have shown 
commendable zeal and industry in their labors in 
Wasco county. Julius was born on January 11, 
1859 at York, Wisconsin, while George was born 
on April 2, 1867, in Waterloo, Wisconsin. The 
father of Henry Campbell was a native of Rut- 
land, Vermont, as were also his ancestors for four 
generations back, all descendants of Colonel 
Campbell of Revolutionary fame. The great- 
great-grandfather of our subjects was a very 
wealthy Scotchman and owned the land where 
Rutland now stands. His estate consisted of one 
entire township and some of the land is still 
owned by the Campbell family. They are a fam- 
ily of stockmen and farmers, being especially 
noted in the farming line of business. Henrv 
Campbell married Chrissie A. Stone, a native of 
Xewbury, New York. She now lives with her 
sons and is aged seventy-six. Her mother. Sarah 
Williams, was a lineal descendant of Roger Will- 
iams, of the sixth generation. Mrs. Campbell's 
father was born at Stonington, Connecticut, 
founded by his ancestors. Caleb Williams, the 
great-grandfather of Mrs. Campbell, was in the 
Revolution. She was born in Orange county, 
New York. The grandparents had migrated 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



415 



from Rhode Island into the trackless forests of 
New York state and there hunted out an estate. 
Noah Stone, a brother of Mrs. Campbell, is en- 
gaged in the steamboat businesss at Santiago, 
California where he has been for twenty-five 
years. Another brother, William Stone, is re- 
tired at Rutland, Vermont and still another 
brother, Asa, is deceased. She has three sisters, 
all deceased, Sarah, Eliza, who was the wife of 
Leeds Billings, a cousin of the Billings who was 
instrumental in founding the Northern Pacific 
railroad, and Harriett. The last one named was 
killed at the famous Ashtabula railroad accident 
.and was the widow of Horatio Hutchinson, who 
was for many years an attorney in the office of 
Rufus Choate in Boston. Our subjects' father 
died in 1871 in Dane county, Wisconsin. There 
the boys received their education and remained 
until Julius was about thirty years of age, then 
they came to Oregon City. There they pur- 
chased a farm of three hundred and twenty acres 
and spent nine years in hard labor upon it, only 
to learn that the entire property was worthless. 
Then they journeyed to Tygh valley, and found 
themselves practically penniless. However, they 
went to work with a will and secured a section of 
land and Julius did carpentering while George 
handled the farm. The result was that in a 
short time they made it one of the finest wheat 
producing estates in the county and continued 
there until recently, when they sold out that 
property and purchased the place where they now 
reside, which consists of eighty-six acres. It 
contains twenty-eight hundred bearing fruit 
trees, fifteen acres of vegetables and melons, a 
.thousand vined vineyard and considerable general 
crops. The Campbell brothers are very thrifty 
men, good managers and upright. They are re- 
ceiving the due reward of their labor and have a 
very fine property besides considerable security. 
They are still both single men. George is a mem- 
ber of the United Brethren church and they are 
both progressive members of society and liberal 
supporters of churches, schools, and so forth. 



JAMES M. SMITH has a choice estate of 
three hundred and twenty-five acres about one 
mile out from The Dalles, on Mill creek, which 
is his home at the present time. He is a repre- 
sentative of the intelligent agriculturists and 
stockmen of Wasco county and has shown marked 
ability and thrift in his labors here. 

James M. Smith was born in Douglas 
•county, Oregon, on May 2, 1867. His father, Jas- 
per N. Smith, was born in Missouri, and crossed 
the plains with ox teams in the early forties. He 



was one of the first settlers in Douglas county, 
where he took a donation claim, and is now resid- 
ing near Spray, Wheeler county. He married 
Miss Catherine Hewitt, a native of Illinois, and 
descended from English people. Her parents died 
in Ireland. When our subject was three years 
of age, the family came to the place where he now 
dwells, and here he was reared and educated. 
The father bought the farm, it being then one 
hundred and fifty-eight acres. Since, Mr. Smith 
has added by purchase until he owns the large 
estate mentioned. He raises diversified crops, 
has a fine dairy, produces much fruit and turns 
off considerable stock. He is progressive and 
well posted in the various lines which he pur- 
sues, and is a man of sound principles. 

The marriage of Mr. Smith occurred on Feb- 
ruary 10, 1901, at his residence, Miss Amy Burns 
becoming his wife at that time. She was born at 
Drain, Douglas county, Oregon, and her father, 
Albert Burns, was a native of Ohio, crossed the 
plains with ox teams in 1863, an d died here in 
1903. He married Miss Clara Bean, a native of 
Oregon, whose parents had crossed the plains 
with ox teams in 1843 and made settlement in 
Douglas county. They now dwell in Coos 
county. Mrs. Smith has one brother, Timothy 
G., and one sister, Effie. Mr. Smith has the fol- 
lowing named brothers and sisters, William H., 
George, Thomas R., C. Edward, Mrs. Ellen Bur- 
gess, Mrs. Olive Burgess, and Mrs. Eva Morgan. 
Mr. Smith is a member of the W. W. and is a 
well informed Republican. He does not take an 
especially active part in the campaigns but is 
always ready to cast his influence and vote for 
the principles he believes to be right. 



HERBERT C. ROOPER, one of the leading 
wool growers of central Oregon, now residing 
at Antelope, was born in England, on May 22, 
1852. John Rooper, his father, was a native of 
Huntingdonshire, England, and a captain in the 
British army, being in the Prince Consort's own 
rifle brigade. His brother Edward, the uncle of 
our subject, was major in the same regiment and 
was killed at the battle of Inkerman in the Cri- 
mean War. Mr. Rooper 's family were landed 
gentry and were very prominent in the army and 
Church of England. Our subject's paternal 
grandfather was a clergyman in that church. In 
1630, George Rooper compiled a genealogy of 
the family, reaching back for many generations. 
One of the ancestors was keeper of the Enfield 
Chase and Hyde and Mary-le-bone park and was 
a' pensioner of Kings Henry VII and VIII. For 
many years thus it is seen the Roopers have 



416 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



done much in the various places where they have 
lived to support good government and to bring 
about the progress of the race. Our subject's 
father married Charlotte Nethercote, a native of 
Northamptonshire, England, whose ancestors 
were also landed gentry and prominent in the 
army and church. The parents of our subject 
are both now deceased. Herbert C. finished the 
grammar school course at Uppingham, then en- 
tered the Royal Agricultural College at Circes- 
ter, graduating in 1870. The following spring 
found him in the United States and for five years 
he dwelt in Iowa, renting land. In the spring 
of 1876, he came to Wasco county and being 
desirous of understanding the sheep business 
thoroughly, took a position as herder for two 
years. Then he engaged in partnership with 
Chandler brothers in the sheep business and they 
were together for seven years handling about six 
thousand sheep annually and several hundred 
head of horses. In 1885 this partnership was dis- 
solved and our subject has since continued rais- 
ing sheep. He now has four thousand of these 
profitable animals, twenty-two hundred acres of 
land, two hundred head of cattle and sufficient 
horses to handle his business. He also owns a 
fine two story residence in Antelope, which is the 
family dwelling place at present. 

On November 26, 1886, at Astoria, Oregon, 
Mr. Rooper married Elizabeth Pohl, who was 
born in Denmark, the daughter of Ferdinand and 
Fredricka (Bochan) Pohl, natives of Denmark 
and Germany, respectively. The father was a 
seafaring man in the English merchant marine 
and died at Copenhagen, Denmark. His widow 
resides at Bay Center, Washington. Mrs. Rooper 
has two brothers, William and Max, undertakers 
at Astoria ; and two sisters, Alma, the wife of 
Henry Clark, a merchant in Seattle, and Olga, 
single, dwelling in Seattle. Mr. Rooper has four 
brothers, Maximilian, a solicitor in London, Eng- 
land ; Walter, an electrical engineer at Stafford, 
England; Edward, a school director in Devon- 
shire, England ; and Percy, manager of a shipping 
line — large company at Liverpool, which leases 
vessels to the O. R. & N. He also has four sisters : 
Charlotte, wife of Walter Earle, a retired clergy- 
man in England; Constance, the widow of Col. 
Henry Dakeyene, of Leamington, England ; 
Blanche, and Lucy, both single and at Leaming- 
ton, England. Mr. and Mrs. Rooper are par- 
ents of nine children : Henry and John, students 
of the agricultural college at Corvalis ; Edna, 
Bonfoy, Alma, Margaret, William, Isolda and 
Frederick. 

Mr. Rooper is a member of the Elks and the 
W. W. He and his wife both belong to the 
Episcopal church. In politics, he is a stirring 



and active Republican, and is often found at the 
county and state conventions. He was the first 
stock inspector of Wasco county and is now serv- 
ing his second term as mayor of Antelope. Air. 
Rooper and his family are highly respected peo- 
ple and they have reason to be proud of the fine 
record, — priceless legacy — left by a long line 
of prominent ancestors. 



BERT H. HAYNES, a popular and enter- 
prising citizen of Wasco county, resides about 
ten miles northeast from Boyd, where he owns 
a farm of two hundred acres. He is a man of 
energy and has made a good record thus far in 
life. He is still a young man, and the holdings 
he now has are the result of his labor and careful 
management of what he earned. Hr. Haynes is 
possessed of determination and stability coupled 
with an integrity and uprightness that can but 
achieve success in life and make him an honored 
and valuable member of society. 

Bert H. Haynes was born in Rock Island 
county, Illinois, on April 28, 1868, the son of 
Joseph Haynes, who is sketched in detail in this 
work. He was educated in Missouri and Kansas, 
whither his parents went when he was young. 
In 1879, he came west with his father, and since 
that time he has continued in Oregon, assured 
that he has here some of Nature's choicest be- 
stowals, in the way of resources. As soon as our 
subject had reached the age of twenty-one, he 
commenced shearing sheep with his brother, who 
is mentioned in that connection in this work, 
and he has followed that arduous occupation for 
many years. He is an expert at the business and 
while he does not quite equal his brother on a 
test record, his being one hundred and forty and 
his brother's one hundred and fifty-six in one 
day, still he is a master hand at the art and the 
physical endurance needed to handle the work 
has been shown by Mr. Haynes. He is a man 
of strong constitution and is possessed of a 
tenacious spirit. During the time he has been 
shearing, Mr. Haynes has purchased railroad land 
and this is now his home place. He is improv- 
ing it and is raising grain and stock. He has 
wisely bandied the finances with which he has 
been blessed and the result is he is prosperous^ 
He makes a specialty of raising hogs and is doing 
well. 

At his father's ranch, in November, 1895, 
Mr. Haynes married Miss Effie Wilson, the 
daughter of David and Susan (Hixon) Wilson,, 
who live near Nansene. Mrs. Haynes was born 
in Quincy. Illinois. To this marriage two chil- 
dren have been born, Joseph and Alice. In politi- 





Bert H. Haynes 



Mrs. Bert H. Haynes 





William Odell 



Mrs. William Odell 





*%&m 



■, 



Paulus Limeroth 



Mrs. Paulus Limerotn 






HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



4i/ v 



cal matters, Mr. Haynes is a Republican and is a. 
man who always takes an interest in public mat- 
ters and in all that is for the improvement and 
upbuilding of the county. He and his wife are 
popular young people and have showed .them- 
selves capable, upright, and possessed of those 
qualities of intrinsic worth that make the worthy 
American citizens. 



WILLIAM ODELL, an enterprising and 
popular citizen of Wasco county, follows farming 
and stock raising, with his headquarters on his 
estate about nine miles east from Boyd post- 
office. The place consists of one-half section, is 
well improved, and about one hundred acres are 
devoted to wheat. In addition to this, he gives 
attention to raising stock and has been more or 
less engaged in this enterprise for many years. 

William Odell was born in Missouri, on April 
25, 1864. His parents are Griffith and Jessie 
(Harriott) Odell, natives of Michigan and Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio, respectively, and now dwelling in 
Clackamas county, Oregon. The mother's pa- 
rents were born in New England. When our 
subject was an infant, his parents came to Iowa 
and thence shortly to California, settling in Butte 
county, where William received the initial educa- 
tional training of his life. In the fall of 1880, 
they came to Klickitat county, Washington and 
remained one year. Next they made a move to 
Clackamas county, where the parents reside at 
the present time. In the spring of 1882, our 
subject started out for himself. He first made a 
trip to The Dalles and soon found employment 
in the railroad shops where he worked for two 
years. Then he engaged in stock raising and 
since that time, he has continued in that business. 
In the fall of 1893, he filed on a homestead where 
he now resides and in 1897 bought a quarter sec- 
tion. Later he purchased another quarter, hav- 
ing now an estate of four hundred and eighty 
acres. 

On November 1, 1893, at The Dalles, Oregon, 
Mr. Odell married Miss Emma Deckert, whose 
parents are mentioned in another article in this 
book. Mr. Odell has the following named broth- 
ers and sisters,, Irving, Emmett, Thomas, Walter, 
Edward, Mrs. Lena Ellingham, Mrs. Emma 
Godfrey, and Mfs. Fanny Nitzche. 

He is a member of the M. W. A. and in 
politics is independent. He has frequently been 
on the school board and is a man who thoroughly 
appreciates matters along all lines. He is pro- 
gressive and public spirited and one of our best 
citizens. 

Mr. and Mrs. Odell have five children, Hattie, 
Albert, Minnie, Ada, and Elmer. 

27 



PAULUS LIMEROTH, the pioneer settler 
of Christman Hollow, Wasco county, resides six; 
miles southeast of Dufur. He was born in Hesse- 
Cassel, Prussia, January 8, 1843, the son of John 
and Martha (Voland) Limeroth, both natives of 
Germany. 

Our subject received an excellent education 
in the graded schools of Hesse-Cassel, and then 
made a special study of gardening in an exten- 
sive nursery, where he obtained a thorough 
knowledge of horticulture, floriculture and gen- 
eral gardening, plain and ornamental. When he 
was twenty-four years of age he came to the 
United States, having previously served three 
years in the German army, seeing two months of 
active service in the Austro-Prussian war. Ar- 
riving in New York city he found employment as 
gardner at College Point, where he planted over 
four thousand trees, and interested himself in 
other work that contributed toward making Col- 
lege Point one of the most beautiful surburban 
towns of Gotham. In 1868 our subject for a 
short period worked as a florist in Ne;v York 
city, and following that he was foreman in- a new 
nursery near Hemstead, Long Island. July 4, 
1868, he embarked for California, via the Isthmus. 
Remaining there about one year he went to Cen- 
tral America in the capacity of botanist for dif- 
ferent European governments. In Germany he 
had studed botany under an eminent professor, 
and in this science he is, doubtless, the peer of any 
one in «fche United States. Returning to San 
Francisco in 1870 he found employment with 
various florists, and one year thence he went to 
Portland where he installed a floral nursery on 
Morrison street. This business he disposed of 
in the spring of 1876. The previous year Mr. 
Limeroth had laid out the grounds around the 
Portland postoffice, making a handsome and at- 
tractive park from an unsightly rock-pile. He 
then came to Wasco county, locating near his 
present place, and with George Wells engaged in 
the sheep business. Later he was alone in the 
business five years. He secured a half section 
of railroad land upon which he at pres- 
ent resides. He owns one thousand seven 
hundred and forty acres, seven hundred 
acres of which are tillable, and one hun- 
dred and sixty acres timber land. He has a sub- 
stantial two-story residence, surrounded by fruit 
and shade trees. At present he has seventy-five 
head of Poland China hogs, and winters about 
one hundred head of cattle. In 1893 the trees 
surrounding the court house at The Dalles were 
in a shocking condition, and he succeeded in con- 
verting the place into one of the handsomest 
spots in the city. 

Mr. Limeroth has one brother, Ernest, a tailor 



-4i8 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



-in New York city. He had one sister, Katherine, 
who died in New York. At San Francisco, Jan- 
uary 6, 1871, Mr. Limeroth was married to Mrs. 
Eliza Feld, born October 29, 1838, at Rinda- 
Hesse, Prussia. Her parents were Helvig and 
Alice (Siechner) Bott, of Germany. Mrs. Lime- 
roth has two brothers living, John, a silk weaver 
in Germany, and Philip, a baker in London, Eng- 
land. Three other brothers are deceased, George, 

.John and Louis. Mr. and Mrs. Limeroth have 
two children, Edward and Albert, Wasco county 
farmers. By her first husband Mrs. Limeroth 
has two children living, Lizzie, widow of John 
Easton, and Frances, wife of Benjamin Pratt, of 
Wasco county, living twelve miles southeast of 
Dufur. 

Politically Mr. Limeroth is independent. 
While he was in Columbia, Central America, he 
made a number of valuable botanical discoveries, 
attracting the attention of eminent scientists in 

•Europe. 



JOHN S. BOOTH, a leading merchant in 
Hood River, was born in The Dalles, Oregon, 
on August 26, 1870, thus being a native son of 
Wasco county, as well as one of its most popu- 
lar citizens. His father, John P. Booth, born in 
Oakland county, Michigan, was a harnessmaker 
and a saddler and died at The Dalles, in 1876. 
He married Miss Mary L. Riggs, a native of 
Michigan, and descended from an old and promi- 
nent southern family. She had grown up in 
Michigan with her husband and her marriage 
occurred there. Her husband's father was a 
Baptist preacher and her father was one of the 
"most eminent jurists that the state of Michgan 
"ever produced. He was one of the framers of 
the constitution, was appointed by the first gov- 
' ernor of the territory, Louis Cass, agent to take 
'charge of all the Indians within the boundary of 
' the territory. He had been commissary officer on 
■the staff of Colonel James B. Ballis all through 
'the War of 1812. Later he was supreme judge 
-in the state of Michigan and his decisions are 
^quoted and followed to this day. He was a man 
• 'of deep erudition and possessed of a keenness 
and acumen that especially fitted him for that 
responsible position. His father, Jeremiah C. 
Riggs, was an aide-de-camp to General Washing- 
ton in the Revolution, and served throughout that 
struggle. The grandfather of Jeremiah Riggs 
served with distinction in the Pequot Indian war 
about 1636, and on one occasion was the means 
of saving his entire command from annihilation 
by the savages, by an act of personal bravery and 
•daring. 

Our subject's parents came to Oregon via the 



isthmus in 185 1 and located at The Dalles. The 
father brought the first set of harness and saddle 
tools to the country east of the Cascades. They 
came on the boat that followed him the next day. 
The craft sank and Mr. Booth hired an Indian 
to dive for the tools. He opened a harness and 
saddle store and shop at once and continued the 
same for twenty years. He was active in gov- 
ernmental affairs and was the first justice of the 
peace in Wasco county, and performed the first 
marriage ceremony. After retiring from the 
shop, he attended to the oversight of his farm, 
on Five Mile creek, and was the first man to 
foster market gardening. After his death, the 
family remained in The Dalles until 1898 then 
went to Portland and in 1901 they came to Hood 
River. Our subject received a good education 
in the schools of The Dalles and then turned his 
attention to the fish and produce business, as a 
commission merchant in The Dalles. Ten vears 
later he sold this business and engaged as agent 
with the first line of steamers plying from Port- 
land to The Dalles after the opening of the locks. 
One year later he assumed charge of the Portland 
office for the Regulator line of steamers and in 
that capacity served for two years. Then he re- 
signed and opened his present mercantile busi- 
ness in Hood River. 

At the time of the Spanish war, Mr. Booth 
was captain of Company G, Oregon National 
Guards, and with his company of sixty men went 
to camp McKinley, at Portland. Captain Booth's 
company was absorbed by the Second Oregon 
Volunteers, and he was appointed second lieu- 
tenant of Company L. The changes resulting 
from the absorption of the state militia by the reg- 
ulars practically disorganized the Oregon militia 
and at the suggestion of General Beebe, pur sub- 
ject took up the arduous task of reorganizing 
and establishing anew the Oregon Militia. L T pon 
the abandonment of camp McKinley and the sail- 
ing of the regulars for the seat of war. Mayor 
Booth commenced his labors, which finally, after 
two years of persistent, patient, and skillfully 
disposed effort, resulted in placing on a better 
basis than ever before the Oregon State Militia, 
reorganized, newly equipped, and standing in 
commendable relation to the other guards of the 
nation. To the efforts of Brigade Quartermaster 
Booth and his associate officers this happy ulti- 
matum is due, and the fact that from raw material 
he has helped to bring out the excellently trained 
and finely uniformed Guards in Oregon reflects 
great credit upon him. 

Previous to his service, Mr. Booth had an 
extensive military record. On December 15. 
1886, he enlisted in Company C. at The Dalles, 
it being the first company organized in eastern 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



419 



Oregon, and captained by Charles E. Morgan, 
now of Portland. Upon the organization of the 
Third regiment of the Oregon National Guards, 
our subject was appointed signal officer on the 
staff of Colonel Houghton and served four years. 
Then he was elected major of the same regiment 
and was assigned to command the first battalion, 
serving thus four years. Then he resigned, but 
upon the earnest solicitation of his commanding 
officer, accepted the position of commissary offi- 
cer on his staff and remained in that capacity 
until chosen captain of Company G. All told 
this makes fourteen years of service for Major 
Booth, and in it all there have been that trust- 
worthiness and faithful execution of duty that 
have warmly commended him to both men and 
higher officers. 

Fraternally, Major Booth belongs to the Arti- 
sans. His father was a thirty-third degree Scot- 
tish rite Mason and was instrumental in getting 
the charter for Wasco Lodge, No. 15, A. F. & A. 
M., of The Dalles. He and his wife were char- 
ter members of the first Congregational church 
at The Dalles, and their son, our subject, is a 
consistent member of the same denomination, 
being also clerk of his church. Major Booth 
had one brother, Latimer, a popular young busi- 
ness man of The Dalles, bookkeeper for J. T. 
Peters, who died on April 5, 1897, leaving a wife 
and two children. He was thirty-six years of age 
when his demise occurred. 

On June 9, 1904, at Hood River, occurred 
the marriage of Major Booth and Miss Loretta 
F. Edmunds, a native of Petrolea, Ontario. Ma- 
jor Booth has made a splendid success of business 
life, starting in the mercantile field at The Dalles 
with a small capital and now having a fine estab- 
lishment. His store is one of the neat, attractive 
places of Hood River, and is a credit to the town. 
He handles a full line of such goods as are usu- 
ally found in a variety store, and his genialty 
and deferential treatment of all have won for 
him an excellent patronage and given him a wide 
circle of friends wherever he is known. 



JAMES A. STRANAHAN, a young man of 
integrity and good habits, resides at Hood River, 
where, in partnership with Albert Stranahan and 
J. F. Bagley, he is conducting the business of the 
Fashion Livery and Dray Company. He was 
born in Goodhue county, Minnesota, on August 
4, 1871, the son of Horace C. and Maggie (Mc- 
Kinley) Stranahan, who are mentioned elsewhere 
in this volume. When he was six years old, he 
came with the family to the Willamette valley, 
Oregon, and two years later moved to Hood 



River. His education was obtained in the dis- 
trict, graded, and private schools in this part of 
the country and after finishing the same, he 
turned his attention to the lumber business. After 
that, he did farming for several years. Off and on 
for ten years, he was in Sherman county where 
he filed on a homestead of eighty acres and 
bought a quarter section in 1895. He continued 
the owner of this until 1903, when he sold out 
the same and returned to Hood River to engage 
in business, that occupying him at the present 
time. He is an active and stirring young man, 
with good business ability and fine address. Ow- 
ing to his genialty and kindness, he is very popu- 
lar and has a great many friends. The business 
is a prosperous one and is being handled profit- 
ably with a display of wisdom and excellent judg- 
ment. 

Fraternally, Mr. Stranahan is a member of 
the K. P. and the W. W. In political affairs, he 
is a Republican, and is especially active in the 
campaigns, and a stanch party man. As yet 
Mr. Stranahan has never seen fit to embark upon 
matrimony's uncertain seas but is contented with 
the quieter joys of the jolly bachelor. He is one 
of the good citizens of Hood River and is a man 
of worth. 



FRANK J. STARK, a progressive and sub- 
stantial agriculturist dwelling two miles east from 
Antelope, Wasco county, was born in Osceola, 
Iowa, on March 10, 1870, being descended from 
the family which furnished one of the greatest 
generals of the Revolution. General John Stark, 
the famous American patriot, who won so many 
battles against so heavy odds, was the brother of 
our subject's great-grandfather. It was this Gen- 
eral Stark who rode before his men at the battle 
of Bennington and uttered the statement since 
chronicled indelibly in American history, "Boys, 
we must win this fight, or Mollie Stark is a widow 
tonight." Julius Stark, the father of Frank J., 
was born in Ohio, and his father was a native of 
Vermont. Julius Stark now dwells near Shan- 
iko. He married Carrie Haltomyers, a lady of 
German ancestry, and who died on March 14, 
1885. Our subject was six years of age when the 
family went to Texas, whence they journeved 
to Kansas, and then back to Ohio. In Welling- 
ton, that state, he secured his educational train- 
ing and after school days he was strongly in- 
clined to come west. In December, 1888, he made 
the trip to Centralia, Washington, and there 
worked in a sawmill until he came to W T asco 
county, if 1895. He took a homestead and 
bought a half section adjoining, which is his 
estate todav. Fie handles about one hundred 



420 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



acres to grain and has twenty head of cattle and 
fifteen horses. He has labored diligently since 
coming here and is in comfortable circumstances 
as the result of his industry. 

The marriage of Mr. Stark and Nellie Hanna 
occurred at Dufur, on September 23, 1900. She 
was born near The Dalles, on July 24, 1882, the 
daughter of William and Elsie (Lewis) Hanna. 
Her father, a native of the Willamette valley, 
died in October, 1903, at Reno, Nevada. His 
father died in December, 1904, at Boyd, Oregon, 
one of the early pioneers of the territory. Mrs. 
Stark's mother lives at Tygh ridge. She was 
born in Iowa. Mr. Stark has three sisters ; Hat- 
tie, the wife of William Blanchard, of Welling- 
ton, Ohio; Delia, the wife of Warner Peet, a 
machinist in Cleveland, Ohio; and Mollie, the 
wife of Wade Canfield, of Litchfield, Ohio. Mol- 
lie was named after the wife of General Stark. 
Mrs. Stark has two brothers, Archie and Walter, 
near Nansene, and one sister, Lottie, the wife of 
Archie Bully, a farmer, also near Nansene. Mr. 
Stark is a member of the A. F. & A. M., being 
past master of Antelope Lodge, No. 116. He is 
a Republican in politics, and a man of stamina 
and good standing. 



PAYTON S. DAVIDSON, secretary and 
treasurer of the Lost Lake Lumber Company at 
Hood River, is one of the leading business men 
of this part of Oregon. He is an active business 
man and has acquired wealth and prominence 
through his own endeavors. He was born at 
LaCrosse, Wisconsin, in December, 1867, the son 
of Payton S. and Addie E. (Johnston) David- 
son, natives of Ohio. The father was born on 
September 27, 1837, and died at Hood River, in 
1901. The mother was born in 1837 and died 
in 1887. The Johnston family is an old and 
prominent one in American affairs, especially in 
Wisconsin. Mrs. Davidson's father was judge 
of Lawrence county for many years and a man 
of excellent education. Our subject's father was 
raised at Southpaw, Ohio, and with his brother, 
William F. Davidson, for many years was promi- 
nent as a steamboat man on the Ohio and upper 
Mississippi. In 1890, they sold their interests 
and the year previous our subject's father came 
on to Oregon, where he was engaged in lumber- 
ing, boat building and so forth. After complet- 
ing the high school at LaCrosse, the subject of 
this article was associated with his brothers and 
father in the steamboat business until they moved 
to Oregon. After arriving here, he erected one 
of the finest sawmills in the west, it being located 
at Hood River, and having a capacity of one 



hundred and fifty feet of lumber for each ten 
hours. In March, 1903, they sold the entire plant 
to the Mt. Hood Lumber Company. Now Mr. 
Davidson, with his brother, owns eighty acres 
of fine orchard which they are putting in a high 
state of cultivation. They also own very much 
city property and other real estate. 

On April 8, 1897, at LaCrosse, Mr. Davidson 
married Miss Alena Price, a native of California 
and a daughter of Jacob and Augusta (Bennette) 
Price. Mn Davidson has four brothers, William 
F., Arthur J., Frank L. and Barton G. Mrs. Dav- 
idson has two brothers, Lester F. and William B. 
In fraternal affiliations, Mr. Davidson is allied 
with the A. F. & A. M. and the R. A. M. He 
is a good stanch Republican and takes a lively in- 
terest in campaign work. For four years he was 
a member of the city council and is one of the 
reliable, capable and popular men of this part of 
the city. 



WILBUR BOLTON, who stands at the head 
of the mercantile firm under the style of Bolton 
& Company, in Antelope, has in charge the 
largest general mercantile establishment in the 
town. His trade is extended, and he does a large 
business each year. His stock is always kept up 
to date with a fine assortment and he has con- 
stantly on hand about fifteen thousand dollars- 
worth of goods. Mr. Bolton is an enterprising 
and substantial business man and a very influen- 
tial citizen, whose labors are constantly for the 
improvement and betterment of the country. 

Wilbur Bolton was born in Wasco county, 
Oregon, on October 29, i860, the son of Daniel 
and Elizabeth (Fullweider) Bolton, natives of 
Virginia. The father died in The Dalles, in 
1887. His father was a native of England. The 
mother's parents were of Irish extraction. She 
died in The Dalles. The parents were married 
in Iowa and came across the plains with ox teams 
in 1854, settling first in the Willamette valley. 
Shortly thereafter they came to The Dalles, and 
later took land on Fifteen Mile creek, securing 
a donation claim and a homestead. He did stock- 
raising and fanning and dwelt many years in 
The Dalles with his family. Our subject was 
educated in the Wasco Independent Academy, 
under the tuition of Prof. Gatch, now president 
of the Oregon Agricultural College at Corval- 
lis. After school days, Wilbur was on the ranch 
with his father several years, then spent a year 
with the Wasco Warehouse Company at The 
Dalles, and in 1887 came to Antelope and en- 
gaged in the general merchandise business with 
his brother, Virgil, and McFarland & French of 
The Dalles. In 1891 the firm dissolved and re- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



421 



organized without Mr. McFarland. In 1893, Vir- 
gil Bolton died leaving his interest to his widow, 
Nellie French Bolton, who is the daughter of J. 
W. French, of The Dalles. Thus the firm is 
comprised today. 

On December 25, 1883, at The Dalles, Mr. 
Bolton married Miss Jennie Gilmore, a native 
of the Willamette valley, and sister of Mrs. 
Judge Fulton. Mr. Bolton has the following- 
named brothers and sisters : Zenas, a farmer in 
Yakima county, Washington ; Simeon, county 
clerk in Wasco county ; Virgil, deceased ; 
Mitchell, deceased ; Ella, wife of W. A. McFar- 
land, of Seattle. The children born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Bolton are : Vivian Gatch and Vernon, stu- 
dents at Corvallis ; and Virgil and Wilbur, Jr., 
at home. Mr. Bolton is a member of the A. F. 
& A. M., while he and his wife both belong to 
the O. E. S. She has served several terms as 
matron and has also been delegate to the grand 
lodge several times. They are both members of 
the Methodist church, and are progressive peo- 
ple, highly esteemed and of excellent standing. 



ANDREW URQUHART is one of the lead- 
ing farmers and fruit men in the northern part 
■of Wasco county. His place is situated about 
three miles out from The Dalles on Mill creek, 
and is one of the good estates of the community. 
He has one hundred and sixty acres and it is well 
improved and produces abundant returns in diver- 
sified crops and fruits, of which latter he has 
a seven acre bearing orchard. Mr. Urquhart 
bought this place with his brother and together 
they tilled it for some years and then he pur- 
chased the interest of the brother and since then 
has handled it alone. He is an exemplary man, 
a patriotic citizen, and a good neighbor. His 
standing in the community is of the best and he 
has hosts of friends. 

Andrew Urquhart was born in Linlithgow, 
Scotland, on March 30, 1848. His father, James 
Urquhart, was born in Aberdeen, that country, 
and followed farming until he came to the United 
States in 1852. He was of an adventurous spirit 
and soon made the weary journey across the 
plains to try his fortune in the wild west. He 
settled at Oak Point, a logging camp on the 
Columbia and later settled in Napavine, Wash- 
ington, where he followed merchandising. He 
was several times commissioner of Lewis county, 
in that state, and represented his district in the 
state legislature. His death occurred in 1901. 
He had married Miss Ellen Muir, a native of 
Linlithgow, Scotland. She died in 1891 at Nap- 
avine. Our subject came west with his mother 



in 1855, the father having come before and pre- 
pared a place for them. Andrew was educated in 
the public schools at Napavine, and in 1867, 
started in life for himself. He came to The 
Dalles and did work in a dairy after which he 
took a homestead in Lewis county, Washington. 
Six years later he came thence to The Dalles 
again and wrought for four years at Rockland, 
across the river from that city. He was in the 
employ of Thomas Connell. Then he and his 
brother bought the farm as mentioned before. 
Mr. Urquhart has the following named broth- 
ers and sisters : James, a farmer ; Robert, a mer- 
chant ; and Noble, a farmer, all three being at 
Napavine ; William, a merchant at Chehalis, 
Washington ; David, Henry, sheriff of Lewis 
county, Washington ; Ellen, in California ; Mar- 
garet, the vwife of J. W. Alexander, who died in 
1893 ; John died at Chehalis, a pioneer merchant 
there and postmaster ; Alexander A., died at The 
Dalles, in November, 1903. Sometime before he 
was postmaster and merchant at Rufus, Oregon, 
and David, a merchant at Chehalis, Washington. 
Our subject's father was many years on the 
school board and a veteran of the Indian wars 
of 1855-6. Mr. Urquhart has also served much 
on the school board and is zealous for the ad- 
vancement of these interests. 



CHARLES DAVIDSON, secretary of the 
Davidson Fruit Company, and a genial man of 
sixty odd years, is one of the well known busi- 
ness men of Hood River. He was born in Knox 
county, Ohio, on June 21, 1840. His father, 
William C. Davidson, commonly called Casper, 
was a native of Maryland and died in 1884, aged 
sixty-seven. He came to Ohio with his parents 
when three years of age. His grandfather, the 
great-grandfather of our subject, was a sailor 
and died at the advanced age of ninety-six. This 
venerable gentleman's son, Samuel Davidson, 
was a patriot in the War of 181 2, and partici- 
pated in the battle of Bladensburg, and others. 
William Davidson married Miss Louisa Arnold, 
a native of Harrison county, Ohio. She is resid- 
ing in Knox county, aged eighty-four. Her par- 
ents were of Pennsylvania Dutch stock and came 
from Susquehanna county. Her mother died in 
Missouri, aged eighty-seven, in 1884. Her fa- 
ther died in 1857, aged sixty-one. Our subject 
was educated in the public schools and in 1857 
commenced to learn carriage painting. For 
three years he served as apprentice, and in this 
line he has shown himself an artist, as his work 
is some of the best to be obtained. He has charge 
of the vehicle department of the company at 



42: 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Hood River and renders valuable service toward 
the success of the company in his line. Mr. 
Davidson followed painting of carriages in vari- 
ous sections until 1901, when he came west to 
join his son and since that time has continued 
in the business with him. 

Mr. Davidson has four children ; Amanda B., 
the wife of Albert Whitehead, in the employ of 
the company ; Horatio F., mentioned elsewhere 
in this work ; Ella M., in Hood River ; and Maud 
K., the wife of William H. Chipping, assistant 
superintendent of the Electric Light and Water 
Company. Politically, Mr. Davidson is an inde- 
pendent thinker and leans toward socialism. He 
was formerly a member of the Greenback party 
and is well posted in all political subjects. 



ARTHUR J. DAVIDSON, a member of the 
Lost Lake Lumber Company at Hood River and 
a leading and wealthy business man, was born at 
LaCrosse, Wisconsin, on April 26, 1870. His 
parents were Payton S. and Addie E. (Johnston) 
Davidson. The high school course at LaCrosse 
completed the education of our subject, then he 
was engaged in the lumber and steamboat busi- 
ness with his father, uncle and brothers until 
the family came to Oregon, in 1889. Since then 
he has been associated with his brother, Payton 
Davidson, in various enterprises and together 
they own much valuable city and country real 
estate, besides the lumber business which they 
conduct. 

On December 31, 1903, at Hood River, Mr. 
Davidson married Miss Clara Mosley, a native 
of Chicago. 

In fraternal circles, Mr. Davidson belongs 
to the B. P. O. E. and the A. F. & A. M. He is 
a good stanch Republican and a well informed 
man. He and his wife are popular in the social 
circles of Hood River and are highly esteemed 
people. 



CHARLES E. SANDOZ dwells on; Mill 
creek, five miles out from The Dalles, where he 
owns ninety acres of choice land and does gen- 
eral gardening and fruit raising. He was born 
in Switzerland, on September 14, 1851, the son 
of Frederick L. and Julia (Fry) Sandoz, both 
natives of Switzerland, where they remained until 
their death. The father was a shoemaker in early 
life and later followed gardening - . In his native 
country, our subject received a good education, 
learned well the art of horticulture and in 1870, 
came to the United States, making settlement in 
Kansas. For four and one-half years he oper- 



ated on rented land there and then came to Cali- 
fornia, making his headquarters in Los Angeles. 
For four years he did landscape gardening in 
the city and vicinity and in 1879 came on to The 
Dalles in company with his brother. They pur- 
chased adjoining ranches which were a part of 
the old Caldwell donation claim and since that 
time our subject has given his entire attention to 
the industries mentioned. He is a prosperous 
man, well skilled in gardening and a good sub- 
stantial citizen. 

On November 30, 1885, Mr. Sandoz marrried 
Miss Laura Heroux, who was born in Chicago, 
Illinois, on January 16, 1870. Her parents were 
Daniel and Martha (Bailergeon) Heroux, natives 
of Three Rivers, Canada. They were French 
people and had dwelt in that country for many 
generations. Both are now deceased. Mrs. 
Sandoz has the following named brothers and 
sisters : Joseph, Arthur, Charles, Alfred, Alma, 
Annie, Isabelle and Florence. To our subject 
and his wife two children have been born, Julius, 
aged eighteen and Emily, aged fifteen. Mr. 
Sandoz is a member of the Foresters, and in poli- 
tics he is an active Republican. He has been 
school director for several terms and takes a 
lively interest in all affairs of a public nature. 
Mrs. Sandoz belongs to the Roman Catholic 
church. 

Mr. Sandoz is a very skillful and talented 
landscape gardener. He has done some very 
handsome pieces of work, especially in southern 
California and is considered one of the best in 
this part of the country. 



LOUIS A. SANDOZ, who resides on Mill- 
creek, a few miles out from The Dalles, was born 
in Switzerland, on May 24, 1850. His parents 
are Frederick L. and Julienne (Fry) Sandoz. 
After receiving his education and an especially 
fine training in landscape gardening in his native 
country, he came to the United States, and on 
January 2, 1868, landed in New York, then went 
to Illinois. He did gardening there for six years, 
then went to California and in Menloo Park and 
various other places followed his profession. He 
did some very choice work, especially in private 
gardens of millionaires in that country, and he 
was known as a most skillful and talented artist 
in his line. In 1879, a few months after his 
brother, who is mentioned in another portion of 
this work, Mr. Sandoz came to Wasco county. 
He purchased ninety-eight acres of the old Cald- 
well donation claim and since that time has given 
his attention to fruit raising and gardening. He 
has a very beautiful place and is a thrifty and 
progressive man. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



423 



On January 2, 1888, Mr. Sandoz married 
Mrs. Kate Hunter, who was born in New Jersey, 
the daughter of Edward and Kate (Nilligan) 
Murphy, natives of Ireland. The mother is de- 
ceased and the father dwells in New Jersey. Be- 
sides the brother mentioned, our subject has two 
brothers, Henry and August, in California, and 
one sister, Mrs. Emily Marre, in Switzerland. 
Mrs. Sandoz has four sisters residing in New 
Jersey. To our subject and his wife the follow- 
ing named children have been born : Eileen, Isa- 
belle, Catherine, Arnold, Edward and Rollen. In 
politics, Mr. Sandoz is Democratic, and in edu- 
cational matters he is active and progressive. He 
has served three terms as school director and 
gave universal satisfaction in that capacity. 



HANS HANSEN, of the firm of Hansen 
& Thomsen at The Dalles, is a well known busi- 
ness man of energy and good reputation. The 
firm does a large business and is operating a fine 
planing mill and a saw mill. The planing mill is 
at 410 Third street and is one of the best equipped 
plants in this part of the country. They make a 
specialty of manufacturing all kinds of fruit 
boxes, crates and so forth, and in addition do all 
kinds of shop carpentering, together with turn- 
ing and so forth. Their saw mill is located on 
Chenoweth creek and has a capacity of fifteen 
thousand feet per day. Their pay rool includes 
from twenty-six to forty men. 

Hans Hansen was born in Schleswig-Hol- 
stein, Germany, on March 4, 1855, the son of 
Hans and Maria (Iversen) Hansen, natives of 
the same place. The father came from an old 
German family who had dwelt there for many 
generations. They both died in their native land, 
the father in the early sixties and the mother 
twenty-one years later. After receiving his edu- 
cation in the public schools, our subject learned 
the carpenter trade and in 1878, came to Clinton 
county, Iowa. Two years later, he journeyed 
thence via San Francisco to the Hood River 
country and for one year labored there with 
Carl Jensen, clearing land. The latter had filed 
on a property now owned by Chris Dethman, 
mentioned elsewhere in this work. They be- 
came discouraged, as there were few settlers and 
no markets, and left the claim. Mr. Hansen 
then secured employment on the O. R. & N. 
until 1888, being foreman in their repair shops. 
At the date last mentioned, he quit the railroad 
shops and began general contracting and build- 
ing, then was employed by Hugh Glenn, until 
he opened his present establishment in 1898 in 



partnership with John P. Thomsen. Their plan- 
ing mill and factory are a large two story struct- 
ure, fifty by one hundred feet, supplied with all 
the latest machinery known to that business. 
They have a thirty horse power electric motor 
which is operated to its full capacity almost all 
of the time. Mr. Hansen is a very skillful and 
enterprising man and is a master of the various 
departments in their business. 

On November 21, 1881, at The Dalles, Ore- 
gon, Mr. Hansen married Caroline A., the 
daughter of Carsten and Anna M. Friederichsen, 
a native of Schleswig-Holstein. She came to 
the United States in 1881 direct to The Dalles, 
where she married our subject on the day men- 
tioned. Her parents came from old and promi- 
nent German families and are now living in that 
country. Mr. Hansen has the following named 
brothers and sisters : Hans M., Thomas, de- 
ceased, Jens C, deceased, Johannes, deceased, 
and Margretha, the wife of B. Hansen. Thomas 
served during the Franco-Prussian war and died 
at Weisenberg. He was three years in that war. 
In fact all of Mr. Hansen's brothers were in the 
same war. To Mr. and Mrs. Hansen four chil- 
dren have been born, Carl, now in Allegheny, 
Pennsylvania ; Fred, in the mill, and Anna and 
Ella at school. 

Mr. Hansen is a member of the A. O. U. 
W., and the W. W., and has pased all the chairs 
of both orders. He has represented the former 
lodge three times at the grand lodge. 

Politically, Mr. Hansen is independent. He, 
has been twice city councilman, twice water com- 
missioner and is a member of the same now, and 
is often at the Democratic county conventions. 
In 1902, Mr. Hansen, accompanied by his wife 
and two daughters, spent four months at the old 
home in Germany. They enjoyed the trip im- 
mensely, especially as Mrs. Hansen's mother is 
still living on the old home place, being now 
aged ninety. Still, after visiting the various 
places to be seen in that journey, they were quite 
content to return to the good old Wasco county 
country, assured it was the best after all. 



CHARLES T. POWNE, well_ known in and 
about Antelope, is at the head of a flourishing - 
grocery store at Antelope and is rated 
as one of the leading and substantial bus- 
iness men of the town. He was born in 
Lincolnshire, England, on December 25, 
1867, the son of William and Marion 
(Groves) Powne, natives of Cornwall and Dor- 
setshire, England, respectively. The father was 
a physician and died at Cornwall, England, in 



424 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1904, June 20. The mother's people were an old 
Dorset family. She died in 1896. Our subject 
was educated in the Swindon high school in Wilt- 
shire, and under private tutors. In 1888 he came 
■ to the vicinity of Lennox, Ontario, and worked 
on a farm. Thence he went to Manitoba and 
raised wheat for four years, buying land from 
the railroad there. From that point he came to 
Wasco county and entered the employ of Van 
Duyn Adams & Company, at Tygh Valley. In 
1896 he came to Antelope and was with Bolton 
& Company until 1902, when he opened his pres- 
ent store. This has occupied his attention since 
and he has now a fine business. 

On June 1, 1898, Mr. Powne married Miss 
Willetta Ashby, at Antelope. She was born in 
Washington, the daughter of William J. Ashby. 
Mr. Powne has the following named brothers and 
sisters ; Leslie, a physician at Crediton, Devon- 
shire, England; Arthur L. and William A., cattle 
man in Alberta ; Harold and Cecil, wheat raisers 
in Manitoba ; Bernard O., in New Mexico ; Kate, 
wife of Harry Granger, a capitalist of London, 
England ; Winifred, wife of T. Wood Robinson, 
of his majesty's steamship, Excellent; Agnes, 
wife of Mr. Langlon, a physician in Hartford- 
shire, England ; and Olive, single, and in Eng- 
land. Mr. and Mrs. Powne have one child, 
Nonnan S. G. Mr. Powne is a member of the A. 
F. & A. M., the A. O. U. W., and in politics is 
-an active Republican. He is now city treasurer, 
and he and his wife belong to the Episcopalian 
church. They are popular young people and 
have many friends, being upright, worthy, and 
progressive. 

Mr. Powne is closing out his business at An- 
telope and, with E. A. Priday, has purchased 
the interests of J. J. Monroe, of Adel, Lake 
county, this state. They have incorporated, the 
style of the business being the Warner Valley 
Mercantile Company. 



HENRY WAKERLIG has demonstrated 
his grit and pluck in his endeavors in Wasco 
and adjoining counties, for his path has been 
beset with many losses and hardships which he 
has overcome only by sheer force of will and de- 
termination. At present he is dwelling at Bake- 
oven, being the postmaster there. He was born 
in Switzerland, August 1, 1853, the son of John 
and Regla (Frei) Wakerlig, also natives of 
Switzerland. The father served from twenty- 
•one to forty-five in the Swiss army, two weeks 
and one day each alternate year. Our subject 
grew up on his father's farm, received his edu- 
cation from the parochial schools and in 1883 
came to the United -States. He came direct to 



Oregon, and herded sheep for Solomon Hauser, 
deceased, for eight months. Then he located his 
family in the vicinity of where Shaniko now 
stands and herded sheep for three years, being in 
the employ of Al Porter, E. M. Gilsay, and Wil- 
liam Jones. In 1886 he bought four hundred 
sheep and started in for himself. He went to 
Crook county and took a pre-emption in the Pau- 
lina valley that fall, and the hard winter took 
half of his sheep. In the fall of 1887 he sold his 
place there and returned to the vicinity of Shan- 
iko. He rented the same place where he had 
first left his family and the next year took a home- 
stead and timber culture on Ocheco creek, a mile 
a half from Bakeoven, where he lived until 1889. 
He purchased eleven hundred sheep which he 
added to his others now increased to twenty- 
seven hundred. That winter he lost all but three 
hundred of his sheep. He placed that remnant 
with another man's sheep and commenced to 
herd again, as he was in debt and forced to raise 
money. Two years were thus occupied and he 
finally made another start. And since that time 
he has had better success. In January, 1902, he 
purchased the place where he now resides, having 
moved there two years previously. He had be- 
tween nine and ten thousand sheep, but now 
handles about six thousand. He owns three 
thousand nine hundred acres of land, and culti- 
vates three hundred to grain and hav. There are 
seventeen hundred acres of good tillable land in 
the estate. He also owns fifty cattle and as many 
horses, and is one of the wealthy men of the 
county, all of which is the result of his determi- 
nation to make a success, which he has done. 

In Switzerland, on December 12, 1876, Mr. 
Wakerlig married Miss Mary, the daughter of 
Jacob and Katherine Wittweiler, both natives of 
Switzerland. Mr. Wakerlig has one brother, 
Frederick, a sculptor in his native land, and one 
sister, Barbara, the wife of Donathe Wittmer. a 
wagonmaker in New Haven, Connecticut. The 
wife has no brothers but two half sisters, Mrs. 
Katherine Myer, and Annie. Our subject and his 
wife have ten children, Henry. Edwin, Ernest, 
Walter, Mary, Bertha, Rosie, Julia, Annie and 
Minnie. Mary is the wife of Albert McKinley, 
three miles south from our subject's home, and 
Bertha is the wife of Roy Logan, living near, 
and the balance of the children are all at horne. 
Mr. Wakerlig is a Republican, and is active in 
school matters, having been director for many 
years. 



HON. JOHN MICHELL. residing in The 
Dalles, is a pioneer citizen of that city and of 
Wasco county, also. He was born in England. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



425 



the son of William and Ursula Michell, and came 
to America with his mother when an infant. They 
went dire'ct to Dodgeville, Wisconsin, and there 
he resided during his early youth, receiving some 
training in the common schools. After that 
he worked at the printer's trade, and in due time 
the tales of the wonderful west aroused the de- 
sires of his mother to see the country west of the 
Rockies, and she made the pilgrimage, landing 
in The Dalles, January 7, 1865, having with her 
her son, John, and daughter, Ursula. In 1875, 
Mr. Michell went to the University of Michigan, 
at Ann Arbor, and in 1877, he graduated from 
the law department of that institution, standing 
high in his class. Mr. Michell has practiced law 
very little, but has mainly devoted his energies 
and ability to newspaper work. He entered part- 
nership with R. J. Marsh on April 27, 1880, and 
began the publication of The Dalles Weekly 
■Times. Later he purchased his partner's interest 
and in 1882 bought the Mountaineer, consolidat- 
ing it with the Times, as the Times-Mountaineer, 
over which he presided as owner and editor un- 
til 1895, in which year he sold to J. A. Douthit. 

As a journalist, Mr. Michell enjoyed the repu- 
tation of being "A fearless and able writer, al- 
ways possesssing the courage of his convictions." 
Under his management the Times-Mountaineer 
•was one of the leading Republican papers in the 
entire state of Oregon, and although a strong par- 
tisan, Mr. Michell was strongly opposed to boss- 
ism and clique rule in the party. Being a resident 
of The Dalles since 1865, he is intimately ac- 
quainted with the history and development of the 
country, has won for himself the unstinted ap- 
proval of the people, and enjoys an excellent repu- 
tation both as a business man, editor and public 
speaker. 

As stated before, Mr. Michell is a strong. Re- 
publican, made the campaign for that party in 
Klickitat county, Washington, and Wasco coun- 
ty, Oregon, for the fall of 1896, and showed him- 
self a fearless, convincing and talented public 
speaker. In June, 1896, Mr. Michell's name ap- 
peared on the Republican ticket for state senator 
from Sherman and Wasco counties, and he was 
promptly elected by the largest majority on the 
ticket. He made a first class representative ot 
this section and won many plaudits. During the 
years of 1901-3, Mr. Michell was in government 
service in Washington, D. C. 

Although not privileged to receive the ad- 
vantages of a classical college, he, nevertheless, 
owing to studious habits, has made himself famil- 
iar with the classics, and is a man of broad range 
of important information in the sciences and liter- 
ature. 

Mr. Michell is a member of several frat rn-d 



societies, having passed the chairs in the Odd 
Fellows, Knights of Pythias, the Elks, Red Men, 
and Maccabees. 

In 1880, Mr. Michell married Miss Ella Bul- 
ger, the wedding occurring at The Dalles. One 
child has been born, Maud Elaine, 1883, being the 
year of her nativity. 



DANIEL M. FRENCH, deceased. It is 
quite impossible to compile a work of this charac- 
ter on Central Oregon without giving especial 
mention to the esteemed gentleman whose name 
is mentioned at the head of this article, and it is 
with great pleasure that we grasp this opportunity 
to grant to his memory this tribute of a review of 
the salient features of his active and important 
career. 

Daniel M. French was born in Holland, Ver- 
mont, on June 16, 1828. His parents, Joshua and 
Polly (Mead) French, were born in New Hamp- 
shire, in 1803 and in 1801, respectively, and fol- 
lowed farming. Young French was reared on 
the farm and attended the district schools until 
he entered Brownington Academy where he com- 
pleted his education. Then he spent two years 
in Massachusetts and later two years in Louis- 
iana. After that he went with the western tide, 
traveling via the isthmus to California. For eight 
years he was a resident of the Golden State and 
for a portion of the time was engaged in the allur- 
ing employment of mining. Afterward he oper- 
ated a ferry across the Stanislaus river in com- 
pany with his brothers, then went to San Fran- 
cisco and in partnership with his brother, Joshua 
W., conducted a roofing business until 1862. In 
that year, Mr. French journeyed to the north and 
finally selected The Dalles, then but a trading 
post, as his location. He soon opened a large gen- 
eral merchandise store, being in company with 
Granville B. Gilman, and the firm was known as 
Gilman, French & Company. Joshua W. and Jo- 
seph M. French, brothers of our subject, were also 
interested in the business, although at that time 
they were not residents of The Dalles. However, 
Joshua W. joined Daniel at The Dalles in 1864. 
The firm did business for some years and then our 
subject and his brother, Joshua W., purchased the 
interests of the others, the style of the firm being 
then, French & Company. This firm continued 
in the mercantile business, being leaders in that 
line, until 187 ^ when they sold out to Brooks & 
McFarland. For two years succeeding this sale, 
the French Brothers conducted a money broker- 
age business, handling loans, and so forth. In 
1877, they formed the banking house French & 
Company, which has continued the leading finan- 



426 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



cial institution of Central Oregon from that date 
to the present. Mr. French was a natural born 
financier, and added to this he had received a 
thorough schooling in business and he brought 
to bear in his labors all these qualifications with 
the telling result that he placed himself at the head 
of this strong banking house, making it what it 
has been and is to this day. His policy was al- 
ways the wisest and best and his integrity, pro- 
bity and unquestioned ability to handle financial 
problems gave his institution a standing second to 
none on the Pacific coast. Together with this, 
Mr. French was an ardent laborer for the growth 
and upbuilding of The Dalles and the state in gen- 
eral. His sagacity and his keen foresight were 
of inestimable benefit in these important lines and 
the name of Daniel M. French is indelibly stamp- 
ed on the city of The Dalles and this part of Ore- 
gon. His popularity was as extended as his ac- 
quaintance and he was genial, kind and generous, 
which placed him in great esteem among the peo- 
ple. One point in the life of Mr. French, which 
we would not omit, was his kindly generosity that 
never turned away an unfortunate individual with- 
out ministering to him. He was always assisting 
his fellows in times of depression and many an 
one cherishes his memory on account of these 
good deeds. While Mr. French gave his personal 
attention to the bank mentioned, he was also asso- 
ciated with numerous important enterprises, be- 
ing president of the Gilman French Land & Live 
Stock Company, and of the Arlington National 
Bank, director of the old Wasco Warehouse 
Company and the Wasco Warehouse and Milling 
Company, besides holding leading positions in 
various other ventures. 

While Mr. French took the part in politics 
that becomes every loyal citizen, he never as- 
pired to office during his long and important busi- 
ness career, but untiringly labored for his friends 
content to have others fill public places. He was 
a strong Republican and was able to give good 
reasons for his political belief. Altogether, Mr. 
French was a leading citizen, a sturdy pioneer, a 
stanch business man, and a true and faithful 
friend and he stood one of the most popular resi- 
dents of this part of the state. 

In 1865, Mr. French married Miss Allic M. 
Gee, of Vermont, and to them were born two chil- 
dren ; Herbert Bancroft, who died at the age of 
seven years; and Elsie Maude, now Mrs. Charles 



J. Pease, of Marin county, California. Mrs. 
French died in January, 1875. 

In September, 1876, Mr. French married Miss 
Samantha A. Carter and to them the following 
named children were born ; Elizabeth E., the wife 
of Ernst L. Lueddemann, of The Dalles ; Ruth 
Constance; and Paul M., in the bank with his 
uncle, Joshua W. French. Also they had two- 
children who are now deceased. 

Finally, on January 12, 1902, the summons 
came for Mr. French to lay down the things of 
time where he had wrought well and long and to 
enter upon the realities of the world to come. His 
funeral was a season of sincere and widespread 
mourning and grief, for all knew that a great 
man and a benefactor had passed from their 
midst. 

Mrs. French is now residing in The Dalles 
and nas a wide circle of admiring friends. She 
was born in Iowa, on August 8, 1850. Her pa- 
rents, Robert and Eleanor (Howard) Carter, 
started across the plains in early days. The fa- 
ther died en route, but the mother lived to com- 
plete the journey and remained in the western 
country assisting in its upbuilding until her death 
at The Dalles, in 1897. Mrs. French was but 
eighteen months of age when the journey across 
the plains started. Cholera was the dread scourge 
that swept away the father, and the widowed 
mother with four children, two sons and two 
daughters, the girls being twins, made her way to 
Oregon City. The teams were oxen and the 
journey was attended with great hardship and 
suffering. Later Mrs. Carter married Charles 
Adams and they located on a donation claim near 
Oregon City. Four years later they removed to 
Albany an dthence to Salem. In 1871, they came 
across the mountains, locating in the vicinity of 
Antelope. Mr. Adams, stepfather of Mrs. French,, 
was a man of influence and prominence and was 
closely identified with church work where he re- 
sided. He was engaged much in raising stock 
but of later years retired from active business. 

Mrs. French is an official member and active, 
earnest worker of the Methodist EpiscopaF 
church ; she is also a member of the \\ . C. T. U. 
and the Sorosis club and is one of the leading 
ladies of The Dalles. She is a charming hostess 
and presides over her home with a gracious hos- 
pitality that renders it the center of refinement 
and comfort. 



PART III 



HISTORY OF SHERMAN COUNTY 



CHAPTER I 



CURRENT EVENTS— 1805 TO 1905. 



Sherman, the second county to be considered 
in this History of Central Oregon, is the small- 
est in Eastern Oregon, although there are five 
smaller west of the Cascades. Sherman was taken 
from Wasco and was the last formed from the 
"Mother of Counties," having been set aside in 
1889. To glance at it on the map one might 
reach a point in imagination when one could 
believe that a six or ten-horse wheat team could 
not be turned around without upsetting the 
wagon into the John Day or Des Chutes river. 
Our analysis of its resources will show that it is 
"the biggest little county" on the Pacific Coast. 

During the early days explorers and trap- 
pers of the Hudson's Bay and other companies 
many times passed through or by, the territory 
now designated as Sherman county. Quite fre- 
quently they voyaged up and down the Columbia, 
its northern boundary, on their way between in- 
terior posts and Fort Vancouver. Undoubtedly 
the Lewis and Clark party were the first white 
men to gaze upon its limits. The several explor- 
ing parties who passed along the Columbia in 
the early part of the Nineteenth Century, must, 
certainly, have obtained an inadequate idea of 
the country, as along the banks of the Columbia 
at this point there is not an inviting prospect. 

In the '40's when the tide of immigration set 
in toward the Willamette Valley, the route lay 
through what is now Sherman county and pene- 
trated further into its interior than had the trap- 
pers and explorers. The "old emigrant road" en- 
tered Sherman county over the John Day river a 



short distance below the mouth of Rock creek,, 
crossed the county, passing through one and one- 
half mile north of the site of the present town of 
Wasco and crossing the Des Chutes at its mouth.. 
The road led to The Dalles, where the immi- 
grants either embarked in canoes for the trip 
down the Columbia or, after 1846, proceeded by 
way of the "Barlow Road" over the Cascade 
mountains. The "old emigrant road" alluded to 
was constructed abut 1847. It entered the county 
one mile below Leonard's bridge, climbed the hill 
in a southwesterly direction, paralleled Grass 
Valley canyon until near the present site of Grass 
Valley, where it entered the canyon and contin- 
ued southwesterly to Buck Hollow. The immi- 
grants ferried themselves across the Des Chutes 
on wagon boxes one mile north of Sherar's 
bridge. 

When Dr. Marcus Whitman journeyed west- 
ward with the first settlers of Oregon, in 1843, ^ 
is said that the soldiers who were sent from the 
coast met them at the point where De Moss 
Springs is now located, owned by Professor J. 
M. De Moss. Here camped the soldiers and im- 
migrants together for several days under the 
high, though beautiful bluff of rocks known to 
many who have passed along that route since 
Whitman's decease. These springs are about a 
dozen in number, and all on this immigrant route. 
This was the original road across Sherman 
county. Describing this locality January 1, 1898, 
The Dalles Times-Mountaineer said: "Here is 
found a body of land seemingly set aside for the- 



428 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



use of a favored class. A tract almost forty miles 
square, bounded on the east, west and north by^ 
the John Day, Des Chutes and Columbia rivers, 
and on the south by a deep gorge so abrupt that 
with the others it makes a vast section of land 
set apart from all others. A typical prairie 
country it supported a heavy growth of prairie 
grass, differing only from the great plains in the 
fact that it is rolling and intersected with can- 
yons. These canyons, however, are not rocky 
and are easily accessible. All along the horizon 
loom majestic mountains, covered with timber, 
and occasionally the towering summit of a snow 
peak rises high above all else, a thing of grandeur 
to be admired. On the east are the Blue Moun- 
tains ; on the west the Cascades and most im- 
portant of all Mount Hood — the pride of Ore- 
gon — shows itself so all may look and admire. 

"Here, on this rolling table land the weary 
immigrant lingered to rest his tired teams, and 
nature's treatment soon rejuvenated not only the 
beasts of burden, but tired man as well that he 
might travel onward to his destination. An occa- 
sional band of antelopes, always fat, as a result 
of the superior quality of feed furnished by the 
country of their nativity, always fleet of foot, 
served to relieve the monotony as well as furnish- 
ing many a toothsome morsel for the simple meal. 
And no less important were the festive coyote and 
the ungainly jack rabbit." 

Although in these early days thousands of 
immigrants passed through Sherman county on 
their way to the Willamette Valley, not one 
stopped off, or even thought of the country be- 
tween the John Day and Des Chutes as a place of 
residence. It was not until 1859 that the first 
settler came and made his home here. As is al- 
most invariably the case accurate data relating to 
the first settlers of any county is difficult to ob- 
tain. Two or three drove stock into this country 
in 1859. During the next decade several more 
came, all engaging in the stock business. Quite a 
number came during the '70's. But it was not 
until 1878 and the few years following that the 
country between the John Day and Des Chutes 
rivers received any number of settlers. It was 
then that the country was found to be capable of 
producing crops. After that the settlement was 
rapid. We shall endeavor to give the story of 
the early settlement of the county in as compre- 
hensive a manner as the available data will allow. 

Perhaps the first person to settle between the' 
John Day and Des Chutes rivers was William 
Graham. He came some time about 1858 and lo- 
cated at a place now known as Thomas Miller 
fruit farm on the Des Chutes. Mr. Graham is 
said to have grazed the first horses on the range. 
iSoon he was followed bv others until the number 



of horses and cattle in this county alone ran up 
into the hundreds of thousands. We have used 
the word "perhaps" advisedly, for the question 
concerning the date of his settlement is still prob- 
lematical. 

In the early days Barnum worked for The 
Dalles Military Wagon Road Company. At the 
time he located here he placed scrip on the land, 
but this title not being considered good he after- 
wards homesteaded the place. It is now a por- 
tion of the present town of Moro. 

Of this "hard winter" predicted with such 
surprising accuracy, by Mr. Barnum, it may be 
said that during several weeks in February and 
March of 1862, the temperature indicated 40 
degrees below zero at the express station between 
Des Chutes and John Day rivers. Several Flor- 
ence miners perished in the snow between Walla 
Walla and The Dalles. Nothing but the peri- 
phery of the hills remain about the old stage road 
below what is now Wasco by which the visitor 
of 1861-2 can today fix the location. The bunk 
room in which tons of gold dust were stored, as 
at the Alaska trail inns now : the grouty old 
keeper ; the nimble drivers and the dogs are miss- 
ing ; also the weather — 40 degrees below zero 
for six weeks' duration, with a travel record of 
fifty-seven miles from Walla Walla to The Dalles, 
and several good men frozen to death. In her 
"Reminiscences of Oregon" Mrs. Lord says : 

A party of men who had . been at the Colville 
mines were on their way down to The Dalles ; on reach- 
ing the John Day river the stage, or whatever con- 
veyance they were using could come no further, so 
seven men decided to walk. They were Jager, Mulkey, 
Galliger, Gay, Moody and two others. Galliger was an 
Irishman, very poorly clothed, tall and muscular. Jager 
was of medium size, or under, wore two suits of 
clothes and an overcoat. They tried to dissuade him 
from attempting the trip, but he was very anxious 
to get home to Portland. Mulkey was a heavy set, 
rather large man, past middle age, heavily dressed and 
with a heavy belt of gold around his waist under his 
clothing. The others I do not know much about. 

The snow was two feet deep on the level and 
badly drifted. They took turns in going ahead and 
breaking the road. Some of them unwisely used stimu- 
lants to counteract the cold, but the reaction left 
them in worse condition than before. The big Irish- 
man never flagged and finally had to break the trail all 
the time. He came in without a blemish ; Jager gave 
out and wanted to give up long before the others. 
They did everything in their power to bring him 
through, but he would not try. so they were forced to 
leave him unconscious. Galliger got through to the 
Des Chutes and sent out help for the others. 

When they got to the fire no one knew better than 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



429 



to let them thaw, and none of them knew what their 
real condition ,was. Mulkey was dreadfully frozen and 
went to bed with most of his clothes on. For days 
he would not allow them to be taken off. When he 
was finally forced to let them be removed the gold belt 
was found ; they supposed he was afraid of being 
robbed. His condition was something dreadful, and he 
soon died. The two young men were brought in, taken 
to the garrison, and had to have parts of their toes 
and feet amputated. The body of Jager was brought 
in and put into a metallic coffin filled with alcohol, 
and placed in a storeroom until the ice went out of the 
Columbia and they were enabled to send it home. 
Two other men were frozen the same winter in at- 
tempting to make the same trip. One wandered off 
toward the Columbia and his remains were not found 
until the next spring. 

D. G. Leonard settled on the John Day river 
in 1 861. He conducted a road house and ferry 
and subsequently erected a bridge across the 
John Day which for many years was used by 
stages. The place is now known as Leonard's 
Bridge. In 1862 Masiker came and lo- 
cated on Military Road Land. Shortly afterward 
he died and his widow married Samuel Price 
who had been working for Masiker. Jesse Eaton 
settled one and one-half miles northwest of what 
is now Wasco, in 1864. Here he conducted a 
road house, and also took up a claim in the Wasco 
settlement, which was then known as Spanish 
LIollow. To Mr. Eaton should be given the credit 
of growing the first grain in what is now Sher- 
man county. This was not wheat, but rye, which 
he raised for hay and, with horses, trampled out 
sufficient seed for the following season. 

The stage road, built in 1864, between The 
Dalles and Walla Walla, ran up from the mouth 
of the Des Chutes through what is now known as 
Fulton's canyon ; passed by Samuel Price's stage 
station, now Poplar Grove ; thence to Locust 
Grove and on to Jesse Eaton's place ; thence to 
what is now Wasco to Klondyke and by Webfoot 
Springs to Leonard's Bridge on the John Day 
River. It was in use until 1881. By the con- 
struction of this road travel to the Idaho mines 
was deflected to Walla Walla. Traffic over this 
highway was enormous and travelers had again 
an opportunity to see, as had the earlier immi- 
grants, the bunch grass hills of Sherman county. 

Mr. A. J. Price settled in the county about 
1865. The Finnegan Brothers located six miles 
south of Grass Valley in 1867 and engaged in 
stock growing. In 1869 John Gilland came to 
the C. E. Jones place about one mile from De 
Moss Springs and engaged in the same business. 
Shortly following Mr. Gould settled on a claim 
near Rosebush, five miles east of Grass Valley, on 



a farm that still bears his name. Practically he 
became the first settler in southern Sherman 
county. Mr. Gould was followed by James Pier- 
son, who located in Grass Valley, about six miles 
from Leonard's Bridge. This was in 1870. He, 
too, engaged in stock raising. About this time 
Mr. James Jenkins came into the country with 
a large band of horses. He settled near what is 
now Murray Springs where, aside from plant- 
ing the first fruit orchard, he engaged exten- 
sively in raising stock. Mr. ' Jenkins was, un- 
doubtedly, the pioneer in fruit culture, and was 
the first to demonstrate that lands along the riv- 
ers would produce excellent fruit (which has 
since been well attested, and in addition that the 
uplands as well, grow as fine fruit as was ever 
placed on the market.) Mr. Jenkins', with other 
orchards adjoining, has become a very valuable 
piece of property. 

In 1870, five miles south of Grass Valley, 
Mat Ingleman located and engaged in stock rais- 
ing. James Mackin, in 1871, settled near what 
is now Kent, but at that period known as Buck 
Hollow. He engaged in stock raising. John 
Harrington came to Sherman county in 1872 and 
was among the first to engage in the since won- 
derfully developed sheep industry. The reader- 
will bear in mind that in speaking of the advent 
of these early pioneers we refer to the territory 
now comprised in Sherman county as distinct 
from Wasco county. Sherman county had not 
then evolved. Ten miles south of what is now 
Grass Valley Tilford Moore settled in 1872, and 
began raising stock. In 1864 Mr. Cornwall lo- 
cated on what is known as Mackin place in Buck 
Hollow, with cattle, and in 1878 a man known as 
"French Pete" settled on "Jack Knife." With the 
exception of John Harrington his advent marked 
the beginning of the sheep era. J. H. Smith 
came all the way from New Brunswick to Sher- 
man county in 1876 ; he embarked in the busi- 
ness of rearing sheep. Mr. James Frazier was 
not long in discovering the advantages of Sher- 
man county, and soon had under way a most 
profitable business. Judge John Fulton move 
to the present Sherman county in 1878, and set- 
tled about nine miles west of what is now Wasco. 
He engaged in stock raising and general farm- 
ing, being, in fact, one of the first agriculturists 
in Sherman county. In 1880 Judge Fulton and 
William Walker brought a threshing machine 
from another locality and threshed their grain. 
William Walker, in company with his brother- 
James, came in 1878 and located west of Wasco, 
where they successfully engaged in general 
farming. 

Settlement on the present site of Grass Val- 
ley was enlarged during the year 1879 by the ar- 



43° 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



rival of George W. Bates and Adam Keast. It is 
said by Dr. E. R. Rollins that this year of 1879 
he raised and threshed the first wheat ever 
threshed in what is now Sherman county. At 
the beginning of the year 1878 there were living 
in that portion of Wasco, that is now Sherman 
county, only forty-two white people. The first 
settlers in that portion of the county where is now 
the site of Grass Valley were Dr. C. R. Rollins, 
John W. Dow, Frank Richie and a Mr. Locks. 
They came in 1878. The first postoffice within 
the present limits of the county was at Spanish 
Hollow, two miles northwest of the present site 
of the town of Wasco. Jesse Eaton was the 
primal postmaster. Henry Barnum was the first 
justice of the peace and John Fulton the first con- 
stable within present county boundaries. They 
were elected in 1878; the entire territory now 
comprising the county was known as Eaton's 
precinct. It must be born in mind that they were 
then officials of Wasco county, Eaton's being one 
•of Wasco county's precincts. 

During the year 1880 that part of Sherman, 
once a portion of Wasco, county was rapidly set- 
tled. In its issue of May 4, 1880, the Weekly 
Times of The Dalles said : "In our own county, 
between the John Day and Des Chutes rivers, 
the bunch grass hills are dotted with cabins of 
settlers some of whom came from the far-off 
states, and others from the Palouse and other sec- 
tions of the country in Washington. We have 
no desire to be boastful, but there is no doubt 
that eastern Oregon is fast filling up with an ag- 
ricultural population." 

Among others who came in 1880 were : W. H. 
Biggs, W. A. Murchie, W. M. Barnett, Abil Ers- 
kine, Henry Root, Rufus, John, Captain, W. H., 
Henry, C. W. and Lawrence Moore, George C. 
Vinton, Sr., and George C, Jr., and Mr. Cush- 
man. A correspondent of The Dalles Times 
writing from Spanish Hollow under date of No- 
vember 4, 1880, said: 

As a result of settling up these bunch grass plains 
there were 62 votes cast at Eaton's on election day, 
besides there were ten or fifteen who absented themselves. 
A majority of them have settled here within the last 

' year. As I ride over the hills I meet on every hand 
new houses and improvements. Many of the dwellings 
would do credit to older settlements. They have just 
completed a school house; had church services in it 
last Sunday, when 50 settlers assembled with lunch 
baskets, etc., and spent the day in getting acquainted 
with each other. 

A thief marred their pleasure by "going through" 
the houses of Messrs. Biggs and Love while the inmates 
were at church, robbing the former of $600 and the 

"latter of a pistol. He did the job like an experienced 



hand at the business. The theft has created consider- 
able excitement and the settlers have formed a vigilance 
committee and all future thieves will be found dangling 
from the end of a rope, labeled with their occupation, 
by a "court and jury" of vigilantes. 

December 20th the correspondent added the 
following : 

I hear the vigilantes have perfected a plan by 
which they can catch any thief that travels this road 
by a code of signals. It seems there is a class of men 
who can't pass a thing lying around loose along the 
road without packing it off, to the great annoyance of 
the owners. A few of this reckless class of thieves 
will swing shortly, no doubt; and right here let me 
pray the county court to appoint us a justice of the 
peace, as there is not one within twenty-five miles of us. 

February 20th he wrote: 

The winter has been long and the stock is dying 
fast. Cattle and sheep are faring poorly. I think 
fully one-half of these have died. Horses are, also, 
very poor and some have died. If some of your mer- 
chants would come out here and start a store I think 
it would pay them. There is no store that amounts 
to anything on this side of the Des Chutes river where 
we can get goods by the wholesale. * * * There 
is a movement in the direction of getting a post route 
from Grant's Landing to Bakeoven, with offices along 
the road. This will be of great benefit to the settlers 
in this section. The man who starts the first store 
will "hit the nail on the head." 

Bruno F. Medler located at Wasco in 1881. 
He has the distinction of having owned the first 
header brought into Sherman countv. A Grass 
Valley correspondent of The Dalles Times said 
December 25, 1881 : "This part of Wasco county 
is fast settling up; and where one year ago there 
were but two or three settlers, there are now from 
25 to 30 families. The crops this year were 
splendid and the country seems to be in a pros- 
perous condition and bids fair to become an agri- 
cultural instead of the grazing region which it 
has been." 

The first "woman farmer" in Sherman 
county was, undoubtedly. Miss Annie Fulton, 
sister of Judge Fulton. She secured land near 
Wasco in 1882, which she owned and operated 
successfully. Other pioneers of 1882 were: W. 
I. Armsworthy. George L. Doyle. Del Porter, 
Clark Dunlap. John Forbus and H. O. Corsan. 
Mr. Biggs was the first farmer to use a gang 
plow. Of Sherman county, as it was in 1882. 
Mr. Geor°e L. Doyle savs : 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



43i 



It was in the month of August, 1882, that I first 
beheld what is now known as Sherman county. It 
was at that ' time an almost unbroken bunch grass 
prairie from the Des Chutes to the John Day rivers ; the 
stockman's paradise where vast herds of horses, cattle 
and sheep grazed to their knees in bunch grass — one 
of the finest and most succulent grasses that grows — 
and where the antelope and frisky jack-rabbit roamed 
at their own sweet will, and the Siwash was monarch 
of all he surveyed. * * * The first place I saw 
was Grass Valley, then occupied by Dr. Rollins, the 
only physician between the two rivers. There were 
a few small places between Grass Valley and the 
present site of Moro. After passing Gordon ridge the 
small patches of plowing became more frequent. The 
road at that time followed the top of the ridges and 
easiest grades until it reached Spanish Hollow near 
the Eaton stock ranch. It was near here that I saw 
the first and only header at that time in Sherman 
county. It was at the Pugh place and was owned by 
B. F. Medler. The Dunlap and Chapman stock farms 
came next and there was our pioneer merchant, William 
Barnett, who had a store and was postmaster at Spanish 
Hollow — the only postoffice between Des Chutes and 
John Day rivers. 

The present site of Wasco was at that time pasture 
land owned by Messrs. Dunlap, Biggs, MacPherson and 
Armsworthy. The amount of land under cultivation 
in the county in 1882 could not have exceeded 1,000 
acres, being in patches of from ten to twenty acres. 
The ground cut could not have been over 500 acres. 
The only 28-inch thresher run by horse-power was owned 
by B. F. Medler and Julius Wiesick, and was the first 
one in the county. It was a very crude outfit. Con- 
sidering distance between farms there was a great 
loss of time moving from setting to setting. It was not 
uncommon to move from four to six miles for settings 
that yielded only from 200 to 500 bushels. The farmers 
paid for the settings, but not by the bushel. There was 
not a bushel of grain sold outside of the county, as 
it was needed for bread and feed for the fall and 
winter of 1882 and 1883. In the fall of 1882 after 
the crops were in the next consideration was wood for 
winter use. We concluded to go to Jack Knife and 
Pine Hollow for juniper wood. We took the road that 
crossed Grass Valley canyon at the place now known 
as McDonald's bridge, thence south following the ridges, 
and camping wherever we could find water, which was 
generally at the bottoms of the canyons. Water was our 
first consideration, so if we happened to make a dry 
camp at night, we always aimed to give the stock a 
chance to feed and make up for lost time when we 
got to where there was water. We would drive as 
near as we could get to the wood and leaving our 
wagons, we went down into the canyons, chopping our 
wood and after snaking it to the wagons, loaded and 
started back home. Possibly some reader may think 
-we got cheap wood, and had a snap getting it, but I 



can say from experience, and all who have been there 
will agree with me, that we earned the wood. 

To commence farming in the territory now 
known as Sherman county, required no great 
amount of capital — a good span of horses, a plow, 
willingness to work, a fair constitution — these 
were about all the requirements necessary to 
found a home and enter upon prosperity. The 
government fee for entering land was only a few 
dollars. If one did his share nature kindly com- 
pleted the task. And during the early '8o's the 
country was rapidly settled ; agriculture crowded 
stock-raising for the honor of being the leading 
industry. To illustrate the progress made in 
1885, Sherman county produced 1,654,210 bush- 
els of wheat. 

The Dalles, being the head of navigation on 
the Columbia river was, naturally, the supply 
point for all this vast country. The usual trans- 
portation was by freight wagons, until the Ore- 
gon Railroad & Navigation Company's lines were 
built along the northern boundary of the county. 
In the early '8o's this road was constructed. Then 
it was that Sherman county began to develop pre- 
eminence as a wheat-growing section. Prob- 
ably the first men to come to Sherman county in 
search of wheat land were Messrs. O. M. and 
Hugh Scott. They came from a magnificent 
wheat belt the soil of which was not dissimilar 
to that they purposed to till. Thus, it was not a 
slow, steady, growth, but the grain enterprise 
appeared almost spontaneous. Metaphorically 
speaking Sherman county had been transformed 
in one night. For the poor man it became a para- 
dise. Hundreds came ; hundreds founded homes. 
The carpenter plied his vocation building houses ; 
the blacksmith came with his tools ; the merchant 
saw and appreciated the advantages offered to do 
business. Shortly afterward the golden cereal 
was being transferred from what was to 
be Sherman county by the trainload. It 
was the largest wheat belt in the world not in- 
tersected by a railroad. Year after year wagon 
load after wagon load was hauled to the Ore- 
gon Railroad & Navigation Company's stations 
at Rufus and Biggs. Wood, coal, lumber and 
other supplies were hauled back ; the farmer 
prospered. 

With such magnificent prospects in view it 
was only natural that the citizens of the territory 
between the Des Chutes and John Day rivers 
should desire to be set aside as a county by 
themselves. The reasons for this were thus set 
forth by Mr. George L. Doyle : 

"Like all new communities in America, about 
this time we began to think we had some say in 
governing our destinies, and began to bud and 









43 2 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



bloom into full fledged politicians. Although a 
part of Wasco county, we were so far removed 
from the county seat that we were merely figure- 
heads ; all county business requiring a trip of 
thirty miles and more which was a great expense 
and loss of time. The topographical lay of the 
present county seemed, as we thought, to call for 
the forming of a new county between the Des 
Chutes and the John Day rivers. That we were 
right has been proven beyond doubt, and we have 
at present one of the richest and best governed 
counties in the state, if not in the United States. 
To think of forming a new county with us was 
to act. Although it was a hard fight it was suc- 
cessful." 

In December, 1888, when a plan was pro- 
posed to annex a portion of Wasco to Gilliam 
county, talk of forming a new county was heard 
quite frequently. Two petitions were at once 
placed in circulation in eastern Wasco county; 
one asking that the territory be not annexed to 
Gilliam county, and the other asking that a new 
county be formed from that part of Wasco lying 
between the Des Chutes and John Day rivers. The 
proposed new county was to be about twenty 
miles wide and over sixty miles in length. Each 
petition was signed by many, particularly the one 
protesting against being annexed to Gilliam 
county. Certain ones did not sign the other on 
the grounds that the movement was premature ; 
that the proposed new county would be too small 
and that there was not sufficient taxable property 
in the limits to warrant the action. 

Of course there was strong and vigilant oppo- 
sition to the project. Wasco county, for so many 
years the prey of all who desired to form new 
county governments, was called upon early in 
1889 for another small slice of territory for the 
formation of Sherman county. As they had, 
many times in the past, the residents of Wasco 
county again protested against further dis- 
memberment of their territory. December 22, 
1888, when agitation was begun, the Times- 
Mountaineer, of The Dalles, said : 

"We see no reason for the formation of a 
new county between the Des Chutes and John 
Day rivers. It would increase the burden of 
taxation on the citizens and would be no real 
benefit to the people. The Dalles is not such a 
long distance from this portion of Wasco that 
they need a new political division and a county 
seat all to themselves. The town that would re- 
ceive the honor of being the county seat might be 
benefited in business, but the people generally, we 
believe, are satisfied with the county town as it 
is now." 

The bill to create the county of Fulton, with 
the town of Moro as the county seat, was in- 



troduced in the house by Representative E. O 
McCoy, of Wasco county, residing in that part 
which became Sherman county, in January, 
1889, at the session of the Oregon legislature 
which convened January 14th. The bill passed 
the house Friday, February 15th. The name 
was changed from Fulton to Sherman, and the 
southern boundary line removed further north. 
February 23d the Times-Mountaineer said: 
"Sherman county with much diminished boun- 
daries, passed the senate last Thursday, Febru- 
ary 21st. The new county is very small in 
extent, and as it is, it is well that it should be 
formed. The value of county buildings and other 
items have been amended so that Wasco is not 
much injured by the division." 

As has been shown, this was only a portion of 
the territory asked for in the original bill, owing 
to the strenuous fight made in the legislature by 
Wasco county. Hon. E. O. McCoy, the author 
of the measure, saw that there was no hope of 
securing the passage of the bill in its original 
shape. He compromised with its opponents ; the 
bill was then amended and passed. A cor- 
respondent of The Dalles Times-Mountaineer, 
writing from Emigrant Springs, February 3, 
1 89 1, thus summarizes the campaign ending in 
the organization of Sherman county. 

* * * All the action taken by the citizens of the 
proposed county in their various meetings, in circulat- 
ing petitions in writing up the move — "booming it, so 
to speak — in raising funds to prosecute the work to 
final consummation, was taken by persons residing north 
of Buck Hollow. Notwithstanding the citizens south 
of Buck Hollow never co-operated with us in any of 
this work done prior to the meeting of the legislature, 
the only original bill, as presented by Mr. McCoy, 
proposed to make the north line of Crook the south 
line of Sherman, or Fulton, as it was then named. 
It was generally known, however, before the legislature 
convened that the citizens around Antelope would un- 
compromisingly oppose any measure that would set 
them off into the new county. And to no well-informed 
person's surprise, when Mr. McCoy's bill went before 
the house committee on counties, he was there con- 
fronted by a party from Antelope with a remonstrance 
bearing a thousand signatures, backed by The Dalles 
board of trade, and championed by the speaker of the 
house, Hon. E. L. Smith. With our senators opposed 
these obstacles were rendered absolutely insurmountable. 
And, as was expected by the friends of the bill. Buck 
Hollow was agreed upon as the line before leaving 
the committee room. The Antelope men went home ; 
The Dalles opposition withdrew, and, said Speaker 
Smith to Mr. McCoy, "Now I want you to have a 
county." And, as above stated, the bill so passed the 
house without a single "no." 




Combined Harvester at work in Sherman County 






HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



433 



Everything appeared to be satisfactorily set- 
tled at that time, but before the bill was to be- 
come a law the territory was to be further re- 
stricted. Just prior to the adjournment of the 
legislature a strenuous opposition suddenly 
sprung up and a remonstrance was hurriedly 
sent to Salem. The result was that the southern 
.boundary of the county was moved still further 
north, and in that form the bill became a law. 

Sherman county was named in honor of Gen- 
eral William Tecumseh Sherman. The bill 
originally introduced for creating the new divi- 
sion named the county proposed Fulton, in honor 
of Colonel James Fulton, a prominent resi- 
dent of the new county ; before it became a 
law the name of Sherman was substituted for 
that of Fulton. Following is the text of the 
Enabling Act : 

Be it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the 
State of Oregon : 

Section i. That all that portion of the State of 
Oregon embraced within the following boundary lines 
be, and the same is hereby created, and organized into 
a separate county by the name of Sherman, to-wit : 
Beginning at a point in the center of the main channel 
of the Columbia river, opposite the mouth of the John 
Day river; thence up the middle of the main channel 
of the said John Day river to the south line of town- 
ship number 2, south where it crosses the John Day 
river; thence west along the said south line of town- 
ship 2 south to the middle of the Des Chutes river; 
thence down the center of the main channel of said river „ 
to a point in the center of the main channel of the 
Columbia river opposite the mouth of the Des Chutes 
river; thence up the middle of the main channel of the 
Columbia river to the place of beginning. 

Section 2. That the territory embraced within the 
said boundary lines shall compose a county for all civil 
and military purposes, and shall be subject to the same 
laws and restrictions and be entitled to elect the same 
officers as other counties of this state; provided that it 
shall be the duty of the governor as soon as con- 
venient after this Act shall become a law, to appoint 
for Sherman county and from its citizens the several 
county officers allowed by law to other counties in 
this State; which said officers, after duly qualifying ac- 
cording to law, shall be entitled to hold their respective 
offices until their successors are duly elected at the 
general election of 1890, and have duly qualified accord- 
ing to law. 

Section 3. The temporary county seat of Sherman 
county shall be located at Wasco in said county until 
a permanent location shall be adopted. At the next 
general election the question shall be submitted to the 
legal voters of said county, and the place, if any, which 
shall receive a majority of all the votes cast at said 
election shall be the permanent county seat of said 
28 



county; but if no place shall receive a majority of all 
the votes cast, the question shall again be submitted to 
the legal voters of said county at the next general 
election, between the two points having the highest num- 
ber of votes at said election, and the place receiving 
the highest number of votes at such last election shall 
be the permanent county seat of said county. 

Section 4. Said county of Sherman shall for repre- 
sentative purposes, be annexed to the 18th representa- 
tive district, and for senatorial purposes said county shall 
be annexed to the 17th senatorial district. 

Section 5. The county clerk of Wasco county shall, 
within thirty days after this Act shall have gone into 
operation, make out and deliver to the county clerk 
of Sherman county a transcript of all taxes assessed 
upon persons and property within said county, and which 
were previously included within the limits of. Wasco 
county, and all taxes which shall remain unpaid upon 
the day this Act shall become a law shall be paid to 
the proper officer of Sherman county. The said clerk 
of Wasco county shall, also, make out and deliver to 
the county clerk of Sherman county within the time 
above limited, a transcript of all cases pending in the 
circuit and county courts of Wasco county between per- 
sons residing in Sherman county, and transfer all original 
papers in said cases to be tried in Sherman county. 

Section 6. The county court of Sherman county 
shall be held at the county seat on the first Monday 
in April, July, October and January of each year. 

Section 7. The said county of Sherman is hereby 
attached to the 7th judicial district for judicial pur- 
poses, and the terms of the circuit court for said 
county shall he held at the county seat of said county 
on the second Monday in March and the first Monday 
in October of each year. 

Section 8. Until otherwise provided for the county 
judge of Sherman county shall receive an annual salary 
of $300, and the county treasurer of said county shall 
receive an annual salary of $100, and the county stock 
inspector of said county shall receive an annual salary 
of $300. The sheriff and county clerk of said county - 
shall receive the same fees as are now allowed by law 
to the sheriff and clerk of Wasco county. 

Section 9. The county treasurer of Sherman county 
shall, out of the first money collected for taxes, pay 
over to the treasurer of Wasco county the full amount 
of state tax on the assessment of 1888 due from the 
citizens of Sherman county, and within one year after 
its organization, by the appointment of its officers as 
hereinbefore provided, shall assume and pay to the 
county of Wasco a pro rata proportion of the remaining 
indebtedness of Wasco county, after deducting there- 
from the amount of money that has been collected in 
taxes from the property of the territory to be embraced 
in the county of Sherman and expended by Wasco county 
for public buildings situated within Dalles City, and that 
George H. Thompson, R. F. Gibons, of Wasco county, 
and C. M. Scott, of Sherman county, are hereby ap- 



434 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



pointed to determine the value of such property and the 
amount of indebtedness to be assumed by said Sher- 
man county. Said persons shall meet at the county seat 
of Wasco county on the 1st day of May, 1889, or within 
ten days thereafter and take and subscribe to an oath 
before the county judge of Wasco county faithfully 
to discharge their duties ; thereupon said board shall 
proceed with said work, and when completed file a 
report of thier conclusions in duplicate with the clerks 
of Wasco and Sherman counties. Within thirty days 
" after the filing of such report in Sherman county either 
county may appeal from the decision of said board to 
the circuit court of Wasco county by serving notice of 
appeal upon the clerk of the other county. Upon 
perfecting the issues in the said circuit court, either 
county may demand a change of venue to any other 
■ county in the 7th judicial district of the state of 
Oregon, which may be agreed upon by said counties, 
or, in the event of their disagreement, which may be 
designated by the judge of said district. The trial may 
be by jury, and the judgment rendered may be en- 
forced as other judgments against counties. If the 
county appealing fails to receive a more favorable judg- 
rment than the finding of said board, by at least $500, 
It shall pay the cost of appeal. If no appeal be taken by 
either county within the thirty days above provided, the 
finding of said board shall be conclusive. The said 
board shall receive $3 per day for each day actually 
employed and mileage. The expense incurred by the 
above mentioned board shall be borne equally by 
Wasco and Sherman counties. 

Section 10. The county judge of Sherman county 
shall let by contract, to the lowest responsible and 
efficient bidder, the work of transcribing all the records 
of Wasco county affecting real estate situated in Sher- 
man county, and when concluded they shall be examined 
and certified to by the clerk of Sherman county, and 
shall thereafter be recognized and acknowledged as the 
official records of Sherman county; provided the clerk 
of Sherman county shall be allowed to bid on such 
work. 

Section 11. It shall be the duty of the superin- 
tendent of schools for Wasco county, within sixty days 
after the appointment of a superintendent of schools 
in Sherman county, to make out and forward to said 
superintendent of schools in Sherman county a true 
and correct transcript or abstract of the annual reports 
of the clerks of the various school districts embraced 
within the said Sherman county ; and he shall, also, at 
the time of making the apportionments of the school 
fund for the year 18S8, apportion to the various school 
districts within Sherman county their pro rata pro- 
portion of said school fund, the same as if said county 
had not been created and organized. 

Section 12. The county court .at its first regular 
session shall appoint a stock inspector whose salary shall 
be $100 per annum to be paid quarterly. 

Section 13. Inasmuch as the early formation of 



Sherman county is much desired, this Act shall take 
effect and be in force from and after its approval 
by the Governor and the appointment of the proper 
officers as herein provided. 

Approved February 25, 1889. 

When the bill finally became a law with the 
restricted dimensions for the new county, the 
people of the Grass Valley country were far 
from being pleased. By the terms of the law 
the south boundary of Sherman county passed 
through the middle of their country, which, of 
course, was not to their liking. Some who were 
included in the new division were dissatisfied at 
being placed in such a small county ; those to the 
south who were left out were no better off than 
they were before. On the town of Wasco was 
laid the blame for cutting down the originally 
proposed boundaries of the county. The charge 
against Wasco, condensed, was that it had in- 
fluenced this change in the boundary to better 
its chances of becoming and remaining the capi- 
tal of the new county. With a county extending 
to the Crook county line the chance that in 
time some other town would secure the prize 
was plainly apparent ; with narrow limits 
Wasco's location would not be so far from the 
center of the county as to endanger its location 
as capital. Therefore the residents of Grass 
Valley naturally opposed the organization of 
Sherman county when it was proposed to con- 
centrate its limits as they were finally adopted. 
A mass meeting was called ; resolutions were 
passed protesting against the cut ; nothing 
availed. A correspondent at Emigrant Springs 
writing to The Dalles Timcs-Mountainccr under 
date of February 3, 1891, said: 

Ever since the fact became known to the citizens of 
Oregon residing between the Des Chutes and John Day 
rivers, and north of Buck Hollow, that on February 
25, 1889, Governor Pennoyer signed the bill creating 
Sherman county there has been general dissatisfaction. 
Nearly five-sixths of these people were dissatisfied 
because of the diminutive size of the new county, and 
the other sixth because they were not included within 
its limits. This statement cannot be gainsaid. It is 
true a few persons could be found who wanted the 
south boundary to extend to Crook county. It is true 
there were some who even wanted to remain a few 
years longer in Wasco county, and I believe it is like- 
wise true that few counties have ever been created in 
Oregon that gave more dissatisfaction to their citizens 
than Sherman county would have given with its south 
boundary as fixed in McCoy's bill, which he succeeded 
in passing the house on February 15. 1889. without a dis- 
senting vote. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



435 



Concisely stated the population of the new 
county was 1,400, and it assumed as its share 
•of Wasco county's indebtedness about $15,000. 
Tuesday, March 12, 1889, Sherman county be- 
gan as a separate political division. Then the 
several county ofhcials-to-be met at the Oska- 
loosa hotel in Wasco and took their oaths of 
■office. The political chapter of Part II of this 
work will summarize the election and acts of 
these pioneer officials. It may be said here 
.that the commissioners at first rented a building 
at Wasco for court house purposes. The county's 
rate of taxation .at the assessment of 1889 was 
fixed at 18 mills on the dollar. It was not long 
before Sherman's large share of Wasco county's 
debt was fully paid. Exclusive of wheat reserved 
for home consumption there were exported in 
1889 from Sherman county 20,000 bushels. 

Of course it was destined that the new county 
should become involved in "county seat fights!" 
The country south of Gordon Ridge had been 
rapidly settled up. The town of Moro was 
founded ; the question of a permanent county 
seat was in the air ; each section had its favorite 
location. As the election drew nearer the fight 
for county seat honors narrowed down to three 
places, Wasco, Moro and Kenneth. It was 
claimed that the last named was, geographically, 
nearest the center of the county. Kenneth was 
merely a "stopping place" a few miles east of 
Moro. It never attained to the importance of 
a "town," but was quite well known as a road 
station. The result of this election, when the 
votes were counted, showed that none of the 
three places named had received a majority of 
all votes cast. Under the law it became necessary 
for Moro and Wasco, the two highest, to again 
■compete two years later. Wasco, of course, re- 
mained the county seat until a permanent loca- 
tion should be selected. 

It will be remembered that the enabling act 
creating Sherman county, authorized a board of 
three commissioners to appraise the amount of 
Wasco county's indebtedness due from Sher- 
man. The following is the report of the board 
to the court : 

To the Honorable, the County Courts of Wasco 
and of Sherman Counties of the State of Oregon : 

The undersigned commission appointed to determine 
the value of the public buildings belonging to Wasco 
county and situated within Dalles City, and to ascer- 
tain the pro rata valuation of the indebtedness of said 
county to be assumed by the county of Sherman, created 
under an act of the legislative assembly of the state 
of Oregon and approved February 25, 1889, find that 
the indebtedness of Wasco county at the date of the 
approval of said act was $63,243.35. That the pro 



rata proportion of the same which should be 
assumed by the county of Sherman is $10,208.14, 
from which last sum should be deducted the 
amount of money collected in taxes from the 
property of the territory embraced in the county of 
Sherman and expended in public buildings in Dalles 
City, the sum of $1,587; remaining pro rata proportion 
of indebtedness due from Sherman county, $8,621.14. 
We further find that the sheriff of Wasco county had 
collected from the taxpayers of Sherman county on the 
tax roll of 1888 and paid the same to the treasurer of 
Wasco county the sum of $4,708.94, from which sum 
should be deducted both state and school taxes due 
thereon from the county of Sherman $2,354.47; leaving 
amount to be deducted from the indebtedness to be 
assumed by Sherman county of the sum of $2,354.47. 
Amount due Wasco from Sherman county $6,266.67, 
to which last sum should be added interest from Febru- 
ary 25, 1890, assuming that Sherman county under the 
act creating the same, had one year within which to 
settle its indebtedness, $341.19. Whole amount due 
$6,606.80. 

Respectfully submitted. Done at The Dalles, Ore- 
gon, October 30, 1890. 

O. M. SCOTT, 

R. F. GIBONS, 

GEORGE H. THOMPSON. 

In a subsequent report submitted to the com- 
missioners of Wasco county, dated November 
8th, A. G. Johnson claimed that there was due 
Wasco, from Sherman county, $9,711.97. How- 
ever, the following is from the report of the 
proceedings of the county court of Sherman 
county January 7, 1891 : 

Now on this day is presented to the court the 
written reports of commissioners appointed by the bill 
creating Sherman county to adjust its debt to Wasco 
county: And it appearing to the court that the amended 
report of said commission bearing date November 25, 
1890, showing the total amount of indebtedness due 
Wasco county from Sherman county to be ($8,364.96) 
eight thousand three hundred and sixty-four and 96-100 
dollars, had been accepted as an equitable adjustment of 
said debt by the county court of Wasco county, and this 
court believing that the same is just and correct: 

It is hereby considered, ordered and adjudged that 
said amended report be accepted and the clerk author- 
ized to draw warrants on the county treasurer in favor 
of Wasco county in amounts not exceeding $500 each 
for the said sum of $8,364.96. 

This, it appears, was the final settlement be- 
tween the two counties. There are no records 
concerning the amended report above mentioned, 
but the amount agreed upon by the adjusters 
is given. There is the same absence of informa- 






436 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



tion regarding- the sum necessary to make up the 
$15,000 mentioned as having been Sherman 
county's expenses in the separation. 

The United States census of 1890 showed that 
Sherman county had a population of 1,792 people. 
But this was anterior to a subsequent enlarge- 
ment of its boundaries as will be shown later 
In the legislature of 1891 the boundaries of Sher- 
man county were changed ; that is, so far as con- 
cerned its southern limitations. The original 
boundary provided in the bill of 1889, as passed, 
was only to the southern line of township 3 
south; just south of the village of Grass Valley. 
The new boundaries of 1891 were as follows: 

Beginning at a point in the center of the main 
channel of the Columbia river opposite the mouth of 
the John Day river ; thence up the middle of the main 
channel of said John Day river to the south line of 
township 5 south ; where it crosses the said John Day 
river ; thence west along the said south line of town- 
ship 5 to the middle of the hollow known as "Buck 
Hollow;" thence down the middle of the said "Buck 
Hollow" to a point in the middle of the Des Chutes 
river directly opposite the mouth of said "Buck Hollow ;" 
thence down the center of the main channel of said 
river to a point in the center of the main channel of the 
Columbia river opposite the mouth of the Des Chutes 
river; thence up the middle of the main channel of said 
Columbia river to the place of beginning. (Session 
Laws 1889, p. 82, sec. 1 ; Session Laws 1891, p. 68, 
sec. 1.) 

} 

In 189 1 the taxable property of Sherman 
county had increased to $892,718. The year 
1892 witnessed the settlement of the county seat 
controversy. Immediately following the election 
of 1890 the towns of Moro and Wasco began 
organizing and mobilizing their forces for the 
great "battle of the ballots" two years later; an 
engagement that was to decide which of these 
contesting towns should remain the permanent 
capital of Sherman county. The result of this 
election was a majority for Moro of 113 votes, 
divided among the precincts as follows : 

Precincts. Moro. Wasco. 

Bigelow 11 32 

Grant 38 39 

Wasco 23 183 

Monkland 61 30 

Moro 117 2 

Grass Valley 74 5 

Rutledge 51 5 

Kent . . . .n 29 5 

414 301 



July 7, 1892, the county court of Sherman 
county spread upon their records the following 
order : 

"Now on this day it is ordered by the court 
that all county records be kept in their present 
offices until a suitable place be secured at Moro 
to receive them. When notified by the court 
that such place has been prepared the officers 
will remove said records to Moro." 

The same day the county court decided to- 
build a vault and temporary building at Moro, 
and on the 8th spread upon the records the fol- 
lowing order : 

"Now on this day it is ordered by the court 
that a contract be let to H. C. Jackson to build 
vault and temporary offices for clerk and sheriff 
at Moro." 

The same day a block of land was purchased 
at Moro, the new county seat, for court house 
purposes. The records were moved shortly after 
this and the court held its first session at Moro 
on October 5, 1892. The . taxable property in 
Sherman county for 1892 was $1,026,645. 

In May, 1893, the county court accepted the 
jail from the contractors. Its cost was $2,100. 
It was at this period that Sherman county, in 
company with the whole United States, entered 
upon the "hard times, hard luck" epoch. It is 
only just to say that the county suffered no more 
in proportion than the other counties in the state,, 
and not so much as many of her sisters. In 
April, 1894, the Grant Gazette reported that 
Sherman county was, practically, out of debt ; 
the payment of taxes then due would liquidate 
all indebtedness. The assessed valuation was :■ 
gross, $1,115,371 ; net, $973,146. 

Although the great flood of 1894 is fully- 
treated in the chapter devoted to towns and cit- 
ies, it is fitting that something should be said 
here concerning it. During the month of May 
railway traffic was interrupted to so great an 
extent as to, practically, prohibit rail communi- 
cation between Portland and Umatilla ; shutting- 
off the mails and suspending freight shipments. 
Points along tke river adjacent to Wasco suf- 
fered in full proportion with the rest ; at Grant 
business was completely demoralized. By the 
Milling & Distillery Company work of every de- 
scription was suspended, only so far as rendering 
the property more secure against wreck. Colum- 
bus, across the Columbia river, in the state of 
Washington, was submerged from the Presby 
warehouse, in which the water gained consid- 
erable depth, down to the Hickinbotham home- 
stead. It was stated by the Moro Observer June- 
7th that the losses at Rufus, Grant, Biggs, Col- 
umbus, Des Chutes and Celilo were fully eighty 
per cent, of actual values. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



437 



In 1895 the population of Sherman county, 
gauged by the Oregon State census was 2,511. 
There were 921 legal voters. The same year 
the county produced 1,617,790 bushels of wheat. 
In January, 1896, the gain in population since 
1895 was 698. The aggregate taxable property 
valuation had been reduced to $902,152. Until 
the year 1897 Sherman county had no railroad 
extending into its interior. The line of the Ore- 
gon Railroad & Navigation Company had trav- 
ersed its northern boundary, along the Columbia 
river since the date of its construction in 1881. 
This, however, was scanty accommodation to the 
farmers and merchants of the interior. Long 
hauls were required either to some shipping point 
on the railway in Sherman county, or to The 
Dalles, for the purposes of marketing wheat and 
securing supplies. The best lands of the county 
lie back from the river a considerable distance ; 
this is where the bulk of the population lived. A 
railway through the county north and south was 
a great desideratum. Anterior to the construc- 
tion of the Columbia Southern Railway in 1897, 
a single two-horse stage line sufficed for the 
transportation of all passengers, express and 
mail in Sherman county. In 1902 the company 
had in service two daily trains — one each way. 
Within the limits of one year it carried 29,080 
passengers, 414 tons of express matter and 118 
tons of mail. 

Articles of incorporation of the Columbia 
Southern Railway were filed March 4, 1897, for 
the purpose of constructing and operating a rail- 
road from Biggs to Prineville, traversing the fer- 
tile wheat fields of Sherman, and the stock and 
wool districts in Wasco and Crook counties. The 
capital stock was fixed at $100,000. The incor- 
porators were E. E. Lytle, J. M. Murchie and 
D. C. O'Rielly. March 23d surveying was com- 
menced and construction on June 19th. October 
■6th the new road was completed to Wasco. The 
line as constructed was first-class and standard 
gauge, being laid with 56-pound rails and 7x8 
ties, the ties being laid 3,000 to the mile. In 
every respect the equipment was complete. At 
Biggs connection is made with the Oregon Rail- 
road & Navigation Company line. January 2, 
1902, the Shaniko Leader said : 

On the 29th day of June, 1897, four months after 
the incorporation papers were filed, active work was 
commenced at Biggs, the junction of the road with 
the line of the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company. 
To the average man the task of building a railroad with- 
out means would have seemed a hopeless one, even 
though the task was without opposition ; what would 
he think of, besides the task of building the road and 
raising the money for that purpose, had he to meet 



powerful and energetic enemies at every turn and at 
every move? Did he want right of way, they were 
there, like Mephistopheles, whispering, plotting against 
him. Did he try to sell bonds, there were the same 
dismal whisperings of failure, gloomy predictions of 
utter collapse. He could never pay his men ; the first 
pay day would settle it ; but the first pay day came and 
passed, the money raised and the work went on. Steadily 
the grade stretched along the canyon ; slowly but surely 
the rails followed; until after a struggle, the strain and 
tiresomeness of which no one but he who bore the 
brunt will ever know, the road reached Wasco, ten 
miles from its starting point; three months and twenty 
days from the time work was commenced. The hill 
had been climbed, the road was in the wheat belt 
of Sherman county, the best of its size in the state, 
and traffic as well as tonnage was in sight. 

* * * It was just such a victory, just such a fight 
made by E. E. Lytle when he conceived the idea of the 
Columbia Southern Railway. Possessing no means, at 
least none that would be considered adequate to even 
dream about such an undertaking by any ordinary 
man, he yet dared fate, fought the good fight and today 
the Columbia Southern Railway, with its shops and 
depots, daily trains and 70 odd miles of well-ballasted 
track, is a visible and perpetual evidence of what un- 
failing purpose, indomitable will and tireless energy 
can accomplish. January 1, 1898, The Dalles Times- 
Mountaineer said : 

"And the projectors of this line deserve especial 
credit for the persistent manner in which they prose- 
cuted their project until they saw success crown their 
efforts and began to transport freight to and from 
Wasco. This road is, without doubt, the best paying 
piece of railroad property in Oregon. * * * Its of- 
ficials have interested themselves in Sherman county, 
and business-like, have left nothing undone that will 
help the development of the country." 

This was written at the period when Wasco 
was the terminus of the road ; it has since been 
extended to Shaniko, Wasco county. 

The population of Sherman county in 1897 
was 3,051. This was a notable year in the history 
of the county's almost continuous prosperity. The 
entire state was then emerging from a series of 
depressing years, financially, and Sherman 
county was among the first to experience the re- 
bound. An area of 160,000 acres produced 
3,700,000 bushels of wheat, oats, barley and rye, 
an average of over 23 busels an acre ; 8,000 tons 
of hay ; 650 bushels of corn ; 70,000 pounds of but- 
ter and cheese ; 35,000 bushels of potatoes ; 
5,000 bushels of prunes and plums; 200,000 
pounds of wool. The live stock in evidence was 
as follows: sheep, 39,670; hogs, 1,825; horses 
and mules, 5,613; cattle, 1,000. 

In 1898 no county organization in the state 



438 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



had made a better record. Starting with a debt 
assumed pro rata from Wasco county, together 
with obligations naturally incurred in its incep- 
tion of, approximately, $25,000, the county offic- 
ials had, by careful, though liberal management, 
succeeded in wiping everything out. The cost 
of conducting the county had never caused ex- 
orbitant taxation. No expensive buildings had 
been erected, although the officials were com- 
fortably housed. The greater portion of the 
money had been judiciously expended in im- 
proving roads. 

Early in the spring of 1898 the project of ex- 
tending the Columbia Southern Railway south 
from Wasco was taken under consideration by 
its officials and citizens of Sherman county. Jan- 
uary 15th a public meeting was held at Moro. 
This was attended by a number of railway offic- 
ers and most of the people of Moro. Within two 
hours a cash subsidy of $5,000 was pledged, 
aside from a tract of about eight acres of land 
for depot purpses. On the 17th a similar meet- 
ing convened at Grass Valley ; this resulted in a 
substantial donation and a cash subsidy of $1,000. 

Yet this extension was not accomplished with- 
out opposition. There was an element called 
"obstructionists" whose interests, it was claimed, 
would be best subserved by delay in the proposed 
extension. There was trouble in securing the 
right of way ; citizens of Sherman county looked 
after this ; it was largely owing to their sagac- 
ious efforts that the extension was secured. Fol- 
lowing is the report of the "Right of Way Com- 
mittee" appointed to dispel the Wasco taboo : 

Wasco, Oregon, April 28, 1898 — We, the under- 
signed committee, in behalf of the people of Monkland, 
Moro and Grass Valley, beg leave to submit the follow- 
ing resolution, to wit : 

'Whereas, the Columbia Southern Railway is now 
constructed to the town of Wasco, and 

"Whereas, the extension of the same will be of 
untold benefit to the people of Sherman county, living 
south of Gordon Ridge, and 

"Whereas, it is the intention and desire of said 
railway to' immediately continue the construction of 
the same, but on account of the unreasonable position 
taken by parties in granting right of way, the said 
railway company is experiencing great trouble and de- 
lay, therefore, be it 

"Resolved, that we, the members of the above com- 
mittee, most emphatically condemn the opposition to 
the extension of the said railway." 

These resolutions were signed by : A. Dill- 
inger, Al. Wright, P. McDonald, M. Hansen and 
Hugh Mclntyre, for Monkland; C. A. Heath, 
J. V. O'Leary, B. S. Kelsay, Fred Krusow and 



C. W. Moore, for Grass Valley ; E. Sayres, Carl 
Peets, M. Damon, D. W. Howard and W. J. 
Martin, for Moro. 

May 9, 1898, work on the extension of the 
road was commenced. At 5 130 o'clock p. m., 
Wednesday, December 14th, rails were laid to 
the depot grounds in Moro. This was done amid 
considerable excitement, ringing of bells, fan- 
fare of whistles, firing of anvils and voicing of 
cheers. Engine No. 1, with the construction train 
ran into the city ; Moro became the terminus of 
the Columbia Southern Railway. Thus it con- 
tinued until the spring of 1900 when the road 
reached its present terminal point Shaniko, 
Wasco county. 

In 1899 the valuation of taxable property in 
Sherman county was $1,231,655. In less than, 
ten years of its existence, and within two years 
following the construction of the interior railroad, 
the county had liquidated its indebtedness, erected 
at Moro a well-appointed two-story brick court 
house and, at this writing, 1905, has discharged 
all its obligations and has a balance of from 
$15,000 to $20,000 in its treasury. April 7, 1899, 
the grand jury of Sherman county included in. 
its report the following: 

"On account of the lack of room and the 
great danger of fire in the present cramped offices 
of the clerk, sheriff and treasurer, and the incon- 
venience of holding county and circuit courts, we- 
believe that the county should build a court house. 
We therefore recommend that a court house be 
built as soon as the necessary plans and contracts 
therefor can be made. Said court house not to 
cost more than $6,000." 

The contracts for the erection of this edifice 
was let, Tuly 1, 1899, to A. F. Peterson, of Cor- 
vallis. His bid was $6,665. Warrants for 
$6,000 were issued by the county court; Moro- 
subscribed the balance ; work at once commenced. 
November 18th the handsome building was 
turned over to, and accepted by, the county court. 

According to the United States census of 

1900 the population of Sherman county was 
3,477. From 1,100 farms the yield of wheat was 
4,000,000 bushels. It was said of the crop of 

1901 that it required for transportation 4.300 cars 
of 25 tons capacity each, which, if coupled to- 
gether would reach from the north to the south 
line of the county. It was said by the Morning 
Oregonian of January 2, 1905, that "During the 
past eight years the relative increase in the value 
of Sherman county laud is from $2.50 to $7.50- 
per acre to $25 to $45 per acre and the aggregate 
value of products from $450,000 to $2,225,000, 
increasing its population from less than T.500 to 
5,500." This was preceded January t, 1898, by 
the Times-Mountaineer as follows: "In conclu- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



439 



sion Sherman county greets the business world 
simply, candidly, with the assurance that she can 
not be excelled. Her people are happy, con- 
tented and prosperous. The good angel of 
plenty has been kind to her and her people ; she 
welcomes all who may come within her confines 
for legitimate benefit. Peopled as she is by a 
highly desirable class of citizens, she still has 
room for more." 

There appears a trail of fraud running de- 
viously through the greater portion of air Ore- 
gon land transactions in which the United States 
government has been interested. At the present 
writing, April, 1905, the legal ability of Uncle 
Sam is pitted against the slimy, subterranean 
artifices of adepts in scientific swindling on ex- 
tensive scales ; yet men in high official positions 
have won the confidence of trusting politi- 
cal constituencies only to betrav this trust 
in the most scandalous manner. We allude to the 
timber land thieves of Oregon, and several other 
northwestern states. A large number of them 
have already suffered the ignominy of indictment 
by a grand jury, and their cases are pending be- 
fore the federal courts. 

But these later crimes are only repetitions of 
a number of previous land frauds, perpetrated by 
politicians and railway magnates ; bold in their 
conception ; unscrupulous in their execution, and 
which in the eyes of all honest men "shine and 
stink like a rotten mackerel in the moonlight." 
One of the most glaring frauds in the annals of 
Oregon criminality was what is colloquially 
known as "The Dalles Military Wagon Road 
Land Grab." At least the fraud originated with 
this corrupt and unscrupulous syndicate, although 
it has been juggled into the hands of another 
combination known as the Eastern Oregon Land 
Company. Its history is that of a crime against 
the United States government ; the good name of 
Oregon and thousands of western homeseekers 
who have discovered that even the courts are ar- 
rayed against their honest dues, and that the oft 
boasted "equality before the law" is a myth ; a 
baseless illusion ; a glittering generality for the 
astigmatism of credulous dupes. While it has 
affected the whole body politic of Eastern Ore- 
gon, its tyrannical curse has been to the people of 
Sherman county a veritable "whip of scorpions." 
Let us lay bare its entire historical career, calmly, 
conscientiously and without the least exagger- 
ation. 

By act of congress passed February 25, 1867, 
there was granted to the state of Oregon by the 
United States, to aid in the construction of a mil- 
itary wagon road from The Dalles to Fort Boise, 
on the Snake river, each alternating section of the 
public lands designated by odd numbers, to the 



extent of three sections in width on each side 
of the said road. By the terms of the act of con- 
gress the state of Oregon was authorized to dis- 
pose of said lands for the purpose of aiding in 
the construction of the said military road ; and 
in pursuance of this authority the legislature 
passed an act which was approved by the gov- 
ernor October 20, 1868, granting to The Dalles 
Military Road Company, a corporation duly or- 
ganized for the purpose of constructing this road, . 
all of the lands aforesaid. 

The act of congress further provided that the 
land should be disposed of in the following man- 
ner, to wit : "That when the governor of said 
state shall certify to the secretary of the interior 
that ten contiguous miles of said road are com- 
pleted, then the quantity of land hereby granted, 
not to exceed thirty sections, may be sold, and 
so from time to time until said road shall be 
completed. June 23, 1869, Governor Woods filed 
the following acceptance, which is such an im- 
portant document that we deem it worth pub- 
lishing : 

Executive Office, 

Salem, Oregon, June 23, 1869. 

I, George L. Woods, Governor of the State of" 
Oregon, do hereby certify that this plat or map of The 
Dalles Military Road has been duly filed in my office 
by The Dalles Miltary Road Company and shows ire 
connection with the public surveys, as far as said public 
surveys are completed, the location of the line of route 
as actually surveyed and upon which their road was 
constructed in accordance with the requirements of an 
act of congress approved February 25, 1867, entitled 
"An Act granting lands to the State of Oregon to aid 
in the construction of a military wagon road from 
Dalles City, on the Columbia river, to Fort Boise on 
Snake river," and with the act of the legislative assembly 
of the State of Oregon approved October 20, 1868,. 
entitled "An Act donating certain lands to The Dalles 
Military Road Company." I further certify that I have 
made a careful examination of said road since its 
completion and that the same is built in all respects as 
required by the said above recited acts and that said 
road is accepted. 

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand 
and caused to be affixed the Great Seal of the State of 
Oregon. 

Done at Salem, Oregon, June 23, 1869. 

GEORGE L. WOODS.. 

(Seal of the State of Oregon.) 
SAMUEL E. MAY. 
Secretary of State. 

January 12, 1870, the governor issued a 
further certificate in like terms and effect as that 
of June 23, 1869, certifying to the secretary of 



440 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



the interior the completion of the military road 
through its entire length by The Dalles Military 
Road Company. December 18, 1874, the com- 
missioner of the general land office of the United 
States withdrew from sale the odd numbered sec- 
tions of land within three miles on either side of 
the road in favor of The Dalles Military Road 
Company. 

June 18, 1874, congress passed an act author- 
izing the issuance of patents for lands granted to 
the state of Oregon in certain cases, which act 
of congress, after reciting that congress had 
granted to the state of Oregon certain lands to 
aid in the construction of certain military wagon 
roads in said state, and that there existed no law 
providing for the issuing of formal patents for 
said lands, provided "that in all cases when the 
roads, in the aid of construction of which said 
lands were granted, are shown by the certificate 
of the governor of the state of Oregon, as in said 
•act provided, to have been constructed and com- 
pleted, patents to said lands shall issue in due 
form to the state of Oregon as fast as the same 
shall under said grant be selected and certified, 
unless the state of Oregn shall by public acts 
have transferred its interests in said lands to any 
corporations, in which case patents shall issue 
from the general land office to such corporation 
or corporations." 

Under the provisions of this act the road 
company selected lands, and May 31, 1876, con- 
veyed the title to such lands to Edward Martin, 
the consideration being given as $125,000. Then 
by sundry mesne conveyances the title became 
"vested in the Eastern Oregon Land Company. 

Such was the status in 1885, when public 
opinion, calling for an investigation into the 
fraud that had been practiced upon the govern- 
ment by this road companv, became so strong that 
at the session of the legislature that year a mem- 
orial was passed by both houses asking congress 
- to look into the matter and commence suit for 
the recovery of the lands. March 2, 1889, con- 
gress responded to this appeal, passing an act 
authorizing the attorney general of the United 
States to bring suit to procure a decree of for- 
feiture of all lands granted bv the act of congress 
of February 25, 1867, on the ground that the 
terms of the grant had not been complied with. 
' This act also sought a cancellation of all patents 
therefor, issued by the United States under the 
act, and all conveyances to purchasers under said 
patents, and under the act, as well as a forfeiture 
of the lands still unpatented. The bill filed by the 
attorney general alleged in substance, "That the 
road was never constructed in whole or in part ; 
that through the fraudulent representations of the 
officers, stockholders and agents of the corpora- 



tion, the governor of Oregon was deceived and 
induced to issue a certificate in pursuance of the 
provisions of the act, declaring that he had ex- 
amined the road throughout its entire length, and 
that it had been constructed and completed in all 
respects in accordance with the statute : and that, 
relying on this certificate, the patents to portions 
of the lands had been issued by the L T nited 
States." 

Suit was immediately begun in the circuit 
court, district of Oregon, before Judge Sawyer, 
L. L. McArthur appearing as United States at- 
torney, and James K. Kelley and Dolph. Bell- 
inger, Mallory & Simpson for the defendants, 
The Dalles Military Road Company, et al. The 
case came up for argument February 18, 1890, 
the defendants filing two pleas, as follows : That 
the governor's certificate was made without 
fraud ; that the defendants were bona fide pur- 
chasers from The Dalles Military Road Com- 
pany, without notice of any fraud or defect in the 
title. In an opinion rendered February 2, 1890, 
Judge Sawyer sustained the defendants' pleas and 
dismissed the case. 

From such decision the case was appealed to 
the United States Circuit court, Ninth district. 
Judge Blatchford handing down the opinion, May 
25, 1 89 1, which reversed the decision of the dis- 
trict court and remanded the case for further hear- 
ing. The conclusion reached was that the district 
court erred in not permitting the United States 
to reply to the pleas and dismissing the bill ab- 
solutely. After the mandate had been filed in the 
district court issue was joined on these two pleas, 
testimony taken from settlers and others, and 
December 7, 1891, a decree was again entered 
sustaining the second plea. From this decree an 
appeal was taken to the circuit court of appeals, 
by which court on March 10, 1892, that decree 
was affirmed, and from this decree of affirmance 
the United States appealed to the supreme court 
of the LTnited States. Assistant Attorney Gen- 
eral Parker appeared for the United States, and 
James K. Kelly, for The Dalles Military Road 
Company. Justice Brewer handed clown an opin- 
ion from the supreme court bench. March 6. 
1893, which affirmed the decision of the district 
court and the court of appeals. Thus the orig- 
inal title of the road company to these lands was 
made absolute. Several other military road 
grants, including that of the Willamette Valley 
and Cascade Mountain Wagon Road Company, 
whose road passed through what is now Harney, 
then Grant county, were, also, in litigation at 
this time, and as the basic facts in all were the 
same as in the case against The Dalles Road Com- 
panv, this case was made a test case and the cases 
against the others dropped when negative de- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



441 



cision was rendered against this company. The 
main point upon which the defendants rested their 
case was that by the act of 1867 congress pro- 
vided that the only proof of construction required 
to obtain possession of the lands was the gov- 
ernor's certificate, and when that was given, and 
proven to have been bona fide, the title to the land 
was absolute. 

It will be gleaned by the reader that in these 
numerous trials, appeals, remands and affirm- 
ances that the United States government com- 
pletely ignored the basic fraud in this outrageous 
proceedings — the granting to the Military Road 
Company a certificate to the effect that the gov- 
ernor had made a careful examination of said 
road since its completion and that the same is 
built as required by the act of congress. Such 
was far from being the fact. Little if anything 
was ever done in the way of making a highway. 
The entire unscrupulous scheme bore the offen- 
sive taint of so many later day government, state 
and municipal scandals which reek through the 
columns of the daily press, and plunge once hon- 
ored citizens into the law courts and finally dump 
them into the sewer of political oblivion. The 
government was in possession of all facts neces- 
sary to lay bare this scandalous conspiracy and 
convict the conspirators. There was a voluminous 
oral and written testimony in the shape of affi- 
davits in support of such an action. But the fed- 
eral supreme court virtually said that two wrongs 
would make a right ; that because congress had 
passed an unwise and ill-digested act, which im- 
prudence was taken advantage of by an unscrup- 
xilous executive, the honest, homeseeking pio- 
neers must suffer the penalty of combined per- 
nicious legislation and executive truculency. It 
is idle to say that it is the business of the supreme 
court to construe congressional laws, not make 
them. Whenever it pleases this highest legal 
tribunal in the land to declare a law unconstitu- 
tinal, it brushes it aside as lightly as the down is 
blown from the thistle top. "Fraud vitiates all 
contracts." A plainer case never existed than the 
-corrupt machinations carried by this land grab- 
bing syndicate to a successful conclusion. Today 
it would be called in colloquial parlance "graft." 
Some nearer contemporary history of this episode 
is given by The Dalles Times of date March 16, 
1881: 

The 39th congress passed an act granting certain 
lands to the state of Oregan for the construction of a 
military wagon road from Dalles City, on the Columbia, 
to a point opposite Fort Boise, on the Snake river. 
The grant included alternate sections of public lands, 
designated by odd numbers, to the extent of three sec- 
tions in width, on each side of proposed road. The 



act provided that the lands should be exclusively ap- 
plied to the constrction of said road and to no other 
purpose; and should be disposed of as the work pro- 
gresses. It further enacted that this should be a public 
highway for the use of the government of the United 
States, free, and that it should be constructed with such 
width, graduation, and bridges as to permit of its 
regular use for wagons and in such other special manner 
as the state may prescribe. The manner of the sale 
of the lands was prescribed in this manner : When the 
governor shall certify to the secretary of the interior 
that ten continuous miles of said road shall be com- 
pleted, a sale of the land may be effected, not to exceed 
thirty sections. 

The legislative assembly in October, 1868, passed an 
act conformable to the one cited above, but contain- 
ing no provision specifying the kind of road that should 
be constructed. It was literally giving into the hands 
of the company all the lands mentioned in the act of 
congress. The history of this road is marked by fruad 
at every step. The object of congress was to grant a 
sufficient subsidy to the incorporators to aid them 
in building a highway to the interior of the eastern por- 
tion of this state and a part of Idaho. The fact is, no 
road was built, but the line of an old one followed, 
and settlers along the route for a number of years past 
have had to do their own grading and build their 
own bridges. It is only a short time since that a 
United States sub-mail contractor recovered a judg- 
ment in the circuit court of this county, because he had 
to perform the service on a different route. 

The company incorporated for this purpose laid 
their hands upon the choicest parcels of the public do- 
main within the grant, without fulfilling any of the 
conditions prescribed. That was not necessary, for a 
governor was at Salem at that time who approved 
all their acts, and that was satisfactory. • Perhaps no 
one thing has tendered to retard the development of 
Eastern Oregon more than this "land grab." The pub- 
lic domain which should be used alone for settlement, 
has been taken out of the market, and the settler had to 
apply to the road magnates to effect a purchase. If the 
road had been built as congress provided, then it would 
have opened a means of ingress or egress into and out 
of the more sparsely settled portions of Grant and 
Wasco counties ; but as it is, the settler had to construct 
his own road if he needed one. 

From all along the line of this route we have heard 
the same complaint. There can be no doubt that the 
provisions as regards a public highway were never 
complied with or, perhaps, 'were never intended to be 
carried out by the recipients of the bounty of the gov- 
ernment. The road is at present owned by the widow 
and heirs of E. Martin, deceased, who are residents of 
San Francisco. The estate cannot be disposed of until 
the minor heirs are of age. The "powers that be" at 
Washington should make a thorough investigation of 
this swindle, and if the conditions in the original act 



442 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



were "conditions precedent," then see that justice is done 
to the settlers of Eastern Oregon. Other 'frauds have 
been exposed; why not this one?' 

In her "Reminescences of Eastern Oregon" 
Mrs. Elizabeth Lord has written : 

"In 1 86 1 a company was incorporated called 
The Dalles and Canyon City Military Road Com- 
pany, under an act passed by congress granting 
to such companies lands adjacent to such roads. 
The road was necessary to facilitate the moving 
of troops and stores and to establish posts and 
render it possible for the government to punish 
and control the renegade Indians who made 
themselves a terror to whites passing over the 
trails. My father (Judge W. C. Laughlin), 
was an active member of this company. I can 
not name all of the members, but William Logan 
and O. Humason were among them. After my 
father's death the company underwent some sort 
of sleight-of-hand performance by which the un- 
sophisticated were left out. We were of that 
class." 

March 29, 1882, The Dalles Times said : 
"Some time since we published the rumor that 
the owners of the road intended to sell the same 
to an English company who intended to bring out 
a colony to occupy the lands. We take the fol- 
lowing from the Grant County News: 

' 'An agreement on the part of the present 
owners of the lands of The Dalles Military Road 
Company to sell to Leigh, Payne & Company, 
Chicago, has been filed for record in the clerk's 
office of this county. The number of acres to be 
transferred is 562,577.89. The price to be paid 
is $600,000; $100,000 by April 1st, and the bal- 
ance in bimonthly payments of $140,000 each, be- 
ginning with July 1st. It is provided that if 
Leigh, Payne & Company transfer the lands to 
an incorporated company of London, England, 
the bonds of such company to the amount of 
$420,000 shall be accepted in lieu of the three 
last three cash payments. The above lands are 
situated in the counties of Grant, Baker and 
Wasco.' " 

It should be borne in mind by the reader that 
the county of Wasco then contained several coun- 
ties that have since been sliced off, including 
Sherman. January 17, 1902, The Dalles Times- 
Mountaineer said : 

"There is much justice in the claim of the 
people of Sherman county that they be repaid 
for the land that was taken from them by the 
decision of the federal court sustaining the title 
of the Eastern Oregon Land Company. The 
government invited settlers to take up and im- 
prove lands inside the grant of the company. In 
many instances it issued patents thereto, and 



certainly the government could do nothing less 
than repay such settlers for their improvements 
and repay the amount they had expended in per- 
fecting title to the land." 

We now come to the only defense of this 
rapacious and venal land-grabbing syndicate, ad- 
dressed to the secretary of the interior by the 
president of the Eastern Oregon Land Company : 

San Francisco, October 4, 1904 — Sir: The company 
will accept $60 per acre in quarter section lots for such 
of its lands in Sherman county, Oregon, as may be re- 
quired by the government agreeing to take not less 
than 10,000 acres. The company will agree to transfer 
all its right, title and interest, including improvements, 
together with an abstract of title of each quarter sec- 
tion subdivision. In case of purchase the present tenants 
of the land are to hold possession under their leases 
and not to be disturbed in the possession of such por- 
tions of the land as have been seeded for the next crop 
until the growing crop, if any, has been harvested. Tbe 
payments are to be made in San Francisco, California, 
the company's home office. Agreements concerning the 
prorating of taxes and rents will be made hereafter. 
The above price is based on the value of the land 
itself, its relation to other portions of the grant, and 
on the damage sustained by the company through the 
litigation involved in the overlap case. * * * The 
rest of the land belonging to the Eastern Oregon Land 
Company, while of value at the present time, does not 
pay its share of the taxes and other expenses. It has 
been the policy of the company to hold its Sherman 
county lands in order to profitably carry on the rest of 
the grant, and it is its intention not to sell these until 
the whole grant can be disposed of. Many offers for 
these lands have been made and are refused in all 
cases except as stated above. * * * 

To recapitulate : The company is by no means 
anxious to sell these lands, which are the best of its 
property, producing all its revenue and giving its value 
to the rest of its property. The price it has made 
it deems reasonable on the present purchase value 
and market price, adding to this some consideration for 
its losses and expenses, which have exceeded $325,000, 
and the cost of improvements, fencing, etc., which have 
aggregated over $20,000. The company does not care 
to consider the question of exchange for scrip on any 
terms. 

The above is not to be considered as a contract or 
agreement, and the company does not bind itself not to 
sell or dispose of its holdings in consequence. 

WALLER S. MARTIN, 
President Eastern Oregon Land Company. 

The Secretary of the Interior, 
Washington, D. C. 

So far we have traced the sinuous history of 
one celebrated Oregon Land grabbing scheme. 




Moro, County Seat of Snerman County 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



443 



There are others. They do not at this juncture 
come into \he province of our work. They are 
one and all redolent of political foulness and mal- 



feasance in high office. W eare only too glad 
to leave them in the most competent hands of the 
magazine specialists. 



CHAPTER II 



CITIES AND TOWNS. 



Within the boundaries of Sherman county are 
three towns of importance, nearly of a 
size and each the center of a rich agri- 
cultural section. These are Moro, the county 
seat, Grass Valley and Wasco, all on the line of 
the Columbia Southern Railroad. Aside from 
these are several other towns which are important 
shipping points for the millions of bushels of 
grain annually produced in the county. These 
are all prosperous communities. There are in the 
county fourteen postomces. 

MORO. 

The capital of Sherman county is located 
twenty-seven miles south of the Columbia river. 
Since 1899 its population has increased from 
250 to about 800. It has electric lights, excellent 
water and sewerage systems, well-equipped fire 
department, a weekly newspaper, two hotels, a 
graded public school, three churches and a 
number of general stores and shops. It has, also, 
one flouring mill, with a capacity of 200 barrels 
per day, a feed mill, one lumber yard, one wood- 
working mill, and four grain warehouses with a 
combined capacity of 425,000 bushels. Its fav- 
orable location contributes to Moro an immense 
trading population. 

The "community of interest" among the res- 
idents of Moro is highly commendable. Their 
divisions on religious, political or other lines in 
nowise conflict with their concerted action when 
confronted with any question bearing upon the 
interests of the town as a whole. The elevation 
above sea level of Moro is about 1,400 feet; it is 
located on rolling land sloping gradually to the 
northeast, presenting to the traveler a most pleas- 
ing perspective as he approaches the city from 
any direction. In a retrospective vein the Times- 
Mountaineer said : "The county seat of Sherman 
county is pleasantly situated between the John 
Day river on the east and the boisterous Des 
Chutes on the west, in a picturesque valley that 



winds its way southerly through the county- 
Located near the center of the county, where 

' 'The lofty hill, the humble lawn, with count- 
less beauties shine,' the town possesses especial 
advantages as a commercial point." 

While the history of Moro as a municipality 
does not begin until the '8o's, let us hark back a 
trifle to the spot upon which the capital of Sher- 
man county is builded. Here it was, in 1868, that 
Henry Barnum located. Here he erected a house,, 
founded a home and became Moro's first resi- 
dent. About 1879 Mr. Barnum established, in a 
small way, a store, or more properly speaking, a 
trading post, utilizing one of the rooms of his 
house for that purpose. Practically this was 
Moro's first business house, although the name- 
Moro as applied to any place in Oregon did not 
then exist, nor was there then even an indistinct 
impression that ever a town would be named 
Moro. 

The second building erected, following Mr. 
Barnum's, was one that in 1898 was used as a 
printing office by the Moro Observer. But at 
the time it was built, in 1883, it was occupied by 
Fox, Scott & Company as a general merchandise 
store. The original location was where is now 
situated the Wasco Warehouse Company's bank. 
This firm was succeeded by Scott & McCoy, Fox 
retiring from the firm. Eventually the Moore 
Brothers purchased the business of Scott & Mc- 
Coy. December 22, 1897, the Moro Observer 
said: 

"When Scott & McCoy, our stalwart and' 
worthy E. O. (McCoy), who still sticks to Sher- 
man county, the best in the world, erected this 
building, now the home of the Observer, there 
was no Sherman county, no Moro here ; only the 
rolling hills covered with native grasses, the 
world-best .bunch grass predominating, upon 
which were feeding herds of cattle and bunches 
of wild cayuses. The virgin soil had only been 
broken in patches to demonstrate the fact that 
this region was a wealth-producer in other re- 



-444 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



spects than grazing nomadic herds for the mar- 
ket. Scott & McCoy brought in a big stock of 
merchandise for general business, including a 
limited supply of farming implements." 

On the authority of The Dalles Times-Moun- 
taineer of January I, 1898, it may be said: "The 
original townsite was purchased by Scott & Com- 
pany in 1882 from Mrs. Hunter, who afterward 
became Mrs. Fox, her husband of the firm of 
Fox & Scott, then the leading merchants of Sher- 
man county, and consisted of six blocks of ten 
lots each." 

Of the naming of the town of Moro there 
have been many versions. Here is the story of the 
selection of a cognomen as told to the writer by 
one of the participants in the selection, L. Bar- 
num, then a boy six or seven years of age. It 
was anterior to the establishment of a postoffice. 
A number of ladies met at the warehouse which 
at that period stood on the principal street of the 
present town, to discuss the matter of a name for 
the postoffice. They were of many minds, each 
one suggesting a name ; consolidation on any one 
name appeared impossible. It was finally agreed 
that each one should write the name she, or he, 
desired, on a slip of paper ; throw the slips into a 
hat ; shake them up ; draw out one and the name 
thereon should become the name of the future 
town. This was done ; the name of Moro, like 
Abou ben Adhem's, led all the rest. It had been 
selected by Miss Melisa Hampden, and, inci- 
dentally, that lady drew the slip. Those present 
at the christening of Moro were : Mrs. Henry 
Barnum, Mrs. Scott, Miss Melisa Hampden, 
Mrs. Ragsdale, Mrs. Julius Martin, Hugh Scott, 
John Scott and L. Barnum. Where Miss Hamp- 
den found the name is, today, problematical. 
There are six towns in the United States named 
Moro, viz : Moro, Arkansas ; Moro, Illinois ; 
Moro, Maine; Moro, Pennsylvania; Moro, Texas 
and Moro, Oregon. But there is another ver- 
sion ; The Dalles Times-Mountaineer of January 
1898, says : 

"The name 'Moro' is not of local origin, hav- 
ing been given to the town by Judge O. M. 
Scott, one of the earliest settlers here, who form- 
erly lived in Moro, Illinois, and desired to per- 
petuate the name by christening this town after 
it." 

And here is still another from the Obscrvor of 
December 22, 1897 : 

"After the postoffice was established in the 
spring of 1884, John Scott was postmaster; it 
became necessary to have the office in the store 
of Scott & McCoy, to facilitate trade and accom- 
modate settlers who were becoming quite numer- 
ous. For convenience the firm wished the name 
to be a short one as their correspondence was 



voluminous and they did not care to waste time 
in writing words of many syllables. * * * * 
Name after name was suggested but laid aside. 
Finally a clerk in the establishment by the name 
of Truelove, a native of Scotland, produced the 
name. Moro, which was adopted." 

This suggestion, however, may have been 
only the foundation of the actual selection of the 
name, and the word "Moro," written by Miss 
Hampden may have been merely in the line of 
"seconding the motion" of Mr. Truelove. Cer- 
tainly there is not, necessarily, any insurmount- 
able difference, or conflict of facts, between the 
story related by L. Barnum and the version pub- 
lished by the Moro Observer. 

"Moro" is a Spanish word signifying Moor- 
ish ; belonging to the Moors. There is, also, 
another reason. Attoni Moro, otherwise known 
as Sir Anthony More, an eminent portrait painter 
born at Utrecht, in 15 12 was, in 1552, invited by 
Charles V., king of Spain, to paint the portrait 
of Prince Philip. So satisfactory was his work 
and so highly appreciated that he was greatly 
honored in Spain, granted many presents and an 
annuity. Moro lived there for several years, dy- 
ing in 1 58 1. It is thought that his name has 
been thus honored by Spain. The English word 
moro signifies the vinous grosbeak, stone-bird or 
desert trumpter, Carpodacus (Bucanetes) gitlia- 
gineus, a small fringilline bird. It also means 
the mulberry. 

From the date of the establishment of the 
Moro postoffice in 1884, the following have offic- 
iated as postal officials : John Scott, W. H. Will- 
iams, Mrs. Dora Williams and John M. Parry. 
The townsite was platted by Scott & McCoy, 
recorded at The Dalles, and sales of lots began. 
Main and First streets were the principal ones, 
and the streets were numbered First, Second, 
Third, Fourth, etc. West from Main were 
Scott, McCoy and Jewett streets. During its 
early history there was no "boom" in Moro ; no 
mushroom growth — in fact its growth was quite 
slow following the establishment of the store and 
postoffice by Scott & McCoy. John Scott built a 
residence which was the third building erected 
on the present site of Moro. Following this the 
progress of the town was about as follows : Moro 
Hotel, by E. J. Rollins ; J. B. Mowry and O. E. 
Leet came to this place, ran stock for Henry 
Barnum and made their home here ; Mr. Rags- 
dale. Sr., moved his house from Grass Valley 
canyon to Moro; Henry McBride and Mrs. 
Bounds, brother and sister, built a home within 
the present limits of the town ; Zumalt family 
moved here ; Somers & McKenzie erected a large 
blacksmith shop ; John Landrie, an employe of 
Somers & McKenzie, built a small house. The 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



445 



Dalles Times-Mountaineer devoted this much" 
space in 1885 to a description of the present cap- 
ital of Sherhian county : "Moro is situated in 
what is known as the Grass Valley country, the 
best belt of farming land in Wasco county. A 
stage leaves Grant three times a week for this 
place, from which it is seventeen miles distant." 

But it was not until 1887 that Moro began to 
assume the proportions of a village, when the 
townsite passed into the hands of Moore Broth- 
ers. Shortly afterward a well-equipped hard- 
ware store, with R. J. Ginn as proprietor, proved 
a welcome accession to the town. 

The selection of Moro as the capital of Sher- 
man county in 1892 was, of course, an important 
event in its history. This has been fully treated 
in the preceding chapter. In July, 1893, the citi- 
zens of Moro took the preliminary steps toward 
organizing a fire company. W. H. Moore was 
elected captain ; he appointed ten members to 
serve as pipemen, making R. J. Ginn the leader. 
He then named the members of a hook and lad- 
der corps. During its earlier days Moro was 
supplied with a water system constructed by 
private capital at a cost of 2,700. This answered 
every purpose during the infantile period of the 
town's history, but its place was taken in the 
late '90's by the splendid system now in use. 

An attempt , at incorporation was made in 
1897. In the state senate a bill to grant a city 
charter to the town of Moro was introduced, 
but nothing eventuated that session. December 
22, 1897 the Moro Observer said : "Fifty-five 
new buildings have been erected and the old ones 
— every one of them — more or less improved 
since June, 1894." Rapid strides were taken by 
Moro in the year 1897. There was most encour- 
aging development ; many new enterprises were 
put on foot during this year, including a number 
of business houses. Municipal improvement was 
continued through 1898, the year of the arrival 
of the railroad, and 600,000 feet of lumber had 
been put into the Moro buildings up to June 15th. 
The new water company, of which we have 
spoken, was organized this year. It absorbed the 
old one ; the capital stock was increased to $7,000. 
It was completed in August. A second weekly 
newspaper was another new enterprise that ac- 
centuated the steady improvement of the town. 
September 7, 1898, the Moro Leader said : 

"Since the second day of March last, when 
the first isssue of the Moro Leader was pub- 
lished, there has been a large increase in popula- 
tion in Moro. Not only this, but building and 
other improvements have nearly kept pace with 
the increased needs. During the past six months 
there have been begun about seventeen residences, 
and most of them completed. Of business places, 



such as hotels, stores, etc., there are twelve 
erected and under way." 

In 1899 Moro secured from the legislature a 
city charter. It was approved February 17th.. 
The last section reads : "Inasmuch as there is 
great need of local municipal government in the 
city of Moro, this act shall take effect and be in 
force from and after its approval by the gov- 
ernor." 

While this bill was pending the Moro 
Observer said : "If passed as prepared the Moro 
city charter provides for selling $10,000 worth 
of bonds for water, electricity and sewerage. The 
government is to consist of one mayor and six 
councilmen to be elected in April for two years ; a 
recorder, marshal and city attorney, annually ap- 
pointed by the council. The city boundaries take 
in 160 acres of Moore Brothers' land ; 80 acres 
of the Mowery tract and a 40-rod strip of the 
Barnum-Ragsdale tract." 

The new boundaries provided by the charter 
were as follows : Commencing at the northeast 
corner of section 18, 1 south, range 17 east ; 
thence J / 2 mile due west to the northwest corner ■ 
of the I. O. O. F. cemetery ; thence south % of a 
mile; thence east 200 rods, which would be 40 
rods east of the southeast corner of the north- 
east quarter of the southeast quarter of section 
18 ; thence due north J4 miles ; thence west 40 
rods to place of beginning. 

The Moro Commercial Club was organized in 
May, 1899, wit h F. E. Brown, president; E. E. 
Lytle, vice-president ; A. C. Sanford, treasurer ; 
I. J. Keffer, secretary. The membership was 
limited to thirty. Rooms were fitted up in the 
basement of the opera house. The taxable prop- 
erty of Moro for 1901 was $110,525; leading all' 
other towns in the county. January 1, 1898, The 
Dalles Times-Mountaineer paid the following 
handsome compliment to the town : 

It is safe to predict that Moro will continue to 
retain its preeminence as a commercial center. Geo- 
graphical position is favorable to it. Nature has sur- 
rounded it on all sides with rich and fertile agricultural 
lands, whose golden harvests are year by year, in the 
usual course of trade, poured into the lap of its com- 
mercial population. A wide-awake and progressive citi- - 
zenship proclaims the fact that here is a town which' 
contains all the elements of success — honesty, fair deal- 
ing, courtesy and the desire and ability to attract within 
its borders trade from every quarter. But a few miles ■ 
west of the town is the lordly Des Chutes, leaping with 
giant strides to the Columbia, and containing within 
itself almost unlimited wealth in the water power that 
has hitherto been permitted to waste itself with lavish 
prodigality, but which the genius and industry of Moro's - 
citizens will ere long harness to the mill and loom ; . 



446 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



.and for a reward snatching from its broad bosom the 
wealth that now floats there "unhonored and unsung." 
Theologically the city is represented by the First 
Presbyterian, Methodist and Baptist churches. Follow- 
ing are the fraternal societies : Eureka Lodge No. 121, 
A. F. & A. M.; Bethlehem Chapter, No. 78, O. E. S. ; 
Moro Lodge, No. 113, I. O. O. F. ; Lupine Rebekah 
Lodge, No. 116, I. O. O. F. ; Moro Camp, No. 351, 
W. O. W. ; Moro Circle, No. 56, Women of Woodcraft; 

.Moro Lodge, No. 64, A. O. U. W. ; Herrin Lodge, No. 
82, D. of H. ; Moro Council, No. 962, Knights and 
Ladies of Security; Moro Camp, No. 9285, M. W. A. 

In 1899 a city charter was granted to Moro. 
We append a list of the city officials since that 
period : 

1899— Mayor, W. H. Moore; council, S. S. Hayes, 
G. W. Brock, A. C. Sanford, W. Holder, H. A. Moore, 
J. M. Parry,* I. M. Smith ;* recorder, W. Henricks,* 
J. M. Parry;* treasurer, F. H. Meader; marshal, N. W. 
Thompson. 

1900 — Mayor, W. H. Moore; council, G. W. Brock, 
J. O. Elrod, R. J. Ginn, H. A. Moore, W. Holder, S. 
McDonald; recorder, J. M. Parry,* M. Fitzmaurice ;* 
•treasurer, E. R. Hickson; marshal, W. Hoggard. 

1901 — Mayor, W. H. Moore; council, R. J. Ginn, 
H. A. Moore, W. J. Martin, E. W. Elrod, J. O. Elrod, S. 
McDonald; recorder, J. M. Parry; treasurer, E. R. 
Hickson; marshal, W. Hoggard. 

1902 — Mayor, W. H. Moore; council, R. J. Ginn, 
M. Fitzmaurice, G. W. Brock, J, O. Elrod, H. A. 
Moore, W. J. Martin; recorder, J. M. Parry,* G. M. 
Frost ;* treasurer, E. R. Hickson ; marshal, W. Hoggard. 

1903 — Mayor, W. H. Moore ; council, J. O. Elrod, 
H. A. Moore, I. D. Pike, G. W. Brock, M. Fitzmaurice, 
R. J. Ginn; recorder, G. M. Frost; treasurer, E. R. 
Hickson; marshal, W. Hoggard. 

1904 — Mayor, W. H. Moore,* L. Barnum ;* council. 
W. H. Ragsdale, J. F. Foss, G. W. Brock, B. F. Pike,* 
O. A. Ramsey, J. O. Elrod,* J. M. Dunahoo, H. A. 
Page ; recorder, G. M. Frost,* M. Fitzmaurice ; treasurer, 
E. R. Hickson,* S. S. Hayes;* marshal, W. Hoggard,* 
J. P. Strahl,* E. L. Sells.* 

1905 — Mayor, J. O. Elrod ; council, W. H. Ragsdale, 
L. Barnum, O. J. Goffin, E. H. Moore, O. A. Ramsey, 
G. W. Brock; recorder, W. C. Bryant; treasurer, E. R. 
Hickson ; marshal, E. L. Sells. 

WASCO. 

This lively town is located ten miles south of 
the Columbia river on the line of the Columbia 
Southern Railway. From 300 to more than 
twice that number the population has increased 
since 1897. In every respect it is a modern city. 

* Served part of term. 



It possesses a well-equipped fire department, ex- 
cellent water system, one weekly newspaper, two 
hotels, one graded public school, three churches, 
two flouring mills with a capacity of 400 barrels 
per day, two banks, numerous general stores and 
shops, two livery stables and five grain ware- 
houses with a combined storage of 450,000 bush- 
els. Of a splendid agricultural region it is the 
financial center. Wasco is noted for having 
been the first town in Oregon to resort to the 
use of crude petroleum on its streets for the pur- 
pose of "laying the dust," and shedding water in 
winter. The system has proved successful in 
every particular. 

While the growth of Wasco has never been 
what might be termed in western parlance 
"swift," it has been steady and healthy. The 
town will never recede ; with the development of 
the surrounding country it must, certainly, keep 
pace, and continue the supply point of a large 
territory. A conservative estimate of Wasco's 
population places it at 700. In a variety of ways 
the town of Wasco is a pretty place ; one that 
nestles in rural simplicity which charms the eye 
and gratifies the senses. A more eligible site for 
a town could scarcely have been chosen. Situated 
near the head of Spanish Hollow, it is compara- 
tively level, yet sloping sufficiently to allow ex- 
cellent drainage. The general topography of the 
country is such that all roads easily and natur- 
ally trend toward it. The sloping hills surround- 
ing the townsite are covered with wheat farms. 

Wasco was so named from the county in which 
it was located at the time it was founded. The 
significance of this Indian word — a maker of 
horn basins — is explained in the chapter con- 
cerning Wasco county. The name Wascos was 
applied to a tribe of Indians who for many years 
made their homes, or head center, at The Dalles. 
'In the pioneer days ('40's and '5o's) when 
thousands of immigrants crossed the plains to 
Oregon, their trail bisected the ground where is 
now located this thriving little city. Before it 
took final, definite shape the act of locating the 
present site of Wasco was agitated for some 
time. W. M. Barnett was the first to build. He 
erected a two-story edifice, the lower portion be- 
ing utilized for his mercantile business ; the up- 
per storv was used primarily for meetings of 
every description. Mr. Barnett was closely fol- 
lowed by Messrs. MacKenzie & Somer, with a 
machine shop. Mr. MacKenzie's mother was the 
first white woman to live in the city. These 
people were followed the succeeding year by 
Messrs. Tozier & Holland, blacksmiths. The 
same vear, 1883, the Methodist Episcopal church 
was built. This building was located on the 
west side of "the creek," and was an edifice of 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



447 



considerable importance, being the only one de- 
voted exclusively to religious services between 
the John Day and Des Chutes rivers. July 16, 
1883, Wasco townsite was platted by Clark Dun- 
lap ; the southeast corner of southwest half of 
section 4, township 1, north range 17 E: W. M. 
Anterior to removing to Wasco Mr. Barnett had 
been engaged in mercantile business since 1880 
near "Eaton's ranch," one and onedialf miles 
northwest of Wasco. The second store building 
in town was, also, erected by Mr. Barnett. This 
was in 1885, a drug store, rented to Josiah 
Marsh. In 1885 The Dalles Times-Mountaineer 
had this to say of the town : "Wasco, ten miles 
distant from Grant, on the Grass Valley stage 
route, is in the midst of a fine belt of land. 
Within the last four years over 1,000 settlers have 
made homes in this section, and Wasco has a 
promising future." 

In 1887 Levi Armsworthy built the Oskaloosa 
Hotel, the first hostelry on the original plat of the 
town. Later came Dr. S. E. Koontz and James 
Haas, a contractor, followed by quite a large 
contingent of people, many of whom are yet 
Wasco's best and most honored residents. 

In 1888 the first school house was erected. It 
was a one-story building ; in commission two 
3'ears. In 1890 the present four-room edifice was 
built at a cost of $4,000. The first year only 
two rooms were found necessary for accommo- 
dation of the pupils ; three were used the third 
year; in 1903 all were utilized and another 
teacher employed. It was in 1889 that E. O. E. 
Webber built the second general merchandise 
store in the town of Wasco. This place, it will 
be remembered by readers of the preceding chap- 
ter, was made the temporary capital of Sherman 
county, remaining so until 1892 when it was re- 
moved to Moro. A stock company was organ- 
ized in Wasco in 1891 for the purpose of trans- 
acting a general banking business, and the Sher- 
man county bank was placed in the financial 
field. Subsequently it was sold to J. M. Patter- 
son and V. C. Brock, who failed in 1899. After 
1892 "hard times" left their melancholy results 
throughout the land, still, compared with other 
localities Wasco suffered but little. 

Prosperity in 1897 was marked. Not only 
were crops munificent but the financial atmos- 
phere was clarified. Wasco more than doubled 
her population ; business marvellously increased. 
The basis of this spontaneous revival was the 
commencement of the Columbia Southern Rail- 
way and the certainty that Wasco was to be on 
"the line." The first extensive warehouse was 
constructed by a stock company called the 
Farmers' Co-operative Warehouse Company. As 
euch it was conducted two years and then dis- 



posed of to the Union Warehouse Company. One 
year subsequently it was merged with the Wasco 
Warehouse & Milling Company. H. P. Isaacs 
erected the first flouring mill in Wasco. This 
was in 1897, coincident with the advent of the 
railroad. 

January 1, 1898, the following description of 
Wasco was published in The Dalles Times-Moun- 
taineer : 

Again the clarion tones of the whistle are heard, 
and houses begin to flash in sight. The bell clangs, 
the train slows up, and after having traveled ten miles, 
Wasco is reached. Looking about the visitor is im- 
pressed with the amount of business apparent. On 
every hand are .new houses both business and dwelling. 
Many are finished; others under construction. It is 
harvest field for mechanics. The sound of the hammer 
is incessant. Looking about the railroad yards the 
immense volume of business is more apparent than ever. 
The tracks extend along one side of the town for 
nearly a mile, and every available foot of this space is 
taken up by warehouses, woodyards and business features 
of different sorts. Huge ricks of wheat amounting to 
over a million and a half bushels are stored here during 
the year for shipment. During all of the autumn months 
and far into the winter heavy wheat trains, four, six, 
eight and ten horses, with two or three heavy wagons, 
come in, bringing in thousands of sacks daily. Indeed, 
four hundred of these teams have been counted in one 
day. It takes almost an army of men to handle all 
this produce, to say nothing of the large quantity of 
other freight that goes out as well as comes in. The 
Columbia Southern Railway hauls all the freight into the 
county, and it amounts yearly to considerably better than 
half a million dollars. Daily heavy freight teams leave 
their depot with loads of supplies for other portions of 
Sherman county. 

At the January, 1898, meeting of the county 
court a petition signed by 55 residents of Wasco 
was presented" asking the commissioners to grant 
them the privilege of voting on the question of 
incorporation. It was alleged in the petition that 
there were about 300 people resident within the 
boundaries of the proposed incorporation. The 
petitioa was granted ; an election was called for 
January 31st for the purpose of voting upon the 
question and selecting city officials should the 
proposition carry at the polls. Friends of incor- 
poration were successful by a majority of 13 
votes. Close and exciting was this election ; vig- 
ilant were the watchdogs at the polls and many 
a man was compelled to swear in his vote. The 
vote for city officials was equally close, with the 
following result : 

For mayor — W. M. Barnett, 44 ; G. N. Cros- 
field, 55. 



448 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



For councilmen — The six first named elected 
— L. Clark, 76; J. E. McPherson, 55; W. M. 
Booth, 55; P. L. Kretzer, 54; W. A. Murchie, 
57; W. M. Reynolds, 77; W. H. Biggs, 52; W. 
S. Barzee, 50; W. S. Clayton, 42; H. Krause, 
49 ; J. M. Hoag, 50. 

For recorder — W. F. Johnson, 62; E. E. 
Lyon, 42. 

For marshal — Angus Cameron, 6; W. H. 
Walker, 42. 

For treasurer — V. C. Brock, 98. 

The first meeting of the city council was held 
Wednesday, April 18th. The two tickets in the 
field were named People's and Citizens'. In the 
main the People's ticket was successful, although 
some of the councilmen's names appeared on both 
tickets. 

For some reason or other it was affirmed by 
certain pessimists that with the extension south 
of the railroad Wasco would retrograde. In this 
gloomy prognostication they were grievously 
mistaken. Per contra Wasco continued to wax 
prosperous and happy. In 1901 her taxable 
property was $90,520. 

On the morning of November 17, 1903, 
Wasco suffered from a most disastrous fire. At 
2:15 a. m., flames were discovered issuing from 
the basement of an addition, under process of 
construction, to the Oregon Trading Company's 
store. The main building was soon a mass of 
flames and smoke; the fire ran to the adjacent 
opera house and this, too, was a total loss, as was 
the residence of John Venable. 

The Oregon Trading Company's store, the 
property of E. O. McCoy and George N. Cros- 
field, was a large concern, the building and stock 
being valued at $100,000. They carried an in- 
surance of $60,000 on the building and stock. The 
opera house was owned by a joint stock company 
and was valued at $40,000, on which there was 
only $2,000 insurance. Mr. Venable's residence 
was worth $1,500 and he carried no insurance. 

Saturday, July 16, 1904, the citizens, by an 
almost unanimous vote, decided to bond the town 
for an amount sufficient to meet the expense of a 
complete system of fire protection and sewerage. 
But the people were not yet out of the woods. A 
committee, commissioned by the city council, 
went to Portland to negotiate the sale of $12,000 
worth of municipal bonds. The attorney of the 
loan company to whom the bonds were offered 
examined the Wasco city charter and discovered 
an amendment to the effect that the city could 
not be bonded for more than five per cent, of its 
taxable property. The citizens had voted a tax 
of ten per cent. But, although available records 
are a trifle obscure, this difficulty was subse- 



quently overcome and the money found for the 
greatly needed improvements. 

As has been stated the Methodist Episcopal 
church is the pioneer in the town of Wasco ; hav- 
ing been one of the first buildings erected on the 
original plat of the town. This was in the fall 
of 1883. In 1902 the present building was 
erected at a cost of $5,000 and was dedicated 
January 11, 1903. The church has a membership 
of more than sixty. 

The Christian, is the second church in the 
town of Wasco ; the foundation of the present 
building having been laid in 1888. Owing to 
financial obstacles, however, the building was not 
completed until 1890, at a total cost of about 
$2,500. 

The edifice of the Catholic denomination was 
begun in 1904, and completed the following year, 
the cost being $3,000. It is the first Catholic 
church in Sherman county, and, with the excep- 
tion of The Dalles, 30 miles distant, there is no 
other Catholic church within a radius of 100 
miles. The fraternal societies of Wasco are 
represented as follows : 

Wasco Lodge No. 965, Knights and Ladies 
of Security ; Aurora Lodge No. 54, K. of P. ; 
Wasco Assembly No. 78, United Artisans ; Tavlor 
Lodge No. 99, A. F. & A. M. ; Lillian Temple 
No. 17, Rathbone Sisters ; Alanthus Circle No. 

, Women of Woodcraft ; Wasco Camp No. 

350, W. O. W. ; Wasco Lodge No. 88, A. O. 
U. W. ; Gentlemen's Social and Business Club of 
Wasco ; W. T. Sherman Post No. 4, Department 
of Oregon, G. A. R. ; I. O. O. F. ; Modern For- 
esters ; O. E. S., Golden Sheaf Chapter No. 64 ; 
Degree of Honor. 

The city officials of Wasco since its organiza- 
tion under a charter have been as follows : 

1898 — Mayor, G. N. Crosfield,* C. E. Jones ;* coun- 
cil, J. W. Booth, P. L. Kretzer, W. M. Reynolds, L. Clark, 
J. McPherson,* W. A. Murchie,* A. B. Wooley, T. L. 
Lawrence ; treasurer, V. C. Brock ; recorder, W. R 
Johnson ; marshal, Angus Cameron. 

1899 — Mayor, C. E. Jones ; council, Levi Arms- 
worthy, H. Krause, J. G. Potter, E. Siscel, L. Clark,. 
W. M. Reynolds, N. Draper ; treasurer, V. C. Brock ;. 
recorder, W. F. Johnson,* E. S. Hinman ;* marshal,. 
Angus Cameron,* C. A. Akers* 

1900 — Mayor, E. S. Cattron ; council, H. Krause, 
J. G. Potter, R. C. Atwood, L. Armsworthy, N. Draper, 
V. Workman ; treasurer, V. C. Brock ; recorder, J. E 
Potter ; marshal, H. E. Vaughn. 

1901 — -Mayor, E. S. Cattron ; council, R. C. Atwood, 
N. Draper, J. W. Booth, W. Campbell. V. Workman,* 1 
J. G. Booth, W. S. Barzee; treasurer,. V. C. Brock,* 



* Served part of term*. 




Wheat Scene in Sherman County 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



449 



F. H. Meader; recorder, J. F. Potter; marshal H. E. 
Vaughn. 

1902 — M,ayor, E. S. Cattron ; council, W. M. Rey- 
nolds, J. W. Booth, R. C. Atwood, B. R. Whitney, W. 
Campbell, J. G. Potter; treasurer, F. H. Header,* W. M. 
Barnett ;* recorder, A. S. McDonald,* L. Clark,* W. S. 
Barzee,* F. H. Meader;* marshal, E. G. Tozier,* J. H. 
Trent* 

IC /)3 — Mayor, E. S. Cattron; council, J. W. Booth, 
C. E. Jones, E. S. Buffum, J. A. Ellis, C. Gollier; 
treasurer, W. M. Barnett; recorder, F. H. Meader; 
marshal, B. D. Garlock. 

1904— Mayor, E. §. Cattron; council, W. H. Biggs, 
J. W. Booth, E. D. McKee, C. Gollier, J. W. Allen, 
C. E. Jones; treasurer, W. M. Barnett; recorder, F. H. 
Meader; marshal, J. W. Nixon,* G. T. Andrews.* 

The city administration of 1905 was the^ same in 
personnel as that of 1904. 

The following ladies and gentlemen have 
served Wasco as postmasters and postmistresses 
since the establishment of the office : W. M. Bar- 
nett, Miss Jeannette Murchie, Mrs. Mary Jory, 
William Henrichs, Clark Dunlap and W. E. 
Tate. 

GRASS VALLEY. 

is located 39 miles south of the Columbia river 
on the line of the Columbia Southern Railway. 
As has been the case with her sister towns, Moro 
and Wasco, Grass Valley has nearly quadrupled 
her population within the past four years. It has 
electric lights, good water and sewerage systems, 
a fine graded public school, two churches, a num- 
ber of general and department stores, a livery 
stable, hotel and four grain warehouses with a 
storage capacity of 450,000 bushels. Grass Val- 
ley is the one city in Sherman county that is situ- 
ated, practically, on level ground, with an abun- 
dance of water close to the surface and quickly 
and easily secured by digging. At the present 
writing the population is between 450 and 500. 
It is, certainly, an eligibly located town, attrac- 
tive to the eye and possessing several handsome 
brick buildings which would be a credit to a city 
many times its size — a town of comfortable, cosy 
homes. 

Grass Valley, while in the heart of one of the 
finest wheat belts in Eastern Oregon, is, also, in 
close proximity to fine grazing grounds, where 
thousands of sheep, cattle and horses are kept the 
year round. 

May 3, 1878, Dr. C. R. Rollins in company 
with a number of others, camped where is now 
situated the town of Grass Valley. The members 



*Served part of term. 
29 



of this little exploring expedition, aside from Dr. 
Rollins and his son, were John W. Dow and wife, 
Frank Richie and a Mr. Locke. They were San 
Franciscans, and they were attempting to spy 
out land suitable for stock growing purposes. 
Dr. Rollins located a homestead on the quarter 
section upon which they were camped. Others of 
the party secured homesteads adjoining thereto. 
There were, at this period, only forty-two white 
people in what is now known as Sherman county ; 
during the summer and fall several of these left. 
It should be remembered that at this period the 
whole country was considered fit only for the 
purpose of grazing stock. True, there were 
some who possessed different ideas, and among 
them were the few who settled in the vicinity of 
what is now Grass Valley. They at once turned 
their attention to growing both cereals and vege- 
tables ; harvest time proved them in the right and 
fully justified their judgment. The country 
around Grass Valley began to fill up with set- 
tlers and its celebrity as a rich agricultural and 
stock-raising center extended far and wide. 

Dr. Rollins built here a small store, prac- 
ticed medicine and for a number of years was the 
sole physician from Antelope on the south to the 
Columbia river on the north. 

Concerning the name "Grass Valley" the pio- 
neers of the section in which it is located will tell 
you that the place of the town's location was cov- 
ered by an exceptionally luxuriant growth of rye 
grass, so heavy and tall that old timers, without 
changing countenance, will say that it was im- 
possible to see a horseman riding through it only 
a short distance away. To Dr. Rollins belongs 
the credit of giving the town its name. 

The house built by Dr. Rollins to which we 
have alluded as a "stope," was, in realty, utilized 
as a hotel, or more properly speaking, an inn, and 
also a home aside from being a store. Here 
were accommodated for many years immigrants 
coming in to the country,- and stockmen having 
their flocks and bands of cattle in the vicinity. 
Provision was made for man and beast and the 
small stock of general merchandise supplied the 
needs of the new settlers. Until about 1885 Dr. 
Rollins conducted this commercial combination. 
In the fall of 1878 J. C. Dow ran up, on the 
present townsite of Grass Valley, a little house,, 
and these two structures for many years were 
the only ones on the site. 

C. W. Moore, who came in the fall of 1881 
states that there were on the present townsite,. 
or in the immediate vicinity, the "Grass Vallev 
House," of Dr. Rollins, and farm houses of F. E. 
Clark, James Harney, G. W. Bates and Charles 
Taylor. Not yet had the settlement grown to 
sufficient proportions to warrant the establish- 






45Q 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



ment of a postoffice ; settlers received their mail 
either from the Sherar's Bridge office, or the one 
at Grant, in the extreme northern part of the 
county. Dr. Rollins secured a patent for his 
Grass Valley homestead in 1883. In a special 
edition published in 1885 The Dalles Times- 
Mountaineer said of the town of Grass Valley : 

"Grass Valley is the name of a postoffice, con- 
sisting of a store, hotel and other buildings in the 
center of the fertile settlement bearing that ap- 
pellation. Dr. C. R. Rollins is the proprietor of 
the store and postoffice. There are other post- 
offices in this Grass Valley section, one named 
Erskineville, but Moro, Wasco and Grass Valley 
are the principal business points." 

Following the discontinuance of Dr. Rollins' 
store, C. A. Williams, in 1885, entered the field 
with a stock of general merchandise. This enter- 
prise he conducted three years, disposing of the 
same to Hamilton & Adams. They, in turn, wefe 
succeeded in the business by Scott & Hamilton, 
Scott & Company, Scott & Heath Company and 
the last by the Citizens Commercial Company, 
which today is one of the leading general mer- 
chandise stores in Sherman county. Soon after 
the establishment of the Williams store a post- 
office was secured, named Grass Valley, and was 
located at Charles Taylor's residence about one 
mile from the present business center of the town. 
Charles Taylor was made postmaster. Since 
then the officials who have succeeded Taylor in 
this position have been E. Olds, E. Hamilton, 
George Hamilton, Alexander Scott, James H. 
Marquiss, Minnie Smith and H. W. Wilcox, the 
present incumbent. 

In the year 1888 C. W. Moore and Dr. Rol- 
lins entered into partnership and opened a small 
stock of general goods. Another business enter- 
prise was a blacksmith shop on the ranch of one 
A. Coon, on the fringe of the town ; this was 
about 1889. 1° the early '8o's a shop was opened 
in town by A. Holder. April 16, 1889, the pres- 
ent townsite was surveyed by John Fulton and 
platted, although the plat was not filed until June 
27, 1891. In the course of business transactions 
Mr. C. W. Moore became owner of most of the 
lots in the original townsite of Grass Valley. As 
an inducement to settlement he presented sev- 
eral lots to certain parties who built houses upon 
them. So great was the demand for town lots 
that Dr. Rollins soon had a "First Addition" to 
Grass Valley laid out. Recently a "Second Ad- 
dition" was placed on the market. Sherman's 
and Clement's additions are both situated on the 
flat. The boundaries of the original site are as 
follows : Commencing at the southeast corner of 
said Grass Valley which point is 72 rods east of 
the southwest corner of section 26, township 2, 



south range 16, E. W. M., and which point is 
also 30 south 20 degrees, 40 minutes west of the 
east corner of lot 1, block 1, in said Grass Valley. 

From this time on through several years the 
growth of the town was not rapid. It was merely 
the trading point for a rich but sparsely settled 
country. The commercial needs of the people in 
the vicinity were supplied ; Grass Valley re- 
mained a country village. It was not until 1897-8 
that attention was turned toward this part of the 
country ; for then it was that the Columbia 
Southern Railway was commenced. While it was 
not extended to Grass Valley until a few years 
later it was "headed this way;" a new impetus 
was given to the little village. A newspaper, the 
Grassville Journal, was launched in 1897. 

October 18, 1898, a fire company was organ- 
ized, and arrangements made for securing appa- 
atus, engine house, etc. The first officers were: 
C. W. Moore, president ; Dr. J. W. Cole, vice- 
president ; J. H. Berger, treasurer; Hollis Wil- 
cox, secretary ; W. I. Westerfield, foreman ; Will 
f. Ewing, first assistant foreman ; Charles H. Jen- 
kins, second assistant foreman. 

During the five months preceding August 26, 
1898, eight houses were erected in town and 
lumber ordered for another large business house. 
The railroad reached Grass Valley in the spring 
of 1900. From this period dates, practically the 
continued progress and steady growth of the 
town. 

At a meeting of the Sherman county com- 
missioners, July 2, 1900, there was presented to 
them a petition signed by 45 residents asking for 
the privilege of voting on the question of incor- 
poration. It was claimed that there were within 
the proposed limits of incorporation about 180 
residents. The United States census taken that 
year gave the town a population of 196. Mon- 
day, September 10. 1900, was the date set by the 
commissioners for the purpose of voting on the 
proposition, and to select the first city officials. 
Incorporation carried by a vote of 37 to 15, and 
the successful candidates for city officers were: 
Mavor, C. W. Moore ; aldermen, I. D. Wilcox, 
J. H. Smith, A. Scott, R. H. King, G. B. Bour- 
hill and J. O. Elrod. Recorder, W. I. Wester- 
field ; treasurer, A. B. Craft ; marshall, Charles' 
French. 

On the authority of the Grass Valley Journal 
during the four years, 1898-1902, eighty resi- 
dences and business houses were erected in the 
town. Perhaps the year 1903 was the most pros- 
perous in the history of Grass Valley. There 
were erected two large two-story brick buildings, 
a flouring mill, a number of substantial dwellings 
and a banking institution was opened. The prev- 
ious year one large brick building had been com- 



. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



45i 



pleted. The fraternal societies of the town are 
as follows : 

Surprise Lodge No. 87, D. of H., Grass 
Valley Lodge No. 650, W. of W. ; Modoc Camp 
No. 39, I. O. O. F. ; Grass Valley Lodge No. 131, 
I. O. O. F. ; Grass Valley Rebekah Lodge No. 
118; Grass Valley Lodge No. 65, A. O. U. W. 

The Grass Valley churches are represented by 
the Baptist and Methodist denominations. 

KENT 

is the fourth town in size and importance in 
Sherman county. It is located 53 miles south of 
the Columbia river on the line of the Columbia 
Southern Railway. Two years ago (March, 
1903), naught but a station platform marked 
its location. At the present writing, May, 1905, 
it has a population of 250 which is increasing. 
There are, here, a number of stores and shops, a 
newspaper and two grain warehouses with a 
capacity of 275,000 bushels. For many years 
there has been at this point a postoffice named 
Kent ; no town appeared until recently. 

In anticipation of the coming of the railroad 
the townsite was surveyed in 1899 by John Don- 
ahue, and on his land. According to the town- 
site plat it is situated in the northeast quarter of 
section 28, township 4, south range 17, E. W. 
M. ; the initial point being the southeast corner 
■of block 10, which is 40 feet north and 1,066.7 
feet west of the one quarter section corner be- 
tween sections 27 and 28, township 4, south 
range 17, E. W. M. 

The fraternal societies of Kent are limited to 
the camp of the Modern Woodmen of America 
-and Independent Order of Odd Fellows. 

t 

GRANT. 

This is the name of a postoffice on the line of 
the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company, in 
the northern portion of Sherman county, and on 
the Columbia river 23 miles east of The Dalles. 
The railway station is called, however, Grant's. 
Grant, or Grant's, is the remnant of a once most 
prosperous village. "Grant's station" came into 
existence with the building of the Oregon Rail- 
road & Navigation Company's line, and for sev- 
eral years was an important shipping point, 
freight being distributed from this place through- 
out a large territory. Alluding to this point No- 
vember 30, 1880, The Dalles Times said : 

"Grant's Station — This is the name of a side 
track about seven miles beyond Celilo, where 
freight is discharged for Columbus whence it is 
ferried over the river. At present there are no 
buildings at this place, but it being contiguous to 



the large tract of country beyond the Des Chutes, 
it is not presumptuous to think that a small town 
will be started here at an early day." 

In the spring of 1881 a town began to evolve 
at "Grant's Landing." J. W. Fox opened a gen- 
eral merchandise store in March, and here John 
McDonald conducted a blacksmith shop. But 
there is an anterior history of Grant's. With the 
construction of a railway and the construction of 
a town, a postoffice was established and given the 
name of Villard in honor of the builder of the 
Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company's line, 
Henry Villard. The name of this office was sub- 
sequently changed to Grant, while the station still 
retains its original name of Grant's. When the 
townsite was platted, in 1883, it was named 
Grant. It is undeniably true that the growth of 
"Villard" for a period was rapid, and within a 
year or two after the founding of the town quite 
a little city appeared, and the amount of business, 
especially traffic, was considerable. Following is 
the Times-Mountaineer's account of a fire at 
Grant, Grant's or Villard, June 18, 1883 : 

A very destructive fire occurred here at 11 o'clock 
last night. The Oregon Railroad & Navigation Com- 
pany's depot, Cooper's Hotel, William Grant's ware- 
house; also the stores of Fox, Scott & Company, a 
large amount of wool and miscellaneous freight and 
numerous outbuildings were consumed. The loss is 
estimated at from $150,000 to $200,000, and only partially 
insured. The losses are as follows : 

John Cooper, hotel and furniture, $5,000; Fox, 
Scott & Company, $25,000; William Grant, buildings and 
lumber, $15,000; Murray Brothers, wool and mer- 
chandise, $15,000; A. Schwernicken, $2,000; Lowengart 
& Sichel, merchandise, $2,000; Cummings & Dixon, mer- 
chandise, $4,000; Harvey & Clark, wool, $5,000; Coch- 
ran & Dowling, wool ; William Burnett, merchandise, 
$1,000; wool awaiting shipment, owners unknown, $25,- 
000; Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company, $5,000. 

There were a large number of consignments 
of freight burned, the value of which was never 
correctly obtained, and which was difficult to 
estimate. Grant townsite was platted in Novem- 
ber, 1883, by William Murray, Isabella Murray, 
his wife, W. Lair Hill and Julia Chandler Hill, 
his wife, and is situated in section 2, township 2, 
north range 16, E. W. M. 

Grant remained the shipping point for a large 
scope of country, but did not improve greatly 
during the '8o's. In 1892 new impetus was given 
to the town. In August of that year about 26 
acres to the west were donated to a company that 
contemplated building a flouring mill and dis- 
tillery. But this did not eventuate. In 1894 
Grant was visited by a destructive flood. Vast 



45 2 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



volumes of water washed through the town and 
citizens were forced to seek the hillsides for per- 
sonal safety. September 7th the Antelope 
Herald said : "The old station house is still stand- 
ing on one end, and like two-thirds of the other 
standing buildings at that place, is in a sorrow- 
ful looking condition. We would never have 
recognized the location of Grant had we not 
known that it was really the place. There are a 
few houses yet standing, but they are located 
amongst sand dunes, near deep washouts, and 
outside of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, it is the most 
dilapidated place we have ever seen." 

From the effects of this flood the town never 
recovered. The construction of the Columbia 
Southern Railway into the interior of the county 
sounded its death knell ; the only tangible excuse 
for Grant's existence had been its advantage as a 
practical shipping point for the interior. 

DE MOSS SPRINGS. 

This is a pleasant little village consisting of a 
postoffice, store, blacksmith shop, two churches, 
Baptist and United Brethren, two warehouses, 
mill and telephone service. It still remains the 
summer home of the De Moss family, concertists, 
who pass "the season" playing throughout the 
country. The town is located on the Columbia 
Southern Railway, between Moro and Wasco. 
Within half a mile of the present De Moss 
Springs was located one of the first postoffices in 
Sherman county. It was called Badger and was 
supplanted by the De Moss springs office. 

In 1883 the De Moss family left San Fran- 
cisco by railway, proceeded to Ogden, purchased 
hacks and toured the country in this manner for 
the benefit of the health of Mrs. De Moss. At 
this point, Grass Valley creek, they pitched their 
tents. To Professor De Moss his wife expressed 
a desire to make this their future home. To this 
proposition the family agreed provided they 
could purchase the ranch then claimed by Cou- 
ture (known as Pierre Gordon). Professor De 
Moss and sons secured 840 acres of land. In 
1885 C. W. Dickman came and desired to obtain 
possession of a portion of the townsite which was 
granted him. There were, however, two men 
before him ; they, too, wished to engage in busi- 
ness, but were not willing to agree to sell no 
liquor, and also refused to donate every other 
lot to "moral men." But Dickman acquiesced in 
the restrictions imposed by De Moss, and this it 
became a temperance town. Professor De Moss 
had promised his influence in the establishment 
of a seminary. The board was organized in 1887, 
consisting of thirteen members. Professor De 



Moss was president ; C. W. Dickman, secretary ; 
Reverends Davis and Treseuriter, soliciting - 
agents. The board of trustees were : W. H. 
Biggs, A. McDonald, Robert Ginn, H. S. De 
Moss, James Belske, Thomas Cochran, and Rev- 
erends Holgate and Pratt. The school opened 
under the direction of Miss A. A. Coffin. In 
1889 Henry S. De Moss published the following 
historical sketch of the town in The Dalles 
Times-Mountaineer of January 1st: 

The townsite was selected by Mrs. J. M. De Moss 
more than five years ago last September, the land then 
being claimed by Pierre Couture, and named after the 
family. It is a beautiful townsite, well watered, and 
is the junction of eight county roads. The seminary 
board of directors was organized in June, 1888, there 
being thirteen good men appointed. The school has a 
bright prospect before it. 

The business men consist of T. J. Cocking, as post- 
master, notary public and merchant ; H. A. Rawson, 
barber and merchant; George Miclke, blacksmith; T. 
Brown, wagon maker; C. W. Dickman, hotel and feed 
stable ; T. Calvert, butcher, who has good slaughter pens 
near the town, where all the beeves are killed to furnish 
beef for the entire portion we write about ; H. H. 
Hahn, photographer ; De Moss family, teachers of music ; 
Rev. C. B. Davis, pastor of United Brethren church, 
that being the only church organization, though the- 
Christian and Baptist churches have been holding meet- 
ings here. 

Town lots are now given to persons on which 
to build and start any business except the liquor traffic. 
We claim to have the healthiest location for a large 
city in the entire Grass Valley country, because of the 
rolling hills near by furnishing an elevation in almost 
every direction where reservoirs may be built and the 
beautiful waters carried from the many springs and con- 
ducted by pipes into every building whose owners may 
desire to have such. 

True, we have a stage line and the junctions of 
mail routes, but we want a railroad here, and this we 
believe we will have soon, so that tourists may step 
off the cars and be escorted by carriage a few hundred 
yards to an eminence from which they can view the 
snowy glacirs of Mount Hood, Mount Adams, Mount 
Tacoma, Mount St. Helens and Mount Jefferson, also 
the great timber and pineries of the famous Cascade 
range. 

It is not understood that the seminary men- 
tioned by Mr. De Moss ever developed into the 
success contemplated by its founders. The town 
plat was filed for record in the county clerk's 
office in February, 1898. The streets were named 
easterly and westerly for noted musicians ; north- 
erly and southerly for famous poets. 



\ 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



453 



RUFUS. 

This place was formerly known as Wallis 
station, eight miles north of Wasco, but on the 
line of the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Com- 
pany. It has a postoffice, two stores, two ware- 
houses, saloon, hotel, livery barn and feed stable. 
The townsite of Rufus was platted by R. C. and 
M. E. Wallis, June 22, 1892. 

BIGGS. 

i 
This is a postoffice and station at the junction 
of the lines of the Oregon Railroad & Naviga- 
tion, and the Columbia Southern Railway, com- 
panies. It is on the Columbia river, 20 miles east 
of The Dalles, and 26 miles north of Moro. It 
has a hotel, store, saloon and eating house. The 
town came into being with the construction of 
the Columbia Southern Railway, in 1897, of 
which it is the northern terminus. It is not an 
inviting locality owing to huge mountains of 
sand surrounding it. Of this place the Occi- 
dental Magazine said, in March, 1905 : 

To the traveler and homeseeker who is not ac- 
quainted with the natural conditions of the northwest, 
particularly that section of Oregon and Washington 
through which courses the Columbia river, the little 
town of Biggs — the junction of the Columbia Southern 
and O. R. & N. railroads — affords nothing but a cold 
bath to the hopes of the prospective settler ; nor does 
that sand-duned, rock-ribbed town offer the slightest 
suggestion of the half million and more fertile acres 
and the many progressive towns lying above and to the 
south of its rocky walls. 

KLONDIKE. 

This town is thirteen miles northeast of Moro 
and five miles southeast of Wasco. It maintains a 
general merchandise store and a warehouse. 
According to the Moro Leader, of August 24, 
1898 : "The name Klondike was given to the 
place nearly a year ago when the immense output 
of golden wheat was just beginning to be placed 
on the market and was netting the people far 
more than the gold of the then newly discovered, 
heralded Klondike of the frozen north. The 
name already in use was given to the railroad 
station." 

In 1899 a postoffice was established at 
Klondike and Antone B. Potter was the first 
postmaster, and still retains the position. Of 
the town in March, 1905, Miss Laurance Potter 
writes : 

It was named after the discovery of the Klondike 
•gold region, so it was decided that it should be called 



Klondyke. You will notice this Klondyke is spelled with 
a "y" instead of "i". When the postoffice was estab- 
lished it was decided for some reason unknown to me 
to be spelled that way, and in the postoffice certificate 
it is spelled Klondyke. It is of no consequence, any- 
way. 

The first business house was established in 1897 
by Moore Brothers, and two years later was sold to 
A. B. Potter. The first residents were Josiah Wilder, 
Miss Irene Smith and Mrs. Jones. Josiah Wilder built 
the first blacksmith shop and was the first blacksmith. 
The first telephone line was a barbed wire system, 
and was completed May 1, 1899. A. P. Potter was the 
first person who discovered that talking by 'phone 
could be done over barbed wire, that is, the first one 
in this country. 

Regardless to the postoffice certificate men- 
tioned by Miss Potter, it is certain that the 
United States Postal Guide spells the name of 
the postoffice referred to, Klondike. 

MURRAY SPRINGS. 

This was one of the earlier Sherman county 
towns, now defunct. It was located on the line 
of the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company, 
between Grant and Rufus. The town was named 
after W. M. Murray who for many years re- 
sided there and owned one of the most productive 
orchards in the Inland Empire. 

OTHER LOCALITIES. 

Erskineville is a postoffice on the Columbia 
Southern Railway and Spring Creek, three miles 
north of Moro. About 1884 or 1885 C. A. Will- 
iams opened a store at this place, which he con- 
ducted for awhile, subsequently removing to 
Grass Valley. In these early pioneer days Ers- 
kineville was classed as one of the "towns" of the 
future Sherman county. It was named in honor 
of Mr. A. Erskine, an early settler in the place. 
With the exception of a postoffice nothing now 
remains. 

Fultonville was one of the first postoffices es- 
tablished in Sherman county ; its primal postmas- 
ter was Colonel Fulton. At present it receives 
mail only once a week. In 1885 the Times- 
Mountaineer said : "Three miles east of Celilo is 
Fultonville. It is named after Colonel James 
Fulton. The town consists of his residence, store 
and the company's warehouse. It is near tne 
mouth of the Des Chutes river, and is the ship- 
ping point for the section of country bordering 
on that stream." 

Early is a postoffice on John Day river, 12 
miles west of Grant's station. This office sup- 



454 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



planted the one at Bigelow, discontinued. The 
Early postoffice was established in 1902, and so 
named because fruits and vegetables at this point 
are two weeks earlier than in any other locality, 
even Hood River. The first postmaster was H. 
K. Porter, who was succeeded by Mary E. Wall, 
now acting in the official capacity of postmistress. 
Mr. Harben M. Cooper entered land along the 
John Day river at this place twenty years ago. 
He built a mill race and wing dam at a cost of 
$15,000. This mill is at present owned by 
George Wall, who has constructed a dam 250 
feet in length and nine feet high, which will soon 



be utilized for an electric light plant to supply 
power to Wasco for mills and lighting the town. 
About twelve families receive their mail at the 
Early postoffice. Near this place are four fine 
fruit orchards, mostly devoted to peaches and 
grapes, all under irrigation, either by springs or 
water from the John Day river. 

Monkland is a postoffice seven miles east of 
Moro with daily mail and a general store. 

Rutledge is a postoffice eight miles southeast 
of Grass Valley, with a daily stage to the latter 
point. It is named in honor of one of the pio- 
neers of Sherman county. 



CHAPTER III 



DESCRIPTIVE. 



Sherman county, Oregon, is in latitude 45 
degrees north, and longitude 121 degrees west 
from Greenwich. It has an elevation of from 
200 to several thousand feet, but the general ele- 
vation of the county is about 1,500 feet. It is 
about ninety miles east of the Cascade mountains. 
The Columbia forms its northern, the John Day 
the eastern, and the Des Chutes river the western 
boundary. On the south its frontier is the 1st 
Standard Parallel. To the north of Sherman is 
Klickitat county, Washington ; to the east Gil- 
liam, and to the south and west is Wasco county. 
The total area of land surface is 481,500 acres. 
As a whole the county is composed of what is 
termed rolling land. There are but few wooded 
districts, and the soil, which is of fine texture, is 
light gray in color, darkening slightly when sub- 
jected to moisture. 

As the traveler steps from the car at Grant's 
station into the bracing air, supplied with its due 
proportion of ozone, he stretches his limbs over 
the gravelled walks constructed by nature. But 
quite recently he has passed through a plentitude 
of sand, reminding him of old time pictures in 
old time geographies of the greta Sahara ; with a 
cloud of dust just closing in on a troop of be- 
wildered Arabs and camels ; he imagines his stop- 
ping place to be in no respect an oasis, but a 
repetition of past grievances. But at Grant there 
have been, wisely, planted trees, sunflowers and 
"creepers." which combine to hold the volum- 
inous sand in place. Above and beyond the Co- 



lumbia there is no sand. Once on the summit of 
the frowning bluff that skirts the river, apparent- 
ly guarding the treasures beyond, the sand dis- 
appears ; the happy transition is a relief and 
pleasure. 

As one leaves Grant behind and rises grad- 
ually to the top of the bluff through the Gherkin, 
or Scott, canyon, the grandeur of scenery is un- 
surpassed ; long, thin, misty, foggy vapors hang 
over the Columbia's still waters ; and the great 
river itself appears but a silver spectrum motion- 
less until it breaks into the wildest turmoil at 
Tumwater far below. Above and beyond, Mount 
Adams, white and grand, begins to rise into view, 
and on this side of the river Mount Hood looms 
in spectral whiteness until, gaining Gordon ridge, 
seven snow-clad peaks with azure backgrounds 
tower heavenward. And right here, beneath one's 
feet, is a roadway of which the stalwart Romans 
might well have felt proud. 

From Wasco, ten miles from Grant, we pass 
through a country nearly all of which is carved 
into productive farms, with roads and lanes on 
section and township lines, more like portions of 
Illinois or Iowa, than the greater part of Ore- 
gon. This particular section of the country is 
level and admits of this artistic formation. Jour- 
neying onward the traveler wins his way to Des 
Moss Springs. Here the country's contour is 
flatter ; the soil deeper and blacker. At this local- 
ity one readily understands why the word 
"Springs" is added. It is a veritable spring 





Residence of John Simpson 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



455 



throughout the country. From here one finds a 
gradual slope, upward, which soon alternates to 
the long decline through the gorge to Moro, the 
capital of Sherman county. The vicinity of 
Moro, from a farmer's viewpoint, is beautiful ; 
straight lanes, well-kept fences, whirring wind- 
mills and painted farm houses. From Grass 
Valley on to Rutledge the country possesses the 
same general characteristics which mark all coun- 
ties given over to agriculture. Beyond, and 
south of Rutledge, the soil continues to deepen 
and the soil is even richer than nearer the river, 
although the climate is less mild. Toward the 
south, through the open country, looking in the 
direction of Bakeoven, Antelope and Prineville, 
it appears like an unexplored district, ready made 
for the family of the homeseeker. A correspond- 
ent of The Dalles Times-Mountaineer travels the 
same road from Biggs to Wasco as follows: 

The route lays off up the Spanish Hollow Canyon. 
Immediately on leaving the river, great, rocky bluffs 
meet the gaze. The squeaking of the ponderous wheels 
fills the air with unearthly voices, as the train rounds 
a curve. A small stream tumbles over the rocks, occa- 
sionally lost to sight, as it seeks subterranean cavitiejs, 
only to reappear lower down. After all, the large, 
imposing piles of stone and the lower surroundings are 
not so inviting. It is something new with every turn; 
and one is constantly interested until aroused by the 
shrill whistle announcing that the first half of the 
journey has been completed. The train is at Gibson's. 
From this place the scene changes ; the transformation is 
most complete. The track still continues along the bot- 
tom of the canyon ; but it is scarcely a canyon now. It 
is not nearly so steep; the hills are not so high. Every 
vestige of rock has disappeared. Farm houses stand 
here and there, giving a solid appearance to the country 
that is just now attracting so much attention. Spread- 
ing out over the hills are the broad acres that produce all 
the immense volume of wheat that Sherman county 
boasts of. A band of horses, some cattle or othei 
live stock may be seen at a distance — another great evi- 
dence of the wealth of this country. 

Concerning the climate of Sherman county it 
may be said in addition to what has been detailed 
in the descriptive chapter of Wasco county that 
the prevailing winds are from the west, and con- 
vey a moisture that in later years has proved to be 
fully equal to the dews of the low valley lands, 
and invigorating. Not only are these winds need- 
ful to growing vegetation, but health is borne on 
every breeze. Naturally fresh and bracing these 
western winds purify the atmosphere. The aver- 
age rainfall is light. 

The soil of Sherman county is abundantly 
supplied with potash, but phosphoric acid is de- 
ficient. To one unacquainted with its peculiarities 



this soil would not be considered especially favor- 
able, but when its present productiveness is con- 
sidered, and its possible productive capacity, 
based on present status, it will be recognized that 
the soil possesses constituents that produce almost 
phenomenal crops of cereals, fruit, hay and vege- 
tables ; when irrigation is available the productive 
capacity is almost doubled. Such is the nature 
of this soil that the subsoil moisture percolates 
through it upward ; to this fact is owing the pro- 
duction of millions of bushels of wheat that, 
otherwise, with the small and poorly distributed 
annual distribution would be impossible. In the 
extreme northern portion of the county, along the 
Columbia and along portions of the John Day 
and Des Chutes rivers, the soil is sandy, but un- 
der irrigation, wonderfully fertile. 

Wheat is the principal revenue crop. This is 
due to the character of the soil and distribution of 
precipitation throughout the year. An examina- 
tion of statistics favors the opinion that Sherman 
county produces more wheat per capita than does 
any other county in the United States. Along 
the Columbia, and for a portion of the John Day 
and Des Chutes, rivers, soil and climatic condi- 
tions are peculiarly adapted to the cultivation of 
peaches, although irrigation is indispensible. 

In a well-written and comprehensive article 
published in The Dalles Times-Mountaineer of 
January I, 1898, has been told the resources of 
Sherman, as a wheat-growing county. With 
this is combined an excellent description of the 
farming community : 

In the year just ended the output of wheat alone 
was 2,742,876 bushels — by far the largest crop yet raised, 
and about one-fourth of the entire crop of Oregon. 
Yet this amount seems small when we figure on the 
amount that can and will be put on the market, now 
that the Columbia Southern Railway has made it possible 
for the markets to be easily reached. It is safe to say 
that Sherman county will very soon be exporting 4,000,- 
000 bushels of wheat, and that in the coming year. 
she will double her population. 

Not only is this immense business constantly going 
out, but no section consumes more ; for wood, lumber, 
everything the farmer needs, must be shipped in. And he 
uses great quantities of supplies. He is of no small 
consequence; he does not farm on a small scale; a 
walking plow and a single team would insult a Sher- 
man county farmer. He drives from four to ten horses 
and uses several plows at one time — that is unless he is 
on the road ; then it's two wagons. One man thinks noth- 
ing of farming less than a half section, and a majority 
of them have more. Then, when he harvests he turns 
out with a header or two, or mayhap a combined har- 
vester, works several weeks, and if he has a small crop 
he markets a thousand sacks or, if a larger, sells from 



456 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



three to four thousand. These are the average ; yet 
several go considerably higher. No person has an 
easier time raising wheat than the Sherman county 
farmer. Through being able to do so much work 
in such limited time, he can farm cheaper than in any 
country in the world — except those that deal in slavery. 

And, perhaps, there is no better evidence of the 
prosperity of these same farmers than their home sur- 
roundings. Not one man in the county — except the 
indolent, a class that afflicts every county more or less — 
but has an elegant home and comfortable appointments. 
A splendid buggy, a pair of roadsters, a piano in the 
house, are all evidences that Sherman county is kind 
to those who delve into her bosom for sustenance. 
Sherman county, long before it was capable of doing 
business for itself, was settled by the best class of 
people. 

After all, the back bone of the country is the 
farmer. Intelligent, shrewd, hard-working and honest, 
he produces the wealth that makes Sherman county 
famous. And he does it easily; he owns from 360 to 
4,000 acres, and machinery plenty to farm it. The con- 
dition of the soil and the climatic influences are favor- 
able, so that he may labor while the sun shines. The 
farmer is the man who develops every industry to be 
used ; his surplus money is to be found in various in- 
stitutions. He nearly always has a bank account, and 
through this means Sherman county handsomely sup- 
ports two banking institutions — not small ones, such as 
may be found in small country towns — but the amount 
of business done reminds one of the class of business 
done by metropolitan institutions. No place on earth 
is the farmer more independent than in this little Ore- 
gon Klondike. He dictates the volume of business. 
The social features, the educational doings, the business 
of the county — everything that pertains to the welfare 
of himself and his neighbor. 

The amount of government land open to set- 
tlement in Sherman county January 1, 1905, was 
44,206 acres. Throughout the entire countv the 
roads are excellent, and this, too, where light, 
sandy soil predominates. Not easily worked into 
mud, during the rainy season the roads are nearly 
at their best. Practically unlimited is the electric 
power that may be wired from the Des Chutes 
river. It is said to equal the falls of the Willa- 
mette at Oregon City. This river, the Des Chutes, 
is a splendid mountain stream which comes 
bounding down from its source in the Cascades 
mountains ; nearly its entire length abounds in 
miniature waterfalls and sparkling rapids. The 
stream, not navigable, contains many salmon and 



rainbow trout. January 1, 1902, George B. Hol- 
lister, Resident Hydrographer, United States 
Geological Survey, Washington, D. C, writes as 
follows concerning the stream in the Morning 
Oregonian : 

The United States Geological Survey has started 
investigations among the streams of Oregon as part of 
its general study of the water resources of the whole 
country. The work in Oregon, however, is but a be- 
ginning of what it is hoped and expected will be later 
undertaken. Thus far the investigation has been con- 
fined to a few streams draining from the Cascade range ; 
Umatilla river, which flows through an important sec- 
tion, in the northeast, and the Des Chutes river, one of 
the largest streams in the interior of the state. 

Des Chutes river is, in some respects, one of the 
most remarkable streams in the United States, from the 
fact that its volume of flow is nearly constant through- 
out the year. Almost universally the streams run full 
in the spring, or wet season, and are much diminished 
in volume in the summer and fall ; but Des Chutes river 
has almost no fluctuation between its summer and winter 
volumes. This feature is of great importance and makes 
the river of much more value than ordinary streams 
for irrigation and water power, as absolute dependence 
can be placed upon it to supply definite amounts of water 
for these purposes. 

The reason for this remarkable uniform flow of Des 
Chutes river is not fully determined, but it is thought 
to be due to the large storage capacity of the layers of 
lava of which the surface of that part of the state 
is composed. The water percolates through the lava, 
and generally finds its way to the stream. The river 
contains a number of rapids which form admirable water 
powers. 

A gauging station is maintained by the Geological 
Survey on Des Chutes river, and the measurements show 
the discharge of the river to be about 5,000 cubit feet 
per second for the summer season, with but little addi- 
tional increase during the spring and winter months. 
The river at its mouth will generate approximately 570 
horse-power per foot of fall and, with the 25-foot 
fall which is said to exist there, 14,250 horse-power 
gross would be available. 

One of the finest streams in Eastern Oregon 
is the John Day river, skirting Sherman county 
on the east. It rises in the Blue mountains, trends 
west and north, forming a confluence with the 
Columbia river some forty miles above The 
Dalles. In a previous chapter we have given the 
melancholy origin of the name this river. 



CHAPTER IV 



POLITICAL. 



The enabling act creating Sherman county 
-provided that the governor should appoint the 
first county officials to serve until their succes- 
sors were elected in June, 1890, and qualified. 
These appointments were made by the governor 
March 4, 1889. James Fulton was named as 
■county judge ; he did not qualify and was replaced 
by O. M. Scott. The other officers named were 
John Medler, Dayton Elliott, county commis- 
sioners ; V. C. Brock, clerk ; E. M. Leslie, sheriff ; 
Levi Armsworthy, treasurer; C. C. Myers, as- 
sessor ; J. A. Smith, surveyor ; C. J. Bright, school 
superintendent. 

March 12, 1889, these officials took up their 
line of duties. The first meeting of the board 
was held in the Oskaloosa hotel, Wasco, when the 
officials took the oaths of office. At a meeting of 
the board April 1, 1889, the new county was di- 
vided into four election precincts — Grant, Wasco, 
Moro and Grass Valley. Before an election was 

held, however, two more precincts were added 

Bigelow and Monkland. For the first gen- 
eral election in which Sherman county as 
a political division participated, held Tune 
2, 1890, the following were the election 
officials : 

Bigelow precinct, F. W. Van Patten, H. E. 
Everett and Charles Hill, judges; W. C. Fuller 
and W. J. Peddicord, clerks. Grant precinct, R. 
C. Vvallis, S. Carson and A. M. Cooper, judges; 
J. W. Blackburne and M. A. Phelps, clerks! 
Wasco precinct, R. H. Armsworthy, Del Porter 
and J. A. Elder, judges; J. M. Murchie and 
Warren Myers, clerks. Monkland precinct, J. J. 
McDonald, James Gray and J. F. Miller, judges ; 
J. A. Smith and W. V. Johnson, clerks. Moro 
precinct, Rufus Moore, J. J. Schaeffer and Frank 
Pike, judges; H. A. Thompson and S. B. Walter, 
clerks. 

These were the voting places in the different 
precincts: Grant, Grant school house; Bigelow, 
Bigelow school house; Wasco, town of Wasco; 
Moro, town of Moro ; Monkland, Monkland post- 
office ; Grass Valley, Moore & Rollins' hall. Com- 
-plete returns for this election are not in existence. 



We are, however, enabled to give a portion of the 
result : 

For Congressman — Herman, 301 ; Miller, 131 ; 
Bruce, 61. 

For Governor — Thompson, 211; Pennoyer, 
272. 

A portion of the county officers elected were : 
O. M. Scott, county judge ; John A. Moore, John 
Graham, county commissioners ; E. M. Leslie, 
sheriff ; V. C. Brock, clerk ; Levi Armsworthy, 
treasurer ; C. F. McCarthy, school superintendent ; 
Mr. McCarthy resigned, January 8, 1891, and J. 
B. Hosford was appointed. J. W. Blackburne be- 
came county judge, also in 1891. John Graham 
did not qualify and October 8, 1890, R. J. Ginn 
was appointed. Following is the result of the 
election of June 6, 1892 : 

For Congress, Second District — C. J. Bright. 
Pro., 82; W. R. Ellis, Rep., 354; J. C. Luce, Peo., 
83 ; J. H. Slater, Dem., 190. 

For State Senator 18th district — W. L. Rine- 
hart, Dem., 289 ; W. W. Steiwer, Rep., 434. 

For State Senator, 17th district — H. S. Mc- 
Daniel, Rep., 367; J. A. Smith, Dem., 368. 

For Joint Representative, 18th district — S. F. 
Blythe. Dem., 258; E. N. Chandler, Rep., 387; 
T. R. Coon, Rep., 407 ; H. E. Moore, Dem., 337. 

For County Judge — John Fulton, Dem., 415; 
R. J. Ginn, Rep., 283. 

For County Clerk — V. C. Brock, Dem., 326; 
S. S. Hayes, Rep., 404. 

For Sheriff — E. M. Leslie, Dem., 410 ; E. 
Olds, Rep., 328. 

For Treasurer — J. Marsh, Dem., 280 ; H. A. 
Thompson, Rep., 440. 

For Countv Commissioner — D. H. Leech, 
Dem., 368 ; J. D. Wilcox. Rep. 358. 

For Assessor — William Henrichs, Rep., 501 ; 
Louis Schadewitz, Dem.. 224. 

For School Superintendent — W. J. Peddi- 
cord, Rep., 319 ; Hiram Tyree, Dem., 417. 

For Coroner — W. H. Moore, Rep., 643. 

For Surveyor — J. R. Belshe, Rep., 691. 

Vote on permanent county seat — Moro, 414; 
Wasco, 301. 



45§ 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



January 4, 1893, J. R. Belshe resigned. The 
result of the presidential election in November 
of the same year was as follows : 

Harrison electors, 286 ; Cleveland electors, 
109 ; Weaver electors, 208 ; Prohibition electors, 

31- 

Results of election June 4, 1894: 

For Congressman, second district — W. R. 
Ellis, Rep., 264; A. F. Miller, Pro., 75 ; James H. 
Raley, Dem., 102; Joseph Waldrop, Peo., 173. 

For Governor — William Galloway, Dem., 
108; James Kennedy, Pro., 96; William P. Lord, 
Rep., 301 ; Nathan Pierce, Peo., 203. 

For Joint Representatives — O. W. Axtell, 
Pro., 98; V. C. Brock, Dem., 148; T. R. Coon, 
Rep., 260 ; M. V. Harrison, Dem., 97 ; L. Henry, 
Peo., 186; T. H. McGreer, Rep., 260; W. J. Ped- 
dicord, Peo., 209; E. A. Tozier, Pro., 81. 

For County Clerk — A. B. Craft, Peo., 203 ; S. 
S. Hayes, Rep., 319; Albert Porter, Pro., 87; G. 
E. Thompson, Dem., 91. 

For Sheriff — William Holder, Rep., 231 ; E. 
M. Leslie, Dem., 173 ; Delbert Porter, Peo., 208 ; 
G. D. Woodworth, Pro., 100. 

For Treasurer — J. B. Florer, Peo., 180; D. 
W. Howard, Dem., 96 ; E. Peoples, Pro., 133 ; 
H. A. Thompson, Rep., 304. 

For County Commissioner — William Elliott, 
Pro., 157; J. H. Johnson, Peo., 165; R. P. Orr, 
Rep., 251 ; R. C Wallis, Dem., 132. 

For School Superintendent — C. E. Brown, 
Rep., 232; W. K. Dunn, Pro., 87; C. J. Herrin, 
Peo., 164; Hiram Tyree, Dem., 222. 

For Surveyor — Willie Powell, Peo., 289; 
George W. White, Pro., 333. 

For Assessor — S. M. Carson, Pro., 136; C. 
C. Kuney, Rep., 256; P. M. Ruggles, Peo., 221 ; 
W. C. Rutledge, Dem., 93. 

For Coroner — Jesse Edginton, Dem., 133; T. 
S. Hill, Peo., 185 ; C. R Rollins, Rep., 247 ; I. M. 
Smith, Pro., 142. 

General election June 1, 1896; 

For Congressman — A. S. Bennett, Dem., 211 ; 
W. R. Ellis, Rep., 281 ; H. H. Northrup, Ind., 
31; Martin Quinn, Peo., 194; F. McKercher, 
Pro., 41. 

For Joint Senator, 18th district — E. B. Dufur, 
Dem., 388; W. H. Moore, Rep., 330. 

For Joint Senator, 17th district — J. W. Arms- 
worthy, Dem., 357; John Michell, Rep., 341. 

For Joint Representative, 17th district — B. S. 
Huntington, Rep., 334; F. N. Jones, Rep., 294; 
L. Henry, Peo., 313 ; John W. Messinger, Peo., 
356; T. R. Coon, Ind., 35. 

For County Judge — John Fulton, Dem., 516; 
J. J. Thompson, Rep., 228. 

For County Clerk — Roy C. Atwood, Peo., 
370; William Henrichs, Rep., 376. 



For Sheriff — J. D. Gibson, Pro., 171 ; William 
Holder, Rep., 355 ; George Meader, Peo., 240. 
For Treasurer — George N. Bolton, Rep., 308 ; 

E. Peoples, Pro., 302 ; Joab M. Powell, Peo., 

125. 

For Assessor — M. F. S. Henton, Pro., 85 ; 

B. F. Pike, Rep., 341 ; M. A. Van Gilder, Peo., 

3"- 

For Surveyor — John T. Johnson, Peo, 359; 
Thomas Peugh, Rep., 354. 

For School Superintendent — C. E. Brown, 
Rep., 350; W. J. Peddicord, Peo., 391. 

For Coroner — F. E. Brown, Rep., 363 ; J. B. 
Mowry, Pro., 313. 

For County Commissioner — William Elliott, 
Pro., 170; Rufus H. King, Peo., 317; Elwood 
Thompson, Rep., 261. 

Sherman county cast at the presidential elec- 
tion, November 3, 1896, 835 votes, a gain of 114 
votes over those cast at the June election. The 
campaign was very exciting between the gold and 
silver forces, and the result was close. Follow- 
ing was the vote : McKinley electors, Rep., 426 : 
Bryan electors, Dem., 418 ; Prohibition candidate, 
38 ; Palmer electors, Gold Democrats, 7. 

There were three tickets in the county field 
at the general election of June 6, 1898 — Repub- 
lican, Prohibition and a union ticket composed 
of Democrats and Populists. Following was the 
vote: 

For Governor— H. M. Clinton, Pro., 67; T. 
T. Geer, Rep., 478; William R. King, union, 285 ; 
John C. Luce, Peo., 41. 

For Congressman — H. E. Courtney, Peo., 64 ; 

C. M. Donaldson, union, 241 ; G. W. Ingalls, 
Pro., 64; M. A. Moody, Rep., 485. 

For Joint Representatives, 18th district — J. 
W. Morton, Rep., 438; Albert S. Roberts, Rep., 
429; A. J. Brigham, union, 326; C. L. Morse, 
union, 294. 

For Circuit Judge, 7th district — W. L. Brad- 
shaw, union, 536; H. S. Wilson, Republican, 
293. 

For District Attorney, 7th district — N. H. 
Gates, Dem., 283 ; A. A. Jayne, Rep., 400. 

For County Clerk — William Henrichs, Rep., 
507 ; P. M. Ruggles, Peo., 308. 

For Sheriff— William Holder, Rep., 440; N. 
W. Thompson, Peo., 369. 

For County Commissioner — J. D. Gibson, 
Pro., 115; R. P. Orr, Rep., 449; J. M. Powell, 
Peo., 258. 

For Treasurer — Henry Krause, Pro., 172; T. 
R. McGinnis, Peo., 235 ; Walter Stanley, Rep., 
421. 

For School Superintendent — Richard Har- 
grcaves, union, 209; W. H. Ragsdale, Rep.. 4S4 ; 

F. R. Spaulding, Pro., 132. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



459' 



For Assessor — W. C. Fuller, Pro., 92; B. F. 
Pike, Rep., 484; M. A. Van Gilder, Peo., 249. 

For Surveyor — J. W. Kerns, Rep., 520; A. 
V. Underwood, Peo., 278. 

For Coroner — J. B. Mowry, Pro., 184; Dr. 
I. M. Smith, Rep., 584. 

General election June 4, 1900 : 

For Congressman — M. A. Moody, Rep., 439-, 
Leslie Butler, Pro., 106; J. E. Simmons, Ind. 
Dem., 83 ; William Smith, Dem.-Peo., 243. 

For Joint Senator, 20th district — T. H. 
Johnston, Rep., 437 ; E. B. Dufur, Dem.-Peo., 

439- 

For Joint Senator, 21st district — W. W. 
Steiner, Rep., 467; V. G. Cozard, Dem.-Peo., 
382. 

For Representative, 28th district — George 
Cattamach, Rep., 398 ; G. J. Barnett, Rep., 441 ; 
George Miller, Rep., 421 ; Robert Messener, 
Dem.-Peo., 341; T. R. Conn, Dem.-Peo., 382; 
W. J. Edwards, Dem.-Peo., 328. 

For County Judge — C. C. Kuney, Rep., 320; 
John Fulton, Dem., 546. 

For County Commissioner — Joseph A. Mor- 
rissey, Rep., 372 ; N. P. Hansen, Peo., 198 ; R. 
H. King, Peo., 317. 

For County Clerk — H. S. McDanel, Rep., 
435 ; R. P. Dean, Dem., 352 ; A. S. Porter, Pro., 
109. 

For Sheriff — F. E. Brown, Rep., 397 ; T. R. 
McGinnis, Peo., 483. 

For Treasurer — Walter Stanley, Rep., 505 ; 
E. Peoples, Pro., 342. 

For School Superintendent — W. H. Rags- 
dale, Rep., 503 ; H. H. White, Dem., 394. 

For Assessor — B. F. Pike, Rep., 527; J. T. 
Johnson, Peo., 260 ; J. B. Mowry, Pro., 102. 

For Coroner — Lloyd D. Idleman, Rep., 573 ; 
Olive Hartley, 68. 

For Surveyor — A. H. Barnum, 24. 

At the presidential election of November 6, 
1900, the Sherman county vote was divided as" 
follows: Republican electors, McKinley, 451; 
Democratic electors, Bryan, 385 ; Prohibition 
electors, 86 ; Social Democrats, 8 ; People's 
party, 1. 

Election June 2, 1902 : 

For Governor — George E. Chamberlain, 
Dem., 311 ; William J. Furnish, Rep., 527; A. J. 
Hunsaker, Pro., 97 ; R. R. Evan, Soc, 23. 

For Congressman, Second District — W. F. 
Butcher, Dem., 245 ; Diedrich T. Gerdes, Soc, 
24; F. R. Spaulding, Pro., 121; G. N. William- 
son, Rep., 559. 

For State Representative, 28th district — C. A. 
Dermeman, Rep., 468; R. J. Ginn, Rep., 538; 
C. P. Johnson, Rep., 454; C. G. Hansen, Dem., 
307; E. G. Stevenson, Dem., 210; E. P. Weir, 



Dem., 225 ; Louis J. Gates, Pro., 83 ; N. P. Han- 
son, Pro, 157; H. C. Shaffer, Pro., 92. 

For County Commissioner — 4 year term — W. 
S. Barzee, Rep., 285; John Medler, Dem., 189; 
A. M. Wright, Pro., 479. 

For County Commissioner, 2-year term — J. 
K. Craig, Pro., 310; Fred Krusow, Rep., 682. 

For Sheriff— T. R. McGinnis, Ind., 492; 
Charles R. Porter, Rep., 390; A. S. Porter, Pro., 
82. 

For County Clerk — R. E. Haskinson, Pro., 
167 ; H. S. McDanel, Rep., 759. 

For Assessor— O. W. Axtell, Pro., 113; R. 
L. Campbell, Dem., 438 ; W. E. Tate, Rep., 407. 

For Treasurer — E. Peoples, Pro., 237; W. 
Stanley, Rep., 686. 

For Surveyor— C. H. Skinner, Pro., 548. 

For Coroner— J. M. Donahoo, Pro., 243; Dr. 
R. W. Logan, Rep., 652. 

For County High School, 315; against, 473. 
General election June 7, 1904: 

For Congressman — George R. Cook, Soc, 27 ■; 
J. E. Simmons, Dem., 201 ; H. W. Stone, Pro., 
105 ; J. N. Williamson, Rep., 633. 

For Joint Senator, 21st district— Jay Bower- 
man, Rep., 574; Louis J. Gates, Pro., 148; W. L. 
Wilcox, Dem., 233. 

For Joint Representative 28th district — R. N. 
Donnellv. Rep., 500; C. C. Kuney, Rep., 542 7 
W. J. Kirkland, Dem., 212; A. S. Porter, Pro.. 
245 ; C. A. Shurte, Pro., 80. 

For County Judge— George B. Bourhdl, Rep., 
508; John Fulton, Dem., 475. 

For sheriff— W. B. McCoy, 1 Rep., 527 ; T. R. 
McGinnis, Ind., 459. 

For County Clerk— H. S. McDanel, Rep., 
832: J. I. Munden, Pro., 131. 

For Treasurer— E. Peoples, Pro., 232; W. 

Stanley, Rep., 711. 

For Assessor— R. L. Campbell Dem., 377; 
G. A. Elder, Pro., 60 ; Otto Peetz, Rep., 559. 

For School Superintendent— G. M. Frost, 

832. 

For County Commissioner — J. W. Leonard, 
Dem., 293; O.'H. Rich, Pro., 120; W. W. Wal- 
ker, Rep., 559. 

For Surveyor— E. R. Hickson, Rep., 831. 

For Coroner— Dr. R. W. Logan, Rep., 838. 

For State Printer Amendment — yes, 468 ; no, 

150. 

For local option — Yes, 450 ; no, 410. 

For direct primary law— yes, 602; no, 154. 

At thee presidential election, November 8, 
1904, the vote of Sherman county was divided 
as follows : 

Roosevelt. 704; Parker, 163; Prohibition, 
Swallow, 86; Debs, Socialist, 34; Watson, Pop- 
ulist, 4. 



460 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



For Prohibition in Sherman county, 396 ; 
against 517. The total vote of the county was 
1,023. 

From the foregoing record of the political 
results of Sherman county it will be seen that, 



normally, the county is Republican by a good 
majority. Of course, party lines are not invari- 
ably strictly drawn in county elections, but as a 
rule a Republican nomination is equivalent to an 
election. 



CHAPTER V 



EDUCATIONAL. 



The schools of Sherman county are excellent. 
Good, substantial school buildings have been 
erected, and all the various districts are well sup- 
plied with necessary apparatus and educational 
facilities. Careful selection of teachers has con- 
tributed greatly to place the school system upon 
a solid basis. There are graded schools in a num- 
ber of towns in the county, all of which are in 
charge of competent teachers. 

The first school building in what is now Sher- 
man county, was located in China Hollow, about 
two miles north of the present site of Wasco. 
Miss Addie Thompson was the first teacher. 
The second school house in the territory men- 
tioned was situated at the place now known as 
Klondike. It was called "J ac k school house" from 
the name of the settler then living there. It will 
be recalled that when Sherman county was or- 
ganized a transcript was taken from the Wasco 
county records of all matters concerning the new 
political division. The following is from the edu- 
cational data of this transcript : 

District No. 1, of Sherman County — District No. 76, 
of Wasco, which was afterward District No. 1 of Sher- 
man county, was organized February 6, 1886, with the 
following boundaries : Bounded on the north by the 
Columbia river ; on the east by John Day river ; running 
south to the boundary of school district No. 60; thence 
west to the southwest corner of section 25, township 2, 
north range 17, E. W. M. ; thence north to the Columbia. 

District No. 2 — District No. 53 of Wasco, afterward 
District No. 2, of Sherman county, was formed March 
16, 1886, with the following boundaries : Beginning at 
a point in the middle of the main channel of the Colum- 
bia river, opposite the mouth of the John Day river ; 
thence down said Columbia river to the point where it 
crosses the section line running north and south be- 
tween sections 28 and 29 ; 32 and 33, township 3, 
north range 17, E. W. M. ; thence south on said section 
line to the southwest corner of section 21, said town- 



ship and range; thence north one mile; thence east one 
miles to the northeast corner of said section 24; thence 
north on township line to the John Day river and down 
said river to the place of beginning. 

When Sherman county was organized in 
1889, there were in the county 23 districts ; at 
the present writing there are 35. Following is 
a list of the county superintendents of public in- 
struction since that period : 

C. J. Bright, 1889-1890; J. B. Hosford. 1890- 
1892; Hiram Tvree, 1892-1894; C. E. Brown, 
1894-1896; W. J. Peddicord, 1896-1898; W. H. 
Ragsdale, 1898-1904; G. M. Frost, 1904. 

Following is the annual report of Superin- 
tendent Bright for the year 1890: 

Number of persons between the ages of 4 and 20 
years residing in the county: Male, 317; female. 280; 
total, 597. Number of pupils enrolled : male, 252 ; female, 
193; total, 445. Average daily attendance, males, 176; 
females, 139; total, 315. Number of teachers employed, 
male, 19; female, 10; total, 29. Number of children not 
attending, male 87; female, 79; total, 166. Number of 
teachers in private schools, male, 1 ; female, 2 ; total, 3. 
Number of pupils in private schools, males, 41 ; females, 
31; total, 72. Value of school houses and grounds, 
$6,360; value of furniture and apparatus, $1,028.10; 
average salary of male teachers, $41.25 ; average salary of 
female teachers, $36.97; salary of school superintendent. 
$240. Number of organized districts in county, 25 ; 
average number of months taught, 4.6 ; number of private 
schools in county during the year, 4; number of school 
houses built during the year, 3 ; number of school houses 
in county, 21 ; number of legal voters in county for 
school purposes, 438. 

\ ( 

The first teachers employed directly after the 
formation of Sherman county were: 

Miss Flora Golden, Goldendale ; Charles Rit- 
ter, Monkland; Julia A. Woods, DeMoss 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



461 



Springs ; George L. Carroll, Erskineville ; W. 
C. Herin, Wasco ; C. J. Herin, De Moss 
Springs; F. M. Anderson, Grant; M. A. Phelps, 
Rufus ; P. W. Davis, De Moss Springs ; Mrs. A. 
Lyon, Wasco ; Mrs. M. A. Phelps, Rufus ; Miss 
Bertha Johnson, Monkland ; Perry A. Snyder, 
Wasco ; Miss Minnie Wren, Monkland ; Mrs. M. 
A. Chamberlin, Grant. 

Annual report of the county superintendent 
for 1892 : 

Number of persons of school age in county, male, 
417 ; female, 423 ; total, 840. Estimated value of grounds 
and school houses, $14,705 ; estimated value of furni- 
ture and apparatus, $3,686; amount of superintendent's 
salary $300; number of legal voters in county for school 
purposes, 634; number of school districts, 27; number 
of schools visited by superintendent, 24; number of 
school houses in county, 33 ; number of graded schools, 
2, Wasco and Moro ; teachers employed, 4 ; attend- 
ance, 176. 

At present the number of children of school 
age in Sherman county is 840. 

Annual report of the county superintendent 
for 1894. 

Number of persons of school age, male, 423; female, 
420 ; total, 843 ; value of school houses and grounds, 
$16,000; value of school furniture and apparatus, $6,010; 
average salary of male teachers, $60 ; average salary of 
female teachers, $42; salary of superintendent, $300; 
number of graded schools, 3 ; number of teachers, 5 ; 
number of pupils attending graded schools, 210; amount 
paid in teachers' wages $6,328.51. • 

Annual report for 1904 : 

Number of pupils of school age, male, 711; female, 
638; total, 1.349; number of pupils enrolled, male, 438; 
female, 412; total, 850; average daily attendance, 604; 
number of school houses in county, 35 ; number of school 
houses built this year, 2 ; average number of months 
taught, 6; number of legal voters for school purposes, 
867 ; number of teachers employed in private schools, 
male, 3 ; female, 7 ; pupils enrolled in private schools, 
male, 36 ; female, 33 ; number of private schools, 6 ; paid 
for teachers' wages, $14,123.39; paid for school houses 
and sites, $1,392.50; total disbursements for year, ^33,- 
649.91 ; estimated value of school houses and grounds, 
$39,125 ; estimated value of furniture and apparatus, 
$7,205 ; average salary male teachers, $54 ; average salary 
female teachers, $42.80. 

. I 
The apportionment of school money for April, 
1905, was $7,517.20. There are at present no 
private schools in Sherman county. For several 
years the Middle Oregon Baptist Academy was 
conducted at Grass Valley. This institution was 



placed on its feet in 1895 by local capital, and' un- 
der the auspices of the Eastern Oregon Baptist 
Society. A handsome frame structure was erected 
and for a number of years the school was main- 
tained. Still, it was never in a satisfactory and 
prosperous condition. For a short period it was 
conducted in connection with the public schools, 
but this arrangement was not successful, although 
added advantages along educational lines were 
thus secured. In 1904 the academy was closed. 
In size the building was 48x48, two stories in 
height, with a seven-foot basement. The cost 
was $4,000. It contained eight rooms and was 
heated by a hot air furnace. Of this educational 
institution The Dalles Times-Mountaineer said, . 
January 1, 1898 : 

This noble institution of learning was founded by the 
Middle Oregon Baptist Association, for the purpose of 
thoroughly preparing young people for college, business 
life, or for the profession of teaching, and to do this 
under Christian influences. Its location is a great ad- 
vantage, situated, as it is, in the midst of a town where 
no saloon nor gambling is tolerated, nor are there any 
of the alluring attractions, such as the theatre and 
kindred evils. It is two stories in height and also has 
a large and commodious basement, and is surrounded by 
a large campus. There are three courses of study, each 
requiring three years to complete. The Normal is par- 
ticularly adapted to those intending to follow teaching 
as a profession. The classical presenting two years 
Latin gives thorough preparation for admission to col- 
lege, and a business course is offered which is adapted 
to fit students for the practical duties of business life. 
Studies in elocution and vocal music will be given by T. 
Clay Neece, it being a part of the regular course. Dur- 
ing the course lectures will also be given by C. A. 
Woddy, Claude Raboteau and Gilman Parker of Port- 
land; A. L. Boardman, of McMinnville, George W. 
Barnes, of Prineville and C. P. Bailey, of Grass Val- 
ley. The principal, R. Hargreaves, is an able instructor,, 
and gives the affairs of the Academy his personal super- 
vision. He will gladly furnish any desired information 
regarding its advantages. 

In September, 1902, a contract was let to W. 
A. Raymond for an annex to the Moro High 
School building, 22x33 feet, to cost $2,020. 

The school at Wasco is composed of four de- 
partments, primary, intermediate, grammar and 
high school. Of these the intermediate is the 
largest department, having an enrollment for the 
year 1904 and 1905 of 57. Next in size is the 
primary with an enrollment of 47, followed by 
the grammar department with 34, and the high 
school with 26. This school is disciplined by 
the "self-control" plan, and while the teachers 
assist pupils in controlling themselves, the latter 



462 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



are making rapid progress along this line. As a 
whole, the Wasco school has been in the past 
quite fortunate in its selection of teachers, espe- 
cially in the "grade" teachers. Many have gone 



from this school to the larger Portland schools. 
In 1905 it carried full ninth, and part of the 
tenth, grade work, and all classes completed their 
work without great difficulty. 






BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 



SHERMAN COUNTY 



EUGENE S. CATTRON, representative of 
the Pacific Coast Elevator Company for Sher- 
man county, and mayor of Wasco, Sherman 
county, was born in Monmouth, Oregon, July 
14, 1864, the son of Jonathan and Alvira (Shel- 
ton) Cattron. The father was a native of Ken- 
tucky, a member of an old family of Holland de- 
scent. His parents moved to Missouri while he 
was a small boy. The mother of our subject, a 
native of Missouri, resides in Portland, Oregon. 
It was in 1850 that the father of our subject came 
to Oregon, overland with ox teams to Califor- 
nia, and by boat to Oregon from San Francisco'. 
The mother, with her parents, had preceded him 
in 1846, locating in Yamhill county, where she 
remained five years and where she was married 
to the father of our subject. Following this he 
removed to Polk county where he died in 1872. 
He was a stanch Republican, active in campaigns, 
but never sought office. He was, also, one of the 
promoters of the old Monmouth University, of 
which he was secretary. This institution was 
later known as Christian College, and at present 
the State Normal school. 

Our subject continued to live in Monmouth 
until 1897 when he came to Sherman county, 
having previously been graduated from Christian 
College and the Monmouth State Normal school. 
In 1885 he taught school six months and then 
engaged in the grain business, conducting a ware- 
house eight years. This enterprise he disposed 
of and took a trip east to attend the World's Fair 
at Chicago. Returning he again engaged in the 
warehouse business two years, sold out and came 
to Sherman county, August, 1897, as the county 
representative of the Pacific Coast Elevator Com- 
pany. In 1899 he was elected mayor of Wasco 
on a citizen's ticket and is now serving his third 
term. 



At the city of Wallace, Idaho, October 6, 
1899, Mr. Cattron was united in marriage to 
Miss Verne Lytle, a native of Missouri, the 
daughter of Walter S. and Helen Lytle. Her 
father, a native of Pennsylvania, is assistant audi- 
tor of the steamship lines of the Northern Pacific 
Railroad Company at Seattle. Mrs. Cattron has 
two sisters, Bertha, single, living with her father 
at Seattle, and Helen, wife of Captain Charles 
Smithers, instructor at the military college of 
West Point. Our subject has one brother and 
three sisters living; Edgar, of the hardware firm 
of Jensen, King, Byrd Company, Spokane, Wash- 
ington ; Laura, single, residing at Eugene ; Alice, 
wife of T. J. Craig, of Portland, a druggist ; and 
Bertha, wife of C. E. Clodfelter. of the Browns- 
ville Woolen Company, of Portland. Mr. and 
Mrs. Cattron have one child, Helen, aged four 
years. The fraternal affiliations of our subject 
are with the B. P. O. E., No. 303, The Dalles, 
and the Knights of Pythias, of Wasco, of which 
he is chancellor commander. He is a Republican 
and. quite frequently is called upon to serve as 
delegate to county conventions and several times 
he has acted in a like capacity at state conven- 
tions. Mr. Cattron is a gentleman of pleasing 
address and marked executive and financial abil- 
ity, one who has won a host of friends in a wide 
circle of acquaintances. 



J. SHELBY FOWLER, a young, energetic 
and sagacious Sherman county farmer, resides 
two miles south of Rufus. He was born in Pettis 
countv. Missouri, near Smithton, May 20, 1880, 
the son of William and Lettie (Matthews) Fow- 
ler. The father was a native of Missouri ; the 
mother of Ohio. The parents of William Fowler 



464 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



were of German descent. The family of our 
subject came to Sherman county when he was 
four years of age. Here the father secured one- 
half section of land and purchased more, al- 
though he had, at the time, only limited capital. 
He now owns a section of land and our subject 
has three hundred and seventy-five acres, a por- 
tion of which he homesteaded, purchasing the 
balance. They farmed together until recently, 
and our subject now rents his father's place. Four 
hundred acres of the land are at present devoted 
to wheat. William Fowler has an orchard of 
fifteen acres which he, himself, conducts. He was 
a soldier in the confederacy, in Company A, under 
Captain Dill, Colonel Parsons, and General Par- 
sons. He is a Democrat, fairly active during the 
successive campaigns, has served on several occa- 
sions as delegate to county conventions, and has 
been schoof director a number of terms. 

Our subject received a good business educa- 
tion in the public schools in his vicinity and in 
the high school at The Dalles, to which was 
added a course at the Portland Business College. 
He has four sisters : Cora, a clerk at Hood River ; 
Leila, wife of Charles Lamb, a farmer in Pettis 
county, Missouri ; Ila, wife of Correl Smith, of 
Wasco; Zula, living at home. 

Mr. Fowler is a member of the M. W. A., of 
Rufus, of which order he is venerable counsel. 
He is a popular young man, ambitious and pro- 
gressive, and one highly esteemed in his home 
community. 



ALEXANDER SCOTT, a capitalist and 
farmer of Grass Valley, was born in Armagh 
county, Ireland, on May 3, 1849. John Scott, 
his father, was a native of the same county in 
Ireland and married Susannah Henry, also a 
native of the same place. The father died in Ire- 
land, and the mother now lives at Holly Beach, 
New Jersey. Our subject attended the national 
schools of Ireland until I864, and came to the 
United States in 1868 and settled in Orange 
county, New York. He did farm work a year 
there, then went to Philadelphia and clerked for 
three' years, after which he took up the grocery 
business 'for himself until 1877. In that year he 
came to Portland and engaged in the flax indus- 
try in Jefferson City, having learned the business 
in his father's flax mill in Ireland. Six months 
later, he came to The Dalles for the winter and 
the following spring, 1878, took land on Tygh 
ridge, one mile north from Kingsley, being one 
of the first settlers and wheat raisers in that sec- 
tion. For fourteen years he continued there then 
sold his half section to John Whitten. In the 



spring of 1888, Mr. Scott was forced to take 
a business in Grass Valley, where he had en- 
dorsed some papers. It was the only store there 
and he ran it as Scott & Company, for twelve 
years. Then he entered into partnership with 
the three Heaths and they continued three years 
longer. Then the business was absorbed by the 
C. C. Company, our subject becoming vice-pres- 
ident and director in that company. Our subject 
had traded a half interest in his store to the 
Heaths for eight hundred acres of land. This 
land is now valued at twenty-five dollars per 
acre and raises twenty-five bushels per acre on 
summer fallow and fifteen bushels spring wheat. 
Mr. Scott owns a combined harvester and is one 
of the leading grain producers of the county. 
He is also director and secretary of the Citizens' 
Bank. Mr. Scott also owns Sherman addition 
to Grass Valley, originally forty acres, over half 
of which has been built up. It is the very best 
part of the town. He also owns a fine two-story 
dwelling besides considerable other property. 
With A. B. Craft, he erected the first warehouse 
and they later sold out to the W. W. & M. Com- 
pany. They also built one at Kent and sold to 
the same company. Mr. Scott bought the Sher- 
man addition from the E. O. L. Company for a 
thousand dollars. He had previously bought a 
quarter section from the government and had a 
government title for five years while here in 
business and built various buildings. Then the 
E. O. L. claimed the land and won it in the 
supreme court, so our subject purchased back 
forty acres for a thousand dollars and they kept 
one hundred and twenty acres. The government 
returned the two hundred dollars he had paid 
and he has now a claim pending against the com- 
pany for nine thousand six hundred dollars for 
improvements. 

On November 3, 1874, at Philadelphia, Mr. 
Scott married Elizabeth Whitten, who was born 
in Armagh count}-, Ireland, a sister of John D. 
Whitten, who is mentioned in this work. Mr. 
Scott has one brother, John, one of the largest 
wholesale grocers in Philadelphia and one of 
twenty-five who handle the entire product of the 
American Sugar Refinery. He also has a brother 
in St. Louis, William H, engaged in the mill- 
wright business, and Nathan, at Columbia Falls, 
Montana, and one sister with his mother in New 
Jersey. Mr. and Mrs. Scott have three children 
living, Ethel J.. Anna E., and Linden D., aged 
seventeen, fifteen, and thirteen, respectively. They 
also have five children who are now deceased, 
whose names and ages at the time of their death 
are given below: John A., two and one-half 
years; William H, six years and eleven months; 
George D., aged four and one-half years ; Annie, 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



465 



eighteen months ; and William J., fourteen years. 
John M. and Annie died in the same week of that 
dread disease, diphtheria. Mr. and Mrs. Scott 
and their children are all members of the Baptist 
church. Politically, he is a Republican and as 
active as his business will permit. Mr. Scott is 
one of the substantial, heavyweight business men 
of Sherman county. He has achieved marked 
success in his endeavors and has also maintained 
a reputation for integrity, uprightness and fair 
dealing, which have won for him confidence and 
esteem from all who know him. 

Since the above was written, Mr. Scott has 
sold some of his property in Grass Valley and 
has invested in Portland. He has purchased a 
fine residence at 692 East Ash street in that city 
and is transferring his property from Sherman 
county to Portland. 



CHARLES H. TOM, a prosperous Sherman 
county farmer, resides one-half mile from Grant 
on the hill. He was born in Stark county, Ohio, 
February 7, 1855, the son of David A. and Mary 
F. (Bartholomew) Tom. The father was a native 
of Ohio ; his parents of Ireland. David A. Tom 
was a member of Company F., in an Ohio In- 
fantry regiment, in which he served in the Civil 
war. Two years previous to his enlistment he 
was in the employment of the government, pur- 
chasing horses for the use of the army. On the 
Ohio canal he ran boats for many years. The 
mother of our subject was a native of Pennsylva- 
nia, of Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry. 

Until 1869 our subject lived in Ohio, in 
Indiana until 1871, and in Illinois until 1881. 
Thence he went to Dayton, Washington, remain- 
ing a few months and then he came to Sherman 
county. He filed on timber culture and home- 
stead claims, and purchased more land later. Oc- 
casionally he worked for the Oregon Railroad 
& Navigation Company, in all about four years,, 
and at other periods devoting his attention to 
improving his ranch. This was a noted rendez- 
vous for stockmen, with good water, etc., and a 
lake which Mr. Tom has drained and utilizes for 
irrigation purposes. He has now about seven 
hundred acres, nearly all of which is cultivated. 

October 25, 1877, our subject was married to 
Mary C. Montgomery, born in Menard county, 
where the marriage ceremony was performed. 
Her father, William Montgomery, a native of 
Illinois, was born in the same house in which his 
daughter, Mrs. Tom, first saw the light. His 
parents, Thomas Jefferson and Sarah (Stone) 
Montgomery, were born in Kentucky, in 1805, 
and in Owensville, Indiana, in 18 12, respectively,, 
so 



and went to Illinois in 1849. William Montgom- 
ery was a second cousin of President Jefferson 
Davis, of the Southern Confederacy. Three of 
William's brothers fought in the Civil war. 
Ritchey, the eldest, was born in Gibson county, 
Indiana, in 1831, and in 1862 enlisted in the 
Seventy-third Illinois Infantry. Samuel, born in 
Indiana, in 1839, enlisted in Company A, Tenth 
Illinois Cavalry, in 1861. James, still living in 
Atlanta, Logan county, Illinois, was born in In- 
diana, in 1837, and enlisted in Company G, 
Thirty-eighth Illinois Infantry. These brothers 
were in the union army. William endeavored 
to enlist but failed to pass the necessary examina- 
tion. He was born in Gibson county, Indiana, 
in 1833, and died in 1880. 

Our subject has three brothers and three sis- 
ters : Anson S., of Grant, in the service of the 
Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company ; Homer, 
in Indiana; S. Fremont, a farmer living with 
his mother in Indiana ; Mary, wife of John Smith, 
a capitalist in Cadillac, Michigan ; Emma, wife of 
Henry Hurd, a farmer near Friend, Nebraska ; 
and Ella, single and at home in Indiana. Mrs. 
Tom has six brothers and one sister living: 
James R., of Menard county, Illinois; Samuel 
D., of Oklahoma; Charles L., of Moro, Sherman 
county ; Harvey E., foreman in a newspaper 
office in Clinton, Illinois ; Homer, of Weldon, 
Illinois ; J. Henry, a printer near Weldon, Illi- 
nois ; Ellen, wife of Charles Parkhurst, a preachcr 
in Oklahoma, of the Cumberland Presbyterian 
Church. Thomas J., aged four, died at the home 
place in Menard county, Illinois ; M. Jane, wife 
of Rev. Willis Patchen, died in Illinois, aged 
twenty-one. 

Mr. and Mrs. Tom have four childern ; Edith, 
wife of Charles Hoggard, a merchant in Rufus ; 
Curtis A., at home ; Sarah E., aged seventeen ; 
Leah, aged eleven, at home. The fraternal affili- 
ations of Mr. Tom are with Cascade Lodge, No. 
303, B. P. O. E., of The Dalles, and the A. O. 
U. W., of Moro. He is a progressive citizen, 
broad-minded and liberal, and one who nas won a 
host of friends in the community in which he 
resides. 



WILLIAM H. FAIRFIELD, proprietor of 
the Kent Hotel at Kent, Oregon, was born in 
California, on August 6, 1871. His parents, 
William and Ella (Rawson) Fairfield, are natives 
of Michigan, and now reside in California. They 
moved to Clackamas county, Oregon, when he 
was three years old and there cleared a farm 
from heavy timber. Twelve years later, they 
sold the place and moved to Douglas county, and 
two years after that our subject, having com- 



466 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



pleted his education in the common schools, 
struck out for himself. He did various work 
until his people went to California, then he came 
to this part of Oregon. He herded sheep for a 
time, then spent two years or so in farm work. 
Following that, he raised wheat on rented land 
for four years; then bought three-fourths of a 
section and also took up a homestead. He later 
sold the land he had bought and in December, 
1903, purchased the place he now conducts at 
Kent. Since that time Mr. Fairfield has given 
his attention to handling the hotel and livery 
barn and is doing a nice business. 

On December 7, 1898, at Grass Valley, Mr. 
Fairfield married Minnie Smith, whose parents 
dwell in Grass Valley. To this union one child 
has been born, Kenneth. Mr. Fairfield has three 
brothers, Edward, Harry and Wallace, in Cali- 
fornia, and one sister, Minnie, wife of Bud Lewis, 
Roseburg, Oregon. 

Politically, Mr. Fairfield is a Republican. He 
is also a man of good standing and takes an in- 
terest in everything that is for the building up 
and the welfare of the country. 



WILLIAM H. TURNER is one of Sherman 
county's progressive, energetic and skillful farm- 
ers. He resides two miles west from Rutledge 
postoffice and has a fine estate. He was born in 
New York, March 21, 1866, the son of George 
and Louisa (Seeley) Turner. The father was 
born in Hartford, Connecticut and died when our 
subject was nine years of age. He came from an 
old American family. The mother's parents 
were born in New York and their parents were 
natives of England. The Seeley family is well 
known as one of the prominent families in New 
York and New England and many professional 
and educational men were among them. The 
mother's father, lost his eyesight when forty 
years of age, through overwork while clearing 
land for his home in Cortland county, New York. 
He was a pioneer settler and had taken land there 
and when his eyesight was nearly gone, he 
suffered the aditional trouble of having to resist 
unprincipled men who tried to drive him from 
his property. They even went so far as to fire 
shot guns at him. Still he persevered and after- 
ward bought peace and was left alone. Oui 
subject still today owns the old place of sixty six 
acres where he resided until nine years of age. 
His uncle helped till the place until he entered the 
State Normal school. The uncle is Professor 
Felix E. Seeley who taught in the high schools 
in Michigan, Wisconsin and New York and in 
later vears came west and farmed near DeMoss 



Springs for ten years. He is now engaged in 
real estate and loaning in San Francisco, being 
a prominent and worthy citizen. After his 
father's death, he assisted his mother in work- 
ing out to pay for the little home place and he 
continued at the same until fifteen, when he de- 
termined to come west and seek his fortune. He 
gave his mother all his money, except enough 
for his fare and he landed in Wasco county with 
just six cents in his pocket. He was on the sec- 
ond train that had come over the Northern Paci- 
fic. Scott and McCoy ran a store in Grant and 
when our subject was trying to purchase a 
nickel's worth of crackers and cheese, Mr. Scott 
gruffly asked him if he had no more money. Mr. 
Turner replied, "No." Scott then said, "Go to 
the hotel and I will stand good." Mr. Turner 
feeling independent, said he would not, as he had 
one cent left. Scott insisted and took him to the 
hotel with instructions for the hotel man to keep 
him until he could find work. Our subject went 
to work cutting wood for the hotel keeper and 
while thus employed Michael King, a Scotchman 
with a broad brogue and a throat disease, came 
along and addressed Mr. Turner with the idea 
of hiring him ; but owing to the difficulties men- 
tioned, our subject could understand nothing ex- 
cept the man's profanity. However, a bargain 
was finally made and he went to work tending 
camp for forty-five dollars per month, which 
monev he sent to his mother as soon as he earned 
it. Then he went to work at eighty-five dollars 
per month and remarks to this day that he felt 
nearly frightened to death to receive that much 
money for one month's labor when he had only 
gotten thirteen and one-half dollars for his work 
in the east. Mr. Turner staved two years with 
Mr. King and during that time he sent for his 
mother, who married William Currie a year after 
she came here. After his mother came, our sub- 
ject went to freighting and prospered exceed- 
ingly, but like the other freighters, he spent his 
monev freelv but was careful to take a preemp- 
tion, homestead and timber culture, which forms 
his estate at the present time. Mr. Turner owns 
the lead mare which he used for fifteen years, 
she now being twenty-one years old. Her intel- 
ligence is almost human and he would not part 
with her under any circumstances. In addition 
to dninc freightine and handling his estate, our 
subject worked with his step-father on a thresh- 
ing outfit which he later owned and they con- 
ducted the business until the present time. Mr. 
Turner is a prosperous man, has many friends 
and is one of the leading citizens of the county. 
On October 12, 1003. Mr. Turner married 
Tennetta Leonard. She was born in Ontario, 
Canada, on April 12. 1887, the daughter of 






HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



467 



Charles and Jennetta (Bain) Leonard, natives of 
Canada and Scotland, respectively, and now 
dwelling in Sherman county, their home at the 
head of Sherar's grade, seven miles up from the 
bridge. Mr. Turner is an only child ; his wife 
has one brother, Allen, and four sisters, Lizzie, 
Carrie, Georgia and Nora. 



JOHN R. VENABLE was born in Marion 
county, Oregon, March 26, 1865, the son of 
Francis M. and Jane (Hubbard) Venable. Fran- 
cis M., the father, is a native of Missouri, the 
mother of Illinois. At present they both reside 
on a farm near Rufus. With ox teams the father 
crossed the plains in 1852 or 1853, accompanied 
"by his wife. 

In the beautiful and arable Willamette Val- 
ley our subject was reared until he attained the 
age of eleven years. At that period his family 
removed to Klickitat county, Washington, where 
the father purchased land on the Columbia, op- 
posite the mouth of the John Day river. They 
remained there until 1888. thence coming to 
Sherman county. Our subject found employ- 
ment in a variety of occupations, living much of 
the time at home. 

March 11, 1891, at Pendleton, Oregon, Mr. 
Venable was united in marriage to Miss Elvena 
McCullough, a native of Ohio and the daughter 
of William McCullough, the latter at present 
living in Wallowa county, Oregon. Our subject 
has three brothers living. Mr. and Mrs. Vena- 
ble have six children living, W. Frances, Chester 
R., Marie, Paul, Mack, and Manuel, an infant. 

Politically, he is a Democrat, and although 
not an active partisan he served as a delegate to 
the last county convention in the interest of the 
Democratic party. 

During four years Mr. Venable was engaged 
in the barber business, and was for nearly three 
years at Adams, Umatilla county. He is quite 
a popular man in the community in which he re- 
sides and numbers many friends in a wide circle 
of acquaintances. 



JAMES W. HARVEY, proprietor of the 
Rufus Hotel, Rufus, Sherman county, was born 
in Polk county, Oregon, May 3, 1856, the son of 
Job and Ellen (Perry) Harvey. The father was 
a native of Pennsylvania, his parents the same, 
and his grandfather was English ; his grand- 
mother Scotch. The mother of our subject was 
a native of Maine, a member of the old and dis- 
tinguished Perry family. Of these Commodore 



Perry, the historically celebrated naval officer — 
Oliver Hazard Perry — who fought the battle of 
Lake Erie, and others who became distinguished 
in American history, were members. 

The father of our subject came to Oregon 
with his parents, with ox teams, in 1850. His 
father, Amos, secured a donation claim which is 
now the present site of a portion of the city of 
Portland. The Multnomah county court house 
stands on part of it and the entire quarter section 
extends down to the Willamette river. The locator 
remained on this land nine months and then dis- 
posed of the improvements for a ranch in Yam- 
hill county, which he later exchanged for Polk 
county property where he died. Our subject's 
father owned a half section adjoining upon which 
James W. Harvey was born. The latter's father 
died when he was seventeen years of age ; his 
mother when he was eleven months old. He has 
no remembrance of either of his parents, the 
father having died in Montana. Our subject 
lived with his grandfather and uncles until he 
was nine years old, and then he ran away to The 
Dalles. Here he worked for Mr. Grimes, men- 
tioned elsewhere. He passed eighteen months 
at The Dalles and was eighteen months 
with Henry Barnum, mentioned in another por- 
tion of this work, on the present site of Moro. 
Returning to the Willamette valley he found em- 
ployment in a livery stable in Albany. Here he 
remained two years and then he went east of the 
mountains as general manager for Robert Salt- 
marsh, a sheep grower. Three years subse- 
quently he went to Heppner where he filled a sim- 
ilar position in the cattle business for William 
Taylor. He then purchased beef for a Portland 
house four years and the two years subsequently 
he traveled about, engaging in no business. Mr. 
Harvey returned to Umatilla county in 1876, and 
at the breaking out of the Indian war joined the 
company of Frank Mattoc's with which he re- 
mained one month. Then the United States gov- 
ernment employed him as a scout for a period of 
three months when the war closed. Subsequently 
for two years he bought and sold horses on his 
own account, going to Grass Valley, Sherman 
county, in 1879. There were then only two 
houses in the place ; one belonging to "Doc" 
Rollins, who is mentioned elsewhere ; and one 
owned by a man named Plough. Our subject 
located a claim near "Doc" Rollins', which he 
disposed of to Mr. Van Winkle, mentioned in 
another portion of this work. On this he resided 
seventeen years, going, in 1887, to Ellensburg, 
Washington, where he passed a few months. 
After this during a portion of eight years he re- 
mained in Portland engaged in contracting on 
street grading. During that period he took a 



468 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



contract for railroad work near Winlock, Wash- 
ington, in which he lost all his funds owing- to 
the fact that the principal contractor failed to 
pay the sub-contractors. This loss was a severe 
one amounting to about $16,000. After this he 
completed a small contract near Olympia and 
returned to Portland. In 1893 Mr. Harvey lo- 
cated in. Peoria, Linn county, Oregon, where he 
worked for H. F. Fisher in a mill and warehouse 
for six years. Going to Viento, Wasco county, 
he was in the employment of the Oregon Lum- 
ber Company five months. Thence he migrated 
to The Dalles where for a short period he con- 
ducted a shooting gallery, and the following sum- 
mer he was in Centerville, Washington, one 
year, in the confectionery and ice cream busi- 
ness. He continued the same line of business 
ten months in Wasco, but August 1, 1904, he 
rented the Rufus Hotel. He still owns a farm 
on the edge of Peoria which he rents. 

March 15, 1884, at Grass Valley, our subject 
was united in marriage to Margaret Emma 
Shanklin, born in Burlington, Linn county, Ore- 
gon, the daughter of Robert and Martha (Mc- 
Cartney) Shanklin. Her father was born in 
Fleming county, Kentucky. His ancestors were 
Scotch pioneers. Her mother was a native of 
Indiana, and her father of Tennessee. Her 
grandparents were Scotch and Irish. Our sub- 
scriber has one brother living, Daniel P. ; another 
brother, Charles C, is dead. Mrs. Harvey has 
three sisters living; Edna; Edith (in Idaho); 
Effie, wife of Walter Barber, of Peoria, Linn 
county, Oregon. Mr. and Mrs. Harvey have 
four children, Clinton, Clyde, Robert and Edith, 
living at home. Mrs. Harvey is a member of 
the Methodist (South) church. Politically, 
Mr. Harvey is a Republican although not par- 
ticularly active. Our subject is a popular man 
throughout the county and numbers a wide cir- 
cle of friends and acquaintances. 



GEORGE W. RAMEY, dealer in hardware 
and a blacksmith, resides at Rufus, Sherman 
county. He was born in St. Louis county, Mis- 
souri, the son of William H. and Virginia (Ball) 
Ramey, both natives of Missouri. The ancestry 
of William Ramey were an old and prominent 
southern family of Holland descent. His father 
was a pioneer settler in Missouri and California. 
Virginia Ball was born in Boone county, a de- 
scendant of the old Ball family, the members of 
which were distinguished soldiers in the wars of 
the Revolution and 181 2. Their ancestry were 
English. Ephraim Ball, born at Greentown, 
Ohio, August 12, 1812, dying at Canton, Ohio, 



January 1, 1872, was an inventor and manufact- 
urer of plows, mowers (the Buckeye machine), 
and harvesters. Thomas Ball, a native of Mas- 
sachusetts, born July 3, 1819, was a distinguished. 
American sculptor. Among his works are a 
statue of Daniel Webster (New York), "Eman- 
cipation," (Washington), statue and busts of Ev- 
erett, Choate, etc. 

Until he was eleven years of age our subject 
remained in Missouri. He then, with his parents, 
went to Tulare county, California. This was 
in 1870. Here he attended the district schools 
and worked on the farm. His family left Cali- 
fornia in 1882 and came to Sherman county, 
where he and his father took up land on the hill 
overlooking the Columbia river. They disposed 
of these claims later and purchased other land. 
Our subject at present owns forty acres of fine 
fruit and vegetable land near the town of Rufus. 
It was in 1903 that he engaged in his present 
business. His parents own a section of land on 
the hill four miles from town. 

Mr. Ramey is a single man, living with his 
parents in Rufus. They rent the land on the 
"hill." Politically, Mr. Ramey is independent. 
He has one brother and two sisters ; Charles T., 
a stock-raiser in Yolo county, California ; Cora, 
wife of Frank Bartholomew, who rents the ranch 
on the "hill ;" and Agnes, wife of Benjamin L. 
Andrews, a farmer residing four and one-half 
miles from Rufus. 



WILLIAM H. McGRATH, a skillful 
mechanic, who does blacksmithing and wagon 
making at Grass Valley, Oregon, is one of the 
leading business men of this part of Sherman 
county. He handles the largest business south 
of Wasco and as large as any mechanical busi- 
ness in the county. He was born in Mendocino 
county, California, on Mav 19, 1875, the son of 
John B. and Mary (Black) McGrath, natives of 
Delaware, New Jersey, and Illinois, respectively. 
The father's father was a native of Ireland and 
came to the United States in his youth and set- 
tled in New Jersey. John B. McGrath died at 
The Dalles *i the fall of 1900. Our subject's 
maternal grandparents were natives of Illinois, 
and came of German extraction. William H. 
grew up in California until six years of age 
when the family came to Sherman, it being then 
1 88 1. The father took a homestead in Grass 
Valley and there were only six other families in 
this part of the country. He bought more land 
but sold, so at the time of his death he owned 
one-half section. Our subject was educated in 
the district schools and when twenty-one took 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



469 



a homestead. Later, lie sold this and purchased 
town property. He has a residence in Grass 
Valley and owns a commodious blacksmith and 
wagon shop, besides some vacant lots. He is 
doing a very extensive business, keeping con- 
stantly employed with three mechanics and some- 
times more. Mr. McGrath is a very skillful man 
in mechanical lines and is able to turn out any 
kind of work that is needed in the county. He 
worked under a thoroughly competent instruc- 
tor when learning the trade and was master of 
it when he opened the shop here in the fall of 
1903. He does light and heavy blacksmithing 
and all kinds of wagon and carriage work, builds 
water tanks, in fact attends to any line of work 
needed in an agricultural country. 

In December, 1899, Mr. McGrath married 
Mrs. Mamie B. McGreevy, a native of Mis- 
souri. By her former marriage, she had two 
daughters, Lena and Maggie, and to Mr. and 
Mrs. McGrath one child has been born, Jessie. 
Our subject has one brother, living, John T., 
at Aberdeen, Washington. One brother died 
when an infant, and three sisters, Kate, Mary 
and Catherine, aged nine, seven and six respec- 
tively. They all died in California. 

Mr. McGrath is a member of the A. O. U. 
W. In political matters he is a Republican, but 
not especially active. He takes an interest in 
school matters and general affairs, and is a pro- 
gressive and industrious man. 



WILLIAM CURRIE resides about three 
and one-half miles northeast from Rutledge, 
Sherman county, and is well known here, having 
"been a pioneer of 1884. He was born in Scot- 
land, on March 19, 1844, the son of William and 
Jeanette ( Bosom waith) Currie, natives of the 
same country. The father died in Scotland and 
the mother died in Canada. Our subject came to 
Canada when five years old, with his mother and 
other relatives and settlement was made in Huron 
county, Ontario. There Mr. Currie was edu- 
cated and reared until twenty years of age. His 
mother had taken land there and he assisted her 
to improve it and make a home. When twenty 
years of age, he came to Port Huron, Michigan, 
and enlisted in Company B, Thirtieth Michigan 
Infantry, under Captain Balles and Colonel John- 
son, and was busy at guard duty until the close 
of the war, receiving his honorable discharge 
"in June, 1865. After being mustered out. he 
came via Panama to San Francisco, and a short 
time later went thence to Santa Cruz where he 
labored two years getting out redwood bolts to 
make powder kegs. Afterward, we find him in 



Nevada, where he was variously engaged for a 
year, then he went to Montana and did packing. 
Later, he operated a threshing machine there, 
after which he went down the river to Kansas 
City. Not finding anything there to suit him, he 
journeyed on west to Arizona, and was variously 
employed in that territory, Utah and Idaho until 
1884, when he came to this part of Oregon. A 
year later, he took up land, then bought railroad 
land and since has been giving his attention to 
farming. His wife also took land before her 
marriage and they now own nine hundred and 
sixty acres. Mr. Currie has a threshing outfit, 
operated by a gasoline engine. 

In 1886, Mr. Currie married Mrs. Louisa 
Turner, who was born in New York, the daughter 
of William and Ellen ( Morse) Seeley, natives of 
New York and descended from old American fam- 
ilies. The father died in New York, and he was 
blind from forty until 1871, the time of his 
death. Mr. Currie has no brothers living, but 
has two half brothers, John and Robert Bos- 
waith, in Canada. He also has one half sister, 
Elizabeth, the wife of Mr. Main, in Ontario. 
Mrs. Currie has two brothers, Felix E., in San 
Francisco, and William H., who died from 
cholera in the Civil war, and one sister, Diadama, 
in New York. 

Politically, Mr. Currie is independent, not 
being trammeled by any party ties. Mrs. Currie 
is a member of the Methodist church, while her 
husband belongs to the Presbyterian denomina- 
tion. They are good substantial people and are 
well and favorablv known. 



JOHN W. SMITH, an enterprising mer- 
chant and influential, progressive citizen of 
Rufus, Sherman county, was born in Berrien 
countv, Michigan, March 19, 1848. He is the 
son of John R. and Mary A. (Miller) Smith, the 
former a native of Pennsylvania, the latter of 
Indiana, but both descended from old Pennsyl- 
vania Dutch families. 

It was in Michigan that our subject was 
reared until he was three years old, when his 
family removed to Iowa. Here he attended the 
public schools where he obtained a good business 
education, and worked on the farm with his par- 
ents until he was fifteen years old. Evidently 
he was a very patriotic youth, for at that early 
age he enlisted in Company F, Ninth Iowa In- 
fantry, Caotain James W. Gwin. The colonel 
of our subject's regiment was David Henderson, 
who subsequently became speaker of the House 
of Representatives at Washington. Mr. Smith 
beeran his life as a soldier with the Chattanooga 



470 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



campaign in the spring of 1864, with General 
Sherman. He was in the Fifteenth Army Corps, 
then commanded by General John A. Logan 
(Black Jack), of Illinois, who was subsequently 
candidate for vice president on the ticket with 
James G. Blaine. For eighteen months our sub- 
ject remained with his regiment with the excep- 
tion of three months, which he passed in the 
hospital owing to serious illness. July 25, 1865, 
he was mustered out at Louisville, Kentucky. 

After the close of the war he was engaged 
in farming in Missouri and Kansas, and also in 
railroad work and various other employments. 
In 1880 Mr. Smith went to Colorado where he 
remained four years as clerk in a store and en- 
gaging in carpenter work. Thence he went to 
Seattle, Washington, and worked at bridge-build- 
ing four years, and in the fall of 1888 he took 
up general merchandising in Grant, Sherman 
county. In T 894 a disastrous flood carried off 
the building and much of the stock. He at once 
erected another building twenty-eight by seventy 
feet at Murray Springs and engaged in the same 
line of business, and in 1895 removed the build- 
ing to Rufus. He carries about four thousand 
five hundred dollars worth of stock and has a 
good trade. Our subject is single. He has three 
brothers and two sisters living; Benjamin F., 
a farmer in Douglas county; Jacob R., in Fort 
Scott, Kansas; Thurston S., proprietor of a 
saloon in Wasco; Hattie, wife of Frank Ven- 
num, of Coffeeville, Kansas ; and Emma, wife of 
John Harris, also of Fort Scott. 

Politically, he is affiliated with the Republi- 
can party, but is not what might be termed an 
active partisan. In the community in which he 
resides he is very popular and has won the es- 
teem of a wide circle of friends. 



GEORGE E. THOMPSON is postmaster 
at Rutledge where he also owns a section of 
land and does general farming. He was born at 
The Dalles, Oregon, on April 23, i860. His 
father was descended from English and Irish 
parentage and came to Oregon in the early 
fifties. He was a soldier in the regular army and 
died when our subject was two years of age. 
The mother died just before that.' George was 
then legally adopted by John B. Dickerson and 
was raised and educated at The Dalles. He re- 
ceived good training in the schools and assisted 
his foster father in the meat business. Later, 
he was engaged in that for himself, and about 
T884 sold out and came to Sherman countv. He 
t^ok a homestead, bought railroad land and 
c tirted practically without capital. He now 
has the property above mentioned, which is well 



improved, with a good cosy frame house, barns,. 
outbuildings, fences and so forth and is one of 
the good places of the county. 

On May 3, 1881, at The Dalles, Mr. Thomp- 
son married Mary Bolton, who was born in Illi- 
nois, the daughter of Patrick Bolton, a native of 
Ireland, and now living at Kingsley. Mr. 
Thompson has one brother, William, at Wheat- 
land, Oregon, and one sister, Nettie, the wife of 
George T. Thompson, an attorney at Walla 
Walla. To Mr. and Mrs. Thompson nine chil- 
dren have been born, named as follows : John, 
Albert, Morris, Mabel, Nellie, Edith, Ruth, Alice, 
Grace, all at home. Our subject is a member 
of the A. O. U. W., and he and his wife belong 
to the Roman Catholic church. In politics, he is 
a Democrat and is almost always found at the 
county conventions and frequently in the state 
conventions. He is a committeeman of his pre- 
cinct, and is also school clerk. Mr. Thompson 
is a man of good standing, has shown splendid 
business ability in his efforts here, and is rated 
as one of the substantial and leading men of this 
part of the county. 



CLARK DUNLAP, at the head of one of 
the pioneer families of Oregon, is a prosperous 
farmer living one mile north of Wasco. He was 
born in Peoria, Illinois, October 25, 1844, the 
son of Smith and Madeline Dunlap. Smith Dun- 
lap was a native of Connecticut, of Scotch and 
Irish ancestry. His parents came from the north 
of Ireland. 

At the time our subject was about three years 
of age the family crossed the plains with an ox 
train. This was in 1847. While en route the 
father was accidentally shot and killed. The 
mother died eighteen months after arriving at 
Forest Grove, Oregon. Our subject grew up in 
Salem, where he was reared in the family of F. 
R. Smith, who were old pioneers in the country.. 
Here young Clark Dunlap obtained a good busi- 
ness education in the public schools of Salem 
and worked on the farm of Mr. Smith, which was 
located on the outskirts of the town. In 1868, 
when our subject was twenty-four years of age, 
he struck out for himself and engaged in the 
stock business in which he was fairly successful. 
He passed about one year in Klickitat county, 
Washington, thence going to Grant county. Ore- 
gon, where he raised cattle. In this enterprise 
he continued until 1882 when he came to Sher- 
man county and took up half a section of very 
fine land, where he now resides. 

May 20, 1874, at Bridge Creek, Wheeler 
county, Oregon, our subject was married to Jane 
Chapman, born in Polk county, Oregon. She- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



471 



is the daughter of Joseph R. Chapman, a native 
of Connecticut, who came to Oregon with an ox 
train in 1852. He located a donation claim in 
Polk county, and later went to Klickitat county, 
Washington. This was about i860. Here he 
remained several years thence moving into the 
John Day country, where he engaged in stock- 
raising. He died in Sherman county January 
12, 1883; the mother now lives in Wheeler 
county. 

Our subject has one brother and one sister; 
William; and Harriet, wife of Henry Trimble, 
residing near Lewiston, Idaho. He is colloquially 
known as "Hank," and is a prominent pioneer 
of North Idaho. Mrs. Dunlap has three brothers 
and two half-sisters; George W. and Isaac M., 
stockmen residing near Fossil ; Joseph A., a stock- 
man in Wheeler county ; Mary, wife of William 
Waters, of Fossil; Sarah A., widow of Alby 
Bunnell, late of Centerville, Washington. 

Mr. and Mrs. Dunlap have four children; 
Clifton, born October 25, 1886; Mary V., born 
March 8, 1875, wife of Edward D. McKee, a 
druggist in Wasco; Vleda, born December 21, 
1876, wife of George Van Gassbec, a farmer of 
Blalock, Oregon; and Veva, born September 13, 
1893, now living at home. Mrs. Dunlap is a mem- 
ber of the Methodist Episcopal church. Politi- 
cally, Mr. Dunlap is a Republican and frequently 
a county delegate. 



WILLIAM TATE, one of the prosperous 
and solid citizen farmers of Sherman county, 
after an extended tour in many of the states of 
the union, has decided that his present location, 
three miles south of Rufus, is one of the best 
he has seen in all his journeyings. He was born 
in Ireland, April 25, 1830, the son of John and 
Elizabeth (Steele) Tate, both natives of Ire- 
land, where they died, in County Armagh. The 
father was a farmer. 

In 185 1 our subject came to the United States 
and at first located in Chicago where he remained 
two years engaged in the carpenter trade. In 
1853 he crossed the plains to Plumas county, 
California, thus becoming one of the early Argo- 
nauts to the Golden State. Here, for a period 
of three years, he followed mining, prospecting 
and farming, and then went back to Chicago. Be- 
tween 1856 and 1876 Mr. Tate divided his time 
between Chicago and California, and was, also, 
four months in the Willamette valle)^. In 1876 
he was induced to settle in Nebraska, in York 
county, but the immense and devastating swarms 
of grasshoppers there drove him out of the coun- 
try, and he returned to Chicago. Remaining 



there a few months he went back to California 
and for three years was in San Luis Obispo 
county. Thence he came to Sherman county. 
This was in 1886, and he located the place where 
he and his son, Worth A., reside. Here he 
secured half a section of land, and purchased 
more from the railroad company. He had at the 
time a small capital and with this he improved 
the place, occasionally working out. He now 
possesses a section of fine land, practically all 
tillable. 

At Chicago, in 1859, our subject was united 
in marriage to Elizabeth Steele, born in Joliet, 
Illinois. She is the daughter of Hugh and Mary 
A. (Cole) Steele, both natives of Ireland. They 
emigrated at first to Canada, and later to Illinois. 
Her father was a stone mason by trade. 

Our subject, William Tate, has two brothers 
and two sisters ; Alexander and Frank, in San 
Luis Obispo, California ; Mary, widow of E. D. 
Hosselkoss, late of Plumas county, California; 
and Elizabeth, widow of Wilson Reed, residing 
near our subject. Mrs. Tate has one brother 
and one sister living ; Charles Steele, of Chicago ; 
and Jane, widow of Richard Thompson, also of 
Chicago. Our subject has four boys and one 
girl ; Walter, a carpenter in Wasco ; Ernest, post- 
master of Wasco ; Frank, in Chicago ; Worth A., 
at home; and Mollie, single, living in Chicago. 

Both Mr. and Mrs. Tate were reared in the 
Presbyterian faith. Politically, he is a Republi- 
can, although by no means a strong partisan 

worker. 

•» * » 

CORNELIUS D. O'LEARY resides about 
six miles east of Grass Valley, where he rents 
an estate of sixteen hundred acres. He owns 
about thirty head of horses and seven head of 
mules, -all good graded stock, and is one of the 
leading wheat producers of the county. In addi- 
tion to this, Mr. O'Leary owns and operates a 
large steam threshing outfit, being especially 
skillful in that line of enterprise. He was born 
in Michigan, on May 2, 1866. Dennis O'Leary, 
his father, was born in county Cork, Ireland. 
He received a splendid education and then came 
to the United States to seek his fortune. His 
father, the grandfather of our subject, was a 
large land owner and Dennis was a younger son 
and began life for himself when he landed in 
Michigan and took up logging. He was more or 
less engaged in that business until his death on 
February 25, 1885, at Lapier, Michigan. He 
was then aged fifty-six and met his death by 
being crushed under a fallen tree. He had be- 
come influential and well-to-do and was known 
far and near as a devout Catholic and an excel- 



472 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



lent man. Upon his death, the estate dwindled 
down and in 1888, his widow, Elizabeth (Wil- 
son) O'Leary, a native of New York, died. Our 
subject began working for himself when sixteen 
and followed lumbering until twenty-four. Then 
he came to Oregon and remained in Portland and 
Seattle, about two years. In 1891, he came to 
Sherman county, without capital, and worked out 
for several years. In 1896, he took a homestead 
and bought a quarter section and remained on 
the same for three years, raising sheep. Then 
he sold the entire property and rents the estate 
above mentioned. 

On December 11, 1902, at The Dalles, Ore- 
gon, Mr. O'Leary married Bertha Sigman, the 
daughter of Richard Sigman, who is mentioned 
elsewhere in this work. Our subject has two 
brothers ; William, near Boise, Idaho ; Frank, in 
Lapier, Michigan ; and one sister, Ellen, the wife 
of John Conrad, in Flint, Michigan. Our sub- 
ject's mother was of Scotch ancestry and married 
in Lapier, Michigan, where also she died. To 
Mr. and Mrs. O'Leary one child has been born, 
Margaret Ellen. Mr. O'Leary is a very active 
man in political matters and is allied with the 
Democratic party. He has been a delegate to 
every county convention since coming here, and 
for eight year\s was on the state central commit- 
tee. He has also been a delegate to three state 
conventions, and is as active as his business will 
permit. Although keenly interested in this realm, 
he never aspires to office, but has labored con- 
stantly for others. Mr. O'Leary personally is a 
genial, public-spirited man, generous and pro- 
gressive. His qualities have won him many 
friends and he stands among the prominent 
farmers of the community today. 



WORTH A. TATE, the son of William 
Tate, a biographical sketch of whom appears in 
another column, resides on and conducts his 
father's ranch, which he rents. He is a native of 
Illinois, having been born in Chicago, February 
17, 1872. In the excellent graded schools of 
Chicago and San Luis Obispo he received a sub- 
stantial education to which he has added by ex- 
tensive reading. He went to San Luis Obispo 
at the age of eleven years, remained three years 
and then came to Sherman county with his fam- 
ily. Continuing here until 1890 he sought em- 
ployment in the lumber woods of Hood River 
where he was engaged three years. The follow- 
ing four years were passed in Chicago in the 
organ-making business with his brother, Walter. 
In the fall of 1897 Mr. Tate returned to Sherman 
county and commenced earnestly the conduct of 



his father's extensive ranch where he has re- 
mained since. 

The fraternal affiliations of our subject are 
with Sherman Lodge, No. 157, I. O. O. F., and the 
K. O. T. M., of Chicago. Politically he is a 
Republican, but not particularly active. He is a 
young man of sterling principles and numbers 
many friends in a wide circle of acquaintances. 



ORSINIUS H. RICH, a prosperous Sher- 
man county farmer, residing one and one-half 
miles north of Wasco, was born in Iowa, Sep- 
tember 5, i860. His father. Liberty J. Rich, was 
a farmer and a native of Michigan. He died 
when our subject was a child, and was a member 
of the distinguished Rich family of the United 
States who hold yearly reunions. His father, 
Andrew Rich, served in the Revolutionary war. 
Liberty J. Rich was, during the Civil war. a 
member of the Thirteenth Iowa Infantry. He 
enlisted three times before he was accepted. The 
second year of his service in the army he was 
taken ill, came home and died. The mother of 
our subject died in 1901, at North Yakima, 
Washington. 

Until he was seventeen years of age our sub- 
ject lived in Iowa. Thence he went to Kansas 
where he learned the butcher's trade. In 1890 
he went, with his family, to Washington, locat- 
ing at Centerville, Klickitat county. Here he 
engaged in the meat business, remaining there six 
years. He bought and sold cattle and land. He 
had arrived with a capital of only five dollars, 
but had been eminently successful financially. 
Disposing of his interests he went to North 
Yakima, again engaging in the meat business 
for one year ; thence he came to Sherman county, 
January, 1902, and purchased the old Jesse Eaton 
ranch, one and one-half miles from Wasco, a 
half section. This is the oldest piece of farming 
property in the county, and was the first stage sta- 
tion. 

Mr. Rich was married in Smith county. Kan- 
sas, to Miss Ettie Barnes, a native of Iowa. She 
is the daughter of Cheslev and Ruth (Blaine) 
Barnes, both natives of Ohio. The father is a 
descendant of the old Barnes family which for 
manv generations has been known in the United 
States. The mother was a member of the dis- 
tinguished Blaine family of which Hon. James 
G. Blaine was a brilliant light. 

Our subject has one brother, Eles A., a fruit 
grower near North Yakima. Mrs. Rich has six 
brothers and three sisters: Jackson, of Smith 
Center, Kansas; William H., of Medical Lake, 
Washington ; Wilson M., living in Smith county, 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



473 



Kansas ; James M., a resident of Dewey county, 
Oklahoma ; Burt and Elmer, of the same locality ; 
Lucinda, 'wife of Frank Zimmerman, of Okla- 
homa ; Sylvia, wife of Michael Zimmerman, a 
farmer near White Salmon, Washington ; Bessie, 
wife of Angus Dennitt, of Oklahoma. Mr. and 
Mrs. Rich have four children, Leroy, Opal, Zettie 
and Pardee. Our subject is a member of Sherman 
Lodge, No. 157, I. O. O. F., and the W. W., of 
which he is past council commander. His politi- 
cal affiliations are with the Prohibition party of 
which he is an active member. His home is rich 
in historical interest, and finely shaded with a 
stately row of poplars fifty years old. In early 
pioneer days the United States mail was robbed 
near the site of his residence. This was, prob- 
ably, the first frame house ever erected in the 
county. Mr. Rich is a progressive, liberal- 
spirited business man and an influential citizen. 
He and his estimable wife are members of the 
Christian church, and are highly esteemed in the 
community. 



CHARLIE F. FRENCH resides at Grass 
Valley and was born in Michigan, on July 21, 
1864. His father was Ransome E. French, a 
native of Essex county, New York, and he mar- 
ried Cordelia Heath. Our subject was raised in 
Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky until eighteen, and 
obtained his education in the district schools of 
those various places. He assisted his father in 
general merchandising and also learned the jew- 
eler's trade. When the family came west in 
1884, he accompanied them and worked with his 
father on the land taken in this countv. In 
Wasco, when twenty-one years of age, Mr. 
French married Catherine Clement, a native of 
Iowa. Her father, Alfred E., was born in Eng- 
land, and came to Colorado when he was small. 
He married Miss Hodges. After marriage, our 
subject farmed for himself some and also took a 
homestead. He bought railroad land and handled 
the entire estate until 1903, when he sold it. He 
now owns a house and six acres in Grass Valley 
and gives his attention to the jewelrv business a 
portion of his time. In addition to this, he owns 
and operates the largest steam threshing outfit 
in Sherman county. It is a first-class outfit and 
is operated by an engine of twenty horse power. 
Mr. French has three brothers, Leroy R., Frank, 
and Johnnie. He also has two sisters. Lucy, the 
wife of F. G. Howard, a nephew of General O. 
O. Howard, of Civil war fame, and Eva. wife 
of Frank Butz, of Ashtabula, Ohio. Mr. French 
belongs to the I. O. O. F., the Encampment and 
the Elks. He is a Republican in politics, al- 
though not especially active, and is now serving 



his second term as constable of district number 
four. His ancestors on his father's side were 
Welsh people, and on his mother's English. 
They are both old, American families. Mr. 
French is a progressive, industrious man, and is 
well known throughout the country. 



HERMAN H. HUCK, whose parents are 
mentioned elsewhere in this work with the family 
history, was born in Solano county, California, 
on July 29, 1880. His life was spent up to his 
majority with his father and his education was 
received in the various places where the family 
lived. On June 15, 1903, Mr. Huck married 
Nina R. Davis, a native of Nebraska and then 
they began life for themselves, renting the farm 
known as the Eaton place, where they reside at 
the present ' time. Mr. Huck is giving his at- 
tention to the conduct of this estate and is mani- 
festing himself a skillful and industrious farmer. 
Mrs. Huck's parents are Charles W. and Lizzie 
Davis and now reside in Portland, the father be- 
ing a mechanic. The brothers and sisters of Mrs. 
Huck are William, in California ; James, in Port- 
land ; John, at home ; Dean, in Nebraska ; Unita, 
Ethel, Myrtle, Edna and Stella, all at home. 

Politically, our subject is a well informed Re- 
publican and takes the interest that becomes 
every good citizen in this realm. He is one of 
the good men of Sherman county and bids fair 
to make one of its leading and substantial citizens 
and now has hosts of friends. 



EVERETT SINK, one of the leading and 
influential citizens of Sherman county, resides 
on an extensive farm three miles northwest of 
Wasco. He was born in Illinois, February 23, 
1867. The parents of Mr. Sink are fully men- 
tioned in the biographical sketch of his brother, 
George. 

When c our subject was about the age of eight 
years the family removed to the Wilamette val- 
ley, and here he attended district schools, acciuir- 
ing a good business education, and worked on 
the farm with his father. At the a^e of twenty 
years he faced the world for himself ; located in 
Sherman county: worked out for a period and 
finally took a homestead. He purchased and 
rented more land and now owns 1,600 acres. 

At The Dalles, May 20, 1901, our subject was 
ioined in marriage to Hester Hardin, a native of 
North Carolina, the daughter of Irdelle P. and 
Mary E. (McGheyhey) Hardin. At present they 
reside in Sherman county on the John Day 



474 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



river. Mrs. Sink has four brothers living and 
four sisters : Sylvester, a merchant in Morrow 
county; Weldon, of Sherman county; Millis, and 
John, both of Sherman county ; Alice, Minnie, 
Calender and Ida, all single and living at home. 
Mr. Sink is a member of Wasco Lodge No. 83, 
I. O. O. R, and the A. O. U. W., of Wasco. 
They have one child, Leota, an infant. Politi- 
cally, Mr. Sink is a Republican, although not 
especially active in campaign work. He is a 
progressive, broad-minded and liberal citizen, 
and one who manifests a deep interest in the 
welfare of the community in which he resides. 
Numbering a wide circle of friends and ac- 
quaintances throughout the county and state he 
is popular with all and the family is highly es- 
teemed. 

The parents of our subject were natives of 
North Carolina where they grew to man and 
womanhood, and were also married in that state. 
Our subject's mother's maiden name was Lo- 
zina Thomas, her parents were farmers and one 
of the early American settlers of that state. Mr. 
Sink has two brothers and two sisters, George 
P., of Spokane, Washington ; Thomas E., a suc- 
cessful farmer and neighbor of our subject; 
Mary, wife of Charles Belcher, in California ; 
Jennie, wife of Charles Chandler, of Portland, 
Oregon. 



HON. JOHN FULTON, a prominent agri- 
culturist and leading citizen of Sherman county, 
resides some nine miles west of the town of 
Wasco, where he owns a magnificent estate of 
over two thousand acres and one of the most 
beautiful rural abodes of the county. He is a 
native Oregonian, having been born in Yamhill 
county, on May 24, 1852. His parents were 
Colonel James and Priscilla (Wells) Fulton, and 
are mentioned in this volume. 

In 1857 the family came east of the Cascades, 
and since then John Fulton has spent his life 
largely in this part of Oregon. After studying in 
the country schools and at The Dalles, Mr. Ful- 
ton entere^ Whitman college, of Walla Walla, 
Washington, the historic character, C. C. Eels, 
being then principal of the college. The Rever- 
end Chamberlin, well known among the early 
pioneers, was the first principal of the college. 
After completing his education at Whitman Col- 
lege, our subject remained with his father until 
1878, when he commenced farming, taking up 
a timber culture and preemption, where he now 
resides. Later, he bought land until he has the 
amount mentioned, which is largely rented. Mr. 
Fulton handles some stock, wintering about fifty 
head of cattle, and raises some hogs. He is one 



of the prosperous and thrifty men of the county, 
and financially, has made a splendid success. In 
his other lines of endeavor, he has not fallen one 
whit behind this and he has certainly done a lion's 
share in developing and forwarding the interests 
of the county. 

On November 12, 1878, at Rockland, Wash- 
ington, Mr. Fulton married Britania Gilmore, 
who was born in Yamhill county, Oregon, on 
July 16, 1855. Her father, Samuel W. Gilmore, 
a native of Tennessee, comes from the old colo- 
nial family of Gilmores, and crossed the plains 
with horses and mules in 1843. He settled on a 
donation claim in Yamhill county and there gave 
attention to farming and stock-raising. He was 
one of the organizers of the territorial govern- 
ment and a man of influence and prominence both 
in politics and business circles. He married Ann 
Stevenson, a native of Kentucky and descended 
from an old- pioneer family. She lives at Rock- 
land, while her husband died in 1893, aged 
seventy-eight and is buried at Wasco. 

In 1880, our subject was elected county sur- 
veyor of Wasco county and served six years. 
In 1892, he was elected judge of Sherman county 
and served twelve years. Politically, he is a 
Democrat and has been many times delegate to 
the state and county conventions. Mr. Fulton 
is a man of wisdom and sound judgment, has 
labored assiduously not only for the success in 
business life that he has achieved, but in every 
department for the building up of the country and 
making known and developing its resources. He 
has hosts of friends throughout this part of the 
state and is highly esteemed and respected by all. 

Mr. Fulton has three sisters and three 
brothers, named as follows: James, residing in 
Wasco county; David and Frank, prominent 
farmers of Sherman county ; Lucy, widow of H. 
P. Isaacs, residing in Walla Walla, Washington ; 
Elizabeth, wife of Louis Scholl. of Walla Walla, 
Washington ; and Miss Annie, who is mentioned 
elsewhere in this volume. 



IRA F. HILL owns an estate of five hundred 
and sixty acres about four miles north from 
Wasco in Sherman county, which is improved in 
splendid shape and annually produces excellent 
dividends in crops. Mr. Hill is one of the thrifty 
and energetic farmers of this part of the county, 
has resided here steadily since coming and is 
reaping the reward of his wise industry and in- 
tegrity. In addition to doing general farming, 
he raises blooded horses, Clydes, and is meeting 
with good success in this line as well. He was 
born in Iowa, on March 31, 1862, the son of 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



475 



George W. and Ruth (Orm) Hill, natives of 
Ohio, where they were married. They were de- 
scended from old American families, and after 
marriage, moved west to Kansas, where they now 
reside on their farm of three hundred and twenty 
acres. Our subject was raised in Iowa until 
eight, then went with the family to Kansas and 
completed his education in the district schools. 
He remained with his father on the farm until 
twenty-two, then bought eighty acres and did 
diversified farming there for nine or ten years. 
Then he determined to come west and selected 
Sherman county as the objective point. He 
bought a place near Klondyke and later sold it 
and purchased his present farm. He is a man 
who works on the motto that, "What is worth 
doing, is worth doing well," and the result is that 
everything about his estate shows thrift and care. 
In addition to this, Mr. and Mrs. Hill have so 
conducted themselves in life that every one con- 
fides in them and esteems them for their integrity 
and their stanch principles. 

On November 16, 1885, in Lincoln county, 
Kansas, Mr. Hill married Mary Vanderlinden, 
a native of Kansas. Her parents, Luke and 
Hulda Vanderlinden, were born in Holland and 
there married. The father died in Iowa. The 
children born to Mr. and Mrs. Hill are Herbert, 
Guy, Chester, Fay D., and Daisy, all at home. 
Mr. Hill has the following named brothers and 
sisters : John, in Oklahoma territory ; Charles, 
in Idaho ; George, in Colorado ; Frank, in Lin- 
coln, Kansas ; N. Raymond, in Kendrick, Idaho ; 
Alice, wife of Stephen Knowles, in Kansas ; D. 
Sophia, wife of Elmer Phillips, in Kansas. Mrs. 
Hill has five brothers and two sisters : Luke, in 
Kansas ; Henry, in Missouri ; Gove, in Lynden, 
Washington ; William, in Minnesota ; John, de- 
ceased ; Lizzie, wife of William Von Steenbergen, 
in Sioux county, Iowa ; and Dena, wife of E. C. 
Cochran, in Sherman county, Oregon. 

Mr. Hill is a member of the I. O. O. F., and 
in political matters is independent. He and his 
wife are members of the United Brethren church, 
and in 1904 were delegates to the conference. 
They are ardent laborers for the spreading of 
the gospel and for the promotion of those prin- 
ciples of truth and uprightness for which they 
stand. 



DAVID S. YOUNG, one of the popular 
agriculturists of Sherman county, resides two . 
miles south from Wasco and was born in Lafay- 
ette county, Missouri, on February 10, 1869. His 
father, Theodore A. Young, was a native of 
Tennessee and his parents of Massachusetts, 
being descendants of the old colonial Young fam- 



ily, many of whom are prominent at the bench 
and bar and in commercial lines in New England. 
The father married Margaret Martin, a native 
of Virginia and descended from an old colonial 
family. Our subject was raised in Missouri until 
nineteen, where also he received his education 
from the common schools, remaining with his 
parents on the farm. Then, with his brother, . 
John, and sister, Rose, he came to Arlington, 
Oregon. Shortly afterwards, they settled west 
of Bickleton, in Washington, and four months 
later, David S. went to the Willamette valley. 
He wrought for wages there for two years, then 
came to Sherman county and engaged in the 
same capacity for two years. After that, he 
rented land and now is cultivating two sections. 
In June, 1904, he bought five hundred and sixty 
acres, four miles from Dufur, on Fifteenmile 
creek, which he rents. He expects to make his 
home upon this when his lease expires where he 
now resfdes. Mr. Young is a prosperous and 
thrifty farmer and is one of the leading grain 
raisers of this part of the county. 

On January 26, 1896, Mr. Young married 
Jennie Madden at the residence of her grandpar- 
ents. She was born near Dixon, California, the 
daughter of Benjamin and Augustine (Lam- 
barn) Madden, both of whom are now deceased. 
Our subject has one brother, John, at Elgin, 
Oregon, and one sister, Rose, wife of William D. 
Blair, a farmer of Elgin, Oregon. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Young one child has been born, Theodore 
R., aged seven. 

Mr. Young is a member of the K. P., being 
past C. C, and also having been a delegate three 
times to the grand lodge. He belongs to the W. 
W., and in politics is a Democrat. He is active 
and is frequently a delegate to the county con- 
ventions. Mr. Young is a popular man, has many 
friends and stands well in the community. 



W. ALEXANDER MURCHIE, who resides 
one mile west from Wasco and gives his atten- 
tion to farming, was born in Nevada Jjkmty, Cal- 
ifornia, on August 27, 1858. Andrew Murchie, 
his father, was a native of Maine and his parents 
nf the same country, being of Scotch descent. 
He came to California in 1854 and followed farm- 
ing and mining until 1880, when he came to Sher- 
man county. He married Mary Nesbitt, a native 
of Maine, where also her parents were born, 
being descendants of an old colonial family. Our 
subject was reared in Nevada City, California, 
and completed his education in the high school. 
Then tie went to work for his father in the quartz 
mill and in the mines owned by his grandfather 



476 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



and two uncles until twenty-one. In 1880, he 
came to this part of Oregon and took a preemp- 
tion and later a homestead. In 1881, he put forty 
acres into wheat, being among the first to raise 
that cereal here. Now he owns a section of fine 
land, a handsome residence, beautified by shade 
trees, with plenty of stock and improvements. 
He came here without capital and his entire 
property holdings are the result of his industry 
in Sherman county. 

On November 15, 1885, at The Dalles', Mr. 
Murchie married Lilly M. Andrews and to them 
one child has been born, Ruth B., on May 21, 
1892. Mr. Murchie has the following named 
brothers and sisters : John M., a liveryman ; 
Harry T., a baker; Marcello A., a commercial 
traveler ; Melvin, and Burt, liverymen j Frank, a 
horse dealer in Coulee City, Washington ; Addie, 
wife of Arthur Knight, a wheat buyer of Pen- 
dleton. 

Fraternally, Mr. Murchie is connected with 
the A. O. U. W., and in politics is an active Re- 
publican. He has attended nearly every county 
convention since coming here, and is a man who 
labors hard for the forwarding of those principles 
which he believes to be right. When our sub- 
ject's father came here, he took up land and also 
bought more. He had previously met with re- 
verses in California, having lost his stamp mill by 
fire, and four of his men being burned to death. 
His death occurred on March 8, 1896. Our sub- 
jects uncles, Skefhngton T. and William H., are 
now part owners of the mine previously owned 
by our subject's father, and are prominent and 
influential men in California. Mr. and Mrs. 
Murchie are popular and genial people and are 
"to be numbered among the most substantial resi- 
dents of this part of the state. 



CARL PEETZ, a retired farmer of Sherman 
county, is now living at Moro. He was born in 
Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, as were also his 
parents, Otto and Lena (Lock) Peetz. The date 
of his nativity was November 12, 1831. The 
father followed farming and died in his native 
place in 1807. The mother's death had occurred 
there in 1863. Our subject was educated in the 
public schools and remained on the farm with 
his father until 1861, when be enlisted in the 
Schleswig-Holstein army. During t 86^-64, he 
was in active service in the war with Denmark 
and received a wound in his arm. He served in 
all, three years and two months. After his hon- 
orable discharge, he returned home and pur- 
chased a farm, conducting' the same for five or 



six years. In 1876, having sold his property, 
he came to the United States, and the first six 
months were spent in Iowa. Then he took a 
homestead in Massachusetts where he remained 
for seven years. He did well until the grass- 
hoppers came, working winters on the railroad 
and farming in the summers, but these oests 
nearly ruined him financially. Selling his hold- 
ings for enough to bring the family west, he came 
to Puget Sound where he lived for thirteen years. 
Plaving procured land on the Snoqualmie river, 
he suffered the loss of evervthing bv two over- 
flows and he was left in much the same condition 
as in Minnesota. Finally he landed in Sherman 
county with two horses, a wagon and a plow and 
a little cash. He purchased a half section of 
land from the government, paying four hundred 
dollars in cash. He improved the same with a 
good residence, barns, outbuildings, orchard and 
so forth, and then the military land company 
claimed the property and took it from him. He 
lost the land and the government still has his four 
hundred dollars. Then he bought three-fourths 
of a section again and made a new start. He 
finally purchased the half section place bide again 
from the land company, paying ten dollars per 
acre for it. Recently Mr. Peetz sold his farm to 
his son Louie, who is mentioned elsewhere in this 
volume. This move was induced both because 
Mr. Peetz had acquired a fine competence for 
use in the later years of his life and because he 
was so afflicted with rheumatism as to render ac- 
tive life impracticable. 

In October. 1865, while still in Germanv, our 
subiect maried Katrina Schachtt. a native of 
Schleswig-Holstein. Mr. Peetz has one brother. 
Hans, living in the suburbs of Chicago, and three 
sisters : Lottie, wife of George Goodchart : Mar- 
guerite, wife of Carl Rath: and Christina, the 
widow of Mr. Marquotz, all in Schleswig-Hol- 
stein . Germanv. To Mr. and Mrs. Peetz seven 
children have been born, named as follows: Otto 
H.. countv assessor and mentioned elsewh^r^ in 
this volume: Louie L.. a farmer, mentioned else- 
where: Fred, with T nuie on the farm : Beniamin. 
deputy sheriff of Sherman countv, mentioned 
elsewhere ; T ena. wife of Mr. Messenger, of 
Klondvke. Sherman countv : Emma, at home: 
Annie, wife of Mr. Montgomery. 

Mr. Peetz is a member of the T. O. O. F.. 
and in politics is a stanch and active Republican. 
For four vears he was road supervisor. For 
ten vears he was on the election board, being 
judge and chairman : for two terms lie was school 
director, and for eight vears he was nonstable in 
King countv. Washington. Our subiect and his 
wife are both members of the Lutheran church. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



477" 



He owns a comfortable cottage in Moro, which 
is the family home. Mr. Peetz has been a very 
active and successful business man, despite the 
reverses he has met, and deserves great credit for 
the labors he has performed. 



RUFUS C. WALLIS, promoter of the town 
of Rufus and owner of the townsite and water- 
works, was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, on 
June II, 1837, the son of Allen and Ann (Sar- 
gent) Wallis, natives of Minnesota and early 
pioneers in Missouri. The family, for several 
generations back, were builders and people of 
wealth. Our subject was reared in Missouri, 
whence the family went when he was four years 
of age. He came to Oregon in the fall of 1862 
and settled in Klickitat county, Washington, en- 
gaging in the cattle and sheep business. He also 
planted several ranches to fruit there. In 1884, 
he moved to where Rufus now is and started a 
ferry boat and warehouse. He was backed by 
Finch & Company, of The Dalles, and com- 
menced buying wheat, which he continued at for 
thirteen years. At one time, it was said he was 
the second largest individual wheat shipper on 
record. Then he sold his ferry and the ware- 
house, but still owns considerable other property 
at Rufus. 

On February 21, 1866, Mr. Wallis married 
Mary Bergin, who was born in Missouri, the 
daughter of John Bergin, a native of Virginia. 
She was born in 1849 an d came west to The 
Dalles with her parents in 1859. ^ * s interesting 
to note that at that time, owing to the scarcity 
of provisions, flour was eighty dollars per sack. 
Mr. Wallis has one brother, also one sister, Jane, 
the wife of William H. Hale, retired, at Golden- 
dale, Washington. Mrs. Wallis has the follow- 
ing named brothers and sisters : William, resid- 
ing at Goldendale, and three times sheriff of 
Klickitat county ; Thomas and Oscar, farmers in 
the Big Bend country, Washington ; Newton, liv- 
ing with his mother in Klickitat county, having 
the distinction of being the first white child born 
in the Klickitat valley ; Jane, the wife of William 
Thompson, living in Washington ; Nancy, the 
wife of John Graham, in Klickitat county ; Lydia, 
the wife of Frank Branton, who operates Mrs. 
Branton's farm of three hundred and eighty 
acres ; Emmie, the wife of Mr. Baker, in Idaho ; 
William A., a clerk in Portland ; Rufus A. and 
Harry E., in Gilliam county; Charles W., in 
Dawson; George at Rufus; Ida M., the wife of 
John A. Foister, at Rufus ; and Josephine, the 
wife of Robert Haley, of Rufus. 

Politically, Mr. Wallis is a Democrat and has 



served in the county and state conventions. He 
was an ardent laborer for building up this west- 
ern country and is known far and near and has 
many friends. 



WILLIAM OEHMAN, who was born on 
March 2, 1870, in Connersville, Indiana, is now 
residing six miles southeast from Rufus, on the 
magnificent estate of twelve hundred and eighty 
acres, all of which he has cleared through his in- 
dustry and thrift since coming to Sherman 
county. His parents, Frank and Rachel (Ricken- 
heiser) Oehman, are natives of Baden, Germany, 
and Kentucky, respectively. The father came 
to the United States with his parents when eigh- 
teen years of age. They settled first in Ohio then 
moved to Indiana, where he was married. The 
mother is of German ancestry, and when our 
subject was two years of age the family came 
from Indiana to Wabaunsee county, Kansas, 
where the father purchased land. The parents 
still live there, the owner of a section of valuable 
land and are influential and highly respected peo- - 
pie. Our subject was educated in the common 
schools and remained with his father until four- 
teen, when he started to work for himself, operat- 
ing on the railroad and levees in Missouri and 
Mississippi. Four years later he went to Colo- 
rado, then to Wyoming and wrought at various 
work, mostly at the stonemason's trade, which , 
he had acquired in his work previously. When 
nineteen years of age he came to Portland and 
worked in the logging camps of Oregon and 
Washington for two years. 

About 1 89 1 he came to Sherman county 
and worked out in the harvest field and 
at other employments for six months. Hav- 
ing saved up two hundred and fifty dol- 
lars in earnings, he finally decided to purchase 
a quarter section and the relinquishment to a 
homestead, which he did, paying four hundred 
dollars therefor. It was a splendid half section, 
but owing to the fact that he had no money to 
improve it, he still had to work out until he could 
get stock. He soon began to prosper ^and bought 
other land until he now has the twelve hundred 
and eighty acres mentioned. He has thirty head 
of fine horses, graded Clydes, nearly all of which 
he has raised, besides some other stock. His 
place is well improved and is productive of excel- 
lent returns each year. Mr. Oehman is still out- 
side Of the matrimonial bonds, yet he is a very 
popular young man. 

He has three brothers, John, Charles and' 
Frank, and two sisters, Annie, wife of Ralph 
Thompson, a barber at Wamego, Kansas, and' 



473 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Lizzie, wife of Charles Kuypers, a barber at 
Alma, Kansas. 

Politically, Mr. Oehman is a Democrat and is 
frequently delegate to the conventions. At the 
present time he is filling the office of constable. 
He has certainly made a splendid success in his 
efforts in the west and stands one of the leading 
farmers of Sherman county today. 



GEORGE A. MELOY, a well-known and 
successful farmer of Sherman county, residing 
one and one-half miles southeast of Monkland, 
was born in Juniata county, Pennsylvania, No- 
vember 24, 1862, the son of Everett O. and Polly 
M. (Martz) Meloy, both natives of Pennsylvania. 
The parents of the father were natives of the 
Keystone State, but their ancestors were from 
Ireland. Everett O. served in the home guards 
during the entire Civil war. He is a contractor? 
builder and farmer, now living in Callaway coun- 
ty, Missouri. He is a member of the United 
Presbyterian church. The mother is of Pennsyl- 
vania Dutch stock, and now lives with the family 
in Missouri. 

Until he was seven years of age our subject 
was reared in the state of Pennsylvania, edu- 
cated in the district schools, and when nineteen 
years of age came to The Dalles, Oregon, re- 
maining there only a short period. He was then 
for three months in Union county, and the fol- 
lowing four years were passed in the employ- 
ment of A. A. Bonney, of Tygh Valley, men- 
tioned elsewhere. Thence he came to Sherman 
county, where he engaged in raising cattle and 
horses, about two years. Returning to Tygh 
Valley he conducted a blacksmith shop for four 
years. Then he rented the old McAtee place 
and purchased land adjoining Bonney 's property, 
four hundred acres, and attended both farms 
industriously, at the same time running the 
blacksmith shop. Disposing of his interests there 
he came to Sherman county in the spring of 1899, 
where he rented the Hugh Mclntyre place for a 
period of five years. During this time he pur- 
chased land and at one period he owned five and 
one-quarter sections. He disposed of some of 
this and now has eight hundred acres. Mr. Meloy 
has thirty head of horses, a commodious five- 
room cottage with a fine water system from a 
spring piped to his home and barn. 

At the residence of the bride's parents. No- 
vember 2d. 1894, our subiect was married to Nel- 
lie M. Elliott, born in Benton county, Oregon. 
She is the daughter of Joshua H. and Emma El- 
liott, the father a native of Illinois ; the mother 
of Iowa. Toshua H. Elliott came to Oregon about 



the year 1876, and first settled in Benton county. 
In 1886 he removed to Sherman county. At 
present he is a prominent agriculturist, and owns 
six hundred and forty acres of land. Emma El- 
liot, the mother of our subject, is a sister of Mrs. 
Alexander Nish, mentioned elsewhere. 

Our subject has two brothers and two sisters ; 
Thomas T., of Missouri ; William, on the old 
home place in that state ; Annie, wife of Thomas 
Herring, a farmer and stock-raiser of Callaway 
county, Missouri; Sallie, wife of Benjamin Rice, 
of the same county. Mr. and Mrs. Meloy have 
three children living : George E., aged seven ; 
Lulu, aged five ; and Katie, aged four. Ruth, 
their first child, born in November, 1895, died 
February 26, 1896. 

The fraternal affiliations of our subject are 
with the I. O. O. F. Lodge, No. 113 and the A. 
F. & A. M., both of Moro. He is a Republican 
politically, and has frequently served as dele- 
gate to county conventions in Wasco and Sher- 
man counties, in both of which counties he has 
been road supervisor. At present he is school 
director. He and his estimable wife are both 
members of the Methodist church. 



GEORGE HENNAGIN, one of the success- 
ful Sherman county farmers, living six miles 
southeast of Moro, was born May 19, 1875, i n 
Yolo county, California, the son of Henrv and 
Ruth Hennagin, the former a native of New 
York ; the latter of Canada. The mother died 
when our subject was a small boy. The father 
lives near his son in Sherman county. 

Until the latter was five or six years old he 
was reared in California, and then his family 
removed to Crook county, Oregon. Here the 
father worked out for three years, thence coming 
to Sherman county. Our subject attended the 
public schools of his neighborhood, and subse- 
quently worked for nine years for Milton Damon. 
He then purchased the place on which he now 
lives, one-quarter section, subsequently adding 
another quarter. Mr. Hennagin owns a one-half 
interest in a combined harvester in company with 
John Christensen. 

October 25, 1897. at The Dalles, he was united 
in marriage to Miss Daisy Fuller, born in Iowa 
December 16, 1882. She is the daughter of Ben- 
jamin F. and Emma Fuller, the father a native 
of Iowa, now living at Chenowith. Washington. 
Our subject has two full brothers, three sisters, 
two half-brothers, and one half-sister: Fred, in 
Sherman county; Albert, in Portland; Dni-=v. 
wife of John Christensen : Bessie, wife of John 
Johnson ; Evie, wife of William Rudolph, mana- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



479 



ger of a warehouse in Kent ; Frank and Homer, 
at home with their parents ; and Maggie, also 
living at home. Mrs. Hennagin has two brothers 
and six sisters : David, at Elgin, Oregon ; Alfred, 
with his father at White Salmon; Delia, wife of 
Charles Tubbs, of Chenowith, Washington ; Mat- 
tie, wife of John Forbes, of Hood River ; Bertha, 
wife of Abraham Mitchell, of Hood River ; Cora, 
wife of Louis Isenberb ; Blanche, wife of Fred- 
erick Kautz, a sawmill man, of Hood River ; 
Maude, single and living with her parents at 
Chenowith, Washington. 

Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Hennagin, Lotus, aged six, and Pearl, aged two. 
Our subject, fraternally, is a member of the Ma- 
sons and the W. O. T. W. Politically, he is a 
Republican. 



GEORGE E. WALLIS, of the firm of Wallis 
& Yenable, proprietors of the "Little Brown Jug" 
saloon at Rufus, Sherman county, is a Washing- 
tonian by birth, having been born in Klickitat 
county, June 2, 1882, the son of Rufus C. and 
Mary (Bergin) Wallis, the former a native of 
Tennessee ; the mother of Missouri, both of whom 
are mentioned elsewhere in this work. 

The parents of our subject came to Sherman 
county when he was about five years of age. 
Here he attended district school and assisted his 
father at home in Rufus. Practically he has re- 
sided here all his life, with the exception of a few 
months in western Washington and Idaho! In 
October, 1903, he engaged in his present business 
enterprise, later selling a half interest to J. R. 
Venable, mentioned elsewhere. He previously 
conducted the Rufus Hotel a trifle over a year. 

At Moro, in February, 1903, our subject was 
united in marriage to Miss Minnie Blackburne, 
born at The Dalles. She is the daughter of Will- 
liam and Clara (Hill) Blackburne, the father a 
native of Ireland ; the mother of England. They 
now live at Grant, Sherman county. They were 
married in England. The mother is a descendant 
of a well-to-do family who afforded her every 
opportunity for the acquirement of a superior edu- 
cation which she improved to the best advant- 
age. Her father was educated in the Scottish 
high schools, and was graduated from the L T ni- 
versity of Glasgow, and practiced law in Scot- 
land. The parents of our subject's wife came to 
the United States, and, having ample means, 
toured the country for a number of years. Fin- 
allv he located in San Francisco, where, for a 
while, he conducted a hotel. In this unfortunate 
enterprise he lost all his money, and subsequently 
went to The Dalles. In 1874 he engaged in the 
lumber business, and later was in the employment 



of James Peters, elsewhere mentioned. He, also, 
for some time, handled lumber at Cascade Locks, 
Wasco county. A portion of ten years he was at 
Grant on his homestead, where he made a special- 
ty of poultry raising. He was the first judge of 
Sherman county, and for several years was jus- 
tice of the peace. 

Our subject's maternal grandmother, Susanne 
Bergin (Simpson), was born in Indianapolis, 
Indiana. Her father, John, was a native of Vir- 
ginia; her mother, Sallie (Crabb), was, also, a 
native of Virginia. Their fathers were in the 
war of the Revolution, and Susanne Bergin has 
a powder horn that was carried by one of them. 
She married in Missouri, in 1844, John S. Ber- 
gin. They crossed the plains with ox teams in 
1852, accompanied by three children. They lo- 
cated in the Willamette Valley, eight miles from 
Salem. In December, 1859, the Y removed to 
Klickitat county, Washington, and erected the 
first house in Klickitat Valley ; it is still standing, 
a log structure. They reared stock and later en- 
gaged in general farming. She now lives on the 
same place. He died in December, 1900, on the 
home place aged seventy-five years. 

Mr. and Mrs. Wallis have one child, Lynn 
R., born May 5, 1903. Mrs. Wallis has two broth- 
ers, George, living at Grant, and Albert E., with 
his parents. Politically Mr. Wallis is a Demo- 
crat. He is a progressive and broad-minded 
young man, patriotically interested in the welfare 
of his home community and popular among a wide 
circle of friends and acquaintances. 



ALEXANDER NISH, one of the leading 
farmers of Sherman county, resides one-half mile 
east of Monkland. He was born in Scotland, 
February 15, 1847, tne son of William and Grace 
(McKean) Nish, both natives of Scotland. The 
family came to the United States in 1852, and lo- 
cated in New York, removing to McHenry coun- 
ty, Illinois, where the mother died in 1890. The 
father passed from earth in 1898. 

During the Civil war our subject enlisted in 
Company I, Ninety-fifth Illinois Infantry, Cap- 
tain James Nish, brother of our subject's father. 
The regiment was commanded by Colonel Hum- 
phrey. He saw two years and one month of act- 
ive service ; was in the Red River campaign, the 
battle of Gunntown, Nashville, siege of Mobile, 
and many skirmishes. At the close of the war he 
went to Iowa where he purchased a farm. He 
is a member of Sherman Post, of the G. A. R., of 
Wasco. The name of our subject was, originally, 
McNish or MacNish, an old Highland family, 
but the uncle of our subject, who was a captain, 









480 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



enlisted under the name of Nish, which name was 
taken by Alexander and a brother, as their dis- 
charge from the army and our subject's natural- 
ization papers were made out in the name of 
Nish. The father of Alexander took a deep in- 
terest in the war and was throughout a stanch 
union man, although he never took out naturaliza- 
tion papers. He contributed one brother and two 
sons to the war. 

December 19, 1885, Alexander Nish was mar- 
ried, at Salem, Oregon, to Harriet Thompson, 
born May 28, 1859. She is the daughter of 
Charles W. Thompson, a native of Greene coun- 
ty, Illinois ; his parents of Ohio. One of his 
brothers died during the Civil war from a fever 
contracted in the service. Charles W. could not 
enlist on account of deafness. Her mother was 
Delilah (Baxter) Thompson, a native of Penn- 
sylvania ; her mother and father of New York, 
descendants of an old American family. The par- 
ents removed to Iowa when she was about two 
years of age, and when she was seventeen they 
came to Oregon. For twelve years they resided 
in the Willamette valley, thence coming to Sher- 
man county. Here the father secured land on 
which the town of Monkland now stands. He 
was a pioneer merchant and postmaster, and is 
now living in Los Angeles county, California, 
near Pasadena, a retired merchant. In 1883 
Mrs. Nish came with her parents to Sherman 
county. 

Our subject, Alexander Nish, purchased the 
farm of his wife's father, in Willamette valley. 
In December, 1895, she went back to Salem, 
where she married our subject. There they re- 
mained until April, 1891, when they came to 
Sherman county and subject filed on a homestead 
adjoining her father's land, and subsequently ac- 
quired a section of government and railroad land. 
Alexander Nish has three brothers and four sis- 
ters ; Nathan, and John, Iowa farmers ; David, in 
the fire department of Elgin, Illinois; Charlotte, 
single; Jane, wife of Robert Johnson, of Lake 
county, Illinois ; Mary, wife of William Mullis, 
an Iowa farmer ; and May, widow of Dr. Charles 
Cook, of Huntly, Illinois. Mrs. Nish has six 
brothers and three sisters ; Andrew C, of Port- 
land, who owns about one thousand two hundred 
acres of land near Monkland ; James O., a farmer 
near Grass Valley ; Nelson W., a farmer four and 
one-half miles from Moro ; Ezra J., of Corvallis, 
Oregon ; Owen, of Monkland ; Burton, a car- 
penter and photographer at Corvallis ; Emma, 
wife of Joshua H. Elliott, Monkland postoffice; 
Addie, wife of James Leslie, an Iowa farmer; 
Myra, widow of Milton Brown, of Monkland. 
Two children have blessed the union of Mr. and 
Mrs. Nish; Charles, aged seventeen, and Delilah, 



aged fourteen. The parents are both members 
of the Presbyterian church, as are the children. 
Mr. Nish is an elder and his estimable wife a 
teacher in the Sunday school. The family is 
highly esteemed in the community, and Mr. Nish 
is a popular, energetic man of sound business 
judgment, genial and courteous to all. 



CORNELIUS J. BRIGHT, one of the most 
successful and prominent attorneys of Eastern 
Oregon, resides at Wasco, Sherman county. He 
was born in Bath county, Virginia, September 
27, 1862, the son of Thomas M. and Martha J. 
(Anthony) Bright, both natives of Virginia. The 
ancestors of the father were English and Ger- 
man ; those of the mother English. Thomas M. 
Bright was a farmer and carpenter, an influential 
citizen serving as justice of the peace and con- 
stable at different times and financially successful 
in life. He lives at Massillon, Cedar county, 
Iowa, practically retired. The Bright family is 
an old and distinguished one. Some of them 
served in the war of the. Revolution. John Bright, 
born at Greenbank, Lancashire, England, Novem- 
ber 16, 181 1 ; died March 27, 1889. He was a 
famous English liberal statesman and orator 
and an author of world-wide repute. Richard 
Bright was a distinguished medical practitioner 
in England. In 1827 he published "Reports of 
Medical Cases" in which he traced to its source 
in the kidneys the morbid condition named for 
him, "Bright's disease." Jesse D. Bright was a 
Democratic United States senator from Indiana,, 
from 1845 until 1862. The father of our subject, 
and an uncle served in the Civil war under Gen- 
eral Imbotan, of the confederate army. 

The family removed to Ohio when our sub- 
ject was four years of age. Thence they went to 
Iowa where they remained until 1883. He laid 
the foundation of an excellent education in the 
district and graded schools in Fontanelle, Iowa. 
In 1883 Mr. Bright came to The Dalles where he 
taught school one year. He was then matricu- 
lated in the Wasco Independent xAxademy, from 
which he was graduated in 1886, with honors, and 
and having earned sufficient money to carry 
him through, with the strictest economy. Subse- 
quently he taught school two years in Wasco 
county, Oregon. In the spring of 1888, he came 
to Wasco, Sherman county, where he taught two 
terms of school. In November, 1888, Mr. Bright 
began publishing the Wasco Observer, the first 
newspaper in what is now Sherman county. That 
fall the question of county division became a vital 
issue and our subject took an active and leading 
part in the campaign. Of the new count)' he was 



H 




Cornelius J. Bright 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



481 



appointed school superintendent and served with 
ability until the July election of 1890. 

Mr. Bright had commenced the study of law 
immediately after graduation. In October, 1890, 
he was admitted to the bar and established an 
office at Wasco. The first marriage of Mr. Bright 
occurred November 9, 1890, at Wasco, when he 
was united to Jeanette Murchie, a native of Cali- 
fornia, the daughter of Andrew and Mary A. 
Murchie. The father is dead ; the mother lives 
in North Yakima, Washington. Mrs. Bright 
died at Wasco, February 27, 1892, from con- 
sumption, after an illness of a year's duration. 

March 14, 1896, at Wasco, Mr. Bright was 
united in marriage to Jennie M. Larson, born at 
Alcona, Michigan. She is the daughter of Charles 
and Christina (Nelson) Larson, the father a na- 
tive of Norway ; the mother of Sweden. Charles 
Larson and his wife at present live in Yamhill 
county, Oregon. 

Our subject has five brothers and one sister 
living; Charles S., a farmer near Alexandria, 
Nebraska ; George W. ; Ira J., a teacher in Empo- 
ria, Kansas ; Asa T., at Massillon, Iowa ; William 
T., of the same place, agent for the St. Paul & 
Milwaukee Railway Company ; Clara B., wife of 
Lewis C. Savage, a farmer and stock-raiser near 
Little Falls, Minnesota. Five of his brothers 
have passed away, John P., Harry, Harvey, Ar- 
thur N., and an infant unnamed. Mary E., an- 
other sister, is dead. Mrs. Bright has one sister, 
Minnie, wife of Horace N. Aldrich, of Bridal 
Veil, Oregon. 

Mr. and Mrs. Bright have two children ; 
Lohren V. and Bernice. Fraternally he is a mem- 
ber of Aurora Lodge No. 54, K. of P., of which 
he is past chancellor and has on several occasions 
served as representative to the grand lodge ; W. 
W., Wasco Camp, No. 350, of which he is past 
consul commander; the Rathbone Sisters, Mrs. 
Bright being a member of the same, and grand 
chief in the grand lodge of Oregon ; past chief in 
the local lodge Lillian Temple No. 17. Mrs. 
Bright is prominent in Methodist Episcopal 
church work ; has been organist ever since com- 
ing to Wasco. Both are members of that church, 
of which ne is recording steward, leader of the 
choir and chorister in the Sunday school. He has 
been city attorney and for the past three years 
clerk t>f the school district. Politically he is a 
prominent Prohibitionist ;■ has been county chair- 
man for the last ten years ; delegate to county and 
state conventions and was delegate from Oregon 
to the last Prohibition national convention at In- 
dianapolis, Indiana. During several compaigns 
Mr. Bright has been the Prohibition candidate 
for congress, attorney general and supreme judge. 

Mr. Bright is a man of pleasing personality, 

31 



is a forceful and logical speaker, and an untiring 
student. He is conscientious in his labors for 
clients and is known as a man, to use the homely 
but expressive phrase, "one can tie to." He main- 
tains an up-to-date and complete library, and 
judging from his past achievements in his profes- 
sion, he has a bright and useful future before 
him. 



JOHN A. FOISTER. The subject of this 
biographical sketch is an extensive stock-raiser, 
successful farmer and proprietor of the Model 
Saloon, in Rufus, Sherman county, Oregon, of 
which state he is a native, having been born in 
Linn county, November 17, 1867. His parents 
were born, the father in France ; the mother in 
Ohio. Josiah Foister, the father, came to the 
United States while yet an infant, with his pa- 
rents. They settled in St. Louis, Missouri. The 
mother, Mary (Ford) Foister, died when our 
subject was three years of age. Her mother was 
a native of Pennsylvania; her father of Ohio. 
The father of the latter was an early pioneer of 
Ohio and Illinois. At one period he owned an 
extensive farm where now stands the city of Chi- 
cago. 

Our subject was reared by his maternal 
grandmother until he was fifteen years old, at 
which time she died in Polk county, Oregon. The 
death of our subject's mother occurred in Scio, 
Linn county. When sixteen years of age he be- 
gan railroad work and followed the same until 
1894, when he came to Sherman county, locating 
at Rufus and engaging in the saloon business. 
In 1901 he purchased three-quarters of a section 
of farming land which he rents. Annually he 
winters about one hundred head of cattle. He 
has two sisters living; Laura, wife of James 
Leffler, Stayton postoffice, Linn county ; and 
Arilla, wife of Reuben A. Titus, a farmer in Gil- 
liam county. 

Politically our subject is a Republican, active 
in the successive campaigns, and frequently dele- 
gate to the county conventions of his party. For 
several years he has served as school director. 

April 24, 1892, at Rufus, Mr. Foister was 
married to Ida M. Wallis, the daughter of R. C. 
and Mary Wallis, who are mentioned elsewhere 
in this volume. 

Mr. and Mrs. Foister have two children, Rob- 
ert P., aged ten years, and Maravine, a girl aged 
six years. 

Josian Foister, the father of our subject, was 
for many years a prominent and influential citizen 
of Linn and Marion counties. He was a builder 
and contractor, and erected a number of fine build- 



482 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



ings and bridges. He participated in the Indian 
wars of 1855 and 1856, and at present draws a 
pension as a non-commissioned officer. He lives 
at Scio, Linn county, on his farm, four miles from 
town. Our subject owns a. fine house eligibly sit- 
uated, and is a popular man socially, and success- 
ful financially. 



ALFRED DILLINGER, postmaster and 
prominent business man of Monkland, Sherman 
county, was born in Greene county, Iowa, May 
21, 1857. His parents were William and Nancy 
(Foster) Dillinger, both natives of Ohio. The 
father died on the farm in Iowa, in 1896; the 
mother in 1870. The paternal ancestors of Will- 
iam Dillinger were Dutch ; those of the mother 
Scotch. 

In Iowa our subject was reared and attended 
the district schools and worked with his father 
on the farm. At the age of eighteen years he 
went to the state of Indiana where he worked for 
farmers and rented land for three and one-half 
years, when he returned to Iowa and conducted 
his father's place four years. Thence he removed 
to The Dalles where he found employment in 
railroad shops and on the river for about three 
years, and then took up a claim seven miles south- 
east of the present site of Monkland. This was 
a quarter section. He had then small capital, but 
he has since purchased more land and now owns 
one thousand eight hundred acres in Sherman 
county. The first six years he conducted a stock 
ranch, and at present his land is all rented out. 

In January, 1901, Mr. Dillinger entered into 
partnership with P. W. McDonald, of Wasco, 
and Jrians Thompson, a farmer, living three and 
one-half mile east of Monkland. They purchased 
the business of N. P. Hansen — a general mer- 
chandise store at Monkland — and in February, 
1902, Mr. Dillinger was appointed postmaster. 

May 1, 1878, at Battle Ground, Indiana, our 
subject was united in marriage to Margaret Mil- 
ler, a native of Indiana, the daughter of Abra- 
ham and Mary (Smith) Miller. The father of 
Mrs. Dillinger, a native of Ohio, died in Tippe- 
canoe county, Indiana, in 1873. The mother 
passed away in Illinois, in 1881. Our subject has 
four brothers and two sisters ; James W., an Iowa 
farmer, who served in the Civil war ; William H., 
of Greene county, Iowa ; John W., residing at 
The Dalles ; Daniel ; Eliza, wife of Norman 
Orchard, of Marshall, Iowa ; and Rachel, wife of 
William M. Morrison, living four miles south of 
Monkland, a farmer. Mrs. Dillinger has one 
brother and one sister ; William A., of Monkland ; 
and Alice, wife of John Lucas, near The Dalles, 



a farmer. Mr. and Mrs. Dillinger have one child, 
Flora, wife of James R. Hunter, a farmer living 
near Rutledge, Sherman county. Mr. Dillinger 
is a member of the A. O. U. W. and his wife of 
the Methodist Episcopal church. He is a Repub- 
lican and, although not active, has served as dele- 
gate to county conventions, and has been clerk 
of his school district two terms. Mr. Dillinger 
and his partners transact business under the name 
of the Hay Canyon Commercial Company, and 
carry a $10,000 stock of groceries, dry goods, 
hardware and farming implements. He is a pop- 
ular man and influential citizen. 



LEVI S. HINES, a large land owner and 
successful farmer of Sherman county, resides in 
the town of Wasco. He is a native Oregonian, 
having been born in Benton county, October 6, 
1874, the son of Shelton and Salina (Pyburn) 
Hines, the father a native of Kentucky ; the 
mother of Missouri. Shelton Hines died when 
our subject was one year old. The mother now 
lives eight miles east of Wasco, on her timber 
culture claim. In 1852 the mother became one 
of the early pioneers, crossing the plains with ox 
teams with a party of friends, her father being 
captain of the train. They were accompanied by 
the father of our subject, then about eighteen 
years of age. She was twelve. Oregon was at 
that time a territory. The couple grew to man- 
hood and womanhood and were married in the 
Willamette valley. His father did not make the 
trip ; he was killed in the Civil war. Her father 
died en route of the cholera. Salina Hines, our 
subject's mother, remained a widow, and contin- 
ued to live on the home farm about seven years 
following her husband's death. Then she, with 
.seven of her children, came to Sherman county. 
Her oldest boy was twenty. The mother had 
small capital when she came to Sherman county, 
in 1882. John Fulton was her nearest neighbor. 
The boys cultivated the homestead after the old- 
est one had taken a claim adjoining, when he be- 
came of age. The oldest single girl took another 
claim ; the oldest daughter having come a vear 
previous with her husband, John L. Burress, now 
in Gilliam county. 

Until he attained his majority our subj*ect re- 
mained with his mother. He attended the district 
schools in Sherman county, and was one year in 
the public schools of Goklendale, Klickitat coun- 
ty. Washington. December 30, 1896, at Golden- 
dale, he was united in marriage to Miss Marv 
D. Day, born near Scio, Linn county, Oregon, 
December 2, 1877. She is the daughter of Jacob 
and Henrietta (Richmond) Day, the father a na- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



483 



live of Indiana ; the mother of Illinois. At pres- 
ent her father and his wife reside two and one- 
half miles from Goldendale, where he is a gard- 
ener. Her parents removed to Iowa while she 
was a child and there she was reared. 

Our subject has three brothers and five sisters 
living; Alfred, a mechanic in Portland; Eli M., a 
Sherman county farmer ; William E., a Stock- 
man in Gilliam county ; Loretta, wife of John L. 
Burress, who assisted in the government survey 
■of 1870, of a large portion of Wasco county, now 
residing near Condon, Gilliam county ; Nancy, 
wife of Elias F. Truax, a farmer in Linn county ; 
Ida, wife of William M. King, nine miles west of 
Wasco; Mary E., wife of Edward McMillen, a 
farmer near Wasco ; and Katie, wife of Port 
Mitchell, a farmer near North Yakima, Wash- 
ington. Mrs. Hines has two brothers and four 
sisters; John J., with his parents at Goldendale; 
Alonzo E., the same ; Ida, wife of Frank Fenton, 
a farmer near Goldendale ; Emma, wife of John 
Chapman, of Wasco; Mabel and Cecil, at home. 

Mr. and Mrs. Hines have three children, Or- 
ville E., born January 10, 1898; Howard C, born 
September 29, 1900; and Llyod L., born Decem- 
ber 12, 1902. Mr. Hines is a member of Sher- 
man Lodge, No. 157, I .O. O. F., of Wasco. Po- 
litically he is a Republican. Mr. Hines owns a 
section of excellent land six miles west of Wasco, 
six town lots and two houses and barn in town. 
He has, also, a one thousand two hundred acre 
farm in Morrow county which property he rents. 
All of these holdings he has acquired by his own 
industry and business sagacity. He has twenty- 
five head of horses, five of which are standard- 
bred trotters. Altramont and Wilkes stock; a 
one-year-old thoroughbred registered Altramont 
mare, and one Hambletonian stallion. The rest 
of his equine stock are Percheron and Clyde 
draft horses. 

In crossing' the plains, our subject's father 
came as the driver for the father of his 
future wife. On the death of the lat- 
ter's father, Shelton Hines, took charge 
of the train in his place. He was a prom- 
inent farmer in the Willamette valley ; was indus- 
trious and prosperous. He had recently moved on 
a new Homestead and lost nearly everything he 
had in the world through a flood which occurred 
just before his death, leaving his family with little 
means. In county affairs he took an active ana 
patriotic part. Our subject worked for Judge 
Fulton when he was twelve years of age, and 
from him received the first money he earned in 
the county. 

Since the above was written, Mr. Hines 
has sold his Morrow county farm to' Dan- 
iel Pattie, of Sherman county, the deal being 



consummated January 31, T905. Mr. Hines has 
purchased an acre lot in St. Johns, Oregon, and 
there he is erecting a fine, modern, ten-room resi- 
dence. On March 5, 1905, he purchased eighteen 
hundred acres of land from Maley Brothers, of 
Ajax, Gilliam county, Oregon, together with two 
hundred and ninety head of cattle. The ranch is 
a stock and farm place combined, and under Mr. 
Hines' skillful management will return fine divi- 
dends. 



JOSEPH F. BELSHEE, one of the leading 
farmers and energetic business men of Sherman 
county, resides three miles east of Monkland. 
He was born April 16, 1856, in Hancock county, 
Illinois, the son of Robert and Ellen (Smith) 
Belshee, both natives of Virginia, as were their 
parents. The parents of Robert Belshee were 
David and Eleanor Belshee, their ancestors of 
foreign birth, probably of Ireland. David lived 
in Virginia until he was thirty-two years of age, 
when he moved to Missouri, where he followed 
farming as he had in Virginia. He came to 
Oregon one year before his son. He, ninety 
years old June 1, 1905, is mentally bright, in 
excellent health and makes his home with our 
subject. The mother of our subject died in Han- 
cock county, Illinois, October 13, 1875. 

Until 1878 our subject was reared in Illinois 
where he attended the public schools and the 
high school at Warsaw, at intervals working on 
the farm with his father. The family came to 
Oregon together and our subject took up land, 
a quarter section, and purchased other land from 
the railroad company. He had no capital at first 
and rented land in the Willamette valley. He 
and his wife are members of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church of which he is steward and trustee. 
Politically he is a Prohibitionists. 

October 26, 1875, in Hancock county, Illinois, 
Mr. Belshee was united in marriage to Emma 
Bledsoe, a native of that county, born January 
15, 1855. She is the daughter of Benjamin F. 
and Millie (Breeden) Bledsoe, the former a 
native of Indiana, the latter of Iowa. Benjamin 
F. Bledsoe was an early Illinois pioneer and as- 
sisted in driving the Indians from the territory, 
and, also, took an active part in the expulsion of 
the Mormons from Nauvoo, Illinois. He was 
the captain of the company, a farmer, dying 
January 22, 1871, on his farm in Hancock 
county. The maternal grandfather of Mrs. Bel- 
shee was a pioneer Methodist Episcopal preacher 
in Jackson county. The two brothers were min- 
isters in the Methodist and Baptist churches. One 
of the brothers of the father of Mrs. Belshee was 






484 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



a preacher ; the other a captain in the confeder- 
ate army during the Civil war. 

Our subject has one brother and one sister 
living; Charles H., a farmer near Woodland, 
California ; and Causby, wife of John B. Gilbert, 
of Cleveland, Ohio. Mrs. Belshee, also, has one 
brother and one sister : Richard O., an Arkan- 
sas farmer ; and Clarrissa, wife of Washington 
Golliher, a farmer in Hancock county, Illinois. 
Mr. and Mrs. Belshee have the following named 
children: Robert W r ., a farmer; Wesley R., 
living three miles south of our subject; Charles 
R., a farmer ; Howard B., Homer, a schoolboy, 
living at home; Benjamin F., also at home; Rob- 
ert M., a grandchild, son of Robert W. and Jessie 
(Thompson), died November 10, 1901 ; Millie 
E., single, living at home ; Clarrissa E., Cassie 
F., Jennie M., born in Sherman county, May 31, 
1894, died June 4th, of the same year ; Josie F., 
born June 5, 1888, died July 8, 1889, and Boyd, 
born February 22, 1897, died March 5th, of the 
same year. 



ALBERT S. PORTER, superintendent of 
the Sandow Milling & Warehouse Company, 
Wasco, Sherman county, was born in Livingstone 
county, New York, February 19, 1855. He is a 
twin brother of "Dell" Porter, a sketch of whom 
appears in another portion of this work. His 
parents were Derrick and Jane (Shephard) Por- 
ter, mentioned elsewhere. 

Our subject was reared on his father's farm 
in the county of his nativity, where he received 
a good business education in the public schools 
in his neighborhood. At the age of twenty- 
eight he went to Buffalo, New York, where he 
was in the employment of the Buffalo Lubricat- 
ing Oil Company four years, having charge of 
the stills two years of this time. He was then 
associated with the Barber Asphalt Paving Com- 
pany and three years subsequently with the Ball 
Brothers Glass Works. It was in 1893 that he 
came to Wasco where he has since resided. He 
owns a pleasant home in the town, a story and a 
half house surrounded by six acres of ground. 
During the past seven years he has been associ- 
ated with the Sandow Flour Milling Company. 

April 13, 1880, at Mount Morris, Living- 
stone county, New York, he was married to Miss 
Jennie R. Brinkerhoff, a native of that county. 
She is the daughter of Rev. J. G. and Maria 
(Van Horn) Brinkerhoff, both natives of New 
Jersey, the father a descendant of an old and 
prominent Knickerbocker family. For many 
years the father was a preacher in the Dutch Re- 
formed church. The mother was, also, a member 
of a Knickerbocker family, and both families 



were prominent in New York commercial and 
professional circles. 

Mrs. Porter, the estimable wife of our sub- 
ject, has three sisters: Nettie, wife of Fayette 
Frayer, a farmer in Iowa; Mina, wife of Michael 
Clause, a broom manufacturer, near Schenec- 
tady, New York ; Ida, wife of Jacob Essler, fore- 
man of an extensive farm near Nunda, New 
York. 

Mr. and Mrs. Porter have two children, girls, 
Grace, aged sixteen, and Alberta, aged twelve. 
Both our subject and his wife are devout and 
consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal 
church, of which he is trustee and Sunday school 
superintendent and his wife a teacher in the 
same. Politically, he is a Prohibitionist and for 
the past twelve years has been a delegate to all 
the county conventions of that party. At every 
election he has been a nominee for some office. 
Mr. Porter is a good, clean-minded, liberal and 
progressive citizen, popular with all and one 
who always has a good word for his neighbors 
and acquaintances. 



ELWOOD THOMPSON, an enterprising,, 
progressive farmer of Sherman county, Oregon,, 
resides ten miles southeast of Moro. He was 
born in Illinois, January 18, 1861, the son of Isaac 
and Mary A. (Easley) Thompson, the father a 
native of Ohio, the mother of Illinois. During 
the entire Civil war Isaac Thompson, father of 
our subject, served in an Illinois regiment. 
While on the march near the close of the war he 
was severely injured. At present he resides three 
miles west of our subject. The parents of the 
mother, Mary A. (Easley) Thompson, were na- 
tives of Ohio. 

It was in Fulton county, Illinois, that our sub- 
ject was reared until he attained his majority. 
In the public schools of his vicinity he obtained 
a solid business education, and with his father 
worked on the farm and in the butcher business in 
Ipava, Fulton county. In 1882 he came to Ore- 
gon and at first located in the Willamette valley, 
where he worked on a farm. In 1884 he came to 
Sherman county, having but limited capital, and 
secured a quarter section of land, which he grad- 
ually but surely improved, at the same time work- 
ing for other farmers. At present Mr. Thomp- 
son owns six hundred and forty acres and rents 
four hundred and eighty more. 

At the residence of the bride's parents, at 
Monkland, November 29, 1889, our subject was 
united in marriage to Mary N. McDonald, a na- 
tive of Canada, born November 28, 1869. She is 
the daughter of Neil and Annie McDonald, both. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



485 



natives of Canada, the father of Scotch ancestry. 
The latter died about the year 1884. The brother 
of Mrs. Thompson is mentioned elsewhere. Our 
subject has four brothers and one sister; Jesse 
B., with his parents in Sherman county ; Richard, 
at Hood River ; Vincent, in Malheur county, Ore- 
gon ; Aaron, in Whitman county, Washington ; 
>Bertha, wife of Neil McDonald, a farmer residing 
near Monkland. 

Fraternally our subject is affiliated with Moro 
Lodge, No. 113, I. O. O. F., W. T. W., and the 
A. O. U. W., of Moro. His political affiliations are 
with the Republican party and he has frequently 
been a delegate to county conventions and three 
times delegate to state conventions. He is at 
present central committeeman for his county and 
precinct. 

In the way of pleasant surroundings he has a 
fine six-acre orchard, bearing plums, cherries, 
apricots and prunes, and commodious barns and 
substantial dwelling. He raises stock, including 
mules, for his own use. Throughout the com- 
munity in which he has cast his lot Mr. Thomp- 
son is very popular and numbers many warm 
friends and acquaintances. 



ALBERT M. WRIGHT, one of the prosper- 
ous farmers and solid business men of Sherman 
county, resides five miles southeast of Monkland. 
He was born at Zanesville, Muskingum county, 
Ohio, March 26, i860, the son of John A. and 
Eva (Vestal) Wright, both natives of Ohio. John 
A. was born in Licking county ; his parents were 
of Scotch ancestry, and his father served with 
distinction as captain in the War of 181 2. The 
mother, Mrs. John A. Wright, was born in Zanes- 
ville, Ohio ; her parents having been natives of 
what is now West Virginia, and her father's par- 
ents of Pennsylvania. The parents of Mrs. 
Wright are now living in Lane county, Oregon. 

In the excellent public schools of Zanesville 
our subject received a sound business education. 
His father was a contractor and builder and the 
family removed to Harrison county, Ohio, in 1877. 
Here John A. Wright engaged in the marble busi- 
ness and here our subject acquired the trade of 
marble cutting. In 1884 they all came to Oregon, 
locating in Sherman county. Flere John A. 
Wright and his son took up land, the father a 
half, and the son a quarter of a section. They 
had but limited capital, and worked out at times, 
-gradually improving their places. In the fall of 
1903 the father and mother removed to Lane 
county, twenty miles from Eugene. The father 
rents his farm in Sherman county ; our subject 
now owns a half section of land, and rents four 
hundred and fifty acres more. 



Our subject was married at Cadiz, Ohio, 
March 22, 1883, to Miss Jessie F. Adams, born 
in that place, and the daughter of William and 
Mary (Nichols) Adams, natives of Ohio. Her 
father died at Cadiz, September 25, 1898. The 
mother's father was a native of Maryland, and she 
now lives at Cadiz, Ohio. 

Albert M. Wright, our subject, has three sis- 
ters ; Fanny, wife of Rev. D. H. Leech, of Wood- 
burn, Oregon, where he is established as a 
preacher in the Methodist Episcopal church ; Lil- 
lian, wife of James H. Fraser, of North Yakima, 
Washington, in the implement and harness busi- 
ness ; and Mamie, wife of John V. O'Leary, a 
sheep-raiser in the Willamette valley. Mrs. 
Wright has two brothers and four sisters living ; 
Ernest and George, at Cadiz, Ohio; Catherine, 
wife of Albert McConnell, also of Cadiz ; Annie, 
wife of W. D. Ritchie, of the same city ; Carrie, 
single, residing at Cadiz ; Mrs. Martha Cope, of 
Mansfield, Illinois ; and Frank, deceased. 

Two children have blessed the union of Mr. 
and Mrs. Wright, Ethel M. and Eva V., and 
they have one adopted son, Raymond A. Havnar, 
the son of Mrs. Wright's sister, Mrs. Rettie Hav- 
nar, who died at Dennison, Ohio, October 11, 
1895. Mr. Wright is a member of the A. O. U. 
W., of Moro ; politically, he is a Prohibitionist. 
In 1 90 1 he was elected county commissioner on 
the Prohibition ticket, and several times he has 
been selected as delegate to Prohibition conven- 
tions. For a number of years he has been school 
director. Both he and his wife are devout and 
consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal 
church, and he is superintendent of the Sunday 
school. 



WILLIAM F. JACKSON. The subject of 
the following sketch is a prosperous and success- 
ful farmer in Sherman county, residing one and 
one-half miles south of Moro. He was born in 
Tennessee, April 22, 1868. He is the son of Cap- 
tain Francis M. Jackson, of Hood River, also a 
native of Tennessee, his father being a Kentuck- 
ian, and a member of the old and distinguished 
Jackson family. 

Our subject came to the state of Oregon with 
his father, and now owns a quarter section of 
land adjoining his father's place near Hood River. 
In the fall of 1897 William F. Jackson came to 
Sherman county and at first rented wheat land 
from the Eastern Oregon Land Company. He 
now owns a quarter section, and his wife eighty 
acres, and he still rents five other quarters. 

December 25, 1901, he was married to Carrie 
Kaseberg, a native of Illinois. Her father, Theo- 
dore Kaseberg, was born in Germany, and now 



i 



486 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



lives three miles south of Grass Valley. Mrs. 
Jackson has two brothers ; Robert W., seven miles 
southwest of Grass Valley ; and George, aged 
seventeen years. Mr. Jackson is a member of the 
W. W., of Moro. Mr. Jackson is a Democrat, 
and active in the interests of the several cam- 
paigns of his party. He was a delegate to the 
last Democratic state convention. In his home 
community, thoughout the county and wherever 
he is known, Mr. Jackson is quite popular and 
highly esteemed for his many social qualities and. 
good business abilitv. 



ROBERT W. PINKERTON, one of the 
leading agriculturists and prominent land-holders 
of Sherman county, resides in a handsome and 
eligibly located home three and one-half miles 
north of Moro. He is a native of the Hawkeye 
State, having been born in Page county, Iowa, 
April 25, 1858. His parents are Samuel and Mar- 
garet (Smith) Pinkerton, natives of Ireland, both 
of County Antrim, where the father was a farmer. 
At present they live in Page county, Iowa, with a 
daughter, Clarinda. Samuel Pinkerton came to 
the United States in the 40's, settling in the state 
of New York, near the Vermont line. Later the 
family moved to Wisconsin where he bought a 
farm, going thence to Iowa about 1856 or 1857, 
where he purchased more land. 

On this farm our subject was reared, and 
from which he attended the public schools in his 
vicinity, remaining there until he had attained 
his majority. He then worked a portion of the 
old home place until he came to Sherman county 
in March, 1886. For three years he rented land, 
and then filed on a claim near Kent, which he later 
abandoned. In June, 1892, he purchased a quar- 
ter section — a timber-culture — and now owns a 
half section. He has built a story and a half 
house on the timber culture claim and this is sur- 
rounded with a fine small orchard and handsome 
shade trees. 

Mr. Pinkerton was married in Page county, 
Iowa, to Carrie J. Bennett, born in that state. 
Her parents were James and Sarah (Daugherty) 
Bennett, the father a native of Pennsylvania, and 
the mother of Ohio, and both deceased. 

Our subject has two brothers and three sis- 
ters living; Samuel J., at Kent, King county, 
Washington ; William A., a Presbyterian minis- 
ter of Sumner, Beaver county, Iowa ; Martha, 
wife of William J. Bayles, a farmer in Page 
county, Iowa ; Margaret J., wife of James Mc- 
Keown, of Page county ; Rachel, wife of Alex- 
ander Duncan, of the same county. Mrs. Pink- 
erton has one sister and three brothers ; Emma, 



widow of Thomas Young, of Taylor county, 
Iowa ; Ellsworth, a farmer in Oklahoma territory ; 
William, in Colorado ; and James, of Clarinda, 
Page county, Iowa. 

Four children have blessed the union of Mr. 
and Mrs. Pinkerton ; Wilma, wife of Charles 
Poole, a farmer of Morrow county, Oregon ; 
Emma, aged nineteen ; Margaret, aged fifteen : 
and Harry, a boy of nine. Mr. Pinkerton and his 
wife are members of the Reformed Presbyterian 
church. During the past two years the family 
have made their home in Seattle in winters, where 
Mr. Pinkerton owns a residence at the corner of 
Federal and Harrison avenues. During a por- 
tion of the past ten years Mr. Pinkerton has culti- 
vated about eight hundred acres in Sherman 
county, which he rents. In 1902 he purchased 
one thousand six hundred acres in Morrow 
county, Oregon, one mile from the town of Doug- 
las. This place is conducted by his son-in-law, 
Charles Poole, with whom he is a partner. So- 
cially and financially Mr. Pinkerton has scored a 
pronounced success and he and his estimable wife 
are highly esteemed in the community in which 
thev reside. 



JACOB B. WHEAT, a well-known pioneer 
of Sherman county and a veteran of the Civil 
war, is at present a farmer residing three miles 
east of Moro. He was born in Jefferson county, 
Indiana, May 1, 1836, the son of Nathaniel and 
Martha (McCloud^i Wheat, the former a native 
of Virginia ; the latter of North Carolina, her 
ancestry being Scottish. The parents of Na- 
thaniel Wheat were Virginians, but their ances- 
tors came from Holland. Nathaniel served with 
distinction in the War of 1812 ; his father was in 
the Revolutionary War. Nathaniel was a mem- 
ber of Colonel Johnson's Kentuckv Mounted 
Riflemen, and was with Johnson at the time the 
great Indian chief, Tecumseh, was killed. Fol-' 
lowing the War of 1812 Nathaniel removed to 
Indiana. 

Jacob B. Wheat, our subject, lived in In- 
diana until he was thirteen years of age, when his 
parents removed to Missouri. They were farmers, 
the father being quite a prominent man in Law- 
rence county. He was an old line Whig, a union 
man during the Civil war, and. although often 
urged to accept office refrained from doing so. 
All through the war he remained a stanch Repub- 
lican. He died in 1867. The mother had passed 
away in 1863. 

In May, 1861, our subject enlisted in Captain 
Burrows' home guard company. Colonel Martin's 
regiment. In October. 1862, he enlisted in Com- 
pany K, Captain Thomas Burgess, Colonel John 






HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



487 



Allen. He was in the Price raid campaign, and 
in a number of bushwhacker fights, until the close 
of the warj his field of action having been con- 
fined to Missouri and Arkansas. After the war 
he worked at various employments, farming, car- 
pentry and wagon making, continuing the same 
for a period of about thirteen years. In 1880 he 
came to Sherman county and in the spring of 
1 88 1 located at his present home, but with limited 
capital. He took up a half section of land, which 
he now rents, but resides there with his wife. 

In September, 1855, in Lawrence county, Mis- 
souri, Mr. Wheat was married to Charlotte T. 
Neece, a native of Tennessee. She is the daugh- 
ter of Ellis and Annie (Reese) Neece, both natives 
of Tennessee, as were their parents. The ances- 
tors of the father were Virginians, of Norman 
extraction ; those of the mother of Scotch lineage. 

Our subject has one sister living, Rachel, 
widow of Leroy Avers, of Arkansas. Mrs. 
Wheat has two brothers and six sisters living ; 
Robert, of Canyon City, Oregon ; William, of 
Colorado, both in the stock business ; Sophie, 
widow of Daniel Jones, of Lawrence county, Mis- 
souri ; Huldah, wife of William C. Elsey ; Alcy, 
wife of Levi G. Hillhouse, both of Lawrence 
county, Missouri ; and Elizabeth, wife of John 
Stuart, a farmer in Christian county, Missouri ; 
America, wife of T. C. Elsey; Sarah, wife of 
James Askins ; besides two sisters and three 
brothers deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Wheat have 
four children ; Nathaniel P., a tarmer living near 
Oakland, Oregon; Edwin B., an optician and 
jeweler at Boise, Idaho ; Don C, a farmer living 
two miles from Moro ; and Henrietta M., wife 
of William H. Rose, a farmer near Roseburg, 
Oregon. 

Both Mr. Wheat and his estimable wife are 
members of the Baptist church, and have been 
since 1855. He is a Republican, politically, and 
has frequently been delegate to countv conven- 
tions since the organization of Sherman county. 
He was precinct committeeman when the county 
was cut off from other territory, and was chair- 
man of the first Republican county convention 
held in the new political division. He has never 
sought office, but has frequently served as school 
director, and in Missouri as director and clerk. 
A man of strict integrity and sound business 
judgment, popular in social and business circles, 
he is one highly esteemed by all who know him. 



place," in Sherman county, August 21, 1874. His 
parents were Henry and Elmira M. (Massiker) 
Barnum, mentioned elsewhere in this work. 

Our subject attended the public schools in the 
vicinity of his birthplace and secured a good, busi- 
ness education. November 28, 1897, at the resi- 
dence of the bride's parents, near Wasco, he was 
united in marriage to Mary E. Medler, born near 
Walla Walla, Washington, February 8, 1876. 
Her father was Bruno F. and her mother Jane 
Medler, the father being a native of Germany ; 
her mother of Pennsylvania. Bruno F. Medler is 
an extensive farmer near Wasco. 

Mr. Barnum, politically, is a Republican, but 
is not at all active in the various campaigns of 
his party. He is a man of sound business prin- 
ciples, wide-awake, energetic and industrious. 



ELVIN E. BARNUM, a member of the firm 
of Barnum Brothers, resides six miles southeast 
of Moro, Sherman county, Oregon. He is a true 
Oregonian, having been born on the "old Price 



JOHN C. KASEBERG, a retired farmer 
living at 318 E. Rose street, Walla Walla, was 
property in Sherman county, Oregon, where he 
born in Germany, on June 13, 1832. He owns 
labored for years and is now spending the golden 
years of his life enjoying the competence that 
his industry has provided, and has chosen Walla 
Walla as the home place. His parents, John and 
Cristina (Rumpf) Kaseberg, were natives of 
Hessen, Germany, and came from old and sub- 
stantial German families. The father was a me- 
chanic. Our subject received his education in 
his native land and also thoroughly learned the 
wagonmaker's trade. In 1853, he came to the 
United States and settled in St. Louis. Although 
he had no relatives there and could not speak the 
English language, nevertheless he secured work 
at his trade and later visited various places. He 
was back in St. Louis at the time of the outbreak 
of the Civil War and enlisted in Company K, 
Fifth Missouri Infantry for three months and 
served five months and ten days. Upon his hon- 
orable discharge, he again went to work at his 
trade, and in 1864 we find him operating a shop 
for himself. F'or a decade he continued this then 
sold out and moved to southern Missouri, where 
he remained two years. He owned a shop in 
Salem, Missouri, and continued in business until 
1882, when he came west to Oregon. He spent 
a few weeks in Walla Walla visiting his two 
brothers, then took up land in what is now Sher- 
man county. His place lies about seven miles 
from the present town, of Wasco, and consists of 
about nine hundred and sixty acres. He con- 
ducted the farm until 1901 and then, owing to 
failing health, gave up active work and came to 
Walla Walla. His land is handled by his sons 
and is a valuable property. 






488 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



In 1863, Mr. Kaseberg married Henrietta 
(Sommerkamp), a native of Hanover, Germany. 
Mr. Kaseberg has two brothers, Henry, at 318 
South Second street, Walla Walla, and William, 
who died in this city. To Mr. and Mrs. Kaseberg 
eight children have been born, Henry, in Walla 
Walla ; John and Ed in Sherman county ; Albert, 
at home; William, who died in April, 1904; Au- 
gusta, wife of W. Copeland, in Walla Walla; 
Lizzie, wife of W. Bennet, a retired farmer in 
Walla Walla ; and Amelia, at home. Mr. Kase- 
berg is a member of the A. O. U. W., and in polit- 
ical matters is a Republican, although not espe- 
cially active at this time. Personally, he is a 
genial, kind man and one of those substantial 
citizens who have accomplished very much in gen- 
eral upbuilding for the country where he has 
wrought. He has the esteem and good will of 
all and has hosts of friends. 



JOHN B. HOLMAN, one of the extensive 
and substantial farmers of Sherman county, re- 
sides five miles southeast of Moro. He was born 
in Sweden, October 25, 1856, the son of Gabriel 
and Johanna (Barge) Holman, natives of Swe- 
den, where the mother now lives, and where the 
father died in 1901 aged seventy-four years. Ga- 
briel Holman was a woolen weaver and his father 
was a seafaring man trading out of Halmstad, 
where our subject was educated in the public 
schools. In 187 1 he came to the United States, 
remaining in New York city two years, where he 
found employment in a car-spring factory. 
Thence he went to Virginia City, Nevada, where 
he worked at various employments one year, min- 
ing, etc. Then he went to Plumas county, Cali- 
fornia, where for the succeeding six months he 
followed mining. Having spent a few months in 
San Francisco he returned to Virginia City, but 
six months afterward he was back in California 
conducting a chicken and turkey ranch in Butte 
county. Here he remained two years, and in 1882 
came to Sherman county, Oregon, arriving with 
no capital. Despite this handicap he took up a 
half section of land and industriously began im- 
proving the same. His two brothers, also, secured 
claims adjoining him, and while they continued 
to work out for other farmers our subject devoted 
his entire attention to improvement of the claims. 
Mr. Holman now owns five hundred and seventy 
acres and rents eight hundred and eighty acres 
more, mostly land belonging to his brothers. He 
owns a threshing outfit in partnership with the 
Barnum Brothers. 

At the residence of the bride's parents, in 
Sherman county, December 25, 1886, Mr. Holman 



was united in marriage to Lizzie Maxwell, born 
in Arkansas, October 21, 1868. Her father, Da- 
vid Maxwell, a native of Alabama, now lives in 
Washington county, Oregon. Our subscriber has 
three brothers ; Martin, of Portland, who owns 
a place adjoining him; Charles, a merchant in 
Sweden ; and Axel, also of Sweden, where he is 
a manufacturer and merchant. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Holman three children have 
been born ; Nellie, aged sixteen ; Martha, aged 
fourteen ; and Lillian, aged three years. 

Our subject, fraternally, is a member of the 
A. O. U. W., of Moro. Politically, he is inde- 
pendent. In the community in which he resides 
Mr. Holman is highly esteemed and popular 
among a wide circle of friends and acquaintances. 



EDWARD E. KASEBERG, one of the 
bright and popular young farmers of Sherman 
county, resides on his father's place, which he 
rents, five miles west and two miles south of 
Wasco. He was born in Summersville, Texas 
county, Missouri, July 18, 1879, the son of John 
C. and Henrietta (Sommerkamp) Kaseberg, both 
natives of Germany. During the Civil war John 
C. Kaseberg, the father, was employed by the 
government as a wagon-maker. He had learned 
the trade in Germany, coming to the United 
States in 1853. At present he lives in Walla 
Walla, Washington. The parents of our subject 
were married in St. Louis, Missouri, and mi- 
grated to Walla Walla when our subject was two 
years of age. In the spring of 1883 they came to 
Sherman county, the father having preceded them 
the year previous. He located a homestead and 
here they continued to live until 1902, when the 
parents returned to Walla Walla, having rented 
the farm to our subject. 

February 16, 1902, at Wasco, Sherman count}-, 
the latter was married to Evelyn Morrow, born in 
Illinois August 26, 1879, the daughter of John 
and Mary (Shoup) Morrow. For fifteen years 
her father was a resident and landholder in Sher- 
man county. He was a veteran of the Civil War, 
dying December 18, 1903. The mother still lives 
at Wasco. 

Our subject has three brothers and three sis- 
ters living; John R., eight miles from the town 
of Wasco; Henry J., a farmer near Walla Walla ; 
Albert C, aged sixteen, with his mother in Walla 
Walla ; Augusta, wife of Wallace R. Copeland. 
of Walla Walla ; Lizzie, wife of William C. Ben- 
nett, of the same place ; and Amelia, single, and 
living: with her mother at Walla Walla. Mr. and 
Mrs. Kaseberg have one child, Lawrence E., 
born April 3, 1903. He is, politically, a Republi- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



489 



can, although by no means an active partisan. 
In the community in which he resides he is quite 
popular and he and his estimable wife are highly 
•esteemed in a wide circle of friends and acquaint- 
ances. 

In addition to handling the old home place, 
Mr. Kaseberg is a member of the firm of Web- 
ber & Company, who operate a general merchan- 
dise store in Wasco. The firm consists of E. A. 
E. Webber, H. P. Disher and E. E. Kaseberg. 



C. MORTIMER ANDREWS, a successful 
and progressive Sherman county farmer, resid- 
ing two miles west of Wasco, is a native of the 
Wolverine State, having been born at Kalamazoo, 
Michigan, May 23, 1852. His parents were Sim- 
eon J. and Rachel A. (Wigley) Andrews, both 
natives of New York. The father was a descend- 
ant of an old and distinguished American family. 
The father of the mother of our subject was born 
in Connecticut ; her mother in New York, of an 
old colonial family, some of the members of which 
were prominent in the War of the Revolution. 

Our subject was reared in Kalamazoo county, 
Michigan, where he remained with his parents, 
two miles from Kalamazoo, until he was nine 
years of age. The family then moved to Wiscon- 
sin, remaining in that state until 1862. going - 
thence to Iowa. In these three states our subject 
gained a good business education in the district 
schools until he was nineteen years old. In 1874 he 
began the world for himself, going to Nevada. 
There he worked in the mines two years, at Vir- 
ginia City and Gold Hill. He then went to Cali- 
fornia and engaged in farm work for several 
years. Coming to Oregon in 1882 he located 
land and was back and forth for two years. 
In 1884 he brought his family to Sherman 
county where he had sixty acres of land 
broken, together with other improvements. He 
sowed his first wheat crop in 1885. At present he 
owns three hundred and five acres lying opposite 
his brother's place. 

In 1876. at Dixon, California, he was married 
to Hattie King, a native of the Golden State. 
Her father, Simeon J. King, was a native of New 
York, a descendant of an old American family. 
Her mother, Rachel A. (Wibberly) King, was 
also born in New York ; her parents in England. 
Mrs. Andrews has one brother living ; William, 
residing eight miles west of Wasco. Susan, a 
sister, is dead. Mr. and Mrs. Andrews have two 
children, Claud K., at The Dalles, and Guy C, 
at home. Our subject has a brother, Ernest A. 
Andrews, a farmer, whose property adjoins that 
of our subject. He was bom in Blackhawk 



county, Iowa, July 20, 1868. He has always 
been with his parents, with the exception of four 
years on the Colorado Southern Railroad, as a 
brakeman. He is single and lives with his mother. 
The father of our subject was, in early days, 
a Democrat. Shortly after the formation of the 
Republican party he joined that political element. 
He was sheriff of Otsego county, New York, two 
terms. The Andrews family were influential and 
well-to-do farmers in Connecticut and other por- 
tions of New England. C. Mortimer Andrews, 
our subject, is a Republican. He is a member of 
Aurora Lodge No. 54, K. of P., of which he is 
past C. C. 



ARTIMUS H. BARNUM, one of the lead- 
ing farmers of Sherman county, resides four miles 
south of Moro, a member of the firm of Barnum 
Brothers. He was born on what is known as the 
"old Love place," eight miles north of Moro, June 
2, 1878. His parents were Henry and Elmira 
M. (Massiker) Barnum, whose lives and ances- 
try are detailed in the biographical sketch de- 
voted to Ladru Barnum, our subject's partner in 
business. 

Our subject attended the public schools of 
Moro. and, also, pursued a course in the Port- 
land Business College from which he was grad- 
uated in February, 1900. Since then he has con- 
tinued in company with his brother as described 
in the sketch devoted to the latter. 

February 3, 1903, at Moro, county seat of 
Sherman county, Mr. Barnum was united in mar- 
riage to Maggie M. Farra, born February 3. 1884. 
Her father was a native of Missouri, dying in 
May, 1 901, in Alberta county. He came to Cali- 
fornia, and at first worked in the mines. Thence 
he migrated to the Willamette valley, Oregon, 
where he was married to Elizabeth A. Porter, a 
native of Iowa, who crossed the plains with her 
parents in the 6o's. Mrs. Farra married again 
and is now the wife of John W. Dunn, of Sher- 
man county. 

Mrs. Barnum, the wife of our subject, has 
three brothers and three sisters ; John, aged thir- 
teen, living with our subject; Samuel P., with his 
mother and step-father in Sherman county ; Har- 
ley T., at home with his mother ; Maud, wife of 
M. Phillips, a farmer living in Gilliam county ; 
Alva, wife of George V. Stanton, a lumber dealer 
doing business in Grass Valley and mentioned 
elsewhere ; and Frankie, wife of Ray Dunn, of 
Gilliam county. 

Mr. Barnum is a member of Moro Lodge, No. 
1 13, I. O. O. F., and of the Rebekahs. Politically, 
he is a Republican, but not by any means a radical 



490 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



partisan. Mr. and Mrs. Barnum have one boy, 
Henry, born April 14, 1904. Mr. Barnum is a 
popular, energetic and industrious business man 
and a citizen of broad and progressive views. In 
a wide circle of acquaintances he numbers a host 
of warm personal friends. 



JOHN M. HULERY, a retired Sherman 
county farmer, now living with his son, resides 
six miles northwest of Wasco. He was born in 
Darke county, Ohio, October 17, 1827. His 
father, Michael Hulery, was a native of the Key- 
stone State, a member of an old Pennsylvania 
Dutch family. Michael Hulery was a millwright. 
He moved to Indiana when our subject was about 
one year old, and purchased a farm eleven miles 
from the old Tippecanoe battle ground, on the 
Tippecanoe river. Here our subject was reared 
on the farm with his parents and in the town of 
Delphi, the county seat of Carroll county. When 
nine years of age he began learning the trade of a 
carpenter, with his father. At this period he was 
so small that he was compelled to stand on a plat- 
form to reach the bench. During three months 
of each winter he attended district schools, in log 
buildings. At the age of sixteen he had finished 
his apprenticeship at the carpenter's trade, and 
about this time his father died. John M. then 
took full charge of the shop. The father had en- 
joyed a good business, having from fifteen to 
twenty-five men at work at carpentry and coop- 
erage. 

At the age of twenty-two our subject began 
the cooper business on his own account, and was 
quite prosperous, employing on an average from 
ten to' twenty men, and sometimes forty or fifty. 
In this enterprise he continued until 1853. He 
then came to Oregon with his wife and children. 
They enjoyed a fine trip with the exception of 
slight Indian troubles. They located a donation 
claim six miles from Eugene, but abandoned it the 
following year. In the fall of 1855 he went to 
Portland and once more engaged in the cooper 
business. He manufactured the first whiskey bar- 
rel ever made in Oregon. During three years he 
transacted a lucrative business and then he dis- 
posed of his interests and engaged in a dray and 
trucking enterprise, buying and selling horses, 
for ten or twelve vears. Following this he was at 
McMinneville, Yamhill county, Oregon, for 
twelve years engaged in the saloon business. In 
1886 he came to Sherman county and has since 
lived with his son. At times he had acquired 
considerable money, which he lost through inju- 
dicious investments. 

June 17, 1848, Mr. Hulery was married to 



Martha Davidson, born in Carroll county, In- 
diana. For several years she was a great sufferer 
from disease, and died August 17, 1873. She 
was the daughter of John and Mary Davidson. 
Her father came to Oregon the same time that 
our subject did, and settled in the Willamette val- 
ley, where he died. He was a farmer located on 
a donation claim. The parents of Mary Davidson 
were Indiana farmers, and quite prominent in 
church work. 

For many years our subject was a member of 
the I. O. O. F., of which he is past nobie grand. 
He was a member of Samaritan Lodge, whicl. 
he and four or five brothers who had cards, "as- 
sisted in building up when it was nearly extinct. 
When only twenty-one years of age he joined the 
order in Indiana, and was ever an enthusiastic 
member, having passed through all the chairs. 
For the past six months he has been confined to 
his bed through ill health. At the age of seventy- 
eight years our subject can look back upon a 
long, eventful and useful life. He has ever been 
a good husband and kind and indulgent father, a 
man highly respected in all communities in which 
he has cast his lot, and esteemed by all with whom 
he has been thrown into intercourse. 

Since the above was written, Mr. Hulery has- 
gone to his long rest. The death occurred at the 
home of Mrs. E. J. Bray, in Oakland, California, 
on October 23, 1904. 



GEORGE G. DeMOSS, an eminent musi- 
cian of national reputation, formerly a member of 
the "Lyric Bards of America" and later of the 
"DeMoss Lyric Bards," was born at Cove, Union 
county, Oregon, May 28, 1866. His parents were 
James M. and Elizabeth A. (Bonebrake) De- 
Moss. His father, James M., was a missionary 
pioneer of Oregon, coming here in 1862, accompa- 
nied by his wife, the mother of our subject. 

July 10, 1899, our subject was united in mar- 
riage to Amelia Davis, a native of Iowa, born 
April 15, 1879. The nuptial rites were solemn- 
ized at Omaha, Nebraska. Her parents were 
Charles B. and Elizabeth (DeMoss) Davis, .the 
father a native of Virginia and the mother of In- 
diana. The father was a descendant of the old 
southern Davis family, and he was a second 
cousin of Jefferson Davis. At one period he was 
a preacher in the United Brethren denomination, 
and later in the Presbyterian. He died at Salem. 
Oregon, November 30, 1902. The mother resides 
at DeMoss Springs. To Mr. and Mrs. George 
G. DeMoss has been born one child, an unnamed 
infant at the present writing. 

The townsite of De Moss Springs was laid 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



49 r 



out by James M., Henry S. and George G. De 
Moss, as a prohibition town, in 1900. The family 
represented' Oregon at the Chicago Columbian 
Exposition's Congress of Musicians. The family 
composed a musical work of great merit, "The 
Columbian Souvenir Songs," devoted to each 
state. The sister of our subject, Lizzie DeMoss 
(Davis), began singing with the company at the 
age of four years, and up to the present time has 
traveled every season. She is an accomplished 
graduate of the Royal Academy, of London, Eng- 
land, in violin and voice, and of the Cincinnati 
and Chicago Colleges of Music. Her elementary 
instruction was received at the hands of her 
father, James M. DeMoss. 

Our subject, having been well grounded in 
music, began teaching at the precocious age of 
twelve years, composed and wrote music at the 
age of thirteen and at fourteen was a professor 
at a normal musical institute, where he taught 
thorough bass and harmony. This was at Des 
Moines, Iowa. At the age of sixteen he occupied 
a chair of music at the Western College, and was 
then with the "Lyric Bards of America" and the 
"DeMoss Lyric Bards" for thirty-two years con- 
tinuously. Our subject and his estimable wife 
have one child, Evelyn, born August 21, 1902. 

The DeMoss Family was employed by the 
directors of the World's Fair to give daily enter- 
tainments in Horticultural Hall, during each 
afternoon, for which they composed songs, words 
and music on special occasions. From the fair 
officials they received forty certificates of merit, 
and 1 many of their songs have obtained world- 
wide popularity. During the six months of this 
grand exposition the DeMoss family sang to sev- 
eral millions of people. 



FRANK L. HULERY, a landholder of Sher- 
man county, and proprietor of the Phallmont 
Livery Stable, Wasco, was born in Portland, Ore- 
gon, October 23, 1861. His father, John M. 
Hulery, a native of Ohio, came to Oregon so 
early as 1853. He is a cooper by trade and lives 
with our subject. The mother, Martha (David- 
son) Hulery, died when our subject was about 
twelve years of age, at Dayton, Yamhill county, 
Oregon. 

The family located on a donation claim near 
Harrisburg, Linn county, Oregon, and later 
moved to Portland. Here the father worked at 
the cooper trade and, also, conducted a livery 
stable. 

Frank L., our subject, was reared in Portland 
until ten years of age. Thence he accompanied 
the family to Dayton, where he continued his 



education in the public schools which had been 
commenced in Portland. After his mother's 
death he lived with Captain W. S. Powell, an old 
soldier and Indian fighter, two years. He then 
began the world on his own account, and found 
employment in a fishery near Astoria. Thence - 
he went to Klickitat county, Washington, where 
he was employed by John Graham for whom he 
rode the range in the stock business for five or 
six years. In 1883 our subject went to Morrow 
county and engaged in sheep and horse raising 
with a brother. In this he continued two years, 
with poor success, and then came to Sherman 
county and began raising horses near Biggs, on 
shares with his father-in-law, John Graham. He 
had used his homestead rights in Morrow county 
and disposed of his half section of land when he 
left that vicinity. Two years after his arrival 
in Sherman county he moved to his present home, 
six miles northwest of Wasco, and about two 
miles from Rufus. He now rents a place of four 
hundred acres. He is, also, engaged in the livery 
business in Wasco; the family live on the farm. 
At Goldendale, Washington, July 6, 1882, Mr. 
Hulery was united in marriage to Sarah A. Gra- 
ham, born near Hillsboro, Washington county,. 
Oregon. She is the daughter of John and Ma- 
tilda (White) Graham. Our subject has four 
brothers and two sisters ; John, a painter in Eu- 
gene, Oregon ; George, a stockman near Wallace, 
Idaho ; Edward, of Ontario, Malheur county ; 
Walter, of Tuscarora, Nevada ; Ida, single, liv- 
ing in Portland ; and Josephine, wife of Mr. Bray, 
a commercial traveler residing at North Forks, 
North Dakota. Mrs. Hulery has the following 
named brothers and sisters : Albert R., a specula- 
tor and trader of North Yakima, Washington ; 
Carrie, wife of Luther Fletcher, of Yamhill coun- 
ty ; and Louisa, single, and residing at The Dalles 
with her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Hulery have- 
four children, Pearl W., Thomas F., Frank W., 
and Minnie L. Our subject is a member of Sher- 
man Lodge No. 157, I. O. O. F., and Modoc En- 
campment, Grass Valley ; and the A. O. U. W., 
of Wasco. Politically, he is a Republican and has 
frequently served as delegate to county conven- 
tions. He is a school director and for many 
years has been director and clerk of the school' 
district No. 6, Sherman county. 



HENRY S. DeMOSS, a well known citizen- 
of DeMoss Spring's, Sherman county, was born 
in Iowa, February 4, i860, the son of James M. 
and Elizabeth A. (Bonebrake) DeMoss, sketches 
of whom apnear in another portion of this work. 
To Oregon he came in his infancy, and it may be* 



49^ 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



truthfully said that he was reared in eastern Ore- 
gon and Washington. He received an excellent 
education, and for one year was a student in the 
Des Moines, Iowa, high school. While still of 
tender years he commenced the study of music, 
his father being his instructor, and subsequently 
he was with G. Lang, of Boston, who was a guest 
of his parents, in Union county, Oregon. He 
then continued this musical studies under Virgil 
C. Taylor of Des Moines, and was matriculated 
in the Chicago College of Music, under Prof. H. 
S. Perkins. He also took an advanced course at 
the College of Music, Cincinnati, Ohio. In addi- 
tion to this he received a thorough course of mu- 
sical instruction at the Royal Academy, of Lon- 
don. His brother, George, and sisters, Lizzie 
and Minnie V., were there at the same time, and 
-all graduated with high honors. Our subject 
was graduated in musical composition and voice 
•culture. The family traveled together until 1893 
when the subscriber's father and his second wife 
commenced conducting entertainments and Henry 
DeMoss was at the head of a company known 
as "DeMoss Lyric Bards." This organization 
has proved wonderfully successful since the close 
of the World's Fair at Chicago, and has acquired 
a well deserved reputation throughout the coun- 
try. 

Our subject owns several hundred acres of 
land individually, and more in partnership with 
his brother, George. They are the proprietor's 
of the townsite of DeMoss Springs. 

July 24, 1 90.1, at DeMoss Springs, our sub- 
ject was united in marriage to Julia R. Hall, a 
native of Ohio, born in Bellevue, October 24, 
1882. She is the daughter of John R. and Mary 
E. (Livermore) Hall, natives of Massachusetts. 
The father was born at Pittsfield, and during the 
past three years has been a retired Methodist 
Episcopal preacher. At one period he was ad- 
vance agent for the "DeMoss Lyric Bards," but 
was disabled in a railway accident. The mother 
is a member of the old Livermore familv, one of 
whom came to America in the Mayflower in 
1620. 

The following is an extract from the preface 
to "The Columbian Souvenir Songs :" 

"For twenty-one years prior to the World's 
Columbian Exposition, of which this folio con- 
tains illustrations, the authors of this work were 
known to the American public as concertists. 
Having traveled from the Pacific to the Atlantic 
coasts, and from the Lakes to the Gulf, scarcely 
a city, shore or mountain pass, of this vast nation 
but has resounded to the strains of the voices 
and instruments of the DeMoss Family Lyric 
Bards, of Oregon, as they have sung in praise of 
God and country." 



HARLEIGH GLASS, a prosperous Sherman 
county farmer and one of the rising young citi- 
zens of the state, resides in Gerking Canyon, four 
miles north of Wasco. He was born in Cuming 
county, Nebraska, September 1, 1874, the son of 
William H. and Emma K. (Emgleit) Glass. The 
father died at Dilley, Washington county, Ore- 
gon ; the mother now lives at Pullman, Wash- 
ington. 

Our subject was reared in Nebraska until he 
was eleven years of age. Then, with his parents, 
he went to Portland, and from there direct to 
Woodland, Cowlitz county, Washington, remain- 
ing eighteen months. Thence he migrated to Dil- 
ley where the family conducted a small dairy and 
vegetable and fruit garden. During the succeed- 
ing five years our subject found employment in a 
grist mill. In 1895 he went to Klickitat county, 
Washington, secured a homestead, "and for a few 
years raised sheep. He then conducted a stage 
line from Grant, Oregon, to' Goldendale, Wash- 
ington, two years. This enterprise he disposed 
of and purchased a quarter section of land in 
Sherman county ; he also rents a half section. 

At Goldendale, Washington, September 1, 
1897, Mr. Glass was married to Bertha E. Wil- 
son, born in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. She is the 
daughter of Frank and Ella (Harvey) Wilson, 
both natives of Iowa, and now residing at Port- 
land, Oregon, where the father is a painter and 
contractor. Our subject has two brothers, Har- 
vey, a drayman at Pullman, Washington, and 
Burt. He has one sister, Edith, wife of Clinton 
Thompson, proprietor of a cigar store at Pull- 
man. Mrs. Glass has one brother and one sister ; 
Roy S., a merchant at Grant's Pass ; and Winnie, 
aged thirteen. 

The fraternal affiliations of our subject are 
with the W. W. ; Sherman Lodge, No. 157, I. O. 
O. F. ; and the Rebekahs, of which his wife is a 
member. He is a Republican and served as a del- 
egate to the last Sherman county Republican con- 
vention. Mr. and Mrs. Glass have two children, 
Raymond E., aged five, and Beauford R., aged 
three. 



PROF. JAMES M. DeMOSS, for many 
years at the head of "The Lyric Bards of Amer- 
ica," and residing at DeMoss Springs, Sherman 
county, Oregon, was born in Indiana, May 15, 
1837, the son of Peter and Elizabeth (Stewart) 
DeMoss. The "Lyric Bards" have won a world- 
wide fanfe, and the term "world-wide" is used 
advisedly, for their musical field has not been 
confined to the United States, but has extended 
over the greater portions of Europe. During the 
Chicago World's Fair of 1893 they became the 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



493: 



official musical organization of that vast enter- 
prise. 

Peter DeMoss, the father of our subject, was 
born in Richmond, Virginia, in 1787, and died 
in Marion county, Iowa, in 1853. His father, 
John DeMoss, was a native of Virginia, the son 
of Louis, a French Huguenot. John served with 
distinction in the Revolutionary War. Peter De- 
Moss was an athlete, six feet one inch in height, 
and at the age of twenty-two years he became a 
professional pugilist, defeating many opponents, 
though hot for money, but finally retiring from 
the ring, convinced that fighting was an unworthy 
method of making a livelihood. Subsequently he 
became a steamboat captain on the Ohio and Mis- 
sissippi rivers. 

Elizabeth Stewart, who became the bride of 
our subject's father, was a native of Ohio. Her 
mother, Mollie Stewart, was a distinguished ac- 
tress and singer for many years. It may be said 
that she was reared in the atmosphere of the 
theatre and her histrionic career was eminently 
successful. The "Stewart Family" for a number 
of years toured the United States, appearing in 
all the principal cities, making their home later 
in Cincinnati, Ohio. During the War of 1812 
her father enlisted. Having served through the 
war he started for his home, but was killed on the 
way by a limb falling from a tree. Until her 
death his widow was in receipt of a pension from 
the United States government. She and her 
daughter were members of the dramatic profes- 
sion, but were subsequently converted at a camp 
meeting and abandoned the boards to become 
singing evangelists. Elizabeth Stewart joined the 
United Brethren church and became a licensed 
preacher. Mollie Stewart was burned to death 
at the age of ninety-six years. September 7, 
1893, Elizabeth Stewart DeMoss, the mother of 
our subject, passed from earth in her ninetieth 
year. 

The father of our subject, Peter DeMoss, was 
a devout Christian in later life and becoming dis- 
gusted with slavery, removed to Indiana, and later 
to Iowa. James M. DeMoss was reared in the 
Hawkeye State. Here he received an excellent 
education in a subscription school, and at Western 
College, in Linn county, a United Brethren school. 
He pursued scientific and musical courses. Sub- 
sequently he preached, conducting religious serv- 
ices and singing schools. At the age of sixteen 
he taught music ; and really began singing at the 
age of two years. 

On attaining his majority our subject was uni- 
ted in married to Elizabeth A. Bonebrake, a 
native of Indiana. She was the daughter of 
Henry and Margaret (Wolf) Bonebrake, both 
natives of Ohio, the father of German ancestrv ; 



the mother of Dutch extraction. He became a 
preacher in the United Brethren Church, a pio- 
neer evangelist and among the first bishops 
elected in the church. But he refused to accept 
this office. He died in Iowa. Our subject was 
married November 25, 1858, and in 1862, accom- 
panied by his wife, came to the Powder Valley,. 
Oregon, as a missionary — -the pioneer missionary 
of the United Brethren church east of the Cas- 
cade mountains. 

"A preacher of the gospel, a missionary, a mu- 
sician, with his singing wife, who sang as they 
started across the wilderness of mighty plains in 
the year A. D. 1862, with an ox team, the best 
mode of traveling in those early days, leaving 
their homes and turning their faces westward to 
the land of the setting sun, they plodded along 
day after day, through alkali dust and over rug- 
ged mountains, glad when a day's march was 
done and their journey shortened eighteen or 
twenty miles. This zealous Christian couple, 
James M. DeMoss and Elizabeth Bonebrake De- 
Moss, started their work with great success in 
portions of Oregon, Washington and Idaho, gain- 
ing many souls to Christ. In due time they were 
blessed with a little family of singers, who sang 
at their father's meetings and singing classes."' 

They located in Sherman county, and in 1883 
took up land, which they cultivated' when not out 
with his company. In 1873, while in Des Moines, 
Iowa, with his concert company, he joined the 
Baptist church, and is still a preacher of that de- 
nomination. His wife died, December 28, 1886, 
at Roseburg, Oregon. 

December 10, 1889, at Carlton, Illinois, our 
subject was married to Julia E. Shatto, a native of 
Iowa, born in Washington county, September 30, 
1862, the daughter of Ralph and Julia (Plumb) 
Shatto, both natives of Ohio. Julia and Martha 
Plumb studied in Oberlin College, the latter grad- 
uating. Ralph Shatto was a newspaper man of 
national reputation, having begun his career as 
publisher of a college paper (Western College), 
the same attended by our subject. Subsequently, 
for several years, he conducted the New Orleans 
Republican. His last paper was the Tribune, of 
Harvey, Illinois. He died August 21, 1899, at 
Toledo, Iowa. The parents of Julia Plumb were 
New York people, and Senator Plumb, of Kan- 
sas, was her first cousin. Her brother, Colonel 
Ralph Plumb, was a noted Abolitionist who 
served three months in jail at Oberlin, Ohio, for 
rescuing a free negro who was to be taken to 
Kentucky under the fugitive slave law. He be- 
came very wealthy, being a "coal baron"' 
of Illinois, and at one period owned the 
townsite of Streator, Illinois, of which 
he was mavor for many vears, and served 












-494 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



two terms in congress. Her father served 
three years in the Civil war, in Company C, Nine- 
teenth Iowa Volunteers. 

Our subject, by his first wife, has three chil- 
dren living: Henry and George, Sherman county 
land owners, and members of the DeMoss Con- 
cert Company ; Lizzie, wife of Peter W. Davis, a 
Sherman county farmer, and member of the com- 
pany. Minnie, another daughter, died in Wheat- 
land, California, December I, 1896, aged twenty- 
seven. She was a most accomplished lady, bright, 
intelligent, and a cultured and artistic contralto 
singer. May, died in October, 1886, at Horn- 
brook, California, aged fifteen years, but her brief 
life gave promise of a most brilliant future. The 
children by his second marriage are John M., aged 
eight years, and Ruth, aged six, who were' juve- 
nile performers with their parents in their enter- 
tainments. At present our subject is a Prohi- 
bitionist, but for many years was a stanch Repub- 
lican, having cast his first vote for Abraham Lin- 
coln. He has one brother and three sisters ; Peter, 
a retired farmer, living near Moro, and an old 
Indian fighter ; Mary A., wife of George C. Davis, 
deceased, of Lincoln, Nebraska ; Lucinda, widow 
of R. Shatto, deceased, of New Hampton, Iowa; 
Elizabeth S., widow of Rev. C. B. Da-vis, living at 
DeMoss Springs. Rev. C. B. Davis died at 
Salem, November 28, 1902, and is buried at De- 
Moss Springs. 

The second wife of our subject was reared 
by the Plumb family, and educated at Western 
College where, for many years she was a music 
teacher. She has one half-brother, Rev. Charles 
R. Shatto, of New Hampton, Iowa, pastor of the 
Congregational church at that place. During the 
state oratorical contest he secured the first prize. 

Our subject located the townsite of North 
Powder and built three toll bridges crossing both 
Powder and Grande Ronde rivers ; he, also, 
erected the first sawmill in the Grande Ronde 
valley, and located and owned the town of Weiser, 
Idaho. He has been largely interested in real 
estate and has been uniformly successful finan- 
cially. For his services as preacher he receives 
no salarv, and is the pioneer missionary teacher 
of eastern Oregon and Washington, having in 
early days taught music in Walla Walla and 
Grande Ronde valleys. 

Prof. DeMoss is author of the "Key to Mu- 
sic," of the cantata "Joseph, the Hebrew Gov- 
ernor of Egypt," which was published in Phila- 
delphia, in 1891, of a number of patriotic and 
sacred songs, and with his sons, Henry and 
George, and daughters, Minnie and Lizzie, com- 
posed the songs of the "Columbia Souvenir 
songs," introduced during the Columbian Expo- 



sition in Chicago, in 1893. The family composed 
and published the "Songs of Jesus." 

In 1872, Prof. DeMoss and family began giv- 
ing concerts, the initial entertainments being at 
Cove, Oregon. The DeMoss family are now in 
their thirty-third year of touring, having given 
three seasons in New England, three in the north- 
ern states, three in the southern states, seven in 
the northwest and California, one in Europe, and 
two in Canada. The children all received most 
thorough instruction from their father and took 
post-graduate courses in the Royal Academy of 
London ; George in voice and cello, Minnie and 
Lizzie in voice and violin, Henry in voice, violin 
and musical composition. Lillie was an actress 
and a member of her father's troupe until her 
death, having commenced composition of music 
when thirteen. 

The DeMoss estate consists of twelve hun- 
dred acres traversed by the Columbia Southern 
railroad. The town of DeMoss Springs is located 
about the center of the property. 



BENJAMIN L. ANDREWS, a prosperous, 
enterprising and progressive farmer, and popu- 
lar citizen, resides at Gerking Canyon, four miles 
from Wasco, in Sherman county. He was born 
in Missouri, January 19, 1862. His parents were 
Amos and Martha (Andrews) Andrews, the lat- 
ter not even a second cousin of her husband, being 
of an altogether different family. The mother 
died when our subject was an infant. The par- 
ents of Amos Andrews were early settlers of Mis- 
souri, where he died. 

Benjamin L. Andrews was reared in Missouri 
until he had attained the age of eighteen vears. 
He then came to Oregon alone, and located in 
the Willamette valley where for about two vears 
he was employed on farms. Thence he went to 
Klickitat county, Washington, worked two years 
more on ranches and then for three years rode the 
range. In 1884 he came to Sherman county, filed 
on land adjoining the place where he now resides, 
and purchased railroad land. At present he owns 
a half section of exceptionally fine land : has a 
good orchard of four acres, devoted to apples, 
pears and peaches, for which he finds a ready 
market on the place. 

Our subject was married in Wasco, Novem- 
ber 2, 1892, to Agnes R. Ramey. a native of Mis- 
souri. She is the daughter of William Ramey, 
and the sister of George Ramey, mentioned else- 
where. Mr. Andrews has one brother and three 
sisters : James, a merchant in Denver. Colorado ; 
Luella. wife of Gustave Dredger, of Iowa ; Belle, 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



495 



wife of Newman Guilford, of Denver ; and Mat- 
tie, wife of William Carver, of the same city. 
Three children have been born to our subject and 
his wite, Cora, Willie and Belle. Mr. Andrews 
is a member of Sherman Lodge, No. 157, I. O. O. 
F. He is a Republican, politically, but not espe- 
cially active in the various campaigns. He and 
his wife are members of the Christian church. 
Amos Andrews, the father ot our subject, served 
three years in the Civil war. Our subject is a 
man highly esteemed by a large circle of friends 
and acquaintances. 



EDWIN M. MEACH is well known in Moro 
as a first-class painter and paper hanger, as well 
as dealer in paints, oils, wall paper and so forth. 
He was born in Vancouver, Washington, on Feb- 
ruary 21, 1877, tne son °f Henry M. and Mary 
(Sheehan) Meach, natives of Jackson county, 
Michigan, and Portland, Maine, respectively. 
They now live in Portland, Oregon, where the 
father does a general contracting and building 
business. His father was born in the United 
States, of Scotch parents, and his mother was a 
native of England. Our subject's mother was of 
Irish parentage. Edwin M. was educated in the 
graded and high schools of Vancouver, and when 
fifteen took up the painting business, which he 
had learned while attending school, by working 
mornings and evenings and Saturdays. All told, 
he served about five years as an apprentice and 
learned every department of the business, as 
house painting, carriage painting, sign painting, 
and so forth. In 1897, he went to Pendleton and 
followed his trade for wages and also did con- 
tracting there and in Portland for a period 
of five years. Then he came to Moro, 
primarily to play baseball, and opened a 
business here in which he has succeeded 
splendidly. In addition to ordinary painting, he 
has painted railway coaches and does much fine 
work. Previous to coming- to Moro, he had 
played semi-professionallv for six years in various 
teams, being mostly in demand as pitcher, having 
also played as second baseman. He came to 
Moro as stated, and for the past two seasons has 
been captain of the Moro team, and is one of the 
best players in this part of the county. He has 
traveled to various nortions of the state, was in 
Burns and Canvon City and has made a good rec- 
ord for himself in this capacity. 

On June 18, T002. at Portland, Oregon, Mr. 
Meach married Maude B. Carter, a native of 
Michigan, and the daughter of John Carter, also 
a native of Michigan. He now lives in Portland 
and does a general carpentering and millwright 



business. He married Miss Bowen, who has 
since died. Mr. Meach has the following named 
brothers and sisters, Clyde and Debs, aged six- 
teen and eight, respectively, at the father's home 
in Portland ; Ethel, wife of William Feister, a 
railroad man in Pomeroy, Washington ; Daisy, 
the wife of Dudley Evans, a deputy health officer 
in Portland ; Minnie, Isabel, Blanche and Helen 
at the father's home in Portland. Mr. and Mrs. 
Meach have one child, Mearle, aged one and one- 
half years. 

Politically, Mr. Meach is a Democrat, but not 
active in this capacity. He is an industrious man 
and attends closely to business, being governed 
by the motto that 'What is worth doing at all is 
worth doing well." This has brought him good 
success and a splendid standing in the commu- 
nity. 



ERNEST A. MEDLER, a prosperous farmer 
residing four miles northeast of Wasco, Sherman 
county, was born in Cooper county, Missouri, 
February 22, 1867. His parents were John and 
Eliza J. (Hull) Medler, mentioned in another por- 
tion of this work. 

Until his parents came to Sherman county, in 
1881, our subject remained with them, and he 
was with his father here when the family's house 
in Walla Walla, Washington, was burned, in- 
volving the loss of his mother and two of her 
children. He was educated in the district schools 
of Willamette valley and Sherman county. A 
few months before he attained his majority Mr. 
Medler began life for himself. He associated 
himself with his brother Henrv, under the firm 
name of Medler Brothers, and they purchased 
nine hundred and sixty acres of land and began 
farming on an extensive scale ; principallv stock- 
raising. They had limited capital but plenty of 
credit, and they bought nine thousand dollars 
worth of land and stock on credit. For ten years 
they continued in partnership ; having paid all 
indebtedness at the end of the third year. During 
the hard times of 1893 and 1894 they received 
something of a setback, but they gradually recu- 
perated after a hard pull of three or four years. 
They owned a steam threshing machine and a 
two thousand dollar pedigreed horse. In the fall 
of 1899 they dissolved partnership and since then 
each brother has worked separately. At present 
our subject owns four hundred and eighty acres 
of land, all but eighty acres of which is this year 
in wheat. Fie has commercial interests in Wasco 
and divides his time between that place and the 
farm. 

Our subject was married at Wasco, November 



496 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



II, 1894, to Marion H. Myers, of San Francisco, 
California. 

Politically, he is a Republican, but not active. 

Mr. and Mrs. Medler have four children, Eve- 
lyn, Norma, Elsie and Chester. The Chronicle 
of San Francisco offered a silver cup to every 
child born on Christmas day, 1895. Evelyn Med- 
ler was born that day and received one of the 
cups. 



CHARLES R. ROLLINS, M. D., an es- 
teemed citizen of Grass Valley, now retired from 
active business, is also one of the builders of 
Sherman county. He was born in New Hamp- 
shire, on June 2, 1829, the son of Joseph and 
Mary (Russell) Rollins, natives of the same state. 
The father came from an old colonial family of 
English ancestry and died in 1874 in California, 
being then aged eighty years. The mother came 
from French ancestry and died in 1846 in New 
Hampshire. The first six years of our subject's 
life were spent in New Hampshire and then the 
family moved to Vermont. When Charles was 
fourteen, he went to Roxbury, Massachusetts, a 
suburb of Boston, and there attended a night 
school and learned the printing trade in the office 
of the Uni-Vicelum, a communistic paper, edited 
by Charles R. Dana, assisted by George Ripley. 
Dana, as is well known, later became one of the 
most prominent journalistic men of the English 
speaking world, being for years editor of the New 
York Sun. After three years the paper suspend- 
ed where our subject was learning his trade, then 
he went to New York city and thence to New 
Jersey, where he joined the North American 
Phalanx ( a communistic community and was 
occupied in driving the stage from Red Bank, 
New Jersey, to the community and boarded at the 
same house where Mr. Horace Greeley lived. 
Later he went to Massachusetts and studied med- 
icine with Dr. Jerome Wilmoth, practicing during 
a portion of the time. After four years in these 
studies, the doctor returned to New Jersey and 
took charge of the machinery part of a large 
sash and door factory. Later, we find him in In- 
diana and in 1856, he took up land twenty-one 
miles south from St. Paul upon which was after- 
wards built the town of Farmington, Minnesota, 
where he lived and practiced medicine until about 
1873, when he journeyed to California and passed 
the examination of the state board to practice in 
that state and then took a post graduate course in 
the Columbia Medical College, graduating in 
1877 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. In 
1878, he came to the vicinity of Grass Valley and 
took up land. A portion of the town now stands 



upon the land he took up. There were only forty- 
two white people then in the precincts of what is 
now Sherman county when the doctor landed 
here. He erected a store building and operated 
a mercantile establishment in addition to his prac- 
tice. His riding was very extensive as he was 
the only physician between Antelope and the Col- 
umbia river. Later, he was associated in the mer- 
cantile business with his son-in-law, Mr. Moore, 
who is mentioned elsewhere in this volume, the 
doctor taking a personal supervision of the drug 
department of the establishment. Dr. Rollins was 
one of the organizers of the State Pharmaceutical 
Board and the State Druggists Association and 
has been a leading figure here for over a quarter 
of a century. During this entire time, he has 
steadily resided in Grass Valley with the excep- 
tion of two years that were spent in Portland. Of 
late, he has retired from the practice of medicine 
and also from all active business, being justified 
by the success he has won in his life's labors. 

In Massachusetts, when nineteen years of age, 
Dr. Rollins married Sybil A. Lillie, who was 
born in Massachusetts in November, 1829, the 
daughter of Henry and Charlotte F. Lillie, na- 
tives of Massachusetts. In 1886, Mrs> Rollins 
died here in Grass Valley. Doctor Rollins has one 
brother, Ira L., a farmer in Michigan. His fa- 
ther had one brother, Henry, an architect in Elsi- 
more, California. 

To the Doctor and his wife, five children have 
been born ; George H., in Rye Valley, Oregon, 
handling a mail contract ; Edward, a barber in 
Portland ; Nena M., the wife of Charles G. 
Staples, a confectioner of Spokane ; Eva L., wife 
of Charles W. Moore, mentioned elsewhere in 
this work; and Charles M., residing in Grass 
Valley. 

The Doctor is a member of the A. F. & A. M. 
and is a man of excellent standing and worth. In 
August, 1891, Dr. Rollins platted the town of 
Grass Valley and still owns a goodly portion of 
the townsite, as well as additions which he has 
since platted. He was the first practicing physi- 
cian here, operated the first store and conducted 
the first hotel, as well as raised and threshed the 
first crop of wheat within the boundaries of the 
present Sherman county. 



WILLIAM E. MILLER. The subject of the 
following biographical sketch is one of the ener- 
getic and industrious farmers of Sherman coun- 
ty, residing four miles northwest of Wasco. He 
is a true Oregonian, and was born in Sherman 
county near his present home July 29, 1867. His- 





Dr. Charles R. Rollins 



William E. Miller 





William H. Bh 



James H. Smith 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



497 



parents are Thomas Jefferson and Sarah (Ford) 
Miller, mention of whom will be found in another 
portion of this work. 

Until he arrived at the age of sixteen years 
our subject remained with his parents. He then 
began life on his own account and when of age 
filed on a homestead, purchasing a half section 
later. ■ At present Mr. Miller owns twenty-four 
hundred acres of excellent wheat land. He win- 
ters from fifty to sixty head of cattle and has been 
raising two hundred and twenty-five hogs yearly. 

October n, 1890, at Goldendale, Klickitat 
county, Washington, Mr. Miller was united in 
marriage to Mrs. Dora S. Harvey, born near 
Taylorville, Illinois, the daughter of David 
Fields. She died September 18, 1892, of 
consumption after an illness of two years' 
duration. She left two children by a former 
marriage to James Harvey, Walter and 
Myra. The second marriage of our sub- 
ject occurred July 6, 1895, to Belle Pyburn, 
born in Benton county, Oregon. She is the daugh- 
ter of Jacob and Susan (Mulkey) Pyburn, the 
former a native of Texas ; the latter of Missouri. 
The father crossed the plains in 1850 while an in- 
fant in arms. The mother came in 1847. He was 
a prominent and influential farmer. 

Our subject has two children living, by his 
second marriage, Charles E. and Laura J. Two 
are dead, Cassius N. and William W. Frater- 
nally, Mr. Miller is a member of Sherman Lodge, 
No. 157, I. O. O. F., of Wasco, and the W. O. 
W., of the same place, of which he is second man- 
ager. Politically ne is a Republican and has fre- 
quently served as delegate to county conventions. 
For twelve years he has been school director of 
his district, and three years school district clerk. 
At present he is in partnership with his brother 
in the meat business at Wasco. 

Mr. Miller is an example of what pluck can 
do, coupled with energy. Though still a young 
man, he has made a signal success, financially in 
this resourceful country of central Oregon. He 
has an extended acquaintance throughout the 
county and enjoys the respect and confidence of 
the entire community. 



HON. WILLIAM H. BIGGS, a retired farm- 
er and extensive land owner of Sherman county, 
resides at Wasco, in a most picturesque residence, 
surrounded by a spacious lawn and large and 
beautiful shade trees. He was born in Belmont 
county, Ohio, May 12, 183 1, the son of John and 
Charlotte (Coleman) Biggs. The father was a 
native of Kentucky; his parents (probably) of 
Pennsylvania, and were early Kentucky pioneers. 

32 



The father of John Biggs participated in many 
sanguinary battles with Indians, and was severely 
wounded while defending the block-house which 
stood on the present site of Wheeling, West Vir- 
ginia. John Biggs served in the war of 181 2, and 
like his father was a man of great courage. He 
was born in 1791 and passed away at Canton, 
Missouri, in 1854. In his younger days he was 
a shipbuilder and carpenter ; later a farmer. 

The mother of our subject was a native of 
Pennsylvania, descended from an old Pennsyl- 
vania Dutch family. Her father served through- 
out the Revolutionary War under General Fran- 
cis Marion. She died at Canton, Missouri, two 
years after the death of her husband. 

The family of our subject moved to Missouri 
when he was nine years of age. Here he was 
reared on a farm and received his elementary edu- 
cation in a subscription school. When nineteen 
years old — in 1850 — he crossed the plains with 
an ox train, to California, where he remained two 
years engaged with varying success in mining. 
He then returned to Missouri, where he was fairly 
successful, financially. Subsequently he engaged 
in the forwarding and commission business at 
Canton, Missouri, on the Mississippi river, six- 
teen miles above Quincy, Illinois. Having re- 
mained there three years, he was, the following 
three years, serving in the capacity of a pilot on 
the Mississippi river. He then followed the liv- 
ery business at Canton three years, going thence 
to Colorado during the Pike's Peak sensation. 
He remained there only a short time, returning 
disgusted, like so many others. Shortly after 
this he was appointed sheriff of Lewis county, 
Missouri, by Governor Gamble. Two years after- 
ward he began trading in cattle, horses and 
mules, continuing until 1871, when he went to 
Deer Lodge, Montana, returning in the fall. The 
following spring he was back in Montana with a 
drove of five hundred cattle. In 1873 we find 
him in Missouri engaged in a variety of business 
enterprises, and in the spring of 1874 
he took from Lexington, Kentucky, five 
head of fine trotting horses to Deer Lodge, 
Montana. Subsequently he went to Cali- 
fornia where for three years he was in 
the stock, and three years in the grocery 
business, located at Dixon. In February, 1880, 
he came to Sherman county and secured railroad 
land where Wasco is now built — on a portion of 
it — and seeded the first crop of wheat in the spring 
of 1881. He brought from California the first 
gang plow ever introduced in this section of the 
country. Although he possessed limited capital 
he managed to push wheat growing along and 
purchased more land. He now owns about eight 
hundred acres of which he has rented out a portion 



498 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



for ten years. He began renting this land at the 
time he was appointed receiver of the land office 
at The Dalles where he remained four years and 
three months. 

In 1886 Mr. Bigg s was elected a member of 
the Oregon Legislature and introduced the Max- 
imum Freight Bill which passed the house but 
was defeated in the senate. After this he was 
appointed a member of the railroad commission 
by Governor Pennoyer, but owing to subsequent 
legislation removing the appointive power from 
the hands of the governor, he did not serve. In 
1888 he was nominated for the Stjate 
senate, and was defeated. In 1885 Mr. 
Biggs was at Salem, and was success- 
ful in securing the passage of a bill compelling 
railroads to place sidings where needed. Two 
of them were put in ; one of these was named 
Biggs, as a compliment to his successful efforts 
in this direction ; the other Rufus, after Rufus 
Wallis, on whose land a town was built. Since 
leaving the land office our subject has paid but 
little attention to political affairs. During the 
whole course of his busy and eventful life Mr. 
Biggs has ever remained a stanch Democrat. 

March 10, 1859, at Canton, Missouri, our 
subject was united in marriage to Martha E. 
Ellis, born in Lewis county, Missouri. She is the 
daughter of Judge William Ellis, a native of Ken- 
tucky, born in Oldham county. His parents were 
Virginians of Welsh ancestry. He died in 1879 
at Canton, Missouri. He was a lumber merchant 
and owned a farm on the edge of the town. For 
many years he was a prominent merchant in 
Louisville, Kentucky, and served several terms in 
the Missouri Legislature. For sixteen years he 
was judge of the county court; was an "old line 
Whig," but after the war was not identified with 
any political party. He was a trustee of the 
Christian University, and the only member of an- 
other denomination on the board, being a pillar 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church, deacon, trus- 
tee, steward, and foremost in every movement for 
the benefit of the community and very public 
spirited. At one period he was the second wealth- 
iest man in the county. The Civil war left him 
much poorer in purse ; he lost all of his slaves, 
but throughout the whole trend of the trouble be- 
tween the states he was always a union man and 
did not favor the cause of the confederacy. 

Her mother, Sarah (Cassady) Ellis, was a 
native of Kentucky as were her parents. She died 
in 1873. Our subject has one brother living, 
John H., of Canton, Missouri, a retired mer- 
chant. He had three other brothers who are 
deceased, Leonard C, Joseph and James D. 
They died in Missouri. He had one sister, now 
deceased, Lucinda C, wife of Thomas B. Jef- 



fries. Mrs. Biggs has lost two brothers, James 
A., who died in California, and who served in 
the union army until he was severely wounded. 
Her brother William died in La Grange, Mis- 
souri. She has two sisters living, Elizabeth, wife 
of Christopher Agee, of Solano county, Cali- 
fornia, and Laura, widow of Samuel J. Davis, of 
San Francisco. Mary C, wife of John S. Pem- 
berton, died at Los Angeles, California. 

Our subject has lost two children; Leonard 
M., who died in 1861, aged fourteen months ; and 
William E., who died in Missouri, in 1866, aged 
two weeks. Mr. Biggs has been a member of 
the A. F. & A. M. since 1852, and is a non- 
affiliated Royal Arch Mason. His wife is a mem- 
ber of the M. E. church and has been a Sunday 
school teacher for many years. She is a member 
of the official board and steward of the W. C. 
T. U., of which she is corresponding secretary 
and was for several years president. She is a 
member of the O. E. S. and past matron of 
Myrtle Chapter, Dixon, California. 



JAMES H. SMITH is well known through- 
out Sherman and Wasco counties and is one of 
the substantial citizens of Grass Valley at the 
present time. He is practically retired from busi- 
ness, although he owns an interest in the "firm 
of E. E. Porter & Company, one of the success- 
ful mercantile houses of Grass Valley. James 
H. Smith was born in New Brunswick, on No- 
vember 4, 1853. John B. Smith, his father, was 
a native of Scotland and came to New Bruns- 
wick when fourteen years old, accompam ing his 
parents. He followed farming all his life and 
died in New Brunswick, in 1901. He married 
Isabel Amos, who was born while her parents 
were crossing the Atlantic ocean from Scotland 
to New Brunswick. Our subject was reared in 
his native place and there educated. On October 
19, 1875, he came west and finally selected a loca- 
tion between Dufur and Kingsley, where he com- 
muted on a preemption. Four years later, he 
came across the Des Chutes and engaged in 
sheepraising, following the same successfully for 
twenty years. Then he homesteaded and bought 
land about nine miles out from Grass Valley. 
In 1895, he came to Grass Vallev and engaged iti 
the hardware business with George Bourhill. 
Later, he was in partnership with W. F. Weigand. 
In 1903, he sold out to his partner and since then 
has been practically retired from business, al- 
though lie has an interest in the mercantile house 
mentioned. Mr. Smith owns a residence right in 
the center of town and several lots, besides other 
property. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



499 



In August, 1884, Mr. Smith married Mary E. 
Offield, the wedding occurring near Kingsley. 
In 1890, Mrs. Smith was called hence by death. 
Two years later, August 6, 1892, Mr. Smith mar- 
ried Callie Offield, a sister of his former wife, 
the wedding occurring in Lane county. She was 
born near Salem, Oregon and her parents are 
William H. and A. (Jones) Offield. Mr. Smith 
has three brothers ; Thomas H., a sheep man in 
North Yakima ; Robert, a merchant at Sisters, 
Crook county, and Alexander, who also has a 
mercantile house at Sisters, Crook county. He 
also has one sister, Agnes, the wife of Mr. 
Brownell, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Mrs. 
Smith has one sister, Nettie, married to Augus- 
tine Risdon, an insurance man in Seattle. To 
our subject and his wife three children have been 
born, Mary B., Eltha and Leslie. Fraternally, 
Mr. Smith is popularly connected, being- affil- 
iated with the I. O. O. F., the Encampment and 
the Elks. He is past grand and past C. P. of 
the former order and has frequently been dele- 
gate to the grand lodges. He also is frequently 
a delegate to the political conventions and is a 
member of the city council at the present time. 
Of ■Mr'. Smith, it may be said that his life thus 
far has always been spent in wise labors ever 
striving to build up and assist both the country 
and every one with whom he comes in contact. 
Thus, he has won many friends and a standing 
second to none in the community. 



LOUIE L. PEETZ was born in Snohomish, 
Washington, on January 30, 1877, an d n0w re ~ 
sides about two and one-half miles west from 
Moro, being one of the most extensive grain 
Taisers of Sherman county. His parents, Carl 
and Catherine (Schott) Peetz, are mentined else- 
where in this volume Mr. Peetz owns in his 
home estate, eight hundred acres of good wheat 
land and rents twelve hundred acres besides of 
military and other land. He has the entire amount 
in cultivation and produces many thousands of 
bushels of the cereals annually. He is a thrifty, 
wise and progressive farmer and manages his 
large interests in an excellent manner. His edu- 
cation was received in the various places where 
the family resided before they came to Sherman 
county. And since that time, he has been closely 
identified with the interests of the county, while 
also laboring efficiently to gain his splendid hold- 
ing of property. Mr. Peetz has not only achieved 
the success that was to be desired in both these 
lines but has also so conducted himself that he 
has won hosts of friends and is one of the popu- 
lar and leading young men of the county. 



On December 31, 1901, at Moro, Oregon, Mr. 
Peetz married Ora Barnum, a sister of the Bar- 
num brothers, mentioned elsewhere in this vol- 
ume. 

Politically, Mr. Peetz is a stanch and active 
Republican, although he never aspires to office 
for himself. He is well posted on the questions 
of the day, progressive and public minded and 
seeks diligently to bring about those ends and 
measures which are for the best interests of the 
county. He and his wife are popular people and 
command the respect of an extended acquaint- 
ance. 



JAMES B. VENABLE, the popular propri- 
etor of the "Wheat Exchange" saloon, Wasco, 
Sherman county, Oregon, was born in Klickitat 
county, Washington, November 23, 1869. His 
father, Francis J, J,. Venable, mentioned elsewhere, 
was born in Pike county, Missouri; his mother, 
was Jane (Hubbard) Venable. 

Until he attained his majority our subject re- 
mained with his parents and rode the range for 
his father. He received a good business educa- 
tion on Chamberlain Flat, and when twenty-one 
years of age married and rented the "Dingle 
place" near his father's present home. Two years 
after he rented another, the "Hoss place," re- 
maining there one year. Then his father gave 
him a quarter section of land, which he worked 
four years, and then disposed of the property to 
John Hull, mentioned elsewhere, and engaged in 
the saloon business in Wasco. 

November 13, 1890, at Silverton, Marion 
county, Oregon, our subject was united in mar- 
riage to Kate Woolen, a native of that place. She 
was the daughter of William and Mary (Cooper) 
Woolen. Mrs. Venable died on her husband's 
farm, January 3, 1901, of consumption after an 
illness of six months. She left four children, 
Alva, Oral, Fanny and Harold. 

September 23, 1903, at Wasco, Mr. Venable 
was married to Ida Mahar. She has two sisters, 
Minnie, wife of Charles Seeley, a farmer near The 
Dalles ; and Nellie, wife of George Robinson, of 
The Dalles, an engineer. Politically, Mr. Vena- 
ble is a Democrat, although not particularly ac- 
tive. He. is an energetic, liberal-minded citizen 
and generous to a fault. 



JOHN SIENKNECHT, a successful farmer 
and stock-raiser of Sherman county, resides two 
miles south of Rufus. He was born in Hol^tein, 
Germany, November 6, 1858, the son of Christnn 
and Julia (Ruge) Sienknecht. Both parents died 



500 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



in Germany, the mother when our subject was 
only two years of age. The latter was reared by 
his mother's brother, Joachim Ruge, an old sol- 
dier who participated in the Danish War of 1848. 
He was a tailor by trade and died in Holstein. 

Until 1874 our subject attended the public 
school where he made excellent progress and ac- 
quired a superior education. At the age of twelve 
he was qualified to pass examination for the gov- 
ernment school, but acting on the advice of his 
uncle he did not do so. May 4, 1874, he came to 
Solano county, California, where he remained 
eleven years. Then he removed to Sherman 
county, coming with Caesar C. Huck, mentioned 
elsewhere in this work. He pre-empted a quarter, 
later homesteaded the same and purchased a quar- 
ter section of railroad land, both quarters of ex- 
cellent quality and nearly all tillarjle. His atten- 
tion is mostly devoted to wheat, but he raises fine 
vegetables and fruits, and rears stock, mainly for 
home use. 

July 3, 1898, at the residence of the bride's 
parents, our subject was married to Lulu Gerk- 
ing, born in Umatilla county, Oregon. Her father, 
William Gerking, a native of Missouri, was an 
early pioneer, crossing the plains with an ox 
train. Her mother, Montie (Stone) Gerking, is 
a native of Illinois, and lives with her husband at 
Tecoa, Washington. 

Our subject has one brother and one sister; 
Henry, a farmer in Tama county, Iowa ; and 
Annie, married and living in Germany. Mrs. 
Sienknecht has one brother and three sisters ; 
Guy, at Tekoa, Washington ; Myrtle, Grace and 
Maud. Our subject and his estimable wife have 
four children, Henry, Guy, Frank and Maud. 
He and his wife are members of the Christian 
church. Politically, he is independent. He has 
been school director for many years and has 
served as school clerk for about fifteen years. His 
home is pleasantly located in Gerking Canyon, 
named after his wife's father. In the community 
in which he resides he is a popular and highly es- 
teemed citizen. 

About one mile north of Mr. Sienknecht's 
place is the historic battle ground where the In- 
dians and the Oregon Volunteers under Colonel 
Cornelius fought in 1856. The old breastworks 
and rifle pits are still in evidence. 



IRWIN D. PIKE was born in Linn county, 
Oregon, on December 28, 1873, the son of Ben- 
jamin F. and Mahala G. (Denny) Pike, a sketch 
of whose lives appears in another portion of this 
volume. Our subject is the only child living, of 
his parents, and has removed with them in their 



various travels during his life, and he was edu- 
cated in the district schools and in the agricult- 
ural college at Corvallis. The father was en- 
gaged in various enterprises in different parts of 
the northwest and our subject was closely asso- 
ciated with him in these activities and when they 
came to Sherman county, he went into partner- 
ship with his father. He secured land for him- 
self and now owns one-fourth of a section and 
has an interest in four hundred and eighty acres 
with his father. In adition to this he farms 
twelve hundred and eighty acres of rented land 
and is one of the heavy grain producers of Sher- 
man county. Mr. Pike is a progressive and 
thrifty young man and is gaining the success that 
his energy and skill merit. 

On December 23, 1900, Mr. Pike married Nel- 
lie Z. Holder, a native of Linn county, Oregon. 
Since marriage, they have labored together stead- 
ily in conducting the farm and are among the sub- 
stantial people of this part of the county. Fra- 
ternally, our subject is a member of the I. O. O. 
F., and is present noble grand. He is a Republi- 
can in politics and, although not especially active,, 
was deputy county clerk for one year. Mr. Pike 
has labored with assiduity and display of wisdom 
in his occupation in Sherman county and the suc- 
cess he has won is truly merited by display of 
these qualities. 



LEROY H. MARTIN was born in San. 
Bernardino county, California, on October 16, 
1858, the son of John R. and Jane C. (Brown) 
Martin, natives of New York and Pennsylvania, 
respectively. The sketch of the parents appears 
in another portion of this work. Our subject re- 
ceived his education during his minority and 
dwelt with his parents in the various places 
where they made their home. When twenty-one,, 
he left Umatilla county and went to Union county 
and there on March 11, 1882, at Island City, mar- 
ried Amanda E. Buchanan, who was born in 
Tama county, Iowa, on January 11, 1864. Her 
father, William D. Buchanan, was a native of 
Trumbull county, Ohio, born October 9, 1829. 
October 16, 1849, tne father married Ellen J. 
Buchanan, nee Cullen, his brother's widow and a 
native of Erie county, Pennsylvania, and born 
on April 23, 1829. In 1865 they crossed the 
plains to Oregon, settling in Union county. They 
now live in Harney county, Oregon. Mrs. Mar- 
tin's brothers and sisters are named as follows : 
James A., in Montana; Monroe, who died at 
Boise, Idaho, on June 7, 1899; William T., of 
Baker county; Joseph W. and George L., in 
Harney county ; Josephine, the wife of Joseph 
Spencer, of Union county, Oregon; Harriet J.,. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



501 



the wife of M. A. Harrison, the judge of Union 
county, Oregon; and Eliza E., the wife of W. 
J. Martin, of Morrow county, Oregon. Mr. and 
Mrs. Martin have two children, Miles E., born on 
February 26, 1887, and Lola B., born December 
20, 1888, both being natives of Sherman county 
and now dwelling with their parents. The fol- 
lowing week after our subject was married, he 
and his wife came on to Sherman county, where 
he had previously filed on land, a mile northeast 
from his father's place. The country being new 
and settled with poor people, they were compelled 
to seek labor elsewhere through the summer. 
They saw much hardship and adversity but had 
good health and were thus enabled to pull 
through. Being of cheerful and bright spirits, 
they made the best of everything and soon began 
to make headway. They now own one thousand 
acres of fine land three and one-half miles from 
Moro, the county seat. The estate has two 
orchards, good well and spring and other im- 
provements. They also own a residence in town 
and a third interest in a steam threshing outfit. 

Mr. and Mrs. Martin are members of the 
United Presbyterian church. Politically, Mr. 
Martin is a good active Republican and has fre- 
quently been delegate to the county convention. 
When Mr. and Mrs. Martin first came here, the 
country looked uninviting and desolate but they 
came for the purpose of making this their home 
so they went to work with a will and the result 
is that they have made a splendid success and not 
only so but they have won the esteem, the confi- 
dence and the love of all who know them. Mr. 
Martin is a sturdy upright man of ability and 
Mrs. Martin is a genuine helpmeet and they are 
among the leading people of this part of the 
state. 



FRANCIS M. VENABLE, pre-eminently a 
pioneer of Oregon, a highly respected citizen and 
a retired Sherman county fanner, resides three 
miles south of Rufus. He was born in Pike coun- 
ty, Missouri, October 25, 1825. His parents were 
natives of North Carolina. John Venable, the 
father, was a farmer and wheelwright, a stanch 
Democrat and a prominent, well-to-do and influ- 
ential citizen. The mother of our subject was 
Rachel (Pursley) Venable. 

Until he was fifteen years of age our subject 
lived with his parents in Missouri. Then the 
family removed to Illinois and remained there 
until 1853. At that time Mr. Venable had, for 
four or five years, been conducting a farm on 
rented land, for himself. Then with his wife, and 
one child, Mary, he crossed the plains with an ox 
train to Oregon City. When near Fort Hall his 



wife's sister died. She was quite ill at the time 
the party started. The first winter after their ar- 
rival, Mr. Venable worked for wages. In the 
fall of 1854 the family removed to Douglas coun- 
ty, on the Umpqua river. Remaining there one 
year they went to Marion county, where our sub- 
ject rented land a few years. In 1859 they left 
for Walla Walla, Washington, and got as far as 
across the John Day, but owing to serious re- 
ports of Indian troubles, they returned to The 
Dalles and shortly went thence to Klickitat coun- 
ty, Washington, where they remained until 1864. 
Thence they returned to Marion county, Oregon, 
and were there until 1874. Here our subject pur- 
chased a quarter section of land. Returning to 
Klickitat county in 1874 he engaged in stock-rais- 
ing, and he remained there until 1888, and then 
disposed of his property and came to Sherman 
county. He purchased this place — five hundred 
and seven acres- — and the same is now conducted 
by his youngest son, Perry. 

March 6, 1850, at Pleasant Hill, Illinois, Mr. 
Venable was united in marriage to Jane Hubbard, 
the daughter of David and Hannah (Morrow) 
Hubbard, the father a native of Kentucky ; the 
mother of Missouri. The ancestors of David 
Hubbard were natives of Virginia. He was a 
Baptist preacher, and a graduate of a Baptist 
college in Missouri. He was one of the best 
known preachers in Willamette valley, and high- 
ly respected by all with whom he was acquainted. 
He came to Oregon in the same party as our sub- 
ject, and died in Polk county, Oregon, over 
eighty years of age. The mother died in Pike 
county, Illinois, in 1856. David Hubbard subse- 
quently married Mary Thurman, a member of 
the distinguished Thurman family. Allan Gran- 
bery Thurman was born at Lynchburg, Virginia, 
November 13, 1813; died December 12, 1895. He 
was an American statesman and jurist ; a Demo- 
cratic member of congress from Ohio from 1845 
to 1847; became justice of the Ohio supreme 
court in 185 1 ; was United States Senator from 
1869 to 1 88 1, and author' of the famous "Thur- 
man Act," compelling the Pacific railroads to ful- 
fill their obligations, and was the unsuccessful 
candidate for vice-president, on the ticket with 
Grover Cleveland in 1888. Other members of the 
family were prominent members of the bench and 
bar and extensive farmers in Illinois. 

Mr. Venable, our subject, has no brothers 
living ; five being dead, James, Edward, Robert, 
Newton and Andrew. He has two sisters, Mar- 
tha, wife of Preston Holman, of Illinois, and 
Nancy, wife of Joshua Zumwalt, also of Illinois. 
Four sisters are dead, Jaley E., Eliza, Sarah and 
Mary. Mrs. Venable has two brothers living: 
Goalman, near Endicott, Washington, and Gid- 



502 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



con, in Benton county, Oregon. Two are dead, 
John and Charles. She has six half-brothers and 
three hali-sisters living ; George, Frank, Joseph ; 
Perry, in Polk county ; James and Edward B., 
hop raisers in Polk county; Lydia, wife of Will- 
iam Ford, of Polk county; Isephenia, wife of 
Samuel Tetherough ; and Amanda, in Idaho. 

Our subject has the following named chil- 
dren ; Andrew, a farmer at Columbus, Washing- 
ton ; John, at Rufus, mentioned elsewhere ; James, 
at Wasco ; Perry, at home ; Mary, wife of Austin 
Smith, at Silverton, Oregon ; Laura, single, at 
Wasco; Fanny, wife of Robert Payne, in San 
Francisco ; Addie, wife of Antone Courtway, in 
Goldendale, Washington ; Rose, wife of Ernest 
Weld, of Klickitat county, Washington. Eva, 
wife of Raymond Doane, at Rufus; Goalman, a 
son, died at Baker City, September 28, 1898, aged 
forty-one years, Walter, aged four, was killed in 
a runaway accident in Klickitat county. Martha, 
?ged six months, and eight days, died in Silver- 
ton. 

Mrs. Venable is a member of the United Bap- 
tist church. Politically our subject is a Demo- 
crat. He made two trips of six months each, 
(rom The Dalles to Fort Colville, freighting gov- 
ernment supplies, without encountering any 
trouble with Indians. And in 1865 he made one 
trip with freight from Silverton to Canyon City. 
Mr. and Mrs. Venable, considering their age and 
the hardships that they have necessarily gone 
through in their pioneer course, are well pre- 
served, and enjoy good health. They have a large 
circle of warm friends, have labored faithfully 
and have done much for the good of the country 
and their fellowmen. 



J. HENRY KRAUSE, a highly respected and 
influential citizen of Wasco, Sherman county, 
Oregon, conducts a saddler and harness making 
establishment in that place. He was born in 
Lrermany, near Leipsic. His parents, J. Henry 
and Crestina (Wendler) Krause, were natives o£ 
Germany, where the father died in 1882. He was 
a farmer. 

Our subject came to the United States, land- 
ing in New York, in 1879. Within a few days' 
afterward he went to Florida where he remained 
thirteen months employed in a store. Going to St. 
Louis, Missouri, he worked at carriage trimming 
for a while, a trade which he had learned in; 
Germany. One year afterward he went to Colo- 
rado where for two years he worked at his trade 
and, to some extent, prospected for mineral. 
Thence he went to Spokane, Washington, re- 
mained two years and one-half engaged in har- 



ness making, and from that city he went to Hepp- 
ner, Oregon, where he followed the same line of 
business in Noble's harness shop. He was two 
months in the Puget Sound country, and two 
years in Snohomish county. In 1888 he came to 
Sherman county and opened a harness shop in 
Wasco. In 1890 Mr. Krause erected the con- 
venient and well-appointed building he now occu- 
pies and where he carries on an extensive and 
lucrative business. He has recently proved up 
on a homestead in Gilliam county, Oregon. Mr. 
Krause is a single man. He has two brothers, 
F. Wilhelm, a harness maker, and F. Herman, a 
farmer in Germany, and one sister, Rosa, wife of 
Bernard Fischer, a landowner and proprietor of a 
blacksmith shop in Germany. 

Mr. Krause, who is most highly esteemed in 
Wasco for his many sterling qualities of char- 
acter, was two years in the city council. He is a 
member of the Methodist Episcopal church, of 
which he is trustee and treasurer. Fraternally 
he is a member of Aurora Lodge, No. 54, K. of 
P., of which he is a charter member and has been 
in office ever since its organization. He is Past 
C. C, and is at present Master of the Exchequer. 



JOHN HULL, in every sense a progressive 
and energetic Sherman county farmer, residing 
six miles northwest of Wasco, is a native of the 
Buckeye State, having been born in Ohio, Janu- 
ary 29, 1838. His father, Levin Hull, was born 
in Virginia, as were his parents, descendants of 
the distinguished American family of Hulls, who 
have won historical records as soldiers, naval 
commanders and prominent southern planters. 
The mother, Mary A. (Kaylor) Hull, was born 
in Maryland ; her parents were natives of Ger- 
many. 

Our subject was reared in Ohio until he was 
thirteen re'ars of age, and there he first attended 
the district schools in his vicinity. He was taken 
to Illinois in 185 1, and seven years later, in 1858. 
struck out into the world for himself. He rented 
a farm in Illinois which he cultivated until 1888, 
when he came to Sherman county with his son ; 
one vear later he was followed by the rest of the 
family. 

In Pike county, Illinois, in 1858, he was joineu 
in marriage with Mary F. Johnston, born in Illi- 
nois. When she was quite a small child her fa- 
ther died. He was a member of the old Johnston 
family, of Scotch ancestry, many of the members 
of which became prominent in the Revolutionary 
war and the war of 181 2. They were early pio- 
neers in Virginia. 

Our subject has four brothers and four sisters ; 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



503 



David, a farmer living - in Adams county, Illinois; 
William, a Missouri farmer ; George and Thomas, 
also of Adams county ; Rebecca, wife of George 
Shearer, a farmer in Missouri ; Catherine, single, 
residing in Adams county ; Caroline, wife of 
Squire Mink, of Christian county, Illinois ; Mary, 
wife of Henry Nebergall, a farmer in Missouri. 
Mrs. Hull has two brothers and two sisters ; 
Alexander, a physician, living in Missouri ; Ed- 
ward T., an Ohio farmer ; Sarah A., widow of 
Amos Emmerson, late of Texas ; Elizabeth E., 
wife of George W. Pine, a farmer in Nebraska. 
The fraternal affiliations of our subject are with 
Griggsville Lodge, No. 45, A. F. & A. M., of 
which he has been a member since 1868. At 
present he is unaffiliated with the I. O. O. F. and 
M. v . . s\. Politically he is a Democrat, and has 
served as delegate to every Democratic county 
convention for twelve years past. For twenty- 
five years or more he was school director in Illi- 
nois and Oregon, for six years road commissioner 
in Illinois, for four terms justice of the peace in 
Sherman county, and for six years treasurer of the 
commissioners. He came to Sherman county 
with practically no capital, and has since accumu- 
lated a competence. 



JOHN RUSCO MARTIN is one of the sub- 
stantial agriculturists of Sherman county and 
has gained his present holding by virtue of his 
industry and thrift since coming here. He re- 
sides now about three miles southeast from Moro, 
where he has a fine estate of four hundred acres. 
He has bought and sold much land since coming. 
to the county and has largely given his attention 
to farming and stock raising. He was born in 
Chautauqua county, New York, on March 9, 
1 83 1. John Allen Martin, his father, was a native 
of Glasgow, Scotland and came to the United 
States when sixteen years of age, being a drum- 
mer boy in the British Navy. He settled in 
^..dutauqua county, New York, and there mar- 
ried. Our subject was six years of age when the 
family moved to Ohio and there engaged in farm- 
ing. Later, the father took up the woolen manu- 
facture business and about 1850, moved to Penn- 
sylvania and bought a woolen mill. Later he 
sold out and started in near Waterford, Erie 
county. Four years later, this property was de- 
stroyed by fire and then they moved to Wiscon- 
sin where he farmed until his death. In 1853, our 
subject, being one of a company of eighteen 
young men, crossed the plains with ox teams to 
Hangtown, California. For eighteen months he 
wrought in the mines, then bought a pack train 
and went to Salt Lake City where he met his wife 



and two children, who had come on from Penn- 
sylvania. After wintering in Salt Lake City, they 
journeyed on to San Bernardino, California, 
where Mr. Martin farmed about three years and 
operated a steam sawmill for a short time. Then 
he went to Alameda county and did diversified 
farming. After that, he was in Los Angeles 
county and did farming for fifteen years. He 
operated a threshing outfit for a short time, but 
owing to the fact that he lost three crops in suc- 
cession and to a defect in the title of his land, he 
lost nearly his entire property. Selling as best 
he could what little he had left, he came on to 
Oregon, landing here in May, 1880. After spend- 
ing a year in Umatilla county, he took up the 
place where he now lives and since then, this has 
been Ins headquarters for his operations. 

In Waterford township, Erie county, Penn- 
sylvania, in 1 85 1, Mr. Martin married Jane C. 
Brown, who was born in Green township in the 
same county. Her parents, Ezekiel and Cath- 
erine (blauson) Brown, were natives of Penn- 
sylvania and descended from Pennsylvania-Dutch 
stock. Mr. Martin has one brother, James, liv- 
ing in Sherman county, and one sister, Hulda, 
the widow of Dan Troops, in Geneva, Ohio. Mrs., 
Martin has three sisters living; Eliza, wife of 
George Rust, in Utah ; Amelia, wife of Andrew 
McComb, in Utah ; and Isadore, the wife of Mr. 
Peck, in Utah. Mr. and Mrs. Martin have the 
following named children ; Dwight, near Marys- 
ville, California; Leroy H., near our subject, a 
farmer ; Wilbert, in Morrow county, Oregon ; 
Julius, in Moscow, Idaho; Harvey U, a farmer 
near Kent, Oregon ; Elwin, at home with subject ; 
Etta, single, living in Moro. 

Since the organization of the Republican 
party, our subject has been a member of the same 
although he has not been especially active in this 
realm. For fifteen years, he has been school 
director and has always labored for the welfare 
of the country and community. Mr. and Mrs. 
Martin are excellent people, highly esteemed and 
among the best citizens of the county. 



LADRU BARNUM, who is the assistant 
manager of the W. W. & M. Company Bank and 
warehouse at Moro, Oregon, is one of the most 
successful young business men of this part of the 
state. He has come to the front rapidly, owing to 
his worth and stability and is being prospered in 
his efforts excellently. Mr. Barnum is a native 
Oregonian, being born in Moro, on May 17, 1877, 
in the only house then standing in Moro. The 
postoffice was not established here until some 
thirteen years later. His father, Henry B., came 



5°4 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



to Oregon in the forties when a boy and settled in 
Wasco county, in about 1857. He went away 
once and came back in 1861 and took a squatter's 
right, later purchasing a quarter section with 
military script. He was one of the promoters of 
the military road and died when our subject was 
four years of age. He married Elmira M. Mas- 
siker, who was born near Portland, Oregon. After 
Mr. Barnum's death, his widow married J. A. 
West, and they now live in Tillamook county, this 
state. Our subject was reared on the old home- 
stead with his brothers and sisters and received 
his education from the public schools. In 1897, 
he entered the employ of the M. M. Company, 
having charge of a store, which they opened at 
Klondyke in this county. After eight months of 
service there, he came to their store in Moro and 
two months later, entered the business college of 
Portland, where he completed the commercial 
course, receiving a full diploma. Then he re- 
turned to Moro and engaged in the same com- 
pany until 1900, when he entered his present 
position and in this capacity, he has been operat- 
ing since. Mr. Barnum has shown himself to be 
a keen financier, a man possessed of foresight 
and excellent judgment, which have combined to 
win and make the success that he now enjoys. 

On June 30, 1900, Mr. Barnum married May 
Kunsman, who was born in Iowa where also her 
parents, John W. and Mary (Thorne) Kunsman, 
were born. The mother died in Moro, in Febru- 
ary, 1904, and the father lives in Wasco county. 
Mr. Barnum has two brothers, Elvin E. and Ar- 
timus H., who live a few miles eas.t from Moro. 
The three brothers own about three thousand 
acres of land, half of which is under cultivation. 
They feed from two to three hundred head of 
cattle each winter, generally have about one hun- 
dred head of hogs, mostly Berkshires, and do a 
general farming and stock raising business. They 
have three registered bulls and also raise first 
class mules. They use about thirty head of cat- 
tle and horses on their estate and are among the 
heaviest and most substantial operators of the 
county. Upon the father's death, the boys inher- 
ited three thousand dollars from the estate which 
is invested in this large farm. Our subject has 
a nice home in Moro and is one of the leading 
business men of the county. He has one sister, 
Ora M., wife of Louie L. Peetz, who is men- 
tioned elsewhere in this volume. She was born 
at The Dalles. 

Mr. Barnum is a member of the A. F. & A. 
M., being senior warden of the same and past 
grand of the I. O. O. F. and belongs to the En- 
campment of the I. O. O. F. He is a member of 
the Elks. Politically, he is allied with the Re- 
publican party and three times has been delegate 



to the county conventions. He is as active in 
this realm as his business will permit and takes 
a deep interest in the improvement and building 
up of the country for which he has always la- 
bored faithfully and wisely. Mr. and Mrs. Bar- 
num are very highly respected people and are 
leaders in society, while they have hosts of friends 
in every part of the country, being widely and 
favorably known. 



GEORGE W. BROCK, who stands at the 
head of a nice furniture and house furnishing 
business at Moro, Sherman county, is one of the 
leading business men of the county and was born 
in Illinois on October 25, 1857. Thomas Brock, 
his father, was a native of Tennessee and his par- 
ents of Virginia. The paternal grandfather of 
our subject fought in the Revolution and had one 
heel shot away. He endured all manner of hard- 
snips and afterward was frozen to death while 
hunting, after the war was over. Our subject's 
father served three years in Company K, One 
Hundred and Twenty-second Regiment of Illi- 
nois Volunteer Infantry, fighting for the union 
and his death occurred on January 15, 1888. He 
had married Margaret A. Etter, a native of Illi- 
nois, and now residing in Moro. Our subject 
spent the first thirteen years of his life in Illinois 
attending the district school and then the family 
moved to Missouri, where they remained ten 
years. During this time, he learned the miller's 
trade, then went to Arkansas, later to Texas and 
afteward returned to Illinois and in all these 
places, was occupied at his trade. In 1888, Mr. 
Brock arrived in Sherman county, having a fam- 
ily of a wife and two children and the capital of 
eight dollars. He took government land, worked 
at various employments and gradually improved 
his place, later adding one-fourth of a section. He 
also rented government land and farmed on an 
extensive scale. In 1897, Mr. Brock came to 
Moro and erected a building for a restaurant, 
which he operated for a little over two years. In 
February, 1901, he opened his present business 
and has since given his entire attention to con- 
ducting the same, having met with splendid suc- 
cess in it. 

In 1886, while in Missouri, Mr. Brock married 
Alice Miller, who was born in Indiana whdre also 
her parents were born. Her mother, Susan E. 
(Stephens) Miller, died in Moro in 1897. ^ Lr - 
Brock has four brothers ; Thomas R., a farmer in 
Kansas ; Isaac N., a railroad man in Missouri ; 
Samuel J., a farmer in Sherman county ; and 
Charles W., a partner of our subject. Mrs. 
Brock has three brothers ; John L, in the Hood 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



505 



River Valley ; Abraham H., in Idaho ; and Edgar 
B., in bnennan county. She 1 also has two sis- 
ters ; Clara, the wife of Wesley Roark, in Indian 
Territory ; and Ida M., wife of Horace M. Strong, 
who lives adjacent to Moro and mentioned else- 
where in this work. Mr. and Mrs. Brock have 
four children, Edith P., aged eighteen ; Alice J., 
aged twelve; George H., aged seven; and Esther, 
eight months of age. 

Mr. Brock is a member of the I. O. O. F., 
having been noble grand and delegate to the coun- 
ty lodge in 1903. He is also a member of the A. 
O. U. W., and is past M. W. of that order. He 
is a good strong Republican, has been delegate 
to the conventions and since the incorporation of 
Moro, has been a member of the city council. He 
also is justice of the peace and is one of the sub- 
stantial and leading men of the town. Mr. and 
Mrs. Brock are both members of the United 
Presbyterian church and he is a trustee of that 



CHARLES E. HULL, the subject of this 
sketch, is a successful and industrial farmer in 
Sherman count}-, residing four miles northwest 
of Wasco. He was born in Pike county, Illinois, 
August 12, 1867. His father, John, a native of 
Ohio, born January 29, 1838, was a Virginian, 
and a member of the old and distinguished Hull 
family, distinguished in American history as ex- 
tensive planters, military and naval officers. The 
mother, Frances (Stafford) Hull, is a native of 
Illinois. She lives in Sherman county with her 
husband, and mention of both will be found in 
another column. 

In Illinois our subject grew up, attended the 
public schools where he laid the foundation of a 
good business education, until he was twenty 
years of age. In 1888 he came to Sherman 
county, accompanied by his father, the family 
following one year later. Here the father filed 
on a homestead and purchased a half section of 
land later. Our subject bought four hundred and 
eighty acres. 

October 31, 1894, at Chico, California, Mr. 
Charles E. Hull was united in marriage to Miss 
Annie E. Gray, a native of Butte county, born 
March 21. 1874. She is the daughter of Jere- 
miah and Rachel (Meeker) Gray, 'natives of Illi- 
nois. Jeremiah Grav was a descendant of an old 
American family. He died in 1888. The mother 
lives at Chico, California. Her parents were 
well-to-do farmers in Illinois. 

Our subject has five brothers and four sis- 
ters living: J. William, a miner at Taylorville, 
Illinois ; Albert, a drayman at Goldendale, Wash- 
ington ; Frank; Delphus, a barber in Wasco; 



Cecil, at home with his parents ; Kate, wife of 
John C. Fields, living near our subject; Mary J., 
single, at Moro ; Carrie, wife of Frank L. Mor- 
row, a blacksmith at Wasco ; Emma, wife of 
William M. Haggard, city marshal of Moro. 

Mr. Hull is a member of Sherman Lodge, 
No. 157, I. O. O. F., of Wasco, of which he is at 
present noble grand. In partnership with Ed- 
ward Miller he owns a steam thresher. Among 
a large circle of acquaintances he is highly es- 
teemed and popular throughout the county. 



ISAAC C. LARGE, proprietor of the Blue 
Barn livery stable at Moro, Sherman county, was 
born in Tennessee, July 9, 1864, the son of Perry 
and Eliza (Spurgeon) Large, both natives of 
Tennessee. The ancestry of Perry Large were 
members of an old and distinguished southern 
family, and several of his brothers served in the 
Mexican War. Eliza (Spurgeon) Large de- 
scended from a noted Pennsylvania family num- 
bering many distinguished members through the 
succeeding generations. 

Until he was nineteen years old our subject 
was reared in Tennessee, where he attended dis- 
trict schools and subsequently was a clerk in a 
general merchandise store. On attaining his ma- 
jority he migrated to Oregon, locating first at 
Heppner, Morrow county. For five years he was 
in the employment of W. H. Rush, an extensive 
stock raiser, and he then purchased sheep and 
devoted himself to that enterprise ten years in 
Morrow and Grant counties. He finally dis- 
posed of his sheep and for several years was en- 
gaged in buying and selling stock. After pass- 
ing a year in the Sumpter Mountain country, he 
purchased an interest in the livery business in 
Moro, associating himeslf with Will A. Water- 
man, a sketch of whom appears in another col- 
umn. 

June 30, 1903, at John Day, Grant county, our 
subject was united in marriage to Mrs. Bernice 
Moss (Moosier), born at John Day in 1869. Her 
father, Manuel Moosier, was a native of Con- 
necticut, the descendant of an old New England 
family, and who crossed the plains with an ox 
train. Our subject has two brothers: Robert L., 
with the Palace Hotel, Heppner, and John, a 
resident of Knoxville, Tennessee. 

His fraternal affiliations are with Heppner 
Lodge No. 69, A. F. & A. M. Although he is a 
Republican, he is not by any means an active 
worker in the party ranks. He has, however, 
patriotically served as delegate to county con- 
ventions. At the present writing he owns some 
rich placer mining land in Grant county, which 



506 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



property he leases to the Empire Gold Dredging 
Company. Mr. Large is an excellent business 
man, of sound judgment and one who has won 
the confidence of the community in which he 
is an influential and progressive citizen. 

On November I, 1904, Mr. Large purchased 
the interest of his partner, W. A. Waterman, in 
the livery business and is now conducting it 
alone. By his careful treatment of all custom- 
ers and his pains to secure their comfort and 
safety, together with his strict business princi- 
ples, he is receiving a steadily increasing patron- 
age and his place of business is known as first 
class. 



FREDERIC MEDLER. The subject of the 
following biographical mention is the youngest 
son of Bruno F. and Minerva J. Medler, and at 
present he resides with his parents, three and one- 
half miles northeast of Wasco, Sherman county. 
He is a native Oregonian, having been born in 
the county in which he now lives, July 25, 1883, 
and is, at the present writing in his twenty-sec- 
ond year. He has secured a good business edu- 
cation in the public schools of Sherman county, 
and assists his father and brothers in the multi- 
farious details of farm work on so extensive a 
scale as they are conducted in this part of Ore- 
gon. Our subject has three brothers and four 
sisters living, Julius, Albert, Walter, Fannie, 
Mollie, Ida and May. One other sister, Henri- 
etta, who was the wife of William Herricks, ex- 
county clerk and assessor of Sherman county, 
died in 1902 at Moro. Mr. Medler is a popular 
young man in the community in which he resides 
and numbers a host of friends. 

Our subject is in partnership with his brother, 
Julius, and they operate their father's farm, rais- 
ing annually four hundred and fifty acres of 
grain, mostly wheat. They have the best of stock 
and machinery, and the farm is one of the land- 
marks of Sherman county, being one of the very 
first improved here and producing one of the 
first crops of wheat grown in what is now Sher- 
man county. 



JOHN W. WATERMAN, of the firm of 
Waterman & Large, proprietors of the leading 
livery stable in Sherman county, resides at Moro, 
where he numbers a wide circle of friends and 
acquaintances. He is a true Oregonian, having 
been born June 22, 1878, near Waterman post- 
office, Wheeler county, named after his grand- 
father Waterman, who is mentioned elsewhere in 



this work. His father, John W. Waterman, is 
sketched biographically also in this volume. The 
latter was proprietor of a stock ranch, and upon 
this our subject was reared, and from which he 
attended the public schools, acquiring a good, 
business education. 

Upon attaining his majority he secured land 
near Antone, Wheeler county, and subsequently 
purchased more until he at present owns three 
hundred and twenty acres. During several years 
he raised cattle and horses, and' in October, 1903, 
came to Moro and purchased a livery business 
from George Eaton. June 1, 1904, he disposed 
of a one-half interest in this enterprise to T. C. 
Large. They have sixteen head of horses, ten 
rigs and the most extensive business in this line 
in the county. 

At Caleb, Wheeler county, our subject 
was married to Carrie Wolever, a native 
of Indiana, born March 10, 1876. Her father, 
Sylvester Wolever, a native Indianian, lives at 
Antone where he is extensively engaged in cattle 
raising. Mrs. Waterman has one brother and 
two sisters ; W. Frank, with his father ; Hattie, 
wife of George Hart, of Malheur county ; and 
Letta, wife of Charles Crowder, an Indiana news- 
paper man. Mr. and Mrs. Waterman have one 
child, Oscar L., born in November, 1903. Mr. 
Waterman is a member of the M. W. A., of 
Caleb. He is an active and staunch Republican 
and has been delegate to county conventions in 
Wheeler county, where he was quite active and 
influential, as he has been since coming to Sher- 
man county. 



WILL A. RAYMOND, one of the energetic 
and progressive citizens of Moro, Sherman 
county, is a contractor, builder and photographer. 
He was born in Lenawee county, Michigan, Oc- 
tober 13, 1864, the son of Charles and Caroline 
(Golden) Raymond, both natives of the Wolver- 
ine State. The parents of Charles Raymond were 
New Yorkers, of an old and distinguished Amer- 
ican family. The father of the mother of our 
subject was a native of Ireland; her mother was 
born in Michigan. Charles and Caroline Ray- 
mond are both deceased. 

Until our subject was twenty-five years of age 
he continued to reside in Michigan, the greater 
portion of the time in Branch county. Here he 
attended public schools, receiving a good busi- 
ness education, and learned the trade of a car- 
penter. Later he devoted his attention to farm- 
ing, and subsequently came to the Willamette 
Valley where he remained four years engaged in 
general carpenter work, contracting and build- 
ing. He was at The Dalles, Falls City, and vari- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



507 



ous other localities, going- thence to Yakima 
county, Washington, where he still continued in 
the line of his business. He, also, divided a por- 
tion of his time between Montana and Califor- 
nia. It was in 1898 that he came to Sherman 
county, locating at Moro, and one year after his 
arrival he opened a fine and well appointed photo- 
graph gallery from which he turns out most ex- 
cellent work in that line. 

Fraternally, he is a member of the W. W., of 
Moro, and No. 113, I. O. O. F., and the Order 
of Washington. Mr. Raymond has one brother, 
Fred C, at Nampa, Idaho. In his line of busi- 
ness our subject built the Methodist Episcopal 
church, the handsome residence of C. P. Rags- 
dale and many other buildings, the finest within 
the limits of the city. 



WALTER MEDLER. The subject of this 
biographical article is one of the two youngest 
sons of Bruno F. Medler, one of the leading citi- 
zens of Sherman county. The latter was born in 
Germany, and his wife, the mother of our sub- 
ject, Minerva J. (McLavey) Medler, is a na- 
tive of West Virginia. Walter Medler was born 
in Walla Walla, Washington, in 1880. In part- 
nership with his brother, Albert, he handles two 
sections of land belonging to his father, Bruno 
Medler, which property they rent. They are suc- 
cessful agriculturists and are very prosperous 
young men. Important details of our subject's 
family will be found in the sketch devoted to 
Bruno F. Medler. 



GEORGE E. JAMES, deputy county clerk of 
Sherman county, resides at Moro, the county 
seat. He was born in Yamhill county, Oregon, 
January 29, 1879, tne son °f George W. and 
Mary E. (Bennington) James, both natives of 
Illinois. The parents of the father were from 
Ohio or Indiana, and were descendants of the 
old James family, early colonial settlers in Amer- 
ica. The first family came over in the May- 
flower, and were farmers. George W. James en- 
listed in 1862 in Company H, Seventy-seventh 
Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and served until the 
end of the war, participating in many battles and 
skirmishes. He was captured at the first assault 
on Vicksburg and paroled the same day. He 
was a prominent member of the G. A. R., and our 
subscriber is a member of the Sons of Veterans 
at Eugene, Oregon, No. 78. 

Until he was six years of age our subscriber 
was reared in Yamhill county, Oregon, and then 



the family removed to Sherman county. This 
was in 1885. The parents, who had come to the 
state in 1878, secured land nine miles southeast 
of Moro. Young James received his early edu- 
cation in the district schools in his vicinity. In 
1894 the family removed to Polk county, and he 
entered the Monmouth State Normal School, 
from which he was graduated in 1897. He then 
entered the university at Eugene, where he pur- 
sued a thorough course in electrical engineering, 
and thence he went to Pennsylvania, where he 
enjoyed the benefits of a year's course in teleg- 
raphy in the Fisk Telegraph School at Lebanon. 
Returning to Oregon he found lucrative employ- 
ment with the Wells-Fargo Express Company 
and the Western Union Telegraph Company at 
Eugene, and he was, also, six months with the 
Southern Pacific Railway Company as assistant 
night operator. At the termination of six months 
he rented his father's farm, and the latter moved 
to Portland, where he died in 1901. At present 
the mother resides at Moro with her son. The 
farm is now conducted by our subject. 

Tuly 5, 1904, he was appointed deputy county 
clerk, under H. S. McDanel. October 17, 1900, 
at Monkland, he was united in marriage to May 
Axtell, born in Iowa, September 25, 1878, the 
daughter of Oliver W. and Lizzie M. (Black) 
Axtell, both natives of Pennsylvania, and "now 
living at Moro. The father is a retired farmer 
who came to Sherman county in 1886. Our sub- 
ject has no brothers living; one, Arthur F., died 
at the age of five years in Sherman county. Mr. 
James has three sisters ; Luella L., wife of J. C. 
Teale, a farmer near Monkland; Metta G., wife 
of Perry C. Axtell, of Monkland ; and Jerusha 
C, wife of James W. Hollenback, of Moro. Mr. 
and Mrs. James have one boy, Earl, born July 
23, 1903. Mrs. James has four brothers and two 
sisters living: Perry C, at Monkland; Chester, 
a school boy at Moro ; Herschel and Herbert, 
twins and school boys ; Bertha V., wife of Rob- 
ert K. Hartsock, of Albany, Oregon ; and Nanna 
C, a school girl. Another sisters, Nellie, died in- 
Iowa in childhood. 



JULIUS MEDLER. The subject of this 
sketch, one of the younger members of the Med- 
ler family, is a Sherman county farmer and gem 
eral business man. He was born in Cabell 
county, West Virginia, September 30, 1869. His 
father, Bruno F. Medler, who is mentioned fully 
in another part of this volume, is one of the most 
substantial and prominent citizens of Sherman 
county. He was born in Germany, October 2,. 
1839. The mother of our subject, Minerva J. 



5 o8 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



(McLavey) Medler, was born in West Virginia. 
Her ancestors were Pennsylvanians. 

Julius Medler, our subject, is a single man and 
resides with his parents, taking an active part in 
the cultivation of the farm. He was educated in 
the public schools of Sherman county, and at 
Walla Walla, Washington. Politically the prin- 
ciples of Mr. Medler are in line with those of the 
Democratic party. 

Mr. Medler is in partnership with his father 
and brother, Frederic, in farming the old home 
place of seven hundred acres. They handle about 
four hundred and fifty acres to wheat annually, 
and have the place fully equipped with all mod- 
ern conveniences and machinery, among which 
may be mentioned the combined harvester which 
requires thirty-two horses to operate and which 
harvests and threshes thirty-five acres of wheat 
in one day. 



PRESTON A. HAMILTON, an energetic 
young business man in Sherman county, is pro- 
prietor of the steam laundry at Moro, Oregon, 
of which state he is a native, having been born 
at Prineville, Crook county, March 10, 1879. 
His father, George W. Hamilton, was a native 
of Kansas City, Missouri ; his father of Scotland, 
his mother of Wales. The father of our subject 
died at Fossil, Wheeler county, Oregon, in the 
fall of 1898. He came to the state in 1853 with 
"his parents, crossing the plains with an ox train, 
via The Dalles. His father conducted a grist 
mill at Salem, the capital, for a number of years. 
He worked, also, for quite an extended period in 
the Salem woolen mills, being a weaver by trade. 
He was among the first weavers employed in 
Oregon City. He was married in Salem. Our 
subject's mother, Cynthia (Pugh) Hamilton, is a 
native of Kansas ; her parents of Scotland. At 
present she lives with the subject at Moro. She 
crossed the plains in i860, going to Marysville, 
California. In 1872, the family removed to Sa- 
lem, Oregon, and later went to Wheeler county, 
where her father engaged in the stock business. 
He died in Fossil in the spring of 1896. 

In 1878 our subject's parents moved to Prine- 
ville where they engaged in the stock business. It 
was at Prineville that he laid the foundation of an 
excellent business education and was, also, three 
years at the Northwestern University, at Salem. 
He then learned the machinist's trade at Portland, 
returning to Fossil in 1903. Here he assumed 
charge of the electric plant for several months, 
going thence to Condon, Gilliam county, where 
he installed an electric plant and conducted the 
same two months. Mr. Hamilton then came to 



Moro, opened a fine steam laundry in which he 
placed three thousand five hundred dollars worth 
of the latest improved machinery, including a 
ten-horse power steam engine. He has estab- 
lished agencies in Sherman, Wheeler and Crook 
counties, and is doing as good work as can be 
found anywhere on the northwestern coast. 

Our subject is single. Fraternally his affilia- 
tions are with Fossil Lodge, No. no, I. O. O. F., 
and the W. W. Politically he is in line with the 
principles of the Republican party, although by 
no means an active politician. It should be here 
remarked that the father of our subject was a 
very successful cattle raiser, an influential citi- 
zen and one who was highly respected by all. Our 
subject is an only child. 



CHARLES K. COCHRAN is one of the 
largest landholders and most extensive farmers 
in the northern portion of Sherman county. He 
is a southerner by birth, the place of his nativity 
being Macon county, North Carolina, and the 
date June 29, 1869. He is the son of Washing- 
ton and Amanda (Davis) Cochran, the father a 
native North Carolinian ; the mother a native of 
Scotland. The ancestry of the father were Irish. 
The latter was a farmer, but served four years in 
the confederate army during the Civil War. Fol- 
lowing the close of the trouble he returned to his 
farm and remained a staunch Republican until 
the day of his death, in 1899. He was a highly 
esteemed and respected citizen throughout his 
life. The mother of our subject passed away 
when he was about seven years of age. 

The subject of this sketch, Charles K. Coch- 
ran, was educated in the public schools and 
worked with his father on the farm until he was 
twenty-two years old. He then went to Cripple 
Creek, Colorado, and visited other mining towns, 
and worked at various employments for eighteen 
years. After that he came to The Dalles, Ore- 
gon, where he found employment on the sheep 
ranch of H. W. Wells, near Bakeoven, Wasco 
county. Here he remained two years and then 
engaged in the same business for himself two 
years, and was eminently successful. Purchasing 
a section of land four miles south of Moro he 
began raising cattle, having at present two hun- 
dred and seventy-five head on his place. He 
has the present season (spring of 1905) one 
thousand four hundred acres in wheat, and for a 
range he rents seven sections of land. In June, 
T904, Mr. Cochran opened a meat market in 
Moro. 

May 10, 1896, at the residence of the bride's 
parents, our subject was united in marriage to 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



509" 



Mary O. Powell, born in Prineville, Crook 
county, Oregon. She is the daughter of J. Mar- 
ion and Elza (Barr) Powell, who crossed the 
plains with ox teams and were married in the 
Willamette Valley. Our subject has one brother, 
three half-brothers, three sisters and three half- 
sisters, viz. : James, of Grass Valley ; William, 
on subject's ranch; Edward and Harley, both at 
home in North Carolina ; Jennie, wife of Ransom 
Brown, a blacksmith and wagon maker, of High- 
lands, North Carolina ; Emma, wife of Robert 
Bethel, of Crescent City, Florida ; Sarah, wife of 
Jesse Dewese, a farmer near Hewitts, North 
Carolina ; Hattie, Carrie, and Ollie, all single 
and at the old home in North Carolina. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Cochran have been born 
four boys, Loy, Lorin, Clarence and Norval. 
Our subject is a member of Eureka Lodge, No. 
121, A. F. & A. M., of Moro, and No. 113, I. O. 
O. F. His political affiliations are with the Re- 
publican party. He is a man of sterling char- 
acter, honest and upright in his, dealings, and of 
superior business sagacity and sound judgment: 
Socially and in a business way he has won, and 
retains the confidence of his acquaintances and 
numbers a wide circle of friends. 



ALBERT MEDLER, who, with his brother, 
Walter, rents two sections of his father's land, 
which they cultivate together, is a native of West 
Virginia. He was born in Cabell county, Oc- 
tober 26, 1875. His parents were Bruno and 
Minerva J. (McLavey) Medler, the father a na- 
tive of Germany ; the mother of West Virginia, 
and who are mentioned prominently in another 
portion of this work. Our subject came to Sher- 
man county with his parents at a very early age 
and it may be said that his life has been passed 
in this vicinity. Here he received the education 
offered by the public schools of Oregon, and here 
he worked with his father and brothers on the 
home farm. He is an industrious young man 
of most exemplary habits, and numbers many 
friends in a wide circle of acquaintances. 



FRANK MEDLER. The subject of our 
biographical sketch is one of the enterprising 
family of Medlers who have accomplished so 
much in the settlement and upbuilding of Sher- 
man county, and who reside six miles northeast 
of Rufus. He was born in Cabell county, West 
Virginia, the son of John and Eliza J. (Hull) 
Medler, mentioned elsewhere. 

In the public schools of West Virginia and in 



Sherman county our subject received a good bus- 
iness education, worked on his father's farm and 
at various other pursuits. February 9, 1895, 
near Grant, he was united in marriage to Miss 
Hattie M. Lovelace, born in Marion county, Ore- 
gon. She is the daughter of Almanson and Allie 
(White) Lovelace. The father is living in Van- 
couver, Washington ; the mother is now the wife 
of Mr. Peter Fleck, of Rufus. Mrs. Medler has 
three half-brothers, James and Joseph Brady, 
and Roy Fleck, all farmers and residents of Gil- 
liam county, Oregon. Mr. and Mrs. Medler 
have two children living: Francis J., born March. 
24, 1898 ; Delia M., born November 8, 1903. They 
have lost two little girls, Idabel, born September 
17, 1900, and died February 1, 1904; Winnie M.,. 
born January 3, 1896, died January 10, the same- 
month. 

Mr. Medler is a member of the M. W. A., of 
Klondike. Politically he is independent. 



PERRY A. VENABLE, who resides with his . 
father, Francis A. Venable, and whose farm he 
conducts, three miles south of Rufus, Shermans 
county, was born in Klickitat county, Washing- 
ton, September 7, 1875. The mother of our sub- 
ject, previous to her marriage, was Jane Hub- 
bard. 

It was in Klickitat county that our subject 
attended district and graded schools and here he 
acquired a good business education. He, also,, 
added to his by terms in the schools of Silverton, 
and Sherman county, Oregon. Mr. Venable has. 
always resided with his parents and at present is 
the chief factor on his father's farm, comprising - 
about five hundred acres of land. He has been 
thus occupied for the past seven years. Our sub- 
ject is a single man, energetic and industrious.. 
Politically he is a Democrat, but is by no means 
an active partisan in the successive campaigns. 



BENJAMIN F. PEETZ, deputy sheriff of" 
Sherman county, and one of the most popular 
young citizens, resides at Moro. He is a Wash- 
ingtonian by birth, the place of his nativity being 
on his father's ranch, on the Snoqualmie river, 
Novelty, King county, eighteen miles east .of 
Seattle. His father, Carl Peetz, mentioned else- 
where, was a native of Germany ; his mother,. 
Christina (Schact) Peetz, the same. At present 
she resides in Sherman county. 

Our subject is a brother of Otto Peetz, asses- 
sor of Sherman county, a sketch of whom appears . 
in another column of this work. Benjamin F.. 



5io 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Peetz came to the county with his family when 
he was about four years of age. He received a 
good business education in the public schools of 
Erskineville, and subsequently took a profitable 
course in the Portland Business College. He 
then engaged in the general mercantile business 
with R. W. Montgomery, who is mentioned else- 
where, at Kent. Two years later they disposed 
of the business to Balfour, Guthrie & Company, 
and returned to Moro, where our subject entered 
the employment of the Moro Implement Company 
which position he retained until he received the 
appointment of deputy sheriff, in July, 1904. He 
is a Republican, although not an active politician. 
Fraternally, he is a member of Lodge No. 131, 
I. O. O. F., of Grass Valley; and Cascade Lodge 
No. 303, B. P. O. E., of The Dalles. Mr. Peetz 
is a man of sterling integrity and of superior busi- 
ness capacity, and one who is highly esteemed in 
the community in which he resides, both socially 
and in a business sense. 

At the home of the bride's parents, on April 
9, 1905, Mr. Peetz was united in marriage to Miss 
Ethel Norcross, the daughter of W. A. and Rose 
Norcross, prominent farmers of Sherman county 
dwelling near Moro. 



HENRY A. MEDLER, a progressive and 
prosperous Sherman county farmer, living two 
and one-half miles from Wasco, was born in West 
Virginia, June 24, 1864. His father, John Med- 
ler, mentioned in another portion of this work, 
is a native of Germany. His mother, Eliza J. 
(Hull) Medler, was a native of West Virginia. 

In the latter state our subject was reared until 
1 88 1. He then came with the family to Sherman 
county. His education up to that period had been 
gained in the district schools of West Virginia. 
Until 1888 he remained with his father, and then 
purchased a section of land of the East Oregon 
Land Company. Upon attaining his majoritv 
he had taken a homestead, and he now owns an 
entire section, having sold one quarter to a 
brother. Three-quarters of his land he rents. 
He has built a handsome story and a half house, 
a commodious barn and other outbuildings ; has 
a windmill and an orchard of three hundred 
trees. It is a model place in every particular. 

April 9, 1897, at Moro, Mr. Medler was mar- 
ried to Miss Annie Miners, born in Illinois, April 
22, 1874. She is the daughter of Everett and 
Margretta (Bose) Miners. Her father is a na- 
tive of Germany, and is an extensive farmer in 
Umatilla county, where he cultivates a section and 
a half of land. Mrs. Medler has four brothers and 
five sisters ; Henry and William, of Umatilla 



county; Martin, of Nez Perces county, Idaho; 
Cornelius M., deceased; Hannah, wife of John 
Hendricks, of Nez Perces county, Idaho ; Minnie, 
wife of A. B. McMillan, of Auburn, Washington ; 
Grace, wife of Gustave Rohel, also of Auburn ; 
Elizabeth Pafley, who died in Juneau, Alaska, 
June 11, 1898; and Eva, the wife of Wallace Car- 
gil, a farmer of Umatilla county, Oregon. 

Mr. and Mrs. Medler have two children, 
Henry Arthur and Leona. He is a member of 
the A. O. U. W., and, politically, a Democrat, al- 
though not an active partisan. In the community 
in which he resides he is quite popular and num- 
bers many warm personal friends. 

Mr. Medler has three brothers living : Ernest 
A. and Frank, mentioned elsewhere in this vol- 
ume ; John G., an extensive farmer dwelling near 
our subject. He also had one sister and one 
brother who were burned to death with their 
mother when our subject's uncle's dwelling" 
burned in Walla Walla, Washington, in January, 
1882. 



HARRY ORNDUFF, one of the prosperous 
and energetic agriculturists of Sherman county, 
residing four miles east and two and one-half 
miles north of Wasco, was born in Missouri, 
September 16, 1879. His parents were Samuel 
and Nancy M. (Everett) Ornduff, both natives 
of Ohio. 

When our subject was three years of age his 
parents removed to Iowa where they remained 
nearly three years. Thence, in 1885, they came 
to Sherman county, and the father filed on a 
homestead and purchased another quarter section 
of land. On this place he died in February, 
1900, aged sixty-four years. The mother is now 
the wife of John Medler, elsewhere mentioned 
in this work. Young Harry attended the Bige- 
low district school and worked on the farm with 
his parents until the fall of 1902. He then went 
to McCook, Nebraska, where he remained about 
one year, returning and renting the old home 
place, one-half section, from his mother. 

March 25, 1903, at McCook, Nebraska, Mr. 
Ornduff was united in mariage to Miss Eva L. 
Carson, a native of Iowa, and the daughter of 
William and Annie T. (Everett) Carson. Her 
father is dead ; her mother lives at lone, Oregon, 
with her sons. Mr. Ornduff has three brothers 
and one sister ; Joseph, a Sherman county 
farmer, at Emigrant Springs, eight miles from 
Wasco ; Pearl, on his uncle's place, Sherman 
county ; Ross, clerk for the Wasco Commercial 
Company, at Wasco ; and Addie, wife of Charles 
Harper, a farmer in Wasco. 

Mr. and Mrs. Ornduff have one child. An- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



5ii 



gusta, born June 26, 1904. Politically, he is in- 
dependent. The mother of our subject is a sis- 
ter of S. J.' Everett, popularly known as "Vene" 
Everett, proprietor of the hotel and livery stable 
at Dufur, mentioned elsewhere. Mr. Ornduff is 
a young man of progressive views and of ex- 
cellent business ability. 



BENJAMIN F. PIKE is a retired farmer 
residing at Moro, but a distinguished soldier of 
the Civil War, and one who has experienced 
many adventures and vicissitudes in his career. 
He was born at Newburyport, Massachusetts, 
November 24, 1840. His father, Benjamin S. 
Pike, was a native of New Hampshire, a farmer 
and mechanic. For many years he was foreman 
in a shipyard. He passed from earth in 1852. 
The distinguished Pike family first settled on 
Ring's Island, across the river from Newbury- 
port, about 1648. Nathan Pike, the great-grand- 
father of our subject, was a captain during the 
Revolutionary War, in the Massachusetts Line 
Infantry. Zebulon Pike, an uncle of our sub- 
ject's father, was a lieutenant colonel, and was 
killed at Fort George during the War of 1812. 
As is well known the Pike family hold an annual 
reunion in New England. 

Benjamin F. Pike was reared in Massachu- 
setts until the opening of the Civil War, when 
he patriotically enlisted in Company B, Fortieth 
New York Infantry, in June, 1861, and was mus- 
tered into service on the fourteenth of the same 
month. He served until January 13, 1866, when 
he was mustered out at Richmond, Virginia. He 
participated in the battle of Williamsburg, and 
he first saw active service during McClellan's 
Peninsular campaign. He was in Pope's cam- 
paign in Virginia ; Chancellorsville and Gettys- 
burg. He then accompanied the Army of the 
James to Richmond where his command became 
a part of the Twenty-fourth corps, and took part 
in the capture of Petersburg and the surrender 
at Appomattox. Subsequently he served in the 
military police and provost guard in Richmond 
until mustered out. He returned to Massachu- 
setts for a short visit, and then accompanied Col- 
onel Morrison's New York Battalion to Mexico, 
joining Colonel Cortma's regiment in the Mexican 
army. The next year saw the end of the war 
and he returned to the United States, arriving 
at San Francisco in April, 1867. He came to 
Portland, Oregon, from San Francisco, going to 
Linn county. Thence he went to Umatilla coun- 
ty, where he located a sawmill on Butter creek, 
and then returned to Linn county where he mar- 
ried and remained about eight years, returning 



to Umatilla county, where he became one of the 
first settlers in the Cold Springs country. Here 
he secured land, remaining five years, going 
thence to The Dalles where for two years he was 
engaged in freighting. In 1883 Mr. Pike lo- 
cated in Sherman county, three miles from Moro, 
where he purchased land and has continued to 
add more ever since. He owns at present one 
thousand acres which is conducted by his son, 
Irwin D., his only living child. 

May 7, 1 87 1, our subscriber, at Lebanon, Linn 
county, was united in marriage to Mahala G. 
Denny, a native of Unio, born October 30, 1842. 
she is the daughter of Christen and Eliza ( Nick- 
erson) Denny, the former a native of Virginia; 
the latter of Massachusetts. The father was a 
descendant of a distinguished Virginia family, 
the mother of Cape Cod colonial people. Mrs. 
Pike, the wife of our subject, has one brother 
living, John F., a retired farmer living at Albany, 
Oregon. Judge Owen N. Denny, who became 
prominent in Oregon affairs, died at Portland, 
in 1900. Another brother, Presley, died at Salt 
Lake City, Utah, in 1900. He was a leading 
attorney in that state. She has one sister, Sarah 
E., wife of William H. Goltra, of Albany, Ore- 
gon. 

Our subject is a member of William T. Sher- 
man Post, G. A. R., of Wasco, of which he is 
commander. He is also commander of the De- 
partment of Oregon, G. A. R. 

Mrs. Pike was about eight years old when 
her family crossed the plains in 1852 with fifty- 
two wagons in the train. The party was con- 
stantly annoyed by Indians, who ran off their 
stock and committed other depredations. They, 
also, captured two men of the party, who escaped 
three weeks later. While on this perilous trip 
her father contracted typhoid fever, dying one 
week after their arrival in Linn county. Judge 
Owen Denny, her deceased brother, was a min- 
ister to Corea. 

Mr. Pike was elected assessor of Sherman 
county in 1896, and re-elected in 1898, and again 
in 1900, serving three terms in the office. 



WILLIAM H. RAGSDALE, attorney at law 
and member of the law firm of Hosford & Rags- 
dale, Moro, Sherman county, was born in Mis- 
souri, January 25, 1872, the son of Christopher 
C. and Mary L. (Hampton) Ragsdale, who are 
mentioned in this volume in the biographical 
sketch of Commodore P. Ragsdale. At present the 
mother resides in the house adjoining that of 
our subject. 

The latter was reared in Sherman county 






5i2 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



since attaining the age of ten years. Here he at- 
tended the public schools, laying the foundation 
of an excellent education, and subsequently was 
matriculated in the State Normal School at Mon- 
moutn, from which he graduated in. 1896. Until 
June, 1898, he taught school, and was then 
elected by the Republicans county superintend- 
ent of instruction, and re-elected in 1900, re- 
ceiving handsome majorities at each election. In 
1899 ne began reading law with J. B. Hosford, 
who had practiced in Moro for a number of 
years. December 23, 1898, he formed a partial 
partnership with Mr. Hosford, and in 1901 they 
were full partners. Mr. Hosford opened an 
office in Portland in 1904. 

At the residence of the bride's parents, Sher- 
man county, October 20, 1900, our subject was 
united in marriage to Lida H. Belchel, a native 
of Oregon, born at McMinneville, Yamhill coun- 
ty. Her parents were Charles H. and Mary 
(Sink) Belchel. Her mother is a sister of 
George Sink, mentioned elsewhere. Mrs. Rags- 
dale has one brother and six sisters ; George, liv- 
ing at Woodland, California, where his parents 
also reside ; Ella, wife of Warren Myers, of 
Woodland; Jennie, wife of J. B. Morrison, also 
of Woodland ; Maud, wife of Thomas Collins, of 
Collins, California; Evalyn, Vera and Mary, all 
single. Mr. and Mrs. Ragsdale have one child, 
Evalyn R., aged twenty months. 

The fraternal affiliations of our subject are 
with Moro Lodge No. 113, I. O. O. F., and A. 
O. U. W., No. 64, of Moro, of which he is past 
master workman. Mrs. Ragsdale is a member 
of the United Presbyterian church. 

Mr. Ragsdale is a member of the city council, 
and was a delegate to the last county Republican 
convention. During the Civil war his father en- 
listed in the Second Kansas Cavalry, in 1862, 
serving until the close of the war. He was musF 
tered out at New Orleans, having been in active; 
service from the date of his enlistment. Our 
subject is one of the promising and rising young 
men of the state. He has recently completed a 
handsome two-story and a half house, Queen 
Anne style of architecture, on an eligible site 
overlooking the town of Moro. 



COLONEL JAMES FULTON was one of 
the best known men of Sherman and Wasco 
counties, being a forceful and leading character 
in all good work of forwarding the interests of 
the country, as well as in pioneer efforts. He 
was born in Indiana while his father and mother 
were natives of Virginia and North Carolina, 
respectively, being of Irish and German extrac- 



tion and were married in 1793. He was reared 
in his native haunts until the time of his marriage, 
which, also, was celebrated in Indiana. His 
chosen bride, Priscilla Wells in maiden life, was 
born in Kentucky, her parents being natives of 
North Carolina or Virginia. The family of Wells 
came on to the territory now embraced in Ken- 
tucky in very early days and, in fact, Mrs. Ful- 
ton's father was a scout for Daniel Boone, which 
celebrity was a relative of the Fulton family. 
The Wells family was one of the strong Amer- 
ican families of early colonial days and was well 
known, possessing many members who were per- 
sonages of note. General Wells, a noted Indian 
fighter and pioneer of Indiana, was a member of 
this family. The Fulton family, also, was one 
of those strong ones which furnished patriots 
for the various struggles that fell to the lot of 
the colonists and the rising young republic des- 
tined to throw its shadow around the globe. Our 
subject partook of the strong pioneer spirit that 
was so developed in his family, and sought fields 
to explore, and determined to take forward in its 
onward course the star of empire that was shin- 
ing westward. Soon after his marriage he took 
his bride and together they traveled to Missouri 
where they opened a place and remained for seven 
years. Then, it being 1847, his spirit burned to 
try the fortune of the westmost west, and, ac- 
cordingly, he prepared ox teams and with his 
young family started across the plains toward the 
"mecca of the west," the Willamette valley. They 
threaded the unknown regions with the help of 
the light trail so recently marked out and in due 
time, after innumerable hardships, they came to 
the Cascades, having utilized their wagon boxes 
for ferries, as occasions required, especially hav- 
ing a hard time at Buck Hollow on the Des 
Chutes, where they had thus used the improvised 
boat. They made their way over the new Barlow 
trail across the Cascades and in th-- end landed, 
weary and worn, in the Willamette alley. After 
search, Mr. Fulton made settlement in what is 
now Yamhill county, and at once set to work 
to improve and subdue the donation claim he had 
taken. The next year, 1848, he went to Cali- 
fornia to mine, was successful and then returned 
in a Spanish sailing vessel to Astoria. He was 
a prominent man in all lines of worthy endeavor 
there from the start and was soon elected 
colonel of the militia. Later, in 1855-6, he served 
in the Indian wars, being private and quarter- 
master. 

During his business life Colonel Fulton was 
engaged in general farming, stock raising and 
speculating in land and on stock drives. He used " 
to drive stock to the mines and as early as 1857, 
he located a stock ranch east of the Cascades. 




Col. James Fulton 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



513 



his home being on Tenmile creek, but the stock 
being placed mostly east of the Des Chutes. The 
winter of 1861 was a hard one and his losses 
aggregated one thousand head. From the time 
of this move until his death the colonel was a 
resident of Wasco and Sherman counties. 

On March 16, 1896 the summons came for 
him to lay down the cares of life and enter upon 
the realities of another world. He lacked then 
but one day of being eighty years of age. He had 
hosts of friends and many evidences of sincere 
mourning, widespread and universal, were to be 
seen on every hand. In January, 1902, the widow, 
aged eighty-six, was taken by death, being at the 
time in St. Vincent hospital in Portland. 

Colonel Fulton always took an active part in 
political matters and held many responsible posi- 
tions. In 1870 he represented the county of 
Wasco in the state legislature. In 1880 he was 
presidential elector for eastern Oregon. From 
Paoli, Orange county, Indiana, his birth place, 
he traveled by wagon to the coast and was a 
sturdy and progressive man. His mother Cath- 
erine (Lynch) Fulton, a native of North Caro- 
lina was a cousin of Thomas Lynch who signed 
the Declaration of Independence. She was, also, 
the granddaughter of Mollie Souther, who loaned 
the Continental Congress two hundred thousand 
dollars of Dutch money to assist in the prosecu- 
tion of the war of independence. The families 
on both sides have not- been wanting in that 
patriotism and stamina which marks the real 
American citizen, and before the United States 
existed they showed that same commendable 
spirit, and Colonel Fulton, a worthy descendant 
of such ancestors, lived and died a man of honor, 
uprightness and wisdom. 



CAESAR C. HUCK, one of the solid, sub- 
stantial German agriculturists of Sherman 
county, residing two and one-half miles northeast 
of Wasco, was born in Hamburg, Germany, De- 
cember 24, 1847. His parents, John and Maria 
(Brunkhorst) Huck, were German born. The 
father died in 1861 ; the mother in 1856. For many 
years John Huck was engaged in market gar- 
dening on the outskirts of Hamburg on his' own 
land, about ten aeres which had descended from 
his father and several generations. 

Our subject came to the United States in 
1872 and remained nine months in Iowa. Thence 
he went to California where he purchased land 
in Solano county, near Dixon. In 1884 he dis- 
posed of this place to advantage and removed to 
Sherman county. Here he purchased four hun- 
dred acres and also filed on a homestead adjoin- 
33 



ing. Later he purchased more land and he now 
owns eight hundred acres nearly all of which is 
tillable. 

Our subject was married June 10, 1877, at 
Dixon, California, to Louisa Hanke, born near 
Dixon. Her parents, Herman and Sophy Hanke, 
came to Dixon in 1857. They had been married 
in St. Louis, Missouri. 

Our subject has one brother and one sister,* 
John, a bookkeeper in San Francisco, and BerT 
tha, wife of Richard Peterson, of Hamburg, Ger- 
many. Another sister, Ida, is deceased. Mrs. 
Huck has four brothers and three sisters ; Henry, 
of Sanger, California ; William, the same ; Louis, 
of Dixon ; and Charles, of Sanger, all farmers ; 
Carrie, wife of Victor Thompson ; Annie, wife 
of Woodford Ward ; Minnie, wife of Harry Gal- 
agher, all farmers near Sanger, California. Mr. 
and Mrs. Huck have seven children ; Herman, a 
farmer near Wasco ; Charles, aged nineteen, at 
home ; William McK., aged seven, at home ; 
Mary, wife of Isaac Ross, a lumberman of Kelso, 
Washington ; Annie, aged seventeen ; Bertha, 
aged fifteen ; Hazel, aged ten, all at home. 

Politically, our subject is a Republican, not 
active, but stanch enough to name one of his sons 
William McKinley. Both himself and wife are 
members of the Lutheran church. Our subject's 
parents were well-to-do people in Germany. 
There he received an excellent public school edu- 
cation. He served three years in the German 
army and passed through the Franco-Prussian 
War. Mr. Huck was apprenticed to learn farm- 
ing and served two years. He paid his board 
the first year and the second received his board 
for his work. He was then fitted to assume 
charge of large farms and was foreman of an 
extensive plantation with from fifty to one hun- 
dred men under him, for two and one-half years. 
He then entered the army. At the expiration of 
his term of service he came to the United States. 



OSCAR P. HULSE, who is one of the lead- 
ing and influential citizens of Sherman county, 
and a heavy dealer in groceries and farming im- 
plements at Moro, is an Ohioan, having been 
born in Clinton county, July 10, 1855. His 
father, Paul Hulse, was a native of the Buckeye 
State ; his parents of Kentucky. The family is 
of German ancestry. Paul Hulse was for many 
years one of the leading stock-dealers in Ohio, 
a stanch Republican and prominently identified 
with state politics. At various times he held 
every ofnce within the gift of his county, and 
was closelv connected with the anti-slavery move- 
ment and one of the leading spirits of the "under- 



•■5*4 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



ground railway" in Ohio. He spent much of his 
time and money freely in aid of escaping slaves. 
With the opening of the war he was so closely 
•tied up with the movement for the liberation of 
•slaves that it was impossible for him to go to 
tne front without seriously hampering the work. 
Throughout the whole course of the war he was 
in close touch with the principal leader of the 
cause. He died in Ohio, in 1868, on the place 
where lie was born and reared, and was sincerely 
■mourned by all who knew him ; a man of strict 
integrity and honesty of purpose. The mother, 
Mary (Lyon) Hulse, was a native of the same 
state and county. Her family came from Ire- 
land with the forebears of the Blaine family, 
one of them the grandfather of Hon. James G. 
Blaine, and a firm and unalterable friendship has 
always existed from generation to generation be- 
tween- them. General Lyon, killed at the battle 
of Wilson's Creek, Missouri, during the Civil 
war, was her first cousin, and a life-long friend 
of James G. Blaine. At present she lives at As- 
toria, aged seventy-six years. 

Until he attained the age of twenty-five our 
subject lived in Ohio. He was educated in Sa- 
bina, graduating from the high school. Subse- 
quently he learned the drug business and studied 
medicine three years. He then opened a drug 
store, disposed of it later and went to Lafayette 
county, Kansas, where for nine years he dealt in 
■stock. He was then located for a year in Ray 
county, Missouri, in the same line of business, 
coming to Sherman county in 1890. He pur- 
chased land and farmed until 1902, when he dis- 
posed of his property, a section, and engaged in 
the real estate and loan business. Disposing of 
this enterprise he took up his present business 
in March, 1904. Politically, Mr. Hulse is a Re- 
publican, but not active. 

He has five brothers and four sisters ; John ; 
Squire, a Misouri farmer ; Richard, in the insur- 
ance business; Charles, in Oregon; and Reed, a 
farmer of Sherman county; Sally, wife of Wil- 
liam Reed, of Royerton ; Martha, wife of Milton 
E. Hunt, of Clinton county, Ohio ; Lillie, wife of 
William Taylor, of Washington, Iowa ; and Jen- 
nie, a teacher in the high school at Astoria. 

At Wilmington, Ohio, December 16, 1876, 
our subject was married to Mary A. Howard, 
born in Ohio, the daughter of Cornelius and 
Maria (Lytle) Howard, the father a native of 
■Ohio; the mother of Pennsylvania. The latter 
now lives in Ohio; the father died in that state 
in 1904. Mrs. LIulse has five brothers and four 
sisters ; William, James, George, Elmer and 
Grant, all Ohio farmers ; Elizabeth, wife of Wil- 
liam Clara; Ellen, wife of Thomas West; Diana, 
wife of Daniel Baker, and Minerva, wife of Cary 



Clark. To our subscriber and his estimable wife 
have been born three children; Roy, in partner- 
ship with his father ; Guy and Ray, in attendance 
at the Astoria high school. Our subscriber's ma- 
ternal grandmother (Roberts) was a first cousm 
of Elizabeth Meeks, famous in the pioneer his- 
tory of Kentucky. At the time her house was 
attacked by Indians, who cut a hole through the 
door, she killed them and dragged them in 
tnrough the aperture. She was not molested 
herself, but her family had many narrow escapes ; 
the barn was burned, stock stolen, etc. 

In conclusion let us say that Mr. Hulse is a 
man of sterling worth, popular in both social and 
business circles, and highly esteemed by all. 



THOMAS R. McGINNIS, a retired farmer, 
now residing at Moro, Sherman county, is a 
native of the Buckeye state, having been born in 
Carroll county, Ohio, December 2, 1855. His 
father, James McGinnis, was a native of Penn- 
sylvania, Allegheny county ; his parents the same. 
His grandfather came from Scotland. James 
McGinnis was a farmer, and was prominently 
identified with the United Presbyterian church. 
The mother of our subject, Mary (Ramsey) Mc- 
Ginnis, was a native of Ohio ; her grandparents 
of Scotch and German descent. 

The subject of our sketch was reared princi- 
pally in the states of Indiana and Illinois. His 
parents removed west when he was an infant, 
subsequently going as far as Iowa, where he com- 
pleted his education in Amity College, College 
Springs, Iowa. The twelve following years he 
was engaged in farming for himself in Iowa and 
Nebraska, where he secured land. These agri- 
cultural enterprises did not prove successful and 
he decided to cast his fortunes with the com- 
paratively new state of Oregon, and, accord- 
ingly, in the spring of 1895, he came to Sherman, 
county, without capital, and entered the employ- 
ment of the Hon. R. J. Ginn, serving as clerk in 
the latter's store. At the termination of three 
years lie purchased a farm containing three hun- 
dred and twenty acres, later selling the same, 
and still later buying more land. At present he 
owns four hundred and eighty acres, all superior, 
arable and tillable land, and one of the best 
ranches in Sherman county. 

At College Springs, Iowa, January 30. 1883, 
our subject was united in marriage to Maggie 
Coleman, a native of Bremer county, Iowa. Her 
father, William Coleman, mentioned elsewhere 
in this work, was a native of Pennsylvania. Her 
mother, Mary (Woods) Coleman, also a native 
of the Kevstone State, was descended from old 






HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



5L 



Pennsylvania stock, of Irish ancestry. At present 
she lives with our subject at Moro. The latter 
has two brothers, John M. and William, both 
farmers in Iowa, and two sisters, Anna E., wife of 
John George, of Carroll count}', Ohio, and Emma, 
wife of David McAfee, a Page county, Iowa, 
farmer. Mr. and Mrs. McGinnis have been 
blessed with five interesting children, who are 
living; Leroy, now at home and recently gradu- 
ated from the Capital Business College, of Salem ; 
Alice, aged sixteen ; Forrest, aged fourteen ; Iva 
B., a beautiful girl of eleven years of age; and 
J. Lewis, aged eight. Jessie, another girl, died 
April 21, 1901, aged sixteen, at the Lidgerwood 
Sanitarium, Spokane, Washington. 

Mr. McGinnis, the subject of this brief sketch, 
is a genial broad-minded and progressive citizen, 
enjoying wide popularity and esteem throughout 
the community. He has won the confidence of 
all in his circle of acquaintances, and is a man 
with a clean record. He has been a stanch Repub- 
lican throughout his life, with the exception of a 
temporary affiliation with the People's party in 
Nebraska, where he was a member of the state 
central committee. In 1900 Mr. McGinnis was 
nominated by the people's independent party in 
Sherman county for the office of sheriff, and 
elected, running ahead of his ticket, by a majority 
of eighty-six. In 1902 he announced himself as 
an independent candidate for the same office, 
was endorsed by the Democratic party, and 
elected by a majority of one hundred and ten. 



BRUNO F. MEDLER, one of the most sub- 
stantial farmers and prominent citizens of Sher- 
man county, lives three and one-half miles north- 
east of Wasco. He was born in Germany, Oc- 
tober 2, 1839, the son of Henry and Doris (Sense) 
Medler, Germans. Henry, who was born in 
Brunswick, Prussia, was for many years engaged 
in the manufacture of jewelry in Magdeburg, 
near Berlin. He died in Cincinnati, Ohio, where 
he was employed in jewelry work for many years. 
At this trade he was very expert doing the finest 
kind of diamond setting, enameling, etc. The 
mother, born at Magdeburg, died in Sherman 
county in 1883. The couple came to the United 
States in 1847 when our subject was nearly six 
years old. They lived in New York city two 
years. Here our subject attended the public 
schools. When sixteen years of age he, with his 
brother, John, were apprenticed to G. R. Down- 
ing & Sons, manufacturers of jewelry on Maiden 
Lane. Our subject only served one, while the 
brother served two, years. Close confinement 
undermined their health and physicians advised 



the father to place them on a farm. He purchased 
one in West Virginia. The father, who had rented 
this land three years previously, returned to New 
York city and remained three years, going back 
to West Virginia. Until 1876 Bruno remained 
on the farm, going thence to Walla Walla, Wash- 
ington, accompanied by his half brother who had 
settled in the Walla Walla country in 1861. Our 
subject brought his family with him and they 
lived with the half-brother, Julius Wiesick, four 
years. From Walla Walla Mr. Medler came to 
Sherman county in 1880. He filed on a pre-emp- 
tion claim, purchased three quarter sections of 
railroad land and engaged in the business of rais- 
ing wheat. He harvested his first crop in 1881 — 
sixty acres. Although he had, practically, no 
capital, he gradually increased his holdings. The 
half-brother came to Sherman county and, also 
secured land, which he sold to C. C. Huck, a 
sketch of whom appears in another column. Julius 
Weisick died at Grant, Sherman county. 

At present our subject owns two thousand 
six hundred and twenty acres which is, mostly, 
devoted to wheat. Some of this land he rents, 
but the greater portion of it is farmed by his sons. 
His residence is a comfortable two-story house, 
surrounded with many shade trees and four acres 
of orchard. He is now retired, passing most of 
the summer months in his garden in which he 
takes especial pride. It is freely irrigated, and 
he grows the finest quality of fruit and vege- 
tables. He is a partner with J. Marsh, firm of 
Marsh & Medler, in Wasco, and he has other 
commercial interests in town. 

Near Huntington, West Virginia, November 
26, 1864, our subject was united in marriage to 
Minerva J. McLavey, born in West Virginia. 
Her parents, originally from Pennsylvania, were 
born in America. She is the daughter of David 
and Mary McLavey, the mother a native of Penn- 
sylvania. They both died in West Virginia on 
the old home place. Our subject has one brother, 
John, mentioned elsewhere. Mr. and Mrs. Med- 
ler have eight children living; Julius with sub- 
ject; Albert and Walter, renting two sections 
of subject's land; Frederick, at home; Fannie E., 
wife of John Hood, near Walla Walla, Washing- 
ton, a member of the Hood family historically 
prominent in the annals of Walla Walla county ; 
Mollie, wife of Elvin Barnum, mentioned in 
another column ; Ida, wife of Howard Woolen, 
who rents one-half section of land from our sub- 
ject ; May, single, and residing at home. Hen- 
rietta died in 1902 at Moro. She was the wife 
of William Herricks, ex-county clerk and asses- 
sor of Sherman county. 

Politically, Mr. Medler is a Democrat, and 
takes an active part in the campaigns of his party. 



5i6 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



He has frequently been delegate to Democratic 
county conventions and has served one term as 
county commissioner before the cutting off of 
Sherman county. He at one time was a candi- 
date for the legislature but was defeated. Of late 
years he has given little attention to politics. 

The paternal ancestors of Mr. Medler came 
of a race of skilled mechanics. His great-grand- 
father was a saddler to the Duke of Brunswick. 
Personally he is a popular man and a progressive, 
influential citizen. 

Mr. Medler operated the first header and 
thresher in the territory now embraced in Sher- 
man county. In 1881 he cut and threshed all the 
wheat and other small grain grown between the 
John Day and the Des Chutes rivers. 



DE WITT C. IRELAND, senior member of 
the firm of Ireland & Son, printers and publish- 
ers of the Sherman County Observer, at Moro, is 
a veteran journalist whose career has embraced 
a most extensive field in the great newspaper 
world. He comes of good old New England 
stock, having been born at Rutland, Vermont, 
July 4, 1836, the son of William and Marinda 
(Ellsworth) Ireland. 

The family of our subject migrated to Indiana 
when he was about three or four years of age, 
and he received an excellent education in an 
Episcopal school, the pastor of which, in addi- 
tion to a judiciously selected curriculum, taught 
him the printing trade, at which he became ex- 
ceedingly expert. This was in Mishawaka, Indi- 
ana. His subsequent career in the newspaper 
field is full of interest. Removing to South Bend, 
Indiana, when he was fifteen years old, he worked 
on a journal edited by Schuyler Colfax, who be- 
came vice-president of the United States under 
President U. S. Grant, three years later he re- 
turned to Mishawaka and projected the Free 
Press. This was on July 14, 1855, and the paper 
was conducted a year or two. Disposing of this 
property he went to Detriot, Michigan, where he 
was engaged by Wilbur F. Story, of the Detroit 
Free Press, as a reporter. From here he went 
to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he was connected 
with the Pioneer Press. At one period he was 
superintendent of the penitentiary printing office, 
at Jackson, Michigan. While there he invented 
a scientific gear for printing presses, and later 
worked for the eminent old-time journalist, 
Horace Greeley, on the Nezv York Tribune, in 
the mechanical and editorial departments. Mr. 
Ireland was, also, for a time connected with the 
mechanical department of the great publishing 
house of Harper & Brothers, New York city. 



Returning west as a secretary of the Egbert 
Commission of Congress, he visited New Ulm, 
Fort Ridgely, and so forth, in the effort to settle 
timber stealing and liquor selling on the Sioux 
reservation. He conveyed machinery for the 
steamer Anson Northrup, overland, to Red River 
— the first steamboat in the country. In the early 
part of the Civil war our subject enlisted for 
three months, but on reaching St. Louis the com- 
pany was disbanded, and its officers tried to in- 
duce its members to join the ranks for three 
years or during the war. Returning to St. Paul 
he outfitted for Oregon, and with a mule train he 
crossed the plains in the fall of 1861, bringing 
with him the famous stallion, "Emigrant." While 
at The Dalles Mr. Ireland set up the first job 
press — a Gordon — ever put into commission east 
of the Cascades in the Oregon country. It came 
west via the "Horn" and was sent out to W. H. 
Newell of The Dalles Mountaineer. During five 
or six years he was more or less in gold mining. 
In 1870 he entered the employment of the famous 
Ben Holliday, assisting in securing the right of 
way for the O. & C. railway from Oregon City 
to Salem on the east side of the Willamette 
river. He then became editor of the Portland 
Bulletin, Holliday's paper, was previously city 
editor of the Portland Oregonian, during which 
time he employed Harvey Scott, its present pro- 
prietor, as editorial writer and as custodian of the 
Portland library. Going to Oregon City Mr. Ire- 
land established the Enterprise in 1866 and subse- 
quently the Astorian, in 1873 '■> disposing of the 
property in 1880. Going to the Fraser river in 
1882 he became interested in salmon canning, and 
afterwards he established a job printing office in 
company with F. W. Baltes in Portland at the in- 
stance of Henry Villard. Going to The Dalles 
he became editor of the Chronicle, and later for a 
few months he was editor of the Wasco County 
Sun. The flood of 1894 ruined the plant, and in 
May, of that year, he came to Sherman county 
and purchased the Moro Observer, subsequently 
changing the name to the Sherman County Ob- 
server. 

Our subject has, by his first wife, one child 
living: Alba, a Chicago painter; by his second 
wife, Lillie, wife of Grant L. Rohr, an orchardist, 
of Moro; De Witt L., of Sidney, Australia; 
C. Leonard. The latter was born February 22, 
1875, at Astoria, at present he is in partnership 
in the printing business with his father. C. 
Leonard Ireland was united in marriage, October 
15, 1903, at Randall, Minnesota, to Laura 
Thomas, a native of Canada, the daughter of 
Samuel Thomas, also of the Old Dominion. 
Another son of our subject is Francis C, at 
present in the De Moss Springs Printing office- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



517 



C. Leonard grew up in the printing business 
and has been a partner of his father since 1885, 
with the exception of two years passed in Port- 
land. 

Our subject is, fraternally, a member of the 
A. F. & A. M., the I. O. O. F. and the K. P. 
He is a member of the Episcopal church and 
politically a Republican. In 1880 he was elected 
a delegate to the Republican national conven- 
tion, at Chicago, which nominated President Gar- 
field, and was Garfield's private secretary during 
the convention. Mr. Ireland is a broad-minded 
and progressive citizen, and one who has won 
the confidence of the community in which he 
resides. 



HORACE STRONG, one of the leading cit- 
izens and successful agriculturists of Sherman 
county, resides at Moro, Oregon, the state of his 
nativity. He was born at Myrtlecreek, Douglas 
county, January 2, 1869. 

His father, John Strong, a native of Missouri, 
was a descendant of an old American family, who 
originally spelled the name "Armstrong." The 
mother, Margaret (Badger) Strong, was a na- 
tive of Arkansas ; her parents, members of a dis- 
tinguished American family, were born in Mis- 
souri. Both families were pioneers in new 
states, each generation assisting energetically in 
building up numerous commonwealths. 

In 1852 the subscriber's parents, then young 
children, made the trip across the plains with 
their parents. These families came from Mis- 
souri and located near each other in Linn county, 
Oregon. But up to that time they were not ac- 
quainted with each other. They acquired land by 
purchase, and here the parents of our subject 
.grew to manhood and womanhood and were mar- 
ried. When our subject was thirteen years of 
age his parents came to Sherman county, where 
his father filed on land. In the fall of 1881 he 
harvested some wheat. But his attention was 
devoted principally to the rearing of stock. Grad- 
ually he grew more and more wheat until he had 
one hundred and sixty acres devoted to that cer- 
eal. At one period he owned three-fourths of a 
section of land, but he never cultivated wheat on 
a large scale. He died on the home place near 
Moro in 1891. The mother of our subject now 
lives at Newberg, Oregon. 

The year following the death of his father 
Mr. Strong began life on his own account. He 
first rented the place where he at present lives, in 
1897. It comprised five hundred and twenty 
acres, and was owned by three different parties. 
At different periods he bought out each of these 
partners. This handsome property is eligibly lo- 



cated three-quarters of a mile from the Sher- 
man county court house, at Moro. 

June 6, 1892, at Moro, Mr. Strong was mar- 
ried to Ida M. Miller, born in Kansas September 
21, 1867. Her father, William, was a native of 
Indiana, and died when Mrs. Strong was four 
years of age. Fie was a member of an old Amer- 
ican family. Her mother, Susan E. (Stephens) 
Miller, was born in Tennessee. Her brother 
served in the Mexican War and died from the 
effects of hardship and exposure on his way 
home. His name was Hiram, and he was de- 
scended from the old American family of Steph- 
ens, distinguished in war, literature and law. 

Mr. Strong, our subject, has three brothers 
and one sister: George E., of Sherwood, Oregon;- 
Ephraim, of Wilcox, Sherman county ; Harvey, 
with our subject ; Ella, wife of A. B. Walford, in 
the employment of the railroad at Shaniko, 
Wasco county. Mrs. Strong has three brothers 
and two sisters : John J., mentioned elsewhere, of 
Hood River ; Abraham H. : Edgar, of Moro ; 
Alice, wife of G. W. Brock, a merchant of Moro, 
who is mentioned elsewhere in this volume ; 
Clara, wife of Wesley R. Roark, of the Indian 
Territory. Our subscriber and wife have three 
children: Leon, born March 13, 1893; Trueman, 
born March 16, 1895 ; and Mable V., born Oc- 
tober ^o, 1898. Mr. Stronsr is a member of 



Moro Lodge, I. O. O. F. Mrs. Strong is a 
member of the Baptist church. Politically he is 
a Democrat, and although not particularly active, 
has frequently been a member of county con- 
ventions. He aspires to no office. He owns a 
substantial story and one-half house, pleasantly 
situated. In the community in which he resides 
Mr. Strong and his estimable wife are highly 
esteemed. 



HON. ROBERT J. GINN, manager of the 
Moro Implement Company, of Moro, Sherman 
county, is a Canadian, having been born in Stor- 
mont county, Eastern Ontario, December 15, 
1857. His father, Richard Ginn, was a native 
of Scotland, dying at Walla Walla, Washington, 
in 1899. His mother, Catherine (Kinnere) Ginn 
is a native of Canada, of Irish descent, and at 
present resides at Walla Walla. The family re- 
moved to Minnesota when our subject was nearly 
three years of age, in the fall of i860, arriving 
there on the day Abraham Lincoln was elected 
president of the United States. There they re- 
mained ten years, and in the fall of 1870 came 
to Oregon, via the railroad to Kelton, Utah. 
Here the father, who had preceded them in the 
spring, met them with teams, and they all took 
their way thence to Umatilla county, Oregon. 



5i8 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



They located one mile from Weston where they 
lived until 1897 and then moved to Walla Walla, 
Washington. 

In the public schools of Weston our subject 
received his education, remaining with his pa- 
rents until 1880. He then migrated to Sherman 
county, then Wasco county, and located a pre- 
emption claim, May 17, 1880. Alexander D. 
McDonald, now of Spokane, Washington, came 
with him and they were the only settlers one 
mile east of what is now DeMoss Springs. At 
that period no claims had been taken up south 
of them and but a few north, in the county. He 
sowed one hundred and eighty acres to wheat 
in the fall of 1881 ; harvested it in 1882 and 
hauled it to Grants, the first load ever taken out 
of the county. He purchased more land, orgin- 
ally railroad land, but later reverted to the gov- 
ernment and school. He had one thousand two 
hundred and twenty-eight acres in one tract, and 
tracts of four hundred and eighty and one thou- 
sand and forty acres, which he purchased since, 
nearly all of which is tillable. Of this land Mr. 
Ginn cultivates one thousand two hundred and 
twenty-eight acres and rents the rest. In Feb- 
ruary, 1888, he left the farm and repairing to 
Biggs, where he conducted a warehouse and 
sold farm machinery for Staver & Walker, of 
Portland until May, 1892. Then he came to Moro 
and engaged in the hardware and agricultural 
machinery business. Subsequently he was one 
of the incorporators of the Moro Mercantile Com- 
pany which was afterward sold to the Sherman 
Trading Company. In June, 1904, Mr. Ginn and 
Moore Brothers purchased the hardware and 
farming implement stock of the Moro Implement 
Company and they carry a stock of from $16,000 
to $18,000 worth of implements and hardware 

In October, 1882, Mr. Ginn was united in 
marriage to Jeanette McDonald, sister of Dixon 
McDonald, subscriber's partner at Biggs, in the 
warehouse business. She died at Biggs, Decem- 
ber 29, 1889. November 22, 1894, at The Dalles, 
Mr. Ginn was married to Carrie B. Coleman, 
a native of Iowa. She is the daughter of William 
and Mary (Woods) Coleman. Her father died 
when she was about four years of age, from an 
accident while operating a threshing machine. 
Her mother, a native of Pennsylvania, lives at 
Moro. Our subject has five sisters living; Ellen, 
wife of John R. Morrison, of British Columbia, 
near Fort Langley ; Annie, wife of William El- 
liott, a Umatilla county farmer ; Caroline, wife 
of Thomas Thompson, a farmer near Pendleton, 
Oregon ; Maggie, wife of Alexander Brady, of 
Marysville, Washington, a Congregational min- 
ister; and Minnie, wife of Howard Haley, a rail- 
road man of Walla Walla. Mrs. Ginn has two 



half-brothers, James and Leslie, farmers in Ne- 
braska ; Leslie was treasurer of his county two 
terms. She also has one half sister, widow of 
Robert McKeown, of Kansas. She has three full 
sisters, Agnes, wife of Archie Smiley, of Col- 
lege Springs, ,Iowa; Maggie, wife of Thomas R. 
McGinnis, ex-sheriff of Sherman county ; and 
Mary L., widow of R. E. Hoskenson, of Moro. 
Mr. Ginn has two brothers, Walter and George, 
farmers near Walla Walla. 

Our subject has six children; by his first 
wife, Arthur, Ellwood and Jennie, and by his 
second wife, Harold, Faith and Richard. Both 
he and wife are members of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church. During the past seven years he 
has been superintendent of that Sunday school, 
and in May, 1904, he was delegate from the 
Columbia River Conference to the Methodist 
General Conference at Los Angeles, California. 
Fraternally he is a member of the W. W., of 
Moro, and Mrs. Ginn is president of the W. C. 
T. U., of Sherman county. His political affilia- 
tions are with the Republican party and in 1902 
he was elected member of the state legislature, 
running far ahead of his ticket. During his 
term he introduced and secured the passage of 
the Portage railroad bill, from The Dalles to 
Celilo. He has served two terms in the city 
council and is serving his third term as school 
director. 



WILLIAM W. WALKER, one of the com- 
missioners of Sherman county and a substantial 
business man, resides at Wasco. He is an Ore- 
eonian, havins: been born near Dufur, Wasco 
county, July 6, i860. His father, Washington 
P. Walker, died at Wasco, in 1894. The mother. 
Polly (Thompson) Walker, passed away at 
Wasco, in 1900. So early as 1852 the parents 
of our subject crossed the plains with ox teams, 
locating in Linn county, Oregon, where they 
remained until 1858. Thence they removed to a 
place near Dufur. Our subject was reared prin- 
cipally at The Dalles, where he laid the founda- 
tion of an excellent business education in the 
graded schools of that city. While the family 
was at The Dalles the brothers of Mr. Walker 
conducted the farm. At the age of twenty our 
subject went to Montana where he remained four 
years. Returning to Sherman county he filed 
on a preemption, to which he added other lands 
until he, at present, owns one thousand and sev- 
enty acres, most excellent wheat land. He owns 
a three-fourths interest in a combination har- 
vester and a half-interest in a thresher., 

Mr. Walker was married, March 25, 1889, to 
Mabel Love, a native of California and the- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



5 r 9 



daughter of John R. and Ellen (McBride) Love. 
Her father was a native of Canada, who came to 
Sherman county in 1880 with W. H. Biggs, men- 
tioned elsewhere. 

Mrs. Mabel Walker, the first wife of our sub- 
ject, passed from earth December 25, 1891. Oc- 
tober 26, 1896, Mr. Walker was united in mar- 
riage to Lottie A. Haskell, born in Klickitat 
count}-. Washington, the daughter of John Has- 
kell. The marriage was solemnized at The 
Dalles. Mr. Walker has four brothers and one 
sister living; Arthur M., of Shedd, Linn county, 
Oregon ; Joseph P., of Pendleton ; James G., a 
Sherman county farmer ; Harry H. ; and Tempy 
J., widow of John Robinett, of Wasco. Mr. 
Walker has the following named children ; 
Arthur, Samuel, and Walter, Lura and Frankie. 
Our subject is a* member of the W. O. T. W., 
and is, politically, a Republican and has served 
frequently as delegate to county conventions. 
Throughout the community he is highly re- 
spected as a man of excellent business judgment, 
a patriotic citizen and a broad-minded, progres- 
sive man. 

In 1880, Mr. Walker and Judge Fulton raised 
their first crop of wheat in Sherman county, 
which is supposed to be the first produced in the 
territory now embraced in this county. 



SETH S. HAYES, a leading and influential 
citizen of Sherman county, and one of the best 
known and highly esteemed, is at present man- 
ager of W. A. Gordon & Company's Bank, at 
Moro. He is the son of Seth W. and Polly A. 
(Stillwell) Hayes, both natives of Ohio. The 
paternal grandparents of our subject were early 
pioneers in the Buckeye State. The family came 
to Linn county, Oregon, in 1853,' having made the 
perilous trip across the plains with ox teams. 
A sister of the father died while crossing the 
Blue Mountains. Seth W. Hayes located a dona- 
tion claim where now stands the town of Halsey, 
Linn county. It was a sad tragedy that ended 
the life of the worthy father of a worthy son. 
November 1, 1876, the elder Hayes was killed 
by an illicit liquor seller. For this foul crime 
the murdered was executed. The assassin first 
accused him of criticizing his business and then 
deliberately stabbed him. Seth W. Hayes was 
a stanch Republican, but never was an aspirant 
for official position. In life he had made a 
financial success and was a highly respected citi- 
zen. To the entire community his wanton, cold- 
blooded murder was a great shock. 

The subject of this biographical sketch re- 
ceived the rudiments of a solid business educa- 



tion in the district schools of his neighborhood. 
He was then matriculated in the Portland Busi- 
ness College where he took a full course in book- 
keeping and commercial law, subsequently keep- 
ing books one year for the Grange store in Hal- 
sey. He then served as administrator of his 
father's estate, which included the townsite of 
Halsey. The elder Hayes donated forty acres of 
land to the railroad. The mother of our subject' 
died on the old farm. 

For the two succeeding years our subject 
engaged in the drug business, and then disposed 
of the property owing to the illness of his wife, 
remaining entirely out of business nearly two 
years, and taking her to various climates .in the 
hope of regaining her health. Their marriage 
occurred in June, 1880, at Halsey. The bride's 
name was Almira Stevenson, a native of Michi- 
gan. She died October 10, 1881. In June, 1882'; 
Mr. Hayes came to Sherman county where he' 
secured land and engaged in stock raising for a 
number of years. In 1892 he was elected county 
clerk, succeeding V. C. Brock, the first clerk of 
Sherman county. He served two terms, and a 
few months after his last term, with a number 
of associates, he organized the Moro Mercantile 
Company, of which he was secretary until 1900, 
when he disposed of his interest and became' 
connected with the Columbia Southern Ware- 
house Company and has charge of the three 
warehouse at Moro, De Moss and Hay Canyons 
March 20, 1903. the W. A. Gordon Company,' 
of Portland established a bank at Moro of which 
our subject assumed the management. He also 
buys grain for them. 

At Halsey, Mr. Hayes was united in mar-t- 
riage to Ella E. Porter, born in Linn county, 
Oregon. She is the daughter of James T. and 
Nancy (Knott) Porter, the father a native of 
Virginia. The latter died at Harrisburg, Linn 



county, Oregon, in 1 



He came to Oregon 



in 1853, crossing the plains with ox teams, and 
secured donation land in the county in which he 
died. 

Our subscriber has one brother, Daniel J., in 
Halsey ; one half brother, Frank, at Hoquiam:, 
Washington ; and one half sister, Gertrude, wife 
of Edwin C. Pentland, a newspaper man of 
Eureka, California. Mrs. Hayes "has one brother, 
James C, a farmer near Halsey, and two sisters, 
Elizabeth, wife of James McCartney, a retired 
farmer and carpenter, residing at Portland, and 
Melinda, widow of John McCartney, a brother of 
the above, living at Harrisburg. 

Our subject has three children; Dean H., : 
born July 7, 1888; Beulah, born November 12, 
1893; and Seth Seymour^ born January 5, 1897. 
Fraternally he is a member of Eureka Lodge, 



520 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



No. 121, A. F. & A. M., and Moro Lodge, No. 
113, I. O. O. F., of which he is past grand, both 
fraternities of Moro. He has been delegate to 
the grand lodges. Mrs. Hayes is a member of 
the Presbyterian church. Politically our subject 
is a Republican, but not active. He owns one 
of the finest residences in MorO, a two-story 
edifice surrounded by spacious grounds, and shade 
trees, orchard, etc., situated at the upper end 
of the principal street and but one block beyond 
the business portion of the town. 



WILLIAM H. ANDREWS, a progressive 
citizen, sound business man and leading farmer 
of Sherman county, resides tv/o miles west of 
Wasco. He was born in Kalamazoo county, 
Michigan, October 23, 1854. His parents, Simeon 
J. and Rachael A. (Wigley) Andrews, were na- 
tives of the Empire State, the father having been 
born in Herkimer, the mother in Otsego county. 
The ancestors of the father were members of an 
old American family ; those of the mother came 
from England. 

Until he was six years of age our subject 
was reared in Michigan. At that period his 
family removed to Janesville, Wisconsin, where 
the father purchased a farm two and one-half 
miles from town. Here our subject attended 
district school, but this was interrupted four 
years later by the removal of his family to Cedar 
Falls, Iowa. There he remained until he was 
about twenty-two years old, when he faced the 
world on his own account, going to Minneapolis, 
Minnesota, where he found work in various lines 
of employment. In the fall of 1884 he returned 
to Iowa, subsequently going to New Mexico, re- 
maining there until the following summer en- 
gaged in mining. In August, 1885, he came to 
Oregon where he located his present home in 
Sherman county. He purchased railroad land, 
to which he has since added, and at present is 
in litigation with the Eastern Oregon Land Com- 
pany over some landed interests. He owns a half 
section, and rents fifty-one acres from the Eastern 
Oregon Land Company. Recently Mr. Andrews 
erected a handsome and substantial Queen Anne 
cottage containing eleven rooms, bathrooms, 
store rooms, etc. 

February 22, 1889, at the residence of the 
bride's sister, Sherman county, our subject was 
married to Miss Hester A. Benton, a native of 
Michigan, and the daughter of Clark and Mary 
F. Benton. 

Mr. Andrews has two brothers and two sis- 
ters; Charles M., Ernest A., the former a farmer 



opposite the residence of subject, the latter liv- 
ing five miles west of Wasco ; Augusta C, de- 
ceased, wife of Joseph B. McHenry, of Monett, 
Barry county, Missouri ; Lillie M., wife of Al- 
bert Murchie, a farmer living one mile west of 
Wasco. Mrs. Andrews has four half brothers, 
one full sister, and three half sisters ; Rose, wife 
of Gilbert Woodworth, of Hood River, men- 
tioned elsewhere ; Millie, wife of Lawrence Jones, 
a Michigan farm ; and Myrtie, wife of Harry 
Cattell, also of Michigan. 

Mr. Andrews is a member of the W. O. W., 
of Wasco. His wife is a member of the Christian 
church. Politically he is a Republican, one of the 
solid, energetic business men of Sherman county ; 
popular with all and whose many social qualities 
have won a host of friends throughout the county 
and state. 



WALTER C. RUTLEDGE, proprietor of the 
Moro House, one of the best hotels west of Pen- 
dleton and east of Portland, and one of the pro- 
gressive business men of Sherman county, was 
born in Audrain county, Missouri, June 3, 1859. 
He is the son of Joseph H. and Margaret 
(Brown) Rutledge, the former a native of Vir- 
ginia ; the latter of Kentucky. His parents were 
natives of the same state, and among his an- 
cestors were pioneers of the Jamestown settle- 
ment, and the family was represented with dis- 
tinction by several members in the Revolution, the 
War of 1812 and the Civil war. Edward Rut- 
ledge, born at Charleston, South Carolina, was 
one of the signers of the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence ; was member of congress and governor 
of South Carolina from 1798 until 1800. His 
brother, John, was a member of the Stamp Act 
Congress of 1765, and was, also, governor of 
that state. He was, from 1789 to 1791 associate 
justice of the United States Supreme Court. 
Joseph H. Rutledge, the father of our subject, 
died in Sherman county. The mother is a de- 
scendant of an old and prominent southern fam- 
ily, and at present lives in Ellensburg, Wash- 
ington. 

Until he was three years old our subject was 
reared in Missouri, crossing the plains with his 
parents, in ox teams, in 1862. They settled in 
Amador county, California, where the father was 
engaged in copper mining near lone. Here the 
family remained five years, going thence to Wood- 
bridge, San Joaquin county, where they remained 
another five years. Here our subject attended 
the public schools and alternately worked with 
his father on the farm. Subsequently he was 
two years with a carpenter in Stockton, California, 
going thence to Butte county. Here Joseph II. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



52i 



Rutledge purchased a farm upon which they 
remained eleven years, removing thence to Sher- 
man county, Oregon, where more land was se- 
cured fourteen miles south of Moro. Here the 
father died. The Rutledge and Ruggles fam- 
ilies were the first settlers in that vicinity. Grass 
Valley, eight miles distant, at that period con- 
sisted of a small store and a hotel. With the 
incoming of settlers the need of a postoffice was 
experienced, and one was established in Joseph 
H. Rutledge's house, and he was appointed post- 
master which office he continued until the time 
of his death. 

Following the death of his father our subject 
continued farming on rented land, but May 1, 
1904, he purchased the old Moro Hotel and, mak- 
ing extensive alterations, adding much new and 
modern furniture, he has made it one of the 
best hostelries in the state, as well as one of 
the most popular. In the satisfactory conduct 
of the hotel Mrs. Rutledge is a most important 
factor and contributes her personal attention to 
the dining room, kitchen and other details. 

Mr. Rutledge has one sister living, Eliza- 
beth, wife of C. H. Steward, engaged in the real 
estate business at Ellensburg, Washington. Mrs. 
Rutledge has four brothers and four sisters who 
receive personal mention elsewhere. She is a 
sister of Mrs. Jacob Rinearson, of the Vinton 
Hotel, Grass Valley, who holds a teacher's life 
certificate. Mr. and Mrs. Rutledge have four chil- 
dren, and all living with their parents ; Joseph V., 
aged thirteen ; W. Clarence, aged eleven ; Jean- 
ette. aged nine; and Francis, seven years old. 

Our subject was married to Maggie V. Vin- 
tin, born in Butte county, California. Politically 
Mr. Rutledge is a Democrat, and has served sev- 
eral terms as school director. 



FRED H. MEADER, engaged in the real 
estate and loan business, and a prominent wheat 
buyer of Wasco, Sherman county, was born in 
Albion, Maine, August 25, 1872. His parents 
were, also, natives of the Pine Tree State. 
George Meader, his father, is a descendant of an 
old and distinguished New England colonial fam- 
ily. He served eleven months during the Civil 
war in Company G, Twenty-fourth Maine Volun- 
teer Infantry. At present he lives at Wasco with 
our subject. The mother of the latter, Julia 
(Hanson) Meader, is of an old Maine family. 
Her father was a farmer and school teacher. 

Our subject was seven years old when the 
family moved to Dixon, California, where they 
remained five years. Thence they went to Peta- 
luma, remaining eighteen months. In September, 
1886, they came to Sherman county, and home- 



steaded land near Moro. With them our subject 
remained, attending the public schools and as- 
sisting on the farm until 1893. George Meader, 
the father, had one-half section which, it trans- 
pired, was Dalles Military land, and in 1898 the 
company took possession of it after our subject 
had purchased it from his father and sold if 
in 1897 to F. R. Messinger. Our subject brought 
suit against the company for the value of the 
improvements and secured a judgment and lien 
on the property for two thousand dollars. He 
paid Messinger back his money, and the com- 
pany now has possession of land for which our 
subject has a patent issued by the United States 
government. 

December 6, 1893, a * the residence of the 
bride's parents, Sherman county, Mr. Meader was 
united in marriage to Mable Peabody, born in 
Saybrook, McLean county, Illinois. She is a 
lineal descendant of the old and distinguished 
Peabody family, well known in American his- 
tory for many generations. Nathaniel Peabody 
was born at Topsfield, Massachusetts, March 1, 
1741, and died at Exeter, New Hampshire, June 
27, 1823. He was an officer in the American 
Revolutionary war and a delegate to the Con- 
tinental Congress. George Peabody, the eminent 
philanthropist, was a native of Massachusetts, 
born at Beverly, February 18, 1795. He was an 
American merchant and banker and justly cele- 
brated for his practical benevolence. He died 
in London, November 4, 1869. The mother of 
Mrs. Meader, Elizabeth Peabody, died at Wasco, 
in December, 1902. Her father now lives with 
our subject at Wasco. He was one of the first 
settlers of Sherman county, and for a time con- 
ducted the John Day bridge by virtue of a lease. 
He secured a homestead and other lands, and 
recently sold eight hundred acres. He feeds as 
high as five hundred head of cattle. 

Our subject has one brother and one sister; 
Ernest, of Sherman county ; and Lillian, wife of 
Harry A. Page, of Moro. Mrs. Meader has two 
half brothers, Edward and William Froebe, both 
in New Mexico, and one sister, Callie, wife of 
Sidney Blakeman, a farmer in Kansas. Mr. and 
Mrs. Meader have three children, boys ; Harland," 
aged nine ; Harold, aged seven and Glenn, a 
little fellow one year old. 

Our subject is a member of Sherman Lodge, 
No. 157, I. O. O. F., of Moro, and the W. O. W., 
of Wasco. Politically he is independent. From 
1897 until 1 90 1 he was engaged in the mercantile 
business in Moro, where he erected the first 
brick building. Mr. Meader is a bright, young 
business man, liberal and progressive and num- 
bers many friends throughout the county and 
state. 



522 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



HIBBARD S. McDANEL, one of the prom- 
inent farmers and influential citizens of Sher- 
man county, resides at Moro. He is a native of 
Delaware, having been born at Stanton, January 
22, 1858. His father, Thomas McDanel, was a 
native of Pennsylvania, as were his ancestors, 
descendants of an old and distinguished Ameri- 
can family. The father of our subject died in 
California, January 1, 1869. The mother, Mar- 
garet (Haring) McDanel, was born in New 
York city. Her parents came from Holland. 
At the present writing she resides at Oakland, 
California. 

When our subject was but six months of age 
his family removed to Butte county, California, 
where the father was engaged in mining and 
the mercantile business. Until 1873 he lived 
with the family, at which period they removed 
to Oakland. He received a four years' course 
in the excellent public schools in his neighbor- 
hood ; was subsequently in the graded schools 
of Oakland, and also profited by a course in the 
Oakland Business College. During three years 
he served in the capacity of clerk in a large busi- 
ness house in that city. It was in January, 1882, 
that he came to Sherman county where he se- 
cured land four and one-half miles from Moro. 
To this holding he has since added until he now 
owns five hundred sixty acres which he rents out. 

Mr. McDanel was married at a short dis- 
tance from Moro, February 15, 1891, to Mary 
Cushman, a native of California. Her father, 
Obed Cushman, was a native of Pennsylvania, 
and an early pioneer in California. He came to 
Sherman county in 1882, dying at Moro in 1901. 
The mother, Elizabeth (Hufford) Cushman, was 
born in Iowa and at present resides at Moro. 
Our subject has one sister, Kate, single, liv- 
ing at Oakland. Mrs. McDanel has one brother, 
Eugene A., a farmer living six miles south of 
Moro; and three sisters ; Laura H., wife of Walter 
H. Moore, a Moro merchant ; America, wife of 
Henry A. Moore, of Moro ; and Cora, wife of 
David Vintin, a farmer living near Grass Valley. 

Th$ fraternal affiliations of Mr. McDanel 
include Eureka Lodge, No. 121, A. F. & A. M., 
of which he is secretary, at Moro ; Moro Lodge, 
No. 113, I. O. O. F., of which he is past grand, 
and he has, also, been delegate to the Grand 
Lodge. He is a member of the A. O. U. W., 
past master workman, and he has served as 
delegate to the grand lodge. Politically he is a 
Republican, and frequently a delegate to county 
conventions ; once a delegate to the state con- 
vention. At present he is serving his third term 
as clerk of Sherman county, and has been deputy 
clerk six years. Mrs. McDanel is a member of 
the Presbyterian church. Both socially and in 



a business way our subject is a popular, wide- 
awake and progressive man, and both he and 
his wife are highly esteemed throughout the com- 
munity. 



CHARLES BUHMAN, a prosperous Sher- 
man county farmer, resides at Wasco. He is a 
native of the Golden State, having been born in 
Solano county, California, June 18, 1861. His 
parents, Detlef and Annie (Jahn) Buhman, were 
born in Germany. The father came to the United 
States in 1859, settled in Solano county, returned 
to Germany, and returned to California in 1861. 
He died in Dixon, California, in- 1874. The 
mother still lives there. 

It was in Dixon that our subject, Charles 
Buhman, was reared and educated until he was 
twenty-two years of age. He then came to Uma- 
tilla county, Oregon, where he worked a few 
months and then returned home, remaining 
eighteen months. In the fall of 1884 he came 
to Sherman county and located land four miles 
from Wasco, and purchased more later. He 
now owns four hundred acres of excellent wheat 
land, and a ten-acre tract on the outskirts of the 
town of Wasco where he resides, most comfort- 
ably situated and surrounded by many literary 
works of high merit and of which he is very fond. 
He rents his farm property. He is a single 
man, having three brothers ; Arnold, a farmer, 
residing four and one-half miles from Wasco ; 
William, at the home place in California; and 
Reinhard, at Dixon. He has no sisters. Poli- 
tically our subject is a Prohibitionist. He is a 
popular citizen in the community in which he 
resides and numbers, many warm personal 
friends. 



MILON A. VAN GILDER. The subject 
of this biographical sketch is a prosperous and 
successful farmer living three miles west of 
Wasco. He was born in Livingston county, 
New York, November 4, 1854. His father, 
Hiram Van Gilder, also a native of the Empire 
State, born in Washington county, was a de- 
scendant of an old and distinguished Holland 
family. Three brothers formed what was known 
as the "Van Gilder Settlement." The father 
of Hiram was in the War of 1812: two of our 
subject's brothers were killed in the Civil war; 
Thomas and Eli. The mother of our subject, 
Juliet (Russell) Van Gilder, also a native of New 
York, born in Hartford, Washington county, is 
a descendant of one of the oldest New England 
families, a family that furnished two governors 
of Massachusetts. Hiram Van Gilder, the father 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



523 



of our subject, died in Nunda, New York, in 
1897. The mother still lives at Perry, Wyoming- 
county, New York. 

It was in the old Empire State that our sub- 
ject was reared until 1889. He became a farmer 
and carpenter, but came to Sherman county 
finally and purchased four hundred acres of land. 
In 1904 he increased the estate to six hundred 
acres. On this he erected a handsome, two-story 
house and large, well-appointed barn. This was 
in - 1897. 

March 26, 1884, at Nunda, Mr. Van Gilder 
was united in marriage to Miss Jennie Porter, a 
native of New York, born February 15, 1864. 
Her parents, Richard and Jane (Shephard) Por- 
ter, were also natives of New York state. Her 
father was a descendant of the old Porter family 
distinguished for many years in American his- 
tory. David Porter was an American naval of- 
ficer, born at Chester, Boston, Massachusetts, 
February 1, 1780, dying at Washington, March 
3. 1843 ! David Dixon Porter was an American 
Admiral, son of the preceding, born at Chester, 
Pennsylvania, June 8, 1813, and dying at Wash- 
ington, D. C, February 13, 1891. Fitz-John Por- 
ter, distinguished in the Civil war, and a cousin 
of D. D. Porter, was born at Portsmouth, New 
Hampshire, August 31, 1822. He was a grad- 
uate of West Point and served as police commis- 
sioner of New York city from 1884 to 1888. 

Milon A. Van Gilder, our subject, has three 
brothers and one sister ; Charles, in the ice busi- 
ness in New York city ; Frank, a farmer at Nunda, 
New York ; Elmer, a cement manufacturer, at 
the same place ; Julia, wife of Herbert Kenyon, 
of Perry, Wyoming county, New York. Mrs. 
Van Gilder has three brothers and three sisters ; 
James, a Pennsylvania lumberman ; Albert, and 
Delbert, farmers in Sherman county ; Othelia, 
wife of George Knox, an attorney in Los Angeles, 
California ; Julia, wife of William Clark, a car- 
penter at Mount Morris, New York ; and Inez, 
wife of Morris Nash, of Sherman county. Mr. 
and Mrs. Van Gilder have five children, Inez, 
Harry, Vernon, Bryan, and Darwin. 

It should not escape mention that Fort Porter, 
at Buffalo, New York, was named after Commo- 
dore Porter, distinguished in the War of 1812. 

Fraternally Mr. Van Gilder is a member of 
Taylor Lodge, No. 99, of Wasco, of which he is 
past master, the first master of the lodge, a 
charter member and at present master. He has 
served as delegate to the grand lodge of the 
state. Politically he is a Prohibitionist and as 
such has frequently served as delegate to the 
county conventions of that party. He and his 
wife are members of the United Brethren church. 

Our subject has a fine, though small orchard. 



and he owns several three-quarter blood Per- 
cheron horses. He is one of the solid, substantial 
business men of Sherman county, a broad-minded 
and liberal citizen in every respect. His resi- 
dence is built in a very desirable and eligible 
location, surrounded by a spacious lawn which 
will, in the future, be irrigated. 



COMMODORE P. RAGSDALE, the lead- 
ing agriculturalist and stock raiser in the south- 
ern portion of Sherman county, resides four and 
one-half miles northeast of Kent. He was born 
in Missouri, December 7, 1869, the son of Chris- 
topher and Mary L. (Hampton) Ragsdale, both 
natives of Missouri. The father was born while 
his parents were moving to Missouri, just over 
the state line. He died in 1894, in Portland, 
Oregon. The mother, a native of Missouri, is a 
descendant of an old Virginia family, her father 
having been a resident of that state. She at 
present lives at Moro, Sherman county. 

The parents of our subject came to the Willa- 
mette valley from Missouri when he was four 
years of age. In Polk county, near Sheridan, 
the father secured land, but when our subject 
was twelve years of age his parents removed to 
Sherman county, and here he attended the public 
schools, where he laid the foundation of an ex- 
cellent business education, and began the world 
for himself. When sixteen years old he worked 
at farming and freighting, and when only 
eighteen purchased land near Moro, a half a sec- 
tion, and this he farmed successfully until he 
was married. He then disposed of this property 
and migrated to Benton county, Oregon, where 
he engaged in hop raising, purchasing three hun- 
dred and ninety acres of land, paying eight thou- 
sand dollars for the same ; four thousand dollars 
in cash. At the termination of three years he 
became insolvent and returned to Sherman county 
where he engaged in the sheep business. He pur- 
chased his stock on time and was eminently suc- 
cessful in this enterprise. In November, 1900. 
he purchased a section and a half of land, leased 
six and a quarter sections more, and at present 
cultivates two thousand acres. The remainder 
of this land is devoted to pasture. He has now a 
band of four thousand sheep, twenty head of 
cattle and seventy head of horses. In the prose- 
cution of his extensive farm work he employs 
forty head of horses. He owns a combined har- 
vester and all other modern implements neces- 
sary for large-scale farming in the west. 

February 29, 1892, at W r asco, our subject was 
married to Junia E. Rigdon. a native of Nebraska, 
the daughter of Charles and Lida Rigdon. Her 



5 2 4 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



father was a native of Ohio and now lives in 
Lincoln county, Oregon. Mr. Ragsdale has three 
brothers and one sister; William H., an attorney 
at Moro, and a graduate of the State Normal 
School at Monmouth ; Charles, residing in Idaho ; 
Ray, living at Moro with his parents ; Elsie, 
single, also living at home. Four children have 
been born to Mr. and Mrs. Ragsdale ; Edna, aged 
eleven; Cordon, aged nine, and a babe, Allegra, 
aged nine months. These are all living. Vera 
died February 10, 1900, aged two years and six 
months. 

The fraternal affiliations of Mr. Ragsdale are 
with the A. O. U. W., of Moro, and the M. W. 
A., of Kent. Politically he is a Republican, 
quite active in the interests of his party. He has 
twice been elected a delegate to county conven- 
tions and last year was a delegate to the Republi- 
can state convention at Portland. He is, also, 
a leading and influential member of the Wool 
Growers' Association, of Wasco county. He 
is a young man of fine executive ability and su- 
perior business talents, popular with all classes 
and highly esteemed by all. 



HENRY ROOT, one of the early settlers 
of Sherman county and a leading and influential 
citizen, resides three miles west of Wasco. He 
was born in Wisconsin, April 7, 1842, the son 
of William and Catherine (Cook) Root, the 
former a native of Vermont ; the latter of Ohio. 
The parents of William Root were of Scotch- 
Welsh ancestry, an old and distinguished family. 
His brothers were participants in the War of 
1812. Austin served during the entire war and 
was at the battle of Plattsburg and others. He 
-died later from disease contracted in the service. 
His three younger brothers, mere boys, ventured 
out to get a view of the battle of Plattsburg, and 
were given guns and compelled to stand guard 
over the baggage train. William Root was too 
small to accompany them, but living twelve miles 
away he heard the roar of the cannon and of 
this he told our subject frequently. He died at 
Healdsburg, Sonoma county, California, aged 
eighty-one years. For many years he was a sailor 
on the great lakes and later mate on a Mississippi 
steamboat trading up from New Orleans, and also 
a deep water sailor from the Crescent City to 
Liverpool. In 1835 he enlisted in the regular 
army and was sent to Fort Snelling, Minnesota. 
Here he was discharged on account of a broken 
arm. He was present at the treaty following the 
historical Black Hawk war. 

Thence William Root went to Ohio where he 
married Catherine Cook, the mother of our sub- 



ject. She was the descendant of an old and 
prominent family, merchants, steamboat men, 
western pioneers, etc. The newly married couple 
removed to Indiana where they conducted a farm, 
going thence to Wisconsin, and from there to 
Iowa. When our subject was ten years of age 
they all went to California, crossing the plains 
with ox teams and being six months on the 
route. They at first settled in Placerville, and 
there our subject attended school two winters. 
In 1854 they went to Iowa Hill, Placer county, 
and engaged in mining. Here William Root 
owned good, paying placer claims and our sub- 
ject frequently washed out twenty dollars a day 
by himself. In the fall of 1858 they moved into 
the redwoods, in Sonoma county. Here the fa- 
ther and an uncle of our subject built a sawmill, 
sold it later and purchased a farm three miles 
west of Santa Rosa. About this period our sub- 
ject began herding stock on Tulare Plains; two 
years, 1862 and 1863, and elsewhere until 1869. 
He then worked on several extensive stock 
ranches. In 1870 he took a band of one thou- 
sand cattle to Nevada for Hildreth & Dumphy ; 
returned to San Francisco and then went to Hum- 
boldt county. In 1871 he took a band of fourteen 
hundred cattle from there to Harney Valley ; 
returned and remained until 1881, and where he 
farmed and kept a stage station. He then came 
to Sherman county, overland, and took up the 
place where he now resides. His nearest neigh- 
bors were G. D. Woodworth, now of Hood River, 
who lived one mile away, and Mr. Barnum, at 
Moro, and Mr. Eaton, at Wasco. 

December 21, 1873, in Humboldt county, Cali- 
fornia, our subject was united in marriage to 
Harriet A. Goodyear, a native of Wisconsin. She 
is the daughter of Joseph D. and Sophina Good- 
year. Her father was a native of New York, a 
member of the old Goodyear family, one of whom 
was the inventer of the Goodyear rubber process. 
Our subject has four brothers and one sister; 
Austin, a farmer living ten miles east of Eugene, 
Oregon ; John C, a stockman of Weiser, Idaho : 
Washington T., of Idaho ; Albert E., living near 
Weiser, in the stock business ; Keziah E., wife of 
G. S. Pitts, of California. 

Mrs. Root has three brothers and one sister ; 
Eugene, a mining man in Weaversville, Cali- 
fornia; William E, an extensive bean raiser in 
Ventura county, California ; Edward, of the same 
place ; and Fanny, wife of Lee Ferguson, an 
orchardist near Ventura. Three children have 
been born to Mr. and Mrs. Root; William D.. a 
graduate of the University of California, and 
who taught school six years in Sherman county, 
and is now in Tokio, Japan, teaching English in 
the government high school ; George H, at home, 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



52; 



a student in the Oregon Agricultural College, at 
Corvallis, a famous foot-ball player and athlete, 
captain of the O. A. C. foot-ball team, and took 
a medal in 1903 for the best drill in the manual 
at arms ; he also took a silver medal in 1903 
for putting the shot at a track meet in Portland ; 
Nora F., wife of Harry E. Morrow, an extensive 
Sherman county farmer on the John Day river. 
Hon. Elihu Root, late Secretary of War, is a 
grandson of our subject's father's brother. His 
name was Dudley Root. 

For ten years Mr. Root has been road super- 
visor of his district, the largest in Sherman coun- 
ty. For thirty years our subject was a Republi- 
can. In 1896 he supported Bryan and now he is, 
politically, independent. Mr. Root is a very 
estimable and highly respected citizen, influential 
and progressive in his views. 



JAMES W. LEONARD, residing three miles 
east of Kent, Sherman county, was born in Sheri- 
dan, Worth county, Missouri, February 9, 1853, 
the son of James M. and Martha (Coy) Leonard. 
The parents of the father were descended from 
an old Southern family, of Kentucky. James M. 
Leonard, the father of our subject, served three 
years in the confederate army under General 
Price, and later in a guerrilla regiment where he 
was killed. The ancestry of the mother were 
members of an old southern family. She died 
in 1855 when our subject was an infant. 

U&til attaining his majority the latter lived 
with his maternal grandparents, attending the 
public schools and working on the farm with 
his grandfather. He then migrated to California 
where he remained nearly a year, and thence to 
Oregon where he arrived July first, 1875, locating 
in Polk county. Here, for a few years he rented 
land, and then purchased a place on which he re- 
mained two years, following which he was en- 
gaged in the harness business, conducting the 
same two years, in Independence, Polk county. 
His failing health, caused by indoor life, induced 
him to dispose of his business and return to the 
occupation of farming. During two years he 
rented a place and then came to Crook county 
where he engaged in the stock business three 
years. The severe winter of 1889-90 killed all 
of his stock, and he returned to the valley where 
he continued farming for eight years. It was 
in 1898 that he came to Sherman county, pur- 
chased a half section and, also, rented a section 
and a quarter of other land, of which he culti- 
vates about eight hundred acres. He owns a 
comfortable one-story five-room frame cottage, 
and has a small orchard ; a large barn thirty-six 



by fifty-two feet in size, with necessary out- 
buildings and a windmill with a six thousand gal- 
lon reservoir, water piped for domestic, stock and 
irrigation purposes. 

September 20, 1876, at Monmouth, Polk 
county, Oregon, our subject was united in mar- 
riage to Jennie M. Ireland, born in Iowa in 
December, 1853. Her parents, David and Jane 
(Sanderson) Ireland, were natives of Indiana.. 
They are both dead. Our subject has one half 
brother and two half sisters : Edward, a farmer 
in Kansas ; Laura, wife of Frank Slote, a Color- 
ado stockman ; and Kate, wife of Charles Wilson, . 
of Colorado. Mrs. Leonard has three brothers, 
Theron A., William P. and James S., farmers 
in Polk county, Oregon. Mr. and Mrs. Leonard 
have no children living, but have an adopted son, 
Ralph. Politically our subject is a Democrat, 
and has served as delegate to the county conven- 
tions. He was the Democratic nominee for county 
commissioner ; he is a school director and has been 
such ever since the organization of the district. . 
He, also, served one year as road supervisor. 
Fraternally he is a member of the W. O. T. W., 
of Kent. In the community in which he resides 
he is highly esteemed and regarded as one of 
the leading citizens of the county. 



DAVID FULTON, one of the earliest set- 
tlers in Sherman county and a prominent and 
influential citizen, resides six miles northwest of 
Wasco. He was born in Yamhill county, March 
I 7> I 855- His parents are mentioned in an- 
other portion of this work. 

Our subject was reared principally in Wasco 
and Sherman counties, and for many years was 
associated with his father and brothers in the 
business of stock-raising. Mr. Fulton is a man 
of superior education, having attended the best 
schools in The Dalles, Oregon, Walla Walla, 
Washington, Boise City, Idaho, St. Paul's Episco- 
pal School at Walla Walla, Whitman College, and 
St. Michael's Parish School at Boise City. Since 
the period of his school days he has resided here 
almost constantly, with the exception of one or 
two years elsewhere. In 1879 he filed on a tim- 
ber culture, homestead and later secured rail- 
road land. At present he owns between two 
thousand five hundred and three thousand acres, 
of which he has rented some at different periods. 
On the "home place" he cultivates about seven 
hundred acres, raising some cattle, horses and 
hogs. 

At Kansas City, Missouri, February 7, 1899, 
Mr. Fulton was married to Miss Lulu Bussey, 
a native of Versailles, Missouri. She is the 



526 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



daughter of Gettis and Sarah A. (Gibson) Bus- 
sey, the former a native of Pennsylvania, the lat- 
ter of Indiana. Gettis Bussey lives at Rich 
Hill, Missouri, where he is a stone mason, con- 
tractor and builder. 

Politically Mr. Fulton is a Democrat, and has 
frequently served as delegate to Democratic 
countv conventions. He is a member of Cascade 
Lodge, No. 303, B. P. O. E., of The Dalles. 
They have one child, David J. Mrs. Fulton has 
three brothers and four sisters : Bertram and 
Earl, at Rich Hill, Missouri, with their parents; 
Frank, living with our subject; Cora, single, with 
her parents ; Myrtle, wife of William Jones ; Ella, 
with subject; and Ota, single and living with her 
parents. 

Mr. Fulton is a liberal minded, progressive 
gentleman, a good citizen, sagacious business man 
and one who has made a deep impress on the 
welfare and interests of Sherman county in which 
vicinity he has so long resided. 



ANNIE L. FULTON, the subject of the 
following biographical sketch was born in Wasco 
county, Oregon, and educated in the excellent 
high school at The Dalles. In 1881, she accom- 
panied her parents to what is now Sherman 
county, but then a portion of Wasco county. 

In securing possession of public lands Miss 
Fulton shared equal advantages with her brothers 
under the preemption and timber culture laws. 
At present she owns over one thousand acres, 
six hundred and forty of which she cultivates. 
She resided with her parents until their death. 
Following a long visit to the southern states she 
returned and made her home at Shade Land 
Farm, the former home of her parents, which she 
inherited as her portion of the estate. She has 
been uniformly successful in her farming opera- 
tions and raises a number of fine cattle and 
horses. So closely was Miss Fulton associated 
with her father in his business, for years, that 
she has as thorough knowledge of the details 
of farming as the average man. 

Fraternally she is a member of the Order of 
the Eastern Star and at all time manifests an 
active interest in the schools and public enter- 
prises of the country. 



JOHN RECKMANN, a popular and progres- 
sive Sherman county farmer, was born in Ger- 
many, August 25, 1865, the son of Hermann 
and Cathrina (Kilkel) Reckmann, both natives of 
Germany, where the mother died when our sub- 



ject was twelve years of age. At present the 
father, a farmer, lives three miles from Grass 
Valley. 

Our subject was educated at the public schools 
and in the gymnasium in the old country. His 
father was a carpenter and from him he learned 
that trade. The Reckmann family came from 
Germany to the United States in 1881, and went 
directly to Minnesota, where they remained four 
years, but results not being satisfactory, the sub- 
ject's father sent his son, John, to Oregon. In 
Sherman county the latter secured land and re- 
turned to Minnesota for his father and brought 
him here. They had some capital and improved 
their places. In the line of carpenter work they 
constructed only two school houses. At present 
our subject owns half a section of fine land, de- 
voted to grain culture, and he rents a section of 
military land. His father owns a quarter-sec- 
tion and with his son, Diedrich, who, also, owns 
a quarter section of land, rents a section of mili- 
tary land. 

June 23, 1888, on his place near Kent, Mr. 
Reckmann, was married to Mary Stilling, a na- 
tive of Germany, daughter of Henry and Lena 
Stilling, who died in Germany. Our subject has 
only one brother living, Diedrich, living with his. 
father, and one sister, Jessie, wife of John Ditjen, 
of The Dalles. He rents his Sherman county 
farm, of a section in extent. 

The wife of our subject has two brothers; 
Deiderich and Claus, both of whom are Minne- 
sota farmers. Fraternally, Mr. Reckmann is a 
member of Grass Valley Lodge, No. 131, I. O. 
O. F., and Modoc Encampment, No. 39, of Grass 
Valley, and the Modern Woodmen of America, 
of Kent. His political affiliations are with the 
Democratic party, but he can be correctly termed 
an administration (Roosevelt) man. Both he and 
his wife are members of the Lutheran church. 
They have no children. 

In 1897 their house, a fine frame residence, 
was burned to the ground. The contents of the 
house were destroyed as well as their clothing; 
they escaped with their lives in their night clothes 
and were compelled to sleep the rest of the night 
in a hay stack. At that time our subject was 
completely out of debt, but owing to this disaster, 
he was compelled to incur a new indebtedness for 
lumber with which to build a new house. His 
fine, young orchard was, also, destroyed by this 
fire. 

In 1905, Mr. Reckmann has just completed a 
well three hundred and four feet in depth, which 
furnishes abundance of water, good and pure. 
It was dug at a cost of one thousand six hundred 
and fifty dollars. When thev were down one 
hundred and fifty-two feet, thev encountered a 






HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



527 



vein of coal which was shown to be sixteen feet 
jn thickness. When one hundred and eighty-seven 
feet down, they opened another coal vein, this 
one being two feet thick. The coal is of a fine 
bituminous quality and its existence will open a 
new and valuable industry in Central Oregon, 
owing to the scarcity of coal there. 



JOHN W. CLARK, a general farmer and 
progressive business man of Sherman county, 
resides on his ranch four miles southeast of the 
town of Kent. He was born in Illinois, May 13, 
1861, the son of Robert and Jane (Chapman) 
Clark, the father a native of New York, the 
mother of Kentucky. The parents of Robert 
Clark were Canadians, of English descent. He 
died in Polk county, Oregon, in May, 1901. The 
ancestry of the mother were also, Canadians and 
English. She passed from earth in 1871, in 
Illinois. 

In. the latter state our subject was reared and 
educated, attending the graded schools of Bloom- 
ington. At this time his father was engaged in 
the livery business, and purchasing and shipping 
horses east. He was a skilled horseman and 
well and favorably known throughout the state 
of Illinois. He was a stanch Democrat, aspiring 
to no office for himself, but taking a patriotic in- 
terest in elections. 

To Polk county, Oregon, the family of our 
subject removed in 1876. The following year 
our subject began life for himself, finding various 
employments and learning the carpenter's trade. 
In 1885 he came to Eastern Oregon and, in 1886, 
filed on a preemption claim in Grass Valley. Here 
he remained two years, disposed of the property 
and engaged in the livery business. This was at 
Grant's Station. He exploited the first daily 
stage in Sherman county ; running from Grant to 
Rutledge. During the spring of 1889 he re- 
turned to Polk county, where for six years he 
followed the business of a carpenter. Thence he 
returned to Sherman county and for four years 
was engaged in freighting from The Dalles to 
southern points of Oregon. He then secured a 
homestead four miles southeast of Kent where 
he at present resides. He rents other land and, 
in all, cultivates about seven hundred acres. 

July 17, 1887, at Grant's Station, Sherman 
county, our subject was united in marriage to 
Jessie E. Harris, born at Goose Lake, Oregon. 
She is the daughter of John and Eliza (Smith) 
Harris. Her father was born on the plains while 
his family were en route to Oregon with ox 
teams. His parents were natives of Indiana, com- 
ing to Oregon in the early 40's. Her mother 



was a native of Missouri, coming to Oregon with 
her parents when a child. Our subject has two 
brothers, George, in Portland, and Robert, a 
Benton county stockman. Flis wife has four 
brothers and three sisters ; Wesley, an east Ore- 
gon stockman ; William, a stock buyer ; Frank, 
at Grass Valley ; George, with . his parents, at 
Grass Valley ; Leona, single ; Clare, wife of Ray 
Vinton, of Grass Valley ; Beatrice, married and 
living at Astoria. Mr. and Mrs. Clark have one 
child, Jessie B., aged fifteen years. 

The political principles of Mr. Clark are in 
line with those of the Republican party. He has 
been road supervisor and school director, and 
is a popular man and highly esteemed in his com- 
munity. 



OTTO PEETZ, assessor of Sherman county, 
Oregon, and proprietor of a billiard hall and 
cigar store, in Kent, was born in Douglas county, 
Minnesota, March 16, 1873, tne son of Carl and 
Catherine (Schott) Peetz. At present the father 
is a retired farmer residing near Moro. 

When our subject was about one year of age 
his parents removed from Minnesota to King 
county, Washington. This was in 1874, and there 
they remained until 1886, when the family came 
to Sherman county, and with them our subject. 
In 1892 the latter went to Grant county, Oregon, 
where he found employment on several farms, 
and also conducted a sheep ranch for others, and, 
at one time, for himself. During the month of 
December, 1899, he returned to Sherman county, 
and remained with his parents on the farm about 
one year. When about fifteen years of age he 
was severly injured by a horse which fell upon 
him, the principal injury being confined to one of 
his legs. In 1898 he suffered an attack of 
measles, which seriously affected this limb, and 
three years later it became necessary to ampu- 
tate it in order to save his life. Under the care 
of physicians he remained for a period of eleven 
months, three months of which time were passed 
in St. Vincent's Hospital, Portland. A number 
of operations were made in endeavors to save the 
injured limb, and following amputation of the 
same it was twice opened for the purpose of 
removing dead and decaying bone which might 
have seriously affected his health, and perhaps 
caused his death. 

On his recovery, in March, 1903, he came to 
Kent, erected a building, and engaged in his 
present business. He conducts a billiard table 
and has a fine stock of cigars, tobaccos and tem- 
perance beverages. During the summer of the 
same year of his arrival he secured land under 
the homestead laws, nine miles southeast of Kent. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



529 



rick was a Pennsylvanian ; his mother was born 
in (Vermont, the former being a member of the 
old American family of Porters, early settlers of 
the Mohawk valley. Derrick Porter died in Liv- 
ingstone county, New York, in 1894. 

In the state of New York our subject lived 
until he was twenty years of age. Thence he 
migrated to California where he remained five 
years in Solano county and the Sacramento val- 
ley. Here he joined an uncle and was with him 
until 1882, coming thence to Sherman county 
where he secured some land, a portion of his 
present holdings. At present he owns one thou- 
sand and sixty acres, all joining. He has a fine 
orchard of two hundred trees, and rears stock 
for his own use, having several graded Clyde 
and Percheron horses. 

At Livonia Center, Livingstone county, New 
York, December 25, 1875, Mr. Porter was united 
in marriage to Miss Harriet Proctor, a native of 
Kingston, Canada. Her father, William Proc- 
ter, also born in Canada, was a hardware mer- 
chant and a tin and copper smith by trade and 
well and favorably -known. He died in Canada 
about 1869. Her mother was Ann McGorman, 
whose death occurred in New York, in 1873. 
Mrs. Porter's great-grandfather, General John 
Proctor, was a general in the English army. His 
son, James Proctor, was captain in the Royal 
Artillery, and married Miss Sarah Marion, the 
grand niece of General Marion, of Revolutionary 
fame. Mrs. Porter's great uncle, Alexander 
Proctor, was an admiral in the English navy. 
The Proctors were a strong and prominent 
family. 

Our subject has two brothers and four sis- 
ters ; Albert, foreman in the flour mill at Wasco ; 
James, a farmer in Pennsylvania ; Jennie, wife of 
M. A. VanGilder, mentioned in another portion 
of this work; Inez, wife of J. M. Nash, of 
Wasco ; Athalia, wife of George W. Knox, for 
twenty years a prominent attorney in Los 
Angeles, California; and Julia, wife of William 
Clark, a millwright at Mount Morris, Living- 
stone county, New York. Mrs. Porter has one 
sister living, Maggie J., wife of John Carty, a 
farmer near Livonia Center, New York. 

Mr. Porter is a member of Aurora Lodge, 
No. 54, K. of P. Although formerly a Republi- 
can he is, at present, a Prohibitionist, and has 
been elected delegate to county conventions but 
has never acted. He has frequently served as 
delegate to Republican conventions ; and has been 
school director for fifteen years and is such at 
present. Mrs. Porter is a devout and consistent 
member of the Roman Catholic church. They 
have three children: George, born May 31, 1879, 
near Dixon, Solano county, California, and who 

34 



was married at The Dalles, in 1901, to Alice 
Frazier, daughter of William Frazier, of Hood 
River; Albert R., born in California, April 7, 
1881, and married March 3, 1905, to Maud Hear- 
ing of Sweet Home, Oregon ; Laverne, born in 
bherman county, May 3, 1889. 

Mr. Porter is a gentleman of culture and re- 
finement, and one of the enterprising and in- 
fluential citizens of the county. 



CHARLES A. BUCKLEY, one of the 
heaviest real estate owners of Sherman county, 
resides in Grass Valley. He has about five thou- 
sand acres of land, three thousand of which^are 
tillable. He has about one thousand into grain 
and the entire estate is one of the best in the 
country. Mr. Buckley is a man of recognized 
business ability, which is thoroughly attested by 
the exceptional success which he has won in 
his career. Everybody will be pleased to see an 
account of his life which will be both beneficial 
and inspiring. Charles A. Buckley was born ill 
Sag Harbor, New York, on September 29, 1858. 
His father, Abel C. Buckley, was also a native 
of New York, descended from English and Irish 
ancestry. He was a tanner by trade and died in 
Brooklyn, New York, in 1887. He had married 
Ann E. Penney, a native of Long Island, who died 
in Brooklyn, New York, on July 30, 1903. Our. 
subject lived in his birthplace until ten years 
of age, when he accompanied the family to 
Brooklyn, New York, where he received a liberal 
education in the public schools and private in- 
stitutions. Afterwards, he took a commercial 
course and also learned the sole cutting trade in 
New York City. He followed this for five years, 
then came to Wasco county, having been induced 
there by reading literature descriptive of the 
state. Four days after landing in The Dalles, he 
entered into partnership with William J. Kerr 
and Edward Williams, who came west with him. : 
In November, 1883, they bought the Tilford 
Moore ranch, fifteen miles southwest of Grass 
Valley. Mr. Kerr was a practical farmer and the 
other two were not. Finally our subject and Mr. 
Kerr purchased the interest of Williams and 
operated together until 1899, when Mr. Buckley 
bought his partner's interest and Mr. Kerr re- 
turned east. Mr. Buckley has since conducted 
the business with splendid success and generally 
winters about five thousand sheep although at 
the present time he owns eight thousand. He has 
about sixty head of choice graded and registered 
cattle and has one registered Shorthorn bull. : 
He also owns a Belgian stallion imported and 
takes great pride in breeding excellent stock. 



53Q 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



On November 24, 1888, at Portland, Oregon, 
Mr. Buckley married Minnie F. Patterson, a 
native of Connecticut and niece of Mr. Kerr, our 
subject's former partner. She had come to Ore- 
gon with her mother some time previous to the 
marriage. Mr. Buckley has one brother, William 
C, in the leather business in Brooklyn, New York, 
and three sisters, Mary, wife of A. G. Bassett; 
Carrie, wife of E. H. Osborne and Annie L., 
wife of A. S. French, all of Brooklyn, New 
York. Mrs. Buckley is an only child. To our 
subject and his wife, two children have been 
born, A. Conklin, and William H. Mr. Buckley 
is a member of the I. O. O. F. and of the En- 
campment, while he and his wife both belong to 
the Rebekahs. Politically, he is a good strong 
Republican and is frequently in the conventions. 
He is a progiessive, wide awake business man 
and does not forget to labor continuously for the 
betterment of school facilities, the building up of 
the country and the general advancement of the 
county and state He has many friends and is 
considered one of the leading men of this part 
of the state. 



'' JOHN MEDLER, one of the first commis- 
sioners of Sherman county, and a leading and in- 
fluential citizen, residing at Wasco, was born 
at Magdeburg, Germany, October 9, 1837. His 
parents were Henry and Doris (Sense) Medler, 
who are mentioned elsewhere. The family came 
to the United States in August, 1847, and the 
father, an expert jeweler, went to work for 
Frank & Pheiffer, manufacturing jewelers, No. 
39 Courtland street, New York city. He re- 
mained in their employment until the spring of 
1849. But he had come to this country with the 
intention of buying a farm, and he, consequently, 
went to Cabell county, West Virginia and made 
the purchase. Until 1852 the family continued 
to live there and then moved back to New York 
in' order to afford their children the advantages 
of schooling. Up to that period our subject had 
enjoyed only three months at school, as the West 
Virginia facilities were very poor. In New York 
he attended a graded school which accommodated 
•one thousand pupils. He remained there two 
years which completed his education. 

Mr. John Medler and his brother, Bruno, 
then began to learn the jeweler's trade, at which 
our subject worked two years. The health of 
the boys failed and the physician declared that 
they must seek out of door employment. In 
1865 they removed to Missouri. Meantime the 
father died. In 1869 our subject returned to as- 
sume charge of the family. His brother was 
engaged in saw milling. In 1881 he sold the farm 



for his mother and then came to Oregon. In 
Sherman county he took up a homestead and pur- 
chased more land. On his arrival he had very 
little money left. He brought his wife and six 
children with him. February 1, 1882, during the 
absence of Mr. Medler, his half-brother's house 
was destroyed by fire and our subject's wife 
and two children were burned to death. Follow- 
ing this terrible disaster Mr. Medler preempted 
land, built a fine, commodious house, prospered 
financially and remained single until December 
6, 1903, when he was united in marriage to Mrs. 
Nancy Ornduff, a native of Ohio. 

The first marriage of our subject occurred 
in West Virginia, September 19, 1861, when he 
was united to Eliza J. Hull, a native of Cabell 
County, West Virginia. Her parents were Mar- 
tin and Nancy (Morgan) Hull, the father a na- 
tive of Virginia; the mother of the same state. 
The Hull family has been a distinguished one 
in American history, as planters, jurists and sol- 
diers in the Revolutionary war and the War of 
18 1 2. William Hull, born at Derby, Connecticut, 
June 24, 1753, served as an American general 
through the Revolutionary war and was governor 
of Michigan Territory from 1805 until 1814. He 
died at Newton, \ Massachusetts, November 29, 
1825. Isaac Hull, born at Derby, Connecticut, 
March 9, 1773, died at Philadelphia, February 
13, 1843. He was an American commodore and 
commanded the Constitution, which defeated and 
captured the Guerriere, August 19, 1812. 

Martin Hull was noted as an athlete, being 
endowed with great physical powers. He was 
married three times and was the father of twenty- 
five children. When quite young he could easily 
shoulder a three-bushel sack of wheat, with feet 
standing in a half bushel measure. He served in 
the War of 1812. Our subject has four children 
living; Henry, living two and one-half miles 
north-east of Wasco ; Ernest A., a farmer and 
saloon keeper, at Wasco; John G., now conduct- 
ing our subject's two ranches; Frank, who rents 
the "Cooper place" on the John Day river. Emma 
Isadore, aged twenty, and her brother, Arthur M., 
aged six, two other children, were burned to 
death with their mother February 1, 1882. 

At present Mr. Medler owns two thousand 
and forty acres of land all devoted to wheat. In 
1 89 1 he became president of the Farmers Co- 
operative Warehouse Association, which enter- 
prise he organized and continued president until 
he disposed of his interest. He, also, engaged in 
the banking business, but later sold out. Pie was 
instrumental in the organization of the Wasco 
Union Lumber Company, of which he was treas- 
urer. For two years he was president of the 
Union Warehouse Company and was one of the 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



53i 



organizers. March 4, 1903, he purchased an in- 
terest in the Wasco Commercial Company and 
to this he devotes his attention. He owns a hand- 
some cottage home in town. Politically he is in 
line with the Democratic party, and Governor 
Pennoyer appointed him a county commissioner 
on the organization of Sherman county. We 
also wish to mention that Mr. Medler has taken 
a very active and prominent part in promoting 
the State Grange of Oregon, having spent much 
money and time in this important enterprise. He 
has the distinction of being the overseer for this 
order for the state of Oregon, and is considered 
one of the most thorough and up-to-date parlia- 
mentarians in the state. 



ROBERT W. MONTGOMERY, manager 
of the Interior Warehouse Company, of Kent, 
Sherman county, is a native Oregonian, having 
been born in Umatilla county, August 30, 1881, 
the son of Benjamin and Mary A. (Peck) Mont- 
gomery. The father of our subject was a na- 
tive of Ireland, coming to Canada about the year 
1865. He at first located in Montreal, where he 
remained until 1879, engaged in railroading. 
Thence he removed to Albany, in the Willamette 
valley, where he farmed on rented land for a 
period of two years, when he went to Umatilla 
county and secured land. Here he died in 1883. 
The mother of our subject was a native of Prince 
Edward Island, Canada ; her parents were Eng- 
lish. At present she resides in the town of 
Helix, Umatilla county, renting the farm to her 
son. 

Our subject was reared in Umatilla county 
until he reached the age of twenty years, where 
he received an excellent education in the public 
schools ; attended the Pendleton Academy one 
year ; was one year at the Willamette University, 
at Salem, and, also, prosecuted a course in the 
Portland Business College. In 1901 he came 
to Kent. Here he accepted his present responsible 
position. 

June 28, of the same year, at Moro, he was 
united in marriage to Miss Annie Peetz, born in 
Tacoma, Washington, November 24, 1886. The 
bride's parents were Carl and Catherine 
(Schoot) Peetz, the former being a retired farmer 
living near Moro. 

Our subject has three brothers and three sis- 
ters; Thomas, manager of the Puget Sound 
Warehouse, at Pendleton; Alexander, a lumber 
dealer and manager of the Puget Sound Ware- 
house, at Helix, Oregon; John, a farmer and 
manager of the Balfour-Guthrie Warehouse, at 
Warren, Umatilla county ; Lydia, wife of William 



Alby, a Franklin county, Oregon, farmer; Sarah, 
single, residing with her mother, and Lucy, single, 
a twin sister of our subject. 

Fraternally Mr. Montgomery is a member 
of Cascade Lodge, No. 303, B. P. O. E., at The 
Dalles. Politically his affiliations are with the 
Republican party, of which he is committeeman 
for his precinct. He is, also, constable and 
deputy sheriff. Mr. Montgomery has won the 
confidence of all in the community in which he 
resides, and is a broad-minded, progressive and 
sagacious business young man of marked ability. 



GEORGE P. SINK, a very extensive general 
farmer and stockraiser, of Sherman county, re- 
sides three miles east and two miles north of 
Kent. He is a native of Illinois, born June 2, 
1847. His parents were natives of North Caro- 
line, descendants of old and distinguished Amer- 
ican families. The father, Thomas W., was born 
in 1819. The mother, Luzina (Thomas) Sink, 
was born in 1824. Her ancestors, of the old 
colonial period, were originally from Virginia. 
Both the paternal and maternal grandfathers of 
our subject served with distinction in the Revo- 
lutionary war and the War of 1812. The broth- 
ers of the parents of our subject were engaged 
in the Civil war, serving on both sides of the con- 
troversy. At present these parents, living at a 
graceful and green old age, reside three miles 
northwest of Wasco, Sherman county. The 
family came to Oregon in 1876, locating in Yam- 
hill county. 

Until the year 1867 our subject was reared 
in Illinois, from whence the family removed to 
Clark county, Missouri. In early youth the lad 
lived in town and attended the public schools 
until he had reached the age of fourteen years. 
At that period his parents were proprietors of a 
boarding house ; subsequently they followed 
farming. 

In 1870, at the age of twenty-three years, 
our subject struck out to face the world and 
from it wrest a living for himself and, perchance 
a handsome competence. He followed various 
occupations in various states, such as riding the 
ranges, attending a surveying party, acting as 
usher for Barnum & Bailey's circus, etc., and in 
1876 he came west. His father and family, had 
gone to California and met our subject there, 
and they all went to Oregon. The father pur- 
chased land in Yamhill county, upon which he 
remained one year. In 1882 the subject of this 
sketch secured a homestead three miles below 
Wasco. Sherman county, in Spanish Hollow. It 
was on this farm that his wife died, March 9, 



532 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1883. Our subject remained there until the 
financial panic of 1893 when he went to Port- 
land, where he was enabled to give his children 
the advantages of superior educational facilities. 
Here he engaged in various employments, includ- 
ing teaming and contracting, until the develop- 
ment of the Klondyke sensation, when he went 
to Alaska, remaining two seasons, the first on the 
trail ; the second at Dawson. Here he was fairly 
successful, but returned and passed about two 
years in search of a suitable location for business. 
It was in 1900 that Mr. Sink came to Sherman 
county, where he purchased land to the extent 
of five quarter sections, and subsequently added 
more. He now owns one thousand four hundred 
acres, and cultivates one thousand acres of grain. 
He raises some stock, and during the winter of 
1903-4 he fed four, thousand head of sheep. Mr. 
Sink is the possessor of one of the best and most 
eligible ranches in the southern portion of Sher- 
man county. He extensively cultivates small 
fruits and vegetables. 

In October, 1877, at Newberg, Yamhill county, 
he was united in marriage to Henrietta Everest, 
born in the same county. She was the daughter 
of David and Irene (Jones) Everest. The father 
was a native of England, and came to Oregon 
overland, with an -ox train, in 1846, from Iowa, 
accompanied by his parents. Mrs. Everest had 
preceded him, with her parents, in 1845, emi- 
grating from Missouri. 

Our subject has two brothers and two sisters ; 
Thomas E. and Everett, both farmers living near 
Wasco ; Mary, wife of Charles D. Belcher, a 
farmer near Woodland, Yolo county, California ; 
Jennie, wife of Charles Chandler, of Clackamas 
county, Oregon. Seven brothers and sisters sur- 
vive the wife of our subject, nearly all of them 
living in Yamhill county. 

Mr. Sink has three daughters, Georgetta, 
wife of Horace Cuthill, living with subject; Char- 
letta, at Los Angeles, California, and Henrietta. 

The fraternal affiliations of Mr. Sink are with 
the A. F. & A. M., having been demitted from 
another lodge. Politically he is a stanch Republi- 
can, but has never aspired to office, with the ex- 
ception of school director. Mr. Sink is a pro- 
gressive, liberal spirited citizen, popular and in- 
fluential in the community in which he resides. 



WILLIAM E. TATE, postmaster of Wasco, 
Sherman county, Oregon, was born in Chicago, 
Illinois, June 18, 1865. His parents and their 
lineage are mentioned elsewhere in this work. 

At Chicago our subject attained the graded 
and high schools, where he laid the foundation 



of an excellent education. He then came to- 
California and thence to Sherman county. He 
secured a homestead near his father's place, culti- 
vated the same for some time, and later sold the 
property and passed eight years near Hood River.. 
It was in 1893 that he returned to Sherman 
county where he resumed farming, rented land 
and, also, conducted his father's ranch, two years. 
Recently he sold his farm. In April, 1903, he was 
appointed postmaster of Wasco. 

September 10, 1890, Mr. Tate was united in 
marriage to Miss Louisa Hansen, born near Alt- 
house, Josephine county, Oregon. Her parents 
were Germans. Mr. and Mrs. Tate have six 
children, Florence, Bessie, Mary, Frances, Ailene 
and Gladys. 

The fraternal affiliations of our subject are 
with Cascade Lodge, No. 303, B. P. O. E., Taylor 
Lodge, No. 99, A. F. & A. M., Sherman Lodge, 
No. 157, I. O. O. F., of Wasco, Modoc Encamp- 
ment, Grass Valley ; the A. O. U. W., of which he 
is past master workman and has served as dele- 
gate to the grand lodge. Politically Mr. Tate 
is an active and patriotic Republican and was 
delegate to state and congressional conventions 
during the past spring, and frequently delegate 
to county conventions. He has, also, served as 
school director. In the community in which he 
resides Mr. Tate is quite popular, and he num- 
bers many friends in a wide circle of acquaint- 
ances throughout the county and state. 



FRED BLAU, a prominent, progressive and 
prosperous farmer of Sherman county, resides 
five miles northwest of Wasco. He was born 
in Saxony, Germany, December 5, 1867, the son 
of George and Katherina (Kratzmer) Blau, na- 
tives of Germany, where they died. George Blau, 
the father was a tailor. 

In 18B5 Fred Blau, our subject, came to the 
United States, and the first two years were 
passed in Iowa. In 1887 he came to Sherman 
county and purchased a squatter's rights on dis- 
puted railroad land. He had no capital, but 
worked out for wages and gradually improved 
his holdings and now he owns one thousand 
two hundred acres, over one thousand acres of 
which are cultivated. He owns, also, a combina- 
tion harvester and thresher. 

Mr. Blau was married at Moro, Sherman 
county, November 28, 1897, to Minnie Gibson,, 
born in Oregon, the daughter of James Gibson, 
a native of Pennsylvania. Our subject has two- 
brothers and one sister ; August, a wagon-maker 
in Germany ; Wilhelm, a tailor, in the old coun- 
try ; and Freda, who is married and living im 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



533 



'Germany. Julius, another brother, died in San 
Francisco. Mr. and Mrs. Blau have one child, 
Walter. Fraternally Mr. Blau is a member of 
Sherman Lodge, No. 137, I. O. O. F., of Wasco, 
and the A. O. U. W. Mrs. Blau has five broth- 
ers and two sisters ; Ellsworth, Omar and Ly- 
man, of Walla Walla ; Will, in Wasco ; Charles, 
-living with his father in Crook county ; Belle, 
wife of Harold Stand, of La Grande ; and Maud, 
single, and living with her father. Politically 
Mr. Blau is a Democrat, although not particu- 
larly active. He is an energetic and industrious 
business man and one highly esteemed by all. 



HENRY RICHELDERFER. a retired 
farmer of Sherman county, resides two miles 
northwest of Wasco. March 8, 1846, he was 
born at Port Clinton, Schuylkill county, Penn- 
sylvania. His father, Nathan, was, also, a na- 
tive of the Keystone State, as was his mother, 
-Matilda (Mengle) Richelderfer, both descend- 
ants of old and prominent Pennsylvania Dutch 
families. The father was for many years a rail- 
way engineer running on the Philadelphia & 
Reading road. He died at Port Clinton, in 1870. 
The mother died when our subject was one year 
old. 

At the public schools of Port Clinton he ac- 
quired a good business education, and in the 
spring of 1865 enlisted in Two Hundred and 
Fourteenth Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, 
Colonel McGibbons, commanding. The company 
.in which our subject served was commanded by 
Captain Kauffman. He participated in a num- 
ber of skirmishes but was engaged in no im- 
portant battles. The greater portion of his time 
was passed in Virginia and at Washington, D. C, 
at which latter place he was mustered out. He 
then returned home and engaged in railroad 
work which he followed until 1877, as brakeman 
and conductor, on the Philadelphia & Reading, 
Morris & Essex and New York Central lines. 
In 1877 he migrated to Kansas where he passed 
• one year engaged in farming, thence going to the 
Willamette valley. He came to Sherman county 
in the fall of 1880. At that period Eaton and 
Love were the only settlers living near Mr. 
Richelderfer. He took up a homestead and pur- 
chased other land. Here he left, for a time, 
his family and became a conductor on the Ore- 
gon Railroad & Navigation Company's road, 
nearly three years, at the same time gradually 
improving his place. 

Our subject was married April 29, 1870, at 
New York city, to Miss Mary Evans, born in 
Berks county, Pennsylvania. She was the daugh- 



ter of James Evans, also a native of the Key- 
stone State. 

Our subject has one sister, Isabella, wife of 
Joseph Mengle, of Port Clinton, Pennsylvania, 
formerly a railroad man but now retired. Mr. 
and Mrs. Richelderfer have five children living; 
Harry N., at home; Asa D. and Earl H, con- 
ducting the farm; Laura N., wife of W. Robert 
Foryce, of White Salmon, Washington; Emma 
E., at home. Their parents are both members 
of the Methodist Episcopal church. 

The parents of James Evans, father of our 
subject's wife, were Irish; his grandparents Eng- 
lish. Mrs. Richelderfer's mother, Annie 
(Breisch) Evans, was a native of Pennsylvania, 
of Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry. She died when 
our subject's wife was about nine years of age. 
The latter's great-grandfather — father's maternal 
grandfather — Glace, was in the War of the 
Revolution. James Evans served in the Civil 
war, in Captain Nangle's company. He was 
wounded in battle. He died in 1874, and is 
buried at Pottsville, Pennsylvania. 

The farm of our subject comprises two sec- 
tions which are conducted by his sons. With the 
exception of about one hundred acres it is all 
under cultivation. He owns a steam threshing 
outfit. In 1902 he erected a handsome and sub- 
stantial two-story, sixteen-room house, including 
two bath-rooms, pantry and store-room, costing 
about three thousand dollars. It is provided with 
an excellent water system piped into the house. 
The political principles of Mr. Richelderfer are 
in line with those of the Republican party. He is 
a sagacious business man, of sound judgment 
and highly esteemed in both social and financial 
circles. 



ARTHUR K. HALL, the leading druggist 
of Kent, Sherman county, and one of the pros- 
perous and popular business men of the commun- 
ity, was born in Iowa, November 22, 1866. His 
father, Dr. David M. Hall, was a native of Ohio, 
as was his father. The paternal great-grand- 
father of our subject was a pioneer of the coun- 
try now embraced by West Virginia, and also of 
Ohio. He was a hunter and trapper and served 
with distinction in the War of 1812. Dr. David 
Hall, the father of our subject, wac for many 
years a practicing physician and a pioneer in 
Western Iowa — the only physician in practice 
there for several years, and continued practice 
for a period of thirty years, in that locality. He 
died in June, 1887, in Harrison county, Iowa. 

The mother, Sarah (Kennedy) Hall, is a na- 
tive of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ; her parents 
were born in Ireland. At present she resides on 



^34 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



her homestead, three and one-half miles from 
Kent. 

In the state of Iowa our subject was reared 
where he attended district and high schools, at 
Logan, Harrison county. In July, 1890, he came 
to Vancouver, Washington, where he was em- 
ployed by A. L. Ross, a prominent druggist of 
that place. Here he remained eighteen months, 
and the following four years he was engaged 
in logging. It was in 1896 that he went to The 
Dalles where he passed one winter ; thence to 
Sherman county, where he rented a quarter sec- 
tion of land, and, also, secured another quarter 
section under the homestead laws, which he still 
owns. It is located three miles northwest of 
Kent, and for which he receives a fair rental. In 
April, 1903, Mr. Hall erected a building in Kent 
and opened a fine drug store, in which he con- 
ducts a profitable trade. 

September 20, 1899, our subject, at Ante- 
lope, Wasco county, was united in marriage to 
Cora C. Elkin, a native of Missouri. Her father, 
Edward E. Elkin, was born in the same state 
r-nd his parents were natives of Virginia. The 
father of Edward E. Elkin served with distinction 
nn the union side during the Civil war, in a 
Missouri regiment. At present Edward E. El- 
kin lives in Crook county, Oregon, near Ashwood, 
engaged in the stock business. Mrs. Hall's 
mother, Margaret (Marrs) Elkin, is a native 
nf West Virginia, as were her parents, although 
ft their period the state was known as Virginia. 
Her father and brothers served in the Civil war, 
in the army of the Confederacy. At present 
she lives at Ashwood, Crook county, with her 
family; her mother resides in Missouri. 

Our subject, Arthur K. Hall, has two broth- 
ers, Marshall, living in Iowa, and Willard, a 
farmer living one and one-half miles from Kent. 
He has, also, two half brothers, John, residing 
at Woodbine, Iowa, and a member of the board 
of supervisors of Harrison county, and Charles, 
living in Michigan. Mrs. Hall has five broth- 
ers and two sisters ; Marvin, in Crook county, 
Oregon ; Milo, Roy, Arthur and Charles, living at 
home. Her sisters are Eunice and Ruby, also 
living at home. 

Mr. and Mrs. Hall have one child, Grace, 
born November 15, 1902. Our subject, fratern- 
ally, is a member of the I. O. O. F. and the 
Modern Woodmen of America, and both he and 
his estimable wife are members of the Ladies' 
auxiliary of the latter order, the Royal Neigh- 
bors. Politically he is a Republican, although 
not particularly active in the successive cam- 
1 aigns. He has, at different times served as 
road supervisor and school director of his dis- 
trict. 



In September, 1904, Mr. Hall received his 
commission as postmaster of Kent, the office be- 
ing located in his drug store. He was appointed 
justice of the peace for Kent precinct by the 
county commissioners and at the following elec- 
tion he refused to allow his name to come up 
for balloting. He is one of the promoters and 
stockholders of the Kent Telephone Company, 
which maintains lines to Grass Valley and to- 
other local points. 



JOHN H. BOTTEMILLER, the principal 
lumber dealer of Kent, Sherman county, Ore- 
gon, was born in Minnesota, December 2, 1867, 
the son of Henry and Mary (Mahlman) Botte- 
miller, both natives of Germany. When fourteen 
years of age the father came to the United States 
with his parents. They located first in Missouri, 
and engaged in the industry of tobacco raising. 
Later they removed to Minnesota where they 
devoted their attention to general farming. The 
father died in 1898 at Courtney, eight miles from 
Portland. 

When twelve years of age the mother of our 
subject came to the United States with her pa- 
rents, and at present resides on the old homestead, 
near Portland. 

Until he was sixteen years of age our subject 
was reared in Minnesota, living with the family 
and dividing his attention between the farm and 
the public schools in his neighborhood. The 
family then removed to Santa Rosa, Sonoma 
county, California, where they purchased prop- 
erty two and one-half miles northwest of Santa 
Rosa. Here they remained three years, and then 
disposed of the place, including a vinevard and' 
orchard, and migrated to Oregon, where they 
bought a farm of sixty-nine acres, near Port- 
land, a portion of which was devoted to an or- 
chard and vegetable garden. Following the death 
of his father our subject conducted the place until 
1902, when he came to Sherman county and se- 
cured a homestead. On this he remained three 
months, then relinquished to the government. 
He then removed to Kent where he engaged in 
the lumber business. He still owns fourteen acres 
of his father's old place ; this he receives a rental 
for. 

July 20, 1897, at the old home, our subject was 
united in marriage to Minnie Thun, a native of 
Minnesota, the daughter of Charles and Cristina 
Thun, both born in Germany. At present they 
reside at Courtney on property adjoining the sub- 
ject's place. They were married in Germany, 
and came to the United States about the year 
1876, locating first in Minnesota. At that time- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



535 



the father was a carpenter ; later he turned his 
attention to farming. At present he is retired, 
although he owns a farm of eighty acres at Logan 
which his sons conduct. 

Our subject, John H. Bottemiller, has five 
brothers and seven sisters ; August, a farmer near 
Richfield, Washington ; Charles, a merchant, saw 
and planing mill man, residing at Bertha, Minne- 
sota ; William, a farmer at Clarks, Oregon, twenty 
miles southeast of Portland ; Edward, a gardener 
near Portland ; Emil, a shipping clerk for the 
Oregon Casket Company, of Portland; Louisa, 
wife of Jacob Kohlhase, of Bertha, Minnesota; 
Amelia, wife of Adam Leyh, of Bertha, Minne- 
sota ; Mary, wife of Ralph Ganyard, a commer- 
cial traveler, residing at Sellwood ; Emma, single, 
living at Oregon City ; Lena, wife of Gottleib 
Keller, in the Milwaukee, Oregon, car shops; 
Lydia, a trained nurse in The Dalles hospital ; 
and Augusta, a cook in The Dalles hospital. 

To our subject and his estimable wife four 
children have been born, Laura, Leslie, William, 
and an infant unnamed. The parents are both 
members of the Methodist Episcopal church. 
Politically Mr. Bottemiller is a Republican, al- 
though not active. He is a progressive and 
broad-minded citizen of Kent, and highly popu- 
lar with all classes of society in the community 
in which he resides. 

In connection with his lumber yard Mr. Botte- 
miller operates a feed mill, having a gasoline en- 
gine to run the mill and also to handle a wood 
saw. He carries a full line of building materials, 
as sash, doors, builders hardware, and so forth, 
has a complete stock of mill feed and hay, besides 
wood. 



JOSEPH J. MILLER, of the firm of Miller 
Brothers, proprietors of a meat market and exten- 
sive stock-raisers and farmers of Sherman county, 
resides at Wasco. He was born at Miller Bridge, 
on the Sherman county side of the Des Chutes 
river, October 3, 1871, the son of T. Jefferson and 
Sarah (Ford) Miller, the former a native of In- 
diana, the latter of Iowa. 

Our subject was reared in Klickitat county, 
Washington, until he was thirteen years of age. 
His parents had moved there when he was two 
years old. They came back to Sherman county, 
where he attended district schools, the graded 
schools of Oregon City and to this education he 
added a course at the Portland Business College. 
Until 1901 he remained with his father the most 
of the time. He then engaged in stock-raising, 
wheat buying and steamboating, etc. He is 
largely interested in the Columbia & Okanogan 
Steamboat Company, with headquarters at Wen- 



atchee, Washington. For two years our subject- 
was in active service, 1902 and 1903, at the head 
office of the upper district. Then, with his broth- 
ers, Thomas J. and Edward E., he bought out 
O. H. Rich, mentioned elsewhere, a meat busi- 
ness, and which they have conducted ever since. 
Shortly after purchasing this interest our sub- 
ject discovered that it demanded his attention per- 
sonally and accordingly he resigned his position 
with the steamboat company and came to Sher- 
man county. Here he owns about one thousand 
seven hundred acres of land, and in Klickitat 
county, Washington, six hundred acres more. He 
has about six acres of orchard and winters about 
one hundred and fifty head of cattle. He also 
raises a few hogs. 

April 19, 1902, at The Dalles, our subject was 
united in marriage to Miss Rosa Klimt, born at 
The Dalles and reared in Portland. Her father 
is dead ; her mother resides at The Dalles. She 
has two brothers, George and Frank, now with 
their mother. 

Mr. and Mrs. Miller have one child, Jenna 
M., born in Wenatchee, Washington, September 
8, 1903. Fraternally, our subject is a member 
of the W. O. T. W. Politically, he is a Republi- 
can, although far from being a partisan. 



JOHN J. SCHAEFFER, a member of the 
Eastern Oregon Trading Company, at Kent, 
Sherman county, was born in Milan township, 
Erie county, Ohio, June 16, 1845. His father, 
Michael Schaeffer, was a native of Pennsylva- 
nia, as were his parents. In Milan township 
Michael Schaeffer was, for a period of fifty years, 
a well-to-do and highly respected farmer. He 
passed awav on his homestead in Erie county 
in 1884. The mother of our subject, Mary E. 
(Ganby) Schaeffer, was a- native of Seneca coun- 
ty, New York, a descendant of an old and dis-. 
tinguished American family. She died on the old 
Ohio homestead. 

It was in the Buckeye State that our subject 
was reared until 1887, where he attended the pub- 
lic schools and assisted his parents on the farm. 
He then came to Sherman county, Oregon, and 
purchased a timber claim right one-half mile 
south of Moro, and also a Quarter section of land 
of Samuel L. Brooks, of The Dalles, mentioned 
elsewhere, which adjoined his timber culture 
claim. This property he cultivated for about 
fourteen years, and disposing of it, engaged in 
the mercantile business in Moro. This he con- 
tinued one year, sold out and removed to Kent, 
where he opened another store in a new building 
which he erected. At the same period he was 



536 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



proprietor of another mercantile establishment at 
Moro, having at the time a partner in both these 
enterprises, P. G. Hickenbotham. These gentle- 
men disposed of their business to the commer- 
cial company, at Kent, and also the Moro busi- 
ness. This was in 1901. The following year 
Mr. Schaeffer built another edifice and com- 
menced business alone. At the organization of 
the Eastern Oregon Trading Company he turned 
in his mercantile stock for shares in the new 
company, and also purchased the building which 
has since been enlarged. 

At the residence of the bride's parents, 
in Crook county, Oregon, five miles from 
Prineville, our subject was united in mar- 
riage to Mary E. Snoderley, born in Linn 
county, Oregon. Her father, James H. Snod- 
erley, a native of Tennessee, was an early Ore- 
gon pioneer, crossing the plains in 1852 with an 
ox train, and settling in Linn county. He died 
in May, 1898, on the old homestead, near Prine- 
ville. Her mother, Eliza (Curl) Snoderley, a 
native of Missouri, with ox teams, crossed the 
plains in 1853, and located in Linn county. At 
present she resides at Prineville. 

Mrs. Schaeffer, the wife of our subject, has 
four brothers and one sister ; Walter and William, 
at Prineville ; Joseph, in California ; and Fred, 
residing in Crook county, Oregon. The sister is 
America, wife of Jacob Boone, of Prineville, the 
latter a member of the old distinguished Boone 
family, of which Daniel Boone was a prominent 
character. Another sister, Ellen, is dead. Mr. 
and Mrs. Schaeffer have one child, Lois E., aged 
eight years. 

Our subject has six brothers living and three 
sisters ; Jacob, a millwright, at Decatur, Illinois ; 
George, of Milan, Ohio ; William, a farmer, near 
Milan, Ohio ; Benjamin, a farmer near Moro, 
Oregon ; Reuben, Frank, in the insurance busi- 
ness at Bellevue, Ohio. Joseph, another brother, 
is dead. The sisters are : Elizabeth, wife of Or- 
lando Bassett, a retired farmer of Milan, Ohio ; 
Rebecca, wife of James McLean, a farmer in 
Huron county, Ohio; Susannah, single, living 
with her brother, William. Sarah, wife of Peter 
Williams, and Mandana, wife of Charles Mixter, 
are dead. Mary C, died in infancv, aged two 
and one-half years. 

The political principles of our subject are in 
line with those of the Democratic party. He has 
frequently been a delegate to county conventions, 
and at present is school director in his district. 
He and wife are members of the Baptist church. 
Socially and in a business sense Mr. Schaeffer 
is a popular and influential citizen. 

In March, 1864, Mr. Schaeffer enlisted in 
Company F, One Hundred and Forty-fifth Ohio 



Infantry, together with his brothers, George Wil- 
liam and Benjamin, all being in the same com- 
pany. They served until honorably discharged at 
camp Chase, Columbus, Ohio, having been in 
much active contest. 



SARAH TROTTER, the mother of Mrs. 
Milton H. Bennett, mentioned elsewhere in this 
work, was born in North Carolina, July 10, 1851. 
She is now a resident of Kent, Sherman county, 
Oregon. Her father, Jonathan Wheeler, was 
also a native of North Carolina, and the descend- 
ant of an old and distinguished American family. 
His grandfather, as well as other members of the 
family, served with distinction in the Revolution- 
ary War. The mother of our subject, Esther 
(Stephens) Wheeler, was, also, born in North 
Carolina, and was a cousin of the late Hon. 
Alexander H. Stephens, vice president of the 
Southern Confederacy from 1861 to 1865. He 
was born near Crawfordville, Georgia, February 
11, 1812; died at Atlanta, Georgia, March 4, 
1883. He graduated at the University of Geor- 
gia in 1832 ; studied law ; was chosen member of 
the state legislature in 1836 ; was member of 
congress from Georgia from 1843 to 1859 ; op- 
posed secession in i860 : was Democratic member 
of congress from Georgia from 1873 to 1882, and 
was governor of Georgia in 1883. He was the 
author of "The War Between the States," and a 
"History of the United States." 

Our subject was married, in Missouri, Jan- 
uary 26, 1868, to James A. Trotter, a native of 
Missouri. His father, Allen S. Trotter, was a 
native of Indiana, and claimed to be the first 
white child born on that side of the Ohio river, 
in Indiana, near Vincennes. He was reared in 
Boone county. His parents, of Irish descent, 
came from Virginia. He was one of twelve chil- 
dren descended from an old, distinguished and 
wealthy Irish family. 

Our subject and her husband lived in Mis- 
souri nearly six years ; thence they came to Clarke 
county, Washington, locating near Vancouver. 
He secured a homestead in the timber, and worked 
hard and industriously in clearing this land, for 
twelve years ; he then sold it for eight hundred 
dollars.' They lived in Vancouver about two 
years. In 1894 they came to Sherman county, 
principally on account of the ill health of Mr. 
Trotter; thence they returned to Vancouver 
where he passed away May 14, 1899. After his 
death our subject returned to Sherman county 
and took a homestead on which the town of Kent 
was subsequently built. In 1901 she platted the 
townsite and has since disposed of a number of 






HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



537 



lots. Mrs. Trotter has two brothers ; Julius, at 
Carthage, Missouri ; and David, at Eureka 
Springs, Arkansas. They are both veterans of 
the Civil war, having served in the union army. 
She has one sister, Mary, the wife of Henry 
Barnes, of Arkansas. Her husband had one 
brother, Joseph W., living at Vancouver. He 
served in the First Washington Volunteer Regi- 
ment during the Philippine war. He had, also, 
one half-sister, Mrs. Hattie Culton, of Portland, 
Oregon. Our subject has five children living; 
William F., a blacksmith in Okanogan county, 
Washington ; Maggie, wife of Milton Bennett, 
mentioned elsewhere ; James S., a farmer of 
Sherman county ; Mamie, living at home ; and 
Iva, widow of Ned Lane, of Kent. Mrs. Trotter 
is a member of the United Presbyterian church, 
and a lady who is highly esteemed throughout 
the community. 



HENRY SCHADEWITZ, a prominent and 
influential business man of Kent, Sherman county, 
president of the Eastern Oregon Trading Com- 
pany, and postmaster, is a native of the Empire 
State, having been born at Rochester, New York, 
September 16, 1856. 

His father, Carl H. Schadewitz, a native of 
Berlin, Germany, was a wagonmaker by trade. 
At the age of eighteen years he came to the 
United States, where he completed learning his 
trade, and then traveled throughout the country, 
working in a number of states, and finally reach- 
ing California via the Isthmus of Panama, and 
was engaged in the business of minning for sev- 
eral years. In 1852 he returned to New York. 
Later he was married at Rochester, returning to 
California shortly after the birth of our subject, 
and subsequently he was in the wagonmaking 
business at Stockton, California. He sold out 
this business when our subject was about seven 
years of age, and purchased a farm in San Joa- 
quin county, California, where the family re- 
mained until they came to Oregon, overland, in 
the fall of 1887. " Here he joined his sons, who 
had preceded him as early as 1884. He died in 
Sherman county, near Kent, in December, 1892. 
The mother, also a native of Germany, passed 
away in California in 1874. 

Our subject, accompanied by two brothers, 
arrived in Sherman county in 1884, and secured 
land about three miles from the town of Kent. 
Mr. Schadewitz owns nearly one thousand acres 
of excellent farming land. In 1901 he bought 
out the business of Benjamin Brown, the pio- 
neer merchant of Kent. Later he was associated 
with Milton Bennett, whose biographical sketch 
appears in another portion of this work. 



February 13, 1891, at Acampo, San Joaquin 
county, California, our subject was married to 
Emma May Parks, a native of California. Her 
father, John Parks, a native of Missouri, came to 
California in the days of the early Argonauts, 
where he died in 1892. Her mother, Olive H. 
(Walston) Parks, is a native of Illinois. At the 
age of sixteen she came to California with friends, 
and now survives her husband at Acampo. 

Our subscriber has two brothers, Charles, en- 
gaged in the stock business at Mitchell, Oregon, 
and Louis, a farmer living in Kent, where he con- 
ducts a meat market. Mrs. Schadewitz has two 
brothers and five sisters : John and Adelbert, 
farmers, in Sherman county ; Annie, wife of a 
brother of our subject, Louis Schadewitz; Cyn- 
thia, wife of Adolph Phrenn, of San Joaquin 
county, California ; Mattie, in California ; Louisa, 
wife of Elmer Needham, a Sherman county 
farmer; Alzada, single, and residing with her 
mother in California. Mr. and Mrs. Schadewitz 
have six children living, Carl H., Olive M., Lola, 
Melvin, Louis M., and Theodore. John, one of 
the sons, is dead. 

Our subject is a member of Kent Lodge No. 
185, I. O. O. F. Politically, he is a Republican ; 
has been a notary public, justice of the peace, 
school director, road supervisor, etc. His wife 
is a devout and consistent member of the Chris- 
tian church. Mr. Schadewitz is a man of ex- 
cellent business judgment and sagacity, is widely 
and favorably known, and an influential and pop- 
ular citizen. 



BYRON W. ANSON, at present a farmer 
in Sherman county, residing one-half mile east 
and one mile south, of Klondike, has enjoyed an 
eventful and distinguished career. He was born 
in New York city, April 25, 1854, the son of 
John and Julia (Derby) Anson, the latter a na- 
tive of Indiana and now living at Hastings, Ne- 
braska. The father is dead. 

When only seven years of age our subject ran 
away from home and wandered to Lexington, 
Missouri, where for several years he resided with 
an old bachelor, attending district schools and 
working at various employments. When twelve 
years old he entered the service of the United 
States government as a messenger and was thus 
employed three years. Subsequently he served 
seven years as a government scout in Kansas, 
Colorado, Montana and the Black Hills. At the 
time of the Custer massacre on the Little Big 
Horn he was away after reinforcements and thus 
escaped with his life. In 1872 Mr. Anson went 
to San Francisco with a car-load of horses for 
Colonel Potter, U. S. A., and there left the em- 



538 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



ployment of the government. He then went to 
Colusa county, California, where he rented land 
and engaged in farming. In 1887 he came to 
Sherman county, filed on a claim and purchased 
other land, although he had but moderate capi- 
tal, and now owns four hundred and eighty acres. 
In 1898 he erected a handsome six-room Queen 
Anne cottage, which is well supplied with water 
piped into the house. He has twenty-five head 
of stock, horses and cows ; five head of thorough- 
bred trotting horses of Phalmont stock, sired by 
Phalmont Boy, with a record of 2:iS}i; eight 
head of thoroughbred Clydesdales and two 
Shires. He has two cows, full Durham and 
eligible to register. 

Mr. Anson was married, September 13, 1887, 
at Wheatland, California, to Miss Josephine C. 
Hilderbrand, sister of George W. Hilderbrand, 
a sketch of whom appears elsewhere. Mr. Anson 
has one brother, Augustine, a plumber and gas- 
fitter, living at Hastings, Nebraska. Captain An- 
son, the famous base-ball player of the Chicago 
"White Stockings," known as "Baby Anson," 
and now a candidate for city clerk of Chicago, 
is a first cousin of our subscriber. Both Mr. and 
Mrs. Anson are members of the United Brethren 
church. He is a Democrat, and although not 
active, has served two years as road supervisor. 
Mr. Anson is a thorough gentleman, genial, pop- 
ular and of excellent business principles. He 
bears a striking resemblance to the celebrated 
ball player. He and his wife are highly esteemed 
in their home community. 



LOUIS SCHADEWITZ, a leading business 
man, general farmer and proprietor of the meat 
market, in Kent, Sherman county, was born in 
Liberty township, San Joaquin county, Califor- 
nia, April 12, 1863. He is a brother of Henry 
Schadewitz, mentioned elsewhere in this volume. 
His parents, Carl H. and Maria (Washer) 
Schadewitz, were natives of Germany, who came 
to the United States at an early age. In Decem- 
ber, 1892, the father died at Kent, Sherman 
county ; the mother passed away in 1874, in Cali- 
fornia. 

With his brothers our subject came to Ore- 
gon in 1884, an d secured a homestead which he 
now cultivates successfully. At present he owns 
two sections of land, and rents another section. 
Four-fifths of all his land is tillable. He raises 
some cattle, usually wintering about seventy-five 
head, and has now thirty horses and sixty hogs. 

It was only recently that he commenced the 
meat business, and he is running a supply wagon 
and erecting a two-story frame building, 30x60 



feet, with 20-foot studding. A portion of the 
lower floor with be utilized for meat market pur- 
poses, and the rest for a residence. The upper 
floor is devoted to a commodious hall. 

February 13, 1895, Mr. Schadewitz was 
united in marriage to Miss Mary A. Parks, a na- 
tive Calif ornian, born September 3, 1869. She 
is the daughter of John M. and Olive. (Walston) 
Parks. The father was born in Missouri ; the 
mother in Iowa. In 1850 the father, with an ox 
train, crossed the plains, and in the Golden State 
became an industrious and fairly successful 
miner. He died in California. The mother still 
lives at Acampo, California. Mrs. Schadewitz, 
the wife of our subject, is a sister of the wife of 
Henry Schadewitz, our subject's brother. Three 
children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. 
Schadewitz : Oliver E., aged nine ; Edna G., aged 
seven, and Olive M., aged two years. Mr. 
Schadewitz is an active member of the M. W. A. 
Royal Neighbors, and is vice noble grand of the 
I. O. O. F., all of Kent. Politically he is a Re- 
publican, but not an active participant in the 
campaigns of that party. For three successive 
terms he has been elected clerk of the school dis- 
trict in which he resides. Socially, and in a 
business sense, Mr. Schadewitz is a broad- 
minded, progressive and liberal man, popular with 
all and a highly respected member of the com- 
munity in which he resides. 



FREDERIC W. MATTHIAS, one of the 
most successful and prosperous farmers in Sher- 
man county, lives three miles southeast of Klon- 
dike. He was born in Prussia, Germany, De- 
cember 29, 1855. His parents were Christ and 
Elizabeth (Peeper) Matthias. The father served 
in the Prussian army in the war of 1848, and died 
in Kansas in 189 1. At present the mother lives 
with her son and the subject of this sketch. 

The latter came to the United States in May, 
1884. In October of the same year he was fol- 
lowed by his parents, and the family settled in 
Kansas. In 1890 our subject came to Sherman 
county with his family and mother. He had, at 
this time, no capital and worked out for wages 
among the neighboring farmers. During five 
years he herded sheep, the family at that period 
living at De Moss Springs. Subsequently Mr. 
Matthias took a homestead and has purchased 
more land since until he now owns one thousand 
seven hundred and fifty acres. He also owns a 
combined harvester and thresher. In 1901 he 
build a two thousand five hundred dollar house. 
He has sixty-five head of cattle ; eighty head of 
horses, Clydesdale and Percherons. the cattle be- 
ins- in the main graded Short-horn stock. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



539 



Mr. Matthias was married in Germany tQ 
Dora Hillem, a native of Germany, as were her 
parents. Our subject has two brothers and three 
sisters ; Christ, a brick mason in Germany ; Will- 
iam, in Kansas ; Dora, wife of Willie Gieg, of 
Iowa ; Minnie, wife of William Schaeffer, of 
Oklahoma ; and Lizzie, wife of John Gieg. Mrs. 
Matthias has one sister, Mary, wife of Thomas 
Colbert, of Cheney, Washington. Mr. and Mrs. 
Matthias have four children, Fred, John, Alvina, 
wife of George Robinson, and Amelia. Our sub- 
ject is a member of the M. W. A., of which he is 
venerable consul. Politically he is a Democrat, 
although not active. By industry combined with 
excellent business sagacity Mr. Matthias has built 
up a fine property and has, also, won the respect 
and esteem of the community in which he re- 
sides. 



MILTON H. BENNETT, manager of the 
Eastern Oregon Trading Company, and one of 
the prominent and influential citizens of Kent, 
Sherman county, was born in Jones county, Iowa, 
October 13, 1863. His father, Craig Bennett, 
was a native of Guernsey county, Ohio. He died 
in 1890, in Sherman county, Oregon. His pa- 
rents were natives of Ireland. 

The mother of our subject, Isabel (Corn- 
stock) Bennett, is a native of New York, and at 
present resides with her son, Milton. 

Until he was twenty-one years of age the 
latter was reared in Iowa, where he attended the 
public schools in his neighborhood, and worked 
on his father's farm. In 1874 the family re- 
moved to Kansas, but at the age of seventeen he 
returned to Iowa remaining there until 1886. 
Thence he moved to Oregon, whither his parents 
had preceded him by two years. His father took 
up land under the homestead laws, in Sherman 
county. This was in 1886 after the arrival of 
our subject. For two years the family had re- 
sided near Goldendale, Washington. The same 
year our subject secured land in Sherman county, 
two miles from the town of Kent. In 1890 he 
secured another place under the homestead laws, 
selling the preemption he had first located. He 
still owns the homestead which adjoins the town 
of Kent. In 1900 he erected a warehouse at Kent 
which was the first building in the town. This 
he conducted one season, and then sold out to the 
W. W. Company, but continued to conduct it for 
them one season. January 1, 1902, he engaged in 
the general merchandise business in company 
with Henry Schadewitz under the firm name of 
Schadewitz & Company. This firm was contin- 
ued fourteen months when our subject disposed 
of his interest to his partner. August 1, 1903, he 



purchased the interest of Schadewitz & Com- 
pany, and organized the Eastern Oregon Trad- 
ing Company with a capital of $15,000. The 
officers are Henry Schadewitz, president ; our 
subject secretary, treasurer and manager. The 
subject's brother, Walter H. Bennett, and John 
J. Schaeffer are, also, stockholders. 

June 25, 1895, our subject was united in mar- 
riage to Maggie Trotter, a native of Vancouver, 
Washington. The nuptial ceremony was solem- 
nized at Kent. The bride's parents were James 
A. and Sarah (Wheeler) Trotter. The mother, 
of whom a biographical sketch appears else- 
where, was born in North Carolina, July io, 
185 1. 

Our subject has four brothers: Abel C, of 
Everett, Washington ; Ralph C, living near 
Grass Valley, a farmer; Walter H., a member of 
the Eastern Oregon Trading Company, residing 
at Kent ; and Frank L., a Sherman county 
farmer on the John Day river. He has two sis- 
ters ; Jennie, wife of Joseph Patterson, a farmer 
residing three and one-half miles southwest of 
Kent ; and Belle, wife of Ormond C. Hogue, a 
farmer living near Kent. Fraternally our subject" 
is a member of M. W. A., of Kent, and politically 
he is a Prohibitionist. Mrs. Bennett is a member" 
of the United Presbyterian church. Thev are 
the parents of four children: Bessie, Earl, Cecil, 
and Ross. 

Mr. Bennett has served several terms as - 
school director. In 1887 the postoffice of Kent 
was established in his farm house and he was ap- 
pointed postmaster, in which responsible position 
lie remained ten years. At present he is deputy 
postmaster, the office being in the Eastern Ore- 
gon Trading Company's store. Mr. Bennett is 
a citizen of whom any community might be justly 
proud ; energetic, public spirited, influential and 
locally patriotic to the core. Both himself and 
estimable wife are popular in social circles and' 
highly esteemed by all. 



WALTER H. BENNETT, a younger brother 
of Milton H. Bennett, a sketch of whom appears 
in this work, is, also, a member of the Eastern 
Oregon Trading Company, at Kent, Sherman 
county, Oregon. He was born in Iowa, April 
25, 1868, the son of Craig and Isabel (Corn- 
stock) Bennett. The father was a native of 
Guernsey county, Ohio, and died in Sherman 
county, Oregon. The mother is a native of New 
York and at present resides at Kent with her 
son. Milton H. Bennett. 

Our subject attended the public schools in his 
vicinity, acquiring a good business education, and' 



54Q 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



worked on the farm with his parents, with whom 
he came west. When he arrived at man's estate 
he secured a fine tract of land adjoining that of 
his brother's and parents', and then he engaged 
in farming and freighting until August, 1903, 
when he became a member of the Eastern Oregon 
Trading Company, of which his brother, Milton, 
is manager, secretary and treasurer. 

November 28, 1900, at Moro, Sherman 
county, our subject was married to Ella Craig, a 
native of Kansas. Her father, Thomas Craig, is 
a native of Ireland, and is at present engaged in 
truck farming at Buck Hollow, five miles from 
Kent. Her mother, Jennie Craig, was a native of 
Ireland, and died in Kansas. Mrs. Bennett had 
five brothers, three sisters and two half-sisters ; 
John K, a Methodist Episcopal preacher, of 
Richmond, Wheeler county, Oregon ; James, a 
plasterer and mason, at Fort Collins, Colorado ; 
Thomas R., a plasterer and mason at Tillamook, 
Oregon ; Ted, a mason and plasterer of Iola, 
Kansas; Hugh, of Red Cloud, Nebraska. The 
sisters are Mary, wife of Sylvester P. Small, a 
farmer and stockman, of North Branch, Kansas ; 
Margaret, wife of Charles Gates, a butcher of 
Iola, Kansas ; and Jennie, wife of George Neill, a 
farmer, living seven miles south of Kent. The 
two half-sisters are Lois and Pearl, living at 
home. 

Mr. Bennett is, fraternally, a member of the 
M. W. A., and the Royal Neighbors. Politically 
he is a Prohibitionist. He and his estimable wife 
are devout and consistent members of the United 
Presbyterian church. He is director of the 
school district and has served as clerk of the 
same. 

During a period of fourteen years our subject 
and his brother, Milton, were engaged in freight- 
ing from The Dalles into the interior. Walter H. 
Bennett served as special deputy sheriff and con- 
stable for several years, and is popular and 
highly esteemed in the community both socially 
and in a business wav. 



JOHN SCHASSEN, one of the most exten- 
sive and prosperous farmers of Sherman county, 
Oregon, resides in a most eligible location six 
miles northwest of Kent. He was born in Ger- 
many, June 4, 1862, in the province of Hanover, 
the son of John and Margaret (Witte) Schassen. 
Both parents are natives of the province of Han- 
over, where they at present reside, on a farm. 

Having received a good education in the dis- 
trict schools of his neighborhood our subject 
came to the United States in 1884, and at once 
went to Sherman county, Oregon, where he 



joined a friend who had gone there some time 
before. The same year Mr. Schassen took up 
land under the homestead laws, and being almost 
entirely without capital, worked for wages, but 
continued to gradually improve his land, and, 
from time to time purchasing more, until he now 
owns one thousand four hundred and forty acres. 
One thousand acres of this he cultivates and 
raises some stock, usually wintering some fifty 
or sixty head of cattle and a few horses. 

In 1901 he suffered the loss of his residence 
which was burned. Soon after this he erected in 
its place a large two-story, "L" house in which 
at present he resides. At The Dalles, in 1886, 
our subject was married to Margaret Patjeus, a 
native of Germany, born in Hanover province. 
She was the daughter of Andrew and Lizzie 
Patjeus. John Schassen, our subject, has one 
brother and three sisters ; Henry, a hotel-keeper, 
in Assel, Hanover; Trinchen, wife of Deiderich 
Wilkins, of Germany, who is a pilot ; Annie, wife 
of Johannes Stomberg, a merchant of Kiel, Ger- 
many ; Emma, at home in Germany. 

Mr. and Mrs. Schassen have five children : 
John, Emma, Annie, Lillie and Minnie, all at 
home with their parents. Fraternally our subject 
is a member of the A. O. U. W., of which he is 
G. V. Politically he is a Democrat, though in no 
sense an active politician. He was school direc- 
tor for a period of ten years. He is a man of ex- 
cellent business ability and has acquired a good 
competence in the way of this world's goods, is 
industrious, energetic and influential in the com- 
munity in which he resides. 



HENRY FROCK, an extensive and prom- 
inent farmer of Sherman county, three and one- 
half miles north of Grass Valley, was born in 
Germany, March 28, 1865. His parents, Marx 
and Katherine (Hass) Frock, were both natives 
of Germany, where they died, the father in 1893 
and the mother in 1903. 

In the fall of 1885, our subject, Henry Frock, 
came to the United States, landing October first. 
He had learned the stone cutting trade in Ger- 
many, and at this business he worked in various 
places in this country, going first to Arkansas, 
one year ; thence to Missouri, one year ; then to 
Colorado, Utah, California and many other 
states and territories, twenty-eight in all, finally 
arriving in Portland in 1893, where he worked at 
his trade for some time, going thence to Umatilla 
county, where he found employment on a farm 
for about two years. In 1894 he came to Sher- 
man countv, filed on land, for which he was com- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



54i' 



pelled to borrow money to pay the fees, and as 
he was without capital, he worked at his trade on 
a railroad and, also, did some grading, mean- 
while improving his land to the best of his abil- 
ity. He now owns a section of land, well stocked 
and supplied with all necessary conveniences for 
practical farming. 

October 13, 1895, Mr. Frock was married to 
Alberta Hembree, born at Santa Rosa, Califor- 
nia. Her parents were Albert and Josephine 
(Stone) Hembree, both natives of California, the 
father now living at Grass Valley, Sherman 
county. Her mother died near Portland, Ore- 
gon. 

Our subject has three brothers and one sister, 
Marx, Claus, John and Christina, widow of 
Henry Harmeister, of Van Buren, Arkansas. 
Mr. and Mrs. Frock have three children living, 
Neta, Marx and Clarence ; one, Harold, is dead. 

Fraternally our subject is a member of the 
A. O. U. W., of which he is grand vice. Po- 
litically he is a Democrat, but not active in cam- 
paigns. 

Mr. Frock came to Arkansas with a sister and 
her husband. He is an excellent workman and 
earned good wages, and was for three years a 
foreman in Colorado and earned seven dollars 
and fifty cents a day. He came to Sherman 
county in embarrassed circumstances and, as has 
been stated, was compelled to borrow money in 
order to pay for his filing. Here he found plenty 
of work and commenced to save money. He is 
now one of the respected farmers of the vicinity, 
very energetic and thoroughly Americanized, 
and a popular citizen. 



SAMUEL B. HOLMES, one of the exten- 
sive farmers of Sherman county, where he re- 
sides, ten miles south of Grass Valley, was born 
in Nova Scotia, December 25, 1857. He is the 
son of William and Deborah (Roberts) Holmes, 
both natives of Nova Scotia, and the parents of 
both were English. William Holmes was by 
trade a cooper, and he died in Nova Scotia, May 
26, 1903. The mother at present resides in Nova 
Scotia. 

It was in Nova Scotia that our subject was 
reared until 1880, receiving a fair education in 
the neighboring district schools, and assisting his 
parents on the farm. That year he migrated to 
Leadville, Colorado, during the mining excite- 
ment which that season stampeded so many from 
the east. Here Mr. Holmes engaged in general 
teaming until the spring of 1883, when he started 
across the country, his destination being Puget 
Sound. Two years were passed in Tacoma in 



teaming and in the summer of 1885 he came to 
his present location in Sherman county, and in 
October secured some land under the homestead 
law, purchased more until he had increased his. 
holdings to one thousand two hundred acres, to 
which he added by rental three hundred and 
twenty acres. At the present writing he cultivates 
about seven hundred acres, wintering seventy- 
five head of cattle and some horses and hogs. 

August 15, 1889, at Nicholville, New York, 
our subject was married to Carrie Sherar, niece 
of Joseph H. Sherar, of Sherar Bridge, Wasco 
county, Oregon, mentioned elsewhere. Her 
father, James Sherar, was a native of Ireland,, 
and died in 1881 at Nicholville, New York. The • 
mother, Elizabeth (Wright) Sherar, also a na- 
tive of Ireland, died at Nicholville in 1892. James 
Sherar was engaged in the general merchandise 
business and was a well-to-do, highly respected 
and prominent citizen. 

Our subject has eight brothers: Henry, an: 
Alaska mining man ; Charles, engaged in the iron 
business in Nova Scotia; Thomas, a physician: 
practicing in Oakland, California ; Isaac, a civil 
engineer in Laramie, Wyoming ; Alfred, of Reno, , 
Nevada ; Sovereign ; Harvey, at home in Nova . 
Scotia ; and Weymouth, a carpenter of Oakland, 
California. He has one sister, Sadie A., single,, 
who has been a trained nurse for fourteen years,, 
now living in Boston, Massachusetts. Mrs.. 
Holmes has one brother, Henry, a drayman, re- 
siding at Nicholville, New York. 

Our subject is a member of the A. O. U. W.,. 
and the M. W. A., of Kent, Sherman county. 
Politically he is a Republican and frequently a 
delegate to county conventions; fairly active, but 
is not an aspirant for political preferment. At 
present he is clerk of school district No. 25, Sher- 
man county. To Mr. and Mrs. Holmes have been- 
born five children : Mabel, aged fourteen ; Cassie, . 
twelve ; Millie, ten ; Lela, eight, and Willie, four. 

Mr. Holmes is quite an extensive farmer and 
a sagacious business man ; popular with all while - 
he and his estimable wife are highly esteemed in 
the community in which they have made their - 
home. 



JOHN A. WALTER, a Sherman county - 
farmer, resides at Klondike, opposite the post- 
office. He was born in Illinois, August 14, 1868, 
the son of William and Elizabeth (Bailey) Wal- 
ter, the former a native of Pennsylvania ; the 
latter of Indiana. The ancestry of the father 
were Pennsylvania Dutch. He now lives at 
Dallas City, Illinois, where he follows the trade 
of a blacksmith. The mother of our subject died' 
when he was eleven months old. John A. Walter- 



'542 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



was reared in Illinois by his grandparents until 
he was ninteen years of age. Here he attended 
the district schools and secured a good business 
education. In 1887 he went to Yuba county, 
California, where he remained nine months and 
thence came to Sherman county, where he work- 
ed out and rented land for four years. He then, 
in 1891, filed on land and subsequently purchased 
more. At present he owns a section on which 
he raises stock for his own use. He has twenty 
head of graded Hambeltonian and Clydesdale 
horses. 

Our subject was married January 19, 1893, 
to Fanny M. Hilderbrand, born in Colusa, Illi- 
nois, sister of George W. Hilderbrand, mention- 
ed in another portion of this work. The mar- 
riage ceremony was solemnized at Colusa. 

Our subject has two half-sisters, Jessie, wife 
of William McKee, of Chicago, and Mamie, wife 
of Edward Hubner, a merchant of Dallas, Illi- 
nois. Three children have been born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Walter: William M., aged twelve; Alta 
M., aged five; John A., aged three. 

Politically, Mr. Walter is an independent and 
is now serving his second term as school direc- 
tor. He is a member of the United Brethren 
church, and has been Sunday school superintend- 
ent for a number of years. He is at present class 
leader, a most exemplary citizen and one who 
has won and retains the confidence and respect 
of the community in which he has cast his lot. 

In his immediate vicinity, Mr. Walter is one 
of the pioneers, for when he first came only a 
portion of the country was settled. He has seen 
the virgin prairie transformed to one of the 
greatest wheat producing sections of Oregon, 
for Sherman county, one of the smallest of the 
entire state, is rated as producing one fifth of the 
entire wheat crop raised in Oregon. 



TIRPIN HILL is recognized as one of the 
prosperous and enterprising farmers and general 
business men of Sherman county, residing nine 
and one-half miles southeast of Grass Valley. 
The date of his birth was August 25, 1858, and 
the place of his nativity Wapello county, Iowa. 

The father of our subject, William T. Hill, 
was born in Illinois, but his parents were Ken- 
tuckians. He died June 7, 1903, in Umatilla 
county, Oregon, near Athena. The mother, 
Delilah (Coleman) Hill, was, also, a native of 
Illinois, and at present resides at the old home 
about six miles northeast of Atbena. 

Until he reached the age of fourteen years 
our subject was reared and received a common 
school education in Iowa. Thence, accompanied 



by his parents, he removed to Oregon, where the 
family settled in Umatilla county. This was in 
1872. Tirpin Hill remained with his familv until 
1883, when he removed to Sherman county, Ore- 
gon, and filed on his present homestead of one- 
half section of fine agricultural land, which is 
mostly devoted to the raising of grain. 

July 1, 1884, ne was united in marriage to 
Mina E. Dennison. The marriage was solemn- 
ized near the town of Eugene, Oregon, the birth- 
place of the bride. Her father was Fay Denni- 
son, a native of Vermont. Her mother, Mary A. 
(Hite) Dennison, came to Oregon, overland, 
from the east with her parents when she was 
twelve years of age. Fay Dennison was an 
orphan boy, and came west to Oregon in 1853, 
crossing the plains with an ox train. He died 
December 11, 1875. At present the mother of 
Mrs. Hill lives in Grant county. 

The subject of this sketch has five brothers 
and three sisters ; Heaton, of Antelope ; Oscar, 
a farmer in Umatilla county ; Perry, of Hartline. 
Douglas county, Washington ; Jerome, living with 
his mother on the old homestead ; Reed, of 
Athena; Mary T., single; Ida M., wife of Charles 
Downing, a farmer near Athena ; and Carrie, wife 
of Frank O. Rogers, of Athens. Mrs. Hill has 
three brothers, Charles, a resident of California ; 
and Percy and Frank, both living near Spray, 
Wheeler county, Oregon. She has, also, two half- 
sisters, Effie, wife of Melvin Conger, a Grant 
county stockman, and Edna, wife of Charles Bay- 
less, of Grant county, Oregon. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Hill have been born two 
children, Elsie and Fay, girls. Politically, Mr. 
Hill is a Democrat, although by no means an 
active worker in the ranks of that element. So- 
cially he is one of the most popular and highly 
esteemed residents of his community, and through 
years of industry, combined with excellent busi- 
ness sagacity, he has acquired a competence in 
the way of worldly possessions, thus ensuring a 
life free from anxiety and forebodings. 



HUGH E. SMITH, a prominent and pros- 
perous Sherman county farmer, resides three- 
quarters of a mile east of Klondike. He was born 
in Canada, in Ontario province, near Ottawa, 
January 14, 1850, the son of John and Mary 
(McHugh) Smith, the father a native of Can- 
ada ; the mother of Ireland. The paternal grand- 
father of our subject was born in County Cavan, 
Ireland, and was at the battle of Lundy's Lane. 
Tulv 25, 1814; the grandmother was born in 
Perthshire, Scotland. Her husband was a lum- 
berman and farmer. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



543 



The parents of our subject's mother, Mary 
(McHugh) Smith, were members of an old Irish 
family. 'John Smith and his wife went to Solano 
county, California, in 1856. The father now lives 
at Oakland ; the mother died in Solano county 
in 1887. For many years her husband was a 
prominent stockman there, but is now retired. 
Here our subject was reared and attended the 
public schools in his vicinity. When about twenty 
years of age he faced the world on his own ac- 
count. He first went to Stanislaus county with a 
brother, Michael, and engaged in wheat raising. 
He was there four years when he disposed of his 
property interests and returned to Solano county 
where he remained two years running a threshing 
machine the most of the time. Thence, in 1883, 
he came to Sherman county, Oregon, secured 
three-quarters of a section of land and purchased 
more later. He now owns two thousand two hun- 
dred and forty acres, all of which is under cultiva- 
tion. He owns a combination harvester, headers, 
etc., and raises horses and mules, of which he has 
one hundred head. Mr. Smith also owns the cele- 
brated registered jack, "Governor Goble," reared 
in Colusa county, California, and which captured 
the first prize at The Dalles fair in .1902. His 
horses are graded Hambletonians. 

May 3, 1876, at Hill's Ferry, Stanislaus 
county, California, at the residence of the bride's 
parents, Mr. Smith was married to Georgia A. 
Spriggs, born in Yolo county, California, the 
daughter of John M. and Sarah (Carroll) 
Spriggs, the father a native of North Carolina; 
the mother of Georgia. John M. Spriggs was 
born near Greensville, a descendant of an old 
southern family of planters. He settled in Yolo 
county in 1852, but was also engaged in the mer- 
cantile business in St. Helena, Napa county, for 
some time, and where he was an influential and 
prominent citizen. 

The mother of Mrs. Smith is a descendant 
of the old Carroll family, famous in southern his- 
tory. Charles Carroll, "of Carrollton," was born 
at Annapolis, Maryland, September 20, 1737, and 
died at Baltimore, November 14, 1832. He was a 
distinguished American patriot, a signer of the 
Declaration of Independence and United States 
Senator from Maryland from 1789 for some 
years. John Carroll was born at Upper Marl- 
borough, Maryland, January 8, 1735, and died 
at Georgetown, D. C, December 3, 1815. He 
was an American archbishop of the Roman Cath- 
olic church. He founded Georgetown College in 
1788. With Charles Carroll, Samuel Chase and 
Benjamin Franklin he was sent by the Continental 
Congress on a political mission to Canada in 
1776. 

Hugh E. Smith, our subject, has four brothers 



and two sisters; James, a justice of the peace at 
Elmira, Solano county, California ; Michael L., 
a capitalist in Oakland, California ; Matthias P., 
a farmer near Monkland, Sherman county ; John 
A., who owns jointly with his brother nine thous- 
and acres of land in Gilliam and Sherman coun- 
ties; Elizabeth, wife of J. William Martin, of 
Woodville, Tulare county, California, a farmer, 
county supervisor and prominent Democrat ; 
Mary J., single, living with her father. Kate, 
Nannie and Lucy, three other sisters, are dead. 
Mrs. Smith has two sisters ; Florida A., wife of 
T. D. Griffin, a farmer near Williams, Colusa 
county, California ; Mary J., wife of Henry Gen- 
try, of the same place. 

Both Mr. Smith and his estimable wife are 
members of the Roman Catholic church. Polit- 
ically, he is a Democrat, and was delegate to 
county conventions previous to the organization 
of Sherman county. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have 
nine children ; John L., a Gilliam county farmer ; 
Carl E., of Wasco; Clarence, Lawrence H, Leo 
A., George McHugh, all at home ; Irene, wife of 
Earl D. Griffin, a hotel proprietor at Cacheville, 
Yolo county, California ; Inez P. and Zela. 



RICHMOND L. CAMPBELL, who resides 
at Grass Valley, Oregon, was born in Elliott, 
California, on July 28, 1865. His father, Wash- 
ington L. Campbell, was born in Virginia and his 
ancestors were among the earliest Jamestown set- 
tlers. In the early forties of the last century, he 
came to Tennessee, and in 1849 crossed the plains 
with ox teams to California, consuming eleven 
months in the trip. After mining until 1852, he 
took a homestead where our subject was born 
and there resided until 1883. Then he journeyed 
to Oregon, settling near Mitchell, where the 
father bought a section of land and engaged in 
stockraising, and there he now resides. Our 
subject was educated in the district schools of Cal- 
ifornia and remained with his father until 1887. 
Then he engaged in the stock business for him- 
self near Mitchell but, owing to the hard winter, 
lost his cattle. Next we see him in Ellensburg, 
Washington, where he spent two years in the' 
wood business. In i8qi, he returned to Mitchell 
and remained three years. After that, he opened 
a restaurant in Moro, and six months later took 
charge of the old Grass Valley Hotel. After two 
vears in this business, he was occupied variously 
and for six years was road supervisor. In June, 
1902, he was elected assessor of Sherman county 
and made an excellent record in the office. In 
politics, he is a Democrat, and, as the county is 
Republican, at the next election he suffered de- 



544 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



feat with his ticket. On August 4, 1887, at 
Anatone, Grant county, now Wheeler county, 
Mr. Campbell married Maude L. Buker, who was 
born in The Dalles, on November 8, 1869. Her 
father, John H. Buker, lives in Grass Valley. He 
married Annie Benjamin. Mrs. Campbell's par- 
ents both descended from early colonial families. 
On the father's side, the ancestors fought in the 
Revolution and were stanch patriots. Her father 
followed the sea for many years in various capaci- 
ties and afterwards entered business in Grass 
Valley as a merchant, where he is at the present 
time. Her mother was the daughter of Richard 
and Elmira Benjamin, who crossed the plains with 
ox teams in 1852. Mr. Benjamin at one time 
owned much of the land where Spokane, Wash- 
ington, is now situated. He operated the first 
sawmill there and was one of the earliest pioneers. 
Mr. Campbell has four brothers, Winslow A., 
Washington L., Abdiel R., and Walter. He also 
has four sisters, Mrs. Sallie E. Eaton, Mrs. Cora 
E. Cannon, Mrs. Lena F. Sigfrit. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Campbell two children have been born, 
Richmond L., aged eight, and Guy R., who died 
at Ellensburg, Washington, on June 2, 1891, 
being two years of age. Mr. Campbell is a mem- 
ber of the I. O. O. F., while he and his wife be- 
long to the Rebekahs. He is past grand of the 
order and has been delegate to the grand lodge, 
and also Belongs to the W. W. In political mat- 
ters, Mr. Campbell is a Democrat and a stanch 
supporter of his party. Mrs. Campbell has the 
following named brothers and sisters : John, 
Harry, Bert, Paul, Mrs. Dollie Hart, Mrs. Grace 
Bourhill and Mrs. Stella Ottman, and Echo 
Buker. 



JOHN SIMPSON, a prominent and influen- 
tial citizen of Sherman county, resides five miles 
west of Wasco. He was born in Ohio, June 23, 
1859, the son of William and Margaret (Taylor) 
Simpson. William Simpson was a native of 
Scotland, born near Aberdeen, where he followed 
the avocation of a farmer until his death. At 
present the mother lives in Ohio with other chil- 
dren. 

It was in the Buckeye State that our subject 
was reared until 1881, when he came direct to 
his present location in Sherman county. He took 
up a homestead near his present residence and 
has since purchased more land. Some of this 
he has sold but he still owns one (thousand acres, 
eight hundred and fifty of which he cultivates. 
Mr. Simpson has lived here continuously with the 
exception of eighteen months at The Dalles and 
six months in California. 

October 6, 1884, at The Dalles, our subject 



was married to Lenora Ritchey, born in Ohio, 
April 12, 1863. Her parents were Emanuel and 
Rebecca (Zimmerman) Ritchey. The mother 
was a descendant of an old Pennsylvania Dutch 
family of distinguished lineage. Emanuel 
Ritchey, the father of our subject's wife, served 
in the Civil war. Mr. Simpson has three 
brothers and six sisters ; James, at Salt Lake, 
Utah ; David, a merchant in Oak Shade, Ohio ; 
George, in Wyoming ; Annie, wife of William 
Bath, of Sandhill, Erie county, Ohio; Maggie, 
wife of William Cook, a merchant in Huron, 
Ohio ; Mary, wife of Charles Cleveland, a car- 
penter in Huron ; Jennie, wife of Christopher 
Cleveland, of Marion, Ohio ; Lizzie, wife of Dud- 
ley Morrill, a merchant in Stockton, California ; 
and Clara, wife of John McQuillan, of Delta, 
Fulton county, Ohio. Mrs. Simpson has two 
brothers and two sisters ; John and Burt, the lat- 
ter living in Spokane; Bertha, wife of Eugene 
Sindel, of San Juan, California; and Estella, 
who is single. 

Mr. and Mrs. Simpson have two children; 
Fay, a girl of sixteen, and Linn, a boy aged eleven 
years. Politically, Mr. Simpson is a Republican, 
but is not particularly active in the campaigns. 
He has been school director of his district. He 
is a man of sterling integrity and one who has 
been very successful in financial circles. 

Mr. Simpson has, without doubt, one of the 
most handsome farm residences in Sherman 
county. It is a strictly modern, eight-room 
structure, finished throughout in hard oil, and is 
of exceptionally beautiful architectural design. 
All his other buildings are in keeping with his 
residence, and his is one of the choice and beauti- 
ful places of this prosperous country. Mr. Simp- 
son, also, has the distinction of bringing the first 
automobile to Sherman county. Being of a me- 
chanical turn of mind, he is adding a machine 
shop to the other improvements of the estate, 
not, however, for commercial purposes, but that 
he may have at hand the necessities for the pur- 
suit of his desires as his inclinations have always 
been in the direction of inventions and mechani- 
cal investigations. 



GEORGE W. HILDERBRAND, a prosper- 
ous and successful farmer of Sherman county,, 
resides three and one-half miles east of Wasco. 
He was born in Hancock county, Illinois, Feb- 
ruary 19, 1865. His father, Michael, was a na- 
tive of the Keystone State, of Pennsylvania Dutch 
descent. He died in Illinois, April 28, 1876. The 
mother, Rebecca (Royce) Hilberbrand, was born 
in McDonough county, Illinois ; her father in 






HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



545 



Indiana, and her mother in Tobias county, North 
Carolina. At present she lives near Klondike, 
Sherman county, with the family of her son-in- 
law, John A. Walter. 

Until he had attained his majority, our sub- 
ject was reared in Illinois on the home farm, 
where he attended the public schools. In 1886 he 
migrated to Yuba county, California, where he 
remained one year near Marysville. Thence, with 
slender capital, he came to Sherman county where 
he purchased land on credit. At present he owns 
one thousand or more acres of land, a fine, two- 
story brick house, good outbuildings, threshing 
outfit, etc. 

He was married May 17, 1897, at The Dalles, 
to Rebecca Chamberlain, a native of Missouri, 
the daughter of Joseph and Ruth (Corell) Cham- 
berlain. Her father was a native of England, and 
died at Lyle, Washington, in June, 1902. Her 
■mother, a native of Missouri, now lives at Lyle, 
on the homestead. They moved from Mis- 
souri to Lyle about 1889 and secured a home- 
stead where the mother now lives. 

Our subject has one brother and five sisters; 
Douglass, a farmer living ten miles east of Wasco ; 
Ellen, widow of John Bailey ; Lillie, wife of Wil- 
liam Lyons, a farmer in Illinois ; Josephine, wife 
of Byron W. Anson, living near Klondike, and 
mentioned elsewhere ; Lutherie, wife of Cyrus 
Lofton, of Tygh Valley, Wasco county, and 
Fannie, wife of John A. Walters, a farmer near 
Klondike postoffice. He had three sisters, now 
deceased : Annie E., wife of George Strand, died 
October 6, 1902, aged thirty-five yearsj Laura, 
wife of William Harding, died in Yuba county, 
California, February 6, 1880; Martha J., died in 
Hancock county, Illinois, aged two years. Mrs. 
Hilderbrand has two brothers and five sisters : 
Robert and Fred, at Lyle, Washington; Nettie, 
wife of Clark McCarty ; Fanny, wife of John 
Spitzenberger, of Salem, Oregon ; Emma, single, 
living with our subject; Neta, aged sixteen, and 
Minnie, aged twelve, with her mother at Lyle. 
Mr. I Hilderbrand is a member of the M. W. of A., 
of Klondike, and politically is a Democrat, and 
serving his fourth term as clerk of his school dis- 
trict. Mr. and Mrs. Hilderbrand have four chil- 
dren, Vestia, Ormond, Joseph, and Roscoe. Mr. 
Hilderbrand is a genial and popular member of 
his community, and one who has won and retains 
the confidence of a wide circle of friends and ac- 
quaintances. 



WILLIAM I. WESTERFIELD is the pro- 
prietor of the Grass Valley Journal, a bright and 
newsy sheet of Sherman county, the product of 
his skill and i>rain. He was born in Lafayette, 
35 



Oregon, on December 13, 1863, the son of Alex- 
ander B. and Rebecca A. (Chrisman) Westerfield, 
who were married in the east and came to Ore- 
gon in the forties. The father died when our 
subject was six years of age and the mother died 
on July 4, 1895. The father was a physician and 
surgeon in the Mexican War and practiced many 
years in Yamhill county, Oregon. Our subject 
spent his life until 1898 in the county of his 
birth/ He received his education in the Lafayette 
public schools and when ten years of age entered 
the office of the old Lafayette Courier. For five 
or six years he labored there and became master 
of every portion of the printer's trade. Then he 
spent two years in a drug store. After that, in 
company with his brother, Alexander B., he 
bought the Lafayette Register and job office, 
which they operated for three or four years. At 
about that time, the county seat was removed 
from Lafayette to McMinnville, and six months 
previous to that Mr. Westerfield sold the Regis- 
ter. The plant was removed later to McMinnville. 
Our subject then took up the printing and under- 
taking business and conducted it, together with 
a store, for three and one-half years, then he 
worked at various employments through the hard 
times, and in 1898 he came to Grass Valley. For 
a few months he was in the employ of the Journal 
Publishing Company, and then leased the Grass 
Valley Journal. In February, 1902, he bought 
the newspaper and printing plant and since then 
has handled it in person. He has made the Jour- 
nal a very attractive and good paper, which is 
highly prized throughout this part of the state. 
In addition to his printing establishment, he owns 
a residence and two lots in Grass Valley, besides 
other property. 

In 1890, at Lafayette, Oregon, Mr. Wester- 
field married Anna B. Gardiner, who was born 
near Kalama, Washington. Her father, William 
A. Gardiner, was born in Scotland and died in 
Portland, in 1902. He married Clara B. Martin, 
who died at Portland, in 1898. Our subject has 
three brothers ; George, in Dayton ; Alexander 
B., in McMinnville, Oregon ; Cornelius, deceased. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Westerfield four children have 
been born, Floyd C, Elvena, and Veda and Vera, 
twins. 

Mr. Westerfield is past grand of the I. O. O. 
F., and present chief patriarch of the Encamp- 
ment. He also belongs to the A. O. U. W., and 
he and his wife are members of the Degree of 
Honor. For five years Mr. Westerfield has been 
city recorder and in this capacity has given ex- 
cellent satisfaction. Personally, he is a man well 
informed, retiring and with little ostentation, and 
the success he has made of his paper indicates 
his ability. 



546 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



GEORGE V. STANTON, one of the young 
and progressive business men of Grass Valley, is 
occupied in the lumber business. He handles a 
thriving trade and is well known in this part of 
, the country. He was born in Kent county, Mich- 
igan, on April 4, 1877, the son of George H. and 
Etha (Bell) Stanton, a native of Oswego county, 
.New York, and now living a retired life in Grass 
Valley. The family came here when our subject 
was fourteen years of age, and he completed his 
.education in the public schools of this town. The 
: father took a homestead and bought other land 
some seven miles southwest from Grass Valley 
and our subject was reared on the farm. When 
twenty-one years of age, he took a quarter section 
of land by government right, and bought a half 
section more. After conducting the place for a 
couple of years, he sold out and in 1903 bought 
out the lumber yard owned in Grass Valley by 
1 Porter Brothers. Since then he has given his 
entire attention to the handling of this business 
and carries a nice stock of lumber and all kinds of 
building material. 

On October 9, 1898, Mr. Stanton married Miss 
Alva E. Farra, a native of Benton county, Ore- 
gon, the daughter of Thomas J. and Lizzie (Por- 
ter) Farra, natives of Missouri and Benton coun- 
ty, respectively. The father crossed the plains 
'in very early days and met his death in 1901 by 
drowning in the Red river in the northwest ter- 
ritory. Our subject has two brothers, Charles 
A. and Edwin D., the former in Grass Valley and 
the latter in Marysville, Washington. He also 
has four sisters ; Ella, the wife of Frank M. 
French, a stockman in Heppner, Oregon ; Lo- 
rinda, wife of Hollis W. Wilcox; Edna M., wife 
of Howard C. Coon ; Carrie, at home. Mrs. Stan- 
ton has three brothers, John, Samuel and Harley, 
school boys ; and three sisters, Maude, the wife 
•of Brack Wiseman, of this county ; Maggie, wife 
of Artimus Barnum, a farmer near Moro ; and 
Frankie, at home. 

Mr. Stanton is a member of the I. O. O. F. 
and the W. W. He is a stanch Republican 
though not especially active. To our subject and 
his wife one child, Floyd, has been born, aged 
three. Mr. Stanton is an industrious man, attends 
closely to business and is esteemed by all who 
know him. 



JAMES L. VAN WINKLE, who stands at 
the head of a furniture and shoe house in Grass 
Valley, Oregon, is one of the substantial and 
popular men of this part of Sherman county. He 
was born in Morgan county, Illinois, on Novem- 



ber 6, 1849, hi s parents being Thomas and Orpha 
A. (Barlow) Van Winkle, natives of Illinois. 
The father's parents were natives of Kentucky 
and came from Dutch ancestry. He had three 
brothers in the Civil war, Alexander E., Edward 
and John. The first two were wounded. The 
family crossed the plains with ox and horse teams 
in 1854 and settled in Petaluma, California. Later 
they came to Sacramento, where the mother died. 
The father was occupied in freighting from Sac- 
ramento to various points in Nevada, and our 
subject assisted him in this business when not 
attending school. Later the father came to Wash- 
ington and died in Yakima county in 1889. Our 
subject bought a farm on Grand Island, about 
twelve miles below Colusa, which he sold later 
and removed to Stanislaus county. There he 
lived nine years then went to Alameda county. 
For five years he was occupied in breaking and 
training horses, and in 1883 took a homestead, 
preemption and timber claim. It was about 1898 
when he came to Grass Valley and engaged in 
his present business which he has conducted suc- 
cessfully since. 

On November 6, 1877, in Graysonville, Cali- 
fornia, Mr. Van Winkle marrried Jennie E. Mc- 
Reynold, a native of Sonoma county, California. 
Later they were divorced and on May 30, 1895, 
Mr. Van Winkle married Myrtle Shintaffer, a 
native of Hixton, Wisconsin. Her father, Cor- 
nelius D. Hinman, was born in New York and his 
father participated in the War of 1812. The Hin- 
man family was one of the old colonial families, 
well known in history and prominent in the pro- 
fessions and commercial life. Many of them are' 
in New England, New York and other portions 
of the country. Our subject has no brothers liv- 
ing, and has one sister, Fannie, the wife of R. 
Sisk, in Yakima county, Washington. Mrs. Van 
Winkle has one brother, George E. Hinman, 
a musician, in Tacoma. By his first marriage, 
our subject has the following named children: 
Wesley, of Stockton, California, who recently 
invented a friction clutch for automobiles that 
transfers the pulling power to the front as well 
as the rear wheels, for' the American patents for 
which he has refused fifty thousand dollars ; 
Archie, of Farmington, California ; May, wife 
of Edward McReynolds, in Umatilla, Oregon ; 
and Daisy, the wife of Ray McReynolds, at 
Ukiah, Oregon. To our subject and his wife two 
children have been born, E. Guv, and Thomas A., 
the latter March 10, 1905. By her first marriage 
Mrs. Van Winkle has one child, Ella, who is at 
home. Politically, Mr. Van Winkle is a Repub- 
lican and is a member of the city council. His 
wife belongs to the Women of Woodcraft, and is 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



547 



also organist of the Methodist Episcopal church. 
Mr. and Mrs. Van Winkle are popular people 
and among the substantial and leading citizens 
of this part of the county. 



EDWARD D. McKEE, the leading druggist 
of Sherman county, has a fine store and stock in 
Wasco, in every respect an up-to-date emporium. 
He is a native Oregonian, having been born in 
Marion county, June 20, 1873, the son of David 
A. and Caroline (Hall) McKee, the father a 
'native of Kentucky ; the mother of Illinois. The 
ancestry of David McKee were members of an old 
southern family. Both the parents of our sub- 
ject came to Oregon in 1852, with their parents, 
David A. at the age of fifteen ; Caroline, four 
years old. The parents located in the Willamette 
valley. The family of our subject remained in 
Oregon City two years, where the father's father 
conducted the first blacksmith shop in town. 
Thence he migrated to Marion county where he 
secured a donation claim which land he retained 
until his death. Nearly all of it still remains in 
the McKee family. David A. McKee, the father 
of our subject, lives in Woodburn with his second 
wife ; he is retired from active business. The 
mother of our subject died in February, 1897, on 
the old donation claim. 

On this same place our subject was reared 
until he was nineteen years of age. He attended 
various public schools, and also pursued a course 
in pharmacy at the Willamette University, in the 
pharmaceutical department. He was graduated 
in 1895 and began work in a drug drug 
store at Portland, where he remained five 
years. Following a six months' visit home 
and a six months' trip east, Mr. McKee came to 
Wasco, Sherman county, August 1, 1899, and 
opened a drug store in which he was eminently 
successful. May 5, 1904, he moved into a one- 
story brick building, which he had erected, twenty- 
six by sixty feet in size ; the largest drug store in 
the county. He carries stock and fixtures to an 
amount of over four thousand dollars. 

February 20, 1901, at the residence of the 
bride's parents in Wasco, Mr. McKee was united 
in marriage to. Miss Virginia Dunlap, daughter 
of Clark Dunlap, mentioned elsewhere. Our sub- 
ject has four brothers and four sisters living: 
Charles, a Marion county farmer; Leonard, a 
druggist in Goldendale, Klickitat county, Wash- 
ington ; Wiley, a bookkeeper in Portland : Her- 
man, a druggist in Goldendale ; Ada, wife of 
Charles B. Hill, a member of the Portland police 
force ; Emma, wife of William Owen, a merchant 
of Monitor, Oregon-; Ivy and Minnie, single, liv- 
ing at Woodburn. 



Mr. and Mrs. McKee have one child, Marion, 
aged ten months. He is a member of Cascade 
Lodge, No. 303, B. P. O. E., of The Dalles, 
Aurora Lodge, No. 54, K. of P., of Wasco, the 
A. O. U. W., of which he is past master work- 
man, and the M. W. A. Mrs. McKee is a mem- 
ber of the Methodist church. He and his wife 
are highly esteemed and popular in the commu- 
nity in which they reside. 



JAMES DENNIS, a retired stockman, is now 
residing at Grass Valley, Oregon. He was born 
at Stockton, California on January 27, 1859, be- 
ing the son of Robert and Mary T. (Wheatley) 
Dennis, natives of Connecticut. The father came 
to Stockton, California, in 1847 an d for years 
was in the employ of the Fish and Dooley Stage 
and Steamboat Company. His death occurred 
in 1882. The mother died when our subject was 
four years old. The next year his father sent 
him to a private school in San Rafael, where he 
studied two years. Then he left the school, being 
desirous of more freedom, and worked at farm- 
ing and other occupations until he was twenty- 
two years of age. In 1882, he came to Oregon 
and for sixteen years, altogether, was in the em- 
ploy of J. H. Sherar. He labored one year for 
Mr. Sherar, then took a claim on Summitt prairie 
and with a partner started stock raising, begin- 
ning with one hundred head of cattle. One year 
later, Mr. Sherar wrote him to return and he did 
so and remained with him for fifteen years. Then 
he came to Grass Valley and purchased one and 
one half acres in the edge of town and erected a 
house. After that, he went to Portland and re- 
sided three years, whence he returned to his 
home in Grass Valley where he has remained 
ever since. 

In February, 190 1, at The Dalles, Oregon, 
Mr. Dennis married Margaret Scott, a native of 
New Brunswick and" the daughter of Adam and 
Jeannette (Amos) Scott, natives of Scotland and 
New Brunswick, respectively, and now living on 
the old place. Mr. Dennis has the following 
named brothers and sisters, Robert, Thomas, 
John, James, all farming in New Brunswick ; 
Ellen, the wife of Andrew Brant ; Elizabeth, the 
wife of Robert Walton ; Jessie, single ; Barbara, 
the wife of Thomas Walton ; Agnes, the wife of 
Fred Krusow, mentioned elsewhere in this work ; 
and Annie, wife of George Swartz, a farmer 
near Grass Valley. Mrs. Dennis had come with 
her sister Annie, to visit their sister, Mrs. 
Krusow, in 1900. 

Our subject is a member of the I. O. O. F. 
and in politics is a Republican, though not espec- 



548 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



ially active. During his association with Mr. 
Sherar, Mr. Dennis was in charge of the well 
known Finnegan ranch, which was owned by 
Mr. Sherar. This was a large estate of three 
sections and Mr. Dennis made an excellent rec- 
ord in the management of the same. His stock 
interests have been continued all these years and 
he has now a nice holding of property. 



EDMOND HANNAFIN of the firm of 
Hannafin and Wiley, proprietors of the Bank 
Saloon, Grass Valley and of the Abbey, in Kent, 
was born in Ireland, on November n, 1856. His 
parents, Michael and Margaret (Dowling) Han- 
nafin were also natives of County Kerry, of the 
Emerald Isle. The father followed farming and 
contracting. Our subject was educated in the 
public schools and with the Christian brothers 
and remained there with his father until nearly 
twenty years of age. In 1874, he went to New 
Zealand and followed sheep shearing for some 
years. Also he owned some city property there 
and did mining, being there and in Australia for 
ten years. In 1884, he came to San Francisco 
and then came to Oregon. For three years he 
followed sheep shearing in California, Oregon 
and Montana and in 1887, took up land in Sher- 
man county and engaged in sheep raising for 
some time. He handled from two to three 
thousand but during Cleveland's administration 
gave up sheep business for a time. Upon Mr. 
McKinley's election, he again took up sheep rais- 
ing and followed it until 1902. Then he pur- 
chased a saloon in Grass Valley and the next year 
erected a two story brick building and opened 
his present establishment. He entered into part- 
nership with Mr. Wiley and they have contin- 
ued thus since. Mr. Hannafin has never seen fit 
to take to himself a wife and is one of the most 
popular men in Grass Valley. He has one 
brother, Dennis, a farmer in Ireland and two 
sisters, Mary and Katherine, in Ireland. He is a 
member of the I. O. O. F. and the Elks. In poli- 
tics, he is a Republican and shows a keen interest 
in this realm. He is frequently delegate to the 
county conventions and always labors for the 
measures that he deems best for the country. 



HOLLIS W. WILCOX, one of the younger 
business men of Grass Valley, has also the dis- 
tinction of being postmaster of the town ; and it 
may be stated that the business of the United 
States postoffice was never conducted better in 
the history of Grass Valley than it is under his 



management. He is careful, prompt, obliging 
and well informed and the result is, he gives the 
people a service second to none. Owing to the 
carefulness mentioned, Mr. Wilcox has scores of 
friends and is known as a kind, upright and sub- 
stantial man. He was born in Marion county 
this state, on August 6, 1875, his parents being 
John D. and Ella S. (Van Nuys) Wilcox, who 
are especially mentioned in this work elsewhere. 
He grew up in the various places where his pa- 
rents lived, working on the farm and attending 
the district schools. After completing the train- 
ing to be gained there, he entered the Baptist. 
academy at Grass Valley and studied some time. 
In 1898, he was appointed deputy postmaster and 
on June 20 of the following year, he received the 
appointment of postmaster with the office in his 
store. He handles cigars, tobacco, ice cream,, 
confectionery and so forth and has a very pop- 
ular place. 

On May 20, 1897, Mr. Wilcox married Loxie 
J. Stanton, a native of Michigan. The wedding 
ocurred at the home of the bride's parents and. 
our subject and his wife are parents of two chil- 
dren : Willard, born December 22, 1900, and 
Bernard, born February 4, 1904. Mrs. Wilcox's 
parents are George H. and Ethel (Bell) Stan- 
ton, esteemed residents of this section, and are 
mentioned in this volume. 

Mr. Wilcox is a member of the I. O. O. F., 
being past grand of the order, while he and his 
wife belong to the Rebekahs. In politics, he ad- 
heres to the principles of the Republican party 
and is especially active in that realm. He is a 
thorough business man and gentleman and a 
popular citizen. 



FRED KRUSOW, who was born in Wiscon- 
sin on June 24, 1858, now resides four miles 
southwest of Grass Valley. He is one of the 
leading men of Sherman county and is also one 
of the heaviest property owners. His parents, 
Henry and Elizabeth (Stoneman) Krusow, were 
natives of Germany, where they married. About 
1843 they came to the United States and settled 
in Wisconsin. Later, they moved to Minnesota 
where the father died on February 12, 1902. The 
day that he was buried he would have been eighty- 
four years of age. The mother died in Minne- 
sota when ninety-two. When our subject was 
six years of age a move was made from Wiscon- 
sin to Minnesota where the father bought land. 
The public schools of this latter place furnished 
the educational training for our subject and he 
remained there until 1884. Being then desirous 
of exploring the west, he turned his face toward 
the setting sun and visited various portions until 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



549 



'he arrived in what is now Sherman county. On 
-April 3, 1884, he filed on a homestead which was 
the nucleus of his estate. Being without capital 
he was forced to work out on the adjoining farms 
and, as he was able, improved the place and from 
time to time purchased more land until he has 
now the magnificent estate of eighteen hundred 
and forty acres. Fourteen hundred acres of this 
are in a high state of cultivation. His principal 
crops are wheat and barley. He raises some 
horses and cattle, and is known far and near as 
one of the largest grain growers of Sherman 
county. He recently purchased a fine residence 
in Grass Valley, and eighty acres more of land. 
Mr. Krusow's thrift, industry and business abil- 
ity have been amply testified by the success he has 
won and he is deserving of the position which he 
holds, having earned it bv virtue of merit. 

On July 16, 1898, Mr. Krusow married Agne* 
.Scott, a native of New Brunswick and a sister of 
Mrs. George W. Schwartz and Mrs. James W. 
Dennis, who are mentioned elsewhere in this 
volume. Mr. Krusow has three brothers, Robert, 
William and Henry, farmers in Minnesota ; and 
one sister, Minnie, wife of Ernest Lange, a 
farmer in Minnesota. 

Mr. Krusow is a member of the I. O. O. F. 
and the Encampment. In political matters he is 
a Republican but not especially active. He has 
served four years as county commissioner, being 
appointed once and once elected. In this capac- 
ity he made a splendid record and is a very pop- 
ular man throughout the county. Personally, 
Mr. Krusow is a genial, public spirited man and 
makes many friends. He and his wife are leading 
people and are very favorably known. 



DAN W. MYERS, one of the farmers of 
Sherman county, living six miles south from 
Grass Valley, was born in Ohio on July 8, 1867, 
the son of John W. and Margaret (Stratton) 
Myers. The mother was a native of Ohio and 
died there when our subject was six years old. 
Our subject was reared in Ohio until six then 
after his mother's death came to Iowa with his 
father, where they remained six years and he 
•attended the public schools. When our subject 
was twelve, the family came on to Oregon and 
the father purchased three hundred acres in Linn 
county, where he remained until his death, a very 
successful and highly respected man. Upon the 
death of his father, our subject being seventeen 
years of age, he started out for himself arid 
worked on the farm and at various other em- 
•ployments for a long time. For eight years of 



this time, he was foreman in the finishing depart- 
ment in a large furniture factory in Linn county. 
In 1898, he left his family in Albany and came 
on to Sherman county and sought out a location. 
After cruising about for some time in the sum- 
mer and doing some work on the ranches, he 
rented land for a year, and brought his family to 
Sherman county. Then in 1901, he purchased a 
place about six miles south from Grass Valley, 
his estate being one section of good land. He 
rents more and has about ten hundred and eighty- 
eight acres in cultivation. Mr. Myers gives atten- 
tion almost exclusively to farming and raising 
stock sufficient for use on the estate. 

On March 29, 1891, Mr. Myers married Miss 
Nellie Rhoades, the wedding occurring at Al- 
bany, Oregon. To Mr. and Mrs. Myers, the fol- 
lowing named children have been born : Frances, 
Helen, Hallie, and Lyndon. 

Mr. Myers is a member of the W. W. and the 
and his wife belong to the Christian church. He 
takes great interest in building up school facili- 
ties and gives of his time to serve upon the, 
board. He and his wife are people of excellent 
standing and they are achieving a good success 
here in their labors. 



EMMITT OLDS is one of the highly re- 
spected and worthy citizens of Sherman county 
and he and his estimable wife have labored to- 
gether here for years in worthy effort to build 
up the country and to improve the morals of the 
people and better the conditions of every one. 
They have shown thrift and wisdom in their la- 
bors and are reaping the deserved success. 

Emmitt Olds was born in Yamhill county, 
Oregon, on September 13, 1846. His father, 
Ruel Olds, was a native of New York and 
crossed the plains with ox teams in 1844, settling 
on a donation claim in Yamhill county. There he 
remained until his death in 1883. He married 
Elmina Perkins, also a native of New York, the 
wedding occurring in Chicago. The father's 
parents died when he was a lad and he grew up 
to manhood in Illinois. He did farm work there 
and also learned to make brick and wrought at 
that trade in Chicago for some years. Later, he 
established a brick manufactory in Yamhill 
county and burned the only brick made there for 
years. Our subject remained under the parental 
roof until his father's death then came to Sher- 
man county and engaged in sheep raising. He 
took the place where he now resides, a mile and 
one-half northeast from Grass Valley, as a 
homestead and since then has bought other land 
in various portions of the county. He owns four 



55° 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



hundred and eighty acres of good land, has thirty 
head of horses and as many well bred cattle. His 
efforts principally, however, are confined to grain 
raising, in which he has made a good success. ' 

On November 23, 1873, in Yamhill county, 
near Lafayette, Mr. Olds married Miss Elizabeth 
Messinger, who was born in Guthrie county, 
Iowa, on October 22, 1857. Her father, Solo- 
mon Messinger died in 1862 at Burnt River, 
Idaho, while he was crossing the plains. His 
wife, Elizabeth (Brown) Messinger, was accom- 
panying him and was forced to make the balance 
of the journey alone. The trip was a very se- 
vere one owing to trouble with the Indians, sick- 
ness in the family and the death of her husband. 
She bought land in Yamhill county and there re- 
mained, a widow, until her death in 1867. Mr. 
Olds has three brothers and three sisters, Elzina, 
v/idow of James L. Steward, at McMinnville, 
Oregon; Burzilda, wife of John W. Messinger, 
at Moro, Oregon ; May, wife of Charles B. Tay- 
lor, who died in 1885 ; Eli, in Tillamook county ; 
Nelson, in Yamhill county; D. J., South Bend, 
Washington. Mrs. Olds has the following 
named brothers and sisters : Michael, a farmer 
in Idaho ; Monroe, a miner ; Annie, widow of 
Taylor Morris, in Phoenix, Arizona ; Phoebe, wife 
of George Cornwall ; and Mary, wife of John W. 
Dunn. The last two named are deceased. 

Our subject is a member of the A. O. U. W. 
and takes an active interest in political matters, 
He has been delegate to nearly every county con- 
vention since he was twenty-one and has held 
such offices as constable, school director and so 
forth. He was the second postmaster of Grass 
Valley and is now serving his fifth term as stock 
inspector of this county. In this capacity, Mr. 
Olds has shown a faithfulness and wisdom that 
commend him to his constituents. 

The children born to our subject and his wife 
are named as follows : Lewis, living three miles 
southeast of his father's place, a farmer ; Charles 
B., Willie R., Frank, Dell, A. Dean, Chester E., 
all at home; Lela, wife of M. Brittam, Tygh 
Valley ; Bertie wife of George L. Brown, of 
Tygh Valley ; Myrtle I., at home. 



JOHN D. WILCOX, a retired farmer, re- 
siding in Grass Valley, Oregon, is one of the 
leading business men and citizens of Sherman 
county. He was born in Marion county, Ore- 
gon, on August 18, 1853. Thomas J. Wilcox, his 
father, was a native of Kentucky and came from 
an old American family of English ancestry. His 
death occurred at Monmouth, Oregon in 1894. 
He married Elizabeth Johnson, a native of Ten- 



nessee and of German parentage. She died in 
Marion county, in 1873. They were married in 
Missouri and crossed the plains with ox teams 
in 1853, arriving at Silverton, three weeks before 
the birth of our subject. They took a donation 
claim three miles out from Silverton and lived 
there until 1865, when Mr. Wilcox sold and 
moved to Mill Creek, Marion county. Later, he 
sold the property there and came to Monmouth, 
where he died. He was a stanch Republican, a 
leading man and a very successful stockraiser 
and farmer. Our subject grew up on the farm, 
received his education from the district schools 
and when twenty years old went to Walla Walla, 
where he wrought on the farm as teamster and 
breaking horses for some time. Then he returned 
to the Willamette valley and farmed for some 
years and afterwards wrought in a shingle and 
lumber mill in Clackamas county. In the 
spring of 1882, he returned to Walla Walla and 
the fall of the next year, came to Sherman 
county, locating at what is now Wilcox station 
on the Columbia & Southern Railroad. First he 
took land there and farmed until 1898 then he 
rented and in the fall of 1903, sold his estate of 
one-half section. In 1898, he had come to Grass 
Valley and here opened a feed store and also 
bought and sold grain. A year later, he retired,, 
although he still owns an interest in the mer- 
cantile firm of E. E. Porter & Company which 
is a large dry goods and gents furnishing estab- 
lishment. 

On October 4, 1874, Mr. Wilcox married 
Ella S. Van Nuys, the wedding occurring at the- 
residence of the bride's parents, ten miles east 
from Salem. Mrs. Wilcox was born in Marion 
county and her parents crossed the plains from 
the east in 1852. Mr. Wilcox has one brother, 
Alva R., a stockman in Wasco county and two 
sisters, Margaret, the widow of Sidney Black- 
erby of Tygh Valley and Emma, the wife of Al- 
bert Stewart of Wathena, Kansas. Mrs. Wilcox 
has two brothers, Ralph W. and Charles, both in 
Marion county, and one sister, Ada, wife of John 
H. Porter, also in Marion county. Mr. and Mrs. 
Wilcox have one child, Hollis, who is mentioned' 
elsewhere in this work. 

Mr. Wilcox is a member of the I. O. O. F., 
being past noble grand, and of the Encampment, 
being past C. P. He has been delegate to the 
grand lodge several times. He and his wife 
also belong to the Rebekahs. Mr. Wilcox is a 
stanch Republican, is often delegate to the county 
and state conventions and for eight consecutive 
years was a leading figure in the state conven- 
tions. He takes an active interest in politics but 
never aspires to office himself. He has labored 
assiduously not only to gain a good competence- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



55i 



but to build up the county, to advance educational 
interests, and to forward every movement for the 
general good of the people. Personally, Mr. 
Wilcox is a genial, public spirited and generous 
man who has hosts of friends and is looked up 
to by all. 



JACOB H. RINEARSON, the popular host 
of the Vintin hotel, at Grass Valley, is a native 
Oregonian, his birthplace being Oregon City and 
the date of that event, July 23, 1875. Peter 
Rinearson, his father, was a native of Ohio where 
also his parents were born. Their parents came 
from England. In 1845, Peter Rinearson came 
with ox teams to Oregon City and took a dona- 
tion claim just north of the Clackamas river and 
resided for four years and there died in 1885. He 
was a very influential man and was not only a 
leader among the pioneers but a very prominent 
citizen until his death. He did more perhaps than 
any one man to get the state fairs started and to 
make them popular institutions. The first one was 
held on his farm. He spent much time and labor 
in raising well bred stock and his animals took 
the prizes on many occasions. He was a gener- 
ous, public spirited man and made many friends 
and did a vast amount of good in opening up and 
building up Oregon. He married Isabella Mc- 
Donald, a native of Scotland, who came to Ore- 
gon with her aunt. Her parents died in Scotland 
and she came first to California, in the United 
States, that being in 1849 and dwelt with her 
aunt in Stockton for some time. Then she came 
to Portland, where she met Mr. Rinearson and 
the wedding occurred either in that city or Ore- 
gon City. This worthy lady died in 1890, at 
Oregon City. Our subject was reared and edu- 
cated in Oregon City and later studied in the 
State University, entering that institution in 
1891. After that, we find him in British Colum- 
bia weighing ore for the LeRoi mine one year. 
Then he returned to Oregon City and in 1897, 
came to Grass Valley, looking after the stock 
which belonged to his father's estate. The next 
year, he purchased the hotel which he now owns, 
from George Vintin, who erected the same. 
Since that time, Mr. Rinearson has given his un- 
divided attention to conducting the hotel which 
he has made very popular with the traveling 
public. 

On February 14, 1900, at Grass Valley, oc- 
curred the marriage of Mr. Rinearson and Lottie 
A. Vintin, who was born in Butte county, Cali- 
fornia, in 1875. Mrs. Rinearson is the daughter 
of George C. and Martha (Evans) Vintin, who 
are mentioned elsewhere in this work. Mr. 
Rinearson has two brothers, George, an attorney 



at Baker City, Oregon and Edward, in Portland. 
Our subject is a member of the I. O. O. F. s 
the Elks and the Red Men. He and his wife are 
well known throughout this part of the state 
and have hosts of friends. Their genialty and 
hospitality are well known and they have striven, 
not only to build up their business in a becoming 
manner, but to assist in the improvement of the 
country and have certainly clone a commendable 
work. 



brought 
held in 
managed 
in a mill. 



HARVEY U. MARTIN is a young, indus- 
trious and energetic farmer, living four miles 
east of Kent, Sherman county, Oregon. He 
was born May 15, 1867 in Los Angeles county, 
California, the son of John R. and Jane (Brown) 
Martin, the father a native of Ohio ; his parents 
of Scottish ancestry. John R. Martin, the father, 
was kidnapped, or rather, "shanghaied" as the 
sea term is, and taken aboard a vessel and 
to the United States and here 
bondage. From his captors he 
to escape and for awhile worked 
He was one of the early pioneers of 
Ohio, in a sparsely settled portion of the state. At 
present he is a successful farmer in Sherman 
county, three miles east of Moro. 

Our subject lived at Los Angeles until 1879, 
when he came to Oregon with his parents. The • 
family located at Athena, Umatilla county, where 
they remained one year, thence coming to Sher- 
man county. Here our subject's parents secured 
land. On attaining his majority Harvey U. Mar- 
tin filed on a preemption claim, which he after- 
ward sold, having proved up on the same. Dur- 
ing the four years following he was engaged in 
the cattle business, with gratifying success. This 
business enterprise he disposed of and purchas- 
ing horses, shipped them to California. The horse 
market broke and our subject lost the entire 
amount of his investment. He then went to 
Palouse City, Washington, where he was en- 
gaged two years working in a machine shop. 
Returning to Sherman county he located a 
homestead, purchased more land, a quarter sec- 
tion, later, all of which is tillable. 

December 27, 1894, at Palouse City the mar- 
riage contract was solemnized between himself 
and Lilah Rowe, a native of Nebraska, born Au- 
gust 31, 1876. Her father, James P. Rowe, a 
native of Pennsylvania, was a blacksmith and 
farmer. He died July 4, 1902, in Jackson county, 
Oregon. The mother was a native of Ohio, and 
now resides in Jackson county, Oregon. Mrs. 
Martin's parents, James P. and Margaret (Cald- 
well) Lowe, were mraried in Iowa and then 
journey to the southwest part of Nebraska. 



552 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



In 1890 they went to Idaho, and five years later 
removed to Jackson county, Oregon. 

Our subject has five brothers who are men- 
tioned in sketches of the parents to be found 
in another portion of this volume, and one sister. 
Mrs. Martin has one brother, Burt, a resident of 
Redding, Shasta county, California, and four 
sisters ; May, and Ina ; Blanche, wife of George 
Robertson, a farmer of Josephine county, Ore- 
gon, a cattleman ; Edith, wife of Ralph Moon, a 
cattleman of Klamath county, Oregon. To Mr. 
and Mrs. Martin two children have been born, 
Netah Okel, on November 19, 1895, and Telra 
May, on February 15, 1900. Both are natives 
of Sherman county. 

The fraternal affiliations of Mr. Martin are 
with Moro Lodge, No. 31, I. O. O. F. Although 
a patriotic Republican he is not especially active 
in political affairs, although he has served four 
terms as clerk of his school district, and one year 
as road supervisor. Personally he is a liberal- 
minded, progressive man, a good citizen and 
highly esteemed in his home community. 



GEORGE W. SCHWARTZ, of the firm of 
Schwartz Brothers, a farmer and stock raiser, 
living two and one-half miles south from Grass 
Valley, was born in Hennepin county, Minnesota, 
on October 2, i860. His parents, William and 
Elizabeth (Browand) Schwartz, were natives of 
Germany and Switzerland, respectively. The 
father came to the United States when a boy 
alone and settled first near Rochester, New 
York. Later, he journeyed to Iowa and then to 
Minnesota. His death occurred in May, 1904. on 
the old homestead where the mother still resides. 
Our subject was reared and educated in Minne- 
sota and when twenty-three, came thence to 
Oregon. For a month he was occupied in farm- 
ing on Tygh Ridge then came to his present lo- 
cation and took up a homestead. His brother, 
Charles H., had come to Oregon with him. took a 
homestead and timberculture claim near the land 
taken by our subject and since, they have been 
more or less in partnership and have purchased 
a good many hundred acres of land. Our sub- 
ject owns eight hundred acres in his own right 
and handles that in connection with a quarter 
section owned by his sisters. He has about two 
hundred head of fine graded Percheron horses 
besides considerable other property. He is a 
thrifty, well-to-do man, has gained a splendid 
success in farming and stock raising and stands 
well in the community. He is a man of business 
ability and has demonstrated the same in his 
career. On May 13, 1904, Mr. Schwartz mar- 



ried Annie M. Scott, a sister of Mrs. James Den- 
nis, who is mentioned elsewhere in this volume. 
Our subject's brother, Charles H., resides with 
him and besides that he has two brothers de- 
ceased, William V., and Fred R., the former 
died in Minnesota and the latter here in 1898. 
Mr. Schwartz has two sisters, Mary, the wife of 
Otto- Bucholz in Hennepin county, Minnesota, 
and Annie F., who lives with our subject. Fra- 
ternally, Mr. Schwartz is connected with the 
I. O. O. F., while in political life, he stands for 
the principles of the Republican party, though 
not especially active. He and his wife are estim- 
able people and have won hosts of friends and 
labor together always for the general welfare and 
upbuilding of the community. 



CALEB W. CURL, a retired farmer living 
in Grass Valley, Oregon, was born in Carroll 
county, Missouri, on October 31, 1829. He is to 
be mentioned among the leading pioneers of the 
state of Oregon and his life has been fraught 
with great hardships and extensive labors. His 
parents James and Anna (Elliott) Curl, were 
natives of Kentucky and Virginia, respectively. 
The father's father was born in England and 
married a native German lady. The mother's an- 
cestors were old colonial people and early set- 
tlers in the New World. Our subject remained 
in northwest Missouri until 1847, when he came 
across the plains with ox teams to the William- 
ette Valley, accompanied by his parents. They 
took a donation claim in Linn county and there 
remained until the father's death on January 7, 
1864. When nineteen, our subject began to work 
for the neighboring farmers and continued in 
that occupation until he was married, when he 
took a donation claim in Linn county, also. After 
proving up on the property, he sold it and pur- 
chased another and sold and bought several farms 
until December, 1884, when he came to Sherman 
county and took a homestead and preemption. 
Later, he added a timber culture claim and in all 
secured twelve hundred and eighty acres about 
six miles east from Grass Valley. For nearly 
twenty years, Mr. Curl resided there, doing gen- 
eral farming and stock raising and in 1902, he 
sold the entire property and purchased a half block 
in Grass Valley, where he erected his present 
dwelling. It is a comfortable two-story, six room 
house. Mr. Curl is living a retired life, enjoying 
the competence that his labors and skill have pro- 
vided. He is a man respected and esteemed by 
all and has done a lion's share in the development 
of the country and deserves well the esteem which 
is generously accorded him. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



553 



On March 21, 1850, in Polk county, Mr. Curl 
married Margaret E. Fulkerson, who was born 
in Cole county, Missouri, on June 4, 1831. Her 
father, James M. Fulkerson, was born in Vir- 
ginia and came from an old colonial family. His 
father served in the Revolution. The mother of 
Mrs. Cole was Mary R. (Miller) Fulkerson, a 
native of Virginia and also descended from an old 
colonial family. The Fulkersons remained in 
Missouri until 1847, when they crossed the plains 
with ox teams to the Willamette valley. They 
were in the same train with Mr. Curl, and as 
nearly all the people of the train were members 
of the Baptist church, they organized a class on 
the road and had their services every Sunday. 
Mrs. Fulkerson died at the crossing of the Green 
river, having suffered from a severe attack of 
mountain fever. There was very much sickness 
in the train and several deaths occurred. Mrs. 
Cujrl's brother, Frederick R., took the fever, 
and and Mr. Fulkerson, with two other families, 
remained while the others went on. After nine 
days the young man, being then aged eighteen, 
died near Devil's Gate, on the Sweetwater. The 
mother died a month later. Mrs. Curl's uncle, 
William Hines, died at the first crossing of the 
Snake river. Then her sister's husband died in 
the Cascades. So much sickness had delayed 
them until they were very late and their cattle 
had become so enfeebled that they were unable 
to pull the wagons. Mrs. Curl unyoked nine 
in one day, that had given out. Finally, they 
were about to give up in despair when a company, 
headed by Mr. Snelling, the son of Vincent Snell- 
ing, a Baptist preacher, arrived with wagons and 
provisions. Mr. Fulkerson had been carrying 
his daughter, who was ill, who was a large woman 
weighing one hundred and seventy pounds, and 
was nearly exhausted, as were the rest of the 
party. The end of these hardships occurred on 
the Barlow road over the Cascades and just as 
they were descending the Laurel hill, succor came. 
Upon arriving in the Willamette valley Mr. Ful- 
kerson took a donation claim and gave his atten- 
tion to farming. Mr. Curl, the subject of our 
sketch, has three brothers living, James M., near 
Lisle, Washington ; John, in Oregon ; and Thomas 
R., deceased, Malheur county, Oregon. He also 
has three sisters ; Samirah, the widow of Lewis 
Paine, of Dayton, Washington ; Parthana J., the 
widow of Joel Calavan, of Linn county, Oregon ; 
and Martha, the widow of Robert Moorehead, of 
Oakland, Oregon. Mrs. Curl has one brother, 
W. Holt, a retired farmer in Polk county, and 
three sisters ; Sarah A., the widow of Ambrose 
Cain, of Monmouth, Oregon; Virginia A., wife 
of Joshua McDaniel, a retired farmer in Polk 
county; and Hannah R., the wife of Solomon 



Crowley, of Polk county. To Mr. and Mrs. Curl 
seven children have been born, named as follows : 
James W., a farmer at Spangle, Washington ; Dr. 
Riley H, a dentist, at Albany, Oregon ; David 
H., at Lebanon, Oregon ; Dr. Ambrose M., a den- 
tist, at Weiser, Idaho; Laughlin M., at Albany, 
Oregon ; Sarah A., widow of Harry Gliesing, 
Grass Valley; Maggie, wife of Elmer F. Heath, 
a merchant in Grass Valley. 

Mr. and Mrs. Curl are both members of the 
Baptist church and stanch supporters of their 
faith. He has served at various times as road 
supervisor and school trustee, and in politics he 
is a Democrat. 

In 1848 Mr. Curl enlisted in the Oregon State 
Militia and saw service in the Indian wars of 
that time. In 1856 he again enlisted and fought 
all through the Cayuse wars until the savages 
were subdued. For this service he now receives 
a pension from the government. 



GEORGE B. BOURHILL is well known in 
Sherman county and needs no introduction to the 
people of this part of Oregon. A. sufficient ac- 
count of his labors is the best encomium to grant 
Mr. Bourhill according to the old proverb, "Let 
their works praise them in the gates." 

George B. Bourhill was born in North Ber- 
wick, Scotland, on October 9, 1864, and came 
from the stanch blood that has made that race 
renowned the world over. His father, George 
Bourhill, was also a native of Scotland and re- 
mained there until his death. He married Jane 
M. Wright, a native of Edinburgh. They re- 
sided on the farm and died in their native land. 
Our subject was educated in private schools in 
his native town and when fourteen went to Edin- 
burgh and accepted a clerkship in a large print- 
ing establishment. He wrought two and one- 
half years, then spent a year at home, and in 1882 
started for the United States. He landed in Iowa 
and took a position at farm work, continuing 
eighteen months. Next we see him in Yamhill 
county, Oregon, where he spent two years in till- 
ing the soil. It was 1886 that he came to Sher- 
man county and took land some six miles east of 
Grass Valley. For ten years he was one of the 
enterprising agriculturists of the county and then 
came to Grass Valley and engaged in the hard- 
ware business with Milton Damon. A few 
months later Mr. Bourhill purchased his part- 
ner's interest and with various changes in owner- 
ship, the business has continued until the present 
time. He still owns one-fourth interest in the 
mercantile house and gives his attention to the 
W. A. Gordon & Company bank at Grass Valley, 



554 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



of which he is manager. In 1902 the style of the 
firm name of the hardware business was changed 
to Weigand & Company, which continues until 
the present. Mr. Bourhill has been more or less 
engaged in grain buying and other enterprises 
during his residence in Grass Valley, and in 
1903, W. A. Gordon & Company, of Portland, 
established the Bank of Grass Valley and Mr. 
Bourhill has conducted it since. He also is presi- 
dent and general manager of the Columbia South- 
ern Warehouse Company, the owners being him- 
self, W. A. Gordon & Company, S. S. Hays, of 
Moro, and George Vintin. Our subject owns a 
nice residence and also a choice farm of one-half 
section near Grass Valley. 

On August 23, 1897, Mr. Bourhill married 
Grace Buker at Grass Valley. To them have been 
born two children, Bessie and Clarence G-, the 
former six years of age and the latter an infant. 
Mr. Bourhill has one brother, Frank W., at 
Johannesburg, South Africa, and three sisters, 
Frances, in North Berwick, Scotland; Margaret 
G., at Durham, South Africa ; and Isabella C, 
who has ably assisted her brother in conducting 
the business in the bank, she being assistant 
cashier. 

Politically, Mr. Bourhill is a Republican and 
in June, 1904, was elected judge of Sherman 
county. He is not especially active in the polit- 
ical world yet has frequently attended the county 
conventions and is a man who makes his presence 
felt in these places. He is past noble grand of 
the I. O. O. F., and past C. P. in the Encamp- 
ment, and" has also been delegate to the grand 
lodge. Mrs. Bourhill is a member of the Metho- 
dist church. They are highlv respected people 
and have shown a substantialty and integrity that 
commend them to the confidence and esteem of 
every one. 



TALMON NEWCOMB, who owns three- 
fourths of a section of land eight miles south 
from Grass Valley, was born in Ohio on Novem- 
ber 13, 1850. His parents, Shepherd and Sarah 
A. (Crim) Newcomb, are natives of Ohio and 
Virginia, respectively. The former lived with 
our subject and the latter died at our subject's 
home on December 25, 1903. Mr. Newcomb was 
raised in Ohio and there received his education. 
In 1870 he came with the balance of the family to 
California where he and his father leased land 
in Colusa county. They continued laboring there 
together until 1883 and then came to Sherman 
county. The father and son both took land and 
our subject now owns the entire estate, three 
hundred acres of which are in cultivation, and it 
is one of the good places of the country. Since 



coming Mr. Newcomb has given his attention to 
general farming, and has displayed integrity and 
stability. 

On November 12, 1874, in Marysville, Cali- 
fornia, Mr. Newcomb married Julia E. Cum- 
mings, a native of New York. To them have 
been born seven children, Bertie E., Elvin R.,. 
Joseph, William, Arthur, Jessie and May. All 
are at home, except the oldest, who is in Port- 
land. Mr. Newcomb has three brothers, Daniel,. 
Joseph and Albert. All three reside in Califor- 
nia ; the first two mentioned being carpenters and 
the last one a painter. 

Mr. Newcomb is a member of the I. O. O. F., 
and politically is a good, strong Democrat. He 
has held the office of school director for some 
time and has frequently been delegate to the 
county conventions. Mr. Newcomb takes an 
interest in public affairs, the progress of the coun- 
try and has ever shown a disposition to labor for 
and support every measure that is for the gen- 
eral good. 



CHARLES W. MOORE, who has been 
mayor of Grass Valley since its incorporation, is 
also one of the leading business men in north 
central Oregon. He is president and general 
manager of the Citizens' Commercial Company, 
one of the leading mercantile institutions of this 
part of the county. 

Charles W. Moore was born in Indiana, on 
July 22, 1858, the son of Rufus A. and Sarah J. 
(Brown) Moore, natives of Londonderry, New 
Hampshire, and Indiana, respectively. The 
father's ancestors were an old English family of 
colonial days and prominent in those times. The 
mother's parents were also early settlers in the 
new world. The family left Illinois about 1859 
for Kansas and dwelt there six years. Then they 
journeyed to Idaho, settling on Indian creek, 
about twenty-four miles from Boise, where they 
remained two years. Then came a trip to Cher- 
okee, Butte county, California, where they rented 
until 1882, they then came to Sherman county, 
Oregon, and our subject, his brother and the 
father all took government land about five miles 
north from Grass Valley. The father remained 
on the farm until his death in -1893. The mother 
died in August, 1898, at Moro. Oregon. Our 
subject was educated in the various places where 
the family lived, completing this important part 
of life's training in the Pacific Business College 
at San Francisco. He was with his parents until 
coming to Oregon when he and his brother, 
Henry, preceded them to the fertile region now 
embraced 'in Sherman county. In 1889 Mr. 
Moore rented his land and came to Grass Valley, 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



555 



where he engaged in the general merchandise 
business, with Dr. C. R. Rollins. For several 
years they did business together and then our 
subject's brother, L. K., bought the doctor's in- 
terest. Two years later the brother resold to the 
doctor again, and later John Karlin bought Dr. 
Rollin's interest. Five years later Karlin sold 
his interest to the Citizens' Commercial Com- 
pany, which Mr. Moore and his associates organ- 
ized. They started with a capital of seventy-five 
thousand dollars, incorporating under the laws 
of Oregon. They purchased considerable prop- 
erty and erected a fine, two-story brick building, 
eighty-eight feet square. They carry a stock of 
merchandise of fifty thousand dollars or more and 
they own the most complete mercantile establish- 
ment to be found in Oregon. They are the gen- 
eral agents for the John Deering implements, 
Daniel Best combined harvesters, Moline wagons 
and carriages, and also handle a full line of agri- 
cultural implements besides. They have a large 
stock of groceries, clothing, boots and shoes, dry 
goods, hardware, crockery, and so forth. L. R. 
French is secretary; Samuel H. Baker is treas- 
urer, and as stated before, our subject is president 
and general manager. 

On November 21, 1886, at Portland, Oregon, 
Mr. Moore married Eva L. Rollins, who was born 
in Minnesota, the daughter of Dr. Charles R. 
Rollins, who is now retired and dwells in Grass 
. Valley. Mr. Moore has three brothers, Walter 
H., a real estate man at Moro ; Henry A., retired 
in Portland ; and Lawrence K., a real estate man 
at Moro. Mrs. Moore has three brothers and one 
sister. To our subject and his wife two children 
have been born, Mabel and Ray, aged fourteen 
and twelve, respectively. 

Fraternally, Mr. Moore is quite prominent, 
being past grand of the I. O. O. F., past M. W. of 
the A. O. U. W., past C. P. of the Encampment, 
and a member of the Foresters. He has several 
times been delegate of the grand lodge of the 
Odd F e h°ws, and he and his wife are members 
of the degree of honor of the A. 0. U. W. 

Politically, Mr. Moore is a Republican and 
has frequently been delegate to the county con- 
ventions. He is a sterling and progressive busi- 
ness man and one of the leading citizens of Sher- 
man county. 



ELMER F. HEATH, of the firm of C. A. 
Heath & Sons, real estate and loans, is one of the 
stirring young business men of Grass Valley. He 
was born on March 12, 1867, in Kent county, 
Michigan, the son of Chancy A. and Elizabeth J. 
(Rose) Heath, who are mentioned elsewhere in 
this work. Elmer F. was educated in the district 



schools and in 1884 came with the family to Ore- 
gon. He has been associated with his father and 
brothers since 1891. At first they did farming 
and stock raising, and in 1900 they engaged in the 
general merchandise business with Alexander 
Scott. This was conducted until the formation 
of the Citizens' Commercial Company, with which 
they merged, taking stock in that concern. Our 
subject and his brothers are directors of that 
company, in addition to handling the real estate 
business above mentioned. 

On November 10, 1891, at Wasco, Mr. Heath 
married Maggie M. Curl, who was born in Linn 
county, Oregon, on April 15, 1874. Her parents, 
Caleb and Margaret (Fulkerson) Curl, are men- 
tioned elsewhere in this volume. The children 
born to this union are Arlie and Loyal, aged 
twelve and seven respectively. 

Politically, Mr. Heath is interested and active, 
is a man of excellent standing, is genial and up- 
right in business and has won hosts of friends in 
this country. 



GEORGE C. VINTIN, Jr., the foreman of 
the Columbia Southern Warehouse Company at 
Grass Valley, is one of the leading business. men 
of that prosperous town and has shown himself 
a man of stability and worth. He was born in 
Butte county, California, on February 10, 1863. 
His father, George C. Vintin, a native of Wis- 
consin, came to California in 1849. After mining 
for a few years he purchased a farm in Butte 
county where he lived until June 27, 1882. At 
that time he started to Grass Valley and on Au- 
gust 5, of the same year, he took land three miles 
east from town. He gave his attention to culti- 
vating the same until 1900, then rented the estate, 
it being half a section, when he came to town and 
on November, 1903, finished the erection of the 
Vintin Hotel. He also has erected a fine resi- 
dence, and now lives in Portland, being retired. 
In 1902, he sold the hotel to Jacob Rinearson. 
Mr. Vintin had married a native Scotch lady who- 
died when our subject was four years old. Then 
the father married Martha Evans, it being 1870, in 
Butte county, California. Our subject was reared 
in his native county and remained with his people 
until they came to Sherman county. His edu- 
cation was received in the public schools, and in- 
1883 he took a homestead adjoining his brother's, 
whose land was contiguous to his father's land. 
After farming for some years he rented the land 
and in 1901 engaged in stock-raising, and is still 
prosecuting that business. The next year, how- 
ever, he accepted his present position and is now 
conducting the increasing business of the ware- 
house. 



556 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Fraternally, Mr. Vinton is a member of the 
I. O. O. F., being past noble grand of the En- 
campment and of the Rebekahs. Politically, he 
is a Republican and active in that field. Mr. 
Vintin has one brother living. David E., who re- 
sides about two miles east from Grass Valley. 
He also has two half-brothers, Edwin and Roy, 
the former with his parents and the latter rent- 
ing his father's farm. He also has four half- 
sisters ; Sadie, single ; Stella, the wife of Dr. 
W. H. Snooks, of Crook county ; Mrs. Rinear- 
son and Mrs. Rutledge, in Sherman county. Mr. 
Vintin has one full sister, Mamie, the wife of 
Edward J. Rollin. Mr. Vintin is an enterprising 
young man and is one of the progressive citizens 
of the county. 



JAMES H. MILLER, a farmer, .living about 
one-half mile northeast from Rutledge, in Sher- 
man county, was born in Indiana, on November 
9, 1840. His father, Hidings Miller, was of 
Quaker ancestrage, and his father, the grand- 
father of our subject, enlisted under General Har- 
rison, of Tippecanoe fame, of Indiana, to repel 
the savages, and was accidentally killed while 
helping to construct a fort at Cincinnati, Ohio. 
His mother, the paternal grandmother of our 
subject, was a Miss Ball before marriage to Mr. 
Miller. Our subject's mother was born in the 
Carolinas, and is now residing with her son, 
Joaquin Miller, the "poet of the Sierras," at Oak- 
land Heights, California, aged eighty-eight. She 
was descended from a Dutch familv in the Ogle- 
thorpe colony, which were among the first settlers 
in Georgia. The family moved to the Carolinas 
later, where Mrs. Miller was raised. Our sub- 
ject's parents left Indiana in February, 1852, and 
started across the plains with horses and ox 
teams. The family consisted of the father and 
mother, three sons and one daughter. They had a 
pleasant trip and, although they saw many who 
had died from the ravages of small-pox and 
cholera, they had no particular sickness and suf- 
fered no attacks from the Indians. The first 
winter on the coast was spent at Parish Gap, near 
Salem, Oregon, and in the spring they moved 
to Lane county, where the father took a donation 
claim. He was killed in a runaway accident, 
concerning which, it is believed to this day, there 
was foul play. He lived about a month after the 
alleged accident. Our subject lived with his 
parents nine years in the Willamette valley and 
there completed his educational training. Then 
he came to The Dalles and worked at the carpen- 
ter trade for a few months, which he had learned 
previously. Being of an adventurous spirit, he 
sought to the mines of the west and we next find 



him in Pierce, Idaho. After a year there he re- 
turned home, and about that time was stricken 
with the measles which were terribly epidemic at 
that time in the Willamette valley. So fierce was 
the disease that he never fully recovered from the 
effects. Later he went to eastern Orgon and was 
occupied at packing and freighting for three 
years. Then he spent a winter in the Willamette 
valley after which he went to Crook county, which 
was then Wasco county, and remained there 
thirty years, stock-raising and farming, and there 
also he was married on July 25, 1877, to Kate 
Pringle, who was born near Salem, Oregon, on 
September 20, 1852. Her father, Clark S. Prin- 
gle, was a native of Missouri and crossed the 
plains, with ox teams, in 1846. He had a very 
trying time as a portion of his stock died and the 
Indians stole some and they were beset with many 
other hardships. He came by the Klamath Lake 
route, being among the very first over that road, 
and the train nearly starved to death. They 
reached Salem on Christmas day, 1846. His 
father took a donation claim and he remained with 
him for two years, then being twenty-one, struck 
out for himself. He married Katherine Sager 
and they now live in Spokane. She was born in 
Ohio and crossed the plains with her parents, 
with ox teams, in 1844. At least she started across 
the plains with her parents, but on the road her 
father and mother died, leaving a family of seven 
children, the eldest being fourteen and the young- 
est an infant in arms. A young German physi- 
cian took charge of the children and cared for 
them until they reached Walla Walla. Captain 
Shaw was in charge of the train and when they 
reached Walla Walla, the children were given to 
Dr. Whitman to care for for the winter. He was 
appointed legal guardian of them all and they 
were with him at the time of the massacre. Fol- 
lowing that, they were raised in the Willamette 
valley, where homes were found for them. It 
must be remembered that on this occasion these 
girls were captured by the Indians and to the 
great credit of Peter Steen Ogden it should be 
stated that he, the chief factor of the Hudson's 
Bay Company, at Vancouver, Washington, ran- 
somed them with his own private means at the 
risk of losing his position with the company. 
The two boys. John and Frances, were killed. 
The girls were' Catherine, Elizabeth, .Martha, 
Louise and Henrietta. Louise died shortly after 
from the shock and exposure. Catherine, who 
is Mrs. Miller's mother, was brought up by Re- 
verend William Roberts at Salem. 

In 1897, Mr. Miller removed to Sherman 
countv and he owned two different farms of one 
half section each, in the county. For five years 
he lived on a leased place near DeMoss Springs. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



557 



Now he is dwelling on a farm of four hundred 
and forty acres, owned by his son. He has sold 
all his own property in the county. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Miller nine children have been born : Ella, 
who married John Grimes, and died in 1900, in 
Crook county, aged twenty-three ; James R., 
living in this county ; Perry P., who owns the 
place where his father resides ; Warren S., Mel- 
vin G, Ola P., Phernie N., Eugene H, and Earl 
K., all at home. Mr. Miller has two brothers 
living, Cinnatus Hiner, the "poet of the Sierras," 
who writes under the nom de plume of "Joaquin 
Miller," living at Oakland Heights, California ; 
and George M., an attorney in Eugene, Oregon. 
Mr. Miller also has one brother and one sister de- 
ceased, John B. and Ella. Mrs. Miller has one 
brother, Sanford S., deceased, and two sisters 
living, Annie, wife of John D. Bentley, of Col- 
fax, Washington, and Lucie, wife, of D. Collins, 
trainmaster in Spokane. She has three other 
brothers deceased, Frank F., Marcus W., and 
Orva C, and one sister deceased, Emma. 

Mr. Miller is a Republican and while in Crook 
county was quite active in political affairs and was 
county surveyor there for some time. Mr. Miller 
is a man who gained his educational training by 
his own efforts and is deserving of much credit 
in that he fitted himself for the important posi- 
tion of surveyor. 

In 1852, Mr. Miller passed by the territory 
now embraced in Sherman county, and then there 
was not a solitary white settler in it. He and 
his wife have spent their lives in developing and 
building up Oregon, especially that portion now 
embraced in this work. He enlisted to fight in 
the Rogue River Indian war, but owing to his 
youth, he was placed with the wagon train, and 
there served till the close of the war. He joined 
the Oregon Militia in 1861, expecting to see ser- 
vice in the Civil war, but, owing to the continued 
outbreaks of the savages, his command was de- 
tained here to quell the Indians. 



CHANCY A. HEATH, of the firm of C. 
A. Heath & Sons, real estate and loans, Grass 
Valley, Oregon, was born in Andover, Ohio, on 
October 6, 1842. His father, Albert Heath, born 
in Massachusetts, came from an old colonial fam- 
ily and died when ninety years and two months 
of age. Three brothers of the Heath family came 
to the United States long before the Revolution 
and their descendants are scattered well over the 
continent. In the Heath reunions in Ohio the at- 
tendance is four hundred and more each year. 
Eleazer Heath, the paternal grandfather of our 
subject, was a Baptist preacher in New York and 



Ohio, and an early pioneer of the latter state. His 
father, the great-grandfather of our subject died 
at ninety-seven, and Eleazer Heath died when 
eighty-four years of age. Our subject's father 
was a mill wright and farmer. Our subject's 
great-grandfather had the following named chil- 
dren : David, Ebenezer, Eleazer, Joshua, Job, 
Timothy, Dorcas, who died aged ninety, Anna, 
and Polly, all early Ohio pioneers. The later 
generations of the family have many members 
who are prominent at the bench and bar and in 
every professional line. Many of the family 
served in the Revolution and the War of 18 12, . 
and in the Civil war. The brothers of our sub- 
ject's father were William, Warren, Joseph, Phy- 
letus and James. His sisters were Marinda, Em- 
meline, Phydelia, Caroline and Phoebe. This lat- 
ter woman was the mother of triplets, two boys 
and one girl, being named Clarence W., Claren- 
den W., and Caroline W. Ttheir father was a_ 
Mr. Spaulding. Our subject's mother was Lucy 
(Cook) Heath, a native of New England and 
from a prominent colonial family. She was born, 
in 1806. Our subject remained in Ohio until 
twenty-one years of age, being educated in the 
district schools. He was preparing for college 
when taken with a severe attack of western fever 
and he journeyed out west to Michigan and hired 
in the woods for sixteen dollars a month. When 
his first month was up, it was tfee only month he 
ever worked for wages, he began contracting for 
himself and remained until 1883. His health] 
being broken, he came west and settled on land 
some five miles southwest of Grass Valley. He 
took a homestead and timber culture, and bought 
school land and, together with his sons, owns 
twenty- four hundred acres, twenty-one hundred 
of which are under cultivation. Mr. Heath and 
his two sons and their wives own nine hundred 
and sixty acres in Klamath county. They own 
in addition, some mining property in Crook 
county, and are prosperous people. 

On January 1, 1865, in Kent county, Michi- 
gan, Mr. Heath married Eliza J. Rhodes, a native 
of Schuyler county, New York. Her father, 
Erasmus W. Rose, was a native of England and 
in early life was master on a canal. He died in 
Michigan, on September 29, 1880. He had mar- 
ried Susan Simmons, a native of Catskill county, 
New York, who died in Michigan, on December 
3, 1896. Our subject has three brothers living; 
Herman L., a farmer in Ohio, who has been blind 
since eighteen years of age ; Adinoram J., a 
farmer in Ashtabula county, Ohio ; William H, 
also a farmer, in Andover, Ohio. Mr. Heath 
also has three sisters, Clarissa P., the widow of 
R. E. French, of Grass Valley; Betsey E., the 
wife of N. S. Butler, in Ashtabula county, . 



558 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Ohio ; Josephine L., the wife of B. F. 
Downing, in Lincoln county, Washington. 
He also has two brothers who died in 
infancy, Joseph L., and Luke W. Mrs. 
Heath has two brothers, Albert G., a mer- 
chant in St. Louis, and Elmer S., of Cedar 
Springs, Michigan, also a merchant. She also 
has the following named sisters : Emma A., the 
wife of A. B. Fairchild, a retired farmer of The 
Dalles ; Viola S., the wife of Henry Carner, of 
Redfields, South Dakota ; Almira, who died in 



infancy ; and Elizabeth, who died when eleven. 
Mr. and Mrs. Heath are members of the Bap- 
tist church. He is a Republican and an active, 
energetic business man. He is also director of 
the Grass Valley Academy. Mr. Heath's two 
sons who are living are named elsewhere in this 
work, and he also has three who died in infancy, 
Arthur C, Milo M. and Ona L. Mr. Heath was 
very much broken in health when coming to this 
country, but is now strong and hearty and is one 
of the leading citizens of Sherman county. 




Plowing Scene in Gilliam County 




Freighting Xeam between Arlington and Condon, Gilliam County 



PART IV 



HISTORY OF GILLIAM COUNTY 



CHAPTER I 



PASSING EVENTS— 1860 TO 1905. 



The old immigrant road through Gilliam 
county crossed the John Day river one half mile 
below where now stands Leonard's bridge, and 
ran in an easterly and westerly direction over the 
prairie to a point in Alkali canyon about seven 
miles south of what is now Arlington ; here there 
was a stage station afterwards known as the 
"Junction House ;" thence easterly to Willow 
creek, about twelve miles south of the Columbia 
river, and crossed Willow creek and the Sissel 
ranch. 

The old Utah, Idaho and Oregon stage road 
was established in the fifties, crossed Leonard's 
bridge on the John Day river, and ran almost 
due east to a point about seven miles south of 
what is now Arlington, in Alkali canyon, where 
there was a stage station, thence easterly to the 
old Umatilla Landing. 

In the earlier history of Gilliam county, even 
prior to its subdivision, stock-raising was the 
principal industry. While this business still oc- 
cupies an important place it can, however, no 
longer be considered paramount. And this was 
the truth so early as 1900. As the wave of im- 
migration rolled westward from the sun-baked 
plains beynod the Great Divide, the grassy slopes 
and fertile valleys of Gilliam county arrested the 
attention of the travel-worn farmers. It was still 
a far cry to the Willamette Valley, and here was 
arable land all around them. "Prairie schooners" 
were suddenly brought up "all standing," by the 
sharp application of the brake ; mules were un- 
hitched, or "ouspanned" as Rider Haggard would 



describe an episode in African travel, and turned 
loose to graze ; wives, children and scanty house- 
hold goods were unloaded ; tents were pitched 
and foundations of future homes were laid. 
There is, at present, every indication throughout 
Gilliam county that these settlers have been 
eminently successful. There are hundreds of 
comfortable homes ; the "head-centers" of bound- 
less wheat fields and handsome orchards, and 
these homes are surrounded by fertile garden 
spots. Here dwell a happy, contented, self-re- 
liant and self-supporting people. 

The first men to graze cattle on the bunch 
grass prairies of what is now Gilliam county, 
were Thomas Richmond and J. W. Whitley. 
They came here in 1862. In 1865 there were 
only five settlers in the country now embraced 
within the limits of Gilliam county. All of them 
were located on Rock creek. Their exclusive 
attention was devoted to stock breeding. Their 

names were Conrad Shott, Shalliday, 

Josephus Martin, D. F. Strickland and Charles 
Pincense, colloquially known as "French 

Charlie." In 1866 James Richardson and 

Staggs moved into the county. They located on 
Rock creek and engaged in stock raising. 

The first grain raised for hay on the creek 
bottoms, in the district of which we write, was 
produced, the same year, by Conrad Shott, Jo- 
sephus Martin, J. R. Phillips, Cyrus Butler, D. F. 
Strickland and "French Charlie." This was on 
Rock creek. In 1877 John Edden raised grain 
crops, but this was on "hill land." Mr. Edden 



560 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



sowed wheat but his first crop burned out. The 
succeeding year he again sowed wheat and thus 
raised the first wheat hay on hill land. 

In 1870 John Maddon, R. G. Robinson, Al 
Henshaw, A. Crawford, T. M. Ward and John 
McCurdy, all located on Lone Rock creek. Alex- 
ander Smith, Tip Mobley, Thomas Woodland, 
J. R. Phillips, George Flett, Henry Moore, Silas 
Brown, James Bennett and Hendrix Brothers 
settled the same year on Rock creek. 

The settlers of 1872 comprised Flynn & Sul- 
livan, on Sniptia Flat ; George Boone, Lone Rock 
creek; William Keyes on Keyes Flat; George 
Evans settled where Mayville now stands ; Rob- 
ert Watson and H. C. Matney on Matney Flat. 
Stevens Brothers came to this locality in 1873 
and founded their homes on Lone Rock creek. 
It was in 1874 that Charles Richmond and Hugh 
Strickland came, and at once directed their at- 
tention to stock-raising. 

The first sawmill in this vicinity was erected 
by Edward Wineland in 1874. The power was 
an old time water wheel and the capacity of the 
mill was about 1,500 feet per day. All of the 
pioneer buildings in Gilliam county were con- 
structed of lumber sawed at this mill. In 1881 
Mr. Wineland substituted steam power — the 
first in the county — and removed the mill from 
Lone Rock creek into the Blue Mountains. Mr. 
Lowe Smith built the second steam sawmill on 
Trailfork creek in 1883. Brown Brothers set- 
tled on Sniptia creek, near Thirty-Mile creek, 
in 1874, where they engaged in the stock busi- 
ness. In 1875 William Edden came to what is 
at present Edden canyon, two miles south of Con- 
don. C. O. Portwood in the Pacific Homestead' 
of November 4, 1904, said : 

On March 30, 1876, William E. Campbell, then 
county surveyor of Wasco county, Oregon, under the 
direction of James R. Alfrey, Pitt A. Eddy and M. 
Fisk, made the survey of the first channel through 
which the commerce of the territory now within the 
boundaries of Gilliam county might flow, and reported 
their actions to the county court of Wasco county in 
the following words : 

"The proposed county road passes through one of 
the richest valleys in Eastern Oregon and in direct line 
with the southern portion of Umatilla county, and we 
consider the road to be of great importance to The 
Dalles, as it will secure a large amount of trade for 
said town. We further advise that Rock creek is fast 
settling up; many new settlers having located along the 
creek within the last year. We would, therefore, recom- 
mend that said road be adopted at the next term of the 
county court and that the same be ordered opened by 
the supervisor as soon as practicable." 



Agreeabk to the suggestion of this board of viewers 
the county court, at its regular May term, in the year 
1876, ordered the county road opened along this line of 
survey, and a few years later vast quantities of wool 
loaded on heavy wagons, drawn by teams consisting of 
six and eight horses, could have been seen wending 
their way along this county road to The Dalles, ninety 
miles distant, to be loaded in boats for shipment. Great 
herds of horses, cattle and sheep were also driven along 
this road or directly across the county to this market. 

The first store in what is now Gilliam county 
was conducted by R. G. Robinson. This was in 
1876. It was situated on Lone Rock creek. The 
settlers of 1877 were George Coffin, on Thirty- 
Mile creek, near John Day river ; James and 
George Ladd, on Thirty-Mile ; Lowe Smith and 
William Sanders on Trailfork creek, and J. H. 
Downing near what is now the capital of Gill- 
iam county, Condon. The second store was es- 
tablished by John Maddon at Lone Rock, in 1877. 

The first postoffice within the limits of the 
present Gilliam county was in the store of R. G. 
Robinson, and that gentleman officiated as post- 
master. D. F. Strickland was appointed the sec- 
ond postmaster. The office was situated on Rock 
creek, about five miles east of the present site of 
Olex. 

The inhabitants of the territory comprising 
Gilliam county were the victims of an "Indian 
scare" in 1878. When the Warm Springs tribe 
went to Umatilla county to assist other tribes in 
their uprising against the whites, known as the 
Nez Perce war, they passed directly through the 
center of the county. The few scattered set- 
tlers heard of the approach of the savages and 
became greatly excited. Many of them aban- 
doned their homes and sought the protection of 
their neighbors' houses. As a rule they gath- 
ered at centralized places and prepared to defend 
themselves if necessary. This anticipated neces- 
sity, however, did not arise, and within a few 
days they all returned to their homes. 

In 1880, on Rock creek, was established the 
third store by Mr. Varney. Among those who- 
came to the country in 1879 were John Davis, A. 
Henderson and John Maddock, all locators on 
Thirty-Mile creek. Mr. Varney was postmaster. 
William and Al Weatherford raised the first crop 
of wheat that was threshed in Gilliam county. 
This was in 1881. The machine employed for 
this purpose was owned by Charles Richmond 
and Fred Smith. It was one of the old time 
tread-power implements ; it threshed the grain 
but did not separate it from the chaff. Having 
run their grain through this primitive machine 
the farmers waited for a breezv day ; threw the 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



56i 



grain into the air with shovels ; the chaff disap- 
peared and the clean grain fell upon large sheets 
spread for that purpose. 

Shuttler Flat, which was the first hill land 
settled and utilized for agricultural purposes, was 
so named because of the fact that on the old im- 
migrant road passing through the place a "Shut- 
tier" wagon had broken down and been left there. 

What is remembered as the "double winter" 
of 1881-2 was, without doubt, the most severe 
winter ever experienced by the residents of the 
present Gilliam county. Thousands of cattle, 
horses and sheep were frozen and starved to 
death. A conservative estimate places the loss 
at from 90 to 95 per cent. During the spring of 
1882 stockmen gathered the pelts of the dead ani- 
mals and from their sales realized sufficiently to 
enable them to live through the coming summer. 

It was not until the summer of 1884 that the 
people of the territory now embraced in Gilliam 
county realized the need of closer relationship 
for the transaction of civil business, and accord- 
ingly they took up the matter of the organiza- 
tion of Gilliam county, which was created by an 
act of the Oregon legislature, approved Febru- 
ary 25, 1885, with the temporary county seat at 
Alkali. It was the thirty-second county formed 
in the state. Following is the organic act : 

Be it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the State 

of Oregon : 

Section 1. That all that portion of the State of 
Oregon embraced within the following boundaries be, 
and the same is, hereby created and organized into a 
separate county by the name of Gilliam, to wit : Be- 
ginning at a point in the middle of the Columbia river, 
where the east line of range 22 east of Willamette 
meridian crosses said river; thence south across said 
east line to the south line of township three, south ; 
from thence east along said south line to the east line 
of range 23 east; thence south along said range line to 
the south line of township four south ; thence east to 
the east line of range 24 east ; thence south to the 
Grant county line ; thence west to the east line of range 
22 east ; thence south to the John Day river ; thence 
down the center of the main channel of the said river 
to a point in the middle of the Columbia river opposite 
the mouth of the John Day river; thence up the center 
of the main channel of the Columbia river to the place 
of beginning. 

Section 2. The territory embraced within said 
county lines shall compose a county for all civil and 
military purposes, and shall be subject to the same laws 
and restrictions, and be entitled to elect the same offi- 
cers as other counties of the state; Provided, That it 
shall be the duty of the Governor, as soon as convenient 
after this act shall become a law, to appoint for Gilliam 
county, and from her resident citizens the several county 
36 



officers allowed by law to other counties of this State; 
which said officers, after duly qualifying according to 
law, shall be entitled to hold their respective offices until 
their successors shall be duly elected at the general elec- 
tion of 1886, and shall have duly qualified as required by 
law. 

Section 3. The temporary county seat of Gilliam 
county shall be located at Alkali, in said county, until a 
permanent location shall be adopted. At the next gen- 
eral election the question shall be submitted to the legal 
voters of said county, and the place, if any, which shall 
receive a majority of all the votes cast at said election 
shall be the permanent county seat of said county ; but 
if no place shall receive a majority of all the votes cast, 
the question shall again be submitted to the legal voters 
of said county at the next general election between the 
two points having the highest number of votes at said 
election ; and the place receiving the highest number of 
votes at such election shall be the permanent county 
seat of said county. 

Section 4. Said county of Gilliam shall, for repre- 
sentative purposes, be annexed to the seventeenth repre- 
sentative district ; and for senatorial purposes said 
county shall be annexed to the sixteenth senatorial 
district. 

Section 5. The county clerks of Wasco and Uma- 
tilla counties shall, within thirty days after this act 
shall have gone into operation, make out and deliver 
to the county "clerk of Gilliam county transcripts of all 
taxes assessed upon persons and property within the 
said county, and which were previously included within 
the limits of their respective counties, and all taxes 
which shall remain unpaid on the day when this act 
shall become a law, shall be paid to the proper officers 
of Gilliam county The said county clerks of Wasco 
and Umatilla counties shall also make and deliver to 
the county clerk of Gilliam county, within the time 
above limited, a transcript of all cases pending in the 
circuit and county courts of their respective counties 
between parties residing in Gilliam county, and transfer 
all original papers in such cases to be tried in Gilliam 
county. 

Secton 6. The said county of Gilliam is hereby 
attached to the fifth judicial district for judicial pur- 
poses ; and the term of the circuit court for said county 
shall be held at the county seat of said county on the 
third Monday in February and the first Monday of 
September of each year. 

Section 7. The county court of Gilliam county 
shall be held at the county seat of said county on the 
first Monday of every alternate month beginning on the 
first Monday of the month next after the appointment 
by the Governor of county officers as provided by this 
act. 

Section 8. Until otherwise provided for the county 
judge of Gilliam county shall receive an annual salary of 
four hundred dollars, and the county treasurer of said 
county shall receive an annual salary of two hundred 



;62 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



and fifty dollars ; the clerk and sheriff of said county 
shall receive the same fees as are now allowed by law 
to the sheriff and county clerk of Wasco county. 

'■■> Section 9. As the citizens living within the boun- 
daries of the proposed county of Gilliam labor under a 
great inconvenience in the transaction of their business 
at their present respective county seats, this act shall 

•take effect and be in force from and after its approval 

■ by the Governor. 

Approved February 25, 1885. 

'•' Among those who were responsible for the 
•creation of Gilliam county may be mentioned: 
T. B. Hoover, L. W. Darling, W. W. Steiwer, 
-Thomas Cartwright, C. W. Sanderson, Coffin 
•Brothers & McFarland, and J. W. Smith. W. W. 
Steiwer and Thomas Cartwright were sent to 
! Salem to lobby for the bill. W. L. Wilcox, who 
was then representative from this part of Wasco 
•county, introduced the measure and was largely 
responsible for its passage. The new county was 
named after Colonel Gilliam who commanded the 
Oregon Volunteers during the Cayuse war of 
1847. Colonel Gilliam was accidentally killed by 
'one of his own soldiers who carelessly drew a 
gun from a wagon while in camp near Wells 
Springs the same year. In 1885 the population 
of the county was about 2,500. The first meet- 
ing of the new county officers was held at Alkali, 
! April 6, 1885. The following officials who had 
'been appointed by the governor were present 
■and took the oath of office: Hon. J. W. Smith, 
county judge; A. H. Weatherford, W. W. 
'Steiwer, county commissioners: J. A. Blakely, 
sheriff ; H. C. Condon, treasurer ; T. J. Cart- 
wright, assessor ; H. H. Hendricks, school su- 
perintendent ; J. P. Lucas, county clerk. 

At a meeting of the Gilliam county court held 
April 6, 1885, the following order was spread 
upon the records : 

"Now, it appearing to the court that there 
'have been taxes paid to Wasco county, Oregon, 
which rightfully belong, and should have been 
paid to, Gilliam county: 

"Thereupon it is ordered that H. C. Condon, 
treasurer of said Gilliam county, be instructed 
; and ordered to demand said money from the 
county court of Wasco county, Oregon." 

The next day the following additional order 
was recorded : 

"Now, it appearing to the court that there 
are taxes due Gilliam county from Umatilla 
county, Oregon: 

"Therefore it is ordered by the court that the 
county clerk shall request of the county clerk of 
Umatilla county to make a transcript of such 
taxes and forward to the clerk of Gilliam county, 
and also request the county clerk of said Umatilla 



county to order such money paid to the treas- 
urer of said Gilliam county." 

At the time of the organization of Gilliam 
county it was a portion of that vast, if somewhat 
indefinite region known as the "cow country," fit 
only, in popular belief, for the raising of range 
stock. Wonderful changes were soon wrought 
in business methods. Where, at that period the 
long-horned cow and the "watch-eyed" cayuse 
roamed at will amid a rich luxuriance of waving 
bunch grass are now found rich farms, thriving 
towns, spired churches and good schools. In 
1885 the population, according to the state cen- 
sus, was 2,520. 

Prior to the date of the creation of the county 
the idea was prevalent that grain and fruit could 
be grown only along the streams, and very little 
farming was done on the uplands until it became 
absolutely necessary to raise hay to feed stock 
through the winter months. The discovery was 
made that the highest hill lands produced fair 
crops. Gradually this fertile soil became broken 
up and cropped with various grains ; the plows 
of the farmer began to drive away the stock to 
other ranges. No longer was farming merely an 
experiment. 

When the organic act creating Gilliam 
county was framed, that document, also, adver- 
tised the inevitable county seat contest of the 
future. And the expected happened. It will be 
recalled that the act provided for the selection of 
a permanent county seat at the general election to 
be held in June, 1886, with the proviso that the 
town of Alkali was to remain the capital of the 
county until another selection should be made at 
the polls. Should any one town receive a two- 
thirds majority of all votes cast that town was 
to become the county seat. In case no town re- 
ceived such a majority the question was to be 
again submitted at the general election of 1888, 
the contestants being limited to the two points 
receiving the highest number of votes in 1886. 

This contest in Gilliam county developed into 
one most remarkable. It was not finally settled 
until the general election of 1890. This delay 
was brought about by a singular coincidence — a 
tie vote between two towns which had received 
the highest vote in 1886. 

Trie Gilliam county seat fight was one of the 
most bitter and exciting contests in the history 
of Eastern Oregon. At the first election follow- 
ing the location of the temporary county capital 
at Alkali, five towns in the county entered the 
lists. They were Arlington (which had changed 
its name from Alkali), Condon, Fossil, Olex and 
Mayville. The journals of Eastern Oregon were 
warm, nay, blistering, with columns of "mud- 
slinging," which lurid literary pabulum was pre- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



563 



pared by champions of the different villages in 
line for county seat "honors." Personalities were 
sharp and truculent. Those favoring one of the 
interior towns were vociferous in their accusa- 
tion that Arlington was nothing more than a bed 
of alkali with surrounding grounds of arid sand 
dunes. People favorable to Arlington urged 
their claims in a most forcible manner and de- 
fended their location in vigorous English. A cor- 
respondent of The Dalles Times-Mountaineer 
said that "any person who has sense enough to 
keep out of the fire would rather pass a week in 
Olex, Condon or Fossil, without even tents, barns 
or attics, than to spend a week in the alkali dust 
and sand of Arlington, with the best hotel ac- 
commodations that it can or ever will afford." 
In the same paper, of April 24, 1886, the friends 
ot Fossil advanced the following claims : 

The reason that we claim that the county seat 
should be at Fossil is that it is the most suitable place 
in the county — that is, it is the most convenient to the 
majority of the people, as there are already five county 
roads leading to Fossil, and there is now a petition in 
circulation for another. Another reason that the county 
seat should be at Fossil is that it would keep thousands 
of dollars in the county that would be sent out if the 
county seat was at ' Arlington, as all the material for 
county buildings would come from some other locality ; 
consequently the money is sent out of the county ; and 
the material can be laid down in Fossil for fifty per 
■cent, less than it can be laid down in Arlington. The 
Gilliam county officers and jail bugs would be fed on 
on Gilliam county produce, but if the county seat is at 
\rlington a large portion of the provisions would be 
shipped from Washington Territory and the Willamette 
Valley, such as bacon, fruit, flour and vegetables ; be- 
sides if we get the county seat at Fossil we would, also, 
get the Bridge Creek and Haystack country attached to 
our county, which would make it nearly one-third 
larger, and Fossil would be almost in the center of the 
county. As for the people of Fossil being compelled to 
go to Arlington to trade, that is all bosh, for where 
is the stockman or farmer who can afford to leave his 
family and spend five or six days with his team for a 
thousand pounds or so of produce, when freight is only 
three-fourths of a cent a pound? What Gilliam county 
wants is opposition, and if the county seat is at Fossil 
that we will have, for it will bring more business men 
into our county ; but if it is at Arlington the chances 
are that we will lose the Mitchell trade. 

In behalf of Arlington it was said that it was 
the only town with railroad facilities ; was the 
largest place and, from a business viewpoint the 
really only available site for a county seat in Gil- 
liam county. Condon, although considerably 



smaller, declared that she was the most centrally 
located of any of the contestants. 

The election of 1886 showed Arlington with 
260 ; Condon 260 ; Fossil 373 and Olex, with 92 
votes, Mayville having, apparently, abandoned 
the field. Following is the vote by precincts : 

Precincts. Fossil. Arlington. Condon. Olex. 

Arlington 4 201 2 11 

Blalock 34 18 ... 4 

Ferry Canyon ... 7 2 22 

Condon 2 1 96 

Mayville 95 1 22 

Trail Fork 7 ... 62 

Lone Rock 11 7 45 8 

Butte Creek 161 2 3 

Crown Rock .... 27 

Rowe Creek 23 

Rock Creek 2 28 8 69 

Totals 373 260 260 92 

Of course the result of this poll produced 
complications, thus causing a postponement of 
final adjustment. No one town had received a 
two-thirds majority and, in compliance with the 
terms of the enabling act, "the question shall 
again be submitted to the legal voters of said 
county at the next general election between the 
two points having the highest number of votes 
at said election." But there were three points 
having the highest number of votes, and at the 
election of 1888 we find these three principal 
towns again contesting, Olex, of course, having 
retired from the lists. The final result of this 
long drawn-out contest will be found farther on 
in its chronological order. 

In 1886 there were in Gilliam county only 
443 taxpayers. In December of this year an 
effort was made by some of the citizens of the 
county to include portions of Cook and Wasco 
within its boundaries. For that purpose a bill 
was introduced in the succeeding legislature. It 
was the expressed opinion of The Dalles Times- 
Mountaineer that "Dividing and subdividing 
counties, except where the population and 
wealth are sufficient to warrant the increased bur- 
den of taxation made necessary in the creation 
of the new political division, is not for the best 
interests of the citizens. It makes little or no 
difference how large the area of a county may be, 
this same argument will apply against division. 
For this reason we consider thelate formation of 
Gilliam county as an ill-advised measure and leg- 
islation not calculated to benefit those directly in- 
terested, This new project of cutting a generous 
slice from Crook and another one from Wasco 
and splicing them on to Gilliam is, apparently, 



564 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



an effort to benefit the latter at the expense of the 
former. The portion of Crook will include the 
precinct of Mitchell, and will leave the old county 
with less wealth and less population, and there- 
fore, with increased taxation upon the individual. 
If the conveniences to be derived are greater than 
the disadvantages suffered, then the matter read- 
justs itself. We will very gladly hear any argu- 
ment of this patching on to Gilliam county cer- 
tain portions of Crook and Wasco ; but until such 
time shall oppose any such action as detrimental 
to the majority of those concerned." 

This effort, it appears, was a signal failure. 
But in 1887 another measure was introduced. It 
was "To annex the northern portions of Crook 
and Grant counties to Gilliam. There were no 
results and a month later, in February, 1887, an- 
other bill was framed and presented to the sen- 
ate with the intent to cut off the northwestern 
part of Grant, and add it to Gilliam county, mak- 
ing the north fork of the John Day river the 
boundary between the two counties. This 
measure was defeated by a majority of four. 

According to the assessor's roll for 1887 the 
gross value of Gilliam county property was 
$1,858,813. 

With the approach of the general election of 
1888 the county seat question again reached a 
simmering point and from that increased to a 
boiling temperature. Again were the three prin- 
cipal towns in the county pitted against each 
other and it became a battle royal. Again there 
was no choice between Arlington, Condon and 
Fossil. We give the vote by precincts : 

Precincts. Arlington. Condon. Fossil. 

Trail Fork, 8 

Arlington, 342 

Blalock, 39 

Rock Creek 66 

Condon 3 

Mayville, 1 

Ferry Canyon, — 

Butte Creek, 1 

Idea, 7 

Lone Rock, 15 

Crown Rock — 

Rowe Creek, — — 

Totals, 482 407 



46 


11 


9 


4 


2 


12 


47 


2 


133 


— 


43 


78 


56 


— 


5 


185 


20 


1 


46 


4 


— 


26 



27 



350 



The solons who had framed the enabling act 
had not anticipated so close a contest ; they had 
not provided for an election later than 1888. 
More legislative action was demanded ; this was 
had at the session of 1889. Another bill was 
provided for the selection of a permanent county 
seat of Gilliam county to be decided at the regu- 



lar election on the first Monday in June, 1890. 
Arlington and Condon were the towns named in 
the bill to be voted for. This eliminated the 
town of Fossil which had received only a small 
number of votes less than the other participants.. 
In the 1890 election Condon came out a winner 
by a majority of 171. The official vote by pre- 
cincts : 



Precincts Arlington. 

Arlington 214 

Blalock 40 

Rock Creek 43 

Condon 1 

ferry Canyon I 

Matney — 

Idea 1 

Lone Rock 4 

Trail Fork 1 

Mayville 10 

Butte Creek 64 

Crown Rock 10 

Rowe Creek 19 

Totals 408 



Condon. 
6 
4 
53 
83 
5i 
40 

17 

S3 

56. 

101 

94 
16 

5 
579 



Commenting on this result the Condon Globe- 
magnanimously said : 

From the start the town of Condon was a candidate 
for county seat honors. It took three elections two 
years apart to settle the vexed question, which resulted 
finally in a victory for Condon. She now reaches out 
her arms to Arlington and Fossil and asks her late 
rivals in the county seat warfare — now that it is ended — 
to grasp in fellowship and wish her God speed while 
she tries to further interests which she honestly believes 
to be for the common good. 

Following the settlement of this vexatious 
question the central and southern portions of the 
county immediately began to settle up with col- 
onies of progressive and industrial people. Home- 
steads were rapidly taken up ; comfortable and 
substantial houses were built and permanent 
homes established ; orchards were planted, which 
thrived and bore luscious fruit; the productive 
capacity and value of lands were no longer 
doubted. Within a few years conditions under- 
went wonderful changes ; cow trails and pack 
trains were abandoned ; postoffices and mail 
routes were established ; small towns sprang into 
existence ; good roads were constructed and till- 
able lands were fenced, plowed and farmed ; 
throughout the county was heard the hum of 
threshing: machines. In any direction that the 
traveler passed through the county his way lay- 
along good roads between fields of waving grain. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



565 



and he found a comfortable and hospitable haven 
in any one of the towns and cities. 

Following the adjustment of the county seat 
contention some time elapsed before official 
buildings could be completed. Therefore the 
county records were not moved immediately and 
Condon did not become, de facto, the county 
seat until September 17, 1890. 

In 1 89 1 the total taxable property of the 
county was $987,883. The number of acres of 
deeded land was 129,806, valued at $335,279. 

May 25, 189 1, Rock Creek was visited by a 
decidedly vicious and destructive water spout 
and hurricane. Roads and bridges were swept 
away by the torrents of water ; huge boulders 
were thrown out into the fields and meadows, 
demolishing much grain and grass. 

In December, 1894, the assessed valuation of 
the county was: gross, $1,657,782; net, 
$1,500,786. 

Meanwhile business throughout Gilliam 
county was suffering from the general stagnation 
incident to the financial crisis of 1893. Prices for 
farm products were extremely low, as well as for 
wool, sheep and cattle, creating distress among 
the agricultural and stock raising communities 
which could not but react upon the towns, result- 
ing in a condition of business depression and un- 
certainty hard to be borne. Gilliam county suf- 
fered as little, perhaps, as any other in the state 
from these depressing conditions, Still, it must 
be admitted that for a few years succeeding 1893 
retrogression and not progress was the experi- 
ence of the county. Throughout the whole of the 
years 1894 and 1895 the darkness of financial 
eclipse continued. Before 1896 had passed, how- 
ever, it became evident that the intervening body 
which was obscuring the light was slowly pass- 
ing from the disk of the financial sun, and by the 
fall of 1897 prosperity was beaming in all its 
former glory. With the return of "good times" 
Gilliam county took up the forward march in 
earnest and signs of business revival were appar- 
ent on every hand. Good prices and crops 
brought wealth to the farmers, enabling them to 
pay off the indebtedness which had oppressed 
them during the years of darkness ;. to inaugurate 
improvements, buy needed machinery and in- 
dulge more liberally in the conveniences of civil- 
ized life. 

The population of Gilliam county, by the state 
census of 1895, was 3,016. 

During the closing days of the year 1897 there 
was, probably, not another county in the state 
more prosperous than Gilliam, with its popula- 
tion of slightly over 3,000 and its income of over 
$1,200,000 — an average of $400 for every man, 
woman and child within its borders — all de- 



rived from the soil. This amount of $1,200,000 
was divided among the different industries as 
follows: grain, $850,000; wool, $150,000; cattle, 
$120,000; mutton sheep, $75,000; hogs, $8,000; 
miscellaneous products, $34,000. January 1, 
1898, Mr. James S. Stewart said that "The 
county is a mixed stock and farming county, but 
principally farming. Not many years ago stock- 
raising overshadowed farming, but then it was 
thought that very little of the land was adapted 
to cultivation, but during the last few years a 
great change has taken place, and now the farmer 
is king, and the stockman is second in im- 
portance." 

This year, 1898, the total taxable property of 
the county was $1,254,691. 

The irony of fate is well illustrated in the 
history of Gilliam county as regards the question 
of territory. It will be recalled that a number of 
abortive attempts had been made to secure por- 
tions of other counties contiguous to Gilliam. 
But early in the year 1899 Gilliam was called 
upon for a generous slice of her own territory. 
This was for the creation of the county of 
Wheeler. The territory demanded was a nearly 
square piece extending from about the south line 
of township 5 to the John Day river on the 
south, and from the east line of range 22 to the 
John Day river on the west. This was not 
yielded to with the best of grace possible ; citi- 
zens of Gilliam considered the cutting off of the 
county to be the work of a few designing gentle- 
men residing in Fossil. The bill, as originally 
introduced, proposed to take from Gilliam county 
nearly all of Mayville, Trail Fork and Lone 
Rock precincts, three of the best communities 
in the county. Before the bill was passed, how- 
ever, the boundary was moved farther to the 
south, as a compromise; the line being fixed at 
one section south of the present standard par- 
allel. While this was not entirely agreeable to 
the people of, Gilliam county, it was ' far more 
satisfactory than was the line first proposed. How- 
ever, the story of this "territorial amputation" 
will be found more amplified in the History of 
Wheeler county. 

September 20, 1899, there was effected a 
temporary organization of a Pioneers' Associa- 
tion, with Reverend Hurlburt as chairman and 
George Tatom, secretary. Following are the 
names of those present with the date of their ar- 
rival in Oregon: Rev. Hurlburt, 185 1 ; George 
Tatom, 1853 ; G. W. Rinehart, 1853 \ R - H - Ram- 
sey, 1852 : J. W. Elbert, 1852 ; W. C. Caldwell, 
1853; John Palmer, 1852; Dr. Dodson, 18^3; 
Mrs. Young, 1844; Mrs. Hurlburt, 1853. The 
membership of this association was open to all 
who came to the state of Oregon before 1878. 



566 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



In 1899 tne amount of taxable property in the 
county was $1,005,264. The same year wit- 
nessed a large increase in settlement, especially in 
the section known as Ferry Canyon. It was 
estimated that it received ninety per cent, of the 
immigration of that year. The same year there 
was a county seat "scare," and although nothing 
eventuated the editor of the Morning Oregonian, 
a newspaper published at Portland, was moved 
to revel in imagination, in September, as follows : 

I 

Condon, the county seat of Gilliam county, will 
have to look to its laurels, according to Representative 
S. G. Hawson, who hails from Arlington, the original 
county seat of Gilliam, and an important railroad town, 
whose citizens have never lost faith in one day regain- 
ing the seat of the county government. Mr. Hawson, who 
was seen at the Perkins yesterday, said that Arlington 
business men propose to ask the next legislature to pass 
an act enabling Gilliam county citizens to reconsider 
the question of county seat, and the candidate for legis- 
lative honors who asks Arlington citizens for votes 
must declare himself in favor of the enabling act. 

Condon, which is forty miles south of Arlington, 
was very near the geographical center of Gilliam county, 
until Wheeler county was cut off the south end last 
winter, taking the Fossil country along with it, and as 
Arlington has a larger population than Condon, its 
citizens now see their chance to bring the court house 
records back again to the town on the line of the Ore- 
gon Railroad & Navigation Company. 

Condon, Mr. Hawson says, is situated high up on 
the open prairie, in a rich agricultural and stock coun- 
try, but the railroads penetrating that portion of Eastern 
Oregon have thus far left Condon to one side. No 
court house has yet been built at Condon on account 
of the opposition in the northern end of the county, 
and so the seat of county government has not been 
anchored at Condon in any way. * * * 

Arlington citizens have always disliked the 40-mile 
stage ride into the interior of Gilliam county when of- 
ficial business compelled their presence at the county 
seat. Lately a telephone line has shown itself quite a 
convenience between Arlington and Condon, but still 
the Arlingtonians continue to yearn for the presence of 
the sheriff, the treasurer and the semi-annual visit of 
the circuit judge, with a train of witnesses, jurors and 
litigants, who fill the hotels and drop lots of silver in 
the retail stores. It is only natural, Mr. Hawson says, 
that Condon people should oppose the passage of the 
proposed enabling act. 

The year of 1901 was one of progress 
and prosperity in the county of Gilliam. Still, it 
was unacompanied by any sensational boom, but 
it was a period of steady, healthy growth which, 
pi nee the early days has been characteristic of 
Oregon. New settlers came into the county by 



scores. And each one appeared to be doing his 
best to 'develop the latent resources of one of the 
richest sections of the state of Oregon. But when 
a movement was on foot to erect a new court 
house at Condon, the proposition was lost at the 
general election by a vote of 350 to 345. 

Monday, January 19, 1903, articles incor- 
porating the Arlington & Pacific Coast Railroad 
Company were filed in the office of the Multno- 
mah county clerk, at Portland, by J. P. Findlay, 
J. R. Smails and J. E. Simmons: The authorized 
capital stock was $1,500,000. The object an- 
nounced in the articles of incorporation was ta 
construct and operate a railroad from Arlington 
to the Pacific ocean. The route proposed at the 
eastern terminus was from Arlington south to 
Fossil. 

Of course, a court house and other county 
buildings were imperatively necessary to Gilliam 
county. The apparent reluctance of the citizens 
to build them is difficult to appreciate in the pres- 
ent era of progressive ideas and up-to-date meth- 
ods. At last the town of Condon came forward 
with an offer of $1,000 toward the proposed 
structures. At the June election, 1902, Gilliam 
county citizens had voted against any tax for 
court house purposes. But the county court at a 
meeting in January, 1903, decided to go ahead 
and appropriate $10,000. The contract for 
building the court house was' let, March 21st, to 
A. F. Peterson, of Corvallis, his bid being 
$13,440. Mr. Peterson was the same contractor 
who had erected the Sherman county court house. 
December 17th the Condon Globe said: 

"The court house is now the actual property 
of Gilliam county, the building having been in- 
spected and accepted by the board of county com- 
missioners on Monday, December 14, 1903. 
* * * The county offices are being moved 
this week from the old shack which has for so 
many years been honored with the title of court 
house." 

In the way of ringing out the old and ring- 
ing in the new, to paraphrase from Tennyson, 
the Globe in its issue of December 31, 1903, said : 

"The year which closes tonight has been 
marked by the greatest degree of progress of 
any twelve months in the history of Gilliam 
county. A large area of fertile farm land has 
been brought under cultivation, and many im- 
provements of every description have been the 
order of the clay. Farm houses and barns have 
been erected, miles of fencing built, orchards have 
been planted and flocks and herds are being con- 
stantly improved." 1 

With the opening of the new year of 1904 the 
total value of taxable property in Gilliam county 
was $2,315,164. The grain crop of this year 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



567 



was an exceptionally good one. At a conserva- 
tive estimate the wheat yielded 750,000 bushels, 
and there was besides a large yield of oats, bar- 
ley, rye, etc., the total being 1,500,000 bushels. 

To hark back to railroad matters it was an- 
nounced in April, 1903, that within sixty days 
work on the Arlington & Pacific Railroad would 
begin ; from Arlington to Condon. Surveyors 
were at once put on the work. But there was 
"another Richmond in the field." Saturday, Au- 
gust 22, 1903, the Columbia River & Central 
Oregon Railroad Company filed articles of incor- 
poration at Portland. The authorized capital 
stock was $500,000. The avowed purpose of this 
company was to build, equip and operate a rail- 
road from Arlington to Condon. The incorpora- 
tors were John C. Ainsworth, Henry F. Conner 
and Lewis Gerlinger, residents of Portland. They 
claimed that the company was financed by east- 
ern men of ample capital, who had other exten- 
sive railroad and manufacturing interests on the 
coast, and that construction work would be com- 
menced at once. 

The Arlington & ..Pacific Railway Company 
had already done considerable preliminary work. 
Right of way had been secured from the county, 
city and individuals. Preliminary surveys had 
been made and a general outline of the route had 
been, practically, determined upon. A repre- 
sentative of the company had recently returned 
from New York and reported that no trouble 
would be experienced in that quarter. He af- 
firmed that he had the assurance of capitalists 
there that ample funds were available for the pur- 
pose. Upon his return to Portland an effort was 
made to make the customary traffic arrangement 
with the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Com- 
pany. And right there came the "sticking 
point." The older company desired time in which 
to consider the matter. When they were later 
called upon for a definite answer, the Arlington 
& Pacific officials claimed, that the O. R. & N. 
Company announced that another company was 
preparing to build through the same territory 
and that it already had assurance of satisfactory 
traffic arrangements with the Oregon Railroad 
& Navigation Company. Apparently this indi- 
cated that the latter company was, in realty, be- 
hind the new project, and the fact that Mr. Ains- 
worth would not positively deny that they were 
interested lent some color to the belief. 

Meanwhile the Arlington & Pacific people an- 
nounced that they expected to commence work 
on their road in about thirty days, regardless of 
competing lines or the lack of traffic arrange- 
ments, and that if the coming winter did not 
prove too severe they expected to have it com- 
pleted to Olex by the following spring, and on 



into Condon the succeeding summer. August' 
27, 1903, the Condon Globe said: 

"It is well known that the Oregon Railroad 
& Navigation Company has always looked upon 
the Condon country as its own particular terri- 
tory, and that it resents the efforts of any inde- 
pendent concern to give the people here the trans--, 
portation facilities which are so much needed, 
preferring to have the country await the pleasure- 
of the Harriman interests in the matter." 

In October, 1903, indications of the early com-; 
pletion of a railroad into Gilliam county were; 
promising. With three companies in the fields- 
each declaring that they would surely build a 
road from Arlington to Condon, and that they 
would commence work in the immediate future,! 
the outlook was, certainly, favorable. Appar-. 
ently the question of most interest to the people 
was, "which road shall it be?" Assuming that? 
all three of the companies were acting in good 
faith and that each expected to build the road,' it- 
may here be interesting to briefly consider their' 
status at that period, so far as known ; what they 
had accomplished and their apparent ability to 
prosecute the work to a successful issue. ' 

The company then represented by Mr. Morris 
and his associates, then in Condon, had secured 
the survey and right of way acquired by Elrod & 
Moore, two years previous. They admitted their 
inability to build the road without the support 
and assistance of the people of Gilliam county, 
but they did not ask for a subsidy or a donation. 
They did ask the people of the county, howeyer, 
to subscribe for a certain amount of the com- 
pany's bonds, agreeing to redeem the same within 
five years with six per cent interest added. They 
had no traffic arrangements with the Oregon 
Railroad & Navigation Company. 

The incorporation of which Messrs. Findlay 
and Simmons were at the head had been or- 
ganized about a year previous. They had made 
a partial preliminary survey of the route, with 
some estimates of cost of construction. Their 
representative had visited New York and the 
report was current that the project had been sat- 
isfactorily financed by New York capitalists, and 
that all that was then restraining them from 
work on the line was lack of satisfactory traffio 
arrangement with the Oregon Railroad & Navi- 
gation Company. The Findlay organization had 
not yet indicated what concessions, if any, they 
would demand from the people of Gilliam; 
county. ■ i 

The organization of the third company, that 
of which John C. Ainsworth, of Portland, was 
president, had occurred only two months prev- 
ious. As has been stated, associated with him 
were Lewis Gerlinger and Henry F. Conner, all 



5 68 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



gentlemen standing high in financial circles in 
Portland. They had done no work in the field, 
but the fact that they had satisfactory traffic ar- 
rangements with the Oregon Railroad & Navi- 
gation Company gave them some advantage. 
These gentlemen declared that they would build, 
and that they would do so without one dollar 
from the county in subsidies. 

In October, 1903 three surveying parties, rep- 
resenting as many different railroad companies, 
were at work running lines between Arlington 
and Condon. Mr. Simmons put his surveyors to 
work at Arlington ; the company represented by 
Mr. Morris sent out a crew of stake drivers and 
the third party commenced work at the William 
Head ranch, on Rock Creek, a short distance be- 
low the "French Charlie" place. They were 
working toward Condon. They were employed 
by the company of which John C. Ainsworth, of 
Portland, was president. 

During the fall of 1903 there were exceed- 
ingly warm times in the railroad business. Strife 
between the different companies was, appar- 
ently, bitter. There were wordy clashes between 
the different interests at council meetings at Ar- 
lington, excited by attempts to secure franchises 
and rights of way through the city. 



It was not until the latter part of July, 1904, 
that a statement was made which meant busi- 
ness. E. E. Calvin, general manager of the Ore- 
gon Railroad & Navigation Company, accom- 
panied by other officials, came to Gilliam county 
and announced that construction would be im- 
mediately commenced. Mr. Calvin stated dis- 
tinctly, according to the Globe, that Arlington 
and Condon would be the termini of the road. 
But previous to this, and after the excitement 
attendant upon the struggle for possession of 
three roads, there had been very little done in the 
way of building a road. The contract for grad- 
ing was let in August ; the first dirt was thrown 
Tuesday, September 13th. Work was some- 
what retarded by severe weather in February. 
During the latter part of this month track-laying 
was commenced south of Arlington. But the 
year T905 witnessed the completion of the road, 
and at the present writing, (May, 1905), con- 
struction trains are running and the road will 
soon be open for service, passenger and freight. 

Following is the list of postoffices in Gilliam 
county at the present date : Ajax, Alville, Arling- 
ton, Blalock, Clem, Condon, Croy, Lone Rock. 
Mayville, Olex, Quinton, Trail Fork and 
Willows. 



CHAPTER II 



CITIES AND TOWNS. 



CONDON. 

; The capital of Gilliam county lies forty miles 
south of Arlington. Previous to the organiza- 
tion of Wheeler, Condon was within a mile of the 
geographical center of Gilliam county. "A city 
that is built on a hill cannot be hid." Truly a 
trite saying, but one that is appropriate to Con- 
don. The town is located on a high, rolling 
prairie, in the heart of the most productive mixed 
agricultural and stock-raising countries in East- 
ern Oregon. The elevation above sea level is 
3,025 feet. Although it is located on a high 
plateau the climatic conditions are quite uniform, 
the temperature rarely going below the zero 
mark in winter or 80 degrees in summer. Snow 
sufficient for sleighing is a treat seldom experi- 
enced. Condon is known as the "Summit City." 
On every side the town is fringed with wheat I 



fields stretching away, fan-life, for miles in 
golden, graceful waves. 

That all roads lead to Condon is, practically, 
true. This is, perhaps, owing to the peculiar 
topographical features surrounding it, placing 
the county seat almost at the confluence of all the 
principal highways. To the east lies the produc- 
tive body of land known as Matney Flat. A 
little further are the rich, alluvial foot-hills, in 
the midst of which are the fertile valleys in 
which are situated Lone Rock, Lost Valley and 
Trail Fork. To the south lies the beautiful and 
extensive table lands of the Mayville country, 
stretching away for fifteen miles ; while on the 
west the Ferry Canyon country contains some of 
the finest lands in the county. In short, the 
country immediately adjacent is distinctively ag- 
ricultural ; for 35 miles east and west by 30 north 
and south is one mammoth grain field, broken 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



569 



only by a few narrow canyons and water courses. 

Before a town came into existence at this lo- 
cality a strong stream of pure, crystal water 
flowing from a bed of black, basaltic rock, with 
grass knee-deep in every direction, made this 
spot the halting place of peregrinating Indian 
tribes on the trail from the "Wauna chuck," (Col- 
umbia river) to the western spurs of the Blue 
mountains. Here the pioneer stockmen rounded 
up fat steers and "Summit Springs" became 
known far and wide. The inevitable herder, with 
his corral and cabin followed. 

The first house built on the site of Condon 
was erected by William F. Potter, in 1879, when 
he filed on this quarter section of land as a home- 
stead. About the year 1884 a postoffice was es- 
tablished at Summit Springs on the claim of Mr. 
Trimble. Around this governmental center Con- 
don sprang up and, ultimately, entered the race 
for the county seat. David B. Trimble was the 
pioneer merchant of Condon, or rather, the lo- 
cality of Condon. He opened a small store about 
one-half mile from the original site of the town. 
This office was in Mr. Trimble's store and he be- 
came the postmaster. 

At the time Trimble made application for a 
postoffice he went to Alkali (now Arlington) 
where he secured the services of a young lawyer, 
named Harry Condon, in drawing up the neces- 
sary papers. They completed everything with the 
exception of naming the proposed postoffice. 
Without having settled upon a name Mr. Trimble 
left for home. On his way he made up his mind 
that, inasmuch as Mr. Condon had drawn up the 
papers without asking any pay for his services, 
he would name the new postoffice Condon. He 
at once filled in the papers to that effect, for- 
warded them to the postoffice department at 
Washington, D. C, and Condon was born. 

There is another version concerning the nam- 
ing of this town to the effect that the postoffice 
was named after a Professor Condon, but the 
story vouched for by Mr. Trimble is correct. 

The original house built in Condon by Mr. 
Potter was erected by the side of the famous 
''Summit Springs," on what is now lot 7, block 
3, of Condon. In April, 1885, the town was 
platted by Mr. Potter on section 10, township 4, 
south range 21. While Mr. Trimble might be 
claimed as the original merchant in Condon's 
vicinity, his store was located one-half mile from 
the present site of Condon. The distinction of 
having been Condon's first merchants belongs to 
T. H. McBride and John Miller, who established 
the initial general merchandise store in the pres- 
ent county seat. This was in 1885. Thomas 
Strickland built the first saloon and the first liv- 
ery barn in 1885, and Mr. Vining, the same year 



erected the first hotel, soon afterward selling out 
to Pliter Brothers, who conducted it. The store 
building occupied by Miller & McBride was 
erected, also, by Mr. Vining. In 1886 Thomas 
Hall built and occupied a blacksmith shop, and 
the following year L. W. Darling erected a build- 
ing in which he opened a drug store. The same 
year the postoffice was removed from Mr. Trim- 
ble's to Mr. Darling's drug store, and the latter 
was appointed deputy postmaster. In 1888 J. H. 
Downing became the third merchant within the 
platted limits of Condon. 

The first fire of any importance in Condon 
occurred Sunday, September 27, 1891. About 8 
o'clock p. m., the large livery stable of John Glas- 
gow was discovered to be on fire. Within 
twenty minutes this structure, the fine residence 
of George W. Rhinehart, F. Ward's new hotel, 
William Dunlap's f blacksmith shop, the large tent 
and entire outfit belonging to the Western Photo- 
graph Association, and C. C. Shaw's barber shop, 
were a seething mass of flames. Previous to its 
discovery the fire had gained considerable head- 
way. There prevailed at this time a brisk wind 
from the northeast. The Rhinehart family had 
retired and barely escaped with their lives in 
their night clothes. The citizens of the town 
were wild with excitement. Every man, woman 
and child and a squad of Indians were on the 
scene working as if their lives were at stake. By 
heroic efforts the rest of the town was saved from 
destruction. The roofs of surrounding buildings 
were covered with blankets and large quantities 
of water were dashed against them, and on the 
burning coals as they fell throughout the town. 
The loss was estimated at $10,000, divided about 
as follows : Western Photograph Association, 
$5,000; no insurance; C. Glasgow, $1,600, no in- 
surance; G. W. Rhinehart, $1,000, no insurance; 
F. H. Ward, $2,000, insurance $1,300; G. H. 
Nelson, $250, no insurance ; damage to moving 
property, $300. It was supposed that the fire was 
of incendiary origin. 

January 1, 1892, a tri-weekly mail service 
was established between Condon and Heppner. In 
July, 1892, an Armory Hall company was incor- 
porated at Condon by members of H Company, 
Oregon National Guard. Arrangements were 
at once perfected to build a hall 30x70 feet in 
size. The estimated cost was $1,300, and this 
was readily subscribed. In 1893 a bill incorpo- 
rating the city of Condon passed both houses of 
the legislature. In March the population of the 
town was about 400. During 1898 improvements 
in Condon amounted to $10,000, although rapid 
growth had been made during the two years prev- 
ious. September 3, 1898, by a vote of 24 to 1 
Condon decided to issue bonds for water works. 



570 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



In the spring of 1899 they were completed. The 
first test of the new system was highly satisfac- 
tory. Water was easily thrown over the highest 
buildings in the city. 

In June, 1899, a permanent organization was 
effected of the Condon Fire Department. These 
officers were elected : Chief Engineer, W. L. Wil- 
cox • Assistant Chief, C. S. Palmer ; Secretary, 
John Jackson. In September, 1899, a telephone 
line was in operation between Condon and out- 
side points. During the year previous the city 
had made many substantial improvements. A 
number of new business enterprises were under- 
taken, prominent among which was the new 
water works system, supplying an inexhaustible 
flow of pure, sparkling water for all domestic 
purposes, irrigation and fire protection. Two 
cnurch edifices, also, were erected. 

Early in 1901 an act was passed by the Ore- 
gon legislature amending the charter of the city 
of Condon. There were only two changes of im- 
portance ; one making the office of city marshal 
elective instead of appointive, and the other pro- 
viding that the city recorder should be, ex officio, 
justice of the peace. December 25, 1902, the 
Condon Globe said: 

"The year which is about to close has been 
marked, in Condon, as the banner year in the 
town's history in the way of substantial and per- 
manent improvements. Twenty-eight business 
houses and dwellings have been cqpipleted dur- 
ing the year at an aggregate cost of $40,000." 

The progress of 1903 was accentuated by the 
building of a brick court house, four brick busi- 
ness blocks, a school house, a store, eleven frame 
business houses, about twenty residences and 
the establishment of an electric lighting system. 
The latter was an enterprise of the Condon Mill- 
ing Company, and was in operation in December. 
October 13, 1904, the Globe said: 

"Condon is growing livelier every day. The 
demand for city property is increasing and every 
stage comes in loaded with people seeking busi- 
ness locations in what is surely destined to be- 
come the most important business center in this 
section of Eastern Oregon." 

This condition was the result of the com- 
mencement of the railway toward Condon. Oc- 
tober 26, 1904, the Condon Commercial Club 
was organized with the following 38 members : 
N. Farnsworth, C. O. Portwood, secretary ; W. 
A. "Campbell, J. E. Lancaster, G. A. Berry, J. W. 
Snover, R. W. Cooke, George B. Dudeck, J. O. 
Jarvis, C. F. Armstrong, John F. Reisacher, 
president ; A. S. Hollen, J. H. Downing, J. M. 
Cameron, B. F. Butler, E. W. Moore, John Stew- 
art, D. R. Parker, John Jackson, Edward Dum, 
Pearl Jarvis, R. M. Rogers, C. A. Devens, A. J. 



Shelton, E. T. Hollenbeck, S. A. Pattisson, Ed- 
ward Curran, R. McKinney, Jay Bowerman, 
"Condon Pharmacy," E. G. Merrifield, Frank- 
Wilson, F. M. Pliter, J. K. Fitzwater, M. H. 
Abbey, P. H. Stevenson, J. A. McMorris and 
M. O. Clarke. 

The commendable object of this organiza- 
tion was to advance the substantial commercial 
interests of Condon and Gilliam county. This 
club was largely instrumental in securing a line 
of railway to this point, and the water works, the 
latter costing $23,000, for which the town was 
bonded. It should be remarked that the citizens 
of Condon have always manifested a patriotic 
interest in municipal affairs with the gratifying 
result that the city has excellent fire apparatus, 
first-class sidewalks and a very moderate debt. 

In the closing days of 1904 the city had, dur- 
ing the four preceding years, more than quad- 
rupled in assessed valuation and population. A 
$17,000 court house and a $7,000 public school 
building had been erected, also a 75-barrel flour- 
ing mill, aside from more than 100 dwelling 
houses. Trade conditions fully justified all of 
these investments, for nearly one-third of the 
county transacted its merchandise and banking 
business in Condon. The range of delivery from 
the local postoffice covered a territory larger in 
area than were some of the other counties in 
the state. 

In February, 1905, the Condon city charter 
was again amended by the legislature. Appar- 
ently the election of city marshal had not proved 
satisfactory, for we find that the amendments 
provided that this office should revert to an ap- 
pointive one, by the city council, and that the city 
be authorized to bond itself for $50,000. 

The fraternal societies of Condon are repre- 
sented as follows: A. F. & A. M., Mt. Moriah 
No. 95 ; O. E. S., Condon Chapter, No. 23 ; I. O. 
O. F., Summit Lodge No. 130, Rebekahs, Minne- 
haha No. 109 ; W. O. W., No. 58, Condon Camp ; 
Women of Woodcraft, Wallula Circle No. 282 ; 

K. of P., Endymion Lodge No. ■ ; Foresters 

of America, Court Condon No. 54. At one 
period there were lodges of the A. O. U. W. 
and Degree of Honor, but they have disbanded. 

The following have officiated as postmasters 
in the Condon office since its (establishment : 
David B. Trimble, L. W. Darling, John Lyons 
and J. F. Reisacher. 

The Roman Catholic Church was organized 
and built in 1889, the edifice costing $400. The 
present membership is sixty. In, 1890 the Con- 
gregational church was organized and erected at 
a cost of $900. It now has a membership of 52. 
It was in 1898 that the Latter Day Saints erected 
a house of worship at a cost of $400, the present 






HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



571 



membership being eighty. At a cost of $900 the 
Baptist Church was erected in 1900. Its present 
membership is thirty-five. The Church of Christ, 
organized in 1901, and in 1905 erected an edifice 
at a cost of $600. The present membership is 
twenty. All of the churches mentioned have reg- 
ular services. 

Following are the city officials who have 
served Condon since its incorporation in 1893 : 

1893 — Mayor, Geo. Tatom ; council, J. Maddock, S. 
P. Shutt, J. H. Downing, D. M. Rhinehart, J. P. Lucas, 
A. Henshaw, J. W. Barr; recorder, H. N. Frazer; 
treasurer, G. W. Rhinehart ; marshal, E. E. Smith, W. 
F. Thurnagle. 

1894 — Mayor, J. P. Lucas ; council, S. B. Barker, 
J. W. Barr, J. H. Miller, J. Maddock; recorder, H. N. 
Frazer; treasurer, G. W. Rhinehart; marshal, E. E. 
Smith. 

1895 — Mayor, S. B. Barker; council, J. W. Barr, 
A. Henshaw, E. W. Moore, E. E. Smith ; recorder, 
Edward Dunn ; treasurer, G. W. Rhinehart ; marshal, 
W. F. Thurnagle. 

1896 — Mayor, J. W. Barr; council, S. B. Barker, 
P. H. Stephenson, W. L. Wilcox, A. Henshaw ; recorder, 
Edward Dunn; treasurer, J. H. Hudson; marshal, 
W. C. Caldwell. 

1897 — Mayor, S. B. Barker; council, W. L. Wilcox, 
C. C. Wilson, A. Henshaw, P. H. Stephenson ; recorder, 
H. B. Hendricks; treasurer, J. H. Hudson; marshal, 
E. E. Smith. 

1898 — Mayor, Edward Dunn ; council, T. G. John- 
son, Chas. Fix, G. W. Rhinehart, S. V. Moore ; recorder, 
W. A. Darling; treasurer, Wm. Dunlap; marshal, A. 
Anderson. 

1899 — Mayor, Edward Dunn ; council, T. G. John- 
son, S. B. Barker, S. V. Moore, G. W. Rhinehart; 
recorder, Geo. Tatom; treasurer, J. H. Hudson; mar- 
shal, R. H. Pattison. 

1900 — Mayor, Edward Dunn; council, Chas. Fix, F. 
M. Springston, Fred Wilson, W. L. Wilcox ; recorder, 
E. A. May; treasurer, P. H. Stephenson; marshal, 
R. Pattison. 

1901 — Mayor, P. H. Stephenson ; council, F. M. 
Springston, Fred Wilson, John Portwood, W. O. Clark ; 
recorder, E. A. May; treasurer, Edgar Moore; marshal, 
Mauley Downing. 

1902 — Mayor, W. O. Clark; council, A. S. Hollen, 
S. B. Barker, F. M. Pliter, T. G. Johnson; recorder. 
E. A. May; treasurer, E. W. Moore; marshal, W. M. 
Dunlap. , 

1903 — Mayor, F. M. Pliter; council, James Kiser, 
A. S. Hollen, S. B. Barker, Al Moore; recorder, W. A. 
Darling; treasurer, E. W. Moore; marshal, E. Arm- 
strong. 

1904 — Mayor, W. L. Wilcox, J. F. Reisacher; 
council, J. Q. Jarvis, J. Jackson, D. McBain, E. Merri- 



Arlington 



field; recorder, W. A. Goodwin; treasurer, E. W. 
Moore ; marshal, Bert Ramsey. 

1905 — Mayor, J. W. Snover; council, Edward Dunn, 
S. A. Pattison, J. Jackson, N. Farnsworth, C. O. Port- 
wood, S. B. Barker ; recorder, W. A. Goodwin ; 
treasurer, A. Schilling; marshal, Frank Macy. 

ARLINGTON. 

• The Oregon Railroad & Navigation Com- 
pany, in the summer of 1880, built a line of road 
from Portland to Huntington, passing along the 
south bank of the Columbia river. In the year 
1881 the town of Alkali, now Arlington, was lo- 
cated by James W. Smith. The site selected was 
at the mouth of the sand canyon of uniform grade 
leading to the Columbia river. This place at 
once became the distributing point of the pro- 
ducts of the entire country for 100 miles south, 
and within a few years became one of the prin- 
cipal shipping points along the line of the Oregon 
Railroad & Navigation Company. 

In 1880 Elijah Ray erected the first house in 
The first mercantile business was es- 
tablished in 1881 by T. L. Bradbury and E. B. 
Comfort, and the postoffice was in their store. 
Mr. Comfort was postmaster. Its business at 
this period was extremely limited. Since the 
establishment of the Arlington office the follow- 
ing have served as postmasters : E. B. Comfort, 
T. L. Bradbury, Joseph Keeney, F. T. Hurl- 
burt, Cal Ardrey, W. O. Ziegler, Charles W. 
Shurte, J. M. Johns, E. B. Trum and R. H. 
Robinson. 

In the month of April, 1882, the townsite of 
Alkali was platted by J. W. Smith. Its location 
was in section 28, township 3, north range 21, 
E. W. M. The same ) r ear J. W. Smith, who had 
previously conducted a store at "The Willows," 
erected a building at Alkali and moved in with a 
stock of goods. But he was destined to experi- 
ence no little difficulty in making a settlement. 
He had collected a considerable quantity of drift- 
wood and timber, and he conceived the idea of 
floating his goods down the Columbia on a raft. 
This rude craft was constructed, loaded with 
about $2,000 worth of merchandise and began the 
voyage. Mr. Smith passed Alkali in the dark ; 
could not effect a landing at that point, and 
drifted down stream about four miles, and found 
his raft hung up on a rock. The following day 
a number of people from Alkali came to Mr. 
Smith's assistance. They succeeded in salvaging 
all the goods and hauled the raft back to Alkali. 

Mr. Smith's was the second store. A little 
later the same year Henry Heppner, "Father of 
the town of Heppner," erected the third store and 



.572 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



opened out with a stock of general merchandise. 
It was Elijah Ray who built the first hotel and 
lodging house in Alkali in 1882. Of this locality 
The Dalles Times of March 29, 1882, said : 

This little town, about 54 miles east of The Dalles, 
on the line of the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Com- 
pany, displays considerable business activity and has 
bright hopes for the future. There is a good agricul- 
tural country adjacent, some of the best portions of the 
county, which will make it their shipping point. There 
are four mercantile establishments, two restaurants, 
hotel, blacksmith and butcher shops, large livery stable, 
drug store, school house and four saloons. Strange 
to say there are no doctors or lawyers, but these neces- 
sary adjuncts to civilization will soon make their ap- 
pearance. City property is quite high, and some of the 
most sanguine have already picked out a location for 
.a court house. 

In 1885 The Dalles Times-Mountaineer had 
this to say of Alkali : 

Alkali is the most important point, outside of The 
Dalles, in Wasco county. It is fifty-four miles east 
"by railroad from this city. The population numbers 
about 400 and there are dry goods, hardware and drug 
stores, and commodious hotels for the traveling public. 
Roads lead from this town into the interior, and quite 
a brisk trade is done by merchants with the farmers of 
the adjacent country. A stage runs from here every 
week to Fossil. 

In 1888 an excellent gravity system of water 
works was established by John and D. Parrot. 
The water pressure in the business sections was 
95 pounds. 

Tuesday afternoon, May 25, 1891, at 2 o'clock 
p. m., Arlington was visited by a terrific cyclone. 
With an ominous roar the storm suddenly burst 
upon the town, and within a few seconds the 
large merchandise store of D. S. Sprinkle was 
lifted into the air and splintered into a thousand 
pieces. The same fate befel the skating rink and 
many other buildings were more or less damaged. 
It was, seemingly, miraculous that Mr. and Mrs. 
Sprinkle and Nathan Baird, who were in the 
store building at the time were not instantly 
killed. Mrs. Sprinkle was injured, but not 
seriously. 

In 1895 th e c ^y OI Arlington purchased a 
portion of the stock of the Arlington Water 
Works Company, and in 1897 the city bought 
in the rest of the stock and became sole owner 
of the system. 

Fortunately the fire history of Arlington has 
not been very disastrous. In August, 1885, the 
town was sufficiently large to suffer some con- 
siderable loss by fire. Friday morning, August 



10th, flames were discovered in a building occu- 
pied by the agents of a lottery company. The fire 
spread with great rapidity and soon Linder's sa- 
loon, Hendrick's butcher shop and a building 
owned by J. Service and W. A. Rodney's gen- 
eral merchandise store were destroyed. The loss 
was about $10,000. 

In 1886 the population was estimated at 300. 
By an act of the Oregon legislature passed the 
winter of 1886-7 tne town of Arlington (Alkali) 
was incorporated. The new name of the town 
was selected at a mass meeting of the citizens, 
Tuesday, December 29, 1886, the following city 
officials were elected : J. A. Thomas, mayor ; J. 
E. Haskin, M. U. Harrison, Joseph Frizzell and 
Nathan Baird, councilmen ; Frank Hurlburt, re- 
corder ; Homer Comfort, treasurer. 

In April, 1905, a railroad project which had 
been long maturing began to assume definite 
shape. The history of this line between Arling- 
ton and Condon, the county seat, has been given 
in the story of the latter town. In this year the 
population of Arlington was about 400. At pres- 
ent the city has two church organizations and 
two handsome church buildings. The Methodists 
were the first to erect an edifice in 1883. This 
was enlarged in 1899. The latter year the Bap- 
tist church was completed at a cost of $2,500. 
In 1883 a Congregational church had been erect- 
ed, but the organization of this denominational 
society existed only five years ; the building was 
sold and is now converted into a residence. .'" 



MAYVILLE. 

When platted in June, 1884, by William and 
Phoebe McConnell, this town was called Clyde. 
It is located on the southwest corner of section 
34, town 5, range 21 E. W. M. It is located six 
miles north of Fossil, Wheeler county. May- 
ville is now a town of about 150 inhabitants, and 
was so named in 1884 by Mrs. Samuel Thurston, 
at the time of the establishment of the postoffice. 
This town has the distinction of operating one 
of the best flouring mills in the Inland Empire ; 
and while the capacity of the mill is not so great 
as some others, the quality of the flour produced 
is of the very best grade and is in demand through 
out the surrounding country. Mayville is located 
194 miles southeast of Portland, 12 miles south 
of Condon and 52 miles south of Arlington. 
There is at this point a union church, telephone 
connections with all points and daily mail and 
stages to Fossil. The town's business comprises 
a general merchandise store, flouring mill, livery 
stable, hotel, blacksmith shop and a millinery 
and dressmaking establishment. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



573" 



BLALOCK. 



Blalock was platted in July, 1881, by the Bla- 
lock Wheat Growing Company, on section 31, 
township 3, range 20, and section 36, township 
19, range 20. The first buildings erected at Bla- 
lock were a railroad station house, 28x28, two 
stories in height, and a commodious warehouse 
for the storage of goods. These were built in 
January, 1881, by A. J. McLellan, superintendent 
of construction of bridges and buildings for the 
Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company. The 
town derives its name from the immense Blalock 
farm of several thousand acres which is adjacent. 
In 1904 the town handled about 750,000 bushels 
of wheat. It is surrounded by some of the most 
picturesque scenery in eastern Oregon, and one 
of the richest and most productive wheat grow- 
ing sections of Gilliam county. Aside from the 
wheat growing industry there are annually 
shipped many cattle, horses and hogs. It is, also, 
a fine fruit country, there being scarcely a farm 
in this section but has a good, thrifty orchard 
of mixed fruits. At one period it was said with 
considerable emphasis that fruit would not grow 
in this locality. But successful experiment has 
proved this idea erroneous. The town has two 
grain warehouses, hotel, general merchandise 
store, livery and stage stable, a real estate office 
and an agricultural implement factory. 

LONE ROCK. 

The elevation above sea level of this place 
is 3,000 feet. The town was founded in 1881 by 
R. G. Robinson and Albert Henshaw, on the 
headwaters of Rock creek, in a valley surrounded 
by the foothills of the Blue Mountains, about 
sixty miles southeast of Arlington. In the course 
of time it became a typical western town, where 
stockmen for miles around could get their mail 
and supplies for their camps, which were usu- 
ually transported by pack horses to the head- 
quarters of the various stock ranches. 

February 22, 1882, the store of John Mad- 
den and his stock of general merchandise were 
destroyed by fire. A house adjoining, belonging 
to J. E. Parenta, was also burned. The latter's 
loss was $4,000, while that of Mr. Madden 
amounted to $6,000. The town was platted in 
October, 1882, by R. G. Robinson, on section 36, 
township 5, south range 23. In 1885 Lone Rock 
was described as follows by The Dalles Times- 
Mountaineer : 

"Lone Rock is the trading point for the val- 
ley of the same name, and is about sixty miles 
southeast from Alkali (Arlington). A stage 
from Heppner reaches this place every week. 



The residents are principally engaged in stock- 
raising, and some of the finest cattle and sheep 
roam over the hills that can be seen in this 
county." 

In 1901 the city officials of Lone Rock were: 
R. G. Robinson, mayor ; H. Neal, W. T. Matlock,.. 

E. D. Vineland, D. Z. Robinette, councilmen ; 

F. H. Robinson, recorder ; P. L. Ham, treasurer. 
In November, 1904, the People's Herald said : 



Lone Rock is a small trading point in the south- 
eastern part of Gilliam county, twenty miles from Con- 
don, the county seat, and is connected with that city by 
stage line, there being a postoffice at Lone Rock. The- 
townsite was laid out, and that not sold, is owned by 
R. S. Robinson, the moving spirit of the town in a 
business sense. There are now about one hundred in- 
habitants in the town, and the business houses include 
a general merchandise store, blacksmith shop and a 
livery and feed barn. A good system of gravity water 
works is owned by R. G. Robinson, with large reser- 
voirs, with sufficient storage capacity to afford protec- 
tion to the town from fire. There are two churches 
and a good school house. 

Lone Rock received its name from a large, 
picturesque rock which stands within the town limits, 
near the creek, as an alert sentinel on the lookout for 
approaching danger. The town is surrounded by a large 
and rich farming and stock country, stock being the. 
principal industry, and large quantities of alfalfa are 
raised each year, and the one store in Lone Rock does, 
a large business. 

At present there are two sawmills at Lone 
Rock, a general merchandise store, hotel, black- 
smith shop, livery stable, one lawyer and a 
saloon. 

OLEX. 

This town was platted in April, 1903, by H._ 
S. and Ordelia Randall, at the corners of sec- 
tions 2, 3, 10 and 11, township 1, south range 
21. The elevation above sea level is 1,015 feet. 
Articles of incorporation of the Olex Townsite 
Company were filed with the clerk of Gilliam 
county in December, 1903. The incorporators 
were W. C. Morris, H. S. Randall and Ordelia 
Randall. It is situated eighteen miles south of 
Arlington on the north bank of Rock creek. This 
town, of about fifty inhabitants, is supported by 
the extensive farming country surrounding it. 
On the creek bottoms, above and below, are many 
alfalfa fields which, on an average, are cut twice 
each year and, occasionally three times, the yield 
being from three and one-half to five tons an 
acre. A quantity of fine fruits and vegetables. 



574 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



are grown in the vicinity and marketed princi- 
pally in Olex, Condon and Arlington. 

At the first election of the newly incorporated 
city of Olex held Wednesday, March n, 1903, 
the following officials were selected : W. L. 
Tobey, mayor ; J. F. Thomas, marshal ; Charles 
Martin, recorder ; F. Little, Grant Wade and F. 
Tobey, councilmen. 

CLEM. 

This is simply a stage station and postoffice ; 
of the latter Mr. Clem Danneman is postmaster. 
He has a well-improved place and a comfortable 
house which is also used as a wayside inn for the 
weary traveler. The elevation of the town of 
Clem is 2,112 feet above sea level. Evidently the 
town derives its name from Clem Danneman, its 
original settler, as the neighboring ranchers in- 
variably spoke of "going to Clem's," and when 
the postoffice was established it was named Clem. 
In February, 1905, a townsite was platted here 
by James Larch, between sections 4 and 9 town- 
ship 2, south range 21. The postoffice was es- 
tablished in 1880. It is situated 203 miles east of 
Portland, 12 miles north of Condon and 26 miles 
south 9f Arlington. It has a hotel, blacksmith 
shop, telephone connections and stages. 

I 

ALVILLE, 

although not considered in the light of a city, is 
quite a convenient trading post located about 
14 miles west of Condon. It has a general store, 
lodge hall, blacksmith shop, school house and a 
church. It is a postoffice located 37 miles south 
of Arlington and 12 miles from Condon. Mails 
are semi-weeklv. 



WILLOWS. 

This is a postoffice and station on the line of 
the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company and 
the Columbia river 151 miles east of Portland. 
Its principal shipments consists of wool and 
wheat. It has a grocery store and daily mails. 

TRAIL FORKS 

has a population of about 25. It is a postoffice 
16 miles southeast of Condon and was primarily 
settled in 1880. It lies 200 miles east of Port- 
land and 50 miles almost due south of Arlington. 
It has a daily stage to and from Condon, and 
stock-raising is the principal industry in that 
locality. 

OUINN^S 

is the name of a station on the line of the Oregon 
Railroad & Navigation Company, 127 miles east 
of Portland, 15 miles west of Arlington and 5 
miles west of Blalock. The name of the post- 
office is Quinton. 

CROY, 

a postoffice on the John Day river, is 120 miles 
east of Portand, 12 miles south of Blalock, 31 
miles northwest of Condon and 22 miles south- 
west of Arlington, its shipping point. It receives 
its mail semi-weekly. 

WELSHONS 

was platted in February, 1905, by George and 
Ida Welshons in section 4, township 2. south 
range 20. It lies just across the road from the 
townsite of Clem, on the new railway between 
Arlington and Condon. 



CHAPTER III 



DESCRIPTIVE. 



During the past few years Oregon has been, 
as it will continue to be, following the Lewis 
and Clark Centennial Exposition at Portland, 
the objective point of thousands from the eastern, 
middle and middle western states, who are desir- 
ous of establishing new homes. Gilliam is one of 
the best counties in Eastern Oregon, or that 
country east of the Cascade mountains known as 
the "Inland Empire." Increasing scarcity of good 



lands that may be purchased at a low figure has 
stimulated a desire on the part of many to come 
to this portion of the country and improve their 
condition. One figurative writer has said : "Na- 
ture modeled Oregon on plans furnished by the 
Goddess of Plenty, who sought to form a land 
where the tiller of the soil and the garner of 
grain might live happily and peacefully, with 
every want supplied." 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



575 



The county is comprised of about 738,000 
acres of land, of which over 600,000 acres are 
tillable, the rest being better adapted to grazing 
purposes. At the present writing there are be- 
tween 175,000 and 200,000 acres under cultiva- 
tion. Only a few years ago this county was re- 
garded as fit for nothing but stock-raising. A few 
practical farmers came in and they proceeded to 
demonstrate the fact that Gilliam was one of the 
best agricultural counties in the state of Oregon. 
The yield of wheat runs from 15 to 45 bushels per 
acre ; a crop failure has never been known. Nor 
is the cereal production of this county confined to 
wheat ; there are grown quantities of rye, oats 
and barley, aside from fruits and vegetables 
along the numerous streams ; on the low lands 
alfalfa is produced in abundance. The climate is 
fully as satisfactory as can be found in any other 
locality ; the winters being mild and the temper- 
ature seldom falling below zero. The summers 
are not accompanied by hot sultry days, with an 
atmosphere overflowing with oppressive humid- 
ity ; the nights are cool. 

The contour of the country varies from the 
alluvial bottom lands lying along the streams by 
which the lands are watered, to the equally fer- 
tile, though differently constituted plateau, or 
table lands of the higher altitudes. The first 
named lands are particularly adapted to fruit cul- 
ture and vegetable gardening ; the latter lands 
yield bountiful harvests of cereal crops in return 
for the labor of the thorough and progressive 
farmer. 

The elevation of Gilliam county ranges from 
200 feet on the Columbia river, which skirts its 
northern boundary, to 2,800 feet on the plateau 
lands in the central and southern sections. The 
■general elevation is about 1,200 feet. Follow- 
ing are elevations in different points in the 
county: Arlington, 212 feet; Shuttler Flat, 
1,267; Olex, 1,015; Clem, 2,112; Keizur Flat, 
2,220; Condon, 3,025; Matney Flat, 2,700; 
Lone Rock, 3,000. In the Morning Oregonian 
of January 1, igoo, Mr. S. A. Pattison waxes 
alliterative as follows : 

Although Gilliam county is one of the small coun- 
ties of Oregon, in point of area, it is a land of big 
things in all other respects. Pigs, peaches and pota- 
toes, carrots, cattle and cucumbers, hay, horses and 
hen fruit, beans, barley and babies, all attain the highest 
degree of perfection in point of size and general ex- 
cellence, within her favored borders. 

While many of our sister counties in Eastern Ore- 
gon are heralded far and wide as wonderful wealth pro- 
ducers in gold and silver, it must not be forgotten that 
Gilliam county "ground" gives forth abundant wealth 
in dazzling dollars. Ours are all surface "diggings," 



but we have passed the primitive period of the pioneer 
prospector's pick and pan, and gather up our wealth 
with eight-horse gang plows and 32-horse combined 
harvesters and threshers. 

A fair idea of climatic conditions prevailing 
throughout Gilliam county may be gained from 
the following table prepared from observations 
by L. A. Miller and W. H. Colwell, at Lone Rock, 
giving mean temperature and precipitation : 

Year. Mean Temperature. Precipitation. 

1886 * 9.13 

1887 13.89 

1888 10.88 

1889 12.81 

1890 46.3 13.72 

1891 46.3 15-92 

1892 46.4 12.31 

* For n months. 

By months the mean temperature and precip- 
itation for the period between 1886 and 1896 
was : 
Month. Mean Temperature. Precipitation. 

January 29.2 1.26 

February 31.0 1.27 

March 36.5 1.37 

April 43.6 1.39 

May 50.2 2.06 

June 53.6 1.60 

July 60.5 .54 

August 62.8 .29 

September '...54.1 .jt, 

October 46.4 1.03 

November 40.0 .97 

December 32.4 1.47 

Annual mean temperature, 45.0; annual mean pre- 
cipitation, 13.98. 

< 
The land of Gilliam county is rolling, but 
mainly lies in large bodies well adapted to the 
use of modern farming machinery. The soil is a 
dark, sandy loam, of fertility almost inexhaust- 
ible ; it does not require irrigation for cereals, 
and is remarkable for the ease with which it is 
cultivated. True, stock breeding is still an im- 
portant industry, but the palmy days of big cattle 
and sheep kings are waning ; the yearly en- 
croachments of the farmer making it more and 
more difficult for the stockman to travel back 
and forth with their bands between summer and 
winter ranges. In Gilliam county wheat is des- 
tined to become king; its a wheat country par 
excellence, and Nature's laws must be obeyed. 

As illustrative of the peculiarity of Gilliam 
county's climate, the following from the Condon 
Globe of April 19, 1895, is apropos : 



576 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



"It will surprise our eastern readers to learn 
that D. C. Henry, whose excellent farm lies four 
miles south of Condon, is cutting wheat this 
week with a reaper. Mr. Henry did not get 
through cutting last fall when the threshers quit 
work, so he just left it until this spring. The 
grain is in just as good condition now as it was 
last fall and will yield just as much to the acre. 
This speaks volumes for our mild climate and 
fertility of soil." 

The Arlington Record of January 5, 1905, 
said : 

"Mankind has ever sought a land where his 
material wants and necessities might be most 
easily obtained. Diversified tastes and inclina- 
tions have led him to the furthermost parts of 
the globe in quest of this ideal. The movement 
has been on for many thousands of years and 
seems destined never to end, although the earth 
has been traversed from its tropic center to the 
icebound barriers of the poles. Under the great 
diversity of conditions therein the many achieve- 
ments of modern civilization are not the most 
pronounced in either of the extremes of climatic 
environment. The languor of perpetual summer 
and the rigors of prolonged winter are in a great 
degree avoided, and in the intermediate zones 
are found the nations of the earth that lead in 
intelligence, commerce and civilization. A 
blessed land therefore is that which suffers 
neither the extremes of winter's cold nor sum- 
mer heat. Such a land is found in Eastern Ore- 
gon. Winter is little-more than a name in this 
favored section while the summer is free from 
sultry weather and the nights are always cool 
and refreshing. 

It is not our purpose to discuss fully the ad- 
vantages offered in Eastern Oregon, but to con- 
fine our remarks to Gilliam county. Gilliam 
county comprises three-quarters of a million 
acres and is rich in natural resources. About 
eighty per cent, of the land is susceptible of cul- 
tivation and about fifteen per cent, is in actual 
cultivation. The soil is a heavy loam, with just 
enough sand to make it warm and responsive. It 
is very fertile and the peculiarity of the soil is 
the fact that the longer it is cultivated the better 
crops it raises. The land is free from stone or 
gravel and the soil on top of the highest hills is 
deep and fully as productive as in the valleys. 
Good water is found in plenty in all parts of the 
county at a depth of from 15 to 40 feet. Wheat 
is the principal crop and the chief article of ex- 
port from the county, although barley, oats, tame 
grasses and fruits of all kinds grow to perfection 
and are extensively cultivated. A mild climate, 
plenty of good pasturage, pure water and good 
shipping facilities combine to make it an ideal 



stock country. Diversified farming, poultry 
raising and dairying will prove quite profitable 
in this county at no distant day." 

Throughout Gilliam county there is an abun- 
dant supply of pure water. Almost everywhere 
it is available for ranch purposes and is obtained 
in a plentiful supply ; on many farms volumes of 
water course down from springs on the high up- 
lands and hillsides. 

On the flats of the Rock Creek country 
stretching away for miles on either side of the 
creek, are extensive wheat fields, some of them 
reaching into several thousand acres. "Twenty- 
five years ago," said an old cattleman, "if any 
one had told me that my land would grow wheat 
I would have thought him a fit subject for an in- 
sane asylum." In 1904 this same ex-stockman 
was an extensive wheat grower. Nothing was 
then lacking to more extended farming along 
these same "cereal" lines" but suitable means of 
transportation. 

What is known as the Mayville Flats cover 
an area of about twelve miles square. The en- 
tire section of this country is almost level, being 
slightly indented by a few ravines and gulches 
leading from the eastern portion of the flats west- 
ward to the John Day river. Some sections of 
land within this territory are as level as a floor. 
It is not unusual to see a single field of wheat 
covering 640 acres of land. This may appear 
small to some prairie wheat growers who cul- 
tivate several thousand acres ; however, it is 
large enough for southern Gilliam county. The 
soil on this flat may be favorably compared with 
the rich lands of Illinois or Ohio, beink a dark 
clay loam. Twenty-five years ago the Mayville 
Flats were wholly undeveloped, there being at 
that period very few residents within their bor- 
ders. Sixteen years ago, however, showed a 
slight change ; five or six individuals controlled 
the entire region and utilized it for pasture. 
Eleven years ago Mayville Flats began to be 
more thickly populated with homesteaders and 
homeseekers. About that time and shortly after, 
the entire territory, affording the best of alluvial 
soil, was filed on in homesteads of 160 acres each. 
These homeseekers have faithfully cultivated this 
land and produced the present conditions of 
splendid development. True, for the first four 
or five years they met with many discourage- 
ments ; but faithfully they labored on, improving 
their holdings until the climatic change of about 
six years ago occurred, since which period they 
have been eminently successful. Each succeed- 
ing year has added to their credit. In Novem- 
ber, 1904, it was reported by the bank at Fossil 
that, with the exception of a few out of some 
sixty residents of Mayville Flats, every prop- 



Jp i m'ri: 



,jr— JO 



I ~,:-£tI; 



: 





1 " 
1 


' ■ . - 

" ' t ', -' 


. '- ■ ^-<r~ :■-■■■ 




Birdseye View of Condon, 

• 




County Seat of Gilliam County, 1904 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



577 



erty owner had a bank account. Of coruse, some 
of these accounts were, comparatively, small, but 
many of them were exceedingly large. How- 
ever, the average shows that the Mayville Flats 
are, as a whole, very productive regions. 

The country tributary to Alville is rich in the 
production of cereals. Throughout that entire 
locality, especially west to Alville, the wheat land 
is divided into strips, varying from one-half to 
four miles in width, by deep canyons which are 
used for grazing purposes. At the bottoms of 
these canyons are found numerous patches of 
deep, fertile soil, which are noted for the produc- 
tion of fruit. That fruit may be successfully 
grown in what is termed a "barren country" 
may appear strange to the reader. Still, it re- 
mains an indesputable fact. Within certain lo- 
calities these canyons produce an abundance of 
peaches, apricots, apples, pears, etc., supplying 
the demands of the local market. On the level 
land between these canyons lie the wheat produc- 
ing sections. Very prosperous are the ranchers 
in the vicinity of Alville. During the last five or 
six years crops have yielded far beyond the ex- 
pectations of the residents of this section. 



It may be said, in conclusion, that Gilliam 
county is in the center of the great wheat belt be-* 
tween the Cascade and Blue Mountains, Wasco 
and Sherman counties being west, and Morrow 
and Umatilla counties on the east. These five 
counties produce about 10,000,000 bushels of 
wheat annually, aside from other grains, fruits 
and vegetables as well as a large number of 
horses, cattle, sheep and hogs. The atmosphere 
is pure and bracing with plenty of bright sun- 
shine and no malaria. The healthfulness of Gil- 
liam county is unexcelled. In fact the report of 
the state health statistician is to the effect that 
this political division of Oregon, with Condor! 
as a center, is decidedly the most healthful place 
in the entire country. 

It should not be overlooked by the reader that 
a full description of the soil, climate, topography, 
geology and aggregate resources of Gilliam 
county has been given in the descriptive portions 
devoted to Wasco county, of which Gilliam 
county was once a part. In that descriptive chap- 
ter will be found an amplification of much that is 
herein written, but which appropriately applies to 
Gilliam. 



CHAPTER IV 



POLITICAL. 



With the organization of Gilliam county the 
^organic act provided that the governor of Oregon 
should name its primal county officials. Accord- 
ingly the chief executive of the commonwealth, 
on the advice of certain prominent and influ- 
ential citizens of the new political division, se- 
lected the following: 

J. W. Smith, county judge; A. H. Weather- 
ford, W. W. Steiwer, county commissioners ; J. 
A. Blakeley, sheriff ; H. C. Condon, treasurer ; T. 
J. Cartwright, assessor; H. Hendricks, school 
superintendent; J. P. Lucas, county clerk. This 
list is from the official record, although The 
Dalles Times-Mountaineer of March 28th stated 
that Charles Hilton was the county judge. In 
December, of that year, County Commissioner 
Weatherford resigned and Josephus Martin was 
appointed to the position. Subsequently Mr. 
Martin resigned and William P. West was, Feb- 
ruary 11, 1886, appointed by the county court. 

The first election within the limits of Gilliam 
37 



county, following its organization, was held 
June 7, 1886, when a complete set of county offic- 
ials was named and the new political division reg- 
istered its political predilections as follows : 

For Governor — T. R. Cornelius, Rep., 476; 
Sylvester Pennoyer, Dem., 533; J. E. Houston, 
27; Williams, 1. 

For Member of Congress — Binger Herman, 
Rep., 565; N. L. Butler, Dem., 459; G. M. 
Miller, 10. 

For Joint Representative, Wasco, Crook and. 
Gilliam county — A. R. Lyle, 356 ; A. D. McDon- 
ald, 454; W. L. Wilcox, 614; W. H. Biggs, 551.. 

For County Judge — W. W. Steiwer, Rep.,. 
590; James W. Smith, Dem., 401. 

For County Commissioners — R. G. Robinson;. 
476; T. G. Woodland, 541 ; T. B. Hoover, 518;; 
John Blake, 431. 

For Sheriff — T. J. Cartwright, Rep., 438; J. 
A. Blakeley, Dem., 538; T. J. Robinson, 1. 



578 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



For County Clerk — Jay P. Lucas, Rep., 616; 
:S. J. Thornton, Dem., 374. 

For Treasurer — J. A. Thomas, Rep., 572 ; H. 
C. Condon, Dem., 424. 

For School Superintendent — H. H. Hen- 
dricks, Rep., 620 ; T. W. Sloan, Dem., 369. 

For Assessor — C. S. Perrin, 483 ; W. J. 
Mulkey, Dem., 508. 

For Surveyor — Luther Ground, Rep., 536 ; 
Charles Schutz, Dem., 452. 

For Coroner — C. T. Bacon, Rep., 537 ; T. B. 
Hall, Dem., 449. 

For County Seat location — Fossil, 373 ; Ar- 
lington, 260; Condon, 260; Olex, 92. 

It will be recalled by readers of the previous 
chapters that at the time this election was held 
Fossil was embraced within the limits of Gil- 
liam county. The tie vote between Arlington 
and Condon carried the location of the county 
capital into 1890. 

The results of the election of June 4, 1888, re- 
sulted as follows : 

For Member of Congress — John M. Gearin, 
Dem., 504; Binger Herman, Rep., 791; G. M. 
Miller, 10. 

For Joint State Senator — W. H. Biggs, Dem., 
565; Charles Hilton, Rep., 721. 

For Representative — M. V. Harrison, Dem., 
446; J. A. Thomas, Rep., 796. 

For Sheriff— W. J. Mulkey, Dem., 587; E. 
W. Sanderson, Rep., 661. 

For County Clerk — W. L. Wilcox, Dem., 
433; J. P. Lucas, 819. 

For County Commissioners — Morgan Ward, 
Dem., 508; W. R. Baker, Dem., 561; T. G. 
"Woodland, Rep., 748 ; W. J. Mariner, Rep., 690. 

For School Superintendent— J. A. McMor- 
ris, Dem., 565 ; W. W. Kennedy, Rep., 678. 

For Assessor — W. E. Thornton, Dem., 496; 
A. B. Ottman, Rep., 752. 

For Surveyor — L. W. Darling, 5 ; L. Ground, 
781. 

For Treasurer — J. H. Woods, Dem., 487 ; 
'George W. Couser, Rep., j66. 

For Coroner — Dr. L. Palmer, Dem., 505 ; R. 
R. Hankins, Rep., 730. 

For County Seat location — Arlington, 482 ; 
Condon, 407 ; Fossil, 350. 

The vote of Gilliam county at the presidential 
election of 1888 was as follows: Cleveland elec- 
tors, Dem., 440; Harrison electors, Rep., 6ot ; 
other parties, 14. 

Election of June 2, 1890 : 

For Governor — D. P. Thompson, Rep., 445 ; 
Sylvester Pennoyer, Dem., 594. 

For Member of Congress — Binger Herman, 
Rep., 576; Robert A. Miller, Dem., 474; James 
A. Bruce, 2. 



For Representative — W. W. Steiwer, Rep., 
442 ; W. J. Mulkey, Dem., 566 ; J. A. Thomas, 2. 

For County judge — W. J. Mariner, Rep., 
528; L. W. Darling, Dem., 460. 

For County Commissioner — W. J. Edwards, 
Rep., 514; P. E. McOuinn, Dem., 487. 

For Sheriff — E. W. Sanderson, Rep., 439 ; W. 
L. Wilcox, Dem., 500. 

For County Clerk — Jay P. Lucas, Rep^577; 
Joseph H. Keeney, Dem., 431. 

For Treasurer — Isaiah Hunt, . Rep., 465 ; H. 
S. Ewing, Dem., 539. 

For Assessor — David Mason, Rep., 524; Ed- 
ward Dunn, Dem., 479. 

For School Superintendent — W. W. Ken- 
nedy, Rep., 444; L. Parker, Dem., 558. ' 

For Surveyor — H. G. Hurlburt, Rep., 518; 
Charles Wick, Dem., 483. 

For Coroner — R. R. Hankins, Rep., 535 ; Dr. 
Easton, Dem., 454; J. B. Hollingsworth, 5. 

For County Seat location — Arlington, 408 ; 
Condon, 579. 

Election of June, 1902 : 

For Member of Congress, Second District — 
W. R. Ellis, Rep., 478 ; J. H. Slater, Dem., 354. 

For Circuit Judge — W. L. Bradshaw, Dem., 
465 ; George Watkins, Rep., 441. 

For District Attorney — J. F. Moore, Dem., 
334; W. H. Wilson, Rep., 573. 

For Joint Senator — G. W. Rinehart, Dem., 
343 ; W. W. Steiwer, Rep., 564. 

For Representative — L. J. Goodrich, Rep., 
472; G. H. Wood, Dem., 427. 

For County Commissioner — P. C. Martin, 
Rep., 390 ; J. R. Ralston, Dem., 504. 

For Sheriff— R. M. Johnson, Rep., 281 ; W. 
L. Wilcox, Dem., 624. 

For County Clerk — Jay P. Lucas, Rep., 556; 
C. A. Shurte, Dem., 351. 

For Assessor — H. C. Dodson, Rep., 417 ; Val 
Wheeler, Dem., 480. 

For Treasurer — Herbert Halstead, Rep., 
496; G. L. Neale, Dem., 396. 

For School Superintendent — W. W. Ken- 
nedy, Rep., 450; L. Parker, Dem.. 455. 

In the presidential election of 1892 Gilliam 
county was carried by the Republicans by a 
heavy plurality ; Harrison's majority over Cleve- 
land being 148. Official vote : Harrison electors, 
Rep., 402; Cleveland electors, Dem., 254; Peo- 
ple's party, 185 ; Prohibitionists, 8. 

General election of June 4, 1894: 

For Member of Congress — W. R. Ellis, Rep., 
457 ; James H. Raley, Dem., 237 ; Joseph Wal- 
drop, Peoples' party, 121. 

For Governor — William Galloway, Dem., 
447 ; W. P. Lord, Rep., 249 ; N. Pierce, People's 
party, 165. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



579 



For District Attorney, Seventh District — E. 

B. Dufur, Dem., 279 ; A. A. Jayne, Rep., 488 ; 
E. P: Sine, People's party, ill. 

For Representative — J. E. David, Rep., 404; 
H. C. Myers, Dem., 291 ; I. A. Henderson, Peo- 
ple's party, 170. 

For County Judge — W. J. Mariner, Rep., 
493; D. B. Trimble, Dem., 216; G. W. Marvel, 
People's party, 157. 

For County Commissioner — E. M. Clymer, 
Rep., 441; W. F. Dyer, Dem., 267; M. Ward, 
People's party, 160. 

For County Sheriff — W. L. Wilcox, Dem., 
447; J. D. Livingstone, Rep., 350; J. T. An- 
thony, People's party, 72. 

For County Clerk — J. P. Lucas, Rep., 527; 
M. R. Downing, Dem., 225 ; F. B. Moore, Peo- 
ple's party, 116. 

For Treasurer — S. B. Barker, Rep., 499; G. 
L. Neale, Dem., 228 ; J. R. Clark, People's party, 

For Assessor — H. J. Nott, Dem., 333 ; M. O. 
Clarke, Rep., 408; H. Wilkins, People's party, 
128. 

For Surveyor — J. H. Hill, Rep., 566; Charles 
Fix, People's party, 203. 

For School Superintendent — W. W. Ken- 
nedy, Rep., 430 ; C. Royse, Dem., 275 ; J. A. 
McMorris, People's party, 154. 

For Coroner — D. S. Brown, Dem., 343 ; W. 
A. Goodwin, Rep., 392 ; G. W. Crawford, Peo- 
ple's party, 129. 

General election, June 1, 1896: 

For Member of Congress — W. R. Ellis, Rep., 
332; A. S. Bennett, Dem., 304; Martin Quinn, 
People's party, 187; H. H. Northrup, Ind., 96. 

For District Attorney, Seventh District — A. 
A. Jayne, Rep., 461 ; J. H. Cradlebaugh, Dem., 

436. 

For Joint Senator — W. H. Moore, Rep., 495 ; 
E. B. Dufur, Dem., 393. 

For Representative — J. E. David, Rep., 341 ; 
L. C. Edwards, Dem., 290 ; W. J. Edwards, Peo- 
ple's party, 277. 

For County Commissioner — F. M. Pliter, 
Rep., 419; M. E. Weatherford, Dem., 298; S. 
Slater, People's party, 189. 

For Sheriff — George Dudek, Rep., 271 ; W. 
L. Wilcox, Dem., 496 ; L. P. Davidson, People's 
party, 150. 

For County Clerk — H. N. Frazer, Rep., 561 ; 

C. W. Shurte, Dem., 340. 

For Treasurer — S. B. Barker, Rep., 420; P. 
H. Stevenson, Dem., 242 ; G. W. Rinehart, Peo- 
ple's party, 201. 

For Assessor — M. O. Clarke, Rep., 399 ; Ed- 
ward Horn, Dem., 298 ; L. A. Miller, People's 
party, 166. 



For School Superintendent — E. W. Daggett, 
Rep., 532 ; C. G. Morey, Dem., 328. 

For Surveyor — Jeddy Brown, Rep., 551; 
Otho Ward, People's party, 262. 

For Coroner — Arthur Marvel, People's 
party, 505. 

The presidential election of 1896 in Gilliam 
county resulted in a Republican victory by a ma- 
jority of 80, the McKinley Republican electors 
receiving 551 votes to 471 for the Bryan, Demo- 
cratic, electors. 

General election June 6, 1898: There were 
only two tickets in the field this year, Republican 
and Union. The latter political element was com- 
posed of Democrats, Populists and free silver Re- 
publicans. W. L. Wilcox, candidate for sheriff, 
was the only one of the union ticket elected in 
Gilliam county. The vote : 

For Governor — T. T. Geer, Rep., 554; Will 
R. King, Union, 332 ; Clinton, 28 ; Luce, 44. 

For Member of Congress — M. A. Moody, 
Rep., 494; C. M. Donaldson, Union, 382; Court- 
ney, 36 ; Ingalls, 19. 

For Representative — S. G. Hawson, Rep., 
456 ; B. K. Searcy, union, 447. 

For County Judge W. J. Mariner, Rep., 464; 
E. P. Weir, union, 447. 

For County Commissioner — James Dyer, 
Rep., 609 ; Edward Palmer, union, 288. 

For Sheriff — C. A. Danneman, Rep., 359 ; W. 
L. Wilcox, Union, 571. 

For County Clerk — H. N. Frazer, Rep., 668 ; 
B. F. Nott, Union, 249. 

For Treasurer — S. B. Barker, Rep., 517; Ed- 
ward Dunn, Union, 382. 

For Assessor — M. O. Clarke, Rep., 596; 
Lewis A. Miller, Union, 291. _ 

For School Superintendent — W. W. Ken- 
nedy, Rep., 558 ; J. A. McMorris, Union, 326. 

For Surveyor — T. L. Stewart, Rep., 566; Jo- 
seph Lieuallen, Union, 303. 

For Coroner— A. H. Ruedy, Rep., 548 ; W. A. 
Darling, Union, 330. 

General election, June, 1900 : 

For Member of Congress — Leslie Butler, 
Pro., 33; M. A. Moody, Rep., 366; J. E. Sim- 
mons, Ind. -Dem., 82 ; William Smith, Dem., 
280. 

For District Attorney, Seventh District — 
Frank Menefee, Rep., 386; James F. Moore, 
Dem., 390. 

For Joint Senator — V. G. Cozad, Dem., 447 ; 
W. W. Steiwer, Rep., 307. 

For Joint Representative — George A. Bar- 
nett, Rep., 337; T. R. Coon, Dem., 332; George 
Cattanach, Rep., 313; W. J. Edwards, Dem., 
391 ; R. E. Misener, Dem., 300 ; George Miller, 
Rep., 394. 



58o 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



For County Commissioner — W. R. Boyer, 
Dem., 416; J. A. Ward, Rep., 382. 

For Sheriff — Perry Ham, Rep., 249 ; W. L. 
Wilcox, Dem., 562. 

For County Clerk — H. N. Frazer, Rep., 430 ; 
T. G. Johnson, Dem., 382. 

For Treasurer — S. B. Barker, Rep., 360; P. 
H. Stephenson, Dem., 444. 

For Assessor — M. O. Clarke, Rep., 462 ; Will- 
iam Musgrove, Dem., 313. 

For School Superintendent — Henry Crass, 
Rep., 299 ; W. R. Neal, Dem., 488. 

For County Surveyor — L. W. Darling, Dem., 
401 ; R. H. Wain, Rep., 387. 

For Coroner — Dr. D. C. Lazier, Dem, 391 ; 
Dr. A. H. Ruedy, 394. 

At the presidential election of November, 
1900, the McKinley electors received 419 votes in 
Gilliam county to 341 for the Bryan electors. 

General election, June, 1902 : 

For Governor — George E. Chamberlain, 
Dem., 396 ; William J. Furnish, Rep., 464 ; A. J. 
Hunsacker, Pro., 37 ; R. R. Ryan, Soc, 19. 

For Member of Congress, Second District — 
W. F. Butcher, Dem., 335 ; D. T. Gerdes, Soc, 
25 ; F. R. Spaulding, Pro., 41 ; J. N. Williamson, 
Rep., 464. 

For Joint Representative — C. A. Danneman, 
Rep., 475 ; R. J. Ginn, Rep., 373 ; C. G. Hausen, 

Dem., 296; Hausen, Pro., 33; S. E. Hor- 

nibrooks, Pro., 44; C. P. Johnson, Rep., 350; H. 
C. Shaffer, Pro., 70 ; E.. G. Stevenson, Dem., 265 ; 

E. P. Weir, Dem., 353. 

For County Judge — Edward Dunn, Dem., 
555 ; W. J. Mariner, Rep., 301 ; C. A. Shurte, 
Pro., 40. 

For County Commissioner — Four Years — J. 
W. Dyer, Rep., 451 ; G. S. Smith, Dem., 405. 

For County Commissioner — Two Years — I. 
B. Carter, Dem., 354; R. Froman, Rep., 482; J. 
P. Thomas, Pro., 41. 

For County Clerk — H. J. Nott, Pro., 30; C. 
O. Portwood, Rep., 478; W. L. Wilcox, Dem., 

372. 

For Assessor — J. M. Beatty, Pro., 39; M. O. 
Clarke, Rep., 339; A. J. Shelton, Dem., 501. 

For Surveyor — L. W. Darling, Dem., 414; 
R. H. Wain, Rep., 451. 

For Coroner — D. C. Lazier, Dem., 559. 

For Treasurer — P. H. Stevenson, Dem., 433 ; 

F. Shanks, Pro., 43 ; F. M. Pliter, Rep., 372. 
For Sheriff — T. G. Johnson, Dem., 504; Rev. 

Edward Baker, Pro., 20 ; Herren, Rep., 

373- 

For County High School, yes, 477; no, 178; 
for court house, yes, 345 ; no, 350 ; initiative and 
referrendum, yes, 592 ; no, 57. The total num- 



ber of votes cast in the county at this election was 
938. 

General election, June, 1902 : 

For Member of Congress — J. N. Williamson, 
Rep., 459 ; W. F. Butcher, Dem., 354. 

For Governor — W. J. Furnish, Rep., 446;. 
George E. Chamberlain, Dem., 395. 

For County Judge — W. J. Mariner, Rep., 
309 ; Edward Dunn, Dem., 543. 

For County Commissioners — J. W. Dyer, 
Rep., 456; G. S. Smith, Rep., 405 ; Ralph Fro- 
man, Dem., 482 ; I. B. Carter, Dem., 354. 

For Sheriff — Willard Herren, Rep., 373 ; T. 
G. Johnson, Dem., 494. 

For County Clerk — C. O. Portwood, Rep.,. 
478 ; W. L. Wilcox, Dem., 373. 

For Treasurer — F. M. Pliter, Rep., 372; P- 
H. Stephenson, Dem., 433. 

For Assessor — M. O. Clarke, Rep., 339 ; A. 
J. Shelton, Dem., 501. 

For Surveyor — R. H. Wain, Rep., 461 ; L. W. 
Darling, Dem., 412. 

For Coroner — D. C. Lazier, Dem., 630. 

General election June 6, 1904: 

For Member of Congress — George R. 
Cooke, Soc, 35 ; J. E. Simmons, Dem., 263 ; W. 
H. Stone, Pro., 43 ; J. N. Williamson, Rep. 484. 

For District Attorney, Seventh District — 
Frank Menefee, Rep., 301 ; Daniel P. Smythe,. 
Dem., 454. 

For Joint Senator, Twenty-first District — 
Jay Bowerman, Rep., 488; Louis J. Gates, Pro.,. 
37 ; W. L. Wilcox, Dem., 303. 

For Representative Twenty-eighth District — 
R. N. Donnelly, Rep., 421 ; W. J. Kirkland, Dem., 
331 ; C. C. Kuney, Rep., 329; Albert S. Porter, 
Pro., 69 ; C. A. Shurte, Pro., 99. 

For Countv Commissioner — James Larch,. 
Dem., 308; B. T. Snell, Rep., 548; D. B. Thomas,. 
Pro., 9. 

For Sheriff — Pearl Jarvis, Rep., 308 ; T... G. 
Johnson, Dem., 548. 

For County Clerk — George A. Clough, Dem., 
193; F. C. Flowers, Pro., 26; C. O. Portwood,. 
Rep., 613. 

For Treasurer — W. L. Barker, Pro., 69; G. 
H. Downing, Dem., 212; E. W. Moore, Rep., 

547- 

For Assessor — F. C. Cornett, Rep., 387 ; 
George W. Lawrence, Pro., 24; A. J. Shelton,. 
Dem., 418. 

For Surveyor — J. S. Barton, Rep., 399 ; J. A. 
McMorris, Dem., 403. 

For Coroner — D. C. Lazier, Dem., 353 ; S. K.- 
Luna, Rep., 381 ; F. M. Rinehart, Pro., 63. 




Sheep Shearers at work in Gilliam County 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



58i 



For School Superintendent — G. T. Mc- 
Arthur, Rep., 483; H. F. Shanks, Dem., 313; 
V. V. Willis, Pro., 25. 

For local option, 420; against, 251. 

The result of the presidential election of No- 



vember 8, 1904, was as follows : Roosevelt elec- 
tors, Republican, 568 ; Parker electors, Demo- 
cratic, 195 ; Swallow, Prohibition, 28 ; Debs, So- 
cialist, 48; Watson, Pop., 4; for prohibition 364; 
against, 344. 



CHAPTER V 



EDUCATIONAL. 



In 1872, when O. D. Doane was superinten- 
-dent of the schools of Wasco, ten years prior to 
the organization of Gilliam county, that portion 
of the territory which is now Gilliam county was 
one school district No. 24. During the incum- 
bency of Superintendent Doane this mammoth 
district was divided into three. 

School district No. 5 comprised the south- 
west quarter and west half of the southeast quar- 
ter of section 13, and that portion of section 14 
•owned by Josephus Martin ; also sections 23, 24, 
25 and 36, in township 1, south range 21, E. W. 
M., and sections 19, 29, 30, 31, 32 and 33, in 
township 1, south range 22, E. W. M., and sec- 
tion 1, in township 2, south range 21, E v W. M., 
and sections 1 to 12 inclusive, in township 2, 
south range 22, E. W. M. It was established 
February 23, 1874, No. 32, of Wasco county. 

There was a district, No. 24, of Wasco 
county, located in the vicinity of Lone Rock, but 
there are no records showing boundaries or af- 
fording any other information. 

The first school in what is now Gilliam 
county was. near the Conrad Shott ranch, on 
Rock creek, about three miles east of what is 
now Olex. Mrs. Emma Alderman was the first 
teacher. This was in 1875. Prior to this period 
there had been a number of private teachers, but 
this was the first public school. 

District No. 1, of Gilliam county, was Dis- 
trict No. 53 of Wasco county. It was estab- 
lished in November, 1881, by O. D. Doane, at 
that period school superintendent of Wasco 
countv. The change to District No. 1, of Gil- 
liam county was made in May, 1885. It was de- 
scribed as follows : The fractional part of town- 
ship 3, north range 21, E. W. M., lying south of 
the Columbia river, and township 2, north range 
22, E. W. M., and township 2, north range 21, 
E. W. M. 

The first school house erected in the village 



of Condon was in December, 1885. The enter- 
prising people of the neighborhood donated all 
the material and labor. It was a one-room build- 
ing and Miss Mollie Carter, afterward Mrs. John 
Portwood, was the first teacher. Following is an 
excerpt of the county superintendent of public 
instruction, H. H. Hendricks, for 1888 : 

Male. Female. Total. 
Number persons of school age 

in county 764 696 1,460 

Number persons enrolled 436- 405 841 

Average daily attendance 225 198 423 

Number not attending school. .. .324 • 276 600 
Value of school houses and .... 

grounds $10,810 

Value of furniture and apparatus 1,098 

Average salary of male teachers. . 45 

Average salary of female teachers 37 

Salary of Superintendent 300 

Number of districts in county.... 36 

Number of districts reporting.... 34 

Average number of months school 4^2 
Number of school houses built 

during the year 5 

Number school houses in county . 29 

Receipts $21,922.36 

Disbursements 9,542.55 

The above are the earliest school records that 
can be found at the present day. 

Condon's second school house was erected in 
1 89 1. It was a two-room building, but only one 
teacher was employed the first year. In Novem- 
ber of the same year Mr. Charles Fix announced 
in the Condon Globe that he would open a private 
school, both day and evening, commencing No- 
vember 16, 1 89 1, in Condon. In the public school 
at Condon, for the terms of 1892, a second 
teacher was employed. 

The school apportionment of Gilliam county 
for the year 1893, was $4,513.30. From the Con- 



582 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



don Globe of July 21, 1893, we learn that Miss 
Susie Dunn opened a private school in that town, 
Monday, July 17th, with an attendance of 14 
scholars. Miss Dunn proved an excellent teacher 
and became quite popular with both pupils and 
patrons. 

The initial school in Arlington was held in a 
small shack, which subsequently became part of 
a dwelling. This was in 1882, and Mrs. Haskins 
was the first teacher. In 1883 this primitive edu- 
cational institution was replaced by a one-room 
school house. In 1885 two rooms were added to 
this building. At present the public schools of 
Arlington are excellent and will compare favor- 
ably with any in the state. Three teachers are 
employed and nine grades are taught. 

The report of Superintendent of Schools 
Daggett for 1897 is as follows: 

"Number of pupils, male, 690 ; female, 633 ; 
total, 1,323. Number of teachers, six males and 
twenty females. Average salary per month, 
males $42; females, $25. The school tax levy 
was $y 2 mills. The total receipts for the year 
were $8,677.44; disbursements, $8,446.29. 

In April, 1902, a school election was held in 
Condon for the purpose of voting upon a propo- 
sition to issue school district bonds for the erec- 
tion of a new school house. Votes to the num- 
ber of 47 were cast ; 46 for and one against the 
proposition. In February, 1903, this building 
was completed at a cost of $7,000. It is 45x53 
feet in size, and contains four main rooms, aside 
from the principal's and teacher's room, cloak 
rooms, etc. Four teachers were employed and 
the attendance at first was about 200 pupils. 

In July, 1902, there were 1,188 children of 
school age in Gilliam county ; 589 boys and 599 
girls. Forty-two teachers were employed of 
which 14 were males and 28 females. There were 
36 organized districts of which 34 made reports 
to the county superintendent. There were 33 
school houses in the county, three of which were 
built during the year, 1902. The total amount of 
money received was $22,397.73, and the total dis- 
bursements were $18,955.76. 

Report of County Superintendent W. R. Neal 
for 1903 : 



Male Female. Total. 

Number persons of school age. .631 590 1,221 

Average daily attendance 310 285 595 

Number not attending any school. .123 127 250 

Number of teachers in county. ... 15 41 56 

Number of districts in county. ... 36 

Number of districts reporting .... 34 

Number of school houses : 

in county 34 

Number of school houses built. . 

during year 1 

Average number of months taught 6]/ 2 
Number of schools visited by.... » 

superintendent 3 T 

Receipts $26,139.33 

Disbursements 18,407.76 

Value of school houses and 

grounds 17,550.00 

Value of furniture and apparatus 4,224.00 

Average salary male teachers.... 45-00 

Average salary female teachers. . . . 40.00 

Following is the report of County Superin- 
tendent G. T. McArthur for 1904: 

Male. Female. Total 

Number of persons of school age. .600 601 1,201 

Number of persons not attending. .103 99 202 

Number of teachers in county. ... 17 39 56 

Number of districts in county.... 34 

Number of districts reporting.... 31 

Number of legal voters for 

school purposes 663 

Number of school houses 29 

Number of school houses built. . 

during year 2 

Average number of months' school 

in county 5% 

Number of schools visited by.... 

superintendent 18 

Number of library books 54 

Receipts $21,171.00 

Disbursements 17,884.79 

Value of school houses and 

grounds 23,545.00 

Value of furniture and apparatus.. 5,341.00- 

Average salary male teachers 52.87 

Average salary female teachers. . . . 43-30- 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 



GILLIAM COUNTY 



F. H. ALLEN is one of Oregon's earliest pio- 
neers. He has traveled and Wrought all over the 
west and northwest and has constantly been on 
the frontier. He has displayed those qualities that 
make the true pioneer and is today one of the 
substantial citizens of Gilliam county. He re- 
sides five miles east from Condon and gives his 
attention to farming and stock raising. Mr. 
Allen's birth occurred in Michigan in 1852. His 
father, C. K. Allen, was born in Canada in 1810 
and participated in the Mexican War, crossing 
the plains with ox teams in i860. He died in 
Phoenix, Oregon in 1882. He had married Mrs. 
Wealthy Spencer, who was born in Condon on 
March 23, 1814, and died March 12, 1901. Our 
subject came with his parents from Michigan, 
when only a year old, to Beloit, Wisconsin, where 
they made their home for six years. Then they 
moved to Missouri and in i860 crossed the plains 
with ox teams. The parties that went by the 
Landers' cut-off were attacked by Indians, who 
stole a good portion of their stock. What was 
left was divided among them all and they made 
their way slowly to Goose Lake. Owing to the 
steep grades to climb there the train was divided 
and all the stock taken to pull up a part of it. 
While engaged in this, the Indians took the part 
that was left, plundered four wagons but no 
lives were lost. For four days they labored 
on without provisions, then fell in with some 
soldiers where they received provisions and am- 
munition. Settlement was made at Phoenix, Ore- 
gon, and the next spring, the father went to Vir- 
ginia City, Nevada and labored in the silver 
mines. Later our subject and his mother joined 
him but owing to her ill health they removed to 
Phoenix, where our subject remained until 1880. 
Then he worked on the O. R. & N. Railroad for 
two years and returned home, owing to his fath- 



er's sickness, and there remained until his death. 
Then we find Mr. Allen in Portland and in 1884 
he settled in Lost valley. He operated a black- 
smith shop there for eighteen months and finally 
settled on the place that he now occupies. Here 
he continued blacksmithing for twelve years, also 
did general farming and stock raising. He now 
has a section of land, some stock and is one of the 
prosperous men of the county. 

In 1888 Mr. Allen married Miss Johanna 
Reed, who was born in Germany in 1852 and died 
June 26, 1890. In 1892 Mr. Allen contracted a 
second marriage, Mrs. Minnie Reed, a sister of 
his first wife, then becoming his wife. She was 
born in Germany on December 15, 1871, and died 
in June, 1902. Mr. Allen has si* children, 
Charlie, Welthie, Hattie, Spencer, Frank and 
Elmer. 

Our subject is a good strong Republican and 
is an enterprising citizen, a kind neighbor and a 
man who enjoys the esteem and respect of his 
fellow citizens. 



S. A. D. HURT who is one of the enterpris- 
ing farmers of Gilliam county, now resides some 
six miles south from Clem. He is a native of 
Oregon, being born in Linn county on June 23, 
1868. His father, Isa Hurt, was born in Indi- 
ana and came as an early pioneer to this city and 
is now deceased. He married Sarah Miller who 
is still living. When quite young our subjecf 
was taken with the balance of the family to Linn 
county and there he was reared and received his 
education. At the age of twenty, he came west 
of the mountains, seeking an opportunity to make 
a fortune for himself. He soon engaged in sheep 
raising in Umatilla county and spent two years 
there. Then he took his sheep to Whitman 



584 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



county, Washington, where he remained two 
years. After that he came to what is now Gil- 
liam county and took a homestead and his wife 
took a timber culture claim. They own now, all 
told, three fourths of a section, have some stock 
and are doing well. 

In 1886, Mr. Hurt, married Miss Olive J. 
Keizur. To this marriage two children have 
been born, Irmma Bell and Georgie. 

Mr. Hurt is a member of the A. O. U. W. 
and is a good active Republican. He has two 
brothers, J. F. and E. M. Mr. Hurt has always 
shown himself to be a broad minded public spir- 
ited man, a good neighbor and a patriotic citizen. 
The result is that he stands well in the commun- 
ity, has many friends and is to be classed as one 
of the substantial citizens. 



ROBERT L. MORRIS is one of the substan- 
tial farmers of Gilliam county and resides at 
Mayville. He was born in Lafayette, Oregon, on 
June 16, 1869. Clayburn Morris, his father, was 
born in St. Joseph, Missouri, and crossed the 
plains with ox teams in 1852, making settlement 
near LaFayette, in the Willamette Valley. He 
was among the very first to settle there and was a 
prominent pioneer and leading citizen. In the fif- 
ties he removed to Tygh Valley and was one of 
the first settlers in that region. He worked upon 
the now well known Shearer's bridge. He erected 
the first stone structure in Tygh Valley and fol- 
lowed merchandising, trading with the Indians. 
He also raised stock until the winter of 1861-2, 
the year of heavy snow and cold, which caused 
him the total loss of his horses and cattle. He 
returned to the Willamette valley in 1863 and 
was there waylaid and murdered by a highway- 
man. He had participated in the Rogue river 
Indian war and was a fearless and skillful Indian 
fighter. He had married Miss Malinda Wal- 
ters, a native of Missouri, who crossed the plains 
with him. She was a relative of W. J. Bryan, 
the noted orator. In 1873, she married Captain 
F. Withers and in 1881 they removed to east- 
ern Oregon and settled one mile east from where 
Mayville now stands. There Captain Withers 
died in 1889. Mrs. Withers survived him three 
years. She was a member of the Christian 
church, a noble woman, and beloved by all who 
knew her. She leaves two children, our subject 
and Mrs. F. E. Smith, "of Fossil, Oregon. Our 
subject was only a boy when he landed in Gil- 
liam county and here he gained his education and 
grew up. His first employment was as a cow- 
boy and he rode the range all over this country 
and in Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. Fi- 



nally he returned to this section and secured his 
present estate of four hundred and eighty acres. 
Since then he has devoted himself to general 
farming and has met with good success. 

In 1902, Mr. Morris married Miss Lainey 
Herndon, a native of the Willamette valley and 
who came to central Oregon when a child. Her 
father, Clark Herndon, was a pioneer of Oregon. 
Mr. Morris is a member of the I. O. O. F., and 
is a progressive and industrious man. He always 
takes a lively interest in educational matters and 
politics and is a man of good standing. He has 
won a good success and has done the pioneer's 
work in a land where his father was one of the 
very first settlers and left a splendid record. 



WILLIAM SMITH, residing some seven 
miles southeast of Condon, was born in England, 
on December 6, 1831. His parents, William and 
Susannah (Andrew) Smith, were natives of 
Cheshire, England and the father wrought in the 
cotton mills. This son was educated in his na- 
tive place and as soon as of the proper age went 
to work, in the cotton mills where he continued 
until 1849. ^ n that year, he came to Gloucester" 
City, New Jersey, and continued in the same 
business for two years when he went to Lan- 
caster, Pennsylvania and wrought in the mills. 
In 1861 he moved to Tuscola county, Michigan 
and bought one hundred and sixty acres of land. 
He had never become naturalized and did not 
believe in war but was forced into the army. 
When it became known, however, that he was an 
alien, he was honorably discharged. From Tus- 
cola county, he moved to Bay county, Michigan 
and there lived until 1887 when he came west 
and settled at his present location. He took a 
homestead which he still owns and has given his 
attention to stock raising and farming since com- 
ing here. He has a bunch of cattle, some horses 
and a good farm. 

On July 3, i860, Mr. Smith married Miss Ad- 
aline M. Smith, who was born in Genesee county. 
New York, on November 7, 1827. Her father, 
Jonathan Smith, was born in New York state and 
kept a hotel in East Aurora, New York, for twen- 
ty years. He married Rhoda Harmon, a native of 
Springfield, Connecticut. Later the father moved 
to Michigan and farmed there for twenty odd 
years. To Mr. and Mrs. Smith the following 
named children have been born : Lizzie, the wife 
of E. A. May of Condon ; Mrs. Ida A. Goodwin 
of Condon, deceased : Mrs. Sadie Downer, wife 
of H. F. Downer of Condon ; Sheldon, deceased ; 
W. W., with his parents. 

In politics, Air. Smith is a good strong Re- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



585 



publican. All through his life, he has been very 
zealous in promoting educational matters and in 
religious work. He is a member of the reor- 
anized church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day 
Saints. In 1900, he was ordained a teacher in 
that denomination and one year later was or- 
dained a priest and in 1901 he was chosen presi- 
dent of the Condon branch. He has labored 
faithfully and well in this capacity and is always 
on the alert to promote the interests of his de- 
nomination. 



ANDREW J. SHELTON is at the present 
time holding the responsible position of assessor 
for Gilliani county. In 1902, his name appeared 
on the Democratic ticket for this office and he 
was promptly elected by the people. His service 
has been conscientious and faithful and has 
given entire satisfaction to the property owners 
of the county. He resides at Condon and is con- 
sidered one of the leading men of the county. 

Andrew J. Shelton was born in Linn county, 
Oregon, on December 31, 1857. His father, 
William Shelton, was a native of Missouri and in 
the exciting days of 1849, crossed the plains with 
ox teams to the mines of California, where he 
sought a fortune in the golden sands. A year' 
later he returned to Missouri and in 185 1 fitted 
■out another outfit and crossed the plains with ox 
teams to Linn county, Oregon. There he took a 
donation claim and lived until the time of his 
death. He was a leading citizen of the county 
and did very much for its development and ad- 
vancement. He married in Missouri and his 
wife accompanied him across the plains in 
185 1. The common schools of Linn county fur- 
nished the educational training of our subject 
during his younger days and then he completed a 
course at the university in Salem. After that he 
farmed for a year and then gave his attention to 
merchandising at Jordan, Oregon. It was 1893 
when Mr. Shelton came to Gilliam county and 
settled on a farm in the vicinity of Mayville. 
Later, we find him in charge of the Grand hotel 
at Arlington, being in partnership with Mr. Mon- 
roe. Here he continued until his election to the 
assessor's office in 1902 and since that time he has 
devoted his attention to the duties of that office. 

In 1876, Mr. Shelton married Miss Mary E. 
Bryant, a native of Linn county. Her father, 
Hon. John Bryant, was a pioneer of that county 
and served several terms in the state legislature. 
He was a very prominent and influential citizen. 
He married Miss Lucinda Belvew, a pioneer of 
Oregon. To Mr. and Mrs. Shelton, three chil- 
dren have been born, A. Pearl, M. Iva and Will- 
iam Bryant. 



Mr. Shelton is a member of the I. O. O. F., 
of the K. P. and of the W. W. He is a public 
minded man, very alert for the interests of his 
county and well informed on the issues and ques- 
tions of the day. He owns various property in 
the county and is considered a substantial and 
srood man. 



EZRA A. MAY, one of the prominent citi- 
zens of Condon, was born in Brookfield, Wiscon- 
sin, on December 17, 1842, the son of Eli and 
Elizabeth (Cheney) May, natives of New York 
city. The father was a sailor on the lakes, start- 
ing when he was sixteen years of age. He was a 
sailor on the first sailing vessel on Lake Superior. 
He enlisted three times during the Rebellion and 
served until the war closed. Our subject received 
his education in his native county and when fif- 
teen years of age, began sailing on Lake Superior 
where he continued for five seasons. In August, 
1862, he enlisted in the Twenty-eighth Michigan 
Infantrv and served until November, 1863, when 
he received a verv severe wound in his leg at the 
battle of Camel's Station, Tennessee. The wound 
proved so serious that the limb was amputated 
below the knee. Later, he farmed in Michigan 
and during that time, cleared up a quarter sec- 
tion of timberland: In 1885, he came west and 
finally sought out a location in Gilliam county, 
taking a half section of land which he still owns. 
After getting the farm in good shape, he rented 
it and moved to Condon where he has a beautiful 
residence. 

In Detroit, Michigan, in 1864, Mr. May mar- 
ried Miss Sarah Truesdell. She was born in 
Michigan and died there in 1880. Her father 
was G. Truesdell, a real estate man in Michigan. 
On May 11, 1881, Mr. May married Miss Lizzie 
Smith, who was born at Lancaster, Pennsyl- 
vania, June 16, 1861. Her father, William Smith, 
was born in England, in 1832, and is now 
a farmer in Gilliam county. To our subject and 
his first wife the following named children were 
born : Ezra Bertrand, Lizzie Winters, Emma 
Parker, Ida Tuttle, deceased, Florence Read, 
W. W., Fred G, Ralph, Harry, Gertrude, Rufus, 
deceased. 

In politics, Mr. May is a Republican and has 
been twice city recorder in Condon. He is a 
member of the Church of Christ and has always 
taken a keen interest in religious works and has 
always been very generous and liberal in these 
things as well as a public minded man. At the 
present time he has assisted materially in the 
construction of a place of worship in Condon and 
his efforts are highly appreciated. Mr. May 
always takes an active part in conducting meet- 



5 86 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



ings and he is a leading citizen. At the time of 
the erection of the court house, Mr. May gave 
his influence and struggled hard for Condon and 
much credit is due him for the fact that the court 
house was finally located here. 



J. M. CARNINE resides about two miles east 
from Condon and there does gardening. He is one 
of the substantial men of the county and is also 
one of those who, in the dark days of fratricidal 
strife in this country, gave his services to retrieve 
the stars and stripes from insult. 

J. M. Carnine was born in Jefferson county, 
Indiana, in 1837. His parents, Allen and Lydia 
(McCarty) Carnine, were both born in Jeffer- 
son county, Indiana, the former in 1810 and the 
latter in 1820. The father's father came from 
Holland and settled in Indiana. When nine years 
of age, our subject came with the balance of the 
family to Iowa, where he received his education 
and labored betimes upon his father's farm. At 
the time of the gold excitement in California the 
father wished to go thence but was dissuaded by 
the pleadings of our subject. The parental roof 
sheltered J. M. until he was twenty-two years of 
age then he went to Missouri, in i860 and en- 
gaged in the nursery business. He had a fine 
large business when the war broke out and con- 
tinued the same for some time thereafter but the 
rebels threatened his execution and he was re- 
peatedly warned to get out. One night they 
hanged three of his neighbors and threatened 
to hang him so he unceremoniously went to his 
old home in Indiana. The rebels destroyed the 
entire nursery. In September, 1861, our subject 
enlisted in the Thirty-seventh Indiana and served 
three years in the army of the Cumberland. He 
was in the battles of Stone River, Chickamauga, 
Chattanooga, Atlanta, Kenesaw and many 
others. Mr. Carnine knows from sad experience 
what the awful carnage of war is as well as the 
rigorous service of the true soldier. He fought 
faithfully and well and served his country as a 
patriotic son should do and when the strife was 
over was honorably discharged. He went back 
to Van Buren county, Iowa and worked at his 
trade of plastering, which he had learned in 
younger years. Next we see him in Milton, 
Iowa, where he farmed for some time then re- 
moved to Missouri and bought a large farm and 
orchard. He had a beautiful place and contin- 
ued there for eight years after which he went to 
Kansas and took a soldier's homestead. He ac- 
quired a fine property there, four hundred and 
eighty acres of land and one hundred and thirty 
head of cattle and much else. All this was the 



result of his careful management, his industry 
and his trade. Thence he journeyed to Cowlitz 
county, Washington, in 1889 and engaged in gar- 
dening and fruit raising until 1901. Owing to 
the ill health of his daughter, Mr. Carnine re- 
moved thence to Gilliam county, in 1901, and it 
is pleasant to relate that Miss Carnine has fully 
recovered her health in this salubrious climate. 

In Van Buren county, Iowa, in 1865, Mr. 
Carnine married Miss Sara C. Clarke. She was 
born in that county, on August 7, 1846 and her 
father was Samuel Clarke now deceased. To 
this union, five children have been born : Ells- 
worth, a ticket agent on the Santa Fe road ; 
Ulyssus, who has a homestead on Rock creek p. 
Albert, who has a homestead near his brother, 
and Lydia, who also owns a homestead on Rock 
Creek. 

Mr. Carnine is a member of the G. A. R. and 
a strong Republican. Since he was fifteen years 
of age, he has been a member of the Methodist 
church and has always taken an active part in 
church work. He has often been class leader and 
Sunday school superintendent and is deeply in- 
terested in these things. His brother, Robert 
A. Carnine, is presiding elder of the Methodist 
church of Denver, Colorado. 



RALPH FROMAN, who resides seven miles 
west from Condon, was born in Linn county, 
Oregon, on January 2, 1859. Since that time, he 
has spent his entire life in the Webfoot State and 
is a representative citizen of this great common- 
wealth. His industry, his stability and his suc- 
cess have made him one of the leading men and 
now one of the wealthy residents of this part 
of the state. His father, I. R. Froman, was 
born in Illinois and crossed the plains in the 
early fifties, settling on a donation claim in Linn 
county, Oregon. He fought in all the early In- 
dian struggles in this territory and was a true and 
typical pioneer. His labors brought him wealth 
and he is still living. He married Eliza Hen- 
derson of Danville, Illinois, who accompanied 
him across the plains and has been a faithful 
helpmeet in all his labors here. Our subject was 
educated in Albany and in 1882, came to The 
Dalles. For some time he wrought for wages 
and then selected a homestead where he now re- 
sides. This was in 1881. He added to that a 
timber culture claim and preemption and set 
about the task of making a fine home and in this 
he has succeeded admirably. To the original 
government claims, he has added more land by 
purchase until his estate numbers over eleven 
hundred acres. He raises considerable stock in- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



587 



addition to general farming, and has so ordered 
his business affairs that the best of success at- 
tends his labors. The farm is laid but with taste 
and wisdom, the improvements are all good and 
substantial and everything indicates a man of 
ability and stamina. 

In 1882, Mr. Froman married Miss Harriett 
Davis, the daughter of Caleb and Ann Marie 
(Crisman) Davis, natives of Missouri and pio- 
neers to Oregon. It was in 1849 that they 
threaded the plains with ox teams and settled in 
Linn county on a donation claim. There they 
became wealthy and prominent. Mrs. Froman 
was born in Linn county, Oregon. To her and 
her husband, two children have been born, B. 
Earl and Carl E. 

Mr. Froman is a member of the K. P. and 
P. of H. He always takes an interest in politics 
and has served one term as commissioner of Gil- 
liam county. Starting in this country with no 
means whatever, he has risen to be one of the 
leading citizens and wealthy men, which speaks 
much for his labors and wisdom. He has shown 
himself to be a man governed by principle and 
integrity and stands well in the community. 



WILLIAM KEYS is a prominent and lead- 
ing citizen of Gilliam county and is now dwelling 
near Mayville. He is leading a retired life, hav- 
ing secured by industry and careful management 
a goodly fortune for his use during the golden 
years of his life. He is respected by all and 
looked up to as a wise and influential man in his 
community. 

William Keys was born in Tyrone county, 
Ireland, on March 17, 1830, the son of William 
and Bettie (Grimes) Keys, both natives of Ty- 
rone county. They were prominent and well to 
do people there. Our subject was well educated 
in Ireland and then turned his attention to farm- 
ing. In 1865, he put into execution a plan he 
had long cherished of coming to America, and 
when he landed in New York that year, he be- 
gan his career in the new world. Two years 
later he came on west to Portland, Oregon, jour- 
neying via the isthmus. He went to work for 
wages at once and since that time has made 
every dollar he now possesses by dint of hard 
labor and care in managing the funds he earned. 
After working for wages for a time, he went to 
farming in Douglas county, near Roseburg, 
where he remained until 1874, when he came 
east of the mountains. He selected some good 
government claims and then purchased other land 
from time to time, until he now possesses about 
two thousand acres. He has given his close at- 



tention to business continuously since coming in 
to this country and has made a splendid success 
of his work. There were only about twelve set- 
tlers in this section when he came here and he 
has witnessed the growth and increase of the 
country to its present prosperous condition, and 
during these years of growth, Mr. Keys has done 
his part well in the progress of the state and 
county. 

In 1854, Mr. Keys married Miss Jane Mc- 
Cullough, a native of Ireland. Her father, John 
McCullough, was a native of the Emerald Isle 
and died when Mrs. Keys was a young girl. Mr. 
and Mrs. Keys have a nice family of children, 
who are named as follows : John J., Eliza A., 
William G., Mary J., and Margaret A. The first 
and last named are deceased. Margaret A. was 
a graduate of the Wasco Independent Academy 
when eighteen and won the degree of Bachelor of 
Science at that time. 

When Mr. Keys arrived in the territory now 
embraced in the county of Gilliam, there were 
few white people here, but many Indians. The 
nearest neighbor was seven miles distant. Dur- 
ing those days of trial and hardships, many be- 
came discouraged and movedtaway. While they 
did considerable labor, still to such as our sub- 
ject who stayed, is due the main credit of open- 
ing and developing this county. 



WILLIAM WEHRLI, who resides about six 
and one-half miles northwest from Mayville, was 
born in Cook county, Illinois, on January 1, 
1857. He is now one of the wealthy and prom- 
inent men of Gilliam county and has a first class 
farm of eight hundred and forty acres where he 
is living. It is handled skillfully and is improved 
with all buildings and equipment that are needed 
on a first class stock and wheat farm. Mr. 
Wehrli has shown himself not only a substantial 
man, a good citizen, but a skillful and successful 
business operator and his fine holdings are proof 
ample of this fact. 

William Wehrli comes from German ances- 
try, his father, Peter Wehrli, being a native of 
that empire. He came to Illinois when a young 
man, worked there as a carpenter, then bought a 
farm, being one of the pioneers of that now great 
state. In 1867, he removed to Holt county, Mis- 
souri, and there became a large and leading 
fanner. He married Miss Mary Vogle, a na- 
tive of Germany, and they are now retired. Our 
subject was educated in the common schools of 
Illinois and Missouri and when nineteen, it being 
1876, he started in life for himself. We soon find 
him in Nevada, where he engaged to ride the- 



5 88 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



range. In the fall of the same year, he assisted to 
trail a band of cattle to the Sacramento valley, in 
California. There he hired out on a farm and 
later rented a farm for himself. In 1883, he 
sold out in California and journeyed to the north. 
He searched the country .until he came to his 
present location, where he secured government 
claims. To the original homestead, he added by 
purchase until he has eight hundred and forty 
acres of valuable land, and much other property. 
In 1881, Mr. Wehrli married Miss Anna 
Keegan, who was born in Nevada county, Cali- 
fornia. Her parents, Robert and Annie 
(Mc Adams) Keegan, were born in Dublin and 
county Cavan, Ireland, respectively, and came 
to California in 1849. There were then but a 
few cabins where the great city of San Fran- 
cisco now stands. To Mr. and Mrs. Wehrli, the 
following named children have been born, Mary 
M., Alice B., Robert P., William W., John M., 
Rosana, and Ellen I. Mr. Wehrli started in life 
without means and owing to his industry and 
careful business ways, he has become one of the 
wealthy citizens of this county. He is established 
in the esteem and confidence of the people and 
he and his wife aAworthy members of society. 
He has an interesting family and is to be classed 
with the leading people of Gilliam county. 



W. G. FLETT, a farmer and stockman, eight 
miles south from Olex, was born in Washington 
county, Oregon, on September 25, 1842. His 
father, David Flett, was born in Manitoba, in 
1818, and was employed by the Hudson's Bay 
Company. Under their direction, in 1841, being 
induced by the promises of Sir George Simpson, 
one of the formers of the company, he came with 
an expedition of emigrants to settle on the Pa- 
cific coast. The company consisted of eighty- 
two persons which left Selkirk settlement, Mani- 
toba, on May 20, 1841. They traveled up the 
Saskatchewan to its head, crossed the Rockies at 
either Yellowhead or Arrowhead passes, thence 
they came through the Kootenai country to Fort 
Colville and from there, continued their journey 
through the Spokane country to Fort Wallula 
in time to see the fort burned by Cayuse Indians. 
They journeyed thence to Vancouver, some of 
the party going down the Columbia river and 
the balance fetching the horses. When they 
reached the Cascades, they were met by Sir 
George Simpson saying that he could not comply 
with his agreement to furnish a certain number 
of cows, sheep and farming implements and a 
year's provision but promised to furnish some 
things if they settled north of the Columbia 



river. They went to Puget sound and spent the 
winter of 1841-42 at Fort Nesqually. In the 
spring, a portion of them, including Mr. Flett, 
moved to Tualitan plains where he died in 1843. 
Mr. Flett had married Miss Letitia Cook, who 
was born in the Selkirk Settlement, Manitoba, 
in 1820. Her father, William H. Cook, was 
born in England and came to the Selkirk settle- 
ment in 1810 and conducted a mercantile estab- 
lishment there for the Hudson's Bay Company 
until 1846. He was chief factor of that post. Mr. 
and Mrs.. Flett were married in 1840 and she 
died in 1857, at Newburg, Yamhill county. Our 
subject's father died when this lad was but 
three years old. The widowed mother then 
moved to Wapato lake where she married J. B. 
Rogers, in the spring of 1846. Then they moved 
to where Newburg is now located and bought a 
farm and there our subject grew up and was 
educated. In 1857 the mother died and our sub- 
ject was made the ward of his imcle, John Flett, 
who apprenticed him to John W. Cullins to learn 
the harnessmaker's trade in Portland. Owing to 
the failure of the firm he was released and ac- 
companied his uncle to Fort Nesqually where he 
worked for the Hudson's Bay Company under 
chief factor Huggins for a year. Then we see 
him in the Willamette valley working at the sad- 
dler's trade for wages until 1861, after which he 
came east of the Cascades and rode the range 
for Senator Ankeny and later purchased Indian 
ponies, running a pack train to Canyon City and 
in March, 1863, the Indians stole the entire 
train at Shaniko. He purchased more horses 
and packed for another season to Boise, then re- 
turned to the Willamette valley and engaged in 
the manufacture of saddles. In April, 1870, he 
took a preemption near where he now resides. 
Later he took other claims and bought more land 
until he is now farming nearly three sections. He 
has been farming and stock raising, handling cat- 
tle, until recently. Now he devotes his time to 
raising hogs and general farming. He has a 
couple of hundred head and expects to increase 
the number soon. Mr. Flett is well known all 
through the country and highly esteemed, both 
as a pioneer and a substantial man. 

In 1872, Mr. Flett married Miss Lydia 
Doughty, who was born in Yamhill county, 
Oregon, on December 23, 1853. Her father, 
William Doughty, was born in Knoxville, Ten- 
nessee, in 1810. He came west in the employ of 
the American Fur Company in 1837 and four 
years later journeyed on to the Willamette val- 
ley where he died in 187 1. He had married Miss 
Mary Doughty, who was born in 1815. To Mr. 
and Mrs. Flett the following children have been 
born, Mrs. Dona Clark, Mrs. Stella Clark. Rube, 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



589. 



John, William, Fannie, Maude, Elda, Frank, Flor- 
ence, and Arthur McKinley, all living. Mr. Flett 
has one' half sister, Anna Rogers. In politics, 
he is a strong Republican, having held these 
principles all his life. He is narrowed to no 
particular denomination but supports them all 
liberally. He also labors zealously for the ad- 
vancement of educational interests and is a highly 
esteemed citizen. Mr. Flett has done consider- 
able work for the government officers in locating 
Indians on land and has won their confidence and 
esteem. He is a genuine westerner, generous, 
hospitable and brave. 

It is of interest to know that when the Red 
River expedition was at the Cascade fort, their 
captain, James Sinclair, was killed by the In- 
dians. The fort was besieged by savages and 
the first shot fired killed Captain Sinclair. Grant 
and Sheridan were there at that time. 

I 



S. B. BARKER has won distinction in sev- 
eral lines of enterprise. Without doubt, Mr. 
Barker is one of the real builders of Gilliam 
county, is to be numbered with the earliest pio- 
neers and is today one of its most substantial and 
respected citizens. He was born in Athens, 
Maine, on October 8, 1863. Charles F. Barker, 
his father, was born in Conville, Maine, on May 
1, 1829. He was a prominent farmer near Athens 
and also a lumber dealer. He married Hannah 
Bradbury, who was born in Athens, on October 
4, 1837. They are both living there now. Our 
subject completed his educational training in the 
Somerset academy at Athens and remained at 
home until October 18, 1886, when he put into 
execution a plan he had long cherished, that of 
seeing the west. Oregon attracted him and to 
Oregon he came. From the many fertile places 
in the state, he selected what is now Gilliam 
county and began herding sheep for wages. He 
gathered five hundred dollars together and 
bought sheep with it and continued herding and 
increasing his flock by investing his wages as 
fast as he earned them. Soon he was enabled to 
go into business for himself and he has steadily 
followed the same until the present time. He now 
has twelve thousand head of these valuable ani- 
mals and about nine thousand acres of land. All 
these princely holdings have been gained by him 
since coming to this county. It demonstrates the 
fact that Mr. Barker is one of the most skillful, 
enterprising and sagacious business men in this 
part of the state. In 1892, he started a small 
mercantile establishment in Condon. It was an 
unpretentious start in a little wooden building but 
as the years went by he increased his business 



until finally, in 1903, he built a magnificent brick 
structure well fitted for the mercantile business 
and stocked it with as fine a collection of goods 
as can be found in this part of the state. He has 
a fine line of general merchandise, has gained a 
patronage that is very gratifying and is one of 
the leading merchants of central Oregon. He 
personally supervises his business as well as his 
stock interests and the same wisdom that gave 
him success in the former has made him ex- 
ceedingly prosperous in this. He is the oldest 
merchant in Condon. While he has been gaining 
this magnificent fortune in the business world, 
Mr. Barker has not forgotten his obligations to 
his fellow men and to his country. He has won 
the respect and the confidence of everybody who 
knows him, by his upright bearing and by his 
manliness and by his unswerving integrity. He 
has always been first and foremost in every en- 
terprise to build up the country and to advance 
the interests of civilization. 

On July 23, 1895, Mr. Barker married Miss 
Anna L. Clarke, who was born at Charleston, 
Vermont, on October 4, 187 1. She came to Ore- 
gon about the same time as her husband, with 
her parents and located at Lone Rock. She 
taught school in this county and in the graded 
school for several years and is a cultivated, re- 
fined and well educated lady. Her father, B. D. 
Clarke, was born in Chelsea, Vermont, on July 
24, and brought his family to Gilliam county in 
1887 an d died on January 1, 1897. He had mar- 
ried Miss Laura Kendall, who was born in 
Georgeville, Quebec, in September, 1850, and 
died January 10, 1897. To Mr. and Mrs. Barker 
the following named children have been born : 
Carroll, on June 20, 1896; Verna, on March 11, 
1898 ; Kenneth, on November 20, 1903. 

Mr. Barker is a member of the Masonic fra- 
ternity and also of the K. P. He Ts a stanch and 
well informed Republican and takes a lively in- 
terest in the campaigns. For six years he was 
treasurer of this county. Mrs. Barker is a mem- 
ber of the Congregational church. She and her 
husband are among the leading people of this 
part of the state and have always exerted an in- 
fluence for good and for progress, while their 
lives have been such that they enjoy an unsullied 
reputation and are the center of a large circle of 
admiring friends. 



SAMUEL McGILVRAY resides some six 
and one-half miles northwest from Mayville, 
Oregon, where he owns a good home and a half" 
section of choice wheat land. He has been a resi- 
dent here for more than twenty years and is en- 
titled to be classed as one of" the pioneers of the 



.590 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



county of Gilliam. He is an enterprising farmer 
and also devoted some time to handling stock. In 
addition to these enterprises, Mr. McGilvray has 
been for six years road master of Gilliam 
county. He has shown marked wisdom and skill 
in this important position and has so operated the 
office as to win the approval of all his constit- 
uents. In his labors, he shows industry and en- 
terprise and his efforts have done much to assist 
in the opening of this county and its advancement. 

Samuel McGilvray was born in New York, 
on April 2, 1855. Angus McGilvray was his 
father, and he was born in Scotland. Believing 
the opportunities of the new world were best, he 
came hither with his family and made settlement 
in New York. In 1862, he removed to Ontario, 
where he did farming until his death. He be- 
came a wealthy and prominent man. He married 
Miss Jessie Robertson, also a native of Scotland, 
who accompanied her husband on his journeys 
until her death in 1873. Our subject was edu- 
cated in New York and Ontario and at the early 
age of fifteen started in life for himself. His 
first work on his own resources was in Michigan, 
whither he had gone, and for two years he 
wrought there. Then he journeyed on west to 
Nebraska and worked for a year. In 1876, Mr. 
McGilvray made his way to the Sacramento val- 
ley, California, and there worked for wages. 
Later he came to Washington, but soon returned 
to California. It was 1882 that he came to his 
present location and took a homestead, and pur- 
chased the other quarter and he has bestowed his 
labors here since that time. Mr. McGilvray has 
six brothers and sisters : Cornelius, Catherine, 
Flora, Maggie, Mary and Daniel. 

In 1881 occurred the marriage of Mr. Mc- 
Gilvray and Miss Helen Anderson, who was born 
"in California, the daughter of William and Dru- 
cella (Sweeney) Anderson, natives of Missouri. 
Mr. Anderson came to California in 1852, became 
prominent and wealthy there and in 1883 re- 
moved to Gilliam county, where he remained un- 
til his death. Mrs. Anderson came to Califor- 
nia with her parents in 1849. Besides Mrs. 
McGilvray, Mr. and Mrs. Anderson had the fol- 
lowing named children, Eliza, Emma, Hugh, 
Ella, Fannie, John and Nettie. To Mr. and Mrs. 
McGilvray, eight children have been born, named 
as follows : Nettie, Jessie, deceased, Edna, Clar- 
ence, Orville, deceased Mary, Edgar and Ruth. 
Mr. McGilvray is a member of the I. O. O. F. 



CHARLES L. LILLIE started in life with- 
out capital but owing to his wise industry is now 
one of the wealthiest farmes and stockmen in the 
countv of Gilliam. This is a record of which he 



may justly be proud and it is with pleasure we 
are enabled to recount some of the salient points 
in his career, since the proper history of this 
county demands it and since it will be a stimu- 
lus to those who are entering on life's battle 
without means, but with a willingness to take 
hold and work. During his successful career, 
Mr. Lillie has also been careful to so conduct him- 
self as to win the confidence and esteem of all 
with whom he came in contact and he stands ex- 
ceptionally well in this community today. 

Charles L. Lillie was born in St. Lawrence 
county, New York, on August 3, 1849, an d his 
father, William Lillie, was born in the same 
place. The Lillie family is one of the early ones 
to settle in the colonies and they came from the 
stanch Welsh stock and did very much to open 
up various sections. The father married Han- 
nah Edwards, who came from Scotch ancestry 
and died when our subject was small. When 
Charles was seven, the family came on to Iowa 
and in 1864, the father and son crossed the plains 
with ox and mule teams to the mines in Idaho. 
There they both worked for three years, and then 
a move was made to the Sacramento valley, Cal- 
ifornia, where they settled on a farm and there 
the father remained until his death. Charles L. 
had received his education in Iowa and in the 
other places where they had lived, gaining his 
training from the primitive schools then in 
vogue. He was with his father until 1882, when 
he came to Oregon and began the search for a 
suitable place to make a home. He finally selected 
the country about Mayville and secured a home- 
stead and a timber culture claim. He has bought 
land since until he has now nine hundred and 
sixty acres, all choice land, and productive of 
bounteous harvest. 

In 1882, Mr. Lillie married Mrs. Josephine 
Russel, a native of Missouri. Her father. Judge 
John Llewellyn, was a prominent man in that 
state, being circuit judge for many years. He was 
a native of Kentucky and married Miss Jane E. 
Trabue, whose mother was a cousin of Henry 
Clay. The Trabues were a very prominent fam- 
ily of Kentucky. Judge Llewellyn was a large 
planter and a good man. Four children have 
been born to Mr. and Mrs. Lillie: Charles L., 
John W., Lonnie C, and Antonia T., the last 
two being twins. Mr. Lillie has two brothers, 
Joel, a veteran of the Civil War and now a re- 
tired farmer in Sioux City, Iowa, and George, 
also a veteran of the Rebellion. He. also, has 
four sisters, all residing in California: Mrs. 
' Lamira Reid, at St. Lucas ; Mrs. Mary A. King, 
also of St. Lucas : Mrs. Eliza Buhrman. of Chico : 
and Mrs. Elma Thompson, of Yenado. Mrs. 
Lillie had two brothers and seven sisters, all of 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



591 



whom are dead, except one brother and two sis- 
ters, namely : Samuel E., of Mayville, Oregon ; 
Mrs. - A. J. Johnson, of Bodie, California, and 
Mrs. Robert Graham, of Mayville, Oregon. Mr. 
and Mrs. Lillie are good people, enterprising cit- 
izens and fine neighbors. They are popular and 
have many friends. 



RODERICK F. MUNROE is well known 
as the host of the Hotel Grand in Arlington, a 
popular resort and well patronized by the travel- 
ing public. The house is first class in every re- 
spect and under the skillful management of Mr. 
Munroe is made an excellent place for the enter- 
tainment of the public. 

Roderick F. Monroe was born in Aberdeen, 
on January 4, 1855. His father, John Munroe, 
was born in Scotland and was a well-to-do 
farmer there. He had sold his property expect- 
ing to migrate to the United States but died be- 
fore that journey occurred. He married Ann 
Glennie, a native of Scotland, who remained there 
until 1855. I n his native place, our subject was 
well educated and worked on a farm until May 
3, 1870 when he embarked at Glasgow for On- 
tario. He settled near Colburn and there began 
to work for wages. In May, 1871, he came to 
New York and wrought on a farm and in dig- 
ging iron ore for seven years. In 1878, he com- 
pleted the journey to the Willamette valley, hav- 
ing determined to try his fortune in the west. He 
wrought for wages on a farm and also for the 
Western Union Telegraph Company for three 
years then he came to this section which was 
then embraced in Wasco county, it being 1881, 
and engaged in sheep herding. For three years, 
he was occupied in that business and then he pur- 
chased a band of sheep for himself. For twelve 
years after that, wool growing was the indus- 
try which Mr. Munroe followed with good suc- 
cess. At that time,, he sold his property, sheep 
and all, and went to Wyoming. Seven months 
later he returned to Condon and in 1899, ^ n com- 
pany with A. J. Shelton, purchased the Hotel 
Grand at Arlington. For a year they operated it 
together then Mr. Munroe bought Mr. Shelton's 
interest and since that time has operated the 
hotel himself. It is a first class house, complete 
in all its arrangements and is a splendid place 
for entertainment. 

In April, 1899, Mr. Munroe married Mrs. 
Luella McCurrv, wdio was born in Missouri, in 
1859. 

Mr. Munroe is a member of the blue lodge 
and the Royal Arch chapter of the Masons and 
also belongs to the I. O. O. F. He is a good 



strong Republican and a member of the Pres- 
byterian church. He is an enterprising citizen, 
well esteemed, and always ready to assist in 
everything that tends to build up the country. 



THOMAS G. WOODLAND is one of the 
wealthy pioneers of Gilliam county. He resides 
six miles southeast of Olex and was born in 
Wooster, Wayne county, Ohio, on November 12, 
1847. His parents, Thomas and Martha (Wood- 
ward) Woodland, were born in Chattam, county 
of Kent, England, on May 10, 1802, and in Lon- 
don, England, on March 27, 1807 respectively. 
The former died in 1872 and the latter on No- 
vember 4, 1884. Thomas G. received his educa- 
tion in the Wooster schools and at the early age 
of fifteen, he enlisted in Company D, Eighty- 
sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He served under 
Burnsides, assisted to capture Morgan and was 
at the surrender of Cumberland Gap September 
9, 1863. He did a great deal of Guerrilla war- 
fare and his honorable discharge was received at 
Camp Cleveland, Ohio, February 10, 1864. He 
immediately came west, landing in Portland 
August 18, 1864. He engaged in farming in 
Yamhill county until November, 1872 when he 
journeyed on to Rock Creek and farmed and 
raised stock and his farm of one thousand acres 
has been the scene of his labors since. Our 
subject's two brothers, W. H. and Charles E., 
enlisted at the beginning of the Civil War and 
served until its close. They were with Grant 
and saw very hard service. Charles E. died after 
his discharge, from the effects of the hardship of 
the war. Mr. Woodland has two sisters, Mrs. 
Rose W. Leidy in Wayne county, Ohio and Mrs. 
Emma W. Hartzel, at Barberton, Ohio. 

On February 16, 1876, Mr. Woodland mar- 
ried Miss Sarah E. Butler, who was born in Lane 
county, Oregon on April 7, i860. She came with 
her parents to Rock creek in 1870 and died on 
November 25, 1898. Her father, J. H. Butler, 
was born in Missouri in 1830 crossed the plains 
to California, shortly after the discovery of gold. 
Two years were spent mining and then he came 
to Oregon and remained until his death, on Jan- 
uary 27, 188 t. He married Rachel Miller, who 
was born in Iowa and crossed the plains with her 
parents with ox teams in 1847. She is now liv- 
ing on Rock Creek, having married P. T. Cun- 
ningham. Mr. Woodland and his wife have the 
following named children : Mattie M., born on 
Rock creek, May 14, 1880 and now the wife of 
L. W. Ward, a farmer in Gilliam county; Elda 
May, born January 14, 1884. 

Mr. Woodland is a member of the G. A. R. 



592 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



and is a strong Republican. He has held the 
office of county commissioner for six years and 
is one of the leading men of the county. Mr. 
Woodland is a member of the Missionary Baptist 
church. His parental ancestors have been Bap- 
tists as far back as they have any history. His 
father devoted a large portion of his life to Sun- 
day school and church work. 



ROBERT B. SPENCER has achieved a suc- 
cess in Gilliam county in which he may well take 
pride. He resides twelve miles southeast of Olex 
and gives his attention to farming and stock rais- 
ing. He was born in Vermilion county, Illinois, 
on April 12, 1850. His father, Sheldon Spencer, 
was born in Brattleboro, Vermont, and died Au- 
gust 14, 1877. He married Sarah Boyd, who 
was born in Vermilion county, Illinois, on Octo- 
ber 14, 1829. She is still living at Springfield, 
Oregon, well preserved for a woman of her age, 
and has nobly done the work of a pioneer for half 
a century or more. In 185 1 our subject's par- 
ents brought him across the plains and they set- 
tled on a donation claim on the north bank of the 
McKenzie river some six miles northeast of Eu- 
1 gene, and there remained until December, 1866. 
The family then returned to Illinois and stayed 
there one year. After that they again came to 
Oregon, and this time bought a farm one mile 
north from Springfield, Lane county, which is the 
home of our subject's mother at this time. There 
Robert B. was reared and educated, remaining 
until .1884 when he came east of the mountains 
and selected a homestead where he resides at the 
present time, made cash entry on a section of 
railroad land and began the work of opening 
up a farm and raising cattle. He has added since 
to his estate until he has about sixteen hundred 
acres all told, eleven hundred acres of which are 
in a high state of cultivation and producing crops 
annually. The balance is utilized for pasture. 
He has a small band of horses, fifty head of cat- 
tle and everything in the line of improvement and 
equipage needed on the estate. Arriving here 
with very little means, Mr. Spencer has labored 
so wisely and well that he has been blessed with 
the prosperity we have mentioned. This indicates 
a man of ability and stamina. 

At Springfield, Lane county, Oregon, on 
March 14, 1875, Mr. Spencer married Miss Mary 
Landes, who was born in Iowa on January 11, 
1849. I n x 854 she crossed the plains with her 
parents, Abraham and A. (Levell) Landes. The 
father was born in Virginia and was a veteran of 
the Black Hawk war and a pioneer to Oregon. 

Mr. Spencer is a member of the I. O. O. F. 



and very popular in fraternal relations. In poli- 
tics, he is a Republican and makes himself active 
in all the campaigns. Mr. Spencer is a leading 
man in this part of Gilliam county and has done 
a good share in bringing the county to its present 
state of prosperity and wealth. 



HON. CLEMENS A. DANNEMAN was 
one of the earliest pioneers of Gilliam county and 
is today one of its worthiest and most prominent 
citizens. He was born in Germany, on October 
13, 1835, the son of Jacob and Agnes (Wassen- 
berg) Danneman, natives of Germany. The 
former was born in 1787 and the latter in 1795. 
The father died in 1850, being a well to do farmer. 
Our subject was well educated in his native 
country and when nineteen years of age migrated 
to the United States. He had but five dollars in 
cash when he landed in New York and went to 
work for wages so low that he barely made his 
board. Three months later we find him in In- 
diana where he worked for seven dollars per 
month for three years. In Germany he had been 
apprenticed to learn the mercantile business and 
had to pay fifty dollars per year for the privi- 
lege. After leaving the farm in Indiana he spent 
four years as bookkeeper in a mercantile estab- 
lishment for which he received sixteen dollars 
per month. In 1861 Mr. Danneman enlisted in 
the First Indiana Cavalry as private and was 
soon promoted to first lieutenant. He was in the 
scouting and bushwhacking service for some time 
and fought in the battle of Pilot Knob, then at 
Fredericksburg, after which he was sent to Jack- 
sonport, Arkansas. Next we find him at Helena, 
in the same state, where he had had some very 
hard fighting. During a scouting expedition two 
regiments of cavalry met the rear guard of Gen- 
eral Price, on his retreat, and a severe fight 
ensued. Our subject received a canister shot 
wound in the knee of his right leg. He was then 
in command of a battery attached to the First 
Indiana Cavalry. For nine months after this he 
was confined in the hospital, before he could re- 
join his command. After this his command was 
transferred to White river, then to Little Rock, 
finally at Pine Bluffs, Arkansas, he was honor- 
ably discharged. Immediately following that, he 
went to his home in Spencer county, Indiana, 
and was promptly elected sheriff of the county, 
serving in that capacity for four years. After 
that, he was engaged in various lines of business 
for six years, and finally in 1879 came west to 
Oregon. In the same year he settled in Gilliam 
county, taking a homestead and timber culture 
about thirteen miles north from where Condon 






Mrs. Robert B. Spencer 



Robert J3. Spencer 





Clemens A. Danneman 



William W. Head 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



593 



now stands. He devoted himself to farming and 
stock-raising and has continued uninterruptedly 
in this, occupation since that time. In it all he 
has made a splendid success and is now one of 
the wealthy men in this part of the state. He 
owns one thousand acres of as fertile land as is 
found and his timber culture claim is the best in 
the county. He has one of the best modern resi- 
dences of the county and his entire estate is im- 
proved in a splendid manner. Mr. Danneman 
has five thousand acres of land in the mountains 
besides this estate, which he uses for summer 
range. He has about two hundred and fifty head 
of cattle besides other stock and property. Mr. 
Danneman has one brother, Bernard, still living in 
Germany, and one sister, Bernardina Boecker, in 
Alsace. 

In 1878, Mr. Danneman married Miss Ella 
Bashan, a native of Kentucky, and to them three 
children have been born, Cary A., Bessie G., 
and Mary C. 

Mr. Danneman is a stanch Republican, having 
cast his first vote for John C. Fremont. He was 
recently elected to the state legislature of Ore- 
gon on the Republican ticket and served his dis- 
trict in a most creditable manner. In this, Mr. 
Danneman demonstrated the fact that he was 
capable in the halls of legislature as in the busi- 
ness world and earned many encomiums. 

He is affiliated with the I. O. O. F. It is of 
great interest to know that when Mr. Danneman 
first came to this county he had no means at all. 
He passed the hardships of pioneer life without 
capital and has so conducted himself that he has 
not only gained a large holding of wealth but 
has also won the esteem and confidence of all 
who know him, and has the pleasure of reviewing 
a life well spent. 



WILLIAM W. HEAD has labored in Gil- 
liam county for over a quarter of a century 
during which time he has demonstrated beyond 
peradventure that he is a man of industry and 
enterprise, sagacity and sound principle. At the 
present time he resides ten miles west from Olex 
where he has eight hundred acres of land, a por- 
tion of which is a meadow. His improvements 
upon the place are of the best and his home is 
one of the finest residences in Gilliam county. He 
has about two hundred head of Shorthorn cattle, 
forty horses, besides other property. He is one 
of the wealthy stockmen and farmers of the 
county as well as one of the leading citizens. 

William W. Head was born in Kentucky, 
March 19, 1854, his parents being John M. and 
Martha (Luckett) Head, natives of Franklin 

38 



county. The father was a veteran of the Civil 
war. Our subject received a good education in 
the public schools of the Blue Grass State, re- 
maining there with his father until 1878, then he 
came direct to Oregon and to what is now Gil- 
liam county. Upon arriving here, he discovered 
that he had no capital and consequently began to 
work for wages. Shortly thereafter he took a 
homestead and then a preemption and a timber 
culture claim and continued working out until he 
had means enough to start him in general farm- 
ing. He commenced in a very small way and 
gradually increased his operations. As the sea- 
sons rolled by, he gained each year additional 
land until he had two thousand acres of fine wheat 
land besides some grazing land. This was made 
to produce bounteous harvests annually until 
1902, when he sold his entire estate purchasing 
the farm where he now resides. Mr. Head is 
expecting to give his attention largely to breeding 
fine stock and in this enterprise he has shown 
himself a skillful man. Mr. Head has the fol- 
lowing named brothers and sisters : R. G., James, 
Benjamin, Mrs. Mattie Hamilton, Mrs. Susan 
Foster, and Mrs. Marriett Matthews. 

In political matters our subject is a Democrat, 
and while he has achieved marked success in his 
labors here he has also taken a keen interest in 
political matters, in educational affairs, and what- 
ever is for the good of the community. His 
standing is of the best and he has won hosts of 
friends. 

As yet Mr. Head has never taken to himself 
a wife, although he is a popular man. 



SAMUEL A. THOMAS. In pioneer days 
three brothers of the Thomas family came to the 
United States, which was then a young country. 
One of them settled in Canada later, and one 
settled in New York. The other one, Andrew 
Thomas, settled in Indiana. He was a sturdy 
pioneer, came from the strong Welsh stock, and' 
did much to open up the territory of Indiana. 
His son, James S. Thomas, is the father of the 
gentleman whose name appears at the head of 
this article. James S. Thomas was born in' 
Washington county, Indiana and was reared on' 
his father's homestead and received his education 
in his native state. He married and settled in 
Indiana, and our subject is his son. He had mar- 
ried Miss Mary A. McClanahan, who was born 
in Clark county, Indiana, her parents also being 
pioneers of that state. Samuel McClanahan, her 
father, was a prominent man in public affairs and 
one of the leaders of his section. In Salem, Indi- 
ana, Samuel A. received a good education and 



594 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



when that was completed, he learned telegraphy. 
Some years were spent in this calling and then 
we find him, in 1888, in South Dakota, where he 
learned the printer's business. Next he was in- 
stalled editor of the Big Stone County Journal, 
at Ortonville, Minnesota, which he conducted 
creditably until 1900. Mr. Thomas had always 
been desirous of coming to the west and in that 
year, he put into action these desires. Portland 
was the objective point of these journeys and 
there Mr. Thomas wrought at the printers' art 
for two years. Then he discerned the opening in 
Arlington for a good, live paper and here decided 
to start a journal. In due time the Appeal was 
launched, Mr. Thomas being proprietor and editor 
of the sheet. It is a bright and taking paper, well 
gotten up, full of local news and deals with the 
issues of the day in an intelligent manner. While 
it has been in existence but slightly over two 
years, still Mr. Thomas has secured a generous 
support and his subscription list is large and ex- 
tensive for a country journal. It is the official 
paper of the city. In political matters, Mr. 
Thomas is an out and out Republican believing 
that the principles of that party are for the best 
interests of all. 

In 1892, Mr. Thomas took unto himself a 
wife, the lady being Miss Maud Purdy, who was 
born in Iowa and educated in Ipswich, South 
Dakota. Her parents, Charles B. and Mary 
(McConnell) Purdy, were born in Ontario and 
Indiana, respectively, and now dwell in Port- 
land, Oregon. Five children have come to bless 
the home of our subject, Charles P., S. Arvid, 
Iva V., Mardie C, and William L. Mr. Thomas 
is a member of the A. F. & A. M. He is a young 
man, has gained his present prosperous business 
entirely by his own efforts, having started in 
life without capital, and has won the esteem and 
approval of all who know him. Mr. Thomas was 
delegate from the seventh congressional district 
in Minnesota to the convention that nominated 
McKinley in 1900, and is always deeply interested 
in politics. 



EUGENE W. DAGGETT is one of the lead- 
ing business men of Gilliam county. At present 
he is a member of an important mercantile firm 
in Blalock and also holds the position of agent 
for the Arlington Warehouse Company in Bla- 
lock. He is considered one of the substantial 
and successful business men and has made a 
clean and good record in his operations here. 
Before becoming interested in business, Mr. Dag- 
gett was wholly occupied in educational work 
and was one of the prominent ones of his profes- 
sion of this part of the state. After completing 



the full high school course in Armada, Michi- 
gan, he at once began teaching, and in 1891, he 
came to Chicago. He kept drifting west until 
1892 found him in Blalock, where he soon was 
installed as teacher of the town schools. Next 
he was in Grant, this state, and for a short time 
there was assistant postmaster and interested in 
merchandising. He sold out his interest there in 
1894 and repaired to Arlington where he was 
chosen principal of the city schools. He at once 
graded them in proper manner and added three 
terms of high school work. By his skillful and 
thorough work, Mr. Daggett raised the Arling- 
ton schools to a high position in the state and 
laid a foundation for future work which is worthy 
a master organizer. While serving as principal 
of this school, he was chosen superintendent of 
the schools of the county, his name appearing on 
the Republican ticket. For two years he held the 
office to his credit and to the good of the schools 
of the county. In March, 1899, he again en- 
tered that office, being appointed to fill the va- 
cancy made by the resignation of W. W. Ken- 
nedy. In the meantime, Mr. Daggett had re- 
signed from the Arlington schools and accepted a 
position as bookkeeper for J. W. Smith. He 
remained with Mr. Smith and his successor until 
1902 when he became bookkeeper for the Arling- 
ton Warehouse Company and served them in 
Arlington until November, 1902, when he went 
to Blalock and accepted the agency of their plant 
there. Then he took up merchandising as stated 
and has conducted a successful business since. 

Eugene W. Daggett was born in Algona, 
Iowa, on May 17, 1870. Samuel Daggett was his 
father, and he was born in Armada, Michigan. In 
1867, he brought his family to Iowa, and in 
1875, ne removed them back to Michigan. He is 
now a wealthy and prominent citizen in his na- 
tive state. He married Miss Sarah A. Mills, 
who was born in Charmount, New York, of 
Scotch ancestry and died when Eugene W. was 
four years old. Her father, Robert Mills, was 
born in New Hampshire and "kept working west 
on the frontier all his life until he landed in Ore- 
gon, where his death occurred. 

In 1896, Mr. Daggett married Miss Kittie 
M. Reed, who was born near Arlington and re- 
ceived her education in the Arlington schools. 
They have one child, Myra A. Mr. Daggett is 
a member of the K. P., and he and his wife are 
prominent people in Blalock. 



HENRY D. RANDALL, who resides at 
Olex, has one of the best places in Gilliam 
county. His residence is an imposing structure 
of modern architectural design, is beautifully 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



595 



i 
surrounded by handsome shade trees, while his 
estate, consisting of eight hundred acres, is well 
laid out and improved. About five hundred 
acres are under cultivation and the balance is 
used for pasture. 

Henry D. Randall was born in Ohio, on De- 
cember 26, 1848. His father, Abraham Randall, 
was born in New York city, in 1814 and died in 
Cove, Oregon, in 1899. He had settled there in 
1863. He married Miss Lucinda Oliphant, a na- 
tive of Ohio, who died in Iowa, in i860. Our 
subject left Ohio with his parents when a year 
old and journeyed to Benton county, Indiana, 
and thence in a short time to Marshall county. 
Seven years later he moved to Iowa and in 1863, 
the father and children came across the plains, 
the mother having died. Upon arriving at Boise, 
our subject engaged in government work while 
the balance of the family came on to the Grande 
Ronde valley and located. After being in the 
government employ for a couple of months, 
Henry D. engaged with C. Jacobs and Company, 
general merchants, in Boise. In 1864, he went to 
Corvallis and there attended school until he was 
fitted for school teaching. The next two years 
were spent in the educator's work ; then he went 
to California and was in the employ of G. W. 
Crook on a stock ranch until 1870. Returning 
then to Corvallis, he taught school for a year 
longer and then went to King's valley and in 
1872, he went to Whitman county and took up a 
homestead. In 1874 he came to his present loca- 
tion and purchased eight hundred acres of land. 
This was used as headquarters for a fine stock 
ranch until the winter of 1879-80 swept away ten 
thousand dollars' worth of cattle and sheep. Then 
Mr. Randall turned his attention to farming, prin- 
pically, and in this he has been occupied since. He 
is one of the progressive and enterprising men of 
the section, has labored with wisdom and has 
shown himself a genuine good man. When Mr. 
Randall landed in Boise he had neither money 
nor education. To earn the money to secure an 
education in a frontier country is fully under- 
stood by him but he accomplished it splendidly 
and in a short time was doing the fine work of 
the educator as well. Everything that he now 
owns has been cleared by hard labor and good 
management and he has reason to take pride in 
his achievements. During these years his ex- 
ample has stimulated many others to meritorious 
effort. 

On February 22, 1872, Mr. Randall married 
Miss Ordelia Chambers, who was born in 
Benton county, Oregon, on June 3, 1855. She 
was educated in her native country. Her father, 
Roland Chambers, was born in Ohio and crossed 
the plains to Benton county, Oregon, in 1845. 



Mr. Randall has two brothers, John and Will- 
iam, farming in Union county, this state and 
three sisters, Mrs. Margaret Vernon, Mrs. Sarah 
Fulson and Mrs. Mary Thompson. The former 
lives near Sprague, Washington and the latter 
two are deceased. To our subject and his wife 
eleven children have been born, named as fol- 
lows, Mrs. Effie Martin, John, Claude, Edgar, 
Mabel, Hattie, Nott, Delia, Frank, Mildred and 
Grace. 

Mr. Randall affiliates with the A. F. & A. M. 
and always has been a strong Republican. He 
takes an active interest in educational matters 
and the affairs of the community in general and 
is one of the leading and influential men of the 
countv. 



THOMAS DEAN has the satisfaction of 
knowing that he has made a splendid success in 
financial matters during his career, for he started 
in life without capital, and is now one of the 
well to do farmers of Gilliam county. All his 
property has been gathered by his own labors and 
a review of his life shows him to have wrought 
with display of industry and wisdom, which have 
brought their due reward. 

Thomas Dean was born in Sheridan county, 
Missouri, on April 17, 1871, the son of Hazel 
and Phoebe A. (Best) Dean, natives of Indiana 
and Missouri respectively. The father went to 
Missouri in early days, later removed to Arkan- 
sas and in 1884 journeyed on to eastern Oregon. 
He settled near Pendleton, and two years later 
came west to his present location. He owns a 
fine body of land, about one thousand acres, in 
Gilliam county, and that is his home today. He 
is one of the wealthy and leading men of the 
county. Our subject was with the balance of the 
family until of age, having completed his edu- 
cation in Oregon, which he started in the east. 
When he had reached manhood's estate, he took 
a homestead and then bought another quarter 
where he now lives, some eight miles west from 
Douglas. This farm of one-half section is now 
devoted to raising grain and is one of the valu- 
able ones of the county. It is well improved and 
supplied with all conveniences and equipment that 
are needed and Mr. Dean is to be commended in 
his labors to build up the country. 

The marriage of Thomas Dean and Miss 
Anna League occurred in 1894 and two chil- 
dren have been born to them, Effie and Hazel. 
Mrs. Dean was born in Missouri and came to 
Oregon with her parents and the balance of the 
family. Thomas J. League was born in Ohio, 
then came to Indiana when a young man and at 
the time of the breaking Out of the Civil war, he 



596 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



enlisted and fought through it to the end. Then he 
moved west to Missouri and twelve years since 
came on to Oregon. He is now dwelling on a 
farm in Washington. He married Miss Olive 
Stratton, a native of Ohio. She went to Iowa 
with her parents and thence to Missouri when a 
girl. Mr. and Mrs. Dean are prominent people 
in this community and have won the esteem and 
respect of all, and are to be classed as part of 
the noble workers who have made Gilliam county 
one of the prosperous sections of the great state 
of Oregon. 



MARION E. WEATHERFORD, one of 
the younger men who have supplied brain and 
brawn to make Gilliam county a prosperous and 
leading section of Oregon, is located near Olex, 
on Shuttler Flat, where he owns and farms two 
sections of land. He has a splendid place. He 
is a man of ability and excellent standing and has 
won hosts of friends. 

Marion E. Weatherford was born in Morrow 
county, Oregon, and so has the advantage of be- 
ing well acquainted with these sections all his 
life, as Morrow county is much the same section 
as Gilliam. The date of his advent into life was 
March 2, 1872. His parents are mentioned spec- 
ifically in another portion of this work. The 
public schools of his native state furnished the 
educational training of our subject and he finished 
in the business department of the state institu- 
tion at Monmouth. He entered that institution in 
1890, and graduated in the class of 1892. Im- 
mediately upon graduation he turned his atten- 
tion to farming and has steadily pursued that 
course "since that time. Mr. Weatherford is one 
always interested in political matters and in 
other things that build up the country and is 
public minded and enterprising. 

In November, 1893, occurred the marriage 
of Miss Minnie C. Snell to Marion E. Weather- 
ford, and to this happy household two children 
have been born, Frank M. and Horatio A. Mrs. 
Weatherford was born in Nevada and her father, 
B. T. Shell, brought his family hither in early 
days, being one of the pioneers of Gilliam county. 
He served at one time as commissioner of Gil- 
liam county and was a prominent citizen. Mr. 
Weatherford is a member of the A. O. U. W. 
and is a popular and influential man in society 
and. in fraternal circles. 



J. A. CRUM, deceased. In speaking of those 
who have made Gilliam county the prosperous 
section that she is today, it is quite proper to 
mention the gentleman whose name appears at 



the head of this article. His labors have been 
very productive of good development in this part 
of the country, and he was one of the early set- 
tlers in the territory now embraced in Gilliam 
county. He had been a pioneer to various sec- 
tions of the west and had seen very much hard 
service for years. A brief account of his life will 
certainly be interesting and instructive. 

J. A. Crum was born in Schaefferstown, Penn- 
sylvania, on February 14, 1846. His father, 
George Crum, was born in Schaefferstown,. 
Pennsylvania in 18 18. He followed school teach- 
ing and later was a manufacturer of harness. He 
died in 1875. Our subject received his early edu- 
cation in his native town and then attended 
school in Philadelphia. When fourteen years of 
age, he began working in a flour mill and re- 
mained until eighteen years of age and became a 
skillful miller. He came to Illinois at that time 
and remained in that state until 1861 when he- 
went with a train under the command of Cap- 
tain Sawyer, who was opening up a route to 
Montana. They were corralled by the Indians- 
for fourteen days at one time. The Indians 
agreed to let them go if they would deliver up 
Captain Sawyer. This they refused to do and 
stood the siege for fourteen days when they 
finally purchased off the Indians by giving them 
sugar and other provisions. Mr. Crum operated 
the first mill at Virginia City, Montana, which 
was the first in the territory. He continued 
milling and mining there for six or seven years 
and was there when the vigilants were in com- 
mand of the country. About 1867 or 1868 Mr. 
Crum came on to Walla Walla and after spend- 
ing one year there went to the mines, then re- 
turned to Summerville, Oregon where he oper- 
ated a mill for his wife's brother, J. H. Rine- 
hart, for five years. Next we see Mr. Crum in 
the vicinity of Aurora, Clackamas county, Ore- 
gon, where he did farming until 1883. In that 
year he removed to Gilliam county, settling near 
Olex and remained until his death which oc- 
curred on October 8, 1898. Being one of the 
old pioneers, he was well known throughout the 
country and was also highly esteemed. He built 
and operated a mill at Olex which was the first 
mill in Gilliam county. There had been but one 
crop of wheat raised here when Mr. Crum erected 
it and his mill came in splendid time to assist the 
pioneers. 

In Union county, Oregon, on July 7, 1871, 
Mr. Crum married Sarah E. Rinehart, who was 
born near Oskaloosa, Iowa, on March 6, 1853. 
Her father, Lewis Rinehart, was born in Ten- 
nessee, on September 5. 1801 and was also a 
pioneer, keeping ahead of the railroad and his 
death occurred at Summerville, in 1882. He 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



597 



had married Elizabeth Ellis, who was born in 
Tennessee, on February 19, 1805. She died at 
Olex, on January 30, 1903, lacking but twenty 
days of being ninety-five years of age. Mrs. 
Crum crossed the plains with her parents in 1854 
and settled in Lane county, ten miles south from 
Eugene. She received her early education in the 
common schools of that section and remained 
until seventeen years of age, when the family 
went to Summerville. She completed her edu- 
cation in the Lagrande schools and was then mar- 
ried. Since her husband's death, she has con- 
tinued to conduct the farm and does fruit raising 
and gardening and also handles considerable hay. 
She is the youngest of thirteen children, part of 
whom are mentioned as follows : John, deceased, 
G. W., J. H., F. M., H. H., L. B., W. E., and 
J. N. To Mr. and Mrs. Crum the following 
named children have been born : Mrs. Carrie Wil- 
kins, at Clem; George L., living near Ajax; Wil- 
lard, Eugene and Franklin, deceased. The death 
of all these occurred in September, from typhoid 
fever. The other children are Jessie W., Ora 
A., and McKinley. These three are living with 
their mother. Mr. and Mrs. Crum were active 
members of the Methodist church and were al- 
ways laboring for the Extending of the church, 
for better educational facilities and for general 
advancement. 



CLAYTON SHANE, who is a substantial 
farmer of Gilliam county, resides about twelve 
miles southeast from Arlington, on Eightmile 
creek. He owns four hundred and eighty acres 
of good land and devotes himself almost exclu- 
sively to raising grain. He has some stock and 
often turns off a few head, but grain is his staple. 
He is an industrious representative of the agri- 
cultural population and has wrought out a good 
success in his labors here. 

Clayton Shane was born in Michigan, on 
March 5, 1850, the son of William and Esther 
(Fry) Shane, natives of New York. The father 
was a pioneer to Michigan and farmed there un- 
til his death. The mother came to Michigan 
with her parents and is now living on the old 
homestead of her husband. Our subject was well 
educated in Michigan and Indiana, and then 
wrought in a store in Michigan for five years. In 
1878, he made up his mind to try the west, select- 
ing California as the objective point. For eight 
years he farmed there with reasonable success, 
and then came north. It was 1886 when Mr. 
Shane landed in Oregon and after due search he 
selected a homestead where he now lives. Since 
then he has added a half section by purchase and 
has made it a choice wheat farm. He has added 



improvements in good shape and has handled the 
business with display of ability. Inasmuch as 
Mr. Shane started in life without means and has 
now a good property it speaks well of his indus- 
try and his wisdom in managing his business. 

In 1892, Mr. Shane married Miss Jennie 
Montague, who was born in Kansas and came to 
Oregon with her parents. To this union five chil- 
dren have been born : Earl, Raymond, George, 
Alvin, Milton. 



WILLIAM SMITH, who is postmaster at 
Croy, is one of the wealthiest residents of Gil- 
liam county, and is a man of no ordinary ability. 
An account of his career will be both interesting 
and beneficial and with pleasure we append the 
same. 

William Smith was born in the parish of New 
Abby, Stewartry of Kirkcudbright, Scotland, on 
November 19, 1854. His father, Joseph Smith, 
died in July, 1855. He married Jane Beaffie in 
1825. Our subject was born in the same county 
as the historical Paul Jones. He received his ed- 
ucation in the public schools and after leaving his 
books, worked in a railroad office for four years, 
then was bookkeeper in a brewing and malt es- 
tablishment in Whiteharen, Cumberland, Eng- 
land for eight years. On January 19, 1883, he 
left Glasgow for Portland, Oregon, coming via 
San Francisco. In the spring of that year, we 
find him about ten miles up from Grant in Sher- 
man county at work for forty dollars per month, 
handling sheep. In June of the same year he 
commenced business by purchasing a small band 
of sheep. He located at the mouth of Hay 
creek in June, 1891, on the John Day river in 
Gilliam county. He now has a residence in Ar- 
lington for school privileges. He had learned 
the sheep business most thoroughly and from the 
time he started for himself until the present he 
has had perfect success. He is now the prosperous 
possessor of six thousand acres of land and over 
eight thousand sheep. The improvements upon 
his domain are among the best in the county and 
his residence is one of the best in this part of 
Oregon. It is evident that Mr. Smith is a very 
wise and capable man. He is also possessed of 
that rare ability of tenacity and thoroughness 
which always accompanies genuine prosperity. In 
his career he is head of the line in every particu- 
lar. He did not work a few months here, dabble 
in something else and then go to a third enter- 
prise but having secured a position, he remained 
with it continuously until he had capital enough 
to enter business. In everything he has em- 
barked upon his business care and ability have 
pushed it with the best of wisdom and energy. 



59 8 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Concentrating his whole attention to it, it has 
brought him the success he now enjoys. 

At The Dalles, Oregon, on December 3, 1889, 
Mr. Smith married Miss Katherine E. Granville, 
justice Lang officiating. Mrs. Smith was born 
in Freestone, Sonoma county, California, on Feb- 
ruary 2, 1870. Her parents, Richard and Kath- 
erine (Connor) Granville, moved to Glenwood, 
Klickitat county, Washington, when she was fif- 
teen years old, and her education was received 
there in the public schools. Her father was born 
in England, came to the United States when 
young, fought for the stars and stripes in the 
Civil War and was an early pioneer to Cali- 
fornia. He died when only twenty-nine years 
of age. Her mother was born in Ireland and 
came to the United States with her parents when 
seventeen years of age. Her marriage occurred 
in i860. After Mrs. Smith's father died, his 
widow married August Berg, a native of Ger- 
many, the wedding occurring in 1874. He was 
in the United States navy during the Civil War 
'•nd was a pioneer to Klickitat county, Washing- 
ton. Mrs. Smith has the following named broth- 
ers and sisters : Thomas, born in California on 
October 29, 1864; Richard, born in California, on 
March 5, 1866; Mary, born in California, on 
April 6, 1868. She had one half sister, Ellen 
Berg, who was born in California, on July 8, 
1876, and died on November 15, 1896. Mr. 
Smith's sisters and brothers are Janet, Jane, 
Elizabeth, Agnes and James all living in Scot- 
land. To Mr. and Mrs. Smith the following 
named children have been born : Mabel Beattie, 
on September 23, 1890 ; Myrtle Eva, on May 5, 
1893 ; Hazel Edith, on January 3, 1895, who died 
at Arlington, Oregon, on September 5, 1900; and 
William Granville, on October 3, 1900. 

Mr. Smith is a member of the Royal Arch 
degree of masonry of Heppner Chapter 26, and 
was exalted on May 23, 1903. 

In politics, Mr. Smith is a strong and well 
posted Republican. He and his wife are mem- 
bers of the Presbyterian church. They are lead- 
ing and influential people in the county and have 
done a fine work here in upbuilding and bring- 
ing out its resources and have won for them- 
selves the esteem and friendship of all the people. 



being one of the early settlers there. He devoted 
himself to farming there a while, then went to 
Baker City, where he is interested in mining. He 
also owns a quarter section of land near where 
our subject lives. The mother of John W., 
Margaret J. (McAdams) Matthews, was born in 
Missouri and died in this state in 1893. Her 
parents were natives of North Carolina. In Clay 
county, Missouri, our subject received his educa- 
tion and then came to Oregon with the balance of 
the family, which consisted of his father, mother, 
four brothers, and three sisters. After coming 
here he wrought on the O. R. & N. railroad for 
many years, and in fact, until six years since. 
Then he settled on the farm where he now lives 
and has one-half section of good wheat land. He 
devotes himself to farming and has his place well 
improved. 

In 1898, Mr. Matthews married Mrs. Nancy 
M. Harshman, born February 10, 1869, the 
daughter of Hazel Dean, a well to do farmer of 
this county. She was born in Chariton county, 
Missouri, and came to Oregon in 1881, with her 
parents. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Matthews, one child has 
been born, Ada. By her former marriage Mrs. 
Matthews has three children, Harvey, Oliver, 
and Floyd. It is interesting to note that the 
property now possessed by Mr. Matthews has 
all been earned by his own labors, as he started 
in life without means. He has a comfortable 
home and he and his wife are among the sub- 
stantial people of the county. 



JOHN W. MATTHEWS is one of the in- 
dustrious and substantial farmers of Gilliam 
county and resides about seven miles west from 
Douglas on Eightmile creek. He was born in 
Hay county, Missouri, on February 10, 1861. 
Thomas D. Matthews, his father, came to cen- 
tral Oregon in 1882, then settled at Pendleton, 



A. H. RUEDY, M. D. The people of Gil- 
liam county and of the adjoining country need 
no introduction to Dr. Ruedy, nor does the medi- 
cal profession at large, as he is of high standing 
among his colleagues and is known by his skill 
in various portions of the United States. Ar- 
lington is greatly to be congratulated that she has 
secured as a permanent resident this highly edu- 
cated and skillful physician and surgeon. He is 
a deep student, a thorough gentleman, and a lead- 
ing and enterprising citizen. No compilation of 
this character would be complete without an ac- 
count of his life and it is with pleasure that we 
are able to append the same. 

A. H. Ruedy was born in the world famous 
republic of Switzerland, the date being Novem- 
ber 1, 1866. M. Ruedy was his father and he. 
too, was a native of that country. When young 
he came to America, crossed the plains and mined 
in California in the early fifties, then returned 
east, and again went to the Golden State, that 
time via Cape Horn. Later, we see him a cap- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



599 



tain of craft on Lake Erie. He is now retired in 
Los Angeles, California. He married Miss Eliz- 
abeth Vogeli, who is descended from one of the 
best families of Switzerland. Her father, John 
Vogeli, was a prominent man" in the republic, 
being senator and judge. A. H. received his 
early education in Switzerland and there became 
master of the German and French languages. 
Then he studied in a prominent Ohio university, 
when he came to this country, and later gradu- 
ated from Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa. 
This was in 1888, when he took his degree from 
that institution, and he immediately entered upon 
some post-graduate work in Los Angeles. After 
this, he went to Chicago and spent some time 
in research there. Next he matriculated at the 
Oregon University, at Eugene, and there he 
graduated in the class of 1897, winning the gold 
medal. Before entering this university, the doc- 
tor had spent some time in Berlin, studying pre- 
paratory to the medical course. Upon his recep- 
tion of his degree of Doctor of Medicine, he re- 
ceived an appointment to the Good Samaritan 
hospital in Portland and there he remained until 
coming to Arlington in 1897. Aside from two 
trips abroad since that time, he has spent his 
time here in the practice of his profession. But 
Dr. Ruedy was not content simply to master the 
journals, he wished to have personal association 
with the leading medical minds of the world and 
so he went to Europe and spent a time in Paris. 
After that, he returned to his work here and 
gained a fine practice. Then he saw an oppor- 
tunity to associate with one of the great minds 
of the world and went to Europe again. This time 
he studied in Paris, Switzerland, Berlin, Vienna, 
and in other places. Last summer he spent a 
time in Vienna with the noted Dr. Hofrath Von 
Mosetig, who is associated with the Allegemeines 
Krankenhaus of Vienna. Dr. Von Mosetig is the 
discoverer and originator of the new process of 
surgery in bone work, which is the skillful appli- 
cation of a prepared bone substance which results 
in the restoration to healthy bone the -diseased 
member. Dr. Ruedy performed an operation 
where this valuable method could be used and he 
applied it with the most happy results. So far 
as known, this is the first time the work has been 
done in the United States, and the doctor was 
pressed to give a detailed account of the same 
for the benefit of other physicians. This account 
appeared in the Medical Sentinel and was highly 
commended and placed Dr. Ruedy as a real 
leader in this important line, it being demon- 
strated that he was a surgeon of the first ability. 
Dr. Ruedy was surgeon and physician for the 
O. R. & N. railroad at Arlington. The doctor 
has found time to turn from his arduous and deep 



studies to the participation in public matters 
and in politics and he displays a keen 
relish for the political campaign. This has 
greatly endeared him to the people and 
they have twice selected him for the im- 
portant position of county commissioner. He 
is a Republican and can give a good reason for 
the hope he holds in political matters. 



FRED ADLARD is a thrifty and industrious 
farmer, residing at Ajax. He has one of the best 
places here and his orchard and garden are 
pointed to by all as the finest in the Ajax country. 
His place is well improved and everything about 
indicates a man who understands his business. 

Fred Adlard was born in Lincolnshire, Eng- 
land, on January 29, 1836. His father, Tom Ad- 
lard, was born in the same place as our subject 
and he married Mary Kime, a native of England. 
When nine years of age, Fred was in a rope fac- 
tory to turn the wheels for the spinners. When 
he was twelve, he was errand boy in the factory, 
continuing in that business for three years at the 
end of which time he did a man's work. Then 
his mother apprenticed him to learn the brick- 
layer's trade for a period of five years. Two 
years after that his boss failed and he was set at 
liberty. He spent six months working on the 
Grimsby dock and with the money earned came 
to the United States, landing at Castle Garden, 
on March 17, 1854. Not being able to secure 
work in the city, he went on to Albany, then to 
Schenectady and finally to Utica and Rome, 
searching in vain for employment. In the latter 
place he met a preacher who furnished him a pass 
to Canada where he failed in getting work, and a. 
railroad official gave him a pass to Detroit ; thence 
he walked to Niles and spent a month cutting 
cord wood and finally walked on to Chicago. In 
this place he had failed to secure work and finally 
he went on from Chicago and did harvest work. 
Then he did railroad work, after which we find 
him in Milan, Missouri. Then he was at St. 
Katherine's, Missouri, and did teaming, and was 
employed on a farm in that state until 1865, when 
he came to Benton county, Oregon. In that 
place he farmed until 1888, in which year he- 
journeyed on to his present location and took 
the same as a homestead. He has a splendid 
orchard, good improvements and a fine farm. 

In Benton county, Oregon, on May 27, 1875, 
Mr. Adlard married Miss Katie Willbanks, who 
was born in Mississippi on January 16, 1859. 
Fler father, William Willbanks, was born Au- 
gust 20, 1834, in North Carolina and was an 
early pioneer to Oregon. Mr. and Mrs. Adlard 



6oo 



HISTORY OF. CENTRAL OREGON. 



have the following named children : William, 
Mary, Walter, Stella, Lulu, Minnie, Fred, Ethel, 
Alice, Charlie, Edith, and Helen. 

In politics, Mr. Adlard is a Democrat, and a 
good, substantial man. 



OSCAR MALEY and EDGAR C. MA- 
LEY, although young men, have attained a suc- 
cess that would be gratifying even to those who 
have labored for many years. They give their 
attention to farming and stock raising and reside 
twelve miles northwest of Alville. The former was 
born in Linn County, Oregon, in 1874, the latter 
in the same place in 1878, and they are the sons 
of Samuel and Elizabeth (Smith) Maley. The 
mother's first husband was William Farrar, and 
to that marriage three children were born, Rob- 
ert H., Agnes and William K. Our subjects 
lived on their grandparents' donation claim in 
Linn County until 1886, receiving there their 
earlier education in the public schools. In the 
year last mentioned they came with their parents 
to their present location where the father took a 
homestead. Two years later, 1888, he died and 
in partnership our subjects operated the farm. 
They have bought sixteen hundred acres more 
and handle the whole estate. They have over 
three hundred head of. cattle with horses suf- 
ficient to care for them and to operate the farm. 
They are among the wealthy and most thrifty 
farmers of the county and have displayed an in- 
dustry and success which are commendable. 

On August 6, 190 1, Oscar Maley married Miss 
Elizabeth Shannon, who was born in Malheur 
county, Oregon, on March 2, 1883. Her father, 
F. M. Shannon, is specifically mentioned in an- 
other portion of this work. On July 6, 1902, one 
child was born to Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Maley, 
Margaret Liddy. 

Our subjects are members of the Grange So- 
ciety and in politics are well posted socialists. 
Their father, Samuel Maley, was born in Warren 
county, Illinois, in 1838. His ancestors were 
Scotch and Irish, and they came to America 
prior to the Revolution. His father, W. B. Maley, 
"the grandfather of our subjects, was a physician 
and a finely educated man. He was born in 
Pennsylvania in 1809 and came to Illinois in early 
day. In 1845 he crossed the plains to Oregon 
and the next year settled in Linn county, taking 
a donation claim where he lived until his death 
in 1852. There were few schools in the country 
then, but as our subjects' grandfather was well 
educated and his wife a first class school teacher 
they educated their children well. In those days 
the Indians were troublesome and on one oc- 



casion they camped in great numbers about the 
residence of Mr. Maley and made the nights and 
days hideous with their horrible yells until Mr. 
Maley consented to give them a steer as a peace 
offering. The grandfather of our subjects was 
a member of the territorial legislature in Oregon 
in 1850 and was a very prominent and influential 
man. In 1864 Samuel Maley enlisted in Com- 
pany F, First Oregon Infantry, to serve for three 
years. At the expiration of eighteen months he 
was honorably discharged and returned to his 
home. In 1871 he married Miss Elizabeth Smith 
who was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1837, and 
now lives in Gilliam county. 

In politics Samuel Maley was a strong Repub- 
lican and like his father, was very influential 
and prominent. His death in 1888 was deeply 
mourned by all, as everyone knew that a good 
man was taken from their midst. 



GEORGE HANSEN. A residence of 
twenty-six years in Gilliam county entitles the 
subject of this article to representation as one of 
its pioneers. At present he is living a retired 
life, having accumulated a nice fortune through 
his enterprising efforts here. His residence is 
some eight miles west from Condon and in that 
locality he owns a half section of choice wheat 
land. He rents the same and gives his attention 
to the general oversight of this and his other 
properties. 

George Hansen was born in Denmark, August 
4, 1839, being the day. His parents, Jacob and 
Annie C. Hansen, were also natives of Denmark. 
The mother died when this son was nine years 
of age. The father was a miller, owning a nice 
plant. After receiving a good education in his 
own country, our subject determined to try the 
sea and accordingly when seventeen years of age 
shipped as a sailor before the mast, and for 
twenty-two years thereafter he led a seafaring 
life. He has visited every port of any size in 
the world, has circumnavigated the globe three 
times, is well acquainted with the ways and suc- 
toms of every continent and has been a most ex- 
tensive traveler. Mr. Hansen is a man of energy 
and ability and during his travels stored his mind 
with a great fund of information. During these 
vears of life as a sailor he learned to speak five 
different languages. Finally, Mr. Hansen began 
to develop a longing for the land once more and 
at Puget Sound, in 1878, he ended his seafaring 
career. One season after that he spent in fishing 
on the Columbia in the vicinity of Astoria, and 
in 1878 he had made his way into the territory 
now embraced bv Gilliam county. He at once 




George Hansen 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



60 1 



engaged in herding sheep and followed that occu- 
pation for some little time. In 1880, Mr. Han: 
took a homestead and a timber culture, where he 
now resides, the land being then unsyrveyed, and 
from that time until the present, he has given 
his attention steadily to farming. His estate is 
well improved and skillfully cultivated and is a 
generous producer of harvests. During the years 
of his residence he has seen the country grow 
from a wild prairie to its present' well developed 
to bring about this gratifying end. He has the es- 
teem of all who know him and is considered one 
of the substantial and enterprising men of the 
countv. 



GEORGE L. CRUM, who resides about 
three miles east of Ajax, is one of the substantial 
farmers of Gilliam county and has the distinc- 
tion of having lived here for about twenty-five 
years. He was born in the Williamette valley, 
on September 7, 1875. His father, J. A. Crum, 
was born in Pennsylvania in 1846 and was an 
early pioneer of the west, coming to Walla Walla 
in 1864. His death occurred in 1898. He had 
married Sarah Rinehart, who was born in Iowa. 
She crossed the plains in 1852 and is now living 
at Olex, Oregon. Our subject attended school 
first in the Williamette valley and came with his 
parents to Gilliam countv in 1881. He well re- 
members that when first they come here, there 
were no fences, very few settlers and the country 
was a wild place. He assisted his father to open 
up a farm and labored with him until 1894, then 
being nineteen years of age, he went to Corvallis 
and attended the agriculture college for three 
years. Returning to Gilliam county after that 
"he again took up farming, taking a homestead. 
He relinquished this property and removed to 
Arlington where he bought the Crown hotel. 
For three years he successfully operated that, 
then rented it and again took a homestead where 
he now resides, some three miles east of Ajax. 
He settled here in 1903 and since that time has 
made good improvements on the property. 

In 1898 Mr. Crum married Miss Grade Sand- 
ers, who was born in Goldendale, Washington. 
Her father, Joseph Sanders, was born in Tennes- 
see, and is now living in Arlington. Two child- 
ren are the fruit of this marriage, Bryon and 
Leonard. 

Mr. Crum is a member of the M. W. A., and 
is a Republican. 

In politics he is well informed and active, and 
is a very enterprising man. When Mr. Crum's 
father died three of his brothers died at the same 
time. That broke up the family and farming 



business very much. Mr. Crum is to be rated 
as one of the early pioneers and one who has as- 
sisted materially in the upbuilding of the country. 
He is of good standing and has won many friends 
and deserves credit for the good labors he has 
done. 



O. P. LOW, M. D., is well known in Arl- 
ington and in the surrounding country as a phy- 
sician of high standing and excellent ability. 
He is a gentleman with a high sense of honor, 
is a patriotic and enterprising citizen and one 
of the leaders in this county. In addition to 
handling a good practice of medicine Dr. Low 
fills his own prescriptions and is a thorough 
business man. 

O. P. Low was born in Wood county, West 
Virginia, on March 10, 1862. Nathan B. Low, his 
father, was a native also of West Virginia and 
followed stone cutting. His ancestors were early 
settlers in the colonies and in West Virginia. 
He married Miss Mary Lent, who was born in 
Ohio. She came with her parents to West Vir- 
ginia when a child and was well educated and 
for some time taught school. In 1889 Mr. Low 
came with his family to Portland, where his wid- 
ow is now residing. Our subject gained his 
early education in his native state, and he knows 
well what it is to work hard all day long at the 
stone cutting trade and pore over the printed 
page in the evening. Thus he gained his first 
knowledge and a good share of later training. 
After he came west in 1886 he studied one year 
at Green's University in Kansas. Then he came 
on to Oregon and in 1893 entered the Williamette 
University. Here he pursued his medical stud- 
ies until his graduation in 1896, being in a class 
of twenty-two. He received his diploma with 
honors and had conferred on him the degree of 
doctor of medicine. Immediately subsequent to 
that Dr. Low opened an office in McCoy, Ore- 
gon, and for three years did a good business there. 
Then he spent two years in Independence, Ore- 
gon, and finally, in 1901, he located in Arlington. 
From the days when the doctor laid aside the 
stone cutter's hammer to pursue and study the 
volumes of science until the present he has al- 
ways practiced the policy of studying some every 
day. The result is he is a well informed man, 
and is fully abreast of the advancing art of medi- 
cine, being a skillful and successful practitioner. 

In 1896 Dr. Low married Miss Grace Tucker, 
a native of Wisconsin. Her father was a veteran 
in the Civil War and died in the service. Dr. 
Low is city recorder and is always interested in 
public matters. He is a member of the K. P. 






6o2 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



and the W. W. Dr. Low is a strictly profes- 
sional man and devotes his time and energy to 
the prosecution of his profession with the result 
that he is at the head of a large and ever in- 
creasing patronage. 



W. T. ADLARD is one of the younger farm- 
ers of Gilliam county, who is making a success 
here in his chosen calling. He resides about 
three miles east from Alville and has a good 
place. He was born in Benton county, Oregon, 
on April 19, 1876. His father, Fred Adlard, 
was born in England in 1839, and came to the 
United States when quite a young man. He was 
one of the earlier pioneers of Oregon and a well 
respected and substantial man. He married 
Katie Willbanks, who was born in Mississippi in 
1859, and is still living. The country schools 
supplied the educational training of our subject 
and he remained there on the farm with his father 
until twelve years of age when he removed to 
Gilliam county. He continued with his father m 
opening up a farm in this county, until six years 
since, when he started for himself. Since then 
he has done splendidly and has shown himself to 
be an industrious and enterprising young man. 

On November 20, 1898, Mr. Adlard married 
Miss Myrtle Stevenson, who was born in Indiana 
on February 10, 1876. Her father, James G. 
Stevenson, was born in October, 1846. He mar- 
ried Miss Eliza Dormer, who was born in Ohio 
in 1848. They are now living in Gilliam county. 
Mr. Adlard has the following named brothers 
and sisters : Walter, Fred, Charles, Mollie, Stella, 
Minnie, Lula, Ethel, Alice, Edith and Helen. Mr: 
and Mrs. Adlard have two children, Lillian and 
Florence. 

In political matters our subject is a Democrat 
and in everything that is for the building up of 
the country he takes a keen interest. He and 
his wife are respected people and have many 
friends. 



CHARLES E. RICKARD, who resides 
about six miles north of Alville, has shown him- 
self to be one of the most enterprising and suc- 
cessful young farmers of the section. He was 
born in Indiana in 1876, the son of Arsemas 
Rickard, also a native of that state. He gained 
his education during the first fourteen years of 
his life in his native place and then started west. 
Although of such young years, he was possessed 
of enterprise and grit and soon made his way to 
the Williamette valley where he labored for ten 
yeais. Then he came to his present location 



and took a homestead. At that time he was pos- 
sessed of a span of cayuses, which was practically 
all he owned. He rented a section of land near 
by and has labored so faithfully since that now 
he has fifty fine hogs, twenty-four horses, eleven 
cattle and good improvements upon his place. 
All this has been gained by his own labors in the 
last few years and he is on the royal road to 
wealth. In the meantime Mr. Rickard has so 
conducted himself that he has won the esteem 
and friendship of all who know him and his 
standing in the community is of the best. In 
June, 1897, Mr. Rickard married Miss Cully 
Steele, who was born in the Willamette valley 
in 1876. Her father, Robert Steele, was one of 
of the earliest pioneers of the place and is now 
deceased. Two children are the fruit of this 
marriage, Forest and Goldie. Mr. Rickard is 
a member of the Grange lodge and is also 
insured in the New York Mutual for five 
thousand dollars. He has shown splendid 
wisdom not only in the conduct of his 
business that he has at the present time, but also 
in providing for his loved ones in case he should 
pass the way of all earth before he has secured 
a proper competence. 

In political matters he manifests a keen in- 
terest and is an energetic and enterprising citizen. 

Mr. and Mrs. Rickard are fine young people 
and have made hosts of friends in this section. 
Gilliam county is to be congratulated in securing 
as permanent residents such enterprising and en- 
ergetic people. It is such as they who make the 
country wealthy and prosperous. 



ROBERT H. ROBINSON, who holds the 
position of postmaster in Arlington, Oregon, 
is one of the well known men throughout the 
county, and is a prominent business man. He 
was born in Pierce county, Washington, on De- 
cember 22, 1869, thus being a native of the 
Occident. R. G. Robinson, his father, was born 
in Pennsylvania, and came from an old and in- 
fluential colonial family. Some members of the 
family were in all the colonial wars and fought 
for independence. He crossed the plains to Cali- 
fornia in the early forties and there engaged in 
mining for a time. After that he came to the 
Willamette valley and in 1872 settled at Lone 
Rock in the territory now embraced in Gilliam 
county. He took up the stock business and is 
now one of the leading stock men in the county. 
He married Miss Lucy A. Neal. who was born 
the Williamette valley. Her people were among 
the very earliest settlers in the territory of Ore- 
eon. Robert H. was well educated in this county 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



603 



and the Portland business colleges. In 1891 
he started for himself and soon established a 
general merchandise store at Lone Rock. Later 
he sold out that property and opened a store in 
Arlington. He has continued that business until 
1900, when he was appointed postmaster of the 
town and is the present incumbent. Mr. Robin- 
son is a man of excellent attainments and is one 
of the younger and enterprising business opera- 
tors in this county. He has shown zeal in all 
things for the upbuilding of the county and for 
general progress and he is to be commended for 
his efforts in these lines. His brothers and sisters 
are Calvin D., Frank H., Mrs. Nettie A. Robin- 
ette, Mrs. Alcy J. P'ullen, Willis N. and Una G. 
In 1895 Mr. Robinson married Miss Sadie 
E. Dyer, who was born in the Williamette valley. 
She came to this section when a child and was 
reared and educated here. Her father is Wil- 
liam F. Dyer, a rancher and stockman near May- 
ville. Mr. Robinson is a member of the K. P., 
the A. F. & A. M., and also of the Chapter, 
the Commandery and the Mystic Shrine. His 
labors have resulted in the acquirement of a good- 
ly competence for him and while active in business 
lines, he has not forgotten to so conduct himself 
as to win the confidence of the people and the 
respect of all. 



JOSEPHUS MARTIN, who resides about 
two miles up Rock Creek from Olex, is one of 
the earliest settlers in the territory now embraced 
in Gilliam county. He has been one of the 
leaders here in stock raising for years and is well 
known all over this part of the state. His life 
is intimately connected with the history of Gil- 
liam county and also he has been a pioneer to 
various other sections. 

Josephus Martin was born in Butler county, 
Ohio, on November 16, 1829, the son of Roger 
and Mary Martin. The former was born in 
Scotland and came with his parents to Kentucky 
when small, whence they removed later to Ohio. 
The latter was born in Ireland and came to Ohio 
when a young girl. She died when our subject 
was nine years old. In his native place Josephus 
was educated and when sixteen began to learn the 
carpenter trade. This occupied him until 1852, 
when he took the trip to California via the isth- 
mus. Until 1863 he was a resident of the Golden 
State and then came to Oregon, spent the winter 
of 1864-5 ^ n Corvallis and in the spring in com- 
pany with Conrad Schott he went to the Idaho 
mines. For two seasons he did well in the vicin- 
ity of Idaho City, being in partnership with John- 
son and Smith. Them he formed a partnership 
with Conrad Schott and John Shellady, and be- 



fore the year of 1866 had passed away located on 
Rock Creek, in what is now Gilliam county, and 
began raising stock. In 1868 he and his partner, 
John Shellady, were each married, the date being 
February 8, 1868. Before marriage Mr. Martin's 
wife was Miss Alice Johnson. She was born in 
Missouri in 1850, the daughter of Charles and 
Kesiah (Trapp) Johnson, natives of Kentucky 
and Missouri respectively. During early times 
the Indians were very savage and on two oc- 
casions Mr. Martin was compelled to take his 
family and flee to a place of safety. Once when 
the Snakes were coming through a runner hurried 
ahead and warned the settlers. The Indians in- 
tended to massacre all whites, but the soldiers- 
came on the scene and the savages took to the- 
timber. On Rock Creek near where Mr. Martin 
is now living was their old camping ground and 
he saw much of them. In those days the only 
settlers were Daniel Leonard, who- kept the bridge 
on the John Day crossing, James Force, on 
Rock Creek. Charley Pensim, better known as 
French Charley, Nicholas Stagg, a stockman, who 
was known as the man who lived in the stone 
house, and Mr. Adams. They all had to go to The 
Dalles for their mail, and all supplies came that 
way. Mr. Martin continued in the stock busi- 
ness with wisdom and industry and soon became 
a well-to-do man. He increased his holdings 
from time to time until the home estate is now 
fifteen hundred acres. Eight hundred acres of 
this fine body of land are cropped to wheat this 
year and bring a fine return. Mr. Martin is re- 
tired from the activities of his business and the 
estate and stock are managed by his son, Charles. 
The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Martin are 
Mrs. Dora B. Wade, Charles, Gertrude and Ray. 



D. CANTWELL is a carpenter and farmer 
residing about three miles northwest from May- 
ville. He was born in Oregon in 1855, the son of 
Mose and Mary (Fitzworth) Cantwell, natives 
of Alabama and Arkansas respectively. The for- 
mer was born in 1824 and the latter in 1825. The 
father died in 1889 and the mother in 1902. He 
was a veteran of the Civil War. When our sub- 
ject was five years of age the family removed 
from Arkansas to Texas and seventeen years 
later returned to the home state. In these two 
places this son was educated in the common 
schools, and in 1875 came from the Mississippi 
valley to Oregon. Settlement was made in Uma- 
tilla county and shortly thereafter our subject 
moved to the Williamette valley. There he 
learned the engineering trade with the Oregon 
Iron and Steel Company and continued with 



604 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



them for five years. After this he bought an in- 
terest in a saw mill which he operated for a year. 
Then he sold his part in that property and came 
to Lost valley in Gilliam county where he erected 
a saw mill. He continued the operation of that 
until 1893 when he sold the property. For the 
past ten years he has been engaged in various 
occupations and is now doing contracting and 
building. 

In 1879 M r - Cantwell married Miss Martha 
(Pioneer) Southworth. She was born on the 
Pioneer reservation in 1852 while her parents 
were crossing the plains. Her father, James B. 
Southworth, was one of the early settlers in 
southern Oregon. To Mr. and Mrs. Cantwell 
■one child has been born, Robert M., on February 
15, 1887. 

Mr. Cantwell is a member of the I. O. O. F. 
and a man who takes a keen interest in political 
matters and whatever is for the building up of 
the country. 



MANLY F. KEIZUR is a native son of Ore- 
gon and has made this state his dwelling place 
all his life. He is now residing about six miles 
north from Condon, where he owns a choice 
farm of two hundred and forty acres, which is 
devoted to general crops. He also gives attention 
to raising stock, and is a prosperous and well-to- 
do farmer. He is a man of industry and enter- 
prise and in addition to handling the industries 
mentioned has also bought and sold land and is 
•one of the substantial men of Gilliam county. 

Manly F. Keizur was born in Lane county 
on November 30, 1857, the son of Thomas C. 
and Sarah I. (Ramsey) Keizur, natives of Mis- 
souri. The son crossed the plains with his father 
when ten years of age. The family settled on a 
donation claim near Salem, the postoffice being 
now known as Keizur, in honor of the father. 
Later they came to Gilliam county, it being 
1878, and made settlement on Rock Creek. In 
1893 the father of our subject removed to Bo- 
hemian Mines in Lane county, Oregon, and there 
is operating a boarding house. The mother of 
our subject crossed the plains with her parents 
when small and was reared in Salem, where her 
father did blacksmithing. He was one of the 
first settlers in Oregon. Manly F. was educated 
in his native place and in 1878 came east of the 
mountains having some ox teams and some horses. 
He engaged in the sheep industry and in due 
time became a well-to-do man. His path was not 
without hardships and adversity, for in the heavy 
winters he lost heavily and had to undergo 
much arduous toil in gaining his way in those 
■early days. He made the start with practically 



no capital and all his holdings now represent 
his labor and skill. In 1891 Mr. Keizur took a 
homestead where he is now located and since 
that time has continued steadily here. He has 
his place well improved and he is a progressive 
and thrifty man. 

In 1886 Mr. Keizur married Miss Ida Chance, 
a native of Iowa, Monroe county being her birth- 
place, and April 16, 1868 the date. She received 
her education in Iowa and in her fifteenth year 
came to Oregon. Her father, John Chance, was 
born in Illinois and removed to Iowa when a 
child. He became a wealthy and substantial 
farmer there. He married Miss Lettie Finley, a 
native of Tennessee. When she was six weeks 
old her parents started by wagon to Iowa and 
while on the journey her mother died. The 
father completed the journey and became one of 
the pioneers of the Hawkeye State. Mr. and 
Mrs. Keizur have a very interesting family of 
children who have displayed a precocity that is 
gratifying. Lottie L., the eldest, is a graduate of 
the grades and is a young lady of ability. The 
others are Clarence O., Birdie D., Rov E. and 
Lola M. 



C. M. SMITH is one of the wealthy stockmen 
of central Oregon. He resides six miles south of 
Condon where he owns an estate of over two 
thousand acres. The same is supplied with all 
improvements needed in the stock business and 
for general farming. His farming, however, is 
subservient to his stock interests. At the present 
time he owns about one hundred head of cattle 
and handles about four thousand sheep. The 
success he has achieved in breeding stock indi- 
cates him to be a successful man in the business 
and his herds and flocks are among the best 
to be found. Mr. Smith is a native Oregonian, 
having been born in Linn county on August 23, 
1862. His father, Josiah Smith, was born in 
Illinois, came as one of the earliest settlers to 
Oregon and was a veteran of the Cayuse War. 
He died on June 15, 1891. The mother, who is 
still living, is Nancy Ann (Maxwell) Smith, a 
native of Ohio. In his native place our subject 
received his educational training and there re- 
mained until nineteen years of age. In that year 
he came to Lake county, Oregon, and for two 
vears was connected with the stock business 
there. Then he returned to the Williamette val- 
lev and spent six months. After that we find him 
in Umatilla county and for seven years he was 
numbered among the leading citizens there. 
After that he came to Gilliam county and settled 
on a homestead and later he bought one thousand 
nine hundred and twenty acres more. Since 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



605 



settling here he has always been known as an en- 
terprising man, keenly alive to the interests of 
the county and identified with every movement 
for its upbuilding and development. He is a 
Republican in politics, always displays a lively in- 
terest in campaign matters and is a well informed 
and leading citizen. Mr. Smith has the following 
named brothers and sisters : Frank M., Edward 
B., George, Josiah B., A. M., L. B. and Mrs. 
Alice May. The brothers are all in Linn county 
except the last two mentioned. As yet Mr. Smith 
has never seen fit to enter upon the joys of matri- 
monial relations, although he is a very popular 
young man. 



HENRY W. HARTMAN resides about five 
miles northeast from Condon, where he owns a 
homestead and is handling besides that a half 
section of wheat land. He is an enterprising and 
rustling Oregon farmer and has done a good 
work in improvement and upbuilding in this 
county. His birth occurred in Kerr county, Texas, 
on October 29, 1868. His father, A. Hartman, is 
mentioned elsewhere in this work. In 1873 our 
subject went to California with his parents, 
and in Wheatland of the Golden State, he re- 
ceived his education. In 1883 he accompanied his 
parents to the vicinity of Ritzville, Washington, 
but he did not remain there long. Later they 
all went to Weston, Oregon, and a year after 
that he came to this county. He and his father 
engaged in the stock business and this relation 
continued until 1899 when Mr. Hartman started 
alone, taking the homestead where he now re- 
sides. He has given his attention to farming 
largely since that time. His labors have been 
properly rewarded, for he has good improvements 
and is doing well. 

The marriage of Mr. Hartman occurred in 
California in April, 1892. Miss Mary J. Gillson 
then became his bride. She was born in Pennsyl- 
vania and came to California when a young girl, 
accompanying her parents. Her father is James 
G. Gillson, a native of the Keystone State, and 
married Miss Hannah Watson. Three children 
have come to bless the household of Mr. and Mrs. 
Hartman. Arthur H., Elsie and Amon G. Mr. 
Hartman is a member of the I. O. O. F. and is a 
man of good standing in the community. 



FRANCIS MARION SHANNON is to be 
classed as one of the early pioneers of the coun- 
try now embraced in Gilliam county and since his 
advent here has been known as one of the stirring 
and representative settlers. He was born in 



Kentucky on October 18, 1861. His father, W. 
L. Shannon, was born in Kentucky on November 
7, 1822, and is still living in Wilson county, 
Kansas. He married Mary E. Hill, who was 
born on June 6, 1825, in the Blue Grass State 
and died June 22, 1890. Our subject was edu- 
cated in the common schools of Kentucky and 
there grew up to young manhood, during which 
time, he labored with his father, who was a coal 
dealer. On September 5, 1879, ne went to Kansas 
and worked for wages for about three years. In 
1882, about June 17, he started across the plains 
with mule teams, heading for Oregon. He had 
been married three days previously and his young 
wife accompanied hkn. The trip occupied six 
months and they finally located in what is now 
Malheur county. For one year they toiled there 
and then decided to cast their lot in the Fossil 
country. For eighteen months he wrought in a 
saw mill there and then came to his present loca- 
tion, which is about one mile south from Condon. 
He took a homestead and timber culture, bought 
railroad and other land until he now owns seven 
hundred and sixty acres, which has been im- 
proved in a splendid manner. He divides his 
attention between stock raising and farming and 
has gained wealth since coming here. His suc- 
cess is due to his careful and enterprising ways 
and he is to be commended upon the fact that 
coming without capital he has won a good com- 
petence in this country. The place is supplied 
with all the improvements needed, including a 
fine large residence, one of the choicest ones of 
the country. 

On June 14, 1882, while in Kansas, Mr. Shan- 
non married Miss Ella Nora Myers, who was 
born in Kansas on June 17, 1865. Her father 
was W. S. Myers. Mr. Shannon has the fol- 
lowing named brothers and sisters : James, John, 
Thomas and Airs. Sarah Clift. To this mar- 
riage the following named children have been 
born: Sarah Elizabeth, on March 12, 1883; 
William Lee, October 11, 1884; Margaret Ger- 
trude, December 8, 1887 ; George Henry, Feb- 
ruary 2.J, 1890; Lena Alay, June 17, 1892; Cora 
Helen, September 13, 1894; Stella Pearly, Feb- 
ruary 18, f897 and Walter F., August 11, 1900. 

Mr. Shannon is a member of the W. W., a 
good strong Democrat and a first class citizen 
and neighbor. 



LEWIS COUTURE resides about ten miles 
west from Condon on a homestead which he has 
improved in good shape. He was born in Michi- 
gan on January 4, 1862. His parents, Lewis and 
Elizabeth (Nado) Couture, are mentioned more 
specifically in the biography of our subject's 



6o6 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



brother, Stephen, which appears in this work. 
In the place of his birth Lewis was reared and 
in Monroe county, Michigan, his education was 
obtained. Early in life he was led by a mechanical 
talent to associate himself with steam engineers 
and was quick to pick up the art of running an 
engine. This stood him in good hand and was 
his occupation for several years in the country. 
He also was engaged in this work on the lake 
steamers. In 1894 he owned and operated the 
first traction engine in Gilliam county. In 1892 
he came to this country, being of an enterprising 
and energetic spirit, and soon selected the quarter 
section where he is now making his home. In 
addition to handling the land he owns, Mr. Cou- 
ture rents land and this year had four hundred 
and fifty acres planted to wheat. He is a good 
farmer and is being prospered in his labors. 
Thus far in life he has seen fit to adhere to the 
jolly bachelor's path and content himself with its 
environments. Mr. Couture's parents were of 
French extraction and came to Canada in early 
days. A branch of the family found its way to 
Michigan and from this comes our subject. 
Fraternally Mr. Couture is affiliated with the 
K. P. He stands well in the community and has 
many friends. 



FREMONT WARD, one of the wealthy 
farmers and stockmen of Gilliam county, resides 
just one-half mile south from Condon, and was 
born in Iowa on May 17, 1863. .Coming from a 
thrifty family he has displayed that virtue dur- 
ing his life which wins, and the result is that he 
has a fine competence at this time. His parents, 
Nelson and Minerva (Luzenaugh) Ward, were 
born in Connecticut and Louisiana respectively. 
The father died in July, 1902. The mother, who 
was born in 1832, is still living. When our sub- 
ject was two years of age the family removed 
from Iowa to Arkansas. There he received his 
education and remained until he had grown to 
manhood. In 1884 he decided to come west and 
finally chose Oregon as the objective point, arriv- 
ing here in the same year. After due investiga- 
tion he selected a homestead where he now lives 
and soon thereafter bought eight hundred and 
forty acres of land that adjoined him. Since that 
time he has given his entire attention to the 
clutivation of this soil and to raising stock, in 
both of which enterprises he has made a splendid 
success. His residence is one of the choicest 
ones of the county and stands about one hundred 
and sixty rods from Condon. Other improve- 
ments of every kind are in evidence and his farm 
is one of the best in the county. Everything pro- 
claims Mr. Ward a first-class citizen, a good 



business man, a fine neighbor and a true friend. 

In 1884, while still in Arkansas, Mr. Ward 
married Miss Mary Knox, whose father, Robert 
Knox, was a well-to-do agriculturist of that sec- 
tion. She was born in Arkansas on October 6, 
1868. Soon after their wedding they came west 
together seeking a home in this country. Mr. 
Ward has two brothers, Daniel and Oliver, and 
two sisters, Mrs. Phoebe Taeg and Mrs. Ma- 
tilda Taeg. One child, Edith, has been born 
to Mr. and Mrs. Ward. 

In fraternal affiliations Mr. Ward is connected 
with the M. W. A. In politics he is a strong 
Republican, and he is one of the representative 
citizens of Gilliam county and is most deeply 
interested in its welfare and progress, and is de- 
serving of much credit for the good success he 
has achieved here. 



GEORGE W. SCHOTT is practically a pro- 
duct of Gilliam county, since he has spent all 
his life here with the exception of two years. 
His birth occurred in Corvallis, Oregon, on De- 
cember 19, 1866, and two years later, his father, 
Conrad Schott, brought his family from the val- 
ley to the territory now embraced in Gilliam 
county. He was one of the very first to settle 
here and he has been a prominent man since those 
days. He was born in Germany and came to St. 
Louis, Missouri, when one year old. In 1852 he 
crossed the plains with ox teams to the mines of 
California. Thence he came with the prospector's 
hope to the mines of Idaho and then returned to 
the valley whither he came to this section in 
1868. He settled on Rock Creek and it is to be 
remembered that in those days there was some- 
thing to consider besides making a living, al- 
though that was a hard thing to do in these out- 
of-the-way places. Mail was not to be had short 
of The Dalles and the trading was also done there. 
The greatest clanger was from the savages, who 
would swoop down on the stock and sometimes 
lie in wait for bloodshed. Twice Mr. Schott had 
to take his family and flee from the onslaughts 
of the Indians, and once he and his neighbors 
built a fort for protection. He was one of the 
first settlers here, was one of the largest cattle 
men in this portion of the state and is still run- 
ning stock from the old home place on Rock 
Creek. He also bandied much stock in Malheur 
county. Our subject's mother, Frances (Mob- 
ley) Schott, was born in Missouri and crossed 
the plains with her people in the early fifties. 
Her marriage occurred at Corvallis. Oregon. 
Our subject was educated in the district school 
in his home vicinity and then completed his 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



607 



education in The Dalles. From the time that he 
could sit in the saddle, however, he was ap- 
prenticed to the stock business both from his 
own choice and from the desire to assist his 
father in the business. He has all the experi- 
ences known to the cowboy, has passed all the 
phases of frontier life from fighting the Indians 
to making home made furniture for the claim 
shack, and he is well versed in the country east 
of the mountains in Oregon. As soon as he was 
of age he began to work for himself, although 
continuing the stock business for his father and 
others. Gradually he came to have a band of 
cattle for himself and the result is that today 
he is one of the wealthy men of Gilliam county. 
He possessed land where he now lives, two miles 
north from Alville, for some time since, but only 
removed his family thither in 1902. He is fitting 
it as his permanent home. The place consists of 
six hundred and eighty acres of choice land. 
He has in addition land in other places. 

In 1901 Mr. Scott married Miss Marie 
Velter, the daughter of John and Christina 
(Young) Velter, natives of Germany, where also 
she was born. She came to Portland with her 
parents when a small girl. After some time 
spent in the primary schools she entered Mon- 
mouth college and graduated with the class of 
1897, gaining good class honors. She is also 
highly educated in the German and is one of the 
leading ladies of culture in the county. Before 
her marriage Mrs. Schott spent some time in 
teaching. To Mr. and Mrs. Schott two children 
have been born, Lenore and Grace. Mr. Schott 
is a member of the A. F. & A. M. He is a 
leading man and is counted one of the prominent 
citizens of the county. 



J. A. McMORRIS stands at the head of a 
fine planing mill business in Condon. He has 
a well equipped plant and does a large business 
in all kinds of wood manufacturing for build- 
ing purposes. He was born in Cumberland 
county, Illinois, on July 16, 1861, the son of E. 
J. and Martha E. (Makenzie) McMorris. The 
father was born in Henry county, Ohio, on April 
2, 1839, an d followed carpentering. The mother 
was born in Indiana on May 30, 1842. They are 
now both living in Washington. In 1871 the 
family came to California and in 1879 to Wash- 
ington. Our subject's great-grandfather, David 
McMorris, was a veteran of the Revolution and 
fought under General George Washington. Gen- 
eral James B. McPherson was first cousin to our 
subject's father. J. A. was with his parents on the 
frontier and the result wa.s that he had very 



little opportunity to gain an education. When 
he reached the age of twenty-two years he was 
without education. Then he began studying and 
soon was granted a permit to teach school. He 
taught and studied continuously for fifteen years 
at the end of which time he held a first grade 
state certificate and had made a record as an 
educator second to none in the realm covered by 
such a diploma. He has been on the county 
board of examiners for six years and has held 
various other offices. He was superintendent of 
a large flume in Dayton, Washington, and has 
turned his attention to many occupations. In 
June, 1904, he was elected to the office of county 
surveyor on the Democratic ticket by a majority 
of four. Gilliam county was one hundred and 
eighty-six Republican, which showed his popu- 
larity. In 1903 Mr. McMorris built a planing 
mill in Condon and has been successfully operat- 
ing it since. He has a good plant, well equipped 
and a fine patronage. He owns a good residence 
and is one of the leading citizens of the county. 

On September 12, 1894, Mr. McMorris mar- 
ried Miss Laura E. Schilling, who was born in 
Huron county, Michigan, on October 9, 1872. 
She was a pupil of her husband and entered his 
school when wrestling with fractions. In about 
five terms she took the county examination for 
teachers and passed a general average of eighty- 
five. After that she taught for three years. 
Her father, Godfrey Schilling-, was born in 
Michigan on August 6, 1843, an d was one °f the 
early pioneers of Condon. Her mother, Louisa 
(Hess) Schilling, was born in New York on 
June 25, 1852. Mr. McMorris has the following 
named brothers and sisters : D. W., T. H., 
William M., Loea L., Charles A., and Mrs. Laura 
A. Miller. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. 
McMorris are named as follows : Laura Edith, 
Mabel Juanita, Gladys Vivian, John Donald, 
Schilling McMorris. 

Mr. McMorris and his family are members 
of the Church of Christ and have always been 
prominent in church work. It has always been 
the aim of Mr. McMorris to build up and ad- 
vance church work and educational matters 
whenever opportunity presents and he has been 
very faithful and zealous in these lines. He and 
his wife are valuable members of society in Con- 
don and are highly respected people. 



MARY BOWERMAN, M. D., is well 
known in Condon and vicinity as a successful 
physician and surgeon. She has not been long 
in the practice, yet long enough to demonstrate 
to an appreciative and discriminating public that 



6o8 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



she is possessed of ability and especially well 
trained in her chosen profession. She was born 
in Iowa, and her parents are named in the bio- 
graphy of Hon. Jay Bowerman, her brother. 
In 1893 she came with the family to Salem, 
Oregon, and there completed her literary educa- 
tion in the Willamette University. After this 
she entered the medical department of that in- 
stitution, graduating therefrom with honors in 
1903. She immediately took up the practice of 
medicine in Condon and from the start was fav- 
ored with a very fine patronage. She has now 
an extensive practice which is constantly increas- 
ing and is handled in a most becoming manner. 
Dr. Bowerman has won the high regard and 
esteem of everybody and her friends are as widely 
numbered as is the circle of her acquaintances. 



J. K. FITZWATER has spent a life, which, 
if written in detail, would fill a volume and 
make exceedingly interesting reading. He has 
been constantly on the frontier and a great deal 
of the time in the roughest portion of the west, 
being exposed to all dangers incident to such 
a life, and especially to savages, whom he has 
fought many times. He was born in Jackson 
county, Missouri, on February 8, 1845. His 
father, John Fitzwater, was born in St. Louis 
county, Missouri, and his ancestors were among 
the earliest pioneers of that country. He died 
in 1856. He had married Miss Mary Johnson, 
who was also a native of Missouri, and who 
died when our subject was an infant. When J. 
K. was a small boy he went with his father to 
Nebraska City, Nebraska, where he received his 
education. In those early days the plains were 
filled with buffaloes and it was rare sport to get 
such large game. When twelve young- Fitzwater 
was obliged to make his own living and from 
that time to the present he has maintained him- 
self and made his own fortune. In 1859 he was 
engaged in freighting from Kansas City to Mex- 
ico and also from Nebraska City and Fort 
Leavenworth to other points on the frontier. He 
had many wild and trying experiences in these 
journeys and had many hand to hand fights with 
the vicious savages. On one occasion they stole 
all the stock of the train. This was on Pole 
Creek. Mr. Fitzwater traveled all over the west, 
having been in Texas, Mexico, Colorado, Wyo- 
ming, Montana, Idaho, Utah, California, Wash- 
ington and Oregon, besides many other states and 
territories. After freighting for many years he 
settled to sheep raising in Wyoming, having also 
had some experience in mining. It was in 1880 
when Mr. Fitzwater came to Oregon, and after 



cruising about for some time selected a location 
south from where Condon now stands. He 
handled his sheep there until about eighteen 
years since when he came to his present location, 
which is twenty miles west from Condon. He 
gave close attention to business, and has, there- 
fore, been prospered in his labors. He now has 
two thousand acres of valuable land, a large band 
of sheep and considerable other stock and prop- 
erty. All this magnificent holding is the result 
of his labor and skill and Mr. Fitzwater has just, 
reason to be proud of his success. All his life 
he has been on the frontier and has done nobly 
the ardous labors of the pioneer. 

In 1877 Mr. Fitzwater married Miss Fannie 
Cornett, who was born in Jackson county, Mis- 
souri. Ed Cornett, her father, was a prominent 
man and crossed the plains in 1852. He made a. 
great deal of monev in the mines of California. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwater nine children have 
been born, Blanche, Grace, Bessie, Pearl, Beulah, 
Myrille, Robert, Hazel and Ruth. 



JOHN C. SWEET resides at Arlington and 
is the earliest pioneer in the territory embraced 
in Gilliam county, now living. He was born in 
Bristol, Vermont, on February 12, 1836, his par- 
ents being Edward C. and Sylvia (Crane) Sweet, 
also natives of Vermont. Our subject spent 
twenty-one years in his native state, then came 
west, working for wages in Iowa and Minnesota 
for five years. In 1862 he crossed the plains with 
horse team and at the John Day river he met 
Leonard and Underwood, who were operating a 
ferry. They were the only men on the river. 
Our subject hired to them and worked for three 
years, then in June, 1865, he journeyed up the 
river to the mouth of Hay creek and took a home- 
stead where William Smith now lives. This was 
the first homestead patented in the territory now 
embraced in Gilliam county. Mr. Sweet entered 
into pa'rtnership with David Gorman and began 
stock raising. They operated in a very modest 
way and as the years went by increased their 
herds until they owned four hundred cattle and a 
large number of horses. A deep snow and severe 
winter swept away three-fourths of these herds 
and then Mr. Sweet sold his part of the cattle 
to his partner. Mr. Gorman moved away and 
our subject began farming. He raised three 
crops, then sold his ranch to Layton Brothers, 
still retaining his horses. For three years he was 
occupied with the Layton Brothers, then he took 
charge of the Graham Brothers' saloon, at Ar- 
lington, while thev were in Canada on a visit. 
In September, 1887, Mr. Sweet opened a saloon 





John C Sweet 



Fred X. George 





Mrs. Henry S. Moore 



Henry S. M 



enry D. lYLoore 





George W. Moore 



William P. West 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



609 



for himself, which he operated five years. Then 
he rented the bar of the Hotel Grand and con- 
ducted it until 1897, in which year he was taken 
sick. Owing to this illness he was obliged to 
relinquish his lease, and later removed to the 
Star saloon, where he has conducted business 
since. His place is known as an orderly house 
and he is one of the best known pioneers in Gil- 
liam county. 

On October 23, 1892, Mr. Sweet married Mrs. 
Rebecca French, nee Rice, who was born in Mis- 
souri in 1843. Mr. Sweet has one sister, Har- 
riett G., wife of S. F. Everett. These two are the 
only survivors of a family of twelve children. In 
fraternal matters, Mr. Sweet is a member of the 
Foresters, and in politics he is a strong Demo- 
crat. During the years of this pioneer life Mr. 
Sweet has endured the hardships and depriva- 
tions that come in such a path, has assisted in 
developing the country, and is entitled to the 
credit history must give to those who opened 
this now prosperous country. 



FRED T. GEORGE has had a varied experi- 
ence in Oregon and has made a good record all 
along the line. He is now the proprietor of the 
only exclusive dry goods store in Arlington, and 
is doing a good business. He is a keen and relia- 
ble business man and has demonstrated his abil- 
ity to make a success in his present capacity as he 
did in other lines in this state. 

Fred T. George was born in Knox county, 
Ohio, on September 19, 1875. Thomas O. 
George was his father, and he, too, was born in 
the Buckeye State. His ancestors came to Ohio 
when it was a territory and his father, James 
George, the grandfather of our subject, settled 
where Columbus now stands. The family was a 
prominent English one and were early immigrants 
to the colonies. The mother of our subject's 
father kept a hotel in colonial times and often 
sheltered General Washington, and at times vari- 
ous ones of his officers and soldiers. Our sub- 
ject's mother was Dora Hardesty, a native of 
Ohio. Fred T. was educated in his native state 
and there remained until thirteen when he came 
west, making the journey clear to" Oregon. As 
soon as he landed here he sought a position as a 
cowboy and for eleven years practically lived in 
the saddle. He rode the entire range adjacent 
to this centre, and was well acquainted with all 
the leading men and stock operators of the re- 
gions. Unlike many of those who take up this 
life, Mr. George neither contracted bad habits 
nor did he spend his money recklessly. He was 
economical and carefully husbanded the hard 
39 



earned wages and occasionally an opportunity 
presented itself to buy a small band of stock and 
ship it, and he did so, until he was well known as 
a stock shipper. He continued this with his cow- 
boy life until 1898, when he went into partnership 
with another man and they opened a store in 
Arlington. It was a long jump to go from the 
camp life and the saddle to the proprietorship 
of a store without having had any experience in 
this business, but Mr. George did in this as he 
has done since and before, he began the study of 
the business and the methods and soon was mas- 
ter of the situation. In due time he bought the 
interest of his partner and he is now sole owner 
of the establishment which is a first-class dry 
good store favored with a fine patronage. Mr. 
George is well known and highly esteemed and 
wins many friends. 

In 1900, Mr. George married Miss Estella 
F. Wood. Her father, John H. Wood, is a mer- 
chant in Arlington. He was born in Jackson 
county, Missouri, came to Portland in 1875 an d 
in very early days came on to eastern Oregon. 
He did contracting in the Heppner country and 
is now a prosperous merchant here. Mr. and 
Mrs. George are popular young people and have 
won a good position in society, being surrounded 
with many warm friends. 



HENRY S. MOORE resides some twelve 
miles southeast of Olex and devotes his attention 
to farming and stock-raising. He was born in 
Wabash county, Illinois, on May 4, 1838, the son 
of James and Margaret (Cummings) Moore. The 
former was born in Kentucky on March 16, 1808, 
and died November 16, 1897, in Wasco county, 
Oregon, aged eighty-nine years and eight months. 
The latter was born in Tennessee, in 1805, and 
died in 1872. They crossed the plains in 1853 
and were pioneers to Oregon. Our subject 
moved to Illinois, on March 22, 1853, being then 
fifteen years of age, and with his parents and six 
brothers and sisters, made a trip across the plains 
with ox teams. They arrived in the Willamette 
valley on October 29, 1853, and there engaged 
in stock raising and farming. Their trip across 
the plains was about the same as other such jour- 
neys, except .that they ran out of provisions and 
were forced to slaughter some of their stock, 
which was very poor. For two weeks they sub- 
sisted on this fare, then met a party on the Cas- 
cades who supplied them with flour. At the 
breaking out of the Rogue River war, in 1855, 
our subject and his father enlisted in Laben 
Bouy's Company and served nine months, or until 
the close of the war, being honorably discharged 



'6io 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



on July 3, 1856. Returning to the farm, our 
subject remained there until 1879, when he came 
to Rock creek and took a preemption, timber 
culture, and later a homestead. He still retains 
this property and has been engaged in stock rais- 
ing and farming for twenty-five years. He has 
done his share to build up the country, to estab- 
lish good government and to make it one of the 
good counties of the great state of Oregon. He 
has succeeded well in his labors and has also ac- 
cumulated a fine property. 

On December 25, 1862, in Lane county, Ore- 
gon, Mr. Moore married Miss Hannah Jane 
Miller, who was born in Indiana, on September 
1, 1844. Her father, George Miller, was a pio- 
neer to Oregon, having crossed the plains with 
his wife and children in 1847. He was born in 
September, 1804. His wife was Elizabeth Hyatt, 
who was born in 1807. Mrs. Miller was three 
years of age when this journey was taken and 
she remembers many of the incidents, especially 
that The Dalles was then only a trading post. 
Settlement was made near Albany, Oregon, and 
then they removed to Lane county, where she 
received her education, and in which place she 
was married. The wedding occurred in the lit- 
tle log cabin built by her brothers when they first 
came to the country. When our subject was first 
in Eugene it consisted of but two nouses. Mr. 
Moore has the following named brothers and sis- 
ters : John, deceased ; Henry, George, William, 
Mary J. Tilton, deceased, Lucinda, Hanna, Eliz- 
abeth Ann Park, and Hester C. Bryant. 

In political matters Mr. Moore is a good, 
strong Prohibitionist. He joined the Church of 
Christ when he was eighteen years of age, and 
from that time until the present he has always 
labored for the spreading of the gospel and the 
upbuilding of the church. He is a good man, 
has many friends and has shown ability and en- 
terprise since coming here. 



GEORGE W. MOORE is one of the pio- 
neers of Oregon and has seen a great deal of 
frontier life, having been in different sections of 
the northwest in various occupations. He was 
born in Illinois on January 5, 1842, and his par- 
ents are specifically mentioned in the biography 
of his brother, Henry Moore. Pie was eleven 
years of age when the family started across the 
plains to the Willamette valley in which place he 
completed his education, that was begun in Illi- 
nois. In 1862, in company with his brother, 
Henry, he took pack horses and a saddle horse 
between them and started for the Cariboo mines in 
British Columbia. He went as far as Antler creek 



and did considerable prospecting but met with no 
very brilliant success. Food stuff was a dollar a 
pound and meals two dollars and fifty cents each. 
Finally they sold their horses and packed their 
blankets and provisions back a distance of three 
hundred miles, then to the end of the journey, 
one hundred miles farther. On December 19, 
1864, our subject enlisted in Company H, First 
Oregon Infantry, and served most of the time 
in Grant county. On January 19, 1866, he was 
honorably discharged and returned to the Willa- 
mette valley where he made his home for eleven 
years. Then he moved to Umatilla county and 
took up logging and sawmilling for six years. 
After that he came to Rock creek and engaged 
in stock raising and farming. In 1887, Mr. 
Moore journeyed to Ohio, and the next year 
came back to Rock creek. Then he went to Mis- 
souri, and again returned to Rock creek. After 
that, he moved to Grant county, and two years 
later took a homestead on Hay creek in Gilliam 
county. Later he sold that and has made his 
home where he now resides, since. 

On January 14, 1872, Mr. Moore married 
Amanda Jane Howard, who was born in Mis- 
souri, in 1856. 

In politics, our subject is a strong Republi- 
can, and he is a member of the Church of God. 



WILLIAM P. WEST has the distinction of 
being one of the first men to settle in central 
Oregon, and there are, perhaps, not more than 
one or two now living in Gilliam county who 
came here as early as he. He is following farm- 
ing and stock raising on a nice ranch some nine 
miles west from Olex. In 1863, over forty years 
since, Mr. West located a homestead on the place 
where he now lives and there took a timber cult- 
ure claim. To this he has added by purchase 
until he owns eleven hundred and twenty acres 
of land. He also has a nice holding of cattle, 
horses and hogs. 

William P. West was born on the little island 
of Bonholm, Denmark, on February 24, 1842. 
His father, Nelson Pederson, was born in the 
same place and married a maiden, who is also a 
native of that island. After receiving his early 
education in the place of his birth, our subject 
continued there until eighteen years of age. In 
the year 1859 he came to New York, and thence 
by rail to St. Louis, where he took a trip to Ft. 
Leavenworth. With twelve others, he there pur- 
chased a mule outfit and started for Pike's Peak, 
but en route they changed their mind and went 
to California. Mr. West worked at mining in 
Sierra county, California, until t86i, vhen he 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



611 



went to the South Fork of the Clearwater, in 
Idaho, and there he mined for two years. In 
1863 he came to the place where he now lives and, 
as stated before, made location. From that time 
until the present he has been known as one of 
the progressive, substantial and capable men of 
Gilliam county, and has earned well the success 
he is enjoying- at the present time. For many 
years he lived in this country where there were 
scarcely any comforts of civilization and with- 
stood the attacks of the savages and the hard- 
ships that fall to the lot of the pioneer, weather- 
ing them with a spirit and fortitude that bespeaks 
the manner of man he is. He is well known all 
over the country, and as far as he is known is 
highly respected. 

On April 30, 1876, on Rock creek, Mr. West 
married Miss Mary L. Mulkey, who was born 
in Josephine county, Oregon, on March 6, i860. 
Her parents, Thomas and Hester (Armquist) 
Mulkey, were born in Illinois on April 6, 1825, 
and in Missouri, on September 20, 1825, respec- 
tively. The latter died on September 1, 1888, 
the former on August 27, 1892. Mr. Mulkey was 
one of the oldest pioneers in southern Oregon, 
well known all over that section. He participated 
in the Rogue River war, and was a leading and 
prominent man. His father, Philip Mulkey, was 
born in Illinois, on October 27, 1802, crossing 
the plains in 1852 and settling in Lane county 
-near where Eugene now stands. His death oc- 
curred in 1890. For sixty-five years he was a 
preacher of the gospel in the Christian "denomi- 
nation. With his son he assisted to drive the 
first stake in the town of Eugene, Oregon, and 
■also transported the first goods from Portland to 
Eugene. To Mr. and Mrs. West the following' 
named children have been born : John N. West, 
on May 1, 1878, and now he has two children, 
Wilbur and Alvis ; Mrs. Nettie C. Cables, No- 
vember 19, 1879, who has one child, Percy; Mrs. 
May Davis, on September 11, 1881, who has one 
child, Linn ; Alice, on January 25, 1883, who died 
July 14, 1889; Clarence T., on August 1, 1884; 
Nellie B., on November 11, 1885; Miles A., on 
December 11, 1887; William L., on January 16, 
1890; Ruby F., on November 14, 1892; Custer, 
on May 5, 1894; Alma, on August 29, 1895; 
Dewy, on February 20, 1898 ; Mary, on April 
27,, 1900; and Gladis, on July 17, 1902. 

Mr. West is a Democrat and takes a keen in- 
terest in political matters. He is a member of 
the Lutheran church. He and his wife are ex- 
cellent people and have hosts of friends all 
through the country. Mr. West has done his 
share in building up the country and is certainly 
entitled to the fine competence which iiis labor 
and skill wrought out in this section. 



JOHN ALEXANDER RICHMOND has 
not been so long in Gilliam county as some of the 
older pioneers, still the enterprise he has mani- 
fested together with the interest taken in the 
welfare of the county and its building up, entitle 
him to a representation in any work that would 
mention the leading citizens here. He resides 
about eleven miles west from Condon on one of 
the choicest estates to be found in the county. 
It consists of three hundred and twenty acres of 
the most fertile land and is improved in becoming 
taste and with skill. Mr. Richmond is planning 
much further improvement for his ranch and 
under his skill this especially fertile spot will be 
made one of the best in the state. He is a man 
of enterprise and industry and labors assiduously 
in his chosen calling. 

John A. Richmond was born in Ontario, 
Canada, on March 29, 1867, the son of Daniel and 
Flora (McArthur) Richmond. The father was 
born in the same locality as this son and was 
one of the wealthy agriculturists of his county. 
He possessed one of the best farms in the pro- 
vince. The mother was born in Scotland and 
came from a strong Scotch family. She came 
from the old country to Ontario when a girl and 
her people were among the most prominent in 
their locality. John A. was well trained by a wise 
and skillful father and his education was care- 
fully looked after in his native place, Ontario, 
having schools which are the envy of every place 
where the English language is taught and being 
surpassed by none. When the days with school 
books were passed Mr. Richmond took up farm- 
ing and wrought in his native place until 1900 
when he decided to try the west. Accordingly 
he sought out the country which presented the 
most attractions, it being Oregon, and he first 
settled in Umatilla county. He purchased a 
ranch there and continued until 1902 when he 
came to his present place, he having previously 
looked over the country. He bought the farm 
where he now lives and to the cultivation and 
improvement of this since he has given his time 
and attention. Mr. Richmond takes great pride 
in doing everything right and bringing out the 
best from all his labors. This is one secret of 
his success. Mr. Richmond has one brother and 
three sisters, Mrs. Rebecca McDougall, in this 
county ; Mrs. Jane A. Tompkins, in Ontario ; 
Daniel, in Pendleton, Oregon, and Mrs. Libbie 
Fletcher, in Marion county, Oregon. 

In 1898 Mr. Richmond took to himself a 
wife, the lady being Jessie McDonald, a native of 
Ontario, but descended from stanch Scotch peo- 
ple. Her immediate parents, Neil and Mary 
(McDonald) McDonald, were both born amid 
the rugged hills of Scotia and came to Ontario 



6l2 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



when young. In 1886 they came to Umatilla 
county, Oregon, and there they are prominent 
and wealthy people now. Mrs. Richmond has five 
brothers and sisters, all in Umatilla county, Ore- 
gon; Flora, Alexander, Duncan, Mrs. Katie 
Hurd and Daniel. Two children have been bora 
to Mr. and Mrs. Richmond, John A. and Neil. 
Mr. Richmond has a fine property, knows well 
how to manage it, and is able to take advantage 
of the resources of this favored county. The 
result is he fast becoming one of the wealthy and 
leading men of the county. 



HON. JAY BOWERMAN is a young man 
whose professional career has already placed him 
as a leading attorney of Gilliam and Wheeler 
counties. He is at the head of a large law prac- 
tice and has shown himself a man of marked 
ability in this line. Winneshiek county, Iowa, is 
his native place and August 15, 1876, the date 
of his birth. His parents, Daniel and Lydia 
(Hoag) Bowerman, were born in Somerset 
county, Maine, and Vermont respectively. The 
former on September 22, 1835, and the latter on 
November 12, 1845. They now reside in Salem, 
Oregon. The public schools of Iowa furnished 
the earlier educational training of our subject 
and then he came on to Salem, Oregon, in 1893 
with his people. There he attended the Wil- 
liamette University, then entered the law depart- 
ment of the same institution, graduating in June, 
1896. He passed the supreme court examina- 
tion in October of that year, but was unable to 
get his diploma of admission to the bar until 
August, 1897, because he had not reached his 
majority until that time. He immediately entered 
upon the practice of law in Salem and vicinity 
and later associated himself with John McCourt 
until 1899. On March of that year he trans- 
ferred his residence from the Williamette valley 
to Gilliam county and soon formed a partner- 
ship with H. H. Hendricks, with offices at Con- 
don and Fossil. Since that time they have la- 
bored together and have gained a very large and 
lucrative practice. They handle the largest cases 
in these two counties and are among the leading 
legal representatives in this part of the state. 
Mr. Bowerman is a close student, possessed of 
a keen perception, and is a fine forensic orator, 
the result being that he has forged ahead in his 
profession with strong indication that he will be 
among the leading lawyers of the northwest. 

On October 7, 1903, Mr. Bowerman mar- 
ried Miss Lizzie Hoover, a native of Wheeler 
county, Oregon, and the daughter of T. B. 
Hoover, one of the pioneer merchants of Fossil 
and now deceased. 



Politically Mr. Bowerman is a Republican 
and very active. He has attended two state con- 
ventions and in June, 1904, was chosen from this 
district to the state senate. 

In fraternal circles he is associated with the 
K. P., the Elks and the A. F. & A. M. Mr. 
Bowerman is a man of unswerving integrity and 
has won the esteem of all who know him, while 
also he has demonstrated his ability in his pro- 
fession. 



J. W. EBBERT. Some four miles northeast 
from Condon, one comes to the home of J. W.. 
Ebbert, who settled here on the raw prairie six- 
teen years since. The country was new then 
and the settlers were scattering. Since that time, 
he has continued here and has wrought well in 
improving and building up his place, which in 
its measure has augmented the wealth of the 
county. Mr. Ebbert is a man past the prover- 
bial three score years and ten, but is hale and 
hearty and has the vigor of many in middle life.. 
His birth occurred in the vicinity of Uniontown, 
Pennsylvania, on August 21, 1832. James Eb- 
bert was his father, and he was born in Union- 
town. His father, the grandfather of our im- 
mediate subject, came from Germany and settled 
in Uniontown when it was small, being the first 
merchant in the town. Our subject's mother, 
Liza Devicman was born in Maryland, near the 
Potomac, and was of Irish ancestry. The first 
eighteen years of young Ebbert's life were spent 
in Pennsylvania and there he received his educa- 
tion. Then, owing to his mother's ill health, the 
family decided to come west. They took the trip 
to Iowa in wagon and in that territory they re- 
mained until April 14, 1852, which day marks 
the time of their starting for the great Pacific 
slope. With ox teams they made the journey, 
four months being the time occupied, and many 
exciting and pleasurable things occurred. Hostile 
Indians were seen hovering around much of the 
time and although the keenest watch was kept, 
still several times the stock was stampeded, but it 
was recovered again. They saw much game and 
had wild meat a great deal of the time. In due 
time they arrived in the vicinity of Eugene and 
there they settled to farming. That was the fam- 
ily home for all until seventeen years since, when 
our subject went to the Palouse country in Wash- 
ington and farmed for a year. Then he came to 
the place where his home now is and selected the 
spot, taking it as a homestead. He succeeded in 
getting a cabin built and the wood for the win- 
ter hauled, and so commenced his life in Gilliam 
county. He took a timber culture in addition to 
the homestead and since then Mr. Ebbert has 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



613 



labored steadily in the cultivation of the farms. 
He also handles stock and has a splendid place 
supplied' with an abundance of water. 

In 1859, Mr. Ebbert married Miss Unicy 
Crabtree, who was born in Missouri, on March 
20, 1840. Mrs. Ebbert's father, Zimri Crabtree, 
was born in Kentucky, pioneered to Missouri 
, and later to Oregon. Eight children have been 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Ebbert: James E., Z. A., 
Mason, Roy, W. I., Mrs. Margaret Powers, Mrs. 
Eliza Winsonreed, and Lily May. 



JESSE A. SIMMONS was born in the Wil- 
lamette valley. His parents are William and 
Tryphena (Havisd) Simmons, and they are more 
fully mentioned in the biography of Byron Sim- 
mons, which appears elsewhere in this work. 
'Our subject's education and youthful training 
were received in the Williamette valley and there 
he remained until 1899, when, in company with 
his brother, whom we have mentioned, he came 
across the mountains to seek a place in the fer- 
tile plains here spread abroad for the use of the 
worthy farmers. He selected a homestead 
twenty miles west from Condon, near his broth- 
er's place, and here he has devoted himself to 
farming and raising stock since the day of his 
-settlement. He is an industrious and exemplary 
young man and has displayed the true grit that 
wins in the battle of life. Since coming here 
he has done well and is now one of the substan- 
tial men of the community. 

As yet, however, Mr. Simmons has not seen 
fit to take a life partner and is enjoying still the 
quiet pleasures of the celibatarian while he is 
carving out his fortune from a fertile Oregon 
farm. He took it in the wild and has placed 
the improvements on it which are needed and is 
fast transforming it to be one of the valuable 
places of the vicinity. 

Mr. Simmons has the following named 
brothers and sisters: Byron, who is mentioned 
elsewhere in this work, Murat, Napoleon, Bije, 
Eugene, Guy, Oscar, Hortense, Jophme and 
Jennie. Mr. Simmons is an active participant in 
the good labor of building up the county and al- 
ways manifests a lively interest in political mat- 
ters and educational affairs. He is progressive 
and well informed and is an enterprising man. 



BYRON SIMMONS is a native son of Ore- 
-gon. His birth occurred in the vicinity of Salem 
on September 10, 1872. His x father, William 
.Simmons, was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, 



and crossed the plains with ox teams as early as 
1845. I n J^So, the next year after the memor- 
able discovery of gold in California, Mr. Simmons 
went thither and did mining. Later he returned 
to the Williamette valley and settled on a dona- 
tion claim near Salem where he remained until 
his death. He took the claim in the early fifties. 
He participated in the various Indian wars, in- 
cluding the Cayuse war, and was a stanch Indian 
fighter. He married Miss Tryphene Havisd, 
who was born in Pike county, Illinois. She 
came across the plains with her father and the 
balance of the family, except her mother, who 
had died previously. The journey was made in 
1853, and when they reached the last crossing 
of the Snake river the father died leaving a 
family of ten children. Mrs. Simmons was then 
a girl of fourteen and she had a trying time in 
caring for her younger brothers and sisters. 
However, they reached the Williamette valley in 
clue time and there she grew to womanhood and 
in 1855 was married to Mr. Simmons.- Our 
subject was educated in the Williamette valley 
and there grew to manhood. He learned the art 
of farming and also was skilled in breeding 
stock. In 1899 he came to this side of the moun- 
tains and sought out the place where he now lives, 
which lies about twenty miles west from Condon. 
He took a homestead and since then has given his 
attention to farming and raising stock. 

In 1898 Mr. Simmons married Miss Jane 
Brown, who was born in Lee county, Virginia, 
in October, 1880. Her parents are Richard and 
Sarah (Love) Brown, natives of North Caro- 
lina and Virginia respectively. They came to 
the Williamette valley in 1890 and made settle- 
ment on a farm where they remained until the 
death of the father in 1896. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Simmons three children have been born, Sarah, 
Clyde and Valentine. 



SHERMAN JONES is one of the industrious 
tillers of the soil in Gilliam county and is also 
one of the enterprising citizens who is ever alert 
to bring his county to the front in proper ways. 
He was born in Henderson county, North Car- 
olina, on December 26, 1867, the son of James 
and Caroline J. (Ward) Jones, natives of North 
and South Carolina, respectively. The father 
followed farming and participated in the Civil 
War. In 1882, he went to Texas, taking his fam- 
ily, and ten years later he removed thence to the 
Willamette valley and- made settlement on a farm 
in Yamhill county. His ancestors were from 
Welsh ancestry and settled in North Carolina 
among the very first colonists. The mother was 
born of a prominent and old family and is still 



614 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



living in the Willamette valley. Our subject ac- 
companied his parents in their various journeys 
and received his education from the schools in 
the places where he lived. He remained in the 
Willamette valley until 1897, when he came east 
of the mountains and sought out a homestead for 
himself. This place is about eighteen miles west 
from Condon, where Mr. Jones makes his home 
at the present time. He gives his attention to 
farming and stock raising and is doing well. His 
brother, Burns Jones, is with him and they 
have been associated together much of their life. 
He was born in Henderson county, North Caro- 
lina, on February 22, 1868. In 1885, he married 
Miss Annie Miller, a native of Nebraska. 
To them have been born four children, James and 
Joey, twins, Martha, and Bryan. Besides the 
brother mentioned, our subject has four other 
brothers, Webb, Butler, Alfred, and Hood, all liv- 
ing in the Willamette valley. 



HON. W. L. WILCOX, of the firm of Steph- 
enson & Wilcox, is a leading business man of 
Gilliam county. His firm is one of the represen- 
tative business houses of the county, they are en- 
gaged in general merchandising, in which line 
they do a thriving trade. 

W. L. Wilcox was born in Washington 
county, Oregon, on January 16, 1857, the son of 
C. D. and S. E. (Manning) Wilcox. The father 
was born in New York, in 1829, crossed the 
plains to Oregon in 1849, an d> with his wife, 
is living in Klickitat county, Washington. They 
have been faithful pioneers and are worthy peo- 
ple. Our subject was educated in Portland and 
later took a course in a business college in The 
Dalles. He was employed by his uncle in the 
stock business east of the mountains for some 
time and in 1886, started in stock raising for him- 
self. He also did a good business in shipping 
horses to the east and was one of the leading men 
in these industries in the county. In 1888 Mr. 
Wilcox was nominated by the Democratic party 
for the state legislature from this district and 
won the day by a handsome majority. He made 
a commendable record in the house and when his 
term was out there, it being 1890, he was chosen 
for sheriff of Gilliam county. For twelve years 
he held that office, which demonstrates both his 
great popularity as well as his faithfulness in the 
discharge of duties of trust. He was an efficient 
officer in every point and has shown an unswerv- 
ing integrity and uprightness that commend him 
to all lovers of good. On August 1, 1902, Mr. 
Wilcox bought a share of the business conducted 
then by his partner, Mr. Stephenson, and to- 



gether since that date they have handled the bus- 
iness, which is increasing all the time and is in a 
very prosperous condition. The firm is reliable 
and substantial and dispenses goods to all parts 
of the country adjacent to Condon. 

On June 20, 1886, Mr. Wilcox married Miss 
Minnie A. Caven, a native of Kansas. Her 
father was J. J. Caven. Four children have 
beeen born to Mr. and Mrs. Wilcox : William, 
Alvin, Florence and Minnie. 



JOHN SPENCER is a substantial farmer 
and stockman of Gilliam county and resides about 
eighteen miles west from Condon. He is a native 
of Toronto, Canada, and the date of his birth is 
November 27, 1848. His father was John Spen- 
cer, a native of Lancastershire, England, and his 
birth occurred on January 11, 1806. When a boy 
he was apprenticed to a farmer, but after toiling- 
at that labor until he was eighteen, he severed 
his relations there and entered the British army. 
For twenty-five years, four months, and three 
days he was a faithful soldier, being stationed in- 
various portions of the globe and acquiring a 
very extended experience. Then came his hon- 
orable discharge and he settled to farming in 
Canada in the forties. He had married while in 
the military service, Harriet Adams becoming his 
bride. She was born in Yorkshire, England. The 
death of the elder Spencer occurred in Canada, 
on August 6, 1885. Our subject was educated 
at Chatham, Ontario, receiving a splendid train- 
ing. Then he took up farming and continued at 
it uninterruptedly until 1876, when he laid it 
aside for railroading. After a time in that line of 
enterprise, he joined the police force in Grand 
Rapids, Michigan, and served six years and nine 
months. Then he did farming again, this time, 
in Michigan. Thence he came west, and in 1898, 
he settled where he is now residing. He has a 
good farm and his sons have a half section be- 
sides, there also. Mr. Spencer is handling the 
entire estate and is one of the successful farmers 
here. 

In 1 87 1 occurred the marriage of Mr. Spencer 
and Mrs. Nina Dumford, who was born in 
Toronto, Canada, on October 12, 1845. Her 
parents were Charles and Mary A. (Hobbs) El- 
ford. The mother was born in London, England. 
The father was born in Wiltshire. England, on 
May 3, 1806. He was a highly educated and 
prominent man. To Mr. Spencer and his wife 
five children have been born : William H., a chef 
at the Warwick hotel in Grand Rapids, Michi- 
gan ; Walter E., a farmer in Oregon ; Mrs. Mary 
Randall, Charles E., and George T. By her 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



6 1 S> 



former marriage Mrs. Spencer has one son, Harry 
D., a coach inspector on the Grand Trunk rail- 
road. Mr. Spencer inherited very little property 
from his father, and so what he now possesses is 
what he has acquired by his own labor and skill- 
ful management. He received as a more valu- 
able legacy, however,, an unsullied family name, 
which he has kept clean and bright since, being 
a man of unswerving integrity and uprightness. 
He has a high sense of his stewardship in this 
pilgrim way and a fine sense of honor. Mr. and 
Mrs. Spencer are highly esteemed people and 
have manv friends. 



JOHN ARTHUR RICHMOND, who is one 
of Gilliam county's prosperous farmers residing 
about fifteen miles west from Condon, is a na- 
tive of Ontario, Canada, his birth occurring on 
November 10, 1853. Richard Richmond was his 
father, and he, too, was born in Ontario. He was 
a prominent and wealthy men and stood at the 
head of important and numerous large enter- 
prises. He had started in life as a millwright 
and so successful was he that at one time he 
was the owner of a woolen mill, a flour mill, and 
oat meal mill, and a saw mill. He also owned a 
'large and valuable farm. He had gone to On- 
tario with his father-in-law and received grants 
of land from the government. Later in life, he 
went to Iowa and there built a flour mill. He 
remained in that state until his death. He was 
of English ancestry and married Miss Laura 
Bowerman, who was born at Picton, Ontario, _of 
German parents. She was an adherent of the 
Quaker church. Her father was also a mill 
owner and very wealthy. He sunk a large salt 
well which cost a great deal of money. Our sub- 
ject was educated in his native place and after 
his father's death, went with his mother to Illi- 
nois. This was in 1859. In 1862, he returned to 
Ontario and there remained until 1885. In that 
year, Mr. Richmond decided to come west and 
accordingly we find him in Oregon soon. Pendle- 
ton was liis first stopping place and there he 
wrought until 1888. That was the year when he 
took up his residence in Gilliam county, taking a 
homestead. He went to work with a will to 
make a good home, and as he was without capi- 
tal, he was forced to labor hard and carefully to 
attain the end he had wished for. He soon was 
in a position to purchase other land and he now 
owns two sections of good land. He has devoted 
himself to farming and stock raising since the 
day of his settling here and in it all, while he has 
met with much adversity and many obstacles to 
overcome, he has achieved a splendid success. 



He has a large number of cattle and horses. His 
place is a fine one and the improvements show a 
wisdom and thrift such as are required to build 
up a country. 

In 1875, Mr. Richmond married Miss Mary 
J. Tompkins, who was born in Ontario. Her 
parents were Henry and Eliza J. (Stinson) 
Tompkins, natives of Ontario and Ireland, re- 
spectively. The father was very wealthy and 
prominent in Ontario. Six children have been 
born to this household, May, Mabel, Henrietta, 
Henry, Annie Laura, and Henry deceased. Mr. 
and Mrs. Richmond stand well in this commun- 
ity and are industrious and good people. Through 
their personal efforts they have acquired their 
wealth and their labors have stimulated others 
to worthv effort. 



WILLIAM M. CORNETT is a venerable 
and highly esteemed citizen of Condon, where he 
is dwelling in retirement from the more active en- 
terprises of life, after a long career of arduous 
labor and well spent years. He is a pillar in the- 
Christian church, of which he is a steward, and 
during his life he has always shown forth those- 
graces of the Christian religion in walk and pre- 
cept, while also, he has labored wisely and well 
for the advancement of education in every way. 
He is worthy of the generous bestowal of con- 
fidence which is accorded him and his friends are 
numbered from every quarter. 

William M. Cornett was born in Boone- 
county, Missouri, on October 29, 1821, the son 
of John B. and Mary (Davis) Cornett. The 
former was born in Lee county, Virginia, in 1797 
and was a veteran of the War of 1812. He 
fought with Jackson in the battle of New Or- 
leans, and his death occurred on January 7, 1840.. 
The mother was born in Warren county,, Ken- 
tucky, arid is now deceased. In the common 
schools of Missouri, our subject received his 
education and there grew to manhood. In 1853, 
he was selected captain of a train of forty wagons 
across the plains. The trip occupied five months 
and was made without accident or misfortune. 
He settled in Polk county, Oregon, and there 
farmed until 1880. Then he came to this county, 
Condon was not then in existence, and took a 
homestead near where Condon is now located. 
Afterward he bought forty acres and to the cul- 
tivation of these two hundred acres he gave his 
careful attention until 1901. In that year he sold 
his property and removed to Condon to enjoy the 
competence which his industry has provided. 

On March 19, 1854, Mr. Cornett married 
Miss Nancy J. McCarty, the wedding occurring 



6i6 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



in Polk county. Mrs. Cornett was born in Jack- 
son county, Missouri, on January 22, 1832. With 
her parents she crossed the plains in 1847. Their 
stock was stampeded once and broke things ter- 
ribly, and while crossing the Snake, they were 
nearly drowned. But they reached their destin- 
ation finally and she has done a noble part in the 
pioneer work of assisting to open up a great 
state. Her parents John and Rosanna (Wil- 
burn) McCarty, were natives of Kentucky. The 
former was born in 1798 and died on March 24, 
189 1, while the latter was born on March 11, 
1806, and died October 10, 1868. Mr. and Mrs. 
Cornett have the following named children, John 
O., Alexander W., Edward R., Eugene B., Frank 
D., Mrs. Emory P. Knox, Fred C, and Mrs. 
Annie Barker. 

Mr. and Mrs. Cornett have passed the fiftieth 
milestone of their married life and during these 
long years they have shown forth a testimony for 
the faith that sustains them now and have done 
untold good. They have many warm friends 
and it is pleasant to see the old proverb exempli- 
fied in them, "The hoary head is a crown of glory 
if found in the way of righteousness." 



MARY A. (FOSTER) YOUNG is a native 
of the great state of Oregon and has spent most 
of her life within its precincts. She is a daugh- 
ter who brings credit to her native land and is 
one of the leading ladies of our county. Oregon 
City was her native heath and there she was 
reared and educated. Her father, Phillip Foster, 
was a native of Maine and came from a prom- 
inent family of that state. For years he was a 
leading merchant in his native place and finally 
decided to follow the Star of Empire to the west 
and accordingly as early as 1843 ^ e embarked on 
a vessel and doubled Cape Horn, arriving in due 
time in Oregon. He selected a donation claim 
thirteen miles from the falls in the Willamette 
river, where Oregon City is now located and at 
once took up the pioneer's life. He continued in 
this place, giving attention to managing his es- 
tate, until his death, which occurred in 1884. He 
held various offices of public trust and was a 
man of prominence and influence in the Willam- 
ette valley. He had married Miss Mary C. Pet- 
ty grove, a native of Calais, Maine, and she ac- 
companied him in his journeys. She came from 
an old and prominent family in Maine and was 
a faithful helpmeet to her husband all of his days. 
It required no small amount of courage and 
stamina to leave the old home and try one's for- 
tune in the wilds of the great west. Oregon at 
that time was but a dim unknown country on the 



map and the savages were the masters. Still, 
these worthy pioneers braved the dangers, en- 
dured the hardships, and did a noble work in this 
western country. 

Our subject remained at home during her 
early life and received a good education in the 
schools of the day. Then came her marriage to 
Thomas Young, who had crossed the plains in 
an early day and was one of the worthy pioneers 
of this state. In 1883, she came east of the 
mountains with her husband and they went to 
work with a will to make a fortune and a home 
for themselves. In this they succeeded well. 
Stock raising occupied them and owing to the 
skill and wisdom with which they prosecuted it, 
they were rewarded with handsome returns in a 
short time. They first lived in Heppner and. 
later removed to Ferry Canyon. After the death 
of her husband, Mrs. Young managed a large 
ranch for a time and made a splendid success of 
it. She is a woman of ability and many graces 
and has won hosts of friends in this country. 



JOHN R. WELLS is well known in Gilliam 
county. The fact that he has held the block in 
all the important auctions in the county for some 
time, makes him better acquainted than the ordi- 
nary individual. He resides about a mile north- 
east from Condon, where he owns two hundred 
acres of valuable land and also handles two and 
one-half sections of land to crops in addition. 
He raises considerable stock and is a thrifty and 
well fixed man. 

John R. Wells was born in Whiteside county, 
Illinois, on February 16, 1871. His father, John 
R. Wells, was born in Kentucky, and when 
twenty-five years old removed to Illinois. There 
he followed harness making. When the Civil 
war broke out he enlisted in a company at Ster- 
ling, Illinois, and led a band all through the strug- 
gle, serving his country well. He became a 
wealthy man before his death, which occurred 
in March, 1883. He married Miss Anna H. Rey- 
nolds, a native of Ft. Wayne. Indiana, the wed- 
ding occurring in Illinois. She came to Oregon 
in 1886, with her family, making settlement in 
the Willamette valley, where she lived until 1900, 
when she came to this part of the country. She 
took a homestead and has given her attention to 
supervising the improvements on it and to teach- 
ing, which occupation she has followed for twen- 
ty-two years. She is a highly educated lady and 
has made a good record as a teacher. She was 
superintendent of the Home of the Friendless in 
Springfield, Illinois, for a number of years. Our 
subject received his education in Sterling. Illinois, 





Mrs. Jonn R. Wells 



Jonn R. Wells 





Frank B. Stevens 



Mrs. Frank J3. Stevens 





Mrs. Matilda Witners 



Pemberton F. Cason 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



617 



and in 1886 came to the Willamette valley with 
his mother. After he arrived at manhood's estate 
he commenced farming and stock raising, and 
that has been his business principally since that 
time. Mr. Wells also learned the art of butter 
making and was an expert at the business. In 
his younger years he was a foot racer and won 
many prizes. In 1897 he came to this vicinity 
and took a homestead, and since then he has con- 
tinued here. 

Mr. Wells married Miss Susie Stevenson, 
born June 29, 1882, in Indiana, and the daughter 
of James G. and Eliza Stevenson, natives of 
Indiana, and Cincinnati, Ohio, respectively. By 
a former marriage Mr. Wells has two children, 
Bessie M. and Almond V. Mrs. Wells is a 
highly educated lady and has taught school for 
several years. Mr. and Mrs. Wells have the con- 
fidence of the people, and he has labored with 
display of enterprise and industry here which have 
been rewarded with a good possession of prop- 
erty. He and his wife are valued members of 
society and have won many friends. 



FRANK B. STEVENS, who was born in 
Illinois, on December 6, 1855, is now one of the 
leading citizens of Gilliam county, and resides 
about fifteen miles southeast from' Condon. He 
has a magnificent estate of over two thousand 
acres and a fine herd of one hundred and fifty 
graded Shorthorns. The place is well improved 
and supplied with everything to handle a good 
farm and a first-class stock ranch. Mr. Stevens 
has shown an enterprise and skill in his labors 
that are justly rewarded by the prosperity he en- 
joys. Osias C. Stevens, the father of our subject, 
was born in New Hampshire, in 1809. He was a 
carpenter and architect and in 1835 went to New 
York, whence he journeyed later to Illinois, 
which was the family home until i860. Then he 
went to Colorado county, Texas, until 1865, when 
he moved to Marshall, Texas, and a year later 
came via the isthmus to The Dalles, Oregon, ar- 
riving there on March 18, 1867. For four years 
he remained in that place then moved to Lone 
Rock, and six years later returned to The Dalles, 
which was his home until his death on Septem- 
ber 1, 1894. He was a devoted man and a great 
worker in the church from the time he was four- 
teen years old until his death. For forty successive 
years he read the Bible from Genesis to Revela- 
tion, each year. This made him a remarkably 
well posted man, and being of a missionary spirit 
he did very much in spreading the gospel and 
building up the churches. On May 2, 1849, ne 
married Miss Harriett N. Gould, who was born 



in Zanesville, Ohio, on October 30, 1831. She 
is living with our subject and is a remarkably 
well preserved lady for her age. Frank B. was 
educated largely after coming to The Dalles, 
Oregon, owing to the fact that there was not 
much chance for schooling in the south on account 
of the war. On May 14, 1870, he began to work 
for wages, continuing for six years. Then he 
and his brother, Charles B., took cattle on shares 
and continued steadily on in that business until 
they owned four hundred head. On May 27, 
1896, they dissolved partnership and our subject 
retained the place where he now lives, and also 
some of the stock. Since then he has given espe- 
cial attention to handling his herds and his 
estate and the result is that he is one of the 
wealthy men of Gilliam county. 

On November 17, 1892, Mr. Stevens married 
Miss Lillian Rohrer, who was born in Mt. Ver- 
non, Illinois, on March 28, 1861. Mrs. Lillian 
R. Stevens taught five years in the public schools 
of Illinois and in November, 1887, came west to 
Oregon and in this state she has taken a leading 
part in public school work. She assisted materi- 
ally to grade the schools of Grant and Gilliam 
counties and has served ten years on the teachers' 
examining board of Gilliam county. She also 
enjoys the distinction of being the only woman 
ever placed in nomination on the Republican 
ticket for school superintendent of this county. 
She holds a life diploma from the state of Ore- 
gon and has been a leading educator. Mrs. Ste- 
vens owns a half section of land in this county 
which she leases. She also owns much suburban 
property in Portland, including some three acre 
tracts, and twenty-five lots. Politically she is a 
strong Republican and has always been enthusi- 
astic in the campaigns. She belongs to the East- 
ern Star order, and is a prominent and highly 
esteemed lady. Her father, John Rohrer, was 
born in Shawneetown, Illinois, on October 22, 
1817. He was an extensive stock raiser and 
land owner and died on December 5, 1885, in 
Jefferson county, Illinois, on the home farm, 
where all his children were born and reared. 
He had married on May 2, 1848, Margaret War- 
ren, also a native of Shawneetown, Illinois, the 
date of her birth being October 27, 1825, and 
she died on October 30, 1894. Mr. Stevens has 
two brothers, Charles B., and Alonzo C, stock- 
men in this county. To Mr. and Mrs. Stevens 
was born on December 10, 1894, John Caswell, 
who died the same day. He was buried in the 
family lot in Sunset cemetery, The Dalles, Ore- 
gon. 

Mr. Stevens is a member of the W. W., the 
Maccabees and the A. F. & A. M., belonging 
both to the Blue Lodge and the Royal Arch de- 



6iS 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



gree of the latter order. He is also a member of 
the Eastern Star. In politics, Mr. Stevens is a 
strong Republican and active. When he first 
came here, there were but four families in this 
region and the nearest postoffice was John Day 
Bridge, sixty miles away. Their trading had to 
be done at The Dalles, which was one hundred 
miles distant. Those pioneer days saw much 
hardship and much arduous labor, but our sub- 
ject was equal to the occasion and is to be classed 
as one of the builders of the country. 

Mr. Stevens is one of the best posted men in 
the historical events of the country to be .found 
within the precincts of this county. His memory 
of dates is especially accurate and he has taken 
a great interest in these affairs and has per- 
fected himself in it to a marked degree. 



PEMBERTON F. CASON is a pioneer of 
many sections and has done the work of the fron- 
tiersman in a worthy manner. The result is that 
today he is reaping the rewards of his labors and 
is in possession of much property. He owns a 
choice ranch of over five hundred acres of fertile 
grain land about ten miles west from Condon, 
besides much stock. He has his place well im- 
proved and -is an enterprising and thrifty farmer. 

Pemberton F. Cason was born in Morgan 
county, Missouri, on February 16, 1843. Seth 
Cason was his father and he came as a pioneer 
to Missouri. His father, the grandfather of our 
subject, had fought under General Jackson in 
the War of 1812. His grandfather, the great- 
grandfather of our subject, was a patriot under 
General Washington in the Revolution. He mar- 
ried Miss Sarah Woods, who was born near 
Wheeling, Virginia. She went to Missouri with 
her husband, who died soon after arriving there. 
She remained a widow for some years and then 
married Mr. John Hook, a native Kentuckian. 
In 1864 the family came across the plains and 
settlement was made in Marion county, Oregon. 
There the parents remained until their death. 
After he had seen the family well settled, our 
subject started out for himself. His education 
had been obtained in Missouri, but owing to the 
short and poor schools on the frontier in Mis- 
souri, he had little chance to perfect himself. 
This lack, however, he has well made up for in 
careful observation and study in later years. As 
stated, he assisted the familv to get settled and 
then he went to the Idaho mines. A year later 
he came to Linn county, Oregon, and after that 
he journeyed south to Arizona. There he 
wrought as a government freighter for five years. 
After this we find him in California. When Mr. 



Cason crossed the plains he came through the 
territory now embraced in Gilliam county and he 
never could quite forget the fertile prairies and 
magnificent opportunities here offered the indus- 
trious man. Consequently he gave way to the 
impression and made his way back to this place 
in 1 88 1. He settled first in a good location two 
miles south from his present home. Then he 
selected his present place and since that time has 
given his attention to the work here. He has 
now everything convenient and has prospered 
well. In early days Mr. Cason had much experi- 
ence in fighting Indians, and it was necessary in 
those days each man should always be on the 
lookout for the treacherous savage. The nearest 
supply point was The Dalles, nearly two hun- 
dred miles distant. But he weathered the storms, 
braved the dangers and is now favored with a 
competence for his earthly days. 

In 1873, Mr. Cason married Miss Martha 
Thompson, a native of Oregon. She died in' 
1874. Her parents were Joseph and Elizabeth 
(Donohue) Thompson, early pioneers to Oregon, 
and prominent and cultured people. 



THOMAS DILLON is to be classed as one 
of the leading men in Gilliam county, since he has 
shown his ability in managing the resources of 
the land in such a way as to win for himself a 
fine "fortune, since, also, it is evident' to all, he is 
one of the men of wisdom and integrity. And 
since, too, he has been a liberal donator to all 
good causes and has labored for the upbuilding 
of the county in every way. He is a man of vast 
experience in the west and has travelled over a 
large portion of the Pacific slope. He came 
when the country was new and knows by experi- 
ence what it is to be a frontiersman in one of 
the wildest regions of the west. 

Thomas Dillon was born in Ireland and 
comes from a good Irish family, being a scion in 
which have been exemplified the noble char- 
acteristics of his race. He is possessed of the 
native generosity and kind heartedness of his 
people and with true loyalty has shown himself 
an American worthy of the Stars and Stripes. 
His parents were Peter and Margaret (Hays), 
Dillon, natives of Ireland and immigrants to the 
United States in the early forties. Our subject 
was imbued with the spirit of adventure and 
was with the family when they came to this 
county. Settlement was made in Kentucky, 
where he remained until 1856, when he took the 
western fever, which was only to be cured by an 
extended trip hither, which has now grown into a 
permanent residence. He landed in California 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



619 



and was soon in the midst of the humming min- 
ing camps. He followed that exciting life for 
some time and then, upon the discovery of gold 
on the Fraser river, went thither. For some time 
he labored in those diggings and was successful 
in a measure. Finally tiring of the hardships of 
mining, Mr. Dillon determined to settle down in 
life and began the search for a suitable place. He 
finally lighted on the country embraced in Gil- 
liam county now. This was in 1878, and he at 
once decided he had found the place he was 
searching for, and settled down. He went to 
work for wages and soon had sufficient money to 
purchase a band of sheep and some land. He had 
been occupied as a sheep herder and persisted in 
that trying occupation until he had gained the 
money mentioned, when he started in to raise 
stock for himself. He made a success of his first 
venture and soon had purchased more land. He 
continued that policy until he secured fourteen 
hundred and forty acres of valuable land, which 
is his home estate at this time. It is situated 
about eight miles northwest from Condon, and 
is a place of value. He has accumulated a good 
fortune and while doing it has, also, won the re- 
spect of the people, being a man of strict hon- 
esty and integrity, always kindly disposed to his 
fellow beings and ready to give a helping hand. 
The success he has gained stamps Mr. Dillon as 
one of the best financiers of this county and it is 
an achievement in which one may take a laudable 
pride. He is public minded and labors for the 
advancement of the community and the upbuild- 
ing of the country. 



W. L. BARKER, who is at the head of a 
large implement and hardware business in Con- 
don, is one of the early settlers in Gilliam 
county and has done a lion's share in the develop- 
ment of its resources and in augmenting its 
wealth. He is a man of stamina and keen busi- 
ness ability and if one good quality shows more 
than another, it is his tenacity and determination 
to hold to a line of enterprise until he makes it a 
splendid success. This is the true spirit that wins 
the laurels in life and it is well exemplified in 
our subject. 

W. L. Barker was born in Athens, Maine, on 
January 8, 1858, the son of Charles F. and Sila 
(Libby) Barker, both natives of Maine. The 
mother died there on February 15, 1858, but trie 
father is still living in his native state. Our sub- 
ject was well educated in his home place and in 
the great centennial year he started west with the 
determination to do for himself and win the 
smiles of the goddess of fortune. After a short 



time in Iowa, Mr. Barker was filled with the idea 
of seeing Oregon and soon he was in the cen- 
tral part of the state. In 1877 he landed in what 
is Gilliam county, now, and at once took up the 
stock business. The next year, 1878, the Indians 
were on the warpath in many sections and all the 
settlers, with the exception of four besides Mr. 
Barker, went to The Dalles. These five brave 
men watched with care for weeks and looked 
after the stock left behind. For three weeks 
they slept on their picket ropes, but the time- 
passed without the appearance of the savages 
and they saved the stock. For fifteen years Mr. 
Barker continued in raising stock and all the time- 
was winning good success. Then he turned his 
attention to farming and for a decade followed 
that with good prosperity. During his time he 
handled three thousand acres. It required forty 
head of horses to plow the land and other things 
in proportion. However, Mr. Barker was able 
to manage the establishment with such wisdom 
that he had good returns. He usually fed his 
grain to stock, and especially hogs. On one oc- 
casion, he drove two hundred and forty hogs to 
Arlington without the loss of an animal, a record 
which is seldom equaled. In April, 1903, Mr. 
Barker decided to embark in the mercantile bus- 
iness and accordingly opened his present busi- 
ness. He carries a stock from fifteen to twenty 
thousand dollars worth and has the best the 
market affords for the uses of this county. He is 
well and favorably known all over the county and 
the surrounding country and the result is that 
he has a large and ever increasing trade. 

In 1881, Mr. Barker married Miss Anna Cor- 
nett, who was born in the Willamette valley, the 
daughter of William and Mary J. (McCarty) 
Cornett, who are mentioned specifically in an- 
other portion of this work. Seven children have 
come to bless the household, and they are named 
as follows : Emma J., Cora, Frank, Mabel, Flor- 
ence, Josie and Beulah. Mr. Barker has two 
brothers, S. B. and Lewis, who are engaged in 
the stock business in Wyoming, and two, Austin 
and Charles, who are farming in Maine. Fra- 
ternally, he is affiliated with the W. W., the A. O. 
U. W., the circle, and the Degree of Honor. Mr. 
Barker is spoken of everywhere as a good man, a 
patriotic citizen and a kind and loving father and 
husband. He has certainly made the best of pro- 
vision for his loved ones, for he carries twelve 
thousand dollars of life insurance in various 
lines. Six thousand of this is in the New York 
Equitable. In financialy matters, Mr. Barker has 
won the best of success and his good example has 
also stimulated many others to better effort. He 
is one of the leading men of the county, is 
always interested in what is for the welfare of 



■620 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



all, is broad minded and a genuine westerner, of 
the generous, genial and open hearted kind, who 
wins and holds your friendship, simply because 
of his worth and excellent qualities. 



HUGH C. STRICKLAND devotes himself 
to farming and raising stock. He resides about 
five miles northwest from Condon, and there owns 
an estate of fourteen hundred acres. It is a valu- 
able property and has been made much more so 
by the wisdom and thrift of the owner. Eight 
hundred acres were cropped to wheat this year 
and the bounteous harvest demonstrated the skill 
of Mr. Strickland. He is known as one of the 
leading citizens of Gilliam county and has done 
very much to build up the county and bring it to 
its present prosperous condition. He is a stimu- 
lus to good labors, as he is always striving for 
the best. He takes great pride in raising good 
stock, in tilling the soil in the best manner, in im- 
proving in the best way and in fact, he is a man 
with an ideal of the perfect and constantly strives 
for the attainment of his ideal. This has stimu- 
later others to good action and Mr. Strickland is 
to be greatly commended for his efforts in these 
lines. 

Hugh C. Strickland was born in Portland, Or- 
egon, on January 2, 1856, being thus both a native 
of the Web-foot State and one of its earliest pio- 
neers. William Strickland, a native of Virginia, 
was his father and he was a true frontiersman. 
He removed from his native state to North Car- 
olina when a young man and thence he journeyed 
to the territory of Iowa in the early thirties. After 
nineteen years of life there, he came on across 
the plains in the memorable forty-nine. He was 
accompanied by Charles Denton and wintered the 
first winter on Fifteenmile creek, now in Wasco 
county. The snow fell to a great depth that year 
and they lost all their stock. In 1852, Mr. Strick- 
land determined to try the Willamette valley and 
accordingly went to where Portland now stands 
and took a donation claim. A portion of that 
great city now stands on this ground. Finding it 
a terribly hard task to clear the heavily wooded 
land and being obliged to raise food for his family 
he abandoned the claim and went to Clackamas 
county and took land. That was his home until 
1872, when he sold and came back east of the 
mountains, settling in Wasco county. He pur- 
chased land and lived on it until called away by 
death in 1879. He was aged seventy-six at that 
time and was a highly respected man. He had 
undergone all the hardships known to the pioneer 
and was a good man, a bold Indian fighter, and a 
true blue frontiersman. He had married Miss 



Elizabeth Willis, a native of Des Moines county, 
Iowa, and she crossed the plains with her husband 
and participated in his life until his death. Her 
first child was born while they were crossing the 
plains. She died in 1889, aged sixty-three. Our 
subject was educated in the Willamette valley and 
in 1873 came to Wasco county and remained one 
winter with his father at Barlow gate. The next 
year he came where he now lives and took a home- 
stead, and since that time he has continued here. 
This makes Mr. Strickland one of the earliest 
pioneers of this county and one of the oldest set- 
tlers. 

In 1889, Mr. Strickland married Miss Jessie 
M. Becker, the wedding occurring in Aberdeen, 
South Dakota. Mrs. Strickland's parents are 
Joseph and Lucy Becker, natives of Toronto, 
Canada. She also was born in Toronto, Canada, 
and came thence with her parents when a small 
girl to Dakota. Two children are the fruit of this 
union, Hazel M. and Genevieve. Mr. Strickland 
is a member of the I. O. O. F. He started in life 
without capital and is now the possessor of much 
property, all accumulated by his own labors and 
skill. He and his wife have a lovely home, sup- 
plied with spring water and all conveniences, and 
they are leading people in the county and have a 
great many friends. 



JOSEPH F. WOOD, M. D. Condon is to 
be congratulated ki having in her midst an up-to- 
date and skillful physician who has won prized 
laurels in various specialties of his profession. 
Dr. Wood's office is as well equipped as could be 
found in this part of the state. He has everything 
needful and known to the practice, including 
static and X-ray electrical machines. He is a man 
of enterprise and energy and keeps fully abreast 
with the advancing science of medicine thus 
bringing to his humblest patient the best that the 
world produces in the art of curing. Dr. Wood 
is very popular and rightly so and during the 
years of his stay in Gilliam county, has won the 
confidence of all who know him, besides a very 
fine practice. 

Joseph F. Wood was born in Monmouthshire, 
Wales, on March 21, 1876. His father, William 
Wood, was born in the same country on July 21, 
1852, and emigrated to the United States in 1880. 
He settled in Ohio and followed his trade, that of 
machinist, for one year then came to Grant's Pass, 
Oregon, where he resided for nine years. After 
that, he moved to Portland and continued in the 
prosecution of his business until his death in Oc- 
tober, 1898, which resulted from the explosion 
of the boiler on a torpedo boat in the "Columbia 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



62 B 



river. He had married Harriett Bazley, who was 
born in England in 1853 and is now living in 
Condon. Our subject was well educated, receiv- 
ing a diploma in due time from the Portland high 
school. Immediately subsequent to that, he en- 
tered the medical department of the University 
of Oregon, and in 1900 graduated therefrom with 
honors. For one year he was consulting physi- 
cian and surgeon of the Portland hospital and 
then served as ship's physician one trip to China 
and Japan. Upon his return in December, 1901, 
Dr. Wood located in Condon. He immediately 
received practice which has constantly grown 
until he is now a busy man. The doctor is very 
careful to keep himself thoroughly conversant 
with medical lore and is a great stv/dent. He is 
an original thinker, quick to act, and the result 
is, he is becoming one of the most successful phy- 
sicians of the state. 

On February 15, 1904, Dr. Wood married 
Miss Mary C. Maddock, who was born in Gil- 
liam county, the daughter of John Maddock, one 
of this county's earliest pioneers. In fraternal 
affiliations, we find the doctor associated with the 
Royal Arch Chapter of Masons, the K. P., the 
W. W. and A. O. U. W. He is a genial and 
popular man taking a keen interest in all matters 
for the welfare of the town and county and gives 
of his time, greatly to assist any enterprise that 
is for the good of all. 



CHARLES W. GROSS is one of Gilliam 
county's representative citizens, and his home is 
about two miles northwest from Condon. He pos- 
sesses an estate of three hundred and forty acres 
of valuable land and has made it a productive and 
good farm. All improvements needed have been 
supplied and Mr. Gross is a skilled and successful 
farmer. He was born in Hawkins county, Ohio, 
on August 13, 1853, the son of Andrew and Sarah 
Gross. The mother died when this son was a 
small child. The father, who was born in Ohio, 
now dwells in Brownsville, Oregon. When our 
subject was very small, he accompanied his father 
to Dallas county, Iowa, where they resided until 
1863. Then they crossed the plains with teams to 
California, and two years later they journeyed on 
to Linn county, Oregon. The father followed 
farming and mechanical work. Charles W. was 
educated in the various places where they resided, 
and in Brownsville he completed the training in 
this line. He had very poor privileges to study 
and secured his education only by virtue of deter- 
mination and especial study. In 1871, he came 
with his father to Athena, Oregon, and remained 
with him until of age. Then he started in life 



for himself. His only capital was a pair of good 
strong hands and an unswerving determination, 
to find a place and make a good home. He 
wrought on the farms around Athena for a time, 
and in 1886, believing better opportunities 
awaited him in the west, he came hither and lo- 
cated his present place as a homestead. He has 
added the balance of the estate by purchase since 
and made it a choice place. Mr. Gross is widely 
known in this part of the state and is a man ins 
whom all have confidence. He is worthy of this 
distinction, owing to uprightness and uncompro- 
mising integrity, which characterize him. He 
has the faculty of making friends and keeping, 
them, too, and his sagacity and excellent judg- 
ment give him a prestige in the community that 
is enviable. 

Mr. Gross has three children, William, Bertha 
and Minnie. 

The pathway that Mr. Gross has trodden has 
been a very rough one at times, but he has always 
developed the sturdiness and stability requisite to 
overcome, and the result is that he deserves com- 
mendation much more than one who has smooth 
sailing. He started with hard work and has been 
an industrious man since and the habits of self- 
reliance and the resourcefulness developed by try- 
ing circumstances have rendered him a broad- 
minded and deep thinking man. Withal, he has 
gained a good holding of property and is a lead- 
ing man in the community. 



EDWARD DUNN, one of the leading busi- 
ness men of Condon, is also one of the early pio- 
neers of the country now embraced in Gilliam 
county. He is owner and operator of the mercan- 
tile establishment which has been brought to its 
present prosperity through his skillful and careful 
efforts. He has a large well selected stock of 
groceries, dry goods, clothing, gents' furnishings,, 
boots, shoes, hardware, farming implements and 
so forth, and the goods from his warehouse and 
shelves find their way to all parts of the country 
adjacent to Condon. By fair dealing, by strict 
business methods and by a desire to please and 
accommodate the people, he has secured a fine 
patronage and won many friends besides. 

Edward Dunn was born in Monroe county,. 
Michigan, on April 14, 1865. His parents, John 
and Mary (Cunningham) Dunn, were born in 
Kings county and Monaghan county, Ireland, re- 
spectively. The date of the father's birth was 
1825, and he emigrated to the United States m 
1836. Settlement was made in Michigan where 
he did farming until his death in 1885. The 
mother came to the United States when eighteen 



'622 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



years of age, was married on November 6, 1849, 
in Michigan, and died in 1900. 

The common schools of Michigan supplied 
the educational training of our subject, and when 
the time of his majority had arrived he had fully 
decided to try the west and accordingly came on 
to Oregon. He finally located in Gilliam county, 
March, 1887, being the date. It was very wild 
at that time and the settlers were few. Mr. Dunn 
gave his attention to stock raising and teaching 
school. He continued in this occupation for about 
six or eight years, then opened business in Con- 
don. When he first came, Condon consisted of 
four buildings. Mr. Dunn decided to try the 
mercantile business but had small capital and con- 
sequently was obliged to start in very moderately. 
He had not long to wait, however, for business 
soon began to come and from that time until the 
present it has constantly been increasing until he 
now has one of the finest stores in the county. 

On August 27, 1894, Mr. Dunn married Miss 
Cordelia Keizur, who was born in Oregon and 
raised in this county. Her father was one of the 
earliest pioneers of Oregon, and is still living in 
the Willamette valley. Four children have come 
to bless this household, John, Mary, Edward and 
Agnes. 

Mr. Dunn has always been a very progressive 
and enterprising man, consequently has had much 
to do with politics and other things in the county. 
He is allied with the Democratic party and in 
June, 1902, was elected judge of Gilliam county, 
a majority of two hundred and fifty showing his 
popularity. 



AMON HARTMAN, who resides about 
three miles northwest from Condon, is one of the 
representative men of this county and is also one 
of the wealthy farmers and stockmen who have 
won their success here. He is to be commended 
■on the record which he made in fighting for his 
country in the time of fratricidal strife, and espe- 
cially so, when we consider the great dangers he 
had to undergo in getting to a place where he 
could safely stand under the stars and stripes. 
An account of his life will be read with interest 
by all. 

Amon Hartman was born in Adams county, 
Illinois, on March 20, 1849. Henry Hartman, 
his father, was born in Ohio, and when fourteen 
came to Illinois where he lived until he crossed 
the plains in 1852, with his family, by team, set- 
tling in Oregon. There he took a donation claim 
near Albany and for six years gave his attention 
to farming. During this time he served in the 
Indian war of 1856. Finally he sold out in Ore- 
gon and purchased a band of sheep which he took 



to California and sold. After that he went to 
Texas with a pack train, taking his family, and 
made settlement in the western portion of that 
great state. He gave his attention to stock rais- 
ing until the war broke out. Then he wished to 
join the union army, but the only way to get to 
union ground was to go through Mexico, which 
he did, accompanied by our subject. They made 
their way down through Mexico, found an Eng- 
lish schooner chartered by the United States 
going to New Orleans and embarked and there 
enlisted in the First Texas Cavalry, Company A, 
in 1863. The father was killed while serving as a 
spy, but our subject served on through his time. 
Following the war, he returned to the old home 
in Texas. His mother was Eliza (Wells) Hart- 
man, and she was born and reared in Adams 
county, Illinois. In 1873, M r - Hartman removed 
from Texas to Yuba county, California, whence 
ten years later, he came to what is now Gilliam 
county. Here he looked over the country and 
that adjacent for two years and in 1885 took a 
homestead where he is now located. Since then 
he has purchased other land, having now about 
five hundred acres. Mr. Hartman has always 
lived on the frontier and is a man of stability and 
endurance. 

In 1867, Mr. Hartman married Miss Laura 
Dunn. She was born in Bossier parish, Louis- 
iana, and removed to Texas with her parents when 
a girl. They are George and Martha Dunn. The 
father died when a young man. Mr. and Mrs. 
Hartman have three children, Henry W., farm- 
ing near by ; John E. and Ernest H. Mr. Hart- 
man is a member of the I. O. O. F., and evinces 
a lively interest in political matters and educa- 
tional affairs. 



HANS K. WEST is an example of what a 
man can do in the fertile regions of Gilliam 
county. He resides about three miles northwest 
from Condon, where he has a fine farm, and which 
has been gained, together with all his other prop- 
erty in this section, by his own unaided efforts 
since coming to this state. He is a man of energy 
and wise judgment, as is evinced by his various 
moves in the business world, and by the success 
that has crowned his efforts. 

Hans K. West was born in Waupaca county, 
Wisconsin, on August 16, 1874. His father, Peter 
N. West, was born in Denmark and came with 
his family to Wisconsin in 1874. He settled on a 
farm, and later brought the family to Dakota. 
His death occurred in t886. and his wife, Mary 
(Davidson) West, died two years later. She was 
also a native of Denmark. Hans K. was educated 
in Kingston county. Kakota, mostlv. although 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



623 



he secured one year's training since he came to 
this state. It was 1891 that he came to Oregon 
and cast his lot in this resourceful region east 
of the Cascades. With four brothers and one 
sister, he settled in Sherman county and together 
they wrought until 1898. In that year, Mr. West 
came to the place where he now lives and took a 
homestead, adding a half section by purchase. He 
started without means and took hold with the 
determination of making, from the raw land, a 
good home and a valuable farm, which he has 
accomplished in first-class shape. His property 
is now worth much money and he has fitted it up 
in good shape. 

In 1901, Mr. West married Miss Emma F. 
Moore, a native of Iowa. Her parents are men- 
tioned elsewhere in this work. To this union 
two children have been born, Merle B., and Gladys 
Muril. Mr. ana Mrs. West are young people of 
excellent standing in the county and have won the 
esteem and confidence of all. They are enterpris- 
ing, well informed and progressive people, and 
manifest intelligent interest in public affairs and 
•educational matters. 



SAMUEL A. PATTISON, editor of the 
Condon Globe, which voices the interests of Gil- 
liam county with no uncertain sound and is rec- 
ognized by the exchanges as a "live, paper," is 
one of the leading citizens of this part of Oregon. 
He is a gentleman of culture and possessed of 
that geniality which wins friends, while his fear- 
lessness in matters of principle, speaks of the 
Puritan principles of our Atlantic seaboard. 

Samuel A. Pattison was born in Ohio county. 
West Virginia, on November 17, i860. His 
father, Thomas Pattison, was born in the same 
house as our subject, and the date of the event 
was 1802. He was a well-to-do and prominent 
farmer. Owing to his stanch union principles in 
the time of the Rebellion, he deemed it best to 
build on another portion of his farm, which lay 
both in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, accord- 
ingly, he then became a citizen of the Keystone 
State. His father, John Pattison, grandfather of 
our subject, was born in Pennsylvania, and came 
to that part of Virginia with the first settlers. He 
was a minister of the gospel and an adherent of 
the Presbyterian church. He also held a profes- 
sorship in one of the leading colleges of the 
country. His father, the great-grandfather of 
our subject, was the first of the Pattison family 
that came to America. He owned the land where 
St. John, New Brunswick, now stands. He later 
sold his property there and came to Pennsylvania. 
The mother of Samuel A. was Jane. (Humphrey) 



Pattison. She was born on the farm adjoining 
the one where our subject was born, and her 
father, Robert Humphrey, was a wealthy and 
respected agriculturist of that county. His father, 
John Humphrey, was among the first settlers of 
Ohio county, and a famous Indian fighter. He 
fought in the Revolution along with Lafayette, 
and was personally acquainted with that gentle- 
man. Samuel A. was educated partly in West 
Virginia and partly in Pennsylvania, and in 1885 
moved west to Nebraska. He soon returned to 
his native heath, and in 1889 came west again and 
for a time was a commercial traveler in Nebraska. 
In the fall of 1889 he came to Wyoming and into 
Newcastle on the first passenger train coming in 
there. In 1891, he journeyed on west to Idaho 
and embarked in the newspaper business. In 
1898, he sold his interests in that state and came 
to Condon, where he bought the Condon Globe, 
the oldest paper in the county. Since then he has 
made interesting reading for the people of this 
county and has shown them he is a loyal cham- 
pion for the county. 

In 1894, Mr. Pattison married Miss Hattie 
Stone, who was the first white child born in 
Placerville, Idaho. She was highly educated and 
for twelve years had been one of the leading edu- 
cators of the state. Two children have been born 
to this union, Everett, and Catherine. 

Mr. Pattison is a member of the I. O. O. F., 
and also belongs to the grand lodge. 



G. G. PARMAN is one of Gilliam county's 
leading citizens. He is a heavy real estate owner 
and divides his time between farming and stock 
raising. His place lies just northwest from Con- 
don and is a splendid estate. To add to its value, 
Mr. Parman has provided all the improvements 
that could be needed in the enterprises he is fol- 
lowing. It is one of the tasty and neat appearing 
places in the county. The home residence is a 
modern structure, perhaps exceeded by no other 
dwelling in this county. Mr. Parman is a man 
who displays great taste and good judgment and 
the success he has attained in life is not the blun- 
derings happenings of "luck," but the sure out- 
come of a well defined policy which he has fol- 
lowed with a tenacity and sagacity that could but 
woo and win the goddess of fortune. 

G. G. Parman was born in Gentry county, 
Missouri, on November 22, 1849. His parents, 
George and Liddie (Myers) Parman, were 
natives of Indiana and came to Missouri in early 
days. They followed farming there until 1857, 
when the father transferred his residence to the 
vicinity of Lawrence, Kansas. When that coun- 



624 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



try was raided by Quantrell, the father joined the 
Ninth Kansas Cavalry and served until his death, 
which was caused by exposure and trying hard- 
ships. Returning home, it was endeavored with 
all the skill possible to nurse him back to health, 
but the strain had been too great, and death 
claimed him, a martyr to his country. The mother 
died in 186 1. Our subject was educated in Kan- 
sas and when of age selected a homestead one 
hundred miles east from Wichita and there made 
his home until 1882. That year saw him selling 
his property in the east and preparing for a jour- 
ney to the west. His ideas were well defined for 
Oregon, but the especial section was still in doubt. 
He reached the Web-foot State in due time and 
for two years looked over the country. Finally, 
in 1884, he selected this place where he now re- 
sides and took steps to secure a home. He at 
once began farming and raising stock, and to 
these related occupations he has given his atten- 
tion since. From time to time Mr. Parman has 
purchased land and now his estate is very large. 
In 1874, Mr. Parman married and his wife 
died here. In 1893, he married a second time. 
He has five children, Mrs. Julia Myer, Mrs. 
Ethlin E. Dennis, Mrs. Hellen Simson, George 
and Lloyd. For the encouragement of those who 
start life without means, it is well to remark that 
Mr. Parman started out, bereft of his parents 
when young, and embarked on life's uncertain 
seas, a poor boy. He made a study of the things 
that brought success and the result is he has won 
that for which he labored and is one of the lead- 
ing men today in this county. 



JAMES McLELLAN JOHNS, the editor 
of the Arlington Record, is a leading man in 
Gilliam county. His paper is a bright and newsy 
sheet, bearing the marks of ability and devotion 
to his county and principles while it has won its 
way into the hearts of the people and has placed 
its editor in an influential and enviable position. 
In addition to handling his paper, Mr. Johns 
gives attention to the practice of law, and is a 
successful pleader at the bar. He is a man of 
keen perception and not slow to take advantage 
of the weight of reason and right and in all 
his ways so conducts himself that he is highly 
respected and esteemed. 

James McLellan Johns was born in Wayne 
county, Ohio, on August 9, 1834. His parents 
were Jacob and Sarah (Adams) Johns. The 
former was born in Pennsylvania on July 4, j8o8, 
and was descended from Welsh ancestry that came 
to the colonies with William Penn. He was a 
strict adherent of the Quaker church. The mother 



of our subject was a cousin of the noted John 
Quincy Adams. Her father, James Adams, was 
a brother of President John Adams, so Mrs. 
Johns' uncle and cousins were both presidents of 
the United States. James Adams was a stanch 
Presbyterian minister. He married Miss Mar- 
garet McClellan, an aunt of General George B. 
McClellan. Thus it is seen that Mr. Johns comes 
from strong and prominent families on both sides 
of the house, and he has so kept the family name 
in his career that untarnished he will hand it to 
his descendants. James M. was educated in 
public and private schools in Ohio, and in 1853 
he went with his parents to Indiana. The next 
year we find him in Kansas, where he taught 
school. Later he journeyed to Jackson county, 
Missouri, continuing in the work of the educa- 
tor. There, in 1856, he was married to Miss 
Elizabeth Darby, a native of Kentucky. Two 
years later they came to Marion county, Oregon, 
via the isthmus and there Mr. Johns took up 
teaching again. After a while he started in the 
mercantile business at Scio, Linn county. Later 
he went to Marion, Oregon, and erected a large 
grain warehouse. This was the first warehouse 
in the Willamette valley, and Mr. Johns assisted 
to purchase the first ship cargo of wheat that was 
shipped from Portland to Liverpool, England. 
While residing in the Willamette valley Mr. 
Johns educated his children at the Williamette 
University, and in 1884 he came thence to Gil- 
liam county. He took government land and en- 
gaged in farming until 1890. In that year his 
wife was called away by death and the farm did 
not appeal any more to Mr. Johns as a home, and 
accordingly he removed to Arlington and took 
up the practice of law, which he had been per- 
fecting himself in for some years previous, and 
also began editing the journal where he is still 
writing. In politics, Mr. Johns is a stanch Re- 
publican and a regular wheel horse in the cam- 
paigns. He is well informed in political lore, is 
abreast of the questions and issues of the day, 
is a good orator, and wields a ready pen. For 
two years here he has been postmaster. Frater- 
nally, Mr. Johns is a member of the A. F. 
& A. M. 

In 1893, Mr. Johns contracted a second mar- 
riage, Mrs. Margaret Biggs, nee Baldwin, be- 
coming his wife. They were young folks to- 
gether in Indiana. Mrs. Johns has one son by 
her former marriage, George Biggs, a leading 
merchant in Arlington. By his first marriage 
Mr. Johns has the following named children : 
Charles A., a leading attorney in Baker City, 
Oregon ; Cato J., a prominent merchant in Sump- 
ter, Oregon; Mrs. Viola McKinney, in this 
county; Mrs. Dorcas Neal, in Harney county, 




James M. Johns 





Abram C. Huff 



William R. Baker 






HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



625 



Oregon; and Mrs. Ada Ralston, in Portland. 
Mr. and Mrs. Johns are well respected people, 
hold a' prominent position in society and are 
valued citizens of our county. They are both 
members of the Methodist church. 



ABRAM C. HUFF, who lives four miles 
north from Croy, is one of the enterprising stock- 
men of Gilliam county. He has recently taken a 
homestead where he now resides "and owns, be- 
sides, a half section of land, gained by purchase. 
He was born in Michigan, on June 29, 1838, the 
son of David D. and Maria (Young) Huff, 
natives of New York. The first eighteen years 
of our subject's life were spent in Michigan, 
where he received his education, and then he 
came with his parents to Iowa, where he worked 
for years with his father on the farm. Then he 
began tilling the soil for himself and continued 
in Iowa for twenty-two years. After that he 
journeyed to Minnesota where he remained five 
years. It was 1877 when he came to Oregon, 
landing in Douglas county, in which place he re- 
mained until 1886. After that he crossed the 
mountains to Sherman county and farmed there 
for fifteen years. In 1901 he came to his present 
location and took a homestead and purchased also 
the other half section, mentioned above. He 
owns a half section of good land in Sherman 
county, besides other property. He has a fine 
place, well improved, and is arranging his busi- 
ness to take up stock raising almost entirely. He 
has bands of stock on the range arfd is doing well 
in the enterprise. 

On March 22, i860, Mr. Huff married Miss 
Sarah Ann Maricle. She was born in Pennsyl- 
vania, and her father was William Maricle. Five 
children are the fruit of this union, Abraham 
Lincoln, Sherman, David W.,, Charles, and Mar- 
garet Ann. 

In political matters Mr. Huff is a free thinker 
and is a deep reader on these lines. 

On August 14, 1 86 1, Mr. Huff enlisted in the 
Ninth Iowa Volunteers and served under Fre- 
mont until February 14, 1862, when he was hon- 
orably discharged. He is now a member of the 
G. A. R., and one of the substantial men of the 
county. He made an honorable record when in 
the army and is a man worthy of distinction, 
being one of the pioneers of Oregon, in which he 
has done much for its advancement and upbuild- 
ing. 

Mr. Huff is the first one to inaugurate an 

irrigating enterprise on the John Day river in 

Gilliam county, and made the start under much 

difficulty and discouragement, yet he has finally 

40 



seen his efforts fruitful of success and is now 
reaping a good and satisfactory reward for his 
enterprise and progressiveness. 



WILLIAM R. BAKER is certainly one of 
the oldest pioneers of Oregon, and has passed an 
eventful career in all those experiences incident 
to early life and the development of a great and 
remote country. At the present time he is resid- 
ing about four miles south from Blalock, and 
while he oversees his interests in stock and land, 
still he is more retired from active life and Is 
spending the golden years of his pilgrimage in 
the enjoyment of the competence he possesses, 
amid many warm friends who prize him for his 
worth, his work and his virtues. 

William R. Baker was born in Meigs county, 
Tennessee, on December 14, 1837. His parents 
were John and Elizabeth (Rector) Baker, natives 
respectively of Virginia and Tennessee. The 
former died on the old donation claim and the 
latter lived to be exactly the same age of her 
departed husband and she, too, passed away. The 
father came to Tennessee when a young man, 
accompanying his parents. He served in the 
Creek Indian war under General Jackson, and 
remained in Tennessee until 1843, then removed 
to Missouri, having previously married in the 
Big-bend State. In the spring of 1846 Mr. 
Baker, having made extensive preparations for the 
trip, started out to go by ox teams to the Pacific 
coast. He had two hundred and forty head of 
cattle, and the train formed at Independence. 
He was chosen captain and all went well. On 
the Platte the buffalos were so thick that men had 
to be sent ahead to drive them away from the 
watering places, lest they stampede the train and 
destroy it. The train was heading for Oregon 
over the established route and when in the vicin- 
ity of Fort Laramie they were met by a man 
named Applegate. He persuaded them that he 
could put them to their destination over a new 
route with much less travel. They accepted his 
proposition and he attempted to lead them by the 
Humboldt river, the Rogue river valley and the 
Umpqua valley to the Willamette valley. • They 
were the first to travel that route and it entailed 
much hardship and labor in cutting a way 
through the wooded portions of the mottntains. 
This delayed them and the season was getting 
late when it dawned on them that they were in a 
trap. Applegate fled one night and left them to 
shift as best they could. To add to the horrors, 
the Indians were terribly hostile and their sneak- 
ing tactics brought untold suffering on the poor 
emigrants. They would hide and shoot arrows 



626 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



from their ambush and this constant harrassing 
not only wore out the hearts of the travelers but 
killed their stock and some of their numbers. 
Then the provisions ran out and all were put on 
short rations which were shortened as the days 
went by. Finally almost every edible in the entire 
train was gone and they depended on the beef 
of their poor worn animals for subsistence. The 
animals killed by the flying arrows of the In- 
dians were not eaten for fear of poison. The 
men were worn out, the deaths had been frequent, 
wagons had been abandoned, as the necessities 
demanded on different occasions, and those 
things, with the terrible harrassing of the sav- 
ages and the lack of provisions, had well nigh 
extinguished the little train. To add to the hor- 
rors, winter came on and it seemed as if their 
doom was surely sealed. They would never give 
up and stolidly turned from each new made 
grave with determination to continue until death 
overtook them. The mud got so deep that they 
were enabled to make no more than three miles 
per day. Where Roseburg now stands the In- 
dians killed a man named Newton and lest they 
fall a prey to these awful fiends they nerved 
themselves to persevere. The mud grew worse, 
and finally they were about to give up, when on 
January first, a party of Frenchmen met them 
having supplies and horses. Word had gone on 
before of the terrible plight of the train. Aban- 
doning their wagons, they were transported by 
the horses. Where Corvallis now stands the 
weary pilgrims saw a cabin, the first one they 
had seen after leaving the Missouri river. They 
finally reached Colonel Nesmuth's place, which 
was near where Dallas now stands, and there the 
kind hearted colonel welcomed them, housing 
and feeding the nearly dead pilgrims. Plenty 
of boiled wheat and good fat beef was like a 
king's table and they- fared sumptuously until the 
next spring when the elder Baker took a donation 
claim six miles south from the present Corvallis. 
There he remained until his death. He was a 
very prominent man and won the hearts of all 
who knew him. On one occasion when the set- 
tlers were fighting the Indians in 1856, he took 
all his pork and flour and freely gave the volun- 
teers. 

Our subject was only nine years old when this 
memorable journey occurred but he well remem- 
bers it. In the summer of 1847 a little log school 
house was built, the first in Polk county, and clad 
in his little buckskin suit the lad began his studies. 
He grew to manhood on the old donation claim 
and gained what education he could from the 
primitive schools. In 1858 he took eighteen hun- 
dred cattle to the Umpqua valley and remained 
there in the stock business until 1865. During 



that time he had made many drives to the mines 
and the valleys, but a heavy winter came and he 
finally landed back in Polk county with five hun- 
dred cattle. The next year he drove his stock 
to the Prineville country and was one of the very 
first to engage in cattle raising there. In 1869 
he sold all his stock and went to the Willamette 
valley and purchased two thousand sheep, which 
he brought to what is now Morrow county. Two 
years later he sold his stock and went back to 
the Willamette valley where he had a lot of land. 
In 1882, he came thence to Shuttler flat and 
bought land and took a preemption. In 1889, 
he sold his property there and invested in cattle 
which he drove to the Big Bend country in Wash- 
ington, settling near where Coulee City is now. 
The following winter was hard, and out of the 
four hundred and eighty head he rounded up, the 
next spring, one steer. In 1891, Mr. Baker came 
to his present location. He has made a number 
of good fortunes iu-his life and, notwithstanding 
the wheel of fate has turned him down on each 
occasion, he is still the winner and has a goodly 
competence for his days. 

On June 11, 1863, Mr. Baker married Miss 
Sarah Hale, who was born in Indiana and crossed 
the plains in 1852 with her parents. Her father, 
Michael Hale, lives in Linn county. He married 
Miss Gemima McKinley, who dfed while he was 
crossing the plains. To Mr. and Mrs. Baker the 
following named children have been born : Mrs. 
Silva Hulbert, Mrs. Ella Sperry, George W., 
Edward, Frank, Mrs. Allie Hulbert, and Milton. 
Mr. and Mrs. Baker are among the most highly 
esteemed people to be found in this county and 
he is to be credited with an immense amount of 
labor in opening up and building up various sec- 
tions of the west, for which he received the appro- 
bation of all, while, also, he is worthy of the 
generous confidence bestowed because of his in- 
tegrity and uprightness. 



D. M. RINEHART, who is the well known 
proprietor of the Summit Hotel, the leading hos- 
telrv of Condon, is a business man of good stand- 
ing in this county. He has been connected with the 
development and growth of the county from the 
inception and has always shown himself a public 
spirited and enterprising citizen. He has the dis- 
tinction of being a native of Oregon, Lane county 
being the place of his birth. The date of that 
event was May 9, 1854. Flis parents were pio- 
neers of this country when it meant something to 
exist among the wilds of a land practically un- 
known and beset with savages and much else to 
threaten and discourage the hardy settlers. The 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



627 



father, G. W. Rinehart, was born in Tennessee 
and removed to Iowa when it was a territory. In 
1 85 1, he crossed the plains with ox teams and 
finally settled in Lane county where he took a 
donation claim and became a prominent citizen. 
He has served as county commissioner and is 
now one of the highly respected people of this 
populous county. He married Miss Martha 
Davis, a native of Tennessee. Her parents had 
come from that state to Iowa in very early days 
and there she was married. She accompanied 
her husband on the eventful and arduous journey 
across the plains and has been a faithful helpmeet 
all the days since. She is still living with her 
husband in Gilliam county, a beloved and 
■esteemed lady. 

Our subject was reared in the county of his 
birth and learned the art of tilling the soil on the 
old donation claim with his father. He had lim- 
ited opportunity to secure training as the schools 
were few and continued but short intervals of the 
year. He walked three miles to attend and had it 
not been for studious habits, he would have been 
deprived of much of the training so useful in after 
life. He has always been a man of observing and 
investigating spirit and is well informed. He re- 
mained with his parents until of age and then 
started for himself. He continued in the valley, 
however, until 1887, when he came thence to his 
present place. He had little or no capital, but 
soon managed to start a livery stable, which he 
operated with good success until he turned his 
attention to farming. Later he opened a hotel and 
now he is the proprietor of the Summit House, 
a pleasant and comfortable resort for travelers. 
Mr. Rinehart has secured a good patronage and 
he has accumulated a good property, having be- 
sides this hotel business other valuable holdings. 

To Mr. Rinehart and his wife three children 
have been born, Earl, Lloyd, and Marion W., all 
attending school. Mr. Rinehart is a member of 
the W. W., and is a leading and representative 
citizen. 



GEORGE W. RINEHART, a leading and 
substantial citizen of Gilliam county, resides at 
Condon, where he owns a good residence, besides 
much other property. He comes from one of 
the largest families on the coast and has lived 
here for over a half century. Thus it is shown 
that he has passed through all those trying days 
of pioneer existence and clangers, which were so 
trying to the hearts of even the bravest pioneers 
and to endure which required a strong body and 
a brave heart. He has done his part well in all 
these things and is now well entitled to the rest 
while he spends the golden days of his life amid 



the comforts which his labor for the years prev- 
ious has provided in abundance. 

George W. Rinehart was born in Adams 
county, Illinois, in 1830. In those days even the 
now populous Illinois was a wild county and the 
adversity and hardships attendant always on the 
pioneer were to be borne there, too. His father, 
Louis Rinehart, was born in Kentucky, of the 
true frontier stock and was a man of excellent 
standing and integrity. He crossed the plains 
with teams to Lane county in 1852 and is one of 
the history makers of the Willamette valley. He 
married Miss Elizabeth Ellis, a native of Tennes- 
see, who accompanied her husband in all his 
journeys and labors. For twenty-two years our 
subject dwelt in Illinois and then, having re- 
ceived a good education and married, he deter- 
mined to try the west, believing it held good for- 
tune for him. In due time he finished the ardu- 
ous journey across the plains with his young wife 
in 1852, and they selected a donation claim near 
Eugene, Oregon, which was the family home 
until 1886. During those days many tales of 
hardship could be told, which would fill large 
volumes, but they weathered the hardships and 
progressed in prosperity slowly. One instance 
of the condition of things is seen when we hear 
from Mr. Rinehart of the scarcity of provisions, 
which compelled them to live one winter on boiled 
wheat. In 1886, Mr. Rinehart came with his 
family east of the mountains and selected a half 
section near where Condon is now located. They 
settled there and made a nice farm of it, and later 
removed, to town, where they now reside retired. 
He still owns his property in the valley and the 
fine farm near town here, besides other property. 

In 1 85 1, in Iowa, Mr. Rinehart married Miss 
Martha Davis, a native of Tennessee, and the 
daughter of Harman and Martha (Shumate) 
Davis, both natives of Tennessee and pioneers 
across the plains in 1852. Mr. Rinehart has 
twelve brothers and sisters and his family is one 
of the large and influential ones of the coast. He 
is a wealthy and highly respected citizen, and 
with his worthy wife, receives the good will and 
admiration of all who know them. 



FRANK MOORE is to be numbered with 
the prosperous and leading stockmen and agricul- 
turists of Gilliam county. He resides just north- 
west from Condon, where he has a half section 
of good land and which he makes the headquar- 
ters for his operations. He is a man of energy 
and thrift, as is evidenced by his holdings, which 
have been acquired by his own labors and man- 
agement since coming to this country. The place 



628 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



is provided with the necessary improvements and 
his stock is found on the ranges adjacent. 

Frank Moore was born in Alameda county, 
California, on January 22, 1862. His father, 
A. B.. Moore, was born in Georgetown, Ohio, and 
crossed the plains with his wife in the early 
forties. They settled in California and there he 
gave his attention to freighting until after the 
birth of our subject, when he removed to Utah 
and settled to farming. Thence he took his fam- 
ily to Gallatin county, Montana, and there re- 
mained until 1880. In that year he removed to 
Iowa, which was his home until 1899, when he 
came out ±o~ Oregon, where this son lives. The 
mother or our subject, Celia (Young) Moore, 
accompanied her husband in all these journeys 
mentioned. Frank was educated principally in 
Gallatin county, Montana, and there learned the 
art of stock-raising. His home there was but 
seventy-five miles distant from the battle field 
where the brave Custer met his fate. The 
Moores were living there at the time of the battle. 
The year of their journey to Montana was 1868. 
Young Moore, as soon as he grew to manhood, 
took up stockraising in Montana and there con- 
tinued at it until 1894. In that year he trans- 
ferred the base of his operations to Gilliam 
county and here he has remained since, engaged 
as stated above. He is one of the thriftiest farm- 
ers in the county and he is one of the most skill- 
ful stockmen to be found. Mr. Moore is one of 
nine children, Mrs. Rebecca Hawes, Mrs. Nancy 
Gellen, deceased, A. J., D. A., Mrs. Cloe Reese, 
David A., Mrs. Dora Williams, and E. J. 

In 1881, Mr. Moore married Miss Bettie 
Cazier, a native of Utah. Her parents, John 
and Frances Cazier, were pioneers of Utah. To 
Mr. and Mrs. Moore, five children have been 
born : Mrs. Erma West, Mrs. Mabel Baker, 
Frank A., Bartin W., and Mervin. In politics 
and educational affairs, Mr. Moore is always in- 
terested and he is a man not afraid to voice the 
principles he believes to be for the good of all. 
He has so conducted himself that he has won the 
good will of all and has the name of being one of 
the most up-to-date and enterprising farmers and 
citizens of this portion of the county. 



W. N. BROWN is one of the wealthiest men 
of Gilliam county. The mere possession of 
wealth, however, is not always a letter of recom- 
mendation, but when one starts in a new country 
and by force of character and industry wins his 
way to the head, it is a mark of signal ability. 
When, too, this is attained with the good will and 
the esteem of the people not sacrificed, thrice 



blessed may such a man esteem himself. Mr. 
Brown certainly is in this position and he has the 
distinction of being one of the leading men of this 
part of Oregon, while also, he never neglects the 
business interests which his energy has gathered 
for himself. He is at the head of the Condon, 
flour mills, which have a capacity of eighty bar- 
rels per day. They are a fine plant and are made 
productive of excellent dividends by the business 
ability of Mr. Brown. In addition to this enter- 
prise, he is one of the leading stockmen of the 
country and also has one of the largest ranches 
in this part of the county. Also, Mr. Brown has 
won distinction as a fruit grower, as he has one 
of the choice orchards of the county, it being 
situated on Thirtymile creek. In all these lines 
of industry, Mr. Brown has always manifested 
that same sagacity, wise planning, and thorough 
execution that characterize him as a business man. 
He certainly has gained success. It will be more 
patent, as we proceed in recounting his career, 
that this is the more to be commended. 

W. N. Brown was born in Polk county, Ore- 
gon, on January 25, 1852. George Brown, his 
father, was born in Kentucky and went as a 
pioneer to Missouri. In 1847, he crossed the 
plains to Oregon, and the next year went down 
to California to seek gold. He mined a year 
and then returned to Polk county and in 1850;. 
purchased one of the Applegate farms. That was 
the family home until his death, which occurred 
in 1903. He was a man of stamina and courage 
and his life was spent in such a way that when 
the time of departure came, he was mourned by 
all. He had been prominent and gained wealth. 
He married Miss Martha A. Hinds, in Yamhill 1 
county, Oregon, in 1850. She was born in Mis- 
souri, crossed the plains in 1847, being in the 
same train as her husband, and is now dwelling 
in Polk county. Our subject was educated in 
Polk county and remained with his father, until 
January, 1874. Then he desired to try life for 
himself and accordingly came east of the moun- 
tains. He arrived in Condon, or where Condon 
is now, with a saddle and cayuse, twenty dollars 
in his pocket and a six shooter in his belt. He 
immediately secured employment as a cowboy 
and was known all over the country as "Snipkie 
Bill," a sobriquet donated by the cowboys. He 
rode the range and saved his money until he had 
enough to justify him in starting in for himself. 
He secured some cattle on shares and went to 
raising stock, having also bought some. From 
that time on the prosperity of Mr. Brown was 
more pronounced and he soon rose to the posi- 
tion of a leading stockman of the country. He 
has continued in that business since and is hand- 
ling at the present time a large quantity of stock. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



629 



His fruit industry has grown up on the head- 
quarters ranch and he has an excellent orchard. 
In 1903,' Mr. Brown purchased the milling prop- 
erty mentioned and since then he has been hand- 
ling that. 

In 1882, Mr. Brown married Miss Maggie 
Shorb. She was born in Maryland, and crossed 
the plains with her parents, J. D. and Elizabeth 
Shorb, in 1862. They settled in Washington 
county, Oregon, and there reside at this time. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Brown, two children have been 
"born : G. G. and Pearl. Mr. Brown is a member 
■of the A. F. & A. M., and is a leading and 
prominent man. 



JOHN J. BROWN, deceased. Although the 
gentleman, whose name appears above, has ceased 
to move in our midst, still his labors are every- 
where evident to the dweller in Gilliam county 
and he is to be classed as one of the builders of 
the county. As a pioneer, he was brave and 
hardy and never quailed at the hardships of the 
frontier. He was a loving and wise father and a 
devoted husband. In the walks of life he so con- 
ducted himself that he won the unstinted praise 
and esteem of his fellows and his wise counsels 
were of much benefit to assist in the opening and 
•starting of this county and its progress. 

John J. Brown was born in Missouri, on 
March 7, 1848, the son of Silas and Jane A. 
(Blair) Brown, natives of Missouri and Ken- 
tucky, respectively. In 1852, the father brought 
"his family across the plains and settled on a don- 
ation claim in Lane county, this state. He was 
an industrious and progressive man and labored 
faithfully in his day for the opening of the coun- 
try and its advancement. Our subject was reared 
and educated in Lane county and there remained 
until 1874, when he came east of the mountains 
to try his fortune in the new country where In- 
dians were about the sole inhabitants. They set- 
tled on Rock creek and he and his wife started to 
make a home in the country where the wild ani- 
mals roamed at will and the Indians were many 
-and the white neighbors were but few. They 
erected rude improvements to start with and 
-gathered some cattle about them. As the time 
wore on, they builded better and the stock in- 
creased. The Dalles, one hundred miles distant, 
was the nearest trading point and they had much 
to contend with in establishing themselves here 
and in continuing. Mr. Brown labored on faith- 
fully, meeting with the success that sagacity and 
thrift deserve, until 1890, when he sickened and 
later was called hence by death. 

In 1870, Mr. Brown married Miss Mary 



Sparks, who was born in Wells county, Indiana, 
on April 16, 185 1. Her parents, Abel and Eliza- 
beth (Douglas) Sparks who were born in Ken- 
tucky and Pennsylvania, respectively, crossed the 
plains in 1852. The father died en route and the 
mother came on to the Willamette valley which 
was her home until 1870, when she came to this 
vicinity. To our subject and his wife the follow- 
ing named children have been born : Frank M., 
Charles A., Herbert G, W. Campbell, Elsie A., 
and John J. They are all engaged in stock rais- 
ing and are among the prosperous people of this 
section. They have considerable land and other 
property and have carried on the business which 
the father left to them. Mrs. Brown with her 
family is to be commended on the success at- 
tained since the death of Mr. Brown in the busi- 
ness affairs. She and her children are highly re- 
spected people and are among the leading citizens 
of this part of the county. 



JAMES F. COOKE has made a success in 
Gilliam county in financial matters which mani- 
fests him a man of ability and judgment, far 
above the average. He is one of the heaviest 
land owners of the county and has devoted him- 
self so assiduously to his business in his stay in 
this county that he has won success in every part. 
He is a man of keen foresight, persevering and 
careful. His standing in the county is of the best 
and he has done much to expedite and assist the 
development of the country to its present pros- 
perous condition. 

James F. Cooke was born in Eldorado county, 
California. His father, James D. Cooke, was 
born in England and made his way to the United 
States in early life. In 1852, he crossed the 
plains to California and there spent some time in 
mining. Then he took a homestead in the 
vicinity of Dixon, Solano county, the same state 
and there devoted himself to farming until his 



death, which occurred in 1886. He had married 
Miss Mira Dudley. Our subject was reared and 
educated in California and there remained with 
his father until 1884, when he journeyed north. 
He traveled over much country and finally 
selected a homestead and timber culture near 
where Condon is now located. He set about the 
good work of improving the claims and remained 
until he was satisfied that the "country was what 
he desired then returned to California to visit the 
folks and to secure the company of his brother. 
In 1887, with his brother, R. W. Cooke, he came 
back to Oregon and they settled on the claims 
and went to raising stock. They soon bought 
more land and the estate has increased until they 



6 3 o 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



now have two thousand two hundred and forty 
acres, one thousand of which are cropped an- 
nually to grain. In addition to handling this 
mammoth acreage to the cereals, they raise large 
numbers of horses and mules. Their stock is well 
bred and they have so conducted their business 
that they have become wealthy. When the Cooke 
brothers started in this country, they had no 
means save a few dollars for the present need of 
their living. They have gained their magnificent 
holding and wealth entirely by their own labors 
and sagacity in the management of their business. 
They have all the improvements and machinery 
needed on a first class stock and grain ranch and 
are thrifty and up to date business men. 



JOHN DYSART. Among the men who have 
won the best of success from fertile Oregon's 
resources we are constrained to mention the gen- 
tleman whose name appears above, and who has 
labored here with display of great industry and 
wisdom for nearly twenty years. He is a native 
son of Scotia's rugged hills, and was well edu- 
cated and trained in the art of farming. A skill- 
ful and wise father taught him the art of breed- 
ing stock, and thrift and sagacity in the manage- 
ment of affairs. He was favored with the train- 
ing given in the public schools of his native land 
and above all he came from the stanch Scotch 
family, one point of whose history is, that they 
are never known to brook defeat. Filled with 
the native determination and hopefulness of his 
race, he was led by an adventurous spirit in the 
eighties to prepare for life in a more extended 
country favored with greater opportunities for 
the rising generation. Accordingly he searched 
the books and finally decided that the United 
States, rather than any of the colonies, was the 
place for him to operate, and the year 1888 saw 
him bidding his loving people good bye and em- 
barking for the untried country. Having been 



born on May 11, 1866, he was but twenty-two 
when this important change in his life occurred. 
His parents, John and Grace (Carmichael) Dy- 
sart, were both natives of Scotland and there 
they remained. After due search in the west, our 
young immigrant finally determined to locate in 
the territory now embraced in Wheeler county. 
He went to work at once and for seven years 
wrought with industry and close attention to 
business. Then he had accumulated a band of 
sheep for himself and he sought another location. 
He finally came to the place where he now lives, 
1 .'bout eight miles northwest from Condon, and 
there took a homestead, which was but a 
nucleus of his estate. He continued to purchase 



land as the time wore on until he has secured 
two thousand acres of the best soil near him. He 
is occupied in farming this land and in handling 
his stock, of which he still has large bands. He 
has achieved a splendid success in his labors and 
is one of the leading men of this part of the state. 
His place is well improved and the whole prem- 
ises proclaim a proprietor of wisdom and thrift. 
At the close of 1902, our subject's father was 
called to the world beyond. He was aged sev- 
enty-two, was still vigorous and hearty, and at the 
precise moment was engaged in cutting a tree 
down. While in this work he was suddenly 
taken. In 1898 Mr. Dysart made a visit to 
his native land and then deemed the time had 
come for him to take to himself the chosen com- 
panion of his life, and accordingly he married 
Miss Mary Clark, a Scotch lassie, who was born 
and reared in the land of the Scotts. She has 
proved a true helpmeet to Mr. Dysart and to- 
gether they share the home and competence he 
had so industriously acquired. Her parents were 
David and Ann (Adam) Clark, both natives of 
Scotland. To our subject and his wife, two chil- 
dren have been born, Charlie and Grace. 



WILLIAM CAMPBELL is possessed of the 
native thrift of his race and shows it in the excel- 
lent success he has attained in Gilliam county. 
Born of sturdy Scotch people, reared amid the 
surroundings of a Canadian home, he gathered 
not only a fine education from books and the ex- 
cellent Ontario schools, but also a knowledge of 
men and things that has enabled him to take ad- 
vantage of the good opportunities of this favored 
region. He is a skilled farmer and stockman 
and is one of the representative and leading men 
of the county. 

William Campbell was born in Bonnie Auld 
Scotland, on August 17, 1853. His father, Peter 
Campbell, was also born in the same land and 
came from one of the prominent families of the 
Lowlands. His father, the grandfather of Wil- 
liam, was a leader of a clan. In 1864, Peter 
Campbell came to Ontario, and after selecting 
a good farm, which he purchased, he entered the 
employ of the Canadian Land Company, a large 
concern, with which he remained until he retired 
from business. He is now ninety-one years of 
age and is dwelling on the estate he purchased 
when he came to Canada. He married Miss 
Isabella Heburn, a native Scotch lady and de- 
scended from a prominent and wealthv family. 
Our subject remained in the Canadian home, 
whither he had come with the family when eleven 
years of age, gaining his education and laboring 





Mr. and Mrs. John Dysart 



William Campbell 








Stephen B. Couture 



MVilliam Twilley 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



631 



on his father's farm until of age. Then he 
handled the farm for his father until 1883, when 
he made his way west. He had heard various 
rumors of the great state of Oregon, and also, 
he had made a study of the country and had de- 
termined to land in Umatilla county. He con- 
tinued there for three years and then the favor- 
able region where he now dwells appealed to him 
and he became enticed thither. He purchased 
land and engaged in stock raising. To this he 
has added farming and now he owns eight hun- 
dred acres of choice land, has it well improved, 
and also has a band of stock. He owns one hun- 
dred fine cattle besides other stock, and he has 
been favored with the best of success, owing to 
his skill and untiring care in his business. 

In 1879, while in Ontario, Mr. Campbell mar- 
ried Miss Maggie R. Anderson, a native of 
Scotland, born May 1, 1856. She came to Canada 
with her parents when small. Mr. and Mrs. 
Campbell have become the parents of four chil- 
dren, Jessie I., Lily, George S., and Sybill. 

Mrs. Campbell's parents were Alexander and 
Lillie (Walker) Anderson, natives of Scotland. 
The former died in 1869, aged sixty-two, and the 
latter died in 1904, aged eighty-four. Mrs. Camp- 
bell has the following named brothers and sisters : 
Thomas, residing in Ontario ; Mrs. Mary Fallie, 
residing in Ontario ; Mrs. Agnes Wood, in Mich- 
igan ; Annie, at the old home in Ontario ; Mrs. 
Jemina Roberts, also in Ontario; William, in 
Manitoba ; and Mrs. Jessie Niles, in Ontario. 
Mr. Campbell has the following named brothers 
and sisters : Robert, residing in Ontario, Can- 
ada ; Mrs. Ann McGregor, deceased ; Mrs. Isa- 
bella Brady, deceased ; Peter, deceased ; Mrs. 
Jane Christie, of Toronto, Canada ; Mrs. Mary 
Hilliar, of Toronto, Canada ; John, at the old 
home in Ontario ; James, deceased ; Mrs. Lizzie 
Barr, in Iowa ; and Jessie, at the old home. 



STEPHEN B. COUTURE is a true repre- 
sentative of the prosperous Oregon farmer and 
stockman. He dwells ten miles west from Con- 
don and has a place which his labor has carved 
out and which is valuable and productive. He 
is a man of enterprise and intelligence and keeps 
himself abreast of the times, while in his business 
labors he has always shown a diligence and thrift 
coupled with true principles that have won both 
the reward of a good competence and the esteem 
of his fellows. 

Stephen B. Couture was born in Monroe 
county, Michigan, on June 6, 1866, the son of 
Louis and Elizabeth (Nado) Couture, both 
natives of Michigan and prominent and well to 
do people there. Stephen B. received his edu- 



cation in his native place and there he was reared 
by a wise father. When of proper age, he started 
out in life for himself, and in 1887 he made h„is 
way west. He deemed that this country pre- 
sented better opportunities for him than the east, 
and also he desired to gratify an adventurous 
spirit that led him to new things and other 
achievements than the continuation of home life. 
He first wrought here for wages and then took' 
a homestead where he is now located. He at 
once began the good work of improvement and 
in due time he was in shape to purchase other 
land. He has done so from time to time until 
his estate is now between seven and eight hun- 
dred acres. To the handling of this and raising 
stock, Mr. Couture devotes his time and he is suc- 
cessful in a good degree. 

In 1896 occurred the marriage of Mr. Cou- 
ture and Miss Clara Lamberson, who was born 
in the Willamette valley. Her father, Samuel 
Lamberson, was a native of Tuscarawas county, 
Ohio, and crossed the plains with ox teams in 
1845. He made settlement in the Willamette 
valley, and when gold was discovered in Cali- 
fornia he went thither with a pack train and 
mined for one year. Then he returned to the 
Willamette valley and there lived until 1876, in 
which year he journeyed to the vicinity of Fos- 
sil. He handled stock there until 1883, and then 
settled in Ferry canyon, which was his home 
until his death. He had married Miss Mary J. 
Armstrong, a native of Illinois. She crossed the 
plains with her parents in 1852. Her mother 
died en route, and her father died at The Dalles 
soon after arriving there. Mrs. Couture has 
nine brothers and sisters named as follows : John 
A., Timothy S., Abner M., Mrs. Sarah Smith, 
Mrs. Nora Beardsley, Mrs. Mary E. Palmer, 
Mrs. Lettie Downing, Mrs. Anna Shorb, and 
Mrs. Lillie Portwood. John A. is a physician in 
Lebanon, Oregon, and Timothy is in Arizona. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Couture three children have 
been born, Wilbur S., Vellnia, and John Henry. 
Mr. Couture has seven brothers and sisters, 
Louis and James, who are prosperous farmers in 
this vicinity ; John, Elwood, Henry, Mrs. Mary 
Santure, and Mrs. Julia Collins, Elizabeth. Mr. 
Couture started in life without means and all he 
now has accumulated is the result of his labor 
an dhis wisdom. He and his wife are among 
the highly respected and esteemed people of this 
section. 



WILLIAM TWILLEY has had an adven- 
turous and busy career. He was born in Flor- 
ida, in 1869, and now lives on the farm three 
miles east from Ajax. His father was William 



632 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Twilley. He died when our subject was very 
small, and the mother married again. When 
twelve, William left his native place and came 
west to Kansas. After herding sheep for a while 
he began the life of a cowboy and became excep- 
tionally expert in breaking horses. After fol- 
lowing that business there for four years, he 
went to Arizona and thence a year later to Walla 
Walla. In this latter place he hired to a farmer 
to work through the harvest and was sent one 
morning to hitch the horses to the header. Hav- 
ing always lived in a country where no small 
grain was raised, he had never seen the machinery 
for its harvesting and the result was that he 
hitched the horses to the header backwards, 
which caused no small merriment among the 
wheat farmers. After that harvest, Mr. Twilley 
went to Lewiston and again rode on the range 
around that point, Mt. Idaho and the Snake river. 
Next we see him around Pendleton in the same 
business. He also bought and sold horses and 
took contracts for breaking them and gained the 
name of being the most skillful and expert horse- 
man in this part of the country. Large shippers 
from the east employed him in breaking the 
horses and he handled hundreds of them. Later 
he sold this business and went to North Yakima. 
A short time thereafter he journeyed to the Wil- 
lamette valley and farmed there for three years. 
Next we see him in Alaska, and six months later 
he went back to the Willamette valley. Shortly 
after that he moved to Shaniko and opened a 
butcher shop, feed yard and dairy. His was the 
second tent to be pitched in that town. He 
handled large freighting outfits to various parts 
of the country, then sold out and came to Ferry 
canyon, where he leased four hundred and forty 
acres of land. The last year he threshed eleven 
thousand bushels of wheat, feeding portions of 
it to his hogs, and hauled the rest sixty miles to 
market. He has recently taken a homestead 
where he dwells at the present time.' Mr. Twilley 
now owns twenty head of horses, nine head of 
cattle and some hogs. Last year his hogs brought 
him over eight hundred dollars. 

On May 30, 1894, Mr. Twilley married Miss 
Virtue Chandler, who was born in Minnesota, 
on June 10, 1878. Her father, John Chandler, 
was born in Maine, in 1840, and is now living in 
Pendleton, Oregon. To our subject and his wife 
five children have been born, Ola, Ora and Stella, 
deceased, Gracie and Archie. Mr. Twiller car- 
ries a policy in the New York Mutual for five 
thousand dollars. He is a thorough business man 
and a good citizen, takes an active part in poli- 
tics, being a Republican, and is one of the sub- 
stantial men in this county. 



MYRON O. CLARKE, a leading citizen and 
pioneer of Gilliam county, is also one of the most 
enterprising business men of Condon. He is at 
the head of a large hardware and furniture estab- 
lishment, which is doing a mammoth business 
and which has been built up by the skill and abil- 
ity of Mr. Clarke. He is justly entitled to be 
classed with the builders of this county and an 
epitome of his life will be found interesting to 
all. 

Myron O. Clarke was born in Derby, Ver- 
mont, on September 5, 1859. His father, Barney 
D. Clarke, was also born in Vermont and was a 
skilled cabinet maker and prominent citizen. He 
was in the employ of the government during the 
Civil War and also held many offices of trust at. 
the hands of his fellow citizens in his native place, 
where he remained until his death. He married 
Miss Laura Kendall, who came from a prom- 
inent family. She was related to the Redfields, 
Proctors, and Colbys and her father, Peleg R. 
Kendall, was a very prominent attorney in Rut- 
land, Vermont. 

Our subject was educated in the district 
schools of his native place and in 1876 went to 
California. Although young in life, still he pos- 
sessed that self reliance which is requisite to 
meet and overcome the obstacles in the path to 
success. He wrought on a ranch near Salinas, 
then spent a year on Union island and in 1878, 
came thence to Lone Rock, Gilliam county, where 
he took a ranch and engaged in horse raising. At 
that time Mr. Clarke had no means and started 
in the pioneer's life with bare hands and a deter- 
mined spirit to win success. He prospered from 
the start, owing to his sagacity and careful man- 
agement, and he was always interested in politics 
and in the welfare of the community. In 1894, 
he was elected assessor in his county and for 
eight years he held the office to the satisfaction 
of all concerned. In 1901, Mr. Clarke, in com- 
pany with H. N. Frazer, opened a hardware and 
furniture store in Condon. They started in on a 
small scale but soon enlarged and by their kindly 
ways and business methods secured a fine patron- 
age. In July, 1903, Mr. Frazer sold his interest 
and in the fellowing January, Mr. Clarke pur- 
chased it himself. Since that time he has contin- 
ued in the business with marked success. His 
trade is constantly increasing and he is supplying 
to the demand a full line of all kinds of goods 
handled in his establishment. Mr. Clarke is a 
leading business man of this part of the state and 
he has many friends. 

In 1884, Mr. Clarke married Miss Sadie Bald- 
ing. She was born in Iowa and came to this 
country with her parents in 1876. They settled 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



633 



in Lost Valley and although Mrs. Clarke had to 
ride five or six miles to and from school, still she 
secured a fine education and is a cultured lady. 
Mrs. Clarke's father is Fredrick Balding, a pio- 
neer of Gilliam county. To our subject and his 
wife, the following named children have been 
born : Lilla M., who took a course in a Portland 
business college and is now keeping books for 
her father ; Florence R., who has finished the 
Condon schools ; Herbert and Katie, school chil- 
dren. Mr. Clarke is a member of the K. P. and 
the W. W. He is a man of stability and enter- 
prise and has also shown an integrity and probity 
that distinguish him as a leading citizen. 



F. H. DOUGLASS is a representative citizen 
of Gilliam county. He landed here without cap- 
ital and is now one of the wealthiest men of the 
county. His holding has been made by honest 
labor and a proper handling of the resources 
found here. He is a man of ability and stamina 
and has done a noble work in assisting to build 
up and advance the interests of the county and 
is a man in whom all have confidence. 

F. H. Douglass was born in Nova Scotia, in 
i860. His father, John Douglass, was born in 
the same place as this son and married Mary 
Young, a native of Nova Scotia. For twenty-one 
years, Mr. Douglass remained with his parents, 
receiving in that time a good education and a 
splendid training from his father. Then he mi- 
grated to Minnesota determined to try his fortune 
in that land. For one year he wrought on a farm 
and then spent one year in a store working for 
the railroad company. After that, he came to his 
present location, landing here in October, 1883. 
He took a homestead and while holding that, 
worked for wages for five years. Then he be- 
gan farming and since that he has bought two 
sections of land. He rents two sections in addi- 
tion to this, farming it all, two thousand seven 
hundred and twenty acres of land. This mam- 
moth estate is producing annually, very large and 
gratifying returns, owing to the skillful manage- 
ment of Mr. Douglass. He has shown himself 
a man of ability in handling such large enter- 
prises and his farm is one of the largest in the 
county. When we consider the fact that Mr. 
Douglass worked for wages for five years after 
coming here, in order to get a start, and that he 
has now a holding among the very choicest in 
this wealthy county, we are enabled to see in 
some respects how well he has wrought. He is a 
man who concentrates his efforts and plans in 
doing well what he does at all. This is one of 
the secrets of his success. Added to this, he is a 



man of thrift and takes great care oft every de- 
tail of his business. Since commencing farming 
on this place, he has remained here steadily 
handling the estate until the present time. 

Mr. Douglass has two brothers, George, in 
Nova Scotia, and William, in Seattle. He al- 
ways takes a keen interest in politics and is al- 
lied with the Republican party. He believes in 
general and educational advancement thoroughly 
and has devoted his efforts to these worthy ends 
in no uncertain manner. He is entitled to the 
respect and confidence of his people which he re- 
ceives generously and he holds an influential and 
leading place in the community. 

On January 10, 1905, Mr. Douglass married 
Sophia J. Cook, of Harborville, Kings county, 
Nova Scotia. This popular couple will make 
their home on the estates Mr. Douglass has ac- 
quired and they have the good will and esteem 
of all. 



JOHN HARRISON has shown what a man 
can do in Gilliam county when he takes hold with 
a determination to win the smiles of dame for- 
tune. This favored region is one of the best in 
the west for those who are willing to display in- 
dustry and thrift and the magnificent resources 
that have for years lain ready for the hand of man 
are but beginning to open their treasures to the 
enterprising ones. Mr. Harrison is a man of de- 
cided worth and stability and his labors here for 
the last twenty odd years have shown a wisdom 
and continuity that cOuld but produce the grati- 
fying results now in hand. He owns over twelve 
hundred acres of choice grazing and grain land, 
all well improved, has a good residence in Con- 
don, besides others through the country, has a 
large number of sheep, together with other stock, 
and is, withal, one of the most prosperous men 
of the county. All this has been gained by the 
wise efforts which he has made in the years gone 

by- 
John Harrison was born in Lincolnshire, 
England, on September 27, 1852, and there he 
was reared and well educated. His father, James 
B. Harrison, was born in the same place as this 
son and was a prominent agriculturist and stock- 
man there. He married Miss Mary Hesnip, also a 
native of the same locality. Thirty years were 
spent by our subject in the old country, then he 
was led by an enterprising and adventurous spirit 
to come to the west, choosing the United States as 
the objective point of his journey. Just why he was 
led to Gilliam county, we are not told, but in due 
time he was in the territory that is now embraced 
in this county. He was quick to discover the op- 
portunities offered to the industrious here and 



634 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



he availed himself of them. Condon was not in 
existence then, few settlers were found on the 
broad prairies and when he settled on Thirtymile 
creek and embarked in the sheep business, he was 
fifty miles from the nearest supply point. Mr. 
Harrison had no capital when he started and the 
adversity and hardships he met with would have 
discouraged a less resolute man than he. But he 
was not made of material that fainted at adver- 
sity, he could journey with her and then gain 
success, and he did, as is abundantly evidenced 
by his holdings at this time. In due time the 
country settled up and Mr. Harrison was al- 
ways a leader in the improvements that have 
come and that are soon to be in this rich section. 
To our subject and his wife the following 
named children have been born: Mrs. Ethel 
Weise, Mrs. Maud May, Mrs. Julia Thompson, 
Mrs. Nellie Martin, Mrs. Sicily Palmer, John W., 
Charlie, Fred and Francis. 



S. S. GRIDER was born in Knox county, 
Indiana, on August n, 1854, the son of James 
and Martha (Bowman) Grider. The father was 
born in the same place as this son, and his father, 
the grandfather of our subject, was one of the 
earliest settlers in the territory now embraced in 
Indiana. The mother was born in Davies county, 



Indiana. The family came across the plains to 
California in 1874 and settled in Butte county. 
Our subject received his education in" his native 
state and learned the carpenter trade when 
young. In 1874 he accompanied his parents 
across the plains and for a time wrought in the 
Golden State. In 1881, he came thence to the 
present site of Condon and took a homestead 
nearby. He erected improvements and also built 
the first house in Condon. Since then, Mr. 
Grider has divided his attention between farm- 
ing and stock raising on his estate near by, and 
contracting and building in the town and the 
surrounding country. He has prospered exceed- 
ingly well and is possessed of much property. His 
estate is about five hundred acres and he has 
gained all his property by the arduous labor he 
has done. 

The marriage of Mr. Grider and Miss Sarah 
McCarty occurred in 1885 and they have been 
blessed by the advent of two children, Walter V v 
and Maud L. Mrs. Grider was born in Douglas 
county, Oregon, the daughter of W. R. and E. A. 
(Lovelady) McCarty, natives of Missouri. They 
crossed the plains with ox teams in 1847 and set- 
tled in the Willamette valley. Later they re- 
moved to Douglas county. . Mr. and Mrs. Grider 
are well respected people, have a goodly com- 
petence, an interesting family, and have well 
earned the pleasant position they now occupy. 



PART V 



HISTORY OF WHEELER COUNTY 



CHAPTER 1 



PASSING EVENTS— 1859 TO 1905. 



Wheeler county lies in central Oregon, its 
west line being very nearly the centre of the state, 
from east to west, while its southern line is about 
one-third of the distance from the northern 
boundary of Oregon to the north line of Cali- 
fornia. What white man first looked upon the 
face of .the country now embraced in this politi- 
cal division, we have no means of ascertaining. 
Doubtless some restless and energetic trapper 
would have that honor, but who he was, whither 
he went, and whence he came, are questions 
probably never to be settled by this generation. 
This we do know, however, that the general his- 
tory of eastern and central Oregon, as to early 
days, is much the same for each county, in that 
the discovery of gold in various portions of the 
northwest led men from every quarter to 
engage in mining. These incoming treasure- 
seekers traversed various portions of Oregon on 
their journeys to the "diggings" and there is no 
doubt that very early in Oregon history some of 
these pilgrimages led through the country now 
embraced in Wheeler county. When the cry 
came that in the Boise basin, on the Salmon and 
about Orofino, placer gold was discovered, large 
numbers of men came not only from the east to 
these different points, but every settlement on the 
Pacific coast sent its quota of prospectors and 
gold seekers. 'The large stream that came from 
California found its way through the Klamath 
country, generally, while the major portion of 
that from the Willamette valley and other points 
in this northwest country followed the old emi- 



grant road back towards the gold camps. How- 
ever, as early as the later fifties we find record 
of parties making their way up the John Day 
river and so across the country. These were oc- 
casional, only, and no definite record is left of 
their routes until after General Harney took 
charge of the Department of Oregon, with head- 
quarters at Vancouver, arriving there in October,. 
1858. Being a man of sound judgment and 
knowing well the advantages to be derived from 
opening the country by feasible roads, he dis- 
patched in the following April, Captain D. H. 
Wallen, with a party to ascertain if it were 
feasible to establish a road up the John Day val- 
ley and thence to the Malheur valley and so to 
the Snake. Captain Wallen pushed his explora- 
tions as far as the Harney valley, and, doubtless,, 
his way led through the central portion of what 
is now Wheeler county. He met with no In- 
dians, it being shown later that they had avoided 
him, and after his journey had progressed well 
into the interior, they fell upon the friendly In- 
dians and whites on the Warm Springs reserva- 
tion. Beyond getting away with some stock, it is 
not stated that they did further damage. Gen- 
eral Harney was called on for protection and he 
sent rifles and ammunition. A company of 
friendly Indians was organized and equipped by 
the agent and under the command of Dr. Thomas 
L. Fitch, they pursued the marauders with the re- 
sult that some horses were recovered, a few wo- 
men and children were captured and several of 
the thieving Indians were killed. 



'6$6 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



In the spring of i860, General Harney sent 
•out another expedition to continue the explora- 
tions made the year before by Captain Wallen. 
This was in charge of Major E. Stein, and one 
accompanying it was commanded by Captain A. 
J. Smith. They were resisted by the Indians 
and called for reinforcements, which enabled 
them to force the Redskins out of the way and 
proceed with the explorations. Stein reached as 
far as the mountains now called by his name. 
These are the record* of the first established 
roads, or trails, more correctly speaking, for all 
transportation was by pack animals then, pass- 
ing through our territory now under con- 
sideration. In 1 86 1 an expedition passed 
through central Oregon in search of the fa- 
mous "Blue Bucket" diggings, which they failed 
to locate. Becoming discouraged, some returned 
and others were instrumental in locating good" 
ground in other parts of the state. Part of the 
company started down the John Day to return to 
Portland, but some, at least, of them were mur- 
dered by the Indians. In 1862 came the discov- 
*ery of gold in what is now Grant county, on 
Canyon creek and others adjacent. This brought 
more men from all quarters and many who were 
on their way to the Idaho diggings remained to 
work in these new found placers. Then parties 
began to utilize the blazed out routes of Wallen 
and Stein to make their way from The Dalles to 
Canyon City, or "Upper town" as then called, the 
new camp on Canyon creek. Immediately the 
business of supplying the rapidly enlarging camp 
with provisions sprang up, and the most feasible 
route was from Canyon creek over the country to 
The Dalles. The first party to make the journey 
from Canyon creek to The Dalles with a pack- 
ing outfit for supplies, so far as known, was a 
company made up of two or three from each 
party of Califonians who had come to the new 
camp. They reached The Dalles in safety and 
coming back made some improvements on the 
trail, straightening it, and so forth. The enter- 
prising people of The Dalles, in order to draw 
the trade to themselves, being the natural supply 
point for this region, sent out parties to select 
the best route for the trail and improve it so that 
travel would be facilitated. At a later date the 
company known as The Dalles Military Wagon 
Road Company, secured a grant of land and 
made some improvements on this route. The 
citizens of The Dalles and the packers had made 
the road in fairly good shape, and freight teams 
began in a measure to replace the pack trains. 
However, the company improved it some. This 
route entered the territory now embraced in 
Wheeler countv near where Burnt Ranch post- 
office now stands and followed the John Dav river 



to Bridge creek, thence up Bridge creek to 
where Mitchell now stands, thence up the 
east branch of Bridge creek to the north 
branch of Badger creek, thence down 
Badger creek to where Caleb now stands and 
thence east along Mountain creek until it 
reached the border of what is now Grant county, 
about three miles west from the John Day river. 
As a full history of this company appears in an- 
other portion of this volume, we need not en- 
large upon it here, but would say, that while 
every one at all acquainted with the deal under- 
stands the fraud practiced upon the people and 
the government, still, perhaps, we can say justly 
that they did some good in aiding, at least in a 
measure, the trave! of those early days. We do 
not say that they did, but, perhaps they did. But 
now, the citizens of Wheeler county have to bear 
the chagrin of knowing that this octopus owns 
49,932 acres of valuable land within the pre- 
cincts of Wheeler county, the price of supposed 
efforts put forth to build a road, which the enter- 
prising people of The Dalles and the hardy 
prsopectors and miners in reality constructed. 

But to return to the narative, the road was 
the highway for great quantities of freight, both 
on pack animals and in wagons, for all the early 
years while the placer diggings yielded rich re- 
turns to the miners. What a highway it was, in 
those early days, that wound its way through our 
county ! From the time the bell mare with her 
tinkling music led the train up the hills from The 
Dalles until they halted, dusty and worn, either 
in "Lower Town" or "Upper Town," on Canyon 
creek, the wary packer was ever alert to ward off 
dangers both seen and unseen. And these dan- 
gers were of the most severe kind. Vicious sav- 
ages were constantly harassing, seeking plunder 
and scalps, more despicable "road agents," as 
thev were termed, dogged the steps of the trav- 
eller, and at opportune moments for his nefar- 
ious work, did not hesitate to murder, if his de- 
mands were not promptly met. Night and day, 
every moment, called for the most painstaking 
care and attention on the part of the parties who 
wended their way over this route. Snake In- 
dians, Bannock Indians, Paiute Indians, rene- 
gade Indians, Umatilla Indians, and others, art- 
ful, vicious, cunning, and cruel to the native in- 
stinct of the savage ; white men. with black 
hearts, plotters against the lives and property of 
their fellows ; wild beasts ; rattlesnakes, and even 
the sneaking coyote, all combined to levy tribute 
on these hardy and brave men who threaded this 
frontier road, and could we collect the incidents 
that have occurred on its length, surely the vol- 
ume would thrill all readers, — but the tales, most 
of them, will never be recorded on the written 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



637 



page. Many a happy heart left the fireside at 
home, buoyant with the hope that he would find 
the fortune that would minister to the needs of 
his loved ones, only to read in the fiendish eyes 
of a cruel savage the doom of his life, or 
wounded, to crawl away in some hidden nook to 
calmly wait the death watch, alone and unat- 
tended. But death, itself, would not deter such 
men as found their way into central Oregon in 
those days. A writer of the Oregonian in 1886 
says : 

/ 
For several miles south of upper Currant creek, and 
west of a small stream called the Muddy, which comes 
from the south and strikes Currant creek at right 
angles, is a large scope of country of peculiar forma- 
tion. The appearance of the locality can be best un- 
derstood by the name "Potato Hills," given to it by 
the first travelers along the route. These small grassy 
knolls were clustered thickly over the expanse, inter- 
spersed with scrubby pines and clusters of Service- 
berry, wild plum and greasewood bushes. These potato 
hills increase in size, elevation and ruggedness to the 
east, a distance of nearly five miles, till the little stream 
of the Muddy is reached, when the hills give place to 
bluffs of shelving and scale rocks. 

In this locality the Snake Indians made their prin- 
cipal attacks upon trains and travelers in 1862, though 
the whole distance from this point to Canyon City was 
subject to their attacks. Down this creek filed a pack 
train belonging to a man named Nelson, who was on 
his return from The Dalles, with a load of goods. 
Along the creek were numerous clusters of wild cur- 
rant bushes, from which the creek received its name, 
affording excellent shelter for the skulking Indians. The 
packers were gaily or otherwise urging their mules 
along the gravelly path, and had possibly forgotten that 
the locality was a dangerous one. 

The train was strung out down the narrow trail, the 
bell mare and rider far in the lead. An abrupt, though 
low, ledge of rocks was a few rods to the left of the 
trail, the creek with its skirting of currant bushes close 
to the right; the packers were busy '"fixing" the packs, 
and the riding animals were loose on the trail. Sud- 
denly the rider of the bell mare shouted "Indians!" 
to those behind, and, clapping spurs to his horse, clat- 
tered off down the trail at a keen run. Out from the 
currant bushes, down from the ledge of rocks poured 
the Indians. Some tried to catch the mules, others 
opened fire on the packers with bows and arrows and 
guns, ajid the only thing left for the packers was to 
quickly mount their riding animals and hurry back 
up the trail. The Indians were altogether too num- 
erous to be contended with by two men, who were only 
armed with revolvers. Fifty well armed Indians were 
too many to attack. The music of the fleeing bell, 
far in the front, could be heard no more, and the only 
thing left for the two rear riders was to watch from 



an elevation while the Indianns chased their spoil. The 
men all escaped unhurt, but the mules and cargoes 
were lost. 

Late in the fall of 1862, a party of five miners 
was camped on what has since been named Mur- 
derer's creek. They had chosen as a camping 
spot, a sheltered nook under a shelving rock. As 
they were near the road, and no signs of Indians 
had been seen, they deemed themselves safe. One 
evening they retired as usual, and spent some 
time conversing before going to sleep. Sud- 
denly the crack of four rifles rang out on the 
quiet evening air and simultaneously a shower 
of arrows sped in upon them from the neighbor- 
ing rocks. One man was killed outright and the 
other four were seriously wounded. Two of 
them struggled to the creek and down it for half 
a mile, when one, who could go no further, being 
mortally wounded with a rifle bullet, sank down. 
Later he crawled to a clump of bushes and there 
died. His companion painfully made his way to 
Officers ranch and expired the next day in great 
agony. The following summer a party of emi- 
grants, of whom G. I. Hazeltine was a member, 
camped near the spot where the first man died, 
and a couple of girls found a gold watch. Upon 
search the skeleton of a man was found, supposed 
to be the unfortunate miner. 

The remaining two members of the party 
escaped from their retreat through the bushes 
and rocks and in a clump of friendly bushes 
halted to stanch the blood from the wounds of the 
younger man, who had been hit in the side by a 
rifle bullet. He also had two less serious wounds 
from arrows. The other one of the two was an 
elderly man, and he was slightly wounded with 
an arrow. After dressing their wounds as best 
they could, they painfully and slowly made their 
Way over the rough country east towards Can- 
yon creek. They purposely avoided the road 
fearing the redskins lurking there. Finally the 
younger man gave out and he persuaded his com- 
panion to push on and leave him. The elder man 
did so, but the wound which appeared slight, was 
from a poisoned arrow and although he arrived 
at the Canyon creek camp, he eventually died. 
The younger man rested and then struggled on, 
bathing his wounds at every opportunity and fi- 
nally reached the camp. He received all the 
attention that could be given, but, although his 
wounds healed, he never regained his wonted 
vigor. 

These are but samples of incidents that were 
constantly occurring on this road from Canyon 
City to The Dalles and how many terrible battles 
occurred is the country now embraced in Wheeler 
county, we cannot tell, but, could the accounts of 



6 3 8 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



them be collected, they would form an interest- 
ing volume. 

As the knowledge of the camp at Canyon 
creek and adjacent places became better known, 
men flocked there in large numbers and the road 
through Wheeler county became a regular high- 
way, there constantly being packers, freighters, 
and prospectors going to and fro. Mail came in 
by way of The Dalles, by private parties, and 
' as early as 1864, we have record of an express 
being established on the road. The men who 
inaugurated this enterprise were Messrs. Edgar 
and Jones and they transported express to and 
from Canyon City and The Dalles. How exten- 
sive was their business we are not told. In the 
same year, however, there was established the 
first real stage line from The Dalles to Canyon 
City. This important enterprise was opened by 
the well known pioneer of Wheeler county, H. 
H. Wheeler, who now resides at Mitchell. He 
had come up to The Dalles from California and 
seeing the need of a stage line on this road from 
The Dalles to Canyon City, prepared an outfit 
and in May, 1864, started with a fourhorse team, 
a lever coach and eleven passengers from The 
Dalles to Canyon City. This was the initial trip 
and Mr. Wheeler handled this stage until 1868, 
making three trips each week. He had eight 
changes of horses, and each coach was supplied 
with four horses. Mr. Wheeler drove the first 
stage in person and had a full load of eleven pas- 
sengers, and also had as many on the return 
trip. He handled the Wells Fargo Express 
Co.'s business and also had a contract to carry 
the United States mail. The first mail carried, 
however, was not until the spring of 1865, and 
this was the first contract over this route. Mr. 
Wheeler received twelve thousand dollars from 
the government for transporting the mail each 
year, and his fare for passengers was forty dol- 
lars each way. This was a moderate charge con- 
sidering the length of the road, and the dangers 
encountered. Mr. Wheeler was not a man to be 
deterred from an enterprise undertaken and he 
managed it well for four years. 

On the seventh day of September, 1866, Mr. 
Wheeler was in person driving the stage and was 
about three miles easl from where the town of 
Mitchell now stands, when he was suddenly at- 
tacked by a band of fifteen or twenty murderous 
Snake Indians. H. C. Paige, the Wells Fargo 
messenger, was the only other person on the 
coach. At the first onslaught, the Indians fired 
a volley and Mr. Wheeler was hit in the mouth, 
the bullet going through both cheeks and knock- 
ing out some of his teeth and a portion of his 
jaw. The road was too rough to drive the stage 
away from them in a race, and the only thing left 



to do was to mount the leaders, which had never 
been ridden, and scurry away as fast as possible, 
leaving the stage and its cargo for spoil to the 
savages. Immediately, upon the first approach 
of the savages, Paige opened fire on them with a 
thirty-eight caliber Colt's revolver, his only wea- 
pon, and so pluckily did he keep up his fight that 
the savages were beaten off sufficiently to allow 
the leaders to be detached and thus he and Mr. 
Wheeler escaped. The cargo contained ten 
thousand dollars in greenbacks, three hundred 
dollars in coin, diamond rings, besides other val- 
uables. The Indians cut open the mail sacks, 
took what they liked, but overlooked the green- 
backs, or did not know their value, for they 
were found later, took the leather of the stage 
top, and all parts they desired and left. Mr. 
Wheeler and his companion made their way to 
the road house of C. W. Myers and Frank He- 
wot, the latter being known as "Alkali Frank," 
which was two miles farther east. Later they re- 
turned and gathered up what was to be found of 
the valuables and the United States mail. Mr. 
Wheeler went back to The Dalles to receive 
treatment for his wound. He lost heavily during 
his time on the stage, by thieving and marauding 
from the Indians. Eighty-nine horses in all were 
stolen besides much other property. But one of 
the strange things is. that though Mr. Wheeler 
went over the road perhaps more than any one. 
man, and although murders were common on 
every hand, still he escaped with the wound men- 
tioned, and lives to recount the stirring incidents 
of those days. 

In 1887, Secretary of State McBride pre- 
sented to the state of Oregon a long tin box, 
which is still kept in the state archives. It con- 
tains a thirty-eight,. Colt's revolver, large and 
heavy, a bowie knife, made from a butcher knife, 
two pairs of bullet moulds, two ramrods, and a 
belt. This is the accoutrement possessed by 
Paige at the time of the terrible struggle men- 
tioned above. The revolver is the instrument he 
used so tellingly against the Redskins and this 
small arsenal is highly prized as a relic of those 
days when Indians were on the warpath and the 
real westy spirit pervaded the now quiet and 
prosperous state of Oregon. 

The first real settlers in the territory now em- 
braced in Wheeler county, so far as we have any 
record, were brought in by the inducements of-, 
fered to supply needed refreshments and food for 
the freighters and prospectors who traveled the 
dangerous road above mentioned. The persons 
who so settled were C. A. Myers, and Frank 
Hewot, who was known as "Alkali Frank." They 
located on Bridge creek, some five miles east 
trom where Mitchell now stands in 1863. They 






HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



639 



established themselves in as good quarters as they 
could construct in those primitive days, enclosed 
and broke up land, sowed crops, raised stock, and 
also kept a stage station. Myers was born in 
Germany in 1819, came to California during the 
gold excitement in 1849 an d l ater went with the 
wave of migration that rolled northward into the 
regions of Oregon as we have mentioned above 
and in 1863 he located on Bridge creek. So far 
as is known, Mr. Myers was the first permanent 
settler in what is now Wheeler county, and, also, 
was the first one to locate permanently between 
the Des Chutes and Canyon creek. On the place 
selected, he erected a substantial house, proof 
against the marauding Indians, which was a place 
of refuge for many a weary and hard beset trav- 
eller. Mr. Myers was a typical frontiersman, and, 
not only did he establish himself in the country, 
but he set to with a will and soon had opened up 
a producing farm. He planted the first garden, 
raised the first grain, set out the first orchard 
and through thrift and enterprise he built a 
splendid home, and accumulated a competency. 
He remained in this section until Monday, Feb- 
ruary 3, 1903, when he was called to the realities 
of the world beyond. In 1864 George Jones set- 
tled in Spanish gulch, about two and one-half 
miles from the site of Antone postoffice, and en- 
gaged in farming and stock raising. He also 
did mining and was one of the men who assisted 
to open tip the country. In 1865, E. B. Allen set- 
tled near where Caleb postoffice now is located 
and gave his attention to stockraising. S. G. 
Coleman came to the same locality in the same 
year and also engaged in raising stock. In the 
same year, J. N. Clark settled at the mouth of 
Bridge creek and began to establish himself by 
opening a farm and raising some stock. Clark 
labored along as the pioneer is forced to do, 
against many odds, until 1866 and then oc- 
curred what is well told by the Grant County 
News of August 6, 1885 : 

Over in Wasco, (now Wheeler), county, on the 
main John Day river and near the mouth of Bridge 
creek, is a ranch and postoffice called Burnt Ranch and 
it came to be thus named from the following circum- 
stance : 

In 1866 James Clark was occupying the position of a 
pioneer settler there and had a very comfortable home. 
Along in the early fall his wife departed to the Willa- 
mette valley to visit her people. One bright September 
morning, Jim and his brother-in-law, George Master- 
son, forded the John Day river and were 'cutting up 
a lot of driftwood on the opposite bars. Suddenly they 
discovered a band of Indians rushing down the hill 
from the Ochoco country. The men had left their 
rifles in the house and they thought there was a possi- 



ble show to reach them ahead of the Indians. They 
unhitched the horses and climbing on bareback, raced 
for the house. But when they say the Indians were 
going to get there first, they swerved to the left and 
struck up Bridge creek, with the enemy in hot pursuit. 

It took but a few miles of hard riding to use up 
Masterson's work horse and he told Clark to keep on 
and save himself. Masterson then jumped from his 
horse and struck into the brush. He jumped into the 
creek and, swimming down stream a little distance, 
found a deep hole, overhung with thick brush, where 
he "camped." The Indians chased Clark a few miles 
farther and then returned to finish Masterson. But he 
confined himself to his covered haunt, and after hunt- 
ing all around him, the Indians gave up and returned 
to the house, where they took everything they consid- 
ered of value. Clark kept on to the nearest ranch, 
eight miles distant, where he found a. number of pack- 
ers, with whom he returned to the scene of action. 
They yelled for Masterson, and, at last taking chances 
on their being friends, he came out of his hole of hid- 
ing almost chilled to death. 

The party then went on to the house which was 
found smouldering in ashes and the Indians gone. The 
raiders had cut open featherbeds, taking the ticking and 
scattering the feathers abroad, and also doing other 
acts of destruction.. What was a happy home a few 
hours before was now a scene of desolation, but Provi- 
dence had ordered the safety of the occupants. Another 
house was constructed, but ever since that time the 
place had been called Burnt Ranch, and that is the 
name of the postoffice there to this day. 

As early as 1865 the government established a 
military camp at a point just southeast from 
where Caleb postoffice now stands, upon the old 
military road. This camp._.vyas-^.named in honor 
of Lieutenant Watson, a bright officer who was 
killed in an Indian fight in Crook county. Camp 
Watson had quarters for two companies of infan- 
try and two companies of cavalry. It was in use 
from the time of establishment until 1869, when 
it was discontinued and the property sold. This 
protection was of much benefit to the struggling 
settlers who had to cope with a merciless and 
savage foe, who sought not only their lives, but 
also drove off their stock, burned their houses 
and stole their goods upon every opportunity. 
The presence of the soldiers put something of a 
check on these depredations on the scattering 
farmers and stockmen and upon the pilgrims on 
the road. Settlers began to come in from differ- 
ent points and in 1866 Jerome Parsons settled 
on the John Day near where Twickenham now 
stands and engaged in stock raising. J. K. Rowe 
settled on the John Day below where Twicken- 
ham now is and took up stock raising. Cal 
McCracken settled on Rock creek where Antone 



640 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



postoffice now is and engaged in stock raising. 
Joseph Huntley and Andrew Clarno settled on 
Pine creek, and they, too, engaged in stock rais- 
ing. In 1867 Mr. McNeil located where Caleb 
now stands and began to raise stock. In 1867 
three men located in this territory and began 
stock raising. Robert Sedman located near 
where Twickenham is now. Al Sutton settled on 
what is now known as Sutton ranch, twelve 
miles from Mitchell, on Bridge creek. And 
Jake Smith settled on the John Day near Twick- 
enham, or what is now Twickenham. H. C. Hal 
came in in 1868 and deciding this was a good 
stock raising country began operations about 
three miles east from where Mitchell is located. 
Mr. Marshall came in the same year and settled 
about two miles west of Mr. Hal's place. J. P. 
Brown also came in 1868 and made settlement 
about ten miles southeast from where Richmond 
is now located. He, too, began stock raising 
operations. Mr. Brown brought his family, 
and, so far as we have record, this was one of the 
very first, if not the first family to move in. His 
place was located on Gird's creek. Others who 
came in 1868 and engaged in stock raising are : 
J. K. Rowe, on Rowe creek, twenty miles south- 
east from where Fossil now stands ; Wick Cu- 
sick, on Bridge creek, nine miles below Mitchell; 
Wm. Saltman, on Burnt Ranch, where the pres- 
ent postoffice of Burnt Ranch is now located. In 
1869 Mr. Moore, afterward state senator from 
Crook county, this state, came to his location 
about ten miles southeast from Richmond and 
raised stock. In the same year the following 
persons came in and made settlement and en- 
gaged in raising stock : Louis Manning, on 
Butte creek, six miles above Fossil ; Jerome Par- 
sons, on John Day, near Twickenham ; Samuel 
Snooks in about the same locality ; William Big- 
ham settled where Fossil now stands ; Horace 
Parker settled two miles west of Bigham's place ; 
Al Straw, on Butte creek six miles above Big- 
ham's place ; J. W. Chambers, two miles north- 
west from Bigham's place ; and Ralph Fisk, in the 
Haystack country along the John Day. In 1870 
others came and among them we mention Jeff 
Moore, son of Senator Moore, on Gird's creek ; 
Henry Helm and Wm. Gilliam on "'the flat be- 
low Richmond, in the Shoofly country ; Lafayette 
Scoggin, on the present site of Fossil ; P. E. and 
George McQuinn, on Butte cfeek east from 
Fossil four miles ; E. O. Fling, in Caleb basin ; T. 
B. Hoover, on Hoover creek, three miles east 
from Fossil ; Joe and Rodney Tompkins, in the 
Haystack country ; Charles Masiker, in the Hay- 
stack country ; David Hamilton, about three 
miles south from Fossil. The last named gen- 
tleman engaged in farming and sheepraising, 



but all the others who came in this year were 
occupied in raising stock alone. In 1872 other 
stockmen found their way to the inviting fields 
of Wheeler county, and among this number we 
mention O. Fleming, on Service prairie, fifteen 
miles east from Fossil ; James and Doc Hughes, 
in the Haystack country ; Joseph Frizzell, on Al- 
der creek, eighteen miles east from Fossil ; and 
J. W. Gilman, twenty miles east from Fossil, 
who was the founder of the Gilman French 
Stock Company. In 1874 W. P. Putnam pur- 
chased an interest with O. Fleming on Service 
prairie ; Carl and George Wagner came into the 
Haystack country in the early seventies and, also 
J. H. Putnam came about that time, who was 
with the Gilman French Company for thirteen 
years. During the centennial year when the 
world was turning its eyes to the progress of 
arts, sciences, and all civilization as manifested 
in the exhibition at Philadelphia, the stockman 
and the pioneer came for location in what is now 
Wheeler county and among those who found 
that they sought for are Levi Record and Joe 
Laughauki, who came from distant Florida and 
began the stock industry in the Haystack coun- 
try. Cal McConnel and Edward Saunderson 
settled three miles east from Fossil this year 
and went to raising sheep. In 1878, Ferd Hunt 
located in the Haystack country. 

It will be seen by the foregoing that the ter- 
ritory now embraced in Wheeler county was 
well sprinkled with settlers when the year 1878 
arrived, the year of the terrible Paiute and Ban- 
nock Indian war. More or less this struggle af- 
fected the entire country of Oregon east of the 
Cascades, as well as southern Washington and 
southern Idaho. The actual battles occurred 
outside of Wheeler county, but marauding bands 
of the savages scurried in various directions and 
committed much depredation over a wide terri- 
tory. The Bannocks under the command of 
Chief Buffalo Horn started in the spring of 
1878 with several hundred braves and all their 
women and children from the vicinity of the 
Fort Hall reservation in southern Idaho. Their 
course lay west and they crossed into Oregon in 
about the latitude of Silver City. Thence they 
moved west and north, being constantly in- 
creased by the addition of the Paiutes and 
different bands of renegade Indians and also by 
various companies fr®m tribes further north. 
They followed the customary tactics of their 
race, pillaging and murdering as they went, 
driving off stock, burning settlers cabins and im- 
provements. The Paiutes were commanded by 
Egan. At midnight on June 21st, soldiers un- 
der the command of Colonel Bernard left Camp 
Harney to attack these Indians and the next 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



641 



morning the battle was on. The Indians were 
far more numerous than the soldiers, but much 
damage was done them, Egan was wounded, 
Buffalo Horn was killed, and the savages set 
out for the north. Silver creek was the scene 
of this battle and though it was not an over- 
whelming victory, still the killing of Buffalo Horn 
left the command to Egan, who was wounded, 
and this so materially weakened the expedition 
that when General Wheaton met them in Uma- 
tilla county, they were broken entirely and re- 
treated south again. It was the intention of 
Buffalo Horn to gather all the tribes of the 
northwest, turn out the whites or murder them, 
and then, if pushed too hard by the soldiers, 
retreat into British Columbia. His scheme was 
a bold and bright one, but he was not a man who 
could carry it out, and then, too, fate decreed 
that his career should cease. Egan was a fierce 
man, but no general to execute so great a plan. 
As stated, the Indians were defeated by the 
soldiers in Umatilla county and General How- 
ard followed them south and captured the rem- 
nants of them near the California line. He 
severely punished the participants in this great 
raid, and those captured were brought to the 
Yakima reservation and put under charge of the 
military force there. Thus, one of the best plan- 
ned uprisings of the northwest was put down 
quickly, and, considering their intent, with a 
comparatively small loss of life. Many poor set- 
tlers lost all their property, a good many were 
killed, and it put a check to immigration for 
some time. All this, as to the general route of 
the Indians and the vigorous battles, occurred 
outside of the territory now embraced in Wheeler 
county, but its effect was felt here as it was all 
over eastern Oregon. Settlers lost stock, many 
were led to flee, and things in general were de- 
moralized for a time. Then, too, Wheeler suf- 
fered with the balance of the country from the 
check of immigration that this war caused. How- 
ever, in the end it was a good thing, for it gath- 
ered the marauders all up in one band and they 
received the punishment they deserved. Egan 
was killed as was Buffalo Horn, the Indians 
were severely chastised, and the country had 
rest from their thieving and murdering expedi- 
tions. Soon it became known that there was no 
fear of another Indian outbreak and the immi- 
gration that had so seriously been checked, be- 
gan again to pour in, and the settlers were left 
unmolested to carry forward their work of im- 
provement and subduing the wild country. Thus, 
while it cost much valuable property, and many 
lives, as well, the country paid no more dearly 
than it would have done had such restless and 
murderous bands been left to carry on their in- 

41 



dividual work for a longer period. Speaking of 
this campaign, General Howard says 

The Paiutes and Bannocks drew men and help 
from the Umatillas, and many warriors from other 
tribes, but we beat them in every battle, and kept on 
that persistent course which meant never to stop until 
the work was done. I am sure that neither of these 
tribes ever wanted any more war after that rattling 
campaign, which never stopped for canyon, mountain, 
river or forest until the enemy was fully overcome. 
There are many men who live in eastern Oregon, Wash- 
ington, and Idaho who remember this hard war of 
1878, which has gone into history as the Paiute and 
Bannock war. 

Thus in brief is the story of the last great 
Indian war that raged in eastern Oregon. The 
general reinvigorating of business and immigra- 
tion after the real status of the Indian trouble 
was properly known was felt in Wheeler county 
as elsewhere through eastern Oregon, and set- 
tlers came in more rapidly to find homes in the 
favored country, which has always been reck- 
oned, as now, one of the best stock regions in 
the west. However, this very fact of Wheeler's 
excellencies for stock raising made the settle- 
ments sparse as the interests of the stockman are 
best conserved when he has elbow room. Sturdy 
men were opening up farms, and some mining 
was done, but no such find in Wheeler county as 
Canyon creek has ever been opened and so min- 
ing, while exceedingly profitable sometimes to 
single individuals, was not carried on extensively. 
The country was found to be productive of those 
fruits, grains and vegetables needed for the use 
di man and the fertile sections of the county 
were opened up from time to time as the years 
went by, but stock raising was then, has con- 
tinued to be, and is now, the chief industry of 
Wheeler county. The first settlers discovered 
that fruit would thrive well and one, Alex 
Fisher, as early as 1865 began to produce a 
few varieties. For years he was the most ex- 
tensive fruit raiser in the country and supplied 
the settlers for miles in every direction. Others 
profited by his example and orchards are to be 
found in all parts of the county at this time. 

Ihe first postoffice established in the county 
was at the Sutton ranch in 1867, Al Sutton be- 
ing the postmaster. 

In another portion of this work the va- 
rious apportionments of the country of Central 
Oregon into the counties now existing has been 
thoroughly gone into, and, therefore, it is not 
necessary to repeat here. However, Wheeler 
county has been embraced in several, at dif- 
ferent times, and she passed through the va- 



T642 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



rious stages and changes of organization that 
is usual to frontier territory. But, as the county 
-exists today, it was made up of portions of Gil- 
liam, Crook, and Grant counties. Fossil country 
■ came from Gilliam ; the Mitchell section was 
taken from Crook ; and Grant county was called 
upon to give up the Haystack and Spanish 
Gulch countries. Owing to the remoteness of 
.these sections from their respective county 
seats, very early in the history of the country, 
.murmurings were heard because of the long and 
expensive journeys to do business in the county 
.seat. As the country settled more thickly, this 
dissatisfaction grew and was very generally dis- 
tributed among the people. Some began to talk 
of a new county and various plans and methods 
^were proposed many years before they assumed 
^definite shape. That great sifter and disting- 
ruisher of American people, the free discussion 
of topics by the people, slowly but steadily was 
.accomplishing its work. It, indeed, was very 
-slow, owing, perhaps, to the fact that the popu- 
lation was largely stockmen, and the settlement 
not thick. Finally the desire began to assume 
-definite form but not till December 31, 1892, do 
■we hear it voiced in the papers. Then the An- 
telope Herald states that "We understand that 
na petition is being circulated in the Mitchell 
^country, praying for the organization of a new 
.■county out of a part of .Crook and a portion of 
Grant, thus entitling either Mitchell or Wal- 
■dron to a county seat." So the matter was 
"launched. In January, 1895, an effort was made 
to create the county of Sutton from parts of 
'Grant and Crook counties, with Mitchell as the 
^county seat. The boundaries of this proposed 
«county were : 

"Beginning at the northwest corner of town- 
ship 13, S., range 20, E., W. M., thence south 
■on the township line to the southwest corner of 
township 14, S., range 20, E. ; thence east on the 
township line between townships fourteen and 
fifteen south to the southeast corner of section 
33, township 14, S., range 26, E. ; thence north 
to the north boundary of Grant county ; thence 
-east on said boundary line to the northwest cor- 
ner of Grant county ; thence south on the west 
"boundary line of Grant county to the centre 
of the John Day river ; thence down the middle 
of said river to where the same crosses the line 
running east and west through the center of 
township 8, S., range 19, E. : thence west on 
said last named line to the summit of the moun- 
tains separating the waters of the John Day and 
Des Chutes rivers : thence along said summit 
southeastward to the place of beginning." 
The taxable property within the boundaries 



of this proposed county, at the time the move 
was made to establish it, was $432,431.00. 

The matter was properly brought to the leg- 
islature of 1895 and Mitchell put up a strong 
fight with others to assist, but the proposition 
was destined to fall through, and so ended the 
second definite attempt to get a new county es- 
tablished, embracing, at least, a portion of what 
is now Wheeler county. This backset quieted 
the matter for a time, but though it slumbered, 
it did not die. The instigators of the move- 
ment took courage after due deliberation and 
as the people were determined, new plans were 
formed and the matter again was put forth. In 
December, 1898, the Condon Globe announced 
that an effort was being made to organize a 
new county from portions of Crook, Grant, 
and perhaps a piece of Gilliam. The people of 
the territory embraced claimed that they were 
remote from the county seat towns of Crook and 
Grant and were obliged to undergo many hard- 
ships, much inconvenience, and great expense in 
., order to reach their county seats, especially in 
the winter season. This movement took definite 
shape in presenting to the legislature in Janu- 
ary, 1899, the following petition: 

To the Honorable Legislative Assembly of the state 
of Oregon : We, your petitioners, residents and taxpay- 
ers within the limits of Crook and Grant counties, in the 
state of Oregon, and within those portions of the said 
counties within the boundaries hereinafter named, re- 
spectively petition that a new county be created out of the 
territory bounded as follows : 

Beginning at the northwest corner of township 13 
south, range 20 east of Willamette meridian ; thence 
south on range line between ranges 19 and 20 east, to the 
southwest corner of township 14 south, range 20 east ; 
thence east on the township line between township 14 
and 15 south, to the center of township 14 south, range 
26 east ; thence north throught the center of 14, 13, 12, 
ti, 10, 9. 8 and 7 south, range 26 east, to the Grant county 
line ; thence west on north boundary line of Grant 
county to the John Day river; thence along the middle of 
the channel of the said John Day river to the northern 
line of township 9 south, range 20 east; thence west on 
said last named line to the Des Chutes meridian, on the 
summit of the divide separating the water shed of the 
John Day and Des Chutes rivers ; thence along the sum- 
mit of said divide to the place of beginning." 

It was to be expected that opposition would 
be aroused and when the enemies of the meas- 
ure learned that R. N. Donnelly. Grant county's 
representative, had introduced on January 11, 
1899, house bill, number 153, which was the 
original draft as stated above, then definite 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



643 



action commenced. This emanated largely from 
Gilliam county, where the most intense opposi- 
tion was put forth. Wheeler was destined not 
to be born without a struggle, and one, too, that 
ishowed much intense action and considerable ac- 
rimony. This was not confined alone to the 
territory concerned, but spread abroad through 
surrounding country, but spread abroad through 
terness was expressed. So soon, we stated, as 
the bill was introduced, then a mass meeting was 
hurriedly called in southern Gilliam county. The 
date of it was Friday evening, January 13, 1899. 
It was decided to circulate a remonstrance and 
a committee was appointed to get the signa- 
tures of the people opposed to the bill. Gilliam 
county was loath to give up any portion of her 
territory to the new county. Those who took an 
active part in securing the signatures to this pe- 
tition were William Hartman, Bud Rinehart, John 
Gross, Arthur Foster, George Caven, Louis Cout- 
ure, Frank Maddock, R. A. McCully, and A. J. 
.Shelton. These gentlemen canvassed the county 
thoroughly, circulating through that portion 
to be cut off as well as in the other portions of 
the county. After three days they returned with 
646 names attached to the petition, all names of 
voters. Of these it was alleged that 45 were 
secured right in Fossil and in the territory just 
south of it, while 150 were secured in the ter- 
ritory proposed to be cut off from Gilliam county. 
This remonstrance was hurriedly sent to the leg- 
islature. Perhaps the general feeling in Gilliam 
county was best shown by the Lone Rock cor- 
respondent, whose article appeaered in the Con- 
don Globe of January 19, 1899. We append it. 

Everyone about here is kicking like a mule down- 
hill against the proposition to cut off a slice of Gilliam 
county for the purpose of benefitting a little two by 
four locality and for their accommodation to thus spoil 
our own county (Gilliam). We don't want any of it 
and are willing to let good enough alone, and all hands 
signed the remonstrance against it. ■ 

Whether this petition, or whether the con- 
tinued opposition and pressure brought to bear 
in other lines, was the cause or not, nevertheless 
when the contested bill came up in the house, 
January 26, 1899, it was defeated. Eight mem- 
ber^ of the house were absent, leaving only fif- 
ty-two to vote. Of these thirty favored the bill, 
but as it required a majority of the sixty to car- 
ry a measure, the bill was defeated. The en- 
tire opposition came from Gilliam county and 
Gilliam was jubilant over the turn affairs had 
taken. The matter was not yet to be downed, 
though, and the friends of the measure brought 
the bill up for reconsideration again with the 



result that on Monday evening, January 30, it 
easily passed the house. All eyes were then 
turned to the senate and every effort that the 
people from Gilliam county could put forth was 
brought out and the fight waxed hot, and also, 
to some considerable extent, bitter. Finally the 
day came on for the vote to be taken, Thurs- 
day, February 16, and the bill was passed. But, 
in the senate, it had been amended, and the 
house was to pass on that yet. This final act 
was done and the bill became a law, the gov- 
ernor attaching his signature. 

Commenting on this under date of Febru- 
ary 23, the Condon Globe said : 

To the residents of Gilliam county, and of the 
portions of Grant and Crook which are included in 
the new county, the measure has aroused the most in- 
tense interest of any which was before the late legis- 
lature for consideraton. The contest has been waged 
fiercely by both sides, and, at times, was rather acri- 
monious, both in this section of the country and at 
Salem. But a compromise having been effected the 
bill was allowed to pass and it is believed will give 
pretty general satisfaction to the people of Gilliam 
county and perhaps to the people of the new county. 

The compromise, as embodied in an amendment to 
the bill as it finally passed the senate, fixes the bound- 
ary line between Gilliam and Wheeler counties on the 
section line one mile south of the first standard paral- 
lel south, which is just one mile south of the town 
of Mayville, the line running straight from east to west 
without a jog. 

The Fossil Journal commenting on this new 
bill said : 

Donnely's bill creating Wheeler county passed the 
senate on the sixteenth, with the northern line of the 
county an average distance of two miles south of the 
line established in the bill as it passed the house. This 
brings the line one mile on this side of Mayville. It 
is a compromise line. The Mayville delegation told 
the senate committee that they were absolutely opposed 
to the new county taking an inch of Gilliam county 
territory, but if it had to be divided, then they wanted 
the northern line set southward an average distance of 
four miles from the original line. The committee split 
the difference, and placed the line two miles south. 
This gives us twenty-five miles of Gilliam county in- 
stead of twenty-seven as first asked- for. 

Wheeler county is about fifty-four miles long and 
over thirty wide, and is somewhat larger than Gilliam. 

The Prineville Review of February 25 re- 
manks concerning the new county : "The people 
of that section have wanted a new county for 
years. They have got their desire but it is a bit- 
ter dose for some to take." 



644 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



It was in honor of the well known pioneer, 
H. H. Wheeler that the new county was named, 
and so well were all pleased with this, that it 
aroused no opposition at all. 

The Enabling Act creating Wheeler county 
is given below in full. 

Be it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the 
State of Oregon : 

Sec. i. That all that portion of the state of Oregon 
embraced within the following boundary lines be and 
the same is hereby created and organized into a sepa- 
rate county by the name of Wheeler, to-wit : 

Beginning at the northwest corner of township 13 
south, of range 20 east, Willamette Meridian, and run- 
ning thence south on range line, between ranges 19 
and 20 east, three miles by government survey; thence 
east on the section lines to the east boundary of range 
22 east; thence south on said east boundary line three 
miles to southeast corner of township 13 south of range 
22 east ; thence east on the south boundary of town- 
ship 13 south to the east boundary of range 23 east ; 
thence south on said east boundary of range 23 east to 
the south boundary of township 14 south ; thence east 
on said south boundary to the east boundary of range 
25 east ; thence north on said range line between ranges 
25 and 26 east to the north boundary of Grant county; 
thence west on the north boundary of Grant county to 
the east boundary of range 24 east ; thence north on 
said east boundary to a point which is one mile south 
of the first standard parallel south ; thence west along 
the section line one mile south of said first standard 
parallel south to the center of the main channel of the 
John Day river; thence up the center of the main chan- 
nel of the said John Day river to the most southerly 
point on said river where the center of said river is 
crossed by the west boundary of range 20 east ; thence 
south on said west boundary of range 20 east to the 
pltace of beginning. 

Sec. 2. The territory embraced within the said 
boundary line shall compose a county for all civil and 
military purposes, and shall be subject to the same 
laws and restrictions and be entitled to elect the same 
officers as other counties of this state ; provided, that 
it shall be the duty of the governor, as soon as it shall 
be convenient after this act shall have become a law, 
to appoint for Wheeler county, and from its citizens, 
the several county officers allowed by law to other 
counties in this state, which said officers after duly 
qualifying according to law', shall be entitled to hold 
their respective offices until their successors are duly 
elected at the general election of 1900 and have duly 
qualified according to law. 

Sec. 3. The temporary county seat of Wheeler 
county shall be located at Fossil in said county until a 
permanent location shall be adopted. At the next gen- 
eral election the question shall be submitted to the 
legal voters of said county, and the place, if any, 



which shall receive a majority of all the votes cast at 
said election shall be the permanent county seat of 
said county. But if no place shall receive a majority 
of all the votes cast, the question shall again be submit- 
ted to the legal voters of said county at the next gen- 
eral election, between the two points having the high- 
est number of votes at said election, and the place re- 
ceiving the highest number of votes at such last election, 
shall be the permanent county seat of said county. 

Sec. 4. Said county of Wheeler shall, for repre- 
sentative purposes, be annexed to the 28th representa- 
tive district, and for senatorial purposes said county 
shall be annexed to the 21st senatorial district. 

Sec. 5. The county clerks of Crook, Grant, and". 
Gilliam counties, respectively, shall within thirty days 
after this act shall have gone into operation, make out 
and deliver to the county clerk of Wheeler county a_ 
transcript of all taxes assessed upon all persons and 
property within said Wheeler county and which were 
previously included within the limits of Crook, Grant and 
Gilliam counties, respectively, and all taxes which shall 
remain unpaid the day this act shall become a law shall be 
paid to the proper officer of Wheeler county. The said' 
clerks of said counties, Crook, Grant, and Gilliam, re- 
spectively, shall also make out and deliver to the cleric 
of Wheeler county, within the time abovte limited, 
a transcript of all cases pending in the circuit and county 
courts of their respective counties between parties re- 
siding in Wheeler county, and transfer all original pa- 
pers in said cases to be tried in Wheeler county. 

Sec. 6. The county court of Wheeler county shall' 
be heldi at the county seat on the first Monday in. 
January and the first Monday in every alternate month 
thereafter, of each year. 

Sec. 7. The said county of Wheeler is hereby at- 
tached to the seventh judicial district for judicial pur- 
poses, and the terms of the circuit court for said county 
shall be held at the county seat of said county on the 
fourth Monday in January, and the first Monday in 
September of each year. 

Sec. 8. Until otherwise provided by law, the county- 
judge of Wheeler county shall receive an annual salary 
of four hundred dollars, the county clerk of said 
county shall receive an annual salary of twelve hundred 
dollars ; the sheriff shall receive an annual salary of 
sixteen hundred dollars ; and the treasurer shall re- 
ceive an annual salary of two hundred and fifty dol- 
lars. The county clerk of Wheeler county shall ap- 
point the stock inspector and fix his salary. 

Sec. 9. The law relating to trespass of sheep and 
other animals shall be the same throughout Wheeler 
county as now maintains in Crook and Gilliam counties. 

Sec. 10. The county judge of Wheeler county shall 
let by contract to the lowest responsible and efficient 
bidder the work of transcribing all records of Crook, 
Grant, and Gilliam counties, respectively, affecting real 
estate situated in Wheeler county, and, when completed' 
they shall be examined and certified to by the clerk. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



645 



-of Wheeler county, and shall thereafter be recognized 
and acknowledged as the offical records of Wheeler 
county; provided the clerk of Wheeler county shall be 
allowed to bid on such work. 

Sec. 11. It shall be the duty of the superintendent 
of schools of Crook, Grant, and Gilliam counties, 
respect'vely, within sixty days after the appointment 
of a superintendent of schools of Wheeler county, 
to make out and forward to said superintendent of 
schools of Wheeler county a true and correct 
transcript or abstract of the annnual reports 
of the clerks of the various school districts em- 
braced within Wheeler county; and the said county 
school superintendents of Crook, Grant and Gilliam 
counties, respectively, shall also at the time of making 
the appointments of the school fund for the year 1899 
apportion to the various school districts within Wheeler 
county their pro rata proportion of said school fund, 
the same as if said county had not been created and or- 
ganized. 

Sec. 12. The treasurer of Wheeler county shall, 
within one year after its organization by the appoint- 
ment of its officers as hereinbefore provided, assume 
and pay to the counties of Crook, Grant and Gilliam, 
respectively, a pro rata proportion of the remaining in- 
debtedness, if any, of Crook, Grant, and Gilliam coun- 
ties, respectively, after deducting therefrom the amount 
-of money that has been collected in taxes from the 
property of the territory taken from said counties, re- 
spectively, by this Act, and included in the county of 
Wheeler, and expended in said counjties of Crook, 
Grant, and Gilliam, respectively, for public buildings. 

Sec. 13. The county judge of Gilliam county and 
the county judge of Grant county and G. O. Butler of 
Wheeler county are hereby appointed a board of com- 
missioners to determine the value of such property in 
Grant and Gilliam counties, and the amount of in- 
debtedness, if any, to be assumed by said Wheeler 
county and paid to the counties of Grant and Gilliam, 
respectively. Said board shall meet at the county seat 
-of Grant county on the tenth day of May, 1899, or within 
ten days thereafter, and, after taking and subscribing an 
oath faithfully to discharge their duties, shall proceed 
with said work, and when it is completed, file reports 
of their conclusions in duplicate with the clerks of 
Grant, Gilliam, and Wheeler counties. 

Sec. 14. The county judge and the county clerk of 
Crook county and Engene Looney of Wheeler county 
are hereby appointed a board of commissioners to de- 
termine the amount of indebtedness, if any, in the 
manner hereinbefore provided, to be assumed by said 
Wheeler county and paid to Crook county. Said board 
shall meet at the county seat of Crook county on the 
tenth day of May, 1899, or within ten days there- 
after, and, after taking and subscribing to an oath 
faithfully to discharge their duties, shall proceed with 
said work, and when it is completed file report of 
their conclusion in duplicate with the clerks of Crook 



and Wheeler counties. In case of a vacancy occurring 
in either of said boards, the same may be filled by the 
appointment of the governor of the state of Oregon. 

Sec. 15. Within thirty days after the filing of either 
of such reports in Wheeler county, either county may 
appeal from the decision of either of said boards to the 
circuit court of Gilliam county, by serving notice of the 
appeal upon the clerk of the other county interested. 
Upon perfecting the issues in said circuit court either 
county may demand a change of venue to any other 
county in the seventh judicial district of the state of 
Oregon, which may be agreed upon by said counties ; 
or, in the event of a disagreement, to any county which 
may be designated by the judge of said district. The 
trial may be by jury, and the judgment rendered may 
be enforced as other judgments against counties. If 
the county appealing fails to receive a more favorable 
judgment than the finding of the board appealed from, 
by at least five hundred dollars, it shall pay the costs 
of appeal. If no appeal be taken by either party within 
the thirty days above provided, the findings of said 
board shall be conclusive. The members of said board 
shall receive three dollars per day for each day actually 
employed, and mileage. The expenses incurred by the 
above mentioned boards shall be borne equally by the 
counties interested. 

Sec. 16. Inasmuch as the early formation of 
Wheeler county is much desired, this act shall take ef- 
fect and be in force from and after its approval by 
the governor and the appointment of the proper officers 
herein provided. 

Approved February 17, 1899. 

In pursuance of the above, the boards met 
and Wheeler was found indebtetd as follows : To 
Grant county, $27,911.76; to Gilliam county, 
$5,985.74; and to Crook county, $24.92. The 
total resources estimated for the county at 
starting were $16,392.25, thus leaving an in-_ 
debtedness of over twenty thousand dollars. At 
this time it was estimated that her population 
was two thousand five hundred, and her tax- 
able property one million dollars. The square 
miles in Wheeler county are 1656, and there are 
estimated to be forty-six townships within her 
boundaries. 

The first grand jury to serve in Wheeler 
crunty was made up of the following named 
persons : David Hamilton, Clark Herndon, G. J. 
Caaven, Ed F. Horn, A. M. Andrews, William 
Waters, and D. H. Smith. The first panel of 
petit jurors was composed of David Hamilton, 
W. S. Thompson, E. M. Clymer, Clark Hern- 
don. G. J. Caven, Jerome Bridges, Ed F. Horn, 
Samuel B. Davis, James Mansfield, Thos. L. 
Woodward, James I. Jones, James E. Keyes, 
Jacob L. Barnhouse, J. W. Waterman, W. B. 
Cowne, J. H Bucher, E. M. Andrus, Benj. 



646 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Tremonger, Geo. McKay, Wm. Waters, Wm. H. 
Gates, Warren Carsner, Archie Hunt, Jos. Triz- 
zell, and D. H. Smith. 

On June 4, 1900, was held the election that 
decided the county seat question. Spray, 
Twickenham and Fossil were the aspirants. 
Earnest effort was put forth to establish a sen- 
timent for Twickenham, but the balance of 
power was too strong against it, and the result 
of the contest was as follows : Fossil, 436 ; Spray, 
82, and Twickenham, 267. By precincts it ran 
as follows : Fossil precinct, Fossil, 234 ; Spray, 
5 ; Twickenham, 16 ; Mitchell, Fossil 35, Spray 
7, and Twickenham 97; Waldron, Fossil 64, 
Spray 8, and Twickenham 9 ; Spray, Fossil 8, 
Spray 41, Twickenham 11; Rock Creek, Fossil 
12, Spray 2, Twickenham 34; Mountain, Fossil 
o, Spray 1, Twickenham 28; Waterman Fossil 
10, Spray 2, Twickenham 1 1 ; Winlock, Fossil 
19. Spray 13, Twickenham 4; Lost Valley, Fossil 
21, Spray o, Twickenham 3; Ward, Fossil 7, 
Spray 2, Twickenham 4; Clarno, Fossil 21, 
Spray o, Twickenham 5 ; Twickenham, Fossil 
3, Spray o, Twickenham 28 ; Bridge Creek, Fossil 
2, Spray o, Twickenham 17. With the settle- 
ment of the location of the county seat, the peo- 
ple of the new county, though not altogether 
satisfied, in a magnanimous manner laid aside 
all sectional differences, and together labored for 
the advancement and welfare of the new 
political division. A strong fight had been 
made to get the coveted prize at Twick- 
enham, but it was not to be and in a 
commendable spirit of kindliness the Wheeler 
County News, Twickenham's paper, edited 
by E. M. Shutt, which had so loyally 
championed the cause for Twickenham, said, 
under issue of June 7 : "Twickenham has fought 
and lost. So did Napoleon at Waterloo some 
time ago. But, while Napoleon soon died over 
it, the people of Twickenham still live, and, up 
to the time of going to press, were enjoying the 
best of health. 

"Fossil won the county seat by a majority of 
86 over all votes cast, which perma- 
nently decides the question. If it proves too 
have been an honest vote, and an honest count, 
let us be Americans enough to quietly abide by 
the will of the majority, banish all bitter feel- 
ings against those who differed from us in 
the general welfare of the county." 

In 1900 the population of Wheeler county 
was 2,443. 1° that same year a water spout 
occurred on June 30, which did considerable 
damage, the worst destruction occurring on 
Cherry creek. J. M. Connelly lost his entire 
crop, estimated at seven thousand dollars. Oth- 
ers lost heavily, and especially so as stacking was 



just done and in an hour's time the unfortunate 
farmers saw a year's labor swept away. 

In 1894 the John Day river was higher at 
four o'clock, p. m., March 30, than it had ever 
been known previous to that time. Much dam- 
age was done to property along the valleys. At 
Burnt Ranch the water backed up into the or- 
chards and ran through the fields, tearing away 
fences and washing out gardens. Vast quanti- 
ties of drift were in the stream, as logs, im- 
mense trees, haystacks, lumber, water wheels,, 
bridge timbers, posts and rails, besides much else. 

In January, 1901, bids were let for the con- 
struction of a court house for Wheeler county, 
and A. F. Peterson was awarded the contract, 
his bid being $9,025.00, the lowest one according 
to plans and specifications. 

In 1902, James S. Stewart stated in the Ore- 
gonian as follows : 

The wisdom of the formation of Wheeler county is 
already notably apparent. In the two and one-half 
years of her existence she has cut her thirty-five thous- 
and dollar debt, inherited from the three counties 
from which she was carved, to twenty-six thousand, 
aside from the ordinary running expenses, thirteen 
thousand dollars for a nice new court house and three 
thousand dollars for records and furniture, with a tax 
levy not increased from what had been paid before, and 
in fact less than the levy on the surrounding counties. 

Sentiment against a railroad entering into 
Wheeler county was held by stockmen, they feel- 
ing that the range would be reduced, and their 
increase materially decreased. This has been 
giving way to a general feeling of progression, 
as the farmer needs the railroad to market his 
produce and then social and educational facili- 
ties will be greatly augmented. Gradually the 
sentiment has turned to favor this ingress of 
real civilization, but not yet has the iron horse 
invaded the boundaries of the county. July 2, 
1905, the first train made its way to Condon 
over the line from Arlington, and doubtless in a 
short time the same line will be advanced to tap 
the resources of Wheeler county. 

In the first days of June, IQ04. John Day, 
the noted" pioneer, breathed his last in the city 
hospital at Lewiston, Idaho. He left his native 
heath, Westchester county', New York, in 1852, 
pioneered to California, dug gold all through the 
early camps, assisted to develop and build up all 
through the northwest, and was widely known. 
The John Day river that flows through Wheeler 
county was named in his honor, and a town in 
Grant county bears his name. 

Some one has said : "Wheeler countv — the 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



647- 



synonym for the greatest stock country in the 
world." This may be rating it high, but, certain it 
is, the -conditions to raise stock successfully and 
with fine financial returns exist well in Wheeler 
county. Being thus favored so especially, it 
seems doubly sad that the baser passions of men, 
blessed with this magnificent country, should so 
dominate them that they must seek revenge in 
that dastardly method fit only for the savage. 
We refer to the outrages of killing stock on the 
range. What a sight, to see the fair ranges of 
Wheeler county, stinking with the carcases of 
fine animals slain in mere revenge, perhaps of a 
fancied wrong ! But such is the case and this 
blotch we are forced to chronicle, would we be 
faithful in writing the history. The Wheeler 
County News of May 27, 1904 says : "Poison was 
deposited on the range eight miles east from 
town, a short distance from the Canyon City 
road and the result of this cowardly act is that 
twelve head of range cattle belonging to Sig- 
frit Bros, died last week. The motive for this 
deed is unknown. 

"Following the poisoning episode came the 
news to town early Monday morning that about 
three a. m. five men attacked a band of year- 
ling sheep in the corral on the place belonging to 
Butler Bros, of Richmond. One hundred and six 
sheep were killed and a greater number were 
so wounded as to either die or have to be killed. 
These sheep were being" grazed on leased land, 
arid no motive can be found why this should 
occur. Jt was thought, possibly, it might be the 
breaking out of another war between the sheep- 
men and cattlemen, and that the latter were re- 
sponsible for the deed." 

The same paper on September 23, 1904, 
states that five men, about eleven p. m. Friday 
previous to the issue, attacked a band of sheep 
belonging to Thomas Fitzgerald, camped at the 
side near the head of Westbranch. Thirty-eight 
were killed outright and twelve more died later. 
Two bullets passed through the herder's tent, 
and he quit the scene at once. Every law abid- 
ing person of the county was stirred at this fresh 
outbreak, and while there are grievances between 
the cattlemen and the sheepmen, and many of 
the law abiding citizens are on one side and 
many are on the other side, still, the consensus 
of opinion of all good men of sober judgment 
was that the matters above referred to were out- 
rages of the worst kind and reflected great dis- 
credit on the fair name of Wheeler county, and 
cast a cloud on all citizens as though the place 
was filled with people not law abiding. But, 
such is not the case. The people of Wheeler 
county are law-abiding, and some day they will 
ascertain the perpetrators of such uncalled for 



deeds and mete out through the courts just pun- 
ishment. As stated, though men may differ in 
opinion, still the law is open and all sober citi- 
zens of sound mind, are invariably in favor of 
having all troubles settled without resort to such 
untoward acts, such under-handed policy. So 
thoroughly were the county officials stirred that 
on June 23, 1904, a reward of one thousand dol- 
lars was offered for the arrest and conviction 
of any person implicated in the outrage. Gover- 
nor Chamberlain was earnestly requested to aug- 
ment the reward by the offer of another thous- 
and dollars from the state. 

The citizens of Fossil invited the pioneers of" 
eastern Oregon to assist in the celebration of the 
Fourth of July, 1899, and seventy-five of these' 
worthy people assembled and were placed in the 
van of the procession. At the conclusion of the 
ceremonies the pioneers proceeded to 'form an 
association, called H. H. Hendricks to the chair 
and appointed J. D. McFarland secretary. The 
president made a brief address, stating the 06-- 
j ect of the meeting and upon motion the 
"Wheeler County Pioneer Association" was or- 
ganized. A constitution was adopted and arti- 
cles four we will, reproduce in full. "The object 
of this association shall be to gather statistical 
and historical matter, both personal and general, 
pertaining to the early settlement and develop- 
ment of eastern Oregon and especially of 
Wheeler county, and to cultivate sociability with 
each other, and to more fully fraternize with the- 
stranger who is coming among us for the pur- 
pose of farther developing the resources of east- 
ern Oregon." H. H. Wheeler was elected presi- 
dent, R. G. Robinson vice president, W. W. Stei- 
wer treasurer, and J. D. McFarland secretary 
and historian. Thomas Watson, D. H. Hamil- 
ton, and P. E. McQuinn were elected directors 
for one year. J. D. McFarland should be es- 
pecially mentioned as active for the consumatiom 
of this excellent work. 

On Saturday evening, December 9, 1899,. 
Mrs. Edith Tozier Weatherred, grand secretary 
of the N. D. O., instituted a cabin of native 
daughters in Fossil. Much enthusiasm was 
manifested by the ladies and County Judge, W_ 
W. Kennedy, and the well known Indian war- 
veteran, D. H. Smith, made appropriate ad- 
dresses. The Cabin was named the Mary Jane 
Hoover, in honor of the first white lady settler 
in this part of the country. The following- 
named ladies were selected to fill the various of- 
fices of the order: Mrs. W. S. Thompson, past 
pres. ; Mrs. Jennie Cary, pres. ; Mrs. Geo. Knox,, 
first vice pres. ; Mrs. G. O. Butler, second vice 
pres. ; Mrs. W. W. Steiwer, third vice pres. , 
Miss Bessie Thompson, secretary; Mrs. Fred. 



648 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Ball, financial secretary; Mrs. J. T. Anthony, 
treasurer ; Miss Ora Jones, marshal ; Mesdames 
Jas. Stewart, J. B. VanHouten, L. C. Kelsey, 
trustees ; Miss Lainey Herndon, inside sentinel ; 
and Miss Laura Keys, outside sentinel. 

The second annual meeting of the Wheeler 
County Pioneer Association was held in Kel- 
say's grove, at Fossil, July 3, 1900. A most in- 
teresting and entertaining session was had, the 
new officers were elected, and more than one 
thousand people participated in the good 
time. 

The annual meeting of the pioneers in 1901 
was held at Richmond and it was a most enjoy- 
able affair. A large train of wagons, buggies, 
hacks, and so forth started from Fossil and vi- 
cinity Monday morning and night found them 
all camped on Sarvis creek near the mouth. The 
next forenoon they went on to Richmond where 
they were royally received, extensive prepara- 
tions having been made. From start to finish the 
meeting was an enthusiastic one, many excellent 
things being arranged for the entertainment of 
all. New officers were elected and the meeting 
broke up and one and all were convinced that 
a most enjoyable time, as well as instructive 
had been had. 

The 1902 meeting of this important organiza- 
tion was held at Mitchell, and it seems that each 
meeting is the best. Surely this occasion was one 
long to be remembered and cherished by all, for 
eloquence, recital, music, reminiscence, excellent 
refreshments, and all things combined to refresh 
the physical man and revivify his mind and 
heart. The officers were made an executive 



board, the association was to be incorporated, and 
a permanent meeting place was to be selected 
by the executive board. Upon investigation, the 
board decided to select forty acres at the junc- 
ture of the two branches of Sarvis creek. It is 
an admirable location, equal distant from all 
points, reached by excellent road, provided with 
daily mail, telephone, plenty of 'fresh spring 
water, abundance of shade, and all that could 
be desired in an ideal camping and outing place. 
The Wheeler association is the only one of the 
kind to own a permanent meeting place, so far 
as is known. 

The new grounds Were occupied the first 
time on June 3, 1903, by the association and the 
event was one that outdid all previous attempts 
at entertainment by the pioneers-. 

In 1904 the meeting was held on the perma- 
nent grounds and officers were elected. 

The last meeting of this accosiation we are 
able to chronicle, was opened Tuesday after- 
noon, June 27, and the addresses, the music, the 
recitations, the personal talks, the items of in- 
terest, and the general entertainment was all 
that could be desired, a most enjoyable time was 
had by all, and much valuable history is being 
disseminated through the medium of these 
meetings. How much refreshment and enjoy- 
ment is given to the various attendants from all 
parts of the country, will never be known, but 
it is known that many have spent some of the 
most enjoyable days in these meetings and are 
hearty in their enthusiasm regarding these im- 
portant methods of keeping alive that interest 
so pleasant in the pioneer days and persons. 



CHAPTER II 



CITIES AND TOWNS. 



FOSSIL. 

One time a stranger going through this west- 
ern country met one of those characters, the 
best American citizens produced to date, a genu- 
ine pioneer, and in conversation about the coun- 
try asked the name of the valley where the pio- 
neer resided. The latter replied that it was called 
Cedar Canyon. The pilgrim responded that that 
seemed strange as he could see no reason for 
naming the place thus. The pioneer replied, 



"We named the place Cedar Canyon because 
there are no cedars here." Let every one keep 
in mind the statement of the pioneer when he con- 
siders the county seat of Wheeler county. The 
name of the town is Fossil, but the pilgrim will 
be much surprised if he attempts to find a fossil 
among the live inhabitants of this favored Ore- 
gon town. 

It is well known to all leading scientists that 
the region where this beautiful town is located 
is rich in remains of ancient animals imbedded 



Tl 



n 

o 

c 



n 
p 



n 

n 

n 

o 

3 





HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



649 



in the sedimentary rock, — one of the most inter- 
esting regions in the world. 

On Hoover creek, about three miles north 
from the town of Fossil, Hon. T. B. Hoover 
located many years ago. He was one of those 
stirring and worthy pioneers, of which class there 
.are many names in this western country, and on 
February 28, 1876, he succeeded in getting a 
p«stoffice established at his ranch, with himself 
-as postmaster. It was on the route from Hepp- 
ner to Antelope and at that time Marion Brown 
was mail carrier. The Hoover home was a log 
cabin, you never saw a pioneer seek anything 
.better than that for his first home, and just north 
on the hillside, Mr. Hoover had seen so many pe- 
trified remains of different animals that he deemed 
it well to name the new postoffice Fossil. It is 
not strange that he did so, for he was in one of 
the most intensely interesting sections of fossil 
remains in the world, and which has contributed 
.much knowledge to the searching scientist. In 
later years when the town of Fossil was incor- 
porated many wished to have the name changed, 
but it was not to be, and, perhaps, it is quite well, 
for it is a case of letting the striking characteris- 
tics of the country name rather than the people. 
And who is it that does not know that the sedi- 
.mentary formation invariably results in produc- 
ing the most fertile regions on the face of the 
globe ! The teeming life, of such a various and 
interesting kind, which once found its home in 
• these sections, is mute forever now, save the 
■dumb language of form, and what more fitting 
-thing could be than that a live, pushing, progres- 
sive town should rise o'er these places of former 
activity and contribute by its name a memory 
board to this school room of the modern scien- 
tist as he pores over the lessons handed down 
from the countless ages that have swept over the 
scene? The name speaks of the past, — and what 
-a past is here spread before the eye, — and, as 
well, by its very antithesis points no less defi- 
nitely to the stirring energy of a happy, prosper- 
ous people who dwell in living activity, above 
.the very wave, which in opposition to its sweep 
of death to the ancient life, brought the fertility 
and productiveness to this present people. So 
-much for the name, it is a good one, and let no 
fear creep into the heart that this generous re- 
membrance of the past will in any way militate 
against the character of the people who are mak- 
ing Wheeler county one of the bright spots of 
'the west. 

To Mr. Hoover in early days, as it has to 
-many since then, the sequestered spot at the 
juncture of Butte and Cottonwood creeks ap- 
pealed as an ideal town site. Here he estab- 
lished a store, in company with Mr. Watson, in 



1 88 1, and the postoffice was transferred to the 
store. Thus the name of the office was bestowed 
upon the embryonic town. Thompson Brothers 
had conducted a small general merchandise es^ 
tablishment about two miles west from this new 
site since 1879, and in 1882, they removed to the 
vicinity of Mr. Hoover's store. In the same 
year, Messrs. George H. and W. S. Thompson 
platted a townsite in the southwest one-fourth 
of section thirty-three, township six south, range 
twenty-one east Willamette Meridian, the day 
being May 13. This was the beginning of our 
present Fossil. About the first record we have 
of this town is from the papers of The Dalles, 
which mention it as having two stores, a livery 
stable, a blacksmith shop, a public hall, and a 
hotel. In 1884, A. B. Lamb opened a drug store, 
which has continued to the present time. In 
1885 the Times-Mountaineer spoke as follows of 
Fossil : "Fossil is a town of about two hundred 
inhabitants, situated about sixty miles south of 
Alkali (now Arlington), in the valley of Butte 
creek. This little place is rapidly growing in 
importance and has doubled its population in the 
last six months." In 1888, the Fossil Journal 
speaks of marked improvement as to building, 
the new church was going up, the school house 
was being added to, and old buildings were being, 
remodeled. 

The Fossil Journal was established in the 
town in October, 1886, and two years later it 
gives a review of the business houses from which 
we gather the following: W. W. Steiwer & 
Company and Hoover & Watson were the two 
leading general stores. Patrick Potterton was 
handling a fine furniture store; Barney Gaffney 
had a harness and saddle store ; A. B. Lamb a 
drug store ; L. M. Rhodes a hair dressing parlor 
and notion store ; G. B. Tedlowe conducted a 
saloon ; Sam Danaldson and Lyman Morgan 
each were proprietors of livery stables ; there 
were a hotel and a restaurant; J. H. Bowen 
handled a meat market ; Mr. Duncan had a black- 
smith shop; N. C. Engberg was a jeweler; and 
among professional men were H. H. Hendricks, 
an attorney; H. S. Goddard, physician; W. W. 
Kennedy, civil engineer, and Prof. S. Goodnight 
in charge of the town schools. 

Monday preceding December 26, 1890, a mass 
meeting was held in Fossil and all preliminary 
work done for the incorporation of the town. 
The bill passed the legislature of 1 890-1 and the 
town of Fossil was incorporated. The Journal 
complained a little about the name, but found 
comfort in the words "The rose, by any other 
name, would smell as sweet." 

In 1892 occurred the first fire of any size that 
Fossil suffered. Monday afternoon, about two 



650 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



o'clock, August 1, William Cunningham discov- 
ered flames arising outside the livery stable occu- 
pied by Charles Branson, and, immediately gave 
the alarm. A strong breeze was blowing from 
the northwest and the flames quickly spread. A 
large number of strangers were in town and out- 
siders seeing the flames rode rapidly in and a 
quickly organized effort was put forth to quench 
the devourer. For a time it seemed that the 
town would be entirely destroyed, but all hands 
fought faithfully, and the entire town was alert. 
Mayor Hoover mounted a fast horse and 
searched out points where the cinders were ignit- 
ing and directed their extinguishment. Many 
buildings caught fire, but were saved by this 
prompt action, and even a haystack, which was 
ignited several times, was saved by the alertness 
of a bucket brigade standing right on the spot. 
So quickly did the fire spread that all in its direct 
path was ignited, and all efforts were then 
directed to save further spread on either side 
and around. By four o'clock in the afternoon the 
danger was over, and it was ascertained that the 
loss would be about three thousand five hundred 
dollars without any insurance. All losers at once 
rebuilt better than before and in a short time the 
effects of the fire were obliterated. 

In 1900 a stage was opened into Shaniko 
from Fossil, which shortened the time to Port- 
land twelve hours, and was highly appreciated 
by the people. 

The total buildings erected at Fossil in 190 1 
aggregated a worth of $31,200.00. This showed 
the enterprise and push of the people and was 
partially due to the county seat having been 
founded there. 

The Fossil Water Company was organized 
in August, 1889, ar, d T. B. Hoover, A. B. Lamb, 
P. Potterton, W. W. Steiwer and S. G. Hawson 
were incorporators. This was the beginning of 
the question of water supply for Fossil. In 1900 
the town decided to install a gravity system of 
waterworks, getting the supply from a splendid 
spring about two and one-half miles southeast 
from the town. The water is of the purest, and 
after the twelve thousand dollar issue of bonds 
was voted, the work began, and Fossil now has a 
reservoir of one hundred and fifty thousand gal- 
lon capacity, supplied with a pure spring that 
runs seventy-six gallons per minute, with a pres- 
sure of about one hundred and forty feet. This 
gives the town a system that would be the pride 
of any city. In fact, it is hard to find anywhere 
a town provided so well with an abundance of 
pure water. There is sufficient quantity so that 
residents of the town not only have plenty for 
family use, but can use it for irrigating gardens 
and lawns, and Fossil has great reason to be 



proud of this excellent improvement. The bonds 
were issued for ten years drawing five per cent. 
The system cost fifteen thousand dollars, and is 
money as well spent as could possibly be. The 
reservoir is situated on a hill near by and the 
water is piped to all parts of the town. 

In the fall of 1900 a fire department was 
organized in Fossil with a membership of thirty- 
four. They have a full equipment of fire fight- 
ing apparatus, including a hose cart, hooks, lad- 
ders, and so forth. The company has made a 
good record, and have extinguished every fire 
to which they have been called with damage only 
to the building. This shows a promptness and 
ability that cannot easily be surpassed. Although 
the original membership was thirty-four, it has 
now decreased by changes and removals until 
but ten active members are in the department. 
They are George M. Ray, foreman; J. L. Yantis, 
assistant foreman ; O. Parker, secretary ; L. C. 
Kelsay, treasurer; and Frank Prindle, B. Gaff- 
ney, Claude Millet, Tom Young, J. B. McWillis, 
and O. Kelsay. 

Fossil of to-day is a happy, well located town, 
the county seat of Wheeler county. The eleva- 
tion of the town is two thousand five hundred 
feet, and Black Butte, a neighboring summit, is 
three thousand four hundred feet above sea level. 
The beautiful valleys of Cottonwood and Butte 
creeks, at the juncture of which lies the town, 
are as pleasant and attractive as can be found 
in the country. The plat of the town is one mile 
east and west and three-fourths of a mile north 
and south. The plateau rises to the north, where 
great grain fields are located. To the south 
stand the mountains, the western extremity of 
the Blue mountains. Thus Fossil is well shel- 
tered from all storms and winds. The surround- 
ing country is supplied with plenty of fuel and 
building material, and is peopled with farmers 
and stock raisers, who make Fossil their trad- 
ing center. The railroad is now at Condon, 
twenty miles to the northeast, and so the long 
drives to connect with the railroad to the west are 
obviated. As to the location, Fossil is like a 
gem in a comely setting, and the natural thrift 
and taste of the residents have so added by beau- 
tiful shade trees and other good works an attract- 
iveness to the "art" of nature until no one fails 
to remark of the beauty and charmingness of 
this engaging and pleasant home center. 

The population is now about eight hundred 
people, and every branch of business needed in 
the country is well represented by wide awake 
and accommodating men, who have push and 
energy. The town supports a fine water system, 
an "electric plant for lighting, one bank, 
eight stores and shops, two hotels, two livery 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



651 



stables, two blacksmith shops, one harness and 
saddler's shop, one millinery store, two saloons, 
a jewelry store, drug store, furniture store, tailor 
shop, meat market, flouring mill, two dentists, 
two doctors, two lawyers, a sawmill, and a live, 
weekly newspaper, the Journal. The Wheeler 
County Telephone Company, with long distance 
connections, has headquarters at Fossil. Seven 
stages extend to all parts of the country, while 
daily mail comes from Condon. The principal 
shipments are lumber, grain, livestock, wool and 
fruit. The count} high school is located at Fos- 
sil, and in 1883 the Methodists organized a 
church, and erected a building. Two years later 
the Baptists erected a church, and the Catholics, 
also. Services had been held some years pre- 
vious to the erection of the first church building. 

A history of Fossil would be incomplete with- 
out a mention of the Caledonian Club, which was 
organized December 26, 1900, for the purpose of 
bringing the Scotch people in closer touch, 
socially, and to perpetuate many of the interest- 
ing and familiar things of this people. The club 
now has a membership of one hundred, and 
although their headquarters are in Fossil, their 
annual meetings are held at different points, and 
this year at the Lewis & Clark exposition in 
Portland. They always provide the best enter- 
tainment to be had, bringing talent from Port- 
land and other outside cities. Scotch sports are 
made prominent on their programs and the result 
is the people are becoming very familiar with 
many of these excellent things. The present offi- 
cers are William Rettie, chief; John Dysart, first 
chieftain ; J. D. McFarland, 2nd chieftain and 
secretary ; John Stewart, 3d chieftain and treas- 
urer ; George Stewart, standard bearer ; and 
James S. Moore, piper. Mr. Moore was piper 
in the Forty-second regiment, the noted Black 
Watch, during the campaign in India and 
Egypt. This regiment was one of the best in 
the entire British army and caught the fiercest 
fighting in these campaigns. 

Fossil is well supplied with fraternal orders, 
and among them we mention Fossil Lodge, No. 
89, A. F. & A. M. ; Arcadia Chapter. No. 84, 
O. E. S. ; Fossil Lodge, No. no, I. O. O. F. ; 
Sioux Encampment, No. 41. I. O. O. F. ; Hoover 
Lodge, No. 78, K. of P. ; Fossil Camp, No. 43, 
W. O. W. ; Willow Circle, No. 9, W. O. W. ; 
Blue Mountain Lodge, No. 68, Rebekahs ; and 
Lorine Lodge, No. 56, Order of Washington. 
All have regular meetings and a goodly mem- 
bership. 

Following we append a table showing the 
various officers- of Fossil since its incorporation : 

1891 — Mayor, T. B. Hoover; council, W. W. Steiwer. 
B. Kelsay, P. Potterton, C. W. Halsey; recorder, C. W. 



Hall,* Jas. Stewart; treasurer, J. H. Putnam; marshal, 
F. M. Judd,* L. T. Morgan. 
1892 — All the same as in 1891. 

1893 — Mayor, T. B. Hoover; council, J. H. Morris, B. 
Kelsay, W. W. Steiwer, C. W. Halsey; recorder, B. F. 
Nott,* James Stewart ; treasurer, J. H. Putnam ; mar- 
shal, L. T. Morgan. 

1894 — Mayor, T. B. Hoover; council, F. W. Royal, 
B. Kelsay, W. W. Steiwer, J. H. Morris ; recorder, 
James Stewart; treasurer, A. B. Lamb; marshal, L. T. 
Morgan,* W. J. Bault,* J. E. Fitzgerald. 

1895 — Mayor, B. Gaffney ; council, W. W. Steiwer,. 
F. W. Royal, Silas Keeney, J. H. Putnam; recorder, 
Jas. Stewart; treasurer, A. B. Lamb; marshal, J. E.. 
Fitzgerald. 

1896 — Mayor, W. W. Hoover; council, W. W. 
Steiwer, H. H. Hendricks, J. H. Putnam, H. P. How- 
ard; recorder, F. W. Royal; treasurer, A. B. Lamb; 
marshal, J. E. Fitzgerald. 

1897 — Mayor, T. J. Smith ; council, J. H. Putnam,. 
H. P. Howard,* W. W. Steiwer, H. H. Hendricks, B. 
F. Prindle;|| recorder, Jas. Stewart; treasurer, A. B.. 
Lamb ; marshal, S. P. Wattenburg. 

1898— Mayor, T. J. Smith ; council, W. J. Kirkland,. 
W. W. Hoover, W. W. Steiwer, J. H. Putnam; re- 
corder, Jas. Stewart; treasurer, A. B. Lamb; marshal, 
S. P. Wattenburg. 

1899 — Mayor, T. J. Smith; council, W. W. Steiwer, 
J. H. Putnam, L. W. Frieze, W. W. Hoover ; recorder, 
H. Stokes ; treasurer, A. B. Lamb ; marshal, L. H. 
Morris. 

1900 — Mayor, Jas. S. Stewart ; council, W. W.. 
Steiwer, J. H. Putnam, L. W. Frieze, L. C. Kelsay;. 
recorder, H. Stokes,* J. D. McFarland; treasurer, A. B. 
Lamb; marshal, L. H. Morris. 

1901 — Mayor, H. H. Hendricks ; council, W W.. 
Steiwer, L. C. Kelsay, A. B. Lamb, C. G. Millett ; re- 
corder, J. D. McFarland ; treasurer, W. W. Hoover ; 
marshal, Chas. McKenzie,* Harry Reed. 

1902 — Mayor, H. H. Hendricks ; council. W. W_ 
Steiwer, A. B. Lamb, John Caven, C. G. Millett ; re- 
corder, R. Wattenburg ; treasurer, W. W. Hoover ; 
marshal, Harry Reed,* M. H. Johnson,* L. T. Morgan. 
x 903 — Mayor, H. H. Hendricks; council, L. C. Kel- 
say, Chas. Millett, W. W. Steiwer, John Caven ; re- 
corder, J. A. Collier ; treasurer, W. W. Hoover ; mar- 
shal, L. T. Morgan. 

1904 — Mayor, J. W. Donnelly; council, W. W. 
Steiwer, B. Gaffney, Chas. Millett, L. C. Kelsay ; re- 
corder. J. D. McFarland ; treasurer, W. W. Hoover ; 
marshal, Frank Patterson. 

1905 — Mayor, J. O. Johnson ; council, W. W- 
Steiwer, B. Gaffney, Geo. M. Ray, T. J. Smith : re- 
corder, J. D. McFarland ; treasurer. W. W. Hoover ;. 
marshal, A. J. Quate. 



*Resigned. 

1 1 Filled vacancies. 



'652 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



MITCHELL. 

Mitchell is the second largest town in Wheeler 
county and is located on Bridge creek in the 
southeast corner of township eleven south, range 
twenty-one east, and in the northeast corner of 
the township south. It is situated partially on 
the old Sargent homestead, Mr. Sargent first 
erecting a house there in 1867. The natural ad- 
vantages, summed up in three points, are direct 
roads, plenty of water, and a good stock country 
surrounding. The hills and eminences sur- 
rounding the town lay no claim to artistic beauty, 
in fact, to some, they present a repulsive appear- 
ance. Polk Butler climbed to the top of one and 
replied to a question as to how he liked the coun- 
try "This is hell with the fire put out." The fire 
has been out for a long time, for all things point 
to the place being in ages past a sea bottom. 
Cemented gravel, hundreds of feet thick, broken 
here and there as the later convulsions of nature 
thrust up the basalt, with uneven and rugged 
bluffs, all combined make a spectacle seldom met 
with and not especially marked with beauty and 
graceful lines of attractiveness. But nature sel- 
dom does a thing like that without in some way 
•compensating, so, in her mysterious way, she has 
carefully placed, here and there, some of her 
.most precious metal in this region, while the 
country around is most excellently fitted for 
stock raising. The old stage line from The 
Dalles to Canyon City passed this point and as 
.a station was needed that was the impetus that 
started the building of a stage station. Mitchell 
no boom town, but has steadily grown since the 
days of '67, when Mr. Sargent first came and 
established himself as a pioneer in this region. 
The principal business portion of the town is in 
the close valley of the creek, while the residences 
and school building are upon a bluff one hundred 
feet above. For years it was but a frontier trad- 
ing post, but in the last decade it has grown to 
a thriving Oregon town and does an immense 
business compared with its population. 

Perhaps the first settler on the present town- 
site was William Chranston. The first store was 
established by R. E. Edmondson in 1875, it being 
a small enterprise. Two years later this gentle- 
man succeeded in getting a postoffice located, 
with himself as postmaster. The outside world 
was called to notice this springing town in 1881, 
through a correspondent in the Times, who 
stated that Mitchell then had two stores, a black- 
smith shop, one hotel, and was taking steps to 
secure a grist mill, the citizens having subscribed 
■one thousand dollars towards that enterprise. 
Flour was then ten dollars per barrel, but meat 



was plenty as good fat venison could be had for 
going after it, from one to four miles. 

About four o'clock, Friday morning, Septem- 
ber 2, 1 88 1, Mr. Richards was awakened by the 
smell of smoke and had barely time to arouse his 
wife and a young girl sleeping in the house, be- 
fore the place was enveloped in flames. This was 
a wing to his store, and rushing thither, he suc- 
ceeded in dragging out a case of goods, a mat- 
tress, some blankets, and he was then shut out 
by the onward rush of the flames. The entire 
structure, with its contents, was a total loss. Mr. 
Richards had been laboring for years to get these 
accumulations and had just gotten well started 
in Mitchell. His loss was estimated at $7,500.00, 
besides cash, notes and accounts amounting to 
$3,800.00 more, while his insurance was only 
$4,800.00. Mr. Richards pluckily went ahead 
and started up in business again. Mr. I. C. Rich- 
ards' was the second store in Mitchell. 

The firm of Campbell & Magee opened busi- 
ness in Mitchell in 1882. 

In 1884 Mitchell experienced her first catas- 
trophe from water. A wave from six to nine 
feet high rushed over the bluff above Mitchell, 
filled the street in front of Howard & Thomp- 
son's store with boulders weighing from a ton 
down to small cobble stones, deposited mud on 
the floor of Chamberlain & Todd's saloon a foot 
deep, carried away Fred Sargent's house, cut a 
deep gulch through the livery barn, carried three 
wagons away, and damaged property all along 
down the creek. 

On March 8, 1885, Mr. Sargent, I. N., platted 
the townsite of Mitchell, it being located on the 
southwest one-fourth of section thirty-six, town- 
ship eleven south, range twenty-one east, Willa- 
mette meridian. 

In the spring of 1893, the Antelope Herald, 
April 14, spoke as follows of Mitchell: 

The town now contains about fifty inhabitants. 
In addition to the residence houses occupied by Mr. 
Osborn, Max Putz, J. T. Chamberlain, Geo. Collins. 
Frank Allen. James H. Oakes. A. J. Shrum. John Allen, 
Andy Howard, Al Campbell, R. E. Misner, W. H. 
Sasser, T. Gage, and S. A. Chipman, besides three va- 
cant residences, the town is made up of the following 
business establishments: Oakes & Wilson, general 
merchants (these gentlemen are just completing a fine 
thirty by seventy store building). W. H. Sasser's large 
cash general merchandise store. Max Putz's flouring 
mill, J. T. Chamberlain's blacksmith shop, George Col- 
lins' carpenter and cabinet shop. Dr. Houck's office, the 
large Central hotel and feed stable owned and con- 
ducted by O. S. Boardman. Al Campbell's blacksmith 
shop, Miss Stella Boardman's millinery and dressmak- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



653> 



ing establishment, W. H. Sasser's hotel and livery stable, 
R. E. Misner's saloon, Dr. Hunlock's office and drug 
store, S.' A. Chipman's boot and shoe shop, and the 
calaboose. 

Owing to the fact that Mitchell was in the 
center of a country peopled with miners and 
stockmen, it was also the center of such lawless 
characters as often times flock to such countries 
taking advantage of the well known generosity 
and geniality of these men who prospect and ride 
the range. Thus, as the town had no corporate 
authority and could only depend on the county 
officials, many miles away, these reckless char- 
acters often dist*rbed the peace of law abiding 
citizens, and, in fact, many crimes were com- 
mitted. Thus it seemed best, as early as 1893, 
that Mitchell should be incorporated, whicii was 
done, and the quietus placed by good substantial 
officers of the peace had a very excellent effect on 
the condition of the country. Go the west over 
and it is well known that the real stockmen and 
miners are not unruly or insubordinate men. On 
the contrary they are the most strict enforcers 
of humanity's laws, as is evidenced by various 
vigilance committees, which have rescued more 
than one section from a reign of terror from 
criminals, which law was powerless to accom- 
plish. It is a fact, though, that the very occu- 
pations of riding the range and mining partake 
of such a closeness with nature that there is an 
unboundedness imbibed which a lawbreaker mis- 
takes for lawlessness. But it is not. At heftrt, 
though, it is often found that these men are usu- 
ally summary, they are nearer justice than many 
places where dilatory "and weak tactics predomi- 
nate. Weakness is mistaken by some for wis- 
dom, while a vigorous enforcement of law is 
supposed to be tyranny. Nothing could be more 
out of the way in either case. It is, in fact, the 
only way to insure safety to law abiding citizens, 
that the law should be vigorously enforced, and 
having a sense of justice, often frontier com- 
mittees have been obliged to take the law in 
their own hands, we mean real humanitarianism, 
the unwritten law of instinctive justice which 
the Creator has implanted in each breast, and 
enforce it vigorously. But, as there is a mis- 
taken idea that the freedom of action, that by 
force of their very surroundings they are bound 
to take up, of miners and prospectors and stock- 
men, is bordering onto lawlessness and is such, 
it follows that the baser class of people seek these 
places, to mix with the ones who are there for 
real advancement. Also th'ey come as the hand 
of the law has not yet reached to these points. 
These things combined to bring considerable dis- 
turbance in the early days of Mitchell, but the 



incorporation was a good thing and it was soon 
found by those who would disregard the law of 
the land and trample on others to their own lik- 
ing, that the time of such actions had passed, and- 
all good people were glad. 

The first Baptist church was built in 1895, 
the class being organized that same year. 

On Wednesday afternoon, March 25, 1896,. 
Mitchell experienced another destructive fire.- 
It first broke out in the rooms of W. T. Palmer 
in the lower story of the large new hall in lower 
town. Two hours and twenty minutes from that 
time nine buildings were in ashes, including the 
saloon buildings of R. E. Misener and Al Camp- 
bell, two residences of R. E. Misener, also his ■ 
new hall building, Al Campbell's residence and 
blacksmith shop, Sam Bennan's residence, be- 
sides some others. There was no wind at the 
time and shingles rose to a great height and. 
floated four miles up creek. It seemed for a 
time as if the entire town would go, but by 
heroic efforts it was saved. It was a serious 
blow to Mitchell, but with true grit, they at 
once began to rebuild. 

On the fourth of August, 1899, a & Te started^ 
in Mitchell, accredited by some to children play- 
ing with matches, and by others to an incend- 
iary, which consumed sixteen thousand dollars 
worth of property. It was thought at the time 
that half of the town was consumed. The loss 
was also estimated one-fourth more than we 
have put it above. Among the places consumed 
were one store, one hotel, one livery stable, one 
saloon, and in all ten buildings. This again 
was a hard blow, but Mitchell was not to be 
wiped off the map, and with the characteristic 
grit of its residents, again the new buildings 
arose. 

In 1 90 1 the charter of Mitchell, as to its 
boundaries was amended so as to be as follows : 
"Commencing at the southeast corner of the 
northeast quarter of section one, township 
twelve south, range twenty-one east, thence 
north one and one-fourth miles, thence west 
one mile, thence south one and one- fourth miles, 
thence east one mile to the place of beginning." 

On July 22, 1901, the people of Mitchell 
voted a bond issue for waterworks. The system 
is now being installed, gaining the supply from 
a spring about one-half mile above the town. 
The fall is four hundred feet to the mile, thus 
a pressure is insured sufficient to protect prop- 
erty in case of fire. 

Late Monday afternoon, July 11, 1.904, a 
heavy storm arose in the Mitchell country. It 
was accompanied by a marked electrical display 
and when it broke rain fell heavily. It seems- 
that the cloud burst on the head of Bridge Creek 



654 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



first, then passed over to Keyes Creek. This fact 
lessened the terrible destruction materially, for 
the Bridge Creek wave struck the town first and 
was partly run down before the other joined it 
from Keyes Creek. The juncture of the two 
creeks is a short distance above town. At six 
thirty p. m. a distant roar was distinctly heard 
and the inhabitants, bearing in mind the terrible 
catastrophe that befell Heppner the year before, 
began to escape to the sides of the canyon, and 
were accelerated in this move by the roar grow- 
ing louder rapidly. In. an incredibly short time 
a wall of yellow water, thirty feet high, swept 
round the rocky point at the flour mill and 
cleaned the ground ahead of it, tearing buildings 
to pieces, smashing them, throwing some into 
the air to drop into the torrent, and working 
destruction generally. Everything in its path 
was taken, and only that some of the town 
was high enough to be out of its reach or every 
building would have been demolished. As it was 
twenty-eight buildings were taken with all 
their contents. But two lives were lost, owing 
to the fact that the people were warned, and, 
too, that they had but to make a few steps to get 
to the higher ground. Mrs. Agnes Bethune, a 
lady aged eighty, was swept away with her hotel 
building. It is not known whether she was ap- 
prised of the danger or not. Martin Smith, the 
father of Mrs. M. E. Parrish, was the other 
victim of the waters. He was aged ninety, and 
had just retired for the night. Mrs. Parrish 
had succeeded in getting her aged mother out of 
harm's way, with the children, and returned to 
get her father. Her son, George, shouted for 
her to quit the house immediately, and she barely 
escaped with her life. The building was danced 
along on the crest of the wave for four hundred 
yards like a chip, then dashed into kindling wood. 
The sight on the hills was one never to be 
forgotten. Men, women, children, many babies, 
had hurriedly scurried to these places of safety 
and were gathered in groups to console each 
other and before their eyes their homes and 
property were taken away instantly. Scantily 
clad, drenched to the skin in the downpour of 
rain, shivering, the very heavens blazing with 
blinding lightning, thunder crashing, the scene 
was overpowering and too graphic for descrip- 
tion. Some were terrorized at the destruction 
before them, some were nearly overcome with 
present conditions of personal suffering, others 
were given to joy that they had escaped with 
their lives, but all were silent, in a great meas- 
ure. As soon as the flood began to subside, 
the houses that were left were opened and the 
poor unfortunates were given shelter and succor. 
To those not acquainted with the awful power 



of a mass of water, the destruction seemed 
miraculous. Strange things happened. Fragile 
things sometimes escaped, doubtless being borne 
up -on the water. The heaviest machinery was 
twisted as one would twist a willow twig, cogs 
were stripped from the wheels and they were 
polished as by an emery wheel. 

When the sun rose next day Mitchell pre- 
sented an awful sight, but, while men were 
ruined financially, happy homes were gone never 
to return, and a large portion of the town was 
in a lamentable condition, still, through it all, 
there was a strain of thankfulness that so few 
had perished. 

We give the estimate of property loss sus- 
tained : 

W. L. Campbell, Sr $300 

John W. Carroll 2,000 

O. V. Helms 500 

W. L. Campbell, Jr 3-500 

James Payne 500 

A. R. Campbell 2,000 

M. E. Parrish 1,500 

E. T. Folston 2,000 

H. A. Waterman 200 

Mrs. O. S. Boardman 2,000 

A. Helms, Jr 1.500 

Looney Bros. & Co 1,000 

Holmes & Hartwig 3,000 

M. Pearson 50 

G. E. Parrish 600 

R. D. Cannon 400 

R. H. Jenkins 500 

Eugene Looney 1 ,200 

S. F. Allen 500 

T. J. Harper 500 

M. Putz 2.500 

R. W. Winebarger 400 

S. A. Ross 325 

Oakes Merc. Co 800 

Gillenwater & Promt 5,000 

Carroll Ranch 500 

A. C. Trent 1.500 

J. E. Adamson 150 

Frank Forster 400 

O. L. Hurt T50 

A. W. Winebarger 1.500 

David Osborn 1,000 

Agnes Bethune 600 

L. L. Jones 1 .500 

J. A. Butterfield 1.000 

S. Unsworth 1 .000 

G. L. Frizzell 1.500 

Miscellaneous 3,000 

A rider well mounted dashed down the val- 
ley ahead of the flood warning people and the 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



655 



result was that none perished below Mitchell, 
so far as known. 

When the first account appeared, in the daily 
papers it was stated that Mitchell did not need 
outside help, but later things were discovered 
to be in such an appalling condition, many being 
left penniless and without a change of clothing, 
and the debris in the town menacing the health 
and lives of the people unless speedily removed, 
that a committee of citizens after a deliberation 
published in the dailies that help would be ac- 
ceptable to the destitute and to assist in re- 
moving the debris which was threatening the 
people. Generous minded people responded 
readily and soon Mitchell began to show a dif- 
ferent aspect and with her characteristic energy 
began again to rebuild. 

On Sunday night, September 25, 1904, Mit- 
chell was visited by a second flood. The water 
struck about eight o'clock in the evening, flowing 
down Nelson street and coming from a gulch 
south of town. It was not nearly so deep as the 
flood two months previous, but as the night was 
very dark, and the people not yet fully recov- 
ered from their fright of a few weeks previous, 
the excitement ran high. The channel of the 
creek had been well cleaned by the larger flood 
so this ran away more rapidly. The total dam- 
age was about one thousand dollars. 

Burned out, washed out, beset at times with 
desperadoes, meeting many misfortunes, Mit- 
chell has had a fight for existence, but she has 
won the day nicely, her people are not soured 
because of their misfortunes, but are enterpris- 
ing, and it is said the town does more business 
for its size than any other town in the entire 
state. Every business needed is well represented 
by intelligent and up-to-date men and the out- 
look at this time is excellent. Mitchell has fine 
schools, well supplied with apparatus and a good 
library, a substantial town hall, and is planning 
other valuable improvements. The inhabitants 
number something over two hundred. 

The men who have charge of the postoffice 
in Mitchell in the order of their service are R. 
E. Edmondson, I. N. Sargent, Miss Davis, J. 
H. Oakes, A. C. Palmer, A. D. Looney and J. 
E. Adamson, who is the present, incumbent of 
the office. 

The names of the men who have held the 
town offices of Mitchell since its incorporation 
follow : 

1903 — Mayor, A. J. Shrum ; council, R. E. Misener, 
W. H. Sasser, E. E. Allen ; recorder. M. Put/ ; treas- 
urer, F. Wilson ; marshal, A. C. McEachren. 

1894 — Mayor, R. E. Misener; council, W. M. Sasser, 



S. F. Allen; recorder, E. R. Hunlock; treasurer, F. 
Wilson ; marshal, J. F. Mager. 

1895— Mayor, R. E. Misener; council, S. I. Lester, 
G. E. Houck, Geo. Strong ; recorder, Jesse Allen ; treas- 
urer, J. H. Oakes ; marshal, J. F. Mager. 

1S96— Mayor, S. F. Allen; council, R. E. Misener, 
Geo. Houck, W. H. Puett; recorder, M. Putz ; treas- 
urer, S. Brennen ; marshal, John Flock. 

1897— Mayor, R. E. Misener; council, S. F. Allen, 
W. H. Sasser, Geo. Houck; recorder, E. M. Andrus ; 
treasurer, S. Brennen; marshal, W. H. Puett. 

1898— Mayor, J. L. Keaton ; council, J. H. Oakes, 
J. T. Keaton, A. D. Looney; recorder, H. J. Palmer; 
treasurer, Fred N. Wallace; marshal, W. H. Puett. 

1899— Mayor, F. A. Van Ordstrand ; council, W. H. 
Sasser, R. E. Misener, J. I. Jones; recorder, A. Frazier; 
treasurer, I. A. Johnson ; marshal, W. S. Carroll. 

1900— Mayor, J. W. Donnelly ; council, A. R. Camp- 
bell, J. L. Hollingshead, Edwin Peterson; recorder, A. 
S. Simons; treasurer, J. G Fontaine; marshal, W. H. 
Puett. 

1901— Mayor, J. W. Donnelly; council, H. A. 
Waterman, Eugene Looney, J. L. Hollingshead, W. H. 
Sasser, D. Osborne, I. P. Holman ; recorder, M. Putz ; 
treasurer, J. G. Fontaine; marshal, E. J. Davis. 

1902— Mayor, J. W. Donnelly; council, H. A. 
Waterman, John Flock, Eugene Looney, W. H. Sasser, 
J. L. Hollingshead, James Payne; recorder, M. Putz; 
treasurer, J. G Fontaine; marshal, Geo. P. Riley (re- 
signed and replaced by John Hice.) 

1903— Mayor, J. L. Hollingshead; council, Wm. 
Folston, James Payne, J. P. Province, A. S. Holmes, 
H. A. Waterman, John Flock; recorder, M. Putz; treas- 
urer, J. G. Fontaine; marshal, John Hice. 

1904— Mayor, J. L. Hollingshead; council, H A 
Waterman, Eugene Looney, A. S. Holmes, J. P. Prov- 
ince, Wm. Folston, James Payne; recorder, M. Putz • 
treasurer, J. G. Fontaine; marshal, C. H. Nelson. 

1905— Mayor, R. H. Jenkins; council, J. P Prov- 
ince, W. F. Brown, H. W. Wheeler, J. M. Mansfield H 
A. Waterman ; treasurer, J. G Fontaine ; marshal, David 
Osborn. 

Twickenham is one of the many small sta°- e 
towns of Wheeler county. It is 'situated just 
west from the geographical center of the county 
m the fertile valley of the John Day river At 
present it has one store, a hotel and a postoffice. 
"In former years this town had considerable 
prominence inasmuch as it was a close second 
for the county seat at the time of choosing that. 

The townsite of Twickenham was platted 
by J. H. Parsons,. May 14, 1896, it being located 
on the southeast fourth of the northwest fourth 
of section thirty-five, township nine south, range 
twenty-one east Willamette meridian. 

In the early sixties this section of the coun- 



6 5 6 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



try was known as the Big Bottom. In 1862 Mr. 
Biffel settled on the ranch now owned by J. A. 
Chapman. ■ He died soon thereafter, and, so far 
as is known, he was the first white settler. The 
next settler was J. S. Deadman, who took in 
1868 the ranch now owned by A. S. McAllister. 
In the same year Isaac Holmes laid claim to the 
large level tract on the north bank of the river. 
He soon abandoned it and in 1869 J. H. Parsons 
came down from Umatilla county and squatted 
on the same. J. K. Rowe took at the same time 
the ranch now owned by the Gilman French 
Company. Some ten years later the government 
surveyed the country and these settlers secured 
title to their lands. 

The neighborhood of Spray was settled in 
the sixties by W. A. Fisher, Or and Jim Hughes, 
Enos O'Flying, Ralph Fisk, William Gates and 
others. The town lies in the east central part 
of Wheeler county, being located on the John 
Day river and was platted March 5, 1900, by 
Mary E. Spray, and is located on the southwest 
fourth of section thirty-six, township eight 
south, range twenty-four east Willamette meri- 
dian. The ferry was established in 1896 and 
the real town began to grow in 1899. At the 
present time Spray is a handsome and busy vil- 
lage with good schools, the general lines of 
business well represented, a gravity water sys- 
tem and other improvemente. The plan is to 
construct a steel bridge across the John Day 
at this point, and this will greatly encourage 
travel through this section. John F. Spray has 
been a moving spirit in the establishment and 
advancement of this place and is one of the 
heavy property owners of the town and sur- 
rounding country. The climate is delightful, 
possessing those qualitites of health giving which 
will in time to come as it is better known draw 
many thither for its benefits. Productions of 
fruits and general crops are heavy as the land is 



fertile. The outlook for Spray is certainly 
bright and encouraging. 

Richmond is situated very nearly in the geo- 
graphical center of Wheeler county. It is the 
business center of the Shoofly country and is one 
of the new places of the county. One store is 
there at present, a hotel, a livery barn, a few 
residences, a good public school, and the people 
are alive to the excellencies of the situation. 
Richmond has a good surrounding country and 
shows signs of prosperity that bespeak a good 
future. 

Waterman is one of Wheeler county's bright 
villages, being the business center of the country 
immediately south of Richmond. Mr. George 
McKay originally laid out the townsite and now 
owns a hotel there. The village has a good 
water system and is a pleasant place to live. 

Eighteen miles northwest from Mitchell is 
Burnt Ranch postoffice, Mrs. Fairly being post- 
mistress. This was formerly called Grade. The 
story of how the place was named is found in 
the earlier portion of Wheeler county his- 
tory. 

Caleb has a population of twenty-six and is 
situated about fifty-one miles south from Fossil 
on Badger Creek. It has a hotel, livery, black- 
smith shop and a general merchandise store. 

Well toward the southeast corner of the 
county is Barite, a country postoffice. Reuben 
Fields is postmaster and also conducts a saw milk 
A semi-weekly stage with mail runs from this 
point to Antone. 

Antone is the name of a postoffice on Rock 
Creek some sixty miles southeast from Fossil. 
E. L. Knox is postmaster and has a general 
store. The office is supplied with telephone con- 
nections. 

The only postoffice of Wheeler county not 
already mentioned is Lost Valley in the northeast 
portion of the county. 



CHAPTER III 



DESCRIPTIVE. 



Wheeler county contains over one million 
acres of land, largely rolling. Her resources 
are varied and manifold, and her output of live 
stock, especially, is enormous, considering the 
limited population, which, at this writing, is not 
to exceed thirty-five hundred, by the most care- 



ful estimates. The inhabitants are generally 
well to do, thrifty and progressive. The popu- 
lation is fairly evenly distributed. The entire 
surface of the county is rolling, and much 
of it is rugged, even being mountainous. 
It is said that Wheeler county is as rugged and 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



657 



uneven in surface as any county in Oregon. The 
northern part from Fossil north is spoken of 
as a plateau, while south of Fossil the westmost 
spur of the main Blue mountains traverses the 
county from east to west. South of that is the 
valley of the John Day river, also running from 
east to west. Then comes the rugged, and in 
places, gently rolling, portion of the county that 
has a general slope north towards the John Day, 
except the southeasternmost portion, which has 
an easterly slope towards the John Day river. 
The county is bounded on the north by Gilliam 
and Morrow counties, on the east by Morrow 
and Grant counties, on the south by Crook 
county and on the west by Crook and Wasco 
counties. The John Day river is the dividing 
line between Wheeler county and Wasco county. 
On the southern line of the county is another 
spur of the Blue mountains, which extends be- 
yond the western boundary into Crook county. 
The climate in general is mild and pleasant, 
about one week in the midwinter usually being as 
trigid weather as zero. The altitude of Fossil is 
two thousand five hundred feet, and the snow 
fall is light, stock running at large all winter. 
However, it is usual to provide feed for them 
for a few weeks in the coldest weather. Frosts 
are quite common at Fossil. Mitchell is one 
thousand feet lower in altitude than Fossil and 
frosts are not common. The climate is milder 
than the northern part of the county and all 
vegetables and fruits do well there. Grain is 
raised in all portions of the county, even on the 
highest altitudes, which James S. Stewart says 
is saying much for the climate when we remem- 
ber that the Blue mountains are on the south- 
ern line. Three-fourths of the year the weather 
is dry and sunshine is almost continual in this 
favored region. As is usual east of the Cascades, 
the nights are always cool. Irrigation is being 
used and various portions of the country, as 
Spray, and other sections, produce much fine 
alfalfa. Hardy fruits are raised in all portions 
of the county. Peaches, apricots and grapes are 
successfully grown on the river bottoms, along 
creeks and in sheltered coves. Apples do ex- 
ceedingly well and many orchards of these trees 
as well as others are being set out each year. 
The flouring mill at Mitchell does not get enough 
wheat to make a continuous run, and the one at 
Fossil is obliged to draw on Gilliam county for 
her supply. None of this cereal is exported 
from the county, and thus it is seen that there 
is abundant opportunity for the wheat farmer in 
the county. However, Wheeler will never be- 
come a great wheat raising county. The land is 
better utilized for other purposes, but it will 
produce much more than now. It is estimated 

42 



that fully one-half of the land in Wheeler county 
is still owned by the government, and of this 
29,490 acres are open for settlement. Much' of 
the land is covered with timber fit for fuel and 
also building, while the Camp Watson spur of 
the Blue mountains in the southern portion of 
the county has a splendid growth of heavy yel- 
low pine, especially valuable. Like the fruit in- 
dustry the timber also awaits transportation fa- 
cilities, which will come surely in due time. 

But Wheeler county's great source of wealth 
is her stock. The entire county is well watered, 
has abundance of natural bunch grass, plenty of 
other grasses in the timbered sections, is favored 
with a climate that allows stock to roam out all 
winter, needing but little provided feed, and these 
things insure a stock paradise. At the last esti- 
mate the county possessed two hundred thou- 
sand sheep, fifteen thousand cattle, eight thou- 
sand horses, and hogs enough to more than sup- 
ply the home demand. At the present writing 
these numbers could be largely augmented, and 
instead of the scrubby stock that is usually 
found in the stock countries at first, Wheeler 
county stockmen have bred up all animals by the 
introduction of excellent thoroughbred males, 
until they have choice animals almost universally. 
Some large concerns have extensive land hold- 
ings in the county, as The Dalles Military Road 
Company, now the Eastern Oregon Land Com- 
pany, with 63,290 acres, the Gilman & French 
Company, with 38,120 acres; the Sophiana ranch 
with 10,095 acres ; the Butte Creek Land, Live- 
stock & Lumber Company, with 8,634 acres. 
Each farmer has a goodly holding of land and 
all, in common, utilize the government land for 
range purposes. 

Game abounds on every hand. Wild geese, 
ducks, grouse, rabbits and other varieties are 
plentiful. Deer are stalked in all portions of the 
county, while bear are found in the mountains.. 
Wheeler county presents for the sportsman an 
attractive country. 

Pine Creek Valley extends from nearly the 
center of Wheeler county northwest to the John 
Day river. The valley is a black loam, exceed- 
ingly rich, easily irrigated, and produces abund- 
ant returns in alfalfa and fruit. Perhaps no por- 
tion of the county can surpass this as a fruit 
growing section, and, in fact, it is stated that 
the fruit is equal to that raised in the famous 
Hood River Valley. Pears, peaches, apricots, 
grapes, apples and all the smaller fruits are 
grown. 

Along the John Day and creeks tributary to 
it is found much level and fertile bottom land 
which produces equally well with that mentioned 
above. 



6 5 8 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



The Mountain Creek country is noted for its 
timothy, large quantities being produced there, 
the land being irrigated from the creek. With- 
out the irrigation the land produces wheat read- 
ily. 

The Waterman country which is really in the 
Mountain creek section, is especially well adapted 
for wheat, but lack of facilities for transporting 
to market has kept the culture of this profitable 
cereal back. In the near future this offers a 
great source of wealth to the inhabitants. 

In the Mitchell country grain and all fruits 
do well along the streams where land is found 
level enough for agricultural purposes. 

Concerning the mines of Wheeler county, 
James S. Stewart says in the Oregonian : "Our 
mines consist of a large and ever increasing 
number of partially developed quartz claims, 
many of them of considrable promise, some 
being owned by the leading capitalists of Ore- 
gon, and the well-known Spanish gulch placer 
mines." One could not mention in detail these 
various properties, but much attention is being 
directed to the Spanish gulch country, 
where both quartz and placer properties are 
showing well. Some of the latter yield to their 
owners from three thousand to twelve thousand 
dollars returns for each year's run. Large de- 
posits of coal have been discovered in the vicin- 
ity of Mitchell, but as there is no transportation 
the find has not been developed. 

It is supposed that a great portion of Wheeler 
county was at one time the bottom of a large 
body of water, probably fresh. This' great sheet 
of expanse, which we may well call John Day 
lake, received the water from the various streams 
which drained the country then, and they may 
have been, yes, doubtless were of very different 
location from what they are at present. In what 
distant age this was is theorized upon, but to 
number the years that have elapsed since then is 
no easy task even to the skilled scientist. From 
all that can be gathered at this time this vast 
lake country was then of a milder climate than 
now exists in central Oregon for the leaf beds 
of Ridge Creek indicate this, as these leaves are 
like those now found* in semi-tropical countries. 
The various streams carried their silt to the lake, 
sweeping along also various animals that were' 
unfortunate enough to become entombed or were 
killed. These animals were embedded in 
this silt and generally petrified. Then, too, 
came immense volcanic disturbances, com- 
pared with which the destruction of Pom- 
peii and Herculaneum were small affairs. 
These disturbances shook the country, some- 
times raising it and sometimes lowering 
the elevation, and accompanied these terrific vi- 



brations with untold quantities of ashes, cinders 
and live lava. These being of such great extent 
it was impossible for the animals to flee, and so 
they were caught and buried, in many cases, 
doubtless, alive, to die when they were blotted 
out of sunlight as did the unfortunates in the 
cities named above. Alternate layers of the silt 
brought by the streams, with the live lava to- 
gether with the scoriae of the fierce fiery mons- 
ters, piled up the covering of these unfortunate 
animals layer upon layer and in time the bot- 
tom of the lake was hoisted in the air and the 
country began to assume the aspects that now ap- 
pear. The tremendous bodies of water sought 
outlet and conformed themselves to the contour 
of the country as they rushed to the sea. These 
formed the natural streams which in time cut 
down through all these successive layers, the 
sun, frost and erosion aiding in this work. So 
that now these streams all lie deep down from 
the general heighth of the country, some in 
broad valleys, but many in deep narrow canyons, 
where the sunshine only makes brief visits. 
Thus are exposed on the walls of these canyons 
the petrified remains of various animals. To 
secure them it is necessary to climb the walls to 
their location and chisel them from the sur- 
rounding rock, which is no easy undertaking. 
Among the remains found are three-toed horses, 
no larger than a donkey, rhinoceroses, camels, 
peccaries, a great assemblage of large animals, 
hosts of squirrel and rabbitlike creatures, besides 
others. A general oriental character pervades 
the entire list found and we are assured that the 
climate was then milder than now. 

In 1890 the University of Princeton sent an 
exploring expedition into this region and many 
scientists have explored it besides and much is 
written concerning it. Surely Wheeler county 
is not only rich in possibilities at the present, 
but also is distinguished by the great wealth of 
lore that speaks like a book of the times that 
have been. 

Owing to the carving the atmospheric action 
and the erosion of water have done, the John Day 
like other streams in this section, runs at the 
bottom of a deep channel. Sometimes this is 
sloping on the sides, and there is level bottom 
land a few feet above the stream. In other places 
the sides are abrupt, rocky and lift their heads 
two thousand feet above the flow of the river. 
Many scenes of these canyons are beyond des- 
cription, but perhaps among them all none is 
more striking than the John Day canyon trav- 
ersed somewhat in a stage ride from Fossil to 
Antelope. On the plateau above the canyon as 
the traveler approaches toward the river in the 
bright light of sunrising. it appears as if one was 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



659 



viewing a vast white sea somewhat below you 
and in this sea were islands. Upon closer arriv- 
al the white sea is found to be clouds and the 
islands are simply black peaks of the canyon's 
cra g§iy sides lifting their bare heads up through 
these clouds. The descent begins and soon one is 
in the midst of the white sea, and then after he 
has dived through its depths he still descends 
for three hours. The piercing morning sun 
drives away the clouds, and every turn of the 
road brings new and indescribable scenes to the 
traveller's wondering eyes. How grand, won- 
derful are these mute witnesses of the past, dis- 
playing as they do, ages of untold history, and 
standing silent, yet eloquent portrayers of the 
mighty power that wrought in- the days when 
man's footsteps had not yet wandered in the 
scene? What tales could they tell of the quiet 
waters of John Day Lake, where abounded the 
finny tribes in profusion, the semiaquatic ani- 
mals, and the lithesome creatures that dwelt in 
the semi-tropical forests ? O'er its silvered bos- 
tossed the turbulent white caps as the waters 
om the same pleasant moon reflected glory as it 
does now to us in other bodies of water; there 
rose in response to the fierce winds, and there, 
too, in rippling murmurs it told its music on the 
shores when the breezes toyed with light fond- 
ness! How majestic, awe inspiring and over- 
powering became the moments when all this 



calm scene was shaken by the convulsive hand 
of nature's forces and fear filled the hearts and 
lives of every living creature ? With what throes 
the awful battle was fought when these forces 
lifted high in the air the peaceful lake dashing 
us waters to the sea, and piled in its place the 
stupendous edifices of rock and debris we now 
behold? All these things could the gigantic 
columns tell now if they would speak. At their 
birth the moment was most intense, but the force 
of nature must have its way and the reconstruc- 
tion of the scene must progress. Man is to 
come, these animals must give way to a higher 
order, and Wheeler county was brought out for 
habitation. As one descends the canyon's side he is 
bewildered with the many forms taken by the 
rocks. Tall slender pinacles, massive butments, 
beetling cliffs, giant doorways, mammoth castles, 
every conceivable form takes place, then gives 
way to a never ending scene of new sights. Col- 
umns could be devoted to the description of 
this wonderful scene and then half not be told, 
but this is not the place for an extended and 
minute word picture. In passing the description 
of Wheeler county we could but spend a moment 
in this craggy old treasure house of antiquity 
and leave the local details for others. Various 
sections have received names from the settlers 
as "The Castle," "Church Nave," "The Giants' 
Walk" and so forth. 



CHAPTER IV 



POLITICAL. 



In accordance with the enabling act creat- 
ing Wheeler county, wherein the governor of 
Oregon was empowered to appoint the first of- 
ficers of this county, on February 24, 1899, Gov- 
ernor Geer apponited the following named per- 
sons to fill the offices mentioned in connection 
with their names : 

W. W. Kennedy of Fossil, as county judge; 
P. L. Keeton of Caleb, as sheriff; G. O. Butler 
of Waldron, as clerk ; Eugene Looney of Mitch- 
ell, commissioner; C. N. Wagner of Wagner, 
commissioner; O. B. Miles of Fossil, school sup- 
erintendent; I. F. Shon of Waldron, assessor;. 
T. L. Stewart of Fossil, surveyor; Dr. McCorkle 
of Mitchell, coroner. 

At the first general election held after Wheel- 
er became a county the question of the permanent 



location of the county seat was settled, as given 
in another chapter. The officers elected and the 
votes for the respective candidates is given in 
the following table. The date of this election 
was June 4, 1900. 

For member of congress — Leslie Butler, 26; 
Malcolm Moody, rep., 479 ; J. E. Simmons, 42 ; 
William Smith, dem., 203. 

For district attorney — Frank Menefee, rep., 
427; James F. Moore, dem., 343. 

For joint senator — V. G. Cozad, demo.-peo., 
231 ; W. W. Steiwer, rep., 530. 

For joint representative — George J. Barrett, 
Grant county, rep., 331 ; George H. Cattanach, 
Grant county, rep., 377; T. R. Coon, Wasco 
county, dem.-peo., 227; W. J. Edwards, Gilliam 
county, dem.-peo., 257; George Miller, Gilliam 



66o 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



county, rep., 369 ; R. E. Misner, Wheeler county, 
dem.-peo., 491. 

For sheriff — P. L. Keeton, dem., 569; J. P. 
Province, rep., 212. 

For clerk — George Butler, rep., 628. 

For county judge — W. W. Hoover, dem., 
478; J. W. Waterman, rep., 310. 

For treasurer — A. B. Lamb, rep., 611. 

For assessor — Ed F. Horn, dem., 150; E. E. 
Mathews, rep., 281 ; I. F. Shown, ind.-rep., 336. 

For school superintendent — H. F. Mires, rep., 
309 ; Charles Royse, dem., 445. 

For commissioners — J. J. Ahalt, dem., 294; 
Joseph Frizzell, rep., 446; Eugene Looney, dem., 

532. 

For surveyor — W. W. Kennedy, rep., 426 ; 
P. B. Nelson, dem., 336. 

For coroner — H. M. Shaw, rep., 619. 

In the national election held November 6, 
1900, the republican electors received 436, the 
democratic 243, the prohibition 13, the populist 
5 and the socialist 6. 

In the election held June 2, 1902, we note 
the following: 

For governor — George E. Chamberlain, 
dem., 282; William J. Furnish, rep., 437; A. J. 
Hunsaker, 17 ; R. R. Ryan, 7. 

For member of congress — W. F. Butcher, 
dem., 284; D. F. Gerdes, 10; F. R. Spaulding, 
23 ; J. N. Williamson, rep., 462. 

For joint representatives — C. A. Dannemau, 
rep., 416; L. J. Gates, 35 ; R. J. Ginn, rep., 391 ; 
N. P. Hansen, 25 ; C. G. Hansen, dem., 197 ; 
C. P. Johnson, rep., 420; H. C. Shaffer, 18; E. 
G. Stevenson, dem., 202; E. P. Weir, dem.', 
207. 

For county commissioner — R. T. Brown, 
dem., 376; Joseph Frizzell, rep., 314. 

For clerk — George O. Butler, rep., 442; R. 
E. Misner, dem., 305. 

For sheriff— W. T. Johnson, rep., 277; P. 
L. Keeton, dem., 460. 

For treasurer — A. B. Lamb, rep., 456; 
Charles J. Millet, dem., 270. 

For assessor — J. F. Anthony, rep., 277; W. 
H. Sasser, dem., 462. 

For surveyor — W. W. Kennedy, rep., 562. 

For coroner — R. H. Jenkins, rep., 556. 



The election held June 6, 1904, resulted ac- 
cording to the figures given in the following, 
table : 

For member of congress — -George R. Cook, 
12; J. E. Simmons, dem., 225; H. W. Stone, 34^ 
J. N. Williamson, rep., 494. 

For circuit judge — W. L. Bradshaw, dem., 
386; J. A. Collier, rep., 390. 

For district attorney — Frank Menefee, rep., 
454; Dan P. Smyth, dem., 311. 

For joint senator — Jay Bowerman, rep., 411 ; 
Louis J. Gates, 34; W. L. Wilcox, dem., 332. 

For Joint representative — R. N. Donnelly, 
rep., 453 ; W. K. Kirkland, dem., 297 ; C. C. 
Kuney, rep., 352; A. S. Porter, 60; C. A. Shurte, 

54- 

For county judge — E. M. Clymer, rep., 343; 
W. W. Hoover, dem., 427. 

For commissioners — J. L. Barnhouse, rep., 
459; John M. Brown, rep., 351; W. H. Gates, 
dem., 253 ; James Wilson, dem., 297. 

For sheriff — P. L. Keeton, dem., 403 ; E. E. 
Mathews, rep., 382. 

For clerk — J. O. Butler, rep., 421 ; H. Mc- 
Ginnis, dem., 356. 

For treasurer — A. B. Lamb, rep., 489; 
George Ray, dem., 281. 

For assessor — R. J. Carsner, rep., 371 ; Ra- 
leigh Scott, dem., 407. 

For school superintendent — W. W. Kennedy, 
rep., 588. 

For surveyor — H. F. C. Heidtman, rep., 427 : 
A. Helms, Jr., ind.-rep., 283. 

For coroner — W. T. Whan, dem., 476. 

For the high school, 365 ; against the high 
school, 192. 

For the local option, 385 ; against the local 
option, 229. 

For direct primary law, 422; against direct 
primary law, 65. 

In the national election held November 8, 
1904, the vote stood as follows: 

Republican electors, 462 ; democratic elec- 
tors, 162 ; prohibition, 14 ; socialist, 22 ; peoples, 

7- 

On June 5, 1905, an election was held on the 

question of local option which stood for it, 202; 

against it, 277. 






CHAPTER V 



EDUCATIONAL. 



Owing to the fact that Wheeler county has 
•existed as a separate political division but a 
short time, the school history of the county as 
a whole is not very lengthy. The schools of the 
•county are up to the standard of the state, the 
people have shown a commendable zeal in pro- 
viding for the rising generation proper educa- 
tional facilities, and steps have been taken, as 
will be apparent in what follows, to assist the 
youth of the county to obtain good educations at 
home. 

The first school in the territory now em- 
braced in this county was located about one-half 
mile east from where Mitchell now stands. It 
was established in 1872 and the school was held 
in the proverbial log house. The second 
school was established in 1874, at Waldron near 
where Richmond now stands. The first teacher of 
this school was Samantha A. Adams, now Mrs. 
Dan French of The Dalles, a well-known lady in 
central Oregon. 

Fossil's first school was opened in 1882 in a 
two-story frame structure situated near where 
the high school is now located. The upper story 
was utilized for other purposes and the lower 
floor was the school room and Benton Myers 
taught the first term. This school house was de- 
stroyed by fire in 1884, but another two-story 
frame building was immediately erected. Fossil 
was then a portion of Gilliam county and in 1891 
we have mentioned that on March first of that 
year the pupils belonging in district number 
twenty-one (Fossil) were one hundred and thirty, 
The number enrolled was ninety-four, and Fos- 
sil's school was the largest in Gilliam county. 
The Fossil public schools always held a 
foremost place in the county and the year 1891 
appeared to be one of still greater progress. A 
school tax was levied which insured nine months 
of school with two experienced teachers. Chil- 
dren from outside districts were allowed tuition 
at reasonable rates and that drew numerous 
families to the town for the school season. The 
schools continued to increase in size and the 
high standard maintained at this time was bet- 
tered in every way possible and for ten years 
next following Fossil was known far and near 



as a real center for excellent educational facili- 
ties. It was found necessary then that better 
building facilities should be provided and with 
her characteristic progressiveness Fossil took up 
the question and provided a substantial six-room 
brick school house of modern design and pro- 
vided with all the apparatus and library needed 
for excellent work. 

The question of having the county high 
school, which the state of Oregon wisely provides 
for, had been upon the minds of the leading 
citizens for some time and in 1904 the time was 
tound to be ripe for this enterprise, and, accord- 
ingly, the matter was presented to the people 
for their expression at the election held June 6, 
1904. The vote stood 365 for and 192 against, 
and the county court was empowered to make 
the selection of the location of the school. This 
was done, Fossil being chosen. The school house 
there was ample as to size to allow rooms for 
the high school. The county furnished the 
rooms and the principal of the high school be- 
came the principal of the Fossil graded school. 
The school opened September 11, 1904, having 
three teachers, A. J. Garland, A. M., principal; 
Mrs. A. J. Garland, M. O., assistant; Miss So- 
phia E. Townsend, A. B., assistant. In the Fos- 
sil school four additional teachers were em- 
ployed. There was a total enrollment of two 
hundred and thirty, sixty-four of whom were 
high school pupils. Eleven grades were carried 
and in 1905 twelve grades will be taught, thus 
the high school pupils will be prepared for the 
freshman class of the state university. The peo- 
ple are taking pride in this excellent school and 
are planning to supply all equipment as needs 
come. 

The first school in Mitchell proper was loca- 
ted there in 1876. It was held in a little log 
structure that had been moved into town from 
one-half mile east. Mitchell has taken pride in 
her schools as Fossil has and in 1886 a one story 
frame was constructed to take the place of the 
log building used before that. The school at- 
tendance of Mitchell grew betimes and in 1892 
it was found that the new building was too small 
to accommodate the pupils. Accordingly a large 



662 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



frame building was put up at a cosl* of two thou- 
sand dollars. It is built on modern jalans, well 
lighted and ventilated, with three large ^ooms 
and seating capacity for one hundred and twen- 
ty-five. The school demands three teachers and 
is quite up to the grade of the high standard 
maintained throughout the county. 

We herewith submit for reference a detailed 
report of the county superintendent of Wheeler 
for the years from 1900, inclusive, to the present 
time : 

— 1900. — 

Male. Female. Total. 
Number of persons of school age. . 450 438 888 

Number of persons enrolled 331 319 650 

Average daily attendance ... 426 

Number of teachers employed 12 26 38 

Number pupils not attending school ... ... 308 

Number of teachers in private sch'ls 123 
Number of pupils in private schools 8 9 17 

Average salary of teachers $42.80 $34.70 

Amount paid superintendent $200.00 

Value of school property $11,039.00 

Number of districts in county (8 are joint) . . 32 

Average number of months taught for year. . . 4 

Number of months of private school taught. . . 8 

Number of legal voters for school purposes. . 760 

Number of teachers' institutes 1 

Receipts $9,871.04 

Disbursements $7,232.34 

O. B. Miles, Superintendent. 

— 1901. — 

Male. Female. Total. 
Number of persons of school age . . 475 438 914 

Number enrolled 370 352 722 

Number of teachers employed 15 25 40 

Number children not attending sch'l 74 66 140 

Average daily attendance ... 475 

Average number of months taught ... 4^ 

Number of school houses in county. ... ... 28 

Number of districts in county ... 31 

Number teachers in private schools 4 10 14 

Number pupils in private schools... 71 67 138 

Number months of private schools .... ... 7 

Average salary for teachers $43-37 $3585 .... 

Vale of school property $12,001.00 

Receipts $9,99445 

Disbursements $8,496.31 

Chas. Royse, Superintendent. 

— 1902. — 

Male. Female. Total. 

Number of persons of school age . . 452 478 930 

Number of persons enrolled 390 371 761 

Number of persons not attending. . . 79 75 154 

Number of teachers employed 13 28 41 

Average daily attendance ... 509 



Male. Female 



Average number of months taught. . 
Number school houses in the county 
Number organized districts in county 

i^u'imber . private schools 

Number months of private school. . 
Number teachers in private school. . 
Number pupils iin private school... 



Total. 



6. 

28 

29 

3 

3 

4 

93 



1 3 

5i 42 

Average salaries to 1 .teachers $46.00 $36.73 

Value of school property $13,876.00- 

Receipts $15,430.00 

Disbursements $13,733-92 

Chas. Royse, Superintendent. 

—1903.— 

Male. Female. Total. 
Number of persons of school age . . 544 436 980- 

Number of persons enrolled 401 352 753 

Average salary of teachers $47-50 $40.00 

Receipts $20,252.27 

Disbursements $18,274.48 

Chas. Royse, Superintendent. 

—1904.— 

Male. Female. Total. 
Number of persons of school age . . 525 465 990 

Number of persons -enrolled 385 356 741 

Number of teachers employed .... 14 26 40 

Number of pupils not attending . . 140 109 249' 

Average daily attendance ... 496 

Number legal voters for school pur- 
poses ... 683 

Number districts in county ... 29 

Number school houses in county 2y 

Average number of months taught. ... ... 5, 

Average salary of teachers $51-07 $40.02 

Receipts $12,584.95 

Disbursements $10,230.40 

Chas. Royse, Superintendent. 

—1905 — 

Male. Female. Total. 
Number of persons of school age. . 507 455 962 

Number of persons enrolled 375 342 717' 

Number of teachers employed 10 26 36 

Number pipils not attending school 49 48 97 

Average salary of teachers $59-27 $39-93 

Number private schools ... 2 

Number teachers in private schools. ... 2 2 

Number pupils in private schools... 6 10 16 

Number months taught in private 

school ... 9 

Number voters for school purposes ... ... 690 

Average daily attendance ... 466 

Number districts in county ... 29 

Number school houses in county ... 27 

Value of school property $21,056.00 

Receipts $12,786.67 

Disbursements $11,668.24 

W. W. Kennedy, Superintendent. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 



WHEELER COUNTY 



HON. W. L. CAMPBELL, one of the vener- 
able citizens of Wheeler county, resides about 
ten miles east from Mitchell. He is a member of 
that intrepid band which made its way across the 
plains in the first half of the last century, brav- 
ing all sorts of dangers and hardships for the pur- 
pose of opening the Pacific coast for settlement. 
He has labored long and well and has the satis- 
faction of knowing that he materially assisted in 
bringing about the gratifying prosperity of this 
entire western region which has resulted from the 
united labors of such men as Mr. Campbell. At 
present, he is retired from active labors, having 
spent a long and eventful career of industry and 
progressiveness. 

W. L. Campbell was born in Petersburg, Vir- 
ginia, on September 29, 1824, being the son of 
James Austin and Mary Massey (Vaughn) 
Campbell. The former was born in Virginia in 
1785 and died in New Orleans, in 1830. The lat- 
ter was born in Goochland county, Virginia, in 
1795, and died in i860. The parents were de- 
scended from the most prominent farmers of 
Virginia who date back to the early colonial days 
and who were thoroughly American in principle 
and in life. Our subject was educated in the 
common schools in Richmond, Virginia, and 
when seventeen years of age, went thence to 
Tennessee where he remained until the begin- 
ning of the Mexican War. At Nashville, he en- 
listed in the First Tennesseee regiment, com- 
manded by Colonel H. C. Campbell, a relative 
of his. His captain was Adrian Northcut. This 
regiment was the first to land in Mexico and 
our subject participated in the heat of the strug- 
gle and did active service in the battle of Monte- 
rey and in many other places and finally received 
his honorable discharge. Then he reurned to 
Tennessee and crossed the plains to California in 



1849, utilizing for the journey, ox teams. For 
thirty-three years, M. Campbell was busily en- 
gaged in mining and farming in the Golden 
State and then in 1882, he came north and se- 
lected eight hundred acres of land in what is 
now Wheeler county. He purchased this and 
engaged in raising cattle and horses. He ac- 
tively prosecuted these related occupations until 
a few years since when the accumulated hold- 
ings, acquired by his industry and thrift, en- 
abled him to retire from further active life. He 
has a splendid standing in the community and 
has always shown himself a first class business 
man and a broad minded citizen. 

On October 25, 1854, Mr. Campbell married 
Miss Charlotte Bower. Ten years later, April 
15, 1864, Mr. Campbell married Miss Eliza Elli- 
son. The children born to him are named as 
follows : Mary, deceased ; Winslow ; A. R. and 
W. L., twins ; Richmond L. ; Sally ; James ; Cora; 
Lena, and Ida. Mr. Campbell has always been 
a Democrat and in 1859 his name appeared on 
that ticket for the legislature in the state of Cali- 
fornia. He made a good record in the house, 
and served his constituency well and retired to 
business life with the consciousness that he had 
fulfilled the trust that had been committed to 
him. Mr. Campbell has one sister, Mrs. Vir- 
ginia A. Bradford, who was born in Richmond, 
Virginia, on July 17, 1815. She was highly edu- 
cated in the best institutions of the day and in 
1836 married Edward Bradford. He descended 
from one of the leading families in the south. 
Mr. Campbell's family, as stated before, was one 
of the leading and prominent ones of the Uni- 
ted States, but the war swept away all their 
property. However, their ability and energy 
since brought back to the various members fine 
holding's. 



'664 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



SAMUEL UN S WORTH, one of the lead- 
ing stockmen of Wheeler county, is a man of en- 
terprise and good business ability. He resides 
about two miles east from Burnt ranch, where 
he owns one thousand acres of choice land and 
does general farming and stock raising. He 
handles some cattle and horses and pays atten- 
tion almost exclusively to skeep, of which profit- 
able animals, he owns about three thousand. 
He displays the thrift and thoroughness of his 
race. Samuel Unsworth was born in England, 
on May i, 1869. His father, James Unsworth, a 
native of England, was the senior member of the 
firm of Unsworth & Sons, of Bolton, Lancashire, 
England. They were carriers of freight and did 
a large and lucrative business. His ancestors 
were a good and prominent family. His wife, 
Elizabeth Unsworth, was a native of Dublin 
and came from a good family. Our subject was 
well trained in Bolton and when he arrived at the 
proper age took an interest in the firm and 
wrought there until 1894. Being desirous of 
seeing the world and believing that opportuni- 
ties were more plentiful in the colonies than at 
home, he finally decided to come to Manitoba. 
For two years he farmed there and then came 
on to the Pacific coast. After due exploration, 
he decided upon the territory now embraced in 
Wheeler county and finally purchased land 
where he now resides. To this he added until 
he has a thousand acres. He also purchased 
sheep and has done wool growing, practically 
. ever since he came here. 

In 1892, Mr. Unsworth married Miss Lillie 
Carrington, who was born in England and de- 
scended from a prominent family. The Car- 
ringtons were lawyers and magistrates, largely, 
at Barnsley, England. Mrs. Unsworth's par- 
ents are Matthew and Mary A. Carrington. The 
father was a merchant at Barnsley. To our sub- 
ject and his wife nine children have been born, 
named as follows : Martha A., Lilian, James, 
Samuel, Gertrude, deceased, Agnes, Mary, Flor- 
ence and Edith. 

Mr. Unsworth has come from a verv enter- 
pising and thrifty family and he has in no way 
fallen behind the high standard set for him by 
a worthy ancestrage. 



A. HELM, Jr., is editor and proprietor 
of the Mitchell Sentinel, a bright and newsy pa- 
per that has for its business the exploiting of the 
resources of Wheeler county, Oregon, in general 
and the carying of the latest news of the world 
to a goodly list of people, and good cheer to all. 
He has made his paper attractive and welcomed 



warmly by fostering a spirit of betterment and 
industry. For many years Mr. Helm has dwelt 
in the territory now occupied by Wheeler county. 
Long before it was organized as a separate por- 
tion, he was here and has been closely identified 
with every important movement in its history. 
He is widely known throughout the country and 
has made a record that bespeaks him a man of 
stamina, of honor, and of integrity. 

A. Helm was born in Missouri, on October 6, 
1842, and was educated at the place of his birth. 
When the war broke out, he enlisted in Bat- 
tery L, Second Missouri Light Artillery and 
served until November 11, 1865, when he was 
mustered out of service. Shortly after his dis- 
charge from the army, he was married, and in 
1875 came to the Pacific coast. He established 
Twickenham and Waldron postoffices and re- 
sided in the latter for twenty years, then spent 
six years in Twickenham, after which he came to 
Mitchell and has been conducting the Sentinel 
since. 

Mr. Helm married Miss Mary Paul in 1865. 
She was a native of Missouri and to this union 
five children have been born, whose names are, 
Charles A., of Ontario ; W. E., of Independence ; 
P. C, of Fossil ; O. V., of Antelope, all in Ore- 
gon. J. H. is deceased. 

Mr. Helm is rightly to be classed as one of 
the builders of Wheeler county, one of the fore- 
most of the pioneers of this country, and one of 
the leading men here today. 



P. E. McQUIN was born on March 17, 1844 
in Missouri and the same year was brought 
across the plains by his parents to the Willamette 
valley. Since that time has always been on the 
frontier. He was one of the oldest pioneers, yet 
one of the youngest emigrants to Oregon, and 
in Oregon he has lived almost constantly since. 
He has the distinction of being one of the lead- 
ing stockmen in Wheeler county and one of its 
earliest settlers. He also is to be credited with 
the fact that his entire fortune, which is gen- 
erous, has been gained by his own efforts since 
coming to this then wild country. He landed 
here in 1872, when there were no settlers in this 
region. He took government land on the creek 
about three miles up from where Fossil now 
stands and was a settler in the valley. Being 
then without means and many miles from the 
nearest supply point or postofhce, Mr. McQuin 
found it no small undertaking to make a living 
much less to get started ; but being a man of 
indomitable will, fine physical endurance and not 
acquainted with the word surrender, he finally 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



665 



made a start and since then his progress has been 
very rapid and continued. He now owns seven 
hundred and twenty acres of choice land and 
large bands of stock. Mr. McQuin's father, A. 
H. McQuin, was born in North Carolina, moved 
to Missouri in early days as a pioneer and in 
1844 crossed the plains with ox teams to the Wil- 
lamette valley, bringing his family with him. He 
made location at Linton and there remained until 
his death, having became a very wealthy and 
prominent man in the valley. He had married 
Rebecca Enyart, a native of Illinois, who was a 
faithful helpmeet to him during his labors and 
journeys. Our subject was educated in the Wil- 
lamette valley and, as stated before, in 1872 
started out to seek his fortune, settling on a fer- 
tile claim. 

In 1878 he married Miss Catherine Wilhelm, 
who was born in Iowa and crossed the plains to 
Oregon with her parents in i860. Her father, 
William Wilhelm, was a native of Germany and 
a pioneer in this state. To our subject and his 
faithful wife, the following named children have 
been born, Mrs. Ada T. Monroe, Annie, Mar- 
garet, Hattie, Elmer, John, William, Charles, 
Bertha, Birdie. 

Mr. and Mrs. McQuin are valuable members 
of society in Wheeler county, are respected and 
esteemed by all, and have done a noble share in 
the development of this county. 



C. T. SCOGGIN. About five miles up Butte 
-creek from Fossil, one comes to the estate of Mr. 
Scoggin. It consists of four hundred and eighty 
acres and is fitted up for a first class stock ranch. 
To the industry of stock raising, Mr. Scoggin 
devotes his entire attention, raising on the farm 
such things as are needed to assist him in this 
business. He has made a good success in his 
labors here and is rated as one of the leading 
stockmen of the county. 

C. T. Scoggin was born on November 29, 
1855, the son of W. G. and Mandy (Grubbs) 
Scoggin, natives of Missouri. As early as 1845 
the father, then a young man, crossed the plains 
with ox teams to the Willamette valley, being one 
of the first settlers there. In 1849 ne went to the 
mines of California and later returned to Oregon, 
taking a donation claim. He gave his attention 
to general farming and stock raising the balance 
of his life and became both wealthy and prom- 
inent. His wife crossed the plains with her 
parents in 1846. 

Our subject was educated in the primitive 
schools of his native valley and as early as 1872 
■came to this vicinitv. He handled stock for his 



father for one year, then went into business for 
himself. He soon acquired land and has given 
his undivided attention to handling stock since. 

In 1883, Mr. Scoggin married Miss Mary E. 
Buffington, who was born in Montana. When a 
child she came with her parents to the Willam- 
ette valley, Oregon. Her father, P. C. Buffing- 
ton, was one of the earliest pioneers to Montana. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Scoggin six children have 
been born: Thompie, Clara, Eston, Woodson, 
Shirley and Mary. 

Mr. Scoggin has not labored in vain since 
coming here, for he has accumulated a snug 
fortune and secured the esteem of his fellow 
men and has made himself one of the prominent 
men of the county. He and his wife have done 
the work of the pioneer in a noble manner and 
during all these early days of trials and hardship 
had much to suffer and undergo. He has always 
taken an active part in public matters, educa- 
tional and political, and is a progressive and sub- 
stantial man. 



SAMUEL D. LAUGHLIN, who was born 
in Yamhill county, Oregon, in 1871. He had 
in Lincoln county, Missouri, on May 13, 1835, is 
now residing eight miles northwest of Anatone, 
in Wheeler county, Oregon. His father, Samuel 
Laughlin, was born in South Carolina and died 
married Nancy Doughty, also a native of North 
Carolina. She died in August, 1849. The fam- 
ily crossed the plains with ox teams to Yamhill 
county, Oregon, in 1847 and our subject com- 
pleted his education on the frontier. He was 
principally occupied in riding for stock and do- 
ing general work in opening up a farm and 
finally, in 1851, he went to the Yreka mines in 
California. Three months were spent there, then 
he returned to Yamhill county. The trip was 
very dangerous, owing to the fact that the Rogue 
river Indians were then hostile. In January, 
1856, our subject enlisted in Company C, under 
Captain Ankeny and served in the Yakima In- 
dian war. He participated in many battles, in 
various hard marches and in much scouting. He 
fought in the battle of Snake river near the 
mouth of the Palouse and then with his com- 
mand crossed the Columbia and fought another 
battle near the mouth of the Yakima river where 
a good many of the Indians were killed. The 
next day they did some more skirmishing and 
killed more Indians. Then they marched down 
the Columbia and went into camp on the Wash- 
ington side, some ten miles above The Dalles. 
Being rather unsuspecting at this time, they were 
surprised near morning by the Indians swooping 
down upon them in an effort to stampede the 



666 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



stock. The savages were successful in this and 
drove off nearly all the horses belonging to the 
soldiers. Then they made their way on down to 
The Dalles and to Portland, where they were 
mustered out of service and our subject returned 
to Yamhill county and again took up stock rais- 
ing. He remained there until 1859, when he 
came to Wasco county and spent two years. 
Again he returned to Yamhill county and re- 
sided there until 1873 in which year he came back 
to Wasco county and remained twelve years. 
Then, it being 1885, he moved on down to Crook 
county where he resided until 1903. In that 
year he secured his present place and is now 
numbered with the citizens of Wheeler county. 
It is evident that Mr. Laughlin is well acquainted 
with the various portions of the state of Oregon 
and has done excellent pioneer work all through. 
In Washington county, Oregon, in 1858, Mr. 
Laughlin married Miss Amanda Minter, who 
was born in Iowa, in 1842, the daughter of Jacob 
Minter, a native of Tennessee. The family 
crossed the plains to Oregon in 1852 and the 
father was a well known pioneer here. To our 
subject and his wife five children have been born, 
named as follows : Emmett R., Edgar E., Ellis, 
Nellie F. and Annie S., deceased. In politics, 
Mr. Laughlin has always been a Republican and 
in this realm, as in educational matters, he has 
always manifested a keen interest and is one of 
the progressive men of the country. In 1861 Mr. 
Laughlin started out in November for the Flor- 
ence mines in Idaho. He did not arrive, how- 
ever, until March, 1862. He participated in the 
excitement of the times and is well acquainted 
with all those early adventurous days. 



GEORGE McKAY is one of the leading 
stock men of central Oregon and resides at 
Waterman, in Wheeler county. He comes from 
Scotch ancestry and was born amid the rugged 
hills of Scotland, on January 14, 1847. His 
father, Robert McKay, a native of Aberdeen- 
shire, Scotland, was a contractor and builder and 
died when this son, George, was three years of 
age. He had married Mary Forbes, also a native 
of Aberdeen, Scotland. She died in Canada. In 
1855, our subject came with his mother to Can- 
ada, crossing the ocean in a one hundred ton 
sailing vessel. The trip consumed six weeks. A 
few years after arriving in Canada, Mrs. 
McKay married Alexander Calder. Our subject 
was reared and educated in Canada, completing 
his training in the commercial college. Then he 
went to New York city intending to journey to 
Brazil but changed his mind and went to Cali- 



fornia, via the isthmus. After arriving on the 
Pacific slope he worked eighteen months on a 
ranch, then went to the Willamette valley. He 
assisted in clearing the land where east Port- 
land now stands, during his first winter, then 
went to Marion county and rented land. He 
farmed for several years and finally, in 1877, the 
wet weather destroyed his entire crop and he lost 
nearly all he had made. Then he came to The 
Dalles and walked to his, present location in what 
is now Wheeler county. Mr. McKay, although 
having met with terrible reverses, was not dis- 
couraged and took hold with vigor and ambition 
and soon got another start. He now owns nearly 
five thousand acres of land, winters usually from 
five to six hundred head of cattle and has much 
other property. Mr. McKay formerly gave his 
attention to raising horses with his cattle but he 
recently sold his brand, there being about five 
hundred animals in the band. Now he gives his 
entire attention to handling cattle and has some 
very fine specimens. He also leases about four 
hundred acres of land to tenants for grain rais- 
ing. It is of interest to note, in this connection,, 
that Mr. McKay raised the noted horse, Oregon 
Beauty, and also Linus, two of the most famous 
horses on record. He sold Oregon Beauty just 
before he left the Willamette valley for a very 
small sum, she being a colt and just weaned. 
When developed, both of these horses had 
manes and tails that swept the ground. The 
man who purchased Oregon Beauty from Mr. 
McKay, sold her for fifteen hundred dollars, then 
she was sold for twelve thousand dollars and 
some time after that her owner refused twenty 
thousand dollars in cash for her. She came to 
her death in a fire on Long Island, New York. It 
is said of Oregon Beauty, that she was the most 
beautiful horse that we have a record of. Linus 
is now owned by a large horse breeding estab- 
lishment in Ohio. In addition to the property 
mentioned, we wish to note that Mr. McKay has 
erected a fine large hotel at Waterman, which 
will doubtless become well patronized as soon as 
its excellencies become known. There are many 
attractions which will draw tourists and health 
seekers and Mr. McKay is preparing in a wise 
and proper manner to develop the country and 
furnish everything that is needed. 

In January, 1899, Mr. McKay married Miss 
Leander Smith, a native of Missouri. Eight 
months after her marriage, he was called to 
mourn her death. 

Politically, Mr. McKay is a Republican and 
is a man of influence. He has been delegate to 
the state conventions and in 1903 was a delegate 
to the stockmen's convention at Portland. He is 
a member of the National Stockman's Associa- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



667 



tion at Portland and is considered one of the 
most successful and skillful stockmen of the 
county.- 

Mr. McKay has one sister, Mary, the wife of 
James Howden, a retired farmer in Ontario. 
When our subject came to this part of the coun- 
try, it was wild and unsettled and he knows well 
the labors incident to a pioneer life. He has suc- 
ceeded not only in making a fortune for himself 
and also in opening up the country but is to be 
commended upon his public spirited labors and 
the generosity that he has exhibited. 



JACOB L. BARNHOUSE is one of the rep- 
resentative men of Wheeler county ; his business 
is stock raising, in which he has achieved a splen- 
did success. His ranch, consisting of four thou- 
sand acres, is one of the best in this part of the 
state, is situated ten miles northwest of Antone 
and is built up in the best of shape for handling 
stock. He has at the present time some thirty- 
five hundred head of sheep besides horses and 
cattle and is considered one of the worthy men 
of the county. All of this he has gained by his 
own labors and he is justly entitled to the emolu- 
ments he has won. Jacob L. Barnhouse was 
born in Darke county, Ohio in 1844. His pa- 
ents, Peter and Sarah (Kester) Barnhouse, 
were natives of Pennsylvania and Darke county, 
Ohio, respectively. The father was of German 
and Irish extraction and his forebears were early 
settlers of Pennsylvania. His wife came from 
German ancestry, who settled in Ohio in early 
clays, her father being a wealthy farmer. Our 
subject received his education in the Ohio and 
Illinois schools whither he went in 1855. In 
1864, he enlisted in Company G, One Hundred 
and Forty-sixth Illinois Volunteer Infantry and 
was active in detached service until the close of 
the war. Being honorably discharged he re- 
turned to Illinois and engaged in farming until 
1870, when he removed to Missouri. That state 
was his home for four years, then in 1875, he 
journeyed to Marion county, Oregon. There he 
farmed for four years. Finally, in 1879, he came 
to his present location and took a homestead. To 
this, he has added by purchase since until he has 
the large estate that we have mentioned. Mr. 
Barnhouse has shown commendable energy and 
sagacity in his affairs in Wheeler county and the 
fine holding that he now possesses evidences the 
same. 

in Illinois, in September, 1869, Mr. Barnhouse 
married Martha W. Conger, who was born in 
Licking county, Ohio. To this union four chil- 
dren have been born : Mrs. Orral Laughlin, on 



June 26, 1871, who is mentioned elsewhere in 
this work; William A., on April 8, 1873, de- 
ceased ; Peter R. and Aaron R., twins, on August 
31, 1876, the former a partner with his father 
and the latter deceased. The parents of Mrs. 
Barnhouse are Aaron and Mary (McVay) Con- 
ger, natives of Pennsylvania. She has the fol- 
lowing named brothers and sisters, Elizabeth A., 
Jacob E., David W., Carey McV., and Elias J., 
all deceased ; Aaron, now living in McLean 
county, Illinois ; Mary E., deceased ; and Sarah 
Pierson, in Kansas. Mr. Barnhouse has one 
brother and six sisters, Mrs. Sabathna Owen, 
Mrs. Maria C. Livengood, Mrs. Clara Ingram 
and Mrs. Sarah Winkleplock, twins, Mrs. Fannie 
Manson, Mrs. Emma Jordan and John N. Our 
subject is one of the representative men and has 
held various offices, among which is that of 
commissioner of Wheeler county. He has shown 
himself a man of principle, uprightness and 
sturdy qualities and both in his private life and 
public career has so conducted himself that he 
has won many friends. 



JOSEPH FRANCIS HUBNER hails from 
the land whence come so many of our most sub- 
stantial and thrifty citizens. His birth occurred 
in the province of Silesia, Germany, on May 10,. 
1862, and there he received his educational train- 
ing, remaining until he was twenty years of age. 
Then he journeyed to the United States and 
spent one year in Dakota, but not finding that 
country to his liking, he journeyed west and came 
to Portland, Oregon, in the spring of 1884. After 
a short stay there, he went to The Dalles and 
worked for wages for one year. During this 
time, he became acquainted with some stockmen,., 
who urged him to try his luck at stock raising 
but finding the opportunity for a beginner rather 
limited in that section of the country, he con- 
cluded to travel further inland and came to his' 
present location in 1885 and for seven years gave- 
his attention to herding sheep. After that, he 
purchased some sheep and a year later, sold the- 
entire band and returned to Europe where he re- 
mained about eight months. Not being able to 
locate successfully, he came to his present loca- 
tion, in 1892, and took up a homestead. At that 
time, he secured a band of sheep on shares and 
later sold his interest in that and rented sheep 
for cash. For five years, he continued in that 
business then sold out entirely his sheep interests. 
He took up more land and purchased some 
until he has now an estate of five hundred acres. 
After improving his place, he turned his atten- 
tion to raising 1 cattle and horses. He has over 



•663 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



one hundred head of cattle, mostly Durham, 
about twenty horses and is a prosperous citizen. 

During his stay in Germany, he became ac- 
quainted with Miss Anna Burke and the ac- 
quaintance later ripened into an engagement and 
one year after he arrived in the United States, 
she came hither and their marriage was consum- 
mated at The Dalles, in 1892. Five children were 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Hubner : Elsie, Alice, 
Henry, Adolph, and Frank. 

Our subject is a man of good foresight and 
sound judgment and displays a keen interest in 
educational matters and all matters for the gen- 
eral advancement of the community. He has 
good reason to be proud of the success he has 
attained as he started entirely without capital and 
has made his property since coming to this sec- 
tion. He is classed among the most thrifty and 
progressive men of the country. 



GEORGE V. OWENS, who resides two 
miles east of Antone and devotes his attention 
to mining and stock raising, was born in Stock- 
holm, Sweden, on May 6, 1829. When fifteen 
years of age, after completing his early educa- 
tional training, he shipped under the Swedish 
flag as a sailor. He continued thus until 1847, 
then was a sailor under the Norwegian flag. 
After that we find him again on a Swedish ves- 
sel for a short time and in 1851 he went aboard 
a German ship and later shipped on an Ameri- 
can vessel. In Liverpool he left this vessel and 
sailed under the Union Jack for British Guiana. 
Then he came back to Liverpool and shipped on 
an American vessel bound for Boston, when he 
took another trip to Malta. Returning to Bos- 
ton he sailed to California and left the ship at 
Frisco in February, 1853. He has practically 
visited all parts of the globe and is especially 
well acquainted with the Black and Mediterran- 
ean seas. On July 15, 1853, he went to the 
mines in Josephine county, Oregon, the sailor 
diggings, and remained until the following spring 
when he started out for Galice creek on Rogue 
river. In the fall of the same year he left that 
section and went to Yreka, California, where he 
was made a United States citizen. We find him 
there until the fall of i860, when he went to 
Sterling, Oregon, and the next year was working 
on Applegate creek. After that he mined on 
Jackass creek, remaining there until the spring 
of 1862. From there he went to Canyon creek, 
Oregon, and ten days later went on to Granite 
creek. After that we find him on the North 
Fork of the John Day until 1870, when he came 
to his present location. Since then he has di- 



vided his attention between stock raising and 
mining. 

On November 8, 1881, while in Wheeler 
county, Mr. Owens married Frances P. Fancher, 
who was born in Iowa. Her father, Joseph Fan- 
cher, was a native of Iowa and of French ex- 
traction and his father was born in France. The 
children born to our subject are Victor Frances, 
on December 15, 1883; Gustave Frederick, on 
June 24, 1885 ; Norma Anna, born January 13, 
1887; Paul Hoberger, born April 27, 1889; 
George E., born March 25, 1891 and died Sep- 
tember 10, 1892. 

Mr. Owens is a member of the A. F. & A. 
M., Canyon City Lodge No. 34, and also of the 
Blue Mountain Chapter No. 7. Politically he 
is a Democrat and in religious persuasion Swe- 
denborgian. He has had an extensive and varied 
experience, both on sea and land and deserves to 
be classed as one of the sturdy pioneers of the 
Pacific coast. As a citizen, he is broad minded, 
substantial and upright, and his labors have 
done much for the improvement and upbuilding 
of Wheeler county. 



ROBERT A. GILLIAM comes from one of 
the prominent families of Oregon and is one of 
the representative men of the state. He re- 
sides now some eighteen miles out from Fossil 
on Sarvice creek, where he has three-fourth of 
a section and does general farming and stock 
raising. His ancestors were sturdy pioneers 
and their name is handed down in many ways, 
and one of the adjoining counties to Wheeler 
was named from them. Mr. Gilliam is widely 
known and as highly respected as he is well 
known. He was born in Polk county, Oregon, 
on July 15, 1853. His father, Robert Gilliam, 
was born in North Carolina and came to Mis- 
souri when a young man. There he married 
Miss Julia A. Chance, a native of North Caro- 
lina, who became a faithful helpmeet to him in 
his adventurous career. In the spring of 1846 
they were part of a train that started across the 
plains with ox teams for the Mecca of the west, 
the Williamette valley. While on the way they 
were attacked by Indians and all their cattle des- 
troyed or captured. This left Mr. Gilliam with 
his" wife and child and a small pony to make the 
balance of the journey. His wife rode the pony 
and carried the child and he walked. A party 
was formed in The Dalles, when news of this 
was made known, to meet them, and thus they 
were brought finally to that place. Ultimately 
Mr. Gilliam went on to Polk county and took 
a donation claim. There he remained until 1858, 





George V . Owens 



Robert A. Gilliam 





Jokn B. Butler 



Elzey M. Stephens 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



669 



when he went to the vicinity of San Francisco 
and farmed. After that he was in Tulare county, 
then in' Kern county, and finally he returned in 
1886 to Polk county. There he remained until 
his death. He was a nephew of General Gilliam, 
who was killed in eastern Oregon while fighting 
with the Indians. Our subject had the oppor- 
tunity to attend school but six months, and to 
supplement this lack of schooling he undertook 
the task of digging knowledge from the books 
himself, and in this he has succeeded well. 
When arrived to manhodd he worked for wages 
until 1884, when he went to eastern Oregon and 
finally located in the place where he now lives. 
Part of this land was taken under government 
act and the balance was secured by purchase. 
He handles horses and cattle, but mostly the 
former, and in this business he is making a good 
success. 

In 1884 Mr. Gilliam married Miss Ellen Met- 
calfe, who is a native of the Williamette valley. 
Her father, Robert R. Metcalfe, was a pioneer 
of Oregon. Two children have been born to 
our subject and his wife, Martha A. and Elsie 
P. Mr. Gilliam had no capital when he started, 
but he was possessed of the sterling worth that 
was found in his ancestors and he has made his 
way along splendidly, although beset with much 
adversity and many hardships. 



JOHN B. BUTLER is a wealthy stockman 
of Wheeler county. With his brother he owns 
a large tract of good land some three miles 
south from Richmond. They do some farming, 
but devote their attention almost exclusively to 
stock raising. They are very prosperous and are 
leading and representative men. 

John B. Butler was born in Johnson county, 
Tennessee, on August 16, 1854. His father, 
Hon. Roderick R. Butler, was one of the best 
representatives of a successful American states- 
men one finds in many years. He was born in 
Virginia and left an orphan when very young. 
Through his own struggles he gained a fair edu- 
cation, then learned the tailor's trade and while 
still young came on west to Tennessee. While 
working at his tailoring he studied law, burning 
much midnight oil, and in due time was admitted 
to the bar. He began the practice of his profes- 
sion in Taylorsville, now Mountain City, and 
soon thereafter was elected to the state legisla- 
ture. Several times thereafter he was chosen by 
his constituents for the same office and then was 
sent to the United States congress. He was a 
famous figure in the house and a man of well- 
known ability and integrity. His death occurred 



when he was. serving a term in the state legisla- 
ture, thus being in the harness up to the last 
moment. He was a prominent man, wealthy and 
highly respected. 

He had married Miss Emmeline J. Donnelly, 
who was born in Johnson county, Tennessee, and 
came from a very prominent and wealthy family. 
Our subject was educated in Mountain City, 
Tennessee, early in life, then completed his train- 
ing in Emory and Henry college, Virginia. He 
spent his life in the east until 1884, then jour- 
neyed west in company with his brother, G. O. 
Butler. After due search and investigation they 
came into this portion of Oregon and finally took 
government land where they reside at the present 
time. After this they bought various pieces and 
now, as stated above, own a large estate. 

At Waldron, in this county, on December 
23, 1886, Mr. Butler married Miss Effie M. Brown 
who was born in eastern Oregon. Her parents, 
Jonathan Perry and Sarah A. Brown, arrived 
at The Dalles on August 15, 1854, and settled 
near where Dufur now stands, their place being 
on Fifteenmile creek. That was the home until 
5, when they removed to a place below The 



Dalles where they remained three years. The 
next journey was to the Bakeoven country where 
they resided eighteen months. Mr. Brown died 
in 1890. His widow, now seventy-one years of 
age, is as vigorous and hearty as a woman of 
forty, and a highly respected citizen of Mitchell. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Butler four children have 
been born, Herbert H., deceased, Pansy B., Bes- 
sie V. and Random M. 

Mr. Butler is a member of the A. O. U. W., 
and he and his wife are very highly respected 
people. 



ELZEY M. STEPHENS is now living on 
the old historical Burnt Ranch, one of the land 
marks of central Oregon and so named because 
in the early days a brave pioneeer penetrated thus 
far and built a cabin which later the Indians des- 
troyed by fire, with all his improvements. Ever 
after that calamity the place was known as the 
Burnt ranch. For many years it was used as the 
stage station and is now one of the taverns of 
Wheeler county. Mr. Stephens is an enterpris- 
ing, up-to-date man, resolute and possessed of 
good business ability. He does general farm- 
ing and stock raising. 

Elzey M. Stephens was born in Clackamas 
county, Oregon, on September 5, 1869, being the 
son of Lovet and Milbray (Fisher) Stephens, 
natives of Missouri and emigrants across the 
plains in very early day. They settled on a do- 
nation claim in the Williamette valley and in 



'670 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1882 came to Gilliam county and settled near 
Mayville. There they remained until their death. 
Our subject received his education in the Wil- 
liamette valley and was but fourteen years of age 
when he came with his parents to what is now 
Gilliam county. He started in the stock business 
and has made a good success. He operated in 
various capacities until 1898 when he took charge 
of the Muddy ranch, where he remained until 
1902. In that year he purchased the Burnt 
ranch, one of the large ranches of the country, 
and since then has been conducting business for 
himself. 

In 1893 Mr. Stephens married Miss Mary 
Pentecost, a native of Dakota, who came to Gil- 
liam county with her parents in 1882. Her 
father, William Pentecost, was one of the earliest 
settlers in Gilliam county. To our subject and 
his estimable wife six children have been born, 
William L., Thomas, Susan L., Ralph, Hazel 
and Roy. 

Mr. Stephens is a man who always takes an 
interest in the development and growth of the 
country and in the advancement of everything 
for the public welfare. He is greatly interested 
in politics, labors here for good schools and is 
known as a good and substantial citizen. 



MICHAEL MULVAHILL is well known 
in Wheeler county and on various occasions he is 
called on to make public orations, being gifted in 
that line. He is one of the oldest pioneers of 
the country now embraced in Wheeler county 
and has wrought here with great industry and 
display of stability. He is interested in politics 
and is allied with the Democratic paty. In vari- 
ous lines he has shown himself to be possessed of 
the true pioneer spirit and he may justly be 
classed as one of the builders of this county and 
section. 

Michael Mulvahill was born in Chicago, on 
August 15, 1844. His parents, John and Nora 
(Dillon) Mulvahill, were born in county Kerry, 
Ireland. The father fought in the Mexican War 
rand his death occurred in 1852. The mother died 
some later in Chicago. Being left without pa- 
rents when young, Michael was not favored as 
other lads with an opportunity to gain an educa- 
tion. But, being aware of the importance of 
such a training, he applied himself and by 
painstaking and careful labor has made himself 
a well informed and well educated man. When 
he arrived of sufficient age he worked out on the 
farms in Illinois and later farmed for himself. In 
1875 he determined to try the great west, and 
.selected California as the place to start. In due 



time he reached the Golden State and there re- 
mained for three years. It was 1878, when he 
made his way north and finally located in the ter- 
ritory now occupied by Wheeler county, took 
government land and engaged in raising stock. 
That has occupied him since and he is one of the 
prosperous and well-to-do men of the county. 

In 1869 Mr. Mulvahill married Miss Abigal 
Furgeson, who was born in Illinois. She accom- 
panied her husband on all his journeys and was 
a faithful and loving wife. In 1900 she was 
called from the labors of life to the world be- 
yond and left her husband and four children, 
besides many warm friends to mourn her de- 
parture. The children are Nora, Michael, John, 
and Rubie. 

Mr. Mulvahill was. very active in the work of 
forming the new county of Wheeler, and was 
appointed one of the acting committeee in that 
important work. He has shown a loyalty to 
country and an interest in the development of his 
home county that commend him to all true 
citizens. 



ROBERT D. CANNON has every reason to 
be proud of the success that he is favored with. 
Starting in life with nothing and at a very ten- 
der age, he has won his way, by virtue of real 
worth and activity in labors, to the front, gaining 
meanwhile the reward of these virtues in such a 
degree that he is now one of the men of wealth 
in the county. His spirit of energy and enter- 
prise has always led him forward and he is a 
man that brooks no defeat, being assured that 
there is a way out of every difficulty. His life 
of success illustrates this proposition and he is a 
representative of the principle. 

Robert D. Cannon was born in Meade county, 
Kentucky, on July 18, i860. His father, John 
P. Cannon, also a native of the Blue Grass State, 
was a veteran of the Civil War and died soon 
after its close from effects of his arduous serv- 
ice. He had married Miss Sophia Bringle, who 
died when our subject was four years old. She, 
too, was born in Kentucky. When eight, Rob- 
ert D. came west with an uncle and lived with 
him in Linn county, this state, until 1876. Then 
the lad was sixteen and that year he started for 
himself, dissolving partnership with his uncle, 
who kept the ranch and stock. Robert D. im- 
mediately came to this country and at once 
started to work to get a foothold. For a time 
he wrought for wages, but soon he got into busi- 
ness for himself and since that time he has stead- 
ily been climbing up the ladder. Mr. Cannon has 
a choice ranch near Mitchell and also handles lots 
of stock. Good improvements are in evidence 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



671 



and the place is one of the fine ones of the 
county. In 1898, Mr. Cannon secured posses- 
sion of the well known Palmyra-Trosper mining 
property, which is a valuable one. It is in Miles 
gulch and is a placer proposition. C. P. Johnson 
is in partnership with Mr. Cannon, and they are 
operating two hydraulics on the property. It nets 
several thousand each year and on one occasion 
they found a nugget that sold for four hundred 
and sixty-eight dollars. Mr. Cannon is enter- 
prising and progressive and pushes his business 
with an ability and wisdom that win success. 

In 1890, Mr. Cannon married Miss Cora E. 
Campbell, whose parents are mentioned else- 
where in this volume. Four children have been 
born to this union : Anthony O., James A., 
Eunice and Georgie L. 



THOMAS M. PRICE, a stockman and 
farmer of Wheeler county, resides ten miles 
southeast of Richmond and was born in Tennes- 
see, in 1856. His parents were also natives of 
that state. After receiving his education in his 
native state, he continued there until 1884, farm- 
ing, and then in September of that year started 
west. He arrived in western Oregon on October 
3, following and settled in the Shoofly country. 
After remaining there one year, he came to his 
present location and he and his wife own here 
one-half section of land. In addition to doing 
general farming, he has been raising stock and 
now has about forty head of cattle^ some horses, 
and the place well improved. 

In the Shoofly country, on December 25, 
1890, Mr. Price married Minnie E. Parish, the 
daughter of T. M. A. J. Parish. Mr. Parish 
crossed the plains by ox teams in the early for- 
ties, being among the very first emigrants to this 
country. Here he married Ellenor Beers, who 
was one of the very first white women to come to 
Oregon, having made the trip via Cape Horn. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Price one child, Edwin Maple, 
has been born. He is now thirteen years of age. 

Mr. Price is a member of the A. O. U. W., 
the K. P. and the I. O. O. F. 

In politics, he is a Republican and has always 
manifested a lively interest in public and educa- 
tional matters. 



EMIL STRAUBE is to be classed as one of 
the pioneers of western Oregon and is now a 
thriftv stockman residing five miles east from 
Waterman. He was born in Grass valley, Ne- 
vada county, California, on June 24, 1861. His 
father, John Straube, was a native of Saxony, 



Germany and migrated to the United States when 
quite young. He followed carpentering and 
wrought in nearly every state in the union. He 
came to California in the early fifties and there 
engaged in mining until 1864, when he moved 
to Canyon City, Oregon. After that, they took 
a trip with freighting teams from there to Salem, 
being accompanied by a Mr. Bonham. Near the 
Keys ranch on the journey Mr. Bonham was shot 
by the Indians and the same night the savages 
burned the buildings on a ranch, which has been 
known since as the Burnt Ranch. Our subject 
well remembers this terrible occurrence, being 
one of the party, though very young. The family 
made their way to Salem and one year later, the 
elder Straube moved his family to southern Ore- 
gon, where he died in 1884. He had married 
Christina Star who was born in Germany, mi- 
grated to the United States when quite young, 
and is now living in Central Point, Oregon. The 
wedding occurred in Pennsylvania. The place 
of our subject's birth was a little mining town 
of California and he took all the various journeys 
mentioned above with his parents and received 
his education in Salem and southern Oregon. In 
1877, he came back to western Oregon and for 
three years wrought for wages in different loca- 
tions. Then he and his brother Adolph leased 
some sheep which they handled for two years. 
After that, they sold their interest in the sheep 
and bought horses. They have now about four- 
teen hundred acres of land, about sixty head of 
horses and two hundred and fifty cattle. They 
are very prosperous and are known as indus- 
trious and capable men. Mr. Straube's brothers 
are Charles, Adolph and Fred. The former is a 
rancher in Washington, Adolph is a partner of 
our subject and Fred owns a ranch in Oregon. 

In 1891, Mr. Straube married Miss Rosa 
Quirolla, who was born in St. Louis. Her death 
occurred in 1893, an d one child, Frederick, sur- 
vives her. Mrs. Straube's surviving brother and 
sisters are Mrs. Teresa McRay, at Riverside, 
Oregon ; Katie and William, in Montana. 

Mr. Straube is an active Democrat and a 
very well posted man. He deserves to be classed 
with the sturdy pioneers of Oregon and his 
sterling worth and industry have done a great 
deal to open up and build up the central part 
of the state. 



BENJAMIN IREMONGER resides some 
eight miles east from Waterman and follows 
stock raising. He was born in Lincolnshire, 
England on January 20, 1865. His father, 
Charles Iremonger, was also a native of Eng- 



672 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



land where he died. Our subject secured his 
education in his native country and in 1883 took 
passage to Philadelphia whence he came to The 
Dalles and from there to Arlington. Then he 
made his may to the Lost valley district, then in 
Wasco county, now in Gilliam county and re- 
mained until 1884. Then he came to his pres- 
ent location and took a homestead. At that time, 
he was one hundred and fifty dollars in debt, 
having borrowed the money for his passage from 
England. He began herding sheep and contin- 
ued at that for five and one-half years. He first 
paid off the indebtedness then began to pur- 
chase sheep and after being through with the 
herding days, entered the industry for him- 
self. He has been prospered and owns over a 
section of land besides fourteen hundred and 
fifty sheep. His place is well improved and 
everything that he now owns has been gained 
by hard labor and careful management since com- 
ing to his country. He is to be commended upon 
his success and is one of the substantial and thor- 
ough men of the county. 

In 1900, Mr. Iremonger married Alice Gray, 
who was born in Lincolnshire, England, on Feb- 
ruary 22, 1866. Her father, Benjamin Gray, a 
native of England is living there and a leading 
citizen of his community. One child has been 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Iremonger : Charles Will- 
iam, two years of age. 

Mr. Iremonger has the following named 
brothers and sisters : George, Charles W., Mary, 
Robert, Walter and Nimrod, all in England. 
George used to own land adjoining our subject, 
but is now returned to England. Mrs. Iremon- 
ger has the following named brothers and sisters : 
Thomas B., William, Maria, John, Fannie, 
Bertha, Emma, Walter and Nellie. 

Our subject is a member of the I. O. O. F. 
and the K. P. In politics, he is an active and 
well informed Republican and takes a lively in- 
terest in all political matters and educational af- 
fairs and everything that tends to upbuild and 
improve the country. 



JAMES WILSON was born in Columbia, 
California, on August 2, 1862. He is now residing 
at the Fopiano ranch which is located about a 
mile south from Waterman. His parents were 
James and Rosa Wilson, early immigrants to Cal- 
ifornia. The former died when our subject was a 
babe, but the latter is now living at Columbia, 
California. Our subject remained in California 
until 1886, receiving in the meantime his educa- 
tional training which included general mechanics. 

In 1886 Mr. Wilson left California and jour- 



neyed north. After visiting various places he 
finally came to what is now Wheeler county and 
engaged on the Fopiano ranch. For one year 
he was occupied here and then he went back to 
California. The Golden State was then his home 
place until 1891, when he returned to the Fopi- 
ano ranch. 

John Fopiano was an early pioneer, coming 
to what is now Wheeler county and locating the 
property well known now as the Fopiano ranch. 
He died in 1891. Mr. Fopiano had married our 
subject's sister, Mary. At the time Mr. Wilson 
took charge of the ranch in the interest of his 
sister it consisted of about three thousand cares. 
By Mr. Wilson's judicious and wise management 
it now consists of over ten thousand acres. 

They handle large bands of stock and do 
considerable general farming. The place is 
equipped as a first class stock ranch and is being 
provided with everything that could be utilized 
in this occupation. Mr. Wilson has an interest 
in the ranch and is one of the well to do and pros- 
perous men of the county. He has shown him- 
self especially successful in the stock business 
and is ranked with the leading men in this occu- 
pation. Large interests are under his hands con- 
tinually and his executive ability, splendid prac- 
tical judgment and reliability especially fit him 
for this important and responsible position. Mrs. 
Fopiano resides in Alameda, California. 

Mr. Wilson is a member of the I. O. O. F. 
and the Elks, and enjoys the distinction of being 
the center of a large circle of admiring friends 
and having the esteem and confidence of all who 
are acquainted with him. 



LUTHER D. GILLENWATER. Oregon 
has many prosperous stockmen and that indus- 
try has brought many millions of wealth to tlie 
Web-foot State. Among the prosperous and 
wealthy ones, we are constrained to mention the 
Sfentleman whose name is at the head of this 
article. He is located about eleven miles west 
from Mitchell, where his home ranch is situated. 
It is one of the choicest and best improved in 
the county and is conducted in a manner be- 
fitting a man of ability and business acumen. All 
buildings needed and every improvement re- 
quired in his large business are^it hand and Mr. 
Gillenwater has a comfortable home as well as 
this fine establishment. 

Luther D. Gillenwater was born in Hawkins 
county, Tennessee, on December 16, 1861. the 
son of Isaac S. and Sarah (Tarter) Gillenwater, 
natives of Tennessee. The father was a prom- 
inent physician of Rodgersville, and an influen- 




James Wilson 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



673 



tial and leading citizen. Our subject's home 
county was the scene of his early studies and 
when he was of proper age, he went to work on 
a farm. Later he was salesman in a store, and 
finally, he decided to come west. This decision 
was put into effect in 1889, when Mr. Gillen- 
water made his way into central Oregon. For 
five years after arriving here he worked for 
wages. This gave him the practical side of the 
stock business and he knows every turn of the 
work from the ground up. In due time he was 
in position to purchase a place for himself and 
accordingly he selected a ranch on Crooked river 
in Crook county and bought it. There he went 
into the stock business for himself and followed 
It successfully until 1901, when he purchased the 
place where he now lives. He makes this his 
headquarters, although he still owns the other 
place. He has a large tract of land here and it is 
fitted in capital shape for the stock business. Mr. 
Gillenwater has many head of sheep and is one 
of the most skillful men in the business about. 

In 1888, Mr. Gillenwater married Miss Ida 
M. Gillenwater, a native of Tennessee, and the 
daughter of W. P. and Ellen (Sexton) Gillen- 
water, natives of Tennessee and Illinois, respec- 
tively. The father was a prominent lawyer in 
Hawkins county, of his native state. One child 
has been born to this union, Harry. Mr. Gillen- 
water is well posted in the questions of the day, 
has labored incessantly for the improvement of 
this section of the country, and is one of the 
progressive and enterprising men of the county 
today. He and his wife enjoy the confidence and 
esteem of their fellows and they are valued mem- 
bers of society. 

Mr. Gillenwater has one brother, John F., liv- 
ing in San Francisco. Mrs. Gillenwater has 
three brothers : John C, in Wheeler county ; 
Edward E., in Crook county, and William H., in 
Albuquerque, New Mexico. 



MIKE FITZGERALD has one of the 
choicest stock ranches in Wheeler county. It is 
situated four miles east from Burnt Ranch, and 
consists of seven hundred acres of fertile soil. 
It is well laid out, favorably located, and hand- 
somely improved. Everything required on a 
first class stock ranch is in evidence and the 
whole property reflects the skill and enterprise 
of the proprietor. 

Mike Fitzgerald was born in Tennessee, on 
Julv 3, 1863, the son of William and Mary 
(Fiemming) Fitzgerald, natives of Ireland. The 
father came to the United States when a small 
boy and was reared and educated in Tennessee. 

43 



He learned the stone mason's trade and became 
a well-to-do and prominent citizen. The mother 
came to this country at the age of fourteen and 
spent most of her life thereafter in Tennessee. 
Our subject received his education in his native 
state and as soon as he was of proper age to do 
for himself went to farming there. In 1885, he 
determined to try the west and after selecting 
Oregon as the place for him was soon in the 
central part of the state. For three years he 
wrought for wages, and being of an economical 
disposition, saved his money, which warranted 
him in purchasing sheep and some land. From 
that time to the present day, he has engaged in 
the sheep business and has made a. marked suc- 
cess of it. His estate has increased to seven hun- 
dred acres and his wealth has also been con- 
stantly accruing until now he is rated as one of 
the most substantial men of this part of the 
county. 

On September 24, 1900, Mr. Fitzgerald took 
to himself a wife, the lady being Miss Evelyn 
Maddron, a native of The Dalles, where also the 
wedding occurred. Mrs. Fitzgerald was highly 
educated and is a refined and cultured lady. Her 
parents, William A. and Harriet Evelyn (Pen- 
land) Maddron, were born in Tennessee. The 
father was a participant in the Civil War, being 
in the Thirteenth Tennessee. After the close of 
hostilities, he removed to Texas and raised cot- 
ton. It was 1885, when he came to The Dalles, 
where he is still living. Mrs. Maddron died in 
1886. Mr. and Mrs. Fitzgerald are well known 
and highly respected people and have a great 
many friends. They are leading people and are 
always on the side of progression in all lines. 

I 



GEORGE J. McCOY has not been in 
Wheeler county so long as some of the pioneers, 
but he is a pioneer of the state and has wrought 
with display of faithfulness and industry in vari- 
ous places, being on the frontier most of the time. 
He was born in Warren county, Illinois, on May 
4, 1837. His father, John McCoy, crossed the 
plains with his wife and three children in 1845, 
being among the very first to thread those weary 
ways. They came through all right and he took 
a donation claim nine miles southwest from 
where Albany now stands. There he remained 
until his death, becoming a prominent and 
wealthy man. He was judge of his county and 
held other offices. He had married Miss Sarah 
Junkins, who shared his labors and successes, 
being a faithful and kind helpmeet. Our sub- 
ject was educated in Linn county and when he 
had grown up, he learned the carpenter trade. 



674 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



He was in the Indian department in civil service 
and was superintendent of farming and schools. 
In 1882, with his wife, he established the first 
Indian boarding school on the Warm Springs 
reservation. Captain John Smith was the agent 
then. In 1884, Mr. McCoy left this line of in- 
dustry and took government land in Wasco 
countv. There he continued in tilling the soil 
until 1889, when he sold out his property and 
again entered the civil service until 1891 when he 
removed to Hay creek, Crook county. There he 
was in the stock business until his removal to 
his present location in 1900. He resides about 
seven miles east from Clarno and is engaged in 
sheep raising. He has some fine bands and is 
prospered. 

In 1858, Mr. McCoy married Miss Nancy J. 
Fargay, the daughter of John and Matilda ( Mil- 
hollen) Fargay. She was born in Illinois and 
crossed the plains with her parents to Oregon, in 
1852. To this union the following named chil- 
dren have been born : James A., George E., 
Hanan R., Lena F., Laura M., Zella B., Sarah 
J., Allie L., Ruby E., and John E. The last 
named one is deceased. Mr. McCoy has taken 
great pains to educate his children and the older 
daughters have all taught school. 



JOHN F. SPRAY, who resides at Spray, 
Oregon, which place he was instrumental in es- 
tablishing, was born in Iowa, in 1859. John C. 
Spray, his father, born in Indiana in 1820, was a 
United Brethren minister for over thirty years. 
His death occurred in 1894. In 1864 the fam- 
ily disposed of their interests in the east and 
with ox teams made the weary journey from Mis- 
souri valley to the Willamette valley. They 
finally settled in Yamhill county, near Amity, 
which was the home for seven years. Then they 
came to Umatilla county, settled near Weston 
and one year later returned to Lane county, 
where our subject remained until 1884. Then he 
came to what is now Wheeler county and lo- 
cated first in Kaiter Basin, after which he moved 
to the place now owned by Albert Cosner. Four- 
teen years were spent there and in 1900 Mr. 
Spray located where he now resides. He was 
instrumental in establishing the postoffice at 
Spray, then built the ferry. After that, he laid 
out the town of Spray, having erected the first 
building there. He established a store and con- 
ducted the same for two years, until other par- 
ties were induced to locate there. Mr. Spray has 
been very liberal and progressive in his labors 
and has practically built the town to its present 
proportions, having induced others to locate here, 



having been instrumental in securing the county 
road and the location of a fine school house. In 
addition to this enterprise, he has been engaged 
in stock raising and has now about seven thous- 
and sheep and twenty-five hundred acres of land. 
His residence is a choice place in Spray and he 
has shown himself one of the leading men of 
Wheeler county. 

In 1883 Mr. Spray married Mary E. Breed- 
ing, who was born in Lane county, Oregon. Her 
father, B. C. Breeding, was a pioneeer to this 
state in 1853 an d served in the Rogue river war 
in 1855-56. His death occurred in 1902. The 
children born to Mr. and Mrs. Spray are Elvin 
C, Eugene M., John R., Wilbur and Charles. 
All are in this county. 

Mr. Spray is a member of the K. P. and has 
always supported the principles of the Republi- 
can party. He is a very enterprising, energetic 
man and has the true spirit of building up and 
improving and has done very much for Wheeler 
county. He is one of the leading citizens, has an 
excellent standing and is rightly classed among 
the prominent men of this section. 



FRED ANDREW HALE resides about 
three miles northwest from Spray and is one of 
the leading and substantial stockmen of the 
county. His birth occurred in Maine, on April 
13, 1861 and his father, Andree Hale, was also 
born in the same state. They came from an old 
American family that has done much toward de- 
veloping and building up the United States. The 
first twelve years of our subject's life were spent 
in his native state and then he journeyed to Illi- 
nois which was his home for six years. It was 
1879 when he came west to California and 
wrought at different occupations for two years. 
Then he came to Wasco county and for twelve 
rears was a resident of that section. After that, 
he came to Wheeler county and purchased the 
ranch where he now resides. It consists of two 
hundred and fifty-five acres, all good land and 
is one of the very best ranches in the entire 
country. Mr. Hale has improved the place in a 
splendid manner and everything about it speaks 
his thrift, his enterprise and his progressiveness. 
The residence is a large structure, neatly painted 
and tastefully arranged, while all the outbuild- 
ings and other improvements needed for a first 
class ranch are now in evidence. Mr. Hale has 
taken great pains to lay out the farm in a first 
class shape and make everything of the best. He 
lias not onlv accomplished this in a first class 
manner but his labors have also stimulated others 
in the same line of good work. At the present 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



675 



time he has about one hundred head of cattle and 
is a prosperous and thrifty man. 

On Pine creek, in Wheeler county, on April 
5, 1891, Mr. Hale married Mary Harder. Her 
father, Mark Harder, was a pioneer of Oregon. 
The children born to this union are Oscar and 
Irle. 

Politically Mr. Hale is a Republican and 
always takes an active interest in this realm. He 
keeps himself well posted upon the questions and 
issues of the day, is a public spirited and gener- 
ous man and has certainly done a commendable 
labor in opening up this western country. 



HENRY TRENT has spent about twenty 
years in what is now Wheeler county, devoting 
himself to general farming and stockraising. His 
labors have been blessed with good success and 
he has a fine estate of one section two miles 
south from Richmond. He is a man of stability 
and industry and has assiduously continued in 
his labors here for the time mentioned. He has, 
also, so conducted himself during this time that 
he has won the esteem of the people and gained 
for himself an excellent standing. 

Henry Trent was born in Washington county, 
Virginia, on February 22, 1862, the son of Louis 
and Isabell (Thomas) Trent, both natives of 
Virginia. They came from well-to-do and prom- 
inent families and the father fought through the 
Civil War. Our subject was reared and edu- 
cated in his native place and when the years of 
budding manhood came, there came also, as 
often to the American youth, a desire to try his 
fortunes in the boundless west ; and soon he 
made preparations for the journey. From all he 
could ascertain, he decided that Oregon was the 
place to come to and accordingly in 1886 we find 
him herding sheep in the vicinity of Mitchell. 
Being of a thrifty and careful disposition it was 
not long before he had saved money enough to 
purchase some stock for himself. He also bought 
some land and soon he was launched as an Ore- 
gon stockman, although, necessarily, at that time, 
on a small scale. But small beginnings make 
favorable endings, and so in this case, we soon 
see Mr. Trent in possession of the fine estate he 
now has and a band of stock. His care and skill 
have been amply rewarded and he is today one 
of the representative men of the county. 

On October 16, 1890, Mr. Trent decided to 
take a helpmeet to himself, Miss Rebecca M. 
Parish becoming his bride then. She was born 
in the Willamette valley to T. M. A. J. and 
Elenor (Beers) Parish, early pioneers of Ore- 
gon. They have journeyed on the pilgrim way 



of life since, sharing each other's successes and 
trials and are now valued members of society 
and have many friends. They have won good 
success and are to be classed as the builders of 
the county and as substantial citizens of today. 
Mr. Trent is a member of the A. O. U. W., and 
his wife of the auxiliary. 

Some details of Trent's experiences might 
be interesting and helpful to others who are 
struggling to get a foothold. In 1889, he con- 
cluded to try the sheep business and accordingly 
rented a band of twelve hundred from Mr. A. J. 
Parish. Owing to the scarcity of food, the hard 
winter coming after, he was frozen out and lost 
all but two hundred. Still having faith in sheep, 
he had, in order to pursue that business, to go to 
herding, which he did. To add to the burden, on 
December 17, 1891, his house and nearly all his 
goods were destroyed by fire. This was a hard 
stroke, but applying the motto, "If at first you 
do not succeed, try, try again," he went on and 
has made a success. He is now, in addition to 
handling his farm business, contractor for the 
United States mail from Richmond to Mitchell, 
which contract expires in July, 1906. He has 
held it for seven years. 

Mr. Trent has two brothers in Oregon, John 
of Richmond, and A. C. of Antone ; and his 
mother, five sisters, and two brothers, still re- 
side in Virginia. 

Mrs. Trent's mother was the daughter of A. 
Beers, and she and her brother are believed to 
be the only surviving members of the party which 
came to Oregon in 1837, on the ship Lansanne, 
around Cape Horn. 



LLEWELLYN H. HALE is postmaster at 
Spray, and has been since 1895. He was instru- 
mental in getting this office established and has 
done very much for the promotion of the inter- 
ests of this section. Mr. Hale is also school 
clerk and justice of the peace. He is of first 
class standing in the community and is a man of 
reliability and excellent judgment. 

Llewellyn Hale was born in Somerset county, 
Maine, on May 4, 1844, the son of Andrew and 
Mary (Houghton) Hale, also natives of Somer- 
set county. The father was a man of prominence 
in his county and came from a very old and influ- 
ential family. His ancestors first came to this 
country in the Mayflower, and the family dated 
back a long time before that. Many of the Hales 
have been prominent and leading men. They, 
were of English and Scotch ancestrage. Our 
subject received a good education from the 
schools of his native county and in i860 jour- 



6;6 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



neyed west to Illinois, where he worked for 
wages. In 1870 we find him in Page county, 
Iowa, and there he was engaged in the mercantile 
business at Reedsville, being, also, postmaster 
for a number of years. In 1882 the western fever 
again attacked him and he took the sure cure 
of coming to the Pacific slope. Portland was the 
scene of his labors for a time and then he sought 
out another location, lighting on this place in 
1884. He took government land and also bought 
other and engaged in the stock business. He has 
continued that since and has met with good suc- 
cess in his efforts. The fact that he has been in 
responsible positions so long, both here and else- 
where, indicates him a man both of ability and 
integrity and this is fully borne out in his life. 
Mr. Hale descends from a strong and honorable 
family and has reason to be proud of his fore- 
fathers, whose name, bequeathed unsullied and 
prominent to him by those gone on, has been 
kept as it was received and may be handed down 
thus to those who will come after. Mr. Hale be- 
longs to the I. O. O. F. and is a social and genial 
man. 



JAMES S. HUNT is to be classed among 
the leading and earliest pioneers of Wheeler 
county. He resides now sixteen miles northeast 
from Fossil and follows stock raising. His birth 
occurred in Grant county, Indiana, on December 
8, 1859. His father, David Hunt, was born in 
Ohio in 1837 and served in the Sixty-third In- 
diana Volunteers for nine months during the 
Civil War. After returning home he went on 
the Wabash and Erie canal, where he operated a 
canal boat until 1869 and then he went to Mis- 
souri, remaining some time when he came to Cal- 
ifornia and thence to Washington. After a year 
in the Evergreen State, he came to Oregon and 
died here in 1889. He had married Miss Robb, 
who was born near Cincinnati, Ohio, on March 
8, 1841 and is now living in Wheeler county. 
Our subject came to central Oregon when twelve 
years of age and as there were no schools near, 
he had to content himself with the education he 
received previous to that time. ' He was a good 
rider and soon became very expert with the rope 
and in a few years was one of the most skillful 
horsemen and rope throwers in this part of the 
state. When he was twenty years of age he 
bought a half interest in his father's business and 
continued with him until the latter's death. Then 
he continued in partnership with his mother until 
1893, m which year he went into sheep raising 
for himself. He now has about two thousand 
head of these animals and nearly a section of 
land. He is being prospered in his labors and is 



one of the well-to-do and substantial stockmen 
of the county. 

In 1893 Mr. Hunt married Miss Nettie Rob- 
ertson, who was born in the vicinity of Appo- 
mattox Court House, Virginia, on September 
11, 1872. Her father, L. Robertson, was also a 
native of Virginia. Owing to the fact that he 
was a cripple he could not get in the army but his 
brother fought for the confederacy as also did 
two of his wife's brothers, one of whom was 
killed at Gettysburg. Mr. Robertson married 
Miss Day, a native of Virginia, who was a dis- 
tant relative of General Lee. To Mr. and Mrs. 
riunt, two children have been born, Evrett and 
Lilburn. 

Politically, Mr. Hunt is a Republican and in 
church relationship he" belongs to the Christian 
Baptist denomination. He is a man who enjoys 
the esteem and confidence of his fellows and has 
always been known as industrious, progressive 
and ever ready to assist in the building up of the 
country. 



H. H. HENDRICKS, a leading attorney of 
Wheeler county residing in Fossil, was born in 
Polk county, Oregon on February 26, 1861. He 
has gained good success in his profession and 
made himself one of the substantial and capable 
men of this part of the state and to his credit it 
may be said that he has accomplished it all 
through his own efforts, being entirely a self- 
made man. His father, Robert J. Hendricks, 
was born in Knox county, Illinois, in 1832 and 
crossed the plains in 1852. After that, he re- 
sided in Yamhill county a time, then went to Polk 
county, thence to Umatilla county, and died in 
Douglas county in 1880. In Yamhill county in 
1854, he married Mary J. Sherwood, who was 
born in Fulton county, Illinois, in 1838 and 
crossed the plains with her parents in 1850. 
She is still living at Cottage Grove, Oregon. In 
1868, the family came to what is now Olex, Gil- 
liam county then a wilderness, and year later, set- 
tled in Umatilla county. In 1873, they moved 
to Douglas county and in these various places 
our subject gained his primary education in the 
public schools. When fourteen, he left home 
and learned the printer's trade at Roseburg, Ore- 
gon. Two years later, he attended the Wilbur 
Academy and the next year taught his first term- 
of school. Then following a year of newspaper 
work, he entered the state university at Eugene 
and graduated in 1883, receiving the degree of 
B. S. He practically earned his way through, 
working during the vacations as compassman for 
the government survey in Lake county. After 
graduation he took a position on the Daily States- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



677 



.man at Salem, Oregon, as city editor and busi- 
ness manager. This was to finish paying his col- 
lege expenses and to gain his support in the 
study of law. Then he entered the law office of 
Ford and Kiser at Salem, where he was contin- 
uously for eighteen months. Then he removed to 
Gilliam county continuing his law reading and 
on the creation of that county in 1885 he was 
appointed superintendent of the county schools. 
At the next election he was chosen by the people 
to fill that office ; and in 1887 he was admitted 
to the bar and began the practice of law at Fos- 
sil that same year. For several years he main- 
tained an office at Condon in partnership with 
H. B. Hendricks and later in partnership with 
Jay Bowerman. Mr. Hendricks is achieving a 
splendid success in his profession and shows 
himself a man of ability and integrity. His li- 
brary shows skill in selection and is up-to-date. 

The brothers of our subject now alive are 
Glen O., a stockman in Harney county ; H. B., an 
attorney and real estate man at Grant's pass ; 
R. J., Jr., manager of the Salem Daily States- 
man; John R., a stockman in Harney county; 
David A., a newspaper man in Montana. 

In 1885, Mr. Hendricks married Miss Glori- 
unda Giesy, who was born in Marion county, 
Oregon. She died at Fossil a year after her mar- 
riage, leaving an infant son, William Giesy Hen- 
dricks, who is now attending the Portland Acad- 
emy. At Fossil, on November 25, 1887 Mr. 
Hendricks married Mary M. McKenzie. She 
was born in Wisconsin and raised near Kansas 
City, Kansas. The children of this union are : 
Robert H., sixteen years old ; Ford H., fifteen 
years of age; Carl H., aged thirteen; Winlock 
H., eleven years old ; and Mary E., nine years 
old. 

Mr. Hendricks belongs to the Masonic fra- 
ternity, the K. P., the W. W., M. W. A. and the 
Eastern Star. Politically, he is a Republican, 
while in religious persuasion he is identified with 
the Unitarians. 



GEORGE W. CHAPMAN, who is a repre- 
sentative stockman of Wheeler county and one of 
the earliest pioneers of this section, was born in 
Indiana, on June 28, 1846. At present he resides 
about one mile east from Richmond, where he 
owns a good estate, part of which he gained 
through government right and part by purchase. 
Having passed through the trying times of pio- 
neer days, he is well fitted to be represented in a 
work of this character and to be classed as one 
of the builders of this great country. Many and 
•difficult were the hardships and labors of those 
■days and they never can be fully written, but in 



accord with the adage, "Honor to whom honor is 
due," is very fitting that the pioneers and frantirs- 
men should be classed with the leaders of the 
race. Our subject's father, Joseph R. Chapman, 
was a native of Connecticut and reared on a farm. 
When arrived at young manhood he moved to 
Ohio, then to Indiana, and later to Iowa, being 
a pioneer in these places. In 1852, he crossed 
the plains with ox teams, bringing his family 
with him, and made location in Polk county, 
Oregon, there taking a donation claim. Seven 
years were spent on that and then came the move 
to what is now Klickitat county, Washington. 
For a decade he lived in that territory and then 
he came to the region now embraced in Wheeler 
county. Here he remained, raising stock and 
doing general farming until the time of his death. 
He had married. Mrs. Mary Mithchell, nee John- 
son, a native of Pennsylvania, who was a faith- 
ful helpmeet to him in all his labors and journeys 
and is now living in Wheeler county. 

Our subject made the best of his opportuni- 
ties to secure an education in the schools in Polk 
and Klickitat counties and came with his father 
to this section in 1869. They were among the 
very first settlers and had to combat with the 
Indians and wild animals and had the hardship 
of transporting supplies many, many miles. They 
weathered those days of hardship, however, and 
our subject has given his attention steadily to 
stock raising and general farming and the result 
is that he has come to be a prosperous and sub- 
stantial citizen of the county. 

In 1878, Mr. Chapman married Miss Mary E. 
E. Armsworthy, who was born in Klickitat coun- 
ty, Washington, the daughter of Levi and Ellen 
(Dunlap) Armsworthy. The former was a na- 
tive of North Carolina, crossing the plains in the 
early fifties and settling first near Portland, 
whence he removed to Klickitat county. The 
mother started across the plains with her par- 
ents, both of whom died en route. She shared 
the labors and successes of her husband and they 
now reside in Klickitat county. To our subject 
and his wife seven children have been born, 
Archie, Hattie, Guy, Claude, Ray, Elmer, and 
Mary A., deceased. 

Mr. and Mrs. Chapman are good substantial 
people and for many years have done their share 
in the development and upbuilding of this county. 



WILLIAM SETH MOORE is a stockmai. 
residing about six miles east from Fossil, where 
he owns a quarter section of good land and han- 
dles about one hundred or more cattle. He was 
born in Missouri, on July 16, 1847, trie son of 



678 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Joshua and Elmira (Yale) Moore. The father 
started to drive across the plains with ox teams 
in 1852 and died before he reached his destina- 
tion. The mother, a native of Ohio, was a school 
teacher before she was married, that event occurr- 
ing when she was twenty-five years of age. When 
her husband died, she brought the family across 
the plains to Oregon City and her death occurred 
in 1894. Our subject was with the family when 
they crossed the plains and, in addition to his 
father dying, his brother also died at The Dalles. 
From that point they went down the river to the 
locks and then took steamer to Oregon City, 
where they remained about a year. There the 
mother married George Tillotson, a millwright. 
The next move was to Linn county, and a year 
later they went on to Polk county, where Mr. 
Tillotson took a preemption. This was their home 
for six years and then the family went to Dallas, 
where our subject remained until he was twenty- 
two years of age. He then purchased a farm in 
Cooper Hollow, Polk county. He also made a 
trip to the Palouse country, Washington. He 
made a camp on the Touchet and took a trip over 
to Tucanon and visited his step-brother. Return- 
ing to his camp he found that his horses had 
strayed away and he was not able to find them 
until the following spring which necessitated liis 
remaining on the Touchet until that spring. His 
camping ground was what is now Huntsville. 
The next year he returned to Polk county, then 
came over to eastern Oregon. A little later he 
settled in Klickitat county, where he resided four 
years, and then went to The Dalles. From there 
he journeyed to the John Day river, settling in a 
portion of what is now Wheeler county, and re- 
mained for one season. Then he came to his 
present place and took a preemption and a home- 
stead, half of whih is his home now. He has 
given his attention to the improvement and culti- 
vation of it since and to stock raising. 

In 1869 Mr. Moore married Miss Sarah E. 
Wren, a native of Illinois. Her father, Thomas 
Wren, was a veteran of the Civil war. To this 
union the following named children have been 
born, Mrs. Annie E. Horn, Mrs. Lela E. New- 
man, and Mrs. Sophia I. Meteer. 



ing this time, he was taken prisoner and confined 
eight months. He also participated in Sherman's 
March to the Sea. Our subject went with his 
parents to Missouri and there remained until 
1882, when he went to Coos county, Oregon.. 
One year later, he came to his present location 
by team. The balance of the family accompa- 
nied him. He took a homestead and since has 
devoted himself to stock raising. His brother, 
John William, resides with him,, and he has two 
other brothers, Edgar and Ulysses G., living in 
Portland. His half sisters are Ella and Myrtle,, 
and his half brothers are James H. and Clyde. 

On March 8, 1889, Mr. Dement married Ella 
J. Ellis, who was born in California, the daugh- 
ter of Thomas Ellis, a pioneer of that state. They 
have two children, Daisy M. and Andrew 
Thomas. 

Mr. Dement is a Republican and always man- 
ifests interest in the welfare of the community as : 
well as in educational and political matters. 



SEDGEWICK STANTON DEMENT, a 
stockman residing about four miles southeast 
from Fossil, was born in Ohio, on December 29, 
1869, the son of John C. and Maggie (Dillon) 
Dement, natives of Ohio. The mother died in 
1878, and the father is now living in Portland. 
Pie is a veteran of the Civil war, having served 
in the Fourth Ohio Cavalry for three years. Dur- 



CHARLES McKENZIE is at the head of 
the Hotel McKenzie in Fossil. The establish- 
ment is a first-class house, commodious and well 
furnished, and handled in a manner that makes 
it very attractive to guests. Mr. McKenzie is the 
recipient of a fine patronage, has the ability to- 
conduct things in a wise manner and is rated as 
one of the substantial and leading business men 
of Fossil. He was born in Montello, Wisconsin,, 
on August 21, 1857. His father, W. L. McKen- 
zie, was born in Canada and removed from there 
to Rochester, New York, and then in 1852, to 
the vicinity of Montello, Wisconsin. At that 
place he enlisted in the Third Wisconsin Cav- 
alry, as first orderly sergeant, and served for 
three years and four months in the Civil war. 
After his discharge, he returned to his home in 
Wisconsin, and then moved to Kansas, where he 
still resides. He was a pioneer merchant at 
Rochester, New York, and also did cabinet mak- 
ing. He conducted an undertaking business and 
operated the first hearse in what is now the popu- 
lous city of Rochester. He is a man of influence 
and excellent standing. H: married Elizabeth 
Dixon, a native of Canada, and the aunt of Rev. 
Dr. Dixon, of New York. She died in 1900, aged 
seventy. Our subject came from Wisconsin to 
Kansas with his parents when nine years of age 
and there remained until April, 1878, during 
which time he received his education. In the 
year last mentioned, we find him on his way to 
Idaho and there he freighted for some time. 
After this, he engaged in the livery business until 
February, 1880, when he came to the vicinity of 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



679 



Fossil. Here he rode the range until the fall of 
1884, when he built a livery barn in Fossil, which 
he conducted until 1891. Then he rented the 
establishment and engaged in lumbering. In 
1892, his barn burned and he rebuilt and sold 
later. He continued in the lumbering business, 
owning a sawmill, for about thirteen years and 
during this time he built the Hotel McKenzie 
and now is giving his entire time and attention 
to the operation of this house. It is the only 
hotel in Fossil and is one that reflects credit on 
the town. 

On December 14, 1885, Mr. McKenzie mar- 
ried Miss Carry Brinkerhoff, who was born in 
Walla Walla. Her father was one of the pioneers 
to California, and married Fannie Maxon, who 
was born near Walla Walla, and whose mother, 
Mrs. Maxon, was the first white woman in Walla 
Walla. Four children are the fruit of this union, 
William, Bessie, Frank and Cnanes. Mr. Mc- 
Kenzie is a member of the Blue Lodge and Chap- 
ter of the Masonic order, and also belongs to the 
M. W. A., and the W. O. W. Politically, he is a 
Republican. He stands well in the community 
and is a progressive man in every respect, and 
assists in all matters of improvement and devel- 
opment. 



JULIA A. DOUSMAN was born in New 
York state in 1825. Her father, Julius Chuyler, 
was a native of New York city and came from 
German ancestry. His father was also born in 
uermany, but fled from that country at the time 
the Hugenots were persecuted. Our subject came 
with her parents to Michigan when she was an 
infant, they being among the first settlers in that 
country. They had to cut their roads through 
the wild country and finally settled where Mon- 
roe is now and where she was raised. There, in 
1843 sne married Henry Dousman, a native of 
France. He came to the United States when 
quite young. After their marriage, they re- 
mained in Michigan two years, then went to 
Canada, where Mr. Dousman followed his trade 
of milling. In 1850, they went to California, 
via the Panama route, and while on the way 
from Panama to San Francisco the machinery 
of their ship broke and it was three months before 
thev made the harbor of the Golden Gate. Her 
husband was very sick, her children were afflicted 
with the scurvy and both water and provisions 
became very scarce. Twenty-six of the passen- 
gers died from yellow fever, in fact every person 
who took the fever died except Mr. Dousman. 
They remained in Sacramento for one year, then 
went to the mines for one year. In 1853 they 
located in Astoria, which then consisted of two 



or three houses, a mill and a store. Mrs. Dous- 
man did cooking for the mill crew for a year 
while her husband worked in the mill. In 1854 
they returned to California, Mrs. Dousman 
spending one year in Sacramento, while her hus- 
band worked in the mines. Then they bought a 
claim which they were unable to secure, owing 
to its being on the Spanish land grant. They 
bought a second claim which resulted the same 
way, then becoming discouraged they removed 
to the mountains of Monterey county and re- 
mained two years. Later, they journeyed to- 
Sonoma county and bought seven hundred acres 
of land and there lived for twenty-five years, then 
they sold out and went to Spokane, spending two 
years. They sold out their property there and 
journeyed to the Rogue river valley, and a few 
weeks later drove on to what is now Wheeler 
county, locating here in 1882. Mrs. Dousman 
now owns three hundred and forty acres of land. 
Her husband died in the spring of 1900. The 
children born to Mr. and Mrs. Dousman are Mrs. 
Henrietta Arnold, Mary Ann McCappin, and 
Mrs. Ellis Sichel. Mrs. Dousman is now enjoy- 
ing splendid health and is very active for a 
woman of her age. She is surrounded bv her 
children, her grandchildren, her great-grandchil- 
dren and her great-great-grandchildren. She- 
is well known and highly esteemed because 
of her excellent principles and untiring 
industry. Her husband was very prominent in 
many lines, especially in Masonic circles, having 
become a Mason in 1844, in Muncie, Indiana. He 
assisted to organize many lodges in the west,. 
among which was one at Astoria. He was one 
of the first Masons on the coast. Mrs. Dousman 
has certainly seen a long life of pioneering and 
in it all has shown a sturdiness and stability that 
are commendable. It is very pleasant after a 
life of activity, to see her surrounded by her 
loved ones, enjoying the fruits of her labors. 



ISAAC F. SHOWN follows the related occu- 
pations of farming and stock raising in Wheeler 
county, his estate of four hundred acres being 
located some six miles west of Richmond, on the 
Fossil stage road. He was born in Johnson 
county, Tennessee, on March 10, 1835. His 
father, Joseph Shown, was also born in that 
county, the date being February, 1803. He was 
well-to-do and prominent man and his father, 
Leonard Shown, the grandfather of our subject, 
was born in Pennsylvania and fought in the 
Revolution. The mother of our subject was 
Mary (Wills) Shown, a native of Johnson 
county, Tennessee, and descended from promi- 



68o 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



nent and wealthy people. After completing the 
common school training, our subject studied in 
the Taylorsville Academy, then worked on a farm 
until the Civil war broke out, when he was de- 
tailed to work in the confederate iron works. He 
continued in that capacity until he found an 
opportunity to escape then hurried to the fed- 
eral lines and enlisted in Company D, Thirteenth 
Tennessee Cavalry and served until September 
5, 1865, fighting for the stars and stripes. Dur- 
ing that time he was in fourteen severe engage- 
ments and acquitted himself as a brave and faith- 
ful soldier. In March, 1866, Mr. Shown was 
elected sheriff of Johnson county and served six 
years. Then he served two years as trustee and 
again was elected sheriff and continued for two 
years. In 1884 ne determined to change his res- 
idence and accordingly sold all his property in 
the east and journeved to the Pacific coast. He 
finally selected government land where he now 
resides and purchased there until he has four 
hundred acres. He raises general crops and 
handles stock. In 1896 Mr. Show,n was elected 
assessor of Crook county, Oregon, and served 
two years ; then he was re-elected, but as Wheeler 
county was cut off about that time, he was ap- 
pointed assessor of Wheeler county, and upon 
the expiration of his term was again elected to 
that position. This makes Mr. Shown a service 
of nearly twenty years in various county offices, 
in all of which he has shown an uprightness and 
efficiency that have commended him to the public. 
In 1857, Mr. Shown married Mary I. Ellrod, 
the daughter of Calaway and Fannie (Jones) 
Ellrod, natives of North Carolina. The father 
was a prominent man and was clerk of Johnson 
county, Tennessee, when he died. Mrs. Shown 
was born in North Carolina and moved with her 
parents to Tennessee when a small girl. To Mr. 
and Mrs. Shown the following named children 
have been born: Stacy, in 1868; T. Gordon, in 
1870 ; Edward R., in 1872 ; Nathaniel D., on Jan- 
uary 10, 1874; and Hamilton C, on March 4, 
1877. They are all well-to-do and respected 
farmers in Wheeler county. Mr. Shown enjoys 
a splendid reputation and is of first-class stand- 
ing in the community. He has merited the ap- 
proval and confidence of his fellows by his faith- 
fulness and reliability and he is one of the leading 
men of the county today. 



WILLIAM W. KENNEDY is one of the 
prominent men of Wheeler county and in fact is 
well known all through his portion of the state. 
He was born in Huntington, Quebec, on January 
13, 1836, and now resides at Fossil, being the 



superintendent of schools for Wheeler county. 
James Kennedy, his father, was born in Dum- 
fries, Scotland, and came to Canada while young, 
where he followed farming. In 1842 he went to 
Illinois and took government land, thirty miles 
north of Chicago. In 1852 he journeyed thence 
across the plains to California. It was the year 
of the great epidemic of cholera, but so skillful 
was Mr. Kennedy in treating the cases in his 
train that there was but one death. In California 
he engaged in mining and freighting, then built a 
toll road and for a while preached the gospel. 
He was a very influential man, taking a promin- 
ent part in public affairs and finally died at San 
Jose, California, in 1885. He had married 
Helen McDougal, the daughter of John Mc- 
Dougal of Grennoch, Scotland. Mrs. Kennedy 
came from Grennoch, her native place, to Canada 
when a girl, having received her education ,in 
Scotland. She was married in Canada and 
crossed the plains with her husband, participat- 
ing all the scenes of his life and dying a few 
months after his departure. She was a very kind 
and noble woman. Her father was a prominent 
vessel owner on the Atlantic coast. Our sub- 
ject was educated in the public schools in Illinois, 
then completed a course at the Gates academy 
in San Jose, California, after which he took a 
post graduate course at the state normal. He 
had come to California with his parents across 
the plains and after his education was completed 
took up the work of teaching. He followed it in 
California until 1877, when he came to Heppner, 
Oregon, took government land and engaged in 
stock raising. In 1884 Mr. Kennedy came to 
Fossil and built the Kennedy hotel, which he 
operated until 1888. Then he was elected su- 
perintendent of schools for the county and has 
been in that or other county offices ever since. 
He has been surveyor and judge of this county, 
and his work for the success of the schools has 
placed them in a very excellent condition. 

In 1870 Mr. Kennedy married Miss Harriett 
E. Hamilton, who was born in San Jose, Cali- 
fornia. Her parents, Zeri and Jane H. (Black- 
ford) Hamilton, had crossed the plains to Cali- 
fornia in 1849. They operated a hotel at George- 
town, Eldorado county, then did farming. The 
father died in 1871. Mr. Kennedy has the fol- 
lowing - named brothers and sisters : Walter, 
who was lost on a vessel on Lake Michigan; 
Robert D., who followed mining, then was •■ 
public lecturer until his death in 1881 ; John M . 
a retired farmer at San Jose, California ; James 
G., who died in 1893, was then president of the 
San Francisco normal school and a prominent 
educator ; Thomas E., who was a very prominent 
educator and at the time of his death was head 




William Vv . Kennedy 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



68 1 



inspector for the schools of San Francisco ; 
Mary, Elizabeth, Mrs. Jeanette Malcom, and 
Mrs. Margaret Wild, deceased. After the 
death of James G. and Thomas E. the Franklin 
school of San Francisco was named in honor of 
them, being now known as the Kennedy school. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy four children have 
been born, Mrs. Margaret J. Brown, in Cali- 
fornia; Mrs. Helen E. Yantis, Mrs. Birdie Bad 
and Robert D., all in Fossil. Mr. Kennedy is 
a prominent Republican and the fact that he has 
continued in office at the hands of the people for 
such a long period indicates and stamps him as a 
man both of ability and unswerving integrity. 
His standing in the county is of the very 
best and he is looked up to and respected by 
■ everybody. 



HON. R. N. DONNELLY is properly called 
the father of Wheeler county. He is a wealthy 
and enterprising stockman residing at Richmond 
and was born in Johnson county, Tennessee, on 
October 3, 1855. His father, Richard H. Don- 
nelly, was a native of Johnson county, Tennessee, 

. also, and followed farming and merchandising. 
He was prominent and wealthy and held many 
offices of public trust in his native state. His 
father, Richard Donnelly, the grandfather of our 
subject, was a veteran of the War of 1812. Rich- 
ard H. Donnelly married Miss Eliza Moore, also 
a native of Johnson county, Tennessee, and de- 

. scended from a prominent and representative 
family. After completing the common schools, 
our subject finished his studies at the Finley high 

r school of Lenore, North Carolina. Then he 
turned his attention to the work of the educator 
and for a number of years was a faithful laborer 
in that field in the state of Tennessee. It was 
1880 when Mr. Donnelly decided to come west, 
making Oregon the objective point of his jour- 
neys. Upon arriving in this portion of the state | 
he began work for wages. Soon thereafter he i 
took government land and has added to it by 
purchase at various times since until he has a 
large and excellent estate. He has a beautiful 
home, good improvements and much property. 
He handles stock and is much on the range. 

In November, 1881, Mr. Donnelly married 
Miss Jane R. Keys, a native of Johnson county, 
Tennessee. She had come to Oregon with her 
parents in 1888. David L. Keys." Mrs. Donnelly's 
father, was also born in Tennessee and came to 
Oregon by way of the isthmus and settled in 
Benton county. He married Susan J. Ward, also 
a native of the Big Bend State. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Donnelly, four children have been born, 

'William A., Edgar W., H. Keys and George. 



Mr. Donnelly has always taken great interest 
in the development and progress of the commu- 
nity, being an enterprising man, and in political 
matters is influential and leading. In 1898 his 
name appeared on the Republican ticket as can- 
didate for the state legislature and he was 
promptly elected. This was from the Grant and 
Harney county district and during that term he in- 
troduced the bill organizing Wheeler county and 
proposed the name, Wheeler, on account' of the 
aged fronstiersman of whom mention has been 
made in another portion of this work. Mr. Don- 
nelly was successful in piloting the bill to passage 
and Wheeler county was formed. Perhaps to his 
efforts, more than to any other one man, is due 
the organization of this now prosperous division. 
After his term expired Mr. Donnelly gave his 
attention to stock raising and six years later was 
elected again to represent his district in the state 
legislature. 

Mr. Donnelly is a member of the I. O. O. 
F., the K. P., and is popular in fraternal circles. 
The Donnelly family in Tennessee were promi- 
nent union people during the war and had to 
withstand much opposition, being so near the 
confederate sympathizers. A. T. Donnelly, an 
uncle of our subject, was a captain in the union 
army. Mr. Donnelly has shown in all his long 
public service a faithfulness to his constituents 
that has endeared him to the people and bespeaks 
him a man of sound principles and stability. 



THOMAS J. MONROE is certainly one of 
the earliest pioneers of central Oregon. In addi- 
tion to that, he has so labored with enterprise and 
industry since those days, in building up the 
country and bringing in the ways of civilization, 
that he is to be classed as one of the builders of 
Wheeler county, being, also, one of its repre- 
sentative citizens at this day. He now resides 
about seven miles out from Mitchell on the Fos- 
sil stage road and there, with his family, owns a 
magnificent estate of fourteen hundred acres of 
choice land. He gives his attention to the over- 
sight of this and to raising stock, which latter 
industry he has followed here for over thirty 
years. In his labors Mr. Monroe has manifested 
great enterprise and his care and thrift have 
made him a splendid success. Coming and start- 
ing here without means, he has won his way 
steadily on until he is classed as one of the 
wealthy men of the county and every dollar of it 
represents his toil and business abil'rv. 

Thomas J. Monroe was Born in Belmont 
county, Ohio, on January 6, 1837. His father, 
William Monroe, was a native of Pennsylvania, 



682 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



and came with his parents, when a lad, to Ohio, 
which was then a wild country. The ancestors 
were veterans of the Revolution and were promi- 
nent in colonial days, being farmers. He married 
Miss Ann Mann, a native of Bedford county, 
Pennsylvania, who came to Ohio with her parents 
when a girl. 

Our subject gained his education in Ohio 
and in Iowa, and in 1865, accompanied by his 
parents, two brothers and two sisters, crossed the 
plains to Lane county, Oregon. In 1869, * ne 
family came thence to the vicinity of Mitchell 
and here the father died on May n, 1873. After 
his death, the boys, under the guiding direction 
of their mother, operated the ranch. Thomas J. 
was with his parents in all their journeys, and in 
1872 took government land here. His attention 
was turned to farming and stock raising and 
now he is the possessor of nine hundred and 
sixty acres, while his children own half as much 
more. They are prosperous and substantial peo- 
ple. 

In i860 Mr. Monroe married Miss Mary A. 
Snedeker. She was born in Ohio and came with 
her husband to the Pacific coast: Her parents, 
John and Pricilla (Hall) Snedeker, natives of 
Ohio and Virginia, respectively, came from 
Dutch stock. Her grandfather served in the War 
of 18 1 2. To Mr. and Mrs. Monroe four chil- 
dren have been born : Almira, deceased ; Daniel 
B., Sarah P., and Martha E. It is to his credit 
to note that when Mr. Monroe came here he had 
no capital, all his property has been gained by 
his industry and care here. Both Mr. and Mrs. 
Monroe endured all the deprivations incident to 
those early days, labored industriously, denying 
themselves much, and have well earned their 
competence. 



E. W. PIOWELL resides about six miles 
south from Richmond, at the present time, and 
was born in Jackson county, Oregon, on Decem- 
ber 27, i860. He is the owner and operator of 
a fine saw mill and shingle mill, where he resides. 
The former has a daily output capacity 
of ten thousand feet and the latter is 
a well equipped and first-class plant. Mr. 
Howell does a good, large business in 
lumbering and is known as one of the 
progressive and substantial business men and citi- 
zens of Wheeler county. His father, Maurice 
Howell, was born in Mt. Vernon, Ohio, and came 
across the plains in 1852. He was a veteran of 
the Rogue River war, and died in 1873. He had 
married Catherine Clayton, who was born in 
Ohio and crossed the plains with her parents from 
Iowa, in 1852. She is now living in Ashland, 



Oregon, in the same vicinity where she first set- 
tled. Our subject received his early education 
from the public schools and then completed the 
Ashland normal course. He labored industri- 
ously in the summers and spent the winters in 
studying. In this way, he secured a good edu- 
cation through his own efforts, since his father 
died when he was about ten years of age. In 
June, 1884, Mr. Howell located permanently in 
the territory now occupied by Wheeler county 
and engaged in lumbering. At first he worked 
for wages until he had the business well learned, 
then in 1894 he leased a mill in the Winlock 
neighborhood and operated the same for three 
years. In 1899, he came to his present location, 
where he completed the mill which he still oper- 
ates. He has a good trade in lumber and has 
assisted very materially in building up the coun- 
try by his manufacturing. At Eagle creek, in 
Clackamas county, Oregon, on October 22, 1884, 
Mr. Howell married Miss Maud M. Bates who 
was born in Missouri, on November 19, 1866, 
and reared in Clackamas and Multnomah coun- 
ties, Oregon. Her father, Edwin Bates, crossed 
the plains in 1871, and is still living in Clackamas 
county. Our subject's brother, Frank E. Howell, 
was a very bright and promising young man and 
enlisted in Company L. Second Oregon Volun- 
teers to serve in the Philippine Islands. He was 
actively engaged in the campaign with his com- 
mand until the regiment was discharged from 
further service, when he entered into business 
about sixty miles from Manila. He was later 
taken sick there and returned home, but never 
recovered, and his death occurred in Ashland on 
November 30, 1900. Another brother our 
subject, Maurice Howell, enlisted in Company 
M, Second Oregon Volunteers, and served dur- 
ing the entire struggle in the islands. His honor- 
able discharge occurred at San Francisco, but he 
had contracted disease in the service from which 
he never recovered, his death afterward occurring 
on August 17, 1903. 

Mr. Howell is a member of the I. O. O. F.. 
the K. P. and the A. O. U. W., while in politics 
he is a good, strong Republican and takes a 
keen interest in the campaigns. Mr. Howell is an 
Oregonian by birth as well as by choice, and be- 
lieves that his state has one of the greatest futures 
of any part of the northwest. He has labored 
assiduously to develop and build up and is rightly 
classed as one of the pioneers of this country. 



SAMUEL S. NELSON, a stockman resid- 
ing about two miles southwest from Mitchell, 
and one of the leading men of this part of the 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



683 



county, was born in La Fayette county, Missouri, 
on January 1, 1862. His father, Rufus K. Nel- 
son, was born in Kentucky, came to Missouri 
when a young man, on to Nevada in 1874, and 
finally landed in Lane county, Oregon, shortly 
after. In 1877 he came to the vicinity of Mitchell 
and engaged in stock raising. He was killed 
while driving a band of horses to Nebraska, in 
1889. He had married Miss Mary C. Neil, who 
A/as born near Paris, Kentucky. She accom- 
panied her husband across the plains. Our sub- 
ject was educated in Oregon, and here, also, he 
grew to manhood. When he had arrived to a 
sufficient age, he entered into the stock business 
for himself, and since that time has continued in 
it. He accompanied his father to this section 
and they were among the very first to settle here. 
He is well acquainted with the country and has 
handled stock all over it. Mr. Nelson now has a 
section and a half of good land, which is a choice 
stock ranch, and he handles if and his stock busi- 
ness with skill and care. Mr. Nelson has four 
brothers, Charles, W. F., P. B., and E. W. They 
all came to this country together and have been 
much associated in their business since. In the 
early days, they had to endure much hardship 
and were accustomed to the rugged life of the 
frontiersmen, which they met with fortitude. Mail 
and all supplies had to be brought from a dis- 
tant point and they had to be on the watch for 
the depredations of the savages all the time. 
However, they have weathered all of this and are 
well-to-do men and representative citizens here 
at this time. They each have ranches and large 
bands of stock on the range. 



DAVID E. BAXTER is one of the progres- 
sive young men of Wheeler county. At the pres- 
ent time he is owner and editor of the Spray 
Courier, a bright and newsy sheet and the only 
Republican periodical published in the county. He 
was born in Salem, Oregon, on November 20, 
1877, and has made Oregon his home ever since. 
His father, William Baxter, was born in Toronto, 
Canada, on February 22, 1833, and twenty-six 
years later came via Cape Horn to Oregon and 
was one of the sturdy pioneers in this great state. 
When there was but one store in Salem, Mr. Bax- 
ter was there, and has since assisted in the growtn 
of the coimtry. He married Margaret Evans, 
who was born in Michigan, in 1838. Our subject 
received his education in the country schools of 
Oregon until 1896, when he began teaching. Dur- 
ing the winters after that, he attended the Willa- 
mette University and completed the commercial 
His teaching continued each 



summer, and in 1901 he came to eastern Oregon. 
He taught in the Richmond, Waterman and Spray 
schools, and in August, 1902, he bought the Spray 
Courier, which he has conducted since. The paper 
reflects the man and is known as a fearless, bright 
and reliable paper. 

In September, 1902, Mr. Baxter married Miss 
Delia Osborn. She was born in Salem, Oregon, 
on September 3, 1880, and received her education 
in the Salem schools in this state. Her father, 
William H. Osborn, was a merchant in Salem. 
To our subject and his wife one child has been 
born, Glendon O., on August 22, 1903. Mr. 
Baxter has the following named brothers and sis- 
ters : George T., William E., Peter A., Mrs. P. 
L. Frazier, Mrs. Margaret Meadon, and C. Olive. . 
Mr. Baxter is a member of the K. P. and Masonic 
orders, and in politics is a well informed and 
stanch Republican, while in religious persuasions, 
he belongs to the Christian church. Mr. Baxter 
may well take pride in the fact that he is an Ore- 
gonian, and his life has been spent to further im- 
prove and benefit the country where he was born 
and raised, and is held in high esteem at this time.. 



and normal courses. 



CARL NICALUS WAGNER, who was born 
in Camanche, Iowa, on July 1, 1857, is now living; 
five miles northeast of Spray, Wheeler county, 
where he does stock raising. His father, Detrick 
Wagner, was born in Germany and became one 
of the pioneers of Iowa. He was a baker by trade 
and was killed in a tornado in Camanche, Iowa, in 
1859. He had married Margurite Klinat, a na- 
tive of Germany, who died in 1900. After our 
subject's father died, Mrs. Wagner married Au- 
gust Lille, who is now living at Mapleton, Iowa. 
Carl N. received his education in the public 
schools of Camanche, and on November 15, 1875, 
left his native state for Portland, Oregon. After 
a few days in that metropolis he came on to The 
Dalles. On January 1, 1876, he came on to the- 
Corncob ranch, then owned by Gilman French, 
Wheeler ,& Company, and there engaged for 
wages until the following fall. Then he and his 
brother, G. R., bought a squatter's right to 2 
quarter section of land in the Haystack country 
for which they paid one thousand one hundred 
dollars. Later our subject traded his half of the 
land for one hundred and sixty head of cattle 
and five horses and embarked in the stock busi- 
ness. He has followed this occupation since and 
now has two hundred acres of land and one hun- 
dred head of cattle, besides some horses. Mr. 
Wagner has one brother, George Robert, living at 
Monument, Oregon, and two sisters, Levianna 
A. and Katie, living with him, two half brothers, 



'684 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Willie and Albert Lille, and one half sister, Mrs. 
Emma Harleton. 

Politically Mr. Wagner is a republican and 
.served as assessor of Grant county in 1894 and 
1895. During the Indian troubles of 1878 he and, 
his brother with three others fortified a house and 
remained on their land the entire time. How- 
ever, they had no occasion to use their fortifica- 
tion as the Indians did not trouble them. Mr. 
Wagner is a well known citizen, having done 
worthy labors during the pioneer days and is a 
.man of good standing. 



JOHN F. ASHER is one of the leading 
stockmen of Wheeler county, and his estates lie 
in the vicinity of Twickenham, where he mak^s 
his home. He is a man of stamina and has shown 
good ability in his labors here, being progressive 
and up-to-date. He was born in Laurel county, 
Kentucky, on September 15, 1865, the son of 
Martin and Sarah (Brown) Asher, natives of 
Kentucky, the father's birthplace being the same 
as this son's. Martin was a large stockman and 
drover, driving mules to the south and hogs and 
cattle to the river markets. His parents, the 
grandparents of our subject, came from England 
to North Carolina and later settled in Kentucky. 
Miss Brown whom he married, was the first 
cousin of the famous John Brown, who seized 
the arsenal at Harper's Ferry. Her family was 
prominent and influential. John F. was well 
•educated in Kentucky and after completing his 
training, he gave himself to the work of the 
■educator for three years, making a fine record. 
He was not satisfied without traveling, and as 
the west presented the greatest attractions to a 
young progressive man, he came hither, selecting 
Oregon as the objective point. He sought out 
the various portions of the state that offered in- 
ducements for location and finally decided to cast 
his lot with Wheeler county, selecting the estate 
where he now dwells, which consists of seven- 
teen hundred acres of excellent land. It is one 
of the choicest stock ranches in this county, and 
is handled in fine shape. Mr. Asher gained title 
by purchase and has added much improvement 
since that time and is now handling a fine lot of 
stock. He handles cattle and sheep almost ex- 
clusively. 

Mr. Asher has the following named brothers : 
William G., Fred. G. M. and Tilford, all farmers 
and stockmen in this county except Fred, who is 
a farmer in Kentucky. Mr. Asher has done ex- 
ceedingly well since coming here and has rea- 
son to be proud of his achievements. He has 
rmany friends, has gained a prominent place in 



the county, has won a large amount property 
and is a first class citizen.' Mr. Asher has never 
yet seen fit to barter away the quiet joys of 
bachelordom for the responsibilities of matrimon- 
ial life, although he is popular. 



EDWARD W. TAYLOR resides some ten 
miles out from Mitchell on Taylor creek. He was 
born in Iowa, on May 16, 1848, the son of Tarlton 
and Elizabeth Taylor, natives of Iowa. They grew 
up and were married in that state and in 1852 
crossed the plains to Linn county, Oregon ; set- 
tling upon a donation claim there they became 
prominent and wealthy citizens. Our subject 
was but four years of age when this trip was 
made, consequently remembers but little of it. He 
received his education in Linn county and there 
grew to manhood. He there engaged in farm- 
ing, continuing the same in that section until 
1872. In that year he came to central Oregon, 
being one of the earliest pioneers in this region. 
He at once selected government land where he 
now resides and began raising stock and doing 
general farming. He has continued in this sec- 
tion uninterruptedly since and is now one of the 
substantial men of the county. Mr. Taylor owns 
three hundred and twenty acres of land and han- 
dles considerable stock. He has seen the coun- 
try grow up around him and has done his share 
well in assisting in building up. 

On December 3, 1869, Mr. Taylor married 
Miss Caroline Carroll, whose father, Samuel Car- 
roll, was a pioneer of Oregon. Four children 
have been born to this union, Margaret F., Eliza 
A., Ella M., and Caroline A. 

Mr. Taylor takes an active interest in poli- 
tics and other matters and has shown himself an 
enterprising and good man. 

Mr. Taylor has one brother, Isaac N., dwell- 
ing in Douglas county, Washington, and one sis- 
ter, Mrs. Catherine F. Tripp, in Linn county, 
Oregon. Mrs. Taylor has the following named 
brothers and sisters : Mrs. Mary Helms, in 
Prineville, Oregon ; Mrs. Nancy Wilson, de- 
ceased ; Mrs. Sarah E. Marvin, deceased; John 
W., at Mitchell ; Sylvester, Charles, and Samuel 
S., all in Wheeler county, Oregon; Joseph N., 
in Baker City, Oregon ; and Commodore and 
Franklin, deceased. 



GEORGE TROSPER has achieved the best 
of success in his financial enterprises in Wheeler 
county and he certainly has reason to take pride 
in what he has accomplished here, not only for 
himself but also in building up the country and 





John F. Asher 



Edward W. Taylor 





George Xrosper 



Grant W. Dakan 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



685 



stimulating others to worthy enterprise. He re- 
sides about a mile and one-half from Antone and 
is engaged in stock raising, principally. The 
birth of our subject occurred in Daviess county, 
Missouri, on August 9, 1862. His parents, Wil- 
liam and Palmyra (Bunch) Trosper, were na- 
tives of Missouri, and the father died in 1874. 
It is pleasant to record that the mother is still 
living having made her home with this son, and 
during the years of our subject's struggles to 
gain his present holdings, she has been his coun- 
sellor and adviser and it is with pride that Mr. 
Trosper points to this fact. In 1888, having 
secured his education from the common schools 
of the country, our subject came on west, having 
learned well how to do farm work in the east. 
When he reached Oregon, he made up his mind 
that this was the spot, for him and he at once 
went to work for wages. For a year, he contin- 
ued thus employed and then moved into a little 
cabin and began handling sheep. Later, he took 
a homestead where he now resides and continued 
steadily in the sheep industry and now he has 
nearly four thousand head of sheep, has about 
one hundred and fifty cattle and four sections 
of land, all paid for and clear. When we recog- 
nize the fact that Mr. Trosper started here as 
late as 1888, without any capital whatever, ex- 
cept good strong hands and a willingness to 
work we can see the excellency of the success 
that he has won. His industry and tenacity have 
been apparent to all and during his labors, he 
has not forgotten to so conduct himself that he 
has won the esteem and admiration of all who 
know him. He has two sisters, Mrs. Margaret 
Glover, and Mrs. Caroline Weatherby, deceased. 
In politics he is a Republican and takes an 
interest that becomes the good citizen in both 
public and educational affairs. 



GRANT W. DAKAN is a thorough fron- 
tiersman, having lived all his life in the pioneer 
regions. He was born in Roseburg, Oregon, on 
September 5, 1864, and now lives four miles 
west from Burnt Ranch. His father, Henry 
Dakan, was born in Ohio, crossed the plains to 
California, in 1848, and two years later went to 
Jackson county, Oregon, and did mining. Some 
time later, he went to Douglas county and set- 
tled on a farm. Having done well in the west, 
mining, and amassing a good fortune, in 1884, 
he returned to Ohio where he is still living. Here 
in the west he had married Mary Shaw, a native 
of Illinois, who crossed the plains with her par- 
ents in 1850. She is still living in Ohio. Our 
subject received a good education in Douglas 



county, and in 1882, came to Eastern Oregon. 
Soon after landing here he engaged as a cow-boy 
and followed that occupation a considerable time. 
After that he drove stage for a long time and in 
1900 he purchased what is known as the Grade 
ranch, one of the finest stock places in this part of 
the country. It consists of seven hundred and 
forty acres and is well stocked and improved. In 
addition to handling this, Mr. Dakan owns and 
operates the stage line from Antelope to Mitchell.. 
It is a distance of fifty-five miles and requires 
eighteen horses for its operation. Mr. Dakan 
started in this country without any means what- 
ever and now is one of the wealthy citizens of 
Wheeler county. He has gained his entire hold- 
ing through his own efforts, has assisted mate- 
rially in building up the country and has made 
for himself an excellent reputation among his 
fellows. As stated before, he has been on the 
frontier almost all of his life, and is regarded as a 
keen and forceful man. 



HON. ROBERT E. MISENER is well- 
known all through Wheeler county and is at pres- 
ent in business in Mitchell. He has been identified 
with the growth and development of this county 
and town for a number of years and has always 
manifested a liberal spirit and an enterprise in 
building up that have done much good. 

Robert E. Misener was born in Bates county,. 
Missouri, on June 7, 1857, the son of Norman 
S. and Carrie E. (Wood) Misener, natives of In- 
diana and Michigan respectively. When a young 
man the father came to Missouri and there fol- 
lowed wagon making until 1861, when he jour- 
neyed via the isthmus to California. He wrought 
for a time in the Golden State and then returned 
to Missouri by the same route he had gone out.. 
In 1867 he came again to the coast, this time set- 
tling in San Joaquin county, and there worked at- 
his trade for about twenty years. Then he en- 
gaged in merchandising and in that business 
continued until his death which occurred at 
Stockton in 1902. He was a wealthy man. The 
mother died in 1901. She came to California 
with her husband on his second trip, and our 
subject was a mere lad at that time. He received 
the major portion of his education in the Golden 
State and when he arrived to manhood's estate 
entered into partnership with his father. He 
operated the ranch and the father conducted the 
store. In 1885 Mr. Misener came to the vicinity 
of Mitchell and soon took up the saloon busi- 
ness. For five years he continued this and then 
sold out and returned to California and there - 
went into the hotel business at Lockford. Six 



686 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



months later he sold that business and returned 
to Mitchell. He took up his old business again 
and in 1897 he was chosen to represent his dis- 
trict in the state legislature. The following year 
he sold his business and purchased a ranch and 
stock. This was situated on Mountain creek and 
in 1900 he rented the property and took a trip 
to Alaska. In 1903 Mr. Misener sold this prop- 
erty and again embarked in the retail liquor busi- 
ness. 

In 1884 Mr. Misener married Miss Katie A. 
Barton, a native of Missouri, who crossed the 
plains in i860 with her parents. Her father, 
James B. Barton, had come to the coast in 1849 
and was well acquainted with pioneer days and 
ways. To Mr. and Mrs. Misener four children 
have been born, Delbert, R. Norman, Fred L. and 
Samuel R. 

In his legislative career Mr. Misener served 
his constituents well and showed himself pos- 
sessed of good ability in this line. He is a public 
spirited man and has always shown himself inter- 
ested in every measure for the general welfare. 



SAMUEL B. DAVIS. Wheeler county con- 
tains many men who have made good success in 
financial affairs since settling here. Among this 
number we are constrained to mention the gentle- 
man whose name appears above, because he is a 
prominent citizen, because he has achieved suc- 
cess, and because he is one of the builders of this 
county. He resides about one mile east from 
Twickenham and is well known throughout the 
country. 

Samuel B. Davis was born in Johnson county, 
Tennessee, on January 20, 1862. William Davis, 
his father, was born in Montgomery county, Vir- 
ginia, and moved to Tennessee when a young 
man. At the breaking out of the Rebellion he 
enlisted with the Union army and perished fight- 
ing for his country. His father, William Davis, 
the grandfather of our subjeet, was a wealthy 
planter in Virginia and owned a great many 
slaves. He was a veteran of the war of 18 12. 
Members of the Davis family came originally 
from England to the Colonies making settlement 
in Virginia. They were prominent and wealthy. 
Our subject's mother was Matilda (Howard) 
Davis, and she, too, was born in Johnson county, 
Tennessee. She was left a widow when young 
and knew the hardship of raising a family alone. 
Her father, Samuel Howard, was a veteran of 
the war of 1812. Although he owned slaves when 
the Civil War broke out he took sides with the 
north, and freed them all. Many of them, how- 
ever, remained with him, such was their appre- 



ciation of his kind treatment. Samuel B. was 
educated in his native state and remained in the 
east until 1884. Then he journeyed westward, 
viewing the country in various sections until he 
came to Oregon. Being pleased with this state, 
he selected what is now Wheeler county as his 
abiding place, and began to work for wages. He 
saved his money, wrought industriously and 
faithfully and soon was in a position to buy a 
ranch. To this nest egg he has added betimes 
until he has now a magnificent estate of fifteen 
hundred acres that is one of the choice stock 
ranches of the county. He has supplied it with 
all the improvements needed, including an or- 
chard and so forth, and he has besides a valuable 
estate, a very beautiful home. Mr. Davis gives 
his attention to stock raising entirely, only farm- 
ing enough to raise forage for his stock. He has 
between two and three thousand head of sheep, 
a great many cattle, and horses enough to handle 
the business. 

On December 18, 1899, Mr. Davis married 
Miss Iris Smithpeter, who was born in the same 
county as her husband. Her parents, David and 
Sallie (Young) Smithpeter, are natives of John- 
son and Carter counties, Tennessee respectively. 
The father was a prominent physician and is now 
retired. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Davis one child has been 
born, Robert W. 

Mr. Davis is a charter member of the I. O. 
O. F. at Mitchell and is a leading and substantial 
man. 



P. C. MARTIN is one of Wheeler county's 
industrious and substantial citizens and resides 
about three miles northwest from Spray where he 
does general farming. His birthplace was St. 
Joseph county, Indiana, and the date of that 
event, 1833. His parents, Samuel and Damaris 
(Rambo) Martin, were born in Kentucky in 1793 
and in Indiana in 1796 respectively. The mother 
died in Iowa in 1853. The father came from his 
native state to Indiana when he was fourteen 
years of age and was one of the pioneers of the 
Hoosier State. He crossed the plains to Califor- 
nia in 1854 and there died in 1867. Our subject 
received his education in the old log school house 
in Iowa and there grew up to young manhood. 
In 1854 he accompanied his father across the 
plains with ox teams to California and settled 
in Sonoma county, where he engaged in stock 
raising until 1869. In that year he moved to 
the Willamette valley and took up farming until 
1874. Then he came to eastern Oregon, where 
he has been engaged in fanning and stock rais- 
ing ever since. He owns one hundred and sixty 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



687 



acres of good soil, has considerable stock and has 
prospered in his labors. 

In 1862 Mr. Martin married Miss Phoebe 
Davis, who was born in Missouri, the daughter 
of Levi Davis, also a native of Missouri, who 
crossed the plains in 1852. The children born to 
this union are J. H., A. C, John V., Z. J., E. A., 
Amanda Olivia, Mary Elvi, Ella Viola and M. 
H. 

Politically Mr. Martin is a republican and 
always evinces a good interest in this realm as 
well as in educational matters and is known as 
a man always allied on the side of improvement 
and development. 



ROBERT W. JOHNSON has resided in the 
territory now embraced in Wheeler county a suf- 
ficient length of time to entitle him to a repre- 
sentation as one of the pioneers. As a sturdy 
frontiersman, capable and enterprising, he has 
made a good record. He is a public minded and 
progressive citizen, an upright man, and a fine 
neighbor. Mr. Johnson descends from a family 
that have been prominent for years in the east 
and were among the early settlers of the new 
world. Possessed of a high sense of integrity 
and honor, they bequeathed to him an unsullied 
name, which is a pride to hand to his posterity 
as untarnished as it was received. 

Robert W. Johnson was born in Johnson 
county, Tennessee, on November 4, 1870. Al- 
bert F. Johnson was his father and he was born 
in the same county. He was sheriff of that 
county for six years and county clerk for twelve 
years. During the Civil War he carried mail 
from Taylorsville, now Mountain City, to Ab- 
ingdon, Virginia. He is now a very wealthy and 
prominent man in that section. His ancestors 
came to Tennessee when it was a wilderness and 
their name was given to one of the counties. He 
married Susan E. Shown, who also was born in 
Johnson county, Tennessee, and is descended 
from a very prominent and wealthy family. In 
his native country our subject was educated and 
there remained until he was nineteen years of 
age. As budding manhood came into- his life 
he desired to see some of the west and to hunt 
other fields of operation. Consequently he pre- 
pared for the journey and viewed various sections 
•of the United States until finally he landed in 
Oregon. It was his purpose to start in life with- 
out capital and he did so. Consequently when 
he located in what is now Wheeler county he be- 
gan working for wages and continued the same 
until he had saved sufficient money to purchase a 
band of stock. Later he bought a ranch and as 



the increased stock through his industry and care 
brought him wealth, he added more to his estate. 
He now possesses thirteen hundred and sixty 
acres of choice land about eight miles north from 
Mitchell. It is a good place, well improved and 
everything in connection with it demonstrates 
Mr. Johnson a man of enterprise, thrift and sta- 
bility. His labors have brought him wealth and 
his integrity has given him an excellent standing 
among his fellows. 

Fraternally he is affiliated with the I. O. O. 
F. and the K. P. 

Although popular and surrounded by hosts 
of friends Mr. Johnson has never seen fit to bar- 
ter the joys of the celibatarian for the responsi- 
bilities of matrimonial life. He is therefore num- 
bered with the jolly bachelors of Wheeler county. 



WILLIAM H. GATES is, without doubt, to 
be numbered among the earliest and most active 
pioneers of Oregon. He is now a stockman, re- 
siding some eight miles northwest of Spray. His 
birth occurred in Gallia county, Ohio, on Decem- 
ber 27, 1836. N. H. Gates, his father, was born 
in Virginia and crossed the plains to California 
in 1850. Two years later he came to Oregon 
and was appointed by the governor as a colonel 
in the militia. He died on May 20, 1886. He had 
married Mary Koontz, who was born in Virginia 
and died in 1868. Our subject accompanied his 
parents to Iowa in 1841, journeying thence in 
1852 across the plains by ox teams to the Pacific 
coast. The father was in California and our sub- 
ject with his mother and sisters made the journey 
to Vancouver, Washington. They spent the win- 
ter in Portland then moved to the Cascades on' 
the Washington side, where they remained one 
year. In 1854 they came on to The Dalles and 
three years later our subject took up the stock 
business. Aside from three years in which our 
subject was occupied as will be mentioned later 
he has continued uninterruptedly in the stock 
business since 1857. He remained in the vicinity 
of The Dalles until 1868 then moved to Trout 
creek, which was in Wasco and is now in Crook 
county. He remained nine years there and in 
1877 came to his present location where he took a 
preemption. To this he has added by purchase 
since until he has now eleven hundred acres of 
good soil. He handles about three hundred head 
of cattle and some horses. 

At The Dalles in 1864 Mr. Gates married 
Miss Mary Koontz, who was born in Wapello 
county, Iowa. Her father, John Koontz, was 
one of the pioneers of that state. To this union 
two children have been born, John and George 



688 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



During the Indian wars in 1855-6 our subject 
participated in the same with the volunteers, do- 
ing also much scouting. On one morning he was 
sent out on a scouting expedition and just as he 
was unhobbling his horse fifty Indians appeared. 
He fired upon them and fled to the camp. He 
was reprimanded by the commanding officer for 
this firing and as punishment was appointed 
herder of the stock. While in company with two 
companions in this business the Indians appeared 
again and fired upon them, then a battle was 
launched, which continued for four days, the In- 
dians finally being defeated. During the three 
years in which Mr. Gates was not occupied in 
stock raising he was engaged in mining and 
and packing to the mines of the northwest. He 
took the first pack train to the noted Orofino in 
1 86 1 and also the first train to the Salmon river 
mines. Then he went to British Columbia and 
stayed a year. Following that time he removed to 
Idaho and the next spring contracted for a quartz 
mill about to be put up in Idaho. Governor A. 
C. Gibbs told Mr. Gates in discussing this sub- 
ject that it was the first quartz mill ever put out 
in Oregon or Idaho. From his succinct ac- 
count of his career it will be noticed that Mr. 
Gates has been closely identified with the pioneer 
life of the northwest and with its development. 
He has done a lion's share in the good work and 
has also so conducted himself that he has won the 
admiration and commendation of his fellows. 
He stands well in the community and is a good 
substantial citizen. 



HENRY H. WHEELER is better known, 
not only in Wheeler county but all through east- 
ern Oregon, to the early pioneers as well as of 
the people of to-day than perhaps any other man 
of the section. It is a matter of great regret that 
space forbids a full account of his career, as in 
itself it would be a magnificent history of this 
section. Coming here at the beginning of the 
days of the gold excitement in the eastern part 
of what was then Oregon territory and remain- 
ing here constantly since, having been engaged 
during this time in some of the leading enter- 
prises in vogue, all this has combined to make 
Mr. Wheeler prominent, well posted, influential 
and a leading character. The county of Wheeler 
is named in his honor. Unanimously the people 
favored it as he was known as no other man was 
and was most intimately connected with its devel- 
ment and the industries throughout the county. 
A review of his life cannot fail to be intensely 
interesting to the public in general. 

Henry H. Wheeler was born in Erie county, 



Pennsylvania, on September 7, 1826. He is now 
living a retired life in Mitchell, Oregon, having, 
gained a goodly fortune to supply all things 
needful for the golden years of his life. His- 
parents, James and Maggie Wheeler, were na- 
tives of Massachusetts and moved to Pennsyl- 
vania when young. There the father was en- 
gaged in farming and became a wealthy and 
prominent man. The Keystone State furnished 
the educational training of our subject and as 
soon as he had arrived at manhood's estate, he 
came west to Illinois, where he remained two 
years. After that he returned home, then again 
came west, this time to Union, Wisconsin, and 
remained two years. In 1857 he crossed the 
plains to Sacramento, California, and in the same 
year cast his lot at Yreka. After mining some- 
time he turned his attention to sawmilling and 
conducted the business for several years. In 
1862, he came to The Dalles and went on to the 
Salmon river mines in Idaho. Afterward he re- 
turned to California, then came back to Oregon 
and put on a stage equipment from The Dalles 
to Canyon City, a distance of one hundred and 
eighty miles. Concerning this important item of 
starting the stage line from The Dalles to Can- 
yon City, Mr. . Wheeler says : "On the first of 
May, 1864, I started from The Dalles with a load 
of eleven passengers for Canyon City, driving 
the stage myself. I had eleven passengers on 
the return trip from Canyon City to The Dalles, 
and the price for each person was forty dollars. 
I made three trips each week, and got the first 
mail contract on that route in the spring of 1865. 
i conducted this line until 1868, then sold it." 
This was the first stage through the country and 
one can well imagine that its operation was con- 
tinued with the most trying difficulties and hard- 
ships, while dangers from the savages beset him 
on every hand. But Mr. Wheeler was not one 
to put his hand to the plow and look back. He 
was a man of fearlessness, ' carefulness, and 
stamina and when he started staging from The 
Dalles to Canyon City, it became an assured in- 
stitution. He personally drove it from 1864 *° 
1868, a period in which the Indians were con- 
stantly upon the warpath. A detailed account of 
all the various fights and skirmishes that he had 
with the savages would make a thrilling volume. 
On the 7th of September, 1866, he was jogging 
along with his four horses and concord accom- 
panied by one passenger, the Wells Fargo man- 
ager. They had the United States mail, ten 
thousand dollars in greenbacks, diamond rings, 
three hundred dollars in coin, and other valua- 
bles. Suddenly fifteen or twenty Indians ap- 
peared and the first shot struck Mr. Wheeler in 
the face. Despite the shock from this, he was 




Henry H. Wheeler 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



689 



enabled to hold his own and he and the passen- 
ger succeeded in escaping with the leaders. These 
horses had neither of them been ridden and in 
the midst of the fight, they mounted them bare- 
back and scurried away. The Indians cut all 
the top off the stage, ripping open the mail sack, 
scattering the contents and throwing aside the 
greenbacks, not knowing their value, cut up the 
harness and made havoc generally before they 
departed. Mr. Wheeler and H. C. Page, his 
companion, made their way to Meyer's ranch 
and then got back to The Dalles. This is one 
instance of many similar ones. In all, Mr. 
Wheeler lost eighty-nine horses besides much 
other "property from the Indians. Time and 
again his life hung in the balance, but on each 
occasion providence ordered otherwise and he 
escaped. He came to be known as no other man 
through the country was known. Not acquainted 
with fear, upright and honorable, it seemed that 
the Indians had a reverence for him or other- 
wise he would certainly have been killed. There 
were scarcely any settlements from The Dalles 
to Canyon City and every opportunity was pre- 
sented to the savages to have their own way. 
Finally, in 1868, Mr. Wheeler sold the outfit 
and engaged with the Holliday stage people. 
They were then operating a line from Missouri 
to the Pacific coast. For two years he was with 
them, then he came to The Dalles and with Wood 
Gillman, entered the stock business for French 
Brothers in what is now Wheeler county. They 
located on the John Day and for eight years 
operated the ranch. Then Mr. Wheeler bought 
property six miles northwest from where Mitchell 
now stands and continued in the operation of 
that estate until 1904, when he sold out and re- 
tired to Mitchell. He has lost several fortunes 
through the depredations of the savages but has 
been enabled to so conserve his interests that he 
is still provided with a fine competence for the 
remaining years of his life. 

In 1873, Mr. Wheeler married Miss Dorcas 
Monroe and to them one child has been born, 
Clara Wheeler. Mr. Wheeler has four brothers, 
Miles, in Pennsylvania; George, deceased; Phin- 
eas, a veteran of the Civil war ; and William, liv- 
ing in Ohio. » 

It is very pleasant for us to be able to chron- 
icle the fact that in the very section of the coun- 
try where Mr. Wheeler had innumerable fights 
with the Indians, where he endured everything 
that the frontiersman can endure, he is now en- 
joying life surrounded by comforts, many friends 
and by all that wealth can give him. He is an 
honored and respected citizen and fully deserves 
the generous bestowal of confidence that is ac- 
corded him. , 
44 



ALBERT G. CARSNER, who lives three 
miles north from Spray, in Wheeler county and 
does a general farming and stock raising, was 
born in Iowa on April 5, 1849. Jonas Carsner, 
his father, was born in Missouri, in 1827, and 
came in 1862 as a pioneer to Oregon. The 
mother of our. subject was Sarah A. (Pardenson.) 
Carsner. She was born in Pennsylvania in 1829 
and is still living in Grant county. The family 
left Iowa when our subject was small and re- 
moved to Kansas, in which state he received his 
early education. As before stated, in 1862 they 
came across the plains to Oregon, being five 
months in making the journey. They settled in 
Lincoln county where two years were spent and 
then in 1864 they came to Canyon City, Oregon, 
and engaged in stock raising, continuing there 
until 1886. Then our subject removed to his 
present location and took a homestead in what is 
now Wheeler county. He has purchased land 
at different times since until he now has nine 
hundred and sixty acres, well improved and util- 
ized as a stock farm. He handles about two 
hundred and fifty head of cattle besides some 
horses and is one of the well known and well to 
do stock men of the county. Mr. Carsner knows 
well the hardships, the labors and the self de- 
nials of the pioneer life, having come to Oregon 
when thirteen years of age, where he has been 
on the frontier ever since. His labors and wise 
management have brought him the good property 
that he now holds while his life has been such that 
he receives the commendation and esteem of his 
fellows. 

In Wheeler county on August 4, 1903, Mr. 
Carsner married Carrie Anderson, who was born 
in Missouri and crossed the plains to California 
when two years of age. She has lived in this 
vicinity for twenty-five years. Her father, William 
Robinson, was a pioneer to California. Our sub- 
ject has three brothers, Warren, John, deceased, 
and Walter, and two sisters, Sarah Combs and 
Minerva Reeves. 

Mr. Carsner is a member of the K. P. and a 
good active Republican. 



COE DURLAND BARNARD, who resides 
some three miles east from Fossil, where he de- 
votes himself to stock raising, is a native Oregort- 
ian and a son worthy of this great state. His 
birth occurred in Douglas county, in 1873, an 'd 
his parents are Timothy and Margaret (Harper) 
Barnard, natives of Illinois. The father was 
born in 1832 and crossed the plains twenty years 
later, being a pioneer in the state of Oregon. 
His death occurred in 1893 and the mother is 



690 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



still living in southern Oregon. Our subject re- 
ceived his early education from the public schools 
of Douglas county, then took a course in the 
Armstrong business college, graduating in 1893. 
Upon the death of his father, that year, he was 
appointed administrator of the estate, which is 
located where he now resides. He immediately 
engaged in the stock business and has continued 
successfully in the same ever since. He now has 
about eleven hundred and sixty acres of land, be- 
sides four hundred head of cattle and one hun- 
dred head of horses. He has been very success- 
ful in his labors and has also showed himself a 
man of integrity and industry. 

On February 22, 1894, Mr. Barnard married 
Miss Nellie Rhea, who was born in Eugene, 
Oregon, in 1875. Her father was one of the 
pioneers of Oregon. The children born to this 
xmion are Alves and Gordon. 

Mr. Barnard is a member of the W. W., K. 
P. and the Elks, while his wife is a prominent 
member of the Eastern Star and Women of 
Woodcraft. 

Politically Mr. Barnard is a Republican and 
has always labored for the advancement of his 
party and its principles, being a man who takes 
an interest, not only in political matters, but in 
all public affairs and the development of the 
country. 



ANCIL B. LAMB, the druggist in Fossil, 
is one of the earliest pioneers of the country 
now embraced in Wheeler county. He is at the 
head of a good business and is known as a re- 
presentative citizen, well to do and progressive. 
His birth occurred in Wayne county, Indiana, 
ron December 16, 1854, and his parents are Mar- 
gin and Sarah (Starbuck) Lamb. The father 
was born in Wayne county, Indiana, on August 
18, 1818, and died in 1899. The mother was 
•also born in that county, on October 13, 1823, and 
<died June 23. 1863. Our subject received his 
.early education in the public schools of his native 
county, then matriculated in the college at Hills- 
dale, Michigan. After completing his course he 
taught school in his home county for a year, then 
went to Kansas, where he taught for two years. 
After that he read medicine with Dr. W. W. 
Woods of Springdale, Kansas. It was 1880 that 
he came to this country and entered the employ 
of J. H. Parsons on the John Day river. Fol- 
lowing this he came to Fossil and taught school, 
then bought the stage line from Fossil to Hepp- 
ner, continuing the same largely until 1882. 
Then he began work for George Thompson, a 
general merchant in this place, and continued in 
his employ until Mr. Thompson sold out. Then 



lie again taught school in Fossil and in June, 
1884, he engaged in the drug business in which 
he still continues. His is the only drug store in 
the town and he has given his attention to the 
building up of the business in all the interven- 
ing years. In addition to this property Mr. 
Lamb has twelve hundred acres of land adjoining 
the town on the south, which is utilized for a 
stock farm. He also owns about one hundred 
head of cattle. He has been prospered splendidly 
since coming here and is one of the well-to-do 
men of the county. 

On January 29, 1883, Mr. Lamb married 
Anna Rose, who was born in California on De- 
cember 25, 1863. Her father, Thomas Rose, 
was born in England on October, 1822. Two 
children are the fruit of this union, Abie, aged 
eighteen and Howard, twelve years old. Mr. 
Lamb is a charter member of the I. O. O. F. 
and the A. F. & A. M. of this place and also be- 
longs to the K. P. Politically he is a strong 
republican, and for three terms has been county 
treasurer. His career has been frought with 
wisdom, thrift and uprightness and he has well 
earned the esteem and confidence of the people, 
which is generously bestowed. 



HARRY REED, who is an enterprising and 
up-to-date merchant of Twickenham, where he 
has won a good. success in his labors, is one of 
the prominent men of Wheeler county and has 
so conducted himself here that he is the recipient 
of the confidence and respect of the people. He 
was born in England on June 17, 1867, the son of 
John and Mary A. (Ware) Reed, both natives 
of that country. The mother is deceased. The 
father is a prominent Methodist minister and is 
now holding a church in Winkleigh parish. He 
is a man of ability and is highly educated. In 
his native country Harry gained a good education 
and when eighteen, being led by a progressive 
and adventurous spirit, he sought for other fields 
than the congested centers of his birth place. 
He decided finally to come to America, and soon 
had made the trip, selecting Toledo, Ohio, as 
the place for location. For three years he 
wrought there and then he found the spirit of 
the west was again impelling him to newer fields. 
Oregon was enticing and after studying the re- 
sources of this great state, he decided to try it. 
He was some time in selecting a location, but 
Fossil appealed to him and here he came. Then 
he wrought for three years more, this time on 
a farm. After that he entered into partnership 
with Albin Buckingham and purchased the Fos- 
sil livery stable, a ranch on the John Day, the 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



691 



Fossil and Arlington stage line and the Fossil 
and Antelope stage line. They operated these 
until the contracts were expired, then Mr. Reed 
sold his interests and went to doing carpenter 
work. For two years of this period he was city 
marshall of Fossil. In 1902 Mr. Reed purchased 
a store at Twickenham and since that time he 
has continued doing business here. He is a man 
of good address, is keen to see the needs of the 
people and to supply the goods required, and 
the result is he has a fine patronage. He is a 
man of stability and has won the confidence of all. 
In 1898 Mr. Reed married Mrs. Chambers 
Low, nee Stewart, a native of Scotland. Her 
parents were George and Mary Stewart, both na- 
tives of Scotia's rugged hills. Two children have 
been born to Mr. and Mrs. Reed, Harry and 
George. By her former marriage Mrs. Reed had 
one son, John Low, now with Mr. Reed. 



JEROME H. PARSONS has passed a. ca- 
reer well worthy the pen of the historian, and in 
it all he has displayed the same fortitude and 
bravery, coupled with wisdom, that characterized 
his ancestors when they assisted to open the new 
world for settlement and later fought its battles. 
Starting in life when very young, thrown on his 
own resources from the first, and having been on 
the frontier all his life, he has acquired that 
ruggedness and stability that characterize men 
of force and strong nerve. He bears many scars 
of battle with the Indians and on many a field 
he has shown his true grit and bravery. When 
young, he was not favored with an opportunity 
to attend school, and consequently reached man- 
hood without being able to read or write. See- 
ing the mistake, Mr. Parsons applied himself 
and soon was well trained in these things. He is a 
close observer and is a well informed man. 

Jerome H. Parsons was born in Randolph 
county, Virginia, on April 5, 1835, the son of 
George and Susan (Harper) Parsons, both na- 
tives of that county, also, and descended from 
prominent colonial families. The father brought 
his family to the territory of Iowa in pioneer 
clays and located a farm near what is now the 
prosperous town of Newton. His father, James 
Newton, the grandfather of our subject, was a 
veteran of the War of 1812 and his people were 
from a strong English family. The mother's 
father, Adam Harper, was also a veteran of the 
War of 1812 and all his sons fought in the Civil 
War. In 1857, Jerome H. crossed the plains 
to the Sacramento valley, landing there with five 
cents in his pocket. He soon secured work as 
an apprentice to a blacksmith (and the five cent 
piece he still possesses) and for two years 



wrought as a horseshoer. Being kicked by a 
vicious brute, he lay thirteen months in the hos- 
pital and then he did a huckster business among 
the miners. In 1861, he decided to try the 
north and soon was in the Willamette valley. In 
1869, he came east of the mountains and selected 
a location where he now resides, which is just 
west from Twickenham. The land was then un- 
surveyed. Mr. Parsons engaged in cattle rais- 
ing and was favored with first class success and 
became one of the largest stockmen in this part 
of the state. He was one of the very first to locate 
here and his industry and progressiveness have 
done a large amount to develop the country. He 
is a respected citizen, a well-to-do man, and one 
of the builders of the county. 

In 1870 Mr. Parsons married Miss Josephine 
Writsman, who was born in Andrew county, 
Missouri, on October 23, 1843. She crossed the 
plains with her parents, Frank and Lucinda 
(Officer) Writsman, in 1845. The father was 
born in North Carolina and became a prominent 
man in Oregon. The mother was born in Ten- 
nessee. Mr. and Mrs. Parsons have four chil- 
dren: Frankie, Stella, Guy H., and Cleve W. 
Mr. Parsons was in the Rogue river Indian war 
and participated in the Cow creek fight. He was 
in an Indian war of 1846, and besides that, he has 
had many fights in various places with the sav- 
ages. Mr. Parsons has done well his work on 
the frontier and has so wrought that he has won 
the respect of the people, and is now passing the 
golden years of his life amid plenty and with the 
assurance of having spent a good life thus far. 
He and his wife are well known and have a great 
many friends. 



CHARLES CARROLL, who resides about 
fifteen miles southwest from Mitchell, was born 
in Linn county, Oregon, on September 3, 1866. 
He has always resided in this state and has been 
on the frontier a good portion of his time. His 
father, Samuel Carroll, was born in Peoria, Illi- 
nois, crossed the plains with ox teams to Linn 
county in 1847 an d there settled on a donation 
claim. Twenty-seven years later, or in 1874, he 
came to Wheeler county, Oregon, bought land 
and engaged in the stock business. He married 
Margaret Scott, also a native' of Illinois, who 
crossed the plains with her parents in 1852. They 
are both dwelling now in this county. Our sub- 
ject was eight years of age when the family 
crossed the mountains and since that time he has 
continued in central Oregon. He received what 
education the common schools offered and then 
engaged in farming and handling stock. In 1892 



692 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



he took government land where he is now living 
and to the improvement of this, together with 
stock raising, he has devoted himself since. He 
is one of the well known citizens of this section 
and has displayed substantially and industry dur- 
ing his career here. 

In 1894 Mr. Carroll married Miss Emma 
Marvin, who was born in the Willamette valley, 
the daughter of Joseph and Clara (White) Mar- 
vin, pioneers of that country. Five children are 
the fruit of this marriage, Clara, Joseph, Ber- 
tha, Chester and Harry. 

Mr. Carroll is a member of the M. W. A. 
and a good, substantial citizen. 



GEORGE O. BUTLER, at present the clerk 
of Wheeler county, was appointed by Governor 
Geer, at the organization of Wheeler county and 
since has been kept in this position at the hands 
of his fellow citizens. He is a very efficient of- 
ficer, a first class business man, and one of the 
real progressive citizens of the county. George 
O. Butler was born in Tennessee in 1852. His 
father, Hon. R. R. Butler, who was born in Vir- 
ginia, in 1837, was one of the prominent men of 
Tennessee. He was a skillful and leading attor- 
ney, having a large practice. When twenty-one 
years of age, he was elected judge of Johnson 
county and then was a member of the legislature 
several times. At the beginning' of the Civil 
War, he enlisted, receiving the position of lieu- 
tenant-colonel and served for the stars and stripes 
two years. Then, owing to poor health, he re- 
signed his commission. Immediately after the 
war, he was appointed judge of his county and 
in 1866, was elected to the United States con- 
gress, where he served eight years. Shortly 
afterwards he was elected again, serving one 
term. At the times he was not serving in the 
United States congress, he was a member of the 
Tennessee legislature, having been in both 
branches of the house. At the time of his death, 
on August 16, 1902, he was a member of the 
state senate. Mr. Butler' was widely known and 
respected as a man of ability, honor and integrity. 
He was very useful in the halls of legislature, 
and ever labored for those measures which ben- 
efit and build up. Fraternally, he was a member 
of the Masonic lodge, while in politics he was a 
Republican, and in religious persuasion, he was 
a Methodist. He had married Emmeline Don- 
nelley, a native of Johnson county, Tennessee, 
the wedding occurring in 1833. Her people were 
well to do farmers and one brother, Alfred, was 
a captain in the federal army. Two of his broth- 
ers were physicians. 



Our subject received his early education in 
the public schools of his native county, then 
studied in the Preston and Olan institute at 
Blacksburg, Virginia, and afterwards completed 
in the preparatory school at Sing Sing, New 
York. He engaged then in the iron manufact- 
ure business of Tennessee and also taught school 
some. In 1884, accompanied by his brother, John 
B., he came west to Grant county, locating in 
that portion that now forms Wheeler county. He 
immediately took up school teaching, while his 
brother herded sheep. They husbanded their 
wages carefully and began to purchase sheep 
and then took up stockraising for themselves. 
They have now over four thousand sheep and 
three thousand acres of land and are doing a 
very prosperous business. 

In December, 1885, Mr. Butler married Miss 
Jessie Brown, who was born in Wasco county,. 
Oregon, on March 12, 1868. Her father, Jona- 
than P. Brown, was born in Tennessee, in 1840. 
He was a pioneer to Oregon, crossing the plains 
in 1852, and died in 1890. Our subject's broth- 
ers and sisters are named as follows : John B., 
a stockman of this county ; R. H., a business man 
of Johnson county, where he has constantly 
held some county office since he was twenty-one 
years of age, being now chairman of the county 
court; James G., a physician and surgeon in the 
home county ; W. R., a physician at Butler, Ten- 
nessee ; Samuel G., a farmer in Johnson county, 
Tennessee ; Edward B., an attorney at law and" 
revenue collector of the second district of Ten- 
nessee ; Mrs. Virginia L. Church ; and Mrs. Bes- 
sie Keys, whose husband, W. R. Keys, is post- 
office inspector at Cleveland, Tennessee. To Mr. 
and Mrs. Butler, three children have been born ; 
Samuel J., aged seventeen; George Brown, aged 
seven ; and Hollis, three years of age. 

Fraternallv, our subject is a member of the 
K. P., the A. O. U. W. and the I. O. O. F. Po- 
litically, he is a stanch Republican and during 
his career in Wheeler county has manifested 
ever those qualities of the upright man, the broad 
minded and progressive citizen, and the gener- 
ous and faithful friend. 



ISAAC BLANN was born in Missouri, in 
1869, an d now resides in the vicinity of Water- 
man, in Wheeler county, Oregon. He gives his 
attention to stock raising and has achieved a good 
success in his labors. John W. Blann, his father, 
was born in Missouri and there remained until 
his death. It was 1886 when our subject left 
Missouri, having secured his education previous 
to that time. He came direct to Wasco countv 




Isaac Blann 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



693 



and labored for wages for two years. In 1$ 
he came to his present location and commenced 
raising- cattle, which he still continues. He has 
now two hundred head of cattle and about a 
thousand acres of land. He has acquired the 
entire holding through his own efforts and is 
considered one of the prosperous men of the 
•country. Our subject's brothers are Robert, liv- 
ing in Baker ounty ; John D., and Richard P., 
in Missouri ; James P., in Canada and Mrs. Sarah 
E. Hall, in Missouri. 

At Mandeville, Missouri, on September 6, 
1883, Mr. Blann married Mary G. Wooden, who 
was born in Missouri. They have the following 
named children, Frederick, Sarah B., Elta J., 
William L.. Gertrude, Lilly May, Leah, Isaac 
D., Robert R., and Bessie. 

In fraternal relations, our subject affiliates 
with the A. O. U. W., the I. O. O. F., and the 
Degree of Honor. In politics, he is a Democrat. 

Mr. Blann has displayed good energy and 
wisdom in the conduct of his business and the 
land and stock which he now owns are all the 
result of his own careful labors. 

Mrs. Blann's parents were Isaac H. and Eliz- 
abeth J. (Sugg) Wooden, natives of Indiana 
:and Tennessee, respectively. She has two sis- 
ters and three brothers named as follows : Mrs. 
Eliza Gilliland, Mrs. Martha E. Hayes, John F., 
James M., and William J. 



J. W. DONNELLY, M. D.. the present 
mayor of Fossil, is a well known business man 
of ability, who has a broad and extended ex- 
perience in various lines in his professional car- 
eer He was born in Mountain City, Tennessee, 
on April 24, 1862, and was liberally educated in 
the Masonic Institute at that place. Following 
that, he entered the medical department in the 
University of Tennessee and after some study, 
commenced the practice of medicine, continu- 
ing that for four years. Then he returned to 
the university in Tennessee and received his de- 
gree in March, 1889. After that, Dr. Donnelly 
practiced in Tennessee until 1899, when he came 
to Mitchell, Oregon, remaining there about four 
years. On September 1. 1902, he transferred 
his residence to Fossil, where he has continued 
since. He stands now at the head of a good 
practice and is achieving the success that his 
ability and skill deserve. During the Span- 
assistant surgeon with the rank of lieutenant and 
assistant surgeon with the rank of litutenant and 
served at Fort Mott, New Jersey, and Tampa, 
Florida. He was also president of the United 
States pension board situated at Mountain City, 



Tennessee, • for three years. Our subject's father, 
j. D. Donnelly, M. D., was born in Mountain 
City, on December 23, 1823 and at the time of 
his death was the oldest physician of that coun- 
try. He practiced there continously for fifty-five 
years until his death in 1903. He married Frances 
Orr, who was born in Washington county, Vir- 
ginia, and died in 190 1. The older Dr. Donnelly 
was a very prominent man in Tennessee and 
held many responsible offices and was highly es- 
teemed by all. 

In 1890, Dr. Donnelly married Mary E. 
Kiser, who was born in Mountain City, Ten- 
nessee, on August 25, 1870. P. M. Kiser, her 
father, was born in North Carolina and was a 
furniture merchant in Mountain City. He was a 
prominent citizen of that place and held the 
position of magistrate for fourteen years and 
was provost marshal of the county during the 
war. He was very widely known and highly 
esteemed. His death occurred in 1901. Mrs. 
Donnelly's mother, Emrly J. (Moore) Kiser, 
was born in Mountain City and died in 1894. 
Our subject has the following named brothers 
and sisters ; Dr. Thomas R., a dentist ; A. R., 
a merchant, and W. W., a farmer at Mountain 
City, Tennessee ; Mrs. Sarah E. Wills, and Mrs. 
Ida M. Mitchell, both living at Mountain City; 
Mrs. Ada Hendrickson, whose husband, a 
commercial traveler, resides at Roan Mountain, 
Tennessee ; and Mrs. Corda Shell, who also re- 
sides at Roan Mountain. To Doctor and Mrs. 
Donnelly, two children have been born, James 
Edgar, on October 25, 1890, and Nelly K., on 
March 30, 1897. Dr. Donnelly is a member of 
the K. P., the W. O. W., the I. O. O. F. and 
the A. F. & A. M. He has held responsible po- 
sitions in all of these orders and is now noble 
grand oi the I. O. O. F. Politically, he is a Re- 
publican and has always taken a keen interest in 
the campaigns. He has been several times dele- 
gate to the congresssional conventions and in 
1900, he was elected mayor of Mitchell. He was 
reelected the next year and has also served as 
school director and in March, 1904, he was 
chosen the mayor of Fossil, which position he 
is filling with credit to himself at the present 
time. 



GEORGE J. METTEER. For more than 
thirty years the subject of this sketch has dwelt 
and labored in the territory now embraced in 
Wheeler county. This entitled him to be classed 
among the very earliest pioneers as well as among 
the representative men at the present time. His 
home place, ten miles south from Fossil, is one 
of the best ranches in the county. He has it well 



694 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



fenced and improved and enjoys a pleasant and 
beautiful home. Mr. Metteer gives his attention 
to stock raising, doing also some general farm- * 
ing, and in this industry he has labored during 
all the years in which he has resided here. He 
has shown excellent skill and consequently has 
been prospered. Like others during the hard win- 
ters, he has suffered losses but altogether he has 
made a good success. He has shown himself 
possessed of that sturdy quality which makes 
the good pioneer and the labors and hardships 
incident to this life have been borne with a for- 
titude commendable. 

George J. Metteer was born in Wayne county, 
Pennsylvania, on October 31, 1837. His par- 
ents were George and Phoebe (Whittaker) Met- 
teer, natives of New York. The father was 
raised on the border of New York and Penn- 
sylvania and dwelt a part of the time in one 
state and a part of the time in the other. His 
father, Jonathan Metteer, the grandfather of our 
subject, was a native of Scotland and a veteran 
of the Revolutionary War. Both of our sub- 
ject's parents crossed the plains with the Oat- 
man family, who were massacred by the Indians 
on Gila river, in Arizona. The Metteer's es- 
caped this dreadful calamity by stopping with a 
Mexican family. Then in 1850, they continued 
their journey to Tucson, Arizona, and the next 
year came to California. During his residence 
in California George J. followed mining and 
also prosecuted the same calling in Idaho. In 
the latter place he located the Healy creek mine, 
having also been the discoverer of the same, 
which proved to be a very valuable property, 
netting over six thousand dollars in three 
months. In 1858, they journeyed on north to 
Marion county, Oregon, and there the parents 
remained until their death. George J. was edu- 
cated in the various places where the family 
resided during his younger days and after com- 
pleting his studies he began farming in Marion 
county. This continued until 1873 when he came 
to the territory now embraced in Wheeler 
county. After selecting a good place, he en- 
gaged in the stock business and has followed it 
continuously since. He has given his attention, 
however, to various other industries, having 
erected the first sawmill in this part of the 
county. He has also owned a ferry on the John 
Day river. 

In those early days, Mr. Metteer was obliged 
to go to The Dalles for mail and supplies and 
the hardships and labors incident to live then, 
required an iron constitution and firm will to 
enable one to continue. He has seen the country 
grow up around him, settlers coming in, the 



county organized and all the improvements of 
today completed and established. His labors 
have done a good part and his life has been such 
as to commend him to the esteem and confi- 
dence of his fellows. 

In 1862, Mr. Metteer married Miss Mary 
Smith, who was born in Iowa, in 1844. To them 
the following named children have been born, 
Mrs. Alice Steiner, Mrs. Jerusha Griffiths, Will- 
iam T., Mrs. Phania Wilks, George W., Mrs. 
Mary McCrea, and Fred. 

In 1872, Mr. Metteer joined the Masonic 
lodge and has since continued in affiliation with 
that order. 



EDWARD F. HORN is a representative 
stockman of Wheeler county and resides about 
two miles west from Twickenham. He was 
born in Marion county, Oregon, on December 
23, 1855, and has spent most of his days in the 
Webfoot State. His father, James M. Horn, 
was born in Orange county, North Carolina, and 
was a veteran of the Mexican war. In 1849, 
he came from Mexico to California and there 
engaged as a mechanic for a year. In 1850, he- 
journeyed to Benton county, Oregon, where he 
married Miss Mary J. Writsman, who was born 
in Missouri and crossed the plains with her par- 
ents in 1847. From Benton county, the parents 
moved to Marion county and bought land where 
they engaged in farming until 1864. In that 
year they went to California and in 1881, they 
journeyed to our subject's present location, 
where they engaged in the stock business. 
i hey now reside in Malheur county, Oregon. 
Our subject was educated in California and the 
other places where the family lived and as soon 
as he had come to the proper age, he began to 
work for wages. In 1880, after having traveled 
about considerable, he came to what is now 
Wheeler county and spent one year in looking 
over the country. Then he settled on the ranch 
that he now occupies and which he has increased 
to four hundred and twenty acres. It is a choice 
piece of land, one of the best, and has been well 
handled and improved by its owner. Mr. Horn 
raises stock and has been very successful in his 
labors for the past twenty-five years. 

On September 1, 1900, Mr. Horn married 
Miss Almira Moore, who was born in Polk 
county, Oregon. Her father, William S. Moore, 
was born in Missouri, crossed the plains when a 
boy in 1852 and was raised in Polk county, Ore- 
gon, where he has been farming since. His fath- 
er died while they were crossing the plains. Mrs. 
Horn's' mother, Sarah (Wren) Moore, was bom- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



695 



in Illinois and crossed the plains with her par- 
ents in pioneer days. 

Mr. Horn is a member of the I. O. O. F. and 
the A. F. & A. M. He is popular in fraternal 
circles and is a man of ability and excellent 
standing. 



J. H. PUTNAM, a prominent merchant and 
wealthy stockman of Fossil, was born in Henry 
county, Missouri in 1855. His father, Newton 
Putnam, was born in Nashville, Tennessee, and 
was a veteran of the Civil War, having served 
three years in the union army. He was in Mex- 
ico during the struggle with that country and 
in 1872 crossed the plains with ox teams to Ore- 
gon. His death occurred twenty years later. 
He was a prominent man and a sturdy pioneer. 
He married Nancy Stockton, a native of Mis- 
souri, who is still living. Her father, Honor- 
able D. D. Stockton, was captain of a company 
during the Civil War and was also a captain in 
a company during the Rebellion. He was 
wounded while in the service and died from the 
effects of the same in 1872. For a number of 
terms he served in the Missouri legislature and 
was a man of prominence and ability. Our sub- 
ject rode a cayuse from Missouri to the Willa- 
mette valley in 1872 and there remained three 
years. Then he came to Sarvis prairie where he 
engaged in farming with Gillman French & 
Company and operated for these people for thir- 
teen years. It was 1889 when Mr. Putnam came 
to Fossil and engaged in the contracting busi- 
ness, being in partnership with A. B. Lamb. In 
1894 this partnership was dissolved and Mr. Put- 
nam took up the general merchandising busi- 
ness for himself. He continued handling stock 
and owns about fifteen hundred acres of land in 
the Mayville country and two hundred and fifty 
head of cattle. This large estate and holding 
he manages from Fossil, in addition to conduct- 
ing his mercantile business. He carries a stock 
of from seven to ten thousand dollars worth of 
goods of all kinds demanded by the trade here 
and he is known as a progressive and up to date 
merchant. 

On October 12, 1891, Mr. Putnam married 
Ann L. Meek, who was born in Mound City, 
Missouri, in May, 1869. Her father, Eli Meek, 
emigrated to western Oregon in 1894 and died 
five years later. Mr. Putnam has the following 
named brothers and sisters ; William, in north- 
west Montana ; J. B., state librarian at Salem, 
having held the position for twenty-two years ; 
W. W., a rancher in the Mayville country ; Mar- 
ion, a farmer near Salem ; Otis, deceased ; and 



Rosa D., who died in 1888. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Putnam, three children have been born; Wyatt r 
on August 15, 1892; Evangeline, on April 4,. 
1894; and Theodore, in August, 1899. 

Mr. Putnam belongs to the Masonic fratern- 
ity, the M. W. A. and the Order of Eastern 
Star. Politically he is a strong Republican and 
always takes a keen interest in the cam- 
paigns. 



PERRY LEWIS KEETON, who enjoys 
the distinction of being the only sheriff that 
Wheeler county ever had, is well known through- 
out the county and the adjoining country and is 
an upright, fearless and capable man, who has 
walked in the path of integrity, and is governed 
by principles of honor. He was born in Texas, 
in 1853, trie son °f Moses and Mary Elizabeth 
(Adams) Keeton, natives of Missouri and Vir- 
ginia, respectively. In 1854, the family started! 
west across the plains with teams and when they 
arrived at the Humboldt river, experienced the 
terrible bereavement of Mr. Keeton's death. The 
mother succeeded, however, in bringing the fam- 
ily the balance of the way with the train and lo- 
cated in Shasta, California, where she remained! 
until the spring of 1855. Then they moved to- 
Yreka, in the same state. They remained at 
Yreka until 1864, when they moved to Grant 
countv, Oregon. Our subject received his edu- 
cation in the public schools and the Agricultural 
college at Corvallis in 1869 and 1870. Following 
that, the family moved to the vicinity of Mitch- 
ell, where our subject engaged in stock raising- 
The mother has since died. Mr. Keeton contin- 
ued in the business of stock raising with success 
until 1898, when he was appointed by Governor 
Geer as the sheriff of Wheeler county at the 
creation of this political division. He has held 
the office continuously since, being the choice of 
+ he people at the expiration of each term of serv- 
ice. This alone establishes the fact that Mr. Kee- 
ton is a man worthy to be trusted and he is well 
known throughout the county. It also speaks 
very highly of him as, although the county is 
Republican in politics, he is, and always has 
been a Democrat. 

On April 20, 1884, Mr. Keeton married Miss 
Mattie Gage, a native of Douglas county, Ore- 
gon. Her father. Edward Gage, is one of the 
pioneers of Oregon, was born in Missouri,. 
crossed the plains in early days and was a vet- 
eran of the Indian wars of this part of the coun- 
try. Mr. Keeton has the following named broth- 
ers and sisters : Thomas, who died in 1892 ; and' 
Mrs. Annie Cavanaugh, still living at Edgewood, 



696' 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



California. Three children have been born to 
air subject, Elizabeth Lucile, George T., and 
Jessie Pearl. 

Mr. Keeton is a member of the A. O. U. W. 
and the I. O. O. F. In his public life as well 
as : ir. private business, he has so conducted him- 
self as to win the esteem of all and has justly 
earned the reputation for integrity and thorough- 
ness which he enjoys. 



■•- : \V. W. HOOVER is well known as one of 
the ifading business men of Wheeler county. For 
thirty-five years, he has been in this section and 
during this long residence, has ever wrought as 
a- true pioneer and one deeply interested in the 
improvement and development of the country. At 
the present time, Mr. Hoover, in company with 
L: C. Kelsay, is operating an extensive merchan- 
dise establishment in Fossil. They carry a large 
stock of all kinds of goods that are used in this 
section of the country, including dry goods, gro- 
ceries, crockery, gents' furnishings, boots, 
shoes, clothing, hardware, farm machinery and so 
foith. 

■'•W. W. Hoover, was born in Washington 
county, Oregon, on February 5, 1869. His father, 
Thomas B. Hoover, was born in Missouri and 
also was the pioneer merchant of Fossil. He 
married Mary J. Chambers, who was born, in 
Washington county, Oregon, and is now living 
in Wheeler county, Oregon. She was the first 
white woman in this section of the cotmtry and 
knows well the pioneer's life, together with its 
hardships and trials. As early as 1870, the fam- 
ily moved from Washington county to Wheeler 
county and since that time, our subject has made 
this his home. During the winter seasons in 
his early life, he would go to The Dalles and 
attend school then return to his home and work 
nr his father's store and on the farm. Upon 
the death of his father, our subject was ap- 
pointed one of the executors of his will and suc- 
ceeded to the management of the merchandise 
business, the firm style being then T. B. Hoover 
& Son. He handled the business for two years 
longer, then took in a partner, L. J. Gates, the 
firm being known as Hoover & Gates. This part- 
nership was dissolved in 1900, by Mr. Gates sell- 
ing to L. C. Kelsay, who is now operating with 
Mr. Hoover in the business. The)- are both well 
known men, who have built an excellent reputa- 
tion in this country. ' 

On March. 10, 1895, occurred the marriage 
Of- Mr. Hoover and Daisy Kelsay. Mrs. Hoover 
was born in Lane county, Oregon, the daugh- 
ter of Burton Kelsay, a pioneer of ( )regon and 



now residing in Fossil. Mr. Hoover has one 
brother, Thomas B., residing in Wheeler county. 
He also has the following named sisters, Mrs. 
Annie J. Steiwer, of Fossil ; Harriet Lyons, of 
Valdez, Alaska ; Mary M. Reinacher of Condon ; 
Lizzie Bowerman of Condon ; and Maude, in 
Fossil. To our subject and his wife, four chil- 
dren have been born, Dorothy, Glenn, Mary 
Jane, and Thomas Burton. 

Mr. Hoover is a member of the I. O. O. F., 
the W. O. W. and the K. P. He is a Democrat 
politically and has held the office of county judge 
since 1900, being reelected last June for four 
vears more. 



S. J. THOMPSON, a farmer and stockman 
of Wheeler county and one who has labored 
assiduously here for many years, is to be classed 
among the substantial and leading citizens and 
is entitled to representation in any volume that 
purports to speak of the progressive men of 
Oregon. He was born in Castle county, North 
Carolina, on January 1, 187 1. His parents, 
Josiah and Minerva (Winstaird) Thompson, 
were also born in North Carolina, where the 
father followed merchandising. He was a vet- 
eran of the Civil War and in 1877, crossed the 
plains to the Willamette valley by team. He set- 
tled on a farm in Clackamas county whence in 
1881, he removed to what is now Wheeler county 
and engaged in the stock business. He contin- 
ued here until his death in 1900. Mrs. Thomp- 
son is now living with the subject of this arti- 
cle. Our subject was but a young lad when he 
first came to this portion of Oregon and a large 
part of his education was gained at Fossil. He 
has practically been reared here and conse- 
quently knows the country thoroughly. Being 
impressed with its resources, he selected a home- 
stead where he now resides, some four miles 
south from Fossil, and began the work of im- 
provement. He added various other pieces of land 
from time to time until he now owns nine hun- 
dred acres ; a large portion of this is cropped and 
general farming together with stock raising, oc- 
cupies Mr. Thompson's time and attention. He 
has made a good showing for his labors here, 
inasmuch as when he started he had no capital 
whatever and is now one of the prosperous men 
of the count v. He has a faculty of managing his 
business in such a way that he has a substantial 
income and then his carefulness in expending 
his funds for improvements and investment have 
all combined to make him prosperous and well- 
to-do. 

In T804 Mr. Thompson married Miss Josie 
llolman, the daughter of Andy Holman. who 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



697 



crossed the plains from Illinois to Oregon in 
early days. Mrs. Thompson was born in Linn 
county, ' Oregon, and moved to the vicinity of 
Fossil with her parents some twelve years since. 
One child has been the fruit of this union, Sallie. 
Mr. Thompson is a member of the I. O. O. 
F. and stands well both in fraternal relations 
and in the community. He takes a lively interest 
in political and educational matters, is a good 
neighbor, an upright man, and a first-class citizen. 



LEONARD C. HOFFMAN, is a man of en- 
terprise and good business ability as is testi- 
fied to by the property he owns, which has been 
gained by his own efforts entirely. He is at the 
head of a prosperous butcher business in Fos- 
sil, also owns a good ranch in the immediate 
vicinity and is well known throughout the sur- 
rounding country as a man of energy and ability. 

Leonard C. Hoffman was born in Buffalo, 
New York, on March 20, i860. His parents, 
Leonard and Margaret (Deck) Hoffman, were 
natives of Germany where they were married. 
In 1852, they came to New York and the father 
followed tailoring in Buffalo, where he became 
a wealthv and prominent man. Our subject was 
educated in the city schools of Buffalo and there 
learned the butcher business. For three years 
he wrought at that trade in his native town and 
finally in 1883, determined to try his fortune 
in the west. Being of an adventurous disposi- 
tion he explored various portions of California 
and other sections. Finally in 1884, he came 
north and being pleased with the country in the 
vicinity of Fossil, took government land on Butte 
creek. He at once made the necessary improve- 
ments to make it his home and then opened a 
buther business in the town of Fossil. He is 
now in partnership with T. S. Young in this 
enterprise and they have a very fine business. 
Mr. Hoffman has two hundred and ten acres of 
land adjoining the city of Fossil which is a very 
valuable estate. He oversees this and his other 
property in addition to attending to the butcher 
business and so wisely has he managed this en- 
terprise that he has become well-to-do. When 
he started here an invoice of his possessions 
showed that he had very little capital so that 
everything he possesses has been the result of 
his own personal efforts. 

In 1885 Mr. Hoffman married Miss Lillie 
Rose, who was born in California. Her father, 
Thomas Rose, was a native of England and 
came to the United States and in 1850, crossed 
the plains to California, where he ultimately 
became wealthy. To Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman 



four children have been born, George L., Mar- 
garet R., Gertha, and Katie, deceased. 

Mr. Hoffman is a member of the A. F. & 
A. M., is popular among the business men of 
Fossil and is an enterprising and public spirted 
man. 



CHARLES L. PRINDLE, a representative 
citizen of Wheeler county and one of the earliest 
settlers in the territory now embraced in this 
division, resides about three miles south from 
Fossil. In the early days, he corralled sheep 
where now stands the prosperous town of Fos- 
sil. In 1878, being then a young man of eigh- 
teen years, he made his way into eastern Ore- 
gon and after due research, he decided that this 
part of the country was most suitable for his 
business and he settled down. He immediately 
took up sheep raising and made a success of it 
for eleven years. Then he turned his attention 
to raising blooded horses, and cattle, and now 
has some of the finest specimens in the country. 
He makes a specialty of breeding road horses 
and his animals are well known throughout the 
country. Mr. Prindle is very successful in stock 
breeding and has done very much to stimulate 
this industry in Wheeler county. In- addition to 
his stock interests, he does some farming and 
altogether is a very prosperous and thrifty man. 

Charles L. Prindle was born in DeKalb 
county, Illinois, on December 30,. i860, the son 
of M. G. and Eliza Prindle, natives of Penn- 
sylvania. In early days they pioneered to Illi- 
nois and shortly thereafter, traveled on to the 
prairies of Iowa, the year of their landing there 
being 1869. They were good substantial peo- 
ple and did a noble work of opening up and de- 
veloping the country. Our subject received his 
primary education in Illinois and Iowa and com- 
pleted the same in Fossil, Oregon. Mr. Prin- 
dle has eight brothers and sisters, Emma, Addie, 
deceased, Steven A., Frank B., Martha E., 
George A., Loyd B., and Lucinda, deceased. 

In 1884 Mr. Prindle married Miss Annie T. 
Hamilton and they have six children, Milo W., 
Orland, Lora M., Lester, Mary M., and Eliza 
E. Mrs. Prindle is the daughter of David and 
Mary C. Hamilton, now residents of Wheeler 
county, and pioneers across the plains to Douglas 
county in the early fifties. 

In fraternal relations Mr. Prindle is affili- 
ated with the A. F. & A. M. and the I. O. O. F. 
There were very few settlers in this part of 
Oregon when Mr. Prindle came here and one 
had to travel many miles to get mail and supplies. 
In the Bannock outbreak of 1878 Mr. Prindle 



6g8 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



was with his sheep and close to the hostile In- 
dians, coming on a camp-fire just as they had 
left it. He not only has seen the country de- 
velop from a wild prairie to one of the fertile 
portions of the northwest but has very mater- 
ially assisted in this good work and he is to be 
classed as one of the leading men of Wheeler 
county. Mr. Prindle constructed the first tele- 



phone line in Wheeler county, the same being 
from his house to Fossil. 

In political matters, he evinces an interest 
that is becoming to the patriotic citizen, while 
also in all things pertaining to the development 
of the county, he has been active. His standing" 
among the people is of the best and he and his 
wife are valued members of society. 



PART VI 



HISTORY OF CROOK COUNTY 



CHAPTER I 



PASSING EVENTS— 1843 TO 1889. 



Aside from Nomadic trappers it is quite pro- 
bable that the first white men to cross the ter- 
ritory now comprising Crook county were Gen- 
eral John C. Fremont and Kit Carson. They 
explored a section of this country in 1843. The 
route of this party was as follows : Entering 
the county at the northwest corner, between 
the Warm Springs and Shilike rivers, they pro- 
ceeded southward on the west side of the Des 
Chutes river, crossing the Matoles about three 
to six miles up from its mouth. Thence they 
continued in a southerly direction, passing about 
three miles east of the present town of Sisters, 
crossed Tornello creek and came to the Des 
Chuts river near the present site of Bend. They 
still continued on the west side of this river in 
their journey on south until reaching a point 
about opposite the present postoffice of Lava, 
when they crossed the Des Chutes and entered 
the Big Meadows. Continuing their journey 
southward they passed where Rosland now 
stands and entered the territory now embraced in 
Klamath county. About four miles above the 
town of Bend can be found to this day evidences 
of the visit of the Fremont party, where there 
are logs they used in building a causeway. 

The Warm Spring Indian Reservation was 
made by a treaty between the United States and 
the Indians in 1855. In this treaty the Indians 
gave up all claim to the land between the Cas- 
cades and Blue mountains of Oregon. They 
also gave up their claims on the Columbia river. 
Another treaty was entered into between them 



in 1856 in which they gave up the fisheries on", 
the Columbia river. This reservation was es- 
tablished as a home for the different tribes of 
Indians. By • this the government could protect' 
them from the encroachment of the whites, while 
it secured an undisputed right to the rest of the 
land claimed by the Indians. This reservation 
covers 464,000 acres which lies along the Des 
Chutes river. Much of this is farming land and 
already under cultivation while the balance is 
suitable for stock raising. There are parts of 
four different tribes living there, known as the 
Warm Springs, Wascos, Piutes and Teninos. 

The principal occupations of these Indians 
are farming and stock raising while some go into 
western and southern Oregon for the purpose of 
picking fruit and hops. When the work is over 
they often go into the Cascade mountains to 
fish and hunt for their winter supply of meat. 
When there is any work to be done, the men 
direct it, while the women do most of the hard 
work. All that the men are required to do is to 
keep the family supplied with meat. 

The population of the reservation is 855, in- 
cluding seven police officers and 116 school 
children. While the school of this place is <V 
same as any public school, the children have dif- 
ferent games from the white children. The boys 
enjoy the outdoor sports of fishing and hunting. 
They use bows and arrows and some are as good 
shots as the older ones. The religion of the In- 
dians is United Presbyterian, although one may 
follow the old Indian religion known as the 



7°° 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Shaker. Some of the people will not give up 
their old Indian customs. The most important 
buildings of the reservation are the one school 
building and three churches. There are many fine 
residences. Out in front of their houses they 
have their old wigwams in which they lived. 
These Indians are very patriotic. When the 
Fourth of July comes along they celebrate for a 
week at a time instead of one day at a time as do 
the white people. 

Each year the government sets aside a sum 
of money with which they purchase rations for 
the Indians on the reservation: If the Indian fails 
to be there when the agent divides the goods 
he does not get his share. Many of the Indians 
do not, however, depend on the government for 
their clothing, but have taken up land and have 
become citizens with a right to vote. Some of 
the older men have done good service in the In- 
dian wars when white soldiers have been un- 
able to fight hostile tribes. Therefore it is no 
more than right that the government should 
support these Indians. 

In the early sixties while the Civil war was 
in progress Major Stein of the United States 
army, built a road from The Dalles to Fort Har- 
ney, which crossed the present Crook county, in 
a northwesterly and southeasterly direction. 
This: road passed east of Pilot to Butte and left 
the present Crook county and entered what is 
now Harney county at Buck's creek. The sup- 
ply trains from The Dalles to Fort Harney 
passed over the road in the early days. 

The first settler in Crook county was Marion 
Scott, who came here in 1863 and located on 
Trout creek. Scott's party crossed the Cascade 
mountains that year, carrying with them horses, 
wagons and a band of cattle. They stopped at 
Hay creek, and for a time lived in a cave, graz- 
ing their cattle on the surrounding hills. In 
.1867 Howard Maupin of Lane county, settled on 
Trout creek. He had fought in the Mexican war 
under Zachary Taylor, and became subsequently 
a brave pioneer and faced many perils from the 
Piute Indians. He was not allowed to enjoy his 
home until he had slain Paulina, chief of the 
tribes. 

In 1868 Henry Coleman, also of Lane county, 
engaged in the cattle business in which he ac- 
quired quite a fortune and returned to his home. 
In 1869 and 1870 John Luckey, John Toms. An- 
thony Webdell and E. G. Conant came later and 
settled in Ochoco valley where is now the town 
of Prineville. In 1871 Monroe Hodges removed 
with his family from Benton county and laid off 
the present town of Prineville. He built the 
first hotel and engaged in the business five years. 

A historical sketch of the territory now form- 



ing Crook county from its earliest settlement up 
to 1884 was published in the Crook County An- 
nual of 1901 as follows : 

The first white men who ever came to that part of 
Oregon now known as Crook county were Felix and 
Marion Scott, who crossed the Cascade mountains over 
the McKenzie Pass in 1863, bringing with them their 
teams, wagons and a drove of cattle. They located on 
Hay creek and it is said lived in a cave in the cliffs 
of the Hay creek canyon for a time, while they herded 
their cattle on the surrounding hills. 

A short time afterward Howard Maupin, of Lane 
county, settled on Trout creek where he lived until 
his death a few years since. Maupin encountered many 
perils from the Piute Indians in those early days and 
he was a man of great personal courage and held his 
ground against the thieving and murderous savages. 
He was not, however, permitted to enjoy his wilderness 
home in peace until he slew Paulina, the war chief of 
the Piutes. He was a veteran in the Mexican war, and 
served under Zachary Taylor. He was at the storm- 
ing of Monterey, and the battle of Buena Vista. 
Maupin was a typical western pioneer, brave as a lion 
and the soul of gentlemanly honor. 

Some time in the latter part of the 'sixties Henry 
Coleman, also of Lane county, established himself. on 
Hay creek, near its junction with Trout creek, and en- 
gaged in the cattle business. After many years of pros- 
perity, through an unfortunate venture he lost his once 
princely fortune and afterward went back to his own 
home near Eugene where he still lives. In 1868 the first 
settlement in the Ochoco valley was. made by Wayne 
Claypool, William Smith, Ewen Johnson and Lou 
Daugherty, near the mouth of Mill Creek and by Elisha 
Barnes, Thomas B. James and Abraham Zell, Ochoco 
Creek. Barney Prine also settled on the Ochoco in 
1868, on the present site of Prineville, and after him 
Prineville took, its name. 

In 1869 John Luckey, John M. Toms, Anthony B. 
Webdell, Edward G. Conant, J. W. McDowell and J. 
H. Snodderly settled on the Ochoco. They were fol- 
lowed in 1870 by Alexander Hodges, James P. Coombs, 
S. R. Slayton, William Heisler and Lake Vanderpool, 
all of whom, with the exception of Coombs and Slayton, 
located on the present site of Prineville. With the 
advent of these people began the existence of Prine- 
ville. 

William Heisler was the pioneer merchant of the 
Ochoco valley and Barney Prine the first saloon-keeper. 
Heisler established his store in Prineville in 1871 and 
continued in business for seven or eight years. In the 
fall of 1871 Monroe Hodges removed his family from 
Benton county and laid out the present townsite of 
Prineville. He also built a hotel and engaged in that 
business for five years. About 1873 a postoftice was 
established in Prineville and Daniel E. Thomas was 
appointed postmaster. Within a few years Prineville 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



70 1 



became a thriving business town and increased rapidly 
in population. It was then, as now, the center of trade 
for almost a hundred miles around and in fact was the 
only business point south of The Dalles in what was 
then Wasco county. 

Among the earliest settlers of this county may be 
named Jerome LaFollette and Samuel M. W. Hind- 
man, who took up claims on Squaw creek in about 
1869. Hindman kept a station for several years and 
still lives on the tract of land upon which he settled 
over thirty years ago. Willow Creek was one of the 
earliest settled portions of Crook county. James 
Blakely, Perry Read, Can. Montgomery and S. G. 
Wood were among the first settlers there. Blakely was 
the first elected sheriff of Crook county, and served in 
that capacity two years. 

Williamson G. Allen, formerly of Lane county, set- 
tled on Hay creek on a tract of land which he afterward 
sold to Dr. D. M. Baldwin, of Oakland, California, 
who engaged in the sheep business on a large scale. 
Dr. Baldwin sold his interests to the Cartwrights and 
Van Houtens, who organized the Baldwin Sheep and 
Land Company, now the most extensive concern of its 
kind in the state. Among other early settlers on Hay 
creek were S. G. Thompson, the first judge of Crook 
county, and his two brothers William and Duorey 
Thompson. William, or "Bud," as he was better known, 
was once editor of the Roseburg Plaindealer, and after- 
ward editor of the Salem Mercury. He was a promi- 
nent character in the early history of Crook county, and 
was a colonel in the state militia in the Bannock war 
of 1878. 

Some thirty years ago the first settlements were 
made along McKay creek. Among these settlers were 
David Templeton, Calvin Pell, B. F. Allen, J. A. Guili- 
ford, George Mellican, John Latta, Daniel Hale, Joel 
Long, James Mackey and Andrew Lytle. William Fos- 
ter, who came from Benton county, was also one of the 
early settlers of this region. He became a wealthy 
stockman and was known as Crook county's cattle king. 

The Crooked river valley was settled first in the 
latter part of the 'sixties. Among the first to locate 
there were John Powell, who took up a claim immedi- 
ately west of Prineville, and Abe Kenkel, who settled 
on what is now known as the A. J. Tethrow place. 

The southern and southeastern portion of Crook 
county was not settled until a few years after the set- 
tlements which have been mentioned. Among the pio- 
neers of this section are Abe Hackleman, John Davis, 
John Jaggi, William Noble, James and Charles W. 
Elkins, and William Adams. Among other noted pio- 
neers of Crook county was Dr. James R. Stites who 
took up a piece of land at Lone Pine in the Haystack 
country in 1875. He afterward lived at Prineville for 
many years, and then returned to Dallas, his old home, 
where he died. He was a veteran of the Mexican war 
and was with Colonel Doniphan in his famous march 



through New Mexico, known as the "Journey of 
Death." 

Two young men who came to Crook county in 1878, 
who have since been very prominent in the upbuilding 
of the country were T. M. Baldwin and J. W. Howard. 

The Dalles Times-Mountaineer of October 15,. 
1898, said: 

Christian Myer and wife, of Alkali Flat, Crook 
county, were Saturday, on their way to visit their two 
married daughters in Portland. Mr. Myer is a Cali- 
fornia pioneer of 1849. He settled on his present home 
near Bridge creek in 1863, and for years had Frank 
Hewot (Alkali) Frank, of Eight Mile, for partner. At 
that time Myer & Hewot kept one of the only two 
stopping places between The Dalles and Canyon City. 
The other was Burnt Ranch on the John Day. 

Every traveler over the long and wretched road 
between here and Canyon City made it a point to stop- 
with Myer & Hewot. They lived in an adobe mansion 
which was a marble palace compared with some of the 
frontier residences of those days, and they had the 
reputation and deserved it, too, of furnishing the best 
meals to be had east of the Cascade mountains. Both 
were bachelors and as the years rolled on and house- 
hold cares increased with increasing travel the hearts 
of the two bachelors felt an aching void for the touch 
of a woman's hand and the companionship and ministry 
that a woman alone can render. But which of them 
should go wife hunting? That was the question, for 
each was perfectly satisfied that the other should be 
the matrimonial victim. At last the controversy was 
settled by the two bachelors agreeing to play a game 
of seven-up, the loser to go and hunt a wife. The game 
was played and Mr. Hewot won and Mr. Myer a 
short time afterward started for California, where he 
found the woman that has shared the joys and sorrows 
of Alkali Flat for more than thirty years. 

The Willamette Valley and Cascade Moun- 
tain Wagon Road Company was formed in 1865.- 
This organization was conceived by A. Hackle- 
mer and the organizers were Jason Wheeler, the 
first president of the company, Luther B. Ellis and 
John Powell. This company was granted every 
other section for a distance of six miles on either 
side of the road across the state. This amounted 
to about 400,000 acres in Crook county. The 
company never attempted to build roads and the 
road that was constructed was the work of immi- 
grants passing through the country. The road 
company did not carry out their part of the 
contract and it should never have been accepted 
or the charter granted. The United States gov- 
ernment made the governor of the state receiv- 
ing agent, but through carelessness or wilful 



702 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



neglect he did not do his duty and accepted the 
road as it was. In this manner the company 
received their charter for the immense amount 
of land which they have neither earned nor paid 
for. It is considered one of the most brilliant 
fakes ever perpetrated on the American public. 
The road was sold later to T. Edgerton Hogg, 
who in turn disposed of it to the present owners, 
a Paris banking house, with Charles Alchul, the 
nominal resident owner. They have a resident 
owner at Prineville who attends to the business 
of the company and sees that the road is main- 
tained in good repair. The route of the road was 
through what is now known as Crook county, and 
was as follows : Entering Crook county about two 
miles south and about four miles west of Black 
Butte to Crooked river, it followed this stream 
to Prineville, thence almost due east up to the 
Ochoco Valley forty-eight miles to Paulina, thence 
south from Paulina thirty miles and leaving the 
country in the extreme southeastern corner. 

Of Indians and Indian warfare Miss Gertie 
. Sharp most interestingly writes : 

Crook county's Indian history begins as early as 
1867, when a band of Piutes raided the upper Ochoco, 
under command of thier chief Paulina, and drove the 
inhabitants from the valley. With the sacking of this 
district as a whet to the savage blood, Paulina led his 
savage brothers to every white settlement to be found, 
and for the space of twelve months after the first 
plunder, lives were sacrificed, houses and barns burned, 
cattle stolen and driven away, and the country generally 
laid waste to the fiendish desires of a brutal and 
treacherous band of savages. 

The memorable winter of 1867-8 has never been 
duplicated in Crook county so far as any authentic 
reports record. Evidence of a fearful massacre in the 
northeastern part of the county is found in Skull Hol- 
low, where many human skulls have been hauled away 
at different times. But Paulina's record as a brutal 
devastator has always held the foremost place in the 
bloody annals of the county. Lest his name, which 
once struck terror to old and young alike, be forgotten, 
a range of mountains, a valley and a stream in Crook 
county are named for him. Paulina was killed by 
Howard Maupin, the year following the former's raid 
in 1867. With his death came a time of comparative 
peace and it was not until the gold rush to Canyon 
City several years later that any serious disturbances 
occurred. At that time many packers, traveling over- 
land to the mines, were attacked and the parties killed. 
But whether these murders were the work of whites or 
Indians will never he known ; although it is more than 
probable that the latter were as guilty, if not more go, 
than the former. 

Prior to the murderous attacks attending the gold 
rush to Canyon City, a small detachment of the Hud- 



son's Bay Company was massacred at Powell's Buttes, 
about eight miles southwest of the present site of the 
county seat and during many years following, both 
during and after the bloody career of Paulina, there 
were occasional outbreaks of the savages at which times 
the whites were mercilessly slaughtered. Such in brief 
is the early Indian history of Crook county. Today 
the former troublesome chiefs with their warriors are 
under the watchful and painstaking eye of Uncle Sam 
at the Warm Springs reservation. Here the major 
part of the older ones live a life of indolence, the 
younger ones attend the government .schools for a short 
time, then if nature's call, which is strong in the 
breasts of many of them, does not take them back to 
the tepees and blankets, they enter into any of the 
various occupations for which the government endeav- 
ors to fit them. 

But the old stock will never change. The deep 
seated aboriginal ideas, the superstitions that rule their 
lives, the implanted customs and rights handed dow r n 
to them since the first generation of their kind, all of 
these for 1 1 1 a par: of their lives of too much moment to 
be entirely removed in a few decades of years by their 
white-skinned guardians. But the governmental influence 
of the whites, nevertheless, has had its effect and some of 
the more barbarous customs of these first inhabitants 
have been abolished through the enlightenment given 
them. On the Warm Springs reservation among the 
Piutes and Warm Springs, there is found no longer the 
custom of buying and selling women, nor is it now 
customary, as in earlier years, to kill the medicine men 
who fail to effect cures. These are perhaps the two 
most notworthy changes that have been brought about 
in the ordinary lives of these savage races of people. 

But neither time nor schooling can bring about a 
change in the minor details of their every day life. 
The ground is never too warm or too cold to squat 
upon ; their faces are never so attractive as when 
smeared with oil and paint ; the heavy labor of the 
camp is never done except by the hands of the squaws ; 
the living still hire the howling, wailing mourners for 
the dead ; the tiny papoose is better cared for strapped 
to a board than in the mother's lap — all these and a 
hundred more furnish food for the feeling that only 
with the total extinction of the race itself will there 
come an end to the primitive, and still barbarous meth- 
ods and customs that have lived for centuries with these 
first inhabitants and are destined to exist as many more 
if the life of this peculiar race shall endure to that end. 

The first "Indian fight" in Crook countv oc- 
curred in the summer of 1866 on Dry creek, 
about thirteen miles from the present site 
of the town of Prineville. Dr. McKay, a half 
breed Indian, who afterward became quite noted 
as a surgeon, was camped on what is now known 
as McKay's creek, with a band of Warm Springs 
Indians. With him was "Billy Chinook," who 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



703 



had formerly served as a scout and guide for 
General John C. Fremont and Kit Carson, when 
they passed through this territory in 1843. Mc- 
Kay ordered Billy Chinook to take twenty-five 
men and reconnoiter for any other Indian bands. 
The following day they discovered a band of 
Piutes on Dry creek. After counting their fires 
and wigwams they decided that there was not 
more, so far as numbers were concerned, than 
they had themselves. Their orders were not to 
attack, but return and if Indians were found to 
give the alarm. But the opportunity, however, 
was too favorable and they disobeyed orders. 
The first fire in the morning was to be the signal 
for attack. Accordingly as the early fires ap- 
peared a rush was made. Although surprised 
the Piutes made a gallant detense and the whole 
band numbering thirty-two, bucks, squaws and 
children, were killed or captured. 

The first house erected in Ochoco valley was 
built by David Wayne Claypool. He was mar- 
ried to Miss Louisa Elkins October 8, 1857, re- 
maining in Linn county until 1867 when he re- 
moved to what is now Crook county. The In- 
dians burned his home and run off his stock 
while he was out at work. But by indomitable 
will power he stayed with his claim, and event- 
ually became one of Crook county's wealthiest 
and most respected citizens. 

Paulina, a mongrel chief of the Piutes, 
who had terrorized residents and freighters be- 
tween the Des Chutes and John Day rivers for 
many years, was killed by Howard Maupin, the 
details of which killing will be found in the 
"reminiscence" portion of this work. The trage- 
dy occurred near Paulina Butte, about four miles 
northwest of what is now Ashwood, in 1867. 

Henry Coleman, who settled on lower Trout 
creek in 1868, was the first settler who raised 
cattle extensively in what is now Crook county. 
In 1880, before the advent of the railroad, he 
drove 2,000 head of cattle over the mountains to 
Kansas and hired a man to winter them. During 
the winter they all died and Mr. Coleman was 
sued by the man who had charge of them for his 
pay. The court gave the plaintiff a judgment for 
$75,000 for wintering 2,000 head of cattle. This 
completely bankrupted Mr. Coleman and he 
abandoned the business. 

Among the settlers on upper Trout creek in 
1869 were Z. B. Offat, James M. Grater, John 
Atterbury and James Cox. It may be said that 
they were the first settlers on upper Trout creek. 

In 1869 Lieutenant Watson with a party of 
soldiers and Stokatly, a Warm Springs Indian 
chief, with a band of Indians, soldiers and In- 
dians numbering about 150, encountered a party 
of Piutes at what is now known as Watson's 



Springs. The Piutes hid themselves in the rocks 
on the hillside and Watson, finding he could get 
at them in no other way, decided to charge the 
whole band. In the preliminary encounter Wat- 
son was killed and his men retreated. Stokatly 
was attached to Lieutenant Watson and would 
not allow the Piutes to scalp him. Calling his 
men to follow he again charged and rescued Wat- 
son's body, but was so badly wounded himself 
that he died a few days later at the Warm Springs 
reservation. 

In the Prineville News of June, 1887, Mr. 
George Barnes writes interestingly of the Ochoco 
valley : 

Settlement was first directed to this valley by the 
report of a surveying party sent out by the S. V. & 
C. M. road company in 1863 or 1864, though the coun- 
try had been visited by adventurous miners on prospect- 
ing tours, and Uncle Howard Maupin, the pioneer of 
Antelope Valley, and his boys had passed through in 
pursuit of the Snake Indians who, under the noted 
Paulina, were waging relentless war upon the early 
settlers of Wasco years before this. Major Stein, an 
officer in the United States 1 army, had even built a road 
through the country connecting The Dalles by way of 
Camp Harney with the government post in the northern 
part of California, over which government supplies were 
hauled and troops passed from one post to another. 
Years before this the government, to keep the Indians 
in check, had dotted the country east of the Cascade 
mountains with military posts. One was located at 
Black Butte at the place that bears its name — Camp 
Polk; one near South Crooked river just above the 
fords of that stream, called Maury ; one on Silver creek, 
called Curry, and one in the Harney Valley took its 
name, and many were the hard, bloody fights fought 
with the Indians on the valleys and plains now dotted 
with settlers' homes. In fact the country was well 
known long before the road company's surveying party 
passed through it; but the glowing report of this 
party of the beauty of the country, of the inexhaustible 
wealth of grass that covered it ; the richness of its soil, 
and its pure, dry, healthful atmosphere first attracted 
the attention of the people of the Willamette valley 
who wanted homes and were willing to brave the 
dangers of the Indian country to secure them. 

The first attempt at settlement was made in the 
fall of 1867 by D. Wayne Claypool, William Smith, 
Captain White, Raymond Burkhart, George Burkhart 
(then a boy), and Elisha Barnes, then residents of the 
vicinity of Lebanon in Linn county, who cam© to the 
valley that fall and selected lands upon which they 
proposed to build themselves future homes, and who re- 
gained here during the following winter. They occu- 
pied themselves in hewing house logs, making rails 
and building houses on their claims. One house was 
erected on Wayme Claypool's place near where his 



704 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



present dwelling stands ; this was burned by the Indians 
the next spring. One was built on William Smith's 
place on Mill creek, and one in the timber where is 
now the old Swarts' sawmill. These last two are still 
standing, "Billy Smith's" doing service as a dwelling 
house, or perhaps more properly as a "bachelors' roost." 
It is historical as the oldest house in the county. 

The Burkhart's selected the place where the Rev. 
C. S. Pringle now lives. Wayne Claypool and William 
Smith settled on their present homes; Captain White 
the land now owned by Mrs. E. A. Freeland, and 
Elisha Barnes the swamp land in the lower Ochoco. 
Although cut off from all communication with the out- 
side world, and especially their families, these men 
passed the winter cheerily enough, enlivened once or 
twice by a visit from the Luckey boys — John and Jim— 
who were then employes on the reservation at the 
Warm Springs, and as the creek bottoms were swarm- 
ing with mule deer, one could more easily guess that 
the sports of the chase were a part of their recreation 
that believe the yarns they told to their neighbors on 
their return home about the size of these deer. Burk- 
hart owned a Henry rifle, one of the first ever made, 
and it had a surprising habit of "scattering." It was 
liable to hit anything under the sun except the object 
at which it was pointed, and its idiosyncrasy in this 
respect was apt to throw the shooter into a state of mind 
not altogether conducive to moral perfection. An 
Indian stole the gun and I ever afterward felt perfectly 
safe. He couldn't hit me with that gun if I were in 
sight, and if I were not he would not be apt to shoot. 
But the stories told of the surprising shots made by this 
gun, the size and number of the animals slain, are 
embalmed in my memory alongside with the tales of 
"Robinson Crusoe" and "Jack, the Giant Killer." 

They broke some ground on the Claypool place, 
planted a garden and in April, I think, moyed their re- 
maining teams and personal property to Camp Polk, 
which they left with Captain White and the rest of the 
company. Returning to their families they crossed the 
mountains on snow shoes. 

The Burkharts had had enough of Ochoco, and on 
their return home announced their intention of staying 
there, but Claypool and Barnes commenced making 
preparations to remove their families so soon as the 
mountains were passable. The flattering reports they 
gave of the country soon induced others to join them 
in their intention to make a home here. Two weeks 
after their arrival home, E. Johnson, William Elkins, 
myself and another man, whose name I have forgotten, 
started for this country bringing with us two horses. 
We had to cross over snow twenty feet deep, but we 
arrived at Camp Polk without any mishaps and found 
Captain White in good spirits and the cattle safe. 

The following day we loaded up and started for 
Ochoco, arriving at Wayne Claypool's in two and a 
half days. This was, certainly, as fine a country then 
as a stock man could wish to see. The bottoms were 



covered with wild rye, clover, pea vines, wild flax and 
meadow grass that was waist high on horseback. The 
hills were clothed with a mat of bunch grass that 
seemed inexhaustible. It appeared a veritable paradise 
for stock. E. Johnson located the place now known as 
the James Elkins place, the little farm just across the- 
lane north of Wayne Claypool's farm. Elkins and the 
other gentleman did not take places and after a stay 
of four years they went home, taking all the horses our 
little crowd had, leaving us afoot, in a manner, for we 
had only ox teams. Johnson and I went to hauling 
rails, and I have always believed that if untoward events 
and the Indians had not interfered I would have reached 
the top round of the ladder of fame as a bull whacker. 
For even now I look back with feelings of pride and 
longing regret to those bright sunny mornings when 
we arose with the lark and sage tick and joyously 
ambled down to the spring branch, bathed our expansive 
brows, scoured our pitch-covered hands and with ap- 
petites that passed all understanding, did ample justice 
to the ability of our cook, and blythly took our way to 
the rail patch with an ox gad in one hand, a trusty 
United States gun on one shoulder, and two Colt's 
revolvers swung to our belts, and let our fine soprano 
voices ring out on the morning air. Bull-whacking 
is not work; it is only recreation. But that is all over 
for me now; I can never be a bull-whacker. And, 
thinking of what I have missed, I can only moan, "It 
might have been." 

As before stated, four days after our arrival here 
Elkins and the forgotten man left us, leaving three 
people in all this country, Johnson, White and myself. 
Johnson and myself were employed in making a trip 
to the timber each day. We were stopping at the Clay- 
pool place. Captain White worked the garden and did 
the cooking. On the sixth day as usual Johnson and 
I went to the timber, and while loading the wagons 
we noticed a huge smoke down the valley; but as the- 
captain was almost daily engaged in burning the heavy 
crops of wild rye that covered the bottom, we thought 
but little of it. But when fifteen minutes later we saw 
the captain coming up the bottom, hat off, and as if he 
had half a notion of breaking into a run, we knew some- 
thing was wrong. When we got within yelling distance 
he shouted, "Boys, the Indians have broke out and' 

killed every d d one of us and burnt the house," 

we knew exactly what was the trouble. And when the 
captain came up and gave us the particulars, how, 
while he was absent from the house they had taken all 
our guns, blankets and provisions, and what they could 
not carry off they had burned, leaving us destitute, we 
felt lonesome. That morning Johnson and I both, 
contrary to our usual custom, had omitted to bring our 
guns with us. We had only an old six-shooter of the 
cap and ball style, and this we had emptied at a bunch 
of sage hens, and as we had not brought any ammuni- 
tion, it was about as valuable as a knot-hole. We held a 
council of war and' then and there organized the first 



.^tm rnu m am 




Prmeville, County Seat of Crook County 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



705 



militia company ever organized in this county. We 
each got us a willow stick six feet long, which we 
shouldered as guns and marched down to where our 
house ha'd stood. In fact they had burned up every- 
thing we had which they did not carry away. We were 
completely stripped and it looked to us that evening 
that the next bite we would get to eat would be found 
somewhere on the west side of the Cascade mountains. 
As we were afoot and would have thirty or forty miles 
of snow to wade through, the prospect did not seem 
very cheerful ; in fact, to attempt to cross the mountains 
seemed so hopeless that we finally concluded to attempt 
to find the Canyon City road which we knew lay some- 
where to the north of us. How far it was we did not 
know. In fact our ignorance was so dense that it seems 
foolishness now. So we gathered together a few traps, 
such as were not burned, hitched up our oxen and 
started for '"grub." 

Not a drum was heard, not a bugle note, 
As our course down stream we worried; 

But like a boy caught in a melon patch, 
We whooped, and humped and hurried. 

We perhaps looked very brave as we marched down 
the valley with our make-believe guns on our shoul- 
ders, but as a truthful historian I am compelled to say 
that we did not feel that way. Two days and a half 
afterward we found the Warm Spring Agency by an 
accident. There were no roads in the country then, 
and our course was guided solely by canyons and 
ridges. At the agency we were welcomed by one of the 
best women even Oregon ever knew, Mrs. Captain John 
Smith, wife of the agent of the reservation at that time. 
We were fed and made to feel at home. Two days 
afterward Johnson and I started for home. Mrs. Smith 
furnished us with enough provisions to run a small 
Methodist camp-meeting at least a week. We hired an 
Indian to guide us to Cache creek from whence we 
proposed to "hoof it" home. At Cache creek the 
Indian left us and Johnson and I started across the 
snow. Traveling was very slow and tiresome, and 
every few hundred feet we would stop and eat. In 
fact, we stopped and ate so often that the next morn- 
ing we had only enough left for a scanty breakfast. 
That evening after a fatiguing day worrying over and 
through the snow we were so fortunate as to meet 
James M. Blakely who was camped on the Santiam at 
what is known as "The Elephant" with a band of cat- 
tle, which he was taking to Wild Horse, Umatilla 
county. Jim gave us our supper and breakfast, for 
which I am certain the pack horse was ever after 
thankful, for we certainly lightened his load. Next 
day we arrived home, safe and sound and hungry. 

A few weeks later James McDowell, his two boys, 

Bill and George, Haley Anderson, Billy Smith and 

John Miller came here. The McDowells settled on the 

upper place now owned by J. P. Combs ; John Toms 

45 



and J. Miller taking claims up where C. S. Pringle 
now lives. Shortly afterward they were followed by 
James Slater, A. Zell, Uncle Jackay Rose, Harry 
Smith, William Pickett, Charles Brotherhead and James 
Mackey. A. Zell located on the place where he now 
lives ; Harry Smith on the place that now bears his 
name on Mill creek ; James McKay on McKay creek, 
the Millican ranch, I believe, and A. C. Belieu on the 
place Ewen Johnson now owns. Soon afterward Rea- 
son Hamlin moved here, bringing his family now with 
him. Mrs. Hamlin was the first white woman in the 
valley. They settled on the old James Bent place arid 
built their house on the creek near the center of where 
the Stroud boys have their field. In October, E. John- 
son, W. H. Marks and William Clark brought out their 
families, and they were followed a week or so later by 
the families of Wayne Claypool, Lew Daugherty and 
George H. Judy. Johnson moved his family into the 
cabin in the timber; Marks onto the place just above 
where John Claypool now lives, which he took up and 
improved. W. Clark settled on what is now the Free- 
land place — Captain White's old claim — Wayne Clay- 
pool into the house he had built in the place of the one 
burnt; Lew Daugherty stopped in the timber above the 
Jim Miller place and Judy took up what is now the 
John Todd place, building his house on the creek. 

About this time Barney Prine and I. N. Bostwick 
came to the Valley bringing their families with them. 
Barney settled on the present site of Prineville; Bost- 
wick took the place now owned by Dan Powell jnst 
above town. Later John Crabtree and his family, ac- 
companied by John Claypool, moved here, and lived 
during that winter in E. Barnes' house, Crabtree tak- 
ing up the place Webdell now owns. 

That summer James McKay brought out a band of 
cattle, and E. Barnes, E. Johnson and W. H. Marks 
each a small band of sheep. These were the first stock 
brought here, and I have a painful recollection that the 
sheep had the doubtful honor of having the first case 
of scab in the settlement, though at that time we did' 
not know what it was. We thought it was the mange,, 
the same disease that the hogs have in the Willamette 
valley, and we lost all our wool and nearly all our 
sheep before we learned what ailed them. Greasing: 
the measly things with a bacon rind did not cure them, 
and some of us retired from the business with disgust. 
Why, the scab is a native of this section. I have seen 
the coyotes perfectly naked with it; the rim rocks had 
it; the sage brush had it; it was in the grass, in the, 
rocks, in the air and our sheep caught it and had it: 
bad. 

I think I omitted the names of Arthur Veazie, Joel' 
Long and John Latta, who also came here during the 
summer of 1868. Veazie settled upon the place now 
owned by J. H. Miller; Joel Long upon the Powell 
place on McKay creek, and Latta on what is 'now- 
known as the "old Millican ranch." 

During the summer of 1868 the settlers were busy 



706 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



in building their houses ; Johnson erecting the old 
house that now stands just north of the old Claypool 
school house ; William Clark a log cabin near where 
now stands the Freeland residence; G. H. Judy on the 
creek south of where now stands the John Todd house; 
W. H. Marks near the point of rocks that juts out to 
the road on the place now claimed by John Claypool ; 
Hamlin on the old Bent Jones place; the McDowells in 
what is now J. P. Combs upper field; E. Barnes on his 
meadow ranch; H. Smith on his place; Haley Anderson 
■on the place known as the John Davis place, now owned 
by Billy Smith, and during the following winter John 
Cra'bt'ree the old log house that now stands on A. B. 
Webdell's place ; A. Zell on the place he now occupies. 
During the summer J. Narcross and Vining located 
and settled upon the place now owned by S. J. Newson, 
now ? 'Newson's Addition to Princville," building two 
houses on the creek just east of the lane leading north 
from town. Vining did not long remain here, dispos- 
ing of his interests to Narcross and moving away. He 
was afterward lost on the steamer General Wright 
■ when she foundered off our coast several years ago. 
During the winter of 1868 the Vining cabin was 
occupied by M. B. Fry, now of Albany, whose chief 
ambition was to get up a race between a thoroughbred 
greyhound he brought out with him and one of the 
fleet-foted mule bucks that were then so numerous 
-on 'our valleys and plains. But before he succeeded in 
this desire he made the grand mistake of turning his 
slim-waisted, long-legged racer loose after a mangy 
coyote that looked fully as hungry as his dog. There 
was an exciting race for about a quarter of a mile and 
the greyhound overtook the coyote who proceeded then 
and there to give it the worst whipping a high-bred 
town' dog ever got. Then there was another quarter 
race back to where Fry stood in open astonishment, the 
greyhound in the lead, but the coyote a good second 
arid every few jumps he would nip a piece out of the 
fleeing dog's hams. That race ruined the dog as a 
hunter, for from that day on Fry could never induce it 
to chase a. jack-rabbit, and the howl of a coyote drove 
it under the bed. After that it pined away and died. 

That winter was a busy one to all of us ; making 
rails, boards, hewing house logs and, surprising as it 
may seem, I was inveigled into accepting the position 
of pitman in a whip-saw mill, where we sawed lumber 
for the 'floors of our cabins at the rate of fifty feet a 
day, working sixteen hours. Sundays we washed and 
patched our clothes, and right here I want to say that 
along toward spring our wardrobes got to be very 
threadbare ; we thought we had come with clothes 
enough for a year, but three months' ranting around over 
the rimrocks and through the juniper trees after the mule 
deer had left us barefooted and naked. There were no 
stores that we could possibly reach where we could 
obtain a new supply and toward spring we were the 
nakedest lot of white men in Oregon. The makeshifts 
we utilized to hide our skins from the biting winds — 



we didn't care a cent for the public gaze — was but an- 
other illustration that "Necessity is the Mother of In- 
vention." Newt Bostwick capped the climax in the 
footwear line by soling a pair of moccasins with a piece 
of bacon rind. We all wore moccasins and before 
spring buckskin breeches and shirts. 

That winter Uncle Jim Slater who, with Abe Zell, 
had been stopping with the McDowells, becoming tired 
of bachelor's cooking and vension, went up and hired 
out to W. H. Marks, stipulating that he was to have 
beef once a day and a yard and a half of the first 
cloth woven to patch the seat of his pantaloons, pro- 
vided the latter held together that long. The long win- 
ter evenings were passed in dressing buckskin, learning 
the copper trade under A. Zell's tuition, and in solving 
the most complex mathematical problem the fertile 
brain of Uncle Jim Slater could conceive, using a shingle 
for a slate. Once a week the settlers on lower Ochoco 
would meet, first at one cabin and then another, turn 
about, and have a debate. Even at that early day the 
W. V & C. M. road company's claim to the lands in this 
section was questioned by the settlers, for we often 
had the company and its "road" as the subject of de- 
bate. Many were the eloquent denunciations of their 
staking out old Indian trails and calling them "wagon 
roads," but little did we dream that these same old 
Indian trails would become by the venality of two of 
Oregon's governors, a "Military Wagon Road," or that 
the improvements on which some of the settlers were 
working so hard that winter would be taken from 
them and given to this company, or perhaps our speeches 
might have rung with even yet more bitter denuncia- 
tion that they did. 

The forepart of the winter the young people had 
several "bussing bees" and dances. Along toward 
spring we let up on them ; in fact we got skittish of the 
girls. Not that we were naturally diffident or bashful, 
but because our trousers were more conspicuous by what 
was absent than by what remained. 

James McDowell was an odd genius ; he went by the 
name of "Governor of Canada," derived by having been 
at one time the laziest man in that part of the Forks 
of the Santiam known as "Canada." Though it was told 
of "Bill," the Governor's oldest boy, married on the 
strength of his being a son of the 'Governor of Can- 
ada," the girl had never heard of the Forks or seen 
the "Governor." If he could get enough to eat and 
plenty of tobacco, he did not care if he was ragged or 
dirty. He was always happy, and during our ragged 
period the Governor was in his element. He shaved 
once a week with a butcher knife, and stood ready to 
back his "mar" against any horse in the country for 
fifteen buck hides. 

Jim and A. H. Marks, Uncle Buford's boys, were 
born hunters and this country was to them all that 
could be desired. Deer were plenty everywhere ; not 
little, runty white tails like they have in the Willamette, 
but big. mule deer, animals as large as an elk. Elk 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



707 



and bear could be found in the mountains ; wild sheep 
on the high, rocky buttes ; big grey wolves once in a 
while and coyotes everywhere. And above all was a 
conscious' feeling that one might find an Indian; just 
enough of this latter feeling to give a zest to a hunt 
away from the settlement. One evening night caught 
Jim and A. H. several miles from home, and the 
darker it got the greater their anxiety to get home. 
Finally it became so dark Jim could not see his way or 
feel over a rim-rock. He stumbled over one and after 
dropping some six or eight feet he caught on a narrow 
ledge that projected from the wall some two feet, just 
far enough for him to maintain a precarious footing. 
He soon ascertained by experimenting that it was im- 
possible for him to climb back from where he had 
fallen, and it was too dark to see how far it was to the 
"bottom, and how to climb down, his imagination con- 
jecturing that it was hundreds of feet down and the 
wall perfectly smooth, that he would hold on to the 
narrow ledge until his strength was gone and then fall 
down and be dashed to pieces on the rocks below. He 
felt that he was doomed; he would hang there until 
starvation would loosen his hold, or perhaps an Indian 
would find him perched there, caught like a rat in a 
trap, and from the ledge above take mean advantages of 
him. Then he would think of home, and how they 
would miss and hunt for him and never find him. Amid 
such gloomy thoughts he passed the night and the first 
streak of light showed him that the ledge upon which 
he stood with within two feet of the bottom. 

Charley Brotherhead was the son of a rich banker 
in New York ; he had enlisted in the army during the 
war and after its close he had been discharged on this 
coast and had drifted here, why, I could never im- 
agine. He did not need any of this country and it cer- 
tainly did not need any of him. He wouldn't work, 
and could not if he had wanted to, but he could and did 
raise a quarrel with Captain White, and the way these 
two worthies laid for one another; how they quarreled; 
how Captain White to avoid meeting Charley would go 
■across the mountains instead of traveling through the 
valley when he wished to go from one point to another; 
how Charley would lie on the old Captain and bluster 
about what he would do if he could only lay hands on 
him, gave evidence that even in frontier places where the 
settlers were mutually dependent upon one another for 
safety, they could be fools. 

The winter of 1868 was a fine one; no snow or rain- 
fall. The ground and streams of water froze hard, and 
the settlers ran around over the country with only 
moccasins and with, comparatively, dry feet. The few 
stock in the valley kept fat, and the teams engaged in 
hauling rails and timber with no better feed than to be 
turned on the bottom at night kept in good working 
order. It did not storm any that winter; the days were 
clear and warm and the nights clear and coid. 

I find it necessary to add another name to the list of 
settlers in the year 1868 that I inadvertantly omitted in 



its proper place; that is George Millican. He came here 
in the spring of 1868 in company with John Latta and 
Joel Long, and brought out the first band of cattle 
driven here. He stopped awhile on Mill creek, the site 
of Prineville, he being some three months ahead of 
Barney Prine, but by the solicitation of Millican, he soon 
abandoned the place, and he, Millican and Latta went 
over on the McKay and took the place now owned by 
Millican and Powell. 

In 1869 the little settlement here received quite an 
addition to its numbers, the Gulliford boys, Jake, Will- 
ram and Jasper came, bringing with them quite a band 
of cattle, and settled upon the head of the McKay, up 
where William Gulliford now lives. Albert Allen also 
that year settled on the McKay on the place B. F. 
Allen now owns. Then came J. C. Davis, Bluford Marks 
and, his two sons, Jim and Att, Dr. L. Vanderpool, A. 
Hodges, Charley Hodges, the irrepressible ''Bud" 
Hodges, Lizzie Vanderpool, now Mrs. Jake Gulliford, 
J. H. Snodderly and family, D. H. Hale and S. R. 
Slayton and family, the two Foster boys, William and 
"Jap," and their sister Mrs. Nancy Leach, A. B. Web- 
dell and E. G. Conant ; A. Zell brought out his family ; 
Jake Narcross and wife ; Hardy Holman, John Holman, 
John D. Lee, A. Hinkle, Bill Davis and Abbott. 

John Davis moved on the place on Mill Creek that 
Haley Anderson had been holding for him. Uncle Blu- 
ford Marks took up the place where John Claypool now 
lives, and his two boys built the old log cabin that now 
stands on that place; it was one that Alex Hodges took 
up, and he and his boys went to improve the place he 
now lives upon. Dr. Vanderpool brought out a band 
of sheep and his first corral was about where Duncan'^ 
law office now stands. He afterward took up the place 
where he now lives. J. H. Snodderly took up the place 
where he now lives ; the Foster boys the place now 
owned by Dan Powell. A. B. Webdell bought John 
Crabtree's right to the swamp land just above town 
and thereby bought a nineteen years' fight with the 
Road Company. He soon after left E. G. Conant in 
charge of the place and went to the Willamette Valley 
to buy horses, and while there married a Miss Wiley, 
whom he brought out next summer. But their wedded 
life was not destined to last long, for that dread dis- 
ease, consumption, had her in its clutches and she died. 
May 6, 1871, I believe her death was the third in the 
valley, R. Streithoff who died in December being the 
first, and Emily Powell on March 9, 1871, being the 
second. 

R. S. Slayton settled in the lower Ochoco on the 
meadow land he now owns ; he also brought out quite 
a large band of cattle. 

Jake Narcross settled upon the land just north of 
town, embracing the claims of S. J. Newsome and Mrs. 
Lafollette. Hardy and John Holman and John Lee and 
Orange Morgan settled on the creek above Abe Zell's 
place on the land now owned by E. N. White, and — ■ 
yes, I have almost forgotten a Mr. Smith who settled 



7o8 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



somewhere near where Billy Tomlinson now lives. He 
should not be forgotten, for his wife that summer gave 
birth to the first child born in the new settlement. 
Though this child should be to this county what Vir- 
ginia Dare is to America, I have forgotten whether it 
was a boy or a girl. 

The settlers were dependent upon the kindness of 
John and Jim Luckey for an occasional letter from their 
former homes, as there was no communication with any 
mail routes, and the Luckeys, who were employes on 
the Warm Springs reservation, would always kindly 
gather and forward the mail that came by the way of 
The Dalles, and a letter was an event in those days. I 
remember that once the boys sent up a batch of mail, 
which came to Barney Prine's — the place was not then 
Prineville — and Joel Long who happened down that 
way undertook to deliver the mail to the upper Ochoco 
settlers and, on the way up he lost one for John Clay- 
pool and the whole settlement turned out to hunt for it. 
The search was continued until the letter was found. 
It contained the startling information that one of the 
Smith family had obtained a divorce. I do not now 
remember whether the divorcee wrote the letter or not. 

In the spring of 1868, while these men were 
busy with their work, they were rudely startled 
by a raid made on them by the Snake Indians 
who captured and carried off three yoke of cat- 
tle and Billy Smith's only horse. This action 
was a rude reminder that their stay here would 
not be unmixed with danger. As the whites were 
few in number and without horses they, of course, 
did not follow the Indians very far, leaving the 
settlers to content themselves with keeping a 
better lookout, and more carefully guarding 
against a repetition of such a raid. At that per- 
iod, 1869, there were no roads connecting this 
country with The Dalles, or in fact anywhere else. 
During the summer of 1869 William Clark and 
Lew Daugherty built a road from the valley of 
Bakeoven v The road went direct to Cow Canyon 
following the creek bed, and the reef of rocks 
that obstruct the creek was overcome by a bridge. 
These men were paid for their work by the mer- 
chants of The Dalles. At that time there were 
no houses between the valley and Bakeoven, ex- 
cept one at the Coleman ranch, on Trout creek. 

C. C. Mailing came to Crook county in 1877 
and located on Willow creek, where he erected 
a steam sawmill, the first one in the county. In 
1863 Bristow Brothers were taking a pack train 
from Eugene to Canyon City, and they encamped 
on Trout creek, where they were joined by an- 
other pack train returning from Canyon City. 
At night they were raided by Indians and every 
horse was stolen. Until the following afternoon 
the freighters could do nothing when another 



pack train came along. The men at once mounted 
and gave chase, finding the Indians on the bank 
of the Ochoco, where now stands Prineville. 
Seeing them the Indians hid themselves in th^ 
tall rye grass and made no attempts to defend 
themselves. The freighters gathered in their 
horses and, naturally, those of the Indians, re* 
turned to their camping grounds and eventually 
gained their destination. 

Camp Polk was named by Captain Charles 
La Follette, who in the early sixties camped there 
with a company of soldiers. It was located in 
Squaw creek, about forty miles west of Prineville 
and about four miles northwest of where Sisters is 
now located. A few log huts were thrown to- 
gether to form a temporary camp. 

The name "Ochoco," Indian for willow, was, 
in the days of the earliest settlement, given to 
nearly all the territory within the boundaries of 
Crook county. Present settlers limit it to the 
valley along the creek of that name. When the 
whites first visited the stream it was called 
Ochoco, pronounced O-chee-co, and such, since 
then it has remained. 

Mr. Miller was a teacher at the Warm 
Springs, and during a visit to the future Prine- 
ville he preached at the old Claypool school 
house, about ten miles east of Prineville. It »s 
considered highly probable that this was the first 
sermon preached in the county. 

J. P. Combs, D. Wayne Claypool, S. R. 
Slayton and J. H. Snodderly were the first to 
raise grain in Crook county. This was in 1870. 
It was grown for hay in the Ochoco valley. The 
first notes of the "new county" symphony were 
heard September 16, 1880, when a Prineville 
correspondent of The Dalles Times wrote as fol- 
lows: 

The question of the division of Wasco county is 
being generally agitated here. This question was dis- 
cussed to some extent two years ago, but at that time 
met with serious opposition, not only from your part of 
the county (The Dalles) but from many of the citizens 
here. Now, however, there seems to be but one unan- 
imous opinion and that is, "A new county of our own 
we should have, and that immediately!" Citizens of 
The Dalles hardly understand how little real protec- 
tion or advantage to this part of the county our pres- 
ent organization is. Were it not for our local officers 
crimes might be committed daily and the criminals 
escape long before the arm of justice could be stretched 
across the 125 miles that intervene between us and the 
judgment seat at The Dalles. And as it is, the few 
cases that we are compelled to take to The Dalles for 
trial cost the county such enormous sums that we are 
ashamed to make the balance against us any larger, and 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



709 



many offenses are allowed to shock the moral sense of 
the community without any attempt to visit punishment 
upon the heads of offenders. 

In the fall of 1880 the conditions of the little 
town of Prineville were considered prosperous. 
Especially had it prospered during the two pre- 
ceding years. At that period the principal in- 
dustry was stock raising. The large droves of 
cattle which were driven from Crook county in 
1879 greatly lessened the amount of horned cat- 
tle on the range, and since that time particular 
attention has been paid to horses and sheep, of 
which the farmers have the finest grades. So. 
early as 1880 some of the best thoroughbred 
horses for all purposes had been imported ; there 
is no kind of a graded animal of that species but 
can be found at, or near, Prineville. Large bands 
of sheep ranged the neighboring hills and kept 
fat the year round. The winter months were 
slightly more severe than at The Dalles, but the 
snowfalls were usually light. Large accessions 
to the population were made in 1879, and mainly 
of a thrifty, industrious class which is always 
acceptable to every community. Heretofore very 
little agricultural projects had been entered upon. 
Yet at that time it was popular opinion that the 
valleys of the Ochoco and Crooked river could be 
made quite productive. McKay creek, six miles 
from Prineville, had been farmed for a unmber 
of vears and quite successfully. The quantity 
and quailty of grain raised compared favorably 
with any section of Crook county. Such were 
the industrial conditions in 1880. 

In the histories of other counties published 
in this work we have told of the severe weather 
prevailing in 1880-81, and of the hardships en- 
dured by settlers in caring for their stock. In 
that portion of Wasco, which is now Crook 
county, then known as the "Prineville country," 
this winter was not so severe as in the country 
further to the north. ' Large herds of stock were 
wintered on the Ochoco, beyond Prineville, and 
there was very little loss. 

ORGANIZATION OF CROOK COUNTY. 

Crook was created out of the southern portion 
of Wasco county in the fall of 1882. The bill 
was introduced by Hon. B. F. Nichols, then a 
representative of Wasco county. Prineville was 
made the temporary county seat. Following is' 
the enabling act : 

Be it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the 
State of Oregon : 

Section 1. That all that portion of the State of Ore- 
rgon embraced within the following boundary lines be, 



and the same is hereby created and organized into a 
separate county by the name of Crook, to-wit : Begin- 
ning at a point on the western boundary line of Wasco 
county where the same is intersected by the line be- 
tween townships eight and nine south ; from thence east 
on said line to the John Day river ; thence up the main 
channel of said river to the west line of Grant county ; 
thence on the line between Grant and Wasco counties 
to the southeast corner of Wasco county; thence on the 
line between Wasco and Lake counties to the east 
boundary line of Lane county; thence 'on the line be- 
tween Lane, Linn and Wasco counties to the place of 
beginning. 

Section 2. The territory embraced between said 
boundary lines shall compose a county for all civil and 
military purposes, and shall be subject to the same laws 
and restrictions and be entitled to elect the same officers 
as other counties of the State: Provided, that it shall 
be the duty of the governor as soon as convenient after 
this act shall become a law to appoint for Crook 
county, and from her resident citizens, several of the 
county officers allowed by law to other counties of 
this state ; which said officers, after duly qualifying ac- 
cording to law, shall be entitled to hold their respec- 
tive offices until their successors shall be duly elected 
at the general election of 1884, and shall have duly 
qualified as required by law. 

Section 3. The temporary county seat of Crook 
county shall be located at Prineville in said county until 
a permanent location shall be adopted. At the next 
general election the question shall be submitted to the 
legal voters of said county, and the place, if any, which 
shall receive a mapority of all the votes cast at such 
election shall be the permanent county seat of said 
county ; but if no place shall receive a majority of all 
the votes cast the question shall again be submitted to 
the legal voters of said county between the two points 
having the highest number of votes at said election, and 
the place receiving the highest number of votes at such 
election shall be the permanent county seat of said- 
county. 

Section 4. Said county of Crook shall for repre- 
sentative purposes be annexed to the 17th representa- 
tive district. And for senatorial purposes said county 
shall be annexed to the 16th senatorial district. 

Section 5. The county clerk of Wasco county shall 
send to the county clerk of Crook county, within thirty 
days after this act becomes a law a certified transcript 
of all delinquent taxes, from the assessment roll of 1882, 
that were assessed within the limits of Crook county ; 
also a certified transcript of the assessment of all per- 
sons and property within the limits of Crook county 
for 1882, and the said taxes shall be payable to the 
proper officers of Crook county. The county treasurer 
of Crook county shall, out of the first money collected 
for taxes, pay over to the treasurer of Wasco county 
the full amount of state tax on the assessment of 1882, 
due from the citizens of Crook county. Provided, That 



yio 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



the citizens of Crook county shall not be exempt from, 
but shall pay their due proportion of the indebtedness of 
said Wasco county for the year 1882. The said clerk of 
Wasco county shall also make out and send to the clerk 
of Crook county, within the time above limited, a tran- 
script of all cases pending in the circuit and county 
courts of Wasco county between parties residing in 
Crook county, and transfer all original papers in said 
cases to be tried in Crook county. 

Section 6. The county clerk of Wasco county 
shall, within forty days after the passage of this act, as- 
certain the proportion of the amount of money ex- 
pended by Wasco county for building a court house in 
the year 1882 ; collected in taxes from the inhabitants 
now to be embraced in the county of Crook, and make 
a certificate thereof and deliver the same to the 
treasurer of Crook county; and that the treasurer 
of said Wasco county pay over to the county said 
amount so paid by the inhabitants of said district on the 
presentation of said certificate. 

Section 7. The said county of Crook is hereby at- 
tached to the Fifth Judicial District for judicial pur- 
poses. 

Section 8. The county court of Crook county shall 
be held at the county seat of said county on the first 
Monday of every alternate month, beginning on the 
first Monday of the next after the appointment by the 
governor of county officers as provided in this act. 

Section 9. Until otherwise provided for the county 
judge of Crook county shall receive an annual salary 
of four hundred dollars, and the clerk and sheriff of 
said county shall be entitled to receive the same fees 
that are now allowed by law to the clerk and sheriff 
of Wasco county. 

Section 10. The county treasurer of Crook county 
shall receive an annual salary of two hundred dollars. 

Section 11. As early action in virtue of the provis- 
ions of this act is important, this act shall take effect 
and be in force from and after its approval by the Gov- 
ernor. 

Approved October 24, 1882. 

The first officers named by Governor Moody 
as officials of Crook county were the following : 

County judge, S. G. Thompson ; county clerk, 
S. T. Richardson ; sheriff, George H. Churchill ; 
commissioners, B. F. Allen, C. M. Cartwright ; 
assessor, S. J. Newsome ; school superintendent, 
H. A. Dillard ; treasurer, G. A. Winckler ; cor- 
oner, Richard Graham. . 

The fact that the senatorial fight of John H. 
Mitchell in the legislature of 1882 came near de- 
feating the bill for the creation of Crook county 
is not generally known. Had it not been for the 
work of Hon. B. F. Nichols, at that time a mem- 
ber from Wasco county, the measure would 
have failed. Mr. Nichols went to the legislature 
pledged to the creation of Crook county and 



against John H. Mitchell for United States sen- 
ator. Almost at the beginning of the session Mr. 
Nichols introduced house bill No. 65, which was"' 
for the creation of the new county. This meas- 
ure passed the house by a large majority, but 
was tabled in the senate without discussion. 
This was done to force Mr. Nichols to vote for 
John H. Mitchell which he refused to do. 

About this time an opportunity occurred for 
the state treasurer to pay out about $100,000 on 
the state's indebtedness, and thus save a large 
amount of interest. Edward Hirsch, the state 
treasurer, with the sanction of the governor and 
attorney general, paid out $100,000. A bill was in- 
troduced in the lower house to legalize this act- 
Through the efforts of Mr. Nichols it was tabled. 
Solomon Hirsch, senator from Multnomah 
county and brother of the state treasurer, was 
quite anxious that this bill should become a law. 
He was also chairman of the committee orr 
counties. Mr. Hirsch interviewed Mr. Nichols 
and was informed that the bill to legalize his 
brother's act would be passed after the Crook 
county bill had become a law. Consequently the 
senate was compelled to pass the bill creating 
Crook county in order to legalize the payment of 
the $100,000 of state indebtedness. 

During the second session of the county 
court, December 5, 1882, the members appointed 
Elisha Barnes justice of the peace, and T. S. 
Mealy constable for Prineville precinct. These 
were the first officers appointed by the new 
county court of Crook county. February 6, 1883, 
A. Aldridge was appointed road supervisor of 
District No. 1, also the first appointed in the 
county. 

The area of the new county was about 8,600 
square miles, and it contained a population of 
about 2,500. 

March 15, 1882, a messenger arrived at 
Prineville from Willow creek, who announced 
the news of the killing of two men named A. H. 
Crooks and S. J. Jory, a son-in-law of Crook's. 
The name of the supposed assassin was Lucius 
Langdon. The murderous deed, by shooting, 
was committed just over a small knoll at the rear 
of Langdon's residence, and out of sight of the 
road. Mr. Garrett Maupin, passing the road at 
the time, heard two shots. He went immediately 
to the place and found the two men dead, and 
saw Langdon leaving on a horse and armed. 

It appears that Langdon had had some diffi- 
culty with Crooks and Jory concerning a piece of 
land. (The land office afterwards confirmed 
Langdon's title to the property). 

The coroner's inquest was held by Justice 
Towers and the following verdict rendered: 

"We, the jury, empaneled to inquire into the 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



711 



cause of the death of A. H. Crooks and Stephen 
Jory, find from the evidence that the deceased 
came to their death by gunshot wounds inflicted 
by Lucius Langdon. 
"(Signed.) 

"H. A. Belknap, 
"J. H. Garrett, 
' r S. S. Brown, 
"S. G. Wood, 
"J. W. Page, 
"C. A. Newbill." 

The following is a letter from Deputy Sheriff 
J. L. Lukey at Prineville to Sheriff Storrs at 
The Dalles on the lynching of Langdon. 

Friend Storrs — I wrote you in my last of the begin- 
ning of a terrible tragedy, and to-day I will give you, 
as I hope, the end. The people turned out and went 
in several directions looking for Langdon. He had a 
brother working on Mill Creek, about seventeen miles 
from here, and six men went there the same night after 
the shooting. At one o'clock in the night they ap- 
proached the cabin where his brother was stopping, saw 
a light, but before they could surround the house the 
dogs gave the alarm. Our boys were so near they saw 
him run, but it was very dark and he got away; so 
a runner was sent back to town and every available 
man able to bear arms turned out determined to get 
him if possible. They scoured that whole country and 
guarded all the avenues where it was thought he was 
likely to escape. J. M. Blakely and a party of men 
thought he would return home, as the boys at Mill 
Creek had captured his horse and gun. They were sta- 
tioned just south of Langdon's house, when they saw 
a man approaching on horseback. They were not cer- 
tain of their man, however. James B. covered him 
with his Winchester before he knew he was near any 
one. He surrendered and they started immediately for 
town. In the meantime Justice Powers had issued a 
warrant for a man by the name of W. H. Harrison 
who had been stopping at Langdon's, and when the 
inquest was held on the bodies of Crook and Jory, 
gloated over it and said it served them right, striking 
his breast and saying, "Big Ingin Me !" They were 
trying to make him accessory after the fact. 

They all came over to town together, Harrison and 
Langdon prisoners, arriving here about two o'clock. 
Blakely woke me up, saying they had captured Langdon 
and wanted to turn him over to me. I went down to 
the stable office where they had him, put the shackles 
on him, took him into the hotel, had a good fire built 
and told Langdon to take some sleep on the lounge. 
I sat down by the stove to guard him. The town was 
soon aroused ; at least quite a number of men came 
in to see Langdon, as I suppose through a morbid curi- 
osity. Mr. W. C. Foren, deputy marshal, came in and 
stayed with me. Harrison went to bed and at about 



four o'clock got up and sat by the stove in charge of 
L. Nichols. At about five o'clock in the morning, as I 
was sitting at the stove with my back to the front door, 
the door was suddenly opened and I was caught and 
thrown backward on the floor and firmly held, while my 
eyes were blinded and immediately a pistol was fired 
rapidly five or six times. I heard some one groan just 
about the time the firing ceased. Harrison was hur- 
ried from the room. I could tell it was him by his 
cries. The doors were closed and I was allowed to get 
up. I went to Langdon and found him dead. I looked 
around and a masked man stood at each door, warning 
by ominous signs for no one to undertake to leave the 
room. So soon as they were satisfied that Langdon was 
dead they quietly left the room. At daylight I took 
some men and began the search for Harrison, and found 
him hanging from a banister of the Crooked river iron 
bridge. 

The town is quiet today. Powers held inquests upon 
the bodies. I am not informed what the verdict in 
either case was. I feel conscious of having done my 
duty as an officer, so there I let the matter rest. 

It is quite probable that the murders of 
Crooks and Jory were the incentives for the for- 
mation of a vigilantes committee, which organi- 
zation was subsequently opposed by a party call- 
ing themselves "Moonshiners." The latter, it is 
understood, represented an element standing for 
legality as against the court of Judge Lynch. 
At least the Vigilantes was organized, secretely, 
in the winter of 1881 and 1882, ostensibly for the 
protection of the county against outlawry and es- 
pecially for the detection and punishment of 
horse thieves. It is not recorded that a horse 
thief was ever captured or punished by this or- 
ganization, although a number of suspects were 
ordered to quit the range and leave the country. 

But in addition to the various acts of illegal 
vengenance the Vigilantes are stated to have 
carried their operations to extremes. Through 
active or quiescent sympathizers they secured 
political control of the county government. . It 
is stated also that few were punished legally, 
although evidence was overwhelming. Grand 
juries were hampered in their actions by active 
sympathizers of the Vigilantes who were picked 
upon for jurymen. The first act of this organiza- 
tion was the killing of Langdon and Harrison, 
as heretofore related. Their second enterprise 
was the shooting of Al Swartz while he was play- 
ing a game of cards in Burmeister's saloon. 
Swartz, it is reported, had openly defied them and 
was always in danger of an ambuscade. On the 
night of December 24, 1882, he entered the saloon 
and seated himself at the card table facing the 
door that he might not be taken unawares. At 
about ten o'clock some one walked up to the win- 



712 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



dow behind Swartz and shot him once in the back 
of the head, killing him almost instantly. 

The same night they proceeded to the house 
of W. C. and J. M. Barnes and shot and then 
hanged two young men named Sidney Huston 
and Charles Luster. The reason assigned for the 
killing of Huston was that he was planning to, 
steal a band of horses. The real object in kill- 
ing Luster was that he was a jockey who had 
agreed to throw a race, but had bet $60 on his 
own horse, which he rode and won. The next 
tragedy was the killing of Mike Mogan in Bur- 
meister's saloon by J. M. Barnes. This was in 
the spring of 1883. As reported at the time 
Barnes walked up to Mogan and demanded $6 
which, he claimed, Mogan owed him, stating 
at the same time that if he did not pay him he 
would shoot him. Barnes shot him through the 
lungs killing him almost instantly. 

The last act in this series of tragedies was 
presented December 18, 1883, when Frank Mo- 
gan, a brother of Mike, was killed by Colonel 
William Thompson, colloquially known as "Bud" 
Thompson. Mogan had worked for Thompson 
and there was a disagreement between them in 
the settlement. They quarreled in Kelley's sa- 
loon and in moving about Thompson got behind 
Mogan and shot him in the back of the head 
causing intant death. "Not a true bill" was the 
verdict of the grand jury in the Thompson case ; 
he was never punished. The widow of Mogan 
sued him for damages and received a judgment 
for $3,600, but this was never satisfied. Thomp- 
son was a bright newspaperman, and at one time 
was on the editorial staff of the Morning Oregon- 
ian, a newspaper published at Portland, Multno- 
mah county, He had also been editor of a num- 
ber of other papers throughout the state. He 
received his title of "Colonel" in the Modoc war. 

The "Moonshiners" organized in the winter 
of 1883-4 for the purpose of putting a stop to 
the rather too industrious work of the Vigilantes 
and incidentally to gain political control of the 
county. Comprising it were some of the leading 
citizens of the county ; organization was perfected 
in three precincts, but the party at Prineville was 
the leading one. Quietly they worked, but it was 
work that was noticeable in all portions of the 
county. Little, if no attention was paid to poli- 
tics and they worked in unison against such 
men as were in sympathy with the Vigilantes. 
The "Moonshiners" were successful at the polls 
and elected nearly their whole ticket. A strong 
undercurrent exists among the old timers who 
still reside here, but it seldom appears on the 
surface. Some ex-members of the Vigilantes live 
in the county, honored and respected citizens : 



some have left the county ; some have committed 
suicide and some have gone via the "booze route," 
and some have gone insane. 

February 6, 1883, the county court allowed its 
first bill. This was in the amount of $40 for 
chairs, and was in favor of Fried & Company. 
The members of the first jury empaneled in the 
new county were: T. B. James, J. Hampton, 
Stephen Staats, John Powell, H. Hennigan and 
Monroe Heisler. S. J. Newsome made the first 
assessment of Crook county in the spring of 
1883, the amount of taxable property at that 
time being $1,263,000. 

The first term of the circuit court was held 
in May, 1883, -with Hon. A. S. Bennett on the 
bench and Hon. T. A. McBride prosecuting at- 
torney. Elisha Barnes, one of the first justices 
of the peace appointed, performed the first mar- 
riage ceremony six days after the organization of 
the county, the high, contracting parties being 
Barney D. Springer and Miss Ann Todd. This 
ceremony was performed at the Occidental hotel. 
Justice Barnes also was the first mayor of the 
city of Prineville. 

In October, 1884, the total assessment valua- 
tion of property in Crook county was $1,612,323, 
one-half of which was represented by cattle, 
horses and sheep in nearly equal proportions. It 
was then one of the foremost stock regions in 
the state. Beginning with the creation of the 
new county there was noticed a more permanent 
settlement. Strangers came into the county and 
secured valuable claims along the many streams 
debouching into the Des Chutes and Crooked 
rivers. Substantial buildings were erected and 
the agricultural and stock industries were rapidly 
increased. An unusual degree of prosperity pre- 
vailed and as taxes were low and the farming 
and stock business profitable. Crook county soon 
.became one of the wealthiest according to popu- 
lation in the state. 

At the general election of 1884 the following 
county officials were chosen : F. A. McDonald, 
county judge; A. C. Palmer, county clerk; J. 
M. Blakely, sheriff ; J. H. Garrett and G. L. Friz- 
zell, commissioners; M. D. Powell, assessor; J. 
T. Bushuell, treasurer ; W. R. McFarland, sur- 
veyor ; D. W. Aldridge, school superintendent ; 
J. R. Stites, coroner. 

Mr. McDonald was appointed register of the 
United States land office at The Dalles in 1885, 
and Charles A. Van Houten was named as his 
successor in the office of county judge. 

In the autumn of 1885 tne county court ac- 
cepted the bid of H. A. Belknap of $S.474 to 
build a county court house under which con- 
tract the structure was accepted and completed 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



713 



December 28, 1885. The bidders for this edifice 
were J.-R. Marshall, $5,880; W. S. A. Johns, 
$5,667 ; H. Belknap, $5,474. 

The legislature of 1885 detached the Beaver 
creek country from Grant, and made it a por- 
tion of Crook county. This district proved a 
very valuable addition and it is one of the wealth- 
iest parts of the county, adding a large amount 
of taxable property. The severe winter of 1884-5 
proved a severe blow to Crook county. Cattle, 
horses and sheep perished by the thousands from 
lack of food and shelter ; financial losses to stock- 
men were enormous. 

From the Ochoco Review of September, 1886, 
it is learned that the total valuation of taxable 
property in Crook county in 1886 was $1,347,- 
722. September 8, 1887, a contract was entered 
into between the Crook county court and the 
Pauly Jail Building & Manufacturing Company 
for the construction of a county jail for the sum 
of $4,200. This building was accepted and paid 
for November 17, 1887. The taxable property 
for 1888 was $1,455,165. 

Roads paved with wool may appears rather 
expensive in these days of economic industry. 
Yet such was the result of exorbitant freight 
charges in the spring of 1894. We read from the 
Antelope Herald of April 9th: 

"We are reliably informed that the citizens 
•of the Hay creek community are grading and 
repairing their public roads with wool, preferr- 
ing to utilize it in this way rather than haul it 
to The Dalles and lose money on it. Three loads 
were emptied into a mudhole near Hay creek 
last week and covered with earth." 

In April, 1894, many of the ranches along the 
Ochoco, especially in the upper valley, were 
more or less damaged by high water, in some 
cases largely impairing their value. In Novem- 
ber, 1895, fire bugs appeared in northern Crook 
county. On the second the destructive torch was 
applied to about 180 tons of fine hay belonging 
to James Connolley on Cherry creek, and in a re- 
markably short space of time all of his winter's 
feed had ascended in smoke. This was the fourth 
lot of hay that had been destroyed in that section 
within a few weeks. It was plainly evident that 
unlawful efforts were being made by certain per- 
sons to drive the sheepmen out of business. The 
same year the population of Crook county, ac- 
cording to the Oregon state census, was 3,212. 
The livestock assessment of 1897 was : Sheep, 
.320,000; hogs, 1,500; horses, 10,500; mules, 250; 
cattle, 40,000. January 1, 1898, Mr. J. N. Wil- 
liamson said : 

"I will make the statement, truthfully as I 
think, and without any pretense of booming the 
.county, that Crook county has withstood the 



pressure of the recent hard times as well as any 
community on the Pacific coast. There have been 
fewer business failures, less enforced idleness 
and want than elsewhere. This statement of 
facts simply proves the assertion that a stock 
raising country is the best country on earth for 
a poor man." 

January 1, 1898, the population of Crook 
county was estimated at 5,000. September 10, 
the same year, Assessor Shown exhibited the 
following statement of the financial condition of 
the county : 



Tillable land 32,109 

Non-tillable land 504,504 

Improvements on deeded land 

Value of town and city property 

Improvements on town lots 

on lands not deeded 

Merchandise or stock in trade 

Implements machinery, wagons, 

carriages and other vehicles 

Money 

Notes and accounts 

Shares of stock 

Household furniture, libraries, 

jewelry, watches and firearms 

Horses 10, 173 

Cattle 26,490 

Sheep 246,892 

Swine 805 



to 4> O 

5185,645 
504,316 
147,801 
22,708 
58,150 
26,469 
41,710 

36,477 
10,173 
141,875 
35,654 

35,364 

64,983 

238,456 

246.892 

1,605 



Acres 



32,281 
520,131 



OT3 rt 
*j 4J O 

f 3 = 

Si o- s 

q, V o 



1140,379 
471,751 
149.681 
19,301 
60.500 
26,010 
45.552 

40,654 

17,876 

137,300 

37,315 



37.513 

11,879 75,926 

24,180 241,800 

288,724 406,077 

582 1,164 



Gross value of all property. 

Exemptions 

Total taxable property 



$1,798,769 

136,831 

1,661,888 



$1,902,899 

150,600 

1,752,209 



Of all the Des Chutes river projects the Des 
Chutes Reclamation & Irrigation Company had, 
in 1898, proved the most successful in its aim 
to accomplish the purposes of its promoters. To 
this enterprising company must be given the 
credit of being the pioneers of irrigation on the 
Des Chutes river. The originators of the scheme 
were G. W. Swalley and James R. Benham. 
In 1898 they succeeded in interesting others in 
the project. In October of the following year 
the company was incorporated. At that period 
the stockholders were : W. H. Gaun, C. B. 
Swalley, W. R. McFarland, W. H. Birdsong, 
William Johnson, B. C. Low, G. W. Swalley 
and James R. Benham. Mr. Gaun later sold his 
share to the company, and some time afterward 
Frank Glass purchased it, making him one of 
the share holders. 

C. M. Elkins of Prineville, also acquired 
a half interest in Mr. McFarland's share after an 
organization had been perfected. The original 
intention of the promoters was to select land 



7i4 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



under the Desert Land Act and encourage set- 
tlers to come in and acquire an interest in the 
canal by doing an equal amount of work, or by 
purchase of rights from the company. The ap- 
propriations of lands immediately contiguous to 



theirs by large concerns that afterward came in- 
forestalled their plans, however, and caused the 
little company to select a small area of its owrc 
and carry out the work without further aid^ 
They had a segregation of 1,280 acres. 



CHAPTER II 



PASSING EVENTS— 1889 TO 1905. 



Another prosperous year for Crook county 
was 1899. From the stock and wool sales of 
this year the people realized $1,010,000 which, 
divided among a voting population of 1,200 made 
$842 in money that came into the county for 
every male citizen over the age of twenty-one 
years, from the stock industry alone. During 
this year the county was for the first time con- 
nected with the outside world by telephone ; a 
line was constructed between Prineville and The 
Dalles. Another element making for the good 
of Crook county was the extension of the Col- 
umbia Southern railway. This considerably les- 
sened the distance to markets. 

Nearly all the threshing done in the county 
in the fall of 1889 was of rye with about enough 
oats and barley to furnish seed for the follow- 
ing year. Nearly, or quite, all the flour was 
imported from Webfoot and other successful 
wheat growing localities. And yet this country 
was not in the midst of calamity or threatened 
famine. The inhabitants were as well, or bet- 
ter off than those of the most favored agricul- 
tural region of Oregon. They were not in an 
agricultural community and stock was their 
wealth. They had a sufficient number of horses, 
cattle and sheep to sell to purchase such bread- 
stuffs they required for a decade to come. They 
had no worn out agricultural machinery that 
was not paid for, and but few were under mort- 
gage. The poorest man in their midst could 
spare the price of a horse for flour. 

Ten },ears subsequently, in 1899, it may be 
said thar the gr^at measure of prosperity was 
due to the marked conditional improvements of 
the past two years which had afforded ready sale 
for the products of the range. Probably 75 per 
cent- of the business of the county was con- 
ducted 011 a credit basis, but it was a noteworthy 
fact that no business failures had been recorded 
in the history of the county. The money hold- 



ings of the people were 33 1-3 per cent greater 
since November 1, 1897, and fully 200 per cent- 
greater than November 1, 1896. Gold was the 
principal medium of exchange ; silver for change 
being nearly always scarce, continually making: 
its way back to the centers of trade. 

Election Precincts. 

At a special meeting of the county court of De- 
cember 11, 1899, there were present: W. C. Wills, 
judge; T. S. Hamilton and D. E. Templeton, commis- 
sioners ; Arthur Hodges, clerk, and the following pro- 
ceedings were had : 

It was ordered that Crook county be divided into 
the following election precincts, with names and boun- 
daries as follows : 

Prineville No. 1 — The whole of that part of Crook 
county embraced within the corporate limits of the city 
of Prineville, shall be known and designated as Prine- 
ville Precinct No. 1. 

Ireland No. 2. — Commencing at a point on the west' 
boundary line of Crook county, where a line running 
due east and west through the center of township 18 
south, crosses said boundary, running thence east to a 
point three miles north of the southeast corner of town- 
ship 18 south of range 14 east, thence south to the 
southern boundary of the county ; thence west to the 
western boundary of the county and thence north along 
the western boundary of the county to the place of be- 
ginning, and it shall be known and it is ordered by the 
court that this precinct be designated as Ireland Pre- 
cinct No. 2. 

Bend No. 3. — Commencing at a point three miles 
north of the southeast corner of township 18 south of 
range 14 east; thence north to a point three miles south 
of the northeast corner of township 16 south of range 
14 east ; thence west three miles ; thence north three 
miles; thence north three miles; thence west along the 
township line between townships 15 and 16 south to the 
northwest corner of township 16 south of range 11 east j. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



715 



thence south six miles ; thence due west twelve 
miles ; thence south six miles ; thence west six miles ; 
thence three miles to the place of beginning, and it is 
ordered by the court that this precinct shall be known 
and designated as Bend No. 3. 

Montgomery No. 4. — Commencing at the southwest 
corner of section 18 township 16 south of range 15 
east of Willamette Meridian ; thence east to the south- 
east corner of section 13 ; thence north to the north- 
east corner of the same section; thence west to the 
northwest corner of same section ; thence north to the 
southwest corner of section I, township 15, south of 
range 15 east, thence east to the southeast corner of 
section 6, township 15, south of range 16 east; thence 
north to the southern boundary of the city of Prineville ; 
thence west and north to where the north and south 
line crosses Crooked river; thence down Crooked river 
to its junction with the Des Chutes river; thence south 
up the Des Chutes river to the township line between 
townships 15 and 16 south; thence east to the northeast 
corner of section 14, township 16 south of range 14 
east ; thence south three miles ; thence east three miles to 
the place of beginning, and it is ordered by the court 
that this precinct shall be known and designated as 
Montgomery No. 4. 

Black Butte No. 5. — Commencing at the southeast 
corner of township 16 south of range n east of Wil- 
lamette Meridian ; thence east to a point where the 
Des Chutes river crosses the township line between 
townships 15 and 16 south ; thence north along the 
Des Chutes river to the mouth of the Matoles ; thence 
at the Matoles at a point where the Matoles crosses 
the township line between townships 11 and 12 south; 
thence west to the northwest corner of township 12 ; 
thence south thirty miles to the point of beginning, and 
it is ordered by the court that this precinct shall be 
known and designated as Black Butte No. 5. 

Haystack No. 6. — Commencing at the southeast cor- 
ner of township 13 south of range 14 east of Willamette 
Meridian; thence west to intersection with Crooked 
river; thence down Crooked river to the junction with 
Des Chutes river to the mouth of Willow creek ; thence 
up Willow creek to a point where the north and south 
line between ranges 14 and 15 crosses said creek ; thence 
south to place of beginning, and it is ordered by the 
court that this precinct shall be known and designated 
as Haystack No. 6. 

McKay No. 7. — Commencing at the southeast cor- 
ner- of township 13 south of range 14 east of Willa- 
mette Meridian ; thence north four miles ; thence easl 
twelve miles ; thence south seven miles ; thence south 
three miles; west four miles; thence south three miles; 
thence west to the city of Prineville ; thence around 
the city of Prineville, following the corporate limits 
thereof to Crooked river ; thence down Crooked river to 
a point where the township line between townships 13 
and 14 south crosses said river ; thence east to place of 
beginning, and it is ordered by the court that said pre- 



cinct shall be known and designated as McKay Pre- 
cinct No. 7. 

Hay Creek No. 8. — Commencing at the southeast 
corner of section 1, township 12, south of range 16 east 
of Willamette Meridian; thence north seven miles; 
thence west 4% miles ; thence north 2^4 miles ; thence 
west to line between range line of 14 and 15 E; thence 
north four miles ; thence west to the Des Chutes river ; 
thence down the Des Chutes river to a point where the 
said Des Chutes river crosses the boundary line of 
Crook county; thence west to the summit of the Cas- 
cade mountains ; thence south on summit of Cascade 
mountains to a point where the township line between 
11 and 12 crosses said line; thence due east on said 
line to where said line crosses Matoles ; thence down 
Matoles river to its junction with Des Chutes river;, 
thence down the Des Chutes river to the mouth of Wil- 
low creek ; thence up Willow creek to where the range 
line between 14 and 15 east crosses said creek ; thence 
north to the southeast corner of section 1, township 12 
south of range 14 east of Willamette Meridian ; thence 
east twelve miles to place of beginning, and it is or- 
dered by the court that said precinct shall be known and 
designated as Hay Creek No. 8. 

Willow Creek No. 9. — Commencing at a point two- 
miles south of northeast corner of township 13, south, 
of range 16, east ; thence north seven miles ; thence west 
to southeast corner of section 1, township 12 south of 
range 14 east ; thence south seven miles ; thence east to 
place of beginning and it is ordered that said precinct be 
and is hereby known as Willow Creek Precinct No. 9. 

Cross Keys No. 10. — Commencing at the southeast 
corner of section 33, township 10, south of range 16 
east of Willamette Meridian ; thence due north twelve 
miles to the boundary line of Crook county; thence west 
to a point where the boundary line crosses Des Chutes 
river; thence up the river to where the township line 
between townships 9 and 10 crosses said river; thence- 
east to the southeast corner of township 9, south of 
range 14 east ; thence south four miles ; thence east 7^4 
miles ; thence south 2^ miles ;. thence east 1^4 miles to 
the place of beginning, and it is ordered by the court 
that said precinct shall be named and designated as 
Cross Keys Precinct No. 10. 

Upper Trout No. 11. — Commencing at the south- 
east corner of section 1, township 12, north of range 
16, east; thence due east six miles; thence due north- 
to the county line nine miles; thence due west on the 
county line nine miles ; thence due east three miles ; 
thence due south seven miles to the place of beginning, 
and it is ordered by the court that said precinct shall 
be named and designated as Upper Trout Precinct 
No. 11. 

Cherry Creek No. 12. — Commencing at the south- 
east corner of section 1, township 12, south of range 
17 east, thence due east twelve miles to the east boun- 
dary of the county; thence north along the boundary of 
the county to the northern boundary of the county;. 



yi6 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



thence west twelve miles ; thence south nineteen miles 
to the place of beginning, and it is ordered by the 
court that said precinct shall be named and designated 
as Cherry Creek Precinct No. 12. 

Johnson Creek No. 13. — Commencing at the south- 
east corner of section 13, township 14, south of range 
16 east of Willamette Meridian, thence due west four 
miles; thence due south three miles; thence west to the 
eastern boundary of the corporate limits of the city of 
Prineville; thence south and west to intersection of sec- 
tion line between sections 5 and 6. township 15 south of 
range 16 east ; thence west two miles ; thence south 
seven miles ; thence east one. mile ; thence south three 
miles ; thence east eight miles ; thence north four miles ; 
thence east four miles; thence north sJ4 miles; thence 
west five miles; thence north iij^ miles; thence west 
one mile; thence south to place of beginning, and it is 
ordered by the court that said precinct be and is hereby 
named and designated as Johnson Creek No. 13. 

Mill Creek No. 14. — Commencing at the northeast 
corner of the southeast quarter of the southeast quar- 
ter of section 5, township 15, south of range 17 east; 
thence east five miles; thence north t8% miles; thence 
west six miles ; thence south seven miles ; thence east 
one mile; thence south 1134 miles to the place of be- 
ginning, and it is ordered by this court that said pre- 
cinct be and is hereby named and designated as Mill 
Creek Precinct No. 14. 

Ochoco No. 15. — Commencing at the southeast cor- 
ner of section 25, township 15 south of range 17 east; 
thence east twelve miles ; thence south twenty-two miles 
to the place of beginning, and it is ordered by this court 
that said precinct be and is hereby named and desig- . 
nated as Ochoco Precinct No. 15. 

Summit Prairie No. 16. — Commencing at the south- 
east corner of section 24, township 15, south of range 
19 east ; thence east to eastern boundary of the county ; 
thence north four miles ; thence west twelve miles ; 
thence north six miles ; thence north to the boundary 
of the county; thence west thirteen miles to the place 
of beginning, and it is ordered by the court that said 
precinct be and is hereby named and designated as 
Summit Prairie Precinct No. 16. 

Bear Creek No. 17. — Commencing at the northeast 
corner of section 36, township 16 south of range 17 
east ; thence west twelve miles ; thence north two miles ; 
thence west six miles ; thence south to southern boun- 
dary of county; thence east to intersection of range line 
between 18 and 19 east ; thence north to northeast cor- 
ner of section 24, township 17 south of range 18 east ; 
thence west six miles to the place of beginning, and it 
is ordered by the court that said precinct be and is 
hereby named and designated as Bear Creek Precinct 
No. 17. 

Camp Creek No. 18. — Commencing at the north- 
west corner of township 18 south of range 19 east ; 
thence south to the county line ; thence west 18 miles ; 



thence north to the place of beginning, and it is ordered 
by this court that said precinct be and is hereby named 
and designated as Camp Creek Precinct No. 18. 

Hardin No. 19. — Commencing at the northwest cor- 
ner of township 18 south of range 22 east ; thence east 
twenty-four miles ; thence south six miles ; thence west 
six miles; thence south six miles, thence west twelve 
miles to place of beginning, and it is ordered by the 
court that said precinct be and is hereby named and 
designated as Hardin Precinct No. 19. 

Beaver No. 20. — Commencing at the northwest cor- 
ner of section 30, township 15 south of range 23 east; 
thence west 18 miles ; thence south fourteen miles ; 
thence north to the place of beginning. 

Maury No. 21. — Commencing at the northeast cor- 
ner of section 25, township 15 south of range 22 east; 
thence due west twelve miles ; thence due south four- 
teen miles; thence due east twelve miles; thence due 
north fourteen miles to the place of beginning, and it 
is ordered by this court that said precinct be and is 
hereby named and designated as Maury No. 21. 

Newsom No. 22. — Commencing at the southeast cor- 
ner of township 17 south of range 20 east; thence west 
twelve miles ; thence north three miles ; thence west six 
miles; thence north ten miles; thence east twelve miles; 
thence north one mile ; thence west six miles ; thence 
south fourteen miles to the place of beginning, and it 
is ordered by the court that this precinct be and is 
hereby named and designated as Newsom Precinct 
No. 22. 

In 1873 Dr. Baldwin settled about twenty- 
five miles north of Prineville at a place now 
known as Hay creek and engaged in stock rais- 
ing. At that period he owned 160 acres of land. 
From this small beginning there has grown up 
a stock ranch which is not only the largest in 
Oregon, but is famous the nation over for its 
accomplishments in raising thoroughbred sheep. 
Mr. Edwards was at that time manager of the 
company. He erected a residence costing about 
$7,000. In the year of the St. Louis Exposi- 
tion two car-loads of the best sheep were sent 
there which received favorable consideration and 
were not brought back but were disposed of in 
the east. On the ranch is an extensive shearing 
plant the motive power of which is a gasoline 
engine. Tt has forty patent shearers and from 
twenty to sixty men are required to conduct it 
at the shearing season, and sometimes as many 
as a hundred men are employed. 

In 10,00 what was known as the "'Desert 
country" underwent a marked and distinctive 
change in the way of developing into a thickly 
settled farming country. It was remarked by 
many retired owners that the days of wool grow- 
ing were coming to an end ; that it was then im- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



717 



possible to get them on to the summer ranges 
on account of fences. "We had to go out of 
our way to get through lanes" they said. 

There was considerable truth in this pessi- 
mistic attitude. Sheep were increasing in num- 
bers and fences were increasing on every hand. 
Yet they were only a forrunner of what soon 
took place in eastern and southern Oregon. 
While thousands of acres were barren and 
known as "desert land," yet within easy access to 
every section of this country were mountain 
streams with a sufficient flow of water to irri- 
gate every section. There were every summer, 
prospectors, surveying parties, and capitalists 
looking over the field ; irrigation companies were 
formed and ditches dug. There was scarcely a 
stream in the whole country that had not been 
explored. There were many filings on rights 
on streams purely for speculative purposes, and 
there were, also, many who had begun serious 
work and were already irrigating large areas of 
land. 

Something like a stampede was made along 
the Des Chutes river in the western section of 
Crook county. This stream courses through a 
mountainous country and in many places on both 
sides, lie vast areas of rich valley lands that have 
been called "desert" along with all other vast 
sections of the country. The Oregon Irrigation 
company was organized in 1901 by C. C. Hutch- 
inson. He obtained 35,000 acres of land under 
the Carey Act. This company afterward ob- 
tained another segregation making its holdings 
56,000 acres. 

In October, 1900, there was organized in 
Crook county and incorporated under the laws 
of the state, The Butte Development Company. 

The main object of this corporation was to 
obtain water from the Des Chutes for the re- 
claiming a vast amount of what is commonly 
known as "desert" land ; to lay out the two of 
Pilot Butte, thirty miles southwest of Prineville, 
on the Des Chutes ; to build dams and in other 
ways develop the vast water power of the Des 
Chutes river which, at the present time, runs its 
entire course without turning a single wheel. 
At the head of this enterprise was Mr. A. M. 
Drake, formerly of St. Paul, where he had been 
interested for years with his father in railroad 
and land business. Ill health compelled Mr. 
Drake to leave St. Paul. Hearing of Central 
Oregon, its pure water, vast pine forests, clear, 
bracing air, they, Mr. Drake and his wife, passed 
several months in carefully looking over the ad- 
vantages of Crook county. How well pleased 
they were may be taken for granted when it 
is known that they built a log house for their 
winter quarters at Pilot Butte. 



The work, as planned by the company was 
thoroughly and carefully considered. An up-to- 
date sawmill with modern appliances for the 
manufacture of commercial lumber of all kinds 
was constructed ; an electric light plant, general 
store and school house were among the plans for 
the future. The company had a segregation of 
85,000 acres. Outside of the Cascade reserve 
Crook county contains over 6,000,000 acres of 
land. Of this at least 5,000,000 are vacant pub- 
lic lands. 

Crook county has not a foot of railroad track 
within its borders. The nearest railroad point is 
Shaniko, the present terminus of the Columbia 
Southern, sixty miles north of Prineville, from 
which all goods and merchandise for the inter- 
ior are handled by freight teams. Formerly all 
shipping was from The Dalles, 150 miles dis- 
tant. This condition will not, however, long 
prevail. A road has been surveyed south from 
The Dalles following generally the course of the 
Des Chutes called The Dalles Southern. This 
would tap the best farming sections as well as 
the vast fields of yellow pine on the Des Chutes 
and further south. 

After entering the Des Chutes canyon near 
the mouth of White River in Wasco county, it 
will follow up the Des Chutes to the mouth of 
Trout creek, thence up Hay creek to divide east 
of Agency plains and the Haystack country, 
tnence south, crossing Crooked river at Carmi- 
chael's, thirteen miles northwest of Prineville,. 
thence southwest across the "desert" back to Des 
Chutes river at or near Pilot Butte where it 
would strike the timber belt and from which point 
it could be extended south or southeast indefinitely 
to a southern or eastern connection. The Cor- 
vallis and eastern is more than a probability. It 
is now built to within ten miles of the western^ 
boundary of the county, at the summit of the 
Cascades from whence eastward through Crook, 
Harney and Malheur counties the route has been 
surveyed and definitely located, crossing the Des 
Chutes at Pickett island, twenty-five miles west 
of Prineville, thence taking a southeast course 
across the "desert." 

This line, when built, will afford Crook the 
advantages of a direct route east for shipments of 
wool, cattle, sheep, horses and lumber. Either 
road will penetrate the great stretch of "desert" 
soon to be brought under irrigation, and the 
timbered portions of the county, thus opening 
up and aiding the development of two most im- 
portant resources. With the completion of these 
roads as indicated and then extension of the Co- 
lumbia Southern from Shaniko eastward up the 
John Day valley to the Sumpter and Grant 
county gold fields, and a connecting link between. 



'/ 



7 i8 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Shaniko down Antelope and Trout creeks to a 
junction with The Dalles Southern at the mouth 
of Hay creek, Crook county and the interior of 
eastern Oregon will have all the transportation 
facilities necessary for their proper development. 

January i, 1902, the estimated population of 
Crook county was 7,500. A history of the early 
days of the territory now within the bounda- 
ries would comprise a volume as interesting as 
these stories of the early settlement of the At- 
lantic states that have delighted the past gen- 
erations and will continue to fascinate more 
strongly the generations yet to come. The trials, 
the vicissitudes, the thrilling adventures, of dan- 
gers from savage foe, and his brothers, the four- 
footed savages of forest and "desert" these 
themes will charm and warm and hold captive 
those who come after us as long as the love of 
adventure for hardy manhood and deeds of dar- 
ing warm the blood in human veins. 

In 1902 the total valuation of taxable prop- 
erty in Crook county was $1,852,281. In 1903 
it had increased to $2,379,020. The Crook 
county census of 1903 showed 1,297 children be- 
tween the ages of four and twenty years. It was 
claimed at the time that this signified a gross 
population of 6,985. This increase in the coun- 
ty's population was quite perceptible, especially 
in the eastern and central portions. In the year 
1893 Crook county made a most substantial 
showing. The semi-annual statement of the of- 
ficials showed that the county was wholly out of 
debt, owing liabilities of only $1,501.65, while 
it had in the treasury $39,378.61. The county 
owned a block of land on which the court house 
stands and all its improvements were warranted. 
Few counties in the state were in as good con- 
dition as Crook. 

In 1903 the Columbia Southern Irrigation 
Company, capital $100,000, had been incorpor- 
ated by W. H." Moore, E. E. Lytle, and W. A. 
Laidlaw. In May of the same year was incor- 
porated the Central Oregon Irrigation Company, 
the capital stock of which was placed at $5,000. 
E. E. Lytle and Newton Killen were the incor- 
porators. In 1904 was organized the Squaw 
Creek Irrigation Company, by William Wurz- 
weiler, and it has a segregation of 11,766 acres. 
The Buck Mountain Irrigation Company was or- 
ganized in 1904. After negotiating for the sale 
of its property for a period extending over a 
year, the Pilot Butte Development Company dis- 
posed of its contract to W. E. Guerin, J. O. 
Johnson, W. J. Turney, for a consideration of 
$70,000. The Hutchinson rights on the Des 
Chutes river were also included in the purchase 
and the sum received was about half that paid the 
Drake interests. The new Des Chutes Irrigation 



& Power Company, which now had charge of the 
work on the Des Chutes river had applied for 
80,000 acres more land making a total appropria- 
tion of 210,000 acres. It is the intention of the 
present company to take out the main canal some 
eight miles further up the river than had been 
contemplated by the Pilot Butte company, thus 
securing 100,000 acres of land which is suscepti- 
ble of cultivation. The total length of the main 
canal will be about 120 miles, and it is the pre- 
curser of a plan to bring 25,000 acres under 
these conditions. 

June 23, 1904, a special meeting of the state 
land board apportioned the Des Chutes Irriga- 
tion lien for irrigation of the 84,600 acres of 
land lying under its ditches in Crook county, 
Oregon. This amount practically appraised the 
land. The rush of homeseekers had begun. 
About 12,000 applications for the land was made 
within a week by actual settlers. 

In 1904 the total taxable property in Crook 
county was $2,688,783. In February, 1904, fire, 
beginning in the roof partially destroyed the sec- 
ond story of the court house at Prineville. The 
offices on the first floor and the county court 
room were not damaged. Damage to the upper 
story amounted to $2,000. It was in June, 1904, 
that a most desperate engagement begun in Crook 
county. The following letter from Prineville to 
The Dalles Times-Mountaineer is apropos to this 
subj ect 

Prineville, Oregon, June 17. — Conflicting range ter- 
ritory in Crook county led to the first open slaughter 
of sheep last Monday (June 13) when masked men 
shot and killed sixty-five head belonging to Allie Jones, 
a sheep owner residing about fifteen miles east 
of this city. The killing occurred on Mill creek in 
the vicinity of the "dead lines," the men threatening 
a greater slaughter if the herds were not removed in- 
stantly from the district. 

The sheep were in charge of one herder who was 
taken unawares and was unable to offer any resistance 
to the attack. He was compelled to stand quietly a 
short distanoe away, guarded by one man, while the 
others went about their work. After sixty-five of the 
band had been killed the herder was told to turn the 
remainder back and keep them out of the territory in 
which they had been found. 

The first outbreak in tine sheep industry in this 
county recalls vividly th& wanton slaughter which has 
recently occurred in Lake county and marks the first 
steps in the range difficulties which are likely to be en- 
countered here during the coming season. Tbe scene 
of the killing is in the territory where an effort was 
made a short time ago to establish lines for the sheep 
and cattle. Three weeks ago the district was visited 
by a party of sheep owners from Antelope and a meet- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



719 



ing arranged between them and the cattlemen in the 
southeastern part of the county. The matter of rang- 
ing stock in the Blue mountains was gone over thor- 
oughly, but a decision relative to the establishment of 
limits failed to be reached. The sheepmen went home 
and the slaughter this week is the result of their fu- 
tile efforts to come to an understanding. 

While it is not believed that open hostilities will 
break out between the sheepmen and cattle owners in 
this territory during the summer ranging months, it 
is asserted that an encroachment upon this disputed 
region by nomadic sheep will be the signal for forcible 
resistance. The "dead lines" of last year will be strictly 
enforced, which means that stockmen will not be occu- 
pying a peaceable neighborhood. 

The Des Chutes Echo of June 18th, contained 
the following : 

"The first depredation as a result of the con- 
flicting territories occupied by the cattlemen and 
sheep owners in this county occurred last Mon- 
day, when sixty-five sheep belonging to Allie 
Jones were shot and killed on Mill creek by 
masked men, who threatened greater slaughter 
if the band were not removed from that local- 
ly * * * * -pj le £ rst ou tbreak against 

the sheep marks the first step in the range diffi- 
culties. The scene of the killing is in the district 
in which an effort was made a short time ago to 
■establish lines, but nothing definite was decided 
upon." 

A meeting of the Oregon Wool Growers' As- 
sociation, with a large attendance of prominent 
sheepmen, was held at Antelope, Tuesday, June 
2 1 st. The object of the discussion was the long 
continued range trouble between the cattlemen 
and sheepmen. As a result of the debate a re- 
ward of 500 was offered by the local association 
in addition to the $1,000 reward offered by the 
state association "For information leading to the 
arrest and conviction of any person or persons 
guilty of shooting, killing or maiming any member 
of the above association, or any employe of such 
member while engaged in his duties or the herds 
of such a member while engaged in his duties." 

A committee consisting of J. D. McAndie and 
H. C. Rooper, president and secretary of fhe 
local association, and Joseph Bannan, a promi- 
nent sheepman, was appointed to go to the scene 
of the troubles in the Blue mountains, for the 
purpose of conferring with the cattlemen with 
reference to making lines for a summer range. 
The tone of the meeting was positive and em- 
phatic. The Wool Growers' association was de- 
termined that the slaughter of sheep should 
stop, and each member present readily subscribed 
his quota of the reward offered, which was 
placed in the hands of the association. 



These range disputes culminated in the sum- 
mer of 1904 in the slaughter of 1,000 head of 
sheep belonging to Morrow & Keenan, own- 
ers of about 12,000 head of sheep, whose home 
ranch was on Willow creek, fifteen miles north 
of Prineville. 

Morrow & Keenan were ranging a band of 
sheep on Little Summit Prairie, forty miles east 
of Prineville, and on Friday on that week twenty 
horsemen, with their faces blackened, over 
powered the herder, bound him hand and foot 
and then began shooting sheep, continuing the 
slaughter until 1,000 were killed. The herder 
was alone when assaulted, but young Keenan 
was nearby and hearing the firing crawled 
through the underbrush at a safe distance, from 
which point he was an eye witness to the work 
of the mob. He made no attempt at retaliation, 
although it was understood that both he and the 
herder were armed with the latest automatic 
rapid-firing Colt's revolvers. No clue to the 
guilty parties could be obtained as the various 
disguises worn by the mob made identification 
impossible. 

In default of a steam railway it was decided 
that an automobile route should be established 
in Crook county. Accordingly in January, 1905, 
the Central Oregon Transportation Company 
was established with the following officers : A. 
E. Hammond, president; D. P. Rea, general 
manager. 

This company constructed a sixteen-foot 
roadway from Cross Keys, a stage station 
twenty-three miles south of Shaniko, the pres- 
ent terminus of the Columbia Southern railroad, 
to Bend, a distance of seventy-five miles. The 
largest automobile of its kind on the Pacific 
coast was especially constructed by a machine 
firm in Portland for use on this road, for 'the 
purpose of hauling passengers and freight. This 
machine will seat sixteen passengers and some- 
times it, also, hauls a trailer in which about two 
tons of freight are carried. 

This company was organized to provide 
means of transportation for the many settlers 
coming into Crook county to locate upon the 
newly irrigable lands of the Des Chutes Irri- 
gation & Power Company. The latter company 
has selected some 300,000 acres of semi-arid 
lands in Crook county, lying contiguous to Bend, 
under the provisions of the Carey Act. Until the 
organization of this automobile company there 
were no means of egress into this region except 
by stage from Shaniko via Prineville, a distance 
of nearly 100 miles. The roadway was first 
plowed, then scraped, leveled and rolled with a 
ten-ton roller, after which it was treated with 
a coat of petroleum and again subjected to a 



720 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



thorough rolling. Up to June i, 1905, the south 
half of this road from Forest, on Crooked river 
to Bend, a distance of twenty-three miles, had 
not been completed so that the automobile could 
run over it, but it is expected that by August the 
entire route will be in condition for travel. The 
company was capitalized for $50,000 and the 
seventy-five miles constructed cost in the neigh- 
borhood of $25,000. It is quite probable that 
when this chapter is read the remaining twenty- 
three miles of road to the northward will have 
been completed. 

At the date of the completion of this work 
the terms of the Carey arid land grant, Ore- 
gon, applied for 424,616 acres of land in East- 
ern Oregon, of which 100,000 acres had been ap- 
proved by the interior department. This, it is 
understood, will be reclaimed by private enter- 
prise. In the Valley of the Des Chutes river, 
in Crook county, the most extensive works have 
been undertaken and the greatest progress has 
been made. 

The federal law grants to the state not more 
than 1,000,000 acres upon condition that it be 
reclaimed. The state law authorizes the state 
land board to grant contracts to corporations for 
the reclamation of specified tracts to companies to 
secure their compensation from actual settlers. 
The total cost is fixed by the state land board 
for reclamation and this is apportioned among 
the forty-acre tracts according to their relative 
value, and becomes a lien upon the land in fa- 
vor of the reclamation company. Persons desir- 
ing to secure this land must pay off the com- 
pany's lien whereupon the state issues a deed 
conveying the state's title to the applicant. The 
title is derived by patent from the United States 
whenever reclamation has been proven and then 
by deed from the state to the settler. 

As the state law accepting the terms of the 
Carey Act was not enacted until 1901 and con- 
siderable time was necessary to get it into prac- 
ticable operation and secure contracts with the 
department of the secretary of the interior, very 
few irrigation enterprises have progressed so 
far that water has been turned upon cultivated 
land. About 5,000 acres have already been put 
under cultivation and water is available for the 
irrigation of over 60,000 acres the coming sea- 
son. Twenty reclamation enterprises have been 
started in Oregon under this law ranging in area 
from 600 to 85,000 acres. The smaller tracts will 
be reclaimed by individuals who will take the land 
themselves. The larger enterprises have been 
undertaken by corporations. The state land 
board fixes the rate to be charged for the use 
of water. The cost of construction in the 
larger enterprises is placed at $10 per acre, and 



the annual charge is $1 per acre, which, also, 
goes to the company. When apportioned to the 
several forty-acre tracts the liens range from 
$2.50 to $14.75 P er acre, the amount being de- 
termined by the area of irrigable land in each 
forty-acre tract. 

In January, 1905, 500 more sheep were ruth- 
lessly slaughtered. They were the property of 
Fred Smith, of Paulina. The event occurred 
New Year's day, and almost in Mr. Smith's door- 
yard, and entirely without the limits of the cat- 
tle range of the country. The deed was com- 
mitted by six masked horsemen. They sur- 
rounded the herder in the afternoon while the 
sheep were resting near Grindstone, and he was 
bound and blindfolded. The sheep were then 
driven a short distance away, and the horsemen 
began a terrific fusillade until 500 lay dead on 
the ground. About 500 more scattered in all di- 
rections to become food for coyotes, and other 
wild animals. July 16, 1905, the Morning Ore- 
gonian published the following: 

The following anonymous communication was re- 
ceived yesterday from the "Crook County Sheep-Shoot- 
ers' Association," with an enclosed report which it, 
to say the least, terse and to the point. Just who com- 
pose this remarkable organization or whether the com- 
munication is genuine is not known to the Oregonian. 
This is what it has to say regarding the enforcement 
of so-called laws in Crook county : 

"Mr. Editor. — Seeing that you are giving quite a 
bit of publicity to the sheep-shooters of Crook county, 
I thought I would lend you some assistance by giving 
you a short synopsis of the proceedings of the organi- 
zation during the past year. We have not been ac- 
customed to making unusual reports of the doings of the 
'order,' but we have made such a respectable showing 
during the closing year that I think a brief summary 
of some of the most important transactions of the as- 
sociations will be of interest to your readers. There- 
fore, if space will permit, please publish the following 
report : 

" 'Sheep-Shooters' Headquarters. Crook County, 
Oregon, December 29, 1904 — Editor Oregonian: I am au- 
thorized by the association (The Inland Sheep Shoot- 
ers to notify the Oregonian to desist from publishing 
matter derogatory to the reputations of sheep-shooter* 
in Eastern Oregon. We claim to have the banner 
county of Oregon on the progressive lines of sheep- 
shooting and it is my pleasure to inform you that we 
have a little government of our own in Crook county, 
and we would thank the Oregonian and the governor 
to attend strictly to their business and not meddle with 
the settlement of the range question in our province. 

" 'We are the direct and effective means of con- 
trolling the range in our jurisdiction. If we want 
more range we simply fence it in and live up to the 




Scene on the Deschutes 





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The Sisters 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



72-lv 



maxim of the golden rule that possession represents 
nine points of the law. If fencing is too expensive for 
the protection of the range, dead lines are most 
effective substitutes and readily manufactured. When 
sheepmen fail to observe these peaceable obstructions 
we delegate a committee to notify offenders, some- 
times by putting notices on tent or cabin, and some- 
times by publication in one of the leading newspapers 
of the county as follows : 

" 'You are hereby notified to move this camp within 
twenty-four hours or take the consequences. 

"'Signed: Committee./ 

"These mild and peaceful means are usually ef- 
fective, but in cases where they are not, our executive 
committee takes the matter in hand, and being men of 
high ideals as well as good shots by moonlight, they 
promptly enforce the edicts of the association. 

"We have recently extended our jurisdiction to 
cover a large territory on the desert heretofore occu- 
pied by sheepmen, and we expect to have to sacrifice 
a few flocks of sheep there this winter. Our annual re- 
port shows that we have slaughtered between 8,000 and 
10,000 head during the last shooting season, and we are 
expecting to increase this respectable showing during 
the next season providing the sheep hold out and the 
governor and Oregonian observe the customary laws of 
neutrality. We have burned the usual number of camps 
and corrals this season, and also sent out a number of 
important warnings which we thing will have a satis- 
factory effect. 

"We have just received a shipment of ammunition 
that we think will be sufficient to meet any shortage 
which might occur on account of increase of territory 
requiring general protection. In some instances the 
woolgrowers of Eastern Oregon have been so unwise as 
to offer rewards for the arrest and conviction of sheep- 
shooters and for assaults on herders. We have here- 
tofore warned them by publication of the danger of such 
action, as it might have to result in our organization 
having to proceed on the lines that 'Dead men tell no 
tales.' This is not to be construed as a threat to commit 
murder, as we do not justify such a thing except when 
fiockowners resort to unjustifiable means in protecting 
their property. 

"Mr. Editor, please excuse the lack of systematic 
order in preparing this, our first annual report. Our 
office is not yet supplied with the necessary printed 
forms so useful in facilitating reports. We have 
thought of furnishing the names of our officers, and 
also those of honorary members of the order, but as 
your space will probably not admit of a supplementary 
report at this time, we will not be able to furnish a 
roll of honor that will be complimentary to the cause. 

"(Signed.)" '"Corresponding Secretary.' 

"Crook County's Sheep-Shooting Association of East- 
ern Oregon." 

Supplementary Report. 

"The New Year was duly observed by our brave 
46 



boys by the slaughter of about 500 head of sheep be-, 
longing to a gentleman who had violated our rules or 
laws. The names of the active participants in this last, 
brilliant action of the association have not yet been, 
handed in. When they are we will take pleasure in re- 
cording them on the roll of honor above mentioned. 

"The Crook county papers have recently said some 
uncomplimentary things about our order which may 
invite attention later on. Our work is now of too much 
importance to justify a diversion from the regular order. 
of business. 

"Cor. Sec. C. C. S. S. Association.". 

Concerning the railway outlook the Cline 
Falls Press of April 22, 1905, said 

"The prospects of a railroad being built into 
Crook county and Cline Falls looks brighter from 
day to day. Among the several roads which 
have their objective points centered in Crook 
county, the Great Southern seems to be the most 
likely to reach us in the least possible time. John 
Heimrick, president of this road, says it will be 
built from The Dalles to Bend with as little de- 
lay as possible, and as more than thirty miles 
of the road is already graded it would appear 
that he means what he says. But this is not the 
only reason why things are looking a bit 
brighter. The business men of Portland are get- 
ting in earnest and are using every means at 
hand to force those who are responsible for the 
delay in building into this county, to act. They 
want the trade of central Oregon and know that 
their only hope lies in getting it well established 
before others arrive to dispute it and direct it 
into other channels." 

In April, 1905, the D. I. & P. Company had 
thirty men at work on the Pilot Butte flume, and , 
would have hired more good carpenters at $3 
a day if they could have been secured. The 
flume was intended to send water down the canal 
by May 1, 1905. Ten miles out on the desert 
it was found necessary to build a flume 720 feet 
long. Lumber for their construction was 
hauled there from the High-tower Smith Mill, 
beyond the Tumalo. The D. I. Sj P. Company 
has completed fifty miles of ditch and laterals 
and has under water about 50,000 acres. The 
Bend Bulletin of April 28, 1905, said : 

"W. E. Guerin, Jr., Mayor Goodwillie, G. 
C. Stennemann and Tom Sharp drove over to 
Prineville Monday and set on foot there a scheme 
to irrigate 37,000 acres of rich land in the valley 
to the eastward of the town. About 6,000 acres 
are deeded; 15,000 belong to the railroad com- 
pany, and the remainder, 16,000 acres is open 
government land. 

"As outlined the plan is to dam the Ochoco 
river twice and Mill creek once. Survers that . 



•J22 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



have been in progress for some time show the 
feasibility of leading the water out of those 
streams to the thirsty acres that are now only 
half cropped at best. It will take between $600,- 
000 and $700,000 to install the reclamation en-, 
terprise. 

"The Prineville Business League has taken 
the matter up in earnest. There was a large at- 
tendance and free discussion of the project at 
a meeting held last Monday night and T. M. 
Baldwin, Thomas Sharp and C. Sam Smith were 
appointed a committee to visit Portland and see 
what can be done with the wagon road people 
in the way of securing encouragement for the 
work. Mr. Guerin will leave for New York next 
week in the interest of the new development 
project." 

Meanwhile rumors had been freely circulated 
that the D. I. & P. Company had made arrange- 
ments to dispose of their enterprise in Crook 
county. The main portion of these pessimistic 
reports emanated from the columns of the Morn- 
ing Oregonian, published at Portland. The ap- 
pearance in Prineville of J. O. Johnston, of the 
D. P. & I. Company at once put a stop to these 
rumors. 

"It is not an unusual rule," said Mr. John- 
ston, "for men who are financing a scheme of 
such proportions as that in the Des Chutes val- 
ley, to look over their ground thoroughly and 
know the exact amount which will have to be 
expended before an enterprise is brought to a 
successful termination. Our company is no ex- 
ception to that rule, and there are ample funds 
to provide for everything in the undertaking. It 
is true that we laid off a force of men some time 
ago ; but that was made necessary by the delay 
in the rock work at the end of the flume. Until 
that was finished it was necessary to haul water 
some twelve or fifteen miles on to the desert 'to 
the crew working on the ditch and we found it 
to be to our interest to lay off the latter force 
until the rock-work was completed and water 
flowing in the ditch so far as construction of it 
permitted. The report of a prospective sale 
may have gained ground by this action of ours, 
but it was, nevertheless, without foundation. We 
have paid cash and a lot of it for everything 
a-; we went along and we expect to continue this 
course in the future until every detail of the re- 
clamation work is completed. There is a check 
ready and waiting for anyone who is dissat- 
isfied." 

May 4, 1905, the scheme promoted by the 
Citizens' Business League to irrigate 40,000 
acres of land lying north of Prineville was prac- 
tically assured. Sheriff Smith, who was a mem- 
ber of the committee appointed to confer with 



Mr. C. E. S. Wood, the Portland representative 
of the Willamette Vally & 'Cascade Mountain 
Wagon Road Company stated that the confer- 
ence was satisfactory in every respect, and Mr. 
Wood assured the road company's co-operation 
in the undertaking. This signified that the latter 
corporation would agree to a disposal of its lands 
as soon as water had been brought to them. 

During the absence of the committee M. E. 
Guerin, Jr., who had been a prime mover in the 
project and who had assured the league finan- 
cial backing in the event of favorable action by 
the road company, received a telegram from 
New York stating that the necessary funds were 
available with which to construct the reservoirs 
and canals necessary to reclaim the tract. The 
Crook County Journal said May 4, 1905 : 

Sheriff Smith while in Portland was approached by 
others who offered enough funds to complete the project, 
as it is certain that the money will be forthcoming with 
which to carry the scheme to a successful and early ter- 
mination. The amount of money necessary for the re- 
clamation work is placed at $500,000 and it is believed 
considerably less than that sum will eventually finish all 
details of the scheme. 

Inside of a few days the financial matters will be 
definitely arranged and preparations will then be made 
for the engineering work, after which the reservoirs and 
canals will be constructed. Sheriff Smith expressed 
the belief that the final surveys can all be complete by 
the first of July, in which event actual construction will 
begin soon afterwards. With the latter work pushed 
ahead rapidly almost the entire tract can be brought un- 
der irrigation before the present year has elapsed. 

The first definite move toward securing transpor- 
tation facilities for the Crook county section of East- 
ern Oregon was the filing of a water right on the falls 
at the mouth of Willow creek. This was in May, 1905, 
Negotiations were then, too, pending with the Willa- 
mette Valley & Cascade Mountain Wagon Road Com- 
pany to secure a lease or the right to purchase from 
them Steel Head Falls, below the lower bridge on the 
Des Chutes river. At these two points sufficient elec- 
trical power can be developed to supply a current capa- 
ble of running electric cars from the Columbia to the 
Central portion of Crook county. The action taken was 
in line with the proposition outlined by Archie Mason 
some time ago when he visited the city. In represent- 
ing Portland and eastern capitalists he was in a po- 
sition to state that if the business men here advanced 
enough money to build the first ten miles of road south 
of the Columbia and secured right of way the balance 
of the distance to Prineville, the necessary funds would 
be forthcoming with which to take up the bonds. When 
here Mr. Mason stated that only the securing of right 
of way was now necessary to enlist the necessary capi- 
tal, and steps were immediately taken to seal the agree- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



723 



ment and advance along the lines proposed. This pros- 
pective line will touch the Columbia at The Dalles or 
some point on the Portage road and will continue south- 
ward through the canyon of the Des Chutes river to the 
mouth of Trout creek, thence eastward across the 
agency plains to Crooked river, and up the latter stream 
to this city. 

Early in 1905 the Columbia Southern Irrigation Com- 
pany, which succeeded the Three Sisters Irrigation 
■Company, had completed about thirty-five miles of 
ditches and laterals, and had nearly all of its segrega- 
tion of 30,000 acres reclaimed. They took the water 
from the Tumalo river and the land lies in the Tumalo 
basin, west of the Des Chutes river. 



Tuesday, May 23, 1905, was the day set for opening 
to entry a large area of land south of Bend which had 
been withdrawn for forestry purposes. This land had 
been open to settlement since January 5, 1905, the pur- 
pose of the department being to offer every facility to 
those who wanted lands for homes— to give them every 
advantage over scrippers or others desiring the land 
for other purposes. Of thirty-five applications filed in 
the Bend office on the first day for 3,400 acres, all but 
six were homesteads. The homesteaders do not have 
to hurry. Those who have made bona fide settlements 
and improvements and occupied the land on the twenty- 
third had ninety days in which to get their application 
on record at the district land office. 



CHAPTER III 



PRINEVILLE. 



The first question one naturally asks upon 
arrival at Prineville is "Where are all the tillable 
acres for the maintenance of the several hun- 
dreds of inhabitants of this inland town?" But 
let one remain a week or two and his under- 
standing of conditions will have attained a much 
broader scope. Prineville cannot boast of long 
stretches of waving fields of golden grain in its 
immediate vicinity but she has much else of ma- 
terial value. 

This pretty little city, the county seat of 
Crook county, is situated on a level plain at the 
junction of Crooked river and Ochoco creek, the 
greater portion of the city lying between them. 
Prineville has been called the treasure house of 
a "vast pastoral empire." In many respects this 
is true. A large area of country pays this city 
tribute and in consequence it is one of the best 
trading centers in the Inland Empire. 

Mr. Barney Prine and his wife, Elizabeth, 
came to the Ochoco valley in 1868. They set- 
tled down upon the present site of Prineville, 
Mr. Prine building a small log cabin of willow 
logs near where Med Vanderpool's house stood 
in 1900. Mr. Prine at first opened a blacksmith 
shop and subsequently a small store. These two, 
Barney and his wife were followed by the 
Hodges, Vanderpools, Gullifords, Aliens and 
W. G. Pickett, who built houses. Thus was 
started a small town named Prineville, after Mr. 
Prine. Having engaged in the blacksmithing, 
mercantile business, saloon keeping and stock 



raising, Mr. Prine sold out his property in 
Prineville and removed to Weston. 

The capital of Crook is about as near the 
center of the county as possible and is, there- 
fore, the natural location for the county seat with 
stage lines in every direction. Going into de- 
tails more thoroughly concerning the early his- 
tory of Prineville a writer in 1870 says : 

During that summer Barney Prine started Prineville 
by building a dwelling house, store, blacksmith shop, 
hotel and saloon. I think he was all of one day build- 
ing them. They were constructed of willow logs, 10 by. 
14 in size, one story high and all under one roof. His 
first invoice of goods cost $80; his liquor consisted of a 
case of Hostetter's Bitters, and the iron for the black- 
smith shop was obtained from the fragments of an old 
emigrant wagon left up on Crooked river. In addi- 
tion to his other business ventures Barney laid out and 
made a race track that ran from the banks of Crooked 
river up along where now is the north side of First 
street, and many were the bottles of Hostetter's lost 
and won over that track by the local racers of the per- 
iod. Right here I want to tell of the first poker game 
played in this country which was also my first venture ir» 
that direction. 

A few days before the game some one from The 
Dalles had brought out a wagon-load of apples which 
Barney had purchased. On this day I happened to go 
to the "town" and Barney took me out and very solici- 
tously inquired if I was versed in the mysteries of 
"draw," stating that if I would go in with him we 



7 2 4 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



could make a "raise" out of some Warm Spring In- 
dians who were camped on the river and wanted a 
game. I very frankly confessed my almost criminal ig- 
norance in that useful branch of a boy's education ; that 
my parents had not been able to send me to college, so 
my education was limited to a country school grade; 
but I was willing to learn ; as he told me that if I 
would sit just to his right and "cut" the cards just to 
his "break" we would go through those Indians like a 
case of the itch in a country school. I consented and we 
soon had the game in full blast; Barney and I and two 
of the Indians. Barney would run up hands and I 
would "cut," generally using both hands to get the "cut" 
correct. My work was a little "coarse" but I got there 
"Eli" all the same. Those Indians could speak only two 
English words, "I passe," and every time Barney and 
I would get in a good shuffle and "cut" those confounded 
heathen would ejaculate "I passe," with a unanimity that 
was paralyzing to our hope as it was astonishing, and 
when it came their turn to deal, the surprising hands 
that would be out! But the most singular part of it 
all was, invariably one of the condemned Indians would 
have the top hand, and it was not long before the In- 
dians had all of Barney's money, and I am inclined 
to believe that it was all the money in the settlement 
at that time. After our money had all been lost we 
bet apples at $4 a box, and it was not long before the 
Indians had won the entire load of apples. Then the 
game stopped. We were busted. We had nothing else 
the Indians wanted. I stood and watched them load 
their ponies with the apples and when they started off 
I turned to my partner and whispered, "Barney, I passe." 
He just snorted and said that any one was a blanked 
fool to play with a blankety blank "Stoten Bottle," 
though what resemblance there was between those In- 
dians and a stoten bottle I couldn't perceive. 

Barney was a good fellow ; a man who stood by a 
friend and was always willing to divide the last crust 
with any one who needed it. I remember that one fall 
some strangers who were camped on the creek had the 
misfortune to lose everything they had by fire, leaving 
them destitute. Barney went down into his pocket and 
gave them $20, and I am certain that at that time he 
did not have a mate to that twenty. 

The second store in Prineville was built and 
occupied by William Heisler, with a stock of gen- 
eral merchandise. This was in 1871. The first 
hotel in the town was erected by Monroe Hodges 
in 1871. The first Baptist church of Prineville 
was organized April 15, 1873. The first post- 
office in Crook county was established at Prine- 
ville in 1873, with Dr. L. Vanderpool as post- 
master. The third store in Prineville was erected 
by Hodges & Wilson in 1876. It carried a stock 
of general merchandise. The Prineville flouring 
mill was built by James Allen in 1875. After 
operating it for a time, he sold the property to 



Breyman & Summerville, who conducted it un- 
til they sold to Stewart & Pett, the former one 
of the present owners. L. Senders & Company 
established a general merchandise business in 
1882 and continued for five or six years. In 
1884 the mercantile firm of Uren & Childs was 
established, who sold, in a few years, to W. F. 
Fuller & Company. This last firm bought out 
Hahn & Fried. M. Sichel & Company started 
business in 1881 and retired in 1881. In 1881 
R. Rowan & Son opened a tin and hardware 
store and retired later. I. L. Ketchum started a 
shoe shop in 1877. The county court house was 
built in the fall of 1885 by H. A. Belknap. The 
Prineville public school building was erected in 
1887. In 1887 D. E. Templeton & Son opened 
a drug store and still conduct the same. In? 
1887, P. B. Poindexter opened a restaurant in 
Prineville. In 1889 Ah Tye, an American Chi- 
naman, opened a notion store which he con- 
ducted a number of years and then sold. M. 
A. Moore began business in Prineville in 1891, 
first doing harness work and later opened a drug 
store. Dr. C. A. Cline opened a dentist office 
in 1 89 1. Mesdames Cline and Elliott engaged 
in millinery in 1892 and continued some time. 
In August, 1897, Will Wurzweiller and A. 
Thomson opened a general merchandise store, 
and in July, 1900, Arthur secured an interest in 
the firm. The initial drug store was built and' 
conducted by Dr. L. Vanderpool in 1876. 

Prineville's second hotel was erected by Oli- 
ver P. Jackson in 1876 and was conducted by 
him until about 1880, when the management 
passed into the hands of A. B. Culver. In 1876 
Prineville contained a population of upwards of 
200. The townsite plat of Prineville was filed 
for record in the office of the clerk of Wasco 
county March 28, 1877. It consisted of seven- 
teen full, and five, half blocks. The blocks were- 
240 feet square and were divided into six lots 
each. The streets were eighty feet in width 
with the exception of Main street, which was 
100 feet wide. 

June 3, 1878, two desperadoes, Van Allen and* 
Jeff Drips, came into Prineville and attempted 
to "run" it according to their own peculiar ideas. 
To this presumptuous proceeding the citizens 
did not take kindly and a street fight was im- 
mediately precipitated. Following this row a 
warrant was issued for their arrest and Deputy 
Sheriff James T. Chamberlain was ordered to 
serve it. The desperadoes resisted. Allen was 
killed ; Drips escaped but was captured the same 
night by Jerry Luckey, taken to The Dalles for 
trial and was acquitted. 

The first religious structure erected was a- 
union church built in 1879. The initial brick 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



725 



building was erected in Prineville by J. M. 
Powell & Company, in 1879, and was utilized 
as a general merchandise store. Prineville was 
incorporated as a town October 23, 1880, by 
special charter by the Oregon legislature. An 
amended charter was granted February 14, 1887. 
An amended charter incorporating Prineville as 
.a city was granted February 16, 1899. A Prine- 
ville correspondent of The Dalles Times, Sep- 
tember 16, 1880, wrote: 

Prineville is becoming quite an important village and 
we naturally feel somewhat slighted to be ignored, neg- 
lected and overlooked by the newspapers of our own 
county. * * * * Our town is growing quite rapidly. 
Several more or less pretentious residences have been 
erected this summer and fall. Mr. Selling of Port- 
land has a large store building nearly completed. This 
will make three dry goods establishments in the place. 
We, also, have a variety store, a drug store, furniture 
store, harness and saddlery establishment, several 
blacksmith shops, a planing mill, two livery stables and 
two first-class hotels, one of them kept by Oliver Jack- 
son and the other by Dan Richards — than whom there 
is no more obliging and attentive hotel keeper extant. 

The Prineville city council convened for the 
first time December 22, 1880, E. Barnes pre- 
siding. The members of this initial council 
were : F. E. Whittaker, Alexander Hodges, J. 
Wilson and D. Richards. The original town of- 
ficers of the young city were : Elisha Barnes, 
mayor ; S. J. Newsom, recorder ; Richard Phil- 
laber, marshal ; A. H. Breyman, treasurer and 
George Noland, town attorney. 

Prineville was visted by a disastrous blaze 
at four o'clock a. m., Saturday, November 10, 
1883. The fire originated in the kitchen of the 
Occidental hotel, but was not discovered until it 
nad burst into uncontrollable flames. Everything 
was as dry as tinder; the fire spread with won- 
derful rapidity through the rooms, and it soon 
became evident that the entire building was 
doomed. The flames were not checked until the 
principal business houses on one side of the 
street were destroyed. The losses were estimated 
as follows : William Circles, Occidental hotel, 
$9,000 ; R. R. Kelly, hotel furniture, saloon fix- 
tures, etc., $1,200; H. A. Dillard's new building, 
$1,500; Mrs. M. A. Holbert, millinery, $400; 
News office, $300 ; A. Hodges, store building, 
partiallv insured $2,800. The stock of Selling 
& Winkler was damaged to a considerable ex- 
tent. 

At one o'clock, Saturday morning, January 
19, 1884, another fire visited the place. The mer- 
chandise store of Selling & Hinckley, a vacant 
store building adjoining Kelly's saloon, T. Bush- 



nell's harness shop, an unoccupied building in 
close proximity, S. Wilson's saloon and Til 
Glazes' livery stable were soon reduced to a mass 
of ruins. Here the flames were checked by an 
upon space. The total loss was estimated at $10,- 
000, with insurance of $3,300. This blaze was 
undoubtedly the work of an incendiary. 

The first bank in Prineville was opened in 
May, 1887, and was known as the First National 
Bank of Prineville. In 1899 Prineville was re- 
incorporated as a city with a mayor and six 
councilmen. January 1, 1900, the population of 
the town was estimated at 1,000. House Bill 
No. 275, which passed the legislature early in 
1900, was for the re-incorporation of the city of 
Prineville ; the corporate limits were as follows : 

"Section 3 — The corporate limits of the city 
of Prineville shall be as follows : Commencing at 
the northwest corner of the southwest quarter 
of section 31, township 14, south range 16, east 
of the Willamette Meridian, Crook county, Ore- 
gon, and running thence east one mile ; thence 
south one mile ; thence west % of one mile to 
the southwest corner of the southeast quarter of 
the northeast quarer of section 6, township 15, 
south range 16 east of the Willamette Meridian, 
Crook county, Oregon ; thence north eighty rods ; 
thence west one mile ; thence north to the town- 
snip line between townships fourteen and fifteen 
south ; thence east on township line to the north- 
west corner of the southeast quarter of section 
6 township 15, south, range 16 east; thence 
north one-half mile and to the place of begin- 
ning." 

At a special meeting of the city council in July, 
1899, an agreement was entered into with M. S. 
G. Howeson, representing Morris & Whitehead, 
bankers of Portland, to sell them $10,000 worth 
of water bonds. The amount of $5,000 was to be 
delivered August 1st; and $5,000 January 1, 
i960. Mayor L. N. Liggett published the fol- 
lowing in the Portland Morning Oregonian of 
January 1, 1900: 

The past year has been an eventful one for Prine- 
ville. One year ago, isolated from the outer world — 
120 miles from railroad and telegraph communication — 
today we have a railroad building toward our city, and 
we are also in telephone connection with Portland and 
other cities. With the ushering in of the New Year we 
expect to have a system of water works and electric 
light plant in full operation. The city has issued bonds 
to the amount of $10,000. These have been sold and the 
amount turned over to H. V. Gates, who has part in 
this system. 

During the past year thirty or forty buildings have 
either been remodeled or erected. Many more would 
have been built if sufficient building material could have 



726 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



been obtained. Next year the building will be resumed 
and the outlook is very flattering for another year. The 
population of Prineville is nearing the 1,000 mark. New- 
comers are constantly arriving in our city asking em- 
ployment or looking for business locations, having 
heard of our city's thrift. The business interests of 
Prineville are in the hands of wide-awake, energetic and 
progressive business men. Good public schools are 
maintained and the city is well supplied with churches 
and newspapers. 

The claim for a new charter enlarging the 
powers of the city council demanded the atten- 
tion of this body at the beginning of the year 
1900. Through the efforts of Hon. J. N. Will- 
iamson, legislative representative from Crook 
county, one passed the legislature and became a 
law February 16, 1899. The new charter legal- 
ized all existing ordinances except when they 
conflicted with the new charter. Consequently 
the city of Prineville was occasioned consider- 
able expense in drafting ordinances in con- 
formity to the new charter. 

The First Presbyterian church of Prineville 
was organized in November, 1900, by the com- 
mittee of the East Oregon Presbytery, with 
eleven members. David E. Templeton was 
elected and installed elder. Six trustees were 
elected and instructed to incorporate. B. F. 
Harper was called to become the permanent pas- 
tor of the new church. Lew Johnson was se- 
cured to assist in a series of special meetings be- 
ginning January 6th. 

The following shows the number and amount 
of money orders issued at Prineville's postofHce 
from January 1, 1897, to and inclusive of De- 
cember 15, 1900: 

No. Amount. 

1897 2,855 $29,924.99 

1898 3,248 3I.3I3-69 

!899 3,475 33.632.36 

1900 3,402 32,896.42 

Receipts from the sale of stamps for the same 
years were: 1897, $1,820.72; 1898, $2,339.31; 
1899, $2,540.01 ; 1900, up to November 30, 
$2,300.73. 

This office is the distributing center for the 
following mail lines : Prineville to Burns, 162 
miles, two round trips per week ; Prineville to 
Sisters, 38 miles, three round trips per week ; 
Prineville to Crook, 48 miles, two round trips 
per week ; Prineville to Lamonta, 16 miles, six 
round trips ; Prineville to Silver Lake, 102 miles, 
two round trips ; Prineville to Mitchell, 55 miles, 
three round trips; total number of offices served 
on these routes, 26 ; total mileage routes termin- 



ating at Prineville, 496. Prineville was raised 
to a third class office July 1, 1900, with a salary 
of $1,200 and clerk hire. 

The year 1901 was marked by unusual build- 
ing activity. More structures were erected than 
for the preceding five years. There was, also, a 
noticeable change in the style and quality of 
the buildings in that those erected that year 
were of a substantial character and the archi- 
tectural designs of the latest approved styles. Ex- 
penditures for improvements approximated' 
$150,000. April 20, 1901, the Prineville Review 
published the following: 

The question of water supply for irrigation pur- 
poses in the city was again agitated this week. On the 
arrival of Mr. Gates in Prineville he made a proposition 
to sell the Maling ditch to the city for $1,100. At a 
meeting of the council held Saturday afternoon he made- 
his proposition to the city and a committee was appointed 
by them to canvass the city and ascertain the wish of 
the citizens in this matter, and as many had signified 
their willingness to give a bonus to the city in paying 
for the ditch, a subscription paper was circulated and' 
about $450 was subscribed and the citizens were nearly 
unanimous in favor of the city purchasing the ditch. 

Another meeting of the council was held Monday 
afternoon and these matters fully laid before the coun- 
cil and it was then on motion decided to purchase said' 
ditch from Messrs. Gates and Forsythe for the sum of 
$1,100 and the judiciary committee was instructed to> 
draft the necessary ordinance to authorize this purchase 
and report at a future meeting. A committee was ap- 
pointed to make a report of the necessary repairs to- 
be made to the ditch, and be in a condition to com- 
mence active work on the construction of a dam as; 
soon as the necessary papers can pass between the par- 
ties interested. 

The citizens of Prineville have asked that the coun- 
cil purchase this ditch and they have done so. It has- 
been a good investment as we believe. The water right 
alone is worth the purchase price. This right takes- 
350 inches of the water and during the summer Ochoco 
does not carry more than that. 

Mr. Pringle who owns the irrigating ditch north of 
the Ochoco has a ditch commencing in the city limits 
and extending on below town for several miles, and he 
was an applicant for the purchase of this right. But Mr. 
Gates gave the city 1he first chance and they took it, 
hence Mr. Pringle has a good piece of property in his 
ditch but the most important thing of all, has no water, 
which is to be regretted as his ditch passes along some 
very fine land. 

A water and electric light plant was erected 
in Prineville, in May, 1900. The last charter 
granted the town in 1898, made provisions for 
these plants and the Prineville Light & Water 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



72; 



Lompany was formed for the purpose of supply- 
ing them. The water is taken from a system of 
22 wells, and is absolutely pure. Two duplex 
Dean pumps 14x12x7 inches are used, lifting 
eight hundred gallons per minute and discharg- 
ing it into the reservoir situated north of the 
town, and about ninety feet above it. This res- 
ervoir has a capacity of 100,000 gallons, and is 
cemented and housed so that nothing can con- 
taminate the water. The pressure for domestic 
purpose is 40 pounds, but in case of fire the 
valves of the pipes of the reservoir are closed and 
the direct pressure from the pumps is thrown 
into the mains. The pumps have a capacity of 
more than 1,000,000 gallons per day, while the 
average daily use is almost 50,000 gallons. Their 
are used in the system 7,000 feet of 4-inch, and 
4,000 feet of 2^/2 inch mains, besides the usual 
quantities of service pipes. For fire protection 
there are five patent hydrants and 20 Don muzzle 
hydrants, 2^4 inch. The electric light plant is in 
the same building. It furnishes 500 16-candle 
power light. There is a provision in the fran- 
chise that the city, upon proper notice at the end 
of each term of five years may purchase the 
plant, otherwise the franchise runs for 15 years. 
Evidently determined to keep in line with 
the steady march of prosperity, Prineville seems 
alert to the best interests of Crook county. To 
this end, in August, 1904, betweeen 30 and 40 
business men of Prineville met at Athletic hall 
and effected an organization to be known as the 
Citizens Business League of Prineville. The 
officers were as follows : T. M. Baldwin, presi- 
dent ; C. M. Elkins, vice president; M. R. El- 
liott, secretary, and A. H. Lippman, treasurer. 
The board of directors consisted of Fred Wilson, 
C. Sam Smith and T. H. LaFollette. This meet- 
ing was called at the instigation of a number of 
the business men in the city who ^iad felt for 
some time the necessity of a commercial organ- 
ization, or promotive association of some kind 
wnich would run hand in hand with the rapid 
development of the county. Following his elec- 
tion as president Mr. Baldwin stated that for its 
foundation, progress and the betterment of civic 
conditions and the taking of an active part in 
the building up of Crook county, the league, 
through its board of directors and committees ap- 
pointed by the president saw that Crook, and the 
business centers of Crook county, received a 
bountiful share of advertising. Its resources 
were made known to the outside world through 
the use of circular letters sent in reply to numer- 
ous inquiries concerning the county which were 
constantly received. Statistics and data con- 
cerning the agricultural, timber, mining and ir- 
rigation interests, were gathered and kept on file 



where publicity could at any time be given them. 
It was decided at the local meeting that the league 
should become a member of the Oregon Devel- 
opment League, with headquarters at Portland. 
Carl Abrams writes to the Prineville Herald 
under date of November 24, 1904: 

The growth and development of Prineville has been 
slow, but it has never flagged ; there never was a time 
in which any doubt existed as to the future of the city, 
and it has always been known as one of the best trading 
points in Eastern Oregon. Such a thing as a boom is 
entirely unknown, and today the city does not present 
the beautiful picture of fine buildings and picturesque 
avenues which might be expected, or which are possi-- 
ble, and the reason is apparent to the economic student. 
Men by the score have gone to Prineville and engaged 
in business only to reap a golden harvest for their ef- 
forts, and then move to the valley or some larger city, 
and the result is that some of the largest business houses 
in Oregon are transacting their business in wooden 
structures, some of them almost a makeshift. However, 
this is all now past. Merchants are recognizing the 
vast possibilities of the future for Crook county and 
hence for the city. They have determined to become 
permanent residents of Prineville, are almost without 
exception heavily interested in Prineville property, and 
last summer a building boom was inaugurated, with 
the result that the prediction is now made that within 
two years every business house on Main street will be 
of brick, and many of them will be erected next year, 

As a trading center it stands alone, and holds 
almost undisputed control of the largest region 
of country in the United States not traversed 
by a railroad. In order to supply the needs of so 
large a territory for transportation, large stocks 
of merchandise are necessary, yet the necessity 
is always fully met and every want supplied by 
the energetic firms doing business in the city. 
No city in Oregon is better supplied with live 
business houses in almost every line, yet there is 
so far no exclusive cigar or confectionary stores, 
and the need of a steam laundry is keenly felt 
and this field offers enticing opportunities to one 
in that line of business. In November, 1904, the 
present houses included four general merchandise 
stores, three drug stores, two variety stores, 
one grocery, two meat markets, two jewelry 
stores, five saloons, two hotels, one restaurant, 
two barber shops, two public halls, three livery 
and feed stables, five boarding and lodging 
houses, a brewery, two dental offices, three phy- 
sicians, five attorneys, three lumber yards, one 
planing mill and one flouring mill. There were 
three churches — Methodist, Presbyterian and 
^aptist denominations. 

The bank statement for the quarter ending 
October 1, 1904, is a good index to the financial 



728 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



condition of the city of Prineville. The open de- 
posits subject to check at that time amounted 
to $277,270.36, which takes into account none of 
'the numerous time deposits. 

In November, 1904, it was joyfully an- 
nounced that Prineville was in communication 
.by telephone with Shaniko and The Dalles, and 
had six stage lines running to Shaniko, Burns, 
bisters, Crook, La Monta, Silver Lake, Mitchell 
and Bend. The total mileage of these routes was 
.476. A total of 26 offices were served by these 
stage lines. 

During the year 1904 there were over 
10,000,000 pounds of freight forwarded from 
Prineville. These figures did not, however, in- 
clude the many tons of freight which have been 
hauled through Prineville to Burns, or the 
freight shipped in from the railroad by indi- 
viduals, stockmen and others. 

In May, 1904, a deed to the land lying south 
of the high school which is to be converted into 
a city park, was received and placed on record. 
This deed came from the Willamette Valley and 
Cascade Mountain Wagon Road Company, and 
was obtained only through the tireless efforts of 
Mr. Elliott. The land was easily worth $2,000 
and the city owed its thanks to Mr. Elliott for 
the interest he took in the matter and his influ- 
ence and work in securing the tract as a gift to 
Prineville. Probably in the future Mr. Elliott's 
work will be more generally felt than it is at 
present. Some of the results of the Citizens' 
Business League was a new $3,000 roadway, and 
final arrangements practically made for the re- 
clamation of 40,000 acres of land in the im- 
mediate vicinity of which was directly traceable 
Lo a civic organization. 

The following postmasters have served 



Prineville since 1873: Dr. L. Vanderpool; D. E. 
Thomas; T. M. Baldwin; J. F. Moore; A. C. 
Palmer; P. B. Howard; M. A. Moore; George 
Summers. The present city officials, 1905, are: 
William Wurzweiler, Mavor ; F. W. Wilson, A. 
H. Lippman, J. W. Wigle, Walter O'Neil, D. 
F. Stewart, and W. F. Stewart, councilmen ; J. 
L. McCulloch, treasurer; M. H. Bell, recorder; 
R. P. Harrington, marshal. 

During the early days of 1905 the population 
of Prineville was quoted at 1,000. It is located 
200 miles southeast of Portland and 64 miles 
south of Shaniko, the shipping point. It is the 
center of a fine stock raising country and has 
two live weekly newspapers, the Prineville 
Review and the Crook County Journal ; electric 
lights, water works, two banks, flouring mill, 
brewery and fire department, long distance tele- 
phone connections, daily stage to Shaniko pit 1 
six other stage lines to interior points and a 
daily mail. Religious denominations are repre- 
sented by the Methodist Episcopal, Baptist, 
Presbyterian and Christian churches. 

Following is the Fraternal Society directory 
of Prineville : 

Prineville Lodge No. 76, A. F. & A. M. ; 
Carnation Chapter No. 44, O. E. S. ; Ochoco 
Lodge No. 46, I. O. O. F. ; Ochoco Lodge No. 
101, Ancient Order United Workmen ; Sunbeam 
Lodge No. 36, Degree of Honor ; Prineville 
Camp, No. 216, W. of W. ; Juniper Circle, No. 
37, Women of Woodcraft; Luna Lodge No. 65, 
K. of P.; Pilot Tent No. 93, K. O. T. M. ; 
Prineville Assembly, No. 163, United Artisans ; 
Lookout Rebekah, No. 103, I. O. O. F. ; Lucere 
Temple, No. 28, Rathbone Sisters ; Prineville 
Camp, No. 956, M. W. A. ; Welcome Camp No. 
, Royal Neighbors. 



CHAPTER IV 



OTHER CITIES AND TOWNS. 



BEND AND VICINITY. 

r 

The town of Bend is situated on the Des 
Chutes river on the line between the desert and 
tne vast yellow pine belt about 25 miles south- 
west of Prineville. Its altitude is 3,618 feet above 
sea level. In May, 1904, the ground upon which 
now stands the city of Bend was a portion of the 
great Central Oregon Desert. Nine months 



later $100,000 had been expended in the con- 
struction of business blocks and residences. 

The townsite of Bend was platted May 31, 
1904, by the Pilot Butte Development Company, 
A. M. Drake, president, and is situated in section 
32, township 17, south range 12 E. W. M. Under 
the management of this company the town came 
rapidly to the front. Bend is headquarers of 
numerous irrigation enterprises that are now re- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



729 



claiming hundreds of thousands of acres of rich 
land in Central Oregon. It is connected with 
other points by long distance telephone and 
there is, also, a local exchange. The roadway 
for an automobile line between Bend and Shaniko 
has been completed. 

In the "front yard" of Bend lie half a mil- 
lion of acres of irrigated land, and its "back 
yard" holds about forty billion feet of mer- 
chantable pine. There is no chance elsewhere 
for a mill pond between Bend and the Columbia 
river, nor can a location for one be found for 
many miles to the south of the town. That is one 
reason why manufacturing interests will, even- 
tually, center here. Moreover the configuration 
of the country makes it peculiarly easy to rail- 
road logs to this point, and lumbering concerns 
that will employ 7,500 men have already ar- 
ranged for manufacturing sites at Bend. The 
Pilot Butte Development company which owns 
the townsite, controls a total of 125,000 horse- 
power at three points on the river within twenty 
miles of the town. 

Bend has had about the most rapid growth 
-ever seeen in the northwest. Later A. L. Good- 
willie came out from Chicago and became asso- 
ciated with Mr. Drake in ownership of the town- 
site and allied interests. 

Bend is not North or South Bend or Horse- 
shoe Bend — just Bend, Crook county, Oregon. It 
w r as known as Farewell Bend in pioneer times, 
when travelers followed down the river to the 
ford near Pilot Butte, bidding farewell to the 
Des Chutes and broke across the desert to the" 
eastward. The name, too long for busy mod- 
erns, has been felicitously shortened to "Bend," 
the only Bend in the United States. 

The conveniences of modern business and 
social life, are multiplying rapidly. September 
4, 1904, a bank capitalized at $25,000 was estab- 
lished. 

In January, 1903, Bend has been wiped off the 
map of Oregon, and "Deschutes" duplicated by 
the third ex-postmaster general. This, how- 
ever, proved a temporary arrangement, as a re- 
monstrance was at once forwarded to the post- 
master general by the people of Sherman county, 
as they, already, had a postoffke by that name in 
Sherman county. Consequently it was renamed 
Bend a short time subsequently. 

The First Presbyterian Church of Bend was 
organized Monday evening, July 20, 190^?, but 
the society has not, so far, erected a building. 
The thirty miles of telephone line between Bend 
and Prineville was completed Wednesday morn- 
ing August 17, 1904. Th officers of the company 
were W. E. Guerin, Jr., president ; A. L. Good- 
willie, vice president, secretary and treasurer ; 



Gerald Grosbeck, manager. During the year 
1904 up to November nth eighty buildings had 
been erected in Bend at a total combined value 
of $75,000. The Baptist church of Bend, a com- 
fortable building, was completed in December, 
1904 at a cost of about $2,800. The same year 
the question of incorporating the town came up 
before the people and the election was held at 
Bend with the following result : For incorpora- 
tion, 104- against incorporation, 3 ; Mayor, A. L. 
Goodwillie ; council, C. W. Merrill, C. H. Erick- 
son, J. S. West, D. McMullan, C. M. Redfield, 
and F. G. Shonquest ; recorder, J. W. Lawrence ; 
treasurer, F. O. Minor; marshal, E. R. Lester. 

The Bend Light, Water & Power Company 
was incorporated early in December, 1904, with 
a capital of $100,000. 

In December, 1904, the Methodists of Bend 
organized a church society and Sunday school. 
In January, 1905, a contract was awarded to 
Brasterhous Brothers by the city council to build 
a jail. The contract bid was $292.32. 

In April, 1905. a crew of 25 men were put 
to work laying water-mains. This work was 
completed from the river up to Wall street and 
along Wall nearly to Oregon. From that point 
south a number of rock points were encountered 
which made progress slower. The pipes were 
put down three feet, the trench being left open 
only long enough to lay the pipes when it was 
immediately filled. Most of this rock was 
picked out ; some of it blasted. By July the 
water system was in operation. 

In May, 1905, the city voted to buy from the 
A. G. Long Company, of Portland, a full fire- 
fighting apparatus for Bend. It consisted of n 
street hydrants ; 1 ,000 feet of best quality fire 
hose ; two hose carts ; one 27-foot ladder, one 
16-foot roof ladder and two 16-foot ladders ; 
four nozzles each with a i-inch and a three-quar- 
ter inch tip ; six hydrant wrenches and six hose 
spanners. The entire cost of this plant was 
$1,395.50, besides freight. It was paid for 
with six per cent, warrants on the fire fund, half 
to be redeemed in 1906, and half in 1907. 

In 1905 the city of Bend marked a new era 
in the development of Central Oregon, and is a 
fine example of what can be accomplished when 
energy and capital unite in the development of 
vast resources. Prineville, the county seat, lies 
30 miles northeast and Shaniko, the shipping 
point, eighty miles northeast. 

MADRAS. 

This young community is situated in the 
Willow Creek basin, thirty miles north of Prine- 
ville. This basin is about three miles long and 



73Q 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



three-quarters of a mile wide. Madras is the 
center of the farming district of Crook county. 
There are about one hundred and fifty thousand 
acres of tillable land surrounding the town, and 
in the districts of Haystack, Lamonta and 
Agency Plains. The Indians of the Warm 
Springs reservation as well as the Hay creek 
country, with its countless sheep and fine cattle 
make Madras their trading point. It is only a 
short distance from the yellow pine belt of the 
Blue Mountains, and this circumstance makes 
lumber for building purposes comparatively 
cheap. Within the past two or three years many 
people have come from the middle west to settle 
upon the government lands of this part of the 
county. There are about one thousand families 
now settled there and most of them make Madras 
their center of trade. The soil of this country has 
been found to be very fertile and the people who 
have set out orchards and shrubs have met with 
good success. Sugar beets have been planted 
and found to produce as much as ten tons per 
acre. 

In the Prineville Herald of November 4, 
1904, Timothy Brownhill wrote : 

Situated in a graceful curve of willow creek is what 
is commonly known as "the basin," a flat area of land 
shaped similar to a basin. In the eerier of this country 
surrounded by slight hills, and lying along a small 
creek is the growing city of "Madras." This town is on 
the line of the proposed extension of the Columbia 
Southern railroad, thirty miles north of Prineville, and 
forty miles south of Shaniko, the present terminus of 
the Columbia Southern railroad. 

Madras is in the center of the great argicultural dis- 
trict of Crook county, comprising the Agency Plains 
country, with its 150,000 acres of the finest wheat land 
in Oregon, and the Haystack and Lomonta districts, 
which furnish the greater part of the wheat and grain 
now consumed in Central Oregon. Madras is. also, 
the trading point for the Hay creek stock country, 
with its sheep upon a thousand hills and countless herds 
of the finest range cattle in the northwest. Just twelve 
miles west is the Warm Springs Indian reservation, 
with about 800 Indians, who are all farmers and stock 
growers, and who will bring all their business to Mad- 
ras. The reservation contains many thousands of acres 
of fine farming and timber lands, and the day is not 
far distant when it will be thrown open for settlement 
by the white men. 

In the past two or three years many homeseekers 
from the middle west who have grown tired of the un- 
certainty of crops and the certainty of drouth and flood 
in Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska and other Missis- 
sippi valley states, have taken up government lands in 
this favored locality, and it can be safely stated that 
there are about 1,500 families living there, who will do 



all their bartering and buying in Madras. The yellow 
pine belt of the Blue mountains is a short distance only 
from Madras and prices for good lumber for building 
purposes prevail about the same as along the Columbia 
river. Willow creek basin, where Madras is located, is a 
wide place in the Willow creek valley, about three miles 
long and an average width of three-fourths of a mile. 
The soil there is of light, loamy quality, very fertile 
and underlaid with gravel and sandstone. Water is 
easily obtained in wells averaging from ten to fifteen 
feet in depth, and is of a very fine quality, containing 
no trace of alkaline substances. 

There are fine openings in Madras for business men 
who have some capital to invest in stores, mills, etc., 
and as the country develops many branches of legiti- 
mate business will be opened. This country has grown 
and developed wonderfully within the past few years, 
although it has been quite a distance from the railroad ; 
and now, that the extension of the Columbia Southern 
from Shaniko to Bend is an assurred fact, business of 
all descriptions will increase and grow beyond all ex- 
pectations. Madras is well represented along business 
lines, having two general merchandise stores, one black- 
smith and wagon shop, a drug store, hardware store, . 
meat market, two physicians, a good public school sys- 
tem, a weekly newspaper. United States commissioner, 
harness shop, barber shop, two hotels, livery and feed 
stables, contractors and carpenters and other smaller 
lines too numerous to mention. A number of churches 
are also represented. 

The First Baptist Church of Madras was or- 
ganized Sunday, April 30, 1904, with a mem- 
bership of twelve. The population of the town 
is estimated at fifty. 

PAULINA. 

The altitude of Paulina, named after an old 
Indian chief of the Piutes, is 2,444 f ee t above sea 
level. There is established a postoffice and in 
its vicinity are located many residents. 

It is located in the center of some of the 
finest natural meadow country in the northwest. 
It is situated on the north bank of Beaver creek, 
on what is known as the Paulina flats, five mile's 
irom where Beaver creek empties into the 
Crooked river. The Paulina flat is a part of 
the wonderful Beaver creek valley, the entire 
length, nearly twenty miles, being one great 
natural meadow, yielding from one to three tons 
of the very finest hay per acre, and the section of 
Crook county of which it is the trading center 
includes the valleys of Beaver, Grindstone, Indian. 
Little and Big camp and the north and south 
forks of Crooked river are indeed a stockman's 
paradise and the day is not far distant when it 
will be known for what it reallv is, the best dairy- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



73 1 



ing and stock farming country in the Indian 
Empire. Not only shall it be known as a great 
dairying section, but lately there have beeen dis- 
covered in the foothills near the Grant county 
line rich croppings of gold ores, both base and 
free milling ; also several prospects of cinnabar 
have been lately discovered, but it is not known 
whether or not they are in paying quantities. 

ASHWOOD. 

The population is given at ioo. A village was 
first settled in 1898 on Trout creek, twenty-five 
miles south of Shaniko, its railroad point, and 
forty miles north of Prineville, the county seat 
of Crook county. Gold has been found in its 
vicinity and the town now contains two general 
merchandise stores, and is connected by long 
distance telephone line and stage with Antelope. 
Trout creek flows through the center of the 
town. The townsite of Ashwood was platted 
June 16, 1899, by James Woods and Addie B. 
Woods and consisted of fifteen blocks in section 
36, township 9, south range 16, E. W. M. 
In 1905 Lester Cohrs wrote of Ashwood as 
follows : 

The town of Ashwood is situated on Trout creek 
in the northern part of Crook county, near the Wasco 
line. There are many fine ranches near Ashwood. One 
ranch, about three miles above the place, is owned by 
T. S. Hamilton who runs sheep on it. Mr. Hamilton 
puts up about 600 tons of hay each year. Another ranch 
about nine miles above Ashwood is owned by the Bald- 
win Sheep & Land Company. The ranches below Ash- 
wood are small compared with those above. Alfalfa hay 
is raised along Trout, as well as Hay, creek. When the 
news spread over Crook county that gold had been dis- 
covered on Trout creek there was a great rush to the 
mining district. James Woods, one of the present resi- 
dents of Ashwood, took the land where the town of 
Ashwood stands today as a homestead. During the 
rush to the mines the town of Ashwood was laid out in 
town lots. The town has grown rapidly since 1900. 

Judging from the amount of developments already 
done in the mines the camps of Ashwood will rank 
among the first of the gold and silver producers of Ore- 
gon, and possibly, copper and lead. Most of the min- 
ing experts of the county consider the formation to 
carry precious metals and the same formation exists in 
other mining districts where thousands of tons of ore 
have been obtained. 

There is only one mine in the district that h?s been 
developed to any extent, and that is known as the Sil- 
ver King mine. It is owned by the Oregon King Min- 
ing Company. They have a shaft on one of these ore 
chutes that is 600 feet deep, showing large bodies of 
low grade ores which are generally found on the hang- 



ing wall of the vein. Since the development of this 
mine began a large quantity of ore has been extracted 
and shipped to the Tacoma smelter. From this there has 
been a report of very good returns. The principal ob- 
ject of this company has been to block out the ores, . 
or .rather to place the ore in sight, without extracting it 
and have it in shape so that it can be extracted at any 
time. 

Besides the Oregon King Mining Company's pros- 
pects, there are many others that show good values at' 
the surface and will probably be good properties with 
proper development. There are a number within ten 
feet of the surface that are reported to carry values from 
$10 to $45 per ton. The ore is generally base, and is 
found in the oxide zone of the Oregon King mines 
which runs to a depth of about 125 feet. The silver ore 
is in the form of a chloride and carbonate. Then comes 
the sulphide ore which carries gold, silver, lead, copper 
and zinc. The development work of these mines is re- 
tarted and has been retarded since the discovery of the 
mines by different litigations. Whenever these law- 
suits are settled and cheaper transportation for the 
ores provided, these mines will be one of Crook county's, 
best resources. 

March 30, 1901, the Prospector said : 

Where now stands the beautiful and thriving little 
city of Ashwood with its score or more business and 
dwelling houses, its elegant school house and level 
streets was, years ago, the well improved farm of James 
Woods. The fertile Trout Creek valley had long been- 
inhabited by a class of people, thrifty and industrious,, 
who turned their entire attention to the stock and farm- 
ing industries. For many years thousands of sheep, 
cattle and horses had roamed over the hills adjacent to« 
the valley and were a source of great profit to the own- 
ers. The people were fast becoming well-to-do ; were 
happy and contented. 

In 1896 a petition was circulated and signed by every- 
body in the community asking for the establishment of 
a postoffice. After some delay their request was granted" 
and James Woods appointed postmaster and the office 
christened Ashwood. The petition asked for the es- 
tablishment of a postoffice to be called Ash, after Ash 
Butte just across Trout creek, and for the naming of" 
James Woods as postmaster. For some reason (doubt- 
less a good one) the Washington authorities did not give 
the name Ash to the new postoffice, but instead added 
the name of the postmaster, and the office was christened 
Ashwood. In April, 1898, the town was surveyed and 
platted and lots put upon the market. 

In August, 1898, the large general merchandise store 
of J. W. & M. A. Robinson was built and a complete 
stock put in. The following month O'Neil Brothers, 
of Prineville, opened the Ashwood saloon, and after 
conducting it for a time sold out to Benton & Grater. 
H. Y. Huston started a blacksmith shop and W. H. 



73 2 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Grater a hotel and several other business enterprises 
were established. Upon the discovery of gold in the 
new town it took on new life, becoming a lively and pros- 
perous mining center ; not of the type of a pioneer camp 
■in California or Colorado, but in a modern sense, the 
living and other expenses being as cheap as in other 
towns of the interior, the comforts of home life being 
within the reach of all miners and prospectors. 

CLINE FALLS. 

The altitude of Cline Falls is 2,875 ^ eet - The 
city is located on the Des Chutes river in Crook 
county, about twenty miles west of Prineville. 
It lies in the center of a vast tract of land under 
irrigation during the past three years and sold 
under the Carey act. Through this means 400,- 
000 acres of land has become available for culti- 
vation, and a large portion of it is now producing 
crops. The land is now admirably adapted to the 
growth of alfalfa, and sugar beets. The Cline 
halls Power Company owns immense water 
power at this point and at the lower falls, several 
miles below, 40,000 horse-power being available 
for manufacturing and other purposes. The falls, 
forty feet high, are of unceasing interest ; its 
climate is mild ; summer days are warm and the 
nights are cool. The winters are generally mild, 
the temperature seldom falling below the zero 
mark. The Eastern Oregon Transportation 
Company has built an automobile line from Shan- 
Iko to Bend. 

The wonderful cataract of Cline Falls rivals 
the Willamette falls at Oregon City. A petition 
for a postoffice at Cline Falls was favorably con- 
sidered by the department at Washington, D. C. 
The official papers giving notice of the fact were 
received in November, 1904, and Mr. Meredith 
was appointed postmaster. Cline Falls was then 
on the map. Late in November, 1904, the fol- 
lowing was published in the Pacific Homesteader 
of Salem, Oregon : 

One of the most promising of the cities springing 
up as if by magic in the western part of Crook county is 
Cline Falls, situated near the great waterfall which 
bears that name in the Des Chutes river. The townsite 
was only recently platted, and lots offered for sale less 
than two months ago, yet the sale has been enormous. 

The Cline Falls Power Company of which D. J. 
Harris is president, and F. T. Hurlburt, of Shaniko, 
secretary and treasurer, was organized about two years 
ago, and at that time secured control of all the water 
power of the Des Chutes river at that point. The com- 
pany now owns 2,500 acres of land, 1,500 acres of which 
lie on the west, and t.ooo acres on the east side of the 
river at Cline Falls. Of this land 1,800 acres are til- 
lable and all can be irrigated. The soil is very fertile 



and with the application of water abundant crops are 
produced. At present about 250 acres are cultivated 
by the company. 

July, 1904, the company platted eighty acres of land 
into a townsite containing 500 lots, which were offered 
for sale to the public at from $60 to $250. The rap- 
idity with which the lots were sold was a surprise to the 
townsite company and to all other persons interested. In 
the first three weeks of selling, and with scarcely any ad- 
vertising sixty lots were sold, a portion going to specu- 
lators who could look into the future and see a great 
increase in the valuation of Cline Falls property, but 
most of the lots are owned by people who will in the 
near future become bona fide residents of that city. 

When the writer called there in September, forty 
families had signified their intention of becoming resi- 
dents of Cline Falls before winter sets in. and the fol- 
lowing are the business houses now being erected and 
to be completed within thirty days : Meredith Broth- 
ers ; Walla Walla general merchandise store ; R. M. 
Bishop, feed stable ; F. W. Hanna, store ; F. M. Don- 
aldson, meat market ; J. W. Broen, hotel ; Thomas R. 
Rayburn, hotel ; Louis McAllister, commission house. A 
printing office has been established for some weeks, and 
the Cline Falls Press, a weekly newspaper, devoted to 
promoting the welfare of the country, is now published 
with a circulation of 1,000 copies. A school house is 
now being erected 24 by 32 feet in dimensions, and a 
large attendance is expected as many of the farmers of 
the surrounding country are planning to move to the 
city and send their children to school. The question 
might with impunity be asked, "What advantages are 
there to make a city spring up at Cline Falls in the midst 
of a vast wilderness?" But transportation facilities with 
the outside world such as are enjoyed by other cities, 
will make Cline Falls complete. This cannot be de- 
layed any great length of time. 

The great features of Cline Falls are pure water — ■ 
cold as ice — electric lights, and cheap power, and sur- 
rounded by a tract of nearly half a million acres of land 
which are now being irrigated by strong companies un- 
der the Carey Act, with water taken from the Des 
Chutes river and tributary streams. A portion of this 
is already settled and will in the next five years sup- 
port an average of one family to each eighty-acre tract. 

In addition to this might be mentioned an ideal cli- 
mate, beautiful scenery, fertile soil and abundant crops. 
Very simple, yet what more could be said of any city in 
the world ; in fact it is doubtful if any city was launched 
on the road to success with as many natural advantages 
as Cline Falls possesses. At that point the angry Des 
Chutes river plunges over the rocks for a distance of 
forty feet giving T5.000 horse power easily developed. 
By damming and fluming this can he doubled and with 
the lower falls, also controlled by the company, bring the 
total available power up to 40,000 horse power, far 
greater than the power that has made Spokane such a 
thriving city. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



733. 



LYTLE. 

The townsite of Lytle was platted by the Lytle 
Townsite Company, John Steidle, president, Sep- 
tember i, 1903, and consisting of sixteen blocks 
in section 29, township 17, south range 12 E. W. 
lvi. The altitude is 3,600 feet at the eastern base 
of the Cascade mountains, and its climate is 
sans reproche. 

Articles for the incorporation of Lytle were 
filed in the office of the county clerk in April, 
1903. The incorporators were H. W. Reed, John 
Steidle and Charles J. Cotter. The capitalization 
was $50,000, with 500 shares of $100 each. Lytle 
is in a peculiarly favorable location to control 
the vast volume of trade which is sure to be 
drawn in that direction from the broad areas of 
arid lands now being reclaimed by irrigation. It 
is, practically, surrounded on all sides by irri- 
gated lands upon which homes and farms are 
springing up as if by magic in the midst of a 
wilderness solitude. 

SISTERS. 

This town was platted by Smith Brothers, 
Alex and Roberts, July 10, 1901, and consists of 
ten blocks in section 4, township 15, south range 
10, E. W. M. The location of the town is so 
unlike that of any other municipality in Eastern 
Oregon that it is conspicuous to those who are 
fortunate enough to make a visit to that section 
of Oregon. It is situated on the main highway 
to the Willamette valley, a feature which alone 
makes Sisters prominent and a profitable loca- 
tion for the merchant. The little town is situated 
in the midst of one of the most delightful pine 
forests to be found anywhere. It is only a short 
distance from the foothills of the three snow- 
capped peaks known as the "Three Sisters," and 
from which the town bears its name. The stately 
pines shade the village from the burning sum- 
mer sun and protect it from the cold blasts of 
midwinter. 

A stage from Prineville reaches Sisters every 
afternoon. It is the last stopping place until 
the station of Garrison, eight miles west and in 
the foothills is reached. The main road to the 
Willamette valley via Eugene — the McKenzie 
road — and the Santiam road pass through the 
town, making it an important stage point. The 
altitude of Sisters is 3,050 feet. It is twenty- 
five miles from Bend. In the Prineville Herald, 
of November, 1904, F. C. Welch wrote as fol- 
lows : 

l 

There are two good stores, a hotel, blacksmith shop, 
saloon, real estate office, livery barn and a splendid 



school house, costing $1,800, and a short distance from 
the town is a fine lumbering mill. The largest store in 
the town is owned by Smith & Wilt. The store building 
is 25 by 40 feet, while in the rear there is a large ware- 
house 20 by 40 feet. The company carries a $5,000 stock 
of groceries, hardware, harness, stationery, a small drug 
department, etc. The townsite belongs to this firm. The 
only other store in the town is owned by Alex. Smith. 
This building is 20 by 60 feet. A large stock of some- 
$4,000 of gent's furnishings, boots and shoes and dry 
goods is carried. The year's business aggregates to about. 
$12,000. Real estate has been changing hands so fre- 
quently of late that an office has been opened. The 
real estate and insurance business is run by W. B. Booth, 
who is an experienced business man and well able to 
handle such an important business. The only saloon 
on the place is run by George A. Stevens. 

The only industry belonging to the town of 
Sisters is the saw mill owned and managed by 
Mr. W. F. E. Wilson. The mill is four miles 
west of the town and is run by water of twenty 
horse-power, taken from Pole Creek. This mill 
has a capacity of 5,000 feet of lumber a day. 

LAIDLAW. 

The townsite of Laidlaw comprises the west: 
half of section 31, township 16, south range 12, 
E. W. M. It was laid out by the Laidlaw Town- 
site Company, B. S. Cook, president, and A. W. 
Laidlaw, secretary, August 8, 1904. The post- 
office was established January 20, 1905, with W. 
G. Stiles, postmaster. 

This town was named after its founder, A. 
W. Laidlaw, of Portland, and was chosen with 
peculiar regard to the natural conditions of the 
country and will not, doubtless, fail to become a 
city of some importance. Seldom it happens that 
new towns enjoy a more favorable outlook from 
the start than did Laidlaw. It is situated eight 
miles below Bend, on the angry Des Chutes, and 
it is surrounded on all sides by rich prairie 
land which is being reclaimed by irrigation, while 
to the west as far as the eye can reach is a vast 
stretch of fine yellow pine timber, with the Tu- 
melo river affording a well-regulated flume for 
bringing down the logs, and a natural millsite 
and unlimited water power at Laidlaw. 

The town of Laidlaw was surveyed and care- 
fully laid off into streets and avenues and the 
townsite filed September 7, 1904. Headquarters 
of the Columbia Southern Irrigation Company 
are at Laidlaw. The company is composed of" 
the following officers : E. E. Lytle, Portland, 
president ; Walter H. Moore, Shaniko, vice 
president ; A. W. Laidlaw, Portland, secretary 
and manager. This company has been operating 



734 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



for three years past, having purchased the in- 
terest of the Three Sisters Irrigation Company. 
Their segregations of land from the government 
for irrigation was 27,700 acres. 

HAY CREEK. 

This Crook county valley along the creek 
bearing its name was settled in 1873, lies 
twenty-five miles north of Prineville, the county 
seat, and thirty-six miles south of Shaniko, its 
shipping point. The town has long distance tel- 
ephone service, daily mail and stages to Shaniko 
and Prineville. The business of the place is rep- 
resented by the Baldwin Sheep & Land Com- 
pany ; C. M. Cartwright and J. G. Edwards, gen- 
eral merchandise and blacksmiths. 

Fire, starting from an overheated stove set 
fire to the interior of the Baldwin Sheep & 
Land Company's general merchandise store at 
Hay creek, Friday, May 6, 1904. The store and 
contents were totally destroyed, and the loss ap- 
proximated $5,000. 

FOREST. 

The altitude of this place is 2,313 feet above 
sea level. The store at Forest is owned by the 
Lone Pine Company. The store is located at 
the junction of the roads leading to Prineville, 
thirteen miles ; Bend, twenty-two and one-half 
miles ; Cline Falls, twelve miles ; Shaniko, sixty 
miles ; Sisters, Silver Lake and the Willamette 
Valley. There is no prettier point in Crook 
county than Forest, where numerous freighters 
daily stop for refreshments and rest. Shade and 
fruit trees are abundant. There are two stables 
for accommodating horses and one chop mill 
with a capacity of twenty tons daily. 

HAYSTACK. 

This is one of the earlier of Crook county 
towns, the postoffice of which was established in 
1882. It lies twenty-five miles north of Prineville 
and fifty miles southwest of Shaniko, its shipping 
point. It has a tri-weekly stage and mail to Prine- 
ville. It derived its name from the Haystack 
Butte, which looms up within its borders and re- 
sembles a hayrick of great size. 

The first settler in the valley was H. C. Belk- 
nap, father of Dr. Belknap, of Prineville, who 
came in the year 1876. The second settler was 
Thomas Jenkins, in the year 1878. A few years 
later when the possibilities of that country be- 
came known it was rapidly settled by eager home- 
seekers. In the vicinity of the Haystack country 
there are several places of great interest. One 



of them is the "Cove." It is located about a mile 
from the Des Chutes, on the Crooked river, and 
reached by a very narrow grade one and one- 
half miles in length. Looking up on the upper 
portions of the grade, one sees the rocky cliffs 
which are almost perpendicular. Looking down 
one sees the river which appears to be a tiny 
stream in the distance. When the bottom of this 
grade is reached it appears to be one of the most 
delightful of places. An abundance of all kinds 
of fruits that are grown in temperate latitudes 
are raised there. Colloquially all the country 
around the postoffice is known as the "Haystack 
country," as there is no "town" of any import- 
ance. Another place of interest is the opal 
spring, situated in the Crooked river cartyon, 800 
feet below the surrounding country. This can 
be reached only by a very steep and dangerous 
trail leading down the canyon. The spring com- 
ing out of the rock is sixty feet wide and six 
feet deep. Opals are constantly boiling up from 
below. From that country many snow-covered 
mountains can be seen including Mounts Hood, 
Jefferson, Washington and the Three Sisters. 

LAMONTA. 

John C. Rush, in April, 1905, laid out the 
townsite of Lamonta the lots of which are now 
on the market. This action was taken because 
of the development of the Haystack country, 
and to the automobile line through that locality. 
The townsite was platted April 3, 1905, by J. C. 
Rush, in section 3, township 13, south range 
14, E. W. M. and contains twenty-four blocks. 
The postoffice was established in 1896, seventeen 
miles northeast of Prineville, and sixty-two miles 
south of Shaniko, its shipping point. It has a 
trj-weekly stage between it and Prineville. 

LAVA. 

Lava is a postoffice on the Des Chutes river, 
fifty miles southwest of Prineville, and 115 miles 
south of Shaniko, its shipping point. It has a 
stage to Prineville and daily mail. Mrs. Sadie 
Vandervert is postmistress and proprietor of a 
general merchandise store, hotel and restaurant. 

HOWARD. 

This is a postoffice established in 1897 on the 
Ochoco river, twenty-eight miles northeast of 
Prineville, and eighty-eight miles southeast of 
Shaniko, the railway point. Hydraulic mining is 
Ihe principal industry. It has a tri-weekly stage 
to Prineville, daily mail and one general mer- 
chandise store. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



735 



POST 

! 

This is a country postoffice on the Crooked 
river, twenty-eight miles southeast of Prineville 
and fifty miles south of Shaniko. It receives a 
semi-weekly mail. 

CULVER. 

Culver is a postoffice established in 1899, 
twenty-four miles northwest of Prineville, and 
fifty-five miles south of Shaniko, the railroad 
point. It contains a school house and Baptist 
and Christian church organizations, a general 
store and daily stage and mail between it and 
Prineville. In October, 1900, Q. G. Colver 
erected a store building at this place which bears 
his name (with a slight difference in ortho- 
graphy) and stocked it with general merchandise. 

OTHER TOWNS. 

Desert postoffice was established in the Hay- 
stack country with S. S. Pringle as postmaster. 
This point supplies a large settlement with mail 
and is a great convenience to the people. It is 
on the line between Prineville and Warm 
Springs. 

In 1887 the postoffice of Mowry was estab- 
lished at the residence of M. A. Carson in the 
Beaver Creek region. Mr. Carson was postmas- 
ter. The precinct in which the postoffice was 
established was formerly known as Maury. In 
organizing this precinct in 1886 a petition was 
circulated for the establishment of a postoffice at 
M. A. Carson's to be called Maury in honor of 
Lieutenant Maury who had a small command of 
soldiers near the place. In the petition the name 
was incorrectly spelled "Mowry" and after the 
establishment of the postoffice everything went 
by the name of Mowry. The mountain at the 
base of which Lieutenant Maury had his camp 
has always been called Maury on all maps. So, 



in deference to that gallant officer, and with a de- 
sire to have the name accord with facts the Crook 
county clerk, in making the record of the boun- 
daries copied the name of the precinct "Maury" 
as it should always have been. 

Crook is a discontinued farmers' postoffice 
on Bear Creek, thirty miles southeast of Prine- 
ville. 

The postoffice of Crater was established in 
1888 at the Big Meadows. C. H. Findlay was 
postmaster. There has, also, been established a 
postoffice in the Meadows at C. W. Clark's place, 
his wife, Mrs. Clark, was postmistress. 

In 1889 a postoffice was established on what 
was known as west Branch, a tributary of Bridge 
Creek. 

• The Columbia Southern Railroad Company's 
suveyors laid out a townsite in the Agency Plains 
which was known as Tallman. There are indi- 
cations that the place will be the center of a sec- 
tion of country admirably adapted to the cultiva- 
tion of immense wheat crops. 

Tremalo postoffice was ready for business 
in September, 1904. Its initial postmaster was 
George W. Wimer who was authorized to em- 
ploy a carrier to take up the mail below Bend. 

The altitude of Heisler, according to the 
United States Geological Survey is 1,875 feet 
above sea level. A postoffice was established 
here with A. R. Lyle as postmaster, and a mail 
from there to Madras is now in operation. 

Fife is another foothills postoffice with an 
elevation of 3,375 feet. 

Grizzly is a country postoffice sixteen miles 
north of Prineville. It has daily stages to Prine- 
ville and Shaniko. 

The population of Warm Springs is given as 
thirty. The postoffice is at the Warm Springs 
Agency on the Des Chutes river, eighty miles 
south of The Dalles, its shipping point, and sixty 
miles north of Prineville, the county seat. It 
contains a Presbyterian church and a general 
merchandise store. 



CHAPTER V 



DESCRIPTIVE. 



Larger than many states in the union is the 
territory embraced by Crook county. It is about 
108 miles across from east to west and 84 miles 
north and south. In round numbers it contains 



about 8,000 square miles. From this it will be 
seen that it is six times as large as the state of 
Rhode Island, four times as large as Delaware; 
about as large as Massachusetts. This vast 



7?>6 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



area had a population in 1900 of 3,896. Massa- 
chusetts, had a population of 2,846,670. Had 
Crook county been as densely settled as Rhode 
Island it would have sustained a population of 
3,500,000. 

Concerning the climate of Crook county it 
may be generally observed that for at least four- 
fifths of the year the skies are cloudless, with 
occasional rains from August to November. 
During the "heated term" the temperature 
ranges in the 90's for a week or so, and about 
zero generally for four or five days along about 
holiday time. These are the extremes, and be- 
tween them the climate of Crook county is not 
excelled in Oregon. In the lower altitudes snow 
seldom falls to a greater depth that one foot, 
and rarely remains more than a week at a time# 
until dissipated by a gentle "chinook" wind. 
Plowing is in progress every month of the year, 
except January and not infrequently in that 
month. Cattle and sheep are fed from one to 
three months owing to locality. 

As a summary it may be said that the climate 
of Crook county is very much the same as that 
of the entire Inland Empire with few exceptions. 
In the northern portions of the county the cli- 
mate varies. On the higher hills in the Blue 
Mountains the winters become very cold, con- 
siderable snow falling, which drives the cattle 
to the lower levels. Along the creek bottoms 
it is quite different. Little if any snow falls 
during the entire year. The climate is very much 
the same as that west of the Cascade mountains, 
stock running out without shelter during the en- | 
tire year. On the desert lands south of Prine- 
ville, the cold, bleak winds make is very dis- 
agreeable and unpleasant as a place of residence. 
However, the stock remains on the range the 
entire year. 

Along the Crooked and Ochoco rivers the 
summers are very beautiful, while the winters 
are quite similar to those of northern California. 
The greatest elevation of Crook county above the 
sea is 3,500 feet. It lies in the geographical cen- 
ter of the state, and exclusive of the Warm 
Springs Indian reservation contains in round 
numbers 7,000 square miles, the Cascade moun- 
tains timber reservation lopping off a slice of its 
western territory. To the northwest of Prine- 
ville for a distance of ten miles there is a stretch 
of semi-desert, about five miles wide on an aver- 
age, comparatively level land ; soil classed second 
rate; it is raised from 30 to 150 feet above the 
creek and river bottoms. The soil is largely min- 
eral and very productive when irrigated and the 
longer it is cultivated the better it becomes. 
There are but few claims taken in this stretch. 



sage-brush and the omnipresent road section 
holding the most of it. 

To the north of this Grizzly butte, a spur of 
timbered mountains, pushing westward, rises 
nearly two thousand feet above the country 
around it. To the west of this butte is the Hay- 
stack country, near 300 square miles of good 
farming land, soil number 1, but the want of 
water bars settlement, except near the hills, where 
springs are plentiful. To the north of Grizzly 
butte, Willow Creek valley, about forty square 
miles, is a rolling, excellent farming country. Al- 
though some 3,000 feet above the sea, cereals of 
all kinds grow and ripen to perfection. This re- 
gion has been the best grain section of the coun- 
try, but the Haystack country now claims the 
honor. All through the northern portion of the 
county there are deep gorges, with sometimes 
small, rich spots of bottom land. When clear, or 
cleared of stones they produce the finest apples, 
peaches, pears, plums, prunes, melons and to- 
matoes. 

Passing on northward over rolling bunch 
grass hills, Hay Creek next attracts the view. 
There in the widening bottom lands of Hay 
Creek and its tributaries the B. S. & L. Com- 
pany have a vast expanse of alfalfa fields, the hay 
piled in numerous stacks and barns to insure the 
wintering of their stock that graze on a thousand 
hills. Hay Creek is a lower country than Prine- 
ville, six or eight hundred feet. 

Northward from Hay Creek, over a series of 
hills eight miles lower Lower Hay Creek and part 
of Lower Trout Creek come into view. This be- 
ing lower, rolls in its wealth of alfalfa, vegetables 
and fruit. Here we are near the north boundary 
line of the county. Thence eastward up Trout 
Creek seven miles the creek emerges from a huge 
gorge, or crack in mother earth, perpendicular 
at times, rock bound, rock tumbled, impassable 
to man or beast, for eight or nine miles Trout 
Creek boils and bubbles then Upper Trout opens 
out, the valley extending southeasterly ten miles 
wide, average over a quarter of a mile wide, pro- 
duces grain, alfalfa, fruits, berries, vegetables, 
the yield being enormous. To the north of Upper 
Trout Creek amid rough hills and buttes high 
and sharp a few very small, but very rich valleys 
are located and cultivated. Eastward, three-quar- 
ters of a mile from Trout creek, and two miles' 
from where it enters the canyons, the King mine 
is located which bids fair to be one of the mines 
of the world. A mile further upward is the town 
of Ashwood, a new but thriving village. To the 
southwest of Upper Trout Creek for eight miles 
the hill rises in a series of benches. Upon many 
of these claims are taken and immense crops of 




Old Brokentop 




*. 

£* 



Bennam Falls o( the Deschutes 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



7ZT 



grain and vegetables are raised without irriga- 
tion, there being a clay subsoil and springs 
abounding everywhere. 

Northeastly from Trout Creek, and nearly 
parallel to it, from four to six miles distant, is the 
divide between the waters of the John Day and 
the Des Chutes rivers. A high, rough and rocky 
ridge with a few claims taken on the benches and 
in the small valleys. Current and Muddy creeks 
drain a large part of this slope and Cherry creek 
the remainder. These creeks, with immense 
grade, fall rapidly toward the John Day river. 
Their narrow, rich bottoms produce wonderful 
crops of alfalfa, corn, melons, peaches and grapes, 
this being by far the warmest portion of the 
county. Throughout the whole region from 
Grizzly Butte to the John Day river the soil is 
first-class, where it is clear from stone and level 
enough to be plowed. There are many small 
benches and little bottoms yet unoccupied. Good 
springs abound through the whole region. 

Following the divide between the Des Chutes 
and John Day rivers southeasterly we enter fine 
timber in the northeastern portion of township 
ii, south range 17 east Willamette Meridian. 
This is an extensive timber belt composed 
chiefly of yellow pine, but fir, black pine and 
tamarack are plentiful. This timber belt extends 
southeasterly to the eastern boundary of the 
county and beyond. 

Forty miles east of Prineville is Summit 
Prairie, of 25 to 30 square miles area, about 4,000 
feet above sea level. It produces a vast quantity 
of wild grass ; hay and summer pasture. It is all 
owned and fenced by prosperous stockmen. This 
prairie is surrounded by timber. The north fork 
of Crooked river has its source near Summit 
Prairie. First it flows eastward, thence bearing 
southward it describes a semi-circle and forms a 
junction with the south fork nearly due south of 
its source. The Beaver Creek country is situated 
in the most easterly portion of the county. Beaver 
Creek has two branches. The north fork has its 
source in Grant county, and the south fork in 
Harney county. They come rapidly down to a 
point about four miles west of the eastern boun- 
dary of Crook. There the bottoms widen out to 
about a mile in width, nearly twenty miles long, 
the creek falling only two feet .to the mile. Here 
are the largest natural meadows in the county. 
To the north of Beaver creek, Wolf creek, a trib- 
utary, is rich in meadow land and alfalfa is 
grown to some extent. 

Elevated and surrounded by low hills, Pau- 
lina and Rabbit Valleys lie between Beaver 
Creek and the north fork of Crooked river. These 
valleys are as beautiful as they are isolated, rich 
in their abundance of hay and produce. Passing 
47 



south from Beaver Creek near the county line we 
come to Little Camp creek. With a rich, nar^ 
row valley here, near the lower end of the valley, 
is the Red Rock soda spring, destined some time 
to become famous. This spring comes sparkling 
out of a rock, red with oxide of iron, covered with 
a low bank of alluvial earth, one dwarfed, man- 
gled, cattled-twisted willow constituting all sem- 
blance of timber near it. 

Then comes Little Trout creek, noted for 
large herds of sheep. On southward, over not 
a very rough country is old Harding, at one time 
a postofHce on Twelvemile creek, a tributary of 
the soudi fork of Crooked river. Twelvemile 
and its tributaries are principally devoted to the 
sheep industry. Thence, sou'theasterly, a half 
clay's journey — for be it known that this is a 
country of "magnificent distances" — we come to> 
Buck creek. Here is plenty of limestone ; down 
Buck creek valley, which is narrow, but rich,, 
some five miles .the creek disappears — such they 
call it — merging into a very extended, very level 
sage plain of some two hundred square miles .in 
area, bounded on the north by a range of low 
hills ; on the east by Buck mountain, which is 
timbered and a low gap passing southeasterly to 
the rest of the world, to the south by Glass butte, 
a mountain, sharp topped by vitrous rock, on the 
west by Hampton butte, and near the center of 
this alkali-impregnated sage bush plain, the south 
fork of Crook river rises boldly, but quietly out 
of the earth and creeps off northward with no 
tree nor bush to betray its presence for several 
miles. 

There are level bottom lands for ten or twelve^ 
miles in its /northwesterly course, then it enters a: 
rock-bound canyon in which is the White Sul- 
phur springs — the "stinking springs" — of the 
early emigrants.- Ten or twelve miles further it 
emerges from the canyon, jumps a perpendicular 
fall, opens out in a rich bottom, picks up Beaver 
creek and winds its tortuous course along in a 
general northwesterly direction ; about twelve 
miles from the confluence of Beaver creek it 
forms a junction with the north fork. The 
latter, after emerging from Summit Prairie, 
plunges, roars and foams through a very rough, 
rocky gorge, commonly called canyon, for most 
of its course, to the junction with the south fork, 
with places for only two farms in the entire dis- 
tance. From the junction of the two forks, 
northwesterly, tortuously it winds its way for 
about eighty miles and empties into the Des 
Chutes. For little over half the distance there 
are bottom lands of various widths, no place ex- 
ceeding one mile, all in cultivation. The other 
part is canyon, rough, ragged and rocky ; for 
many miles rim rocks from two hundred to three 



73§ 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



hundred feet high, stand guard over the river 
on one side or the other, and for long stretches 
on both sides, appearing as if the rock had 
cracked in cooling and drawn a part the inden- 
tions on one 'side matched by protuberances on 
the other. 

To the north of Crooked river from the 
north fork to Pilot Butte, fifteen miles south- 
east of Prineville, is a rough, rugged hilly coun- 
try, with splendid grass ; the name "Horse Heav- 
•en" given to it expresses it well. A few ranches 
are located on the creek bottoms and branches. 
To the south of the river Camp Creek, running 
nearly east for about fifteen miles, turns north 
around the eastern base of Maury mountain, and 
empties into Crooked river. Maury, or Mowry, 
mountain could properly be termed an island 
mountain. It is surrounded by streams ; Crooked 
river on the north, Camp creek on the east and 
the south and Bear creek on the west. On his 
mountain there is a body of good timber pine, 
about fifteen miles long, averaging three or four 
miles wide. There is a saw mill there supplying 
(the local demand with lumber. Camp Creek 
bottoms are level and good and there are several 
large ranches, with hay in large quantities and 
horses, cattle and sheep grazing on the rough 
and rugged hills for many miles around. Here in 
the Camp Creek valley are the notorious soap 
holes that, some years ago, were thought to be 
rich in silver, held in liquid form. In one of 
these soap holes there is a pipe out of which 
"flows the only artesian well of the county. West- 
ward Bear Creek rises and flows, thence north- 
ward into Crooked river. This, like all other 
mountain streams, has its small farms and vast 
expanse of hills in all directions. 

Hampton buttes, some twenty-five miles 
south of and nearly parallel to Maury mountain, 
abou't tweny miles long, terminating with Glass 
butte, on the east, and bounded on the west by 
the desert, or great sage plains, stands sentinel 
over the great desert near the south boundary 
line of Crook, and north boundary of Lake 
counties. 

The agricultural possibilities of the desert are 
claimed to be great. The river bed and belt 
around the base of the butte are the better part 
of it, but other large tracts will be good if thor- 
oughly irrigated. But little of it is good without 
water. The waters of the Des Chutes river are 
available to most of it, and companies are now at 
work constructing water ducts to reclaim the 
desert. 

Now the most wonderful river in the world in 
some respects attracts our attention. Its sources 
are near the snowcapped peaks, Diamond Peak 
and Mt. Thielson, of the Cascade range. All the 



branches have but little fall, with level, grassy, 
meadow-like bottoms bounded by dense black 
pine forests, with at times yellow and sugar 
pine ; for about fifty miles, where at the Big 
.Meadows all the streams join their feeders and 
form a "big river." Deep and slowly it flows 
along, dammed by a comparatively recent lava 
flow, over which it pours, bubbles, boils and roars 
for three-quarters of a mile, when it reforms into 
a very mannerly, well-behaved river from 200 to 
300 feet wide and from two to three feet deep, it 
flows rapidly to the northward for about forty 
miles to its junction with Crooked river. This 
part of the river, no matter how much the pre- 
cipitation, never rises eighteen inches above low 
water mark. On account of this houses and barns 
are built near the water's edge, and bridges rest- 
ing on trestles only a few feet above the water 
never float away. It is also, a wonderful stream 
for fish ; for quality and quantity. To the west of 
the Des Chutes, Tornello. creek, or river, comes 
tearing down from the Cascades. Its waters are 
available and work is progressing to utilize them 
in reclaiming a large area of sage brush, semi- 
desert, lying west of the Des Chutes river. 

Northward about twenty miles, through scat- 
tering yellow pine and juniper timber, is Squaw 
creek, a large stream with low banks and a level 
country, sparsely timbered for miles around, and 
most of it located. This is the home of red 
clover and the best adapted to irrigation of any 
part of the county. Rye and the hardier vege- 
tables grow to perfection here. Passing over the 
Des Chutes northeasterly, raised above the river 
about 300 feet is the country called the "Agency 
Plains." It is a continuation of the Haystack 
country northward, but cut off it by the Willow 
creek canyon, a very deep, ugly, rocky gorge. 
These plains are devoid of water, from 60 to 80 
square miles in area, very level and soil very 
good, but little sage brush ; one vast stretch of 
waving bunch grass. Water is available from 
the Des Chutes river, but the cost would be im- 
mense. Once there, in proper shape, it would be 
the garden spot of Crook county. 

As has been previously stated Crook county, 
geographically, lies in the center of the state of 
( )regon. The county's 220 townships may be 
divided as follows : 26 in Cascade reserve, tim- 
bered ; 12 in Warm Springs Indian Reservation; 
4S timbered ; does not include above : 30 "desert" 
lands ; 104 rolling hills and valley. Crook county 
is bounded on the north by Wasco and Wheeler; 
on tlie east by Wheeler, Grant and Harney; on 
the south by Harney, Lake and Klamath ; on the 
west by Lane, Linn and Marion counties. The 
headquarters of the Baldwin Sheep & Land Com- 
pany are situated on Hay creek, about twenty- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



739 



five miles north of Prineville. The eastern and 
southern parts of Crook county are chiefly farm- 
ing and grazing lands. 

Outside of the Cascade Forest reserve Crook 
county contains over 6,000,000 acres of land, of 
which at least 5,000,000 acres are vacant, public 
land, subject to homesteading or for sale as 
school land, the minimum price being $2.50 per 
acre for the latter. The cost of filing on a home- 
stead in Oregon is $16. The price of irrigated 
land under the Carey act is averaged at $10 per 
acre. A price is set on every 40 acres ranging 
from $5 to $15. All of the above are good propo- 
sitions and worthy of the homeseeker's investiga- 
tion. The amount of public land open to settle- 
ment in Crook county on January 1, 1905, was 
2,006,847 acres. A. C. Palmer writing in the 
Morning Oregonian of date January 9, 1902, 
said : 

The so-called "desert lands" cover an area of about 
30 townships in the south central part of the county. 
The term "desert" is not properly applied to these lands. 
It is not a desert under the ordinary acceptation of the 
word. The land is generally level, broken here and 
there by low ridges and occasionally a volcanic butte 
or crater extinct ages ago, and sloping to the north- 
ward with the general watershed of the Des Chutes 
and Crooked rivers which bound the desert on two 
sides of this triangular form. A large part of it pro- 
duces a scattering growth of red juniper, valuable for 
fire wood and fence posts ; thousands of acres of 
black sage and chemise, valuable for nothing except 
as an Indication of the fertility of the soil, and above 
all, that which makes Crook famous for its live stock — 
"bunch grass being in profusion everywhere. Except 
a few springs near the hills there is absolutely no 
water to be found in the section. Hence the name 
""desert." 

During the year 1899 the long contemplated 
floating of logs down the Des Chutes and from 
within the county has been demonstrated to be 
possible. One million feet of pine logs were cut 
on the Matoles in the western part of the county, 
hauled to that stream and from there floated or 
driven down to a boom on the Lower Des Chutes. 
Crook county has immense tracts of fir suitable 
for lumber of excellent quality and easy of access. 
It produces annually several million pounds of 
wool. It has extensive water power. Situated 
about 25 miles west of Prineville, and extending 
a distance of more than forty miles along the 
Des Chutes river are numerous falls ranging 
from 6 to 20 feet, where the fall equals if not 
exceeding 100 feet per mile. Fall river, a trib- 
utary of the Des Chutes is five miles long. It 
has its source in three large springs, any one 



which would turn a mill. Near its mouth is a 
beautiful millsfte at a fifteen foot fall that will 
some day be valuable. Other streams afford some 
power, but these are the most important. 

As the present and prospective plans concern- 
ing the subject of irrigation subdivide into so 
many important considerations, it is difficult to 
treat the matter under one general head. 

The farmer in an irrigated country has many 
advantages over the one who has to depend upon 
the capriciousness of the weather. Having water 
available in his ditch or reservoir the irrigation 
farmer can control it and distribute it where it is 
needed and in such quantities as experience has 
taught will produce the best results. Further- 
more, the local conditions making irrigation nec- 
essary to the production of crops practically in- 
sures immunity from damaging storms during 
the harvest season and, other things being equal, 
a crop is insured beyond all doubt every season. 

Among the number of companies whose sole 
attentions are directed to the irrigation problems 
may be mentioned the Des Chutes Irrigation 
and Power Company, at Bend, the Three Sisters 
irrigation Company, and many others of smaller 
proportions. In March, 1904, the company be- 
came interested in the projects of the Pilot Butte 
Development Company, by purchase of their 
rights and ditches. Since then they have steadily 
pushed ahead until today, thousands of acres are 
rented. The Pacific Homestead, Salem, Oregon, 
November, 1904, said : 

This company has undertaken to reclaim 215,000 
acres of land in the Des Chutes valley as their first 
segregation and to do this will be required the expen- 
diture of over $2,000,000. The company is capitalized 
at $2,500,000. 

The Hay creek ranch, owned by the Baldwin 
Sheep and Land Company, is more extensive 
than any other such enterprise in the county. It 
was originated in 1873 by Dr. Baldwin who came 
from California and took up 160 acres of land 40 
miles from Shaniko and 25 miles from Prineville. 
From this it has grown to be the largest stock 
ranch in Oregon, and, although there are larger 
ranches in the world, this is the largest of its 
kind and stands alone before the world unchal- 
lenged in its products and accomplishments in 
sheep breeding. 

The main ranch is located in a valley, and a 
village formed by the settlements of the owners 
and employees, which is a well-planned city, 
adorned with shade trees and is surrounded by 
waving fields of alfalfa, so that to the traveler 
approaching- from either direction, from the wild 
and rock-ribbed mountains and sandy deserts 



740 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



which the road passes, it appears as a charming 
oasis in the desert, and gives one a feeling of rest, 
and the close proximity of paradise. The busi- 
ness of this mammoth company is breeding fine 
sheep, and from the establishment money has not 
been spared in securing the best the world pro- 
duced in sheep. The present owners are C. M. 
Cartwright, president ; J. G. Edwards, general 
manager, and J. P. Van Houten, secretary and 
assistant manager. The company is making a 
good showing by exhibiting animals at all the 
world's great shows. They sent 83 head of pure 
bred animals to the St. Louis exposition, making 
two carloads. This shipment included Delaines, 
Rambouillets, and Spanish Merinos. Most of 
these animals were sold to eastern breeders so 
soon as the exposition closed. The annual 
amount of wool sheared and sold for market is 
about 500,000 pounds, which, considering the fact 
that the highest market price is always realized 
and usually something above the market price is 
realized on account of the excellence, makes a fine 
income. 

The chain of ranches has a regular system of 
water works supplied from mountain springs. The 
proprietors are men who have worked themselves 
up in the world, and being of the class not ham- 
pered with bigotry they are always commonplace 
and sociable and well liked by everybody with 
whom they come in contact. 

The Crook county lands are of a volcanic 
loam of unknown depth, and need nothing but 
water to grow anything in abundance that will 
grow in this latitude. Grain, hay, vegetables, 
fruits and everything of a temperate climate 
grows here in abundance. The soil is so rich that 
it will be years before any fertilizing will be used. 
It needs but one thing and that is water. The 
rivers and mountain streams carry an abundance. 

Along the banks of Crooked river in Crook 
county, lie a series of rich valleys rarely ever 
equaled for their beauty and fertility of soil. 
From the mouth to the source of this stream a 
continuous unbroken chain of rich meadows 
greet the eye of the traveler. The broad areas of 
alfalfa, natural meadows and wild rye higher up 
in the foothills, dotted here and there with beau- 
tiful homes, surrounded with shade trees and 
green lawns, make one grand, serpentine pan- 
orama of beauty, wealth and comfort, such as is 
rarely seen in any other place in eastern or central 
Oregon. 

While stock-raising is the grand chief re- 
source that goes to make Crook county the 
wealthiest in the state, the hay raising of Crooked 
river is one of the great auxiliaries. But higher 
up the stream at its very source is the greatest of 
all institutions on Crooked river. The back bone 



of the stock industry in Crook county is sheep- 
v aising, and the back bone of sheep-raising in 
Crook is the natural advantages of the section, 
including climate, soil and water, grazing grounds 
and topography. 

At the source of the river, on the very sum- 
mit of the mountains, is a broad area of prairie 
land known as Summit Prairie, 35 miles east 
from Prineville, the capital of the county. This 
prairie contains at least 40,000 acres of natural 
meadow as fine as the sun ever shone upon. Down 
among the foothills of the mountains not very far 
away are Muddy and Current creeks. The val- 
leys of these streams are sheltered from the win- 
try winds and all through that season the grass 
continues to grow here and the valleys and hill- 
sides are as green as the tender vegetation of a 
well-kept park. 

Upon Summit Prairie and in these valleys is 
located the entire system of ranches of the Prine-' 
ville Land & Livestock Company. This is one of 
the important institutions to which the people of 
Crook county point with pride. It was organized 
back in 1887 by Henry Hahn and Leo Fried on 
a smaller scale and like every thing else in this 
section of the state has grown with rapidity. The 
well-known capitalist and business leader, Henry 
Hahn, is the president of this company. Among 
all the leaders of commercial life on the Pacific 
coast the names of Hahn and Fried stand out as 
beacons of success. They began business several 
years ago in Prineville on a small scale, and with 
good judgment' and splendid management grew 
with the rapidly developing country. Besides 
their large stock interests they are connected with 
one of the largest businesses in the city of Port- 
land, the firm of Wadhams & Company, who con- 
duct one of the largest wholesale grocery estab- 
lishments in that city of large business enter- 
prises. Besides, they have many other interests 
than their main line of sheep raising. 

About 24 townships bordering the Cascade 
reserve and in the Paulina mountains, 20 town- 
ships in the Blue mountains and four in Maury 
mountains make up the timber area covered prin- 
cipally by yellow pine of excellent quality, free 
from undergrowth and easily available. A fair 
estimate of the stumpage per section would be 
not less than 6,400,000 feet, making a grand total 
of more than 1,000,000,000 of feet of merchant- 
able lumber. Practically all of these lands in the 
Blue and the Maury mountains and about one- 
third of that along the reserve is government 
land open to settlement or purchase. In all this 
area, however, the school sections have been sold 
and are held generally by eastern capitalists and 
lumbermen. 

About fiftv miles from Prineville, in a south- 




AlTalra Field. Scene in the Haystack Country 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



741 



western direction, is one of the greatest wonders 
of the Pacific coast. On account of its isolation 
from railroads and other means of convenient 
public conveyance it is but little known. It is 
practically on a mountain top and towers above 
the Des Chutes river, upon whose banks it is situ- 
ated the raging waters rolling and surging 
among the rocks and boulders 1,400 feeet below. 
It is known as The Lava Butte. The main butte 
is symmetrical. From the main level it extends 
1,000 feet in the air to a sharp point barely large 
enough for the crater, which is of shallow depth. 
This cone is of pure volcanic ashes, with a yel- 
lowish cast, tinged with red, that gives it the ap- 
pearance at a distance of still possessing internal 
fires. And below the sight is more awe-inspiring. 
An area of several square miles is covered with 
great heaps of lava piled up in irregular form. 
This lava, or rock, is full of cells which are sur- 
rounded by a reddish dross that gives them the 
appearance of still being hot. To climb over 
them is almost impossible ; the irregular surface, 
the sharp points that cut almost like a knife, make 
it hazardous for the shoe and trying to the feet. 
The whole surface of the lava beds looks as if 
the fire were smouldering beneath and one can 
scarcely content one's self to remain alone in the 
solitude of this ruin. 

In the immediate vicinity of the Des Chutes 
there are other attractions for the tourist. None 
are more interesting than a succession of caves 
which are found here. Some caves have as yet 
"been only partially explored, some of them as far 
as a mile, but the main length and depth of the 
main ones are yet unknown. They are compara- 
tively smooth as far as they have been explored, 
and travel in them is easy, but the attractions here 
are so numerous, and the people who have visited 
the spot so few, that no account has been given 
of a thorough examination. One of the most 
wonderful phenomena of these caves is that most 
of them are natural icehouses and have ice .in 
them the year around. The few ranchers in the 
vicinity regard the caves as commonplace and go 
into them in the summer time and supply them- 
selves with ice to save fresh meats and make ice 
cream and think nothing of it, but investigation 
has shown that these are the only ice caverns in 
the United States, and that they are among the 
wonders of natural phenomena in the world. A 
few such discoveries have been made in Euro- 
pean countries but they are rare. 

On the upper Des Chutes there are a number 
of lakes from one mile in length to ten miles. 
They are fed by springs and mountain streams 
and fairly teem with every species of trout. When 
one tires of mountain climbing, sight-seeing, kill- 
ing bear or deer, he may stop here and camp 



beneath the tall pines on the shore of some clear 
lake and catch fish to his heart's content. In 
proper season these lakes are also the home of 
wild geese, /ducks, brants, swan and every kind of 
water fowl. They are seldom molested and 
shooting here is good enough even for the ama- 
teur sportsman and a "picnic" for the profes- 
sional. Most of the streams flowing into the Des 
Clmtes and Crooked rivers, are good fishing 
waters and some of the finest "catches" in the 
country are made here. 

Than the warm springs and rivers that boil 
from the earth, there are no more interesting fea- 
tures in Crook county. Near the headwaters of 
the Des Chutes are cold springs that boil up out 
of the earth — you might say out of the sage 
brush. In the parched sands, as if neglected for 
centuries, these streams shoot forth with a rush 
and flow away through the valleys, giving life to 
vegetation along their way. In the southeastern 
part of the county is a chain of warm springs. 
These springs have a large flow of water, and the 
medical qualities of the water are said to be equal 
to any in the world. 

In the week of May 25, 1905, final arrange- 
ments were made for the organization of a fur- 
nace company to burn the cinnabar ore from the 
New Alamaden, Quick Silver and Gold Mining 
Company's property on Lookout Mountain. E. 
W. Elkins went to Portland to arrange such de- 
tails as were necessary to the project. C. Fitzger- 
ald, who came from San Francisco to erect the 
structure stated, that he was highly pleased with 
present indications and that there was sufficient 
ore on the dump to justify an expenditure of 
$8,000 or $10,000 for the erection of a furnace. 
The furnace was completed in the fall of 1905. 

The cinnabar mine is located about thirty miles 
east of Prineville, on the north slope of Lookout 
mountain, near the headwaters of Canyon City 
creek. It was located in the fall of 1899 by Carl 
Sitterly and H. S. Cram. The following Portland 
capitalists were interested in the property and 
it has since been developed as extensively as 
means of transportation would permit. It was 
incorporated in 190 1 under the name of the 
American Alamaden Quicksilver and Gold Min- 
ing Company, with a capital stock of 1,500,000 
shares. The principal stockholders were Levi 
Tillotson, H. S. Cram, vice-president; E. N. 
AVheeler, secretary; J. S. Silcox, treasurer; Will- 
iam Tillottson, and John Combs, board of direc- 
tors. The general topography of the country is 
rough and broken, being well timbered with sev- 
eral varieties of fir, pine, tamarack and spruce. 
The property is well watered by several large 
springs. 

Of the many and various resources of Crook 



742 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



county none is more noteworthy than the quartz 
and placer deposits of the Oregon Mayflower 
Company, at Howard, on the Ochoco, twenty- 
eight miles from Prineville. The company since 
making its first purchase here has acquired all 
the holdings of any consequence in the camp, so 
that the property is made up of twenty-seven 
claims, five lines of ditch, a large storage reser- 
voir and all the available water rights. Timber 
is abundant for all, the district being in the Blue 
mountain district. The mines of the camp are 
found in a tract of porphyrite making up Gold 
Hill Bunco and Inda Hills, and covering portions 
of the main Ochoco and Scissors creek. The 
veins are fissures, cutting through the porphy- 
rites and generally have a northeast strike. ( )n 
the Gold Hill system the Mayflower vein is the 
chief one as in depth all others on the hill will 
unite with it. The placer deposits at the camp, 
worked spasmodically, and without system since 
the '70's have yielded large amounts of gold. The 
Oregon Mayflower Company, owner of this prop- 
erty, is a Washington corporation formed by 
Thronson Brothers. J. A. Thronson is secretary ; 
C. J. Thronson, treasurer, and Thron Thronson, 
an assayer, geologist and mining engineeer of 
repute and reliability, is president and manager 
with address at Howard, Oregon. 

The Oregon King, formerly known as the 



Silver King, the first claim located in the Trout 
creek district, was discovered by a Walla Walla 
man named Wilson, in 1898. Soon after the dis- 
covery Wilson organized a company compose'l 
of John Kirby, Thron Thronson, J. T. and John 
Hubbard, and John Knight, and this company 
after .-inking the shaft to a depth of about 100 
feet, sold out their claims, twelve in number, to 
the Oregon King Mining Company, which com- 
pany was organized by P. J. Inealy, of Krum- 
merer. Wyoming, and J. G. Edwards and C. M. 
Cartwright, of Hay Creek, the original company 
retaining a controlling interest in the stock of the 
new company. 

In the north central part of the county lies an 
extensive mineral belt upon which hundreds of 
mining claims have been located and a few of 
which were actively developed in 1902. At the 
head of Ochoco creek, east of Prineville, is an- 
other district containing some good prospects. 
During the summer of 1901 indications of pe- 
troleum were found over a large territory to the 
south and east of Prineville, and several compa- 
nies were formed for the purpose of boring for oil 
and several thousand acres of so-called oil land 
filed on, but further than this nothing was done. 

Crook county is quite rich in minerals, but 
owing to the lack of transportation facilities it 
has been held back until within, say, 1902. 



CHAPTER VI 



POLITICAL. 



The first county officers of Crook county were 
appointed by Governor Moody, who was at the 
time of Crook county's separation from Wasco 
county, chief executive. These officials were : 
County Judge, S. G. Thompson ; County Clerk, 
S. T. Richardson; Sheriff, George H. Churchill; 
Commissioners, B. F. Allen and Charles Cart- 
wrighl ; Assessor, S. J. Newson; School Superin- 
tendent, H. S. Dillard; Treasurer, G. A. Winck- 
ler; Coroner, Richard Graham. These appoint- 
ments were made in September, 1882. 

Following this apppointment of county of- 
ficials the first (.'lection in ('rook county was held 
June 2, 1884, and at which 748 votes were east. 
Following is the result : 

For Congress — B. Herman, rep., 318; John 
Myers, dem., 430. 



For District Attorney — T. A. McBride, rep., 
381 ; W. 1!. Dillard, dem., 352. 

For Joint Senator — C. M. Cartwright, rep., 
322 ; S. G. Thompson, dem., 357. 

For State Representatives — A. R. Lyle, rep., 
349; W. H. Dufur. rep., 300; J. B. Condon, dem.. 
332; W. McDonald Lewis, dem., 446. 

For Woman Suffrage, 224; against, 327. 

For County Judge — B. F. Nichols, rep.. 279 
F. A. McDonald, dem.. 415. 

For Sheriff — J. P. Combs, rep., 132: J. W 
Blakeley, dem.. 380; George H. Churchill, ind. 

'74- 

For County Clerk — A. C. Palmer, rep.. 375 
L. N. Liggett, dem.. 320. 

For Treasurer — J. T. Bushnell, rep., 427 
Aaron Senders, dem., 2^j. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



743" 



For Commissioners — B. F. Allen, rep., 352 ; 
L. C. Perry, rep., 144; L. Frizzell, dem., 507; 
J. H. Garrett, dem., 379. 

For Assessor — M. D. Powell, rep., 441 ; J. 
W. Hereford, dem., 245. 

For School Superintendent — Eunice Luckey, 
rep., 305 ; D. W. Aldridge, dem., 370. 

For Surveyor — O. Tucker, rep., 199; R. Mc- 
Farland, dem., 489. 

For Coroner — A. W. Powers, rep., 143 ; J. 
R. Sites, dem., 529. 

The vote on the question of county seat for 
which there were nine aspirants, was as follows : 
Prineville, 467 ; Willow Creek, 16 ; Cleek, 85 ; Mc- 
Kay Creek, 5 ; Cross Keys, 2 ; Carmicle, 7 ; Black 
Butte, 3; Mill Creek, 40"; Mitchell, 43. Majority, 
Prineville, 1. 

November 4, 1884, the citizens of Crook held 
their initial election for president of the United 
States with result as follows : Republican elec- 
tors, 315; democratic electors, 426; prohibition 
electors, 1. 

What is called the June or general election 
of Oregon was held June 7, 1886, with the fol- 
lowing result : 

For Governor — T. R. Cornelius, rep., 315; 
Sylvester Pennoyer, dem., 529 ; J. E. Houston, 
pro., 40. 

For Member of Congress — Binger Herman, 
rep., 347; N. L. Butler, dem., 512; G. M. Miller, 
pro., 30. 

For District Attorney — W. R. Ellis, rep., 379 ; 
George W. Barnes, dem, 522. 

For State Representatives — A. R. Lytle, rep., 
386; A. D. McDonald, rep., 309; W. H. Biggs, 
dem., 457 ; W. L. Wilcox, dem., 492 ; W. H. Tay- 
lor, pro., 30 ; A. T. Qumalt, pro., 30. 

For County Judge — W. S. A. Johns, rep., 
450; J. F. Armis, dem., 358. 

For County Commissioners — W. M. Allen, 
re P-> 395 ! S. F. Allen, rep., 296 ; T. J. Logan, 
dem., 569 ; P. Perkins, dem., 382. 

For County Clerk — A. C. Palmer, rep., 257 ; 
Z. M. Brown, dem., 564. 

For Sheriff — J. N. Williamson, rep., 476; 
J. M. Blakely, dem., 347. 

For Assessor — Perry Read, rep., 291 ; W. R. 
McFarland, dem., 533. 

For Surveyor — C. A. Graves, rep., 511; S. 
J. Newsom, dem., 304. 

For Treasurer — M. Sichel, rep., 219; T. M. 
Baldwin, dem., 606. 

For Coroner — Linn Woods, dem., 523 ; B. F. 
Allen, rep., 19; Leo Fried, rep., 21; M. C. Au- 
brey, rep., 2 ; V. C. London, dem., 4. 

For School Superintendent — Ira Walefield, 
rep., 257 ; William Johnson, dem., 564. 

General election June 4, 1886: 



For member of Congress — John M. Gearin,. 
dem.. 532 ; Binger Herman, rep., 520; G. M. Mil- 
ler, pro., 8. 

For District Attorney — W. R. Ellis, rep., 558: 
J. L. Story, dem., 489. 

For Joint Senator — C. A. Coggswell, dem., 
529; C. M. Cartwright, rep., 499. 

For State Representative — George W. Barnes,, 
dem., 479; J. N. Williamson, rep., 511. 

For County Clerk — Z. M. Brown, dem., 625; 
H. A. Dillard, rep., 378. 

For Sheriff — W. A. Booth, dem., 499; John' 
Combs, rep., 502. 

For County Commissioners — William Foster,, 
dem., 580; H. Taylor Hill, dem., 522; W. C- 
Phimmer, rep., 409 ; Z. F. Keyes, rep., 475. 

For Treasurer — T. M. Baldwin, dem., 555 ; 
E. R. Carey, rep., 450. 

For Assessor — J. H. Kelly dem., 531 ; G. W. 
Ridgeway, rep., 475. 

For Surveyor— W. R. McFarland, dem., 589 : 
C. A. Graves, rep., 399. 

For School Superintendent — George W. Slay- 
ton, dem., 531 ; H. P. Belknap, rep., 475. 

For Coroner — J. R. Sites, dem., 526; V. Ges- 
ner, rep., 491. 

The presidential election of November 6, 1888,'. 
resulted as follows: Democratic electors, 522;. 
republican, 438; prohibitionist, 17. 

General election, June 2, 1890: 

For Governor — Sylvester Pennoyer, dem. ; , 
740 ; David P. Thompson, rep., 332. 

For Member of Congress — R. A. Miller, dem.,. 
614 ; Binger Herman, rep., 471 ; J. A. Bruce, pro.,. 
2. 

For District Attorney — E. B. Dufur, dem... 
612 ; W. H. Wilson, rep., 464. 

.bor State Representative — T. J. Stephenson,., 
dem., 629; J. W. Stewart, rep., 393. 

For County Judge — J. C. Sumner, dem., 657; 
W. C. Wills, rep., 361. 

For County Clerk — Arthur Hodges, dem., 
593 ; C. M. Elkins, rep., 441. 

For Sheriff — W r . A. Booth, dem., 528; John 
Combs, rep., 507. 

For Commissioners — G. Springer, dem., 604 ; 
Francis Forest, rep., 430. 

For Assessor — W. A. Gerow, dem., 604 ; A. 
Black, rep., 433. 

For Treasurer — Edward N. White, dem., 581 ; 
J. H. Templeton, rep., 451. 

For Surveyor — Knox Houston, dem., 548; 
Leslie Powell, rep., 471. 

For School Superintendent — C. M. Hedg- 
pette, dem., 543 ; M. R. Elliott, rep., 482. 

For Coroner — L. W. Woods, dem., 614; M. 
A. Aubrey, rep., 385 ; George Cline, rep., 12. 

General election, June 6, 1892 : 






744 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



For Member of Congress — C. J. Bright, pro., 
16; W. R. Ellis, rep., 393; J. C. Luce, pop., 62; 
James H. Slater, dem., 509. 

For District Attorney — G. F. Moore, dem., 
591 ; W. H. Wilson, rep., 376 ; E. P. Sign, pop., 6. 

For Joint Senator — C. A. Coggswell, dem., 
552 ; A. Snyder, rep., $J2 ; Roscoe Knox, pop., 14. 

For Representative — B. F. Nichols, rep., 521 ; 

A. M. Roberts, dem., 440. 

For County Clerk — E. G. Bolter, rep., 162 ; 
Arthur Hodges, Dem., 796. 

For Sheriff — W. A. Booth, dem., 570 ; J. N. 
Williamson, rep., 383. 

For Commissioners — J. P. Combs, rep., 424 ; 
James Zevelly, pop., 1 : J. W. Howard, dem, 522. 

For Treasurer — S. T. Belknap, rep., 355 ; Ed- 
ward N. White, dem., 598; I. L. Ketchum, 
pop., 1. 

For Assessor — J. H. Gray, rep., 483 ; A. L. 
Wigle, dem., 468. 

For Surveyor — Knox Huston, dem., 493 ; H. 

B. Stewart, rep., 444; P. B. Nelson, pop., 2. 
School Superintendent — H. P. Belknap, rep., 

509; L. N. Liggett, dem., 435. 

For Coroner — V. Gesner, rep., 428 ; L. W. 
Woods, dem., 516. 

The presidential electors for the national cam- 
paign, fall of 1892, were : Republican delegates, 
318; democratic electors, 411; populist electors, 
121 ; prohibitionist electors, 5. 

General election, June 4, 1894: 

For Governor — William Galloway, dem., 
386; James Kennedy, prohibition, 15 ; William P. 
Lord, rep., 486; Nathan Pierce, populist, 139. 

For Member of Congress — W. R. Ellis, rep., 
527; A. F. Miller, pro., to; James H. Rayley, 
dem., 369; James Waldrop, pop., 105. 

For District Attorney — E. B. Dufur, dem., 
390; A. A. Jayne, rep., 508; E. P. Sine, populist, 
104. 

For State Representative — George W. Barnes, 
dem., 369; A. R. Lyle, rep., 496; G. Springer, 
pop., 117. 

For County Judge — M. E. Brink, rep., 502; 
J. C. Sumner, dem., 321 ; D. E. Templeton, pop., 

I75 \ 

For County Clerk — Arthur Hodges, dem., 

546 ; J. S. McMeen, pop., 63 ; B. F. Nichols, rep., 

392. -■■*) 

For Sheriff — W. A. Booth, dem., 490; John 
Combs, rep., 502. 

For Countv Commissioners — E. Cyrus, pop., 
108; H. T. Hill, dem., 429; Charles Requa, rep., 
455- 

For Treasurer — H. P. Belknap, rep., 463; 

C. L. Solomon, pop., 103; Edward W. White, 
dem., 427. 

For Assessor — W. C. Congleton, dem., 448; 



E. F. Foren, rep., 406 ; J. M. Mansfield, pop., 
136. 

For Surveyor — J. H. Miller, rep., 520; S. J. 
Newsom, dem., 459. 

For School Superintendent — W. R. McFar- 
land, dem., 575 ; Hattie O. Palmer, rep., 409. 

For Coroner — E. F. Barnes, dem., 396 : W. 
H. Birdsong, pop., 166; O. M. Pringle, rep., 
428. 

General election, June 1, 1896: 

For Member of Congress — A. S. Bennett, 
dem., 437 ; W. R. Ellis, rep., 325 ; F. McKercher, 
pro., 5 ; H. H. Northup, ind., 273 ; Martin Qurnn, 
pop. 117. 

For District Attorney — John Cradlebaugh, 
dem., 516; A. A. Jayne, rep., 659. 

For Joint Senator — O. C. Applegate, rep., 
465 ; B. Daley, dem., 523 ; R. K. Frink, pop., 

157- 

For State Representative — George E. Houck, 

rep., 382 ; R. E. Misener, dem., 418 ; D. E. Tem- 
pleton, pop., 370. 

For County Clerk — Arthur Hodges, dem., 
655 ; J. N. Williamson, rep., 525. 

For Sheriff— J. W. Elliott, dem., 308 ; J. H. 
Gray, rep., 519; L. W. Woods, ind., 359. 

For County Commissioner — T. S. Hamilton, 
rep., 610 ; H. T. Hill, dem., 542. 

For Assessor — James T. Robinson, dem., 
523 ; I. F. Shown, rep., 624. 

For Treasurer — B. F. Nichols, rep., 896; M. 
H. Bell, dem., 1, and T. M. Baldwin, H. M. Bell, 
Sam Oden and Sam Chipman, democrats, 1 each. 

For Surveyor — W. R. McFarland, dem., 908 ; 
J. O. Douthit, Pres. Nelson, and Ira Darrow, 
democrats, one each. 

For School Superintendent — H. H. Davis, 
rep., 513; William Johns, dem., 627. 

For Coroner — J. P. Combs, rep., 641 ; R. E. 
Daisy, dem., 469; John Combs, rep., 1. 

The presidential election of November 3, 1896, 
resulted in Crook county as follows : 

Republican electors, 607 ; democratic electors, 
576 ; prohibition, 2 ; populist, 39. 

General election, June 6, 1898 : 

For Governor — H. M. Clinton, pro., 21 : T. T. 
Geer, rep., 667 ; Will R. King, dem., 492 : John 
C. Luce, populist, 25. 

For Member of Congress — H. E. Courtney, 
populist, 23 ; C. M. Donaldson, clem., 421 ; G. W. 
Ingalls, pro., 23; Malcolm Moody, rep., 642. 

For District Attorney — N. H. Gates, dem.. 
418 ; A. A. Jayne, rep., 654. 

For State Representative — W. H. Lasseer, 
dem., 473 ; J. M. Williamson, rep., 663. 

For County Judge — M. H. Bell, fusion, 542: 
W. C. Wills, rep., 572. 

For County Clerk — S. C. Belknap, rep., M. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



745 



R. Biggs, fusion, 264 ; Arthur Hodges, ind., 477. 

For Sheriff— J. H. Gray rep., 581; M. A. 
Moore, fusion, 578. 

For Commissioner — I. B. Meyer, ind., 416; 
D. E. Templeton, fus., 634. 

For Assessor — P. B. Doak, ind., 229 ; J. B. 
Merrill, fus., 408; I. F. Shown, rep., 440. 

For Treasurer — J. W. Boone, fus., 375 ; B. 
F. Nichols, rep., 691. 

For Surveyor — Knox Huston, fus., 504; C. 
F. Smith, rep., 540. 

For School Superintendent — William John- 
son, fus., 648 ; H. G. Kibbell, rep., 419. 

For Coroner — Josiah Hinkle, fus., 438; A. 
Lippman, rep., 596. 

General election, June 4, 1900: 

For Member of Congress — Leslie Butler, pro., 
29; M. A. Moody, rep., 502; J. E. Simmons, 
ind., 147; William Smith, dem., 298. 

For District Attorney — Frank Menefee, rep., 
481 ; James F. Moore, dem., 493. 

For Joint Senator — A. S. Bennett, dem., 443 ; 
J. N. Williamson, rep., 554. 

For Joint Representatives — R. A. Emmett, 
rep., 441 ; T. H. McGreer, rep., 428; G. Springer, 
dem., 409 ; George T. Baldwin, dem., 401 ; Henry 
C. Leibe, dem., 383. 

For County Clerk — Arthur Hodges, rep., 419 ; 
J. J. Smith, dem., 383. 

For' Sheriff — W. C. Congleton, dem., 596; 
Hugh J. Lister, rep., 419. 

For County Commissioner — H. J. Healy, 
dem., 613 ; A. Zell, rep., 389. 

For' Treasurer — B. F. Nichols, rep., 415 ; J. 
N. Poindexter, dem., 583. 

For School Superintendent — William Boegli, 
re P-- 555 ! J- P- Holland, dem., 438. 

For Assessor — G. D. LaFollette, dem., 592 ; E. 

E. Laughlin, rep., 389. 

For Surveyor — Knox Huston, dem., 481 ; 
John D. Newsom, rep., 512. 

For Coroner — W. H. Brock, dem., 491 ; J. 
Inslev Huston, rep., 458. 

The presidential vote for Crook county, No- 
vember 6, 1900, was as follows: 

Republican electors, McKinley and Roose- 
velt, Tilmon' Ford, 475 ; J. C. Fullerton, 474 ; W. 
J. Furnish, 475 ; O. F. Paxton, 469. 

Democratic electors, Bryan and Stevenson, 

Ernst Kroner, 365 ; Walker M. Pierce, 381 ; Dell 

Stuart, 379; John Whittaker, 371. 

, Prohibition electors, Woollev and Metcalf, N. 

A. Davis, 16; N. F. Jenkins, 16; C. F. Mills, 16; 

F. R. Spaulding, 14. 

Regular People's Party, Barker and Don- 
nelly, T. V. B. Embree, 3 ; Lucus Henry, 3 ; J. L. 
Hill, 4; John C. Luce, 2. 

Social Democratic electors, Debs and Harri- 



man, N. P. J. Folen, 19; Joseph Meindl, 21 ; J. 
Frank Porter, 23; C. P. Ruthford, 21. 
General election, June 2, 1902 : 
For Governor — George E. Chamberlain, dem., 
538 ; William J. Furnish, rep., 590 ; A. J. Hunsa- 
kay, pro., 12; R. R. Ryan, soc, 47. 

Initiative and Referendum — For, 607 ; against, 
92. 

For Member of Congress — W. F. Butcher, 
dem., 399 ; Diedrich T. Gerdes, soc, 37 ; F. R. 
Spaulding, pro., 21 ; J. N. Williamson, rep., 688. 

For Joint Representative — P. B. Doak, dem., 
568; L. E. Morse, dem., 414; Earl Sanders, dem., 
387 ; J. N. Burgess, rep., 455 ; R. A. Emmett, 
rep., 476; N. Whealdon rep., 402. 

For County Judge — W. A. Booth, dem., 762; 
W. C. Wills, rep., 402. 

For County Clerk — Carey Foster, rep., 389; 
J. J. Smith, dem., 760. 

For Sheriff— G. S. McMeen, rep., 567; C. 
Sam Smith, dem., 582. 

For Treasurer — M. C. Aubrey, rep., 379; M. 
H. Bell, dem., 486; G. N. Poindexter, ind., 282. 
For County Commissioner — C. B. Allen, dem., 
362; M. D. Powell, rep., 714. 

For Assessor — B. F. Johnson, rep., 616 ; J. B. 
Merrill, dem., 468. 

For Surveyor — C. A. Graves, rep., 560 ; Knox 
Huston, dem., 521. 

For Coroner — J. H. Crooks, dem., 664 ; J. L. 
McCulloch, rep., 392. 

For High School building, 651 ; against high 
school, 323. 

General election, June 6, 1904: 
For Member of Congress — George R. Cook, 
soc, 103 ; J. E. Simmons, dem., 348 ; H. W. 
Stone, pro., 57; J. N. Williamson, rep., 841. 

For District Attorney — Frank Menefee, rep., 
764 ; Dan P. Smythe, dem., 480. 

For Joint Senator — W. A. Booth, dem., 799 ; 
J. A. Laycock, rep., 477. ; 

For State Representatives — J. B. Griffith, 
dem., 408 : J. A. Taylor, rep., 601 ; J. A. Shook, 
rep., 601 : R. E. L. Steiner, rep., 519. 

For County Judge— W. A. Bell, rep., 612; 

M. R. Biggs, dem., 443 ; J. B. McDowell, soc, 287. 

For County Clerk — J. F. Caywood, soc, 72 ; 

C. A. Gilchrist, rep., 443 ; J. J. Smith, dem., 870. 

For Sheriff — W. H. Birdsong, soc, 80 ; Frank 

Elkins, rep., 653 ; C. Sam Smith, dem., 656. 

For Treasurer — M. H. Bell, dem., 544 ; V. C. 
Gray, rep., 675 ; G. A. Riggs, soc, tii. 

• For Countv Commissioner — Thomas Arnold, 
soc, 176; E. F. Slayton, dem., 491 ; S. S. Stearns, 
rep., 644. 

For School Superintendent — William Boegli, 
rep., 5'8; C B. Dinwiddie, dem., 604; B. F. Wil- 
hoit, soc, 142. 



746 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



For Assessor — J. R. Benham, soc, 156; J. D. 
LaFollette, dem., 804 ; J. L. McCulloch, rep., 

349- 

For Surveyor — C. A. Graves, rep., 656; W. 
R. McFarland, dem., 616. 

For Coroner — J. H. Crooks, dem., 633 ; 



C. L. Edwards, rep., 555 ; David Hill, soc., 
106. 

At the presidential election in Crook county 
in 1904, the following was the result: 

Republican electors. 763 : democratic, 266 ; 
prohibitionist, 18; socialists, 119; populists, 7. 



CHAPTER VII 



EDUCATIONAL. 



The first school taught in Crook county was by 
William Pickett, who had formerly been an edi- 
tor of some paper in Albany, probably the Herald. 
He was a man of superior editorial and literary 
ability, but somewhat dissipated and his friends 
had located him at Ochoco, where he could be 
more remote from temptation. But Mr. Pickett 
was not of the hardy build of western pioneers, 
and could not emulate, or even compete with the 
results of the strong muscles of his neighbors ; 
he was unequal to either the tasks of driving oxen, 
chopping logs for house building, cooking, or 
splitting rails. But he made friends with every- 
one, and the settlers decided it would be best for 
him to teach a pioneer school. To this end a school 
was built, the old log house that now stands in the 
fields just north of Wayne Claypool's residence. 

Here, in the fall of 1869, William Pickett 
taught Ochoco's first school, and if he could not 
earn his salt by mauling rails he certainly more 
than earned his salary at school teaching. The 
house was floored with puncheon, and seated with 
benches of hewn logs and lighted by numerous 
"chinks" between the logs. A blackboard was 
entirely beyond the "reach" of the school direc- 
tors ; no two children had books alike ; some had 
none, and taken altogether they were the wildest, 
most mischievous, fun-loving set of youngsters 
who ever were taken in hand by a fatherly edi- 
tor. But he did it somehow to the complete sat- 
isfaction of all the patrons and went away re- 
spected by his neighbors and their children. Per- 
haps the names of those who were matriculated 
to this primeval curriculum may prove interest- 
ing. They were: Jake Johnson, Virgil Marks, 
Arthur Judy, Al Judy, Tohn Marks. Henry 
Marks, William Daugherty, H. D. Davis, H. f. 
Anderson, Margaret Johnson, Geneva Marks, 
"Boz" Daugherty, Tiney Johnson, Clara Clark. 
Ann Clark, Nettie Marks, Luther Claypool and 
Clara Claypool. 

The toddlers of that school are the men and 



women of today, and are sending toddlers of their 
own to some other school. Let us earnestly hope 
that the today boys and girls are enjoying life 
to the full extent of that of their parents and 
pioneer students of Crook county. 

The second school in the county and the first 
in Prineville, was conducted in an old log house. 
The teacher was Andrew M. Allen, of Polk 
county. In 1872 when O. D. Doane was superin- 
tendent of schools for Wasco county which is now 
Wasco and Crook counties, the present Crook 
county had but three school districts. This sec- 
ond school building was subsequently enlarged, 
in 1876, and two more teachers added. The 
present school house, however, in Prineville, was 
erected in 1887 and is a four-room frame build- 
ing. Following is the report of County Superin- 
tendent William Johnson for li 

Male 

Number persons of school age. 694 

Number pupils enrolled 349 

Average daily attendance 

Number teachers employed .... 13 
Number pupils not attending 

school 324 

Number teachers in private 

school 

Number pupils in private schools 
Average salaries of male teachers . 
Average salaries of female teachers 

Value of school houses and grounds n.593.00 

Value of furniture and apparatus 1.953.50 

Number of districts in county 35 

Number of districts reporting 35 

Number of months taught (average) ,;*m 

Number of private schools in county 5 

Number of school houses built dining year 5 

Number of school houses in county 27 

Number of graded schools 1 

Number legal voters for school purposes 927 

Receipts $14,148.68 

Disbursements 8.967.92 



'-•cmalc. 


Total. 


610 


1,304 


291 


640 




499 


24 


37 



296 



I 

24 



620 

4 

36 

$43.15 

33.61 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



747 



Following are a few statistics from the re- 
port of County School Superintendent W. R. Mc- 
Farland on the condition of Crook county's edu- 
cational interests : 

Number males between 4 and 20 years of age 

residing in the county ' 650 

Number of females 630 

Total 1,280 

Total number of pupils enrolled in county T.163 

Average attendance 986 

Number male applicants for teachers' certificates. 6 

Number female applicants 8 

Estimated value of school house grounds. .. .$12,687.00 

Estimated value of school furniture 2,000.00 

Estimated value of school apparatus 500.00 

Amount of insurance on school property .... 4,580.00 

Average salary of male teachers 42.76 

Average salary of female teachers 3S.80 

Number of commissioned teachers in county t,6 

Number of organized districts in county 41 

Number school houses in co'ty. (log, 2; frame, 37) 39 
Average number of months taught during the year 4 
Total amount received for all school purposes $10,281.20 

Total amount disbursements 9,661.59 

Amount cash on hand 619.61 

January 28, 1898, the Prineville Review pub- 
lished the following: 

Those interested in the permanent organization of 
the Prineville Academy met last Tuesday at the Review 
office and adopted the following articles of incorpora- 
tion. 

"Know all men by these presents that we, J. H. 
Gray, W. A. Booth, and D. F. Stewart, all of Prineville, 
Crook county, Oregon, for the purpose hereinafter 
mentioned, and under and by virtue of the general 
laws of the state of Oregon, have incorporated our- 
selves and our successors and interest together, and 
by these presents do incorporate, and to that end and 
for that purpose have made and formed the following 
articles of incorporation, to .wit : 

"Article 1. The name assumed by this incorpo- 
ration and by which it shall be known, is and shall be 
'The Prineville Academy,' and the duration of the 
said incorporation shall be perpetual. 

"Article 2. The enterprise, business, pursuit and 
occupation in which the said corporation purposes to 
engage in are. to build, equip, maintain and carry on an 
academy or place of learning in the town of Prineville, 
Crook county, Oregon, in every respect as academies 
are carried on and maintained for the purpose of 
affording a means of higher education for the people 
of Oregon and their children ; and to that end the cor- 
poration shall have power to buy, hold, own, lease, 
rent and sell real property; to hire teachers; to make 
rules for the government of the said school ; to receive 
money and legacies; to own, buy and' sell personal 



property, and to do all things necessary to be done in 
order to carry on such an undertaking. 

"Article 3. The place where the said corporation 
purposes to and will have its principal offices and place 
of business shall be Prineville, Crook county, Oregon. 

'Article 4. The amount of the capital stock of the 
said corporation shall be $1,000, to be divided into tot 
shares of $10 each." 

The incorporation above mentioned are now solicit- 
ing stock for the new corporation and are meeting with 
liberal support. There is no excuse for any one fail- 
ing to take a share or two in this laudible enterprise. 
This corporation should be broad in its management 
and this the incorporators desire. No one shall lie 
refused stock in the corporation and no one should 
neglect this opportunity. 

For a time the affairs of the prospective acad- 
emy "dragged" in a business sense. At a meeting 
held in September, 1897, it was decided to go on 
with the school. The following officers were 
elected to manage the work for the ensuing year : 
Trustees, G. W. Barnes, W. A. Booth and J. H. 
Gray ; treasurer, Dr. H. P. Belknap ; clerk, L. N. 
Liggett. Professor I. L. Ullery, of Canfield, 
Ohio, had been engaged to officiate as principal of 
the new educational institution. Formerly he had 
been successfully at the head of a number of edu- 
cational enterprises. The fall session of 1898 
marked the beginning of the second term of the 
Prineville Academy, of Crook county. Professor 
Ullery remained at its head. This academy ran 
several years and finally suspended. 

The report of Crook county's superintendent 
of schools, William Johnson, for 1899, is as fol- 
lows : 

Male. 
Number children of school age. 612 

Number pupils enrolled 362 

Number pupils not attending . . 218 

Average daily attendance 

No. of teachers employed 23 

Number of teachers in private 

schools 1 2 3. 

Number of pupils in private 

schools 9 11 20 

Value of school houses and grounds $15,715.00 

Value of furniture and apparatus 3,895.59 

Average salary of male teachers 41.65 

Average salary of female teachers 34.60 

Salary of superintendent 300.00 

No. of districts in the county 47 

Number of districts reporting 46 

Number of rivate schools in county 3 

Average number of months taught 5 

Number of school houses 43 

Number of legal voters for school purposes 0X9 

Receipts $13,121.25 

Disbursements 11,512.72 



Female. 


Total. 


629 


1. 241 


418 


7 So 


196 


4U 




600 


44 


67 



748 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



The following is the first report made by a 
county superintendent after the amputation of 
Wheeler county from Crook. This was in 1900 : 

Male. Female. Total. 
Number children of school age. 537 531 1,068 

Number children enrolled 338 336 704 

Number not attending school . . 188 157 435 

Number teachers employed .... 22 43 65 

Average daily attendance 540 

Number of private schools ... 1 

Number private school teachers ... ... 1 

Number private school pupils 4 4 8 

Value of school houses and grounds $11,710.00 

Value of school furniture and apparatus 2,920.40 

Average salary of male teachers 42.20 

Average salary of female teachers 38.66 

Salary of superintendent 400.00 

Number of districts in county 41 

Number of districts reporting 40 

Average number of months taught 5*4 

Number of school houses 39 

Number of legal voters for school purposes 1,086 

Receipts $16,740.37 

Disbursements 12,936.72 

In 190 1 the capital of Crook county, Prine- 
ville, had an excellent graded school of 165 pu- 
pils under the management of Professor F. M. 
Mitchell and three assistants. Throughout the 
county generally these schools were being graded, 
or classified according to the course of study pre- 
scribed by the state board of education. The 
schools were well supplied with apparatus and a 
number had installed libraries consisting of books 
of reference and supplementary reading. There 
were forty-two teachers, nine of whom held 
state certificates or diplomas. It should be no- 
ticed that at this period, 1901, the Crook county 
teachers received better salaries than ever before. 
In 1897 the average salary paid male teachers 
was $34.25; female teachers, $25.15; in 1898 we 
find this raised to $38.40 and $33.50 ; in 1899 
to $41.65 and $34.60, and in 1900 to $42.20 and 
$38.66. 

In September, 1901, the Prineville schools fall 
term began with 121 pupils, by October 26th it 
had increased to 191. The school was in a most 
healthy condition and the discipline excellent. 
There was a demand for higher grade work and 
the ninth grade could now be organized. 

March 12, 1904, the contract for building the 
county high school was awarded to C. A. Gray, 
a contractor of Salem, his bid being $19,998. It 
was specified that the material of the building 
should be brick and stone. The following gen- 
eral history of this structure, written by Prof. 
A. C. Strange, is of interest to all residents of 
'Crook county : 



Owing to Oregon's very limited railroad facilities 
a large area of the eastern section of the state is thinly 
settled and given over to a considerable extent to the 
stock business. As a consequence this portion of the 
state, until- within the last few years, has been almost 
entirely without institutions of high school or academic 
rank. Residents were compelled to send their children 
at an early age away from home to remote sections of 
the state to procure desired education. To provide 
means of supplying this need the legislature of 1901 
passed an* act authorizing counties so desiring to submit 
to their voters the question of erecting buildings and 
maintaining county high schools, to be supported by a 
special tax and to be under the supervision of a board 
consiting of the county judge, the two county commis- 
sioners, the county superintendent of schools and the 
county treasurer. 

Accordingly the matter was submitted to the people 
at the biennial election, June, 1902, and the vote was 
favorable by a considerable majority. Throughout the 
campaign the measure received the hearty support of 
the leading citizens of the county. But to no one is 
more credit due for the success of the movement than 
to William Boegli, at that time county superintendent. 

The furtherance of the project then devolved upon 
the High School Board, consisting of Judge W. A. 
Booth, Commissioners M. D. Powell, and M. D. Healy, 
Superintendent Boegli and Treasurer M. H. Bell, to 
whom must be given the credit for its successful estab- 
lishment. As the county possessed no suitable building 
an agreement was entered into with the school board 
and Principal E. E. Orton, of the Prineville public 
schools, to have the first year of the high school work 
taught in connection with the Prineville public school 
work. At the opening of the session about one dozen 
pupils presented themselves, of whom eight completed 
the year's work. It is quite probable that more would 
have completed had not an epidemic appeared in the 
community near the end of the school year compelling 
adjournment of schools. 

During the year Judge Booth resigned on account 
of ill health, and M. R. Biggs was appointed by the 
governor as his successor and to him much credit is 
due for the upbuilding of the school. For the second 
year a room in the postoffice building was secured and 
A. C. Strange employed as teacher. Sixteen pupils 
enrolled in the two years' work, of whom six in the 
second and seven in the first completed the required 
branches. 

During the year a contract for the erection of a 
$20,000 building, as has been stated, was awarded to 
C. A. Gray, with the result that the county now pos- 
sesses a brick and stone building that would be an 
ornament to any city. It contains four well-lighted 
class-rooms, of which two are separated by a sliding 
door which makes possible their conversion into an 
assembly hall, besides two smaller rooms adapted for 
use as library and office. A basement for use as a 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



749' 



gymnasium extends under the entire building and 
furnishes an abundance of room for all forms of in- 
door athletics. The building is heated by steam and 
is perfectly ventilated by the foul air shaft system. 
The campus is large and with proper improvement can 
be made very beautiful. The structure is located in a 
sightly spot where it meets the eyes of all entering 
the city from any direction. 

At the biennial election in June, 1904, an almost 
entirely new board was chosen; County Judge W. A. 
Bell, Commissioner S. S. Stearns, Superintendent C. B. 
Dinwiddie and Treasurer O. C. Gray. However, these 
men are all public spirited citizens and the interests of 
the school did not suffer at their hands. The third 
year's enrollment increased to 40, a class of 24 having 
entered the first year. Another teacher, Miss Sarah 
Marshall, an alumnus of an eastern normal, was secured 
and she has conducted classes in English) and Latin, 
leaving the work in mathematics, science and history 
to Mr. Strange. The school offers two regular courses : 
Scientific and Latin, covering the following studies : 
History, English, Science, Mathematics and Latin. In 
English; grammar, rhetoric, English and American 
Literature ; English readings and themes are studied ; 
in history, Greek, Roman, European, English and 
American; economics and citizenship; in science, physi- 
cal geography, hygiene, botany, geology, zoology, phys- 
ics and chemistry; in mathematics, algebra, higher 
arithmetic, plane and solid geometry and bookkeeping; 
in Latin, Cornelius Nepos, Caesar and Virgil. Besides 
this required work classes in bookkeeping are main- 
tained for those who desire it, who may not have com- 
pleted the eighth grade examination necessary to admit 
them into the school. 

At the close of the session of 1904-5, the first class 
in the history of the school was graduated. The mem- 
bers were Misses Gertrude Sharp and Iva Booth, and 
Charles O. Christiani who had completed three years' 
work, it being thought best by the board to limit the 
course to three years until attendance was sufficient to 
warrant the expense of maintaining the full four years' 
work. The future of this school appears bright. The 
county is large, wealthy, and of unlimited resources, 
and is having marvelous growth. With the incoming 
of many new homeseekers will come a great increase of 
attendance ; additional apparatus will be secured, more 
teachers employed as needed, and there should grow up 
in Prineville one of the best institutions of high school 
rank in the state of Oregon. 

The Following is the annual report of County 
Superintendent William Boegli, for the year 1904 : 

Male. Female. Total. 

Number persons of school age. . 787 757 i,S44 

Number persons enrolled 511 493 1,004 

Number persons not attending. . 169 146 375 



Male. Female. Total. 

Average daily attendance ... 616 . 

Number teachers employed .... 17 50 67 

Number districts in county 50 

Number districts reporting 48 

Number school houses 43 

Average number of months taught 5% 

Number legal voters for school purposes 1,223 

Number private schools in county 1 

Number private school teachers 1 

Number private school pupils (male, o; female, 2) 2 

Value of school houses and grounds $20,585.00 

Value furniture and apparatus 3,900.00 

Average salary male teachers 57-00 

Average salary female teachers 42.99 ■ 

Receipts $21,615.84 

Disbursements '. 15,972.38 

We cannot more appropriately close the edu- 
cational chapter of Crook county than with the 
following comprehensive and interesting article 
on the present condition of the schools of Crook 
county, written by County Superintendent C. B. 
Dinwiddie : 

The schools of Crook county are in a state of rapid 
development in every way. The old rough, lumber- 
school houses are fast giving way to new painted and 
belled school houses, and the home-made, back-break- 
ing instruments of torture called "seats" are being - 
replaced by patented seats, and a general interest is 
being taken in the appearance and comfort of school" 
houses and surroundings. 

Nor is the outward improvement the only one. We 
have a better class of teachers than ever before, or- 
rather the same class have attained a greater degree 
of excellence, for many of our teacfiers have been at 
work in the county schools for some time, and as a 
result are prepared to do much toward aiding the proper 
development and grading of schools. Nearly all our- 
'new teachers are persons of broad experience and ex- 
ceptional ability. 

Another is in the way of salaries paid teachers, the 
average having risen nearly $10 per month during the 
present year. Salaries range from $40 to $75 per month 
in country schools, and from $40 to $80 in city schools. 
Prineville public schools employ six teachers with an 
enrollment of over 200 pupils. Bend public school 
employs two teachers with an enrollment of over 100 
pupils. Both city schools expect to build new additions. 
Prineville's graduating class numbered 31 for the clos- 
ing term of 1904-5. Crook county's high school build- 
ing is something of which to be proud. It is a brick 
and stone two-story building. The school itself is in 
a flourishing condition with two teachers. 

There are in the county 54 districts, in running 
order, with an enumeration of over 1,500 pupils. The- 



75o 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



present year will see a probable increase of 300 or 400 
on account of the rapid settling up of some parts of the 
country. The schools of the county are fairly well 
graded according to the course of study, and the teach- 
ers are making a strenuous effort to get them in bet- 
ter condition. The average length of the school term 



has also increased during the present year and bids 
fair to increase during the coming year. 

We believe the schools of Crook county will com- 
pare favorably with any interior county where natural 
school conditions, distances, settlements, etc., are no 
more favorable than here. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 



CROOK COUNTY 



VAN GESNER, M. D., is one of Crook 
county's wealthy stockmen and resides about 
thirty miles out from Prineville on the Burns stage 
road. He is a native Oregonian, his birth place 
being Salem and the date of that event July, 
1852. R. A. Gesner, his father, a native of Il- 
linois, crossed the plains with ox teams in 1845 
and settled on a donation claim near Salem. 
He became a wealthy and prominent man of that 
section. He married Mary E. Bartlet, a native 
•of Indiana, who moved to Illinois with her par- 
ents when a girl, where her wedding occurred. 
She accompanied her husband across the plains 
and was one of the pioneer women of the Wil- 
lamette valley. Our subject was well educated 
in the Salem schools and then entered the Wil- 
lamette University where he spent one year. 
After that he matriculated in the Jefferson Med- 
ical College of Philadelphia and graduated in 
1883 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. In 
the same year Dr. Gesner located at Prineville 
and opened an office. From the outset he was 
favored with a good practice which grew rapidly 
and steadily while he remained in the profession, 
but the strain of such an extensive practice wore 
on his health and he was forced to retire for re- 
cuperation. He tried the salubrious climate of 
San Jose, California, but later it was found that 
he must abandon his practice entirely or pay the 
forfeit of death. Consequently in 1891 he laid 
aside his office life entirely and invested his money 
in sheep. Later he entered partnership with J. 
N. Williamson and they now have a very exten- 
sive holdings in Crook county in both land and 
in stock. The same splendid success that at- 
tended the doctor in his professional life is now 
being enjoyed by him in the stock business, which 
manifests him a man of thoroughness, of splendid 
judgment and of industry. 



In 1886 Dr. Gesner married Annie Fields, a 
native of Brownville, Oregon. Her father, Wil- 
liam Fields, was among the earliest settlers to 
Oregon and was a well to do and prominent man. 
To the doctor and his wife two children have been 
born, Maude and Van. 

Dr. Gesner is a member of the A. O . U. W. 
and a very popular man, while he and his wife 
are among the leading citizens of the entire 
country. 



O. G. COLLVER, a merchant at Culver, 
Crook county, was born in Douglas county, Ore- 
gon, in 1854. His father was Alfred B. Collver, 
a native of Cuyahoga county, Ohio, and one of 
the very early pioneers to Oregon, having crossed 
the plains in 1852 to Douglas county. The 
mother of our subject was Ruth (Rice) Collver, 
also a native of Ohio, who came across the plains 
with her husband. In 1857 our subject was taken 
by his parents to where Marshfield, Coos county, 
is now located, Marshfield then being unknown. 
They moved thither over a pack trail as no roads 
were then in the county. Our subject gained his 
education from' the public schools and from 
Wilbur Academy of Douglas county, from which 
institution he would have graduated six months 
later had not his health failed. Being obliged to 
quit studv on account of failing health, he then 
took cnarge of a fruit evaporator and conducted 
the same for three years. In 1880 he came to 
The Dalles and was there engaged for five years. 
Then he sought out a location in Crook county, 
taking a homestead, pre-emption and bought a 
quarter section besides. He gave his attention 
to farming this land and stock raising and with 
a good degree of success until 1900, when he sold 
out the entire property and opened a general 



75-' 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



merchandise establishment at Culver. He suc- 
ceeded in getting the postofhce established there 
and since that time Mr. Collver has prosecuted 
the mercantile business with splendid success. 
He carries a well assorted and complete stock 
of all kinds of goods used in this section of the 
country and is building up a splendid trade. 

On October 16, 1881, Mr. Collver married 
Margaret Barnett, who was born in Linn county, 
Oregon, on December 24, 1856. Her death oc- 
curred on January 21, 1900. Her father was E. 
M. Barnett, one of the early pioneers of Oregon, 
having crossed the plains in 1852. In 1901 Mr. 
Collver married Virginia (Prentice) Foster of 
Kansas City. 

Fraternally our subject is a member of the 
A. O. U. W., the Artisans and the Degree of 
Honor. He also belongs to the Christian Science 
church and takes a marked interest in education- 
al and religious affairs. He has done the work of 
a pioneer well and has assisted materially in 
building this part of the west. 



A. W. BOYCE is a farmer and stockman re- 
siding at Haystack. He was born in New York 
state in i860, the son of Aldis Boyce, a native of 
New Hampshire. His education was received in 
Massachusetts, and when eighteen years of age 
he came to California where he worked for wages 
for a short time. In 1879 Mr. Boyce came on 
to Oregon and sought employment on the John 
Day river, where he was engaged for two years. 
Then he went to Trout creek and still worked 
for wages. After that he took up the sheep busi- 
ness for himself and continued in the same for 
ten years. Then he sold his bands of sheep 
and engaged in cattle raising which he still con- 
tinues. He and his wife now have some fifteen 
hundred acres of land and a beautiful residence, 
besides considerable stock. Mr. Boyce is a man 
of thrift and good taste and everything connected 
with his place indicates these qualities. He has 
been favored with good success, owing to his in- 
dustry and careful management and, therefore, 
is one of the leading men of this part of the 
county. 

In December, 1896, Mr. Boyce married Mrs. 
Mary Weber, the daughter of S. S. Brown, who 
is mentioned in another portion of this work. 
To this union one child, Mamie, has been born, 
who is six years of age. 

Mr. Boyce is a member of the A. O. U. W. 
and the Artisans, while in politics he is a good 
active Republican. He is a man of good stand- 
ing and has many friends throughout the county. 

To illustrate some of the hardships of the 



early settlers of this country had to contend with 
we mention the winter of 1884-5, when the snow 
lay five feet deep on the level. Before that it 
was the general opinion that it was safe to run 
sheep without putting up hay for the winter. 
That was the second year after our subject had 
started in the sheep business. He had as a part- 
ner his younger brother, and out of two thousand 
six hundred sheep they lost twenty-two hundred. 
They had no hay and no way of moving the sheep 
to it if they had possessed it. In the spring they 
bought more sheep and paid for them all in due 
time, paying ten per cent interest both on the 
price of them and on a large debt hanging over 
the dead ones. Still they perserved and came out 
all right in the end. 



JAMES M. STREET is now one of the sub- 
stantial men of Crook county and has been a typi- 
cal frontiersman in this and other western sec- 
tions. He is one of the hardy, fearless men whose 
pleasure it was to take up the hard part of pioneer 
living and fight back the savage until the way was 
was open for the more timid class from the east 
to settle in this country. Mr. Street follows 
farming and stock raising at the present time 
and resides about thirty-seven miles out from 
Paulina on the Burns stage road. He was born 
in Putnam county, Tennessee, on January 4, i860. 
John Street, his father, was born in Charleston. 
South Carolina, on January 12, 1812. When a 
young man he removed to Tennessee and en- 
gaged in farming. Also he gave considerable 
attention to teaching school both in South Caro- 
lina and in Tennessee. He enlisted at the 
time of the outbreak of the Mexican war and was 
an orderly sergeant under Genearl Scott. After 
serving during that entire struggle he returned 
to Tennessee and married in 1851. Upon the 
outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted to fight 
throughout. In 1870 he journeyed to California 
and there remained until his death, on August 
30, 1884. He was a prominent, well educated 
and leading man. He had married Martha A. 
Roberson, a native of Putnam county, Tennes- 
see. She was the mother of ten children and ac- 
companied her husband in his various journeys, 
and is now living in California. Our subject was 
but a lad when the family came to California and 
there he received his education. When eighteen 
years of age he came to what is now Harney 
county, Oregon, and engaged as a cowboy. For 
two years he followed that business steadily, be- 
coming one of the most expert horsemen and 
ropers in the country. Then he returned to 
California and farmed for a couple of years. He 




Mr. and Mrs. James M. Street 





George W. Noble 



Charles T. Lillard 



HISTORY OF. CENTRAL OREGON. 



753 



traveled about considerably until 1884 when he 
journeyed to Crook county and wrought for 
wages two years before taking the government 
land where he now resides. He has ridden the 
range in Nevada, California and Oregon and is 
thoroughly acquainted not only with the country 
but with the clangers and hardships of cowboy 
life. Starting in life with no capital whatever, 
Mr. Street has become a wealthy man and has 
gained it all by his own efforts. 

In 1897 Mr. Street married Miss Emma 
Hamilton, who was born in Lane county, Oregon, 
and came to Prineville with her parents in 1876. 
Her father, William C. Hamilton, was born in 
Indiana, raised in Illinois and crossed the plains 
to Oregon in 1852. He married Jane Gholson, 
a native of Illinois, who was raised in Iowa and 
crossed the plains to Oregon in 1853. Mr. and 
Mrs. Street have one child, Eva G. , During the 
Bannock war Mr. Street was a scout for Colonel 
Bernard and did much excellent service. During 
this time he made one of the most famous rides 
on record. Being pursued by Indians, he started 
for help at three o'clock in the afternoon and 
the next morning at nine . o'clock reached his 
destination, after riding one hundred and twenty 
miles. He escaped his pursuers and arrived in 
safety. He held the office of orderly sergeant 
of the home guards during this Indian war and 
his fearlessness and excellent service were well 
known to those who participated in that struggle. 



GEORGE W. NOBLE lives on Beaver 
creek ten miles up from Paulina, and follows 
farming and stock raising. He was born in Linn 
county, Oregon, on September 30, 185 1, the son 
of William and Sarah (Sulesberger) Noble. The 
father was a native of Ohio, came to Iowa in 
1845 and remained there until 1850, in which 
year he crossed the plains with ox teams to Linn 
county, Oregon. During the trip they had a great 
many battles with the Indians and lost a good 
deal of their stock. Finally when they reached 
the Cascades their teams were so depleted that 
they were forced to yoke in the milk cows to as- 
sist in pulling the wagons across the mountains. 
Even then they were obliged to abandon one 
wagon in the mountains. Mr. Noble settled on a 
donation claim in Linn county and remained there 
until 1 87 1. In that year he came to Crook county 
and located a ranch on Beaver creek. That 
was his home until just prior to his death when 
he returned to the Williamette valley. Our sub- 
ject's mother was born in Germany and came to 
Ohio with her parents when nine years of age. 
There she grew up and was married and accom- 

48 



panied her husband across the plains and was a 1 
faithful helpmeet to him in all the pioneer labors' 
that he performed. She is still living in Prine- 
ville. 

When fifteen years of age George W. began to 
assume the responsibilities of life for himself 
and about that time went to California and re- 
mained in that state nine years. In 1875 he came 
north again and finally took government land 
where he now resides. He purchased land m 
addition until he has a fine large estate well 
fitted up with everything for a first-class farm 
and fruit ranch. He has displayed splendid abil- 
ity in business lines and every move that he has 
made has been one of success. The result is 
that he is today one of the wealthy men of Crook 
county and one of its leading citizens. 

In 1885 Mr. Noble married Miss Etta Stew- 
art, who was born in Benton county, Oregon, 
the daughter of John and Cordelia (Hobb) 
Stewart. The father, a native of Indiana, crossed^ 
the plains to Oregon in 1845 an d became a very 
prominent man in this state. He was a member 
of the legislature from Douglas county and did 
much to promote the settlement and the upbuild- 
ing of the state. His wife was born in Boone 
count)', Missouri, and crossed the plains with 
her parents in i860. To our subject and his 
wife two children have- been born, Albert and 
Elme. 

Mr. Noble is a member of the A. F. & A. M. 
and the I. O. O. F. 



CHARLES T. LILLARD, an enterprising 
farmer and stockman of Crook county, resides 
about twenty miles south from Paulina on the 
south fork of Twelve Mile creek, where he does 
a fine business and has a well improved place. 
He was born in Santa Clara county, California, 
on April 11, 1865, being the son of David B. and 
Hetty (Allen) Lillard, natives of Kentucky and 
Missouri respectively. The mother died when' 
our subject was a child. The father was born on* 
May 13, 1827, and when six years of age moved 
to Missouri with his parents where he was reared 
and educated. In 1846 he enlisted in the Mexican' 
war and spent two years under arms. After that 
he returned to Missouri, married and in 1853! 
crossed the plains with ox teams to California: 
He started to ranching there, continued in that 
business ever since and is living now on the same 
place. He has always taken a prominent part 
in public affairs and was a sturdy pioneer both 
of Missouri and California. Charles T. was edu- 
cated in the schools of his native country and 
when grown to young manhood engaged with 



754 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Miller and Lux, very large stockmen of that sec- 
tion, where he wrought for a number of years. 
In 1887 he came to Harney county, Oregon, 
and spent one winter. The next spring he jour- 
neyed on to Crook county and finally selected his 
present place, taking it through government 
right. He has bought other land since and has a 
good farm, well laid out and improved. Mr. 
Lillard immediately engaged in stock raising 
and he has continued in that business very suc- 
cessfully since. He handles cattle, horses and 
mules. His horses and mules are all first-class 
draft animals and. he does a fine business in this 
line. When Mr. Lillard started out in life he had 
no capital of his own and all he gained was 
by his own individual labor. Owing to his thrift 
and sagacity he has accumulated a fine prop- 
erty. His ranch is a large and valuable one. 
His stock is first-class and he has lots of it. Also 
he owns other property. He is one of the repre- 
sentative and substantial men of Crook county 
and has a splendid standing among his fellow 
men. 

In 1894 Mr. Lillard married Miss Grace S., 
the daughter of A. O. and Mary A. (Calvert) 
Bedell, natives of Missouri. They crossed the 
plains in early days to Montana and were pio- 
neers in the west. Mrs. Lillard's parents both 
came from prominent and well to do families 
and were leading people. Mrs. Lillard was born 
in Montana, and when still a child was brought 
to Oregon by her parents. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Lillard two children have been born, Joe Alvin 
and Dorothy. 

Mr. Lillard is a member of the I. O. O. F. 
and the A. F. & A. M., while his wife belongs 
to the Eastern Star. He is a man who takes a 
lively interest in political matters and in edu- 
cational affairs and in addition labors for the 
upbuilding and improvement of this country. 



STEPHEN W. YANCEY is a farmer and 
sheep raiser residing on the Adams ranch, eight 
miles southeast from Prineville. He was born in 
Kansas on February 18, 1870, the son of J. P. 
and Susannah (Hegler) Yancey, natives of Il- 
linois. In 1852 they crossed the plains to Cali- 
fornia where the father tried farming for some 
time. In 1857 he went to Nevada, followed var- 
ious occupations and finally, with others, dis- 
covered the famous Walker mines in 1858. It 
was 1881 when he came to Crook county with his 
family, and in 1897 he removed to Lakeview 
where he engaged in freighting and also con- 
ducts a feed stable. He is well known for his 
honesty and sagacity. Our subject was educated 



in the public schools of Prineville and early en- 
gaged in sheep shearing. He also raised stock 
for himself and followed various other occupa- 
tions until he entered the sheep business in which 
he has now got a fine start, owning nearly three 
thousand head. 

On October 22, 1893, Mr. Yancey married 
Miss Sarah Adams, the daughter of William 
Adams, a pioneer of Crook county and now resid- 
ing at Prineville, who also is mentioned in an- 
other portion of this work. Mr. and Mrs. Yancey 
have three children, Orville, Adrian and Hazel. 



SAMUEL R. SLAYTON, one of the vener- 
able pioneers of Oregon and well acquainted 
with the various sections of the Pacific coast, 
is now living a retired life in Prineville, Oregon. 
He was born in Windsor county, Vermont, on 
August 27, 1830. Leland Slayton, his father, 
was also born in the same county and there re- 
mained until his death, being a farmer all his 
life. He was a very prominent man in religious 
matters, being at first a Universalist and then a 
member of the Adventist church. The original 
Slayton family came from England to America 
among the earliest colonists of Massachusetts. A 
little later they located in Vermont, being the 
first settlers in Woodstock. The father married 
Cassendana Ransom, who was also born in 
Woodstock. She came from a very prominent 
family of a distinguished martial record. Her 
brother, Truman B. Ransom, was president of 
the Norwich Military Academy in Vermont and 
later was a colonel in the Mexican War and was 
killed during the battle of Chapultepec. His 
son, Greenfield Ransom, was a brevet major 
general in the Civil War. Our subject began his 
education in his birthplace, then entered the 
Kimball Union Academy, New Hampshire, but 
before completing the course he decided to come 
west and accordingly journeyed across the plains 
in 1852 to Sacramento, California. A few weeks 
later he started for Linn county, Oregon, and 
there took a donation claim near the present city 
of Harrisburg. He made several trips to the 
mines in California, then he sold his donation 
claim and took another piece of land in what is 
row Douglas county, Oregon. He improved 
that well, taught school and did mining, and in 
T863 sold out and came to Polk county, Oregon. 
In 1869 we find him in what is now Crook 
county. Prineville then being composed of one 
building. He located in the vicinity of Prineville 
and took some stock on shares. Notwithstand- 
ing his early labors, fortune had not smiled upon 
him and he started here with very little means. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



755 



The constant and industrious efforts brought, 
their due reward and he began to prosper and has 
become one of the wealthy and leading stock 
men of central Oregon. Recently Mr. Slayton 
retired from active life and simply attends to the 
oversight of his business from Prineville. 

In 1858 Mr. Slayton married Eliza J. Savery, 
who was born in Mississippi, the daughter of 
Seaborn and Massie Savery. The father died 
in Iowa. Mrs. Slayton, who died October 31, 
1901, came across the plains in 1852 and settled 
in Douglas county, where she met and married the 
subject of this sketch. Mr. Slayton took part in 
the terrible Indian struggles and saw three 
months' service in the Rogue River War. The 
children born to our subject and his wife are 
Edgar T., a rancher in Crook county ; George S., 
a rancher in Cottonwood, Idaho ; Mrs. Virginia 
U'Ren and Mabel Engs. For many long years 
Mr. Slayton has labored here and has achieved 
a success of which any one would be proud. He 
is now enjoying the fruits of his labors sur- 
rounded by many admiring friends. He certainly 
is to be classed among the leading citizens of the 
county and has done well the extended labors 
which he has performed. 



EDWARD NEWTON WHITE, an horti- 
culturist and farmer of Crook county, is now liv- 
ing five miles southeast from Prineville. Fie is 
to be classed as one of the early pioneers of this 
county, and, in fact, has been on the frontier all 
his life. He was born in Hancock county, Ill- 
inois, on April 28, 1828, the son of Edward 
White, one of the earliest pioneers of Illinois. 
He was reared in the wilds of Illinois, being 
among the Indians a large portion of the time, 
until March 13, 1845, wne he was seventeen 
years of age. He was then taken as interpreter 
for a train which was to make its way across the 
plains to the Pacific coast. When they arrived at 
the Boise river they were surrounded by hostile 
Indians, but Mr. White, owing to his skill and 
knowledge of the savages, succeeded in extricat- 
ing his train without bloodshed. They settled, 
in the Willamette valley and remained until 1849, 
when he went to the California mines. A year 
later he returned to Linn county. While going to 
California in 1849, on the Rogue river, he, with 
fifteen companions, was suddenly met by a large 
number of hostile Indians. Owing to his coolness 
and knowledge of Indian ways, customs and lan- 
guage, he was enabled on this occasion also to 
avoid bloodshed. Much is due to him on this oc- 
casion and especially at this last time for it was 
very evident that a massacre had been planned. 



In the spring of 1855 he went to Colville, Wash- 
ington, on account of his health, and in the fall, 
when he returned to the Willamette valley, he 
enlisted to fight the Indians. He was in the ser- 
vice for three months and then returned to the 
valley, where he farmed until 187 1. In that year 
he came to Crook county and settled on the up- 
per Ochoco, eight miles east from where Prine- 
ville now stands. He engaged in stock raising for 
ten years and then purchased a place one and a 
half miles from Prineville, where he remained 
about fifteen years with the exception of three 
years, which he spent at Dufur, for the benefit of 
his health. Three years since he came to his 
present location" and secured one hundred and 
sixty acres of land. He has put out one of the 
choicest orchards to be found in eastern Oregon 
and doubtless the best one in Crook county. He 
also retains his farm near Prineville, but pays 
especial attention to the home place. Mr. White 
has taken great pains to beautify and improve his 
place and is very skillful in horticulture. 

In 1848 Mr. White married Catherine J. 
Burkhart, a native of Greene county, Illinois, 
rler father, John Burkhart, was a pioneer of 
1847. Aftr her death Mr. White married Anna 
Woodsides, the latter wedding occurring in i860. 
This Mrs. White was. born in Ohio. Her father, 
Thomas Woodsides, was a pioneer of 1847. He 
started across the plains in that year with his 
family and he and four of his children died before 
they reached the Willamette valley, the last one 
being buried at The Dalles. To Mr. and Mrs. 
White the following named children have been 
born: Mrs. Cynthia L. Harshler, of Dufur; Mrs. 
Adelia A. Baker, of Benton county ; Mrs. Jane 
McCullos, of Prineville ; Mrs. Udosica Zeace, of 
Boise; Grant, of British Columbia; Aaron W., in 
Harney county ; Mrs. Grace E. Cham, and Ed- 
ward C. Mr. White has passed a long and event- 
ful career and is now hale and hearty and has the 
great privilege of spending the golden years of his 
life supplied with the competence that his labor 
and thrift have secured, while he has the esteem, 
confidence and eood will of all who know him. 



JOSEPH H. DELORE, a farmer and stock 
^raiser residing in Prineville, who was born in 
Marion county, Oregon, on May 21, 1849. His 
father, Peter Delore, was born where LaGrande 
Oregon, now stands, in 1821, and is one of the 
historical characters of the Webfoot State. He 
now resides in southeastern Crook countv, and a 
detailed history of, his career will be found in 
another portion of this work. Joseph H. obtained 
his primary education in Marion county, and 



756 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



also attended school in Wasco county, where he 
remained until 1874, when he went to Nevada 
and rode the range for fourteen years. He came 
to Crook county in 1889 and selected a place on 
Beaver creek where he engaged in horse and 
cattle raising until 1900. In that year he sold his 
land and bought his present place, consisting of 
one-fourth section of fine agricultural soil. This 
lies six miles north of Prineville and is well im- 
proved with house, barn and other buildings and 
is all under cultivation, producing the cereals and 
hay. Mr. Delore also owns a residence in Prine- 
ville where the family dwell during the school 
months of the year. 

In 1902 Mr. Delore married Virginia Bert- 
rand, the widow of Scipion Bertrand. Mrs. De- 
lore and her former husband were born in France 
and came to the United States in 1893, settling 
in Connecticut. There Mr. Bertrand died in 
1899. Five children survive him, three of whom 
are living with our subject and the other two in 
Connecticut. In 1901 Mrs. Delore came to 
Prineville and there occurred her marriage to 
our subject as stated above. 

Mr. Delore is a hard working man and is 
fast laying the foundations for wealth and inde- 
pendence, being considered one of the well-to-do 
farmers of this section. During the Indian 
troubles he was engaged as a scout with his 
brother, Peter, who was captain of the scouts and 
who is also mentioned in this history. Mr. and 
Mrs. Delore are members of the Catholic church. 



SAMUEL RUSH, a farmer residing at La- 
monta, Crook county, was born in Jackson 
county, Alabama, on April 24, 1829. His father, 
Jacob Rush, was born in North Carolina, in 
1806, and married Malinda Satterfield, who was 
born in Jackson county, Alabama, in 1813. Our 
subject received his early education in the com- 
mon schools of Alabama, but owing to the fact 
that the country there was very new, he had little 
opportunity for schooling. However, he studied 
books and periodicals that he could secure out- 
side of school and became well read. He went 
with his parents to Crawford county, Arkansas, 
in 1846, where they settled on a farm and re- 
mained until March 15, 1852, when they 
started with an ox team across the plains. 
Our subject's father was the captain of the 
train and the company consisted of twenty- 
one wagons and one hundred and five people. 
Their first difficulties were encountered when 
they got to the Big Blue, as there the cholera 
broke out and one man died. In a very 
short time the disease spread throughout the 



train and to other trains on the road and when 
they reached the Little Blue our subject's father 
died. Our subject, one brother and his young- 
est sister took the disease and just at the critical 
stage a doctor came along and gave them medi- 
cine, which with good care pulled them through. 
So terribly fierce were the ravages of this disease 
that a cavalry captain in the United States army 
who came along at that time counted eleven hun- 
dred graves inside of ninety miles. As the In- 
dians were hostile, our subject was urged to push 
on and they finally got to Fort Kearney, over- 
taking five wagons of their train that had gone 
on. There six people from these wagons died in 
seven days. Then the little train pushed on up the 
Platte valley and everything went well until in 
the Rockies, when Nancy Rush, a sister of our 
subject, took mountain fever. She lingered un- 
til they crossed the John Day and then died. At 
Willow creek, in Morrow county, they had ex- 
hausted their provisions and our subject pur- 
chased from a man who was camped on the road, 
seventeen pounds of flour for eighteen dollars. 
On Fifteenmile creek, in what is now Gilliam 
county, they came to a settler's place, named Na- 
than Olney, who sold them a few potatoes for 
thirty-seven and one-half cents per pound. When 
they arrived at The Dalles, our subject had no 
money but he sold a yoke of oxen and bought a 
litde flour which cost three bits a pound. As 
Mr. Rush could get no passage on the boats on 
the river, he hired Indians to take him and the 
balance of the family to Cascade Falls. His 
brother, Richard, drove the cattle down, and 
took the typhoid fever. Then they hired another 
party to take the cattle on to the mouth of the 
Sandy and the family went down the river on a 
flat boat owned by Joseph Stephens, who, owing 
to their terrible troubles, suffering and shortage 
of cash, took them down free of charge. At the 
mouth of the Sandy, the mother died and was 
there buried. They had left one wagon on the 
Malheur in Eastern Oregon and one with Parker 
& Elliott at The Dalles, who agreed to deliver 
it at Portland by December 25. Afterwards, Mr. 
Gates, an attorney at The Dalles, said that the 
wagon was carried away by a freshet so our sub- 
ject sustained that loss. At Sandy, he secured a 
wagon from Mr. Smith to carry their effects to 
Oregon City with the agreement with Mr. Smith 
that the wagon was to be delivered in Linn county 
by December 25. They were very short of pro- 
visions on this trip to Oregon City and on one 
occasion he met a man who had a little sugar who 
kindly divided with them as they had almost noth- 
ing. Out of one hundred and five souls starting 
on this memorable trip across the plains, but for- 
ty-five reached Oregon, the others having all' 




Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Rush 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



757 



succumbed to disease. Many times the train was 
threatened by the Indians, but they had no seri- 
ous trouble witfr them. Mr. Rush saw Mr. Smith 
from whom he had gotten the wagon and told 
him it was impossible for him to bring it to Linn 
county but that he would pay him for it if he 
would sell -it. Mr. Smith said to bring the wagon 
or one hundred dollars by December 25. This 
agreement our subject carried out although nearly 
at the cost of his life. He took the money on 
foot from Oregon City through snow and ice to 
Mr. Smith's place. Heavy amounts of water had 
fallen and every swail was full. This was frozen 
and deep snow had fallen over it. The ice was 
not heavy enough to bear his weight up and he 
was constantly breaking through. It was a most 
exhausting trip, and often wet, entirely worn out 
at night, he was unable to find a place to sleep. 
On some occasions, he fought with the people to 
secure entrance within their doors. At one time, 
he was two clays without food. Finally, he 
reached Mr. Smith's place on December 24, but 
this man refused to give him a receipt in full as 
he had failed to bring a chain that belonged with 
the wagon. Young Rush was not to be put off 
thus and finally Smith yielded and gave a receipt 
in full. Mr. Rush came back, arriving in Ore- 
gon City on Januarv to, 1853. He was then 
"brought face to face with the gloomy outlook of 
caring for his five brothers and sisters with 
scarcely no means in hand and provisions terri- 
"bly high, flour being thirty-five dollars per bar- 
rel. Finallv his money run out and our subject 
applied to Dr. McLaughlin of the Hudson's Bay 
Company, who then owned the flouring mill at 
Oregon City, for work to buy flour, saying that 
he had a yoke of oxen and would do him good 
work. The doctor replied that he had no need of 
any work. Mr. Rush pushed his case, showing 
that they were starving and must have provis- 
ions. Still the doctor refused and Rush said. "If 
you do not let me have flour, I will go down to 
the mill and take it." The doctor perceiving his 
resolute spirit and desperate condition, invited 
him to his house and gave him money with which 
to buy food. The next year Mr. Rush had earned 
money enough to repay the doctor and brought 
it to him, much to that gentleman's surprise, who 
complimented the young man for his sterling in- 
tegrity, saying, "Keep the money, a man with 
your grit can always get flour from me." The 
next move for Mr. Rush after the flour incident 
was to take a contract from William Barlow to 
cut fifteen thousand rails at one dollar and fifty 
cents per hundred, taking flour at twenty-two and 
twenty-five cents per pound for pay. His brother 
was still weak from the fever and unable to work. 
Mr. Rush remarks that Mr. Barlow was very 



kind to him in many ways at this time and he 
continued in his employ until August, 1853, then 
the family made its way into Lane county, where 
our subject took a donation claim, the date being 
September 3, 1853. He lived there fifteen years 
and then in 1867, moved to Jackson county, where 
he remained until 1884. Then he journeyed to 
Crook county. Here he purchased land and has 
continued farming since. He has done pioneer 
work both in the valley and here and deserves 
much credit as a frontiersman and pathfinder. 

On March 12, 1857, Mr. Rush married Eliza- 
beth Breeding, who was born in Missouri, on De- 
cember 25, 1838. The children born to this cou- 
ple are Jennie, the wife of J. R. Bennett ; Ma- 
linda, married to J. W. Robinson ; J. C. ; Mrs. 
Ella Springs ; Belle, wife of James Wood ; and 
Mamie, wife of J. T. Robinson. 

Mr. and Mrs. Rush are members of the Chris- 
tian church and are worthy people. In politics, 
he has always been a Democrat. Everything that 
is for the betterment of the country finds in Mr. 
Rush a hearty support and he is well known and 
highly esteemed. ♦*" 

It is of interest to know that Dr. Benjamin 
Rush, who signed the Declaration of Independ- 
ence, was a brother of the grandfather of our 
subject. 



DAVID E. TEMPLETON, a prominent citi- 
zen and an early pioneer of Crook county, is en- 
gaged in overseeing his interests in stock raising 
and farming and in the drug business. He was 
born in Indiana, on May 4, 1831, the son of Will- 
iam T. and Elizabeth (Ramsey) Templeton. The 
father was born in Rockbridge county, Virginia, 
in 1809, and descended from one of the prominent 
colonial families. The Templetons first came 
from England and settled in the wilds of the new 
world with the Jamestown colony. They were 
identified with the American cause before there 
was a United States and were sturdy and substan- 
tial people. The father moved with his parents 
to Indiana and settlement was made on a farm in 
Henry county. In 1837 he came to Missouri, 
where he remained until the spring of 1847, then 
he journeyed across the plains, being accompan- 
ied by his wife and nine children of whom our 
subject was the oldest. They used oxen to make 
the trip and finally landed in Linn county, where 
the father took a donation claim and remained 
until his death. He was one of The leading citi- 
zens of the country and became wealthy before he 
died. The Templeton family was among the first 
settlers in Virginia, in Indiana and in Linn 
county, Oregon. The mother of our subject was 
born in Greene county, Pennsylvania, and came 



1 



/5« 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



with her parents to Indiana when young. There 
she was married. Her ancestors were of Irish ex- 
traction. Our subject received his early educa- 
tion in Missouri and then completed his studies in 
Rev. Spalding's missionary school in the Willam- 
ette valley. He labored on his father's donation 
claim until of proper age, then took one for him- 
self adjoining. That was his home until 1870, 
when he came to the vicinity of Prineville and 
took government land and engaged in stock rais- 
ing. He soon became one of the large stock own- 
ers of the county and now owns five quarter sec- 
tions and much stock. With his son, he is oper- 
ating a drug store, under the firm name of Tem- 
pleton and son. 

In 1855, Mr. Templeton married Lavinia Pell, 
who was born in Ohio and came with her father 
to Missouri in 1852 and then crossed the plains to 
Oregon. Her parents were Calvin and Mary 
(McCarren) Pell, pioneers of Oregon. Our sub- 
ject was county commissioner of Crook county 
for four years and has always taken a keen inter- 
est in political matters. He has always done a 
great deal to advance the interests of Crook 
county. He is a man of sterling worth and in- 
tegrity and is well known in central Oregon. Mr. 
Templeton and his wife belong to the Presbyte- 
rian church, he having joined when he was twen- 
ty-one years of age. He started in life with very 
little funds and in 1849 went to the mines of Cal- 
ifornia where he was very successful. It is of 
interest to know that our subject was the clerk 
of the first election held in Linn county. Being 
then eighteen years of age he distinctly remem- 
bers that there were but seventeen votes cast at 
the election. 



WALLACE POST is one of the industrious 
and capable men of Crook county and has la- 
bored continuously here for the past twenty years 
and has accomplished very much in the line of 
improvement and building up which is the 
strength of any community. He is a man with a 
deep sense of honor and has so conducted himself 
that he has won the admiration and respect of 
every one who is acquainted with him. At pres- 
ent, he is engaged in general farming and stock 
raising and resides about twenty-six miles out 
from Prineville on the Burns stage road. His 
birth occurred in Illinois, on November 19, 1847. 
Stephen Hoyt Post, his father, was born in 
Pennsylvania and moved to Illinois in very early 
days with his father. Joseph Post. There he 
crew to manhood, followed farming and in 1850. 
crossed the plains with ox teams to California. He 
remained one year in that new country then re- 
turned home and in 1852 he crossed the plains 



with ox teams a second time, landing in Cali- 
fornia. In 1854, he returned to Illinois and the 
next year moved to Blackhawk county, Iowa, 
where he remained a year. His next move was to 
Missouri, where he purchased a farm and re- 
mained until 1857. In that year, he brought his 
family across the plains to Siskiyou county, Cali- 
fornia, being captain of the train. In 1859, they 
settled in Polk county, Oregon and in 1864, they 
went to Benton county, Oregon. There he re- 
mained until his death. On both trips from the- 
Pacific coast back to the states, he went by water. 
He married Ursulia Wells, a native of New 
York, where also the wedding occurred. She 
crossed the plains with her husband in 1857. Our 
subject received a little education in states before 
he was ten years of age, but after that, as the fam- 
ily were on the frontier all of the time, all he- 
gained from reading at home. He was reared on 
the farm and labored with his father until the 
latter's death, then he supported his mother until 
she married a second time. After that, he began 
farming for himself and bought and sold several 
farms in the Willamette valley. In 1885, Mr. 
Post came to his present location and took gov- 
ernment land. He immediately began raising 
sheep but later exchanged them for cattle. Now 
he has a fine ranch with one hundred acres under 
ditch and considerable stock. He has been pros- 
pered in his labors here and is considered one of 
the well-to-do men of the county. Although Mr. 
Post started in life with absolutely no capital he 
has won his way by his own labors to a place of 
competence and has gained for himself the entire 
confidence and esteem of his fellows. Although 
he himself was not permitted to enjoy the privi- 
leges of school, he is a very warm advocate and 
supporter of educational institutions. He has a 
very active mind which has been gathering infor- 
mation all these years and he is a man well posted 
on the questions and issues of the day and is a 
first class reasoner. 

In 1866, Mr. Post married Lucv E. Herbert, 
who was born and reared in Benton county, Ore- 
gon. Her father, Joshua Herbert, was born on 
Lake Erie and followed the trade of the mill- 
wright during his life and came in 1844. to the 
Willamette valley. He located the first flour mill 
south of Oregon City. He married Elizabeth 
Smith, who crossed the plains in 1846. Mr. and 
Mrs. Post have nine children: Mrs. Annie M. 
Crosby. Mrs. Ida Young, Mrs. Emma J. Gill:" r 
and Mrs. Estella E. Boardman. whose husbands 
own fruit ranches in the Blood River country ; 
Frank M., and William H.. ranchers in Crook 
county ; Joseph R., Clarence and Nelly B., at 
home. 

Since he was sixteen years of age. our subject 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



759 



has been a member of the Christian church and 
has always been very active in his labors for the 
spreading of the gospel and the upbuilding of the 
churches. He has labored much in Sunday school 
work and has been superintendent of th ■ school 
for years. He and his wife are devout Christians 
and are constantly on the alert to set forth those 
principles taught by Scripture for the good of 
all mankind. 



JAMES M. FAUGHT has been a pioneer of 
the Pacific coast for a great many years and vari- 
ous sections of the country bear evidence of his 
industry and thrift. He now resides on the Burns 
stage road, ten miles out from Prineville, where 
he has a good place and follows farming. He was 
born in Indiana, on November 4, 1834 the son of 
William M. Faught, a native of Shelby county, 
Kentucky. The father came to Indiana in early 
day and settled on a farm twenty miles west from 
Indianapolis. In addition to handling his farm, 
he operated a flourmill, a sawmill and a distillery 
and became very wealthy. In 1840, he lost his 
wealth by going security for other parties. Fol- 
lowing that, he disposed of what property he had 
left and moved to Davis county, Iowa, and took 
up government land. In 1850, he and our sub- 
ject crossed the plains to California where they 
were engaged in mining for three years, then they 
returned to Iowa with a pack train. The next 
year the father brought his family to the west, 
accompanied by two brothers. They located on 
land which they supposed belonged to the gov- 
ernment but which afterward proved to be a 
Spanish grant. Upon ascertaining that point, Mr. 
Faught sold his improvements and the remainder 
of his life, lived with his children. He had mar- 
ried Nancy Sears, a native of Virginia, the wed- 
ding occurring in Indiana. Our subject was but 
ten years of age when the family moved to Iowa 
but as there were practically no schools in that 
then wild country he had very little opportunity 
to gain an education. As before stated, he ac- 
companied his father on a trip across the plains 
then journeyed with a pack train back to the 
states and in 1854, came a second time to Cali- 
fornia. When twenty-three years of age, he 
started for himself, having as his capital a Span- 
ish horse and a change of clothing. He began by 
renting land and during the harvest seasons op- 
erated a threshing machine until he finally secured 
sufficient money to purchase a farm in Mendocino 
county, California, in 1865. Twelve years later, 
he sold that property for eight thousand dollars 
and moved to Trout creek, Crook county, taking 
up the sheep business. He handled the first sheep 
in that part of the country and in 1882, moved to 



Prineville, where he remained two years, hand- 
ling sheep. Two years later, he purchased a 
ranch on Bear creek which was the headquarters 
for the sheep business, until 1895. In that year, 
he sold all his stock and purchased the ranch 
where he now resides, which has been his home 
since. 

In i860, Mr. Faught married Mary F. Stuart. 
She was born on a tract of land which was in 
dispute between Missouri and Iowa and which 
afterward became a part of the former state. 
With her parents, Abel and Elizabeth (Peal) 
Stuart, she came across the plains to California 
in 1849. The father was born in New York and 
was a veteran of the War of 18 12, having par- 
ticipated in the battle of Lundy's Lane. He was 
a well known forty-niner to California, and a 
prominent man. The mother came from Ger- 
man ancestry. Following are the children born 
to our subject and his wife: William, a cattle 
raiser in Wallowa county, Oregon ; Cora I. ; 
Elmer J., a stock raiser on Bear creek ; and 
Elam C. Mr. Faught enjoys a good reputation 
and he and his wife have so conducted themselves 
that they have won the admiration and esteem of 
all, have achieved a splendid success in financial 
matters and are best known as progressive and 
first-class people. 



JOHN WAGONBLAST has lived in Oregon 
for half a century which is the larger portion of 
his life." He was born in Buchanan county, Mis- 
souri, on October 24, 1848, and now resides at 
Madras, Crook county, Oregon. His parents 
were Gottlieb and Christina (Rieff) Wagonblast, 
natives of Germany and now deceased. Their 
marriage occurred in their native land and in the 
early thirties they journeyed to the United States. 
In 1855, with os. teams, they crossed the plains 
and spent the first winter on Willapa creek in 
southwestern Washington. After that the father 
bought land six miles southeast from Oregon City 
where they remained until 1871. At that time 
our subject started out for himself and worked 
for a time at various places. In 1873 he bought 
land and three years later sold out and settled 
four miles east of Vancouver, Washington, just 
across the river in Multnomah county. In 1878 
he left that place and rented land in Wasco 
county, then purchased one hundred and twenty 
acres of land on Threemile creek just out from 
The Dalles. Mr. Wagonblast made that one of 
the finest farms in Wasco county and in March, 
1904, sold the same for fifty dollars per acre. Then 
he took a homestead at Agency Plains in Crook 
county, where we find him at the present time. 



•760 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



He is planning extensive improvements on his 
homestead and will raise grain and handle stock. 

In Clarke county, Washington, in 1873, Mr. 
Wagonblast married Miss Mary C. Payne. Her 
parents were Almon and Minerva Payne, natives 
of Illinois. They crossed the plains with ox 
teams in 1852 and now reside in Clarke county, 
Washington. Mr. Wagonblast has the following 
named brothers and sisters : Jacob, William, 
Henry, Charles, Frank, Margaret, wife of W. S. 
Douthit ; Caroline, wife of John S. Simmons ; 
Alice E., wife of Henry Johnson. Mrs. Wagon- 
blast has one sister and three brothers, Jane, wife 
.of Sidney Stamp and Charles, Ben and Harvey. 

Our subject is a member of the United Ar- 
tisans and in politics is a Republican. He has 
several times been a delegate to the conventions, 
is active in the campaigns and is a respected and 
popular citizen. He is a representative man in 
his community, liberal and public minded and 
has always labored for the upbuilding of Oregon. 



JOHN W. ROBINSON, a merchant of Ash- 
wood, Oregon, was 7 born in St. Johns, New 
Brunswick, on September 23, 1857. His father, 
James T. Robinson, was born in the northwestern 
part of Ireland and settled in St. John, New 
Brunswick, where he followed ship carpentering 
and building. While thus occupied, he took a voy- 
age to England and many other parts of the 
world. He married Susan Wiggins, on December 
23, 1847, wno was of English and Irish parent- 
age. Our subject was left an orphan when quite 
young, his mother dying in 1867 and his father 
in 1868, leaving him to be cared for by relatives. 
He was educated at Canterbury, in York county, 
"New Brunswick, by his cousin, the Hon. Rob- 
ert Robinson, M. L. C. In 1874, he returned to 
his native city and went to sea as ship steward, 
which he followed for two years. During this 
time, he had one of the most thrilling experiences 
of his life. In the fall of 1875, while steward of 
•the schooner, Rubina of St. John, Captain James 
Secord, while on a voyage from Pictou, Nova 
Scotia, to Boston, Massachusetts, loaded with 
coal, they were caught in a southeast gale off 
'Cape Sable, Nova Scotia. The little vessel was 
driven before the gale, the sails being "wing 
and wing," shipping heavy seas, one of which 
broke over the stern, carrying away the only 
boat, snapping the three inch iron davits like 
pipe stems, unshipped the wheel causing the ves- 
sel to broach too, jibing the mainsail, which threw 
the vessel on her beam end nearly capsizing her. 
"The main boom broke in two at the jaws. The 



vessel was now laboring very hard in the trough 
of tlie sea and it took prompt and heroic work 
to save her. The wheel was put in place and 
orders given to cut away and let the main boom 
and sail go by the board. The foresail was also 
blown into ribbons, watercasks and everything 
were swept off the decks, the main boom was car- 
ried along the deck, tearing off the hatch bars and 
tarpaulins, leaving the hatches perfectly loose, 
which had not been- caulked down as is custo- 
mary, as they had not anticipated such heavy 
weather. It looked for awhile like the voyage 
would end, using a sailor's phrase, "In Davy 
Jones' Locker." They got the hatches nailed down, 
but the seas sweeping the decks poured lots of 
water into the hold through the uncalked hatches. 
Their wooden pump heads had been split by the 
main boom, which were repaired with difficult}-. 
They had to keep the pumps running constant- 
ly to keep afloat while driven before the gale 
"under the gib only" across the mouth of the Bay 
of Fundy toward the coast of Maine. They made 
Owls Head harbor. Striking a reef going in 
caused the ship to spring a leak. They were 
then towed to Rockland, Maine, where the cargo 
was discharged and the vessel repaired. After 
this voyage, our subject shipped before the mast, 
following the coasting trade. On March 19, 1877, 
he shipped from New York and sailed around 
Cape Horn on the ship Freeman Clark, under 
James Dwight, captain, having a rough and tedi- 
ous voyage encountering many gales and much 
head wind. The principal mishap occurred dur- 
ing a gale in the South Pacific when the block 
on the foreweather brace broke. The foreyard 
carried away, causing the loss of the foresail and 
fore lower topsail. The seas were so rough it 
was over a week before a new yard could be 
rigged up. They arrived in San Francisco Sep- 
tember 5, 1877, being at sea five months and six- 
teen days, having put into no port on the voy- 
age and sighting no land after rounding Cape 
Horn until they sighted the Golden Gate. He 
settled in Jackson county, Oregon, and followed 
farming and mining until 1891, when he en- 
gaged in the mercantile business at Wimer in that 
county, until 1898. In that year he took up min- 
ing, following that for a year. In 1899, he came 
to Ashwood, Crook county, Oregon, and erected 
the first building on the new townsite. Here he 
has been engaged in general merchandising. He 
has a large store and carries a complete line of 
general merchandise and is a leading and pros- 
perous business man. 

Mr. Robinson is a member of the Woodmen 
of the World, Circle of Woodcraft, and Ancient 
Order of the United Workmen. In politics, he 








Mr. and Mrs. Jonn W. Robinson 



Mr. and Mrs. Howard Maupm 





Mr. and Mrs. Columbus Friend 



Thomas S. Hamilton 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



761 



is a Democrat, but not radical, while in church 
relations, he and his wife are members of the 
Christian church. 

Mr. Robinson married Malinda A. Rush, No- 
vember 13, 1878, who was born in the Willamette 
valley, October n, 1859, the daughter of Sam- 
uel Rush, whose biography appears in this work. 
The fruit of this union is two children, James 
C. and Lenna B., wife of Lee Wood. His only 
brother, James T. Robinson, resides on his farm 
near Culver, Crook county, Oregon. 



HOWARD MAUPIN, deceased. Many 
brave and noble men have labored to open this 
western country and few have displayed greater 
courage and more genuine pioneer equalities than 
the subject of this memoir. 

Howard Maupin was born in Kentucky, in 
1815, and during the first fourteen years of his 
life was reared there and received his education. 
Then the family went to Missouri, where he re- 
mained until 1852. Then he brought his family 
across the plains to the Willamette valley, where 
they lived until 1863. At such early days as that, 
he came to Antelope valley, then Wasco county', 
and engaged in stock raising. He had a fine band 
of cattle and some twenty-two horses. Chief 
Paulina and his renegade band stole all his 
horses shortly after Mr. Maupin settled in the 
Antelope valley. This was a terrible calamity 
but Mr. Maupin was never able to recover his 
horses nor did he ever get any remuneration. 
Their nearest trading point at that time was 
The Dalles, many miles distant. They kept a 
stopping place for travelers and engaged in the 
stock business besides. Later, they journeyed 
from that place to the juncture of the Little and 
Big Trout creeks where Mr. Maupin took a ranch, 
being one of the first settlers in that section of 
the country. He erected buildings, provided cor- 
ralls and was giving close attention to the stock 
business and farming. However, he had been 
there but a short time, when one night Chief Pau- 
lina and six of his band came to the corral and 
started off with Mr. Maupin's horses. Although 
single handed, Mr. Maupin was not a man to be 
deterred, so seizing a pistol he started after the 
band. He killed one Indian near the house but his 
companions packed him away. Also. they ran the 
horses off. Mr. Maupin, although alone, pursued 
the band and surprised them in Paulina Basin, 
about two miles from the present site of Ash- 
wood. He fired uoon Chief Paulina and wounded 
him in the leg. The other Indians fled, leaving 
their chief and another shot from Mr. Maupin's 
trusty weapon killed another of the band. Then 



he returned to the chief and dispatched him as 
he was terribly wounded. Paulina had been the 
terror of the settlers and Mr. Maupin took his 
scalp and his bones as trophies of one of the 
most renegade Indians the country produced. It 
certainly was an act of great bravery on the part 
of Mr. Maupin to pursue this band of thieves and 
secure his property, for he got back all his 
horses. It was bloody work, but it was a great 
benefit to the settlers for there were no more 
raids from these savages. They never even re- 
turned to get the body of their chief. Mr. Maupin 
preserved the scalp and bones of Paulina until 
his house was destroyed by fire when they were 
destroyed with it. In 1878, Mr. Maupin passed 
the way of all the earth and his remains rest in 
the land that he had assisted so materially to open 
up for the settlers. 

In 1 84 1, in Platte county, Missouri, Mr. Mau- 
pin married Miss Nany McCullum. She was 
born in Clay county, Kentucky, in 182 1. She 
spent her hildhood days in her native state, then 
went to Missouri where she was married. To this 
union were born five children, Perry, Elizabeth, 
Rachel, Garrett, and Nancy. 

Mr. Maupin was a veteran of the Mexican 
War, enlisting in 1846 and serving until the close 
of the struggle. Mrs. Maupin is now eighty-four 
years of age, well preserved and vigorous and is 
passing the golden years of her life in the coun- 
try which she has seen grow from a wilderness 
to its present prosperous conditions. 



COLUMBUS FRIEND, deceased. It is 
very proper in a work of this character to in- 
clude a memoir of the esteemed gentleman whose 
name appears at the head of this page, since he 
wrought well here, was known as a staunch citi- 
zen, a man of integrity, and a kind and loving hus- 
band and father. He was born in Iowa, on May 
23, 1846, and came to Oregon in 1870, receiving 
his education in his native state. He remained in 
the Willamette valley for a few years and then 
came to what is now Crook county and engaged 
in the cattle business. After a few years in that 
line, he took up sheep raising and continued in 
that until his death in 1901. He acquired a fine 
property and left his widow with a splendid ranch 
besides much other property. He was known as a 
very successful man in his labors, being a skill- 
ful stock raiser and a first class farmer who al- 
ways performed his labors in such a manner as to 
bring about the best results. 

In 1888, Mr. Friend married Henrietta 
(Crooks) Hale, the daughter of Aaron Crooks. 
The father was born in Iowa and came as a pi- 



762 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



oneer to Oregon in 1852, making the trip with ox 
teams. Mrs. Friend was born in Linn county, 
Oregon, in 1863. Mrs. Friend's first marriage 
was to John Brown. After that, she was married 
to Daniel Hale and finally to the subject of this 
sketch. Mrs. Friend has the following named 
children, Anna and Lenna Brown, Aaron and 
John Hale, and Angie, Edith, deceased, Roy, 
Ethel, and Bennie Friend. 

Mrs. Friend has shown excellent skill and 
fortitude in attending to the business since her 
husband's death and has so handled the estate 
that it has increased in value, which demonstrates 
her capabilities in this line. She has a lovely 
home, a very valuable farm and is well known 
and a ladv of many virtues. 



THOMAS S. HAMILTON is one of the 
leading stockmen of Central Oregon and he has 
gained this position through his untiring efforts 
since the early pioneer days of this country. Dur- 
ing all his labors, he has shown an energy and 
carefulness, coupled with skill that could but win 
the smiles of Dame Fortune. At the' present 
time, he is living two miles south of Ashwood and 
in addition to handling his extensive real estate 
and stock interests has a one-half interest in the 
mercantile firm of Irvin & Hamilton. 

Thomas S. Hamilton w 7 as born in Clay county, 
Missouri, on March 10, 1850. His father, An- 
derson Hale, was born in Missouri and there mar- 
ried Mrs. Elliott and in 1853, brought his family 
across the plains. Our subject was but two years 
of age when he accompanied his parents on that 
weary journey which ended in the Willamette 
valley. The father made settlement sixteen miles 
south of Eugene in Lane county. There are sub- 
ject was reared and educated and in 1870 he 
came to Lake county in this state and worked for 
wages for one winter. Then he herded sheep 
near Reno, Nevada, one winter and in this way 
got his start. He returned to the valley and re- 
mained during the winter of 1872 and 1873 and 
then came to Summer Lake in Lake county, Ore- 
gon, and settled clown on a ranch. He had forty 
head of cattle and thus he began really, his career 
of ranching and stock raising. In 1874 he traded 
his cattle for sheep and four years later came to 
his present location. Since that time he has stead- 
ily followed the business of stock raising and 
farming with such splendid success that he now 
owns two thousand eight hundred and forty acres 
of land, seventy-five hundred sheep, two hundred 
head of cattle besides much other property. 
Twenty head of his cattle are fine registered Short 
Horn animals and Mr. Hamilton has the dis- 



tinction of being the first man to introduce 
blooded stock in this part of the country. He is 
certainly deserving of much credit for his efforts 
in this line for it has resulted in very materially 
improving the quality of stock. As stated above, 
in addition to this property, Mr. Hamilton has a 
half interest in the firm of Irvin & Hamilton and 
is well known as a thorough, conscientious busi- 
ness man. 

In January, 1889, Mr. Hamilton married Lo- 
renda Crooks, who was born in the Willamette 
valley, her father being Aaron Crooks. Two chil- 
dren have been born to this marriage, Arena and 
Josephine. 

Mr. Hamilton is a member of the Masons, 
the Odd Fellows, the Eastern Star and the Mac- 
cabees. The success that Mr. Hamilton has w^on 
in the financial and business world, speaks vol- 
umes of the man's ability and carefulness and in 
addition are a great incentive to others to strive 
well in the business world. He has done a great 
work in opening up and building up the country 
and is to be classed as one of the county builders, 
while he receives at the hands of his fellows, un- 
stinted confidence and esteem of which he is emi- 
nently worthy. 



CHARLES CLYDE HON was born in Linn 
county, Oregon, on July 8, 1871 and now lives 
about twenty-three miles east from Prineville, 
where he owns three-quarters of a section of land 
and is engaged in stock raising. His father, John 
Wesley Hon, was born in Iowa and crossed the 
plains to Oregon in company with his mother in 
the early fifties. She took a donation claim in 
Linn county and he wrought on the farm until 
grown _ to manhood. The mother had crossed 
the plains with four children, the oldest being but 
a small boy. The elder Hon married Olive Coyle, 
1 native of California, who came to Oregon with 
her parents in pioneer days. She died when our 
subject was two years old. Charles Clyde was 
educated in the Willamette valley and as early as 
1886, came to Crook county and settled on a 
ranch. Since then, he has given almost his entire 
attention to stock raising and has gained very 
good success in his labors. Mr. Hon has identified 
himself with the interests of Crook county and 
this portion of Oregon in a decided manner and 
lias always displayed an industry and progressive- 
ness that stamp him one of the substantial men of 
the county. His ranch is a good one, well im- 
proved and fitted for stock raising and he has a 
good many animals on the range. He selected a 
choice location when coming here and has made 
it much more valuable by carefully improving it 
and in addition to doing stock raising, his place is 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



763 



admirably fitted for general farming and dairying. 
In 1894, Mr. Hon married Miss Daisy Zevely, 
who was born in Union county, Oregon. She 
came to Crook county with her parents, James 
and Elizabeth (Boyle) Zevely, in 1886. Her 
father was born in Missouri and crossed the 
plains to Oregon with his parents when a child. 
Her mother was born in California and came to 
Oregon in pioneer days. To our subject and his 
wife one child has been born, Olive. Mr. Hon is 
a member of the M. W. A. and a man of good 
standing in the community. 



JOSEPH P. HUNSAKER is one of the sub- 
stantial and well known citizens of Prineville. He 
was born in Illinois, on February 11, 1827, the 
son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Brown) Hunsaker. 
The father was a native of Pennsylvania and de- 
scended from Dutch stock. He came to Illinois 
as a pioneer and settled near Quincy and there 
grew to be a prominent and well-to-do man. Our 
subject was educated in a little log school house in 
Adams county and there grew up on a farm. It 
was 1850 that he crossed the plains, first coming 
to Oregon City in an ox team train. The next 
year, he returned to Illinois and in 1852, crossed 
the plains with ox teams a second time, landing 
in Oregon City. Then he journeyed on to Linn 
county and took up a ranch, which occupied his 
attention until 1873. In that year, he put into 
execution a plan he had formed previously, that 
of exploring central Oregon and afterward se- 
lected a ranch on the Ochoco. He immediately 
began the good work of building a home and 
opening up a farm. Since that time, he has givea 
his entire attention to stock raising and general 
farming and now he has splendid property some 
nine miles out from Prineville on Combs Flat. He 
also owns a residence in Prineville, where he 
makes his headquarters and resides most of the 
time. He has achieved success in this country 
and has gained his property through his wise 
labors here. For over thirty years, Mr. Hunsaker 
has dwelt here and during all that time he has 
shown an industry and ability to build up and im- 
prove the country, second to none. Much credit 
is due him for his labors and he certainly deserves 
a conspicuous place in the front ranks of pioneers. 

In 1854, Joseph P. Hunsaker married Eliza- 
beth Campbell, who crossed the plains in 1852 
with her parents, being in the same train with Mr. 
Hunsaker. Her parents are John and Nancy 
(Shook) Campbell, natives of Kentucky. To 
our subject and his wife, the following named 
children have been born : Mrs. Alice Oman, living 
in Portland ; Mrs. Annie Gray, living on a ranch 



in Crook county ; and Mrs. Ida Maredth, in 
Prineville. 

Mr. Hunsaker has so conducted himself in his 
long residence in Crook county that he today en- 
joys a splendid reputation and is known as a 
man of uprightness and integrity. 



THOMAS N. BALFOUR is rightly classed 
as one of the early pioneers of Crook county. His 
residence is forty miles out from Paulina on the 
Burns stage road where he owns a fine ranch and 
follows farming and stock raising. His birth oc- 
curred in Fifeshire, Scotland on March 28, 1855. 
Robert Balfour, his father, was born in Scotland 
and was a prominent and wealthy man. He mar- 
ried Elsbeth Nicholson, a native of Scotland who 
died when our subject was very young. Thomas 
N. was educated in Scotland and while he was- 
still young, his father also died.' He and his sister 
being the only ones of the family, they remained 
together for some time and Mr. Balfour learned 
the German language and took a position as Ger- 
man correspondent and translator for the firm of 
A. Bruntsch and Company. He continued in that 
position until 1874, when he came to Oregon and 
accepted a position on a farm in Linn county. 
Later he rented a ranch and afterward purchased 
a farm in that county. In 1882, he came to his 
present location and took government land, then 
sold it and purchased his present place and en- 
gaged in the stock business, and has continued 
steadily in that. When Mr. Balfour settled here, 
his closest neighbor was twelve miles distant. He 
and his family were forced to undergo much 
hardship and deprivation in their determined 
stand to open this country and make for them- 
selves a good and comfortable home, but they 
were not the kind of people to give up at every 
little obstacle, but on the other hand with every 
rising difficulty and hardship their determination 
and spirit increased according and the result is 
that they have not only overcome but have gained 
for themselves a fine property. 

In 1876, Mr. Balfour married Mattie Wilson,, 
who was born in Linn county. Oregon, where also 
she was reared and educated. Her parents, 
Thomas and Martha (Smith) Wilson, were na- 
tives of Indiana and Illinois respectively and 
crossed the plains to Oregon with ox teams in 
1847. The father took a donation claim in Linn 
county and has become a very prominent citizen. 
He was a well known breeder of fine stock and 
was a leader in that line. He died in 1892, in 
Linn county. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Balfour are Mrs. Maude Bixby, Mrs. Zoe Gib- 
son, Bruce B., and W. Stanlev. 



•764 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Mr. Balfour established Fife postoffice and 
gave the name to the same. For ten years he was 
postmaster and was an efficient public officer. For 
four years past he has been justice of the peace 
and has always taken a very prominent part in 
educational matters and in the political affairs 
of the country. It is worthy of note that in 1884, 
when there was an uprising of the Indians so 
serious that most of the population of the country 
housed themselves up in the forts, our subject 
and his family remained on their farm between 
Prineville and Burns and one other family besides 
his were the only people who were not in the 
fort. It is evident, as we stated before, that Mr. 
Balfour and his family were not made of the ma- 
terial that gives way to difficulties and they came 
to this country to stay and open it up, to make 
thsemselves homes and they have succeeded ad- 
mirably. 



HARDY ALLEN, a stockman, blacksmith 
and general business man, resides at Sisters, 
Crook county, Oregon. He was born on Ochoco 
creek, four miles from Prineville, April 13, 1874. 

His father, Albert Allen, born in Missouri in 
1844, was taken by his parents in 1845, when he 
was one year old, across the plains, in a wagon 
drawn by oxen. They were in the Meeks party, 
and it is claimed that Meeks deserted them in 
what is now Lake county. Then his father's 
father, the great-grandfather of our subject, as- 
sumed charge of the train. The family settled in 
Polk county, Oregon. Mr. Albert Allen lived in 
Polk county until February 12, 1865, when he en- 
listed in Company A, First Oregon Volunteers, 
under Captain LaFollette, and served until the 
close of the war. In 1868 he came to what is now 
Crook county, being among the first settlers. He 
lived here until 1880 when he left and returned in 
1895. At present he resides near The Dalles. 

Our subject was among the first white chil- 
dren born in the territory now comprising Crook 
county. In 1880 he removed with his parents to 
The Dalles. Here he received his education, re- 
maining until 1897, when he came to Crook 
county. He located a homestead near the mouth 
of the Matoles river, and engaged in cattle rais- 
ing until last spring, when he came to his pres- 
ent location and became the proprietor of a hotel, 
and also did a considerable amount of blacksmith 
work. He retains his ranch and about one hun- 
dred head of cattle. 

In 1900 Mr. Allen was married to Miss Daisv 
Davidson, born in Wasco county, Oregon. She 
is the daughter of W. J. Davidson, a native of 
Canada, who located near The Dalles. Our sub- 
ject has one brother, Marion Allen, living at 



Boyd, Wasco county, and two sisters, Hattie 
Thompson, residing at Prineville, and Clara Egg- 
bert, of The Dalles. Mr. and Mrs. Allen have 
one child, Harold, three years old. Politically he 
is a Republican. 



JAMES H. HAWKINS is a lumberman and 
stockman of Crook county, who has achieved 
prosperity in his labors since coming here. His 
mills are located about twenty miles above Prine- 
ville on the Ochoco. His father, Thomas D. 
Hawkins, was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and 
removed to Arkansas when a led of twelve vears 
of age. Being left an orphan when quite young, 
he had to make his own way in the world and 
early learned to meet adversity. When the Re- 
bellion broke out, his sympathies were with the 
union and the result was that he had to leave that 
portion of Arkansas where he was living. On 
account of this, he lost all his property. He 
joined the First Missouri Cavalry and served dur- 
ing the entire war, being under General Blunt 
much of the time. He was in seventy-two regu- 
lar battles, among them being Pea Ridge and 
Vicksburg. He had two horses shot from under 
him, three bullets through his hat and many 
through his clothes. However, he escaped in- 
jury. For two years he was a scout and ren- 
dered invaluable services to the army in this ca- 
pacity. In 1886, he came to Oregon and re- 
mained here until his death. He had married 
Cynthia Hughes, a native of Tennessee, who had 
journeyed to Arkansas with her parents when a 
child. In 1862, she went to Missouri and there 
remained about a year, then returned to Ar- 
kansas. Our subject was educated at Rockbridge 
Missouri, then engaged in lumbering in the same 
state. In 1886, he came to Union county, Oregon, 
and the next year, went to Boise county, Idaho, 
where with his father and brother, he built a saw- 
mill. For three years they operated that plant, 
then came on to Oregon and in 1894, erected a 
mill on Combs flat and also bought the Marshall 
mill. In 1895 he bought another mill. In 1899 
he sold out this property and came to his pres- 
ent location and erected a new mill. Shortly 
afterwards, he purchased another mill located 
nearby and in company with his brother, W. J., 
he has continued in the operation of this since. 
They own a section of fine land and have two 
hundred head of cattle in addition to the two 
mills. They supply Prineville and the surround- 
ing country with lumber and are doing a splendid 
business. 

In 1893, Mr. Hawkins married Miss Mary 
Thomason. a native of Arkansas. She came to 
Oregon with her parents in 1886. To this mar- 




J. H. Hawkins 






HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



765. 



riage seven children have been born, Andrew, 
Alta, Mamie, Henry, Roy, Willie and Pearl. 

Mr. Hawkins is a member of the I. O. O. F., 
the M. W. A. and the R. N. A. In addition to 
his other qualifications, Mr. Hawkins possesses a 
splendid ability in the mechanical line and is a 
machinist of much skill. He has been able to 
meet and solve all the various and intricate prob- 
lems that arise in frontier and commercial saw- 
milling. He has shown himself a master of the 
business through and through for he has won a 
splendid success and is becoming one of the 
worthy and well-to-do men of the country. He 
stands well, has many friends, and is a represen- 
tative man. 



WILLIAM HUBBARD PECK follows 
blacksmithing and farming and resides two miles 
west from Culver. He was born in Shiawassee, 
Michigan, on June 4, 1853, the son °f J° nn Peck, 
a native of Canada. The father was an early set- 
tler in Michigan and died in 1856. Our sub- 
ject received his. education in his native country 
and in 1870, went to Missouri, where he dwelt 
four years. In 1875 he journeyed on west to 
Santa Barbara, California and remained there 
four years. On August 27, 1879, ne started with 
teams overland from Santa Barbara to the Wil- 
lamette valley in which latter place he spent two 
years engaged in farming. He came to his pres- 
ent location in 1881 and took a preemption to 
which he added, later, a homestead adjoining. 
He engaged in stock raising and freighting and 
other enterprises and in 1885 built a blacksmith 
shop and began work at his trade. He had fol- 
lowed the same in Michigan, Missouri, and Cali- 
fornia and was a skillful mechanic. Mr. Peck 
was the first blacksmith in this vicinity and has 
continued at the same work more or less since. 
He has a good farm which is well handled and 
does a good business in the shop. 

On September 12, 18725, Mr. Peck married 
Mary Elizabeth Newman, who was born in War- 
ren county, Kentucky, on December 17, 1852. Her 
father, Alexander Newman, was a native of Vir- 
ginia. To our subject and his wife the following 
named children have been born :. Mrs. Vena M. 
Merchant, in Missouri, on July 11, 1873; David 
W., at Santa Barbara, California, in 1875; Mrs. 
Hattie Cyrus, in California, on December 15, 
1877; Lee Oscar, in Yamhill county, Oregon, on 
December 29, 1879 ! John Alexander, in Crook 
county, then Wasco county, on July 23, 1882 ; 
Euretta, in Crook county, on December 8 1884 ; 
Ralph W., in this county, on March 30, 1888. 
The children are all settled nearby, on home- 
steads, except the two youngest, who are at home. 



Mr. Peck is a member of the A. O. U. W., 
he and his wife are members of the Degree of 
Honor and the United Artisans. Politically, he 
is a Socialist and takes pleasure in keeping him- 
self well informed on the questions of the day. 



HENRY T. GRIMES has long resided in 
Crook county end been known as one of the sub- 
stantial and industrious stockmen and farmers of 
this part of the state. His home is now five miles 
northwest fr©m Prineville, where he lives retired 
from active business, having accumulated a com- 
petence sufficient to warrant this pleasant change. 
He was born in Indiana, on January 1, 1844, the 
son of John Grimes, a native of Kentucky. He 
remained in Indiana until fifteen years of age, re- 
ceiving his early education there, then removed 
with his parents to Iowa, where he lived until the 
spring of 1864, in which year he crossed the 
plains with mule teams, consuming six months in 
tne journey. He settled near Salem, Oregon and 
followed farming there until 1877, when he came 
to Crook county. 'He first took a homestead 
where he resided for six years, then he sold out 
and leased a large quantity of state land which he 
made his headquarters for the stock business. He- 
handled cattle and horses for a number of years 
there, then came to his present location, where he 
purchased two hundred acres of land and con- 
tinued in the stock business. About one year 
since he sold his entire stock holdings and is now 
living- a retired life. 

In 1871, Mr. Grimes married Samantha El- 
liott, a native 01 Missouri. They have become the 
parents of the following named children : Willie, 
Maggie, John, Mary,' deceased, Dave, Addie, 
Fred and Frank. 

Politically, Mr. Grimes is a Democrat and 
always takes a keen interest in the campaigns. He 
and his wife are members of the Methodist 
church and for many years have labored faith- 
fully for the spread of the gospel and the ad- 
vancement of church interests, also they have been 
ardent workers for the progress of education and 
the betterment of educational facilities wherever 
tney have resided and have endeavored faithfully 
to accomplish everything in their power for the 
upbuilding of this worthy cause. They are highly 
respected people and have hosts of admiring 
friends. 



AMOS FISK THOMPSON is in real truth 
a. genuine pioneer, for he has lived on the fron- 
tier nearly all his life. He now is retired from 
active business and resides four miles north from 



766 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Prineville. His birth occurred in Ohio, on De- 
cember 24, 1824, and his father was Daniel 
Thompson, a native of Vermont. Our subject 
was brought by his parents to Indiana when 
quite young and remained there until 1828 ; then 
tney moved to Illinois and settled about twenty 
miles from the present site of East Springfield. 
That was their home until 183 1, when they jour- 
neyed to the western part of Illinois. There they 
remained two years, then the family made another 
move into Iowa. Our subject was one of the first 
white children in that territory and this move to 
Iowa was made shortly after the Black Hawk 
War. He remained in Iowa for some time but 
moved many times, so that he was always on the 
frontier. In 1847 ' le started from St. Joe, Mis- 
souri, with an ox team outfit in a train of forty- 
nine wagons and a carriage. They were six 
months in crossing the plains and he finally se- 
lected a place on the Santiam, ten miles above the 
present site of Lebanon. He wrought for wages 
until 1849, then he went to California to seek his 
fortune. For two years he delved in the golden 
sands of that territory, then he went to Yreka 
and mined one summer. During his journeys he 
was shipwrecked at the mouth of the Rogue 
River but escaped with his life. Finally, Mr. 
Thompson returned to the Sanitiam and in 1852 
began farming. For twenty-two years he was 
on that place, then he moved to Ochoco in Crook 
county. His house was the last one east of the 
mountains, as one journeys west and therefore, 
by virtue of the position, became a natural stop- 
ping place for travelers. For twenty-five years 
Mr. Thompson entertained the travel on the old 
Santiam road, then sold the property and moved 
to town. Later he sold his town property to 
John Luckey and then bought two houses and five 
lots in Prineville, which is a valuable property. 
He also owns a ranch on McKy creek. 

In 1852, Mr. Thompson married Elizabeth 
Nye, who was born in Ohio, in 1821 and crossed 
the plains in 1851. She died July 25, 1901. Her 
father, Jacob Nye, was a pioneer of 1850 and a 
native of Pennsylvania. He also was a veteran 
of the War of 1812. The children born to Mr. 
and Mrs. Thompson are Susannah, the wife of 
Silas Hodges; Riley; Mrs. Jane Coyle ; Minta 
Allen, deceased ; Mrs. Victoria Powell ; Preston, 
and Frank, deceased. 

In politics, Mr. Thompson chooses the man 
rather than the party and reserves for himself the 
settlement of all issues, regardless of party lines. 
He is a consistent member of the Methodist 
church and has always labored ardently for the 
advancement of the gospel and the betterment of 
educational facilities. He has been a pathfinder 
on the frontier all his life and has done a splen- 



did work in this capacity. He has so conducted 
himself that he has won the esteem and confi- 
dence of all who know him and is one of the ven- 
erable and respected men of the county at this 
time. 



EWEN JOHNSON is not only a pioneer but 
comes from a family of strong and hardy pio- 
neers who have labored in various parts of the 
country on the frontier in the great work of sub- 
duing the wilderness and blazing the path for 
others to follow. He and his estimable wife are 
now enjoying the golden days of their life in re- 
tirement at Prineville, have been blessed with an 
excellent abundance of this world's goods as the 
result of faithful labor in long years past. Our 
subject was born in Kentucky, on November 24, 
1838. His father was William Johnson, also a 
native of the Blue Grass State and the Johnson 
family were among the very earliest settlers in 
Kentucky. In 1855 the father came on west to 
Missouri and there settled on a farm which was 
nis home until death called him hence. Our sub- 
ject's grandfather, also William Johnson, came 
to Kentucky among the very first settlers in the 
state and was personally well acquainted with 
Daniel Boone. On one occasion he was accom- 
panied by a brother and sister and all were gath- 
ering wood. Upon looking up, they saw the 
door yard full of Indians and being afraid hid 
under the bank of the creek. The father and 
mother, who were the grandparents of our sub- 
ject, and the children who were in the house, were 
all killed. The mother of our subject was Polly 
(Calavan) Johnson, also a native of Kentucky, 
who came to Missouri with her husband and there 
remained until her death. Ewen Johnson re- 
ceived what education could be obtained from the 
early schools of his native state but was well in- 
structed in the lore of the pioneer. He remained 
with his father until September, 1855, and then 
went to Missouri and took a preemption. For 
ten years he labored there, after which he decided 
to come west. Accordingly he bought an ox team 
and joined a train to the Willamette valley. Two 
years were spent in that location and he jour- 
neyed to what is now Crook county, Oregon, lo- 
cating a ranch on Mill creek. Mr. Johnson's 
family were the first to settle in the precincts of 
what is now Crook count}'. Some unmarried 
men had settled here before, but his was the first 
family and Mrs. Johnson was the first white 
woman to enter these wilds. Mr. Johnson im- 
mediately began stock raising and the good labor 
of building up a home here. In these lines he con- 
tinued steadily until i8c)8. achieving the success 
that honest industry and esteem are bound to 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



767 



bring forth. In the year last mentioned, Mr. 
Johnson rented his farm and stock and removed 
to Prineville, whence he oversees his property, 
being retired from the greater activities of life. 

During the Civil War, Mr. Johnson was a 
member of the Missouri Home Guards and was 
twice called out' to defend the country from the 
ravages of opposing soldiers. 

The marriage of Mr. Johnson and Nancy S. 
Stinson, a native of Kentucky, occurred in Wil- 
liamsburg, Kentucky, on September 20, 1854. 
Mrs. Johnson's father, Jacob Stinson, was born 
in Kentucky from one of the earliest families set- 
tled in that country. He married Elizabeth Wells, 
also a native of the Blue Grass State and the 
daughter of pioneers in Kentucky. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Johnson, twelve children have been born: 
W. J., a farmer nearby ; Mrs. Margaret J. Cadle ; 
Sillistina ; John J. ; James ; B. F., the assessor of 
Crook county ; and six, who are deceased. 

Personally, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are genial 
and kind people and have won the friendship and 
the good will of all who know them. In business 
affairs, he has always conducted himself in such a 
manner as to win success and at the same time 
keep unsullied the honor of his name. As a citi- 
zen, he is broad minded, progressive and takes a 
lively interest in all that is for the welfare of the 
community. He and his wife are to be com- 
mended for what they are and have accomplished 
and that they have sought for the good of all. 



D. P. ADAM SON is one of the younger bus- 
iness men of Prineville and is blessed with a 
prosperity and success which are very gratifying. 
inis birth occurred in Harrison county, Indiana, 
on December 13, 1870 and he is now a first class 
druggist of Prineville. Mr. Adamson is a self 
made man in every respect and in the words of 
the noted Mark Twain, "he did not stop until the 
job was completed." Our subject's father, Elisha 
Adamson, was also a native of Indiana and came 
to Oregon in 1883. He made settlement in Linn 
county and is now living near Oregon City, oc- 
cupied in farming. Our subject's mother, Sarah 
(Turley) Adamson, was 'born in Indiana and 
came to Oregon in 1884. D. P. studied in the 
common schools of Indiana and Linn county, Ore- 
gon, until 1890, when he entered the state Agri- 
cultural College at Gorvallis. He graduated 
with the degree of B. S. A. and one year later 
completed a post graduate course for which he 
. received an additional degree of Bachelor of 
Sciences. In 1895, we find Mr. Adamson in 
Prineville, teaching school and there he remained 
until 1899. In that year, he started in the drug 



business and with such an energy and wisdom has 
he practiced the same that he owns today one of 
tne most complete establishments in this part of 
the state. He has a splendid patronage, which is 
fully merited by his promptness, his accuracy and 
his deferential treatment of all. His establish- 
ment is one of the finest business places in Prine- 
ville. 

In 1898, Mr. Adamson married Miss Tillie 
Lafollett, the daughter of Thomas and Margaret 
J. (Allen) Lafollett, who are mentioned in an- 
other sketch in this volume. Mrs. Adamson was 
born in Crook county, Oregon, and educated at 
Prineville. It is very interesting to know in 
this connection that Mr. Adamson started in life 
without any means whatever and everything that 
he now possesses and the labors he has achieved 
are the result of his own unaided efforts. 

Fraternally, he is associated with the Masons 
and the order of the Eastern Star. Mr. Adam- 
son is a close student and keeps fully abreast of 
the advancement of science and is a well informed 
and an up-to-date man. 



ARTHUR HODGES. There is something 
in the career of success which shows the marks 
of true worth and stimulates others to better ef- 
forts, that is exceedingly interesting to follow. 
It is our pleasure and privilege at this time to 
chronicle the salient points of the life of one who 
has demonstrated beyond a peradventure, that 
he is made of the stuff which climbs to the top 
round of the ladder. Although still a young 
man, Mr. Hodges has demonstrated his popular- 
ity and ability in the business and commercial 
world in such a manner that gives him unstinted 
approval and the commendation of all who are 
acquainted with him. His has been a life of hard 
work and close application to the business in 
hand and the success that is now crowning his 
efforts has not come by itself but has been hon- 
estly earned by him. 

Arthur Hodges was born in Benton county, 
Oregon, on March 14, 1865. His parents are 
mentioned in another portion of this work. When 
but five years of age, he came to what is now 
Prineville and since that time, has made this the 
field of his labors. The tenacity, stability and 
integrity of the man have been abundantly shown 
in all his efforts in this place. The public schools 
01 this county gave him his primary education 
but not being contented with that, he entered the 
agricultural college at Corvallis in 1882 and com- 
pleted a course. Then he entered the Colum- 
bia College in Portland and graduated in 1884. 
Returning then to Prineville, Mr. Hodges taught 



768 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



in the city schools one year. In 1886 he was ap- 
pointed deputy county clerk and served in that 
capacity four years. In 1890, he was elected 
county clerk and for five consecutive terms he 
held that office, a record that is hard to beat. In 
1888, Mr. Hodges was elected mayor of Prine- 
ville and held that chair for two terms. In 1900, 
Mr. Hodges determined to enter the commercial 
world and accordingly bought an interest in the 
business under the firm name of Wurzweiler and 
Thomson. Since that time, he has been steadily 
engaged with this firm, which carries the largest 
stock of general merchandise in Crook county. 
They have a fine selection of everything that is 
needed in this country and are among the leading 
merchants of eastern Oregon. 

On January 17, 1900, Mr. Hodges married 
Miss Stella Gesner, who was born in Salem, Ore- 
gon, where also she was reared and educated. 
Her father, Hon. Alonzo Gesner, came to Ma- 
rion county, Oregon, in 1845, having crossed the 
plains with teams. He became a very prominent 
citizen, held various offices, among which was 
that of state senator and followed his profession, 
that of civil engineering. He married Rhoda 
Neal, a native of Marion county, Oregon. Mr. 
and Mrs. Hodges have one child, Rhoda. 

Mr. Hodges is a member of the I. O. O. F. 
and a popular man in fraternal circles. He and 
his wife are leading people in society, are genial 
and kindly hosts and their home is a center of 
refined hospitality. 



B. F. JOHNSON is holding the important 
position of assessor of . Crook county. He re- 
sides at Prineville and is one of the best known 
men throughout the county. He was born on 
the ranch about twelve miles east from Prine- 
ville, on November 5, 1872, being one of the first 
white children born in Crook county. His father, 
E. Johnson, was an early pioneer to Oregon and 
settled east of the Cascades in 1867. Our sub- 
ject was educated in Crook and Sherman coun- 
ties and has spent the major portion of his life 
in Crook county. He has seen the country de- 
velop from the wilds to its present condition and 
has assisted materially in bringing about this 
good end. Mr. Johnson well remembers the 
days of the "vigilance committee" and also one 
morning that he saw two horse thieves dangling 
from a tree where they had been left by these 
executors of the law. As soon as he was able, 
he was more or less in the saddle and has been 
identified with the stock industry from the ear- 
liest days until the present time. He owns a 
ranch of two hundred acres of fine deeded land 
on Mill creek and has ninetv head of cattle, be- 



sides horses and improvements for the place. In 
June, 1902, Mr. Johnson was elected to the office 
of county assessor on the Republican ticket but 
has refused renomination. In this office he has 
given entire satisfaction and displays a conscien- 
tiousness and skill very befitting. 

On May 5, 1898, at Burns, Oregon, Mr. 
Johnson married Jennie McPheeters, who was 
born in Missouri, on September 21, 1873. Her 
father, C. M. McPherson, a physician and sur- 
geon, came to Oregon in 1886 and died on June 
22, 1901. Otir subject has three brothers, 
W. J., a rancher and stockman in Crook county; 
J. J., a cattle man in Malheur county; and J. E., 
a sheep raiser in Harney county. 

Mr. Johnson is a good active Republican,, 
belongs to the Masons, is a member of the K. 
P., the W. W. and the circle. 



WILLIAM A. BOOTH, who has shown him- 
self one of the leading commercial men of Crook 
county, was born on September 6, 1849, i n Lee 
county, Iowa. Robert Booth, a native of England 
was his father. He came to America when young 
and settled in New York and as early as 1852, 
crossed the plains to Yamhill county where he 
took a donation claim and in 1867, he moved to 
Douglas county and soon after to Josephine - 
county, all in the state of Oregon. He was a 
preacher of the gospel in 'the Methodist denomi- 
nation and was a man of prominence. Our sub- 
ject's mother, Mary (Minor) Booth, was born 
in Indiana and came to Iowa when a young girl. 
She crossed the plains in 1852. After studying- 
in the common schools, our subject entered the 
Wilbur Academy in Douglas county, Oregon, and 
there completed his education. In 1871, he came 
to what is now Crook county and engaged in the- 
stock business. He was especially successful in 
this line and was soon one of the leading stock 
raisers of the state of Oregon. Being thus pros- 
pered, he gained wealth rapidly and at the same- 
time, demonstrated his ability to handle it very 
successfully. From 1894 to 1899, he embarked in 
the mercantile business and gained an equal suc- 
cess in his labors to that in stock raising. Twice 
Mr. Booth has been sheriff of Crook county and 
gave the people a splendid administration. In 
1902, he was chosen county judge. At the pres- 
ent writing, Mr. Booth is the moving spirit in the 
establishment of a Bank in Prineville. With sev- 
eral others, they have secured the incorporation 
papers and will soon elect their officers and open 
the doors of the institution. He is a man abund- 
antly fitted to take charge of an enterprise of this 
sort and we may expect the same careful' business 




WILLIAM A.BOOTH 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



760/ 



dealing as has been pursued in his life hereto- 
fore. The people have great confidence in Mr. 
Booth and it is well merited by his life. 

In 1877, William A. Booth married Lucy S. 
Carey, a native of Marion county, Oregon, and 
the daughter of Abijah Carey, one of the ear- 
liest pioneers of the Willamette valley. Two chil- 
dren have been born to this union, Luren A. 
and Iva E. 

Mr, Booth is a member of the A. F. & A, M. 
and the K. P. He is deservedly classed as one of 
the earliest pioneers and is a leading citizen and 
one of the substantial and representative men of 
Central Oregon. 



W. J. JOHNSON is one of Crook county's 
substantial farmers. He has the distinction of 
being one of the earliest pioneers of central Ore- 
gon and his name is rightly embraced in any line 
of this worthy class of people. His father's farm 
is located on Mill creek, about eleven miles above 
Prineville and W. J. has made it his home for 
many years, and is now operating the entire 
estate. W. J. Johnson was born in Mercer 
county, Missouri, on February 3, 1857, the son 
of Ewen Johnson, a native of Kentucky. A de- 
tailed sketch of Ewen Johnson's life is found in 
this work elsewhere, therefore we need not repeat 
it here. Our subject came with his parents across 
the plains in 1865 and soon thereafter they lo- 
cated in central Oregon where he was reared and 
educated. His brother, James, was the first 
white child born in Crook county and the John- 
son family is well known among the pioneers 
here. Our subject assisted materially to build up 
the country, has labored here steadily, has held 
various offices and is one of the substantial men 
of the county. He was the first deputy sheriff of 
Harney county. 

He is a member of the A. F. & A. M. and has 
been for twenty years, and for the last twelve 
years has been affiliated with the I. O. O. F. 



WILLIAM H. CADLE follows the dual 
occupation of farming and stock raising, his 
headquarters being on the Ochoco, nine miles 
above Prineville. He has a splendid ranch, well 
kept and properly improved for the business and 
is one of the prosperous and well-to-do men of 
the country. He was born in Iowa, on May 9, 
1858, the son of James M. and Ellen (Stalcoup) 
Cadle, natives of Tennessee. They came to Iowa 
in early days, later crossed the plains, having 
then, a family of five children, and settled on a 
49 



ranch in California. There the father remained' 
until his death in 1901. Our subject was edu- 
cated in the Golden State and in 1880, came 
north to Oregon. He soon selected a location 
on the Horse Heaven mountain in Crook county 
and there remained until 1902. Then he came 
to his present place, purchased a farm and en- 
gaged in stock raising and general farming. As 
stated, he has a fine place and knows well how 
to handle it in the best manner. He raises cattle 
and some horses and has good stock. 

On October 29, 1882, Mr. Cadle married 
Margaret J. Johnson, who was born in Missouri 
and crossed the plains with her parents in 1865. 
A more extended sketch of her parents is given 
in another portion of this work. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Cadle, two children have been born, Alpha 
W. and Ruby M. Mr. Cadle is one of the suc- 
cessful men of central Oregon. He has gained 
this distinction all through his business ability 
and the thrift and thoroughness with which he 
manages his affairs. He is not only entitled to 
the prosperity he has achieved but is worthy of 
the esteem and confidence bestowed upon him by 
a large circle of admiring friends. 



MICHAEL CHRISTIANI, a retired farmer 
now residing in Prineville, has had a most re- 
markable and adventurous career. He was born 
in the old country, in 183 1 and twenty-two years 
later, left his native land for the United States. 
He landed in New York and worked in a meat 
market for a while after which he went to She- • 
boygan, Wisconsin. Shortly after that he went 
to Greenbay and then to Menomonie in the same 
state. Lumbering occupied him for a while and' 
at the time of the Pike's Peak excitement, he 
came on to Colorado. He mined there until the' 
Salmon River excitement broke out, when he ■ 
came to that point. He located the second cabin 
on Grasshopper creek, Montana, in the fall of 
1862, and secured a claim. This claim yielded ' 
him about eight thousand dollars. In the spring : 
of 1863, we find him in the Yellowstone park.: 
That was before the government had set apart 
that for a national park. He traveled all over- 
Montana and Wisconsin and was in one hard 
Indian fight on the Big Horn, when the miners 
defeated the Crowe Indians. Next we see him 
in the famous Alder Gulch in Montana and in 
the spring of 1864 he went to Kootenai, British 
Columbia. He remained there until September 
Sth of the same year, then journeyed on down to 
Walla Walla. From that point he came to Port- 
land and after spending two weeks in the city 
went to the adjacent country and remained dur<- 



770 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



ing that winter. The next spring he went to the 
mines and this occupation, in various sections of 
t..e country, engaged him until 1873, when he 
came to Prineville with a band of sheep. He 
purchased a ranch and settled down to raising 
sheep which he followed for a short time, then 
iarmed until 1894, in which year he came to 
Prineville, bought a comfortable home and since 
that time has been retired from business. He 
still owns his ranch, which is valued at ten 
, tnousand dollars, and also has considerable other 
property. 

On April 6, 1882, Mr. Christiani married 
Malinda Jane Barnard, who was born in Linn 
county, Oregon, on February 6, 1866. Her 
•father, James Barnard, was born in Tennessee 
and crossed the plains in early days. Mr. and 
Mrs. Christiani have two children, Charles O., 
aged twenty and Malinda Caroline, aged eleven. 

Mrs. Christiani is a member of the United 
Artisans. Our subject and his wife are respected 
and esteemed people, have shown an industry 
and carefulness in their labors here which have 
met with their proper reward and they have 
^lone a good part in developing the country. 



JUDGE WELLS A. BELL, a prominent and 
successful attorney at law, now residing at 
Prineville, Oregon, was born in Benton county 
-of the same state on April 22, 1872. His father, 
Matthew H. Bell, crossed the plains as early as 
1852, making settlement in Benton county. He 
married Elizabeth C. Wells, who also crossed the 
plains to Oregon in 1852. Our subject was 
reared on a farm and educated in the early 
scnools of his native county and then entered the 
college at Corvallis. In 1890, he went east and 
completed his literary training in Monmouth 
•college, Illinois. Then he entered the Oregon 
law school and in 1894, was graduated with the 
degree of Bachelor of Laws. In the same year 
he located at Prineville and commenced practic- 
ing. For ten years he has continued steadily in 
this field, winning splendid success. His stand- 
ing in the community is of the best and he is es- 
teemed as a leading citizen. Mr. Bell has been a 
thorough student during his life, which, added 
to his natural ability, makes him a professional 
man of merit and standing. Among his col- 
leagues he is recognized as a forceful and keen 
lawyer, devoted to the interests of his clients and 
a hard fighter. He has won, step by step, a fine 
practice and presaging the future by the past, 
we may look for even much greater things from 
Mr. Bell. He was deputy prosecuting attorney 
for the seventh judicial district from 1894 until 



June, 1904, when he was chosen judge of Crook 
county. 

In 1895, Mr. Bell married Effie D. Vander- 
pool, who was born and raised in this county. 
Her parents are William and Elizabeth (Temple- 
ton) Vanderpool, pioneers to Crook county. Two 
children have been born to our subject and his 
wife Fayne C. and Don A. 

Judge Bell is a member of the K. P. and the 
W. W. and the Maccabees. He and his wife are 
leading members of society, are devoted support- 
ers of everything that tends to build up this 
county and are highly esteemed people. 



PERRY B. POINDEXTER is the owner 
and proprietor of the hotel Poindexter one of the 
choiest places of entertainment in eastern Ore- 
gon. Owing to his business management and his 
kind and constant care for his large number of 
guests Mr. Poindexter has made his hotel one of 
the most popular places in this part of the state 
and it is constantly crowded. Being one of the 
leading business men of Prineville and also a 
very successful man it is quite fitting that a de- 
tailed account of his life should appear in this 
volume. 

Perry B. Poindexter was born in Eugene, 
Oregon, on August 26, 1858. James Newton 
Poindexter, a native of Illinois, was his father 
and he came across the plains in 1852. He was 
prominent in political matters and sheriff of Lane 
county, Oregon from 1874 to 1878. He was also 
a pioneer blacksmith of Lane county. His death 
occurred in Prineville, on March 20, 1903. El- 
vira McCord, a native of Missouri, crossed the 
plains in the same year as James N. Poindexter 
and they were married later in Lane county. She 
is still living. Our subject was educated in 
Eugene and there remained until 1878, then he 
went to Portland and worked for wages until 
1881. In that year he came to Prineville and 
worked for wages in a livery stable and hotel 
until 1888. Then he opened a restaurant, having 
at that time very limited capital but possessed of 
sagacity and aptness that could win success. He 
began to have a fine patronage from the start 
and continued in handling the restaurant until 
1 901. Then he built the hotel Poindexter and 
the original restaurant is his dining room at the 
present time. The hotel is one of the best in 
the eastern part of the state and is a model of 
comfort and neatness. In addition to this prop- 
erty, he owns a fifth interest in the Bernolia 
mining property, owns one hundred and sixty 
acres of land at Pickett Island and two pieces of 
property in Prineville, one worth ten thousand 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



77 '» 



dollars and one worth five thousand dollars. In 
addition to this, he and his wife have a half sec- 
tion of fine timber land, besides considerable 
other property. Mr. Poindexter has accumulated 
these holdings since starting in business in Prine- 
ville and it bespeaks a man of superior business 
ability. 

On November 22, 1885, Mr. Poindexter 
married Isabella Wilson. Her father, Robert 
Wilson, crossed the plains in 1854, settled in Lane 
county and later removed to Clackamas county, 
where he died February 10, 1877. Her mother 
had come across the plains in 1849. She was a 
pioneer of Crook county in 1877 and is still liv- 
ing in Prineville. Mr. and Mrs. Poindexter 
have five children, Ralph Victor, Bernola, Rob- 
ert Newton, Dot, and Gerome Vernon. 

Mr. Poindexter is a member of the A. O. 
U. W., the W. W., the Degree of Honor, and the 
Circle. Politically, he is a Democrat. Mr. Poin- 
dexter is very widely known throughout the 
county and is very highly respected. In addi- 
tion to laboring faithfully to secure the personal 
success that has crowned his efforts, he has al- 
ways shown a very marked interest in the wel- 
fare of the community and is one of the pro- 
gressive, public minded men of the country. 



JAMES LAWSON, who follows the sub- 
stantial calling of the agriculturist and farmer, 
being located some thirteen miles up from Prine- 
ville on Mill creek, was born in Kentucky, on 
August 28, 1828. From worthy ancestors, he in- 
herited a name untarnished and honorable and 
has kept it in the same way during a long and 
eventful life. He is one of the sturdy pioneers 
of the great state of Oregon and has done a 
lion's share in making it what it is today. Nathan 
Lawson, the father of our subject, was born, in 
Georgia and came to Kentucky with his parents 
when a small boy. He followed farming all his 
lite and died in the Blue Grass State, being prom- 
inent and wealthy. He married Amy Smith, a 
native of Virginia, who came with her parents to 
Kentucky in pioneer days. From the public 
schools of the Blue Grass State, our subject re- 
ceived his education and grew up on a farm. 
When of the proper age, he married and moved 
on west to Missouri. In 1863, he joined the tide 
of emigration to the Pacific coast and with his 
wife and two children, crossed the plains with 
ox teams. After an ordinary trip, they found 
their way to Linn county and there he purchased 
land and engaged in farming. In 1870, he de- 
cided to try the country east of the Cascades and 
accordingly sought out a location in Crook 



county. The same year, he purchased a quarter 
section of land and has since added another quar- 
ter, having now a half section of choice agricul- 
tural land. The same is well improved and dis- 
plays the thrift and sagacity of our subject. In 
Missouri, Mr. Lawson was a member of the state 
militia during the Civil War. 

In 1849, occurred the marriage of Mr. Law- 
son and America Calavan, who was born in Ken- 
tucky, the daughter of James Calavan, a native 
of Tennessee. Mr. Lawson and his wife have 
labored long and hard in this western country 
and have not only accomplished much for them- 
selves but have inspired many in the same good 
work. They are estimable people, have many 
iriends and have well earned the honorable posi- 
tion which they have occupied in this community. 



MICHAEL L. BROWN, of the firm of 
Meyer and Brown, is a well known stockman of 
Crook county. The business and holdings of the 
firm are particularly mentioned in the sketch of 
Mr. Meyer, which appears in another portion of 
this work. Michael Brown, was born in Erie 
county, Pennsylvania, on April 7, 1861. His 
father, Joseph Brown, was born in Baden, Ger- 
many, and came to America when a young man, 
making settlement in Erie county. There he be- 
came a wealthy and prominent citizen. He mar- 
ried Lena Delanter who was born in Badenburg, 
Germany, and came to America when a young 
girl. Our subject received his education in his 
native county and when twenty years of age, 
came to Oregon. Since that time, he has been 
associated with Mr. Meyer and in the early eigh- 
ties they entered into partnership in the stock 
business in Crook county. They have continued 
in the same ever since and are now among the 
leading stockmen of this county. He started here 
with no capital except his hands and everything 
that he now possesses is the result of his wisely 
bestowed labors. 

Mr. Brown is one of the representative men 
of the community and is respected and esteemed 
by all. 



MRS L. ROSE LAWSON resides some ten 
miles out from Prineville on the Ochoco, making 
her home with her children who own consider- 
able property and are occupied in general farm- 
ing and stock raising. She was born in Marion 
county, Oregon, the daughter of James Miller, 
a native of Missouri. He crossed the plains by 
teams with his father in 1847 and settled where 
Silverton now stands. Then he went to Cali- 



772 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



fornia, where he received his education and later 
returned to Silverton, Oregon, and became a 
prominent and well to do man. His father, 
Charles Miller, owned the first drug store at Sil- 
verton. Mrs. Lawson's mother, Julia (Smith) 
Miller, was born in Arkansas and came to Ore- 
gon with her parents in 1847, being then but two 
years of age. Mrs. Lawson was educated at 
Silverton, Oregon, and in 1873, married J. J. 
C. Lawson. The following year, they came to 
Crook county where Mr. Lawson taught school 
and later did stock raising. He spent twenty- 
five years of his life as an active educator and 
was very successful in that calling. For two 
years, he was superintendent of schools for 
Crook county and was a well known and promi- 
nent man. To Mr. and Mrs. Lawson, four chil- 
dren have been born, Una, Douglas, Gilbert and 
Louise. Mr. and Mrs. Lawson were pioneers 
in Crook county and have done a great deal to 
assist in its development. 



DAVID F. STEWART is one of the best 
known men in Prineville, being one of the pioneer 
business men there, who is still in active busi- 
ness, and having been intimately associated with 
the interests of the town and county since the 
early days. He is a miller and is also interested 
in other lines of 'business. David F. Stewart was 
born in West Virginia in 1853. His father, 
Joseph Stewart, was a native of Ohio. Owing 
to the disturbance of the schools by the Civil 
War, our subject was not favored with as good 
opportunities for education as he desired, still, 
by improving what he had, he secured a fair edu- 
cation and in 187 1, left West Virginia and came 
to Nebraska. He worked for wages there until 
1872, when he engaged in the milling business 
remaining there until 1876. Then he came to the 
Willamette valley, where he stayed until De- 
cember 25, 1879, at which date he came to Prine- 
ville. He took charge of the flour mill owned 
by Breyman and Summerville in which capacity 
he remained until the following year, when he and 
Mr. Pet bought the property. Mr. Pet sold later 
to Mr. Fuller and the firm was known as Fuller 
& Company. In 1899, Mr. Hodson bought an in- 
terest and the firm became Stewart & Company. 
Upon the death of Mr. Fuller, in 1900, our sub- 
ject purchased his interest. Since October, 1902, 
the firm has been known as Stewart & Hodson. 
Our subject was also engaged in merchandising 
for a number of years with Mr. Fuller and later 
he was with Mr. W. A. Booth and at the present 
time is associated with the firm of Michel & Com- 
pany. Mr. Stewart was here during the reign of 



the vigilance committe and was one of the five 
who organized the Moonshiners, a political or- 
ganization to put down the terrors of the vigilance 
committee. They succeeded in bringing in law 
and order and much credit is due this stalwart and 
intrepid man who was assisted to establish the law. 

In 1875, M f - Stewart married Miss Plummer, 
a native of Ohio. To them three children have 
been born, Grace, James E. and Una E. Mr. 
Stewart is a member of the A. O. U. W. and the 
W. W. 

Politically, he is a Republican, while in church 
relations, he and his wife belong to the Baptist 
denomination. Since 1872, Mr. Stewart has been 
continuously engaged in the milling business be- 
sides the mercantile and he is considered one of 
the leading and substantial business men of the 
country. He has won and retains the respect 
and confidence of all the people and has done' a 
good labor towards building up the country and 
•is a leader in society. 



JOHN D. LaFOLLETTE, a stockman re- 
siding seven miles north from Prineville, was 
born in Iowa, in 1858. His father, Jerome B. 
LaFollette, was born in Indiana and was one of 
the business men of Crook county, coming to the 
territory now embraced in the county, in 1871. 
He took an active part in politics and at one time, 
was nominated for the legislature, from Wasco 
county. His death occurred in 1884. John La- 
Follette, his father, the grandfather of our sub- 
ject, was born in Kentucky and his brother was 
the grandfather of Robert LaFollette, who served 
three terms as governor of Wisconsin, and is now 
United States senator from that state. Our sub- 
ject came with his parents to Marion county, irt 
1862, crossing the plains with horse teams on a 
six months' journey. They settled near Salem 
and three years later moved to Linn county, 
where our subject received his education. In 1871, 
as stated before, they came east of the Cascades 
and settled near where Prineville now stands, be- 
ing among the first pioneers of the section. At 
that time, the nearest postoffice was The Dalles, 
distant one hundred and twenty miles. For about 
five years they were on that location and then sold 
and moved to Camp Creek taking up the stock 
business. Five years later the father sold his 
cattle on Camp creek and moved to Prineville, 
where he bought a blacksmith shop and a livery 
barn. In 1881 he disposed of that property and 
moved to the place where our subject now re- 
sides, and there he was killed in the fall of 1884,. 
by the accidental overturning of a load of hay_ 




Mr. and Mrs. David F. Stewart 





Jokn D. La Follette 



Thomas H. La Follette 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



773 



Then our subject engaged in the stock 
business and has continued thus since, with the 
exception of four of five years spent in Prineville. 
He owns a ranch of three hundred acres and 
fine bands of cattle and horses. The brothers 
and sisters of our subject are T. H., of the firm 
of Allen & LaFollette; Edgar A. P., a stockman 
on Dry creek ; Charles F., a lumberman at High- 
land, California ; and Elma L., the wife of Ben- 
jamin F. Allen, a miner at Grant's Pass, this 
state. 

In 1903, Mr. LaFollette married Mrs. S. N. 
Tetherow, a native of Nevada. Her parents 
were both born in Illinois. 

Politically, Mr. LaFollette has always been 
prominent and influential and in 1900, was chosen 
county assessor on the Democratic ticket, receiv- 
ing next to the highest majority of any man 
•elected, which speaks very strongly in his favor 
since the county is strongly Republican. In 1904 
he was re-elected to the same office, receiving 
then the highest majority of any county officer. 
He has shown himself a man of sterling worth 
and ability in both public and private capacities 
and is highly esteemed throughout the county. 
During the Indian troubles of 1867 and 1868, our 
subject's uncle. Captain Charles LaFollette, came 
across the Cascades with a command and estab- 
lished Camp Polk, on Squaw creek in the Black 
Butte country. The LaFollette family embraces 
many men of prominence in various capacities and 
is a strong and old American family. 



THOMAS FI. La FOLLETTE. Crook 
county has some of the leading and most wealthy 
stockmen of the state of Oregon. Among this 
number we mention the gentleman whose name 
appears above and who has labored here for years 
and won that success which industry and practical 
wisdom merit. His residence is in Prineville, 
where he oversees his interests and he is con- 
sidered one of the leading citizens of the county. 

Thomas H. LaFollette was born in Indiana, 
on March 1, 1853. His father, Jerome B. La- 
Follette, was also born in Indiana. And his 
father, the grandfather of our subject, came to 
Indiana from Virginia in very early days. In 
1862, our subject accompanied his parents across 
the plains with ox teams to Marion county, Ore- 
gon, and in 1871, they came to Crook county and 
the father took land where Prineville now stands 
and engaged in the stock business. He became 
a prominent stockman in this vicinity and is one 
of the leading citizens of Central Oregon. He 
married Sophia J. Howard, a native of Tennes- 
see who went with her parents to Indiana in early 



days. The marriage occurred in Indiana and 
Mrs. LaFollette accompanied her husband across 
the plains. The mother is still living in this vi- 
cinity, but the father died in 1884. The common 
schools of Oregon furnished most of the educa- 
tional training of our subject and about 1871 
he commenced operations for himself in what is 
now Crook county, taking his father's stock on 
shares. He continued in that business until 1896, 
when he formed a partnership with B. F. Allen 
and together thev are making a specialty of fine 
blooded sheep. They now have eight thousand 
first class Merino sheep, some of them being from 
the best strains known. They keep constantly on 
hand young blooded animals that sell for breeding 
purposes and the firm is well known among the 
leading sheep men of the northwest. In 1876 
Mr. LaFollette married Margaret J. Allen, who 
was born in Illinois and came to Oregon via the 
isthmus when ten years of age. The children born 
to this union are Mrs. Tillie Adamson, Leo B., 
Guy, and Frank. Mr. and Mrs. LaFollette are 
among the leading people of the country, have 
showed those qualities of substantiality and worth 
which are so indispensable in building up the 
country and their efforts have always been val- 
uable in bringing about the consummation of 
movements that are for the benefit and advance- 
ment of the community. They are kind, gener- 
ous people, well liked and have hosts of friends. 



ISIDOR B. MEYER, of the firm of Meyer 
and Brown, stockmen of Crook county, is one of 
the representative citizens of this part of the 
state. The headquarters of the firm are twenty- 
three miles above Post on Crooked river, and 
there they own one thousand acres of good land, 
besides a large quantity of stock. Isidor B. Meyer 
was born in Erie county, Pennsylvania, on April 
30, 1859. His father, Dennis M., was born in 
Elsass, France, and came to Buffalo, New. York, 
when a young man. Soon after, he went to Erie 
county, Pennsylvania and settled on a farm and 
became a wealthy and prominent citizen. He 
married Barbara Kraus, a native of Bavaria, 
Germany. She had come to the United States 
with her parents when a girl. Our subject was 
educated in the district schools of his native 
county and when twenty-one years of age, came 
to the Willamette valley. His first occupation 
was bridge carpenter on the railroad and the next 
summer was spent in searching over the great 
state of Oregon for a location. In 1882, he 
selected a place on Hay Creek, Crook countv, and 
worked for wages for a short time. About that 
time, he and M. L. Brown formed a partner- 






774 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



ship and they have wrought together since. At 
first they bought sheep and later gave their at- 
tention to raising cattle which they are engaged 
in at the present time. 

In 1894, Mr. Meyer married Philippina Berz, 
a native of Germany. She came to America in 
1889 and her parents are Jacob and Anna Berz, 
who are prominent and wealthy people. The 
father has held many offices of public trust and 
is a well known man. To Mr. and Mrs. Meyer 
two children have been born, Edward D., and 
Marie E. 

Mr. Meyer is a member of the A. O. U. W. 
and is an advocate of good schools and roads 
and general improvement. The success he has 
achieved has. been due to the industry and sagac- 
ity which he has manifested and he well deserves 
the generous competence he has secured and the 
enviable position which he holds in the com- 
munity. 



J. J. SMITH is a highly respected citizen 
of Crook county and at the present time is hold- 
ing the office of county clerk. He was elected 
to this office in 1900 on the Democratic ticket and 
twice since then he has been chosen to the 
same office, which speaks very highly of Mr. 
smith's integrity and ability as the county is 
Republican by two hundred majority. 

J. J. Smith was born in Linn county, Oregon, 
on October 15, 1854. His father, Hon. I. N. 
Smith, was a native of Illinois and crossed the 
plains in 1852. He was a prominent citizen of 
Oregon and was a member of the territorial 
legislation in 1853. He followed the practice of 
law and was one of the first lawyers in the Willa- 
mette valley. In 1865 ne journeyed to Idaho 
and practiced in the various courts there, being 
also clerk of Ada county. He was one of the 
first attorneys in Boise and later moved to Crook 
county, where he died in 1886. John Smith, 
the grandfather of our subject, was one of the 
pioneers of Linn county and crossed the plains 
in 1852. He was sheriff of Linn county for ten 
or twelve years. He was also a member of the 
territorial legislature in 1861, and was a very 
prominent man. For twenty years, he held the 
position of Indian agent at Warm Springs and 
died while an incumbent of that office. The 
mother of our subject was Josephine S. (Gray) 
Smith, a native of Indiana. She crossed the 
plains with her parents in 1852, being a mem- 
ber of the same train as her husband. Her death 
occurred in 1880. Our subject received his 
early education principally in Boise and com- 
pleted the same in the Episcopalian Academy 
there. After that he was salesman in several mer- 



cantile houses and in 1886, located the Sisters 
postoffice and opened a mercantile establish- 
ment. He continued there until 1897, then came 
to Prineville. In 1900 he was elected, as stated 
before, to the office of clerk of the county and 
has made himself an efficient and capable man 
in this position. 

In 1887 Mr. Smith married Olive A. Forrest, 
who was born November 17, 1865, near Eugene, 
Oregon. Her father, Richard Forrest, was one 
of the pioneers of the Willamette valley and fol- 
lowed stock raising until his death. To our sub- 
ject and his wife, four children have been born, 
Newton F., Verna O., Edith, and Paul J. In fra- 
ternal affiliations our subject is connected with 
the A. O. U. W., the K. P. and the Maccabees. 
He is a man of excellent standing and is very 
widely known in this part of the state. 



GEORGE ROBA, who resides some eight 
miles north of Paulina, is engaged in the stock 
business and has achieved a splendid success in 
his labors in Crook county. It is much to Mr. 
Roba's credit when we understand that he came 
here in 1889 and began working for wages. Since 
that time he has secured a fine estate and a large 
amount of stock besides other property, which 
achievement has manifested his ability as a busi- 
ness man and a financier. In the meantime Mr. 
Roba has so conducted himself that he has won 
the admiration and respect of all who know him 
and is a man who has hosts of friends. 

George Roba was born in Austria-Hungary, 
on March 15, 1862. His parents, John and Mary 
(Badner) Roba, were born in the same place as 
our subject and were well to do farmers. George 
received a first-class education in his home place 
and when nineteen came to Pennsylvania and 
secured employment in the factories and mines. 
He wrought thus until 1889 when he decided to 
try the west. He journeyed on seeking various 
locations until finally he landed in Crook county, 
where, as stated before he labored for wages. 
Shortly after coming- he secured a homestead and 
then soon went into the stock business, starting 
in a very small way. From that time until the 
present he has been very successful in his labors 
and has come to be one of the representative men 
of the country. 

In 1886 Mr. Roba married Miss Mary Sojka, 
who also was born in Austria-Hungary. She 
came to America with her parents when a voting 
girl. To Mr. and Mrs. Roba eight children have 
been born, Joseph, Annie, Mary. George, Ula, 
Rose, Andrew, and Nellie. 

Mr. Roba is a man who has not only been 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



775 



successful in his labors but has shown a first- 
class industry and has also manifested scholarly 
ability. He has made a special study of the 
English language until he reads and writes it 
with ease and pays considerable attention to read- 
ing. He is a respected citizen, a good business 
man and one of the sucessful stockraisers of Ore- 
gon. 



JOHN M. ELLIOTT, one of the industrious 
and wide awake farmers of Crook county, re- 
sides five miles northwest from Prineville and 
was born in Nebraska, in January, 1866. His 
father, Kenman Elliott, was a native of Missouri 
and brought his family across the plains in 1867. 
Our subject was then an infant one year old and 
remembers little of the journey. The family 
settled in Polk county, Oregon, where they re- 
mained until 1876, when a move was made to 
the territory now embraced in Crook county. Set- 
tlement was made at Powell Butte where they 
remained eight years. Then our subject came 
to his present location and engaged in farming, 
which he has followed since. 

On September 21, 1891, Mr. Elliott married 
Miss Frances Backus, who was born near Al- 
bany, Oregon. Her father, Aaron Backus, crossed 
the plains to Oregon in 185 1. Mr. and Mrs. El- 
liott have seven children, Harry Morgan, Fred 
Layton, Rova Leone, Elbert Aaron, Fay, Helen', 
and Violet. 

Fraternally Mr. Elliott is affiliated with the 
M. W. A. and he and his wife are well known 
people and have labored faithfully here during 
the years of their residence. 



CHARLES M. LISTER, a farmer and 
stockman residing about nine miles up the Ocho- 
co in Crook county, is one of the first settlers in 
the territory now embraced in this county and 
has labored here since, assiduously and wisely. 
The result is, he has achieved a splendid success 
and is now enjoying the fruits of his labors 
here. He has seen the country grow from the 
wilderness that prevailed everywhere when he 
came, to its present prosperous condition and has 
assisted very materially to bring about the same. 

Charles M. Lister was born in Kentucky, on 
January 22, 1852. His father, Thomas Lister, 
was born on the Atlantic ocean between Liver- 
pool and New York and spent his boyhood days 
in Boston. Then he journeyed west to Kentucky, 
being a young man and there enlisted to fight in 
the Mexican War. He served all through that 
struggle with Taylor and at the close of the war, 



returned to the Blue Grass State. In 1853 he- 
crossed the plains to Oregon, using ox teams 
for the trip and made settlement in Lane county. 
His train was the noted one which started on 
the Meeks cut off and nearly perished in crossing 
the barren plains of Central Oregon. By almost 
superhuman effort, however, they finally reached 
the Cascades and sent three men on over the 
mountains to secure aid and assist the others 
along. In due time assistance came and what 
was left of the train finally made its way into 
the Willamette valley. The father remained on 
his donation claim in Lane county until 1870 
when hec ame to what is now Crook county r 
bought land and engaged in the stock business. 
This occupied him until his death. He became a 
very prominent and well to do man in this coun- 
try and was widely known. The mother of our 
subject is Mary E. (Geter) Lister, and was 
born in Kentucky, where she was . reared and 
married- She participated in the labors and suc- 
cesses of her husband and was a true helpmeet 
to him all through the trying pioneer days. Our 
subject was educated in Lane county and came 
with his father in October, 1870, to what is now 
Crook county. He bought land and engaged in 
the stock business which he started in a very 
modest way, having practically no means, but 
has gradually increased his holdings until he now 
has twelve hundred acres of choice land and a- 
large number of live stock. He is one of the rep- 
resentative men of the country and is justly en- 
titled to the position which he holds. 

Mr. Lister has been twice married. His first 
wife was Clara Claypool, who died on January 
16, 1 888. To them were born three children, 
Clarence, Warren, and Kenneth, deceased. The 
second wife was Miss Mary Miller, a native of 
Marion county, Oregon, and one child has been 
born to this union, Laddas. Mrs. Lister's father,. 
James F. Miler, was a native of Missouri and 
crossed the plains to Oregon in 1849, accom- 
paning his father, Charles Miller. The Miller's 
were a very prominent and wealthy family and 
enjoy an excellent and extended reputation. Mrs. 
Lister's mother was Julia (Smith) Miller, a na- 
tive of Arkansas and she crossed the plains with 
her parents in the early forties. Mr. Lister has 
every reason to take pride in the success that 
he has achieved and his example is a worthy one 
to emulate. 



JOSEPH H. CROOKS is one of the pioneers- 
of Crook county and is well known all through 
this part of the state. At the present time, he- 
is handling a fine butcher business in Prine- 
ville, having been occupied in this for the past 



776 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



nine years. He was born in Mercer county, Illi- 
nois, on May 6, 1844. Hon. John T. Crooks, 
his father, crossed the plains from Illinois to the 
Willamette valley with ox teams in 1848, bring- 
ing his family with him. They were six months 
on the road. He was a prominent man in the 
valley, being one of the very first settlers, and 
was a member of the first territorial legislature 
for two terms. He died in 1898, aged eighty- 
six. He married D. Everyman, who accompanied 
her busband in his pioneer journeys. There were 
no schools in the Willamette valley when our 
subject arived there with his parents and he had 
little opportunity for education except what he 
could gain by his own personal efforts. He re- 
mained on the farm with his father until 1865, 
when he went to Helena, Montana, where he 
spent one summer. Returning to his old home, 
he continued there until 1872, then came to Prine- 
ville and engaged in stock raising. He followed 
taat successfully until 1896, when he opened his 
present business which has occupied him since. 
He does a good business and stands well in this 
community. 

In 1873 Mr. Crooks married Miss America 
Warren, who was born in the Willamette val- 
ley in 1855. Her father, Andrew J. Warren, 
crossed the plains from Missouri in 1855 and 
settled in the Willamette valley. He had mar- 
ried Eliza Spalding, who was born on the Nez 
Perce reservation in 1832, the daughter of Rev- 
erend H. H. Spalding. She was the first white 
child born west of the Rocky mountains so far as 
in known. However, there is a rumor that there 
was a white child born in 18 19 in the vicinity of 
Spokane Falls. Mrs. Warren was captured by 
the Indians during the Whitman massacre. She 
is now living at Wenatchee, Washington. To 
Mr. and Mrs. Crooks five children have been 
born, Mrs. Robert E. Simpson, Mrs. Granville 
Clifton, Charles A., John Warren, and Beulah. 



THOMAS J. POWELL, one of the repre- 
sentative stockmen of Crook county and a lead- 
ing citizen, resides four and one-half miles north- 
-west from Prineville. He was born in Missouri, 
in 1845. His father, John Powell, was born in 
Tennessee, in 1818, and was a man of great re- 
ligious zeal, and a deacon in the Baptist church 
for fifty years. Although a man without edu- 
cation, still he was well taught in the scrip- 
tures. His father, Joab Powell, the grandfather 
of our subject, was a noted preacher, and a very 
powerful and commanding speaker. In 1852, 
our subject was brought by his parents across the 
plains to Linn county and there the father re- 



mained until 1870, then removed to Prineville, 
where he resided until his death in 189 1. The 
mother of our subject was Millie (York) Pow- 
ell, a native of North Carolina. Her mother lived 
to be ninety years of age. The family settled on 
a farm in Linn county and there this son re- 
mained until 1872, when he came to the western 
part of what is now Crook county and settled on 
.beaver creek, taking a preemption. He also 
bought state land and engaged in stock raising, 
handling horses, cattle and sheep. For fifteen 
years he prosecuted that business and then moved 
to his present location, where he took a home- 
stead and also bought five hundred acres. He 
retains his ranch of thirteen hundred acres on 
Beaver creek, and his estate on McKay creek, 
an alfalfa field of four hundred acres, the choic- 
est in the entire country. Mr. Powell is one of 
the leading stockmen of the country, both in num- 
bers owned and in the success he has achieved in 
the business. He has wrought many years faith- 
fully and has not forgotten during that time to 
always forward with zest and interest the meas- 
ures for the benefit and upbuilding of the county. 
He has hosts of friends and is an influential man. 
Mr. Powell married Amanda J. Ritter, a native 
of Missouri. Her father, Jackson Smith, was 
a pioneer of this state in 1852. Mr. and Mrs. 
Powell have the following named children : F. A., 
a stockman in Crook county, who owns four 
i.undred and fifty head of cattle and a large body 
of land ; R. M., a sheepman in the county, who 
has about sixteen hundred head of sheep, be- 
sides a nice farm ; Mrs. Lettie A. Miller, living 
in Manila, Philippine Islands. She went thither 
alone to meet her husband, Lieutenant Miller, 
who was in the military service. She was forced 
to travel three hundred miles from the town of 
Manila through a country inhabited by vicious 
savages but yet her pluck was equal to the oc- 
casion. Lieutenant Miller died ten days after 
her arrival. 

Politically Mr. Powell is a Republican. He 
always takes a keen interest in these affairs, as 
also in eduactional matters and the general im- 
provement and building up of the country. 
Thomas J. Powell died April 21, 1905, at his 
home on McKay creek. 



PETER DELORE was born on January 1, 
1821, where LaGrande, Oregon, now stands. He 
now lives sixteen miles north from Suplee and fol- 
lows farming. He is a venerable man who has 
had some of the most thrilling experiences possi- 
ble on the frontier and is well known not only 
in Crook countv but in various other parts of the 
northwest. He is highly esteemed both for his 




Peter Delore 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



777 



personal worth and as a pioneer and it is a pleas- 
ure on our part to be enabled to give somewhat 
in detail an account of his life. His father, Joseph 
Delore, was born ih Montreal, Canada, and when 
yet a young man entered the employ of the Hud- 
son's Bay Company as a hunter and a trapper. He 
came right on to the west and there were no white 
people anywhere in this country except the very 
few connected with this company. His business 
being hunting and trapping he was forced to adopt 
the customs and habits of the Indians and lived 
as they lived. During the time he was trapping 
he married a Spokane maiden, the daughter of a 
noted chief in that tribe, and she accompanied 
him on all his journeys and was a faithful help- 
meet to him during his life. Finally during the 
early forties, he, with several other French peo- 
ple, settled on the prairie in the Willamette val- 
ley, now known as French prairie, and they did 
the first farming in Oregon. Mr. Delore se- 
cured an old plowshare and supplied the other 
parts of wood and with that instrument did the 
first plowing in the state of Oregon. This was 
on French prairie in the Willamette valley. He 
aied there at the old place in the valley when he 
was ninety-seven years of age. Much of the 
time in his early connections with the Hudson's 
Bay Company, Mr. Delore lived on meat entirely, 
with what berries the family could gather. Occa- 
sionally they would get a little flour, two or three 
times a year and after that they were allowed the 
generous stipend of one sack of flour in a vear. 
The marriage ceremony of Mr. Delore and the 
Indian maiden named was celebrated according 
to the custom of her tribe but upon the arrival of 
Catholic priests in the Willamette valley, they 
performed the ceremony according to the church. 
Her name was Lizzett, which was given by the 
French people, the Indian name not being remem- 
bered. Our subject was born on the trail while 
they were on a trapping expendition and spent his 
entire early life on these trips. He early learned 
the art of hunting and trapping but had no 
schooling as there were no schools in the coun- 
try. Later he learned from instructions privately 
but never had the advantage of school training 
now supplied to the youth. On many, many oc- 
casions, they were attacked by hostile Indians and 
were forced to fight vigorously for their existence. 
About the hardest battle that Mr. Delore remem- 
bers participating in, in those days, occurred on 
the head waters of the Missouri. In his father's 
company were about forty Frenchmen besides 
their, wives and children, and twelve lodges of 
friendly Flathead Indians. The American Fur 
Trading Company, through jealousy of the Hud- 
son's Bay people, inveigled the Blackfeet Indians 
.to attack the employes of the latter company. The 



battle commenced at daybreak and our subject's 
father with his compartiots and all they could 
muster, fought vigorously against the overpower- 
ing numbers of the enemy. During the battle, the 
eider Delore was shot through the breast, the bul- 
let coming out through his shoulder blades. He 
was assisted back to his lodge, where Peter, then 
a young lad, was awaiting him. Immedi- 
ately upon coming to the lodge the elder 
Delore instructed his son to bring a sharp 
knife so that in case the Blackfeet gained the day, 
he woud be prepared for them. While he was 
thus obeying his father's instructions, the bullets 
began to pass through the lodge and young Peter 
was instructed by his father to lie down flat on the 
ground and place a camp kettle over his head. 
Thus they remained until the battle was over, the 
French people gaining the day and slaughtering 
the Blackfeet greatly. Among the killed was the 
Blackfeet chief. The Hudson's Bay people lost 
four of their number and two of the friendly 
Flathead Indians. Our subject continued with* 
his father, spending the entire time in hunting 
and trapping. As his mother spoke the Spokane 
language, he became very familiar with it and 
from his father learned the French thoroughly. 
Also he learned to speak the language of every 
Indian tribe in the northwest so that he could 
easily converse with them. Not until the white 
people began to come in from the east, did young 
Delore learn the English. Finally his father de- 
cided to abandon this roving and dangerous life" 
and settled .on the prairie now known as French 
Prairie, as stated previously. 

Our subject well remembers the first Catholic 
priests to come in. They needed some assistance 
to erect tneir church and he was detailed by his 
father to haul the logs. After completing the 
job the priests paid him in gold coin. He sup- 
posed they were buttons and wrapped them up in . 
his handkerchief and brought them home. His 
father asked him if he had finished the job and 
was paid. He replied that he had completed the 
job and the priests gave him some buttons. His 
father at once asked for the buttons and upon 
examining them remarked very emphatically to 
his son, "always bring such buttons home to me." 
As his father and mother were forced to do, so 
our subject lived upon meat and berries, occasion- 
ally upon Christmas and New Year, getting a 
taste of flour. Yet they were seldom sick, being 
vigorous and hearty. For years they had no salt 
and Peter well remembers when he first saw his 
lather put salt on his meat. He supposed it was 
good to eat and put a handful in his mouth but 
found he had no taste for such food. He remem- 
bers the first peas that he saw and thought they 
were beads and was afraid to eat them. For 



778 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



dishes they would hollow out the quaking asp 
chip. For spoons, they used pieces of buffalo 
horn. After our subject grew to manhood, he 
took a donation claim in the Willamette valley 
near his father but it was contested on the ground 
that he had Indian blood in him and it was taken 
away from him. Not being discouraged however, 
he went to oak grove and settled on and improved 
another piece of land. He was the -first person to 
settle on and improve land at Oak Grove. In the 
early eighties, he came east of the mountains and 
settled in the eastern part of what is now Crook 
county. He gave his attention to stock raising 
and farming and now owns two fine farms. He 
was engaged in all the early Indian wars and was 
especially active with General Crook against the 
Paiutes, being a scout for that personage. Mr. 
Delore has passed a long and eventful career and 
from the wildness of the uninhabited country he 
has seen the change to the prosperous and thrifty 
condition at the present time. He has done well 
his part in bringing it all about and has also won 
the esteem and confidence of all who know him. 



MONROE HODGES, a farmer and stock- 
man of Crook county, is also one of the earliest 
pioneers of the northwest and one of the first 
settlers in what is now Crook county. He resides 
at the present time in Prineville. His birth oc- 
curred in Allen county, Ohio, on December 18, 
1833, his parents being Monroe and Catherine 
(Stanley) Hodges. The father was born in 
South Carolina, on December 8, 1788, and was a 
veteran of the War of 18 12. He served during 
that entire struggle and participated in many 
battles and skirmishes, including the battle of 
Horseshoe Bend and New Orleans. In 1847 ne 
brought his family across the plains with ox 
teams and made settlement in the Willamette 
valley. He died in Benton county, Oregon, in 
1877, aged eighty-nine years. The mother was 
born in the same place as her husband and ac- 
companied him in the pioneer journeys and died 
in Benton county. Our subject drove an ox 
team across the plains from Missouri, Platte 
county, to Benton county, Oregon, being then 
but fourteen years of age. They were six 
months making the trip and when they reached 
their destination, they sought out a claim in the 
wilderness nine miles north of the present site 
of Corvallis. The country was wild and almost en- 
tirely uninhabited and it was a great undertaking 
to carve out a home in such a place. Our subject 
was raised in this locality and completed his edu- 
cation as best he could. He remained with his 
father on the farm until 1854, then went to the 
mines at Jacksonville, where he was employed 



for one year, then returned to the old home place 
and took up farming, continuing in that until 
1 87 1. Then he came to the present site of Prine- 
ville and took a homestead. He soon moved his 
family there and engaged in stock raising. In 
1873 he built the first hotel and livery stable in 
Prineville which he operated for a number of 
years. In 1876 he made final proof on his prop- 
erty and platted the town of Prineville. One 
line of his homestead is Main street at the pres- 
ent time and all west from that is built on his 
former homestead. He still Owns forty acres of 
the original piece. Mr. Hodges has seen the en- 
tire growth of Crook county and Prineville and 
not only has seen it but has materially aided in 
the unbuilding of the country. He has always 
been a progressive man and has labored hard 
and wisely for the good end of making a fine 
county and a good town. He was here during 
the reign of the vigilance committee but took no 
past in such dealings, being a law abiding citi- 
zen. 

On January 13, 1855, Mr. Hodges married 
Miss Rhoda Wilson, who was born in Missouri, 
on March 6, 1837. Her father, Samuel Wilson, 
was a native of Rockbridge county, Virginia, 
and was shot by a white man in 1853, while cross- 
ing the plains. He had married Sarah Delaney, 
a native of Kentucky. After her husband was 
killed, she succeeded in bringing the family 
across the plains and made settlement in the Wil- 
lamette valley about nine miles above Corvallis. 
There she married Mr. Charles Johnson and 
moved to the vicinity of Corvallis. Her death oc- 
curred in Prineville. Mrs. Hodges died July 
12, 1898. Mr. and Mrs. Hodges had the follow- 
ing named children, Lewis, Marion, Mrs. Sarah 
Luckey, Samuel, deceased, Arthur, Mrs. Carrie 
Wright and Eddie deceased. 

Mr. Hodges is a Democrat and always 
takes a keen interest in the campaigns. He and 
his wife were members of the Baptist church for 
forty years and always labored faithfully for 
the advancement of church interest and educa- 
tion as well as for the promotion of all good en- 
terprises. It is of interest to note that when Mr. 
Hodges' train was crossing the plains they met 
the Pawnee Indians at Ft. Laramie and had a 
pitched battle, defeating the savages. The next 
battle was on the Snake river with the Snal-e 
Indians. 

On June 4, 1905, Monroe Hodges died at his 
home in Prineville. He had lived continuously 
here since 1871, in which year he filed on a home- 
stead claim, which land is now where Prine- 
ville is situated. He was one of Crook county's 
oldest settlers and was largely instrumental in 
tne establishment and upbuilding of Prineville. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



779 



LUTHER D. CLAYPOOL is rightly classed 
with the early pioneers of this country. His 
birth occurred in Linn county, Oregon, on Sep- 
tember 13, 1858, and he now resides five miles 
north from Paulina and is devoting his atten- 
tion to farming and stock raising. D. Wayne 
Claypool, his father, was born in Hendricks 
county, Indiana, on October 8, 1834. He came 
with his parents to the vicinity of St. Joseph, Mis- 
souri, when three years of age and in 1846 ac- 
companied them across the plains with ox teams 
to Marion county, Oregon. Later they moved to 
Linn county where his father took a donation 
claim. Wayne Claypool remained there until 
grown to manhood, when he took land for him- 
self and engaged in farming. D. Wayne Clay- 
pool joined the Oregon Volunteers in the In- 
dian War of 1856, being enrolled in the Linn 
County company, captained by John Suttle, in 
the regiment commanded by Col. Thomas R. 
Cornelius. They were out about three or more 
months and traveled east to the mouth of the 
Palouse river. Their provisions beoming- ex- 
hausted, they were forced to live on horse meat 
for three weeks. In the fall of 1867, in company 
with William Smith, Captain White, Elisha 
Barnes, Raymond Burkhart and Calvin Burk- 
hart, Mr. Claypool came to what is now Crook 
county and made location on Mill creek. They 
were the first settlers in the country and the only 
white men who spent the winter of 1867-68 in 
Crook county. That same winter a band of out- 
law Indians camped at what was known as Ges- 
ner station on Crooked river, learned of the set- 
tiers being there and in the spring made a raid 
on them. They succeeded in capturing a good 
portion of the stock belonging to the settlers and 
getting away with it. The men gathered up the 
balance and moved to Camp Polk, a deserted 
government post. Captain White remained to 
care for the stock while the balance crossed the 
Cascade mountains on snow shoes to Linn 
county. In a short time thev returned with other 
settlers and began to establish themselves in this 
county. During the summer of 1868, the In- 
dians burned the house of Mr. Claypool. It was 
the headquarters for all the old settlers and their 
blankets and provisions were there. The fire con- 
sumed everything and the men were obliged to, 
make their way to Warm Springs station with- 
out any food. However, they were not to be de- 
terred by such things as this and came back again 
with supplies, the distance being something over 
fifty miles. The house was rebuilt, other houses 
were erected and the country began to be opened. 
Mr. Claypool took the first homestead in what 
is now Crook county and had the first house 
built in the county. He was very prominently 



connected with early settlers of the country and 
was a broad-minded and sturdy pioneer. He mar- 
Louisa Elkins, who was born in Belmont county, 
Ohio, February 2, 1835. She crossed the plains 
from Ohio with her people in 1852. Our subject 
came with his father to Crook county in 1868, 
being then but ten years of age. He had secured 
some education in the Willamette valley and fin- 
ished that important part of life's training here 
in this county. In 1874 he came to his present 
location with a bunch of cattle and when he be- 
came of age, he went into the cattle business for 
himself. His present home place has been his 
headquarters since 1879 an d during that time he 
has been farming and stock raising. He owns 
five hundred and twenty acres of land and some 
considerable stock. 

In 1892 Mr. Claypool married Helen Dou- 
thit, who was born in Linn county, Oregon, on 
May 12, 1867, and came to Crook county in 
1883. Her parents, James O. and Louisa J. 
(Thompson) Douthit, were born in Indianapo- 
lis, Indiana, and Missouri, respectively, and 
crossed the plains with horses and ox teams in 
1853. To Mr. and Mrs. Claypool four children 
have been born, Roscoe D., Thurman D., Luther 
E., and Winfield W. 

Mr. Claypool is a member of the W. W. and 
the A. O. U. W. He takes a lively interest in 
politics and school matters and is a good sub- 
stantial citizen. 



THOMAS H. BRENNAN, a stockman and 
farmer of Crook county, lives on Grindstone 
creek, fifteen miles from Suplee. His birth oc- 
curred in Ontario, on January 13, 1861, and his 
parents, John and Mary (Hennesv) Brennan, 
were natives of Ireland and died when our sul> 
ject was eight years of age. Being thus early 
in life thrown on his own resources he has learned 
a great deal of the hardships connected with 
the world and knows well what it is to stand 
against trials and obstacles of life. He began 
to work for wages when very young and also 
worked for his board and attended school. In 
this way he continued until 1880, when he jour- 
neyed to Auburn, Indiana, remaining there un- 
til the following spring. Then came a trip to 
San Francisco and he wrought there until 1882. 
That was the year that he traveled overland to 
Prineville, Oregon, and began working for 
wages as he had done in other places. In 1888, 
he selected a location on the south fork of the 
John Day river, in Grant county, where he re- 
mained until IQ02. Then he came to his pres- 
ent location, purchased a ranch and has been de- 
voting- himself to cattle raising and farming. He 



780 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



has made a reasonable success and has shown 
splendid industry here. 

On November 28, 1889, Mr. Brennan married 
Polly Hinkle, who was born in Wasco county, 
Oregon. Isaac Hinkle, her father, came to Ore- 
gon in very early day. He had married Mar- 
garet Mozier, a native of the Willamette valley. 
Mrs. Hinkle's father was one of the early set- 
tlers in the state of Oregon. Four children have 
been born to our subject and his wife, Joseph H., 
Mary M. E., H. Ruth, and Claude. 



PERRY READ, who resides at Culver, in 
Crook county, was born in Benton county, Ore- 
gon, on May 11, 1849. Thomas M. Read, his 
father, was born in New Hampshire, in 1812 and 
was reared in Massachusetts. He operated a flat 
boat on the Mississippi for a number of years, 
then in 1845, crossed the plains to Oregon. At 
The Dalles, the people of the train were sent 
down the river on rafts, while the wagons and 
teams went over the Cascades. Mr. Read located 
a donation claim in Benton county, six miles north 
of the present site of Corvallis. He married 
Nancy White, a native of Ohio, the wedding oc- 
curring on November 10, 1846. She had crossed 
the plains in the same train as her husband. Our 
subject was one of the first white children born 
in Benton county, Oregon, and he received his 
education from the common schools of that county 
and there remained until he had grown to man- 
hood. In 1 87 1 he came to the present site of 
1 rineville and was occupied there variously for 
two years. Then he went to Willow creek, where 
he took a homestead, preemption and timber cul- 
ture. He purchased other land until he had all 
told, eight hundred acres and engaged in general 
farming and stock raising. He had a fine herd of 
cattle and a splendid location, but the trying 
times of 1888-89 broke him up financially as that 
did many another good man and he was forced to 
begin life over again, practically. However, his 
courage and spirit were equal to the occasion and 
he took hold with a will and soon was on the 
high road to prosperity. In 1897 Mr. Read came 
to his present location and purchased four hun- 
dred acres of choice land. In 1904, he erected 
one of the most beautiful houses in the county 
and all the other improvements on the estate are 
commensurate therewith. He is a very thrifty 
man and although he has met with many reverses 
during his life, he is still favored by the'goddess 
'of good fortune and is one of the prosperous 
men of the county today. 

On December 16, 1873, Mr. Read married 
Hattie E. Montgomery. She was born at Brown- 



ville, Oregon, on May 15, 1856. Her father, 
Kennedy Montgomery, was a native of Iowa and 
crossed the plains in 1852. He made settlement 
in Linn county and became one of the prominent 
men there, being one of the early pioneers. He 
is now living on Willow creek in this county. He 
married Ellen Blakely, a native of Tennessee, 
who crossed the plains in 1846. Her father, 
James Blakely, was one of the most prominent 
men of Linn county. He was captain of a com- 
pany in the Cayuse War and was a member of.the 
state legislature. At the present time, he is nine- 
ty-one years of age, is very active and retains all 
his faculties. He raised a family of ten children 
all of whom are prominent and substantial peo- 
ple. The boys take a leading part in politics and 
James M. is at present sheriff of Wallowa county, 
Oregon ; William is ex-sheriff of Umatilla county. 
To our subject and his wife, the following named 
children have been born : Lilly May, on May 
21, 1875 : an d Pearl and Perry, twins, on January 
15, 1882; Lilly is a graduate of the agricultural 
college at Corvallis and is now engaged in teach- 
ing - . Mr. Read has two sisters and three broth- 
ers, Thressa, born in Benton county. Oregon, in 
1847, being one of the first white children born 
there, and being now deceased : Clara, born ih 
185 1 ; Columbia, Sumner, and Charles. 

Mr. Read is a member of the A. O. U. W. 
and the Artisans. He has always taken a very ac- 
tive part in building up the country and in pro- 
moting every enterprise for the public good. He 
is always found ready for any enterprise that 
is worthy and is known as a progressive, public 
minded and substantial man. 



MRS. MARTHA J. SPALDING WIGLE, 
who lives at Prineville, Oregon, was born at Lap- 
wai agency, tw r elve miles above Lewiston, Idaho, 
on March 20, 1845. She was educated at Forest 
Grove, Oregon, then moved to Walla Walla, 
where she married William Wigle in 1859. Soon 
after their marriage, they journeyed to eastern 
Oregon where Mr. Wigle engaged in the stock 
business. In 1886, he came to Prineville and here 
they have resided since and are known as sub- 
stanital and good people. 

Mrs. Wigle's father was the well known mis- 
sionary. Reverend H. H. Spalding. This histori- 
cal character is one of the best known men in 
the northwest and certainly did a work the like 
of which there are few to compare in the United 
States. It is quite in place that a brief review 
of his life should be embodied in this article. H. 
H. Spalding was born in Steuben county, New 
York, on November 26, 1803. He received a col- 







Mr. and Mrs. Perry Read 




~-m 




Mrs. Martna J. Spalding Wigle 





George W. Barnes 



Mr. and Mrs. W. R. McFarland 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



781 



lege education and then graduated from Lane 
Theological seminary, being ordained a minister 
in the same year, 1835. He was also appointed 
that year as missionary of the Nez Perce Indians 
by the American board. In 1833 he had married 
Eliza Hart of Oneida county, New York, and in 
1836 together they started on their journey to the 
then trackless west. It required no small amount 
of courage for a man to take his wife and leave 
civilization and travel over unbroken wilds and 
mountains for two thousand miles to a land amid 
savages, where there was no assurance of any wel- 
come or freedom from hostilities. The Reverend 
H. H. Spalding and his lovely wife were not 
Christians in name only but Christians in reality 
and they could trust the God who had brought 
them from darkness to light to guide their steps 
through the desert and across the mountains and 
even protect them amid the savages to whom they 
were longing to bring the precious gospel. It 
would give us great pleasure were more details 
furnished both of this trip and of the life they 
spent afterwards but it is necessary to content 
ourselves with what has been furnished. In due 
time, the little party arrived at their destination 
and found the Nez Perce Indians. They selected 
a proper place to settle and erected the rude build- 
ings necessary for their shelter and began the 
task of teaching the Indians and preaching to 
them the gospel. As early as 1839, so vigorous- 
ly did Mr. Spalding prosecute his work, he suc- 
ceeded in establishing a printing press, the first 
on the entire Pacific coast. This press is now the 
property of the historical society at Portland, 
Oregon. He translated portions of the New Tes- 
tament into the Nez Perce language and printed 
it for distribution among the Indians who were 
taught to read. He also taught the Indians to 
farm and before the Whitman massacre they had 
progressed so well that they were producing 
twenty thousand bushels of grain annually. He 
brought in sheep, cattle, and horses and taught 
the Indians how 10 raise them. While he was 
engaged in these labors, his wife would gather 
the Indians, sometimes her school would amount 
to five hundred in number, and teach them to 
spin and weave. Thus they labored on until 1845. 
Their station was some one hundred and twenty- 
five miles east of the ill fated Whitman station and 
at that time one of Mrs. Wigle's sisters was at the 
Whitman mission. Mr. Spalding was on the jour- 
ney to the Whitman mission to take his daughter 
home from her visit and just before he reached 
it he was met by a Catholic priest who was flee- 
ing and who informed him of the awful tragedy 
and urged him to flee for his life. It seemed best 
for him to return to 'his family at Lapwai as he 
was not sure but that his own Indians would be 



on the war path as well. What trial of heart and 
terrible suffering this good man passed through 
as he hurried back over the one hundred miles 
and more to his loved ones we are not told but 
the God who had guided him safely thus far pro- 
tected him and his and although the excitement 
ran so high that he was even afraid to show him- 
self to his own Indians, still he was enabled to get 
his family and make his way in safety to the 
Willamette valley. Colonel Olney, one of the 
Hudson Bay people, learned that Miss Spalding, 
who was attending school at the Whitman mis- 
sion, had not been killed but was held captive 
with others by the Indians. He immediately en- 
tered into negotiations for her release and ad- 
vanced the money necessary to secure it. So 
that three weeks after she was captured, her par- 
ents had the satisfaction of having their beloved 
daughter with them and the family circle un- 
broken. This young lady is now Mrs. Eliza War- 
ren and lives at Chelan, Washington. The work 
of H. H. Spalding and his faithful wife was not 
without fruit as is evidenced among the Nez 
Perce Indians to this day. He is a character well 
known in history and his life has been' written 
many times. Suffice it to say that to such men 
as he and to such brave women as his wife the 
people who dwell in this favored country now, 
as well as the savages to whom they brought the 
good things of civilization and the precious gos- 
pel of the grace of God, owe a debt of gratitude 
which may never be fully paid. 

Mr. and Mrs. Wigle are parents of five chil- 
dren, named as follows : John H., born in Linn 
county, September 9, 1861 ; Ida, deceased, born 
in 1863 ; Minnie L., born in Linn county, July 
15, 1865 ; Albert Lee, born June 10, 1868 ; Eliza 
L., born May 2, 1875, in Umatilla county. 



GEORGE W. BARNES, a leading attorney 
of Prineville, is also one of the earliest pioneers 
of this part of Oregon. He was, born in Andrew 
county, Missouri, on March 10, 1849. His father, 
Elisha Barnes, was born in Kentucky and was 
one of the forty-niners crossing the plains to Cali- 
fornia. After two years spent there mining, he 
returned to Missouri and then in 1852, he brought 
his family back west across the plains, our sub- 
ject being then but three years of age. In the- 
fall of i860 he settled in Linn county, where he 
remained until the fall of 1866, when with five 
others, he came to the Ochoco and spent two 
years. Then he returned to the Willamette valley 
and moved his family to a place about three 
miles distant from the present site of Prineville. 
There he remained until 1898, when he returned' 
to. Missouri and died there in the same year. Our 



illlll 



782 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 





subject's mother, Susannah T. (Glenn) Barnes, 
was born in Missouri and is now living in Prine- 
ville. George W., as stated above, came across 
the plains in 1852 and received his early educa- 
tion in the schools of Linn county. In 1867, he 
joined his father in Western Oregon and with him 
took up the stock business. There were no range 
difficulties here at that time and they were mon- 
archs of all they surveyed which made the stock 
business a splendid occupation. When our sub- 
ject became of age he took a homestead two and 
one-half miles distant from the present site of 
Prineville and engaged in farming. For seven 
years he conducted that occupation, then sold out 
and removed to Prineville, where he prosecuted 
further, the study of law, which he had been tak- 
ing up for some time previous. In 1880 he was 
admitted to the bar and at once began the prac- 
tice of his profession. From that time, until the 
present period of twenty-five years, he has stead- 
ily attended to this occupation and has won 
many distinct and brilliant triumphs. Mr. 
Barnes has seen the entire development of the 
country, and remembers the first house built in 
Prineville, and has seen the growth and improve- 
ment of everything that makes the wealth of 
Crook county today. He was the first attorney in 
Prineville and has made an indelible mark in 
the history of this county. He has assisted very 
materially in all the forward enterprises and 
is a man whose labor and life speak much. 
Mr. Barnes well remembers the viligance com- 
mittee of the early days and is as intimately 
connected with the history of the country as 
perhaps any man here today. Being one of the 
earliest pioneers and a leading man, he stands 
in a position to view the progress of the years 
and the achievement of his own life with a sat- 
isfaction at the gratifying results in both cases. 

In 1870 Mr. Barnes married Miss Ginevra 
Marks, a native of Linn county, Oregon, her 
father, William Marks, being one of the early 
pioneers of that county. To this union the fol- 
lowing named children have been born : Mrs. 
Mattie Nickelsen of Hood river, Mrs. Mary Mil- 
ler of Brandon, Mrs. Susie Helms of this county, 
widow, Bert, Arthur and Valdie. 

Mr. Barnes is a strong Democrat and takes 
a keen interest in political matters. He is well 
known through the country as a man of influ- 
ence and worth and is one of the leading profes- 
sional men of this part of the state. 



W. R. McFARLAND, an educator, a civil 
engineer and one of the representative m>en of 
his county, is now residing at Prineville. He 
was born in Johnson county, Missouri, in 1848. 



His father, William Alexander McFarland, was 
a major in the United States army. Our sub- 
ject was well educated in Missouri and there 
kept his residence until 1875, when he came to 
the Williamette valley. Settlement was made in 
Yamhill county and he gave his attention to 
teaching school. He taught in Eugene and var- 
ious other places of the valley until 1886, when 
he removed to Canyon City and taught there at 
John Day, in Prairie City and at other parts of 
Grant county. In 1896 Mr. McFarland settled 
on a farm in the Ochoco, where he resided three 
years. Then he taught at the Prineville school 
and has held various county offices, among them 
county superintendent of schools, surveyor, as- 
sessor and so forth. In 1864 Mr. McFarland 
took a trip to Colorado and there enlisted in the 
First Colorado Cavalry and saw much hard ser- 
vice in fighting the Indians. It was 1898 that he 
took up his permanent residence in Prineville 
and in addition to holding the positions above 
mentioned he has maintained an office for civil 
engineering and has done much in that class of 
work. He is very skillful in the profession and 
is a man whose reliability and integrity are well 
known. 

In 1874 Mr. McFarland married Lucy Jane 
Masterson, who was born in Lane county, Ore- 
gon. Her father, William Masterson, was a 
pioneer of Oregon. The children born to this 
union are Etta, Blanche, deceased, Pearl, Wil- 
liam A., Walter and Edward. 

Mr. McFarland is a member of the I. O. O. 
F. and the Maccabees, while he and his wife both 
belong to the Methodist church. Politically, he 
is a life-long Democrat and is always able to 
give good reasons for his position. He is an 
aggressive, capable man of good standing, who 
has won and retains the friendship of many peo- 
ple. 



CHARLES A. GRAVES, who is the ef- 
ficient surveyor of Crook county, is also a pi- 
oneer of this portion of Oregon, having come 
to Crook county in 1881. He was born in Ben- 
ton county, Oregon, on July 16, 1855, the son 
of James and Melvina (Pyburn) Graves. The 
father was born in Ohio and in his youthful days 
learned the stone mason's and the carpenter's 
trades. In 1852, the year of the terrible cholera 
ravages, he crossed the plains with ox teams to 
the Willamette valley. He followed his trades 
in various portions of the valley and became a 
very prominent and well to do man. He and his 
wife are now living at Hillsdale, Oregon. The 
mother of our subject was born near Inde- 
pendence, Missouri, and was left an orphan at 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



783 



an early age. In 1852 she accompanied some 
relatives across the plains and located at Cor- 
vallis, Oregon. Our subject was educated in 
the common schools of his native county and in 
the Agricultural College, at Corvallis, and made 
a practical study of surveying and civil engi- 
neering. In 1902 he located a homestead in the 
Powell Butte country. In 1886 he was elected 
county surveyor of Crook county and is now 
serving his sixth term in this office. He has 
demonstrated his ability to cope with the intricate 
problems of this important branch of county 
work to the entire satisfaction of his constitu- 
ency, while also he has manifested himself a pro- 
gressive citizen, a good man and a generous and 
faithful friend. 

In 1889 Mr. Graves married Miss Monia 
Lewis, a native of California. She came to Ore- 
gon with her parents when a child. Frank 
Lewis, her father, who was born in New York, 
was a pioneer to Wisconsin and then to Cali- 
fornia in 1850. For years he was mining in the 
Golden State. His mother was, in maiden life, 
a Miss Clark and her father, Abraham Clark, 
was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. 
The Clarks were a very early colonial family and 
prominent in those pioneer days. 

Our subject is a member of the A. O. U. 
W. and is deepy interested in everything for the 
welfare of his country. When living in the 
Willamette valley, his father's first neighbors 
were M. H. Bell, D. E. Templeton, and Joseph 
Hinkle, with others who are now residents of 
Prineville, Oregon. Mr. Graves has shown him- 
self a genuine pioneer and has done a great deal 
for the advancement and building up of Crook 
county. 



WILLIAM ADAMS is to be numbered with 
the stockmen of Crook county and has done faith- 
fully the work of the pioneer in this place. He 
now resides in Prineville. His birth occurred in 
Missouri, in 18^8 and his father, Elijah Adams, 
was a native of Kentucky. While William was 
very young the father died and so he remained 
with his mother until twenty years of age, re- 
ceiving his education in the public schools. In 
1859, being strongly attacked by western fever, 
he determined to try mining and accordingly 
went to Colorado during the Pike's Peak ex- 
citement. For three years he freighted and- 
mined then came to Tdaho and spent three vears 
more in mining. After that he went to the Willa- 
mette valley, married and settled on a farm. That 
was his home until 187T, when he came to Beaver 
creek in what is now Crook county. He settled 
on school land and took up cattle raising. In 



1878, during the time of the Indian troubles, he 
was forced to flee with the other settlers and 
sought safety for his family near Prineville and 
one year later settled on McKay creek. Some 
time thereafter he sold his farm to Thomas Pow- 
ell then moved to a place eight miles southeast 
of Prineville. There he engaged in the sheep 
business and has followed the same steadily 
since. He owns an estate of eight hundred acres 
and also a residence in Prineville, where he now 
lives. 

in 1867, m Lane county, Mr. Adams married 
Nancy A. Maupin, who was born in 1850. She 
died in 190 1. Her father, Boyd Maupin, was 
a pioneer to Lane county in 1853. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Adams the following named children have 
been born : R. B. ; George and John, in Alaskar; 
'William, deceased; Mrs. Manda Boegli, in Prine- 
ville ; Mrs. S. W. Yancey ; Silas, a sheepman in 
this county ; Charles ; Oliver ; and Effie. 

Mr. Adams and his wife are members of the 
Christian church and he is one of the stanch 
pioneers and substantial citizens of this county. 
During his long career here, Mr. Adams has al- 
ways labored for the spreading of the gospel, has 
taken a keen^ interest in forwarding educational 
matters and is allied with everything that is for 
the benefit and upbuilding of the country. 



CHARLES WILLIAM PALMEHN, who 
is one of the pioneers of the Pacific coast, now 
resides one mile west from Grizzly. He was born 
in Washington county, Minnesota, on March 2, 
1858, the son of Peter and Helen Christeen 
(Lund) Palmehn. In 1866, the family left Min- 
nesota and came via the Isthmus to Polk county, 
where the father bought an interest in a sawmill. 
He operated the same until his death and our sub- 
ject received his education at the home place in 
Polk county. Until 1881 he remained there, then 
came to Eastern Oregon, taking a homestead 
where Madras now stands. He and his brother 
are engaged in the sheep business there and as 
they prospered, bought more land until they 
owned the entire basin. In 1892 they bought the 
place where our subject now resides, which con- 
sists of four hundred acres. Mr. Palmehn gives 
his attention to general farming and also raises 
stock. He has shown industry and thrift in this 
occupation and is reaping a good reward for his 
labors. He has one brother, John, and one half 
brother, Walter Waymire. The latter lives in 
Whitman county, Washington. 

He also has the following sisters and half 
sisters : Mrs. F. J. Waymire, in Wilcox, Wash- 
ington ; Mrs. Clark Randall, Pulman, Washing- 
ton ; Mrs. Abram Robinson, Waverly, Washing- 



;8 4 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



ton ; Mrs. J. A. Waymire, Mt. Idaho ; and Mrs. 
Glide Hale. The last named one is the half 
sister. 

Mr. Palmehn's father came from Northern 
Sweden in 1846, or thereabouts, and worked in 
a sawmill somewhere on Lake Michigan until 
he became head sawyer. In 1856 he purchased 
a piece of land in Minnesota. His death occur- 
red in 1873, eight miles south from Dallas, Ore- 
gon. The mother came with her parents from 
Southern Sweden about 1845 and settled in Illi- 
nois. A few years later they removed to Min- 
nesota and there she married Mr. Palmehn. Af-. 
ter his death she married Mr. Waymire, and is 
now dwelling at Wilcox, Washington. 

Our subject went to work in a sash, door 
and, furniture factory and continued at that busi- 
ness until 1879. Then he tried farming and in 
1880 he was teamster for the surveying party 
that was running the narrow gauge in the Willa- 
mette valley. 



• FRANCIS FOREST, a representative stock- 
man of Crook county, residing twelve miles 
northwest from Prineville, was born in Polk 
county, Oregon, in 1857. Mose L. Forest was 
his father ; his father, the grandfather of our 
subject, was one of the early pioneers of Oregon 
and from him the well known town of Forest 
Grove was named. Francis was reared and edu- 
cated in Polk county until completing the com- 
mon schools, then he took a course in the Col- 
umbia Business College at Portland. In 1876 he 
came to what is now Crook county and took up 
the sheep business. Later he sold his sheep and 
bought cattle and from that time until the pres- 
ent has steadily pursued the occupation of rais- 
ing cattle. However, during this time Mr. For- 
est was engaged some in the mercantile 
business at Forest, Crook county. At the pres- 
ent time he owns a fine estate of twelve hundred 
acres of good land and one hundred and forty 
head of well bred cattle. He devotes his attention 
both to stock raising and general farming, and 
is considered one of the successful and substan- 
tial men of the county. 

In 1885 Mr. Forest married Rebecca M. 
Rodman, who was born in Iowa, the daughter of 
William Rodman. Four children are the fruit 
of this union, Celia, Earl, Mark and Florence. 

In political matters Mr. Forest is a strong 
Republican. He always takes an interst in the 
campaigns, keeps himself well posted in the 
questions of the day and thoroughly abreast of 
the times. He is a man of excellent standing 
and is to be classed with the builders of Crook 
county. 



WILLIAM J. SCHMIDT, one of the leading 
stockmen of Crook county, resides eight miles 
east of Howard. He was born in Pennsylvania 
in 1850, the son of Peter Schmidt, a native of 
Germany. He was raised and educated in his 
native place and in 1871 went to Pittsburg and 
served his time at the machinist's trade. Then 
he followed steamboating on the Mississippi river, 
returning occasionally to his old home, in Penn- 
sylvania until 1878, when he journeyed west to" 
ban Francisco. For five years he was engaged 
there in the Lnion Iron Works, then traveled 
about some until October, 1885, when he located 
his present place. He took a homestead and re- 
sided there a short time, then being dissatisfied 
he left the country and was occupied for wages 
in various portions of the west. In 1892 he re- 
turned to his present location and took up stock 
raising. He started in a very modest way, hav- 
ing one horse and two cows, but Mr. Schmidt 
was not a man to either to despise the day of 
small things nor become discouraged at the 
paucity of his holdings. He carefully took up the 
good work of stock raising with the intention to 
succeed and with such wisdom and industry did 
he prosecute the calling that he has won splendid 
success. He now owns three hundred and fifty 
head of cattle, forty head of horses and a ranch 
consisting of sixteen hundred acres of good land. 
Mr. Schmidt is achieving success in which he may 
well take pride and which has stimulated many 
others to good efforts in this country. 

In 1900 Mr. Schmidt married Sarah Lowrey, 
who was born in the east. They have four chil- 
dren, Ira, Alice, Mary and Glennie. 

Mr. Schmidt is a member of the Masonic or- 
der and is a man of good standing and rated as 
one of the substantial ■property owners of the 
county. 



JOHN T. FAULKNER, who has for twen- 
ty-three vears been the efficient and faithful post- 
master at Paulina, where also he handles a fine 
mercantile business, is one of the leading citizens 
of Crook county. In addition to the affairs men- 
tioned, he oversees a farm of five hundred acres 
and a fine stock business. He was born in Ohio 
on January 8, 1846, the son of Thomas J. and 
Mary M. (Keener) Faulkner, natives of New 
York and Ohio respectively. The father came 
to Ohio as a pioneer and in 1850 started from that 
country with ox teams to the Pacific coast. He 
arrived in Marion county. Oregon, in 185 1 and 
soon thereafter moved to Linn county, where he 
took a donation claim eight miles southeast of 
Albany. That was his home until his death and 
he was known far and near as a substantial and 





Francis Forest 



Mrs. Francis Forest 





William J. Schmidt 



Mrs. William J. Schmidt 





John T. Faulkner 



W llliam Smith 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



7«£- 



good man. Our subject was educated in Linn 
county and after growing to manhood lie en- 
gaged' in farming. It was November 21, 1877, 
wnen he came to the territory now embraced in 
Crook county, making settlement near Warm 
Springs. In 1 88 1 he came to his present location 
and took a homestead. He has since purchased 
land until his estate is of the dimensions men- 
tioned above. In the spring of 1878 Mr. Faulk- 
ner with the other settlers of the country, was 
obliged to flee from the Indians, who were on 
the war path, and the property that the settlers 
left behind was confiscated by the savages. He 
has labored faithfully during all the intervening 
years from the time of settlement until the pres- 
ent and he has accomplished a great deal for the 
upbuilding of the country. He knows well the 
hardships of the pioneer and the arduous labors 
and dangers incident to such life, having experi- 
enced them all. He is to be classed with the 
worthy pioneers of Oregon and is known as a 
splendid business man and an excellent neighbor. 
In 1 871 Mr. Faulkner married Charity E. 
Foster, who was born in Marion county, Oregon, 
the daughter of Henry Foster, a pioneer to Ore- 
gon in 1842. Three children have been born to 
this marriage, Orla B., Malissa A. and Henry J. 
Mr. Faulkner has always taken a deep interest 
in educational matters and in everything that 
tends for the improvement and building up of the 
country, and is liberal in the support of every 
public institution. He is a member of the A. O. 
U. W., and is considered one of the representa- 
tive men of the country. 



WILLIAM SMITH. No record .could be 
written of the pioneers of western Oregon that 
could claim any measure of completeness if it 
did not contain the name of the gentleman men- 
tioned above. He is well known as the earliest 
pioneer of the country now embraced in Crook 
county and has been here through all the history 
making epochs since before the county organiza- 
tion. In all this he-has taken the part of the good 
citizen and is certainly deserving of much credit 
for what he has done. Mr. Smith's home is 
some twelve miles up from Prineville on 
Mill creek. He was born in England, the 
son of James and Catherine (Baxter) Smith, 
both natives of the same country. After re- 
ceiving his education in his native place he 
came to America in 1850 and spent one year 
in New York, then he went to Ohio and 
worked on a farm for wages for two years. The 
next move was to Rock Island, Illinois, and then 
with mule teams he crossed the plains in 1864 to 

50 



Stockton, California. He wrought for wages 
for some time there and in the spring of 1865 
came to Linn county, Oregon. In the fall of the 
same year he journeyed east of the Cascades to 
Camp Polk, a military post in what is now Crook, 
county. He remained there until 1866, when he 
returned to the Williamette valley and stayed one 
summer. In 1867 Mr. Smith came east of the 
mountains again, took land by squatter's right 
and built the house where he is now located. 
There were no settlers here then and he, as far 
as we have any record, is the first permanent set- 
tler in Crook county. The land was all unsur- 
veyed and the wilderness uninhabited, save by 
the savages and the wild beasts. Warm Springs 
Post, a small military station some fifty miles 
away, was the nearest white man's abode and The 
Dalles, distant one hundred and thirty miles 7 
was the nearest postoffice. Mr. Smith had to de- 
vise all sorts of plans to maintain himself in this 
new country and it was with difficulty that he se- 
cured the necessities of life. His flour had to 
be made in a coffee mill and it was no small task 
to raise wheat, cut it with a sickle, thresh it with 
a flail, winnow it by the breezes of heaven and 
thus gain bread for his subsistence. However,. 
despite the adversities and the exceeding hard 
work that was necessary to gain all this, Mr. 
Smith continued. In the spring of 1868 six set- 
tlers located in this vicinity where Mr. Smith 
was residing. The Indians came in and stole 
their work oxen and one horse and the entire set- 
tlement buried their provisions and left the coun- 
try. The next spring, however, Mr. Smith re- 
turned and since that time has made his home 
here. His is the oldest house in the country and 
his place is one of the abiding land marks c. c this 
part of Oregon. 



KNOX HUSTON is a well known pioneer 
of what is now Crook county and resides' at 
Prineville. He was born in Washington county, 
Indiana, on March 10, 1839. His father, Samuel 
B. Huston, was a native of Kentucky andt 
moved to Indiana in 1825, being one of the early 
settlers of Washington county, that state. He fol- 
lowed farming and distilling and was a substan- 
tial and prominent citizen and was recruiting of- 
ficer during the Mexican War. Margaret (Ken- 
nedy) Huston, our subject's mother, was born 
where Louisville now stands, on December 31.. 
1799, and came from a prominent and wealthy 
family. Six of her uncles were in the Battle of 
the Thames. The Kennedvs were a strong race 
of hardy pioneers and Mrs. Huston's father 
came from Pennsylvania to Kentucky among the 
very early settlers in that country. Being strong 



;86 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



and hardy men, they were long lived and were 
prominent and leading citizens. John Park, her 
uncle, was the first white child born in St. Louis. 
The family later moved to Indiana and there va- 
rious members of them were under General Har r 
rison's army and became famous Indian fighters. 
Our subject received his primary education in 
the common schools of Indiana and Iowa, whith- 
er he went with his parents by team in 1850. In 
1858 he entered Cornell college and remained 
there until he had very nearly completed the full 
course. In i860 he traveled via the Isthmus of 
Panama to California and two years later, came 
on to Lane county, Oregon. Shortly after land- 
ing in Lane county, he went to the Salmon river 
mines and then returned to Lane county. Until 
1878 he was engaged in teaching school, then 
secured a band of sheep and drove them across 
the mountains to Central Oregon. The Paiute 
Indians being then on the war path, he had much 
trouble and encountered dangers, being accom- 
panied by his family. Still they managed to es- 
cape the dangers without loss of life and Mr. 
Huston gave his attention to stock raising in 
.Central Oregon until 1890, when he was elected 
: surveyor of Crook county. In early life he had 
given his attention to civil engineering in which 
he is very proficient. Upon being elected to the 
office named, he moved with his family to Prine- 
ville, both for the purpose of attending to the 
duties of his office and to educate his children. 
For ten consecutive years he has served in the 
county and has done most of the civil engineering 
work in the county. In 1890 he lost heavily in 
the, stock business but has made more since. 

■ In 1866 Mr. Huston married Victoria Chil- 
ders, who was born in Franklin county, Missouri- 
on December 9, 1839, and crossed the plains to 
Oregon in 1852 with her parents, Thomas G. 
and Mary (Hinton) Childers, natives of Vir- 
ginia. The mother's father, Colonel Clayton, 
was colonel of a regiment in the Mexican War. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Huston, the following named 
i children have been born : Henry Y., a blacksmith 
:in Baker county; Mrs. Maggie O'Neil, who 
graduated in the Prineville high school ; Knox 
D., a. stockman in Crook county; Wade H., a 
graduate of the Prineville high school who also 
taught school some in the county ; Sarah E. 
Thomson ; Jesse I., engaged in the government 
printing office in Manila. • 

Formerly Mr. Huston was a Democrat, but 

he has now allied himself with the Socialists. 

In addition to his work as a civil engineer, he 
has done considerable writing and is possessed of 

no mean ability in the literary line. It is of note 

that his father was contemporaneous with 



George D. Prentice and assisted in the compila- 
tion of the biography of Henry Clay. 

Mr. Huston had one brother, Hon. Henry 
Clay Huston, who crossed the plains to Linn 
county, Oregon, in 1852 and was state senator 
from that county in 1866. He also served in the 
Rogue River wars and was orderly sergeant in 
Captain Keith's company. He was badly wounded 
in the battle of Big Meadows, and was a true 
blue soldier. Hon. Henry C. Huston was also 
well known for his literary ability, having been 
author of many bright gems. His death occurred 
on December 18, 1899. 



S. J. NEWSOM, now one of the retired 
stockmen in Crook county, has the distinction of 
being one of the first pioneers here and the fore- 
most man during the years since. He was born 
in Springfield, Illinois, on March 13, 1834. His 
father, David Newsom, was born in Green Brier 
county, Virginia, in 1808 and was an early pion- 
eer of Oregon, crossing the plains in 185 1. He 
was a noted temperance advocate and did much 
good work both in Oregon and Washington. His 
death occurred in 1880. He had married Mary 
Huston, who was born in Monroe county, West 
Virginia, in 1815. She came of Scotch-Irish 
ancestry, her grandfather being a native of Ire- 
land and her grandmother of Scotland. Our 
subject remained in Springfield, Illinois, until 
seventeen years of age, then, it being 1851, came 
across the plains with his parents. They uti- 
lized ox teams for this Journey and settlement 
was made in Marion county a few miles north- 
east of Salem, the father taking a donation 
claim. Our subject remained in that vicinity for 
twenty years, making several trips to the mines 
in the meantime. In 1863 he returned via the 
Isthmus to Kentucky, wintering in Illinois, and 
the next spring returned to Oregon, bringing 
stock with him to his western home. In 186S 
he purchased a farm near the home place and 
dwelt there two years. Then he came to that 
portion of Wasco county now embraced in Crook 
county and selected a home on the creek which 
received his name, some thirtv miles east from 
where Prineville now stands. He continued there 
until 1879, then removed to Prineville, where 
he has resided since. He took up stock raising 
when he first came here and continued actively 
at it until a few years ago, when he retired from 
business. He owns now more than twenty-five 
hundred acres of land in Crook county, one-half 
section of which is within the city limits of Prine- 
ville. Mr. Newsom has made a splendid success 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



787 



m the financial world and is looked up to as one 
of the leading men of the county. 

On August 24, 1876, in Albany, Oregon, Mr. 
Newsom married Sarah J. Simpson, who was 
born in Linn county, Oregon, on January 7, 1853. 
Her father, Frank Simpson, was born in Frank- 
fort, Kentucky, and there grew to manhood and 
married. Then he moved to Missouri, where his 
first wife died. Later he married Mary Ann 
Corum, a native of Clay county, Missouri. She 
is now living in Pomeroy, Washington. Mr. 
Simpson left Missouri in 1850 and came to Ore- 
gon, settling on a donation claim near Albany. In 
1870 he moved to Lassen county, California,, 
and there died in 1872. To Mr. and Mrs. New- 
som the following named children have been 
born, John D., Gale S. and Samuel J. John D. 
was born March 8, 1899, and received his early 
education in Prineville, graduating from the pub- 
lic schools when eleven. Then he entered the 
state normal, graduating when he was eighteen 
years of age. Then he enlisted in Company C, 
from Lane county, responding to the first call for 
volunteers during the Spanish War. He went to 
the Philippine Islands with the Second Oregon 
Regiment and did duty there for fifteen months. 
He returned in 1899 and matriculated in the 
Portland law school from which he graduated 
on March 3, 1902. He is now deputy state min- 
eral surveyor, under thirty thousand dollar bonds. 
Gale S. was born on September 7, 1881, and 
after completing the public schools in Eugene, 
Oregon, he attended the normal and also took a 
business course in Portland. In 1900 he en- 
tered the medical college and graduated in April, 
1904, and is now practicing at Arlington, this 
state. Samuel J. was born June 5, 1889, and is 
now a student in the high school. 

Mr. Newsom served in the Yakima and Cay- 
use Indian Wars and although two captains, a 
lieutenant, a mate and companion were killed and 
crippled near him and he had many close calls, 
still he was never injured. At one time during 
the campaign, he subsisted for twenty days on 
horse meat, they being obliged to kill the worn- 
out cayuses for this purpose. He waited forty- 
seven years before receiving his pension for this 
service but finally succeeded in getting it. In 
1879 Mr. Newsom filled the unexpired term of A. 
H. Brehman, the county assessor, and then was 
elected assessor of Wasco county. At the crea- 
tion of Crook county, he was appointed sur- 
veyor by the governor, being the first encumbent 
of that office, and while performing his duties, 
he was urged by the county court to bring in the 
assessment for Crook county. Owing to that, he 
resigned his duties as surveyor and became as- 
sessor. He filled this office with credit to him- 



self and, as in every capacity, was a thorough and 
stanch business man. Politically, he is a Demo- 
crat and gives of the time and interest that is 
demanded in this realm. 



* » +- 



LEANDER N. LIGGETT, the present 
deputy sheriff of Crook county, residing at Prine- 
ville, was born in Polk county, Oregon, on De- 
cember 23, 1853. His father, Joseph Liggett, 
was born in Missouri and came with his father, 
our subject's grandfather, across the plains. 
Joseph Liggett settled on what is known as the 
Liggett donation claim near Lewisville, in the 
Willamette valley. He started to fight the In- 
dians but being taken sick at Oregon City he was 
obliged to return. His death occurred at Yakima, 
Washington, in 1892. He married Anna E. 
Sleeth, a native of Indiana, who crossed the 
plains in 1852 and died on March 16, 1903. Our 
subject remained on the ranch with his father in 
Polk county until 1S66, when the father was 
elected sheriff and the family removed to Dallas. 
There Leander entered school and later matricu- 
lated at Corvallis college, graduating from the 
complete course in 1873. Among his classmates 
was William F. Harrin, now a leading attorney. 
After leaving school, Mr. Liggett went to Linn 
county and taught school. In 1875 he had charge 
of running the level from Corvallis to Newport, 
on the first line that went through that country. 
Then he took a position in the office at Albany 
as bookkeeper and assistant manager of the busi- 
ness, continuing until 1880. In 1878, however, 
he was elected superintendent of schools for Linn 
county and served two years. 

On February 6, 1878, Mr. Liggett married 
Catherine E. Cowan, and to them one child has 
been born, Florence Ethel, the date being Decem- 
ber 6, 1879, and she is now deputy clerk of Crook 
county. In the fall of 1880, Mr. Liggett left 
the valley and came to Crook county, engaging 
in the stock business. In 1893 he moved to 
Prineville, taking the position as principal of the 
city schools, continuing in the same for three 
years. In October, 1895, he bought the Prine- 
ville Reznew, which he conducted until July, 1902, 
then sold to William Holder. For three terms 
Mr. Liggett was mayor of Prineville and was re- 
corder one term. For many years he was chair- 
man of the Democratic county central committee, 
and has always been very active in political af- 
fairs. He belongs to the A. O. U. W., the W. 
O. W. and the K. P. and is one of the representa- 
tive men of this county. 

On January 30, 1905, since the above was 
written, the sad event of the death of Mr. Lig- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



gett has been chronicled. Regarding it, one has 
said : "No death in recent years has come as such 
a sudden blow to the community, to the family, 
and to the many friends of the deceased. Few 
knew that Mr. Liggett was suffering from any 
bodily ailment. The death of Mr. Liggett marks 
the close of a lifelong career of usefulness and it 
is with a feeling of genuine sorrow and regret 
that the host of friends and acquaintances 
throughout the county and state see his remains 
laid to rest." 

Mr. Liggett was a popular and beloved man, 
was a leader in many lines, had endeared himself 
to all by his sterling worth and principle, and in 
the midst of an active life, just when the prime 
of days had come to him, he stepped forth to the 
realities of another life. The entire community 
joined the intimate friends in extending sym- 
pathy to the bereaved widow and family. 



WILLIAM H. FOSTER has been in Crook 
county nearly twenty years. During that time he 
nas labored assiduously as a stockraiser and til- 
ler of the soil and the result is that today he is 
one of the well to do men of the county, has a 
good standing, and is a representative man. He 
was born in Linn county, Oregon, on December 
28, 1870, and resides at the present time some 
nine miles up Wolf creek. His father before 
him was a pioneer and his father's father, being 
known as hardy and brave frontiersmen who 
blazed the way for others to follow in many sec- 
tions of the United States. William W. Foster, 
our subject's father, was born at Silverton, Ore- 
gon, and followed farming in the Willamette 
valley until 1893 in which year he came to Crook 
county, where he is still engaged in stockraising. 
His father, Henry Foster, the grandfather of 
our subject, was born in Missouri, crossing the 
plains to Oregon in 1846 and was the first white 
man married in what is now the state of Oregon. 
When coming to the west, this venerable pioneer 
was forced to transform his wagon boxes into 
boats and thus ferry his people and goods across 
the Mississippi river and the other intervening 
streams on the way to the west. The mother 
of our subject, Mary (Marks) Foster, was born 
in Linn county, Oregon, her people being 
among the first settlers in the state. William 
H. received his education in the Willamette val- 
ley and in 1887 came to Crook county, selected 
his present place, which is nine miles up Wolf 
creek from Paulina, and began stock raising. He 
purchased land until he owns four hundred and 
forty acres, which is well fitted for a good stock 
ranch. He has given his entire attention to the 



breeding of stock and has gained steadily in 
wealth as the years have gone by. He is a man 
of substantial and excellent qualities and has 
done his share to build up the country, and stands 
well today. 

In 1897 Mr. Foster married Josephine Brown, 
a native of Crook county and the daughter of 
Charles Brown, who was born in Sweden and 
came as a pioneer to this county. Two children 
are the fruit of this union, Rov L. and Mildred. 



GUYON SPRINGER is a representative citi- 
zen of Crook county and a leading stock breeder 
of this part of the state. He has shown excep- 
tional ability in the lines he has pursued by the 
unbounded success he has achieved. He resides 
three miles southwest from Culver and has one 
of the choicest estates in this part of the country. 
It consits of eight hundred acres of splendid ag- 
ricultural land, a large body of excellent timber 
and three thousand acres of grazing land. He 
has fine improvements and is a man who shows 
excellent taste and the best of judgment. 

Guyon Springer was born in Polk county, 
Oregon, on March 8, 1854. George W. Springer, 
his father, was a native of Steuben county, New 
York, and February, 1827, was the time of his 
birth. He crossed the plains with his parents,, 
the grandparents of our subject. He was a lead- 
er in the Christian church, and his father, Barney 
D. Springer, kept a hotel among the stumps on 
the ground where Portland now stands, and was 
a stanch church worker. The mother of our 
subject was Sarah A. Clark, a native of Ohio, 
and the daughter of Elder Israel L. Clark, the 
noted preacher of the Christian denomination. 
The common schools of Yamhill county, Oregon, 
gave the early training to our subject and then 
he completed in the Portland Business College. 
In 1876 he removed to Whitman county, Wash- 
ington, and in company with his brother, Byron 
Springer, introduced the first Clydesdale horses, 
Jersey cattle and Poland China hogs in that part 
of the country. Also they handled fine poultry 
and were very progressive men in these lines of 
breeding fancy stock. In 1880 he returned to the 
valley and there resided until 1887 when he came 
to his present location, taking a homestead. The 
next spring he went east and purchased some fine 
thoroughbred horses which he brought back with 
him. Since then he has been handling thorough- 
bred stock and has fifty head of choice horses. 
They are Clydesdale, Standard Trotters, Cleve- 
land Bays, and other kinds. He is the first man 
crossing, the English Hackney and the Standard 
Trotters, and has made a good success in this; 













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Mr. and Mrs. Guyon Springer 






- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



789 



breeding. Mr. Springer also handles blooded cat- 
tle and has some choice full bloods in poultry 
lines. Among these he has Barred Plymouth 
Rock, Black Langshan, Silver Wyandotte and 
others. 

On December 15, 1883, Mr. Springer married 
Miss Nora Goucher, a native of Yamhill county, 
Oregon, and the daughter of Dr. G. W. Goucher, 
who was a minister and physician, and also an 
influential man in politics, having been in the 
legislature in California. Mrs. Springer has one 
brother, Dr. Goucher, a noted physician located at 
McMinnville, this state. Mr. and Mrs. Springer 
have two children, Melissa and George W., aged 
five and two respectively. Mr. Springer is a 
member of the A. O. U. W. and the Artisans. 
He is also a deacon in the Christian church and 
is past master of the Yamhill county grange. 
Politically Mr. Springer is a Democrat and has 
served this county as commissioner and is a mem- 
ber of the board of road viewers. In all his 
labors he has manifested that thrift, sagacity, 
and keen foresight that are so needful in winning 
success. He is recognized as one of the leading 
men of the country and has stimulated much 
worthy effort in the line of improvement and 
upbuilding. His thoroughbreds are among the 
finest to be found in this part of the country and 
his skill as a horseman is known far and near. 



RICHARD W. BREESE, who lives twelve 
miles out from Prineville on the Burns road, has 
wrought out a success for himself here that is 
well worth the commendation of all lovers of 
industry and thrift. A detailed account of his 
life will be interesting and instructive and with 
pleasure we append the same. Richard W. 
Breese was born in Butler county, Ohio, on Jan- 
uary 15, 1854. His father, John Breese, a native 
of England, came to America in 1850 and settled 
on a farm in Ohio. In 1856, he moved to Jen- 
nings county, Indiana, and in 1868, moved to 
Livingston county, Illinois. In 1880, we find 
him again journeying and this time to Linn 
county, Oregon. Four years later he left that 
country and came to Crook county and here he 
remained until his death. He was a very exten- 
sive farmer in the east and also operated here in 
the west. During the time of the Civil War, he 
was captain of the home guards in Indiana and 
assisted to repel Morgan at Madison, that state. 
He married Mary Rooke, a native of Scotland 
who came to America in 1850, their wedding oc- 
curring in Ohio. Mrs. Breese came" from a 
prominent and well-to-do family. Sir George 
Rooke, the English admiral who had charge of 



the English and Dutch forces that captured Gib- 
raltar in 1704, is the great-great-grandfather of 
Mr. Breese. Our subject was educated at home, 
being well trained in the ordinary English 
branches and accompanied his father on all of 
the journeys prior to 1876. In that year, he came 
to Linn county, Oregon, where he was engaged in 
farming and stock raising until 1889. That year 
he sought out a location in Crook county, taking 
a homestead near where he lives at present. Since 
tnat time, he has purchased land until he owns 
an estate of eleven hundred acres. During the 
past fifteen years, he has given his undivided at- 
tention to the improvement of his estate and to 
handling cattle, the result being that he has 
gained a large amount of first class property and 
is one of the leading citizens of Crook county. 

In 1878, Mr. Breese married Miss Charlotte 
Gray, who was born in Linn county, Oregon, the 
daughter of John and Isabel (Rooke) Gray, na- 
tives of Kentucky and Scotland, respectively. 
Mr. Gray crossed the plains with ox teams in 
1852 and took a donation claim in Linn county. 
He became one of the prominent citizens of the 
state and was a strong opponent to what was 
known as the Golden Circle, being more favor- 
ably inclined to the Union League. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Breese two children have been born, Mary 
and Ralph. 

Like man}- of the most substantial men of our 
country; Mr. Breese started without any capital 
whatever except bright hopes, strong hands and 
an unlimited supply of courage and stability. He 
has won his way to his present prosperous condi- 
tion by virtue of his own industry and sagacity 
and has always left an unsullied reputation. He 
has many friends, is w T ell known and stands high. 



MARCELL SENECAL, a native of Oregon, 
has passed his entire life in the territory em- 
braced in this state. He is now residing four and 
one-half miles north from Suplee, in Crook 
county, where he follows stock raising and farm- 
ing. Mr. Senecal was born in Marion county, on 
September 5, 1855. Dedron Senecal, his father, 
was a native of Canada, his birth place being 
near Montreal and he comes from French extrac- 
tion. In early life he was associated with the 
Hudson's Bay Company and when young came 
on west to what is now Oregon. He was a trap- 
per for that company for years and was all over 
Oregon before there were any settlers here. He 
finally took a donation claim on what is now 
French prairie in the Willamette valley, the point 
first settled in Oregon. There he remained until 
1876 in which year he moved to Wasco county, 



790 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



which was his home until his death. His entire 
life was spent on the frontier and as a brave 
adventurer he was a decided success. He mar- 
ried Lucy Dushart, who was born in Marion 
county, Oregon. Her father also was one of the 
employes of the Hudson's Bay Company. Our 
subject remained in Marion county until he was 
eighteen years of age, when he came east of the 
mountains to Wasco county. He selected a 
ranch, married and lived there until 1900 in 
which year he came to his present location. He 
has a good farm and is doing well in farming 
and stock raising. 

It was 1874, that Mr. Senecal married Mary 
Delore, a native of Marion county, Oregon. Her 
father, Peter Delore was also a pioneer of Ore- 
gon and married Lizzie Depree. Mr. and Mrs. 
Senecal have two children, George and Albert G. 



J. H. GRAY, one of the leading and repre- 
sentative men of Crook county, devotes his at- 
tention to farming and stock raising. He resides 
twenty-four miles east from Prineville on the 
Burns stage road and has an estate there of 
nearly two thousand acres. When he first ac- 
quired the place, it was very much run down but 
by his thrift and wisdom, he has made it one of 
the richest ranches in Crook county. He handles 
a great many horses and cattle of the finest 
strains. He also breeds Poland China hogs. 
Among cattle, he pays the most attention to the 
Hereford stock and his thoroughbreds are among 
the finest to be found in this part of the state. 
Altogether, he is a very successful and wealthy 
stockman. 

Among the ancestors and relatives of Mr. 
Gray, we will give a brief mention of the fol- 
lowing. His great-great-grandfather, Mr. Jack- 
son of Ireland, married Miss Horner, also a na- 
tive of Ireland and to them was born Martha 
Jackson. James Gray married Martha Jackson 
in Ireland. He was born in 1725 and died in 
Kentucky. To this marriage were born the fol- 
lowing named children : Nizzle, on September 3, 
l 7AS, who died in Pennsylvania, on June 3, 1767 ; 
Mary, on February 19, 1747, married David 
Cowan of Bourbon, Kentucky ; Rachel, Febru- 
ary 28, 1749, married Mr. Cowan in Pennsyl- 
vania ; George, May 10, 1751, and died September 
21, 1775, the date he was to be married : Gennett, 
August 20, 1753, died July 30, 1767; James, June 
11, 1755, married Mary Caldwell in Pennsyl- 
vania and died at Bourbon, Kentucky; Elizabeth, 
November 5, 1757, married Joseph McEnulta 
and died at Nicholas, Kentucky, in T804; Sarah, 
May 24, 1760 and married David McKinley ; 



William, on November 8, 1762, and married Miss 
Mary, last name lost; David, on January 18, 
1767, married Nancy Mooney, in Kentucky, in 
1792. Martha (Jackson) Gray, the mother of 
these above mentioned, was a cousin of General 
Jackson and lived to be one hundred and five 
years of age, her death occurring in Kentucky. 
To David Gray and Nancy (Mooney) Gray 
were born the following named children : Nancy 
Gray, on April 21, 1793; James, on January 27, 
1797; Martha, on March 26, 1799; John, on De- 
cember 19, 1802; William, on February 7, 1805 ;. 
David, October 23, 1807; and Jane, in 1813. The 
first two of these seven children were born in 
Bourbon, Kentucky. The other five were born 
in Nicholas, Kentucky. Their father, David 
Gray, died in Preble county, Ohio, on Novem- 
ber 23, 1840. His father died in Preble county r 
Ohio, on November 25, 1837. Of the seven chil- 
dren of David and Nancy (Mooney) Gray, we 
have record of the death of six : Nancy Gray died 
in Crawfordsville, Linn county, Oregon when 
ninety-four years of age ; Martha, died in Preble 
county, Ohio, December 14, 1845 ! John, who is 
the father of the immediate subject of this sketch,, 
died in Portland, Oregon in February, 1879 — 
it is supposed that he was drugged and put out 
ot a hotel at night ; he was found on the street in- 
sensible and died a few hours after being taken 
to the hospital ; William died in Preble county, 
Ohio, where he lived on the old home place of his 
parents from the time they came there from Ken- 
tucky until his death ; David died at Albany. Ore- 
gon, and was buried on his donation claim beside 
his wife, Elizabeth, who had died many years 
previously, near Halsey, Oregon ; Jane died in 
Nicholas, Kentucky in 1813, aged twenty-one 
years. Nancy (Mooney) Gray, the mother of 
these children named, is the grandmother of J. 
H. Gray, the subject of this sketch. Her father 
was Patrick Mooney and would be the great- 
grandfather of J. H. Gray. This venerable pa- 
triarch was born in 1681 and died December 14, 
1799, being one hundred and eighteen years of 
age. He married Jane Beard of Ireland and to 
them were born in Virginia, L T nited States, on 
March 1, 1768, Nancy Mooney. After the death 
of his first wife Patrick Mooney married a sec- 
ond time. This wedding occurred when he was 
one hundred years of age and his bride was eigh- 
teen years of age. They lived together eighteen 
years before his death. Patrick Mooney was a 
well educated and prominent man. He was 
born in the north of Ireland but came of Scotch 
ancestry. One time during his life, while on a 
pleasure voyage their ship was wrecked. He and 
two others were attacked by pirates and sold as 
slaves on the island. Later thev succeeded in; 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



791 



making their escape and came to America. The 
Gray family is related to the families of Presi- 
dents McKinley and Jackson. 

J. H. Gray, who is the immediate subject of 
this sketch, was born in Linn county, Oregon, on 
April 23, 1855, the son of John and Isabel 
(Rook) Gray, natives of Kentucky and Scotland, 
respectively. The father came with his parents 
to Ohio when a boy, crossed the plains in 1852 
with ox teams and located on a donation claim in 
Linn county, Oregon, and became a very prom- 
inent and well-to-do man. We have already men- 
tioned concerning his death. His wife came to 
the United States when a young lady and accom- 
panied him across the plains after their marriage. 
Our subject was educated in Linn county and 
there grew up and engaged in farming. In 1876, 
he came to Crook county and wrought for wages, 
for two years, then went into a blacksmith shop 
at Prineville, completing the trade there. Later 
he bought land and also took government land^ 
Finally he sold his property and in 1899, bought 
the estate where he is now located. 

In 1875, Mr. Gray married Rebecca Hun- 
saker who was born in the Willamette vallev and 
came to Crook county in early days. The chil- 
dren born to this union are O. C, a merchant at 
Prineville, and treasurer of Crook county ; Bruce, 
also in the mercantile business in Prineville ; 
Pearl, the wife of Mr. Rowell, a rancher in 
Crook county ; and Roy, farming with his father. 
In 1896, Mr. Gray was appointed by Governor 
Lord a member of the state board of agriculture 
but owing to the fact that he had just been elected 
sheriff of Crook county, he was unable to ac- 
cept. Fie filled that important office for two 
terms and county assessor one term, and was a 
very excellent official. 

Mr. Gray is a member of the I. O. O. F., a 
prominent man and one of the leading citizens 
of central Oregon. 



RALPH PORFILY was born beneath the 
perfect skies of Italy, Agnone being his native 
heath, and October 23, i860, the date of this im- 
portant event in his career. His parents, Fran- 
cecsi and Marie (Domenica) Porfily. were born 
in the same place as our subject and there re- 
mained until their death. The father followed 
farming and stock raising. Ralph received his 
early education in his native country and 
wrought on his father's farm until 1881, then he 
came to America. At first he secured employ- 
ment of the railroad in Pennsylvania, whence 
later, he went to Texas and wrought in a stone 
quarry. In 1883, he took a trip on foot through 



old Mexico and had many and varied experiences 
and he soon discerned that the United States was 
the better place for a man of thrift and industry 
and accordingly he made his way back. In 1888 
he worked in the California quick silver mines, 
and in 1889, located in Crook county, Oregon- 
He immediately secured work herding sheep arid' 
soon got a band for himself. Then he took gov- 1 
ernment land and bought land where he is nOw 
located, some fourteen miles out from Prineville 
on the Burns stage road, and started in the busi- 
ness for himself. He made himself master of 
the sheep industry and farming and knew well 
how to make everything count. Success could 
but attend him and he rapidly gained property. 
He now has about fifteen hundred acres of "land 
and a large amount of stock. All this has been 
the result of his own efforts here and Mr. 
Porfily is to be commended for what he has 
achieved. He is a good citizen and takes an ac- 
tive interest in politics and educational matteiis 
as becomes a man of this free country. 



PETER DELORE, Jr., one of the pioneers 
of Crook county, and a man well known in the 
days of the Indian wars, is residing about three 
miles north from Suplee, where he has a nice 
estate and a good band of stock. His birth oc- 
curred in Marion county, Oregon. His father, 
Peter Delore, was born at Lagrande, Oregon 
and was a son of one of the Hudson's Bay Com- 
pany's employees. That gentleman was at La- 
grande, Oregon, before any white people were 
there and also spent his life traveling for the 
Hudson's Bay people to all portions of the west, 
long before any settlers were here. Our subject's 
father finally settled in Marion county, Oregon; 
on a donation claim. There he remained until 
1 86 1, when he came to Wasco county, settling 
near Oak Grove. In 1884, he came to Crook 
county and is now living here, aged eighty-nine. 
He married Lucy Delore, who was born at Fort' 
Colville, Washington. Her father also was in 
the employ of the Hudson's Bay Company. Our 
subject came to Wasco county with his parents' 
when a boy and secured his education there and 
in his native county previously. When the 
Modoc Indian war broke, out, he was employed 
as a scout a portion of the time and did some ex- 
cellent service. After the war, he went to Ne- 
vada and did ranching until 1889, when he came 
to his present location and here has been en- 
gaged in the stock business since. In 1897, Mr. 
Delore married Margaret Mosier. 

It is worthy of note that in the Paiute In- 
dian War, Mr. Delore was captain of the scouts 



792 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



and did much excellent service. Being thor- 
oughly acquainted with the country, a man of 
fearlessness and keen to discern the acts of the 
enemy, he was enabled to direct the other scouts, 
which resulted in the success of the soldiers' and 
volunteers in quelling the outbreak. On one 
occasion, Mr. Delore was sent with seven scouts 
in his command to the top of Steen Mountain, 
by General Forsythe. The purpose was to as- 
certain the whereabouts of the savages and their 
numbers. While on the mountain, they sur- 
prised a couple of warriors building signal fires. 
Upon demanding their surrender they fired and 
killed the horse Mr. Delore was riding. Then 
the scouts captured one of the redskins and the 
other escaped under a volley from the white men. 



■, HORACE. P. BELKNAP, M. D., has the 
distinction of having practiced medicine in 
Prineville longer than any other physician in the 
county. During these years he has demonstrated 
satisfactorily to an appreciative and discriminat- 
ing public his ability as a physician and surgeon, 
his integrity as a man and his progressiveness 
and broadmindedness as. a citizen. Being a native 
Oregonian Dr. Belknap has always spent his life 
beneath the stars of the Occident and became fast 
wedded to the great Webfoot State. A detailed 
account of his life will be very interesting to the 
citizens of this county and we accept with pleas- 
ure the privilege of submitting the same. 

■ horace P. Belknap was born in Monroe, 
Oregon, on April 5, 1856. Harley Belknap, 
is father, was born in Ohio in 1832. Eight years 
later he moved with his parents to Iowa and 
ten years after that came with them across the 
plains by ox teams to the Willamette valley. He 
took a donation claim and there resided until 
1875, wherrhe came to what is now Crook county, 
where he engaged in the stock business. He 
also was a carpenter and builder and followed that 
occupation jointly with stock raising and many of 
the best contractors in Prineville testify to his 
skill and ability in this line. He married Thirza 
Inman, who was born in Tennessee, in T836, and 
came with her parents to Missouri when six rears 
of age. In 1853 she accompanied her parents 
across the plains to Oregon. She and her hus- 
band are now living retired in California, having 
secured a generous competence of this world's 
goods through their industry and thrift. 

Our subject was educated in the Willamette 
University and after graduating from that institu- 
tion matriculated at Ann Arbor, Michigan, where 
he remained two years. Then he entered the 



ramous Bellevue Medical College at New York 
and graduated thence with honors in 1886, hav- 
ing fully earned the title of Doctor of Medicine, 
which was bestowed upon him. The doctor came 
to Prineville and since that time has been stead- 
ily engaged in the practice of medicine. He is 
extensively known and has a large practice. For 
two years Dr. Belknap was superintendent of 
schools for the county, then he was county treas- 
urer for two years and for three years has been 
mayor of the city of Prineville. In these public 
capacities he has . manifested a thoroughness 
and faithfulness to the interests of the people 
that have established him well in their confidence 
and esteem. Dr. Belknap is a thorough profes- 
sional man, being well fortified with a classical 
education and an extensive medical course. He 
secured a thorough professional training and is 
also keeping well abreast of the advancing science 
of medicine all of which added to a splendid tal- 
ent make the success which he has won and 
Prineville is to be congratulated that a man of his 
ability and skill is located there. The doctor comes 
from a family which has showed itself one of 
ability in various lines as well be noted by the 
following : Harvey B. is a contractor in Cali- 
fornia, and skillful in his work ; S. I. is a leading 
druggist and assayer ; V. C. is a skillful physician 
at Prairie City, Grant county, Oregon and Elbert 
is a druggist. All of these are brothers of our 
subject and are prominent businses and profes- 
sional men. 

On March 15, 1888, Dr. Belknap married 
Miss Wilda Ketchum, who was born in New 
Brunswick and came to Prineville with her par- 
ents when a child eight years of age. The child- 
ren born to this union are Horace P., Wilfred H, 
Leland and Hobart. 

Dr. Belknap is a member of the I. O. O. F. 
and the A. F. & A. M. He and his wife are 
leading people of Crook county and have well 
earned the confidence and esteem which is gen- 
erously bestowed upon them. 



I. L. KETCHUM, who resides about a mile 
and one half west from Prineville, has one of the 
beautiful places in this part of the state. He is 
one of the pioneers of Crook county and is also 
one its leading citizens. His birth occurred in 
Carlton county, New Brunswick, on November 
30, 1830. his parents being John William and 
Sophia (GraVit) Ketchum, both natives of King 
county New Brunswick. The father was born in 
1788 and followed milling during his life. Our 
subject received his education and was reared 
in his native place and there began to work for 





Dr. Horace P. Belknap 



Mrs. Horace P. Belknap 




Mr. and Mrs. I. L. Ketchi 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



793 



himself, continuing until 1878. In that year he 
came to his present location and purchased a tract 
of school land. It was very barren and uninviting 
and Mr. Ketchum began at once to improve and 
among the first things he did was to secure a 
water right and dig a ditch for irrigation pur- 
poses. This made the desert bloom as the rose 
and he soon had one of the best estates to be 
found. He provided all improvements that could 
be desired, as fences, barns, outbuildings, orchard 
and so forth, and in addition planted a fine grove 
well laid out so that his grounds are very beauti- 
ful. Mr. Ketchum erected comfortable farm 
buildings and has taken great pride in beautify- 
ing and keeping his place in splendid order. 
These labors have all been very worthy, and are 
to be commended for others have been stimu- 
lated to greater effort by what he has accom- 
plished. 

In 1886 Mr. Ketchum married Sarah Dingee, 
who was born in Carlton county, New Bruns- 
wick, on March 22, 1849, the daughter of Charles 
D., a native of New Brunswick. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Ketchum the following named children have 
been born : Alwilda, the wife of Dr. Belknap ; 
Fannie, the wife of Columbus Johnson ; Jessie, 
married to Otto Grey ; Emma, the wife of Henry 
Whitchet; Elizabeth and Randolph. Ms. Ke£ 
chum is a member of the I. O. O. F. and the A. 
O. U. W. He and his wife are substantial mem- 
bers of the Methodist church and are known as 
upright and good people. 



T. F. BUCHANAN is to be numbered with 
Crook county's substantial stock men and farm- 
•ers. He resides two and one-half miles north- 
west from Grizzly, where he owns three hundred 
and sixty acres of land. His stock consists 
mostly of cattle. 

T. F. Buchanan was born in Henry countv, 
Missouri, on October 5, 1856, the son of Elja 
Buchanan, a veteran of the Black Hawk War. In 
his native state our subject was educated and 
reared. When eighteen years of age, being pos- 
sessed of an adventurous spirit, he determined to 
try the west and accordingly journeyed to Cali- 
fornia. He did farming and worked for wages 
for about six years. Then, it being 1880, he came 
to Grant county, Oregon, and engaged in freight- 
ing from The Dalles to Canyon City. Seven 
years were occupied at that arduous labor and 
then he came to Crook county. He secured a 
place near Prineville and there was engaged in 
farming until 1898, when he came to his present 
location and secured the estate mentioned above. 
Mr. Buchanan has been favored with good suc- 



cess and is one of the substantial men of this part 
of the county. 

In 1890, Mr. Buchanan married Miss Hale 
and to them one child has been born, Nora. Mr. 
Buchanan is a member of the well known and 
prominent Buchanan family, one of whom was 
president of the United States in the fifties. Many 
members of the family have been distinguished 
people and are prominent in the professions. 



JACOB STROUD is a genuine Oregonian. 
He was born in Benton county, this state, on 
March 8, 1849, an d nas passed his life within the 
boundaries of the state, showing, during the 
years intervening, his stability and his resource- 
fulness in the walks of life. His father, David 
D. Stroud, was born in Henderson county, Illi- 
nois, on April 23, 1812, and crossed the plains 
with ox teams in 1845. At The Dalles they had 
trouble with the Indians, but finally made their 
way down the river and then selected a place six 
miles north from where Corvallis now stands. 
May 11, 1846 was the date when settlement was 
made and there the family remained until 1874. 
Our subject was one of the first white children 
born in Benton county and he received his edu- 
cation in the common schools and in the agricul- 
tural college at Corvallis. Also, he spent some 
time in teaching in the college. Then he started 
out for himself. His father continued on the old - 
place until the date last mentioned, when he re- 
moved to Butter creek, in Umatilla county and 
engaged in the sheep business until 1877. He 
died in Prineville in 1887. He had married Miss 
Susan Hawkins, a native of Kentucky, who 
crossed the plains with her husband and was one 
of the first white women in Benton county. She 
was a faithful helpmeet to her husband in his 
pioneer labors, and remained thus till her death 
in 1 88 1. When our subject started for himself, 
he worked for wages until his marriage and 
then he settled down to farming in Benton 
county. After a few years at that, it being 1878, 
he turned his attention to handling sheep in Uma- 
tilla county. He was on Camas prairie at the 
time of the Indian outbreak and after taking his 
family to Umatilla Landing for the protection 
there afforded, he returned to round up his sheep 
and spent six weeks in the saddle. Then he re- 
turned to the valley and remained until 1885, in 
which year he came to the vicinity of Prineville 
and there engaged in stock raising until 1899. 
On March i of that year he came to his present 
location, two miles west from Lamonta, where he 
took a homestead and bought land so that with 
his son he now owns four hundred and forty 



794 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



acres. The estate is choice land and is well im- 
proved with fine house, barns, out buildings, and 
so forth. They also own a threshing outfit which 
they operate during the fall of each year. 

In 1872, Mr. Stroud married Miss Mary M. 
Seales, who was born in Arkansas, on January 
18, 1852, the daughter of Burell Seales, a vet- 
eran of the Mexican War. Mr. Stroud has the 
following named brothers : William, in Idaho ; 
John, in Josephine county ; Zechariah and Henry, 
in Prineville ; David, at The Dalles ; Isaac, in 
King valley, Oregon. Mr. and Mrs. Stroud have 
two children, J. F. and Mrs. Ella V. Rodman. 
Mr. Stroud is a member of the A. O. U. W. and 
holds with the Democratic party. He and his 
wife both belong to the Baptist church and are 
good people. 



W. T. WOOD. Without doubt the subject of 
this article is to be classed as one of the most 
successful pioneers of central Oregon. While he 
has not been within the presincts of the state so 
long as some, still he is one of the pathfinders of 
Crook county and his labors have resulted in very 
much good for the development of the country. 
To give a detailed account of his career would 
occupy more space than we are permitted to use 
but a succinct statement of the same would be 
very interesting and instructive to all. 

W. T. Wood was born in Illinois, on Decem- 
ber 29, 1830, the son of Milo and Elizabeth Ann 
(Telford) Wood, natives of North Carolina and 
Tennessee respectively. The father was born in 
1795. He was a veteran of the War of 1812 and 
died in Illinois, in 1870. The mother was born 
in 1795 and died in Illinois, in 1875. Our sub- 
ject completed his education in the Presbyterian 
school at Jacksonville, Illinois, and remained on 
the farm with his father until eighteen years of 
age. Then the family came to Petersburg, Illi- 
nois, where he continued until twenty-three years 
of age. Then he went to Nebraska, where he was 
variously engaged for a time. Mr. Wood dis- 
tinctly remembers being on the grounds now oc- 
cupied by the great city of Omaha when the 
first platting was done and he was offered a plat 
of sixty lots for the horse he was riding but re- 
fused to make the trade. These lots now are in 
trie heart of the city. He owned a ranch at that 
time of one section of land on the Platte river, 
where he was engaged in farming. He also, 
later, freighted from Omaha to Denver. During 
that time the buffalo were very plentiful on the 
plains and also it was when William F. Cody 
was riding the pony express and gained notor- 
iety and the soubriquet of "Buffalo Bill" by 



shooting a large number of these roamers of the 
plains. In 1863, our subject went to California 
and engaged in farming for nine years. It was 
1872, when he landed in the Willamette valley, 
where he was occupied for eight years. Then he 
came to his present location, which is Ashwood. 
This was a very fine country so Mr. Wood was 
induced to take up stock raising. He handled 
both cattle and sheep and his farm home is the 
place where Ashwood now stands. While he was 
engaged in the sheep industry, he handled bands 
of about six thousand all the time and was very 
successful in the business. About 1884, while 
Mr. Wood was digging a well, he discovered iron 
sulphate which led him to make further search 
and he soon discovered other unmistakable evi- 
dences of an ore body. He at once went to work 
to organize a company to develop the properties 
and was one of the leading spirits in opening the 
Ashwood mines. He is largely interested in that 
at the present time, owning a heavy amount of 
stock in two companies. 

Mr. Wood is still handling stock and doing 
general farming in addition to his mining inter- 
ests, and has disposed of his sheep, confining his 
operations to cattle. He is well known through- 
out the country and is esteemed as a man of 
ability and integrity. 

In 1 86 1, while in Nebraska, Mr. Wood mar- 
ried Martha J. Rush, who was born in Ohio, on 
October 2J, 1847. Her father, Isaac Rush, was a 
sheepman in Ohio and Nebraska. To this union, 
three children have been born, James, Milo and 
Lee. 



JAMES WOOD, the postmaster at Ash- 
wood, who is also one of the early pioneers of 
Crook county, is to be mentioned as a leading 
citizen and a stanch business man. He is now 
occupied in mining and stock raising. His birth 
occurred in Nebraska, on May 22, 1862. His 
father, W. T. Wood, is mentioned elsewhere in 
this work. Our subject was taken by the family 
from Nebraska to California when quite young. 
In 1875, they journeyed on to the Willamette val- 
ley and then he came to Ashwood. In 1880, he 
took a band of stock east and has driven cattle 
across the plains. He engaged in sheep and cat- 
tle raising, in 1886, and still continues handling 
cattle. In his labors, he has gained a good suc- 
cess, having displayed both energy and skill. In 
1889, he began to work on the Red Jacket mines, 
which are now owned by the Red Jacket Mining 
Company and since that time, has been more or 
less engaged with mining. He discovered the 
Dexter and Red Jacket mines and has spent a 
good many thousand dollars in developing these 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



795 



properties. At present, he is general manager of 
the properties mentioned. On the Oregon King 
thev have a large quantity of ore blocked out. In 
addition to this, Mr. Wood owns a half interest 
in the Ashwood mines and owing to his indus- 
try and push, the mining interests of this section 
have been brought to the notice of the public 
and steps are being taken to make producers of 
these properties. In the spring of 1899, Mr. 
Wood laid out the townsite of Ashwood and 
still owns the principal portion of the same. At 
the establishment of the Ashwood postofhce, he 
was appointed postmaster and has held the office 
since to satisfaction of all. 

On March 8, 1902, Mr. Wood married Ada 
Belle Rush, the daughter of Samuel Rush, who 
is mentioned in another portion of this work. 
Two children have been born to this union) Floyd 
and Bessie. 

Mr. Wood is a member of the Masons and 
in politics, he is a Republican. He is looked up 
to and respected by all and readily holds this po- 
sition, owing to his sagacity and his stanch prin- 
ciples. 

+-»-+ 

CHARLES BOLSBY who was born in Den- 
ver, Colorado, on September 22, 1862, is now one 
of tne substantial agriculturists of Crook county 
and resides in Suplee. His father was John K. 
Bolsby, a native of Ireland. When a young man 
he came to America and settled at Soda Springs, 
Colorado. By trade he was a cooper and baker 
and followed these occupations in Colorado. 
He fought in all the early Indian wars 
in that part of the country, and became a very 
prominent and leading man. He married Sophia 
Streeter of Scotch nativity who came to Amer- 
ica when a young girl and the wedding occurred 
in Wisconsin. Our subject accompanied his pa- 
rents from Colorado to Wisconsin when a mere 
boy and from that state, they journeyed later to 
Missouri. After that, they lived in Kansas and 
in 1876, Charles came on to the Willamette val- 
ley. His education was completed in the univer- 
sity at Eugene, Oregon, and following that he 
held the position of brakeman on the Oregon and 
California railroad for a number of years. Fi- 
nally, in 1884, he came to Prineville, Oregon, and 
went into the stock business. That occupation 
has held him since and he has been quite success- 
ful in prosecuting the same. His ranch con- 
sists of six hundred acres of good land and at 
this time he is giving his attention to tilling the 
soil in addition to raising some stock. The place 
is well improved and Mr.Bolsby is planning more 
extensive additions and improvements to his 
estate in the near future. 



Mr. Bolsby married Lily Delo're, who was 
born at Dufur, Oregon, and died January 25, 
1892. The household has been blessed by two 
children, Edith and Iva P. Mr. and Mrs. Bolsby 
enjoyed the esteem and confidence of all. 



JOSEPH H. DEEN, a native Oregonian, re- 
sides two and one-half miles north from Suplee. 
The date and place of his birth was Wasco 
county, January 27, 1871. Jacob Deen, his 
father, was born in Missouri and crossed the 
plains in 1847, to where Portland now stands. 
For five years he remained there, then came to 
Wasco county and took government land and 
engaged in farming and stock raising. He con- 
tinued the same until 1880 in which year he re- 
moved to Lewiston, Idaho. Four years were 
spent there and he returned to Wasco county, 
where he remained until 1905. He had fought 
in the Rogue River, Modoc and the Paiute In- 
dian Wars and showed bravery and faithfulness 
in these trying and dangerous times. He married 
Frances Kingston, a native of Missouri, who 
crossed the plains with her parents to Oregon 
in 1848. Our subject was educated and reared 
in Wasco county and in 1893 came to his present 
location and took a homestead. He engaged in 
farming and stock raising and has continued the 
same ever since, with reasonable success. 

In 1899, Mr. Deen married Miss Bertha 
Bush, who was born in Missouri and they now 
have two children, Yelva and Lowel. Mrs. 
Deen's father, James F. Bush, was born in Mis- 
souri and became a well-to-do farmer. He mar- 
ried Sirena Thompson, a native of Putnam 
county, Indiana. She was brought to Missouri 
by her parents when three years of age and in 
1847 came with them across the plains to the 
Willamette valley. The father took a donation 
claim near Salem and in 1852 removed to Port- 
land. From thence thev journeyed to San Fran- 
cisco and started for Cuba by ship, but instead of 
stopping there they went on to New York then 
to Pennsylvania and finally back to Missouri. 
There Mrs. Bush remained until 1897, when 
they came back to Oregon. She was a pioneer 
in the true sense of the word and always lived on 
the frontier and never saw a cook stove until 
after she was sixteen years of age. 



JOHN W. GILCHRIST is one of the pro- 
gressive stockmen and farmers of Crook county 
and is to be numbered with the pioneers of 
His birth occurred in Indiana, 



central Oregon. 



796 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



■ on October 23, 1856 and he now resides twenty 
miles out from Post, on the Burns stage road. 
His parents, James and Charity M. (Adams) 
Gilchrist, were born in Scotland and Indiana, re- 
spectively. The father came to Indiana in pio- 
neer days and was a very prominent Presby- 
terian minister. The mother journeyed to Cali- 
fornia in 1875, where she remained until 1880 
when she returned to Indiana and there died in 
1893. Our subject was educated in Indiana and 
at the age of seventeen came west, stopping first 
amid the attractions of the Golden State. There 
he remained until 1877, when he journeyed on to 
the Willamette valley and one year later left 
that country for western Oregon. He has trav- 
eled over a large portion of the country east of 
the Cascades and south of the Columbia and fi- 
nally located at the place where he now resides. 
From the beginning, he has been engaged in rais- 
ing stock and now also does considerable farm- 
ing in addition thereto. The success that has 
crowned his efforts has made him one of the 
well-to-do men 6f the county and he is consid- 
ered a very substantial man. 

In 1879, Mr. Gilchrist married Nellie Parish, 
who was born in the Willamette valley, the 
daughter of Edward Parish. Five children are 
the fruit of this union, Fred, Jamie, Floyd, Paul, 
and Willda. Mr. Gilchrist by experience knows 
well the hardships and arduous labors of the pio- 
neer's life and he has done his share in opening 
this country for the ingress of civilization. There- 
fore it is with pleasure that his name is to be 
added to the list of worthy pioneers of this part 
of Oregon. 



GEORGE H. OSBORNE, who is one of 
the representative agriculturists of Crook county, 
is residing at Culver, where he has a good estate. 
He was born in Missouri, in 1852. His father, 
Hon. William F. Osborne, is a native of Indiana, 
and was one of the first commissioners of Green- 
wood county, Kansas, and also enjoyed the dis- 
tinction of being sent three times to the legis- 
lature of that state. He is a man of influence and 
ability and has had an interesting career. He 
made a trip to California at the time of the dis- 
covery of gold there and then returned to his 
home in Greenwood county where he resides at 
the present time. He married Mary Barnes, who 
was born in Missouri, and whose death occurred 
in 1864. Our subject was taken by his parents 
to Greenwood county, Kansas territory, from 
Missouri, they being among the earliest settlers 
of that territory. In 1872 our subject came from 
Kansas, where he had received his education, and 
located near Goose Lake, in Oregon. Three 



years later he removed thence to the Willamette 
valley and there remained until 1878, when he 
came to his present location and took a home- 
stead. He also took a timber culture and since 
then he has devoted his energies to farming, and 
has made a good success. 

On November 6, 1877, Mr. Osborne married 
Miss Ella Rogers, and they have become the pa- 
rents of ten children, whose names follow : 
Franklin C, Robert C, Francis E., Maude L., 
Lulu M., Winford C, Floyd H., Lois W., Flor- 
ence G., and Rex R. Mr. Osborne is a member 
of the A. O. U. W. and the Artisans and is to 
be numbered with the pioneers of the Haystack 
country. He has shown commendable industry 
in his labors and has a good standing in the com- 
munity. 



LEE WOOD, who resides at Ashwood, Ore- 
gon, was born in Lake county, California, on 
April 15, 1869. His father, W. T. Wood, is men- 
tioned in another portion of this work. Mr. 
Wood is one of the stirring young business men 
o>. the county, possessing marked industry and 
integrity. He came from California to Lane 
county, Oregon, with his parents when but two 
years of age. The beginning of his education 
was gained in the Lane county home and in 1879, 
the family came thence to what is now Crook 
county. Here our subject was reared and com- 
pleted his education and has been more or less 
connected with stock raising ever since the father 
settled here. It is interesting to note that where 
the shaft of the Oregon King is now located, Mr. 
Wood herded sheep for years, not knowing there 
were such valuable bodies of ore underneath. He 
is now largely interested in mining as well as 
stock raising and bids fair to become one of the 
wealthy men of this part of the country. 

In the fall of 1901, Mr. Wood married Lena 
B. Robinson, the daughter of J. W. Robinson, an 
account of whose life is found elsewhere in this 
volume. Mr. and Mrs. Wood are young people 
of excellent standing, are favorites in society and 
are to be commended for their energy displayed 
in the good work of developing this country. 



C. C. O'NEIL, a merchant, residing at For- 
rest, which is thirteen miles west of Prineville, 
is a man whose labors have accomplished very 
much for the development and upbuilding of 
Crook county. He was born in Connersville, In- 
diana, on August 27, 1857, the son of William 
G. O'Neil, who was born in Tennessee, in 1812 
and was one of the pioneers to Indiana. Our 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



797 



subject was educated and reared in Indiana until 
1870 when he went to Kansas and spent three 
years. Then came the journey to California 
where he settled on a fruit ranch in Sonoma 
county. For nine years he was occupied there 
and then he came to the Bend, Oregon, in 1882. 
One winter was spent there and after that Mr. 
O'Neil engaged in the stock business in this 
county. In 1890, he took charge of the Prine- 
ville Land and Live Stock Company and contin- 
ued in the management of the same until 1889. 
During that time, he was instrumental in for- 
warding many things that were for the advance- 
ment of the county. He has always taken a deep 
interest in bringing Crook county to the front 
and developing her resources to make them pro- 
ductive. In this line, Mr. O'Neil has been a real 
leader and deserves much credit. In 1904, he 
severed his relations with the company above 
mentioned and came to his present location, pur- 
chased twenty-six hundred acres of land, one- 
half 01 which is agricultural. He also purchased 
the store at this point and enlarged it, putting 
in a fine stock of general merchandise. He is in 
partnership with his brothers, George W. and 
Walter in the business and the firm is known as a 
very progressive and up-to-date business house. 
Mr. O'Neil also buys and sells hay and grain and 
operates a general supply depot for this part of 
the country. In 1894, Mr. O'Neil married Mary 
Clarke, who was born in Iowa. Mrs. O'Neil 
died, leaving three children, Annie, William and 
Bercia. 

Mr. O'Neil is a member of the W. W. and 
the A. O. U. W. In politics he is a Republican 
and is always on hand during the campaigns 
pushing forward the interests of his party. 



SAMUEL F. KING has succeeded in his 
labors in Crook county and may well take pride 
in what he has achieved. He resides about a 
half a mile west from Paulina and devotes his 
attention to farming. His birth occurred in 
Montgomery county, Kansas, on January 13, 
1&78, being the son of R. N. and Mary King, na- 
tives of Kentucky and Indiana, respectively. The 
father settled in Indiana in pioneer days and later 
came to Kansas where he died when our subject 
was nine years of age. Then Samuel F. left 
Home and began life for himself. Although very 
young, he was enabled to make his own way and 
for four years did so in Kansas. Then, being 
thirteen years of age, he came on to the William- 
ette valley and wrought there until 1897. At that 
time he came to eastern Oregon and worked in 
Wheeler county for wages. He also wrought in 



various other portions of the state and being of 
an economical and thrifty turn of mind, he saved 
his wages and in 1902 was enabled to purchase a 
half section of fine agricultural land, where he 
now resides. Mr. King is still a very young man 
and the fact that he has secured a farm of one- 
half section which is being improved and placed 
in a high state of cultivation, indicates the man- 
ner of man and his business ability. He bids 
fair to become one of Crook county's substan- 
tial men. 



R. P. HARRINGTON, city marshal of 
Prineville, county seat of Crook county, was born 
in Columbia, Boone county, Missouri, December 
2 7> l &52>- His father was a native of Missouri, 
and although he took no part in the Civil War,, 
he was met in the road by a party of Union 
troops and shot to death. 

In 1881 our subject left Missouri and came 
west to Silverton, Marion county, Oregon, where 
he remained one year. He then came on to 
Prineville where at first he worked on a ranch, 
and subsequently engaged in the sheep business. 
In 1901 Mr. Harrington was appointed marshal 
of the city of Prineville, and subsequently was 
elected for three terms, which position he at 
present holds. 

In 189 1 Mr. Harrington was united in mar- 
riage to Miss Ada J. Crane, born near Eugene, 
Oregon. She is the daughter of Andrew J. 
Crane, a native of Illinois, who crossed the plains 
in the fifties. They have one child, Ernest Har- 
rington. 

Fraternally our subject is a member of the A.: 
O. U. W., and politically he is a Democrat. Mr. 
Harrington is an excellent official, and conducts' 
the duties of his office in a most satisfactory man- 
ner. He is a popular gentleman, and numbers 
many friends in both business and social circles. 



B. F. SHEPHERD who was born in Da- 
kota territory, on October 28, 1867, is now resid- 
ing twenty miles south from Paulina. He gives 
his attention to stock raising in which he has 
achieved a splendid success. Benjamin Shep- 
herd, his father, was a native of Whiteside, Illi- 
nois, and came to Iowa when a young man. 
Thence he moved to Dakota. He married Esther 
Drur, a native of Indiana. Our subject went 
with his parents from Dakota back to Iowa when 
a small boy and in 1881, came to California. After 
spending one year in that state, he came on to 
Crook county and soon after landing here en- 
gaged in stock raising. He has continued stead- 



79 8 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



ily at it from that time until the present and, as 
stated before, he has achieved a splendid success. 
He has a goodly amount of first-class stock, a well 
improved place and is one of the substantial and 
representative men of the county. In 1901 Mr. 
Shepherd married Miss Annie L. Pickett, who 
was born in Nevada and came to Crook county 
with her parents when a young girl. Her father 
was David C. Pickett. Mr. Shepherd is greatly 
in love with Crook county and believes it one of 
the finest places in the west. He has always taken 
a lively interest in politics and educational matters 
and is a man of excellent standing. 



JOSEPH STREET, who was born in Put- 
nam county, Tennessee, on May 28, 1854, the 
son of John and Martha A. (Roberson) Street, 
is now residing forty miles south from Paulina in 
Crook county. His parents are more particularly 
mentioned in the sketch of James M. Street, 
which appears elsewhere in this work. Our sub- 
ject received his education in Tennessee and in 
California whither he went with his parents in 
1870. When he arrived at manhood's estate, he 
engaged in ranching in Modoc county, California, 
and remained there until 1886, then he came north 
to Oregon and finally to the vicinity of his pres- 
ent home. He soon bought land and engaged in 
raising cattle and horses. He now owns two hun- 
dred and forty acres of good land and has a fine 
bunch of stock and is one of the enterprising 
and successful men of the countrv. 

In 1884 Mr. Street married Nettie Best, who 
was born in California where also she was reared 
and educated. Her parents, John and Nettie 
(Larson) Best, were natives of Wisconsin and 
Norway, respectively, and crossed the plains to 
California in early days. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Street, six children have been born, Wesley, 
Maudie, William H., Lena J., Eddie, and Fran- 
cis. Mr. Street began life without any capital and 
he now possesses a good home, a good farm and 
a nice holding in stock besides other property 
which is the result of his own labor and worthy 
efforts. 



LEE STEERS is a pioneer of central Ore- 
gon and has done a splendid work both as such 
and as a stockman and farmer in later years here. 
He was born in Lincoln county, Illinois, on July 
23, 1863, and now lives at Suplee in Crook 
county. James F. M. Steers, his father, crossed 
the plains from Illinois in 1865 to the Willam- 
ette valley. He drove four oxen and his wife 
-drove four horses and thus they made their way 



to the west. After one year in the Willamette 
valley, they came to Wasco county and later 
here the father died in 1867. The mother was in 
maiden life, Alvira Hieronymus. She was a de- 
voted and faithful helpmeet to her husband and 
is still living in Wasco county. The schools of 
Wasco county furnished the educational training 
for our subject and he remained there until 1886, 
when he moved to his present location and took 
government land. He immediately began to im- 
prove and soon acquired more land, having now 
an entire section. The same is well laid out and 
in a good state of cultivation and supplied with 
everything needful for a first class farm and 
stock ranch. Mr. Steers has displayed great 
thrift and industry, the result of which is that he 
is possessed of a good fortune and is one of the 
leading men of the country. 

In 1890, occurred the marriage of Mr. Steers 
and Nellie F. Laughlin. She was born in the 
Willamette valley and came to Wasco countv 
with her parents in 1871. Her father, Samuel D. 
Laughlin, crossed the plains to Wasco count} - in 
early day and became one of the prominent men 
of the state of Oregon. He married Amanda 
M inter, a pioneer of Oregon. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Steers, four children have been born, Lulu, Ruby, 
Verne and Alvira. Mr. Steers has been devoted 
to improvements for the good of the country 
and its development and has accomplished a 
great deal on these lines. He is a worthy citizen, 
a good man and is rightly classed among the lead- 
ing people in this part of the state. 



FULGENZIO VANINA is a man of very ex- 
tensive travels and wide experience in various oc- 
cupations and enterprises in different parts of the 
world. He was born in Biasca, Canton of Ticino, 
Switzerland, on July 15, 1844. His father, San- 
tino Vanina, was born in the same place as our 
subject and there owned a small farm. In addi- 
tion to operating that, he did logging in the moun- 
tains. In 1854 he went to Australia and did min- 
ing for about ten years. Then he returned to 
Switzerland and remained there until his death. 
He married Veronica Vanza, who was born in 
Osogna, Switzerland, and remained in Switzer- 
land until her death. Our subject left home when 
twelve years of ag - e and went to Australia. He 
spent seventeen years in that countrv and New- 
Zealand and mined in all the leading camps of 
those great countries. While operating in the 
mines he learned to read and write the Italian 
language from a friend. His other educational 
qualifications have been gained in the same way 
by personal effort without much assistance from 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



799 



the schools. Finally, in 1872, he left the South- 
ern Pacific ocean and returned to his native land, 
making a short visit to the home place. He then 
set our for California, whence he journeyed on 
to Nevada. Then he took a trip to Alaska after 
which he returned to California and engaged in 
the dairying business for five years. In 1882 Mr. 
Vanina came to The Dalles and engaged in ranch- 
ing in that vicinity for two years. Then he 
came to the vicinity of his present location and 
here he has remained since, with the exception 
that one year was spent in traveling along the 
Pacific coast. He now owns a large estate of 
eleven hundred and sixty acres and handles a 
great many cattle. He is considered one of the 
wealthy men of Crook county and has gained 
every bit of it by his own efforts as he started 
in life without any capital whatever. In 1878 Mr. 
Vanina married Catarina Rivera, who was born 
in the same place as our subject. She came to 
California in 1877 an d was married in that state. 
Mrs. Vanina's father is Pietro Rivera, a native 
of Switzerland. He journeyed to California in 
1856 and remained in that state until his death. 
He had married Domenica Vanina, a native of 
Switzerland. Mr. and Mrs. Vanina have one 
child, Mrs. Lena Lowery. She and her husband 
are operating a farm in Crook county. Mr. Vanina 
has traveled very extensively and "has seen great 
hardships and trying labors during his life. He 
has been in some very dangerous places but has 
always succeeded in making his way out and al- 
though he did not meet with the best of success 
in his many enterprises, nevertheless he is now 
•one of the wealthy men of the country. 



MARCUS J. WILT is a representative man 
of the country where he resides, and stands at 
the head of a good business. He is following 
merchandising in Sisters, and shows an ability 
and integrity that commend him to all who 
know him. He was born in Pennsylvania, on 
August 19, 1854. His father, Andrew Wilt, 
was also born in that state and enlisted in the 
Second Iowa calvary, in 1861, being one of those 
who pressed forward at the first call. He saw 
hard service and died in the field hospital from 
the effects of it. Our subject left Pennsylvania 
with his parents when two years of age and they 
settled in Iowa. There Marcus received his edu- 
cation and remained until he had grown to man- 
hood. When twenty-one he went to Leavenworth 
and there worked for wages for eight years. After 
that he came on west to Squaw creek and there 
took a homestead and engaged in raising cat- 
tle. He began with small means and has la- 



bored steadily along since that time, receiving 
the due reward of industry and wisdom. Later 
he entered into partnership with Mr. Smith and 
they opened a general merchandise establish- 
ment which is being conducted successfully at 
this time. Mr. Wilt also retains his ranch which 
is rented, while he in person attends to his store. 
In 1879 Mr. Wjlt married Miss Creamier, 
who was born in Missouri. Her father, Joseph 
Creamer, was a native of Georgia. Mr. Wilt 
has two brothers, John and George. He is a 
member of the A. O. U. W. and stands well in 
this community. He has labored faithfully and 
has accomplished good results. In business he 
is upright, accommodating, and careful of the 
interests of his customers. The result is that he 
has won the esteem of all and is worthy of the 
same. 



HIRAM GIBSON, one of the representative 
stockmen and farmers of Crook county, resides 
about thirty miles southeast from Crook on 
the head of Crooked river, his place being known 
as the Cold Springs ranch. He was born in 
Meigs county, Tennessee, on March 18, 1853, 
the son of Randolph and Sarah (Brady) Gibson, 
natives of Kentucky and Tennessee, respectively. 
The father came to Tennessee in an early day 
and settled on a farm in Meigs county. After a 
number of years, he removed thence to Texas 
and there remained until his death. His wife's 
father resided on the Tennessee river and there 
did farming and operated a ferry. Our subject 
received a little education in Tennessee but ow- 
ing to the fact that the schools were broken by 
the war then in progress he was not enabled to 
pursue his studies very much. When twenty 
years of age he journeyed to California where he 
worked for wages for a time. Later, he went 
to ranching for himself in Tulare county and in 
1878 he came with his family to Polk 
county, Oregon. The next fall he lo- 
cated at The Dalles and took up sheep rais- 
ing which he followed for years. It was 1885 
when Mr. Gibson came to Prineville and engaged 
in the stock business in Crook county. He finally 
selected his present place in 189 1 and purchased 
■it Since that he has made this his headquarters, 
has improved the farm and is raising stock. He 
is one of the enterprising citizens of the county 
and always displays a lively interest in its up- 
building and improvement. 

In 1875 Mr - Gibson married Margarete R. 
King, who was born in Arkansas and went with 
her parents, William and Rhoda (Enloe) King, 
to California when a small child, where she was 
reared. The parents took this trip from Missouri 



8oo 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



in 1859. To Mr. and Mrs. Gibson, four children 
have been born, Randolph, Mrs. Mary Hutton, 
Abbie, and William H. Mr. Gibson has been 
prospered in his labors' here in Crook county and 
has become one of the well to do men. He has a 
good standing, is widely known and has many 
friends. 



JAMES S. McMEEN is a stock raiser and 
farmer residing three miles northwest from Lam- 
onta. He was born in Ohio on February 25, 
1852. His father, John McMeen, was born in 
Pennsylvania and was a veteran of the Civil 
War, having enlisted in Company J, Thirty-sev- 
enth Ohio Cavalry, in which he served until 1863, 
when he was thrown from his horse in Louisville, 
Kentucky, from the effects of which he died that 
same year. Our subject was educated in the com- 
mon schools of Ohio and remained on the old 
home place until twenty-one years of age. Then 
he went to Philadelphia, later visited Chicago and 
then went back to the old home place in Ohio 
from which he started on September 8, 1883, for 
the west. He came direct to his present location 1 
and took a homestead. At that time, he had a 
capital of one hundred dollars. He began raising 
sheep and horses and has continued in that busi- 
ness together with farming. He is in- 
creasing his property holdings so that he now 
owns eight hundred and eighty acres which is 
well improved and productive. He has a beau- 
tiful home, one hundred head of cattle and other 
property. 

In November, 1884, Mr. McMeen married 
Emma F. Williams, a native of Illinois and the 
daughter of William Williams. Three children 
are the fruit of this union, Charles, Lloyd and 
Bruce. Our subject has one brother, David, in 
Ohio. 

Fraternally, he is a member of the W. W. and 
is a man well known as substantial and indus- 
trious. 



ALEX SMITH, a prosperous merchant of 
Sisters, Crook county, was born in New .Bruns- 
wick, Canada, August 16, 1869. His father, 
John B. Smith, was one of the first settlers of a 
portion of New Brunswick, where he plunged 
into the dense timber and succeeded in clearing a 
fine and productive farm of three hundred and 
twenty acres. 

At the age of fourteen years our subject left 
New Brunswick and journeyed to Boston, 
Massachusetts, wbere he remained two years in 
the "Hub of the Universe," as the city has been 
felicitously called from time immemorial. It 



was in 1886 that he came to Grass Valley, Sher- 
man county, Oregon, of which locality he was one 
of the earliest settlers, as it might be said ; a pi- 
oneer of pioneers. Here, for a period of twelve 
years Mr. Smith was engaged in the industry of 
raising sheep. He then disposed of his holdings 
in this business and came to the town of Sisters 
where he at once engaged in the mercantile busi- 
ness, in -which he has been quite successful, and 
which he still profitably continues. 

Mr. Smith is, fraternally, a member of the I. 
O. O. F., and the A. O. U. W. He has made a 
success of every undertaking in which he has 
engaged since coming west, and has excellent 
reason to be proud of his present prosperity. He 
numbers many friends in the community in which 
he resides and has won the confidence of his fel- 
low citizens by upright business dealings and 
strict probity. 



S. S. BROWN resides one mile east from 
Haystack in Crook county, where he has a choice 
estate of four hundred acres. He gives his entire, 
attention to general farming and has made a good 
showing in that line. His place has good im- 
provements and he raises sufficient stock to 
handle the estate. 

S. S. Brown was born in eastern Tennessee, 
in 1844. His father, J. B. Brown, was a native of 
North Carolina and was a veteran of the Revolu- 
tion. The mother of our subject was Sarah 
(McNeil) Brown, also a native of North Caro- 
lina. In his native state, Mr. Brown received 
his early education and at the breaking out of the 
Civil War, belonged to Company A, of the Ten- 
nessee Militia. His company and Company B 
were retained in the service by General Burnside 
and thev spent some time in active service. In 
1864, Mr. Brown removed to Kentucky and a 
few years later, went thence to Kansas, where he 
was engaged in farming for about eleven years. 
In 1876, he came on west to Linn county, Oregon, 
and did farming there for three years. Then, it 
being 1879, ne came to this side of the mountains 
and settled on Willow creek in Crook county. 
That was his home for eleven years and then he 
sold out and came to his present location, pur- 
chasing four hundred acres, which is his farm 
today. Mr. Brown has always shown himself a 
man of industry and thrift, laboring faithfully 
and steadily to bring about the best results in his 
entire business enterprises and to build up the 
country. 

In t86i Mr. Brown married Miss Ross, a na- 
tive of Tennessee, Mr. Brown has the follow- 
ing named children : Mary Jane, James A., John 




S. S. Brown 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



8ctf 



B., Warren, Ella, Maude, Lulu, Vesta, Roy, Fred, 
and Thelma. 

Fraternally, our subject belongs to the I. O. 
O. F. and the A. O. U. W., while in political 
matters, he is allied with the Democratic party. 



G. S. MILLER, an industrious and substan- 
tial farmer of Crook county, resides one and one- 
half miles southwest from Lamonta. He was 
born in Illinois, on March I, 1837, the son of 
George Miller, who was a pioneer all his life.' He 
always lived so far out on the frontier that he was 
away from railroad all his days. John Miller, 
the paternal grandfather of our subject, was a 
patriot of the Revolution. Our subject received 
his education in his native country and in 1850 
crossed the plains on horseback, driving cattle 
all the way. They chose a location in Linn county 
and at once set about stock raising and general 
tanning, clearing their land for that purpose. 
Soon after landing in Linn county, however, our 
subject began to travel to different portions of the 
west and he has been engaged in the stock busi- 
ness in various localities all the time since. He 
has done much riding on the range and has ex- 
perienced every phase of frontier and pioneer 
life. About five years since, Mr. Miller came to 
his present location and took a homestead, which 
has been the scene of his labors since. He also 
owns a ranch in Lincoln county, Washington, 
and has some other property. 

In January, 1861, Mr. Miller married Miss 
Walton, who was born in Ohio and crossed the 
plains in 185 1. Her father, Ralph Walton, was 
a pioneer of the Pacific coast and has recently 
died. His widow is still living in this county. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Miller five children have been 
born, F. D., A. C, George M., Eva M., and 
Estella. 

Mr. Miller always takes an interest in politi- 
cal matters and has labored faithfully in many 
portions of the west to build up and develop the 
country. He is now passing his golden years in 
this favored region and has the esteem of those 
who know him. 



MARCUS D. POWELL, one of the prosper- 
ous ranchers of Crook county, and one well and 
favorably known in the community in which he 
resides, was born in Linn county, Oregon, No- 
vember 21, 1853. 

His father, John Powell, a native of Tennes- 
see, crossed the plains from Missouri in 1852. 
He was a prominent worker in the theological 
field, and assisted in founding the Baptist church 

51 



at Prineville. His father, Joab Powell, was a fa-^ 
mous preacher in Oregon, Washington and Cali- 
fornia. 

The early education of our subject was re- 
ceived in Linn county. When seventeen years of 
age, in 1870, he came to Prineville, where, in 
those pioneer days of roughing it, there were ho' 
public schools. But a short time after his arrival 
the people of the vicinity organized a subscrip- 
tion school, securing as teacher Mr. S. R. Slay- 
ton. This educational institution our subject at- 
tended and made the most of the slender oppor- 
tunities offered, and here he received the greater 
part of his education. On attaining his majority 
he took a band of cattle on shares and began, 
ranching on Beaver creek, where he remained 
about three years. Subsequently he engaged for 
a short time in the mercantile business, but again" 
went on a farm where he continued six years. 
Then for six years afterward Mr. Powell was in 
the grocery business in Prineville, and on dispos- 
ing of his interests in this enterprise he came to his 
present location, which is called the "Hay Ranch.'' 
This year Mr. Powell stacked between six hun- 
dred and seven hundred tons of hay. His ranch 
at present consists of four hundred acres — in this 
body — and four hundred and eighty acres in 
other parts of the county. 

In 1880 our subject was married to Victoria 
Thompson, a native of Linn county. She diecJ 
in 1893. Her father was Amos Thompson. In 
1894 Mr. Powell was united in marriage to Mrs: 
Gerow Zevely, born in Linn county. She is the 
daughter of John M. Zevely. Their living chil- 
dren are Elizabeth and Lloyd. Ora, Marcus ancfc 
Becky are deceased. 

Politically Mr. Powell is a Republican, arid/ 
■was the first assessor elected in Crook county. 
For the past two years he has served as county 
commissioner, and during his official career . as 
commissioner there have been a number of val- 
uable improvements made in the county. Fratern- 
ally he is a member of the A. O. U. W. 



EDMUND A. PARKER, a native of Oregon,- 
having been born in Clackamas county, on Feb- 
ruary 29, 1864, is now an enterprising and suc- 
cessful stockman and farmer of Crook county, 
residing sixteen miles south of Prineville. His 
parents, Edmund A. and Sara E. (Bell) Parker, 
were born in Missouri and Kentucky, respec- 
tively, and crossed the plains with ox teams in 
1850. The father took a donation claim on Rock 
creek and later moved to Oregon City, where his 
father-in-law, A. H. Bell, operated a drug store 
for a number of years. His death occurred in 1 



S02- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Albany, in 1902. Our subject was educated in 
the,. public schools of the various places where 
.the family lived when he was of school- age and in 
1885 he came across the mountains to Crook 
county. He soon secured employment, as he ar- 
rived- here without capital and worked steadily 
until he finally decided to take land. Then he went 
into the stockbusiness for himself. Later he en- 
tered into partnership and he and his partner to- 
day own a large ranch and a great many cattle. 
In 1895 Mr. Parker married Gertrude Rich- 
ards,, who was born in Illinois and came to Ore- 
gon when young. Some five years since, he was 
called to mourn the death of his wife, who left 
one child, George. 

- Mr. Parker has achieved splendid success in 
his dabors in this county and is always known as 
a public minded and progressive man. 



•WILLIAM H. MILLIORN has been a citi- 
zen .of Crook county for a long time and is num- 
bered with the progressive and leading men of 
this, part of Oregon today. He was born in 
Monroe county, Tennessee, on June 20, 1835. 
John Milliorn, his father, was a native of Vir- 
ginia and moved to Tennessee when a young 
man. ■■ He crossed the plains with ox teams in 
very early day to Lane county, Oregon, taking a 
.donation claim where he remained until his 
.(death. He became a wealthy and very promi- 
nent citizen in this state. He descended from 
Pennsylvania Dutch ancestors and married Mary 
W.>.Lee, a cousin of Robert E. Lee, who was 
born in Virginia and crossed the plains with her 
husband. She came from a very prominent and 
welj known family. Our subject was a boy when 
he accompanied his parents across the plains, yet 
;he -drove five yoke of cattle and became very ex- 
pert, in this business. Leaving the states when 
he was young and coming to a pioneer country 
where no schools existed he had a very poor 
chance of gaining an education but made the best 
of what he had. In 1855 he went to the Rogue 
river country and participated in the Rogue River 
War,, being under General Wool. After that the 
family were in Lane county for a number of years 
and .in 1880, came east of the Cascades. He located 
his .present place very soon, which is known as 
Crook postoffice. Here he has remained for nearly 
twenty-five years, engaged in the dual occupa- 
tion, of farming and stock raising. Owing to the 
skill he has displayed and the industry, he has 
made a splendid success and is one of the well to 
do men of the country. 

.In 1859 Mr. Milliorn married Sarah J. Lem- 
ley,- who was born near Little Rock, Arkansas, on 



September 16, 1844, the daughter of P. G. and 
Wancy (Fletcher) Lemley, natives of Arkansas, 
In 1853, Mr. Lemley brought his family across 
the plains with ox teams to Lane county and 
there he became a very prominent man and for 
years was clerk and judge of Lane county. Mrs. 
Milliorn was reared and educated in Lane county 
and came to Crook county with her husband. For 
nineteen years past, she has been postmistress at 
Crook and is a very efficient and popular encumb- 
ent. To Mr. and Mrs. Milliorn the following 
named children have been born, Thomas H., Mrs. 
Maude Logan, Mrs. Lucy Long, P. G., George 
D., John, and Mrs. Jennie E. Mulholland. Mr. 
Milliorn has the distinction of being one of the 
earliest settlers in this portion of the county 
and for years he labored here when neighbors 
were scattering and few and in the good work of 
opening up the country, he has done a commenda- 
ble part. The adversity and hardship incident 
to pioneer life have been experienced by him in 
no small degree and he is rightly classed as one 
of the builders of the country. 



CHARLES LINCOLN REAM, one of 
Crook county's substantial farmers and stock 
raisers, resides on Crooked river thirty-three 
miles southeast of Prineville on the Burns stage 
road. He there owns two hundred and forty 
acres of finely irrigated land which produces 
abundant crops and is well improved by substan- 
tial buildings and all things necessary for the op- 
eration of the place. He also owns a quarter sec- 
tion a few miles from this home place. 

Charles L. Ream was born in Des Moines 
county, Iowa. His education was obtained 
in the public schools of his native state 
and he remained with his parents until he 
had arrived at his majority, when he began life 
for himself. His father, Enoch Ream, a native 
of Pennsylvania, was a brickmaker by trade and 
followed this occupation in various sections of 
the country. When yet a young- man, he came to 
Iowa and there married Miss Frances Dowell, 
a native of Indiana. Her parents had moved to 
Iowa when she was a young girl. Mr. and Mrs. 
Ream crossed the plains to the Willamette val- 
ley, making settlement near Eugene where he fol- 
lowed his trade. Thev were the parents of nine 
children, namely : Harriett Wells and Henry, of 
iiugene, Oregon ; Edward, in California ; Mrs. 
Mathilda Montgomery, in Iowa ; Charles L., who 
is our subject; Enoch, Adam, Fred, and Gus, all 
in Oregon. 

In 1873 occurred the marriage of Charles L. 
Ream and Miss Ida M. Dowell, the latter being a 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



80 • 



native of Illinois, in which state the wedding was 
celebrated. They came west in 1881 and our sub- 
ject worked at brickmaking with his father in va- 
rious places along the coast until 1889, when our 
subject was obliged, on account of the ill health 
01 his wife, to return to Illinois. She died there 
the same year. Two children had been born to 
them, Edward and Frances, both at home. After 
his wife's death, our subject returned to Oregon 
and took a homestead on McKenzie river in Lane 
county, where he engaged in farming and milling 
until 1900. In that year he came to Crook 
county and raised sheep one year. Then he sold 
his sheep and purchased the place where he now 
resides. 

On May 17, 1895, Mr. Ream contracted a sec- 
ond marriage, this time, taking Mrs. Elizabeth 
Wade, a native of Texas, as his bride. Her par- 
ents, James H. and Margaret (Hurst) Wade, 
were natives of Texas and Alabama, respectively. 
Mrs. Wade died in her native state and Mr. Wade 
came to Oregon and settled in Lane county. Mr. 
and Mrs. Ream are the parents of four children, 
Daniel, Archie, Maude, and Nora. 

Politically, Mr. Ream is very liberal, choos- 
ing men and principles for himself, rather than 
having the directions of any party. In educa- 
tional matters, he is very active and a strong ad- 
vocate of good schools and in fact everything for 
the upbuilding of the country. 



J. O. GARNER has demonstrated what a man 
can do in this rich section of the west by taking 
hold with his hands with energy and wisdom. He 
resides on the Grindstone, just out from Suplee 
and follows farming and stock raising. His 
birth occurred in Iowa, on October 4, 1859, his 
father being Frank Garner, a native of Indiana. 
In very early days he moved to Iowa and fol- 
lowed farming. When ten years of age, our sub- 
ject went from Iowa to Missouri and there re- 
mained until he had grown to manhood being oc- 
cupied in the meantime in farming. His educa- 
tion was secured from the public schools and he 
remained in Missouri until 1884. In that year Mr. 
Garner decided to come west and after investi- 
gating concluded that Central Oregon was the 
best spot to locate. He accordingly made his 
way to Crook county and soon began to work for 
wages. Shortly thereafter he took land where 
he now resides and as the years went by, has 
added by purchase until he now owns ten hun- 
dred and forty acres. The same is well supplied 
with all improvements and handled in a skill- 
ful manner, for Mr. Garner is a good stockman 



and a wise farmer. His stock consists of horses 
and cattle of which he has a goodly number. He 
is one of the respected men of the community 
and is well known for his integrity and sagacity. 



ALFREjj HENRY GRANT, postmaster of 
Bend, Crook county, Oregon, and the first one to 
fill that official position, was born in the West 
Indies, October 3, 1846, the son of Alfred and 
Katherine (Blair) Grant, both natives of Eng- 
land. The father of our subject was a major in 
the regiment commanded by the Prince of Wales, 
and was stationed in the West Indies where our 
subject was born. He was on the island of Ja- 
maica in 1859. The mother, after the death of 
her husband, came to the United States, and af- 
ter traveling extensivelv through the eastern por- 
tion of this country, located in Canada, where she 
died, May 28, 1864. 

The greater part of our subject's early youth 
was passed in the West Indies with his parents, 
and until he was thirteen years of age. He re- 
ceived his early education at home, his parents 
engaging for this purpose an accomplished tutor. 
At the age of thirteen he went to England where 
he resumed his studies which had been temporar- 
ily interrupted, and again under a private tutor. 
At the age of seventeen years young Grant ran 
away from home and enlisted in the English army 
with which he remained seven years. He then 
purchased his discharge and came to the United 
States. This was in 1870. Until 1874 he served 
in the capacity of bookkeeper for the Chicago, 
Rock Island & Pacific Railroad Company, located 
in Chicago. That year he went to California 
where he worked at various employments for 
wages, remaining in the Golden State until 1890, 
when he migrated to Utah and Wyoming, still 
pursuing a variety of industries. During the 
year 1899 Mr. Grant was a deputy county clerk 
in the state of Wyoming. Subsequently he served 
on a steamer trading between this coast and 
China and Japan. In the course of his extensive 
travels our subject has visited all the continents 
with the exception of Africa. For a period of 
two years he was bookkeeper for the Baldwin 
Sheep & Land Company. 

Mr. Grant came to Bend in May, 1903, where, 
in company with some associates he erected a 
store — the first one in the place. He disposed of 
his interest in this enterprise and was appointed 
postmaster at Bend, April 16, 1904, which posi- 
tion he still retains and the duties of which he 
performs efficiently and satisfactorily. In 1900 
Mr. Grant was united in marriage to Miss Bertie 






8o4 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Hazen, a native of Shawneetown, Illinois. This 
union has been blessed with one child, William 
Hazen Grant. 

Fraternally our subject is a member of the 
I. O. O. F., the Sons of St. George and the M. 
\\l . A. Politically his affiliations are with the 
Republican party. 



W. E. GUERIN, Jr., a prominent banker 
and leading- business man of Bend, Crook county, 
was born in Fort Scott, Kansas, November 24, 
1871. His father, W. E. Guerin, is a retired 
capitalist, residing in New York city. 

When quite young the subject of this bio- 
graphical sketch removed from Kansas to the 
state of Ohio. He laid the groundwork of an 
excellent education in the public schools of the 
Buckeye State. Subsequently he was matricu- 
lated in Cornell University, one of the leading 
colleges of the United States, from which he was 
graduated with honors. 

In December, 1893, Mr. Guerin was admitted 



to the bar, commencing the practice of law in 
Ohio. In this state he was elected to the legis- 
lature, being a member of the Seventy-fifth As- 
sembly. 

April 1, 1904, Mr. Guerin came to Bend and 
is now president of the Central Oregon Banking 
and Investment Company. He erected a substan- 
tial building for the business of the company, his 
attention being divided between commercial pur- 
suits and the practice of law. He is, also, the 
principal promoter of an excellent telephone 
system throughout the Bend country, and has 
charge of the sale of the land of the Des Chutes 
Irrigation & Power Company. 

March 7, 1895, Mr. Guerin was united in mar- 
riage to Miss Alice T. Greenleaf. They have 
one child, Mary B. Fraternally our subject is a 
member of the Elks, and all the branches of Ma- 
sonry, including the Scottish High Masons. 

Mr. Guerin is a man of excellent business 
sagacity, popular in the community in which he 
resides and one who has a lively interest in the 
social and commercial welfare of the town of 
Bend. 






PART VII 

HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY 



CHAPTER I 



EXPLORATION AND INDIAN WARS. 



The political division of which we are now 
about to tell is the county of Lake, situated in 
the south central portion of the state of Oregon, a 
county whose population is less than one person 
to each two square miles of area ; a county of 
lakes, of mountains, of fertile valleys, of deserts, 
and of great possibilities. 

This great section of the state of Oregon was, 
before the advent of the white man, the home of 
the Indians. The natives who inhabited the lake 
country belonged to the Shoshone family, whose 
territory spread over Southeastern Oregon, 
Southern Idaho and the whole of Utah and Ne- 
vada, extending into Arizona and New Mexico, 
and the eastern border of California. This fam- 
ily has been divided by historians into two great 
nations, the Snakes, or Shoshones proper, and 
the Utahs ; and these nations in turn were divided 
into several different tribes, who claimed differ- 
ent sections of the country as their home. The 
Snake branch of the family inhabited South- 
eastern Oregon, Idaho, Western Montana, and 
the northern portions of Utah and Nevada. 

Here, from time immemorial, in the valleys 
and on the lake shores of the present Lake 
county dwelt one tribe of the savage and war- 
like Snakes. Here were doubtless fought many 
bloody battles in ages past with the other warlike 
tribes who inhabited the Northwest, for the 
Snakes of the lake country bore the reputation 
•of being the most crafty and best skilled in war 
of all their neighbors. They tell of many battles 
■and wars in which their forefathers took part be- 



fore the white man was known to exist. All this 
is legendary, however, from the historian's stand- 
point, and we must content ourselves with the his- 
tory of the lake country after it became known 
to the Caucasian race. 

This country, for ages past the home of the 
Indian alone, was not destined to always remain 
so. Early in the nineteenth century the fur trad- 
ers began to penetrate the interior of the north- 
west country. At first these traders did not send 
their men into the remote places, but gradually 
they were sent farther and farther into the inter- 
ior until nearly every part of the country was 
covered. 

That they penetrated the Eastern Oregon 
country at a very early day is known for fact, 
though the records of their visits are very mea- 
ger. In these explorations and trapping expedi- 
tions there is evidence that the lake country, 
which was afterwards formed into Lake county, 
was covered to some extent and knowledge of the 
country gained. Ewing Young, in the fall of 
1833, led a trapping company from the tributary 
streams of the Columbia river,- across Oregon, to 
the upper end of the Sacramento valley. The 
records fail to state the exact route taken, and it 
may have been by the way of Goose lake and Pit 
river ; in fact, that is the most practicable route 
of travel between the two points named. 

But we have better evidence than this that the 
present Lake county was visited during the thir- 
ties by employes of the Hudson's Bay Company. 
In 1838 Col. J. J. Abert, a United States engi- 



8o6 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



neer, prepared a map of the Oregon country, in 
which Warner lake and other natural features of 
the present Lake county had a place. The data 
for this map, as credited by Col. Abert, was pro- 
cured from Hudson's Bay explorers and trap- 
pers. Another map prepared from the same 
sources was published in 1844 by M. Mofras, at- 
tache of the French legation to Mexico. These 
maps showed a chain of four lakes in Warner 
valley, lying in a northeast and southwest direc- 
tion, called by Mofras "lacs des plants" — lakes of 
plants or vegetable growth — and according to Ab- 
ert, connected by "Plants river." Upon Mofras' 
map is shown a train called "Route des wagons 
des Utate Unis an Oullamet" — the United States 
wagon road to the Willamette — crossing the val- 
ley between the second and third of the "lacs des 
plants.'" 

The first visit of members of the Caucasian 
race to the present Lake county, Oregon, of which 
there is record, was in December, 1843, when 
John C. Fremont, the Pathfinder, and party trav- 
ersed the county, while on his second exploring 
expedition to the northwest coast. The party was 
on a journey through the unexplored regions be- 
tween the Columbia river and California, and 
embracing the central basin of the continent be- 
tween the Rocky mountains and the Sierra Ne- 
vadas. It was not originally intended to cross 
the latter, but to turn homeward over the Rocky 
mountains at some pass near the headwaters of 
the Arkansas. 

The start was made from The Dalles of the 
Columbia river about the nineteenth of Novem- 
ber, 1843. I n his reports Fremont said of the pro- 
posed trip : 

This was our projected line of return — a great 
part of it absolutely new to geographical, botanical and 
geological science — and the subject of reports in rela- 
tion to lakes, rivers, deserts, and savages hardly above 
the condition of mere wild animals, which inflamed 
desire to know what this terra incognita really con- 
tained. It was a serious enterprise, at the commence- 
ment of winter, to undertake the traverse of such a 
region, and with a party consisting only of twenty- 
five persons, and they of many nations — American, 
French, German, Canadian. Indian and colored — and 
most of them young, ^ several being under twenty-one 
years of age. All knew that a strange country was to 
be explored, and dangers and hardships to be encoun- 
tered ; but no one blanched at the prospect. On the con- 
trary, courage and confidence animated the whole party. 
Cheerfulness, readiness, subordination, prompt obedi- 
ence, characterized all ; nor did any extremity of peril 
and privation, to which we were afterwards exposed, 
i vcr belie, or derogate from, the fine spirit of this brave 
and generous commencement. 



Space will not permit our giving an extended 
account of this trip through the Eastern Ore- 
gon country, except that part of it through the 
country now embraced within the boundaries of 
Lake county. Coming from Klamath marsh the 
explorers entered the present Lake county in the 
Sican marsh country, which marsh Fremont 
called a "green savannah." From here the party 
proceeded east to Sumner lake, which name was 
given to the lake by Fremont. Although in the 
dead of winter, he found the lake and valley free 
from snow. Thence the party crossed Chewau- 
can marsh and discovered Abert lake, which was 
so named in honor of Col. J. J. Abert, chief of the 
bureau of topographical engineers of the army 
at that time, and under whose direction Capt. 
Fremont was then working. Leaving Abert lake 
tne party proceeded in a southeasterly direction 
to Warner valley, which it reached December 23. 

On December 15 Fremont wrote as follows. 
The party was then just entering Lake county 
from the west : 

A present consisting of useful goods afforded much 
satisfaction to our guides ; and, showing them the 
national flag, I explained that it was a symbol of our- 
nation ; and they engaged always to receive it in 
a friendly manner. The chief pointed out a course, 
by following which we would arrive at a big water, 
where no more snow was to be found. Crossing a hard 
frozen swamp on the further side of the Rond. we 
entered again the pine forest, in which very deep snow 
made our traveling slow and laborious. We were 
slowly but gradually ascending a mountain; and, after 
a hard journey of seven hours, we came to some naked 
places among the timber, where a few tufts of grass 
showed above the snow, on the side of a hollow ; and 
here we encamped. Our cow. which every day got 
poorer, was killed here, but the meat was rather tough. 

On December 16 Summer lake was discov- 
ered, and in his diary that day Fremont wrote : 

We traveled this morning through snow about three 
feet deep, which, being crusted, very much ciit the feet 
of our animals. The mountain still gradually rose; we 
crossed several spring heads covered with quaking 
asp, otherwise it was all pine forest. The air was dark 
with falling snow, which everywhere weighed down 
the trees. The depths of the forest were profoundly 
still; and below, we scarce felt a breath of the wind 
which whirled the snow through their branches. I 
found that it required some exertion of constancy to 
adhere steadily to one course through the woods, when 
we were uncertain how far the forest extended, or what 
lay beyond; and, on account of our animals, it would 
be bad to spend another night on the mountain. To- 
ward noon the forest looked clear ahead, appearing- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



80: 



suddenly to terminate ; and beyond a certain point we 
could see no trees. Riding rapidly ahead to this spot, 
we found our selves on the verge of a vertical and rocky 
wall of the mountain. At our feet — more than a thou- 
sand feet below — we looked into a green prairie country, 
in which a beautiful lake, some twenty miles in length, 
was spread out along the foot of the mountains, its 
shores bordered with green grass. Just then the sun 
broke out among the clouds, and illuminated, the coun- 
try below, while around us the storm raged fiercely. 
Not a particle of ice was to be seen on the lake, or snow 
on its borders, and all was like sumirrer or spring. The 
glow of the sun in the valley below brightened up our 
hearts with sudden pleasure, and we made the woods 
ring with joyful shouts to those behind ; and gradually 
as each came up, he stopped to enjoy the unexpected 
scene. Shivering on snow three feet deep, and stiffening 
in a cold north wind, we exclaimed at once that the 
names of Summer Lake and Winter ridge should be 
applied to these two proximate places, of such sudden 
and violent contrast. 

We were now immediately on the verge of the for- 
est land, in which we had been traveling so many days ; 
and looking forward to the east, scarce a tree was to 
be seen. Viewed from our elevation, the face of the 
country exhibited only rocks and grass, and presented 
a region in which the artemisia became the principal 
wood, furnishing to its scattered inhabitants fuel for 
their fires, building material for their huts, and shelter 
for the small game which ministers to their hunger 
and nakedness. Broadly marked by the boundary of 
the mountain wall, and immediately below us, were the 
first waters of that Great Interior Basin which has the 
Wahsatch and the Bear river mountains for its eastern, 
and the Sierra Nevada for its western rim ; and the edge 
of which we had entered upwards of three months before 
at the Great Sale Lake. 

When we had sufficiently admired the scene 
below, we began to think about descending, which here 
was impossible, and we turned toward the north, trav- 
eling always along the rocky wall. We continued on for 
four or five miles, making ineffectual attempts at sev- 
eral places ; and at length succeeding in getting down 
at one which was extremely difficult of descent. Night 
had closed in before the foremost had reached the bot- 
tom, and it was dark before we all found ourselves 
together in the valley. There were three of four half- 
dead dry cedar trees on the shore, and those who first 
arrived kindled bright fires to light on the others. One 
of the mules rolled over and over two or three hundred 
feet into a ravine, but recovered himself without any 
other injury than to his pack; and the howitzer was 
left midway the mountain until morning. 

On the 23d we find the party approaching 
Warner lake. Fremont's journal for the rest of 
the time' the party was in Lake county follows : 



Dec. 23. — The weather is mild, the thermometer At 
daylight 38 degrees, the wind having been from -the 
south for several days. The country has a very 'for- 
bidding appearance, presenting to the eye nothing 'bVit 
sage and barren ridges. We rode up toward the mo'ur/- 
tain ; along the foot we found a lake which we could not 
approach on account of the mud, and passing its south- 
ern end, ascended the slope at the foot of the ridge, 
where in some hollows we had discovered bushes arid 
small trees in which situation a sure sign of wate ; f. 
We found here several springs, and the hillside was we'll 
sprinkled with a species of festuca, a better grass, than' 
we had found for many days. Our elevated position' 
gave us a good view over the country, but we discov-- 
ered nothing very encouraging. Southward, about f'enJ 
miles distant, was another small lake, toward which a 
broad trail led along the ridge, and this appearing' to 
afford the most practicable route, determined to continue 
our journey in that direction. 

Dec. 24. — We found the water of the lake tolerably 
pure and encamped at the farther end. There was som'e' 
good grass and canes along the shore and the vegetation' 
at this place consisted principally of chenopo diacebus- 
shrubs. ■ '■'■'■■ 

Dec. 25. — We were aroused on Christmas morning 
by a discharge from the small arms and howitzer, with 
which our people saluted the day, and the name of which 
we bestowed upon the lake. Tt was the first time, per- 
haps, in this remote and desolate region in which it had 
been so commemorated. The day was sunny and warrny 
and, resuming our journey, we crossed some slight di- 
viding grounds into a similar basin, walled in on the' 
right by a lofty mountain ridge. The plainly beaten trait 
still continued, and occasionally we passed camping 
grounds of the Indians, which indicated to me that 
we were on one of the great thoroughfares of the coun- 
try. In the afternoon I attempted to travel in a more' 
easterly direction, but after a few more laborious miles' 
was beaten back into the basin by an impassible country. 
We encamped on the valley bottom, where there was 
some cream-like water in ponds colored by a clay sdi'f 
and frozen over. Chenopodiaceous shrubs constituted 
the growth, and made again our fire wood. The animals 
were driven to the hills where there was tolerable good 
grass. 



Dec. 26. — Our general 
the country consists of 
into which the mountain 
ing small lakes ; they 



course was again south, 
larger or smaller basins 
waters run down, form- 
present a perfect lever 



from which the mountains rise immediately arid 
abruptly. Between the successive ba?ins the divid- 
ing ground is usually very slight, and it is probable' 
that in seasons of high water many of these basins are 
in communication. At such times there is evidently an 
abundance of water, though now we find scarcely mo : re 
than the dry beds. On either side the mountains, thougfo 
not very high, appear to be rocky and sterile. The basin 






&o8 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



in which we were traveling declined toward the south- 
west corner, where the mountains indicate a narrow 
.outlet, and turning around a rocky point or cape, we con- 
tinued up a lateral branch valley, in which we encamped 
at night on a rapid, pretty little stream of water, which 
swe found unexpectedly among the sage on the right side 
<of the valley. It was bordered with grassy bottoms and 
clumps of willows, the water partially frozen. This 
stream belongs to the basin we had left. By a partial 
observation tonight, our camp was found to be directly 
•on the 426. parallel. 

The camp of December 24 was probably on 
Christmas lake, north of the stone bridge. The 
camp on Christmas was, in all prabability, at the 
place which is now known as Long Point. Leav- 
ing Warner valley Fremont proceeded southward 
and entered California, reaching Pyramid lake 
January 14, 1844. 

It was nearly six years after the Fremont ex- 
pedition before the next party of white men set 
foot on the soil of Lake county, so far as any rec- 
ords show. This was an exploring party under 
command of Capt. William H. Warner, U. S. 
Topographical Engineer, who in 1849, under 
the direction of General Persifer F. Smith, ex- 
plored the country on the southern boundary line 
of Oregon for a practicable emigrant and military 
road and also for a railroad pass about that lati- 
tude. Accompanying Capt. Warner was an es- 
cort of the Second infantry, commanded by Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Casey. 

The party left Sacramento in August, 1849, 
and examined the country for several weeks to 
the east of the headwaters of the Sacramento, 
coming upon a pass in the Sierra Nevada with 
an elavation of not more than thirty-eight feet 
to the mile. Warner explored the country to the 
cast and north of Goose lake, and several weeks 
were spent in the Warner basin. In returning 
through the mountains the party was set upon by 
Indians on September 26. Capt. Warner, Fran- 
cis Bercier, the guide, and George Cove were 
killed. The exact spot upon which this tragedy 
was enacted has not been determined, but it is 
generally believed to have been in Warner val- 
ley. A range of mountains, a valley and lake 
have been given the name of Warner in honor of 
the explorer. After the death of Capt. Warner 
the command of the expedition fell to Lieut. R. 
S. Williamson, who continued the work and re- 
ported in favor of the Pit river route. 

After this disastrous expedition of 1849 and 
until the early sixties the country now embraced 
within the boundaries of Lake county was not 
penetrated by white men, so far as is known. Dur- 
ing these years it was the home of the Snakes, 
who dwelt here in all their savage freedom, un- 



molested by the whites. These Indians,- it is be- 
lieved, occasionally took part in the massacre of 
immigrants on their way to the settlements by 
way of the south road, but their remoteness from 
the settlements prevented any successful pursuit 
or campaign against them such as was the lot 
of the Modocs and other tribes who were guilty 
of the same offenses. 

The discovery of gold in Eastern Oregon and 
Idaho in the early sixties was the cause of the 
lake country becoming quite well known and the 
traversing of the country by a detachment of 
volunteer troops under Co. C. S. Drew in 1864. 
In order to make clear the object of the troops 
in penetrating this country at this time, we shall 
divert here to give a brief description of the con- 
ditions as they were in this part of the Northwest. 
The newly discovered gold fields of John Day, 
Powder river and Jordan creek in Eastern Ore- 
gon and Boise, Idaho, caused a heavy influx of 
miners and others to those districts from the set- 
tlements of Western Oregon and Northern Cali- 
fornia. The natural routes of travel to these newly 
discovered mines was through the unsettled Snake 
and Piute country, and as that tribe was then, 
as it had always been, hostile to the whites, and 
was continually robbing and murdering all small 
parties passing through their country, as well as 
annoying the frontier settlements and advanced 
mining camps, it was deemed necessary to estab- 
lish military posts in the vicinity of these routes 
of travel and near the settlements, not only as 
points from which to send scouting parties to 
protect settlers and travelers, but as bases from 
which to send expeditions to hunt down and pun- 
ish the aggressive Indians. It was in pursuance 
to that policy that a line of posts from Chico, 
California, to Owyhee, Idaho, the main route of 
travel from California points to the new mines, 
was established, part of the route being garrisoned 
or guarded by posts in California and Nevada by 
California troops, and the northern part by Ore- 
gon troops. 

While the principal forts on the immediate 
frontier were made permanent, the numerous 
small stations along the routes of travel were 
more temporary. Thus Fort Klamath in Oregon, 
Fort Bidwell in California, Fort Boise in Idaho ; 
and others were the main frontier posts, while 
Camps Alvord, McGary, C. F. Smith and others 
were points on or very near the routes of travel, 
and from these points small parties of soldiers 
were distributed at the different stations on the 
road as guards. 

While these forts were being established and 
the routes of travel protected, that strip of coun- 
try lying along the California line between the 
Klamath lakes and Stein's mountain was being 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



809 



scoured by the soldiers as a separate district — be- 
ing in fact a part of the district of California. It 
was during the summer of 1864 that the soldiers 
first entered this territory and traversed the coun- 
try which ten years later was set off as Lake 
county. 

Toward the last of March of this year, Col. 
Chas. S. Drew, of the Oregon volunteer cavalry, 
received orders at Camp Baker, in Jackson county 
from the department of the Pacific, to repair to 
Fort Klamath as soon as the road over the Cas- 
cades could be traveled, and leaving there men 
enough to guard the government property, to 
make a reconnaissance to the Owyhee country 
and return to Fort Klamath. 

The snow being still deep on the summit of 
the mountains, in May a road was opened through 
it for several miles, and on the 26th the command 
left Camp Baker, arriving at Fort Klamath on 
the 28th. The Indians being turbulent in the 
vicinity of the fort, it became necessary to remain 
at that post until the 28th of June, when the ex- 
pedition, consisting of thirty-nine enlisted men of 
Troop C, First Oregon Cavalry, proceeded to 
Williamson river, and thence to the Sprague 
river valley, over a succession of low hills, cov- 
ered for the most part with an open forest of 
pines. He had proceeded no farther than Sprague 
river when his march was interrupted by news of 
an attack on a train from Shasta valley, Califor- 
nia, proceeding by the way of Klamath lake, 
Sprgue river and Silver lake to the John Day 
mines. 

This attack occurred within the boundaries of 
the present Lake county, near Silver lake. The 
train was in charge of John Richardson and con- 
sisted of seven wagons and fifteen men, several 
of whom were accompanied by their families. 
The Indians fell upon the train on June 23 and 
succeeded in capturing seven oxen and 3.500 
pounds of flour. Three men were wounded in 
the fight. Fortunately Lieutenant Davis from 
Fort Crook, California, with ten men came up 
with the train in time to render assistance and 
prevent a massacre. 

The train, escorted by Lieut. Davis, fell back 
forty miles to a company in the rear, and sent 
news of the attack to Fort Klamath, after which 
they retreated to Sprague river. An ambulance 
having been sent to take the wounded to the fort, 
the immigrants all determined to travel under 
Drew's protection to the Owyhee, and thence to 
the John Day. 

Col. Drew, escorting the immigrant train, 
then proceeded up Sprague river to its headwat- 
ers, and across the Goose Lake mountains into 
Drew's valley, so named after the expedition's 
•commander. From here the party entered Goose 



Lake vallev and proceeded around the head of the 
lake to a point thirty-one miles down its east side 
to the intersection with the immigrant road from 
the states near Lassen's pass, where a number of 
trains joined the expedition. Passing eastward 
from this point, Drew's route led into Fandango 
valley, a glade a mile and a half west from the 
summit of the old immigrant pass, and thence 
over the summit of Warner range into Surprise 
valley, passing across it and around the north 
end of Cowhead lake, eastward over successive 
ranges of rocky ridges, down a canyon into War- 
ner valley, and around the south side of Warner 
mountain, where he narrowly escaped attack by 
their redoubtable chief Paulina, who was deter- 
red only by seeing the howitzer in the train. Pro- 
ceeding southeast over a sterile country to Pu- 
ebla valley, the expedition turned northward to 
Camp Alvord, having lost so much time in escort 
dutv that the original design of exploring about 
the headwaters of the Owyhee could not be car- 
ried out. The last wagons reached Drew's camp, 
two miles east of Alvord, on the 31st of August. 
From this point, with a detachment of nineteen 
men, Drew proceeded to Jordan creek valley and 
Fort Boise, escorting the immigration to these 
points, and returing to camp September 22. Here 
he found awaiting him an order requiring his im- 
mediate return to Fort Klamath, to be present 
with his command at a council to be held the fol- 
lowing month with the Klamaths, Modocs and 
Paulina's band of Snake Indians. 

On his return march Drew avoided going 
around the southeastern point of the Warner 
mountains, finding a pass through them which 
shortened his route nearly seventy miles, the road 
being nearly straight between Stein's and War- 
ner mountains. Thence he went westward across 
the ridge into Goose Lake valley, with a saving 
in distance of another forty miles. On rejoining 
his former trail he found it traveled by immigra- 
tion to Rogue river valley, which passed down 
Sprague river and by the Fort Klamath road to 
JacKsonville. A line of communication was opened 
from that place to Owyhee and Boise, which was 
deemed well worth the labor and cost of the expe- 
dition, the old immigrant road being shortened 
between two and three hundred miles. The mili- 
tary gain was the discovery of the haunt of Pau- 
lina and his band at Warner mountain, and the 
discovery of the necessity for a military post in 
Goose Lake valley. 

Again in 1865 the country now embraced in 
Lake county was traversed by the Oregon volun- 
teers, who followed practically the same route 
as that of Col. Drew of the year before. One or 
two skirmishes with the Indians took place this 
year. It was early in the summer of 1865 that B. 



8io 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



J. Pengra, the president of the Southern Oregon 
Military Wagon Road Company, was surveying 
the route of that road from Eugene, Oregon, to 
the eastern boundary of the state. He asked for 
and obtained an escort of a portion of Company 
A, First Oregon Cavalry, commanded by Capt. 
J. M. McCall. They established the line of their 
road on the route of Col. Drew's expedition of 
the year before. The escorting party was aug- 
mented by a detachment of Company C, First 
Oregon Cavalry, Capt. Kelly, at or near Stein's 
mountain, and on its return, late in August, was 
met at Round Grove, near the head of Sprague 
river, by Capt. Sprague's detachment of Com- 
pany I, First Oregon Infantry, and a detach- 
ment of Company C, First Oregon Cavalry, com- 
manded by Second Lieutenant Patrick McGuire. 
Orders were borne by these latter troops for Capt. 
Kelly's detachment to proceed with Capt. 
Sprague's commands to Stein's mountain to aid 
Capt. Borling, of Company G, First Oregon, In- 
fantry, in establishing and maintaining the mili- 
tary post of Camp Alvord, in the present county 
of Harney. 

Capt. Kelly, owing to some trouble between 
himself and Major W. V. Rinehart, then in com- 
mand of Fort Klamath, returned with Capt. Mc- 
Call's company to the latter post under arrest. 
The troops designated, under the command of 
Capt. F. B. Sprague, proceeded on the expedi- 
tion. 

Sprague's orders were to go by way of Sur- 
prise valley and arrange co-operative measures 
with the commander of the post there. But when 
he arrived at Camp Bidwell, on the 28th of Oc- 
tober, Capt. Starr, of the Second California Vol- 
unteer Infantry, was already under orders to re- 
pair with his company, except twenty-five men, to 
Fort Crook, before the mountains became impas- 
sible with snow. 

He decided, however, to send ten men, under 
Lieut. Backus, with Sprague's escort, to prove 
the supposed location of the main body of the 
Indians. On the third day, going north, having 
arrived at Warner's creek, which enters the east 
side of the lake seven miles south of the crossing 
of the Drew road, without falling in with any 
Indians, Backus turned back to Camp Bidwell, 
and Sprague proceeded. 

No sooner had this occurred than signs of the 
enemy began to appear, who were encountered 
J2q strong, about two miles south from the road. 
While the troops were passing an open space 
between the lake and the side of a mountain 
they were attacked by the savages hidden in 
trenches made by land-slides and behind rocks. 
Sprague, being surprised, and unable either to 



climb the mountain or swim the lake, halted to 
take in the situation. The attacking parties were 
in the front and rear, but he observed that those 
in the rear were armed with bows and arrows, 
while those in front had among them about twen- 
ty-five rifles. The former were leaving their 
hiding places to drive him upon the latter. Ob- 
serving this, he made a sudden charge to tne 
rear, escaping unharmed and returning to Camp 
Bidwell. 

On November 15, owing to the fact that there 
were not enough rations at Alvord for all the 
troops there to winter on, and the failure to hear 
from any source of supplies being forwarded, 
First Sergeant O. A. Stearns, of Company I, 
First Infantry, was ordered to return to Fort 
Klamath with part of the troops. This he did, . 
taking with him twenty-five men of I Company 
First Infantry ; twenty-five men of C Company, 
First Cavalry ; ten men of A Company, First Cav- 
alry, and a train of fifty mules that had been 
hired to convey the provisions, equipments, etc., 
01 the outgoing troops. Later supplies were re- 
ceived at Camp Alvord via Fort Boise. 

Two days after Sergeant Stearns and his 
troops started, all the cavalry horses at Alvord 
were run off by Indians leaving nothing but 
teams and pack mules for mounts for the cavalry 
troops, and for a fruitless pursuit of the thieves. 
This fact also prevented the overtaking and bring- 
ing back of the troops under Sergeant Stearns, 
as was desired. 

The early abandonment of Camp Alvord and 
many of the other frontier posts and the estab- 
lishment of Camp Warner, Camp Harney and 
others would seem to indicate that the earlier 
posts were not well placed for the purposes de-' 
sired, doubtless from insufficient knowledge of 
the country to be policed. 

Thus we learn from these expeditions and 
campaigns that Lake county during the early 
sixties, though without a settler within the whole 
length and breadth of it, had been visited a num- 
ber of times and at least a portion of its topog- 
raphy known. A little later, when a military 
post, Camp Warner, was established within its 
boundaries, and the Indian war begun, it became 
better known, and with the termination of the 
war by General Crook in 1868, the country was 
so well known that the following year settlers 
began to pour in. 

So far the military authorities had only at- 
tempted to provide protection for travelers go- 
ing through the lake country and no vigorous 
campaign had been waged against the Indians. 
The murders and robberies continued, and it was 
finally decided to begin a campaign against the 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



>n 



Indians to punish them for the past misdeeds and 
to exert a wholesome effect upon their future con- 
duct. 

Early in 1866 Major-General F. Steele took 
command of the Department of the Columbia. He- 
caused the abandonment of many of the camps in 
Southeastern Oregon, but he also made provision 
for the establishment of others. So early as 
March 20 he wrote to General Halleck, command- 
ing the Division of the Pacific, that the Indians 
had commenced depredations, with such signs of 
continued hostilities in southern portions of Ore- 
gon and Idaho that he should recommend the es- 
tablishment of two posts during the summer from 
which to operate against them the following win- 
ter, one at or near Camp Wright, and another in 
Goose Lake valley, from which several roads di- 
verged leading to other valleys frequented by hos- 
tile Snakes, Utes, Pit Rivers, Modocs and Klam- 
ath s. 

Accordingly, that year a small party was sent 
out from Fort Vancouver into the interior coun- 
try to select a site for a fort from which to oper- 
ate against and hold in subjugation the murdering 
savages. This party selected the point in Warner 
valley, on the west side of the lake, upon which 
Camp Warner was afterwards built by Gen. 
Crook. 

However, Camp Warner was first established 
to the east of Warner lake. Troops stationed at 
Fort Boise were ordered to proceed to the point 
selected and there establish a camp. The com- 
mand reached Lake Warner, and the discovery 
being made that the lake was many miles in length 
and that the country bordering its shores was 
rough and hazardous, the commanding officer de- 
cided that it would be best to establish camp on 
the east side of the lake and here the camp was 
made. It was at a point about fifteen miles east 
of North Warner basin, and became a military 
post in the year 1866. This camp is generally 
referred to as Old Camp Warner to distinguish it 
from the Camp Warner which took its place the 
following year on the other side of the lake. 

During the fall of 1866, after the establish- 
ment of the camp, a number of scouting parties 
socured the southeastern part of Oregon. They 
skirmished here and there, seldom inflicting or 
sustaining much loss. One of the most important 
of these skirmishes took place in territory later 
formed into Lake county. On September 26 
Lieut. Small attacked the enemy at Lake Abert, 
and after a fight of three hours, routed them, 
killing fourteen and taking seven prisoners. The 
horses, rifles and winter stores of the Indians fell 
into the hands of the troops. 

Shortly after the skirmish at Lake Abert, an- 
other fight with the Indians took place on Lake 



county soil — on Chewaucan marsh. On the morn- 
ing of the fifteenth of October Lieutenant Oat- 
man, First Oregon Infantry, from Fort Klamath, 
with twenty-two men and five Klamaths as scouts, 
set out for Fort Bidwell to receive reinforcements 
and provisions for an extended scouting expedi- 
tion. He was joined by Lieutenant Small with 
twenty-seven cavalrymen. The command 
marched to the Warner Lake basin, seeking the 
rendezvous of the enemy. Two days were spent 
in vain search, when the command undertook to 
cross the mountains to Lake Abert, at their west- 
ern base, being guided by Henry Blowe, a Klam- 
ath chief. After proceeding six miles in a di- 
rect course, a deep canyon was encountered run- 
ning directly across the intended route, which 
was followed for ten miles before any crossing 
offered which would permit the troops to pass on 
to the west. Such a crossing was at last found, 
the mountain being passed on the twenty-sixth 
and at eleven o'clock of this day the command 
entered the beautiful valley of the Chewaucan by 
a route never before traveled by white men. 

About two and one-half miles from the point 
where they entered the valley, Indians were dis- 
covered running toward the mountains. Being 
pursued by the troops, they took up their po- 
sition in a rocky canyon. Leaving the horses with 
a guard, the main part of the command advanced, 
and dividing, passed up the ridges on both sides 
of the ravine, while a guard remained at its mouth. 
At twelve o'clock the firing began and was con- 
tinued for three hours. Fourteen Indians were 
- killed and twice as many wounded. The Indians 
then fled into the mountains and the troops re- 
turned to their respective posts. 

But these brushes with the Indians were of 
infrequent occurrence before Gen. Crook's ar- 
rival at Old Camp Warner and the subsequent re- 
moval of his command to the new camp. The 
lake tribes and their allies, consisting of maraud- 
ing bands from different other tribes, had been 
carrying things their own way throughout the 
Southeastern Oregon country. The soldiers in 
the field were brave enough and were constantly 
on the alert, but they were unfortunate in not 
finding the Indians. The latter were generally 
broken up in small marauding squads, knew the 
country well, and after raiding a settlement or 
immigrant train, fled across the desert like Arabs 
and hid in some small valley, rich with grass and 
surrounded by rock-ribbed mountains that were 
divided from the next range by a wide expanse of 
desert. When tired of their retreat they would 
break forth again, and another Indian raid, leav- 
ing crime and death in its trail, would be reported^ 
at military headquarters. The soldiers would 
rush out to the pursuit, but the Indians had al- 



Sl2 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



ready generally made their escape, even beyond 
finding their trail. 

Late in 1866 George Crook, then Lieutenant- 
Colonel of the Twenty-third Infantry, later gen- 
eral, relieved Marshall in the command of the 
district of Boise, and at once began a vigorous 
campaign. Crook was a man of quiet determina- 
tion, and his previous record as an Indian fighter 
was good. The people of Oregon expected much 
of him, and they were not disappointed. To him 
is due the credit of subduing the hostile Indians 
of Southeastern Oregon, thus making possible 
the settlement of that vast country. 

When Crook took charge Eastern Oregon was 
for the most part a terra incognito. The Oregon 
volunteers had spent some time in exploring it 
and tracking the Indians to their hitherto un- 
known haunts. Now it was decided that the In- 
dians must be fought in the winter, and prepara- 
tions were made for that style of campaign. Two 
companies of Indians allies were formed, who 
materially assisted in the campaign. 

Crook, in assuming command, found that the 
Indians were already hemmed in by a cordon of 
camps and posts, with detachments continually in 
the field harassing and reducing them, but unable 
to capture them and break their power. With a 
small company he had started out to his new com- 
mand at Warner from Boise, and on the way he 
had not been idle. He had made a circut from 
his most direct route more than once on the way 
to attack Indians who had committed depreda- 
tions in the settlements. The fact that with his 
small command he had done more Indian fighting 
on his way from Boise to Camp Warner than the 
command stationed at the latter place had done 
altogether led the men to believe that there was 
now going to be something doing. 

The winter of 1866-7 was very severe in the 
Warner lake region, which has an altitude of 
about 5000 feet above sea level. The soldiers at 
the camp suffered severely in consequence. It is 
said that the entire company were compelled to 
walk around a small circle in the snow for sev- 
eral nights, not daring to lie down to sleep for 
fear they would freeze to death. There was at 
least one death from the cold during the winter. 
A sergeant got lost and perished in the snow. 

It was partly due to the severe weather, and 
partly to the fact that General Crook consid- 
ered the site a poor one from which to operate, 
that induced the relocation of the camp in the 
summer of 1867. On the 29th of July Crook left 
Old Cam]) Warner with forty troops under Capt. 
Harris, proceeded by Darragh with his company 
of scouts, with a view of selecting a site for a new 
camp. Passing southerly around the base of War- 
ner buttes, and north again to the Drew crossing 



of the shallow strait between Warner lakes, he en- 
camped on Honey creek, fifteen miles northwest 
of the old camp. Here he found Darragh, whom 
he followed the next day up the creek ten miles, 
finding that it headed in a range of finely timbered 
mountains trending north and south, with patches 
of snow on their summits. 

July 31 the new camp was located in an open 
timbered country, about fifteen miles west of 
North Warner Basin and thirty-five miles north of 
the Oregon, California and Nevada state boun- 
dary line, in latitude 42 degrees, 50 minutes north, 
and longitude 120 degrees west. The elevation 
was 500 feet lower than that of the former camp. 
The selection of the new site was made in keeping 
with the government's usual care and judgment 
in such matters. The place was surrounded by 
mountains with only one outlet. It could have 
been approached from only one direction by an 
enemy, and then one rapid firing gun could have 
defended the place against a thousand warriors. 
A large spring of pure water flowed out of the 
side of the mountain near the fort and this fur- 
nished a small waterworks which supplied the 
soldiers with all the pure water that was needed. 
The mountains were covered with stately pines, 
and from this forest they secured timber to con- 
struct the government buildings and wood for the 
fort. A small sawmill was set up in those days, 
and while some of the soldiers were fighting and 
scouting, others were engaged in logging, saw- 
ing and carpentering. 

Concerning the removal from Old Camp War- 
ner to the new camp Paul DeLaney has written : 

When Gen. Crook arrived on the scene to take 
command in person of the troops and found that the 
originally selected site had not been made the head- 
quarters, he is reported to have been very indignant. 
"Why did you not proceed to the place named in the 
orders?" the general is said to have asked. "We could 
not cross the lake," replied the officer previously in com- 
mand. 

Gen. Crook decided to move to the originally se- 
lected site immediately. The old camp was surrounded 
with lava rocks ; in fact, the whole face of the earth 
was covered with them. The general selected the nar- 
rowest point across the lake and ordered men to bring 
rock to the shore at this place. The carts and wagons 
belonging to .he command were brought into requisi- 
tion. They were loaded with rock to their fullest ca- 
pacity and were then backed up to the lake and the rocks 
dumped into the water. This was kept up until a foun- 
dation was made and a till was started across the lake. 

Men were placed on the (ill as it proceeded to keep 
the rock straight and to see that they were properly 
placed, and in a few weeks the famous rock road across 
Warner lake was completed. Crook and his forces 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



813; 



crossed over and built Camp Warner where it was origi- 
nally intended to be. 

This stone bridge still stands, and farmers oc- 
casionally cross the lake on it, though by its own 
weight all of these years it has sunk a few inches 
beneath the surface of the water, and during 
high stages of water it is sometimes a consider- 
able depth below the surface. 

On the first of August Crook's command, 
which had been on the west side of the lake select- 
ing the new site, returned to the old camp, having 
discovered some fresh trails leading toward Cali- 
fornia. At the old camp were found Capt. Perry 
and McKay, who had returned from a scout to 
the southeast without finding an Indian. Archie 
Mcintosh, a half breed Boise scout, had brought 
in eleven prisoners, making forty-six killed and 
captured by the allies within two weeks. 

When Crook had completed the buildings at 
New Camp Warner he prepared for unceasing 
action. He had engaged the services of Indian 
scouts and these had not been idle. They informed 
him of the movements of the Indians, the number 
and their many places of rendezvous. The gen- 
eral sent out detachments of soldiers and kept 
the various bands of Indians on the go. They 
were practically squads of brigands and never 
strong enough to give the soldiers a standing 
fight. But Crook's pursuit of them was unre- 
lenting. He would not give them time to rest or 
recuperate at any place. As soon as they would 
find what they deemed a safe retreat his men were 
upon them and they were kept upon the run. 

On August 16, by a general order issued from 
the headquarters of the department of the Pa- 
cific, Fort Klamath, Camps Watson, Warner, 
Logan and Harney were designated as constitut- 
ing the district of the lakes, and assigned to 
Crook, who also had command of the troops at 
Camp Bidwell, should he require their services. 

General Crook set out about the first of Sep- 
tember for that part of the country from which 
he believed reinforcements of the Indians to 
come. His forces consisted of three companies 
of cavalry, one of mounted infantry and all of the 
Indian allies. It was hoped that by marching by 
night and lying concealed by day, the troops 
might surprise some considerable number of the 
enemy. On the ninth Indians were reported in the 
tules about Lake Abert. On proceeding from 
camp on the east side of Goose lake two days in a 
north course, the trail of a party of Indians was 
discovered, but Crook believed them to be going 
south. Dividing his forces, he sent Capts. Perry 
and Harris and the Warm Spring allies north to 
scout the country between Sprague and Des 
Chutes rivers, taking in Crooked river and termi- 



nating their campaign at Camp Harney in Har- 
ney valley. 

Crook with the rest of the forces took a south- 
east course to Surprise valley and the Pit river 
country. It is not the province of this work to 
tell the whole history of the Shoshone war, ex- 
cept as it relates to Lake county. Therefore it will. 
be necessary to pass over, with a word or two, the 
interesting events that took place when Crook 
met the Indians in the country south of Lake- 
county. Crook came upon the Indians well for- 
tified in the lava beds. He fell upon them and a. 
two days' battle ensued. The troops captured, 
the fortress of the Indians, but the latter had es- 
caped. On September 30 the troops began their 
return march, and on October 4 went into camp 
at new Camp Warner. Says Bancroft in his his- 
tory of Oregon : 

"The result of this long projected campaign 
could not be said to be a victory. According to 
Wassen, it was not claimed by the troops that 
more than fifteen Indians were killed at the Pit 
river fortress, while the loss sustained by the 
command in the two days' siege was eight killed 
and twelve wounded." 

The expedition under Perry, which had pro- 
ceeded north, did not find the enemy. However,, 
fifty-one men from Fort Klamath and ten Kla- 
math scouts, under Lieut. Small, came across hos- 
tile Indians in the vicinity of Silver and Abert 
lakes, and between the second and the twenty- 
second of September succeeded in killing twenty- 
three and capturing fourteen. Among the killed 
were two chiefs who had signed the treaty of 
1864, and an influential medicine man. 

During the winter of 1867-8 General Crook 
continued his aggressive campaign, and portions 
of his troops were constantly in the field, hunting- 
down the now scattered bands of savages. This 
kind of warfare was beginning to tell and the 
various bands of marauders began to get to- 
gether for mutual protection. Their provisions 
were running low, their horses were being re- 
duced to skeletons by constant riding with no 
feed or rest. They had one resort which the 
white men had not yet discovered. This was a 
secluded valley where two rivers came together 
near the foothills of Stein's mountain, far away 
from the soldiers and the fort. Here they had 
long kept their wives and children, while they 
raided other portions of the country. Chased from 
one point to another on the desert by Crook's 
men, they begain to gather at this point. Here 
they began a council of war and decided to make 
a final stand — not where they were, however, but 
at some other point on the desert, while their- 
wives and children remained here in security. 
A number of their leaders were still on the plains, . 






8h 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



dodging the soldiers, and it was decided to wait 
until all were in before the final stand should be 
made. 

Crook's scout located the Indians in their re- 
treat in the Stein's mountain country. They imme- 
diately reported and Crook made preparations for 
the march. He led the command in person and 
marched night and day to the place. Fortune 
favored the troops, and the fates seemed to be 
against the Indians. A heavy headrise in the 
river completely hemmed in the Indians, and 
upon the arrival of the soldiers they found them 
at their mercy. The battle which ensued was 
known as the Battle of Donner and Blitzen, it 
having been fought on the creek of that name, and 
occurred in February, 1868. Fourteen Indians 
were killed and captured. 

Another battle was fought with the Indians in 
the neighborhood of Stein's mountain on April 
14, when several were killed. The troops met the 
Indians at other points that spring, and invariably 
defeated them. General Crook did not rest after 
his victories, but relentlessly pursued the scattered 
bands. He rounded up a considerable number 
of them in Devil's garden, in the lower part of 
Goose Lake valley, where he again defeated them 
and destroyed their property. 

Gen. Crook's campaign had been of the whirl- 
wind variety and the power of the hostiles was 
broken. There was nothing left for the Indians 
to do but surrender. 

According to an order of Gen. Halleck, no 
treaty could be made with the Indians by the 
officers in his division without consulting him, 
and it became necessary for Crook to wait for in- 
structions from San Francisco. He repaired in 
the meantime to Camp Harney, where the prin- 
cipal chiefs of the hostile bands were assembled, 
and where a council was held on the 30th of 
June, 1868. 

"Do you see any fewer soldiers than two years 
ago?" asked he. "No; more." "Have you as 
many warriors?" "No; not half as many." "Very 
well ; that is as I mean to have it until you are all 
gone."' The chiefs knew that this was no empty 
tnreat and were terrified. . They sued earnestly 
for peace, and Crook made his own terms. He did 
not offer to place them on a reservation, where 
they would be fed while they idled and plotted 
mischief. He simply told them he would ac- 
knowledge Wewawewa as their chief, who 
should be responsible for their good conduct. 
They might return free into their own country 
and establish their headquarters near Castle Rock 
on the Malheur, and so long as they behaved 
themselves honestly and properly they would not 
he molested. Crook's idea of the best way to 
maintain peace with these wild people seems to 



have been to show the natives that the whites did 
not fear them. Therefore the Indians were not 
entirely unarmed, but on the contrary, ammuni- 
tion was issued them and orders were given for 
all the trading posts to supply ammunition to the 
Indians that they might make their living by hunt- 
ing. These mild terms were eagerly accepted, 
and the property of their victims still in their 
possession was delivered up. 

Crook had no faith in reservations, yet he felt 
that to leave the Indians at liberty was courting a 
danger from the enmity of white men who had 
personal wrongs to avenge which might provoke 
a renewal of hostilities. To guard against this, 
he caused the terms of the treaty to be extensively 
published, and appealed to the reason and good 
judgment of the people, reminding them what it 
had cost to secure the peace which he hoped they 
might now enjoy. 

The disposition of these Indians was, how- 
ever, an annoying and perplexing question. 
Among the worst of the tribes that took part in 
the Shoshone war were those inhabiting the 
Warner valley under Chief Otsehoe. Gen. 
Crook in military correspondence after the war 
said : "Among these bands and those near Har- 
ney are some as crafty and bad as any I have ever 
seen, and if they are retained in the vicinity of 
their old haunts, and the Indian department man- 
ages them as it has other tribes in most cases, 
there will be trouble." 

Early in November, 1868, Superintendent A. 
B. Meacham, having been appointed to the posi- 
tion formerly held by Mr. Huntington, held a 
council with the Indians assembled at Camp 
Warner under Otsehoe and persuaded this chief 
to go With his followers upon the Klamath reser- 
vation. But the war department gave neither en- 
couragement nor material assistance, although 
Otsehoe and other Indians about Warner lake 
were known by Crook to be of their race, and 
dangerous to leave at large. 

True to his restless nature, Otsehoe left the 
reservation in the spring of 1870, where his 
people had been fed during the winter. They de- 
serted in detachments, Otsehoe remaining to the 
last, but when the commissary required the chief 
to bring them back, he replied that Major Otis 
desired them to remain at Camp Warner, a state- 
ment which was true, at least' in part, as Otis 
himself admitted. 

Otsehoe, however, finally consented to make 
1 lis home at Camp Yainix. so far as to stay on the 
reservation during the winter season, but roving 
abroad in the summer through the region about 
Warner and Goose lakes. On March. 1871. by 
executive order, a reservation containing 2.275 
square miles was set apart on the north fork of 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



8i5 



the Malheur river, for the use of the Shoshones. 
In the autumn of 1873 a portion of them were in- 
duced to go upon it, most of whom absented them- 
selves on the return of summer. Gradually, how- 
ever, with many drawbacks, the Indian depart- 
ment' obtained control of these nomadic peoples, 
who were brought under those restraints which 
are the first steps toward civilization. 

Indian raids ceased in that portion of Oregon 
and peace has since reigned there. Where Gen. 
Crook's men scouted and fought Indians live now 
prosperous ranchers, and the site of Camp War- 
ner is one of the most prosperous in the country. 

Although the Shoshone war was at an end. 
Camp Warner was not abandoned at once, and a 
force of three companies remained there for sev- 
eral years. When the Modoc war broke out in 
1872, troops from Camp Warner went to the 
front and took part in that bloody and disas- 
trous war. After that war Camp Warner was 
abandoned, the troops leaving the camp during 
the months of October and November, 1873. 

The site of Camp Warner is now an isolated 
ranch, many miles from any other habitation. The 
ranch house occupies the old parade grounds, 
and a beautiful meadow spreads out in front, and 
from this the stockman cuts enough hay annually 
to feed his band. 

At first sight one would not recognize the evi- 
dences of the former days, but with a little in- 
formation and a further investigation, one finds 
enough to convince one that it was really a mili- 
tary post, and there are many things to remind 
one of this. An old rock chimney stands alone on 
the hillside near the ranch house. It shows awk- 



ward, but substantial, construction. In front of 
the fire place, cut in this old chimney, the foun- 
dation logs of the former building still remain. 
Then, as one investigates further, piles of rocks 
are found here and there and the foundation logs 
of other buildings. These were the officers' quar- 
ters. The chimney, still standing, was the one 
that conveyed the smoke from Gen. Crook's head- 
quarters while he was stationed at Camp Warner. 
The number of names cut into the hard rock indi- 
cates that many people have visited this remote 
point, many miles from railroads and even stage 
coaches. In fact, only a mere trail leads to it. 

But these are not the only evidences of the 
presence of the government's strong arm here. On 
the opposite side of the parade grounds from the 
officers' quarters were the stables of the command. 
Here may be found mule shoes, harness buckles, 
parts of harness and traces, bridle bits and many 
other things that were required to handle the 
mounts. And about the grounds may be found 
old cooking utensils, broken sabers, officers' 
epaulets and other remnants of the equipments 
of the fort which were abandoned by the soldiers 
upon leaving it. The uniform initials "U. S." 
distinguish them from property belonging to civ- 
ilians. 

But up on the hill, nearby, surrounded by a 
grove of towering pines, are sadder evidences of 
the former days. Wooden headboards here and 
there, lying about the ground, tell in very dim 
letters of the death of this one or that who was 
a member of a certain company, wdiile the posts 
that supported the fence around the little plat 
have long since been hauled away and destroyed. 



CHAPTER II 



SETTLEMENT AND CURRENT HISTORY— 1869 TO 1905. 






So far this history has treated of events that 
took place in the county-of-Lake-to-be prior to 
the arrival of the first settler. Up to the late six- 
ties there was not a settler in the county. The 
lake country had been visited by a few trappers 
and explorers at a very early date. Later vol- 
unteer troops had passed through and gained 
some knowledge of the country. Then came the 
establishment of Camp Warner and the occu- 
pancy of the country of lakes by the soldiers. Co- 
incident with this event was the Shoshone war, 



which kept the whole Eastern Oregon country in 
a state of nervous excitement, and which was not 
terminated until Gen. Crook had completely sub- 
jugated the hostile Indians in the summer of 1868. 

It seems hardly creditable that any one would 
have had the hardihood to attempt to make his 
home in this country, overrun by hostile Indians, 
prior to the victory of Gen. Crook, and yet we 
find that such is the case. 

In 1867 a man by the name of Joseph Ross 
settled in Goose Lake valley, just across the line 



8i6 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



in California, at the foot of "Sugar Hill." When 
he came there the Indians were on the warpath 
and had not yet felt the restraining hand of the 
military authorities. No lumber was to be had 
in the vicinity, of course, and as the task of get- 
ting logs out of the woods for a cabin was con- 
sidered too risky by the daring adventurer, Ross 
concluded to forgo the luxury of a cabin, and 
burrowed his abode in the ground. Bands of 
Indians frequently visited the place, but because 
of Ross' manner of living and his peculiar ways 
he was not molested. Afterwards the Indians 
stated that they believed him a "crazy pale face," 
and for this reason no harm was done him. 

Another settler of 1867 was David R. Jones, 
who claimed Lake county as his place of resi- 
dence from Sept. 15, 1867, until his death, Oct. 
10, 1901, over 34 years. Mr. Jones at an early 
day came by boat from New York to San Fran- 
cisco. From there he had gone by stage to Jack- 
sonville, Oregon, in i860. Later he went to 
Washington Territory, and in 1866 to Idaho, 
where he engaged in the freighting business. In 
1867 he loaded his big teams with grain and fol- 
lowed the soldiers to Camp Warner, where he ar- 
rived September 15, of that year. Here he made 
his home, and until the subjugation of the Indians 
the following year, he was under the protection 
of the camp. He took up a ranch in Warner val- 
ley near the camp and began raising hay, which 
he sold at the camp. He experienced all the 
perils and hardships incident to frontier life in 
the country's early history. Many hairbreadth 
escapes from the murderous Indians were his. 
Fleet footed and cautious as he was, in those 
days he came near meeting his death on several 
occasions. 

One of the first settlers in Goose Lake valley 
was John O'Neil, who is still living in Lake 
county. When Gen. Crook took charge of the 
military forces in the lake country Mr. O'Neil 
came with him in charge of the pack train, and 
reached Camp Warner in July, 1868. The party 
stopped at Camp Warner for a time and then pro- 
ceeded through Goose Lake valley to Fort Crook 
in California. Mr. O'Neil was again in charge 
of the pack train that accompanied the soldiers. 
After Gen. Crook left for Arizona, Mr. O'Neil re- 
turned to Goose Lake valley and settled near the 
state line, early in 1869. 

A settler of Goose Lake valley in 1868 was 
A. Snider, who took up a claim at Willow Ranch, 
on the California side of the line. 

This constitutes the list of settlers in the pres- 
ent Lake county and in Goose Lake valley close 
to the line until after the subjugation of the In- 
dians. After it became known that the power of 
the Indians had been broken, there was quite a 



rush of settlers to Goose Lake valley, and during 
1869 some score or two settlers came and began 
building their homes there. 

E. C. Mason, afterwards closely identified with 
the political history of Lake county, settled in the 
valley on October 8, 1869. E. P. Bodger came 
the same year and settled about three miles over 
the line in California. Mr. Bodger was a prom- 
inent figure in the destinies of Goose Lake valley. 
He later removed to Alturas, California, where he 
died in 1904. E. V. Coffer came the same year 
and settled in Lake county. A. Z. Hammersley 
and William Hammersley came with their fami- 
lies and settled just south of the line. In the party 
with these two there came from the Willamette 
valley Joe Robnette, T. Reed, William Tandy, 
Robert Tandy, Milton Brown, A. F. Snelling, H. 
M. Henderson, Sparks, Stone and Bogue. The 
Tandys located three miles south of the line. 
Alexander Reed was another settler of 1869. He 
lived in Lake county for many years and became 
one of its best known citizens. All of these set- 
tlers had located in Goose Lake valley, and so far 
as we have been able to learn there was only one 
who located in the county that year outside of the 
valley. This one was M. McShane, who settled 
on Crooked creek. 

E. B. Reed was also a settler of 1869. He 
was the first to file a water right in the present 
Lake county. In the records of Jackson county 
is filed the following official notice of this claim : 

Goose Lake Valley, Jackson county, Ore., 

November 17, 1869. 
Notice is hereby given that I, E. B. Reed, do this 
day claim all the water flowing down this canyon from 
this point up or from the head of my ditch made for 
the purpose of conveying the water flowing down this 
canyon, or that may hereafter flow down said canyon, 
to have and to hold the use of said water for milling, 
mining and irrigating purposes. 

Said canyon is situated on the east side of Goose 
Lake valley, about four miles north of the line dividing 
the states of Oregon and California. 

(Signed) : E. B. Reed. 
Filed for record at four o'clock p. m. July 23, 1870, 
and recorded the same day. Silas J. Day., 

County Clerk Jackson county, Ore. 



A. Tenbrook the same year settled on what is 
now known as the McKee ranch, some five or six 
miles south of Lakeview. Samuel Crane settled 
on the Vernon ranch, and gave the name to Crane 
creek. M. Cogswell located the Cogswell creek 
property ; Alex Cooper took up the Robnette 
ranch : James Wardwell the Fleming place ; Ben 
Warner what is now known as the Luhman 





Fort Rock, a Noted Landmark in Lake County 





A Result of the Lake County Range MVar 



On the Lake County Desert 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



817 



place; Oliver Shafer the Reed place; Ira Cogs- 
well the Studley place ; Frank Cogswell tfre Dee- 
ter place; Alex Contner what is now the Con- 
verse ranch ; B. F. Lewis located adjoining Ben 
Warner; John Clark near the state line; M. W. 
Bullard on the Lakeview townsite. Other set- 
tlers of this year were William Greenman and 
Milton Brown. August Miller brought in a 
band of cattle and became one of the first stock- 
raisers of Lake county. At Willow Ranch, on 
the California side of the state line, C. U. Snider 
secured a claim in 1869, and D. A. Lambert the 
same year became a settler of Warner 
valley. 

So extensive was the settlement of Goose 
Lake valley during 1869 that parties conceived 
the idea of "starting a store. Accordingly one was 
opened near the state line, on the Oregon side, by 
Desible, Powley & King, and a man by the name 
of Darling was put in charge. The venture was 
not a success and in a few weeks the firm failed 
and the stock was removed. Thus came and went 
Lake county's pioneer store. 

The year 1870 brought a few more settlers, 
among them the Cooksey brothers, who settled 
in the north end of Goose Lake valley. The next 
year witnessed the arrival of a few more, and 
during the few succeeding years the settlement, 
while not large, was steady. 

C. Hagerhorst came at an early day and was 
the first man to run sheep in Lake county. Cap- 
tain Barnes located in Drew's valley in the early 
seventies and engaged in cattle raising. An early 
settler of North Warner valley was a man by the 
name of Ish. In South Warner William Wal- 
lace settled at the mouth of Deep creek, and Jo- 
seph Wheeler at the mouth of Twentymile creek 
at what is known as the dug out. Both these set- 
tlers came at an early day. 

During the winter of 187 1-2 the settlers of 
Goose Lake valley devoted themselves to pros- 
pecting the hills on both sides of the valley for 
mineral, and succeeded in working up quite a 
mining excitement among themselves. Two min- 
ing districts were organized — Campbell's, on the 
west and north sides of Goose lake, and Goose 
Lake district to the east of the lake. In the rec- 
ords of Jackson county, of which county Goose 
Lake valley was then a part, are found the fol- 
lowing notices of the formation of these dis- 
tricts : 

Campbell Mining District, Goose Lake Valley, Ore., 

December 25, 1871. 
Silas J. Day, County Clerk Jackson County, Ore. : 

Sir — You are hereby notified that at a miners' 
meeting held this day at the residence of Joseph Cook- 



sey, at which twenty persons were present who are inters 
ested in mines, a mining district was formed, to be- 
known as the "Campbell Mining District," and bounded 
as follows, viz. : 

Commencing at the mouth of Drew's creek and run- 
ning due west to the mountains beyond Sand creek, 
thence northerly along said summit to a point due west 
of the summit between Chewaucan and Goose Lake 
Valleys, thence to said summit and along the same east- 
erly to the summit of the Sierra Nevada mountains, . 
thence southerly along said summit to Bullard's canyon, 
thence westerly down said canyon to the foothills of 
Goose Lake valley, thence along said foothills southerly 
to the south side of Barton creek, thence down the south, 
bank westerly to Goose lake and across said lake to the 
mouth of Drew's creek, the place of commencement, be- 
ing all in Jackson county, state of Oregon. In witness 
whereof we have set our names this twenty-fifth day of 
December, 1871. James Smith, President 

Charles A. Cogswell, Recorder. 



Goose Lake Mining District, Goose Lake Valley, Ore., 

January 8, 1872. 
Silas J. Day, County Clerk, Jackson County, Ore. : 

Sir — You are hereby notified that at a miners' meet- 
ing held at the residence of Ira Cogswell, Esq., on the 
23d inst, a miners' district was formed, to be known as 
the "Goose Lake Mining District," bounded as follows, 
viz. : Commencing at the summit of the Sierra Nevada 
mountains on the California and Oregon state line, and 
running due west to Goose Lake, thence along the lake 
northerly to the mouth of Barton creek, thence along the 
south branch of said creek to the foothills of Goose 
Lake Valley, thence northerly along said foothills to 
Bullard's canyon, thence easterly up said canyon to the 
summit of the Sierra Nevada mountains, thence soutfn 
■erly along said summit to the state line, to the place of 
commencement, being all in Jackson county and state of 
Oregon. In witness whereof we have set our names this 
8th day of January, A. D. 1872. >i 

Charles A. Cogswell, President, . * 
M. J. Cogswell, Recorder. 



The instruments were both filed and recorded ";: 
with the Jackson county clerk on February 2, ,.■ 
1872. The settlers did not confine their efforts to ,,, 
the creation of the mining districts ; they pros- , 
pected the hills, and thirty-three claims were lo- , 
cated. Lake county undoubtedly contains some 
mineral, but it has not yet been located in quan- 
tities that would warrant extensive workings. The 
filings of claims in these two districts during the 
winter of 1871-2 are also a part of the records of . 
Jackson count}'. They are as follows : 



52 



.8 1 8 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



No. of 
Claims 



Locators 



L. G. Torrance 



M. J. Cogswell 
Ira Cogswell 
L. G. Torrance 
Frank Cogswell 

' Chas. A. Cogswell 
Fred A. Cogswell 
Amos Cogswell 
Silas J. Day 
Wm. Brown 
M. C. Smith 
Geo. Vanderhoff 

Ira Cogswell 
M. J. Cogswell 
Frank Cogswell 
J. F. Campbell 

J. F. Campbell 
Silas J. Day 
F. H. Wells 
D. D. Cook 



Date 



Jan. 8, 1872 



Dec. 17, 1871 



Jan. 31, 1872 



Mining 
Dist. 



Name of 
Location 



I Hidden 
Goose Lake-j Treasure 
f Lode 



I Cumber- 
Goose Lake-i land 
I Ledge 



I General 
Goose Lake-> Logan 
( Lode 



Sept. 28, 1872 Goose Lake 



I Hi 

Tn 
I Lo 



dden 
Treasure 
Lode 



( J. F. Campbell 
I Silas J. Day 

J J. F Campbell 
I Silas I. Day 

J. F. Campbell 
Silas J. Day 
F. H. Wells 
D. D. Cook 



S. H. Vernator 
J. Vernator 



i Hidden 
Nov. 17, 1871 Goose Lake-j Treasure 
t Ledge 

I Hiland 

Jan. 25, 1872 Campbell -?. Chieftain 
I Ledge 

Feb. 18, 1872 Campbell j ^^ Ce 



Highland 
Feb. 18, 1872 Campbell -j Mary 
Ledge 

Buck 
Aug. 29, 1872 Campbell -\ Horn 
Ledge 



The year 1872 brought about the establish- 
ment of a mail route through the country after- 
wards set off as Lake county, and the establish- 
ment of the first postoffice. In 1870 the Oregon 
legislature had memorialized congress to grant 
mail facilities to that part of Southern Ore-, 
gon east of the Cascades. The memorial was 
as follows : 

To the Honorable Congress of the United States : 

The memorial of the legislative assembly of the 
state of Oregon. 

Your memorialists respectfully and earnestly repre- 
■ sent that there is a large district of country in the south- 
ern portion of this state, embracing an area of over ten 
thousand square miles now being rapidly settled by 
citizens of the United States, which is at present desti- 
tute of any kind of mail facilities. To secure to the said 
•citizens the desired mail accommodation, it is necessary 
that the following routes through said district be desig- 
nated as post roads by act of Congress, viz. : From 
Ashland, Oregon, by Brown's, Link River, Lost River, 
Yainix, Drew's Valley, Hot Springs (in Goose Lake 
Valley) to Lake City (in California) two hundred and 
thirty-three miles ; also from Yreka, California, by 
Ward's (on Klamath river, California), Brown's (on 
same river, (Oregon), Link River, Klamath Agency, to 
Fort Klamath, one hundred and three miles. 

Your memorialists further represent that the estab- 
lishment of mail service over the above routes will secure 
mail supply to a population of over three thousand per- 



sons, who are at present destitute of any such accom- 
modation. 

Wherefore your memorialists respectfully pray your 
honorable body to pass an act establishing post roads 
over the routes above described. 

Passed the House September 29, 1870. 

B. Hayden. 
Passed the Senate September 30, 1870. 

James D. Day, 
President of the Senate. 

The request of the Oregon legislature was 
granted, and in the spring of 1872 a contract was 
let to Mr. Kilgore, of Ashland, to carry the mails 
from that point to Lake City, California. The 
contract called for weekly trips and for this serv- 
ice the contractor received nearly $5,000 per year. 
Mr. Kilgore had charge of the mail route until 
1875. A route from Redding, California, north 
to connect with this line was also established. A 
postoffice was at once established at New Pine 
creek, in Goose Lake valley, just north of the 
state line, and the settlers for the first time had 
mail facilities. S. A. Hammersley was post- 
master and the office was at his house. 

The winter of 1872-3 was a severe one and 
many hardships were encountered in delivering 
the mail. A man by the name of Reed carried the 
mail between Linkville and New Pinecreek on 
snow shoes, hauling a hand sled upon which the 
mail sacks were strapped. The snow that winter 
was so deep that it was impossible to keep a road 
open, and most of the travel was upon the lake, 
which was frozen over, and from the surface of 
which the wind blew the snow. 

The establishment of the postoffice was a great 
convenience to the settlers. Before they had been 
obliged to go to Willow Ranch, and before the 
latter postoffice was established in 1869, the set- 
tlers had been obliged to go a much farther dis- 
tance. 

In 1873 trie second postoffice was established 
in Goose Lake valley. This was at the A. Ten- 
brook ranch, some five or six miles south of the 
present town of Lakeview, and Mr. Tenbrook was 
the postmaster. Shortly after the establishment 
of the postoffice C. Hagerhorst started a store 
within a few rods of the postoffice. This was 
quite an event in the history of the valley. Be- 
fore, the settlers had been obliged to go to Camp 
Warner or Willow Ranch for their supplies. 
While the Hagerhorst store was not conducted on 
a large scale and the stock of goods was limited, 
it answered the purposes. J. W. Howard, now a 
merchant of Lakeview, was a clerk in the Ha- 
gerhorst store. With the establishment of this en- 
terprise the postoffice was moved to the store and 
Mr. Hagerhorst became postmaster. Later Henry 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



819 



Dunlap was given charge of the office. William 
Hammersley succeeded him to the office, which 
was then moved to the Vernator ranch. J. W. 
Howard later purchased the stock of goods of 
Mr. Hagerhorst, and when the town of Lakeview 
came into existence, he moved the store building, 
and all to the new town. The postoffice was dis- 
continued when the Lakeview office was started 
in 1876. 

Our story has now been brought up to the year 
1874, the year the legislature authorized the crea- 
tion of Lake county. In a previous chapter of 
this work we have told of the creation of Wasco 
county in 1854 out of all that territory east of the 
Cascade mountains. This, of course, included the 
present counties of Lake and Klamath. This lat- 
ter territory was shortly afterward taken from 
Wasco county and annexed to Jackson county, 
the political division lying immediately to the 
west and on the opposite side of the mountains. 

By 1874 the settlers of Jackson county living 
east of the Cascade mountains thought their coun- 
try had gained sufficient population and import- 
ance to entitle it to set up a county government of 
its own. The settlers of the Klamath basin, Lost 
river and Langell's valley were over 100 miles 
from their county seat, Jacksonville, while the set- 
tlers of Goose Lake valley and other settled por- 
tions of eastern Jackson county were from 200 to 
300 miles from their seat of government. Separ- 
ating the eastern part of the county from the 
western was the Cascade range of mountains. In- 
tervening between the county capital and these 
interior settlements were mountains, lakes and a 
very rough country in which the roads were an 
abomination. The time was ripe for the forma- 
tion of a new county. In this country, including 
the present counties of Lake and Klamath, lived, 
probably, 800 or 900 people, the census taken the 
following year showing a population of 944. 

D. W. Cheesman, a resident of the country 
which it was desired to cut off, was Jackson 
county's representative in the Oregon legislature 
and it was he who introduced the bill and worked 
for the passage of the act. Petitions were sent in 
from the settlements of the future Lake county 
asking for the creation of county to be called 
Crook, taking in all of Jackson county east of the 
Cascade mountains. It was the almost unani- 
mous desire of the settlers that the proposed new 
county be called Crook in honor of General Crook, 
the peerless Indian fighter. Notwithstanding this 
fact, Mr. Cheesman introduced the bill with the 
proposed name of Lake and as such it became a 
law. A few years later the legislature created a 
county from a part of Wasco and named it in 
honor of General Crook. The name Lake is a 
very appropriate one, on account of the many and 



large lakes that occupy a considerable portion of 
its surface. 

On October 24, 1874, the bill for the creation 
of Lake county was approved by Governor 
Grover and became a law. Following is the full 
text of the bill : 

Be it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the 
State of Oregon : 

Section I. That all that portion of the state of 
Oregon embraced within the following boundary lines 
be, and the same is hereby created and organized into a 
separate county by the name of Lake : Beginning on the 
forty-second parallel of north latitude at a point where 
said parallel is intersected by the east boundary of 
township number 23 east of the Willamette meridian ; 
thence due north on said township line to the south 
boundary line of township number 22 south of the 
Oregon base line ; thence due west on said township line 
to the east boundary of Lane county; thence southerly 
along said boundary line and the east boundary line of 
Douglas county to the southeast corner of said Douglas 
county; thence to and south on the east boundary of 
township number 4 east of the Willamette meridian to 
said forty-second parallel of north latitude ; thence due 
east along said parallel to the place of beginning. 

Sec. 2. The territory embraced within said boundary 
lines shall compose a county for all civil and military 
purposes, and shall be subject to the same laws and re- 
strictions, and be entitled to elect the same officers, as 
other counties of this state. Provided, That it shall 
be the duty of the governor, as soon as convenient after 
this act shall become a law, to appoint for Lake county, 
and from among her resident citizens, the several county 
officers allowed by law to other counties of this state, 
which said officers, after duly qualifying according to 
law, shall be entitled to hold their respective offices until 
their successors are duly elected, at the general election 
of 1876, and have duly qualified as required by law. 

Sec. 3. The temporary county seat of Lake county 
shall be located at Linkville, in said county, until a 
permanent location is adopted. At the next general elec- 
tion the question shall be submitted to the legal voters 
of said county, and the place, if any, which shall receive 
a majority of all the votes cast at said election, shall be 
the permanent county seat of said county, but if no place 
shall receive a majority of all the votes cast, the question 
shall be again submitted to the legal voters of said 
county, between the two points having the highest num- 
ber of votes at said election, at the next general elec- 
tion, and the place receiving the highest number of 
votes at such election, shall be the permanent county 
seat of said county. 

Sec. 4. The legal electors of Lake county shall be 
entitled to elect, at the general election of 1876, and 
thereafter until otherwise provided by law, one member 
of the house of representatives, while the county of 
Jackson shall be entitled to elect but two, and said 



820 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



county for senatorial purposes, be annexed to the 16th 
senatorial district. 

Sec. 5. The county clerk of Jackson county shall 
send to the county clerk of Lake county, within 30 
days after this act becomes a law, a certified transcript 
of all delinquent taxes from the assessment roll of 
1874 that were assessed within the limits of Lake county, 
and also a certified transcript of the assessment of per- 
sons and property within the limits of Lake county for 
1874, and the said taxes shall be payable to the proper 
officers of Lake county. The county treasurer of Lake 
county shall, out of the first money collected for taxes, 
pay over to the treasurer of Jackson county the full 
amount of the state tax on the assessment roll of 1874 
due from citizens of Lake county; the said clerk of 
Jackson county shall also make out and send to the 
clerk of Lake county, within the time above limited, a 
transcript of all cases pending in the county and circuit 
courts 'of Jackson county between parties residing in 
Lake county, and transfer all original papers in said 
cases to be tried in Lake county. 

Sec. 6. The said county of Lake is hereby attached' 
to the first judicial district for judicial purposes, and 
the term of the circuit court of said district shall be 
held annually, at the county seat of Lake county, on the 
fourth Monday of June and November, in each year 
until otherwise provided for. 

Sec. 7. The county court of Lake county shall be 
held at the county seat of said county on the first Mon- 
day of every alternate month, beginning on the first 
Monday of the month next after the appointment by the 
governor of county officers, as provided for in this act. 
Sec. 8. Until otherwise provided for, the county 
judge of Lake ccunty shall receive an annual salary 
of $300. 

Sec. 9. The county treasurer of Lake county shall 
receive an annual salary of $100. 
Approved October 24, 1874. 

By tracing on the map the boundaries as de- 
scribed in the enabling act, it will be seen that the 
county did not take in the Warner valley country. 
This was later added to Lake county, being taken 
from Grant county in 1885. This addition to the 
county will be treated more fully in its chron- 
ological order. 

On Monday, February 1, 1875, the county of 
Lake as a separate political division came into 
existence. On that day there met at the house of 
George Nurse in the town of Linkville, which 
was named in the act as the temporary county 
seat, E. C. Mason, county judge; Henry Fuller, 
county commissioner ; William Roberts, clerk ; 
and Thos. Mulholland, sheriff, who took the 
oaths of office and proceeded to organize the 
county of Lake. W. J. Small, deputy clerk, was 
also present and recorded the doings of the 
county court. ■ 



Thus the county began its existence, with a 
territory of many thousand square miles and with 
less than one thousand inhabitants. According 
to the census taken during the summer of 1875, 
there were 944 residents in the new county. At a 
special election held on October 25 of the same 
year there were only 210 votes cast. This hardly 
represented the voting strength of the county, 
however. The election was for the choosing of a 
congressman, in which not much interest 
was taken, and not nearly a whole vote was 
polled. 

Until the closing days of 1876 the county seat 
of Lake county was at the little town of Link- 
ville, now known as Klamath Falls, then the only 
town in the whole 11,000 or 12,000 square miles 
which comprised the county. A building was 
rented from William Angle as a place for con- 
ducting county business, and in this little build- 
ing what little official business was required was 
done. 

For the year 1875 the county court made a 
tax levy of twenty mills on the dollar. Of this 
six and one-half mills was for state purposes, 
eleven and one-half mills for county purposes, and 
two mills for school purposes. 

The county's first assessment was made in 
1875, and the total taxable property was found 
to be $469,334. Tax was collected on 249 polls. 
There were 13,088 acres of land assessed, which 
was returned at a total value of $32,081, or about 
$2.45 per acre. In addition to this there was 
placed on the rolls 297,975 acres of wagon road 
land, assessed at $119,190, or 40 cents per acre. 
The total value of town lots was placed at $300. 
Other items on the roll were : Improvements, 
$32,171 ; merchandise and implements, $35,341 ; 
money, notes, etc., $56,194; household furniture, 
carriages, watches, etc., $6,993 ; 2,841 horses and 
mules, $69,640 — average value, $23.46 ; 22,030 
catlle, $220,056 — average value $9.99; 20,148 
sheep, $40,296 — average value, $2.00 ; 739 swine, 
1,500 — average value, $2.03. This made the 
gross value of property $613,762. The indebted- 
ness was $82,824 and exemptions $61,604, leav- 
ing a total taxable valuation of $469,334. 

On the first assessment roll were 201 names 
for the precincts which compose the present Lake 
county, and 164 for the precincts composing the 
present Klamath county. Following are the 
names of the taxpayers in the precincts of the 
present Lake county and the gross value of all 
their property as assessed. The names of those 
with no amount following were assessed only for 
their polls. Some few of the others had sufficient 
indebtedness or had exemptions, so that they had 
no taxes to pay except the poll tax. The amounts- 
given are the gross valuations and not the net : 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



821 



SUMMER LAKE PRECINCT. 



J. Partin $715 

John Whitaker 2,500 

W. Cawthorn 800 

J. Conger 200 

Rufus Dillard 

Michael Suit 610 

A. J. Cruzon 800 

J. Sellers 200 

A. A. Averil 728 

W. H. W. Averil.... 1,020 

John Leonard 843 

T. S. Hamilton 962 

R. Sherlock 370 

C. Hagerhorst 8,641 

T. Sherlock 70 

S. A. Caldwell 1,825 

A. Hamilton 1,705 

S. Hamilton 342 

William H. Mills .... 3,230 



C. Sherlock $70 

J. W. Belknap 458 

W. S. Bennett 300 

James Foster 4.845 

J. A. Foster 

J. Foster 

J. B. Blair 500 

S. B. Hadley 3,950 

A. H. Hadley 100 

Phelix Dorris 197 

J. Dorris 20 

W. Hill 185 

C. Hayes 400 

A. J. Scott 355 

John Withers 2,540 

J. S. Wooley 941 

J. G. Hampton 720 

Thos. Winkelman . . . 785 



CHEWAUCAN PRECINCT. 



P. R. Baldwin $1,200 

J. Grundike 5,070 

J. Bringle 485 

A. Fuller 385 

Root & Hoskins 290 

J. O. Elder 507 

R. M. Elder 1,370 

T. J. Brattain 1,190 

C. W. Young 2,930 

W. B. Small 75 

John Burries 250 

W. M. White 5,470 

J. Simmons 230 

Studley & Brother . . 1,000 
J. W. Henderson .... 380 

Thos. Morgan 1,025 

O. L. Morgan 1,710 

Frank Scott 3*270 



.$6,420 



Small & Bro. . , 

J. M. Small 

G. Wert 386 

J. H. Sears 235 

W. Harvey 160 

J. B. Phelps 310 

G. W. Avery 1,420 

P. Avery 2,601 

S. P. Moss 3,479 

W. D. Newland' 1,590 

G. H. Small 

J. G. D. Hepburn 

C. L. M. Innes 

Hepburn & Innes . . . .10,330 
J. C. Avery 4.500 

C. Gaylord ■ 3.970 

D. W. White 1,354 



CROOKED CREEK PRECINCT. 



Colvin & Freeman . . .$5,446 
H. L. Davis & Bros.. 1,380 

W. Heryford 7.787 

J. McKee 700 

H R. Heryford 

R. Reading 4,850 

J. W. Loveless 1,501 

J. N. Rouse no 

B. S. Chandler 375 



A. G. Colvin 

T. Barnum & Colvin 
D. W. Cheesman . . 

W. Patton 

J. McFay 

T. O. Blair 

M. McShane 

C. A. Rice 

John Hollingsworth. 



GOOSE LAKE PRECINCT. 



A. F. Snelfing $1,614 W. Barrington 

D. Snelling John Hall .... 

Tandy & Bro 200 M. Brown 



520 

1,290 

2,045 

65 

673 
1,410 

935 
360 



$100 

600 

1,132 



GOOSE LAKE PRECINCT. 

(Continued.) 



J. M. Harrington . . . 

J. G. Clark 

A. B. Contner 

Lucy Contner 

E. B. Mulholland .... 

C. A. Charlton 

Estate Wm. Crickett. 
Estate A. J. Rountree 

R. Buck & Co. 

G. M. Whitaker 

C. A. Cogswell 

A. D. Clerk 

A. Tenbrook 

Martin Walters 

W. Hammersley 

J. Stanley 

A. Reed 

B. Warner 

M. Wade 

L. E. Henderson .... 
Joseph Robnette .... 

Isaac Robnette 

R. L. Cheesman 

R. Tenbrook 

J. A. Moon 

T. C. Snider 

W. H. Cone 

O. B. Allen 

Augustus Miller 

M. W r . Bullard 

Leonidas Turner .... 

C. Turner & Bros. . . . 

N. A. Robinette 

M. A. Gaques 

M. S. Taylor ......... 

J. J. Charlton ' 

R. Moore 

G. W. McGowin 

M. Wade 

W. T. Lowry 

J. W. Smith 



$569 

815 

800 

630 

435 

2,534 

1,100 

1,950 

287 

913 

35o 

2,572 

782 

526 

410 

1.556 



533 
6,945 

795 

5io 

2,675 

2,494 

353 

50 

867 

875 

540 

1,250 

650 

790 

200 

i,77i 
300 

405 

221 

1,370 

850 



T. J. Hickman $4 

James Barnes 7. 

Hagerhorst & Co. ... 6 

Henry Blecher 2. 

C. E. Randall 1, 

H. McDaniels 

M. D. Hopkins 1 

W. Vincent 

J. E. Watkins 

E. A. Buck 

G. Hammersley 

W. R. Davidson 

John T. Fitzgerald . . 
S. A. Hemmersley. . . 1 

A. Z. Hammersley ... 2 
J. S. Vincent 

F. Vincent 

B. F. Dowell 4, 

Thos. Mulholland ... 2. 

S. H. Taylor 

Wm. Greenman 

C. D. Mulholland .... 

E. L. Miller i : 

S. Johnson 

W. M. Spry 2 

J. W. Tullock 

C. W. Broback 2 

M. M. Denny 1 

C. Pendleton 

McMillan 

A. J. Hutson 2 

S. C. Hutson 

J. Howard 

B. Vincent 

J. H. Page 

J. Vernator 

G. W. Elliott 

I. Smelser 1 

J. Fitzgerald 

John O'Neil 

I. Eccleston 



320 
920 
000 
000 
830 
359 
030 
100 
50 



140 
175 
150 
772 
040 
519 



042 

595 
900 
900 
120 
,005 
40 
,020 
605 
J37 
,216 
260 
662 
,785 



440 

375 
980 
684 
840 
676 
320 
402 



DREW S VALLEY. 

G. H. Penland $3,024 O. P. Russell $305 

W. Clark 869 Thos. Lofton 595 

R. S. Favil 386 

SILVER LAKE PRECINCT. 

Marion Martin $1,700 J. Jackson $5,945 

J. M. Martin 25 E. H. Noble 2,320 

A. V. Lane 3,760 P. G. Christman 2,730 

J. F. Sullivan 260 G. R. Chrisman 678 



822 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



SILVER LAKE PRECINCT. 

(Continued.) 

N. M. Hawley $2,330 George Langdon 

C. P. Marshall 1,990 Horning Bros $2,540 

J. H. Barnum 340 J. C. Hanan 90 

J. A. Musick 4,775 L. L. Hawley 1,810 

Alonzo Musick S. W. Smith 2,280 

In 1876 the county seat of Lake county was 
moved from Linkville to Lakeview. It will be 
remembered that the enabling act provided for 
the location of the temporary county seat at Link- 
ville; that at the general June election of 1876, 
the selection of the permanent seat of government 
should ue made by the voters ; and that if no place 
then received a majority of all the votes cast, the 
question should again be submitted at the next 
general election, the two places having the lar- 
gest votes at the preceding election to be the 
only candidates. 

When in 1874 the legislature named Linkville 
— the present Klamath Falls — as the temporary 
county seat, that was the only town in the whole 
territory named as Lake county. Although this 
little town in the western portion of the new 
county was the only one, the greater population 
was in the eastern part of the county — in Goose 
Lake, Summer Lake, Chewaucan and' other val- 
leys. The first assessment roll, as previously 
stated, showed 201 names in the eastern to 164 in 
the western part of the county. Having the bulk 
of the population, the east siders laid their plans 
to secure the county seat. 

No town had yet been builded on the east side, 
but the settlers decided on "Bullard's Creek," or 
"Bullard's Ranch," as the place for which to vote 
for the removal, and preparations were made to 
build a town at this point. So early as April the 
store building of A. & C. U. Snider was started, 
and before the election in June, several other en- 
terprises were under way. This town was being 
started at "Bullard's Creek," the present site of 
the town of Lakeview, although that name had 
not yet been applied to the place. The history of 
the town of Lakeview will be told in a later chap- 
ter, so we shall noj here tell more of the building 
of the town. 

The election was held on June 5, and 384 
votes were cast on the county seat question. As is 
usual in cases where votes are cast for a place 
without a definite name, the vote for "Bullard's 
Creek" was divided as to the designation of the 
place, but evidently with unanimity as to inten- 
tion. The votes cast for "Bullard's Creek," 
"Goose Lake," "Goose Lake Valley," "Bullard's 
Ranch," and "Bullard's Creek in Goose Lake 
Valley" were 193, a slight majority of all the 



votes cast. The vote by precincts at this election- 
was as follows : 



Candidates 



U os 



wo<j(/)c/)U</},jra 



Bullard's Creek 72 1 23 .... 24 120 

Sprague River 1 13 . . 3 17 

Bonanza 38 38 

Drew's Valley 2 1 . . . . 3 

Goose Lake 17 . . 1 . . . . 18 

Goose Lake Valley .... 5 5 

Bullard's Ranch 39 39 

Chewaucan 1 r 

Linkville 5 . . . . 2 .... 76 5 88 

Big Springs 1 6 4 11 

Blank 33 

Bullard's Creek in 

Goose Lake 11 11 

As might naturally be expected, trouble arose 
over the election. Fraud was alleged in the can- 
vass of the votes. The east side people contended 
that the plain intention of the voters was to desig- 
nate Bullard's Creek as the county seat, while 
those living in the present Klamath county main- 
tained that it was not clear that the intention of 
the voters voting "Goose Lake," "Goose Lake 
Valley," etc., was to select "Bullard's Creek," and 
they contended that no majority had been re- 
ceived and that therefore the county seat should 
remain at Linkville until the next general elec- 
tion should be held and the contest finally de- 
cided. 

A majority of the county court was favorable 
to the east side and ordered the county records re- 
moved to Mr. Bullard's ranch in Goose Lake val- 
lev. R. B. Hatton, the county clerk, was a Link- 
ville man, however, and refused to remove the 
records in accordance with the court's instruc- 
tions. Following is the official action taken by 
the county court at a session held on August 10 : 

Whereas an election was held on the 5th day of 
June, A. D., 1876. in accordance with an act of the 
legislative assembly of the state of Oregon, 1874, 
creating Lake county, and fixing the salaries of county 
judge and treasurer. 

It appearing from the poll books returned from 
the various precincts of Lake county that Bullard's 
Creek did receive a majority of all the votes cast at 
said election for the county seat of Lake county as 
provided for in said act. 

And that whereas Bullard's Creek and Bullard's 
Ranch, two names used in voting for said countv seat. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



823 



does appear from evidence, and the knowledge of this 
court, and that it was understood by all who voted, 
that Bullard's Creek and Bullard's Ranch are both 
one and the same identical place, and from a careful 
examination of the poll books returned from various 
precincts, it appearing that a wrong, intentionally or 
otherwise, has been done a majority of the people 
of Lake county, that the abstracts are false, and that 
a majority of the legal voters of Lake county have 
decided by their votes that Bullard's Creek is right- 
fully and legally the county seat of Lake county, 

Bullard's Creek in Goose Lake valley did receive 
202 votes, Bullard's Creek and ranch being the same 
place, leaving a majority for Bullard's Creek of 45 
votes, and then counting 17 votes from Silver Lake 
against Bullard's Creek, it then leaves a majority of 
11 votes in favor of Bullard's Creek. 

This court is satisfied from evidence adduced that 
the 17 votes from Silver Lake reported by the board 
of canvassers of the vote of election declaring 17 votes 
from Silver Lake to be for Goose Lake, were not so 
voted, but were voted for Bullard's Creek, as is clearly 
proven. 

It appearing to the satisfaction of this court that 
there is no such place as Blank, and that it was in- 
tended to cheat and defraud the people of their rights 
at the polls ; in view of all the facts that Bullard's 
Creek is the county seat of Lake county, and the clerk 
of Lake county, R. B. Hatton, is requested and in- 
structed to select two justices of the peace, or the 
county judge for one, and to proceed to recount the 
votes on the poll books, in conjunction with the dupli- 
cate poll book of Silver Lake, which explains the blots 
and errors in the poll book of said precinct of Silver 
Lake, and to make out a true and perfect abstract of 
the same, and that he forward a copy of it to the 
governor of Oregon as required by law; and that the 
clerk immediately thereafter, within five days from 
this time, remove the books, papers and records of his 
office to Bullard's house at Bullard's Creek, in Lake 
county, Oregon, and that ' the expenses of the same 
be paid by Lake county. 

Done in open court August 10, 1876. 

(Signed) E. C. MASON, 
Chairman Board of County Commissioners, of Lake 

County. 

Anticipating the refusal of Mr. Hatton to 
comply with the court's orders, that body took 
further action the same day as follows : 

The clerk having intimated that he would not re- 
move his office to Bullard's, it is hereby ordered that 
if he neglects to do so within five days from this 
date, it is ordered that H. K. Hanna, district attorney, 
B. F. Dowell and William Harris commence suit im- 
mediately in the name of Lake county, an action or 
actions at law, suit or suits in equity, mandamus, or 



any attachment or proceeding against the said clerk that 
they may deem necessary to compel the said clerk 
to remove the books, papers, records of his office, ,to 
Bullard's house at Bullard's Creek in said county, 
and that said attorneys be authorized to employ one. 
or more agents, attorneys, to collect the evidence: and 
assist in the perfection of said action or suit. 
Done in open court August 10, 1876. 

(Signed) E. C. MASON, 
Chairman Board of County Commissioners, 
of Lake County. 

Although this radical step was demanded by 
the county court, it was not carried out; neither 
did Mr. Hatton remove the records. The east 
side people believed that they could easily carry 
the election, which was to be held November 7, 
and waited their time. In the meantime Lake- 
view had come into existence and been given a 
name, and there was no danger that the mistakes 
of the June election would be repeated. Four 
hundred eighty-three votes were cast, 181 for 
Linkville and 242 for Lakeview. 

Linkville put up a hard fight at this election,, 
and a number of her emissaries invaded the ter- 
ritory of the enemy. It is said that some of these' 
carried 'long sacks" containing the wherewithal 
to secure votes for Linkville from Goose Lake 
valley. The result shows that but little was ac- 
complished by these tactics. 

One incident is told by Mr. J. T. Fitzgerald 
of an attempt to secure a vote for Linkville from 
a resident of Summer Lake valley by a Linkville 
man. The occurrence was on election day at the 
polls at Hagerhorst's store. C. Hayes, who made 
his home at Summer Lake, was present and in- 
tended to vote for the location of the county seat 
on the east side of the county. Mr. Hayes could 
neither read nor write. The Linkville worker 
approached him and found that Mr. Hayes 
claimed to be a relative of Rutherford B. Hayes,, 
on that day elected president of the United States, 
and proceeded to establish a confidential acquain- 
tance with Mr. Hayes by praising the distin- 
guished relative. At the right time the Linkville . 
emissary approached Hayes on the election and 
proposed to fix the ticket for him. He was al- 
lowed to "fix it," but as soon as the ballot fixer 
left his man, Mr. Fitzgerald, who had been 
watching the performance, went to George White- 
aker and told him what he had seen. Mr. White-., 
aker met Mr. Hayes on his way to the polls and 
asked him if he had voted, to which Hayes re- 
plied, "No ; I am going to vote now." Mr. White- 
aker asked him to let him see his ticket. Mr. 
Hayes produced the "fixed" ticket and Mr. 
Whiteaker read it. "Why," said he, "you don't 
want to vote for Linkville, do you?" Mr. Hayes; 



824 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



replied that he certainly did not. And then Mr. 
Whiteaker seized the opportunity to "fix" the 
ticket, and Mr. Hayes was hurried off to the polls 
and voted "Lake view." 

The official vote by precincts was as follows : 



U OS 



Linkville 

Lakeview .... 



H 


u 


M 


W) 


« 


'> 




a 


> 


O 


01 


S 


^a 


d 


3 




S-t 


u 


o 






CO 


CO 


u 


CO 


►J 


>-i 


H 




5 






So 


117 


181 



W O U co 

5 4 
.104 14 25 29 29 17 11 8 5 242 



1 The westsiders then gave up the fight. How- 
ever, they began to lay their plans for the division 
,of the county so soon as the population would 
warrant. Their desires were not brought about 
unttf 1882. 

...Soon after the election the records were re- 
moved to Lakeview and that city has ever since 
.been the county seat. The first session of the 
eounty court was held on December 6, 1876, and 
there were present E. C. Mason, county judge; 
■ Stephen Moss and A. Tenbrook, county commis- 
sioners ; T. J. Brattain, sheriff; and R. B. Hattan, 
clerk. 

When the county seat was moved to Lakeview 
in 1876 M. W. Bullard donated twenty acres of 
land to Lake county for county purposes, and a 
part of this, after the platting of Lakeview, was 
sold to private parties in town lots. 

Arrangements were soon made to erect a 
building for a clerk's office at the new county 
seat. December 9, 1876, the county court auth- 
orized the erection of a 16x28 foot building, and 
Milton Brown was appointed to supervise its 
erection and procure material and help with which 
to erect it. This was soon completed, but it was 
not until 1881 that the county had what might be 
properly called a court house. A county jail was 
the next thing in order and at a special session 
of the county court on April 14, 1877, a contract 
was let to S. J. Hickman for $130, and in a 
short time this was completed. 

As is often the case where a new political di- 
vision is set off from the parent county, litigation 
arose between Jackson and Lake counties over a 
settlement. This was in two suits — one, Jack- 
son County vs. Lake County, for the recovery of 
$423.68; the other, John Orth, Treasurer of 
Jackson County, vs. George Nurse, Treasurer of 
•Lake County, for the recovery of $1,066.18. 
, The first named case was brought about in 
this way: Some time in 1874, before Lake county 
was created, a murder was committed in the ter- 
ritory afterwards set off as Lake county. The 
alleged murderer was arrested and confined in the 
'county jail at Jacksonville before the new county 



was created. After the organization of Lake 
county the prisoner was tried at Jacksonville and 
the costs of the trial paid by the old county. 
Jackson county demanded payment from Lake 
county for the costs of the trial, which was re- 
fused. Lake county put in a counter claim, al- 
leging it had money due in final settlement with 
the older county. 

The suits were brought in 1877 and extended 
litigation seemed probable. In view of this fact, 
on June 7, 1877, the county court submitted a 
proposition to settle the matter by arbitration. It 
suggested that Jackson county should withdraw 
all actions it had begun at law, and that the de- 
cision by the board of arbitration should be bind- 
ing upon both parties ; that the arbitration board 
should consist of three members, one chosen by 
Lake county, one by Jackson, and the third to be 
selected by the other two ; that the board hold its 
meetings at Ashland, Jackson county. The offer, 
was refused by the county court of Jackson county 
and the suits were pressed. Lake county em- 
ployed A. C. Jones and G. F. Harris as attorneys 
to represent it. 

The cases were tried in the circuit court for 
Lake county before Judge Prim, who, on No- 
vember 20, 1877, decided both cases in favor of 
the plaintiffs, giving the judgments asked for. On 
January 24, 1878, both cases were appealed to the 
supreme court and A. C. Jones and R. S. Strahn 
were selected as Lake county's attorneys to con- 
duct the cases before that tribunal. On January 
6, 1879, the supreme court ordered the appeal dis- 
missed, that Jackson dounty recover from Lake 
county the costs of the suits, and that the cases be 
remanded to the lower court for further proceed- 
ing. The cases finally went against Lake county, 
and on April 8, 1881, a warrant was ordered 
drawn for $663.88 in favor of Jackson county, a 
final settlement of the case. 

During the first five years of the county's ex- 
istence there was a rapid settlement, and' where 
in 1875 there were 944 people we find in 1880 that 
there are 2,804, nearly three times as many. The 
population was divided into the several precincts 
as follows : 

Chewaucan '79 

Crooked Creek 83 

Goose Lake, Lakeview and New Pine Creek 936 

Linkville 7X7 

Lost River .174 

Plevna UO 

Silver Lake 92 

Sprague River 118 

Summer Lake 146 

Total ....2.804 






HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Of these, 2,722 were whites, three colored, 
seven Chinese, and twenty-seven Indians. The 
native born population was 2,575 ! foreign born, 
229. The precincts which were two years later 
set off as Klamath county contained 1,368 of this 
number, leaving 1,436 in the present Lake county. 

Other statistics from the census of 1880 are 
interesting because they show the condition of 
the county at that time : 

Number of farms, 347 ; number of owners, 237 : 
number rented for money, 6 ; number rented for shares, 
15. Acres tilled, including fallow and grass in rotation. 
9,691. Number of acres of permanent meadows, 
pastures and orchards. 33,312. 

Value of lands, fences and buildings, $430,025 ; 
value of farm implements and machinery, $48,630; 
value of live stock, $506,201 ; amount paid for wages, 
$40,633; grass lands mown, 11,844; tons of hay, 12,651; 
number of horses, 5,318; mules, 224; oxen, 97; milch 
cows, 1,405; other cattle, 31,342; sheep, 25,809; swine, 
679; pounds of butter made, 53,315; cheese, 2.550. 
Estimated value of farm productions, $225,971. Acres 
of wheat, 611; bushels, 9,635. Acres of oats, 332; 
bushels, 7,031. Acres of potatoes, 49; bushels, 5,299. 
Acres of barley, 731 ; bushels, 18,215. Acres of apple 
orchard, 27 ; bearing trees, 83 ; bushels, 66. Total value 
of all orchard products, $75; market vegetables, $1,995. 

In 1881 the county purchased a building for 
$1,600 from George Conn, moved it onto the 
county property, and on June 11 of that year let 
the contract to N. A. Clark for $965, to make 
additions and complete a court house. When this 
was completed Lake county had a court house, 
tne one which is still used for that purpose. 

In 1 88 1 the county purchased a building for 
math county from the western portion of Lake 
county. This took off about one-half of the 
county as it was at that time. Ever since the re x 
moval of the county seat to Lakeview in 1876, 
the people of the Klamath country had been de- 
termined to have this county formed. i\.gitation 
was begun before the 1880 session of the legisla- 
ture, but at that time the population and as- 
sessed valuation of their country would not war- 
rant such a step, and the agitation did not reach 
the stage of having a bill introduced in the legis- 
lature. During the next two years the question 
was a live one, and the separation was accom- 
plished in 1882. 

While this legislation cut down the dimensions 
of the county to a considerable extent, it was only 
a few years later that a generous slice of terri- 
tory was added to the county. By 1885 Warner 
valley, which at that time was a portion of 
Grant county, had become settled to some 
extent. The county seat of Grant county 



was Canyon City, half way across the 
state, and naturally this fact was a source, of 
great inconvenience to the Warner valley settlers. 
All their relations, except official, were with Lake- 
view, which was comparatively only a short dis- 
tance away, about thirty or forty miles, and it 
was only natural that they should desire to have 
their valley annexed to Lake county. Agitation 
was begun in 1882, but results were not obtained 
until three years later. The annexation was made 
by the legislature of 1885, the bill being intro- 
duced by W. F. Abshier, representative from 
Lake county. The bill as passed was as follows : 

Be it enacted by the legislative assembly of the 
state of Oregon. 

Section 1. That all that portion of Grant county 
lying within the following described boundaries, to-wit : 
Beginning where the north boundary line of township 
33 south intersects the east line of Lake county, thence 
east along said township line to the northeast cornrr 
of township 33 south, of range 28 east, thence south 
along said range line to the south boundary line of the 
state of Oregon, thence west along said line to the 
southeast corner of Lake county, thence north along 
the east boundary line of Lake county to the plac~ 
of beginning; be, and the same is hereby, taken from 
said Grant county and annexed to and made a part 
of Lake county. 

Sec. 2. The treasurer of Lake county shall pay to 
the treasurer of Grant county such a portion of the 
indebtedness of Grant county as the taxable property 
of the territory described in section one bears to the 
whole amount of taxable property of said Grant county 
not to exceed five thousand dollars, as said taxable prop- 
erty appears by the assessor's roll of 1884. 

Sec. 3. Inasmuch as the boundary lines as they now 
exist between the counties of Grant and Lake are a 
source of great inconvenience to many citizens, this act 
shall take effect and be in force from and after its 
approval by the governor. 

The bill passed both houses of the legislature 
and was approved by the governor on November 
2i, 1885. This added a generous slice of terri- 
tory to Lake county, and proved a great con- 
venience to the Warner valley settlers. 

The annexation of Warner valley brought 
about a suit between Grant and Lake counties. On 
August 3, 1887, Grant county commenced an ac- 
tion to recover the amount due by virtue of sec- 
tion 2 of the act of 1885. The suit was for 
$4,298.82, the amount claimed as the Warner val- 
ley share of Grant county's indebtedness accord- 
ing to the taxable property. The case was 
brought to trial in the circuit court for Lake 
county at the June term in 1888. The court gave 
Grant county judgment for $483 with interest at 



826 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



eight per cent, from November 21, 1885. From 
this decision both parties took an appeal to the 
supreme court, which remanded the case to the 
circuit court with instructions to render judgment 
against Lake county for $4,298.82, without in- 
terest. The opinion was rendered by Judge 
Thayer May 8, 1889. 

According to the state census of 1885 Lake 
county had a population of 1536. This was be- 
fore the Warner valley country had been added 
to the county, but after Klamath had been set off. 
The federal census of 1880 had given the county 
a population of 2,807, when Klamath was in- 
cluded. The increase in the county with its new 
dimensions during the five years was not large, 
being just about 100. 

During the latter part of the eighties a few 
new settlers came into the county, but very little 
of importance transpired during these years. The 
census of 1890 gave the county a population of 
2,585. At that time there were only five coun- 
ties in Oregon having a smaller population. 

The even tenor of the ways of Lake county 
was marred in 1894 by a lynching at Lakeview, 
the first and last that has taken place in the 
county's history. On Monday morning, August 
20, about one o'clock, W. S. Thompson was taken 
from the jail at Lakeview and hanged, it was 
generally believed, by residents of Warner valley. 
He was taken from the jail by a number of 
masked men who had previously held up acting 
nightwatchman Heminger, and secured the keys 
of the jail. 

Thompson lived in Warner valley and was 
known as a desperado. He was in jail at the time, 
charged with the crime of drawing a gun on sev- 
eral Warner valley citizens. It was not for this 
offense that the lynchers demanded the life of 
Thompson ; it seems to have been the almost 
unanimous opinion that the man should be hung 
on general principles. The day before the hang- 
ing he had indulged himself to the extent of 
smashing his wife's nose, breaking three of her 
ribs, cutting to death her saddle horse and rip- 
ping open the abdomens of a few other horses in 
the barnyard. A coroner's jury found that 
Thompson came to his death by strangulation at 
the hands of unknown parties. 

While the lynching was deplored by the citi- 
zens of Lake county in general, they realized that 
the community was much better off than it would 
have been had the crime not been committed. 

During the financial depression of the nineties 
Lake county made little advancement. Being a 
stock raising country, it did not receive the set- 
back which the agricultural districts of our coun- 
try suffered owing to the low price of cereals. The 
depression was hard enough, however, to retard 



the county to a considerable extent. The taxable 
property in the county in 1894 was $1,388,- 
409, and according to the census of 1895 the 
county's population was 2,197, a loss in the 
five years. 

After the hard times period Lake county came 
to the front again, and during the late nineties 
and the first few years of the 20th century the 
development was the greatest in its history. 

The year 1899 was an exceptionally good one. 
On January 1, 1900, Beach & McGarry, then pub- 
lishers of the Lake County Examiner, wrote of 
the preceding year as follows : 

"Lake county in 1899 enjoyed a degree of 
prosperity never before known in its history. It 
might be said that 1899 was a banner year for the 
stock industry, for agricultural and horticultural 
development and for numerous industrial enter- 
prises. Every industry has shown a material in- 
crease and every one is prosperous. The sale and 
shipment of about 35,000 head of beef cattle 
brought into the county nearly $1,000,000. On 
75,000 head of sheep driven to market $225,000- 
more was added to the Lake county stockman's 
income. One million, five hundred thousand 
pounds of wool were sheared and shipped. Last 
year's product brought the sheepmen $195,000. 
Besides sales of cattle, sheep and wool, there 
were sold from 1,500 to 2,000 head of horses and 
mules, valued at from $25,000 to $40,000 ; also 
1,000 to 1,500 hogs for $90,000 and 2,500 goats 
for $7,500, making a total of $1,460,000 re- 
ceived from stock. 

"The sawmills of the county were not able to 
supply the demand for lumber last year, notwith- 
standing that they turned out over 1,250,000 feet, 
valued at $20,000. The number of buildings 
erected last year was nearly double the number 
of any former year, and the indications are fav- 
orable for greater building in 1900. New farm- 
houses, barns and fences are good indications of 
the prosperity of the farmers. Nearly every one 
in the county made improvements of some kind 
during the year. 

"Immigration to Lake county, while not large. 
has been steady, and the increase in population 
is quite perceptible." 

Nineteen hundred was another prosperous 
vear. In the spring immigrants began to come 
in from all parts of the country. The county's 
resources were becoming known to the outside 
world, and the outside world was beginning to 
investigate. 

The federal census taken that year showed 
2,847 people in the county, a gain of 243 in ten 
vears. Only three counties, Curry, Harney and 
\\ heeler, had less population. By precincts the 
population was : 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



827 



Silver Lake 229 

Summer Lake ' 129 

Paisley 326 

Crooked Creek 150 

North Warner 143 

South Warner 218 

South Lakeview 234 

North Lakeview 527 

Drew's Valley 109 

Goose Lake l. . . 233 

Cogswell Creek 319 

Thomas Creek 230 

Total 2,847 

The total taxable property for 1900 was 
$1,546,916, an increase of $81,000 over 1899. By 
1903 the valuation had reached a figure of $724,- 
507, a- gain of $150,000 over the preceding year. 
In 1904 the valuation had increased to $2,068,696. 
In the county were assessed that year 136,003 
acres of tillable land, valued at $402,146, and 
371,156 acres of non-tillable land, valued at $446.- 
238. Stock was assessed as follows: 5,011 horses 
and mules, $61,890; 23,716 cattle, $355,740; 
139,887 sheep, $279,774; 373 swine, $749. 

The year 1904 witnessed the breaking out of 
the range war in Lake county. The county, de- 
voted almost exclusively to stock raising, during 
all the years of its history had never been the 
scene of any trouble over range matters, and the 
events of the year 1904 are deplored by all fair 
minded citizens. Since 1904 there has been no 
repetition of the troubles and it is safe to say that 
there will not be. 

As usual in range wars, the sheep men were 
the losers, and the trouble started with the slaugh- 
ter of sheep. The killing took place near Christ- 
mas lake in the "desert" country, far from the 
inhabited portions of the county. Christmas lake 
is situated about twenty miles east and twelve 
miles north of Silver lake, and is nearly in the 
center of what is known as the "great Oregon 
desert." We shall not undertake here to describe 
the desert country, as a description of it will be 
found elsewhere in this history, but we shall en- 
deavor to picture briefly particular localities which 
were the scenes of the sheep slaughters. The 
particular locality of Christmas lake is a rough 
sagebrush plain, cut up by rim-rocks and ridges 
covered with scrubby juniper timber. Standing 
upon one of the high points of these ridges or 
rim-rocks, one can see for miles around ; drop 
down into a valley or ravine, and you are shel- 
tered from storms. At many places on the desert 
almost complete enclosures can be found, where 
sheepmen with a little work" can make corrals bv 
piling rock and brush across gaps in the rim-rock 



and pitching camp in an outlet. In some instances 
these enclosures cover several acres of ground. 

It was in one of these enclosures that a band 
of sheep, most of which belonged to Benham 
Brothers, was corralled on the evening of Febru- 
ary 3, 1904. No sooner had the herder corralled 
his sheep than five masked men rode up to him, 
emerging from a hiding place near by, where 
they had evidently awaited this opportunity, com- 
pelled him to stand with his arms up and his back 
to the crowd while they placed a sack over his-, 
face and tied his hands. He was then compelled 
to stand by a juniper trees, while, with rifles, pis- 
tols, knives and clubs, the clubs being juniper 
limbs about four feet long and the size of a man's 
wrist, the masked men proceeded to slaughter- 
sheep. 

There were in the neighborhood of 3,000 head 
in the flock. It was just getting dark when the 
slaughter commenced, and it took nearly all night 
to complete the job. The sheep stampeded and 
about 800 escaped the deadly onslaught, but many 
of these escaped the men, only to fall a prey to 
the predatory coyote. When the men had com- 
pleted their job, they returned to the herder and 
told him what they had done, and warned him 
that other sheep found grazing on certain range 
would be treated the same way. They also stated 
that they had drawn dead lines, and that it was 
death to all sheep crossing them. 

The men rode away, leaving the herder to 
contemplate the situation. Not, however, until they 
had cautioned him about "talking too much." The 
herder struck out at once for Silver Lake to give 
the news. He reached the town of Silver Lake 
late the next day and telephoned to Lakeview, a 
hundred miles away. Before an officer could 
reach the spot three days had elapsed and no 
trace of the perpertrators could be found. 

A quiet investigation was carried on for some 
time. Men who were thought to be in possession 
of evidence received letters and warning in vari- 
ous ways, cautioning them to be careful what 
they said. One morning when one of the mer- 
chants of Silver Lake went to open his store he 
found a small piece of rope tied to the door knob 
and a note advising him to "keep quiet." All 
these warnings came from mysterious sources ; 
some of the letters were mailed at distant post- 
offices, and no clue could be safely traced. The 
whole thong was a mystery, as it was generally 
believed that the sheep men and cattle men were 
on good terms, and it seemed impossible that the 
range war that had been a common thing in the 
counties farther north had begun in Lake count)'. 

Time wore on, and finally J. C. Conn, a mer- 
chant of Silver Lake, lost a valuable string of 
freight wagons by fire. Mr. Conn, while very 



'828 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



reticent about the subject, showed evidence of his 
belief that parties connected with the sheep killing 
were punishing him for the leaking out of some 
facts connected with the sheep killing. He went 
to Lakeview and remained a few days. He acted 
very nervous about the affair, but said little. 

On Friday morning, March 4, 1904, J. C. 
Conn ate his breakfast, went to the store, asked 
the clerk if he had got the mail, and then walked 
out. He went out along the road and was seen 
about a mile from town later in the morning. Mr. 
Conn did not return. Searching parties were 
sent out, but no track or trace of the lost man 
could be found. The creek, which at that time 
was running high, was dragged for miles up and 
down ; parties scattered farther and farther out, 
but no sign could be found. More men were sent 
out ; day after day and week after week passed 
and still no trace of the lost man. It was be- 
lieved that every foot of country had been 
searched and the mystery grew deeper. Six 
weeks after Conn's disappearance a vaquero 
found his dead body lying in a field about a mile 
from the town and a quarter of a mile from the 
road leading north and west from Silver Lake. 
This was on April 25. The verdict of the coro-' 
ner's jury, composed mostly of stockmen in the 
vicinity of Silver Lake, was to the effect that Mr. 
Conn came to his death by gunshot wounds self- 
inflicted. The body was lying on the ground, 
face up, arms outstretched, and Conn's revolver 
lying by his side. The body at first sight seemed 
to be in a fair state of preservation, but upon ex- 
amination it was found to be badly decomposed. 
Two bullet holes were in the breast and one in 
tne back ; one bullet had passed through the body 
and was found a few inches under the surface of 
the ground. Regardless of the verdict of the 
coroner's jury, there were some who held out the 
belief that Conn was murdered. 

On the 29th of April another band of sheep 
was raided some twenty or thirty miles from the 
scene of the first slaughter, but on the same range, 
and out of a band of 2,700 head, about 300 or 400 
were all that could be found. Several sheepmen 
who had wintered their flocks on the desert had 
driven their ewe bands to the valley for lambing 
purposes, and for convenience and economy had 
put their weathers all together and left a Mr. 
Wilcox in charge of the band. Wilcox, in relat- 
ing the story of the slaughter, said : 

"About four o'clock on the evening of April 
29 nine men on horseback came upon me when 
I was heading the sheep for the corrals. The 
men were all heavily armed and masked. They 
said unless I removed the sheep in two hours 
they would kill them, and then they left me. It 
was then nearly time for sheep to bed, and it was 



absolutely out of the question to move them that 
day, so I proceeded to corral them, thinking prob- 
ably they would not molest me that night. My 
expectations were not to be realized, however, 
for in two hours the men came back, and after 
placing a sack over my face and tying my hands, 
they told me they had come to kill the sheep and 
if officers came to arrest them they would treat 
the officers the same way, also that if any one 
offered a reward for their arrest they would kill 
the parties offering the reward. They were very 
deliberate in their work and went about it just 
1 3 if it were an every day occurrence." 

Wilcox reported this killing at Silver Lake 
as soon as he could reach there, and men were 
sent out to investigate, but the results were the 
same as those of the earlier slaughter. 

The governor of Oregon was appealed to and, 
although he refused at first, he finally offered a 
reward of $300 for the conviction of any one of 
the gang of sheep killers and $2,000 reward for 
the murderer of J. C. Conn. The sheepmen of 
the county got together and formed an organi- 
zation. They offered a reward of $2,000 for the 
conviction of any party guilty of maliciously kill- 
ing sheep belonging to any member of the organ- 
ization. The county court also offered a reward 
for the capture of the parties who killed the 
sheep. No arrests were made, although informa- 
tion was filed against several unknown parties. In 
the state legislature of 1904-5, as a result of the 
Lake county range war, two bills were introduced 
for the protection of range stock. One was for 
the appropriation of $10,000 and empowering the 
governor to use the money in apprehending and 
punishing persons guilty of maliciously killing 
stock belonging to others. The other bill was 
one making counties and municipalities respon- 
sible for the destruction of live stock to the 
amount of one-half the value of the stock de- 
stroyed. The former bill passed, but the latter 
was defeated in the senate. 

The people of Lake county and of the whole 
of the stock country of Eastern Oregon are law 
abiding citizens, and the malicious deeds of the 
few who took part in the sheep killing episodes 
are not upheld by them. 

In the spring of 1905 Lake county got out of 
debt, a condition which had not existed in the 
county's history for seventeen years. Three years 
before the county had outstanding and unpaid an 
indebtedness of $63,000. The statement of the 
compilation of the state tax levy for the year 1905, 
as compiled by the governor, state treasurer and 
secretary of state, showed a reduction in Lake 
county's portion of $2,140 under the levy for 
1904. Lake's portion for 1905 was $10,967.50 
against $13,107.50 for 1904. A reduction of 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



829- 



$2,140 in the state taxes and a small reduction in 
county taxes placed Lake county in pretty good 
shape financially, and the further promise of a 
still greater reduction in taxes for 1906, by reason 
of the county getting out of debt in April, 1905, is 
great encouragement to the people. With no in- 
terest to pay and an economical conduct of the 
county's affairs there will be an attraction for out- 



side capital that is never overlooked by investors. 
Based on the number of children enrolled in 
the public schools, an estimate of the population 
of the county for 1905 is made at 3,011. With 
this population Lake county disputes the claim 
of Crook county to being the richest county in 
Oregon per capita. If Lake does not rank first 
in this particular, it certainly is a close second. 



CHAPTER III 



THE LAND GRABBERS. 



There have been two events in the history of 
Lake county which we have as yet failed to men- 
tion in the current history chapters. This is be- 
cause they have both covered periods of time 
from the earliest days of the county's history up 
to the present time and are entitled a separate 
chapter. They are the granting of a large tract 
of alleged swamp land in Warner valley and the 
subsequent litigation for the possession of the. 
same, and the grant of about 40,000 acres of Lake 
county land to the Oregon Central Military 
Wagon Road Company and the alleged building 
of a wagon road by that company through South- 
ern Oregon. 

The first of these is the more important. Un- 
doubtedly the prolonged litigation for the posses- 
sion of the Warner valley lands between the set- 
tlers and the Warner Valley Stock Company is 
one of the most interesting events that has taken 
place in the county. Oregon is the breeding 
place of contests for the possession of government 
and state lands, and the Warner valley cases are 
the most noted of all that have arisen in the state. 
The contest has not yet been brought to a close 
and it is reasonable to believe that no decision will 
be considered final until one is handed down by 
the United States supreme court. The contest is 
for the possession of from 4,000 to 5,000 acres of 
valuable land, it being worth from $35 to $100 per 
acre. Litigation has extended over a period of 
more than twenty years, and while the last de- 
cision was favorable to the stock company, the 
case has been appealed to the Oregon supreme 
court and will probably be fought out in the 
highest court of the land. 

Before beginning the history of this noted 
case we wish to tell of the effect it has had upon 
Lake county and the part it has played in the 
shaping of the county's history. It is not our in- 



tention to make this 1 a treatise of the case from 
the standpoint of either party to the controversy, 
but to give the facts as we find them. The case 
has been decided several times in favor of each 
party by people higher in authority than the- 
author, and we hope to leave it in such a condi- 
tion that the higher courts can decide it finally 
with minds unprejudiced by anything that may 
appear herein. 

But the fact remains that the failure of the 
Warner valley settlers to obtain title to the lands 
upon which they live has been detrimental to the 
county whose history we are writing. It has re- 
tarded immigration to the rich valley in question 
and has forced many who attempted to build 
homes there to vacate. It has caused a valley, by 
nature intended for the small farmer and stock 
raiser, to be the range ground for a large stock 
company. It has left a section of the county, cap- 
able of supporting a large population, but sparsely 
settled. The few settlers upon these lands who 
have fought for what they believe to be their 
rights have built homes, raised families, estab- 
lished schools, paid taxes and made valuable im- 
provements. This they wish to continue to do 
and to encourage others to come and settle among 
them as neighbors. On the other hand, a great 
stock company desires the valley for a stock 
range. It does not take the decision of a court 
to show which would be the better condition for 
Lake county and its inhabitants. 

The history of the Warner valley case began 
years ago. On September 28, 1850, congress 
passed an act granting to the several states the- 
swamp lands within their borders. Oregon was 
not then a state and this act did not apply to any 
lands within the boundaries of Oregon. On 
March 12, i860, this act was applied to Oregon, 
which had the year before been admitted to state- 



8 3 o 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



hood, and to Minnesota. The act provided that 
all "swamp and overflowed" lands should become 
the property of the state in which they were situ- 
ated. 

The state of Oregon made no effort to dis- 
pose of such lands, nor was any attempt made by 
private parties to secure them, until 1870. That 
part ot Oregon in which there were swamp lands 
was not settled to any extent until the late six- 
ties, and consequently the swamp lands, as well 
as most of the other lands, were unoccupied and 
unclaimed. But in 1870 the Oregon legislature 
passed a law authorizing its citizens to purchase 
without limit as to acreage, the lands granted to 
the state by the act of congress March 12, i860. 
Very little of the land of eastern Oregon had 
been surveyed in 1870, and the character of the 
land, whether swamp or upland, was not of rec- 
ord in charts of field notes. Because of this 
arose the dispute between the claimants in Warner 
valley and other parts of eastern Oregon. The 
United States had granted to Oregon, and Ore- 
gon had authorized the sale at a nominal figure to 
its citizens, the "swamp and overflowed" lands 
within the boundaries of the state, but there was 
no record of what lands were swamp, and the 
whole controversy during all these later years has 
hinged on the question of whether the lands in 
dispute were swamp lands on March 12, i860, the 
date of the passage of the bill by congress. On 
that date there were no settlers in the present 
Lake county and the facts as to the character of 
the lands in Warner valley could not be deter- 
mined by direct proof. 

Immediately after the passage of the act by 
the legislature of 1870, authorizing the sale of 
swamp lands, individuals and corporations were 
not slow in filing with the state authorities to pur- 
chase all the swamp lands in the state, and, ap- 
parently, a large part of the state looked 
"swampy" to them. Special agent, Charles 
Shackelford, who was sent out in 1886 by the 
government to investigate the conditions of the 
lands in controversy, said concerning the attempts 
to secure lands from the state immediately after 
the passage of the bill of 1870, that one-named in- 
dividual, and a few others in secret compact with 
him, filed with the state board of land commis- 
sioners of Oregon to purchase nearly one-half of 
the state as swamp land; that their filings included 
mountain ranges, sage brush plains, lava beds, 
lakes and deserts, surveyed and unsurveyed. 

He made direct and specific charges against a 
number of United States officials, including 
former special agents, deputy surveyors and local 
officers, indicating that all these officers were 
members of the "swamp ring," who, acting con- 
jointly with the agents of the state of Oregon, had 



made fraudulent returns, reports, etc., in the mat- 
ter of swamp land surveys, and inspection of the 
field, selection, etc. 

The importance of this report, which has 
formed the basis for all subsequent action, justi- 
fies a further quotation from it, as follows : 

"These selections embrace hundreds of thou- 
sands of acres of dry, arable land, situate in val- 
leys or on hillsides and mountain ranges, all with- 
drawn from settlement. Other selections have 
been made by different parties in the same reck- 
less manner, The chief object appears to have 
been to secure control of all the water frontage, 
as well as all approaches to water in eastern Ore- 
gon, and to obtain all the grass lands in that sec- 
tion of the state, for the purpose of sales to cat- 
tlemen." 

As this act of 1870 was responsible for all the 
litigation in the Warner valley cases, and as 
under it, as claimed by the special agent, Shackel- 
ford, half the state of Oregon was filed upon as 
swamp lands, we here reproduce the bill in full : 

An act providing for the selection and sale of the 
swamp and overflowed lands belonging to the state of 
Oregon. 

Whereas, Congress, by an act entitled "An Act to 
extend the provisions of an Act to enable the State 
of Arkansas and other States to reclaim the swamp 
lands within their limits, to Minnesota and Oregon and 
for other purposes, approved Sept. 12, i860, has granted 
to this State all the swamp and overflowed lands within 
its limits; and 

Whereas, By the failure of the Secretary of the In- 
terior to notify the Governor of the State that the 
surveys have been completed and confirmed in accord- 
ance with the provisions of said Act, no swamp or over- 
flowed lands have been selected in this State ; there- 
fore, 

Be it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the 
State of Oregon as follows : 

Section 1. It shall be the duty of the Commissioner 
of Lands to appoint a suitable person or persons as his 
deputies to proceed as soon as practicable to select in 
the field all the lands rendered unfit for cultivation by 
inundation or overflew within this State, and to make 
return of the same to said Commissioner. And it shall 
be the duty of such deputies to describe each tract or 
swamp or overflowed land they may select in a clear 
or distinct manner, either by legal subdivisions or In- 
actual survey, and upon the receipt of such returns it 
shall be the duty of said Commissioner to carefullj 
examine the same. 

Sec. 2. So soon as the selection of swamp and 
overflowed lands in any county has been completed by 
said Commissioner of Lands it shall be the duty of 
said Commissioner to make out maps and descriptions 
thereof in duplicate, one copy to be kept in suitable 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



831 



books in his office, and the other to be filed in the office 
of the County Clerk of the county in which such swamp 
lands may be located; and it shall be the duty of such 
County Clerk to forward his official certificate to the 
Commissioner of the date on which said maps and 
descriptions were so filed. Upon the receipt of such 
certificate it shall be the duty of said Commissioner 
to give public notice of said completion, approval and 
filing, for four weeks successively in some weekly 
newspaper published in such county; and if no news- 
paper is published in such county, then in such news- 
paper as he may select in an adjoining county. 

Sec. 3. The swamp and overflowed lands of this 
State shall be sold by said Commissioner at a price 
not less than one dollar per acre in gold coin. Any 
person over the age of twenty-one years, and being a 
citizen of the United States, or having filed his declara- 
tion to become a citizen, as required by the naturaliza- 
tion laws, may become an applicant for the purchase 
of any tract or tracts of said swamp or overflowed lands 
upon filing his application therefor (describing the tract 
or tracts he desires to purchase), by the actual survey; 
or, if no survey has been made, then by fences, ditches, 
monuments, or other artificial landmarks, with said Com- 
missioner, whose duty it shall be to immediately en- 
dorse thereon the actual date of such filing. In case 
of adverse applicants for the same tract or parcel of 
swamp land, it shall be the duty of said Commissioner 
to sell the same to the legal applicant therefor whose 
application is first filed. Within ninety days after the 
date of the public notice provided in section two of this 
Act, twenty per centum of the purchase money shall 
be paid by the applicant to said Commissioner, whose 
duty it shall be to issue to the applicant a receipt there- 
for, and the balance of said purchase money shall bt 
paid on proof of reclamation, as hereinafter provided. 

Sec. 4. No patent shall be issued to any applicant 
for any swamp or overflowed lands until the applicani 
therefor has proved, to the satisfaction of said Com- 
missioner, that the lands for which he claims a patent 
has been drained or otherwise made fit for cultivation ; 
but upon such proof being made, and payment of the 
balance of the purchase money on the amount of land 
actually reclaimed, the said Commissioner shall issue 
to the applicant making such proof and payment a patent 
for the land so reclaimed. Said patent shall be ap- 
proved and signed by the Governor, Secretary of State 
and State Treasurer, as provided for by the Constitu- 
tion. At the expiration of ten years from and after his 
first payment, all swamp lands claimed by an applicant, 
upon which no such proof of reclamation has been made, 
shall revert to the State, and the money paid thereon 
shall be forfeited; Provided, That all swamp land that 
has been successfully cultivated in either grass, the 
cereals or vegetables for three years shall be considered 
as fully reclaimed within the meaning of this Act. 

Sec. 5. The deputies employed to select the swamp 



and overflowed lands, as provided in section one of this 
Act, shall receive not to exceed five dollars per day 
for each day actually employed in the discharge of 
their duties and such further allowance for traveling, 
assistance and other necessary expenses, as may be ascer- 
tained by said Commissioner, which shall be paid as 
other expenses arising from the management of the 
State lands. 

Sec. 6. As the State is likely to suffer loss by 
further delay in taking possession of the swamp lands 
within its limits, this Act shall take effect and be in force 
from and after its approval by the Governor; Provided, 
That in case the office of Commissioner of Lands is not 
created by law, the provisions of this Act shall be 
executed by the Board of Commissioners for the sale 
of school and university lands. 

Approved October 26, 1870. 

The lands, for the ownership of which has 
resulted in the prolonged litigation of which we 
are telling, are situated in Warner valley, in the 
southeastern part of Lake county. In the early 
days these lands were considered unfit for agri- 
cultural purposes or for anything but stock rais- 
ing. Later development showed the section was 
a rich agricultural valley. The lands were found 
to be among the most valuable in the county and 
hence the determined struggle on both sides to 
secure title. The lands involved are situated in 
townships 39 S. R. 24 E. ; 39 S. R. 25 E. ; and 
40 S. R. 24 E. W. M. In the early surveys these 
lands were returned as the bed of Warner lake. 

The first survey of lands in Warner valley 
was made in June, 1875, by James H. Evans. His 
survey included fractional townships 39 S. R. 
24 E. and 39 S. R. 25 E. A large part of the two 
townships was described and meandered as a 
lake. The field notes and general description 
were very meager and gave no light as to the 
character of the body of water therein spoken of 
as "Warner lake" and "lake." In July and Au- 
gust, 1879, a survey of township 40 S. R. 24 
E. was made by Byars and Gray, in the returns 
of which a large portion of the township was de- 
scribed as marsh or lake, and was defined by a 
meander line running through "land marshy 
along lake covered with tules and flag grass ;" 
"tules in and along lake ;" "these lands are subject 
to overflow by the creek and lake." 

White settlers began to come into the valley 
about the fall of 1876, and some 7,000 or 8,000 
head of cattle and several thousand hogs were 
taken there in the winter of 1876-7, and thence- 
forward it was a winter range for stock. Al- 
though a few settlers came in 1876 there was not 
much settlement until 1885 and the following few 
years. 

Before taking up the story of the settlement 



8 3 2 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



of the valley and the subsequent contests that 
arose for its possession, let us tell of the acquir- 
ing of this land from the state under the swamp 
land law passed by the legislature of 1870. 

That clause in the act making the first filed 
application the one of preference in case more 
than one party filed on the same piece of land 
caused the filing on the Warner valley lands just 
as soon as the bill became a law and a description 
of the lands could be secured. This application 
was made December 2, 1870, by W. A. Owen, 

A. P. Owen, T. G. Reams, C. C. Beekman and 

B. F. Smith. It is not possible for us to believe 
that these parties intended to reclaim this land or 
to make payment on the purchase price of these 
lands. Their intention seems to have been, 
merely, by filing an application, to secure the pref- 
erence right to purchase and to hold the prefer- 
ence right for speculation. 

This interesting application filed with Gov- 
ernor L. F. Grover was as follows : 

We, the undersigned, citizens of the United States, 
and each over the age of twenty-one years, do hereby 
apply to purchase the following described unsurveyed 
swamp and overflowed lands situated, lying and being 
in Grant county [Warner valley was at that time a 
part of Grant county] : Commencing at "Stone Bridge ;" 
thence west to the road called "Lower Bidwell Road," 
near foothills; thence in a northeasterly direction to a 
point of willows on Honey creek and near the sink 
of said creek; thence north 20 miles, or along foothills 
on west side of marsh; thence east five miles to or 
near the east foothills; thence in a southerly direction 
along east side of marsh and near the foothills to the 

C. F. Smith military road, east of "Stone Bridge;" 
thence west to the place of beginning. Also commenc- 
ing at the "Stone Bridge," south to point of hill ; thence 
west to spring near road; thence south along foothills 
to springs called "Warner Springs ;" thence south along 
foothills to a large stone, the lower Bidwell road passing 
on each side of stone; thence along the road, called 
lower Bidwell road, to and including a lake called 
"Little Warner," at foot of mountain; still continuing 
along said road, passing old mail station known as 
Soldier Camp ; still following said road, passing a small- 
alkali lake; still south along said road to a point on 
Deep creek called "Halfway House;" still southward 
along said road to a creek with willowy growth on 
banks ; thence eastwardly along line of said marsh, near 
foothills surrounding same; thence northerly along 
the line of said marsh of the camp of C. F. Smith mili- 
tary road; thence westerly to the place of beginning, 
the same intended to include both Lake Warner and 
Little Warner Deep Creek and all marsh lands sur- 
rounding the same. 

This application is made under the provisions of an 
act of the Legislative Assembly of the State of Oregon, 



entitled an act for the selection and sale of swamp and. 
overflowed lands belonging to the State of Oregon, ap- 
proved October 26, 1870. 

Witness our hands this 25th day of November,. 
1870, at Jacksonville, Oregon. 

W. A. Owen, 

A. P. Owen, 
T. G. Reams, 
C. C. Beekman, 

B. P. Smith. 

No tender of money was made with this ap- 
plication and no transfer of the lands asked for 
was made at this time. 

On October 28, 1872, the Oregon legislature 
passed an act, the substance of which was that 
any lands which were held by actual settlers un- 
der the preemption, homestead or donation laws 
at the time the application was made by the 
swamp land claimants should not be included in 
the lists of lands for which application had been 
made. Farther, the state agreed to, upon request 
of the settler and his presentation of sufficient 
proof, issue a quit claim deed to such lands. 

No further effort was made to secure the- 
lands in Warner valley under the swamp act until 
December 6, 1876, when R. F. and Martin Mc- 
Connaughy made application to purchase 3,366 
acres in township 39. The application was re- 
jected. 

Although the applicants had so far failed to 
secure title to any of the lands in Warner valley, 
in other parts of the state they v^ere more success- 
ful, and the people began to see large tracts of 
Oregon land passing into the hands of the swamp 
land claimants. It was seen that a mistake had 
been made and a vigorous campaign was inau- 
gurated against the land grabbers. The legisla- 
ture on October 18, 1878, passed an act which 
limited the sale of state swamp lands to 32O' 
acres to any one person. It also provided that 
no sales should be made for less than one dollar 
per acre. 

Another provision of the act was that all ap- 
plications made prior to the passage of the act 
which were not regularly made in accordance 
with law, or that applications in which the appli- 
cants had not fully complied with the law, in- 
cluding the payment of the twenty per cent, of 
the purchase price, should be declared void. The 
same provisions were made in this act as in the 
one of 1872 to protect the actual settlers under the 
preemption and other laws for the acquiring of 
government lands. 

Notwithstanding this act of 1878, on Septem- 
ber 7, 1881, we find H. C. Owen filing an applica- 
tion to purchase 78,901 acres in township 39. in 
Warner valley. He tendered payment of the 
twenty per cent, required for first payment, but 




A Tenderfoot on the Range 




Table Mountain 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



8&P 



the application and tender were both refused, In 
accordance with the law just mentioned. 

October 31, 1882, R. F. and Martin McCon- 
naughy filed another application for the purchase 
of Warner valley lands. The lands asked for 
were only a part of those asked for in their first 
application, being for 902 acres in township 39. 
Accompanying the applications were affidavits by 
T. A. Henderson and M. W. Poindexter, dated 
August 9, 1880, stating that the lands had been 
reclaimed within the meaning of the provision 
of the act of 1870. R. F. McConnaughy made 
affidavit to the same effect and tendered the eighty 
per cent, balance of the purchase price of the 
lands. This was accepted and on January 18, 
1883, the deed to this land was issued to the 
McConnaughs — the first land in Warner valley 
acquired under the swamp act. 

H. C. Owen filed his second application on 
November 5, 1883, this time for the purchase of 
63,500 acres of the land embraced in his former 
application. The tender of the twenty per cent. 
$12,700, was made and rejected as in the former 
application and on the same grounds — that one 
person was not entitled to purchase more than 
320 acres from the state. 

On March 14, 1884, H. C. Owen filed his 
third application, this time for 78,901 acres. This 
time he presented an assignment from W. A. 
Owen, A. P. Owen, T. G. Reames and C. C. 
Beekman, who had, with B. F. Smith, filed the 
very first application covering these lands, in 
1870. The board of commissioners for the sale 
of these lands this time accepted the tender of the 
first payment of twenty per cent., $15,780.32 and 
issued a certificate of sale for all the lands applied 
for. The officials who had twice before rejected 
the application because of the law of 1878 now 
made arrangements for the sale of nearly 80,000 
acres of Warner valley lands. The state author- 
ities justified their action in this manner: Under 
the former applications Mr. Owen was entitled 
to only 320 acres of swamp lands, but bearing the 
assignment of the preference right filed by sev- 
eral men in 1870, he was entitled to 78,000 acres, 
because at the time of the first filing there was no 
limit to the amount of land that might be secured. 

It must be remembered that at the time of the 
issuance of the certificates of sale to H. C. Owen 
and R. F. and Martin McConnaughy and for 
some time afterwards none of the lands so sold 
had been selected or approved as swamp or over- 
flowed lands, belonging to the state of Oregon, by 
any officer, agent or representative of the state 
or of the United States. 

On April 3, 1884, Owen sold his right in a 
portion of these lands to R. F. McConnaughy and 
other portions to other parties. April 8, 1884, he 
53 



conveyed the title to all 'the rest of the lands then' 
in his possession, 43,207 acres, to C. N. Felton, . 
ex-United States senator from California, in con- 
sideration of $15,780.32 advanced by Felton in< 
making payment of the twenty per cent, of the 
purchase price for the whole 78,901 acre*, the 
certificate of sale of which was granted to Owen. 

On October 15, 1884, Mr. Felton sold his in- 
terests to R. F. McConnaughy, who remained 
the owner of these lands until Jan. 15, 1892,. 
when the Warner Valley Stock Company was 
formed and acquired title to all the lands in War- 
ner valley which had been obtained from the state. 
It is this company which has been one of the 
parties to the litigation that has been in progress - 
ever since. 

During the eighties these lands were quite ex- 
tensively settled upon by men who expected to- 
secure title from the United States government 
under the laws provided for the disposition of 
agricultural lands. These settlers and the dates: 
of their arrival upon the lands were as follows : 
J. L. Morrow, November 20, 1885 ; S. E. Sloan, 
November 17, 1885; D. T. Faskett, June, 1886; 
R. Beatty, November 17, 1885; W. M. Harvey, 
January 28, 1887 ; Charles Tonningsen, July, 
1886 ; John H. Green, July, 1888 ; Peter Tonning- 
sen, July, 1879 ; Emma Nesham, November 20, 
1885 ; L. D. Frakes, September, 1887 ; Jesse B. 
Morrow, November 20, 1885 ; John W. Morrow, 
May 20, 1885 ; Joseph A. Morrow, November 20, 
1885; A. D. Frakes, September 15, 1887; A. N. 
Bennett, May 28, 1885 ; T. B. Wakefield, Novem- 
ber, 1885; L. N. Frakes, October 1, 1887; S.. 
Dixen, January 16, 1886; L. F. Winkleman, No- 
vember, 1885 ; Jerry Harrington, March 15, 1888 ; 
R. C. Clark, December 5, 1888; J. E. Du-nnavan,. 
January 16, 1888; A. D. Crawford, November 12, 
1889; N. M. Frakes, August 12, 1887; John W. 
Morrow, March 12, 1888; W. H. Cooper, 1889; 
M. W. Poindexter, October 10, 1886. 

These settlers were living upon the lands and 
cultivating them — lands which by previous sur- 
veys had been declared as being within the mean- 
dered lines of a lake. During the year 1886, 
and for some time prior disputes arose as to the 
ownership of the lands. Complaints were sent in 
to the general land office at Washington by set- 
tlers living on the lands and within the boundar- 
ies of what was returned as Lake Warner by the 
respective surveys of Evans in 1875 and of Byars 
and Gray in 1879. These settlers represented 
that there were large areas of dry land within the 
limits of the meandered lake, upon which land 
they had made bona fide settlements, and relief 
was earnestly requested. 

The character of the land forming a part of 
and surrounding the boundaries of Lake Warner,. 



834 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



as well as other lands in Eastern Oregon, had 
been the subject of conflicting reports by agents 
of the land department, and it was charged by 
those claiming under the settlement laws, that 
fraudulent returns had been made by deputy sur- 
veyors and other government officials, whereby 
lands dry and in many instances desert in char- 
acter, had been described as swamp and over- 
flowed, etc., in order that said lands might be cer- 
tified to the state of Oregon under the provis- 
ions of the Act of March 12, i860. 

The charges of fraud against certain officials 
of the government, and those claiming as grantees 
of the state of Oregon, being pressed so vigorous- 
ly and the demands of the settlers being repeated 
with such persistence, special agent, Charles 
Shackelford, was directed to investigate the al- 
leged irregularities and frauds, and by letter of 
June 420, 1886, he submitted an exhaustive report, 
which in the main related to conditions existing in 
Warner valley. 

His report was of no uncertain tone. He 
charged fraud right and left on the part of those 
who claimed the land as swamp and many of the 
government officials and surveyors. Extracts from 
his report follow. The names of those against 
whom he made charges are omitted and blanks 
substituted : 

The survey of what is called Lake Warner, near 
Deep Creek, in T. 39 S. R. 24 E. W. M., was made 
In 1875 by the late register of the Lakeview land 

office, , who* reported a false meander 

.of that part of the so-called lake, and embraced within 
the meander lines over one thousand acres of good 
: arable land, much of it requiring irrigation, upon which 
a number of settlers have constructed their cabins and 
-are living in the lake in dry land. The meander corners 
and meander lines show unmistakable evidence of fraud. 
1 found a like condition of affairs near Dug Out ranch, 
■&t the southern end of the so-called lake, where nearly 
two thousand acres of land, now occupied by settlers, 
have been fraudulently included within the meanders of 

:the alleged lake by surveyors in a 

survey made in 1879. I found the homes of fifteen or 

;twenty settlers on land reported by surveyors 

as within and part of Lake Warner in townships 39 and 

46 S., R. 24 E. W. M. 

****** 

My examination thus far justifies th'e conclusion 

that the reports of Messrs and 

in regard to swamp and overflowed 

lands are unreliable, inaccurate and corrupt, and that 

special agent, , 's report and acts are part 

and parcel of the conspiracy entered into by 

and his confreres to defraud the United States out of 
large tracts of land, and that the attempted bribery of 

surveyor general, , the false surveys 

of the public domain; the perjury committed in proving 



up swampy and overflowed condition of mountains and 
elevated sagebrush plains ; the procurement of the is- 
suance of false certificates of sale by the state officers 

in Oregon ; the bribery of special agent, ; 

the procurement of the issuance of certificates of the 
Interior department authorizing the issue of patents on 

the faith of the corrupt reports of said 

by the State of Oregon without any consideration ; the 

sale by the said to his secret partner, 

, of all his fraudulent titles to al- 
leged swamp land and the sales by the said 

of the titles to said land * * * all constitute links 
in the chain of a conspiracy to defraud the United 
States of the said lands. 

The department of the Interior at once or- 
dered a survey of all the lands embraced within 
the alleged Warner lake, or so much as practica- 
ble. Acting Secretary Muldrow said of the case 
at this time : "In fact, his report clearly indicates 
that there is no lake to be found as located by the 
government surveys. * * * The settlers 
can not, for the want of survey, get their claims 
of record, and it is stated that the swamp land 
claimants threaten them with suits in ejectment 
as trespassers." 

The survey thus ordered was made in August 
and September, 1887, by John H. Neal and the 
survey was accepted by the department 
June 1, 1888. With the exception of a small 
meandered lake (Pelican), the area of. which was 
given as 444.31 acres, the lines of survey were 
extended in their entirety through what had been 
returned as the bed of Lake Warner in T. 39 S. 
R. 24 E., 39 S. R. 25 E. and 40 S. R. 24 E., 
though the field notes showed much open water 
in places. The lands in the townships in question 
returned by Mr. Neal, which were shown by the 
former surveys to be in the lake, amounted to 
9,913.36 acres in T. 39 S. R. 24 E. ; 9,279.29 acres 
in T. 40 S. R. 24 E. and 2,801.20 acres in T. 39 
S. R. 25 E. 

Substantially all the land thus surveyed was 
claimed by the state and its grantees under the 
swamp land act of i860 and was included in list 
61 and presented to the Interior department in 
December, 1888. Many of the tracts were claimed 
by individuals under the United States laws for 
the disposal of agricultural lands, and contro- 
versies at once arose in the courts and land de- 
partment. Some of the early contests were suits 
of replevin brought by R. F. McConnaughy, who 
claimed title under deed from the state, against J. 
N. Willey and many others to recover hay al- 
leged to have been wrongfully cut by Willey and 
the other settlers from the land of McConnaughy. 
The defendants set up their defense by alleging 
tnat they had settled upon the lands, established 
residence, made improvements and maintained 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



83- 



possession thereof, intending to acquire title under 
the provision of the preemption laws, and that 
the land at the date of settlement was vacant, un- 
surveyed public land of the United States. 

The Washington authorities interested them- 
selves in these suits and through the recommenda- 
tion of Commissioner Sparks, the United States 
district attorney for Oregon, Lewis L. McAr- 
thur, was present at the trials to look after the 
interests of the government, and, in the language 
of the commissioner, "To spare no effort to pre- 
vent the acquisition of the lands in question un- 
der fradulent claim." The cases came to trial and 
on January 16, 1888, Judge Deady decided in fa- 
vor of the settlers. The court held that the pur- 
chaser from the state took the lands subject to 
the determination of the secretary of the Interior 
as to the character of the lands — whether or not 
they were swamp or overflowed, and that it did 
not appear that such question had ever been* 
passed upon by the department of the Interior. 
Judge Deady in his decision said : 

Having reached the conclusion that the plaintiff 
cannot maintain this action, it is not necessary to pass 
on the question whether this land is swamp or not. And 
I do not regret it. For in my judgment no one is 
qualified to decide the question in a case like this, 
where, apparently, there is room, in the present condition 
of the land, for difference of opinion, without having 
a \5iew of the premises. 

None of these cases was appealed from the 
decision of Judge Deady, nor were the cases fur- 
ther prosecuted in the federal courts. 

But from the time of the approval and filing 
of the plats of the Neal survey in 1888, there 
arose numerous contests in the local courts of 
Oregon, as well as in the general land office. In- 
junctions and other writs were issued at the in- 
stance ©f those claiming as grantees of the state 
of Oregon, against those claiming under the tim- 
ber culture, desert land, preemption and home- 
stead laws, and the fifty or more claimants living 
m Warner valley at the time under the settlement 
laws nearly all had individual contests before 
the land department. Thousands of pages of tes- 
timony were taken in these cases. Some of the 
cases had been decided adversely to the settlers 
and many were still pending when, in 1892, the 
Interior department took action to settle all the 
cases. 

On March 21, 1892, and on November 16, 
1892, clear lists thirty and thirty-one, of Ore- 
gon swamp land selections, embracing nearly all 
the lands before and then involved in litigation, 
were submitted to the Interior department with 
the recommendation of the general land office that 
they be approved. April 9 and December 3, re- 
spectively, these lists were approved by Secre- 



tary Noble as inuring to the state of Oregon un- 
der the acts of congress September 28, 1850, and 
March 12, i860. The approval of these lists was 
made "subject to any valid adverse rights that 
may exist to any of the tracts therein described," 
which was the uniform character of approval 
given to all swamp land lists. 

The settler claimants, by resident counsel, on 
December 28, 1892, applied to the department for 
the exercise of its discretionary power over the 
lands embraced in said clear lists Nos. 30 and 31. 
Secretary Noble then directed that further in- 
vestigation be made and that no patents be is- 
sued for the lands without further instructions. 
The assignee of the state at once filed applica- 
tions for their patents and the settlers filed sup- 
plement statements, accompanied by numerous 
exhibits. 

The secretary, after having considered the 
showing made in behalf of the two parties and 
after having examined all the records relating 
to the case, on March 3, 1893, revoked his pre- 
vious order approving lists 30 and 31. He stated 
at the time that had the charges and allegations 
made by the settler claimants been before him 
prior to his approval of the lists, he would hardly 
nave approved the same, without further exami- 
nation, etc., and that he took this later action in 
order that the consideration of the cases might 
not be prejudiced by his action approving the lists 
in the absence of full and accurate information. 

Hoke Smith became secretary of the Interior 
in March, 1893, and at once began an investiga- 
tion of the Warner valley cases. In addition to 
the papers, files, reports and petitions which had 
been before the land office for years, he also had 
affidavits, statements and briefs filed by the re- 
spective parties subsequent to March 2, 1893. 
On December 19, 1893, he rendered a decision to 
the effect that on March 12, i860, the lands in- 
volved were a part of the bed of Lake 
Warner, a permanent body of water, and 
that they were therefore not of the class 
and character contemplated by the act grant- 
ing swamp lands to the state of Oregon. 
He took official notice of the fact that a great 
many contests arising between the claimants un- 
der the land laws of the United States and tie 
state of Oregon and its grantees had been decided 
adversely to the settlers by the general land of- 
fice, and that other contests of li&e character were 
then pending, and directed that the general land 
office "cause all decisions recommending or hold- 
ing for cancellation entries or declaratory state- 
ments, upon the ground that the lands in contest 
were granted to the state of Oregon as swamp and 
overflowed lands by the act of March 12, i860, to 
be set aside and annulled and the cases reinstated, 
and all contests based upon said ground alone, to 



8 3 6 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



be dismissed, and that you require all bona fide 
claims to said lands, lawfully initiated, to be pros- 
ecuted and perfected with all due diligence, ac- 
cording to law and the rules of practice." 

An application for a new hearing was made 
'to Secretary Smith, but on October 10, 1894, this 
was denied. 

On December 13, 1894, there was transmitted 
to the Interior department clear list 39, made up 
of the tracts in lists 30 and 31 not within the area 
surveyed in 1887. There was presented to the 
department an application for certiorari by R. F. 
McConnaughy seeking to have reviewed the ac- 
tions of the general land office of January 5, 1895, 
and the appeals of Jesse Morrow, Alexander 
Cameron, Robert Beaty, S. E. Sloan, Chas. Ton- 
ningson, Nils P. Tonningsen and Walter Poin- 
dexter from the action of the general land office 
of October 4, 1895, dismissing their protests 
against their approval of list No. 39. On Au- 
gust 4, 1896, Secretary Smith rejected and can- 
celled clear list No. 39, and in the decision of 
that date he said : "The true effect and meaning 
of the decision of December 19, 1893, in the case 
of Morrow et al vs. State of Oregon et al, above, 
was to cancel lists 30 and 31, and to reject and 
annul all claims of the state of Oregon and its 
alleged assignees to any and all of the tracts of 
land therein described. * * * The lands em- 
braced in said lists 30, 31 and 39 were not on 
March 12, i860, swamp and overflowed lands, 
made unfit thereby for cultivation, and the state 
of Oregon has no right, title or estate therein." 

Apparently not satisfied that exact justice 
had been done, on August 11, 1896, Secretary 
Smith recalled his decision of the week before 
for further consideration and directed that all 
action thereunder be suspended until further no- 
tice. No definite further action was taken by 
the department of the Interior on these Warner 
valley cases until the spring of 1899, when the 
cases were again brought up and for several years 
were threshed out in all the departments. 

Although the contestants did not find them- 
selves fighting the cases over again in the land of- 
fice prior to 1899, they were not idle and the 
courts had their innings, the case finally landing 
in the United States supreme court. 

Prior to the decision by the department of 
August 4, 1896, the Warner Valley Stock Com- 
pany filed a bill in equity in the supreme court 
of the District of Columbia against Secretary 
Smith and Commissioner Lamoreaux, claiming 
as grantee of the state under the acts of congress 
of 1850 and i860. 

It was prayed that Secretary Smith and the 
commissioner be directed to prepare and issue 
patents to the state of Oregon for the lands em- 
braced in lists 30 and 31, it being contended that 



Secretary Noble's approval of those lists was a 
final determination of the character of the lands 
embraced therein, and that thereafter he was 
without authority to recall or annul such approval, 
and that his action in revoking and cancelling the 
same was consequently void. The bill was dis- 
missed by the supreme court of the District of 
Columbia on March 21, 1896, and upon the plain- 
tiff's appeal the decree of that court was, on June 
11, 1896, affirmed by the court of appeals of the 
District of Columbia. In both the supreme court 
of the District of Columbia and in the court of 
appeals, the contention that the action of Secretary 
Noble approving said lists was final and not sub- 
ject to reconsideration, was denied, and upon the 
further appeal of the Warner Valley Stock Com- 
pany te the supreme court of the United States 
it was held that the suit was abated by -the resig- 
nation of Secretary Smith, and it was directed 
that the bill be dismissed. 

Secretary Francis, who succeeded Hoke Smith 
as the head of the Interior department, on Jan. 
II, 1897, directed- that all further action affecting 
the lists be suspended. His successor was to take 
office in a short time and he did not desire to 
take definite action which might not be in accord 
with his successor's plans. 

The governor of Oregon, on April 5, 1897, 
addressed a communication to the department 
asking that patents issue for lands embraced in 
lists 30 and 31, but, in accordance with the de- 
cision of the department, no action was taken. 

In the spring of 1899 preparations were made 
to start the cases all over again. E. A. Hitch- 
cock, who had then become secretary of the In- 
terior, noted the fact that each of his successors 
who had undertaken to dispose of the case had 
afterwards revoked or vacated his own decision 
and suspended action, that Secretary Francis, 
while rendering no decision in the case, had also 
suspended further action thereon ; that therefore 
it was necessary that affirmative action be taken, 
and that as it did not appear that there had been 
a complete and fair hearing, with notice to all 
parties, he ordered that the decisions of Decem- 
ber 19, 1893, October 10, 1894, and August 4, 
1896, be accordingly vacated and all decisions 
respecting the character of these lands that had 
previously been rendered by the Interior depart- 
ment, the general land office or the Lakeview land 
office, be set aside with a view to a full and fair 
hearing after due notice to all concerned. It was 
further directed that the hearing should extend 
in addition to the lands embraced in lists 30, 31 
and 39, to include any and all lands in contro- 
versev in Warner valley. 

The description of the lands in controversy, 
the names of the claimants, the kind of entry and 
the date of entry is as follows : 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



837 



Name 



Entry 



C. Tonningsen TC 1017 March 12, if 



1008 
1 167 

S. W. Sloan DS 3368 

C. Tonningsen Hd 1938 



9 w y 2 , Sw y. 

9 Ne y 



1 170 

931 
1015 



Sec. T. 39 S. R. 34 E. 

9 Lots 2 and 3 (vacant) . . 

14 Ne y 

22 Se y, Se K 

23 S V 2 , Sw % and Sw y, Se J4 T. D. Faskett Hd 1171 

23 E y, Ne y and E ^, Se % Charles "Willey TC 1017 

23 E y, Nw y and Ne y, Sw %....M. P. Barry Hd 1957 

24 W ;/, Nw y and W J4, Sw y....A. C. Willey TC tot8 

24 W y 2 , Ne % and E Vi Nw y Clara A. Larkin Hd 1936 

26 W y, Ne y and E y, Nw J4 Emma Neacham DS 3376 

26 E y, Se 14 H. P. Tietje TC 

26 Nw y, s e y andNe y,sw y... 1 

27 Lot 6 1 H - R Tietje -- Hd 

26 W '/^, Nw ^ 

27 E y, Ne y 

27 Lot 1, Sw y, Ne y and W l / 2 , Sey. 

27 Sw J4 A. F. Tonningsen .... Hd 1942 

.28 Se y W. E. Poindexter Hd 1931 

29 Lots 1 and 2 Wm. Ballou Hd 641 

33 Lots 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 Jesse Morrow DS 3378 

33 Lots 9, 10, 11 and 12 Jos. A. Morrow Hd 1937 

33 S y, Ne y and S y, Nw % J. W. Morrow DS 3382 

33 N y, Se y and N y, Sw K J. L. Morrow HD 1169 

34 Lots 1, 2 and 3 Jas. Williams DS 2569 

.34 Lots 1, 6, 7 and Se %-, Ne ^ R. Baty Hd 

34 Lots 8 and 9 and N y, Se 54....W. M. Harvey TC 

35 Nw y J. W. Morrow TC 

.35 N y, Sw y and Lots 3 and 4 Chas. Combs DS 3448 

T. 40 S. R. 34 E. 

2 Lots 15. 16, 17 and Sw y, Ne y Chas. Willey DS 3437 

Se y, N y, Sw y, Sw y, Sw y Vacant 

Lots 1, 2 and 3 J. P. Barry Hd 1939 

Lot 4 ) 

Lots 1 and 2 J J. E. Dunnavin Hd i 9 35 

S y, Sw y and S y, Se y E. F. Grant Hd 

Lots 3 and 4 and S y, Nw y Jos. A. Morrow TC 

Lots 1 and 2 and S y>, Ne y H. J. Stein Hd 1950 

Lots 5 and 8 and N y, Se y S. Dixon Hd 1166 

Lots 6 and 7 and S y, Se y A. C. Willey DS 3375 

8 N y, Sw y,Se y,Sw y, Sw y, Sey N. M. Frakes DS 3366 

8 Ne y L. A. Frakes DS 3447 

8 E y, Se y and. 

A. D. Frakes DS 3369 

G. J. Phinney Hd 1927 

Isabel Vineyard Hd 2021 

9- W y. Se y and E y, Sw y L. D. Frakes DS 3371 

10 Nw y Ellie Piatt Hd 1932 

17 Sw y, Nw y and W y, Sw y....L. W. Winkleman ....TC 984 

18 S y, Ne y, Se y, Nw y, Lot 10 A. Boyd heirs Pre 

18 N y,Se y, Sey, Sw y, Lot 9 A. N. Bennett DS 

18 N y, Ne y, Ne y, Nw y, Lot 11.... J. M. Willey Hd 

18 Lots 7 and 8 T.B.Wakefield TS 

18 s y, Se y 

19 Ne y, Ne y and Lot 12. 

20 W y, Nw y and W y, Se % F. B. Houston Hd 

T. 39 S. R. 35 E. 

19 S y, Se y, Se y, Nw y and Lot 2. . Robt. L. Barnes Hd 2133 

20 Lots 5, 6 and 7 Vacant 

29 Lot 2 Vacant 

30 Lots 7, 8, 9 and 10 R. C. Clark Hd 1924 

.31 Lots 5, 6, 7 and Ne y, Nw y J. B. Morrow TC 1016 

.31 Lot 8 Vacant 



Date 



(Can.) 



2162 
1023 



1855 
3377 
1 173 
1026 



T. B. Wakefield Hd 11c 



1933 



Jan. 16, 1889. 

March 3, 1889 (Can.) 

April 1, 1897. 

March 12, 1889 (Can.) 

Jan. 22, 1895. ' 

May 15, 1886, Jan. 10, 1889 (Can.) 

March 5, 1889. 

Jan. 15, 1889. 

Nov. 17, 1885. 

Jan. 28, 1895. 

Feb. 4, 1895- 

January 16, 1895. 

March 19, 1887 (Can.) 

June 1, 1878, Jan. 15, 1889. 

Jan. 23, '95 (FC 587, July 8, '95)" 

May 20, 1885, Jan. 16, 1889. 

Jan. 12, 1889. 

May 4, 1885, March 8, 1887. 

Jan. 15, 1895. 

Jan. 28, 1889. 

March 1, 1889. 

March 15, 1888, March 5, 1889. 

Jan. 5, 1889, March 5, 1889 (Can.) 



Jan. 21, 1895. 

Jan. 21, 1895. 

May 7, 1898. 

March 13, 1889. 

Jan. 3, 1895. 

Jan. 1889. 

May 28, 1885. 

Sept. 1, 1887, Jan. 16, 

March 12, 1889. 



Oct. 7, 1887, Jan. 16, 1889. 

Jan. 16, 1895. 

Nov. 20, 1895. 

Oct. 7, 1887. 

Jan. 16, 1895. 

March 18, 1889. 

Jan. 16, 1895. 

March 28, 1885, Jan. 16, 1* 

Jan. 16, 1889. 

March 11, 1889. 

Feb. 13, 1889. 

Jan. 14, 1895. 

Nov. 20, 1897. 



Dec. 9, 1895. 

March 12, 188 



8 3 8 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



The north half of the southwest quarter and 
the southwest quarter of the southwest quarter of 
section 10, T. 33 S. R. 26 E., were included in ap- 
proved list No. 31, but were omitted from the 
stipulation. It was also found that the southeast 
quarter, the north half of the southwest quarter 
and the southwest quarter of the southwest quar- 
ter of section 3, T. 40 S. R. 24 E., included in 
the stipulation, were patented to the state as 
swamp land on March 25, 1890. September 16, 
1899, the Warner Valley Stock Company filed a 
waiver or disclaimer of any intent or purpose to 
prove the swampy character of lot 12 in section 
19 of T. 40 S. R. 24 E., embraced in the home- 
stead entry of T. B. Wakefield. 

It was agreed between the parties to the suit 
that the cases should be consolidated and tried 
as one case' in so far as possible, and on July 17, 
1899, the celebrated case of J. L. Morrow et al 
vs. The Warner Valley Stock Company was be- 
gun in the land office at Lakeview, before E. M. 
Brattai, register, and Harry Bailey, receiver. The 
attorneys for the settlers were John Mullan and 
Joseph K. McCammon, and for the state and the 
Warner Valley Stock Company were Frederick 
D. McKenny, Archibald Young and Chas. A. 
Cogswell. A continuance was had until July 31, 
and again until August 4, and it was August 7 be- 
fore the trial began. The case was closed as to 
taking evidence on August 28. 

Voluminous evidence as taken and the case 
as stubbornly contested by both sides. The set- 
tlers sought to prove that at the time of the grant 
of the samp lands to the state, March 12, i860, 
the lands which they were seeking to hold were 
the bed of a permanent lake and consequently 
not swamp lands. The state and its grantees 
sought to prove that at that time the land in ques- 
tion was a swamp. As there were no witnesses 
who had been in Warner valley in i860, and none 
in subsequent years until 1864, the testimony was 
not of a direct nature. 

On February 3, 1900, the local land officials 
rendered their decision favorable to the settlers. 
They held that from the testimony adduced it 
was reasonable to believe that the lands in ques- 
tion were on March 12, i860, the bed of an ap- 
parently permanent lake, and as such did not 
come under the description of the lands granted 
to the state by the act of congress of i860. The 
lands were therefore held to be open to settlement 
under the homestead, preemption and other laws 
applicable to settlers. A paragraph from the de- 
cision reads : 

"The testimony shows that in 1864 the lands 
in controversy were covered with an apparently 
permanent body of water, and the weight of tes- 
timony tends to show that this body of water 



continued to cover this land until about the year 
1 88 1 ; that the waters had gradually receded 
with the exceptions of a few years at intervals, 
when they would rise again, until the year 1881, 
after which they continued to gradually recede 
until the fall of 1889, when the land in contest 
became practically dry." 

The decision was a complete victory for the 
settlers. However, it was understood by both 
parties that the case would be carried to the high- 
est authorities. The valuable lands of Warner 
valley, which had been the cause of strife for so 
many years, were not to be lost by either sfcle by 
an adverse decision in the local land office. On 
February 28 and March 9, 1900, respectively, the 
state of Oregon and the Warner Valley Stock 
Company filed appeal and specifications of error 
on appeal. This brought the case up before the 
general land office, of which Binger Hermann 
was commissioner. Briefs were submitted by both 
parties and oral arguments were heard by the 
commissioners, the hearing beginning on Jan. 
18, 1900. 

November 6 Commissioner Hermann reversed 
the decision of the local land office, ruling in fa- 
vor of the state and stock company. Then, fol- 
lowing the precedent of all who had previously 
handled the cases, the commissioner, on Novem- 
ber 30, vacated his decision for further considera- 
tion because of "my attention having been called 
to the omission of very material testimony nec- 
essary for a just and impartial review of the 
merits of the case," and for other causes. Mr. 
Hermann them gave the matter his personal at- 
tention and reviewed the case in all its details. He 
said in his later decision : v 

Impressed with the gravity of the question at issue, 
as there is involved herein the title to thousands of acres 
of fertile and valuable land, conscious of the many 
suits at law and equity and contests before the land 
department, the continuous litigation of many years 
that has destroyed the peace of all parties hereto 
and wasted their substance in fees, costs and retainers, 
and doubting whether a just and right conclusion had 
been reached, I decided that, notwithstanding the great 
labor involved in the examination of so voluminous a 
record, the limited time now at my disposal, as in addi- 
tion to the routine duties of this office, I am, during the 
sessions of the congress, called upon to consider bills 
and proposed legislation affecting the disposition of the 
public domain, it was my duty to personally consider 
said case. I have, therefore, in pursuance of such de- 
termination, attempted by personal examination of the 
papers in the case and the files, plats and field notes of 
survey on record in this office relating thereto, to reach 
the very truth as to whether said lands were "swamp 
and overflowed" within the meaning of the act of 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



839 



Sept. 28, 1850, at the time the provisions of said act 
were extended conditionally to the state of Oregon, 
to-wit, March 12, i860. The task was not an easy one. 
It has, however, convinced me that the former con- 
clusion was not justified by what I now find from a 
personal search and reading of the testimony to be 
the real facts in the case and herein will be found not 
as before, a few incomplete references, but a full and 
careful summary and review of all the material facts. 

In an exhaustive review of the case and de- 
cision rendered March 2, 1901, Commissioner 
Hermann permanently recalled his decision of 
November 6, 1900, and upheld the decision of 
the local land office. In this finding, addressed 
to the officers of the Lakeview land office, he 
said : 

The communication of this office, dated Nov 6, 
1900, reversing your office and awarding the land in 
controversy to the state of Oregon et al., temporarily 
recalled on Nov. 30, 1900, for further consideration, is 
now on motion of this office permanently recalled, 
vacated and annulled, in whole and in part, and the fol- 
lowing findings and judgment substituted in lieu thereof : 

The lands included in lists 30, 31, 39 and all others 
described by the agreement of stipulation filed in the 
office of the Honorable Secretary of the. Interior on 
May 4, 1899, were not as a whole nor as to the greater 
portion of a smallest legal subdivision, swamp and over- 
flowed on March 12, i860, and that the state of Ore- 
gon and those claiming under it, has no title, interest 
or estate in and to any part of said lands by or through 
the provisions of the act of March 12, i860. It is 
therefor the judgment of this office that the claim of 
the state of Oregon and those holding under it, in 
and to any of the lands included in lists 30, 31 and 39, 
or described in the foregoing stipulation, in any way 
arising or asserted by or through the provisions of the 
act of Sept. 28, 1850, as extended to the state of Oregon 
by the act of March 12, i860, should be held as naught, 
rejected and cancelled, and said claims are hereby 
rejected and said lists held for cancellation. 

The case having once been considered by the de- 
partment is current work and in case appeal is filed, 
the case will be so treated and forwarded to the de- 
partment as such. 

Notify the parties thereof. Resident counsel will 
be advised by this office. 

Respectfully, 

Binger Hermann, 

Commissioner. 

This was the second consecutive victory for 
the settlers, and their hopes for a final settle- 
ment in their favor were high. Of course, it was 
understood that the case would be appealed to 
the secretary of the Interior, but having favor- 



able decisions from both the local land office and 
the general land office, they were led to believe 
that their contentions would be sustained by the 
higher authority. An appeal was at once taken 
by the state of Oregon and the Warner Valley- 
Stock Company to the secretary of the Interior,, 
where the case was again reviewed in all its de- 
tails. 

Secretary Hitchcock rendered a decision on 
March 16, 1903, in which he reversed Commis- 
sioner Hermann and found the facts to be dia- 
metrically opposite to those found by the commis- 
sioner. Air. Hermann had held that the lands in 
question were on March 12, i860, the bed of an 
apparently permanent lake, and as such did not 
come under the provisions of the act granting 
swamp lands to the state of Oregon. Here is 
Mr. Hitchcock's finding in this regard : 

The evidence established that the lands in con- 
troversy at the date of the grant were not the beef 
of a lake or apparently permanent body of water, but 
were swamp lands, subject at times to be entirely over- 
flowed, and at all seasons were thereby rendered unfit 
for cultivation. While these lands would for con- 
siderable periods of any year of ordinary rain or snow- 
fall present the appearance of a shallow lake, a care- 
ful examination would then, or at any time, have' 
disclosed from its vegetation and soil, that it was a 
swamp upon which the waters coming in time of 
floods were retained by the spongy soil, dense and fallen 
vegetation, and lack of drainage channels, and that it 
was not a lake or permanent body of water retained 
by continuing banks or shores. 

Concluding his decision the secretary, in a let- 
ter to Commissioner Hermann, said. 

For the reasons herein given, your office decision 
of March 2, 1901, rejecting the claim of the state 
is reversed, and all of the claims, except that of the 
heirs of Amos Boyd, and any other existing preemption 
claim which has been or may be perfected before this- 
decision is carried into effect, are hereby rejected. 

Your office will prepare and submit for approvaf 
a new swamp land list, embracing such of the lands in. 
controversy as properly pass to the state under this 
decision. Very Respectfully, 

E. A. Hitchcock, 

Secretary. 

This was a blow to the settlers who for so 
many years had fought for the possession of the" 
lands upon which they had made their homes; 
They at once asked for a review of the case, but 
their request was denied. Secretary Hitchcock 
declaring the case to be closed so far as the Inter- 
ior department was concerned. 



840 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Finding that no further hearing could be had 
before United States officials, the settlers took 
their case to the. state authorities. In June, 1903, 
thirty-two settlers presented a petition to the 
state land board, asking that the state should 
not take patent to the lands, as it had a right 
to do under a recent decision of the department 
■of the Interior. The settlers asked that the state 
give up its claim, so that the United States gov- 
ernment might be free to issue patents to the 
lands to the settlers. 

The settlers interested Gov. Geo. E. Chamber- 
lain in their behalf, and that official became very 
active in his efforts to protect the interests of the 
Warney valley citizens. He requested the Wash- 
ington authorities to withhold the issuance of the 
patents in favor of the state until he had thor- 
oughly investigated the case, but his request was 
ignored by the Interior department. In October, 
1903, he started for Washimgton on business con- 
nected with the case and before departing left 
instructions that when the United States patent 
conveying title to the swamp lands to the state 
arrived in should no be filed or recorded. The 
state had already conveyed its title to the stock 
company and all that was lacking for the stock 
company to get clear title was the filing of the 
patent conveying title to the state. 

Ordinarily a patent or deed is delivered by the 
grantor to the grantee. In this case, however, 
the attorneys for the Warner Valley Stock Com- 
pany evidently expected delay if the patent 
reached the governor's hands, and they secured 
the document direct from the general land office 
-at Washington. News to this effect was received 
by the state authorities at Salem on October 13, 
1903. This proceeding was in accordance with in- 
structions from Secretary Hitchcock. 

Balked in their attempts to prevent the issu- 
ance of the patent, the settlers, now vigorously 
backed by Governor Chamberlain, sought relief 
in the state courts. In April, 1904, the settlers 
asked the state land board to begin a suit against 
the Warner Vallev Stock Company to set aside 
the deeds by which the company and its prede- 
cessors secured the land from the state. The set- 
tlers offered to pay all the costs of the suit and 
secure the state against loss. The board was of 
contrary opinion as to whether or not to pro- 
ceed as requested. Secretary of State Dunbar 
and State Treasurer Moore, constituting a ma- 
jority of the board, decided on May 5, that the 
board had no authority to order a suit brought. 
Gov. Chamberlain, the other member of the 
broad, filed a protest and then sent to Attorney 
General Crawford a letter directing him to bring 
suit in the name of the state to set aside the deeds. 
In this letter the governor was very positive 



in his statement of belief and very caustic in his 
remarks concerning the case and those govern- 
ment officials who had conducted it. The letter 
in part is as follows : 

Hon. A. M. Crawford, May 5, 1904. 

Attorney General, 

Salem, Oregon. 
Dear Sir — J. L. Morrow and other settlers in what 
is known as Warner valley, in township 39 south, 
range 24 east, have, through their attorney, Hon. John 
H. Hall, made application to the state land board, re- 
questing the members thereof to authorize a suit to be 
instituted in the name of the state of Oregon against 
the Warner Valley Livestock Company to have can- 
celled and set aside certain deeds made by the state 
land board in 1891 and in 1899 to said Warner Valley 
Stock Company, or its predecessors in interest, but a 
majority of the state land board have declined to 
comply with the request of the settlers for the reasons 
set forth in the records of the state land board, to 
which I now refer you. As a minority member of the 
state land board I disagreed with the board and felt 
then and feel now that the state land board should have 
granted the application of the settlers and should have 
requested you as Attorney General of the state to 
institute proceedings to cancel and annul the deeds re- 
ferred to. 

****** 

In about 1885 J. L. Morrow and other persons 
undertook to and did settle on about 5,000 acres of 
land embraced within the Owen's application ; improved 
cultivated and built homes on the same and are now in 
actual possession thereof. It does not appear that any 
of the settlers ever had a hearing before the state land 
board. For nearly twenty years they have contested 
the claim of the Warner Valley Livestock Company and 
its predecessors in interest in the federal land office 
with varying degrees of success. Sometimes decisions 
have been rendered in their favor and sometimes against 
them. 

My attention was called to this contest by these set- 
tlers nearly a year ago, and I have given their claims 
and the claims of the Warner Valley Livestock Com- 
pany my very careful and painstaking consideration, 
and so much impressed was I with the belief that 
these settlers had not had such a hearing as I felt they 
were entitled to as citizens of this state that when I was 
notified by the commissioner of the general land office 
at Washington that the lands in controversy had been 
clear listed to the state as swamp land, I requested that 
no patent should be issued until I had investigated the 
merits of the controversy between the conflicting 
claimants. The swamp land act provides in substance 
that the patent to swamp lands shall issue at the re- 
quest of the governor. Notwithstanding the fact that 
T did not request the issuance of the patent but on the 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



841 



contrary vigorously protested to the secretary of the 
Interior against the issuance hereof until the matter 
could be investigated by me, the patent did issue and 
contrary to all precedent was not delivered to the of- 
ficers of the state and never has been, nor has it ever 
been recorded. On the contrary, I was advised by the 
department that the patent had been placed in the 
hands of the Warner Valley Livestock Company, 

Under all these circumstances I feel that the set- 
tlers on the land in controversy have had a right to 
have their cause heard, tried and determined in 0111 
own -courts, untrammeled by any of the "red tape" 
methods of the department ' of the Interior, over the 
doors of which the plain, every day, ordinary citizen 
of the United States, at least finds written the motto 
which is found inscribed over Dante's Inferno: "Who 
enters here leaves hope behind." 

If these men are defeated in one of the courts 
of our state the controversy will be ended ; otherwise, 
in my opinion, there will always lurk in the minds of 
many of the citizens of this state the suspicion that 
they have not obtained a fair and impartial hearing of 
their cause. 

I, therefore, as governor and ex-officio land com- 
missioner of the state of Oregon request you as attorney 
general of the state to institute a suit in the name of 
the state against the present owners of the land in con- 
troversy, with the end in view of ascertaining whether 
or not they have been fraudulently obtained from the 
state. Provided, however, the parties directly in in- 
terest give satisfactory security to indemnify the state 
against the cost and expenses that may be incurred by 
such suit as provided by section 370 of Bellinger & 
Cotton's Code. 

I have the honor to remain. 

Yours very truly, 

George E. Chamberlain, 

Governor. 

Attorney General Crawford brought the suit 
as directed, and thus we find, in 1904, the state 
of Oregon on the side of the settlers, where al- 
ways before the state had had its name linked 
with that of the Warner Valley Stock Company 
in all suits. 

The suit was brought in the circuit court of 
Lake county before Judge H. L. Benson. John 
Hall, former United States district attorney, and 
E. B. Watson, former judge of the state supreme 
court, appeared as assistant counsel for the state 
in the suit. The bill set up alleged frauds and 
prayed for the cancellation of the patents and a 
decree that the patents were void. 

The Warner Valley Stock Company filed a 
demurrer on the ground that the facts alleged did 
not constitute a cause of suit. The case was ar- 
gued before Judge Benson and submitted shortly 



before the vacation in 1904. Judge Benson had 
the case under advisement until January 13, 
1905, when he signed an order sustaining the de- 
murrer and forwarded the order to Lake county 
to be entered in the records of the circuit court. 

In sustaining the demurrer, Judge Benson' 
held in substance that the state did not have an 
interest sufficient to permit it to be a plaintiff in 
the proceedings. The United States supreme 
court has held that the government cannot prop- 
erly be a party plaintiff unless it has either a pe- 
cuniary interest in the result of the litigation or 
is under some obligation to some person or per- 
sons, which obligation is necessarily involved in 
the result of the litigation. Following this prin- 
ciple Judge Benson held that the state, having 
received full value for the lands in controversy, 
as swamp lands, and being under no obligation to 
the homesteaders or other claimants under the 
federal laws, had no substantial interest in the 
result of the litigation, and therefore could not 
maintain the suit. 

This is the last decision on the case and in 
this manner the matter stands at present. An ap- 
peal has been taken to the supreme court, but a 
hearing has not yet been had. Some time it will 
be decided once and forever in favor of one party 
or the other. 

Many of the settlers, worn out by the prolonged 
litigation, abandoned their homes, making the best 
terms possible with the stock company.. The oth- 
ers, about thirty in number, have, since their set- 
tlement in the valley, lived upon and occupied 
the lands in controversy. The lands are very pro- 
ductive and were it not for the heavy expense of 
litigation, the valley would be one of the most 
wealthy in the state of Oregon. 

THE WAGON ROAD LANDS. 

Not resulting in the extended litigation that 
characterized the procurement of the Warner 
valley lands, but of great importance to Lake 
county was the grant of a large tract of land 
within its borders to the state of Oregon, which 
was later turned over to a private corporation, 
for alleged services rendered. 

Like all other undeveloped countries, south- 
eastern Oregon in the early days needed aid in 
its development ; some action or inducement from 
the government was deemed necessary to bring 
in settlement. The territory was rough and un- 
traversed. Bands of Indians roamed the hills and 
valleys at will, and the county's isolated condi- 
tion offered them an opportunity to hold their 
country for their own. 

It was believed that the southeastern part of 
the state would be found to be a hidden treasure 



842 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



ground if it could only be reached by a sufficient 
number of thrifty settlers to make a stand among 
the savages. To accomplish this, it was believed 
that roads must be built from civilization into 
the country. It devolved upon the state to build 
these roads as there were no county governments 
with sufficient interest or means to accomplish 
the huge task. Even the state hesitated at the 
enormous expense, and appealed to the United 
States government for aid. Application was made 
for a grant from the government of every odd 
section by numbers, three miles on either side of 
the road proposed to be built. 

The Oregon Central Military Wagon Road 
Company was organized and contracted with the 
state to construct a wagon road from Eugene 
City to the eastern boundary line of the state. 
This road was surveyed and enough work was 
done on it to secure the lands granted for the 
construction of the road. The road took a south- 
easterly course from Eugene City through Lane 
county and across the Cascade range, striking 
the present Klamath county near its northwest 
corner. It then followed a more southerly course 
to the southern boundary of the Klamath Indian 
reservation ; thence an easterly course was taken 
to the western boundary of what is now Lake 
county. From its point of entrance to Lake 
county the road bore southeast, passing the site 
of the present town of Lakeview. From that 
point the road ran northeast to the only feasable 
crossing in Warner valley, the point where was 
afterwards built the stone bridge. This crossing 
was a about a quarter of a mile wide, while for 
twenty miles north and as far south the valley 
was impassible. This bridge is a natural division 
between North and South Warner. From here 
the road took a northeasterly and easterly course 
to the east boundary of the state. 

The grant to aid in the building of this road 
was made by congress, approved July 2, 1864, 
the act being entitled "an act granting lands to 
the state of Oregon to aid in the construction of 
a military wagon road from Eugene City to the 
eastern boundary of said state." Amended acts 
were passed by congress, approved December 3, 
1866, and March 3, 1869. By these acts all the 
vacant and unappropriated lands in the alternate 
sections, designated by odd numbers, three miles 
on either side of the proposed road was granted 
to the state of Oregon by the United States gov- 
ernment, and the state in turn granted these lands 
to the Oregon Central Military Wagon Road 
Company. It was a vast undertaking and months 
were consumed in arranging the preliminaries. 
In fact more time was consumed in making sure 
of the grant than was spent in building the road. 



Through the territory which is now Lake 
county the road was very poorly constructed, and 
considerable difficulty was encountered in tracing 
the road. A crossing was effected at the north 
end of Goose Lake by means of long ropes. When 
the swamp in Warner was reached tules were cut, 
bound in bundles and thrown into the swamp until 
the working crews could cross, but it is not 
known how the rim-rock on the east side of War- 
ner valley was climbed. When, in 1867, the sol- 
diers attempted to cross by this road in moving 
the post to the west side of the lake, they were 
unable to do so without spending a long time 
in making the rock fill, as told in the first chapter 
of the Lake county history. 

Notwithstanding the loose methods employed 
in the construction of the road, on July 2, 1870, 
the governor of Oregon approved the road and 
the lands passed into the hands of the wagon 
road company. The company was now the owner 
of the alternate sections three miles on either side 
of the road. But the act provided that only the 
unappropriated and unreserved lands should pass 
to the state, and consequently as some of the 
lands in the odd numbered sections within the 
grant, especially on the west side of the moun- 
tains, were otherwise claimed, the company did 
not obtain title to as much land as it desired, and 
steps were at once taken to secure a- further al- 
lotment. 

An appeal was made to the United States gov- 
ernment for an additional grant the entire length 
of the road, three miles on either side of the 
original grant, to be known as indemnity lands, 
and from which selections could be made in lieu 
of lands located previous to the company's grant. 
No trouble was experienced in securing this ad- 
ditional grant, it being approved December 8, 
1871, by C. Delano, secretary of the Interior. 

By the original grant and the additional in- 
demnity strip the road company secured approxi- 
mately 400,000 acres of land in Lake county. 
Litigation resulted between settlers on this land 
and the road company, but the company won in 
every instance and finally secured absolute title 
to all the lands it claimed. Several transfers had 
been made by the settler claimants, but the fact 
that innocent parties were in possession gave 
them no advantage. 

In 1903 the California and Oregon Land and 
Livestock Company purchased all the road lands 
in Lake county, and in fact all east of the Cas- 
cade mountains. This company has sold some of 
the lands and leased other portions. Efforts 
have been repeatedly made to consolidate the 
lands by exchanging with the government, but a 
transfer has never been effected. 



CHAPTER IV 



CITIES AND TOWNS. 



In Lake county are four towns. The largest 
and most important of these is Lakeview, the 
county seat and only incorporated town in the 
county — a place of about 1,000 population. The 
other three, in the order of their size, are Pais- 
ley, New Pine Creek and Silver Lake, all towns 
of from 150 to 300 population, each surrounded 
by a country almost an empire in size, from which 
to draw support. 

Besides these towns are four postoffices as 
follows : Adel, Plush, Summer Lake and War- 
ner Lake. The two first named each support a 
store ; the other two are simply country post- 
offices, established and maintained for the conven- 
ience of the citizens residing in the vicinity. 

LAKEVIEW. 

Lakeview, the capital and principal town of 
Lake county, is a city of nearly 1,000 inhabitants. 
It is beautifully situated in Goose Lake valley, 
about four miles north of Goose lake. The town 
is builded up against a ridge of hills which ex- 
tend north and south to the east of the town. 
On the other three sides extends Goose Lake 
valley, as level as a billiard table, for several 
miles. The elevation of this point is 4,825 feet 
above sea level, one of the highest towns of Ore- 
gon. Lakeview is a beautiful town, its business 
houses being almost entirely constructed of brick, 
and its residences of latest architectural design 
and all neatly painted. It is not only a pretty 
town, but it is also a splendid business point. 

Lakeview is one of the remote towns of in- 
terior Oregon, and yet it is one of the most pros- 
perous in the whole interior country. It enoyed 
the distinction a few years ago of being the farth- 
est from a railroad of any county seat town in the 
United States. During the greatest part of its 
history Lakeview was 150 miles from the nearest 
railroad point, but the construction of a narrow 
gauge road to Madeline, Cal., has reduced this 
distance to ninety-five miles. In all other direc- 
tions the town is a much greater distance to a 
railroad. Although it is far from a railroad, it is 



connected by first-class stage lines with all the 
surrounding towns, all of which carry mail. To 
the west a line extends to Bly, connecting there 
with lines to Bonanza, Klamath Falls and Poko- 
gama, on the Klamath Lake railroad. To the 
north a line runs to Paisley and Silver Lake, con- 
necting with Prineville and all towns to the north. 
To the south a stage line operates to New Pine 
Creek, Alturas and Madeline, the nearest rail- 
road point. All these stage lines are daily. To 
the east is a tri-weekly line to the Warner Val- 
ley country. 

Lakeview, although an inland town, is not 
so remote from the outside world that it is void 
of the modern conveniences. An instance of the 
energetic nature of the people : Years ago some 
of the early settlers concluded that about the first 
thing necessary to the well being of a well regu- 
lated town was a city waterworks. Away in the 
mountains several hundred feet above the town- 
site, were a number of springs which they appro- 
priated. Iron pipe to convey the water down the 
canyon was then an impossibility so far away 
from the railroad. They procured machinery and 
manufactured wooden pipe from pine logs. The 
wooden pipe served the purpose until 1904, when 
the increased population made it necessary to in- 
crease the capacity of the plant. Steel pipe was 
substituted for the wooden pipe that had done 
service for so many years, and today Lakeview 
has a modern waterworks system capable of sup- 
plying a city of 10,000 inhabitants, with the best 
of pure, spring water. Two of the advantages 
that Lakeview people mention, when speaking of 
their city, is their fine school and an abundance 
of good, pure water. A modern electric light 
plant, driven by water power, located at Pine 
Creek, fifteen miles away, supplies the city with 
electric light. 

Lakeview is a self made town, made by self 
made men. There is not a dollar of outside 
capital invested in any enterprise in the town. 
The people have worked out their own salvation 
and they are proud of it. While many of the lead- 
in? citizens are inclined to boast modestly of 



■844 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



what they have accomplished as individuals and 
as a community, they have no desire to build a 
Chinese wall around their community for the ex- 
clusion of the outsider. The newcomer is always 
welcomed — outside capital is not regarded as 
■dangerous to the well-being of the people. While, 
as has been noted, no outside capital has so far 
found its way to Lakeview, it is not to be in- 
ferred that there is no room for the outsider 
with money to invest in legitimate enterprises. 

Lakeview is a centennial town. The founders 
of the city waited until the government of the 
United States was ioo years old before they put 
Lakeview on the map. 

In a preceding chapter we have told of Gen- 
eral Crook's subjugation of the Snake Indians, 
and of the comparative rapid settlement of Goose 
Lake valley, which, prior to 1869, was without 
settlers. It was only natural that in time a town 
should spring up in this valley, then the most 
thickly settled portion of the lake country. 

Among those who came to the valley in 1869 
was M. W. Bullard, a bachelor, who settled near 
the head of the valley, upon land that is described 
in official papers as section 15, township 39 south, 
range 20 east — the land upon which the town of 
Lakeview was afterwards built. Here Mr. Bul- 
lard took two claims of 160 acres each, one under 
the preemption law and the other under the home- 
stead law. He obtained title to the preemption, 
claim on January 20, 1871, and to the homestead 
claim June 24, 1878. Mr. Bullard lived on this 
land until after the town was started, but moved 
away soon after. The place was known among 
the early dav settlers as "Bullard's Ranch" or 
"Bullard s Creek." Today the former owner's 
name is perpetuated in the creek that flows 
through the town, a canyon through which the 
creek flows and one of the principal streets of 
Lakeview. 

Mr. Bullard built a log house near where 
Harry Bailey's residence now stands, on the pre- 
emption claim, and afterwards moved it onto his 
homestead, near the M. T. Walters residence. The 
structure was rudely put up of rough logs, and 
partitioned off into three apartments. One was 
used for a living room, where Mr. Bullard 
cooked his meals, ate and slept ; the next room 
was used for a wood shed and store room, and 
the other was used for a barn. His land was en- 
closed by an oddly built fence. A trench or 
ditch, about two feet wide by two feet deep, was 
dug around the land, and posts were set at in- 
tervals along this ditch, upon which poles were 
placed, fastened with wire. 

The site upon which was afterwards built the 
town of Lakeview was well known to all the early 
settlers of the Lake country. C. U. Snider has 



told the writer of a trip he made from Camp 
Warner to Willow Ranch in 1869, passing along 
the north end of Goose lake. The site of the fu- 
ture Lakeview was then covered with a very tall 
growth of grass and was, indeed, a beautiful 
spot. The day he first saw the location a large 
band of antelope was browsing there. M. T. Walt- 
ers, who came to Goose Lake valley in 1872, has 
written of this spot as follows : 

I saw the spot on which Lakeview now stands when 
the calmness of undisturbed nature was upon it. In 
the spring of 1872, approaching this place from the west. 
I was obliged to pass around the north end of the 
valley to get to the east side. The gently inclined plain 
upon which our pretty little town is built was then a 
beautiful meadow, all covered with water. The lake 
then extended north to this point. A mean log cabin, 
belonging to a man named Bullard. was standing at 
the mouth of the canyon of that name, and was the 
only indication that a man had been here before me. 
The landscape was indeed beautiful. Wild birds and 
animals looked at me in shy surprise, but could hardly 
be said to be afraid of one. 

For some time Mr. Bullard was without near 
neighbors, but later a family named Petree set- 
tled on the other part of section 15. The Petrees 
took a squatter's claim, but never proved up on 
it. In the family were four brothers, James, 
William F., Malen and Tom. They lived in a 
little log cabin located about where V. L. Snel- 
ling's residence now stands. When the town was 
founded in 1876 the Petree and Bullard cabins 
were the only ones on the townsite. 

Prior to the year 1876 the thought of estab- 
lishing a town at this spot never entered the mind 
of anyone. In order to make clear the reasons 
for the founding of a town in the valley at this 
time we shall review briefly a subject treated 
heretofore in this work. 

By an act of the legislature of 1874, Lake 
county, then including the present counties of 
Lake and Klamath, was created, and Linkville 
(the present Klamath Falls) was named as the 
temporary county seat, the selection of a perma- 
nent seat of government being left to be decided 
at the general election in June, 1876. At that 
time the settlers of eastern Lake county outnum- 
bered those of the western portion, but the west 
enders had the advantage in one particular — 
they had a town, Linkville, which had been 
founded in 1867 by George Nurse. It was this 
fact that led the legislature to name a place on 
the west side as the temporary countv seat. Out- 
numbering the Klamath settlers, the settlers of 
Goose Lake valley and of the other settled por- 
tions of the east side laid their plans to secure 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



845'. 



the county seat at the June election in 1876. In 
order that the whole vote should be concentrated 
they agreed among themselves to vote for "Bul- 
lard's Creek" or Bullard's Ranch." Mr. Bullard 
agreed to deed twenty acres of his land to the 
county should his place be selected. A. and C. 
U. Snider, who had previously been post traders 
at Camp Warner, but more recently engaged in 
the mercantile business at Willow Ranch, Cal., 
were prevailed upon to open a store at Bullard's 
Ranch, and in April the store building was begun, 
the first business house of the coming Lakeview. 
The vote for the location of the county seat in 
June was clearly in favor of Bullard's Ranch, but 
this preference was made known on the ballots 
under such a variety of names that the removal 
of the county government was not accomplished 
until some months later. The question of the 
location was voted on again at the November 
election, and by this time "Bullard's Creek" had 
become "Lakeview," and was the choice by a 
vote of 242 over 181 for Linkville. Almost im- 
mediately thereafter the county records were 
moved to the new seat of government. 

But during the summer and fall of this year, 
while the campaign for the permanent location of 
the county seat was going on, the town of Lake- 
view was coming into existence, and by the be- 
ginning of 1877 there was quite a little village 
here. To this place was given the name of Lake- 
view because of the excellent view of Goose 
lake that could be obtained from the townsite 
at that time. The lake then extended farther 
north than it does at the present time, and at the 
time of the founding "Lakeview" was not a 
misnomer. 

The store building of A. and C. U. Snider, 
which had been begun in April, was completed in 
September, and a stock of general merchandise 
was put in. The store stood on the corner at 
present occupied by Bailey & Massingill's gen- 
eral merchandise store. Goods were freighted in 
from Red Bluff, Cal., by horse teams, over a 
rough and rocky winding road, a distance of 250 
miles. It required about thirty days to make the 
trip for goods, and these trips were accomplished 
with more or less danger on account of the Ind- 
ians. Andy McCallen was placed in charge of the 
store, and he also kept the postoffice, which was 
established that year. The first mail delivered at 
the office was carried from Fort Bidwell on horse- 
back, but later a mail route was established from 
Redding, Cal. The arrival of the first mail was 
a great event. The papers, then a month old, 
seemed as fresh and newsy to the inhabitants of 
the little town and were read with even more 
eagerness than is now the case with the dailies, 
forty-eight hours from the press. 



The second building erected was a hotel 
put up by A. R. Jones on the lot opposite where 
the Hotel Lakeview now stands. This hostelry, 
though unpretentious, was a creditable frontier 
establishment, and many a weary traveler found 
there the warmest hospitality and much needed 
refreshment from a hard journey through a coun- 
try very thinly inhabited. John Moon began the 
construction of a livery stable the same year, but. 
sold out to M. T. Walters, who completed the 
building and conducted the first feed and livery 
stable. Mart Hopkins built a blacksmith shop- 
that year, located about where Mr. Lake's repair 
shop is now. He also erected a residence about 
where the George Jammerthal's business estab- 
lishment now stands. 

Another stroke of enterprise in 1876 was the 
erection of a two story building, to be used for 
a court house, by Geo. Conn on the present loca- 
tion of the Neilon residence. A saloon license- 
was granted to T. J. Hickman by the county court 
on August 6, 1876, and his was the first saloon in 
Lakeview. It was located where the Hotel Lake- 
view now stands. 

These were buildings erected and enterprises: 
started in the town during 1876, and they pre- 
sented quite a showing on the spot where a few 
months before there were only two log cabins. 
Of this period of the town's history Mr. Walters 
has said : "Most of our early day visitors were- 
from the Rogue river or Willamette valleys. They 
were to us as our newspapers now are. If a 
newspaper chanced to come into possession of one 
of us it was passed around and read in every 
family, and reread until worn out from handling 
it, though we were more careful with it than with 
money." 

The town was not yet platted, but preparations 
were made for the platting in the following 
spring. On December 7, 1876, Mr. Bullard deed- 
ed the county twenty acres of land and on the 
following day sold the other 300 acres to J. A. 
Moon. The townsite was platted by Mr. Moon 
on May 25, 1877. The site was surveyed by 
Frank M. Cheesman, and consisted of blocks A,. 
1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. On the west of the site ran the 
county road, and parallel to this, one block east, 
was Water street. The present Main street was . 
not laid out. Running east and west, separating 
the blocks, were Bullard street and Canyon 
street. The plat was recorded in the records of 
Lake county on May 26. 

Additions to the town of Lakeview have- 
since been platted as follows : 

North and South additions, July 14, 1878, 
by John A. Moon. 

West addition, July 20, 1878, by John A. 
Moon, George Freeman, Alice E. Freeman," Thos.. 



-846 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Colbin, L. A. Colvin, Joseph Robnett and Mary 
E. Robnett. 

County Property addition was filed on Febru- 
ary 17, 1877, but was not recorded until April 
3, 1886. This addition consisted of four blocks 
and was the property of Lake county. 

Walters' addition, November 14, 1899, by M. 
T. Walters. 

McCallen's addition, October 6, 1900, by A. 
McCallen. 

Lane's addition, August 13, 1902, by F. P. 
Lane. 

The year 1877 and the few following years 
were not much behind 1876 in the matter of con- 
struction of buildings and establishment of busi- 
ness houses. During the winter of 1876-7 A. 
Tenbrook moved a building from his ranch, about 
five miles down the valley, to the- new town and 
started a second hotel, the Overland House. In 
the fall of 1877 C. A. Cogswell put up a two 
story building, and in the lower part of this Dr. 
Casen opened a drug store. Dr. Wright moved 
to the new town from Davis creek in 1877 and 
became the first doctor. He remained only a 
short time and moved away. Returning shortly, 
however, he purchased the Casen drug store. 
Cobb Henkle opened the second saloon in 1877. 
Odd Fellows hall was erected that year and the 
lower floor was occupied by a saloon. 

Soon J. W. Howard moved his store building 
from Hagerhorst and J. Frankl put one up, both 
being built on the locations now occupied by build- 
ings still belonging to the same men. E. W. 
Joseph built a residence back of the Frankl store, 
which was later purchased by M. T. Walters and 
moved to where Mr. Walters now resides. The 
State Line Herald was established by Watson 
Bros, in 1878. A man by the name of Goos built 
a two story brewery on the corner now occupied 
by Reynolds & Wingfield. Other early day busi- 
ness enterprises were a shoe shop opened by A. 
Buckhart and a barber shop by Cosley Snelling. 
Hagerdine & Latta built the town's first brick 
building, on the present site of Ahlstrom's har- 
ness store and there opened a general merchan- 
dise store. 

By the close of the year 1878 we find in the 
little town three general merchandise stores, two 
hotels, a newspaper, two livery stables, a harness 
shop, two blacksmith shops, a barber shop, two 
saloons, a drug store, and a county seat. 

An important event in the history of the town 
was the removal of the land office from Link- 
ville where it had been established several years 
before, to Lakeview in the spring of 1879. James 
Evans and George Conn were the first register 
and receiver, respectively, upon its removal. Geo. 
Conn was succeeded as receiver by Jerome Knox, 



who served with Mr. Evans and also with War- 
ren Truett, who succeeded Mr. Evans as register. 
Truett and Knox were succeeded by A. F. Snel- 
ling, register, and Wm. H. Townsend, receiver. 
vVarren Truett again became the register of the 
Lakeview land office in 1889 and served until 
1892. C. U. Snider became receiver in 1890 and 
served until 1894. J. W. Watts succeeded Mr. 
Truett in 1892 and served two years. W. A. 
Wilshire was appointed register and V. L. Snel- 
ling receiver by President Cleveland in 1894 and 
served four years. They were succeeded in 1898 
by E. M. Brattain, register, and Harry Bailey, re- 
ceiver, who served until 1903. The present in- 
cumbents were then installed. They are J. N. 
Watson, register, and C. U. Snider, receiver. 

The year 1880 marked the first fire that visited 
Lakeview. The large two story brewery build- 
ing of Mr. Goos was destroyed, together with the 
plant of the pioneer newspaper, the State Line 
Herald. The next fire of any importance was 
the A. R. Jones hotel building. Aside from these 
all the early day buildings remained intact until 
the big fire of May 22, 1900. 

By 1880 Lakeview had grown to be a town of 
270 people, according to the federal census taken 
that year. During the eighties Lakeview emerged 
from its pioneer ways. There was no boom, no 
rush, but a steady advancement. Settlers were 
coming into the country and the town advanced 
to keep pace with the settlement. Each year wit- 
nessed the beginning of a few new enterprises. 
The vear 1887 was an exceptionally prosperous 
one for the little town. That year $60,000 was 
spent in building improvements. 

By 1889 the citizens believed the town had 
reached a stage where incorporation was needed. 
The act incorporating Lakeview became a law 
Februarv 20, 1889, when it was filed in the of- 
fice of the secretary of state. The act provided 
for the government of the town by a mayor and 
common council of four members, and that the 
other officers should be a recorder, attorney, mar- 
shal, treasurer and surveyor, all to be elected at 
annual electidns. The first election was held 
on March 11, 1889, and thereafter the annual 
elections have been held on the first Monday of 
each November. The judges of the first election 
were Joseph Lane, W. H. Lackey and P. G. 
Christman, and the clerks were W. R. Stark and 
F. W. Beach. Those who were elected and thus 
had the honor of first serving the city in an 
official capacity were: W. M. Townsend, mayor; 
Will T. Boyd," P.. Daly. J. S. Field. John McEl- 
hurney, councilmen ; Jerome Knox, attorney ; Al 
Heminger, marshal ; S. C. Wallis. treasurer ; J. 
Q. Willits, recorder. The first meeting of the 
council was held on March 18, 1889. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



847 



Citizens who have held office since the incor- 
poration of the town, beginning with those elect- 
ed at the first general election, November, 1889, 
are as follows : 

-Mayor, W. M. Townsend ; councilmen, 



Bernard Daly, A. Snider, A. McCallen, M. T. 
Walters ; marshal, Al. Heminger ; recorder, Chas. 
Eshleman; attorney, Jerome Knox; treasurer, S. 
C. Wallis. 

1890 — Mayor, Warren Truett; councilmen, 
Wm. Carll, A. Frankl, W. M. Townsend, W. T. 
Boyd; marshal, B. J. Neilon ; recorder, C. A. 
Moore ; treasurer, H. M. Barnes ; attorney, E. D. 
Sperry". < 

1891 — Mayor, A. Snider; councilmen, B. 
Daly, S. F. Ahlstrom, W. A. Massingill; marshal, 
M. M. McBride ; recorder, A. C. Auldron ; attor- 
ney, Jerome Knox ; treasurer, Chas. Eshleman. 

1892 — Mayor, C. A. Cogswell; councilmen, 
J. S. Dewey,' F. M. Miller, J. S. Field, H. 
Schminck ; marshal, J. S. Lane ; recorder, Will 
T. Boyd ; attorney, E. D. Sperry ; treasurer, Chas. 
Eshleman. 

1893 — Mayor, C. A. Cogswell ; councilmen, 
F. M. Miller, H. Schminck, J. S. Dewey, J. S. 
Field; marshal, Wm. McBride; recorder, Will 
T. Boyd ; treasurer, Chas. Eshleman. 

1894 — Mayor, John McElhurnev ; council- 
men, S. F. Ahlstrom, J. S. Field, Wm. Reid, G. 
A. Fallett; recorder, Will T. Boyd; treasurer, 
T. V. Hall. 

1895 — Mayor, C. A. Cogswell ; councilmen, 
S. F. Ahlstrom, J. S. Field, N. R. Heryford, 
T. J. Magilton ; marshal, J. N. Ruggles ; recorder, 
Will T. Boyd ; treasurer, Harry Bagley. 

1896 — Mayor, A. McCallen ; councilmen, J. 
S. Field, H. R. Heryford, T. J. Magilton, C. E. 
Sherlock; marshal, Al. Heminger; recorder, 
Winslow Bagley ; treasurer, T. V. Hall. 

1897 — Mayor, B. Daly ; comncilmen, S. F. 
Ahlstrom, T. E. Bernard, X. Arzner, Gus 
Schlagel; recorder, Will T. Boyd; treasurer, B. 
Reynolds. 

1898 — Mayor, S. F. Ahlstrom ; councilmen, 
T. E. Bernard, X. Arzner, Gus Schlagel, J. W. 
Tucker ; marshal, Manley Whorton ; recorder, 
Will T. Boyd ; treasurer, B. Reynolds. 

1899 — Mayor. F. M. Miller; councilmen, X. 
Arzner, S. F. Ahlstrom, Gus Schlagel, T. E. Ber- 
nard ; recorder, Chas. Umbach ; treasurer, Lee 
Beall. 

1900 — Mayor, F. M. Miller ; councilmen, X. 
Arzner, Gus Schlagel, Peter Post, T. E. Bernard; 
marshal, Manley Whorton ; recorder, Chas. Um- 
bach ; treasurer, B. Reynolds. 

1901 — Mayor, F. M. Miller ; councilmen, T. 
E. Bernard, Gus Schlagel, Peter Post, X. Arzner ; 



marshal, Wm. Harvey ; recorder, Chas. Umbach ; 
treasurer, A. Bieber. 

1902 — Mayor, H. C. Whitworth ; councilmen, 
W. D. Woodcock, E. C. Ahlstrom, Peter Post, X. 
Arzner ; marshal, Wm. Harvey ; recorder, W. B. 
Snider ; treasurer, A. Bieber. 

1903 — Mayor, W. P. Heryford ; councilmen, 
V. L. Snelling, B. Reynolds, A. Y. Beach, Harry 
Bailey ; marshal,, Manley Whorton ; recorder, W. 
B. Snider ; treasurer, A. Beiber. 

1904— Mavor, W. P. Heryford ; councilmen, 
V. L. Snelling, H. Bailey, D. P. Malloy, J. W. 
Tucker ; marshal, Manley Whorton ; recorder, 
W. B. Snider ; treasurer, A. Beiber. 

South Lakeview, a few miles south of the 
county seat town, was platted May 12, 1891, by 
Geo. G. Gibson, whose purpose seems to have 
been to found a rival to Lakeview. A neighbor- 
ing newspaper said of the attempt : 

A Yankee has reached Lake county with a yearn- 
ing to be the founder of a new city. His name is Geo. 
G. Gibson, of Oswego, N. Y., and he proposes to 
start a 40 acre town three miles south of Lakeview. 
Laid off in town lots, streets, alleys and lanes, there 
lies the tract, away up on the mountain opposite Frank 
Duke's place, and it looks at a distance like seven or 
eight rows of old barn yards somebody had dragged 
up there to give them fresh air. We fear it will be a 
long time before the boom strikes South Lakeview. 

And it has not struck yet. Although the town- 
site of South Lakeview never reached the import- 
ance of having a building erected upon it, it was 
entensively advertised and nearly all the lots were 
sold in the east by the gifted Gibson. 

February 10, 1893, a revised charter was 
granted Lakeview by the legislature. The new 
charter provided for the government of the town 
by a mayor and four councilmen as did the for- 
mer charter. The recorder and treasurer under 
the new charter were to be elected, but the mar- 
shal, street commissioner and town attorney Were 
to be appointed by the council. The new charter 
was broader than the old one and provided for 
several improvements which the old one did not. 

During the middle nineties there was no ma- 
terial advancement in Lakeview, owing to the 
prevailing hard times. However, it was not hit 
so hard as were many of the towns. of the coun- 
try w r hich relied for their support on an agri- 
cultural country. Emerging from the depression 
in the late nineties, the town took on new life. 

In 1898 a new charter was granted to the 
town of Lakeview, giving power to undertake 
some needed municipal improvements. During' 
this period the town, which had been before the 



848 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



most completely isolated, was given telephonic 
and telegraphic connections with the outside 
world. 

In 1899 agitation was begun for the construc- 
tion of a system of waterworks and an electric 
lighting system. A proposition to bond the city 
for $25,000 for these purposes was voted down 
that year, but on March 2.7, 1900, by a vote of 
44 to 20, authorization was given for the issu- 
ance of $10,000 bonds for these purposes, and 
shortly after both were put in by the municipal- 
ity. 

May 22, 1900, is a date that will never be for- 
gotten by anyone who was in Lakeview on the 
evening of that day. It was the day of the big 
fire, one of the most destructive that ever visited 
a town of the size of Lakeview. Every business 
house in the town, except two, was consumed, 
and a loss of ■ about $2504300 was entailed. 
Sixty-four buildings were destroyed, many of 
them big merchandise stores carrying immense 
stocks. 

In this great conflagration there were de- 
stroyed six general merchandise stores, one dry 
goods store, two drug stores, two hardware 
stores, two harness and saddlery stores, two jew- 
elry stores, three confectionery stores, one fur- 
niture and undertaking store, one fruit and vege- 
table store, three hotels, one restaurant, one grill 
room, one brewery, six saloons, three barber 
shops, one blacksmith shop, one wagon maker's 
shop, two printing offices, two dental offices, two 
bicycle shops, one law office, one soda fountain, 
one shoe shop, postoffice building, government 
land office, Bank of Lakeview, telegraph office, 
one livery stable, one laundry, three millinery 
stores, one tailor shop, eight residences, town hall 
and jail, Masonic and Odd Fellows halls, two 
physicians' offices, one paint shop and one butcher 
shop. The extent of the fire can be summed 
up as follows : Two entire blocks in the main 
business portion of the town were completely 
wiped out. The greater portion of six other 
blocks adjoining the two mentioned were con- 
sumed, taking in the entire business portion, in- 
cluding several residences. 

The burning of Lakeview made such a big 
blaze that it was observed for over 100 miles in 
several directions. Citizens of Klamath Falls, 
over 100 miles west of Lakeview, noticed the 
heavens illumed and it was remarked at once 
that Lakeview must be burning. Silver Lake, 
100 miles north, saw the fire and it was thought 
to be Lakeview. Alturas, sixty miles south, and 
Cedarville, 1 seventy miles southeast, both saw the 
fire. 

No lives were lost, but the excitement, worry, 
overwork and smoke nearly proved fatal in sev- 



eral cases. Many people lost all they had on earth, 
saving only what they had on their backs. 

The fire started about 8 :30 o'clock in the even- 
ing, when a large part of the population was 
gathered at the town hall, where there was being 
held a Republican mass meeting. It started in 
the upper story of Hotel Lakeview, and the or- 
igin of the conflagration is a mystery to this day. 
When the alarm was given the fire had gained 
considerable headway and there was no possible 
chance to save the building. It seemed but a 
moment until the flames were leaping to the sky 
and fire brands flying in all directions, causing 
many brave hearts to quake. 

From the Lakeview House the fire spread in 
all four directions, taking first Hart & Beach's 
store on the north, Charles Tonningsen's stable 
on the west, Beall & Willey's drug store on the 
south, and J. Frankl's residence on the east. Many 
thought the brick bank would stop the confla- 
gration on the north, but it was not to be. Fol- 
lowing the bank, George Ayers' store, J. W. 
Howard's store, Chas. Graves' shoe shop, E. 
Lake's bicycle shop, Peter Post's residence, occu- 
pied by E. M. Brattain, and several buildings in 
the near vicinity belonging to W. K. Barry were 
in flames while the fire was raging in the other 
direction. 

South from the Lakeview House, Beall & 
Willey's drug store, H. Schminck's hardware,, 
postoffice, Dunlap's variety store, C. U. Snider's 
store, A. Devine's barber shop, H. C. Rothe & 
Co.'s general merchandise store and Bailey & 
Massingill's general merchandise store were in the 
path of the flames. Dr. Dewey's office was the- 
limit south on the east side of Water street. Every 
building on the blocks between Main and Water 
streets from the court house north to the old 
Racket store and old meat market building were- 
consumed. The buildings destroyed in this sec- 
tion were the Commercial hotel and contents, 
Whorton & Fitzpatrick's saloon, Hong Sang's 
restaurant, Lakeview Drug Company's drug 
store, Ahlstrom Bros.'s Monogram, B. Rey- 
nold's store, city hall, I. O. O. F. hall, bowling 
alley and soda works, Tonningsen's stable and 
residence overhead, J. Aviragnete's barber shop, 
Henckle & Turpin's saloon, Lakeview brewery 
saloon, L. B. Whorton's vegetable store, Coulter 
& Co.'s meat market, G. S. Easter's jewelry store, 
Lakeview Rustler office, Lakeview brewery, Os- 
rrius Tonningsen's residence, G. Schlagel's black- 
smith shop, and harness and saddlery store, Geo. 
Jammerthal's saloon, B. Daly's barn and resi- 
dence, occupied by Mr. Tetro. 

On the west side of Main street from and in- 
cluding Mrs. Coulter's hotel, followed Harris & 
Sublette's furniture store, the Masonic hall and' 




View oi Chewaucan Marsh 




A Common View in Lake County 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



84</' 



Lake County Examiner office, S. F. Ahlstrom's 
harness and saddlery shop, Mrs. Neilon & Miss 
Maxwell's milinery store, T. J. Magilton's hard- 
ware store, Mrs. Aviragnete's residence and 
Beiber & Field's store. Numerous sheds and 
small buildings, ice houses, etc., were included. 
Quite a number of people occupied upstairs rooms 
and offices, among them Dr. Demorest's dental 
office over C. U. Snider's store, the land office 
over the bank, and a number of roomers in the 
Miller building. Post & King's saloon, Frank 
Smith and the telegraph office were located in the 
Lakeview House, and Frank Gunther's jewelry 
store was in the Monogram. 

Many of the merchants and business men 
lost everything, while some saved a large portion 
01 their goods. Following are the losses sus- 
tained. The figures are those furnished by the 
Lake County Examiner in its first issue after the 
fire: 

Geo. H. Ayres, general merchandise $13,000 

Ayres & Tonningsen, brewery S.ooo 

Chas. Tonningsen, livery stable 2,000 

Beall & Willey, drug store 4,500 

H. C. Rothe & Co., general merchandise 16,000 

Peter Post, dwelling 1,200 

Geo. Jammerthal, saloon 2,000 

Dr. B. Daly, store buildings, etc 4,000 

J. C. Oliver, Rustler plant 800 

G. S. Easter, jewelry and millinery 2,000 

Dr. O. F. Demorest, dentist office 1,000 

L. F. Conn, personal effects 250 

Bank of Lakeview 6,000 

United States land office entire loss. 

G. Schlagel, buildings, tools, harness and saddlery 4,000 

Miller & Lillenthal, buildings 6,000 

F. D. Smith, barber shop 300 

Dick J. Wilcox, buildings 1,000 

H. Schminck, hardware 

H. C. Whiteworth, hotel 10,000 

B. Reynolds, general merchandise 8,000 

Lakeview Drug Company 200 

B. Daly 30,000 

J. Frankl, dwelling, store building, stock, etc. . 16,000 

E. Lake, bicycle shop 500 

Harris & Sublette, furniture and undertaking 

goods 3,000 

J. W. Howard, store S,ooo 

C. U. Snyder, dry goods 4,000 

W. K. Barry, dwelling 2,500 

S. F. Ahlstrom, saddlery and building 10,000 

Ahlstrom Bros., dry goods 8,000 

Bailey & Massingill, general merchandise 18,000 

Hart & Beach, confectionery, tobaccos, etc.... 800 

Chas. Graves, shoe shop and stock 500 

L. B. Whorton, confectionery and vegetables. . 250 

54 



S. D. Coulter & Co., butchers 500 

J. J. Magilton, hardware 2,000 

Beach & McGarry, Lake County Examiner. . . . 2,000 

Mrs. S. D. Coulter, Cottage hotel 1,500 

Mrs. Neilon and Miss Maxwell, millinery.... 250 

Hudspeth, bicycle shop 300- 

C. P. Dunlap, confectionery and tobaccos 1,000 

Dr. F. E. Smith, office 500 

Henkle & Turpin, saloon 7,000 

Hong Sang, restaurant 20a' 

Whorton & Fitzpatrick, saloon 7,000 

Commercial hotel 5,000 

Bieber & Field, general merchandise 9,000 

J. Aviragnete, dwelling and barber shop 800 

Odd Fellows hall 9,000 

Masonic hall 1,800 ' 

Town hall 800 

The fire was a great blow at the time, but the 
citizens were not discouraged and they at once set 
about to rebuild the town. Merchants left at 
once for the cities to purchase new stocks of 
goods, contracts were let for the erection of new 
business houses, and every one seemed imbued 
with the idea that Lakeview must be rebuilt, 
and in a more substantial manner than before. At 
the time of the fire the business portion of Lake- 
view, including Water and Main streets, was 
composed almost entirely of wooden structures. 
In the whole town there were only four brick 
buildings. 

By the first of October the town was largely 
rebuilt. There were then fifteen handsome brick 
buildings standing and three others were in* 
course of construction. Commenting on the re- 
building of Lakeview, the Examiner said : "And 
look at Lakeview today! Within the few short 
months, attended by many adverse circumstances 
and unavoidable inconveniences, a wonderful 
transformation has taken place. Where stood 
the gloomy ruins now stand solid brick blocks,, 
the wonder of man's skill and living monuments 
to the enterprise of proud citizens." 

Lakeview is today one of the best builded 
towns in Oregon, certainly the best in interior 
Oregon. The fire of May 22, 1900, will never be 
forgotten, but its disastrous effects have been 
overcome, and the fire has produced the direct 
result of a better Lakeview. 

On November 23, 1902, Lakeview was visited 
by another fire, which, but for the newly in- 
stalled water system, would have done much dam- 
age. The losses were about as follows : W. K. 
Barry, hotel building, $7,000; L. F. Winkleman, 
furniture and supplies, $2,500; C. Henkle, saloon, 
$400 ; Geo. Jammerthal, residence, $800 ; S. N. 
Guilliams, barn and hay $150; town of Lakeview, • 
$100; J. Aviragnete, $150. 



S 5 o 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



The population of Lakeview, according to the 
federal census of 1900, was 761. Since then 
there has been a slight increase and the popu- 
lation is now estimated at between 800 and 1000. 
The years since the fire have been prosperous 
ones. Peace and plenty have been the lot of the 
town and its citizens. When the government 
irrigation project in southern Lake county shall 
have been completed and the iron horse has en- 
tered the town, Lakeview will take on metro- 
politan airs and become a city. Until then it 
will continue to be one of the best towns in the 
anterior. 

Lakeview is one of the strongest, lodge towns 
in interior Oregon and supports some eight or ten 
of the best secret organizations. 

The first lodge to be organized in the town 
•was Odd Fellows Lodge, No. 63. On April 26, 
1878, George Conn, Abram Tenbrook, George 
H. Penland, William Tullock, B. F. Barnum and 
JR. S. Parker made application for a charter. Dis- 
pensation was granted these brothers of the three 
links, and on May 13, 1878, the lodge was insti- 
tuted. A good membership was soon gained and 
the lodge progressed rapidly. In the early part 
of 1886 the members of the Odd Fellows lodge 
started a movement for the organization of a 
.higher degree in Odd Fellowship, and on May 
n8 of that year a charter was granted to Lakeview 
«encampment No. 18. The charter members were 
S. P. Moss, William Tullock, Frank W. Beach, 
A. McCallen, Dr. H. Wright, B. F. Barnum, T. 
W. Colvin, A. F. Snelling, John Simmons, A. 
Frtts, R. S. Parker, V. L. Snelling, O. L. Stan- 
ley, William Townsend amd H. R. Heryford. The 
■camp, like the subordinate lodge, prospered. Be- 
ring the only camp in southeastern Oregon, it 
gained members from all over that section of the 
country and from Northern California. The 
property and records of the encampment burned 
with the hall in the big fire of 1900. Immedi- 
ately thereafter the order started out with more 
.-zeal than ever and now supports a strong lodge. 

Some time after the organization of the Odd 
Fellows lodge its members and their wives began 
preliminary work for organizing a Rebekah de- 
gree. The exact date of the issuance of the char- 
ter cannot be obtained, as the date of the original 
charter is not given in the duplicate charter is- 
sued after the fire. Dispensation was granted and 
a charter issued to the following persons : 
Brothers A. Fitts, C. U. Snider, B. F. Barnum, 
O. L. Stanley, William Tullock, T. W. Colvin, 
George P. Lovegrove, Frank W. Beach, F. P. 
Light, H. R. Heryford, C. Henkle, John Sim- 
mons, W. M. Townsend, J. Frankl, and Sisters 
R. F. Stanley, S. P. Moss, Ann Barnum, A. R. 
Tullock, Flora J. Stanley, M. L. Heryford, L. A. 



Colvin, N. C. P'arker, Frances Colvin, Anna 
Wright, E. P. Steel, M. Simmons and Mrs. 
Townsend, for Lakeview Rebekah Lodge No. 22. 
A duplicate charter was granted May 25, 1900. 

George Conn, William Denny and Abram 
Tenbrook applied to the grand lodge of Free 
and Accepted Masons of Oregon for a dispensa- 
tion and charter for a Masonic lodge in Lake- 
view. The dispensation was granted on June 12, 
1878, and George Conn was made master, Will- 
iam Denny senior warden and Abram Tenbrook 
junior warden. There were about twelve "char- 
ter members. 

Some time after the institution of the Masonic 
lodge agitation for an Eastern Star lodge was 
commenced, and on April 19, 1883, a dispensa- 
tion was granted to Martha Hammersley, Mag- 
gie Evans, L. A. Huff, Martha Bonebrake, Fan- 
nie Burrus, Mary J. Hanks, Lucinda Follett, J. 
B. Phelps, S. Hertzog, Mary Ramson, Orville 
Harrington, Kate Hutton, Lovina A. Blair, C. E. 
Down, N. J. Lesieur, E. Penland, Katie Dunlap, 
Carrie Phelps and Jennie Phelps for Oriental 
Chapter No. 5. J. Frankl was the first worthy 
patron, Louisa A. Blair worthy matron, and 
Martha Bonebrake associate worthy matron. A 
new charter was issued on July 20, 1894. 

In October, 1886, Lakeside lodge No. in, 
Ancient Order of United Workmen, was organ- 
ized in Lakeview. The first officers were : James 
Clarkson, P. W. M. ; C. A. Beach, M. W. ; C. U. 
Snider, foreman ; W. T. Boyd, recorder ; William 
Townsend, financier ; George P. Lovegrove, re- 
ceiver. 

So well did the A. O. U. W. lodge flourish 
that it was soon decided to organize the auxiliary 
lodge and Lakeshore Lodge No. jj, Degree of 
Honor, came into existence with the following 
.first officers : Mary E. Snider, P. C. of H. 
Frances Burrus, L. of H. ; Lillie Harris, recorder 
Anna Sherlock, receiver ; Nellie Snelling, T. W. 
Anna M. Milon, C. of H. ; Frances P. Bieber, C. 
of C. ; Minnie L. Willits, financier; Lulu Max- 
well, L. U. ; T. S. Handley, O. W. 

Court Pinewood Lodge No. 8530, Ancient 
Order of Foresters, came into existence October 
5, 1896, and started off under very favorable cir- 
cumstances. The charter was granted to William 
Gunther, S. F. Ahlstrom, B. Daly, E. C. Ahl- 
strom and H. Schminck. 

Lakeview Camp No. 526, Woodmen of the 
World, was the next to come into existence in the 
town, the charter being granted October 3, 1899. 
The first officers installed were : Ashley Follet, 
consel commander ; Thomas Cloud, banker ; M. 
A. Striplin, escort ; Joseph Judge, sentry : A. A. 
Graham, master lieutenant; J. M. Batchelder, 
clerk ; C. Linebarger, watchman ; T. V. Hall, 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



851 



physician ; H. M. Stoutenyer, O. F. Demorest and 
H. C. Whitworth, managers. 

Solace Circle No. 374, Women of Woodcraft, 
was organized soon after the W. O. W. Fol- 
lowing were the first officers : Lillie C. Harris, 
advisor ; Ella Rehart, magician ; B. M. Blair, mu- 
sician ; Sadie A. Linebarger, past guardian neigh- 
bor; Mollie McGarry, clerk; Ida M. Striplin, at- 
tendant ; Annette Cheney, inner sentinel ; Lucy 
T. Sublette, guardian neighbor ; Maggie C. Ber- 
nard, banker; Anna E. Sherlock, captain of 
guards; C. P. Linebarger, outer sentinel; E. H. 
Smith, physician ; E. F. Cheney, Bessie Combs 
and J. H. Tonnehill, managers. 

The last fraternal order to be organized in 
Lakeview was Rimrock Aerie, No. 777, Frater- 
nal Order of Eagles, which came into existence 
December 1, 1904, with fifty-one charter mem- 
bers. The dispensation was granted to L. N. 
Brautlacht. 

Lakeview supports two churches and each or- 
ganization owns its own place of worship and 
conducts regular services. 

PAISLEY. 

Second in size to Lakeview of Lake county 
towns is Paisley, a town of from 250 to 300 
people, forty miles north of the county seat and 
about 140 north of the nearest railroad point, 
Madeline, California. To the north it is about 
200 miles to the nearest railroad point, Shaniko, 
and nearly the same distance to Pokegama, its 
nearest point to the west. The town is the near- 
est one to the geographical center of the county, 
and the people hope that some day their town will 
be designated the county's seat of government. 

Paisley is located on the Chewaucan river 
near the foothills, and its site is one of great 
beauty. In fact nature seems to have placed all 
her resources under tribute to create this little 
paradise. The town is on the south side of the 
river, which is here heavily fringed with a 
growth of cottonwood timber. The elevation 
above sea level is 4,550 feet. 

Approaching the town from the north the first 
glimpse of Paisley by the stage bound passenger 
"brings an exclamation of surprise to the lips as 
with his face to the south he ascends a small 
eminence from a level plain and the sudden vision 
of beauty is revealed. Hidden in the luxuriance 
of nature's growth, among orchards and shady 
poplar, beside the beautiful, sparkling river of the 
Chewaucan here spanned by a large bridge, with 
the smoke from fifty homes and firesides gently 
floating on the balmy and exhilerating air down 
the valley, the town presents to him a picture of 
beauty that would defy the skill of an artist to 



reproduce or the word painter to describe. On 
the west of Paisley rise tall, majestic mountains, 
adorned with fragrant forests of the stately pine 
and fir, relieved by canyons and high cliffs, among 
which sunshine and shadow chase in and out, pic- 
turing alternately the light and shade in seeming 
fantastic pleasure upon the water of the river, 
making a scene sublime. To the south lies the 
low, level valley of the Chewaucan and to the 
north opens a practically level country for miles 
which terminates upon the desert beyond and 
which contains thousands of acres. Paisley is 
situated like Reno, Nevada. One is on the Che- 
waucan, the other is on the Truckee, both streams 
flowing from the high Sierras to fill lakes on the 
desert. 

Three general merchandise stores, a drug 
store, a blacksmith shop, livery stable, saloon, 
barber shop, brickyard, carpenter shop and a first- 
class hotel cater to the wants of the people. A 
flouring mill run by water power stands on the 
banks of the river. The district supports a good 
school and there is one church in the town, the 
Methodist. The Masons, Eastern Star, Odd 
Fellows, Woodmen of the World and Circle of 
Woodcraft have lodges here. The growth of 
Paisley has not been rapid, but it has been sub- 
stantial. It is an excellent trading point and one 
of the prosperous towns of the county. 

The first settlers in the Chewaycan valley, in 
which Paisley is located, came in 1871. Among 
the earliest were Root & Hoskins, who drove in a 
band of cattle from California, and a Mr. Gil- 
lespie. One or two others came that year and a 
few the next year, among them N. A. King of 
Portland, who brought in cattle and located on the 
marsh. By 1873 there was quite a settlement in 
the valley. 

In 1876 a mail route was established' through 
this interior country from The Dalles, by way of 
Prineville and Silver Lake, to Lakeview with 
weekly mail service. That same year a post- 
office was established four miles south of the pres- 
ent site of Paisley and named Chewaucan. It 
was at the home of T. J. Brattain and that gen- 
tleman was postmaster. The following year the 
postoffice was moved to John Blair's ranch, six- 
miles farther south, and Mr. Blair officiated as 
postmaster until he resigned about four years 
later, when the office was discontinued.. 

The site upon which afterwards was built the 
town of Paisley was state land, having been ob- 
tained from the government as agricultural col- 
lege lands. Three eighties, upon part of which 
the town was afterwards laid out, were purchased 
from the state by Messrs. Averill, J. P. Cochran 
and Robert Drinkwater. The first business house 
of the future town was a store started in 1878 by 



8 5 2 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



George Steele and J. P. Cochran. Unlike many 
of the first enterprises of a new town, this store 
was quite a pretentious affair, the stock put in 
being valued at about $10,000. The goods were 
freighted in from Red Bluff, California, and until 
the railroad was built to Redding the store was 
obliged to secure all its stock from that far away 
town. 

Soon after the establishment of the store a 
postoffice named Paisley was granted and George 
Steele was made postmaster. The name was sug- 
gested by Charles Mitchell Innes, a native of 
Scotland, and was named after the Paisley of 
Scotland. During the year 1878 other enterprises 
were started and a little village began to make 
its appearance on the marsh. A blacksmith shop 
was opened by Graham & Hamliry. T. J. Brat- 
tain opened a hotel and feed stable, and in the 
fall a school house was erected. This latter was 
a big help in the building up of the town. A nine 
months' school was maintained, and the surround- 
ing settlers would come to the little town and 
make their homes there during the winter months 
that their children might have the advantages of 
the school. In the spring of 1879 Paisley busi- 
ness houses were added to by the opening of a 
saloon by J. Fickle. 

Paisley was platted May 2, 1879, by S. G. 
Steele and John P. Cochran, but the plat was not 
filed until December 14, 1879. The site was 
surveyed by J. H. Evans. It consisted of four 
blocks. Running north and south were three 
streets named Willow, Main and Chewaucan. The 
blocks were separated by one street running east 
and west — Mill street. Additions have since been 
platted as follows : South, East and West addi- 
tions, October 1, 1881, by J. P. Cochran, William 
F. Mah and E. H. Morgan ; Second addition, July 
16, 1883, by J. P. Cochran, William F. Mah and 
E. H. Morgan ; West, Second North and Second 
South additions, June 27, 1889, by Herman J. 
Sadler, Minnie C. Sadler, J. P. Cochran and 
Mary E. Cochran. 

A second store was opened in 1881 by George 
Conn. Two years later Virgil Conn bought an 
interest and later acquired the whole business. 
George Conn then established the third store in 
Paisley. An important move forward in the his- 
tory of the town was the building of a flouring 
mill in the early eighties by George and Virgil 
Conn. It is said that 250 barrels of flour were 
manufactured the first year — quite a record for 
that period of the county's development. 

Since its founding the growth of Paisley has 
not been rapid. It is now and always has been 
the trading point for a vast section of country in 
central Lake county and the educational center 
for the same reeion. 



NEW PINE CREEK. 

Third in size and importance of the towns of 
Lake county is New Pine Creek, the state line 
town, situated fifteen miles southeast of Lake- 
view, in the most fertile and productive part of 
Goose Lake valley. It is the nearest to a railroad 
of any town in JLake county, being only seventy 
miles north of Madeline, California. 

Surrounded as it is by a large scope of agri- 
cultural country, New Pine Creek is an important 
business point, and the volume of its business 
compares favorably with that of any town of 
like size in Oregon. It has a population of 150 
or 200 people. There are two general merchan- 
dise stores, a drug store, two 'hotels, two feed 
stables, a blacksmith shop, barber shop and meat 
market. A good school is maintained here and 
there are three church organizations, Methodist, 
Baptist and Christian. 

New Pine Creek is one of the best locations 
for a town in Southern Oregon or Northern Cal- 
ifornia. It is beautifully situated with the majes- 
tic hills to the east and Goose lake to the west. 
The scenery is truly magnificent. In a few hours 
travel in the warmest months of the year one can- 
ride to the summit of a mountain to the delightful 
Cave lake and mineral spring, where the atmos- 
phere is uncomfortably cold at night without a 
good supply of wraps and bedding. The town-, 
site is certainly a model one, with its broad 
stretch of bottom land converging to the mag- 
nificent Goose lake, with its pretty mountain 
scenery, with the great level plateau leading down 
from the foot of the mountains, with its splen- 
did water power and natural irrigation facilities 
dashing down its canyons. It is a garden spot. 

New Pine Creek despite its name, is the old- 
est town of Lake county. The first settlers to the 
county came to Goose Lake valley and the greater 
part of these settled in that part of the valley 
near the Oregon- California state line, some in one 
state and some in another. In the history chap- 
ter we have told of these early settlements and 
shall not repeat the events of the valley in treat- 
ing of the town that afterwards came into exis- 
tence there. 

Although the name, New Pine Creek, was not 
officially applied to a town or post office until in 
the early seventies, there was a business house on 
the state line near the present town so early as 
1869. That year Desible, Powley and King 
started a store, which, however, ran only a few 
weeks. In 1871 a flouring mill was built by 
Joseph Robnette, about one-half mile west of the 
store location. The mill was necessarily of the 
old-fashioned, primitive style, in which burrs were 
used. Mr. Robnette operated the mill four sea- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



853 



sons and then sold to A. Z. Hammersley. The 
latter ran it until July 1, 1879, when the State 
Line Milling Company was organized and took 
over the interests of Mr. Hammersley. The 
members of this company were Luke Mulkey, Jo- 
seph Robnette, Enoch Loper, Stephen P. Moss 
and Johnson Mulkey. 

But before these changes in the mill property 
had taken place New Pine Creek had gained an 
official standing and had become entitled to a 
place on the map. In 1872 the mail route asked 
tor by the Oregon legislature having been 
granted by the Washington authorities, the set- 
tlers of the Pine Creek country petitioned the 
postoffice department for the establishment of a 
postoffice in their valley to be called Pine Creek. 
The petition was favorably acted upon and Lake 
county's first postoffice came into existence. Ow- 
ing to the fact that there was at the time one 
postoffice in Oregon named Pine Creek, another 
of the same name could not be established, so 
the authorities made out the commission under 
the title of New Pine Creek, and as such it has 
always been known. S. A. Hammersley was the 
first postmaster, and the office was maintained at 
his house. The office remained at this point until 
1897, when it was moved a half mile east to its 
present location. 

When the State Line Milling Company pur- 
chased the mill in 1879, it opened a store at New 
Pine Creek and the following year the townsite 
was platted. The site was surveyed by Frank M. 
Cheesman and was platted December 16, 1880, 
by Enoch Loper and his wife, Mary E. Loper. 
The original townsite consisted of eight blocks. 
The streets north and south were named Center 
and West, and those east and west were Mill 
street, Church street and State Line avenue. The 
townsite is located just north of the California 
line, one of the streets touching the line. There 
Lave been no additions platted. 

The State Line Milling Company sold the 
store in 1883 to B. W. Rees, who conducted it 
two years and then moved it to Lakeview. In 
1884 the company also sold the mill property to 
J. R. Hammersley. The latter ran it until 1900, 
when he sold to A. M. Smith, and the latter to E. 
Keller. From the date of the removal of Mr. 
Rees' store to Lakeview up to 1890 there was no 
store at New Pine Creek, and the town during 
these years consisted only of the postoffice and 
the mill. 

On the latter date some of the farmers in the 
vicinity formed a corporation and opened at New 
Pine Creek a cooperative store. Farmers' co- 
operative business ventures are seldom success- 
ful and this was no exception to the rule. Al- 
though it was not a prosperous venture, the store 



continued to exist for some time. Ben Warner, 
one of the supporters of the corporation, finally 
came into possession of the store, and about 1898 
the remnants of the cooperative store were sold to 
Lemons & Hartzog. These gentlemen conducted 
a general merchandise business a couple of years, 
and the business then passed into the hands of 
Fleming & Hartzog. In 1903 Fleming Bros, 
bought the store and still conduct it. Another 
store was started in 1897 by Stanley McLaughlin, 
who shortly afterwards sold to Capt. Follett, and 
the latter to his son, Eb. Follett. The stock was 
finally closed out. 

The town of New Pine Creek did not grow 
to any extent until about 1900. The mill, store 
and postoffice constituted the town until the gen- 
erel prosperity of late years has caused it to grow 
to some extent. The year 1900 was a prosperous 
one and at the beginning of 1901 we find there 
are two general merchandise stores, a hotel, black- 
smith shop, livery stable and several residences. 
A petition was circulated in 190 1 asking for a 
change in the name of the postoffice from New 
Pine Creek to Orcal, but the proposed name did 
not prove popular with the citizens and was not 
made. "Orcal" is made up of the abbreviations of 
the two states upon the dividing line of which 
the town is built, but despite the novelty of the 
name, the old fashioned one of New Pine Creek 
was considered good enough. 

Several attempts have been made to start a 
saloon in the state line town, but the sentiment 
against it is strong, and so far the attempts have 
been unsuccessful. 

SILVER LAKE. 

Silver Lake is the most northerly town of 
Lake county. It is one of the most interesting 
points in Oregon in many ways. Its remoteness 
irom railroads, its natural surroundings, its 
varied resources, make it an important factor in 
the development of Inland Oregon. It has been 
called the "Gateway to the Oregon Desert." 

If there is a town in the United States which 
is farther from a railroad than Silver Lake, its 
whereabouts is unknown to the writer. Its near- 
est point is Shaniko, 170 miles distant to the 
north. To the west the nearest point reached by 
wagon road is Eugene, about the same distance, 
to the south is Madeline, California, nearly 200 
miles away, while to the east the distance to a 
railroad is much greater. 

Within a radius of twenty-five miles of Silver 
Lake are to be found some rich farming lands, 
the greater portion of which can be easily irri- 
gated. The village is a thriving little community 
and will continue on the map of Oregon as a town 



854 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



of more or less importance for all time to come. 
While the citizens of Silver Lake and vicinity are 
very ambitious, they do not insist that their town 
is about to become the metropolis of eastern Ore- 
gon. The place has a population of about ioo 
people. It is situated on Silver creek, and has an 
elevation of 4,300 feet above sea level. 

The town supports two general merchandise 
stores, a newspaper, a hotel, livery stable, black- 
smith shop, shoemaker's shop and a saloon. There 
is one church, the Methodist, and one lodge, the 
Woodmen of the World, organized in February, 
1899. A good school is also maintained here. 

Although the town of Silver Lake did not 
come into existence until the middle eighties, 
there was some little settlement in Silver Lake 
valley in the seventies. During the winter of 
1874-5 a postoffice named Silver Lake was estab- 
lished on the lake of the same name at the home 
of G. C. Duncan, nine miles east of the present 
site of the town. The postoffice was in the little 
log cabin belonging to Mr. Duncan and that gen- 
tleman was postmaster. The office continued in 
existence for many years, being discontinued 
about 1 88 1. In 1882 the office was re-established 
at the ranch of C. P. Marshall, about one and 
one-half miles west of the present town, and Mr. 
Marshall was the postmaster. 

The site of the present town of Silver Lake 
was government land until it was settled upon 
by Mr. H. F. West under the preemption laws in 
1884. Here Mr. West built a little cabin and', 
lived for a time. Later he took up a homestead 
and moved his cabin onto that. 

For the convenience of the settlers in the Sil- 
ver Lake country and as a business proposition, 
in the fall of 1885 J. P. Roberts, who had prev- 
iously been engaged in the mercantile business at 
Lmkville and Merganser, in the Klamath coun- 
try, freighted in a stock of goods and opened a 
store. This was just west of the present site of 
the town. The store was conducted in a little 
log building, and the stock was valued at about 
$1000. Mr. Roberts was not successful in his 
venture and the business went into the hands of a 
receiver. Mr. Johnson, the receiver, took charge 
of the store in February, 1886. 

In the fall of 1886 the first business house on 
the land now platted as the townsite of Silver 
Lake was established. This was the Silver Lake 
hotel, put up and run by George Elliott and wife. 
A feed barn was put up about the same time and 
was run by Mr. Elliott in connection with the 
hotel. A little later Mr. Johnson moved the Rob- 
erts store over to a point opposite the hotel and 
the new town boasted two business houses. The 
Roberts stock of goods was closed out in the 
spring of 1887. 



The fall of 1886 witnessed the establishment 
of the second store. This was put in by J. H. 
Clayton. Shortly afterwards the postoffice was 
moved from the Marshall ranch to the Clayton 
store and U. F. Abshier was appointed postmas- 
ter. He was succeeded by R. S. Manseargh, and 
in 1 89 1 F. M. Chrisman became postmaster, 
which position he has held ever since. 

About the time of the establishment of the 
Clayton store the citizens of the surrounding 
country raised $700 by subscription and estab- 
lished a school at Silver Lake, which was at that 
time the pride of the settlement, and it may be 
said that the Silver Lake school has ever since 
been an institution in which the people take pride. 
Fifteen scholars attended the first term. 

In 1887 several new enterprises were estab- 
lished in the little town. Milton Brown that year 
purchased the stock of the Roberts store, freighted 
in a lot of new goods, built a two thousand dollar 
building and started a general merchandise store. 
He continued in business until 1891. A saloon 
was also established that year by F. A. Duncan 
and Felix Green. 

Silver Lake was platted October 19, 1888, by 
H. F. West and his wife, Emogene West. It 
was surveyed October 19 by Lincoln Taylor, sur- 
veyor. The site consisted of fifteen blocks. North 
and south the streets are First, Second, Third, 
Fourth and Fifth. East and west the streets are 
named Main, Center and South. 

Sam Allison started a blacksmith shop in 
1888, thus filling a long felt want in the little 
town. In T890 F. M. Chrisman purchased a one- 
half interest in the store of J. H. Clayton. Two 
years later W. A. Chrisman bought Mr. Clay- 
ton's interest, and in 1894 F. M. Chrisman be- 
came sole owner of the business which he still 
conducts. A second store was established in 1892 
by J. C. Conn, which he ran until his death in 
1904. 

During the year 1894 we find that Silver 
Lake had grown to be a town of about fifty peo- 
ple. On Christmas eve of that year occurred the 
most horrible catastrophe that has ever taken 
place in a town the size of Silver Lake, and one of 
the most terrible that ever occurred in the history 
of Oregon, — the death of forty-three people in an 
awful holocaust. That number of persons taken 
out of a small community leaves vacancies in the 
homes that will not be filled this generation. 

On the evening of December 24 there were 
gathered at the J. H. Clayton hall, on the lower 
floor of which was the store of Chrisman Bros., 
between 175 and 200 people, come together for 
the Christmas eve festivities. A well ar- 
ranged program had been prepared and the exer- 
cises were drawing to a close. The applause of 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



855 



the audience was resounding throughout the hall, 
showing the appreciation of the entertainment. 
All were happy and free from care that night. 
But how soon a time of pleasure and enjoyment 
can be replaced by one of the darkest despair ! 
How quickly unsuspecting souls can be hurled 
into eternity ! 

The persons who were to take part in the last 
number of the entertainment were behind the cur- 
tain preparing for their appearance, when some 
one in the audience, wishing either to get a better 
view or to leave the room, arose and walked 
across the benches. In doing so he accidentally 
struck the hanging lamp with his head, which 
threw some of the oil into the burner. This im- 
mediately ignited and a burst of flame shot to the 
ceiling. Francis M. Chrisman, who was seated 
near by, rushed to the blazing lamp, succeeding 
in getting it from its frame, and started to carry 
it to the door. 

He doubtless would have averted the terrible 
calamity that followed had he been left alone. 
But, as is usual in a case of this kind, the audi- 
ence became excited and then panic stricken. The 
courage of Mr. Chrisman and a few others who 
calmly attempted to carry the burning lamp from 
the thronged hall was made useless by the ex- 
cited crowd, which dashed it from Mr. Chris- 
man's hands, scattering death and destruction in 
its path. Of what avail is human forethought in 
an emergency of this kind, when reason gives 
way and not even thought of self-preservation 
exists? 

When Mr. Chrisman started for the door with 
the burning lamp the excited ones began to strike 
it with hats, coats and whatever came handy. The 
lamp was knocked from Mr. Chrisman's grasp 
and rolled upon the floor, a burning, seething 
mass. When a realization of the dangerous state 
of affairs began to dawn upon the excited and 
horrified people, a bold dash was made for liberty. 

For a verv short space of time, while the burn- 
ing lamp lay near the door, there was compara- 
tive quiet, although even then women and chil- 
dren and some few of the men were being held 
back by other who Were cooler. Possibly the dis- 
aster might have been less direful had not some 
one jumped through the flames and reached the 
door, thus exciting others to imitate him. A 
young lady approached the fire's edge, doubtless 
with the intention of attempting an escape in the 
same manner. She hesitated for a moment as if 
about to leap, when a tongue of flame reached out 
and caught her dress. Some of the less excited 
people went to her rescue and in that way their 
attention was taken from those whom they were 
restraining. 

It is not known whether it was because of the 



imprisoned ones' belief that the only avenue of 
escape was through the doorway, or because the 
sight of the lady's burning apparel moved them, 
to a fenzy of fear — perhaps both — that caused 
the wild rush to the door. A little girl, at a dis- 
advantage from her stature, was pushed or fell 
down and was trod upon. Her mother cried: 
"For God's sake, don't trample on my child," and 
bending to lift her, was herself forced down by 
the crowd. Others stumbled over them, and the 
flames from the oily floor enveloped them as they 
did all who fell. 

The building in which the catstrophe oc- 
curred was a two-story structure, about 24x50 
feet. There was only one small door that opened 
from the inside, and this was approached from 
the outside by a narrow flight of stairs. The door 
was in the rear of the building. The only other 
means of escape were two windows, both in the 
front end of the hall. After the first rush of the 
crowd for the door in its mad effort to escape. a 
burning death had been made, a rush was made 
for the windows. 

The rudely constructed benches that were ira 
the center of the hall greatly impeded the progress, 
of escape. At the first onslaught the blockade af- 
file door and windows was so great that it was 
necessary for help inside and outside to break 
the jam and effect escape. Under the burden of 
men rushing from the hell of sudden flame the 
stairs fell to the ground, and those who escaped" 
thereafter fell from the landing to the ground, a 
distance of about thirteen feet. 

The windows offered no deliverance except 
through flame and smoke that few human beings; 
could withstand, but the stifling, shrieking,, 
crazed victims in the blazing passage attempted to* 
stagger thither, many to fall to rise no more. 
Some, however, escaped from this outlet, being 
aided greatly by a small porch under the win- 
dows. It was on this porch that Walter Duncan 
stood and helped several to safety. Instead of 
jumping off when pulled out, they stood there 
until about twenty had been rescued, when the 
porch gave way and all fell to the ground. A 
ladder was then placed at the windows, but only 
two more persons were saved from the windows; 
after the porch fell. In his testimony before the 
coroner's jury Mr. Duncan said of this rescue at 
the windows. 

I broke out one of the front windows and' spoke 
to some ladies that were standing on the stage to come 
that way. I threw myself out on the porch and pulled' 
them out. I think I must have helped out about fifteen' 
persons, big and little. One man came through the win- 
dow, when I heard my wife scream on the inside: "For 
God's sake, pull me out ; I am burning up." I reachetB 



8 5 6 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



my arms and body through the window and got hold 
of her, the smoke coming out of the window at the time. 
Just then the porch gave way and we fell to the side- 
walk. I hallooed for a ladder and then raised my wife 
up, and she said: 'Where is our baby?" I left her and 
ran around the house to the stairway. When I got 
there I saw that all hope of getting any one out at the 
door was gone, as the blaze was coming out of the door 
twenty feet high. I found my boy there alive. A ladder 
was put up in front and just two persons, Mrs. Busick 
and Roy Ward, were saved after the porch fell. 

It was hardly more than two minutes after 
the lamp fell until the entire building was aflame, 
everything was in a turmoil of excitement and 
commotion. Some were calling loudly for loved 
ones that could not be found. Some were rush- 
ing hither and thither through the blinding heat 
and smoke and flame, trying to find some means 
of escape from the prison of flames. Same knelt 
down and prayed, while others, so overcome by 
the suddenness of the dangerous situation, fainted 
and fell prostrate in the flames. One who went 
through this terrible ordeal has written of the 
few minutes of hell : 

The scene can not be imagined by one not actually 
present at this or some similar catastrophe. Now and 
then for an instant when the thought of self or the help 
of others was not uppermost, some expression of face 
would catch your eye and leave its impression on your 
memory forever. In many a face was the expression 
or terror mingled with pain and fear. On top, trying 
to crawl over those erect, could be seen some with eyes 
protruding. One such sight leaves with you a memory 
never to be forgotten. The expression of those eyes 
said plainer than any words, and said nothing else : 
"Life ! Life ! I must have life !" 

Amid this scene, however, there were examples of 
manly courage. One man who tried to rescue a little 
girl whose clothing was on fire and who undoubtedly 
would have been trampled upon in another moment, 
hurriedly went to her assistance, picked her up on his 
shoulder, at the same time trying with his bare hands 
to smother the fire which was rapidly consuming her 
garments, the flames from which all the time lapped 
his head and face. He remained cool and was apparently 
aware of the selfishness of pushing onward or back- 
ward to the injury of others. Suddenly he was seen 
to stagger and sink, evidently having inhaled the flames 
from the girl's burning clothing. Appeals for help were 
heartrending. 

When the last of the rescued were pulled 
from the building not a sound or a moan was to 
be heard above the roar and crackling of the 
flames. The gas doubtless produced instant suf- 
focation, and the forty odd souls that perished in 
the death trap met their death without suffering 
after the first terrible agony. Further rescue was 



impossible and those who had escaped were 
obliged to stand and witness the terrible scene. 
It was one of the most horrible, ghastly spec- 
tacles that was ever presented to the human gaze. 
Nearly all who were present had relatives or 
friends who were being consumed before their 
very eyes. It was truly a heart-rending and 
sickening sight to behold. 

Forty persons met their death that night and 
three died from the effects of the fire two or three 
months later. The forty-three victims of the 
holocaust were : 



S. A. Ward. 
Ella Ward. 
Etta Ward. 
Royal R. Ward. 
Juda J. Absbier. 
W. C. Martin. 
Rebecca Martin. 
Melinda J. Payne. 
George L. Payne. 
Robert J. Small. 
Whanetta E. Williams. 
Henry C. Williams. 
Ella LaBrie. 
Hazel W. LaBrie. 
H. F. West. 
Emogene P. West. 
Herbert H. West. 
Bertha A. West. 
Isabella R. Phillips. 
Lillie Phillips. 
Frank R. Ross. 
Mrs. Wm. M. Owsley. 

D. Bruce Owsley. 

S. Gertrude Howard. 
Harry B. Howard. 
Bessie E. Howard. 
Ada B. Hurst. 
Woodford F. Hurst. 
Mary J. Snelling. 
Robert Snelling. 
James J. O. Buick. 
Frankie M. Horning. 
Marietta L. Buick. 
David N. Buick. 
Lela Buick. 
Mrs. T. Cashow. 
Lucinda C. Schroder. 
Eston B. Schroder. 

E. A. Bowen. 
Laura F. McCully. 
Fred M. Busick. 
Ira C. Hamilton. 
Lillie W. Owsley. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



857 



The seriously injured were George L. Payne, 
Mrs. T. J. LaBrie (who is Ella LaBrie), Robert 
Snelling, Miss Gertie Busick, L. J. Henderson, 
Miss Annie Anderson, Mrs. Ida Hamilton and 
son, Bert Gowdy, Henry Egli, Charles C. Ham- 
brick, Clara Snelling, Samuel Wardwell, R. E. 
Ward and Mrs. S. A. Ward. Of these the first 
three named later died from the effects of the 
burns and injuries received. Slightly injured in 
the disaster were Mrs. S. K. Busick, Miss Corena 
Howard, Mrs. J. R. Horning, Mrs. J. J. Buick, 
C. F. Hamilton, W. H. McCall, Mrs. War- 
ren Duncan and son, Miss Annie Egli, 
Miss Mabel Egli, Amel Egli, Mrs. N. 
Comegys, Mrs. Effie Hamilton, Mrs. J. J. Ward 
and son, J. M. Ward, W. L. Coshow, T. J. Jack- 
son, W. J. Thomasson, Mrs. C. P. Marshall and 
S. G. Hadley. 

There was nothing left of the unfortunate 
ones by which they could be identified except a 
few charred bones which would fall to pieces 
with the slightest touch. Immediate attention 
was given to the injured and suffering, and the 
entire village was turned into a hospital. Cour- 
iers were at once dispatched to Summer Lake, 
Paisley and Lakeview, and assistance came from 
all over the county. Everything was done that 
willing hands hands could do to alleviate the suf- 
fering of the injured. Drs. Thompson of Silver 
Lake and Daly of Lakeview attended to the in- 
jured. In getting to the scene of the disaster, 
Dr. Daly accomplished a feat never performed 
before in Oregon. In twenty-four hours he rode 
over 200 miles across vales and mountains, the 
snow girth deep in a hundred places and the ther- 
mometer below zero. 

The charred remains were gathered and a few 
days later the funeral was held, the remains be- 
ing buried in one coffin. 

A coroner's inquest was held, whose findings 
were as follows : 

We, the coroner's jury empaneled to ascertain the 
■cause of the death of the following deceased persons, 
to wit : * * * do find that the said deceased per- 
sons above mentioned were residents of Silver Lake, 
Lake county, Oregon, and that said deceased persons 
mentioned above came to their death on Dec. 24, 1894, 
iby being burned by fire while in Chrisman's hall, when 



the said hall was accidentally consumed by fire ; and 
we find that the cause of death was accidental. 

J. R. McCormack, Foreman. 

Geo. M. Jones, 

G. C. Duncan, 

J. B. Blair, 

W. O. Stone, 

P. W. Jones, 

Wm. H. Hayes, Acting Coroner. 

In 1898 a handsome monument was erected 
in the cemetery at Silver Lake in honor of the 
memory of those who met their death in the awful 
holocaust. 

The growth of Silver Lake during the nineties 
was not rapid. It continued to be the trading 
point for the immense, but thinly settled, country 
surrounding. During later years, however, the 
town has advanced to some extent. In 1901 the 
town had its first telephone, when a company of 
local people built a line to Lakeview, ninety-eight 
miles long. 

The year 1904 was an exceptionally prosper- 
ous one for the little town. The country sur- 
rounding was settled upon quite extensively, the 
timber land in the vicinity was taken up and the 
town felt the effect. A few new enterprises were 
started and several new residences were built. 

ADEI. 

Adel is the name of a postoffice on Deep creek, 
thirty-five miles due east of Lakeview. In addi- 
tion to the postoffice there is also a store owned 
by J. J. Monroe. A tri-weekly stage operates 
between Adel and Fort Bidwell, and the office has 
a tri-weekly mail. The postoffice was established 
in 1896: 

PLUSH. 

Plush postoffice is located on Warner lake at 
the mouth of Honey creek, forty miles northeast 
of Lakeview. There is one general merchandise 
store in Plush owned by Daniel Boone. 

SUMMER LAKE. 

Summer Lake is a postoffice and stage station 
sixty-five miles northwest of Lakeview. 

WARNER LAKE. 

Warner Lake is a country postoffice situated 
near the southern end of Warner lake, twenty- 
two miles southeast of Lakeview. It has a tri- 
weekly mail and is connected by stage with Plush, 
Lakeview and Fort Bidwell. 



CHAPTER V 



DESCRIPTIVE. 



Most appropriately named is Lake county. 
It is in the center of the great lake 
country of Central Oregon, where are located 
some of the most remarkable bodies of water 
in the world. This county lies in the central 
southern portion of the state, about midway be- 
tween the eastern and western boundaries. On 
the north it is bounded by Crook and on the 
east by Harney county, on the south by the 
states of California and Nevada, and on the 
west by Kalamath, which latter was at one time 
a part of Lake county. 

Regarding its area it stands third in the state, 
having a trifle over 8,000 square miles. Mal- 
heur county has 9,784 and Harney 9,986 square 
miles. Its length is about one hundred and fif- 
teen miles and its width east and west is eighty 
miles. Some idea of these figures is obtained 
by comparison. When the statement is made 
that its area is 8,000 square miles, a correct un- 
derstanding of its size may not be gained, but 
when it is said that Lake county is larger than 
Delaware, larger than Rhode Island, larger than 
Connecticutt, larger than New Jersey, and about 
the size of Massachusetts its proportions be- 
come clearer and more distinct. Yet in all this 
vast area are living about 3,000 people only. 
Compare this with the conditions in the states 
just named, and stronger grows the belief that 
there is room for more people in Lake county. 

The county contains 5,230,080 acres divided 
as follows: 1,986,048 acres of agricultural land; 
1,124,352 acres of grazing land; 1,152,000 acres 
of timber land ; 714,240 acres unsurveyed land 
and 253,440 acres covered by lakes of which 
80,000 acres can be drained. The land ap- 
proved and deeded amounts to 1,000,000. There 
are temporarily withdrawn from settlement 
1,801,550 acres. There were on January 1, 1905, 
2,346,293 acres of government land in Lake 
county opened to settlement. The county is sit- 
uated at an average height of 4,500 feet above 
sea level. Generally the country is mountain- 
ous interspersed with numerous large, and count- 
less small and fertile valleys. On the 



mountains is an abundance of grass and 
hundreds of thousands head of stock are there 
pasturing continuously. The land is well adapt- 
ed to agricultural purposes, but scarcely suffi- 
cient has been cultivated to supply local de- 
mands. Professor E. B. Cope, a high geolog- 
ical authority, has writen concerning the forma- 
tion of Lake county : 

"The whole country appears to have been 
covered at some not very remote geological peri- 
od, by a great sheet of lava, which has been 
cracked, uplifted and depressed in various pro- 
portions ; almost every plateau ends in an es- 
carpment of naked basalt, known throughout 
that region as rimrock, perhaps, geologically,, 
the most characteristic feature of the county ; 
nearly every valley is enclosed in such forma- 
tion." 

There are numerous natural hot springs 
scattered throughout Lake county, in which 
eggs may be boiled hard within two minutes. 
There are fine forests of timber, numerous saw 
mills, great cattle ranches, an abundance of wa- 
ter flowing through the mountain canyons all the 
year round. In the way of sport and pleasure 
there are the finest fishing pools and camping 
places in the northwest. Here can be found on 
the summit of the mountain, at an elevation of 
8,000 feet, a lake of crystal water abounding in 
mountain trout, and at the edge a mineral 
spring the waters of which are said to possess 
remarkable curative powers. At Summer lake 
a river bubbles forth from the ground and cours- 
es through the valley. Bands of antelope num- 
bering in the hundreds scurry over the hills and 
the big mule deer can be found in numbers any- 
where on the mountains and foothills. Here may 
be found majestic mountains, mazes of sylvan 
solitude and poetic silence, broken only by the 
murmurs of the sad and solemn pines ; sparkling 
streamlets ripple and sing, weaving through 
myriad-tinted meadows like threads of silver 
hair. In the way of majestic, picturesque scen- 
ery nature has contributed bountifully to Lake 
county. While located among the mountains the 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



859 



county is interspersed with some of the finest 
valleys in Oregon, and only second in extent of 
area to the far-famed Willamette valley. Be- 
tween these valleys are ridges and in some places 
mountains covered with juniper, fir, mahogany, 
and pine, shrubs and wild plums. 

The principal valleys are Goose lake, North 
and South Warner, Chewaucan, Summer and 
Silver lake. These valleys cover an area of hun- 
dreds of square miles and are very productive. 
When properly cultivated all the soils of Lake 
county yield abundantly. The bottom lands are 
covered with native grasses and grow huge crops 
of alfalfa, as well as cereals and vegetables. 
There is no body of land, occupied or unoccu- 
pied, in Lake county that is farther than ten 
miles from timber. However, the county is so 
large and its resources and natural wonders so 
many and varied, that a general description 
would convey only a faint idea" of them. It is 
our purpose to tell of each portion of the county 
in turn. First let us direct our attention to the 
several valleys which lie within the boundaries 
of the county. 

One of the largest and most productive is 
Warner valley, the lands of which have been in 
continued litigation for so many years. As we 
have given a full account of this legal tangle in 
a preceding chapter we shall here confine our- 
selves to a simple decription of the valley. It is 
located in the southeastern portion of the county, 
is about 70 miles long, north and south, by from 
four to ten miles wide, east and west. Warner, 
in fact comprises two valleys, North and South 
Warner, separated by what is called the Nar- 
rows. Running through the valley and into 
Warner lake are several large streams, the prin- 
cipal ones being Twenty-Mile creek, flowing 
into the lake from the south ; Deep creek on the 
west, and Honey creek into North Warner from 
the west. While there are these streams flow- 
ing through the valley and into the lake, there 
are none flowing but, and the water goes into 
North Warner lake where it either evaporates 
or sinks. 

This valley produces fruit of all kinds adapt- 
ed to the climate, and all varieties of vegetables. 
Grain grows here as well as it does in any valley 
in Oregon, but on account of being so far from 
market very little is raised. The principal pro- 
duct of the valley is hay, where it grows in pro- 
fusion, natural and tame. Warner valley, as you 
first see it, looking from the graded road of Deep 
Creek canyon, presents a beautiful view. The 
haystacks, so thickly dotted over the meadows, 
tell their own story of prosperity. The comfort- 
able houses with their gardens and orchards, are 
pleasant features of the scene, and besides these 



are thousands of acres of land which are unques- 
tionably swamp. Warner basin is a settling 
basin, and seems to occupy the bowl of an extinct 
crater, and is surrounded on the east, south and 
west . by igneous rocks, chiefly brown basalt, 
which on its west side rises abruptly from 1,500 
to 2,000 feet above the level of the basin. The 
existence of Warner basin is due, no doubt, to its 
having been within a zone of displacement of the 
earth's crust in a past period when near the bor- 
der of an immense volcanic movement that once 
visited this region. 

The Chewaucan basin is part of the Great 
Basin that covers parts of Utah, Nevada, Cali- 
fornia and Oregon, and which has no outlet to 
the sea. The Great Basin is divided into seven 
small basins, Sulton, Boneville, Lahonton, Ow- 
ens, Mono and Chewaucan, each having no con- 
nection with the others. The Chewaucan is the 
most northerly of the smallest of these basins. 
From the headwaters of Crooked creek to the 
Silver lake summit is about 100 miles, and east 
and west from the rimrock east of Lake Abert 
to the rimrock west of Summer lake is about 66 
miles. This rimrock is due to the faulting of 
the formation, and rises about 3,000 feet in 
places almost perpendicularly above the valley 
that lies between. In this valley there are 
between 150,000 and 200,000 acres of fine agri- 
cultural land and the basin is protected on all 
sides by high ranges. At one time this entire 
basin was covered by Lake Chewaucan. Its 
dessication has been marked by five distinct 
stages where the old shore lines can be plainly 
traced. During the glacial period the waters of 
this lake were from 300 to 400 feet deep where 
Paisley now stands, and extended nearly a hun- 
dred miles in length. The water has receded un- 
til all that is left is one small lake under the rim- 
rock on either side of this basin. The origin of 
this basin was volcanic and the leaching of the 
volcanic rocks has impregnated the waters of 
these lakes with salt, soda and potash, just as 
has been done in varying degrees in each of the 
other divisions of the Great Basin. These salts 
will be valuable whenever a railroad offers a 
market. The Chewaucan basin has three prin- 
cipal divisions, Summer lake, Chewaucan marsh 
and Crooked creek. Clover flat is a small settle- 
ment higher up on the mountain, and there are 
several ranches on the Little Chewaucan. 

Should one desire to view grand and im- 
pressive scenerv let him climb the mountain on 
the east side of the Chewaucan valley, where he 
mav feast his eves on the great Shewaucan pano- 
rama, which in its entire length is 19 miles long • 
by 7 miles wide. The elevation of Chewaucan- 
marsh is 4,336 feet above sea level. 



86o 



hISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Goose lake valley is one of the largest and 
most productive. The entire section more resem- 
bles a middle west farming country than a Pacific 
Northwest farming and stock raising district. 
Grain, hay, fruits, berries, vegetables and melons 
grow there in abundance. It is an ideal valley 
and extends from the northern part of California 
northward to some distance above Lakeview. To 
the west of Goose lake is Drew's valley, a rich 
and productive section, 4,951 feet above sea 
level. 

Summer and Silver lake valleys are, also, 
fertile spots in the county. The former, just be- 
yond the Chewaucan, and over a crest of hills, 
is the paradise where fruit and berries grow 
abundantly and mature more rapidly than in any 
other section of Lake county. This valley hugs 
the rimrock mountains, and is a naturally shel- 
tered spot where beautiful flowers mingle their 
fragrance with the lovely wild flowers of the foot 
hills. Here is the spot for the fruit grower, with 
high mountains to the west and a beautiful lake 
covering the heart of the valley. Here, also, 
many wealthy farmers and stock raisers have 
their homes. This valley was discovered in 1843 
by General Fremont who named it Summer lake. 

Silver lake vallev, thirtv miles north of Sum- 
mer lake valley, is decidedly a stock country, and 
manv extensive ranches are located within it. It 
lies close to the great desert and it has a fine out- 
let for stock. There are excellent agricultural 
lands here in abundance and a progressive people 
make up the community. Besides these there are 
a number of smaller valleys where agricultural 
pursuits are carried on to some extent. The whole 
northern part of the county is known as the "des- 
ert," and of this we shall have more to say later 
on. While these valley lands are well adapted to 
agricultural purposes onlv sufficient to supply lo- 
cal demands and to furnish the mills and stock- 
men has thus far been cultivated. This is be- 
cause Lake county is remote from railway trans- 
portation, and there is no profit in raising grain 
and shipping- to the outside. The soil is diversi- 
fied, consisting of rich, black loam, sage brush 
loam of different grades and in some places it is 
sandy. 

Irrigation is yet in its infancy in Lake county. 
Only a few ditches have been constructed and 
these are on a small scale. Subirrigation from 
lakes and streams is mostly depended upon at 
present. Water is going to waste that would be 
ample to in igate all the valley lands of the coun- 
tv, and there are a sufficient number of ample 
reservoir sites to store the snows and rains of win- 
ter and spring to irrigate all the level lands of the 
region. The United States Reclamation Service 
engineers are making a careful investigation of 



the reservoir sites in the neighborhood of Lake- 
view. It is estimated that at least 200,000 acres 
of land can be reclaimed and irrigated in the 
county. All this land is not in one body like the 
Klamath Falls project, but it is quite as easy to 
reclaim, and at less cost per acre, because there 
are no vested water rights to be bought out as 
was the case in Klamath county. The engineers 
are, also, looking over the marsh and lake bottom 
lands that it is proposed to drain. The landhold- 
ers have all expressed a willingness to promptly 
comply with the governmental conditions with 
reference to signing up their lands if bv so doing 
they can induce the secretarv of the Interior to 
approve of the project. According to the third 
annual report of the service — covering the years 
1903 and 1904 — and issued in 1905, the govern- 
ment has investigated three sections of Lake 
countv with a possible view of undertaking gov- 
ernment irrigation. These are the Chewaucan, 
Ana river and Silver lake projects. Concerning 
the Chewaucan project the report says : 

The lands for the Chewaucan project lie generally 
north and east of Paisley and Chewaucan marsh, in 
the south central part of the state. Their elevation 
above sea level is approximately 4.500 feet. The lands 
to the east and north of Chewaucan marsh are very 
fertile and, for this altitude, unusually free from frosts. 

* * * fhg area f irrigable lands which can be 
covered by a gravity system is about 33,000 acres. 

* * * Owing to the high elevation late frosts fre- 
quently occur in the bottom lands and prevent the gen- 
eral cultivation of such vegetables as tomatoes and 
potatoes. Along the foothills, however, in the more 
protected places, all the fruits and products of the ordi- 
nary garden are grown. Two crops of alfalfa are now 
successfully raised. It is not believed that these lands, 
remote as they are from railroads, could at present 
stand a charge for even a storage supply of more than 
$20 per acre. Surveys have been made during the past 
season of two reservoir sites in upper Chewaucan 
valley. One of these, with a 100-foot dam, will store 
130,000 acre-feet, and the other, with a dam of the 
same height, will store 95.000 acre feet. Prelimiary 
lines were also run from a division point at the lower 
end of the canyon to determine the amount of land 
which could be covered. The withdrawal from all entry 
of irrigable lands under the project, together with reser- 
voir sites and division site has been requested. Prob- 
ably not 15 per cent are patented. 

Concerning the Ana river project the report 
says : 

This project lies northwest of the Chewaucan 
project and north of Summer lake, in south central 
Oregon and has an elevation of about 4.500 feet above 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



86r 



sea level. Ana river rises in five large springs in the 
west half of section 6, township 30 south, range 17 east/ 
and flows south into the north end of Summer lake, 
about five miles distant. The lower pool or spring is 
about 25 feet above the surface of the lake, and the 
river for a mile or more flows through a narrow canyon 
from 30 to 50 feet in depth, cut in a soft, whitish earth 
or volcanic ash. The discharge from the springs is 
said by people in that vicinity to be constant. A meas- 
urement made in July of this season showed 1 55 
second-feet. With this supply it is estimated that 
12,000 to 15,000 acres could be irrigated. The tempera- 
ture of the water as it flows from the springs is from 
65 to 68 degrees. 

On the west side of Summer lake fruit and garden 
produce of all kinds are grown in abundance. The area 
that could be irrigated from Ana river should have 
the same climate as Summer lake, except that it would 
be more subject to winds. The soil in places is very 
alkaline and much of it is covered with sand dunes. 
With water at this temperature and running the entire 
season, it is believed that the alkali can easily be taken 
care of and that a sufficient amount of level land can 
be found to at least justify further investigation. It 
is believed that for this water supply the land will easily 
stand a charge of $20 per acre. The lands under this 
project are practically all unpatented. Pending" further 
investigation the lands covering the division of the river 
have been withdrawn from all entry and the irrigable 
lands from all except homestead entry. Surveys have 
been made this season of the sources of Ana river, and 
preliminary linqs run to determine the available area for 
irrigation. A preliminary estimate has been made, 
based on these surveys, for raising the water 70 feet 
by a dam, and diverting it over the better alkaline 
lands. 

Speaking of the Silver Lake project the report 
continues : 

The land for this project lies north of Silver lake, 
in Lake county, and is what is locally known as the 
Low Desert, or Silver Lake Desert. There have also 
been included lands west of Silver Lake. The lands 
of Silver Lake Desert are a little lower than Silver 
lake, which discharges a greater or less amount of 
water in different years toward Thorn lake. There is 
said to be a reservoir site on upper Silver creek from 
which lands west of Silver Creek may be irrigated. 
The general elevation of this region is about 4,700 feet 
above sea level. Practically nothing is known of the 
water supply available, but it is said that water can 
be found at a little depth below the surface over the 
Silver Lake Desert. A fresh water well on the border 
of Christmas lake indicates that here and at Thorn 
Lake the water table is probably near the surface, and 
that there is a constant flow to these lower places. Sil- 
ver lake water is entirely fresh, showing that this year's 



discharge is not unusual at least. It is said that the 
wild hay lands of Pauline marsh would be materially 
improved if a portion of the flood waters could be 
diverted. Not even an approximate estimate of the 
area can be made until measurements of the discharge 
of the streams emptying into Pauline marsh have been 
made. The climate in this region is more severe than 
in the Summer lake and Chewaucan regions. Frosts 
occur every month in the year and snow is said to drift 
a great deal in the winter. It is not probable that the 
land so remote from railroads and with such a climate 
could stand a charge for water of more than $15 per 
acre. Practically all of the land of the Silver lake 
district is. unpatented. Of that west of Silver lake 
probably half is patented. No surveys have yet been 
made. Gaging stations may be established on the 
streams flowing into Pauline marsh and at the outlet 
of Silver lake. The withdrawal of all entry of lands 
bordering on Silver lake and of all irrigable lands from 
all except homestead entry under the reclamation act 
has been requested. 

In Lake county apples, prunes, cherries and 
all the hardier fruits can be grown. Lake county 
apples are noted for their preservative qualities. 
Sound, well-flavored apples one year old are quite 
common. Berries of all kinds are easily culti- 
vated and as they ripen from four to six weeks 
later than the berries of Hood river and the Willa- 
mette valley they would find a ready market in 
Portland were there any means of getting them 
there. A. Y. Beach writing to the Morning Orc- 
gonian for a special edition of that paper of Janu- 
ary 1, 1898, said of the fruit industry of Lake 
county : 

"Early settlers in Lake county made the same 
mistake as has been made in nearly every fruit 
district on the Pacific coast. Many of the old 
orchards are composed of trees planted without 
regard to their quality. In case the fruit was 
poor the settler said, 'This is no fruit country.' 
Later a more dauntless settler came ; he planted a 
few good trees, and with the argument of experi- 
ence said, 'This is a fruit country.' Today Lake 
county produces peaches that for quality can be 
excelled nowhere. During the last year the ap- 
ples of Lake county have so impressed the Caii- 
fornians that private parties from as far south as 
Sacramento have sent here for their winter's sup- 
ply ; this though the fruit must be hauled 150 
miles in a freight wagon. White cherries that ri- 
val the famous orchard product of General John 
Bidwell are raised in abundance. That we have 
them is an accident ; it simply happened that a 
good variety was planted. The purple cherries 
are a poor variety, but the few good trees that 
have later been planted give most satisfactory re- 
sults. Plums, prunes and pears grow in such 



362 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



abundance that a description would jeopardize 
the veracity of an honest man. There is now on 
exhibtion in the office of the Lake County Ex- 
aminer a picture taken of some plum trees so lad- 
en with fruit as to give impression of fraud. But 
this is not all ; some of Lake county's orchards 
are twenty years old, yet insect pests are un- 
known. Our orchardists could not tell a wooly 
aphis from a primeval man, and a sprayer would 
be as worthless as the proverbial fifth wheel to 
a wagon." 

Because the rich valleys are made to produce 
only a fraction of what they are capable of pro- 
ducing, owing to their remoteness from trans- 
portation, and markets, the stock industry is the 
leading one, as it ever has been since the country 
was first settled. On the mountains is an abun- 
dance of grass and many thousands of head of 
stock graze there continuously during the sum- 
mer season. The term "desert" as applied to a 
part of Lake county is misleading. The "des- 
ert" affords good pasturage for thousands of head 
of stock of all kinds every winter, where they rus- 
tle for themselves and do well so long as the melt- 
ing snows afford them water. When this fails 
they work into the valleys until the pasturage 
gets dry or short, when they drift into the foot- 
hills or mountains as the snow recedes. 

The great desert surrounding Lake county and 
emerging inside its borders, with its expansive 
acreage, is looked upon by the stranger cros- 
sing it as an awful waste of God's own gifts — fit 
for nothing but to dampen the ardor and make 
gloomy the days of the traveler. But the stock- 
men of Lake county will tell you that the 
same desert, "Nature's folly," let it 
be called, was made purposely by Provi- 
dence for the benefit of all men in his business. It 
is the natural winter home of the great herds of 
Lake county stock. There only sufficient snow 
falls to furnish water for stock, while all around 
and about on the outside of the desert snow falls 
so deep that stock must be kept up and fed to save 
them from starving, at least two months in win- 
ter. Labor Commissioner O. P. Hoff in his re- 
port, January, 1905, said: "There is sold annu- 
ally out of this county about 10,000 head of beef 
cattle, 60,000 head of mutton sheep, and 1,200,- 
000 pounds of wool. In the county are pastured 
about 220,000 sheep, 10,000 head of horses and 
50,000 head of cattle, besides a large number of 
mules, goats, swine, etc." 

In Lake county there are many new indus- 
tries in contemplation and some that have been 
worked only moderately will take on new life and 
be extended when easy transit for products is se- 
cured. There is in the county a natural salt mine 
that furnishes the crude product for all the local 



stockmen. Near the headwaters of Warner lal\e 
there are a succession of small lakes not exceed- 
ing one mile in length or breadth. These lakes go 
dry in the summer, and with the evaporation of 
the water a layer of salt is left on the ground sev- 
eral inches in depth. Tons and tons of this salt 
are gathered by the ranchers which they feed to 
their stock. In fact no other salt is shipped into 
this vast section of country except for table use. 
As a stock salt it is said to be of superior quality. 
There is very little cost in getting the salt ; three 
men can pile up 100,000 pounds in a week ; then 
all there is to do is to sack it, weigh it and haul 
it to market. This salt is delivered -in Lakeview 
for $1.25 per hundred pounds. In an ordinary 
year 500,000 pounds can be taken off the marsh, 
and in a dry year there is much more available. 
This salt marsh has been known and used by the 
Silver Lake stockmen for more than a dozen 
years. In quality it is much better and purer 
than that usually found in salt marshes, as the 
little lakes are fed by salt springs. Six gallons 
of the water when boiled will make one gallon of 
fine, pure table salt. 

Near Lakeview there is, also, a lime mine, in- 
exhaustible, the quality of the product of which 
is said to be equal to any on the Pacific coast. 
The discovery of borax was an accident, and the 
industry at this point has never been developed. 
A few years ago when the lakes went dry one 
season, they failed to leave the salt deposit. The 
ranchers thought there must be a salt mine be- 
neath, and as their stock was suffering for salt, 
proceeded to the place and began to dig for it. 
Within a few feet they struck a white substance^ 
but it was not salt. They took it to a local black- 
smith who did splendid welding with it, and they 
afterward learned that it was a fine grade of bor- 
ax. No development has been made, however, to 
this date, although the borax is practically inex- 
haustible, and is worth from nine to six cents 
per pound. In the vicinities of Summer and Ab- 
ert lakes are potash deposits that in time may be 
developed into profitable industries. Natural rock 
quarries abound in Lake county and there are 
millions of dollars' worth of fine quality of rock 
and gravel for building purposes and road con- 
struction within five minutes' walk of Lakeview. 

Not the least valuable resource of Lake count\ 
is its timber, but, as is the case with agricultural 
industries, lack of transportion has retarded de- 
velopment of the lumber industry. The county 
has an area of 5,230,080 acres of which nearly 
200,000 acres are covered with valuable timber — 
black and yellow pine, sugar pine, fir, juniper 
and mahogany. While there are no vast bodies 
of timber compared with those of the Cascade 
rans:e the many small bodies and belts are dis- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



863 



tributed over tbe entire county and convenient for 
local use in the numerous valleys. This divis- 
ion has an advantage worthy of notice. Destruc- 
tive forest fires are comparatively unknown in 
these small bodies as the lack of underbrush to 
carry the fire any great distance, and the small 
valleys that head off the progress, prevent the 
raging fires that consume so many thousands of 
acres of timber in more extensive forests. It will, 
also, be noticed that while other parts of the state 
have large saw mills with capacities ranging from 
25,000 to 100,000 feet per day, there have been 
•only five small mills operating in the Lake county 
timber, the capacity of which in no instance will 
exceed 10,000 feet per day in a running season of 
not more than six months in the year. This, in 
addition to the fact that most of the fencing is 
of wire and posts of juniper — a species of timber 
unfit for lumber — and most of the fuel of the 
same, must be seen to have preserved Lake coun- 
ty's supply of saw timber. There has never been 
a foot of lumber shipped out of this county, and 
unless railroads are built through here over which 
such transportation can be secured the limited 
lumber demand will keep out large mills. 

Ihe climate of Lake county is unsurpassed. 
Owing to its high altitude the summer months 
are seldom extremely hot. The actual winters 
are about two months long and never severe. The 
following incomplete figures will convey some 
idea of the general range of the mercury and 
the amount of precipitation in Warner valley and 
Lakeview : 

Mean temperature and precipitation for the years 
1868 to 1873, inclusive, as kept by the United States 
Hospital corps at Camp Warner during the years men- 
tioned : 



Year Mean temperature 

1868 43.4 

1869 46.6 

1870 47.0 

1871 48.1 

1872 45.7 

1873 45-0 



Precipitation 



11.79 
13.24 
17.67 

14.26 



The mean temperature and precipitation by months 
for this same period was as follows : 

Month Mean temperature Precipitation 

January 28.9 1.61 

February 29.9 1.98 

March 34.6 1.21 

April 40.5 1.21 

May 49.6 1.89 

June 59.2 .64 

July 68.1 .28 



Month Mean temperature Precipitation 

August 65.2 .19 

September 57.0 .60 

October 47.5 .23 

November 37.4 1.70 

December 30.1 2.89 

The following record for later years is from the 
station at Lakeview : 



Year Mean Temperature 

1884 43.7 

1885 50.1 

1886 50.4 

1887 

[890 46.6 

1891 

1892 ■ 

1895 



Precipitation 



14.07 
12.44 



24-55 
19.67 
14.62 



The -precipitation and temperature by months for 
this period was : 

Month Mean temperature Precipitation 

January 27.9 2.82 

February 29.3 2.60 

March 36.3 ■ 1.99 

April 43.0 1.56 

May 52.9 1.98 

June .._ 58.0 1.45 

July 66.8 .27 

August 66.5 .30 

September 57.9 .85 

October 49.7 .79 

November 39.1 1.59 

December 30.9 2.54 

Within the boundaries of Lake county there 
are about 1,000 miles of county roads which are 
maintained by a tax levy. They are not, all 
things considered, in a particularly good condi- 
tion. 

No section in the Pacific Northwest excels 
Lake county as a fishing and hunting ground. 
Brook trout as large as two pounds in weight 
have been taken from its mountain streams and 
lake trout weighing as high as eight pounds are 
numerous in lakes and tributary streams. Mule 
deer weighing 210 pounds dressed, have been 
killed in the glens, and the mountains and deserts 
are alive with them. Bands of fifty have been 
seen running over the hills. Antelope number- 
ing as high as 500 in one band have been seen 
within thirty miles of Lakeview. Wild geese and 
ducks of every variety make their home here and 
rear their young. 

In February, 1888, Mr.. Henry J. Biddle con- 
tributed the following geological view of the Lake 



864 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



country, embracing the counties of Klamath, Lake 
and Harney, to the West Shore : 

In very remote times, but in what the geologist calls 
one of the later periods, this region lay below the level 
of the sea, and probably while it was still under water, 
was covered with vast sheets of melted rock and beds 
of broken volcanic material. These beds covered not 
only this region, but extended into California, Nevada 
and Idaho, and accumulated to a thickness of many 
thousand feet. Later, when a great upheavel of the re- 
gion took place, the crust of the earth was broken into 
huge blocks. These blocks were tilted, some eastward, 
some westward ; some had their edges thrust far above 
the others, or sunk down leaving great depressions. The 
raised or tilted blocks form the mountain ranges of to- 
day ; the sunken ones the valleys. In time the winds, 
the rains and running streams carved ravines and can- 
yons in the mountain flanks, shaping the peaks and 
gorges in all their manifold and wondrous forms, while 
the depressions were partly filled with the washed 
down mountain mass, and became broad, level plains, 
But in many places the sheer and stupendous cliffs still 
show where the crust of the earth was rent and the 
mountain range upheaved. These are the "fault 
scarps" of the geologist. The lake basins of the region 
are thus of two kinds ; either a block has sunk, leaving 
a cliff on each side ; or a depression has teen formed 
on the lower edge of a tilted block, and the edge of its 
neighbor rises as a cliff on one side, while the surface 
of the tilted block forms a gradual slope on the other. 
Some of the larger valleys combine both of these types. 

Hoping to have made clear to the reader how the 
lake basins were formed, I will now consider another 
of the prime causes of their existence, namely the 
climate. 

Everyone knows that there is an immense region 
in the interior of North America in which the rail fall 
is very slight. In a great portion of this region so little 
rain falls that it is all dried up by the summer's heat, 
and the streams never reach the ocean. Thus we have 
a region of interior drainage, or, as it is generally 
called, the Great Basin. The lake country of Oregon 
lies in this dry region, and nearly all the lakes are with- 
out any outlet. Strange as it may seem some of the 
lakes owe their existence to the fact that the rainfall is 
so limited. If they received a greater supply of water 
the basins would fill up until the water overflowed at 
some point. Then the streams forming the outlets of 
the lakes would cut their channels deeper and deeper 
in the course of time, and the lake basins would be 
completely drained off. This has been the history of 
great lakes which once existed in northeastern Califor- 
nia, and is, also, probably the reason why no large lakes 
are to be found in the northern half of Oregon. Thus 
the lake country of Oregon is the dryest part of the state ; 
and outside of this dry region, not a single large lake 
exists within her borders. / 



In what the geologists call the glacial period, when 
the lofty peaks of the Cascade range had huge tongues 
of ice stretching down from their summits, the climate 
was probably moister than today ; or what amounts to 
much the same thing, the climate being colder, the 
rainfall was more slowly evaporated. Hence the lake 
basins of Oregon received larger supplies of water than 
now, and lakes of great size and depth existed in 
the valleys where we find the much smaller lakes of the 
present. The waves of these ancient lakes cut away 
the hill slopes, and, in places built up great bars of 
gravel. Among the most interesting features of this 
region are the old beach lines, which may be plainly 
seen stretching for miles along the mountain sides, 
showing us how deep the water once stood over what 
are now fertile plains where horses and cattle graze. 

Lake county, as we have observed, received 
its name from its topographical character. Whol- 
ly, or partially within its borders are four large 
bodies of water, Goose, Warner, Abert and Sum- 
mer lakes. Besides these are the considerable 
lakes Silver, Alkali, Christmas, Benjamin and 
innumerable small lakes in the mountains. De- 
scriptions of these lakes, many of which are nat- 
ural curiosities, and nearly all of which possess 
peculiar characteristics, may prove of interest to 
our readers. 

In the southeastern corner of the county lies 
Warner valley. It is a singularly wild and pict- 
uresque region. It was named after Captain War- 
ner, of the United States army who was killed 
here by the Indians while he was exploring the 
route of a military road to California in 1849. The 
valley, long and narrow, stretches nearly north 
and south, and has been formed by the dropping 
down of a gigantic block of the earth's crust. 
Steep precipices of black, volcanic rock rise on 
either side to an immense height, bare, rugged 
and imposing. To their summits cling a few 
stunted cedars ; at their base sage brush grows 
among the huge boulders. But broad meadows 
cover the level floor of the valley, and marshes, 
with here and there a lake. The freshness of 
its verdure contrasts distinctly with the dark, 
barren mountain sides. On the maps Warner 
lake is shown as a long, narrow sheet of water 
of considerable size. In reality there is a chain 
of small lakes separated by marshy tracts. The 
water drains through sloughs during the wet sea- 
son into the northernmost lake. No outlet has 
this latter, and its water is brackish while that 
of the others is fresh. This valley was entirely 
filled by an ancient lake, which left the mark of 
its water line on the mountain sides, but never 
rose high enough to find an outlet. As all streams 
have some salt in their waters, they are continu- 
ally supplying salt to the lakes or ocean into 



n 

o 

pi 
a 




\i 



ty 




n 



o 

r 

re 

n 

o 

3 









HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



865 



which they empty. The water evaporates but the 
salt stays behind ; hence a lake without an out- 
let will, in time, become salt like the ocean. This 
ancient lake no doubt existed long enough to ac- 
cumulate a great deal of salt, and when it finally 
dried up, it left its salt in the mud upon the floor 
of the valley. So it is no wonder that there are 
pools or marshes in parts of this valley, filled 
with a strong brine. When they dry up in sum- 
mer they leave crusts of salt and this is collected 
and sold. The elevation above sea level of War- 
ner lake is 5,455 feet. 

Goose lake is the largest in this region, but 
only a portion of it belongs to Oregon. It lies 
on the southern edge of Lake county, extending 
across the border into Modoc county, California. 
Its greatest length in a nearly north and south 
direction, is thirty miles, and its greatest width, 
east and west, is about ten miles. It covers about 
190 square miles, a third of its area being within 
the boundaries of Oregon. The country about 
this lake is mountainous. The mountains about 
their summits are clothed with fir and pine, while 
lower down is a sparse growth of cedar, and the 
lowest slopes are overgrown with sage brush. The 
floor of the valley, particularly the north end, is 
a level sage plain, which, nearer the lake, gives 
place to broad meadows of natural grass, extend- 
ing to the marshy border at the water's edge. 
The water of the lake is for the most part shal- 
low at the edges, and only attains a depth of about 
twenty feet near the center. 

Any one approaching Lakeview from the west 
can see a sharply defined line drawn horizontal- 
ly on the mountain side behind the town, and sev- 
eral hundred feet above it. It is the water line 
of the ancient lake which filled this valley in a 
past time. It had on outlet at its southern end, 
and its waters found their way through the Lit 
river into the Sacramento. The outflowing water 
cut a deep channel nearby, but not quite deep 
enough to completely drain the valley. Goose 
lake usually does not overflow, but during an 
exceptionally wet season it rises high enough to 
discharge some of its waters through this ancient 
outlet. This occurred in 1869 and again in 1881, 
but not long ago its surface was very much lower 
end one of the pioneer trails crossed it at a point 
now deeply covered by water. Frofessor Israel 
C. Russell, of the University of Michigan, in his 
"Geological Reconnaissance in Southern Ore- 
gon, 1881-82, says that for a term of years prior 
to 1869, the waters of Goose lake ran much lower 
than at the time of writing, as was shown by the 
fact that a road then crossed the lake basin some 
four or five miles from its southern end, at a place 
"which was in the early 8o's covered by fifteen 
feet of water. 
55 



The water of Goose lake is slightly brackish 
and usually filled with the mud stirred up from its 
bottom. The lake well deserves its name, for in 
the autumn it is the resort of vast numbers of 
wild geese, together with ducks and all manner of 
other water fowl. 

Abert lake lies nearly north of Goose lake, 
covering only some sixty square miles. But of all 
the lakes of Oregon it is the most interesting. 
The basin in which it lies has been formed by 
a single great crack, or fault, running nearly 
north and south. The block on the west side of 
the crack has been tilted so that its edge next 
to the break, is depressed, while the block on the 
east side has its edge thrust high in the air. The 
basin thus formed has a gradual slope on the west 
side, and stupenduous precipices on the east. The 
strange, wild beauty of the landscape here can 
hardly be described in words. Viewed from the 
south the deep, blue-green water is seen stretch- 
ing away in the distance ; on the left a rugged 
slope of rock, scantly overgrown with sage brush, 
rises from the shore ; on the right huge boulders, 
fallen from the cliffs above, lie in confused masses 
on the water's edge ; above these tower the migh- 
ty cliffs, rising fully one thousand feet above the 
lake, black, silent and majestic. Far into the 
distance stretch these awful heights, their colors 
mellowing and contours softening until they are 
lost in an indistinct mountain mass on the far 
horizon. We look in vain for a sign of life; a 
single sail upon the broad expanse of water ; the 
smoke of a settler's cabin on the shore; all is si- 
lent and desolate ; nature is alone in her grandeur. 

This lake is without any outlet and its waters 
are as salt as those of the ocean. They contain 
not only common salt, but carbonate of soda and 
glauber salt as well, and impart a strange, greasy 
feeling to the skin. No fish can live in the water, 
nor any living thing except little brine shrimp. 
Chewaucan river, its principal feeder, is filled 
with fish. At the mouth of this stream there is 
a fall where fish that have ventured or fallen 
over these falls are there in evidence to show 
that nothing can live in Abert lake. The shores 
of the lake at this point are composed of dead 
fish and fishbones. Tons of these bones could 
be gathered up, and at certain seasons of the 
year the shores are lined with fish in all stages 
of decomposition. When the fish first strikes the 
water of the lake it makes for the shore and tries 
to flounder out, and if it fails, hugs the shore as; 
closely as possible, with its head out of the water 
until it dies. The geese and ducks and other 
water fowls that abound in this section do not 
even light upon the lake, except at the mouths 
of fresh water streams. The elevation of Abert 
lake above sea level is 4,209 feet. 



866 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Summer lake is located near the geographical 
center of Lake county, dividing the distance be- 
tween the north and south, east and west boun- 
daries nearly equally. The lake itself extends 
over twenty miles in length, fifteen miles in 
width, and as seen from surrounding table 
land deflects a deep, green tint. This 
lake was named, as stated before, by Gen- 
eral Fremont in 1843. A story contradictory to 
this historical fact has gained some little credence. 
It is to the effect that a romantic plainsman 
-named Sohmers wandered into the country many 
years ago, fell in love with a native daughter, a 
beautiful black-eyed Pocahontas of Oregon, was 
jilted by her and died of a broken heart, leaving 
his name as a legend among the Indians, which 
some transformed into the appropriate name of 
Summer lake. 

This valley is bounded by high and abrupt 
mountains, timber-clad on west and south ; low, 
sloping desert hills on north and east. The val- 
ley- contains probably 100,000 acres that could be 
'converted into the best agricultural land by irri- 
gation ; of this only a few thousand acres are in 
actual use. The country is, practically, in its in- 
fancy; a few early settlers scattered throughout 
: the vale have grown rich in cattle raising, but 
have made little or no effort toward improvement.) 

Ana river, one of the greatest natural curiosi- 
ties in the state of Oregon, is the source of sup- 
ply of this lake. The river is clear as crystal, is 
fifty feet wide and at places of immeasurable 
i depth. Its tide is constant, varying little with the 
' seasons, and it flows for the most part through a 
level- country, bank high, and so close to the sur- 
face that one can readily partake of its refresh- 
ing water with the lips by kneeling on its banks. 
Its source is composed of seven immense'springs, 
probably submarine overflows, for the volume of 
^vater flowing from the earth is so great as to 
-render the term spring inapplicable. From these 
springs flows water sufficient to irrigate all the 
present arid lands of Summer lake valley. 

Silver lake lies only a few miles northwest of 
Summer lake and completes the 'list of those in 
Lake county. It is of small size, being only fifteen 
to ■twenty-five square miles in area, and so shal- 
low; that one can almost wade across it. It lies 
in the- corner of a basin which once contained 
a much larger lake, covering some hundreds of 
square miles, and stretching northward over 
what -is known as the "desert." A remarkable 
feature of this lake is that, although it has no-out- 
let, its water is perfectly fresh. As before stated 
lakes which do not overflow usually become salt 
in time.- It is possible that this exception to the 
rukinav be explained as follows : Silver lake lies 
somewhat higher than Summer lake, 4,300 feet, 



and is separated from it by a rocky ridge a few 
miles wide. Now, it is possible that the water 
finds its way underground beneath this ridge, and 
reappears in the large springs mentioned at the 
north end of Summer lake. Thus the water in the 
lake being continually renewed would remain 
fresh. But it must be understood that this is 
merely a theory, and there is nothing to absolute- 
ly prove it. Professor E. B. Cope says that a 
comparatively small elevation of the waters of 
Silver lake would connect the waters of that lake 
with those of Summer lake, eighteen miles dis- 
tant, and those of Summer lake with the Chewau- 
can river, seven miles distant. This would con- 
vert the Chewaucan swamp into a lake, and con- 
nect Abert lake with the series. 

Lake county has no large rivers within her 
boundaries. There are a few of fair size, how- 
ever, and numerous creeks. The principal streams 
are the Big and Little Chewaucan and Summer 
rivers. These are magnificent rivers, full of fish 
and would furnish water to '.rrigate large tracts 
of land. Summer river bubbles up out of the 
ground at the north end of Summer lake valley, 
and rolls on to Summer lake. The waters of this 
river stand the year round at a temperature of 
68 degrees, and are clear and limpid. In the big 
basin where the water boils up, in places forty 
feet deep, one can see a silver coin at the bot- 
tom. 

The Chewaucan river is another fine stream 
heading in the great snow belt near the Gahart 
mountains. The river is an old one, and in the 
subsidence of the waters of the old tertiary sea, 
when land first appeared on hills, extended up the 
river to the falls, or near them, a distance above 
the site on which Paisley now stands. It has a 
winding course from the mountains and flows east 
for about sixty miles and empties into the south 
end of Lake Abert. Chewaucan is an Indian 
name, a translation of which is said to be "Big 
patch of small potatoes, or camas." 

Ana river, at the head of Summer lake, is an 
interesting study to the stranger. Only five or six 
miles from the head of this beautiful lake Ana 
river springs out of the ground like a torrent, 
and flows down through the sage brush to sup- 
ply the lake. Winter and summer the water boils 
forth from a hollow basin more than an acre in 
width and breadth, and flows away making a 
current large enough to float an ordinary river 
boat. The water has a lukewarm temperature, 
winter and summer, and is pronounced artesian 
water by all who see and taste it. There are 
many theories about Ana river. It is claimed 
that it flows under a mountain and is fed by Silfer 
lake, on the opposite side of the mountain, many 
miles away. Silver lake is of a much higher alti- 



_ 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



867 



tude, and although it does not have a feeder its 
depth is about the same the year round. 

Lake county contains within its borders some 
of the most remarkable formations and natural 
curiosities found anywhere in the world. We 
shall attempt to describe a few of these that have 
come under our observation. 

The northern part of the county embraces a 
large territory lying in what is known as the 
"desert," and within this territory are found won- 
ders that will afford food for thought for the sci- 
entist for years to come. When they are known 
to the outside world they will draw a horde of 
tourists and students of science to them annually. 
The field is a virgin one as yet, only having been 
visited by the stockmen who have interests in the 
vicinity, and an occasional traveler who is hur- 
rying from one business point to another. 

The fossil fields, the moving lake, the modern 
Dead Sea and the salt and borax deposits, the hot 
springs and natural artesian wells are, possibly, 
among the best of the wonders within this terri- 
tory, but they are so prominent and many of them 
cover such a large section of the country they 
could not remain hidden from the most casual 
observer, and their remarkable appearance could 
not fail to attract the attention of the most disin- 
terested student in the formations of nature. 

Few people realize the beauty and gradeur of 
the rim-rocks of Eastern Oregon, and Lake coun- 
ty has her share of these. In fact many people 
do not know what they look like, and some do not 
know what the word signifies. In the "desert" 
country these rimrocks are prominent features. 
The country is a succession of level plains, vary- 
ing in width and length from a few miles to more 
than a hundred. These plains are often spoken 
of as plateaus from their high elevation above 
sea level ; in fact they are nothing more or less 
than a succession of basins, in many cases resemb- 
ling crater beds 5 for they lie among the mountain 
tops, only lower than the snow-capped peaks that 
have to be ascended from almost every point to 
reach them, and the tall rim-rocks that tower im- 
mediately above them. These plateaus or basins 
are separated by the rim-rocks and along one side 
or the other of the large lakes they tower from a 
few feet to hundreds of feet in the air. The walls 
of these rocks are perfectly perpendicular, often 
possessing the appearance of having been con- 
structed by skilled human hands. Layer upon lay- 
er of smooth rocks lie upon one another, with 
the joints broken as carefully as modern masonry 
work, with pillars now and then, many feet tall, 
to support them on larger tables or rock. These 
pillars, however, are close together and although 
possessing various sides, from a triangle to an 
octagon, they fit perfectly together. At the top 



of these walls lie broad, level rocks, jutting out 
to several feet above the sides of the wall, like the 
leaf of a table or the rim of a hat. It is impos- 
sible to descend from the top of this rim clown 
the wall, or to ascend from below to the top of 
the rim-rock, except where the wall is broken by 
crevices, gulches or canyons. 

A two days' drive from Silver Lake (in the 
northern part of the county), the entrance way 
to the main "desert," brings one to the greatest 
wonder on the Pacific coast, possibly the greatest 
in the United States. Here is a vast -fossil field 
covering hundreds of acres, in the midst of which 
is the wonderful "moving" lake. One does not 
see it move, in fact, but the evidence is there to 
show that it moves, and there are men living in 
Lake county who can verify the fact that it is 
constantly on the move. Not only the water 
moves, but the lake changes its bed from time to 
time, and in the course of a few decades traverses 
considerable territory. 

In this region there are many sand beds. The 
sand is of the finest grain and of unknown depth. 
It is always dry, as it seems to never rain to 
amount to anything at this point, and what little 
rainfall there is in this section does not even 
dampen the sand, much less moisten the earth. 
At this place the wind blows a gale most of the 
time, and carries with it clouds of the sand. In 
a few days' time the wind shifts the sand until 
a point that was high last week is a deep hole, or 
pit, this week. Then the wind changes and blows 
from another direction for a few days, and this 
shifts the surface of the earth at this point again. 
The lake which lies in these sands is necessarily 
compelled to change its bed continually. As the 
wind sweeps out a hole on the north side the 
water must follow ; then it changes to the west 
so that one can see where it has traveled about 
the desert for years, never getting far from home, 
it is true, but still it travels considerable distances 
for a lake. It is a mystery to all who visit this 
section why the lake never dries up in such a 
place. There seem to be no springs and there is 
no stream to feed it ; the rainfall is light, and' 
being constantly on the move one would naturally 
think that it would be absorbed by the dry sands. 
But within the knowledge of the first settlers of 
the country this lake has never been dry, and has 
neither grown larger or smaller. 

But the greatest object of interest to the sci- 
entist in this section are the fossil beds. The en- 
tire sand-covered section is a fossil field. Animals 
for ages have come to this lake (Fossil, or Mov- 
ing lake) for water, and as the aged and sick ones 
have died they have been covered by the dry sands 
and their bodies preserved in such a state so long 
that they have become completely fossilized. And 



868 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



as the}' have followed the lake in its travels the 
consequence is that the field is a large one. The 
inexperienced who pick up the petrified bones of 
these animals find many the species of which are 
unknown to them. It is said that species have 
been found here that puzzled and interested the 
few scientists who saw them. They have been 
carried away by the occasional visitors and adorn 
many of the yards of distant ranches. But the 
field is still full of them, and the scientist may 
find work here for years to come. 

Fort Rock, one of the most peculiar rock 
formations to be found in the west, is situated 
just sixteen miles north of Silver lake. It is 
so named because it is a natural rock-walled fort, 
enclosing about thirty-five acres of land, with a 
rock wall averaging 300 feet high. The fort is 
circular in form and rises from a level plain 
many miles from the surrounding mountains. The 
wall is about 200 feet thick at the base and thirty- 
five feet wide at the top. Outside it rises per- 
pendicularly, but there are several places on the 
inside where by exercising care and caution one 
may scale it. Such a feat is impossible from the 
outside. At the south side of the fort there is an 
opening less than one-eighth of a mile wide, 
which makes it easy of access. 

There is no particular legend or tradition 
among the Indians regarding Fort Rock. They 
say it has always existed so far as they know. It 
was never used as a fort or place of refuge during 
tribal wars. The name Fort Rock was given to 
the formation by the early settlers owing to its 
resemblance to a fort. During the warm, sultry 
days of summer cattle and horses in the neigh- 
borhood seek the sheltering shade of the high 
rock wall. The only use ever made of Fort Rock 
was occasionally as a round-up corral by cattle 
and horsemen. During the years to come thous- 
ands of people will visit this curiosity from all 
parts of the country, and possibly in the future 
Silver lake will be one of the noted places on 



some trunk line railroad, where tourists will be 
advised to stop and see the sights. Recently the 
land where this natural curiosity is located, which 
during all these years has been government land, 
was filed upon. 

Lake county, like most of the counties of 
Southern Oregon, has a number of hot springs 
where boiling hot water rushes from the earth. 
A number of these springs lie just outside the 
town of Lakeview. Most of these have been taken 
up by settlers on their homesteads, but they are 
lying idle awaiting the time when it may pay to 
improve them. In passing through the country 
on a cold clay the steam arising from these springs 
conveys the idea, from a distance, that a great 
fire is raging at that particular place. All vege- 
tation is killed near the springs, but as the water 
flows away in the distance and the temperature 
is reduced, a heavy growth of grass is produced, 
and winter and summer stock come to these places 
to graze. 

Another peculiar formation in Lake county 
are the "pot-holes," so called, situate in South 
Warner basin. They appear to be large, inverted, 
cone-shaped rock formations, the chasms between 
the scarps of the rocks being filled with water, 
around the extreme outer edge of which grow 
dense clusters of vigorous tules from fifteen 
to twenty feet high. These pot-holes are al- 
ways dangerous to man or beast ; both alike 
dread them ; for once in them the chances of 
escape from drowning seem to be few and far 
between. 

In concluding this chapter we desire to ex- 
press the opinion that Lake county will, in fu- 
ture years, become one of the richest in Southern 
Oregon. AVhen conditions make possible the de- 
velopment of its resources, then the county will 
contain a population many times as great as at 
present. It is now among the richest, if not the 
richest, according to population, of any county in 
Oregon. 



CHAPTER VI 



POLITICAL. 



Next to Wasco, Lake county is the oldest in 
the series of counties herein treated, and next to 
the "Mother of Counties" of eastern Oregon, 
Lake county's political history dates back farther 
than any of the others. The first election held 



within the boundaries of the present Lake county 
was in June, 1870, four years prior to the forma- 
tion of the county. This territory was then a 
part of Jackson county, and for the election the 
county court of that county granted an election 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



869 



precinct for the settlers of Goose lake valley. The 
voting place was at A. Tenbrook's ranch, about 
five miles south of the present site of Lakeview. 
An active interest was taken in the election and 
about twenty-five or thirty votes were cast, more, 
in fact, than there were settlers in the precinct. 
Many of the votes cast were by soldiers who came 
over from Camp Warner, and who were not le- 
gally entitled to vote. Thereafter until the county 
was created in 1875 the settlers voted, the Lake 
country being a precinct of Jackson county. 

During all of its early history Lake county 
was strongly Democratic. At all of the presi- 
dential -.elections a safe majority was given the 
Democratic electors ; the Democratic state and dis- 
trict tickets nearly always carried the county, and 
it was only occasionally that a Republican was 
found serving the county in an official capacity. 
Each election would find both parties in the field 
with the Democrats carrying off the plums. These 
conditions prevailed until the nineties, when the 
Peoples party appeared in the field. That party 



grained considerable 



strength 



and carried the 



county in 1892 for its candidate for president. It 
also occasionally elected a county officer during 
the nineties. The Republican party during these 
years became stronger and began to contest the 
claims of the Democrats of being the dominant 
party in Lake county. 

During the later years the county has been 
quite evenly divided on the local ticket, both the 
Republican and Democratic parties electing a part 
of their ticket. William McKinley, in 1900, and 
Theodore Roosevelt, in 1904, carried the county 
by overwhelming majorities, the first time in his- 
tory that the county cast its vote for Republican 
presidential candidates. 

Complete data for the political history of 
Lake county is not available, but we have, by a 
careful gleaning of all records known to be in 
existence, compiled as nearly complete an account 
of the different elections as is possible. 

Lake county came into existence on February 
1, 1875, by authority of an act passed by the legis- 
lature and approved by Governor L. F. Grover 
on October 24, 1874. The enabling act provided 
that the governor should appoint the first county 
officers of the new county, and this Governor 
Grover did on January 22, 1875. A Democratic 
•administration being in power at the time, most 
of the first officers of Lake county were Demo- 
crats. Their term of office was from February 1, 
1875, until their successors, elected in June, 1876, 
qualified. They were : 

Eli C. Mason, Democrat, county judge; Hen- 
ry Fuller, Democrat, county commissioner ; A. F. 
Snelling, Democrat, county commissioner ; Will- 
iam Roberts, Democrat, county clerk ; Thomas 



Mulholland, Democrat, sheriff; George Nurse, 
Republican, treasurer ; J. J. P. Smith, Democrat, 
assessor. 

Besides these, William R. Jones was selected 
by the county court to serve as school superinten- 
dent, the governor having neglected to name an 
incumbent for the office. County offices in these 
early days of Lake county's history were not 
sought so eagerly as is the more recent custom, 
and there were many resignations before the first 
term expired and other officials were named to 
fill the unexpired terms. J. J. P. Smith resigned 
the office of assessor and George C. Duncan was 
appointed in June, 1875. Henry Fuller resigned 
as commissioner and J. P. Roberts was named 
for that office August 23, 1875. On the same date 
Nelson Stephenson was appointed clerk, vice 
William Roberts, resigned. In October, 1875, 
Quincy A. Brooks was chosen school superin- 
tendent, taking the place of William R. Jones. 
These men named served as the county's first of- 
ficers and their terms of office expired in July, 
1876. 

The first justices of the peace were appointed 
by the county court and were as follows : Che- 
waucan precinct, Stephen Moss, appointed Feb- 
ruary, 1875 ; Crooked Creek, O. L. Stanley, Feb- 
ruary, 1875 ; Summer Lake, Dr. Colwell, Febru- 
ary, 1875 ; Silver Lake, A. V. Lane, February, 
1875 ; Linkville, Nelson Stephenson, February, 
1875 I Crooked Creek, George Freeman, June, 
1875 ! Linkville, J. W. Hamaker, October, 1875 5 
Eagle Point, O. P. Russell, October, 1875. For 
Eagle Point precinct M. T. Walters was appoint- 
ed constable in June, 1875. 

Although the first general election was not 
held until in June, 1876, there was a special elec- 
tion held on October 25, 1875, to elect a member 
of congress. At this initial election held in Lake 
county there were 210 votes cast. The official 
vote was : Lafayette Lane, dem., 143 ; Henry 
Warren, rep., 65 ; J. W. Dimmick, 1 ; Whitney, I. 

The county was divided, at the first term of 
the county court, February 1, 1875, into nine 
election precincts, and at the meeting of the coun- 
ty court on June 7, the first election judges were 
named. The precincts and first election officers 
who served at the special election of October 25, 
1S75, were: 

No. 1 — Linkville precinct, place of voting at 
the town of Linkville. Judges, O. T. Brown, N. 
Stephenson, Stephen Stukle. 

No. 2 — Lost River precinct, polling place at 
the house of John Shook. Judges, John Fulker- 
son, John Shook, J. H. Colahan. 

No. 3 — Sprague River precinct, polling place 
at the house of lohn Smith. Judges, J. A. Smith, 
William Ferrelf, W. M. Prine, Sr. 



870 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



No. 4 — Goose Lake precinct, polling place at 
the house of John Broback. Judges, A. R. Jones, 
James Barnes, Thomas Lofton. 

No. 5 — Eagle Point precinct, polling place at 
the house of L. Lowry. Judges, M. T. Walters, 
A. Tenbrook, James Fitzgerald. 

No. 6 — Crooked Creek precinct, polling place 
at the house of Loveless. Judges, Robert Red- 
ding, Thomas Patton, George Freeman. 

No. 7 — Chewaucan precinct, polling place, 
"at the house now occupied by Henry Fuller." 
Judges, Stephen Moss, George Elliott, T. J. Brat- 
tain. 

No. 8 — Summer Lake precinct, polling place, 
"at the house now occupied by James Foster." 
Judges, J. B. Blair, A. C. Marks, James Fos- 
ter, Sr. 

No. 9 — Silver Lake precinct, polling place, 
"at the house now occupied by Lane & Chase." 
Tudges, Horace Lane, E. H. Noble, J. L. P. 
Smith. 

Of these nine precincts the three first named 
were in that part of the county later formed into 
Klamath county ; the others were all in the pres- 
ent Lake county. 

Lake county's first general election was held 
on June 5, 1876. The judges and clerks of elec- 
tion of the several precincts were : 

Linkville — J. L. Hanks, John Shalloch and 
William Hicks, judges; F. M. Smith and John 
A. Miller, clerks. Lost River — N. S. Goodlow, 
J. H. Campbell and S. N. Hazen, judges; O. C. 
Applegate and A. H. Griffin, clerks. Sprague 
River — Enoch Loper, J. A. Smith and William 
Prine, judges; B. B. Demming and Robert Scott, 
clerks. Goose Lake — William Denny, Chas. Bro- 
back and Thomas Lofton, judges ; S. Campbell 
and J. J. Charlton, clerks. Eagle Point — M. D. 
Hopkins, G. C. Clark and D. H. Hartzog, 
judges ; M. T. Walters and A. B. Contner, clerks. 
Crooked Creek — Chas. A. Rice, Jas. McAfee and 
William Patton, judges; J. C. Shellhammer and 
W. H. Patton, clerks. Chewaucan — T. J. Brat- 
tain. J. C. Elder and Tohn Alexander, judges; 
S. P. Moss and J. M. Small, clerks. Silver Lake 
— G. C. Duncan, F. J.Murdbck and A. V. Lane, 
judges; J. O. Bunyard and P. G. Chrisman, 
clerks. 

At this first general election there were cast 
389 votes, a gain of 179 over the vote at the spec- 
ial election of the preceding October. Nearly the 
full vote of the county was cast, due largely to 
the interest taken in the permanent location of the 
county seat. The number of votes cast by the 
several precincts of the county was as follows : 
Eagle Point, 79 ; Goose Lake, 23 ; Chewaucan, 
23 ; Summer Lake, 42 ; Silver Lake, 23 ; Crooked 



Creek, 24; Sprague River, 17; Linkville, 103; 
Bonanza, 53. 

Owing to the county seat contest the elec- 
tion was an exciting one and the excitement 
continued for some time after the ballots were 
counted. The canvass of the returns was made 
by County Clerk N. Stephenson, John P. Shook, 
justice of the peace for Lost River precinct, and 
J. W. Hamaker, justice of the peace for Link- 
ville precinct. The action of the board of can- 
vassers was not unanimous. The canvas was 
signed by the two first named, while Justice Ham- 
aker protested. His protest, annexed to the ab- 
stract as signed by the other members of the 
board, was as follows : 

I hereby protest the correctness of the above ab- 
stract, there being no precinct in Lake county, Oregon, 
known as Hamaker precinct. 

J. W. Hamaker, 
J. P., Linkville Precinct. 

Mr. Stephenson annexed the following expla- 
nation to the findings of the board : 

Justice Hamaker protests receiving and counting 
"Bonanza," which was endorsed on the back of the 
"poll books'' as returned to this office by the clerks 
and judges of election. The polls were held on the 
day of election at "Bonanza" school house in said 
precinct of Lost River — hence the protest of Justice 
Hamaker. 

The vote of Bonanza was allowed to stand. 
Had it been thrown out there would have been 
only one change in the result of the election ; S. C. 
Hudson would have been elected sheriff instead 
of T. J. Brattain. 

The result of the vote as declared by the 
county clerk and Justice Shook was : 

For District Attorney, First Judicial District 
— H. K. Hanna, clem., 230; C. B. Watson, rep., 
142. 

For State Senator — S. G. Thompson, dem., 
213 ; E. Barnes, rep., 129. 

For Representative — D. W. Cheeseman, dem., 
202; O. C. Applegate, rep., 174. 

For County Judge — E. C. Mason, dem., 200 ; 
0. A. Brooks, rep., 149. 

For County Commissioners — S. P. Moss, 
dem., 231; W. H. Horton, rep., 170; A. Ten- 
brook, dem., 222; O. T. Brown, rep., 139. 

For Sheriff — S. C. Hudson, dem., 175 ; T. J.- 
Brattain, rep., 202. 

For Clerk — R. B. Hatton, dem., 243 ; J. J. 
Charlton, rep., 133. 

For Treasurer — J. L. Hanks, dem., 204; Geo. 
Nurse, rep., 169. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



&;r 



For School Superintendent — Ed. Fitzgerald, 
dem., 156; H. M. Thatcher, rep., 217. 

l H or Assessor — G. C. Duncan, dem., 168; 
Milton Riggs, rep., 210.' 

For Surveyor — Frank Cheesman, dem., 191 ; 
Lyman Hawley, rep., 182. 

For Coroner — C. W. Broback, 101 ; E. C. 
Mason, 4; Q. A. Brooks, 2. 

For County Seat— Bullard's Creek, 120; 
Sprague River, 17; Bonanza, 38; Drews Valley, 
3; Goose Lake, 18; Goose Lake Valley, 5; Bul- 
lard's Ranch, 39 ; Chewaucan, 1 ; Linkville, 8 ; Big 
Springs, 1 1 ; Blank, 33 ; Bullard's Creek in Goose 
Lake Valley, 11. 

All the officers elected at this election served 
the full two year term with the exception of the 
treasurer. J. L. Hanks resigned that office and 
on August 9, 1876, Louis Hanks, Democrat, was 
appointed. The latter also resigned after serving 
less than a year and Andrew McCallen, Democrat, 
was appointed June 7, 1877. 

The first presidential election in which Lake 
county participated was held November 7, 1876, 
and showed the county to be in the Democratic 
column by nearly 100 majority. There were 438 
votes cast, a gain of 49 over the June election. 
The official vote was : 

For Democratic presidential electors — Samuel 
J. Tilden and Thomas A. Hendricks— 258 ; for 
Republican presidential electors — Rutherford B. 
Haves and W. A. Wheeler — 172. 

For Congressman — L. F. Lane, dem., 250; 
Richard Williams, rep., 171. 

For County beat— Linkville, 181 ; Lakeview, 
242. 

Four hundred ninety-three votes were cast at 
the general election of June 3, 1878, a gain of 204 
in two years. The Democrats succeeded in elect- 
ing everv officer. The official vote : 

For Congressman — John- Whiteaker, dem., 
296; H. K. Hines, rep., 190; T. F. Campbell, 1.. 

For Governor — W. W. Thayer, dem., 319; C. 
C. Beekman, 143 : M. Wilkins, 5. 

For District Attorney — J. R. Neil, dem., 290 ; 
H. Kelly, rep., 104. 

For Representatives — H. Wright, 180; C. W. 
Broback, 216; D. W. Cheesman, 37. 

For County Commissioners — C. E. Randall, 
dem., 275 ; Jacob Bales, dem., 218; Jacob Thomp- 
' son, rep., 164 ; Geo. H. Penland, rep., 214. 

For Sheriff — J. L. Hanks, dem., 227 ; T. J. 
Brattain, rep., 209; J. K. Beals, 1. 

' For Clerk — R. B. Hatton, dem., 239 ; Chas. 
S. Moore, rep., 199. 

For Treasurer — A. McCallen, dem., 272 ; J. 
H. Clayton, rep., 199. 

For School Superintendent — E. O. Steele, 
dem., 283 ; H. C. Dyar, rep., 150. 



For Assessor — Henry Conn, rep., 197; A. J. 
Foster, dem., 244. 

For Surveyor — V. L. Snelling, dem., 275 ; 
Lyman Hawley, 2; J. Neal, 1. 

For Coroner — D. W. Cheesman, dem., 35 ; H. 
Wright, 11 ; E. C. Mason, 1 ; C. H. Broback, : 5 ; 
j.. Reed, 1 ; C. Pendleton, 3 ; L. Flaw ley, 2 ; F. 
W. Netherton, 4; Jesse Hill, 1; Frank E. How- 
ard, 5. 

These officers served their full term with the 
exception of 4he school superintendent. E. O. 
Steele died while holding that office and on De- 
cember 4, 1878, P. B. Vernon, Democrat, was 
appointed to fill the vacancy. 

At the next general election, that of June 7, 
1880, over 700 votes were cast, a gain of 
over 200 in two years. The official vote on 
the congressional and district tickets was as 
follows : ' / 

For Congressman — John Whiteaker, dem., 
417; M. C. George, rep., 286. 

For Judge First Judicial District — A. P- 
Plammond, rep., 294; T. B. Kent, dem., 407. 

The Democrats succeeded in electing nearly 
all their candidates on the county ticket, although 
a few Republicans were chosen, among them O. 
A. Stearns for representative. Unfortunately the ■ 
official vote of the county election cannot be ob- 
tained. Those elected were: O. A. Stearns, rep.,. 
representative ; George Durand, dem., county 
commissioner; George W. Penland, rep., county 
commissioner; J. L. Hanks, dem., sheriff; P. 
M. Cheesman, dem., clerk ; A. McCallen, dem.,. 
treasurer; J. S. Watts, county judge; William 
Tullock, dem., assessor ; J. H. Clayton, rep.,. 
school superintendent ; T. W. Colvin, dem., sur- 
veyor ; William Harvey, coroner. With one ex- 
ception these officers served the full two year 
term. Geo. Durand resigned the office of county 
commissioner and U. F. Abshier, Democrat, was 
appointed in August. 1881. 

The next general election, that of June 5, 1882", 
showed a falling off in the vote, there being a 
trifle less than 600 votes cast. The Democrats 
elected every candidate on the county ticket and 
carried the county by over 100 majority for all 
the state, congressional and district tickets. Fol- 
lowing is the official vote : 

For Congressman — W. D. Fenton, dem., 346; 
M. C. George, rep., 238. 

For Governor — Joseph H. Smith, dem., 354; 
Z. F. Moody, rep., 224. - 

For District Attorney — Thos. Kent, dem., 
351 ; Merritt, rep., 219. 

For Representative — S. P. Moss, dem., 316; 
H. Clayton, rep., 228. 

For Sheriff — J. L. Hanks, dem., 310; Robt. 
Emmitt, rep., 220. 



872 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



For Clerk — R. B. Hatton, dem., 317; L. G. 
Ross, rep., 211. 

For Treasurer — A. McCallen, dem., 379 ; 
Hoffman, rep., 155. 

For Assessor — E. B. Miller, dem., 318; N. 
Clark, rep., 222. 

For County Commissioners — U. F. Abshier, 
dem., 360; J. B. Phelps, dem., 304; P. G. Chris- 
man, rep., 247 ; Manning, 2. 

For County Surveyor — H. C. Dyar, rep., 216. 

For School Superintendent — T. B. Vernon, 
dem., 217; Hays, 153; Dunlap, 170. 

For Coroner — J. W. Howard, dem., 538. 

In 1882 Klamath county was cut off from the 
mother county and Lake was reduced by about 
one-half. We find at the next election, June 2, 
1884, that the county under the new conditions 
was still strongly Democratic, that party electing 
every county officer. The vote of this election 
cannot be obtained. The county officers elected 
were: A. Fitts, dem., county judge; W. D. Ar- 
nett, dem., county commissioner ; T. O. Blair, 
dem., county commissioner ; A. F. Snelling, dem., 
clerk;. A. McCallen, dem., treasurer; O. L. Stan- 
ley, dem., assessor; W. J. Moore, dem., school 
superintendent; A. W. Charlton, dem., sheriff. 

Again in 1886 the Democrats swept the coun- 
ty, electing the whole county ticket with the ex- 
ception of clerk. Nearly 500 votes were cast. The 
official vote of this election, which was held on 
June 7, was : 

For Governor — T. R. Cornelius, rep., 185 ; 
Sylvester Pennoyer, deni., 289 ; J. E. Houston, 
pro., 17. 

For Congressman — Binger Hermann, rep., 
186; W. L. Butler, dem., 287; G. M. Miller, 
pro., 17. 

For Judge First Judicial District — H. Kelly, 
rep, 249; W. M. Colvin, dem., 230. 

For Joint Representative (Lake and Klam- 
ath) — Robert McLean, rep., 174; John F. Miller, 
dem., 286. 

For County Commissioners — T. J. Brattain,' 
rep., 156; G. H. Penland, rep., 213 ; G. M. Jones, 
dem., 245 ; C. C. Loftus, dem., 290. 

For Sheriff— J. S. Field, rep. ; A. W. Charl- 
ton, dem., 328. 

For Clerk— W. T. Boyd, rep., 285; W. J. 
Moore, dem., 164. 

For Assessor — Geo. Miller, rep., 151 ; O. L. 
Stanley, dem., 301. 

For Treasurer — S. V. Rehart, rep., 126; A. 
McCallen, dem., 324. 

For School Superintendent — J. O. Willits, 
rep., 171 ; A. H. Fisher, dem., 283. 

For Surveyor — P. M. Curry, rep., 242. 

For Coroner — Geo. Rawson, rep., 184.; J. W. 
Howard, dem., 268. 



The office of county judge became vacant in 
1887 by the death of A. Fitts, and on February 
10, Charles A. Cogswell, Democrat, was appoint- 
ed by Governor Sylvester Pennoyer to fill the un- 
expired term. 

A special election was held on November 8, 
1887, to vote on several proposed constitutional 
amendments. One of these was the prohibition 
question. The result in Lake county was : 
For the amendment, 160 ; against, 204. 

Lake county polled 282 more votes at the June 
election of 1888 than two years before. The Re- 
publicans were successful in electing four candi- 
dates on the county ticket, which was the best 
record they had made in the history of Lake 
county politics. The officers elected at this elec- 
tion were: W. A. Wilshire, dem., county judge; 
J. E. McDonough, dem., assessor; L. Taylor, 
rep., surveyor ; R. L. Sherlock, rep., commis- 
sioner ; Wm. A. Bagley, dem., commissioner; 
Wra. Carll, rep., sheriff; Wm. T. Boyd, rep., 
clerk ; J. W. Howard, dem., coroner ; A. McCal- 
len, dem., treasurer ; W. J. Moore, dem., school 
superintendent. 

At the presidential election this year the here- 
tofore big Democratic majorities were cut down, 
and Grover Cleveland received a majority of only 
thirteen over Benjamin Harrison for president. 

At the general election of June 2, 1890, over 
800 votes were cast. The Democrats regained the 
offices they had lost at the election two years 
before and again made a clean sweep. The Re- 
publicans carried the county for their candidate 
for joint representative. The official vote: 

For Governor — D. P. Thompson, rep., 330; 
S. Pennoyer, clem., 484. 

For Congressman — Binger Herman, rep., 
405 ; Robert A. Miller, dem., 409. 

For District Attorney — C. B. Watson, rep., 
251 : Wm. M. Colvig, dem., 551. 
^ For Joint Representative — Andrew Snider, 
rep., 486; G. W. Smith, dem., 308. 

For Commissioner — Silas J. Studley, rep., 
365 ; A. V. Lane, dem., 428. 

For Clerk— Will T. Boyd, rep., 250; W. N. 
Sutton, dem., 542. 

For Sheriff — C. Hinkle, rep., 378; William 
Hervford, dem., 413. 

For Treasurer— Will J. Miller, rep., 2S8; A. 
McCallen. dem., 504. 

For School Superintendent — J. O. Willits, 
rep., 326; A. H. Fisher, dem., 463. 

For Assessor — Will J. Clclan, rep., 327; J. 
E. McDonough, dem., 473. 

For Coroner — J. W. Howard, dem., 783. 

There was a falling off in the vote at the gen- 
eral election of 1892, only a little over 700 votes 
beine cast. , This election was the first one at 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



873 



which the people of Lake county had a chance 
to vote for candidates of the Peoples party, there 
being candidates of the new party on the congres- 
sional and district tickets. The vote they received 
in Lake county ranged from 70 to 182. The Re- 
publicans gave Binger Hermann for congress a 
plurality of twelve over the Democratic candi- 
date. The contest on the county ticket was close 
in several cases, the Republicans electing one of- 
ficer, John McElhurney, for commissioner by a 
plurality of five votes. The official vote : 

For Congressman — Binger Hermann, rep., 
301; Winfield T. Rigdon, pro., 6; M. V. Rork, 
peo., in ; R. M. Veatch, dem., 289. 

For Judges Circuit Court — W. C. Hale, rep., 
2S4; H. K. Hanna, dem., 413; P. P. Prim, dem., 
403 ; Ira Wakefield, peo., 182. 

For District Attorney — H. L. Benson, rep., 
-286; W. C. Edwards, peo., 118; S. U. Mitchell, 
dem., 289. 

For Joint Senator — C. A. Cogswell, dem., 
403 ; A. Snider, rep., 268 ; Roscoe Knox, peo., 

For Joint Representative — B. Daly, dem., 
478; O. A. Starns, rep., 154; W. F. Welch, peo., 
70. 

For County Judge — W. M. Townsend, dem., 
4 2 9 ! J- Q. Willits, rep., 270. 

For Clerk— S. T. Colvin, rep., 168; W. N. 
Sutton, dem., 527. 

For Sheriff — H. A. Brattain, rep., 343 ; A. W. 
Charlton, dem., 358. 

For Commissioner — John McElhurney, rep., 
351 ; Wm. Tullock, dem., 346. 

For Treasurer — H. Bailey, rep., 201 ; A. Mc- 
Callen, dem., 499. 

For Assessor — U. F. Abshier, dem., 481 ; C. 
S. Benefiel, rep., 208. 

For School Superintendent — H. C. Fleming, 
dem., 364; J. J. Monroe, rep., 329. 

For Surveyor — P. M. Curry, rep., 336 ; F. 
B. Houston, dem., 358. 

For Coroner — J. W. Howard, dem., 654 ; W. 
H. Patton, 1. 

Although a poor showing was made bv the 
Peoples party at the June election, that party 
carried the county at the presidential election on 
November 8, the electors favorable to General 
vVeaver for president receiving 300 votes. The 
Harrison electors received 237 votes and the 
Cleveland electors no. The county gave the pro- 
hibtion electors one vote. 

The election of June 4, 1894, was a close one. 
The Peoples party had gained in strength until 
it now ranked up close to the old parties. All 
three parties had county tickets in the field and the 
contests were all close. Nearly 800 votes were 
cast. The Republicans carried the county for 



their candidates for congressman, governor and 
district attorney, while the Democrats succeeded 
in carrying the county for their candidate for 
joint representative. On the county ticket the 
Republicans elected five officers, the Democrats 
three and the Peoples party one. This year 
marked the change in the condition of Lake coun- 
ty politics from solid Democratic to close and 
doubtful. The official vote was : 

For Governor — Wm. Galloway, dem., 242 ; 
Wm. P. Lord, rep., 308 ; Nathan Pierce, peo., 
200 ; James Kennedy, pro., 7. 

For Congressman — J. K. Weatherford, dem., 
229 ; Binger Hermann, rep., 339 ; Chas. Miller, 
peo., 174; John D. Hurst, pro., 4. 

For District Attorney — W. H. Parker, dem., 
194; H. L. Benson, rep., 355; Abe Axtell, peo., 

173- 

For Joint Representative — B. Daly, dem., 317; 
Virgil Conn, rep., 252; R. K. Funk, peo., 171. 

For County Judge — E. M. Brattain, rep., 277 ; 
J. W. Scott, dem., 254; S. P. Moss, peo., 205. 

For Commissioner — A. V. Lane, dem., 301 ; 
Wm. McCormack, rep., 283 ; L. A. Carriker, peo., 
160. 

For Sheriff — C. Henkel, rep., 251 ; F. P. Lane, 
dem., 284; R. A. Paxton, peo., 209. 

For Clerk — U. F. Abshier, dem., 219; W. A. 
Massingill, rep., 388 ; J. S. McLaughlin, peo., 
136. 

For School Superintendent — H. C. Fleming, 
dem., 271 ; J. J. Monroe, rep., 292; T. B. Ver- 
non, peo., 179. 

For Treasurer — A. McCallen, dem., 296; J. S. 
Field, rep., 337; H. Schmick, peo., 103. 

For Assessor — J. E. McDonough, dem., 231 ; 
Geo. Miller, rep., F. E. Harris, peo., 273. 

For Surveyor — J. P. O'Farrell, dem., 281 ; 
Chas. Moore, rep., 428. 

For Coroner — J. W. Howard, dem., 349; B.. 
Reynolds, rep., 331. 

The election of June 1, 1896, showed a slight 
gain in votes cast, there being over 800. Again 
the three parties had tickets in the field and again 
the contest was close. The Republicans carried 
the county for their candidates for congressman, 
district attorney and joint representative, the 
Democrats for joint senator. Six Republican 
candidates on the county ticket were elected and 
two Democrats. The official vote : 

For Congressman — Thos. H. Tongue, rep., 
346; Jefferson Meyers, dem., 232; W. S. Van- 
derburg, peo., 211; N. C. Christenson, pro., 17. 

For District Attorney — Geo. W. Colvig, rep., 
359; S. S. Penz, dem., in; J. A. Jeffrey, peo., 

333- 

For Joint Senator — O. C. Applegate, rep., 

226 ; B. Daly, dem., 473 ; P. K. Funk, peo., 109. 









I 



8 7 4 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



For Joint Representative — Virgil Conn, rep., 
361 ; J. L. Hanks, dem., 96; J. A. Larrabee, peo., 

335- 

For Sheriff — John McElhurney, rep., 278 ; F. 
P. Lane, dem., 291 ; A. W. Charlton, peo., 241. 

For Clerk — W. A. Massingill, rep., 546; R. 
W. Vernon, dem., 106; F. W. Foster, peo., 148. 

For Treasurer — Harry Bailey, rep., 501 ; A. 
H. Fisher, dem., 296. 

For Assessor — Wm. Barnes, rep., 348; F. B. 
. Houston, dem., 273; Duke Bennett, peo., 175. 

For School Superintendent — J. J. Monroe, 
rep., 336 ; W. J. Moore, dem., 448. 

For Surveyor — P. M. Curry, rep., 425 ; Chas. 
E. Moore, dem., 355. 

For Coroner — A. Lessig, rep., 428 ; J. W. 
Howard, dem., 352. 

For County Commissioner — Chas. Tonning- 
sen, rep., 349 ; F. M. Greene, dem., 305 ; Ben 
Warner, peo., 149. 

The Republicans had shown the greatest 
strength at the June election, but in the presi- 
dential election, November 3, the Democrats and 
Peoples party, united on William Jennings Bryan 
for president, carried the county over William 
McKinley. The vote of this election was as fol- 
lows : 

McKinley electors, 350 ; Bryan electors, 382 ; 
Palmer electors, 2. 

A slightly smaller vote was cast at the elec- 
tion June 6, 1898, than was two years before. 
The Republicans had by this time become very 
strong and were acknowledged to be the dominant 
party in Lake county politics. They carried the 
county for all their candidates on the state, con- 
gressional, judicial and legislative tickets and 
lected all but four candidates on the county ticket. 
A fusion of some of the county officers was ac- 
complished between the Democrats and Peoples 
party, the first and only time in the county's his- 
tory fusion was tried. The official vote- follows : 

For Governor — T. T. Geer, rep., 433 ; Will 
R. King, fusion, 323 ; H. M. Clinton, pro., 7 ; 
John C. Luce, regular peo., 10. 

For Congressman — Thos. H. Tongue, rep., 
440; R. M. Veatch, fusion, 303; L. H. Peder- 
son, pro., 10 ; J. L. Hill, regular peo., 16. 

For Circuit Judge — H. L. Benson, rep., 483 ; 
J. A. Jeffrey, fusion, 251 ; H. K. Hanna, inde- 
pendent, 327 ; J. L. Batchelor, peo., 35 ; Jonathan 
Tressler, peo., 13 ; E. C. Wade, fusion, 193. 

For District Attorney — C. B. Watson, rep., 
433; A. N. Soliss, fusion, 310; J. B. Wells, peo., 

For Joint Representative — W. A. Massingill, 
rep., 502 ; J. B. Griffith, dem., 257. 

For County Judge — Chas. Tonningsen, rep., 
442 ; S. P. Moss, fusion, 342. 



For Sheriff — A. J. Neilon, fusion, 439 ; Harry 
Roberts, rep., 345. 

For Clerk — J. M. Batchelder, rep., 457; O. 
E. Charlton, fusion, 325. 

For Treasurer — S. F. Ahlstrom, rep., 489 ; 
T. E. Bernard, fusion, 277. 

For Assessor — George H. Stevens, rep., 266 
Feliz Duncan, fusion, 272 ; Chas. Umbach, ind., 

2 43- 

For School Superintendent— J. Q. Willlts, 

rep., 423 ; Thos. Beall, dem., 338. 

For Surveyor — P. M. Curry, rep., 430; Geo. 
D. McGrath, dem., 317. 

For Coroner — F. E. Harris, fusion, 558. 

For Commissioner — S. B. Chandler, rep., 349 ; 
Geo. L. Gilfrey, dem., 414. 

Eight hundred and three votes were cast at the 
general election of June 4, 1900. The entire Re- 
publican county and district tickets were elected 
by safe majorities with the exception of treas- 
urer and coroner. Bernard Daly, fusion candi- 
date for congressman carried the county over 
Thomas H. Tongue. The Peoples party was 
eliminated from the county ticket at this election 
and again the Republicans and Democrats met as 
of yore. The official vote : 

For Congressman — Thos. H. Tongue, rep., 
364; Bernard Daly, fusion, 390; W. P. Elmore, 
pro., 5 ; J. K. Sears, peo., 7. 

For District Attorney — C. B. Watson, rep., 
404; R. A. Reames, dem., 301. 

For Joint Senator — J. N. Williamson, rep., 
447 ; A. S. Bennett, fusion, 300. 

For Representative — R. A. Emmett, rep., 408; 
T. R. McGeer, rep., 380; A. S. Roberts, rep., 
353 ; G. T. Baldwin, dem., 250 ; H. C. Liebe, 
dem., 278; G. Springer, dem., 221. 

For Sheriff— H. R. Dunlap, rep., 461 ; A. J. 
Neilon, dem., 326. 

For Clerk — William Gunther, rep., 453 ; R. A. 
Hawkins, dem., 332. 

For Treasurer — L. G. Beach, rep., 356; Lee 
Beall, dem., 4T7. 

For Assessor — J. B. Blair, rep., 417; W. W. 
Hampton, dem., 332. 

For School Superintendent — J. O. Willits, 
rep., 456; H. C. Fleming, dem., 299. 

For Surveyor — P. M. Curry, rep., 570. 

For Coroner — F. E. Harris, dem., 554. 

For Commissioner — S. J. Prose, rep., 2)7 2 I T. 
B. Wakefield, clem.. 361. 

A big change is noted in the presidential elec- 
tion of 1900. While in 1896 W. J. Bryan had 
ferried the county by 32 plurality, William Mc- 
Kinley at this election carried the county by a plu- 
rality of 224. The vote was : Republican electors, 
456; Democratic electors, 232. This was the first 
time in Lake county's history that a majority had. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



87; 



been given the Republican party at a presidential 
election. 

Nearly 850 votes were cast at the general 
election of June 2, 1902. The election was an 
exciting one and very close. The Democrats 
secured a majority of the county officers, while 
the Republicans carried the county for state and 
district candidates. The official vote : 

For Governor — William J. Furnish, rep., 491 ; 
Geo. E. Chamberlain, dem., 328; A. J. Hunsacker, 
11 ; R. R. Ryan, 13. 

For Congressman — Thos. H. Tongue, rep., 
509 ; J. K. Weatherford, dem., 272 ; Hiram Gould, 
12; B. F. Ramp, 11. 

For Joint Representatives — J. N. Burgess, 
rep., 468 ; R. A. Emmett, rep., 479 ; N. Wheal- 
don, rep., 424; P. B. Doak, dem., 305; L. E. 
Morse, dem., 255 ; Earl Sanders, dem., 257. 

For County Judge — Chas. Tonningsen, rep., 
368; Bernard Daly, dem., 468. 

For Sheriff — H. R. Dunlap, rep., 448; A. 
B. Shroder, dem., 354. 

For Clerk — William Gunther, rep., 409 ; A. 
W. Manring, dem., 434. 

For Treasurer — G. W. Johnson, rep., 344 ; 
Lee Beall, dem., 448. 

For Assessor — J. B. Blair, rep., 509 ; O. L. 
Stanley, dem., 306. 

For Surveyor — P. M. Curry, rep., 356; C. 
E. Moore, dem., 474. 

For Coroner — F. E. Harris, rep., 610. 
For Commissioner — J. M. Martin, rep., 377 ; 
W. A. Currier, dem., 451. 

A special election was held June 1, 1903, to 
elect a successor to Thos. H. Tongue, who died 
while serving a term as congressman. The elec- 
tion was a walkover for Binger Hermann, Re- 
publican. The vote : Binger Hermann, rep., 
325; A. E. Reames, dem., 154; W. P. Elmore, 
pro., 2 ; J. W. Ingale, soc, 2. 

At the election of June 6, 1904, 783 votes 
were cast. The Republicans were in the main 
successful, though the Democrats succeeded in 
electing three candidates on the county ticket. The 
official vote : 



For Congressman — Binger Hermann, rep., 
471; R. M. Veatch, dem., 229; H. Gould, pro., 
20; B. F. Ramp, soc, 15. 

For Circuit Judges — H. L. Benson, rep., 512; 
H. K. Hanna, rep., 388 ; E. B. Dufur, dem., 191 ; 
J. R. Neil, dem., 248. 

For District Attorney — E. M. Brattain, rep., 
396; W. J. Moore, dem., 345. 

For Joint Senator — J. A. Laycock, rep., 390 ; 
W. A. Booth, dem., 315. 

For Joint Representatives — J. S. Shook, rep., 
384; R. E. L. Steiner, rep., 532; J. B. Griffith, 
dem., 236; J. A. Taylor, dem., 190. 

For Sheriff — E. E. Rinehart, rep., 443 ; F. 
M. Duke, dem., 314. 

For Clerk — E. N. Jaquish, rep., 361 ; A. W. 
Manring, dem., 398. 

For Treasurer — F. O. Ahlstrom, rep., 451; 
T. E. Bernard, dem., 289. 

For Assessor — C. Umbach, rep., 310; W. D. 
West, dem., 445. 

For School Superintendent — J. O. Willits, 
rep., 639. 

For Surveyor — C. E. Moore, dem., 557. 

For Commissioner — C. W. Dent, rep., 462; J. 
C. Dodson, dem., 253. 

The voting strength of the several precincts 
at this election was as follows : South Lakeview, 
132; Summer Lake, 21; Crooked Creek, 39; Sil- 
ver Lake, 98 ; Paisley, 102 ; North Lakeview, 
1 10 ; Goose Lake, 49 ; Drew's Valley, 23 ; Pine 
Creek, 81 ; North Warner, 33 ; South Warner, 
50 ; Thomas Creek, 36 — Total, 783. 

The last election in Lake county was the 
presidential election held on November 8, 1904. 
It shows the county to be overwhelmingly 
Republican on national issues. The plurality 
of 244 for McKinley in 1900 was increased 55 
for Theodore Roosevelt in 1904. The official 
vote : 

Republican electors, Roosevelt, 397; Demo- 
cratic electors, Parker, 118; Prohibitionist elec- 
tors, Swallow, 9 ; socialist electors, Debs, 5 ; 
Peoples party electors, Watson 10. 



CHAPTER VII 



EDUCATIONAL. 



Lake county is in no whit behind the other 
counties of Oregon in matters educational, in fact, 
she holds an enviable position in the state and in 
many points excels her sister counties. As to the 
average wages paid teachers, there is but one 
county in the state that pays higher than does 
Lake. Possessed of a population wide awake to 
the necessities of educational facilities for the ris- 
ing generations, and with the determination to 
provide for her sons and daughters, in this im- 
portant point, steady progress has been made in 
the county from the date of the first school held 
in a ground floor shanty until today many com- 
modious school houses dot the hillsides in charge 
of a corps of teachers up to date and capable. The 
people have kept pace with the demands in fur- 
nishing facilities for proper schools and as fast 
as new districts were needed they have been or- 
ganized and suitable buildings erected so that all 
communities might have the benefits of instruc- 
tion as needed. It is well known that the school 
system of any community or section reflects the 
intelligence of the residents and applying this 
test, Lake county need have no fear of falling be- 
hind the other counties of the great state of 
Oregon. 

Inasmuch as much relative to the schools of 
the county has been stated in different portions 
of the chapters where the thread of history has 
called for such expression, it simply remains for 
us in this brief chapter to give such statistics as 
are available and will be useful for reference, as 
a detailed account of each school is not called 
for and would be burdensome to the reader. 
There has always been and is today that health- 
ful and friendly rivalry between districts in Lake 
county that is productive of so much effort to 
make a good showing for the home place and 
each community has many things to show that 
are very commendable. It would be our pleasure 
to make extended mention of the many incidents 
of school life throughout the county and enter 
into the spirit of the district scholar's work, both 
routine and extra, as the pleasant matches and 
various meetings public and regular that arc held 



from time to time, and chronicle much that would 
be interesting to the younger minds, especially, 
but the facts are that we have been utterly unable 
to find data for such a chapter. While there has 
been no lack of zest and inspiration among the 
scholars and teachers of the county, there has 
been an almost total lack or preserving minutes 
or accounts that would assist us in making such 
a chapter. Therefore, it is impossible to place 
it here, though we much desire it. The early de- 
bates, the spelling matches, the exhibitions and 
many other things that combine to make school 
life happy and interesting have all had their place 
in Lake county and still do, as the spirit of emu- 
lation in kindliness is fostered by the teachers and 
is a sign of healthful growth. 

As to the course of study, we find substan- 
tially the same as in all well regulated schools of 
the land, while the thoroughness of instruction 
constantly maintained brings the privilege of the 
Lake county boys and girls to gain a good edu- 
cation well up to the best to be found. 

Thus far in her history Lake county has not 
voted the high school allowed by the state laws 
and the school in Lakeview is the only graded 
one in the county. Therefore all districts look to 
Lakeview to furnish the opportunity for the 
scholars to pursue the higher branches. The city 
'has not been slow to respond and in addition to 
the regular grades two years of high school work 
have been maintained while it is intended at once 
to add another year. This will provide for the 
students who are inclined to seek the benefits of 
extended study, the privilege of enjoying the 
same in their home county. A splendid corps of 
teachers are employed in Lakeview and the large 
brick school house is filled each year with earnest 
seekers for the knowledge that is power. In ad- 
dition to the regular residents of Lakeview, there 
are many pupils from the country districts in at- 
tendance on the city schools and the high school 
course being extended is thus beneficial to all 
parts of the county. Owing to this, Lakeview 
schools are prosperous and excellent as every 
endeavor has been made to provide the best for 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



877 



the students in the way of instruction. When 
Lakeview was swept by the demon of flames fate 
decreed that the school building should remain 
and this was an untold benefit to the youth as 
the school was enabled to continue its way with- 
out interruption. 

No school was held in the boundaries of what 
is now Lake county prior to 1873, although there 
were many' settlers. Among those settlers were 
few families and therefore the need for schools 
had not been felt. But in the year mentioned 
there were a number of families in Goose Lake 
valley and it was apparent that a school was 
needed. The law in Oregon is that a three 
months' term of school shall be held in a sec- 
tion desiring to be organized into a district be- 
fore the organization can be consummated. There- 
fore the first step was to secure a teacher and 
commence actual instruction of the young. As no 
person in the valley held a school certificate it 
was decided that Miss Nannie Fitzgerald should 
apply to the county superintendent of Jackson 
county, for Lake was then embraced in Jackson 
county, for a permit to teach the required three 
months in Goose Lake valley. Miss Fitzgerald, 
now Mrs. John O'Neil, secured the permit asked 
for from the superintendent at Jacksonville and 
in due time was installed as teacher of the school 
in Goose Lake valley. A little scanty about twelve 
feet square with no floor except the ground was 
set aside for the school house, it being on A. Ten- 
brook's ranch, and there gathered the fifteen chil- 
dren to be found in the settlement. Many of 
these children had never attended school before 
and there was a great scarcity of suitable books. 
But who can stop the spirit born in the atmos- 
phere of the west! Ground floor, rough shack, 
lack of books, with nothing but the most primi- 
tive conveniences, or, rather, necessities, for the 
word "conveniences" is strangely out of place in 
this description, could not do it. The new teacher 
and the new scholars adapted themselves to the 
situation with a spirit of determination to make 
the best of it and soon they were in the harness 
in real earnest and the hum of the little school 
was as real and pleasant as that in many a more 
favored region of wealthy communities. They 
studied and taught and labored on together with 
the real inspiration of the muse of learning and 
various ones can point back to many pleasant 
days even in the floorless shack a third of a cen- 
tury ago. Thus started the first school in what 
is now Lake county. Upon the completion of the 
required three months the district was organized 
and so was set in motion the regular machinery 
of education. 

The next year, 1874, Miss Fitzgerald taught a 



term of school on Kelly creek, which was the 
second school of Lake county. The school was 
held in a little log cabin and the enrollment was 
about twenty. 

In 1875, the year Lake county was organized, 
the enrollment of school children in the entire 
county was 248, while the attendance was much 
less. It must be remembered that while we have 
been detailing the starting of the first and sec- 
ond schools in what is now Lake county, there 
were other schools started before this in what 
was then set off as Lake county in 1875, which 
accounts for the seemingly large number of 
school children in this year. But the county of 
Lake, as originally set off, embraced what is now 
Klamath county. 

It is very unfortunate that there is not avail- 
able, so far as the writer is able to ascertain, the 
detailed reports of the various school superin- 
tendents of these early days. Beside bare statis- 
tics, only what can be gained from personal inter- 
views can be found now, and it is a matter of 
common understanding that it is very hard for 
the human memory to recall such things as school 
history which now would be so interesting, back 
for a period of thirty years. Some can recall 
items, here. and there, and then others may bring 
up memories of some other things, but few can 
make accurately any statements as to the actual 
conditions. Therefore, we can do nothing other- 
wise than to pass these things. 

William J. Moore, superintendent of schools 
for Lake county for the year ending June 30, 
1886, reports at that time fourteen organized dis- 
tricts in the county, 274 pupils enrolled with an 
average daily attendance of 211, while seventeen 
teachers were employed. There were eight school 
houses and the total value of the school prop- 
erty amounted to $3,010.00. This allows a com- 
parison to ascertain the growth from 1873, with 
the start of the ground floored shack with fifteen 
pupils, to 1886. The figures present a showing 
or good growth and a mindful interest in things 
educational. 

The next three years show an equally in- 
creased growth as the enrollment was 490, daily 
attendance 330, while the total number of school' 
children was 788. Concerning this A. H. Fischer 
remarks in his annual report, "This is much bet- 
ter than the older counties are doing in the thick- 
est portions of the state." In this year we learn 
that the county had sixteen organized districts, 
fifteen school houses and the total value of school' 
property was $9,928.00. 

In 1892 we note that there were in the county 
nineteen organized districts, seventeen school 
houses and twentv-three teachers employed. The 









878 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



number of enrolled pupils was 512 while the 
average daily attendance was 453. The 
value of school property had increased to 
$25,629.00. 

Frojn the statistics prepared by the state su- 
perintendent of public instruction, we reproduce 
the following table showing the number of chil- 
dren between four and twenty years of age in the 
county, number of pupils enrolled and the aver- 
age daily attendance, for the years from the or- 
ganization of the county until 1902. 

Year. No. Children. No. Enrolled. Aver. D. A. 

1875 377 248 — 

1876 562 115 — 

1877 412 171 156 

1878 507 190 no 

1879 601 271 179 

1880 863 285 175 

1881 738 348 270 

1882 845 436 248 



Year. No. Children. A T o. Enrolled. Aver. D. A. 

1883 400 272 195 

1884 409 267 215 

1885 525 249 220. 

1886 .576 274 211 

1887 787 367 247 

1888 709 441 34s 

[889 788. 490 330 

1890 818 590 322 

1891 785 S82 393 

1892 801 512 453 

1893 698 603 333 

1894 821 518 374 

1895 824 614 367 

1896 860 576 398 

1897 853 631 338 

1898 876 590 447 

i899 939 633 423 

1900 979 625 560 

1901 977 757 319 

1902 968 753 400 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 



LAKE COUNTY 



JOSEPH L. MORROW. The subject of 
this sketch is a prominent farmer and stock raiser 
residing in South Warner valley, two miles south 
from Adel postoffice. No resident of Warner 
valley stands higher in the estimation of his 
fellow settlers than does Mr. Morrow, chiefly 
on account of the leading part he has taken on be- 
half of the people of Warner valley against the 
Warner Valley Stock Company in the far-famed 
land contest that has occupied the attention of the 
citizens of the valley for the past nineteen years. 
The case was brought about and is kept in 
progress through the effort of the aforementioned 
stock company to procure the lands of the valley 
under the Swamp Land act, and have it set aside 
for use only as grazing land. In reality the land, 
in order to be made productive, requires irriga- 
tion, and in consequence the settlers have con- 
structed the Deep creek and Twenty-Mile creek 
irrigation ditche's with which they irrigate their 
farms. Notwithstanding this fact, the efforts 
on the part of the Warner Valley Stock Com- 
pany have been persistent to deprive the settlers 
of their land, and the fight has been one of the 
bitterest in the history of the state. Mr. Morrow 
has from the first been the champion of the set- 
tlers' cause, and in their interest he has made 
three trips to Washington, D. C, and six to the 
Oregon state capital, for all of which strenuous 
effort his fellow citizens give him due honor and 
credit. 

Joseph L. Morrow is a native of Chariton 
county, Missouri, born July 2, 1834, but was 
reared in Macon county, Missouri. His father 
was the Rev. Jesse S. Morrow, a Baptist minister 
and a farmer born in Kentucky, and an earlv 
pioneer of Missouri. He died on March 2, 1855, 
in Macon county, Missouri. Mr. Morrow's 
mother was Henrietta (Williams) Morrow, also 
a native of Kentucky, who died in Platte county, 
Missouri, in 1838- Mr. Morrow has one brother, 



John S. Morrow, a resident of Macon county, 
Missouri ; and one sister, Esther A. Morrow, of 
Texas. One brother and two sisters, William W. 
Morrow, Mrs. Rebecca Summers and Mrs. Eliza- 
beth Green, are deceased. 

Although he never enjoyed the opportunity 
of attending school, Mr. Morrow acquired a 
good common school education by home study, 
both in the state of his birth and after coming 
west. In the spring of 1854 he started west 
with Tom Goram's train of ox teams, he having 
hired to Mr. Coram at twenty dollars per month 
as driver of three yoke of oxen. The train 
started on April 12 and arrived at Nevada City, 
California, August 19, 1854, our subject having 
walked the major part of the distance. While 
en route the train was annoyed to some extent 
by the hostile tribes, and in one fight Mr. Mor- 
row was shot in the leg with an arrow, though 
not critically wounded. After arriving at Nevada 
City he engaged in working in the mines, later 
going to the Forest City mines, where he mined 
until 1858, when he went to Sonoma county, 
California. He was there married. July 2, 1858, 
to Sibbrina Ahart, a native of Roane county, 
Tennessee, born June 21, 1835. Mrs. Morrow's 
parents both died during her childhood, and she 
crossed the plains with a brother-in-law and 
sister, Mr. and Mrs. James Cook, and two 
brothers, James Ahart, of Amador county, Cali- 
fornia, and Spencer Ahart, of Sonoma county, 
California. She has another sister Mrs. Hanna 
Puckett, of Douglas county, Oregon. 

Following their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Mor- 
row removed to Big River Mills, where Mr. Mor- 
row was engaged in the sawmill business until 
the autumn of 1859, when they returned to 
Nevada county. Here our subject again en- 
gaged in mining until the fall of 1865, when he 
emigrated to Douglas county, Oregon, and en- 
tered the business of farming and mining on 



88o 



H [STORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Myrtle creek. In 1881 he removed to Fort Bid- 
well, California, and there made his home for 
four years. In the year 1881, while on a horse- 
hunting expedition, Mr. Morrow passed through 
the Warner valley, and was so favorably im- 
pressed with the country that in 1885 he brought 
his family to reside here, settling on the ranch 
where they now live. He has taken an active in- 
terest in the welfare and development of the 
country from the day of his arrival and has al- 
ways been one of the most nearly indispensible 
citizens of the valley. 

Mr- Morrow now owns three hundred and 
twenty acres of good hay land but represents 
six hundred and forty acres, one quarter-section 
of which belonged to a son, now deceased, and 
the remaining one hundred and sixty acres be- 
ing the property of a minor grandson. He has 
some stock, but having leased his land, Mr. Mor- 
row is now living a life of semi-retirement. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Morrow have been born six 
children, named as follows : John W., born in 
Mendocino county, California, April 21, 1859, 
and died July 25, 1889; Joseph A., born in Ne- 
vada county, California, April 2, 1861 ; Nancy 
J. Bennett and Jesse B. Morrow, twins, born in 
Sacramento county, California, May 16, 1863 ; 
Mrs. Sarah E. Neisham, born January 24, 1869, 
in Douglas county, Oregon, and died in Chico, 
California, August 5, 1892; and Mrs. Mary "E. 
Cooper, born July 21, 1872, in Douglas county, 
Oregon. 



AHAZ WASHINGTON BRYAN resides 
some twenty-three miles north of Lakeview at 
what is known as the Bryan stage station. He is 
a stage contractor and has been in the business 
for many years in Lake county. He was born 
on December 16, 1858, in Mercer county, Mis- 
souri, the son of Daniel Boone and Mary (Fair- 
ley) Bry an - The father was born in Tennessee, 
in 1828 and served in the state militia in Mis- 
souri during the Civil War. The mother is a 
native of Ohio. They now live in this county. 
The other children of the family besides our 
subject are Mrs. Ella Strohm of Yamhill county, 
Oregon; David M., of this county; Mrs. Lucy 
J. Reed of this county ; and Mary H. The family 
crossed the plains with ox teams in 1864, mak- 
ing settlement in Yamhill county, where our 
subject was reared on the farm and received 
his education. When still young, he took a trio 
to western Oregon, then returned to Yamhill 
county and in 1887 journeyed to Lake county. 
He worked for wages for several years then be- 
gan sub-contracting on the mail routes. Finally, 
in 1902, he secured the contract of the mail from 



Lakeview to Paisley and he has been handling 
the business ever since. In 1902, he purchased 
his present home, an estate of five hundred acres, 
one-third of which is first class hay land. He 
has a good house, large barn, blacksmith shop 
and various other improvements. He does his 
own horse shoeing and blacksmith work- Mr. 
and Mrs. Bryan keep a stage station for the 
accommodation of the traveling public and are 
doing a good business in that line. He also 
raises cattle and horses. 

Fraternally, he is a member of the A. O. 
U. W. and the W. W. On July 24, 1892, Mr. 
Bryan married Nancy J. Moss, who was born 
in Modoc county, California, the daughter of 
Stephen P. and Susan (Casteel) Moss. To this 
union three children have been born, Bessie E., 
Tressie H. and Annie L. 



WILLIAM ANDREW CURRIER, who is 
engaged in stock raising, resides fourteen miles 
northwest from Paisley, his postofnce. He was 
born at Corvallis, Benton county, Oregon, on 
October 12, 185 1. His father, J. M. Currier, was 
born in Irasburg, Vermont, February 12, 1827. 
He went with his parents to New York state in 
1842, thence journeyed to Missouri in 1844 an d 
two years later, crossed the plains with his 
brother-in-law, A. L. Humphrey, and two sisters, 
and settled on a donation claim near Corvallis 
where he still resides. He took part in the 
Cayuse Indian War. In August, 1850, he mar- 
ried Maria Foster, who was born in Coshocton 
county, Ohio, April 11, 1834. Her father, An- 
drew Foster, fought in the War of 1812. She 
had crossed the plains in 1845 with her parents. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Currier, four children were 
born, of whom our subject, Mrs. J- W. Belknap 
of Hanford, California, and M. C. Currier, of 
Paisley, are still living. It is of interest to note 
in this connection, that Mr. Humphrey was a 
member of the first Oregon Legislature. 

William A. Currier came to Lake county in 
1875 anf l settled at Summer Lake where he still 
lives. He had married on January 19, 1875, 
Miss Kitty E. Hadley and to this union three 
children have been born, Eva, Ada and William 
Manley. Mr. Currier is in Lake county a most 
prominent and respected citizen and has the 
confidence and esteem of all who know him. 
He has been instrumental with others in making 
the count} r what it is today and has been very 
faithful in his labors. Since Mr. Currier has 
been elected commissioner of the county, it has 
prospered beyond expectation and is now en- 
tirely out of debt and he deserves great credit 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



881 



for bringing about tbese desirable ends. He is 
a successful business man and has accumulated 
a snug fortune since he came to Lake county. 
He owns seventeen hundred acres of land, all 
under fence, good comfortable house and barns, 
and raises all kinds of fruits and vegetables. Mr. 
Currier also owns two thousand head of cattle 
and is considered one of the largest horse owners 
in Central Oregon, having over a thousand head 
of these valuable animals. 

Fraternally, Mr. Currier is a member of the 
I. O. O. F. lodge, No. 177, of Paisley. 

Mrs. Currier was born on July 7, 1862, in 
Siskiyou county, California. Her father, S. B. 
Hadley, was born May 10, 1828, and died April 
20, 189T, at Paisley, Oregon. Her mother, 
Amelia (Shinn) Pladley, was born September 21, 
1825, and died October 3, 1886, at Myrtle creek, 
Douglas county, Oregon. Mr. and Mrs- Hadley 
were married on April 10, 185 1, and the same 
year crossed the plains from Galesville, Illinois, 
and settled in the Umpqua valley, Oregon, in 1852. 
To them were born the following named chil- 
dren: Albert, December 20, 1852, deceased; 
Margret, March 9, 1854, deceased ; Samuel, De- 
cember 3, 1856; Melvin and Melvina, April 21, 
1858 ; John, March 14, i860, deceased ; Kitty, 
July 7, 1862; and Henry, June 15 1866. 



WILLIAM L. POPE is a native of Yreka, 
California, born September 18, 1864, and is now 
a cattle raiser residing five miles south from 
Warner Lake postoffice on Twenty-Mile creek. 
His ranch is known all over southern Oregon 
as the "20-Mile Ranch" and is a noted way sta- 
tion on the Fort Bidwell-Plush road. 

Mr. Pope is the son of Charles W. and 
Medora (Combs) Pope, California pioneers. The 
father was born at Chillicothe, Ohio, and crossed 
the plains to California in 1849, settling at Yreka, 
where he was engaged in mining 1 and the stock 



business until 1868. He then removed to Little 
Shasta, where he resided until his death, which 
occurred in May, 1889. He was sixty-eight years 
of age when he died. The mother was a native 
of West Bend, Indiana, born in 1842, and crossed 
the plains to Yreka, California, at the age of 
ten years. She died in 1880. 

Our subject grew to manhood at the home 
of his parents, and received a good public school 
education. In June, 1884, he came to Lakeview 
and engaged in the sheep business with D- V. 
Cleland, Jr., under the firm style of Pope & 
Cleland. Three years later the firm dissolved, 
and Mr. Pope engaged in the business of buying 
and selling sheep, which business he followed 

56 



until 1901, when he abandoned the sheep busi-- 
ness and engaged in raising cattle. He now de- 
votes himself exclusively to the raising of cattle 
and the management of his ranch. He purchased 
his present home in 1895, but has lived upon it 
only since 1901. He has three hundred and 
twenty acres, about forty acres of which is in 
alfalfa meadow, thirty in grain and one and one- 
half acres in orchard. He has three miles of irri- 
gation ditch and flume, receiving an abundance 
of nvater from Twenty-mile creek. His land 
will produce any variety of fruit or vegetable 
adapted to the temperate zone. 

On November 27, 1896, Mr. Pope was mar- 
ried to Mary L. Clark, a native of Lake City, 
situated in Surprise valley, California. Her 
father, John A. Clark, was a native of Arkansas, 
who came to Oregon in 1856, and a short time 
later removed to Surprise valley. He was one 
of the pioneer settlers of that valley, and served 
during the Piute Indian war as a volunteer sol- 
dier. He has been engaged in the stock busi- 
ness the greater part of his life since coming 
west, and is now living on Twenty-mile creek, 
Lake county, Oregon. Mrs. Pope's mother was 
Jane A- (Ford) Clark, born at Yreka, California, 
and died at Plush, Oregon, on March 12, 1893. 



L. N. KELSAY is the editor and proprietor 
of the Central Oregonian. It is a sheet of great 
merit considering that it has been but a 
short time in the field and especially does it 
show forth excellent judgment in its policies 
and general make-up which but reflect Mr. Kel- 
say's probity and substantiality. Less than two 
years have passed since the first issue of the 
Central Oregonian appeared and it has so un- 
mistakably voiced the proper sentiment that it 
is the exponent of the progressive element of the 
community and Mr. Kelsav well deserves the 
patronage of all, being entitled to win success 
in his chosen field. 

L. N. Kelsav was born in Lane county, Ore- 
gon, on November 4, 1878, and received his edu- 
cational training in the public schools of Wasco 
county and the Portland University, from which " 
latter institution he graduated with honors in 
1901. Hon. William Kelsav, his father, was a \ 
native of Kentucky, being born June 11, 1831. 
In 1853 ne crossed the plains with ox teams and' 
settled on the homestead in Lane county and en- 
gaged in farming and stock raising there until 
1 885, then he removed to Wasco countv and em- 
barked in sheep raising, which he followed for 
several years. Then he disposed of these in- 
terests and is now engaged in the real estate 



■882 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



business at Shaniko, this state. He is a veteran 
of the Rogue River Indian War and draws a 
pension from the government. In 1886, he repre- 
sented Lane county in the state legislature. 

He married Miss Lucy M- Saylor, a native 
of Iowa. Her father, the maternal grandfather 
of our subject, was a farmer and also a native 
of Iowa and crossed the plains with ox 'teams to 
Oregon in 1853. 

Following his graduation, our subject worked 
one year as a freight agent for the Shaniko Ware- 
house Company at Shaniko but being possessed 
of a desire to enter journalism, he bought an 
Interest in the Shaniko Leader in 1902 and set 
to learn the printer's trade. In the spring of 
1903, he sold his interest in the Leader and re- 
moved to Silver Lake, Oregon, and founded the 
Central Oregonian which he is at present con- 
ducting. He has closely identified himself with 
the interests of the country and has so voiced 
its resources through the columns of the Ore- 
gonian that he has won much attention to this 
section ©f Oregon. The result is, the country is 
heing invaded annually with home seekers and in 
a short time we may expect a large population in 
this' favored region. 

At Paisley, Oregon, on the 28th day of Octo- 
ber, 1903, occurred the marriage of Mr. Kelsay 
and Miss Georgia Tribou, the daughter of George 
F. and Annetti (Tucker) Tribou. Mrs. Kelsay 
was born on May 8, 1885, at Portland and her 
father, a pioneer of Oregon, died in 1886. Her 
•mother married a second time, R. L. Sherlock 
becoming her husband, and thev now reside at 
Paisley, this state. Mr. and Mrs. Kelsay have 
one child, Leston Lovelle, who was born January 
12, 1905. Mr- Kelsay is a good strong Republi- 
can and voices the principles of that party with 
ability through the columns of his paper. He is 
a man of great clearness and has ability to ex- 
pound his belief in a very convincing manner. 
The result is, he has an interested and increasing 
circle of readers. He is a progressive and en- 
terprising man, takes a keen interest in every- 
thing for the upbuilding of the country and is 
especially active to build up educational facilities. 
He and his wife have won many friends during 
their stay in Silver Lake and are popular young 
people. 



GEORGE F. MAUPIN was born in Shelby 
county, Missouri. Tanuary 10, 1858. the son of 
Charles M. and Elizabeth (Barton) Maupin. the 
former a native of Virginia and the latter of 
Kentucky. The father served during the Civil 
War under General Price, of the confederate 



army, and died in Missouri, in August, 1896. 
The mother is now living, at the age of eighty- 
two years, in Clarence, Missouri. 

The brothers and sisters of Mr. Maupin are, 
Daniel, Roscoe, Charles M., Mrs. Mary R. Kirby, 
John T. and Fannie Maupin, all of whom are 
still residents of Missouri with the exception of 
the last named brother, who resides in the Warner 
valley, Oregon. 

Mr. Maupin grew to manhood in his native 
county and state and came west to Glenn county, 
California, in 1882- He came to Warner valley 
in December, 1888, and engaged in riding the 
range as a cowboy. Soon afterward, however, 
he took a pre-emption claim and engaged in the 
cattle business. In September, 1900, he entered 
the sheep business in conjunction with his cattle 
business, and now has large numbers of each 
of these animals and is making a success of his 
business. His home is one and three-fourths 
miles south from Warner Lake postoffice, where 
he has two hundred and forty acres of choice 
land. His land is well improved and is irrigated 
by the Twenty-mile creek ditch. Alfalfa, natural 
hay, and fruit are his principal products. 

Mr. Maupin was married March 3, 1895. to 
Mrs. Ella (Brooks) Piatt, a native of the state 
of California. At the time of her marriage to 
Mr. Maupin, Mrs. Piatt was the mother of three 
children, Anna, Dora and Rufus. Mr. and Mrs. 
Maupin are parents of three children, Myrtle I., 
Grace V. and George E. 

Mr- Maupin is a member of the Eagles fra- 
ternitv, and one of the prominent citizens of his 
locality. Upon coming to Warner valley in 
1888, his entire estate consisted of one horse and 
a buck-board, but he is now rated as being in 
comfortable circumstances. 



RICHARD L. SHERLOCK is a prominent 
wool grower of Summer Lake valley, residing on 
a sheep ranch one and one-half miles south from 
Summer Lake postoffice. He was born in Coun- 
tv Cork, Ireland, December 14, 1852. His father, 
Thomas Sherlock, now deceased, was a prominent 
attorney at law in Ireland. His mother, Mary 
C. fKineston) Sherlock, is also dead. 

Mr. Sherlock was educated in his native coun- 
try, and at the age of sixteen he and a brother, 
Thomas H. Sherlork, went to New Zealand and 
engaqed in the sheep business, following it suc- 
cessfully until r87i, when thev came to Hum- 
boldt county, California, and continued in raising 
sheep there. In 1872 our subject came to Lake 
countv. where he enqnp-<\l to work on a ranch 
as a herder of sheep. He has the distinction of 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



883 



having put up the first crop of hay ever harvested 
in the Silver Lake valley. Two of his brothers 
were here at that time ; Thomas H., who came 
in 1871, and Charles E. They formed a partner- 
ship in the sheep business, in which business our 
subject has been engaged continuously since, with 
the exception of two years he spent in the Klon- 
dike at the time of the memorable rush to that 
country in 1898. He has always prospered in his 
business and is now one of the wealthy wool 
growers of Lake county. 

He was married in 1886, and is now the fathei 
of three daughters- Mr. Sherlock, being one of 
the pioneers of Lake county, was in the country 
during the Modoc Indian war, during which he 
saw many hardships and had many narrow es- 
capes. 

Richard L. Sherlock is regarded as one of 
Lake county's most substantial citizens and at 
one time was chosen by the voters as member 
of the board of county commissioners. 



LORENZO D. FRAKES is a farmer and 
stock raiser residing in Warner Lake valley. He 
is a native of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, born June 
24, 1864, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Nathan M. 
Frakes. The father was born in Kalamazoo, 
Michigan, in 1841, and died in Warner Lake 
valley, August 22, 1904. In 1873 he came to 
Glenn county, California and in 1887 to Warner 
Lake valley. The mother, who is now Mrs. P. 
A. Flower, is living, at the age of eighty-four, in 
Warner Lake valley. Her ancestors were promi- 
nent in the early historv of the United States, 
some of them being soldiers in the Revolutionary 
War and her father served in the War of 1812, 
tinder Commodore Perry. 

Our subject is the eldest of a family of five 
children. He has three brothers, Lewis N. 
Alonzo D., and Leon W., who are likewise stock 
men of Warner valley, and his only sister, Libbie 
L., died November 27, 1893. 

Mr. Frakes grew to manhood at the home 
of his parents, and with them came to Warner 
Lake valley in 1887. The familv remained united, 
all working in mutual partnership, until ten years 
ago, when our subject started in business for 
himself. He began an independent life by filing 
a preemotion claim on a quarter section of land, 
to which he has since added by purchase one 
hundred and thirty acres, making him now the 
owner of two hundred and ninety acres in all. 
He has his land well improved, as to buildings, 
orchard, and so forth, and it all is under irri- 
gation, his mother, brothers and himself owning 
irrigation ditches leading from Twenty-mile 
creek. 



On October 22, 1895, Mr. Frakes was mar- 
ried to Mrs. Nellie (Green) Allen, a native of 
Eldorado county, California, and daughter of 
Benjamin F. and Sarah (Wilson) Green. To 
this union three children have been born, Nathan 
B., Lewis G. and Dow F. 

Mr- Frakes has been deputy sheriff of his 
county during the past five years, and is one 
of the most prominent citizens of Warner Lake 
valley. He is doing a prosperous business, rais- 
ing cattle almost exclusively, of which he has 
a large herd. He is now in comfortable circum- 
stances financially, notwithstanding the fact that 
he started in life in this county almost without 
means. 



WILLIS E. SCAMMON was born February 
18, 1862, in Stanislaus county, California. He 
is now a stock raiser residing at Plush, Oregon. 

His father is Benjamin Scammon, a native of 
the state of Maine, who, in 1849, came via the 
Panama route to California. Mr. Scammon's 
mother was Mary Jane Scammon, also a native 
of Maine. She came west with her husband, and 
some years later the two took a trip up the Fraser 
river to Alaska, and Mrs. Scammon is supposed 
to have been the first white woman in that coun- 
try. Their journey was one beset with many 
perils, and while still in the far North Mrs. 
Scammon was stricken ill and had to be carried 
out by men a distance of three hundred miles. 
She died in 1896. the father of our subject being 
now a resident of Surprise valley, California. 

Elsworth Scammon, a brother of the subject 
of this sketch, is now county recorder for Modoc 
county, California, and another brother, R. R. 
Scammon, is a resident of Humboldt county, 
California. He also has one sister- 

The early boyhood of Mr. Scammon was 
spent in San Joaquin vallev, and in T871 he came 
with his parents to Surprise valley. At the 
age of fourteen years he left home and went 
to Harney valley, Oregon, and worked on 
the stock ranch of Hardin & Taylor. He 
was in this valley at the time of the 
Bannock Indian war, and it was he who carried 
the dispatch from Harney valley to Camp creek, 
warning the settlers of the sudden hostility of the 
Indians. After this war Mr. Scammon worked 
on the ranch of Mr. Hudspeath for thirteen years, 
the latter three years of which time he was fore- 
man of the ranch, and then took a homestead on 
Rock creek and engaged in the stock business 
for himself. He sold his ranch and came to 
Plush in 1901. Here he purchased two hundred 
and fortv acres of land, the most of which is 



884 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



meadow land and now well improved as to build- 
ings, and so forth. He also owns the store 
building at Plush. His stock business consists 
chiefly in raising draft horses, mules, and some 
cattle. He has a stallion of the English Shire 
breed that weighs twenty-two hundred pounds. 
In 1898 Mr. Scammon was married to Mrs. 
Lena Sweet. Mrs. Scammon had at the time 
of her marriage to our subject, two children, 
Maud, wife of Joseph Fine, of Warner valley ; 
and Alfred Sweet, now a student in the Cedar- 
ville, California, high school. 



WILLIAM P. MOULDER formerly was a 
prominent stock raiser of Warner Lake valley, 
but now is a resident of Plush, Oregon. Born 
March 14, 1835, in Tennessee, he was the son of 
John and Margaret (Yadon) Moulder, and was 
the eldest of a family of four children. He has 
one brother, Thomas D. Moulder, in Indian Ter- 
ritory, and two sisters ; Mrs. Mary Byrum, of 
Fort Smith, Arkansas ; and Mrs. Caladonia 
Voucher, of Kansas City, Kansas. 

Early in life he went with his parents to Ala- 
bama, and from that state to Fort Smith, Arkan- 
sas. In 1854 he crossed the plains with Bennett 
& West's train to the San Joaquin valley, Cali- 
fornia. Here and at other points in California, 
he followed mining until 1861, when he went to 
the Walla Walla valley, in Washington, in the 
employ of the government as wagonmaster in 
the army. He was in the service of the United 
States government continuously until 1891, serv- 
ing in the capacity of wagon-master, pack-mas- 
ter, guide and scout. During this time he saw 
service in the Pinto, Modoc and Bannock Indian 
wars, being wounded repeatedly by gunshot and 
arrows, and travelled through southern Oregon, 
California and Nevada. He was in Warner val- 
ley as early as 1866 before there were any white 
settlers here. In 1892 he located a homestead 
where Adel postofRce now stands and engaged in 
ranching and sheep raising. He followed this 
occupation until 1902, when he sold his interests 
and retired from active life. 



JOSEPH HOWARD is a stock raiser resid- 
ing twenty-four miles west from Lakeview, where 
he maintains the half-way house on the Klamath 
Falls stage road between Lakeview and Bly. He 
was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, August 
21, 1852, the son of James W. Howard, a native 
of England, and Emily Howard, a native of New 
Jersey. The father came from England with 



his brother and two sisters, Joseph W., now of 
Lakeview, and Betsy and Maria Howard, who 
are living in Philadelphia. Mr. Howard, senior,, 
was a mechanic by trade, and died in Philadel- 
phia. The mother, now aged seventy-seven 
years, is still living in Philadelphia. 

The brothers and sisters of our subject are,. 
James, William, Mrs. Anna Miller, and George. 
The brothers are all well-to-do business men of 
Philadelphia. During his sojourn in the Quaker 
City our subject followed the business of team- 
ing. He was married in that city in 1875 to Ply- 
ner Tavlor, who was born in England, and who 
came to the United States with her parents as a 
child. 

Mrs. Howard's father, now deceased, was 
James Taylor, who served as a volunteer during 
the entire Civil War. The mother, Mary Tay- 
lor, also is dead. 

In September, 1886, Mr. Howard came to 
Lake county, Oregon, having been preceded here 
by an uncle. He purchased his present home and 
engaged in the stock business. He and his sons 
now own three thousand acres of land, the greater 
portion of which is adapted to the culture of hay, 
in Drew's valley. All of this tract is fenced and 
well improved in regard to house, barns, and so 
forth. They are doing a successful business and 
own some of the best bred cattle, sheep and horses 
in the valley. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Howard have been born five 
children: Walter, Frank, Oliver, married to Ida 
Humphrey, Ida, and Eva Howard. Each of the 
sons owns his own ranch and some stock. 



DANIEL CHANDLER has an extensive 
stock ranch on the Lakeview and Klamath Falls 
stage road twenty-one miles west from Lakeview, 
upon which he lives during the summer months, 
and he also owns a fine modern home in the city 
of Lakeview where he lives with his family dur- 
ing the school year in order to give his children 
the advantages of the city school. 

Born January 13, 1854, in Dane county, Wis- 
consin, Mr. Chandler is the son of Bazelial S. 
and Rebecca M. (McKinney) Chandler. The 
mother died in 1902, in Lakeview, while the father 
is still living in that city, being over eighty years 
of age. Bazelial Chandler is a native of the state 
of Ohio and was an early pioneer of Dane county, 
Wisconsin. He served two years during the Civ- 
il War, the second year being spent in a hospital 
as an attendant, and he was an active participant 
in many of the most bloody battles of the strug- 
gle. He is a member of the Grand Army of the 
Republic and is now living a quiet life in his- 
own home in Lakeview. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



885 



Mr. Chandler is a member of a family of nine 
children, seven of whom are still living. Omit- 
ting onr subject, their names are: Salmon B., 
Lakeview ; Mrs. Mary E. Kinsey, Lakeview; 
James A. ; Mrs. Adell A. Tucker, and Heaton L., 
of Lakeview. Two sisters,- Armonia A. and El- 
len are dead. 

At the age of seven Mr. Chandler went with 
his parents to Fayette county, Iowa, and fn the 
fall of 1866 he came with them via the New York 
and Panama route to San Francisco, and settled 
in Yolo county, California. Here the father took a 
homestead and settled, but the son left home and 
went to Plumas county, California, and in the fall 
of 1875 he came to the Crooked Creek valley, 
Lake county, Oregon, and began work on a ranch 
for wages. Three years later he filed a home- 
stead on the tract of land where he now lives and 
began to make improvements on his land. He 
also invested the small amount of money he had 
in cattle and engaged in a small way in the stock 
business. In 1899 he went into the sheep busi- 
ness, which he still follows greatly to his profit. 
He has now a flock of a few thousand sheep, and a 
tract of seven hundred and forty acres of land. 
His ranch for the most part is natural meadow 
land, though he cultvates some timothy for hay. 
He makes a specialty of raising hay on his land 
to feed to his sheep. He now has his ranch in-a 
high state of improvement in regard to fencing, 
buildings, and so forth. 

When he first came to Drew's valley Mr. 
Chandler found a few settlers, but all whom he 
found here then are gone elsewhere now, so in 
reality he is the pioneer inhabitant of the valley. 
On June 1, 1886, Mr. Chandler was married 
to Elva C. Sanders, daughter of Jacob and Kate 
Sanders, who now live near Avon, Washington. 
To this union seven children, all girls, have been 
born. Their names follow, Mabel F., Evalyn, 
Opal, Edith, Belle, Pearl and Leah. 

Mr. Chandler is a member of the Woodmen 
of the World lodge of Lakeview. He is a pros- 
perous and, one might say, wealthy man today, 
despite the fact that he came to the country abso- 
lutely without means. 



JOHN A. MORRIS is engaged in the general- 
merchandise business at Plush, Oregon, and it is 
in his store building that the Plush postoffice is 
located, Mrs. Morris being the postmistress. Mr. 
Morris carries a complete line of groceries, cloth- 
ing, hardware, and so forth, his store being run 
according to strictly modern and up-to-date 
methods. 

Born, February 14, 1869, Mr. Morris is a na- 



tive of Dade county, Missouri, and the son of 
William and Sarah Elizabeth Morris, who are 
now living in Jackson county, Oregon. 

During early life Mr. Morris came west with 
his parents and grew to manhood in Jackson 
county, Oregon, where his father followed the 
business of mining. Our subject received a thor- 
ough common school education, and worked with 
his father in the mines. In 1890 he came to 
Warner valley and engaged in the occupation of 
a cow-boy in the employ of the "J. J." ranch. 
Six years later he engaged in the stock business 
for himself, raising cattle and horses. After- 
ward, selling his cattle, he returned to the em- 
ploy of the "J. J." ranch. He now has a large 
drove of horses, some of which are of large draft 
breed and choice animals. In 1904 Mr. Morris 
purchased the store, residence, barn and twenty 
acres of ground, belonging to Daniel Boone, in 
Plush, and is now engaged in the management of 
his business, of which he is making a success. 

On Christmas day, 1899, Mr. Morris was mar- 
ried to Daisy Overton, a native of Fort Bidwell, 
California. The father of Mrs. Morris is living 
in Curry county, Oregon, and her mother is now 
Mrs. James N. Givan, a resident of Warner 
valley. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Morris have been born two 
children : Hallie Evlyn and Raymond Morris. 

Mr. Morris is a member in good standing of 
the Lakeview lodge, No. 63, I. O. O. F. He is a 
prominent man of the county and is in prosperous 
circumstances, although he started in life here 
practically without means. 



NEHEMIAH FINE. Born March 20, 1858, 
in Petaluma, Sonoma county, California, Nehe- 
miah Fine is now a wealthy stock raiser residing 
ten miles east from Plush, Lake county, Oregon. 
His father was Fred E. Fine, a native of Missou- 
ri, and one of the earliest pioneers of California, 
he having crossed the plains to where San Fran- 
cisco now stands prior to the advent of that great 
city. During the latter part of his life he was en- 
gaged in the stock business in Sonoma county, 
and died in Marion county in 1894. The mother 
was Jane (Cushenburg) Fine, a native of Cali- 
fornia. 

Our subject was reared on a stock ranch, and 
during his early life lived in different sections of 
the state of California. While residing in Merced, 
San Joaquin county, he was married to Rose 
Hageland, a native of Illinois, who came to Cali- 
fornia while a child. Her parents were Walker 
and Jane Hageland. 

In 1878 Mr. Fine brought his family to Lake 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



county, Oregon. This was during the time 
that the Bannock and Pinto Indians were on the 
war path, and many were the hardships and 
dangers that the early settlers of Warner valley 
were compelled to undergo on account of this 
fact. Upon first coming here Mr. Fine filed a 
preemption and homestead claim on the land 
where he now makes his home, and engaged in the 
stock business. He now has a large herd of cat- 
tle and an equal number of horses, and his realty 
holdings consist in fourteen hundred and forty 
acres of land, the greater part of which is suita- 
ble to the culture of hay and grain. He came to 
the county without a dollar, but was an indus- 
trious, hard-working man and a skillful manager 
of business and stock, and is now, as was stated 
at the beginning of this sketch, one of the well- 
to-do citizens of Warner Lake valley. 

Mr. and Mrs. Fine have been parents of two 
children, a son and a daughter. The son, Joseph 
Walker, is married to Maud Sweet, has one child, 
Charlotte, by name, and is a stock raiser of War- 
ner valley. Their daughter, Maud, lives at home 
with her parents. Both the children have been 
well educated by their parents. 

Mr. Fine is a member of the A. O. U. W. fra- 
ternity of Lakeview. 



WALTER D. TRACY is a farmer and dairy- 
man residing twenty miles west from Lakeview, 
Oregon, on one of the most valuable tracts of 
land in that locality. He has in all five hundred 
and sixty acres of land, about one-half of which 
is natural meadow and under irrigation, produc- 
ing an abundance of feed for his large herd of 
dairy stock. All of his land is well improved and 
under fence. 

Mr. Tracy is a native of Clayton county, Iowa, 
born November 21, 1864, the son of John S. and 
Malissa (Baker) Tracy, the former a native of 
Illinois and the latter of New York. John S. 
Tracy was an early pioneer of Clayton county, 
Iowa, and came to California in 1876, settling in 
Shasta county, where he still lives at the age of 
sixty-four years. His father, James Tracy, came 
from Ireland to Illinois and died in Iowa at about 
the age of eighty years. The mother of Walter 
D. Tracy removed in early life with her parents 
to Iowa, where she was married. She came west 
with her husband and died in Shasta county, Cal- 
ifornia twenty-two years ago. 

The brothers and sisters of Mr. Tracy are, 
Charles C, Mrs. Clara Tooney, John 0., and 
Ernest F., all residents of Sacramento, California. 

Mr. Tracy came west with his parents and 
grew to manhood on a farm. Tn the spring of 



1884 he came to Silver Lake, Oregon, where he 
obtained work for a short time, after which he 
took a homestead and preemption in Drew's val- 
ley and engaged in improving his land and raising 
stock. This land he sold in 1897, when he pur- 
chased his present farm. 

On November 17, 1886, Mr. Tracy was mar- 
ried to Miss Nannie Barker, a native of Shasta 
county, which union has been blessed with five 
children, Lawrence E., Joe E., Agnes E., Doug- 
las O. and Roy A. 

Mrs. Tracy was a daughter of George and 
Mary Barker, who came via Panama to Shasta 
county in very early days. Her grandparents 
were about the first who crossed the plains with 
an ox team and settled in Shasta county, where 
both they and Mrs. Tracy's parents since have 
died. 

In fraternity life Walter D. Tracy is associat- 
ed with the Woodmen of the World and is a mem- 
ber of Lakeview lodge, No. 63, I. O. O. F. Both 
he and Mrs. Tracy are members of the Rebekah 
degree of Oddfellowship and Mrs. Tracy belongs 
to the Women of Woodcraft. 

Mr. Tracy deserves great credit for his pres- 
ent high standing among his social and business 
associates, as he started in life in his present lo- 
cality with hardly a dollar to his name. He is a 
man of pluck and energy, honor and integrity, — 
qualities which have won him a place in the con- 
fidence and esteem of a wide circle of friends. 



ALBERT STEPHEN DOWN has followed 
the sea a great many years and probably has 
seen as much of the world as any man in the 
state of Oregon. He is now a farmer and stock 
raiser residing two and one-half miles south from 
Lakeview, Oregon, where, he says, he is content 
to spend the remaining years of his life. He is a 
native of the historic city of Hastings, England, 
born July 9, 1837, the son of John and Mary 
(Stace) Down. The latter attained the age of 
seventy-eight years, dying in Hastings, October 
8, 1895. Mr. Down is the eldest of a family or- 
iginally comprising four children, only two of 
whom, himself and his youngest sister, are living. 
This sister is now Mrs. Mary Ann Clark, and is 
living at Hastings, England. She and her brother 
have not met since she was two years of age. 

Mr. Down went to sea on board a fishing 
boat at the age of ten years, and remained with 
this craft for four years, after which time he 
shipped with a merchant vessel as a common 
seaman. He was at his home in Hastings for 
the last time in 1855, thence went to Gothen- 
burg, Sweden. He was in Constantinople in 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1856, when peace was declared between Russia 
and the allied powers. From this city he voy- 
aged to different parts of the civilized and un- 
cvilized world, and in 1858 he left the sea to en- 
gage in mining in Australia. There he became in- 
terested in many different mines, but in 1866 he 
abandoned the business and sailed for San Fran- 
cisco, California, arriving at that city March 25, 
1866. He left his ship and went to Sonoma 
county, where for four years he worked in the 
redwoods, and on February 23, 1870, he was 
married to Carrie Elizabeth Ballard, a native 
of Atchison, Missouri. 

Mrs. Down crossed the plains in a "prairie 
schooner" with her father in 1862, to Sonoma 
county. Her parents were Smithfield and De- 
lina Ballard. 

In 1878 Mr. and Mrs. Down went to Co- 
lusa county, California, and in the spring of 1879 
came to the Goose Lake valley, Oregon, and set- 
tled eleven miles west from Lakeview. Mr. Down 
purchased his present home in 1896. He has two 
hundred and sixty acres of land, the major por- 
tion of which is choice hay land and well im- 
proved with good farm buildings, orchard, and 
so forth. Formerly, Mr. Down owned sheep, 
but he has disposed of them and is now engaged 
in raising cattle and horses in connection with 
farming. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Down have been born six 
children : Mrs. Effie Vernon, Lakeview ; George, 
married to Myrtle Grimes, Lakeview ; Mary, 
wife of Flint Vernon, Lakeview ; James, deceased 
since 1886; Anna, wife of Homer Pollard, San 
lose ; and Stephen. The first named has five chil- 
dren, the second, one, and the third, four. 

Mr. Down was made a Mason in 1868 and 
is now a member of the Lakeview lodge of that 
order. Both he and Mrs. Down are members of 
the Eastern Star. 



FRANK PEARSON LIGHT, in partner- 
ship with George D. Harrow, conducts the lead- 
ing hotel in the city of Lakeview, Oregon. Their 
house is a three-story brick structure, containing 
sixty rooms, exclusive of parlor, dining room and 
kitchen, with a first-class bar in connection. 

Born in Humboldt county, California, Octo- 
ber 25, 1859, M r - Light is the son of James and 
Mary (Pearson) Light, pioneers of Humboldt 
county. The father was born in Maine and reared 
to young manhood in Massachusetts. Early in 
life he took to the sea and before many years be- 
came captain on a merchant vessel. In 1846 he 
set sail from Boston and sailed around Cape 
Horn to San Francisco. Here he abandoned the 



sea and three years later he went to Humboldt 
county, being a member of the second party ever, 
to penetrate that wild country, and his second son, 
Edwin A. Light, was the first white child born 
in that county. Mr. Light lived in Humboldt 
county until his death, which occurred in 1881. 
The mother died in the same county in 1875. The 
surviving children are, Monroe, Edwin A., our 
subject, and Mrs. Clara Yocum, all of whom, 
with the exception of our subject, are still resi- 
dents of Humboldt county, California. 

Mr. Light grew to manhood in his native 
county, came to Lakeview in the spring of 1880; 
and has made his home there ever since. In 1900 
he engaged in partnership with F. M. Miller in 
the hotel business. Two years later Mr. Miller 
disposed of his interest in the business to Mr. 
Harrow, the present junior member of the firm, 
who is a pioneer of Lake county of about twenty- 
one years. Messrs. Light and Harrow conduct a, 
first class and up-to-date hostelry and are doing 
a creditable business. 

On May 8, 1901, Frank Pearson Light was 
married to Minnie Cannon, to which union one 
child, Amos Evans, has been born. 

Mr. Light is a member and past grand of 
Lakeview lodge, No. 63, I. O. O. F., and is also 
a member and past chief patriarch of Lakeview 
encampment No. 18. He belongs also to the:. 
Knights of Pythias order. 



FRANK M. DUKE has a home consisting 
of two hundred and thirty-seven and one-half 
acres of land three miles south from Lakeview, 
where he is engaged in farming and stock raising. 
His land is well improved and is for the most 
part devoted to the growing of hay for feed for 
Mr. Duke's large herd of cattle. 

Born April 18, 1861, Frank M. Duke is a na- 
tive of Morgan county, Missouri. His father was 
William H. Duke, a native of Madison county, 
Kentucky, and went to Missouri at the age of 
nineteen years. He came to the Goose Lake 
country in 1876, and lived there until his death at 
the age of seventy-three years, March 18, 1904. 
William H. Duke's father was Patrick Henry 
Duke and his grandfather served in the patriot 
army during the Revolutionary War. Our sub- 
ject's mother was Ann (Thompson) Duke, who 
was born, and who died, in Missouri. 

Mr. Duke came west with his father in 1876. 
He began life for himself in 1882, his start being 
by working for a salary on a ranch. He located 
a homestead in 1888 and has been engaged in 
stock raising and farming since that time. 

In 1904 Mr. Duke was the nominee of the 



888 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Democratic party for the office of county sheriff, 
but owing to the great strength of the Republican 
party in Lake county, and to the popularity of its 
nominee for the office to which Mr. Duke aspired, 
he was defeated at the polls. 

Mr. Duke was married November 20, 1887, 
to Mary E. Feeler, born in Walla Walla county, 
Washington. Her father is Simon Feeler, a na- 
tive of Indiana and an early pioneer of Walla 
Walla county. From Walla Walla he removed to 
California, then to Goose Lake valley, and lastly 
to the vicinity of Fruitland, Stevens county, 
Washington, where he is now living. Mrs. 
Duke's mother was Martha (King) Feeler, a na- 
tive of the state of Missouri. 

Mr. and Mrs. Duke are parents of one child, 
Lora Ethel Duke. 

Mr. and Mrs. Duke are regarded as being 
among the most strictly moral and honorable resi- 
dents of Lake county, and both are members of 
the Baptist church. 



GEORGE H. SMALL resides one-half mile 
north of Silver Lake, where he has a magnificent 
estate of sixteen hundred acres well supplied with 
buildings and other improvements. Portions of 
the estate are irrigated from Silver creek and he 
makes a specialty of raising hay and stock. He 
is one of the prosperous men of the county and 
is doing a good business here. An account of 
his life will be interesting reading and it is with 
pleasure that we append it. 

George H. Small was born on September 18, 
1843, m Pettis county, Missouri. His father, 
George Small, a native of Kentucky, moved to 
Missouri in early days and crossed the plains with 
his family to Lane county, Oregon in 1853. Later, 
he removed to Glenn county, California, and there 
died. The mother Malinda (Hinch) Small, a 
native of Missouri, is also deceased. The chil- 
dren born to this worthy couple are named as 
follows : Mrs. Garrett Long, of Benton county ; 
Mrs. Gabriel Stockton, of Glenn county, Cali- 
fornia ; Mrs. A. V. Lane ; George H., our subject ; 
James M., of Silver Lake • Barton ; Samuel ; Mrs. 
David Mosby ; Mrs. Jane Payne; Parthenia ; 
Amanda, born on the plains. The last six named 
are deceased. Mr. Small assisted his father in 
bring the stock across the plains and although 
young, drove cattle every clay that they trav- 
eled. The old donation claim in Lane county 
was the first home in the west, then the family 
moved to Glenn county as stated in another por- 
tion of this work. Our subject gained his edu- 
cation as best possible on the frontier and as 
■early as 1872, came to the Chewaucan valley, se- 



cured a ranch and went to raising cattle. In 
1878, he came to the Silver Lake valley and took 
a preemption and homestead and has added to 
this by purchase until he has the fine estate above 
mentioned. He has given his attention to farm- 
ing and stock raising constantly since and has 
achieved a splendid success in this line, having 
now a good holding in property. 

On July 6, 1879, Mr. Small married Mary 
Underwood, a native of Douglas county, Oregon. 
Hon. David C. Underwood, her father, was born 
in Middlesex, New York state, and came to Cal- 
fornia by way of Cape Horn in a sailing vessel 
in 1849. He worked in the mines on American 
river until the fall of 1850, then removed to Ump- 
qua valley, Oregon, being one of the pioneers to 
that section. He took a donation claim near 
where Oakland, Oregon, is now situated, in June, 
1857. There he remained until 1869, having 
married Eliza J. Long. He served one term in 
the state legislature and was the first county 
judge of Douglas county. He built the first 
court house of that county, the same being lo- 
cated on his farm. He participated in the Rogue 
River Indian War of 1856 and in 1862 enlisted 
in Company A, First Regular Oregon Volunteers, 
under Colonel E. D. Baker, with the expectation 
of going east to the seat of war. Owing the Col- 
onel Baker's death, our subject remained in Ore- 
gon to keep the Indians quelled. He was with 
the command that located Fort Klamath and had 
charge of the same. He was very instrumental 
in bringing about the treaty with the Indians 
which was concluded there. He participated in 
many skirmishes with the Indians but was never 
wounded. In 1869, he received his honorable 
discharge as first lieutenant, and in the same year 
went to Cottage Grove where he engaged in the 
mercantile business until 1877, when he removed 
to Eugene and there operated as a broker in part- 
nership with his brother, J. B. Underwood, 
until his death on August 14, 1882, being then 
aged fifty-two. He married Eliza J. Long, a na- 
tive of Missouri who crossed the plains with her 
father, John Long, when eleven years of age. 
This was in the early forties and they were a 
part of the Donner party. She died at Pacific 
beach, California, on May 30, 1904, in her seven- 
tieth year. Mrs. Small has the following named 
brothers and sisters : Hiram E., of Cottage Grove ; 
David M., deceased ; John M., of Oelrich, South 
Dakota ; Anna E. Underwood, of Tacoma, Wash- 
ington : Mrs. George Wall, a physician of Cot- 
tage Grove; Mrs. A. E. Johnson, of Pacific 
Beach, California ; and Mrs. C. E. Hubbard, of 
Pacific Beach, California. The last named is a half 
sister of Mrs. Small. To Mr. and Mrs. Small 
three children have been borm namely : Malinda, 





Mr. and Mrs. George H. Small 



Mr. and Mrs. John A. Foster 




William H. Blurton 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



889 



a graduate of the agricultural college of Corvallis 
and now teaching in the public schools of Silver 
Lake ; Lora M., a graduate of the Portland busi- 
ness college and a stenographer ; and Irvin Earl, 
a student of the agricultural college at Corvallis. 
In addition to property already mentioned, Mr. 
Small owns eleven hundred acres of grazing land 
in Thompson valley and his stock consists of 
horses and cattle of which he has a large number. 
He was active in pioneer days and has done very 
much to. build up the country. During the In- 
dian uprising in 1873, he was one of the settlers 
who assisted to drive the savages out of the 
Chewaucan valley. He has ever shown himself 
a man of worth and ability and he and his wife 
are leading people in Lake county. 



JOHN A. FOSTER resides some six miles 
south of Summer Lake postoffice on the west 
bank of Summer Lake. He has a splendid farm 
of two hundred acres extending for a mile and 
more along the lake front and here he has resided 
for many years. The farm is well improved and 
equipped with a good six room residence, barns 
and other outbuildings and is one of the choice 
ones of the county. It is so situated that it is 
especially adapted for raising both grain and fruit 
as well as all kinds of vegetables. Mr. Foster 
has an orchard that contains every kind of fruit 
adapted to this climate and he has made a great 
success in this line. He raises corn, tomatoes, 
watermelons in abundance and potatoes grow so 
thrifty that the larger ones will weigh over four 
pounds apiece. In addition to general farming, 
Mr. Foster pays great attention to handling 
blooded stock ; he has between thirty and fifty 
Shorthorn animals all prize winners and from 
the best strains imported into this state by Mr. 
Miner of Heppner, Oregon. One animal that 
Mr. Foster owns weighs over two thousand 
pounds and is still under three years of age. In 
all his labors here, Mr. Foster has met with the 
success deserved by his thrift, wisdom, and sta- 
bility and he is one of the leading men in this part 
of the country. This valley where he resides has 
always been famous for its wild game, such as 
almost every kind of fowl, besides bear, cougar, 
deer and other animals. It is still a great paradise 
for the sportsman. 

John A. Foster was born December 29, 1851, 
near Corvallis, Oregon. His parents were James 
and Elizabeth (Currier) Foster. He grew up on 
the old homestead with his parents in Benton 
county and there received his education. As early 
as 1872, he came to Summer Lake valley, being 
among the very first settlers here. He located on 



his present place, taking it as a homestead and 
for over thirty years, he has resided here. He 
came in as a sturdy young pioneer with no means 
except two good strong hands and abundance of 
grit, and everything that he now possesses is the 
result of his own labor and wisdom. In addition 
to the stock mentioned, which Mr. Foster raises, 
we should speak of the extra fine Poland China 
hogs which he is breeding. He has very good 
success in this enterprise and has some choice an- 
imals as well as some fine horses. 

On June 19, 1890, Mr. Foster married Loura 
Mercer, who was born near Monroe, Oregop. 
Her father, George Mercer, was a native of Ohio 
and crossed the plains to Oregon with ox teams 
in 1853. His parents both died when he was a 
child and he was forced early to meet the hard- 
ships of the world but his fund of determination 
and genuine grit, enabled him to make the best 
of life and although not favored with schools, he 
gained a good education and soon was able to 
teach school which he did for some time. Then 
he followed merchandising and also was surveyor 
of Benton county, which office he held for almost 
twenty years. He is now living a retired life on 
his farm near Corvallis, this state. He is a mem- 
ber of the A. F. & A. M. and the I. O. O. F. His 
birth occurred on January 15, 1829. The mother 
of Mrs. Foster, Elizabeth (Hilemon) Mercer, 
was born in New York state, on December 1, 
1833. She crossed the plains one year before her 
husband did and they were married in the west. 
They now are both living a retired life and are 
highly esteemed people. For years they have 
been members and supporters of the Presbyte- 
rian church and have labored for all good enter- 
prises. The children born to this venerable 
couple are Albert, Mrs. Foster, Frank, deceased, 
Lester, Walter, George and Bertha. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Foster, one child has been born, Earl Law- 
rence, on October 7, 1891. Mr. and Mrs. Foster 
are both members of the Methodist church and 
are highly respected people. 



WILLIAM H. BLURTON who is operating 
a hotel and livery barn in New Pine Creek, was 
born on February 26, i860, in Butte county, Cal- 
ifornia. His father, John, was a native of Mis- 
souri and came across the plains with ox teams in 
T858, making a settlement in Butte county, Cali- 
fornia., Later, he lived in Monterey countv a 
short time then returned to Butte county and in 
1872, came to Goose Lake valley. He settled 
near the mouth of Davis creek and engaged in 
stock raising there until his death in July, 1898. 
He had married Rachel L. Bovdstun, the wed- 



890 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



ding occurring in Missouri. She accompanied 
him across the plains and was a faithful help- 
meet until his death. She is now residing in this 
valley. They were the parents of fourteen chil- 
dren, eight of whom are now living. Our subject 
was educated in the various places where his pa- 
rents lived during his youthful days and accom- 
panied them on their journey to this portion of 
Oregon in 1872. He was here during the ravages 
of the Modoc war, there being but few settlers in 
the valley at that time. At the age of thirteen, 
Mr. Blurton began the occupation of riding the 
range and soon became an expert horse breaker. 
He has handled some of the fiercest and most 
stubborn animals in this county and has always 
mastered them in fine shape. He has the reputa- 
tion of being one of the best horsemen in the 
county. For a time, he had a band of stock on 
the range, then he sold out his horses and ranch 
and came to New Pine Creek. Here he pur- 
chased two acres of ground and erected a fine 
two story hotel of thirteen rooms and a fine liv- 
ery barn, thirty-six by sixty-four feet. His hotel 
is well handled and a fine stopping place. His liv- 
ery is supplied with all rigs and horses necessary 
and gives a first class service. Mr. Blurton is be- 
ing prospered in his business and is one of the 
substantial men of the town. 

On February 29, 1888, Mr. Blurton married 
Miss Annie Wallace and to them four children 
have been born, Edith May, Roy Earl, William 
Lee, and Crystal Lonson. 



JAMES T. FITZGERALD is a farmer and 
stock raiser residing five miles south from Lake- 
view. He is a native of McMinn county, Tennes- 
see, born June 3, 1830, and the son of Joseph B. 
Fitzgerald, a native of Jackson county, Tennessee, 
and Nancy (Thomas) Fitzgerald, also a native 
of Tennessee. The grandfather, also a native of 
Tennessee, was a veteran of the Indian wars of 
colonial days. 

Mr. Fitzgerald grew to manhood in the state 
of his birth, acquiring a common school educa- 
tion in a subscription school held in a log house. 
He was married September 8, 185 1, to Sarah 
Neil, who was born within five miles of the birth 
place of our subject, June 14, 1832. Her parents 
were John and Sarah (Lane) Neil, both natives 
of Tennessee. Her father was the son of Irish 
parents, and her mother's father was Isaac Lane, 
a soldier in the Revolutionary War, who lived to 
be ninety-eight years of age, when he was killed 
in an accident. 

In 1859 Mr. and Mrs. Fitzgerald removed to 
Laclede county, Missouri, and remained there 



during the Civil War. Here they accumulated 
considerable property, but it was all destroyed by 
the soldiers during the war. During Price's last 
raid through that section Mr. Fitzgerald was 
informed by Colonel Cosgrove of the union troops 
that if he did not accompany his command he 
would be considered a bushwhacker, and as such 
be dealt with. Our subject was persuaded by this 
argument to become a member of Colonel Cos- 
grove's band, severing his connection with it thir- 
ty days later. i 

In the fall of 1870 Mr. Fitzgerald left Mis- 
souri and brought his family to Jackson county, 
Oregon and settled near Ashland. Two years 
later ne was employed by the government as 
teamster in Major Wright's command, and served 
in that capacity during the Modoc War. After 
the war he returned to Ashland, and in May, 1873, 
came to Goose Lake valley, and located south of 
the present site of Lakeview. Lake county was 
at that time a part of Jackson county, and Mr- 
Fitzgerald was instrumental in having the pres- 
ent Lake county created and the county seat lo- 
cated at Lakeview. 

Mr. Fitzgerald came to Ashland with only 
seventy-five cents to his name, but made some 
money during the Modoc War, and during the- 
war he purchased a right to a claim seven miles 
south from Lakeview. When he came here to 
live he filed an additional homestead and began 
at once to improve his farm and he now has one 
of the pleasantest and most valuable homes in 
the valley. He has two hundred acres of land in 
all, the greater part of which is suitable to the 
growth of hay, and is under irrigation. 

During his life here he has been constable and' 
for two years he was deputy sheriff. He was made 
the Lakeview lodge of that order. He and Mrs. 
Fitzgerald are members of the Baptist church. 
They have been parents of five children : Nancy 
J., wife of John O'Neil, of Pine Creek ; Montez, 
who died in Missouri ; Esther N., wife of Loyal 
Carter, Santa Rosa. California ; John N., married 
to Bertha Pike, Lakeview ; and George C. Fitz- 
gerald, who is a wool grower of Lake county and 
a partner with his father in the stock business.. 



C. OSCAR METZKER is the editor and 
publisher of the Lake County Examiner, pub- 
lished in Lakeview, which is the leading news- 
paper in that section of the state of Oregon- He 
is also engaged in a prosperous real estate busi- 
ness in connection with the management of his 
newspaper. Mr. Metzker received his first ex- 
perience in the newspaper business in 1894. when 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



891 



he became connected with the Examiner as a 
printer. He worked in this capacity until Febru- 
ary, 1901, when he went to Paisley, Oregon, 
and established the Chewaucan Post, which pub- 
lication he managed successfully for three years, 
when he sold out and in March, 1904, he pur- 
chased the Examiner. This paper was founded 
in 1880, and for a number of years thereafter was 
the only paper in Lake county. It always has 
been one of the most influential newspapers in 
Southern Oregon. 

Mr. Metzker was born January 19, 1869, in 
Yamhill county, Oregon, and was reared to the 
age of twenty years on a stock ranch. He re- 
ceived a good* common school education in the 
states of Oregon and California, which, together 
with the self-education which he has acquired, 
has amply qualified him for his chosen field of 
labor. 

The father of the subject of our sketch, Will- 
iam Metzker, crossed the plains from Iowa in 
1852, and settled near Portland. His father, 
John Metzker, was captain of the train of ox 
teams by which means the journey across the 
plains was made. He is now living in Portland 
at the age of eighty-six. William Metzker came 
to Goose Lake valley in 1869, removing to that 
section with his family one year later. He en- 
gaged in the stock business here and continued 
thus engaged until recently, when he removed 
to Modoc county, California, where he now lives. 
Our subject's mother, Tacy S. (Reese) Metzker, 
died in 1896- 

Mr. Metzker was married November 19, 190 1, 
to Renna V. Kearney. 

In fraternitv circles Mr. Metzker is identified 
with the Odd Fellows and A. O. U. W. societies. 
Of the former he is a member and past grand 
of Lakeview lodge No. 63. and is a past chief 
patriarch of Lakeview encampment No. 18. 



DAVID H. HARTZOG is a prominent 
pioneer of Lake county and a farmer residing 
five miles south from Lakeview. He is a native 
of Hickman conntv, Tennessee, born April 13, 
1847, the son of Richard and Susana Hartzog. 
The father was a soldier in the federal army dur- 
ing the Civil War. 

Mr. Hartzog while still a child removed with 
his parents to Cooper county. Missouri, and 
during the latter part of the Civil War he en- 
listed and served for a brief term in the Union 
army. After the close of the Rebellion he went 
to Cedar county, Missouri, where he was mar- 
ried, in the year 1870, to Susan Eslinger, daugh- 
ter of John and Martha Eslinger. 



In 1874 he came west to Yolo county, Cali- 
fornia, and to Goose Lake valley the following 
year, arriving here August 5, 1875. He settled 
on a homestead and began at once to make im- 
provements, in order to do which he was com- 
pelled to work for wages among the settlers round 
about. Mr. Hartzog was a judge of the election 
when it was voted to establish Lakeview as the 
county seat of Lake county, and was a juror 
of the first circuit court to sit in Lakeview. He 
has served four years as deputy sheriff of his 
county, and has held other prominent positions 
manifesting the confidence and trust reposed in 
him by his fellow-citizens. 

When he first came to this locality Lakeview 
was unheard of, and Mr. Hartzog recalls the 
times when he has harvested hay on the land 
where the city now stands. He came to the 
country with only five dollars in currency and a 
span of ponies and a light wagon, but both he 
and Mrs. Hartzog have always been industrious, 
frugal people and their patient efforts brought 
reward in the form of a competence in the way 
of worldly goods, so that they now own six 
hundred and fifty acres, a part of which is as 
good land as can be found in the valley, the 
principal part of which is devoted to the raising 
of hay and cereal crops of all varieties and their 
farm is one of the best improved in Lake county. 
They have some cattle, horses and the other 
domestic animal commonly found on a well-reg- 
ulated farm. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Hartzog have been born 
eight children, four of whom are still living. 
Their names are ; Edwin, married to Elma Funk, 
Pine creek ; Pearl A., Clara L. and Mary Delphia, 
the three latter living at home. 

Mr. Hartzog is a member of the Masonic 
fraternity, of Lakeview, and both he and Mrs. 
Hartzog are devout members of the Baptist faith. 
They have always taken an active interest in all 
things pertaining to the betterment of the com- 
munity in which they live, especially through 
the medium of the church and school. 



AHIRA W. MANRING came to Lake 
countv, Oregon, in the spring of 1886 and be- 
gan life here as a wage earner. Later he en- 
gaged in the sheep business, which he followed 
successfully until 190T. In the spring; of 1902 
he entered politics as the candidate of the Demo- 
cratic party for the office of county clerk. At 
the polls he was victorious, though Lake county 
went Republican and the great majority of the 
Democratic candidates were defeated. He was 
re-nominated in 1904 and elected to succeed 



892 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



himself, receiving an increased majority of votes 
over his previous election, so is now serving his 
second term as clerk of Lake county. 

Mr. Manring was born in Gallia county, Ohio, 
December 13, 1864. He was the son of Alvin 
and Nancy (Tanner) Manring, both of whom 
also were natives of Gallia county Ohio. He is 
the second in point of age of a family of eight 
children ; Charles E., Whitman county, Washing- 
ton ; Ahira W- ; Benjamin F., Lakeview, Oregon ; 
Ora V., a pharmacist of Spokane, Washington ; 
George W., Whitman county, Washington ; San- 
ford A., Whitman county; Cora E., deputy coun- 
ty clerk of Lake county ; and Edgar A., a harness 
merchant of Colfax, Whitman county, Wash- 
ington. 

At an early age our subject accompanied his 
parents to Gentry county. Missouri, and in the 
spring of 1878 the family crossed the plains in a 
"prairie schooner" to Whitman county, Washing- 
ton, being among the early pioneers of that 
county. The)' settled on a homestead adjoining 
the present site of the town of Garfield, upon 
which the father lived until his death, which oc- 
curred during October, 1903. The mother died 
in 1895. 

This farm was also our subject's home until 
he removed to Lake county, as stated above. 
He received a good common school education in 
Whitman county, and is amply fitted for the 
duties of the office to which the voters of his 
adopted county have elevated him. 

In society and fraternity circles he is a man of 
considerable prominence. He is a member and 
past grand of Lakeview lodge, No. 63, I. O. O. F-, 
of the Rebekab degree, and the Encampment, 
No. 18, and also holds membership in Damon 
lodge. No. 31, Knights of Pythias, of Garfield, 
Washington. 



THOMAS BENTON VERNON, ever since 
his advent into Lake county, has taken a most 
active part in the religious and educational 
progess of the county. He came here a poor 
man, financially, but he is now a well-to-do 
farmer and stock raiser residing on a two hun- 
dred and twenty-acre timothy and alfalfa farm 
five and one-half miles south from Lakeview. 
His land is all well improved, irrigated bv water 
taken from Crane creek, and his farm buildings 
are of the latest and best models. 

Mr. Vernon was born December 13, 1851, 
in Laclede countv, Missouri. His father was 
Anderson Perry Vernon, of English ancestry, 
a native of Tennessee and a son of Col. Mil^s 
Vernon, an officer in the War of 1812. Col. 



Miles Vernon also served in the state legislature 
of Missouri, representing Laclede county, for 
sixteen years. He died at St- Louis at the age 
of eighty years. The father of our subject set- 
tled in Missouri when a young man, and a few 
years later went to Texas, thence to Benton 
county, Arkansas. He came to Surprise Valley, 
California, in 1876 and the following fall located 
a homestead near where Lakeview now stands. 
Here he engaged in farming and stock raising 
until his death from cancer in 1901, aged seventy- 
eight years. While a resident of Missouri he 
enlisted in General Price's army, serving during 
the Civil war. The mother of our subject, who is 
now living on the old homestead near Lakeview, 
aged seventy- four years, is Dollie (Leathers) 
Vernon, and a native of Tennessee. Both pa- 
rents have always been devoted members of trie 
Baptist church. They reared a family of thirteen 
children, ten of whom are now living, nine sons 
and one daughter. Their names follow. Miles, 
Thomas B., Richard W., Sterling P., Elliott, Mrs. 
Grace Stanley, — the latter two being twins' — ■ 
Stonewall J., Flint, Hurley and Lester. 

Mr. Vernon went with his parents to Texas 
and to Benton county, Arkansas, in 1866- He re- 
ceived a thorough common school education, and 
spent some time in college, and he taught school 
some years in Arkansas. He came to Siskiyou 
county, California, in 1875, and here engaged in 
school teaching until returning to Arkansas sev- 
eral months later. He was married January 6. 
1876, to Mary F. Duckworth, a native of Benton 
county, Arkansas, and daughter of Johnathan P. 
and Nancy (Alexander) Duckworth, natives of 
Missouri and Bowling Green, Kentucky, re- 
spectively. The father of Mrs. Vernon emigrated 
to Arkansas when young and is now living in that 
state at the age of eighty-seven years. The 
mother died in August, 1902, aged seventy-six 
years. Mrs. Vernon is a member of a family 
originally comprising nine children, six of whom 
are living; Rev. Joseph Duckworth, Tahlequah. 
Indian Territory ; Mrs. Vernon ; Gideon, and 
George W., Benton county, Arkansas ; Johnathan 
P., Lakeview ; and Andrew J., Benton county, 
Arkansas. 

Mr. and Mrs. Vernon went to Surprise val- 
ley California, in 1876, and the following year 
they came to Goose Lake valley, Oregon, where 
Mr. Vernon followed school teaching for several 
years. He was later appointed to fill a vacancy 
in the office of county school superintendent of 
Lake county, which then included Klamath, and 
was elected on the Democratic ticket to succeed 
himself upon the expiration of his term. 

He now owns his handsome home, referred 
lo above, and a quarter section of grazing land 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



893 



besides. He has some stock, consisting princi- 
pally of cattle, with some horses, hogs and sheep. 

Mr. and Mrs. Vernon have been parents of 
eight children : Perry Johnathan, deceased ; Ger- 
trude May, a graduate from Monmouth college, 
and now a teacher in the Moro, Oregon, schools ; 
Minnie Ethel, Rilla Ann, deceased ; William 
Pulaski, Harry, Grover, and Agatha Beryl. 

Mr. and Mrs. Vernon are actively affiliated 
with the Baptist faith. 



ELMER E. RINEHART is sheriff of Lake 
county, Oregon, having been elected to that 
office on the Republican ticket in the spring of 
1904. He came to Lake county in 1894 and en- 
gaged in the saw mill business in partnership 
with Rhesa A. Hawkins, a pioneer of the county, 
under the firm name of Hawkins & Rinehart. 
Their plant is situated in the Crooked creek val- 
ley, where the company also owns a large tract 
of timber and agricultural lands. They are still 
running the mill with profit, and in addition they 
are quite extensively engaged in the business of 
cattle raising and farming. 

Mr. Rinehart is a native of Chillicothe. Ohio, 
and was bnrn January 29, 1864. His father, 
David G. Rinehart, is a native of Pennsvlvania, 
but removed to Ohio about the time of the con- 
struction of the Baltimore & Ohio railroad. Upon 
the outbreak of the Rebellion he enlisted in the 
army and his military record covers a period of 
three and one-half years, during which time he 
was a participant in some of the most severe 
battles of the war. among which may be men- 
tioned the battle of Bull Run. He is still living 
in Ross county, Ohio, at the age of eighty-two 
years. Our subject's mother was Elizabeth 
(Erlywine) Rinehart, a native of West Virginia. 
She had attained the age of sixty-five years when 
she died, in 1895. 

Mr. Rinehart was a member of a family of 
eleven children, eight of whom are still living. 
The first twenty years of his life were spent in 
the state of his birth. In 1884 he came west 
and settled in Surprise valley, California. Dur- 
ing his boyhood he mastered the trade of station- 
ary engineer, and since coming to the west has 
followed that trade, his work being confined to 
the running of engines in lumber and grist mills. 

On May 20, 1888, Mr- Rinehart was married 
to Addie Peters, a native of California, and 
daughter of Clans Peters, a German by birth, 
and a pioneer of California. Claus Peters was one 
of the first settlers in Surprise valley, and his 
death occurred there December 14, 1904. Mr. 
and Mrs. Rinehart have been parents of one 



child, a son by the name of Clarence D. 

It may be said to the credit of Mr. Rinehart 
that he started in business in Lake county ten 
years ago without a dollar in his own name ; but 
so diligently has he applied his energies to his 
business and so faithfully has he met all ad- 
versities that he is now in the best of circum- 
stances and enjoys the good will of a wide circle 
of friends. 



RUFUS K. FUNK resides seven and one- 
half miles south from Lakeview, where he fol- 
lows the business of farming and stock raising. 
He is a native of Hocking county, Ohio, born 
December 31, 1853. His father was Abraham 
Funk, a native of the same county as is our sub- 
ject, and son of Daniel Funk, born in Pennsyl- 
vania, and one of the pioneers of Ohio. Daniel 
Funk was the son of Rev. Christly Funk, of Ger- 
man birth, who came to America in 1750 and set- 
tled in Pennsylvania. Rev. Christly Funk was & 
captain under George Washington during the 
Revolutionary War, and was the father of seven 
sons, six of whom were in his company. The 
seventh, Daniel, was a teamster in General Wash- 
ington's army. One of the sons, Abraham by 
name, is said to have lived to the age of one 
hundred and thirty years. The father of our sub- 
ject removed to Macon county, Illinois, in 1863, 
where he died at the age of eighty-two years, in 
1891- Our subject's mother, Martha (Crook) 
Funk, who was born in Hocking county, Ohio, 
and died in Illinois, at the age of seventy-two 
years, in 1885. was the daughter of George 
Crook, a Revolutionary War soldier. She was 
also first cousin to General Crook of Pacific coast 
Indian war fame. The brothers and sisters of 
Mr. Funk are, Mrs. Susan Beery, Henry, Daniel, 
Amos, Albert R., and John A. Funk. One 
brother, Noah, and two sisters, Mrs. M. Stiers 
and Mrs. Emma Dudrey are now deceased. All 
who are living reside in the eastern states. 

Mr. Funk went with his parents to Macon 
county, Illinois, where he received a complete 
common school education. He taught school near 
his home for some time, then, in 1874, went to 
Texas, where he worked on various stock 
ranches and also in a cotton gin. He traveled 
extensively over the states of Texas, Missouri 
and Kansas, after which he returned to Illinois. 
In the spring of 1878 he started with a narty 
of emigrants across the plains, arriving in Para- 
dise Valley. Nevada, just in time to participate 
in the Bannock Indian war- He took an active 
and prominent part in this war, after which he 
returned to Illinois. Here he gathered together 



.894 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



a party, formed an emigrant train of fifty-seven 
wagons and started on his second journey toward 
the west. He acted as captain and guide for the 
train. A large number of these emigrants came 
with him to the Goose Lake valley, where Mr. 
Funk has since made his home. 

Mr. Funk arrived here without means, but 
took a claim and began at once to farm, later 
engaging, to a limited extent, in stock raising. 
He now has two hundred and eighty acres of 
choice land, good improvements, and a large 
herd of cattle and some horses. He has always 
taken an active interest in politics, and in 1892 
was a delegate from the state of Oregon to the 
Populist convention in Omaha, Nebraska. 

Mr. Funk was married January 28, 1877, in 
Macon county, Illinois, to Lydia King, a native 
of Pennsylvania, and daughter of Daniel and 
Elvina (Homm) King, the former a native of 
Pennsylvania, now living in Macon county, 
Illinois. The mother is now deceased. Both of 
Mrs. Funk's parents were of German ancestry. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Funk have been born five 
children, Henry A-, Elma E., now wife of Edwin 
Hartzog, Daniel G., Oran J., and Corda M. 

Mr. and Mrs. Funk are pronounced Baptists 
in religious faith. 



JOHN DAVID EDLER is a well-to-do wool 
grower of Klamath county, Oregon, residing 
principally in Lakeview. He was born May 27, 
1865, in Perry county, Pennsylvania, the son of 
John and Doratha (Myers) Edler. He has one 
brother, Jacob, and one sister, Emma C. Edler, 
both residing in Crawford county, Kansas. 

As a boy Mr. Edler removed with his pa- 
rents to Illinois, and from that state the family 
emigrated to Crawford countv, Kansas, where the 
father took a homestead, upon which he lived 
until his death, and upon which the mother is 
still making her home. In June, of the year 
1885, Mr. Edler removed to Alturas, Modoc 
county, California, and during the following 
autumn came to Lake county, Oregon. He be- 
gan life here as a sheep herder, but soon acquired 
capital sufficient to enable him to purchase a 
small flock of sheep of his own. With that start 
he has continued during subsequent years to 
add to his flock until his gheep now number sev- 
eral thousand. He also owns eighteen hundred 
acres of land twelve miles east of Bonanza, 
Klamath county, Oregon, the tract being known 
far and wide as the "Keno Springs ranch" 

Mr. Edler is a member of the United Work- 
men lodge of Lakeview. 

He is a man of great industry, as may be 



judged by the foregoing facts relating to his 
life, and is generally looked upon as one of the 
leading citizens of southern Oregon. 



JAMES P. DUKE is a farmer and stock 
raiser, residing seven and one-half miles south 
from Lakeview, where he has four hundred and 
ninety acres of land, the major portion of which is 
devoted to the culture of hay and grain. His land 
is well improved, as to buildings, and so forth, 
and water is piped into his house from a near by 
spring. His stock consists chiefly of cattle, 
though he keeps a few head of horses and a small 
drove of swine. Although he came to the coun- 
ty in what might be called an impoverished con- 
dition, he is now considered to be well supplied 
with the good things of the earth. 

Mr. Duke is a native of Benton county, .Mis- 
souri, born January 25, 1859, the son of William 
H. and Ann (Thompson) Duke, the latter dying 
in 1865. Mr. and Mrs. William H. Duke reared 
a family of four children, John M., Mrs. Jennie 
Cogburn, James P. and Frank M. Duke. The 
father was married for the second time in 1869 
to Mrs. Elizabeth Thurston, and to this union 
were born four children, Walter, Mrs. Anna 
Sherlock, Samuel, and Mrs. Estella Dunlop. 

Our subject came to Lake county with his par- 
ents in 1876 and settled in the Goose Lake valley, 
where he worked with his father in the building 
of a home. In 1881 he went to work for wages 
and in 1890 he filed a preemption claim on his 
present home. 

He was married January 8, 1893, to Minnie 
Myrtle, who was born about seven miles south 
from Pine creek in Modoc county, California. 
Mrs. Duke is the daughter of Horace D. and 
Nancy C. (Bogart) Myrtle, the latter now resid- 
ing at the home of our subject. The father was 
one of the first settlers of Goose Lake valley, com- 
ing here in 1869. He was a native of the state 
of Kentucky, from wdiich state he removed to Mis- 
souri. He was a veteran of the Mexican War and 
of the more recent Rogue River Indian war. He 
first crossed the plains to the Willamete valley 
during the early "50's", and died in 1883. 

Mr. and Mrs. Duke are parents of four chil- 
dren, Lera, Essie, Ross, and Mildred. 

Mr. Duke was among the first settlers of 
Goose Lake valley, and has seen all of the hard- 
ships and vicissitudes of pioneer life in the far 
west. Lakeview was un thought of at the time of 
his advent into the valley, although there was 
a small postoffice near the present site of the city, 
known as Lake postoffice, which received mail 
thrice a week. He takes a pardonable pride in 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



895 



the fact that he began life here in a raw country 
and without means, but is now in comfortable cir- 
cumstances, all of which is the direct result of 
the hardest of toil. 



WILLIAM JOSEPH MOORE was born 
May 22, 1862, ill Adair county, Missouri. He was 
the son of John W. and Edna F. (Pay ton) Moore, 
the former a native of Indiana, who early in life 
removed to Illinois and later to Missouri, and 
the latter of Missouri. Mr. Moore has one 
brother and one sister, Charles A. Moore, a prom- 
inent attorney of Baker City, Oregon, and Mrs. 
Mary D. Moss, of Lakeview. 

During boyhood Mr, Moore accompanied his 
parents from his native state to New York city, 
whence the family went by steamer over the Pan- 
ama route to San Francisco, California. They set- 
tled in Shasta county, and in the autumn of 1870 
returned by rail to Adair county, Missouri. Two 
years later they came again to Shasta county. In 
1874 they again journeyed to their old Missouri 
home and four years later they returned to Shas- 
ta county, whence they came to Lake county, Ore- 
gon, and settled at Lakeview in June, 1878, which 
city is our subject's present home. The father, 
however, had in 1852, crossed the plains with ox 
teams passing through the Goose Lake country, 
to Yreka, California, but remained only a brief 
time before returning to Missouri. After about 
twenty years' residence here Mr. Moore, senior, 
removed to Crescent City, California, where he 
died February 15, 1901, aged sixty-four years. 
The mother is now living in Lakeview, aged fif- 
ty-nine years. 

In 1893 Mr. Moore entered the law office of 
Judge E. D. Sperry in Lakeview, engaged in the 
study of law and four years later was admitted 
to the state bar. He is now a practitioner in all 
of the courts of the state of Oregon. ' 

Mr. Moore has twice held the office of super- 
intendent of schools of his county, his first elec- 
tion to that office having taken place in 1884. 
At that time Mr. Moore had just been graduated 
from the public school and had no actual experi- 
ence as a teacher. He served two terms, being 
a candidate both times on the Democratic ticket. 
In addition to superintending schools he engaged 
in teaching. This occupation he followed in dif- 
ferent sections of his county for several years. 
He had taken a homestead in the meantime, and 
worked hard as opportunities presented them- 
selves at improving his land. He also engaged in 
a small way in the stock raising business. In 
1894, while still a law student, he was again elect- 
ed to the office of school superintendent, and in 



June, 1904, he was elected prosecuting attorney 
for the second district of Oregon, which includes 
the counties of Lake and Klamath. He was elect- 
ed as a Democrat by fifty majority, notwithstand- 
ing the fact that his district went Republican by 
upwards of four hundred majority. 

July 6, 1885, occurred the marriage of our 
subject and Miss Anna H. Moss, a native of Linn 
county, Oregon. Mrs. Moore's father, Plon. S. 
P. Moss, is a pioneer of Lake county, and a well- 
to-do stock man residing near Paisley. Her moth- 
er in maiden life was Sarah Robnett, and is now 
deceased. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Moore five children have 
been born : William C, deceased ; Frank S., a stu- 
dent of Lakeview high school ; Ralph A., de- 
ceased ; Bessie and Beatrice, twins. 

In lodge circles Mr. Moore is identified with 
the I. O. O. F., Rebekah degree, Woodmen of the 
World and the United Workmen. He is past 
grand of Lakeview lodge of Odd Fellows and for 
several years has held the office of scribe in En- 
campment No. 18. Mrs. Moore also is a member 
of the Rebekah degree. 

Our subject is owner of five hundred and 
sixty acres of land in Lake county, and a fine 
home and two-acre plot of ground in Lakeview. 
He also owns the Lakeview Herald, a newspaper 
published in Lakeview, and for two and a half 
years past has been its editor and manager. He 
now leases the plant to other parties. 

Mr. Moore is a man of exemplary habits and 
of high standing in his community, which fact 
is attested by the very complimentary vote he 
has received whenever his name has been before 
the public for election to office. He is an enthus- 
iast in matters appertaining to education and has 
held some office in connection with this good work 
almost continuously since he left school. At pres- 
ent he is a member of the board of directors of 
Lakeview school district, which position he has 
occupied for the past six years. 



GEORGE VINCENT is a farmer residing 
one and one-fourth miles north from New Pine 
Creek. He was born June 17, 1843, i n Scotland 
county, Missouri, the son of John and Matilda 
(Moore) Vincent, both natives of Virginia. The 
father was born in 1803 and died at Pine Creek 
in 1886 at the age of eighty-six years. His father, 
Josiah Vincent, was a participant in the battle of 
Waterloo. The present Vincent family descended 
from two brothers who came originally from 
Scotland and settled in Virginia early in the life 
of the American republic. Mr. Vincent's moth- 
er's ancestors were of Revolutionary fame. 



896 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Our subject remained in Missouri until at- 
taining the age of seventeen years, when the Civil 
War broke out and he went to Wapello county, 
Iowa. Here he enlisted in the Seventeenth Iowa 
Cavalry as a member of Company C, and served 
three years and three months in the federal army. 
Later he was sent west to protect the frontier 
settlers from the ravages of the hostile Indian 
tribes and while on this mission was engaged in 
many hot skirmishes in New Mexico, Colo- 
rado and Kansas. Returning to Iowa he was 
married during March, 1868, to Maggie Jackson, 
a native of Nodaway county, Missouri. In the 
spring of 1869 Mr. and Mrs. Vincent came west 
to Jackson county, Oregon, and the spring follow- 
ing to Goose Lake valley, where they have since 
lived, with the exception of a few months spent 
in the Willamette valley in 1870. 

When Mr. and Mrs. Vincent first came to 
what is now Lake county there were but few set- 
tlers here, and many hardships had to be endured 
in starting a home. Mr. Vincent purchased his 
present home of eighty acres upon which now 
stands the first log school house ever erected 
in the county, built in 1872. 

His home is well improved by a first class 
house, with barn and other outbuildings to cor- 
respond, and contains four acres of thriving or- 
chard. He makes a specialty of raising grain, 
although he each year harvests a large quantity 
of hay. 

Mr. and Mrs. Vincent have two children : 
William, married to Nora Smith, and James, mar- 
ried to Cora Martin. The former has four chil- 
dren and the latter two ; both have homes adjoin- 
ing that of their parents. 

Each member of the family belongs to the Bap- 
tist church. 



CHARLES S. LOVELESS resides five and 
one-half miles north from Lakeview at the well 
known road station, Warner Canyon or Loveless 
Place. He was born on January 2, 1862, in 
Plumas county, California. J. W. Loveless, his 
father, better known as "Dave" Loveless, was 
born and reared in Essex countv. New York. He 
went to the lumber woods in Wisconsin then to 
Iowa and later to Louisiana and Mississippi. In 
1857, he journeyed from Iowa across the plains 
to California and did mining and trapping. He 
returned to Iowa and married Emma Mil- 
ler and the next year crossed the plains and 
located in Plumas county, California. His wife 
died there, leaving one child, the subject of this 
sketch. In June, 1871, Mr. Loveless journeyed 
to Oregon, settling on the Crooked creek in what 
is now Lake county, being the second settler in 



that valley. Very few people were in the entire 
country and the nearest postoffice was Willow 
ranch, a distance of thirty-eight miles. During 
the Modoc War, Mr. Loveless carried the mail 
on snowshoes from his place to Camp Warner. 
He was a large and very powerful man and has 
been known to carry ninety pounds of mail at 
one load. The first fourteen winters after com- 
ing to Oregon, he spent on snow shoes, trapping 
and carrying the mail. He was also engaged in 
stock raising. In January, 1884, Mr. Loveless 
contracted a second marriage, Roberta A. Davis 
becoming his wife at that time. She died in De- • 
cembef, 1889, leaving two children, Frank D. 
and Lena A. Mr. Loveless was very successful 
financially and was one of the foremost citizens 
of the country. He died in 1901, being then sev- 
enty-one years of age. Our subject has spent 
most of his life in this county and grew up with 
his father on the frontier and early learned the 
stock business. He used to herd his father's 
sheep and soon he went into the sheep business 
for himself. In 1901, he purchased the place 
where he now resides, which consists of four hun- 
dred and forty acres of land, half of which is ex- 
cellent hay land and the balance is timber and 
pasture. He has a fine eight room residence,. 
very large barn, plenty of other outbuildings and 
all improvements needed on the farm. He makes 
a specialty of raising hay and keeping the travel- 
ing public and is widely known as a very gen- 
erous and hospitable man. 

He is a member of the A. O. U. W. and For- 
resters and has always taken a great interest in 
building up the country and especially in educa- 
tional matters. 

On April 15, 1891, occurred the marriage of" 
Mr. Loveless and Cora B. Sloan, who was born 
in Leavenworth county, Kansas, the daughter of 
Lemuel D. and Henrie (Cuthenthal) Sloan, na- 
tives of Ketucky and Missouri, respectively. 
Mrs. Loveless has one brother, William Albert 
and one sister, Mrs. Winifred Huff,, the former 
older and the latter younger than she. Mrs. 
Loveless came with her parents from Colorado to 
Lake county, Oregon in the fall of 1890. Her 
father died on May 2, 189 1, and then her mother 
returned to Kansas where she is now living.. 
Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Loveless, Emma, Mary and Ralph. 



HERBERT E. REED is a well known farmer 
and stock raiser of Lake county and resides nine 
miles south of Paisley. His birth occurred on 
February 3, 1868, in the province of New Bruns- 
wick, Canada. His parents, George and Annie- 








Mr. and Mrs. Charles S. Loveless 



Mr. and Mrs. Herbert E. Reed 





James Foster 



Mrs. James Foster 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



897- 



E. (Mitchell) Reed, are now living at Paisley, 
Oregon. Onr subject came with his parents to 
Boston, Massachusetts, when a child and also re- 
sided in various parts of the east. Then they 
crossed the plains with ox teams from Iowa to 
Saguache county, Colorado, in 1874. Five years 
later, they removed to Wyoming and from that, 
point journeyed to Ashland, Oregon, in 1886. It 
was 1889, when they came to this county and our 
subject soon filed on a preemption in the Goose 
Lake valley. Then he herded sheep and shortly 
afterwards, in company with his father and 
brother, Walter F., engaged in the sheep busi- 
ness. Later, he and his father purchased a ranch 
which our subject now owns, being known as the 
Averv ranch, and it is one of the first locations in 
the Chewaucan valley. His house was the first 
lumber residence in this part of the country. In 
1897, our subject bought his father's interest and 
since has added by purchase until the estate is six 
hundred and eighty acres, about one-fourth of 
which is very valuable agricultural land and the 
balance is pasture. Mr. Reed makes a specialty 
of raising hay, some alfalfa and handles cattle 
and horses. He has a good residence, plenty of 
barns, outbuildings and other improvements and 
is a prosperous man. 

On November 17, 1895, Mr. Reed married 
Lucy J. Bryan, who was born in Yamhill county, 
Oregon. Her parents, Daniel Boone and Mary 
(Fairley) Bryan, are living in this county. The 
children born to Mr. and Mrs. Reed are Rex E., 
Lester H., Lee R., and Ivan W. 



JAMES FOSTER is one of the leading citi- 
zens of Lake county and is, as well, one of the ear- 
liest pioneers of the Summer Lake valley. His 
residence is eighteen miles northwest of Paisley 
on the west bank of Summer lake. He was born 
on July 4, 1827. in Coshocton county, Ohio. His 
father, Andrew Foster, who fought in the War of 
1812, was a native of Virginia and a pioneer to 
the Willamette valley in 1845. He married Eliza- 
beth Smith, a native of Ireland. They had a fam- 
ily of nine children and our subject is the only 
one now living. He crossed the plains with ox 
teams in 1845, the train coming via the Meek's 
cut off with Mr. Meek as guide. They came on 
to the Harney valley and later went where Cor- 
vallis is now situated in Benton county, Oregon. 
Previous to taking this trip across the plains, 
our subject migrated with his parents from Ohio 
to Missouri and from this latter place they started 
across the plains. His education was received in 
the various places where the family resided dur- 
ing his youthful days and in 1848, on November 
30, he married Elizabeth Currier. She was born 

57 



in Vermont, on June 18, 1832, and came to Mis- 
souri with her parents where they both died. She 
and her sister, Mrs. A. L. Humphrey, came 
across the plains to Benton county in 1846. They 
came via the Goose Lake valley and Rogue river 
and were the first white women that went through 
the Cow Creek canyon. They crossed the Mis- 
souri river on May 10, arriving in Benton county 
on December 5. Our subject was engaged in 
farming and stock raising in the Willamette val- 
ley until the spring of 1871, when he moved to 
the Summer Lake valley, his present place. This. 
has been his home since and for over a third of a 
century he has been one of the prominent and 
leading men of Lake county. Very few settlers 
were in the country when he came and he has 
seen it grow from the wild to its present state 
of development, having assisted materially in this 
transformation. Mr. Foster has always been on 
the frontier. Ohio was new when he was born 
there. Before it was much settled he was on the 
frontier in Missouri. Then they came to the Willa- 
mette valley and opened that country and after- 
wards he was one of the first settlers in Lake 
county. He has .done a noble work as a pioneer, 
adventurer and frontiersman and is deserving 
of the esteem and respect which has been accorded 
to him. To Mr. and Mrs. Foster, the following 
named children have been born : Lorena, and J. 
Manley, deceased ; John A. and James A., in this 
valley ; Angeline, William H. and Annie E., de- 
ceased ; Frederick W., of this valley ; Marion L.,„ 
deceased; Elizabeth F. Klippel, of this vallev;-. 
Luvia S., deceased ; Endora Hartin, of Tonopah. 
Nevada ; Aurora A. Walters, of Spokane : Ralph 
C, of this valley ; and Lulu Schmink, of Lake- 
view. 

Mr. Foster has always been in the stock busi- 
ness since coming here and now owns a fine band 
of cattle. He also has one hundred and sixty acres 
of good hay land which is improved with a large 
twelve room residence, good stables, four acre 
orchard and everything needed in the carrying on 
of his business. He raises all kinds of fruit, as 
peaches, apricots, apples, pears, plums, prunes, 
berries, cherries and so forth. Formerly, he made 
a specialty of raising race horses and raised the 
noted Oregon Eclipse, which he took to various 
places in the west and also to Chicago. He sold 
him for seven thousand dollars. He owned his 
half brother, Hercules, who was also a wel] 
known horse. 



SVANTE F. AHLSTROM is a native of 
Christianstadt, Sweden, and was born May 12, 
1850. His father was John F. Ahlstrom and died 
at the age of seventy-seven. His grandfather. 



.898 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



of the same name, was a soldier of Sweden, and 
lived to the age of ninety-nine years and nine 
months when he died from the effects of an acci- 
dent. Mr. Ahlstrom's mother, Johannah (War- 
ling) Ahlstrom, died in 1861. 

In 1869 'Mr. Ahlstrom went to Denmark, 
Germany, France and England, afterward com- 
ing to New York. From the latter state he 
came by the first overland train ever run over 
the Union and Central Pacific railroad from 
Omaha to San Francisco. He removed from 
San Francisco to Red Bluff, California, where 
he learned the saddler's trade, which he has fol- 
lowed as means of livelihood ever since. In 1873 
he went to Marysville where he worked with 
H. M. Harris as a saddle and harness maker 
until 1886, when he formed a partnership with 
Tiis employer and came to Lakeview- Here they 
engaged in business under the firm name of 
Harris & Ahlstrom, and continued in partner- 
ship until 1889, when Mr. Ahlstrom purchased 
the interests of Mr. Harris, since which time 
he has conducted the business independently. 
Fire destroyed his shop and the greater part of 
" his stock in 1900, since which time Mr. Ahlstrom 
has erected a modern brick building on the site 
of the old. In addition to this building he owns 
a first class two-story residence in Lakeview. 

Mr. Ahlstrom was married in 1876 to Mary 

■ Gunther, who was born in San Francisco and 

reared in Marysville, California. Her parents 

were Jacob J. and Sarah C. Gunther, natives of 

^Germany and early pioneers of California. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Ahlstrom have been born 
three children; Elmer C, a Lakeview merchant; 
Fred O., also a merchant and treasurer of Lake 
county; and Lottie Ahlstrom, bookkeeper for 
Ahlstrom Brothers- 

Our subject was elected county treasurer on 
the Republican ticket in 1898; he has been school 
director for six years and has been a councilman 
and mayor of his home city. He has been a 
member of the Odd Fellows lodge for a period 
-of thirty years, is now a member and past grand 
.-of Lakeview lodge, No. 63, is a past chief patri- 
,-arch of Lakeview encampment, and has on dif- 
ferent occasions represented his lodge in the con- 
ventions of the grand lodge. Both he and Mrs. 
Ahlstrom are members of the Rebekah degree, 

• and he is also a charter member of the Forest- 
ers, of which order he has been chief ranger and 
is now district deputy. 

Mr. Ahlstrom may feel justly proud of the 

business he has built up in his line since locating 

in Lakeview. He manufactures a special grade 

. of saddle known as the "Lakeview saddle." the 

• popularity of which has become so great during 

• recent years that he ships great quantities of them 



to the states of Idaho, California, Nevada and 
the eastern states, besides the great number which 
find ready sale in his home state. Some have 
found a market in even as remote a locality as 
the Hawaiian islands. He also makes a specialty 
of manufacturing saddles and harness to order. 
FVom a beginning the most meagre his establish- 
ment has grown through the popularity of his 
goods into the most extensive plant of its na- 
ture in the state, outside the city of Portland. 



EUGENE SPENCER EDE is proprietor of 
the hotel and livery barn at New Pine Creek, and 
is also proprietor of a flock of two thousand 
head of sheep. Born September 15, 1869, in 
Plumas county, California, Mr. Ede was the son 
of Abraham and Mary J. (Easton) Ede, the for- 
mer a native of England. While a child of seven 
years Abraham Ede came to the United States 
with his parents and settled in Illinois, whence 
he crossed the plains to Plumas county, Cali- 
fornia, in 185 1. Here he settled on a farm, where 
he lived until his death at the age of sixty-eight 
in 1900. The mother is still living in Plumas 
county. 

The brothers and sisters of our subject are 
Walter, Mrs. Emma O'Conner, Edward J., Steph- 
en, Mrs. Ida A. Anderson, and Albert A. Mr. 
Ede grew to manhood in Plumas county, Califor- 
nia, where he received a thorough common school 
education, notwithstanding the fact that he was 
reared on a stock farm, and in September, 1894, 
came to Lakeview. Here he purchased four hun- 
dred head of sheep in partnership with his broth- 
er, Walter, and subsequently purchased his broth- 
er's interest. In 1897 he was indebted for more 
than the value of his property, but so skillfully 
did he conduct his affairs that two years later 
he was free from debt and in 1900 he had one 
thousand two hundred dollars in cash additional 
to an increased flock of sheep of about one thous- 
and head. He has been successful in business 
ever since coming here. He continued to manage 
his sheep until during the fall of 1901, when he 
leased them to other parties and the following 
spring he purchased the hotel and stables at New- 
Pine. He has recently built an addition to his 
hotel making it a three-story building containing 
twenty-five sleeping compartments, with office, 
dining room, kitchen and so forth. It is a strictly 
modern hostelry in every respect, located just 
thirty feet from the California state line. Mr. 
Ede also has his livery and feed stable well 
stocked and equipped. 

On November 4, 1000. Mr. Ede was married 
to Iva D. Basey, daughter of John C. and Kate 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



899 



Basey. To this union two children have been 
born, Albert Irving and Edwin Leroy. 

Mr. Ede is a member of Pine lodge, No. 48, 
A. O. U. W., of New Pine Creek, of which lodge 
he is also recorder, and both he and Mrs. Ede 
.are members of the Degree of Honor, of Lake- 
view. 



WILLIAM HARVEY has been a continu- 
ous resident of Lake county, Oregon, for the 
past thirty-two years, all of which time he has 
followed the sheep business, making him, by a 
wide margin, one of the pioneer wool-growers of 
the county. 

Born August 21, 1845, m the northern part of 
Ireland, Mr. Harvey came to the United States 
and direct to California in 1870. He lived for a 
time at Tehama, California, and in August, 1872, 
came to Summer Lake valley, Lake county, Ore- 
gon, — at that time, however, Lake county was 
included in the county of Jackson. The nearest 
.store to him was that at the Willow ranch, in 
Modoc county, California, distant seventy miles, 
and the nearest postoffice was at Hot Spring, fif- 
ty miles away. There were no roads nor public 
improvements of any sort in the valley, and at the 
time of Mr. Harvey's advent the valley contained 
only eleven inhabitants. Here our subject took 
a homestead and preemption, to make the required 
improvements upon which required his working 
for wages, and in 1875 he went to California and 
purchased a small flock of sheep. He brought 
his sheep to his Summer Lake valley ranch, and 
irom year to year he has continued to add to the 
flock until he is now one of the wealthiest stock- 
men of the state. He owns two ranches contain- 
ing about four thousand acres each, but his head- 
quarters are at the Summer Lake ranch, which is 
situated at the southern border of Summer lake, 
about twelve miles west from Paisley. He has 
here one of the finest homes in Lake county, upon 
which he produces all varieties of fruit grown in 
this latitude and upon which he has the best of 
improvements. He also owns a handsome home 
in Lakeview. 

Mr. Harvey was married during April, 1892, 
to Ruby Aitken, of Tehama, California. Two chil- 
dren have blessed this union : William Hamilton 
and Joseph Balentine. 



SILAS J. STUDLEY is one of the large 
property owners of Lake county, his residence 
being ten miles south from Lakeview. He was 
born on March 17, 1844, in Walderboro. Lincoln 
county, Maine, the son of Thomas and Hannah 



(Gilchrist) Studley. The father was born while 
his parents were en route from England to the 
United States and the mother was born in Maine. 
They both remained there until their death. Our 
subject was well educated in the public schools 
of his native state and at the age of twenty, he 
came via New York and the Panama route to 
San Francisco. He at once engaged in mining 
then traveled to Yreka and afterwards to Aden, 
California. In the latter place, he did stock rais- 
ing until 1869, when he assisted to drive the first 
cattle to the Big valley from Yreka. It was 1876 
when he came to where Lakeview is now located 
and soon located a ranch about eight miles from 
that point. In the spring of 1881, he disposed of 
that and took iand where he now resides. He 
has some thirteen hundred acres of land in three 
different tracts, each farm being well improved. 
The home place has a fine ten room residence, two 
good barns, and a large orchard of all kinds of 
fruit and is in a high state of cultivation. Mr. 
Studley has a nice band of cattle and much other 
property. He started in life without a dollar and 
has made by business tact and industry every 
dollar that he now possesses, which speaks very 
favorably of his business ability. 

On September 11, 1873, Mr. Studley married 
Mary J. Stanley, who was born in Yreka, Cali- 
fornia, on June 16, 1855, the daughter of William 
and Johanna Stanley. The parents crossed the 
plains in 1853. To our subject and his wife eight 
children have been born, named as follows, Jer- 
ome, Harry, Bertha, May, Chester F., William 
Thomas, Alsy, and Oscar. Four of them are liv- 
ing at home but the first four, born are deceased. 



LESLIE I. VANDERPOOL is a farmer and 
stockman of Lake county and resides five and 
one-half miles south of Lakeview. He was born 
on October 20, 1869, in Marion county, Oregon. 
James Vanderpool, his father, was born in Mis- 
souri and came west across the plains in 185 1, 
using oxen for the teams. He located in Ma- 
rion county, served all through the Rogue River 
War and died at Klamathton in 1899. He mar- 
ried Mary E. Miller, a native of Illinois, who 
took a trip across the plains in 1852. Her mother 
died while they were en route and thus bereft 
they made the last part of the journey. Settle- 
ment was made in Polk county when thev arrived. 
Mrs. Vanderpool is now living in P'rineville, 
where she has been for twenty-five years except 
the time when her husband was sick when they 
stayed at Klamathton. She has a nice property 
in Prinevdlle and is living retired. 

Our subject went with his parents to Prine- 



900 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



ville in 1875 and there was reared and received 
nis education. When not in school, he was rid- 
ing the range with his father and became thor- 
oughly acquainted with the stock business. He 
has made two trips to Chicago with cattle and is 
one of the leading stockmen of this part of the 
state. The old home place lies six miles out from 
Prineville and consists of three hundred and 
sixty acres of choice agricultural land. Mr. Van- 
derpool is interested in stock raising where he 
resides and has a fine band of cattle and horses. 
He also owns a large band of horses in Crook 
county. 

On December 1, 1902, Mr. Vanderpool mar- 
ried Edna R. Venator, who was born in Lake 
county, Oregon, the daughter of Jesse Venator. 
She owns a half interest in the Venator estate, 
where Mr. Vanderpool now resides and which 
estate he is managing. They are well-to-do peo- 
ple, have a good standing in the community and 
are reckoned among the leading citizens of the 

county. 

+—*■ 

i 
CHARLES U. SNIDER. One of the earliest 
pioneers of Lake county, and one who, probably, 
has done a lion's share toward the upbuilding and 
development of the county and especially the city 
of Lakeview, where he now resides, is the man 
whose name forms the caption for this sketch. Mr. 
Snider came to Jackson county, now Lake county, 
March 12, 1869, and soon after his advent here 
he engaged in clerical work for his uncle, A. Sni- 
der, who conducted a merchandise store at Camp 
Warren. He began as bookkeeper but in the fall 
of the following vear he assumed the manage- 
ment of a store, also belonging to his uncle at 
Camp Harney. Two years later he took charge 
of a store at Willow Ranch, in California, six 
miles from the Oregon line. In 1874 he formed a 
partnership with his uncle under the firm style 
of A. & C. L T . Snider, and in April, 1876, built 
the first business house in Lakeview. In 1890 
Mr. Snider was appointed by President Harrison 
to the position of receiver for the United States 
land office at Lakeview, which position he filled 
four years at that time, and on October 12, 1903, 
he received an appointment to the same office at 
the hands of President Roosevelt, so is now serv- 
ing his second term. In politics Mr. Snider has 
from the first been a Republican. He cast his 
first presidential vote for General Grant and has 
voted the Republican ticket ever since. He has 
been continuously in the mercantile business until 
1904. He has built and owned grist and saw- 
mills in different parts of the county, and has also 
been engaged more or less in the business of 
farming and stock raising. He has always been 



actively interested in the promotion of education 
and has ever been ready to donate substantial aid 
toward the erection of churches and all institu- 
tions making for the moral betterment of his 
community. 

Charles U. Snider is a native of Shawnee- 
town, Illinois, born March 20, 1846. His father 
was Joseph L T . Snider, a native of Germany, who 
came to the United States at the age of eighteen 
yea'rs and located in Mansfield, Ohio. From that 
city he went to Shawneetown in 1842, and there 
died at the age: of seventy-eight, in the year 
1893. Margaret (Dorsey) Snider was our sub- 
ject's mother. She was born in Hagerstown,. 
Maryland and died in 1872. 

Before coming west Mr. Snider received a 
common school education, and in 1862 he became 
a clerk on an Ohio river steamboat. In this ca- 
pacity he worked until coming to Oregon. He re- 
turned to the east in 1876, and was there married, 
May 2 of that year, to Miss Mary E. McCallen, 
a daughter of Andrew and Mary A. (Castle) 
McCallen, of Shawneetown, Illinois. To this 
marriage five children have been born, two of 
whom died during infancy. The three now living 
are: Warner B., married to Frances Jones; Mae 
and Clarence U. The first named is now city 
recorder of Lakeview. 

Mr. Snider is prominently identified with the 
fraternity interests of his city, being a member 
of the Blue lodge, A. F. and A. M., Lakeview 
lodge, No. 63, I. O. O. F., of which he is a past 
grand, and of the A. O. U. W. 

He has a considerable amount of city prop- 
erty in Lakeview, including a brick and a frame 
store building and a first class home. He is one 
of the first pioneers of Lakeview, and is looked 
upon by the public generally as one of her first 
and best citizens. 



STERLING P. VERNON was born in 
Crook county, Texas, on February 13, 1862, and 
now resides some three miles south of Lakeview, 
wnere he follows farming and stock raising. He 
has a choice ranch of two hundred and seventeen 
acres, mostly first class hay land. Owing to his 
thrift, industry and wisdom, he has gained a fine 
holding in propertv through his own labors here 
and is considered one of the substantial men of 
the county. His parents, Anderson P. and Dollie 
(Leathers) Vernon, journeyed to Benton county, 
Arkansas, when our subject was a young lad. In 
1876, the family came to Surprise valley. Cali- 
fornia, and the following year, to Lake county. 
Thus they were among the early pioneers in this 
section of the countrv. Thev made location in 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



901 



the Goose Lake valley and selected a homestead. 
There were only two or three houses in Lakeview 
at that time and the entire country was very 
sparsely settled. Game of all kinds was in abun- 
dance on every hand and it seemed to be a verit- 
able paradise for pioneers. Our subject, being 
of a studious turn of mind, gained an education 
although his opportunities were very limited. He 
accomplished this by studying much at home and 
in due time, he received a certificate and began 
teaching school. For three years, he f< ill iwed this 
occupation and showed himself a thorough and 
first-class educator. 

in 1892, on October 12, Mr. Vernon married 
Miss Effie Down, who was born in Sonoma 
county, California, the daughter of Albert S. and 
Carrie (Ballard) Down. To this happy mar- 
riage, six children have been born : Ralph, Wil- 
lard, Dora, Vera, Frank and May. Vera is de- 
ceased. 

Mr. Vernon is a member of the A. O. L-. V. 
while he and his wife both belong to the Baptist 
church. They have been very active in church 
work and also constantly labor for the upbuild- 
ing of the cause and the spreading of the gospel. 
In addition to doing school teaching as mentioned 
above, Mr. Vernon has always been a warm ad- 
vocate of educational advantages and has a strong 
record in that line. Besides the property men- 
tioned, he owns a fine band of well bred cattle, 
has a good large barn, plenty of outbuildings and 
so forth and is one of the prosperous and well-to- 
do men of the county. He also owns two hun- 
dred and seventy-three acres of land six miles 
east from his home place which is utilized for 
pasture. When it is considered that Mr. Ver- 
non started at twenty-one years of age without 
any means and has gained this fine list of property 
besides some more, entirely through his own ef- 
forts, we can well see that he is a man of energy 
and wisdom. 



BERNARD DALY, M. D.. is judge of 
the county court of Lake county and a prominent 
physician of Lakeview. His reputation as a 
practitioner, however, is not confined to his home 
city, but extends over the entire state of Oregon. 
Dr. Daly was born February 17, 1858, in Ire- 
land, and came to America when a boy, and it 
was in the United States that he obtained his 
excellent education. He was graduated from the 
Ohio state normal university, and later from the 
medical department of the LJniversity of Louis- 
ville, Kentucky. In 1887 he came to Lake county, 
Oregon, and has been successfully practicing 
medicine here continuouslv since. A lifelong 
Democrat, he was elected to the house of repre- 



sentatives of ( )regon in June, 1892, and to the 
state senate on that ticket in 1896, serving four 
years. During his tenure in office his party was 
in the minority in the senate and Dr. Daly was 
one of the Democratic leaders throughout his 
term. In lyoo he was his party's candidate for 
Congress for the first judicial district, but was 
defeated in election after running ahead of his 
ticket by five thousand votes. Though Lake 
county was a Republican stronghold, Dr. Dalv 
was elected, in 1902, by a flattering majority, to 
the office of county judge, which office he still 
holds. 

During the past fifteen years he has been a 
.iember of the board of trustees of the Lakeview 
high school and has given marked attention to 
educational. affairs in- his county in general. He 
was one of the organizers of the Bank of Lake- 
view, instituted September 1, 1898, which is 
recognized as being the strongest bank in the 
state of Oregon south of Salem, having a paid up 
capital of ninety thousand dollars and a surplus 
of sixty-five thousand dollars. Our subject is 
now president of this bank. He was also one of 
the organizers and is president of the Lake 
County Land & Live Stock Company, incorpo- 
rated, which has a capital of one hundred and fifty 
thousand dollars. He has been president during 
tne past twelve years of the Lake County Agri- 
cultural society, instituted for the purpose of en- 
couraging the agricultural and horticultural inter- 
ests of Lake county. 

Dr. Dalv is a member of the American Medi- 
cal association, and of the Oregon State Medical 
society, and maintains a high standing among his 
fellow practitioners throughout his state. He is a 
successful financier, not only in the management 
of his personal affairs, but those of the public, 
and since assuming the office of county judge he 
has been instrumental in freeing his county from 
debt without incurring additional burdens upon 
the tax-payers. 



CHRISTOPHER WALTER DENT is 
county commissioner of Lake county, Oregon, 
and a wool grower and stockman residing in War- 
ner valley. His postoffice address is Plush, Lake 
county, Oregon. He is a native of St. Francois 
county, Missouri, and was born June 18, 1863, 
the son of Flemmon and Adaline S. (Mullock) 
Dent. The father also was born in St. Francois 
county, where his father, grandfather of our sub- 
ject, Absalom Dent, was a pioneer of 181 5. The 
mother was a sister of William Tullock, one of 
the first settlers in Drew's vallev, Oregon. 

The brothers and sisters of Mr. Dent are: 



go2 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



William F., Big Springs, Texas ; Mrs. Mary A. 
Waller, New Franklin, Missouri ; Mrs. Lucy J. 
Sublette, Chico, California ; Housten, Drew's Val- 
ley, Oregon ; Albert, Lakeview, and Mrs. Rebecca 
E. Devine, Bismarck, Missouri. Another brother, 
John H., died in Warner valley in 1893. 

Mr. Dent grew to manhood on a farm in his 
native state and started west August 22, 1885, ar- 
riving in Lakeview during September of that year 
and immediately engaged in herding sheep. In 
1895 he purchased a flock of sheep and engaged 
in the sheep business for himself. He now has 
several thousand head of these animals, and a 
small herd of cattle. He has two ranches in 
Warner valley, one of which, contains two hun- 
dred and forty acres, including one hundred acres 
of alfafa pasture, and the other, upon which he 
makes his home, is 'a natural meadow ranch, sit- 
uated where old Camp Warner stood in early 
days. Both of these ranches are well improved. 
Mr. Dent also owns a handsome home in Lake- 
view. 

In 1904 Mr. Dent was elected to the office of 
county commissioner for Lake county, on the 
Republican ticket, which office he is still holding. 
During the past twenty years he has been a mem- 
ber of the I. O. O. F. fraternity, and is now a 
member of Lakeview lodge and also of the en- 
campment No. 18. He also belongs to the Re- 
bekah degree. 

On June 27, 1903, occurred the marriage of 
Mr. Dent and Mrs. Percy Benefield. 

Mr. jJent is another example of the sturdy 
type of men who came to the west without means, 
and who, by their indomitable energy and per- 
severance, have striven against adversities and 
eventually became well-to-do and influential citi- 
zens. After many years of toil he took a vacation 
during the fall of 1898, going first to San Fran- 
cisco, where he sailed for the Hawaiian islands. 
Returning, he visited Arizona, New Mexico, 
lexas and his old home in Missouri. He con- 
sumed four months on this tour and returned 
with the impression that Lake county was the best 
country he had seen and is now more content than 
ever before to spend the remaining years of his 
life here. 



MARION S. BARNES. Lake county is well 
supplied with good mechanics and as a leader 
among the number stands the gentleman whose 
name initiates this sketch. He resides at Lake- 
view and in company with Eldon Woodcock, 
operates a large general blacksmith and wagon 
shop. They do all sorts of wagon work, horse 
shoeing and general mechanical work. "They 
have a fine business and perhaps the best equipped 



shop in the county. This partnership was formed 
in February, 1904. 

Marion S. Barnes was born on May 11, 1869, 
in Mono county, California, the son of James and 
Mary (Patterson) Barnes. The father was born 
in Iowa and served in Company H, Third Iowa 
Cavalry until he nearly lost his eyesight from ex- 
posure, being then discharged on account of this 
disability. In 1863, he started across the plains 
with wagons for California, making his first stop 
at Aurora, Nevada. They had considerable 
trouble with the Indians and at one time lost 
their entire band of stock, which, however, they 
recovered later. After some time in Nevada, he' 
journeyed on to Mono county, California, where 
he followed freighting and the stock business- 
until 1885. In that year, he came to the Goose 
Lake valley and settled at the Willow ranch just 
south of the state line, where he lived until 1893, 
the year of his death. His wife was also born in 
Iowa, crossing the plains with her husband and 
is now living with our subject. The children of 
this couple were Hiram, of New Pine Creek ; 
William, of Silver Lake ; Frank, of Summer 
Lake; Marion S., our subject; and Mrs. Emma 
Harris, deceased. Our subject grew up on a 
ranch received his education from the early 
schools and learned the blacksmith trade. He 
wrought at this in various vicinities, among, 
which was Baker City, Oregon, and then he re- 
turned to this valley and opened a shop in Lake- 
view. Here he has continued uninterruptedly 
since, having gained a splendid patronage, owing 
to his skill and ability as a workman. 

On December 17, 1888, Mr. Barnes married 
Stella C. Linville and to them three children have 
been born, Fay Lillian, Ralph Hobart, and Marvin 
James. 

Mr. Barnes belongs to the A. O. U. W. and is 
a man of excellent standing in the community. 
Mrs. Barnes' parents are L. G. and Emmeline 
(Stevens) Linville, and reside in Lakeview. Mr. 
Linville is a native of Missouri and crossed the 
plans with ox teams as early as 1852. He set- 
tled in Lane county, Oregon, and in October,. 
1855, he volunteered to fight the Indians in the 
Rogue River War. He was in active service 
throughout the entire struggle and among other 
battles, participated in that of Risley's Ferry 
under Captain Miller, and in the fight at Hungry 
Hill. He also was in many other battles and 
skirmishes. He was in the mining camps in 
Yreka, California, and participated in quelling 
several uprisings in that state. In 1870 he came 
to Goose Lake valley and settled on the Modoc 
count}- side. Fie was among the first settlers in 
the valley and was one of the sturdy pioneers who 
assisted to open up and subdue this country. 1 [e 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



9°3 



and his wife have resided in Lakeview for the 
past fifteen years. He is aged seventy-two and 
his wife sixty-one. They are the parents of 
twelve children, eight of whom are now living 
and they are substantial and highly esteemed 
people. 



WILLIAM HOLDER is now one of the 
thrifty tillers of the soil and lives in the vicinity 
of Paisley, Crook county, Oregon, his home be- 
ing eleven miles south of that place. He was born 
on August ii, 1854, near Cornwall, Benton 
county, Oregon. His father, Adam Holder, was 
born in Pennsylvania, crossing the plains from 
Towa in 1S53 to Benton county and in 1859 set " 
tied in Corvallis, where he followed blacksmith- 
ing. In 1885, he came across the mountains to 
Sherman county where he is now living, aged 
eighty-two years. He married Julia A. Kompp, 
who was born on the Rhine, in Germany. She 
came to the United States when a girl and lived 
in Iowa where she was married. She is now sev- 
enty-two years of age and is still living. Her 
father, August Kompp, was an officer in the Ger- 
man army. Our subject has one brother, Lewis 
D., of Sherman county, Oregon, and one sister, 
Mrs. Pinkie Johnson, deceased. William was ed- 
ucated in the public schools and the agricultural 
college at Corvallis. In 1881 he went to Sher- 
man county and engaged in farming. In 
1894, he was elected sheriff of Sherman 
county, his name appearing on the Repub- 
lican ticket and he was the first Republi- 
can sheriff of the county. So well did he fill the 
office that two years later he was chosen again to 
the same position and in 1898, the people deter- 
mined to give him a third term and accordingly 
he was overwhelmingly elected. This gives him 
six years of continuous service in that impor- 
tant office and he left a record of uprightness and 
faithfulness seldom exceeded. In 1900, Mr. 
Holder went to Shaniko, where he operated a 
newspaper for a while, then he bought the Prine- 
ville Review and conducted it for a time. After 
that, we find him in charge of the Paisley Post 
and in the fall of 1903, he purchased one hundred 
and sixty acres of good land where he now re- 
sides, one-third of which is in cultivation and it 
is a splendid estate. It possesses some natural 
meadow, has an abundance of water for irriga- 
tion, has all the improvements and conveniences, 
as house, barn, orchard and so forth. 

Mr. Holder has been twice married and has 
six children : Nellie, the wife of Erwin Pike of 
Sherman county ; Minnie, wife oi Prof. Frank 
Henry, of Moro, Oregon ; Carl ; Neva ; Eulalia ; 
and Thomas. 



Mr. Holder is past grand of the I. O. O. F. 
and present noble grand. He is a member of the 
encampment, also of the W. W., the Maccabees • 
and the K. P. He has been representative to the 
grand lodges of the I. O. O. F. and the Macca- 
bees. He is a man of energy and intelligence, 
well informed on the questions of the day and • 
progressive, public minded citizen. 



JOHN S. FIELD, of Lakeview, Lake 
county, Oregon, is a pioneer of 1879 and has 
passed through all the hardships and vicissitudes 
attending the life of the frontiersman. He was 
born December 28, 1856, in Pettis county, Mis- 
souri, in which state he grew to manhood. His 
parents both died during his childhood, so he has 
had to shift for himself the greater portion of his 
life. He came to Susanville, California, in 1876,, 
and, as has been stated, to this county three years 
later. Lakeview at that time was a mere hamlet- 
containing only a few houses scattered about and 
was in a truly primitive state. Mr. Field adopted 
the life of the cowboy soon after coming to this 
state and for three years rode the range for vari- 
ous pioneer cattle men, after which he started the 
first meat market in the town of Lakeview. He- 
later engaged in the general merchandise busi- 
ness, also following- the business of sheep raising - 
to a limited extent meanwhile. In 1900 his store- 
was destroyed by fire, entailing a loss to its owner 
of eight thousand dollars. Mr. Field then erected 
a brick structure on the site of the burned build- 
ing, which he later sold to the Odd Fellows lodge, 
and he now has under course of construction a 
two-story brick and stone building. He. is at the 
present time engag'ed in the butcher business, but 
expects to re-enter the mercantile business upon 
the completion of his new block. He still has a 
flock of sheep and is doing a good business. 

During the year 1886 Mr. Field was married 
to Cora Walters, daughter of Martin T. and Flar- 
riett Walters. In 1890 Mrs. Field died, leaving 
one child, a daughter named Ottie. Our subject 
was again married in 190 1, his wife being Julia 
Robinson. This union has been blessed by two 
children, Neta and Opal. 

Mrs. Field is a milliner by trade, and now 
conducts a millinery shop in Lakeview. 

Mr. Field is a charter member of Lakeview 
lodge, I. O. O. F. In 1896 he was elected to the 
office of countv treasurer, running on the Repub- 
lican ticket, serving one term. He now devotes- 
his entire time to his business. 

Upon his arrival in the county Mr. Field had 
only twenty dollars in his possession, but he is 
now classed as one of the well-to-do men of Lake 



1 



9°4 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



-county, notwithstanding his great loss by fire 
only a few years ago. All that he has he has 
made by diligent application to business and un- 



tiring industry. 



FRANKLIN O. BUNTING was born Sep- 
tember 9, 1868, near Virginia City, Nevada, the 
son of Alexander J. and Mary M. (Schalk) 
Bunting. The father was born in Ohio and 
crossed the plains to California in 1852, and after 
residing short periods in different parts of the 
state removed to Virginia City, Nevada, where he 
engaged in the freighting business. From Vir- 
ginia City he removed to Austin, Nevada, thence 
to Reno. From the latter city he at length re- 
turned to the state of California, founded the 
town of Buntingville and entered the general 
merchandise business. He came to Lake county, 
Oregon, in 1883 and located at Lakeview where 
he lived until 1900, when on account of failing 
health he went to San Francisco. He died in a 
hospital in that city at the age of seventy years. 
Our subject's mother was a native of Louisville, 
Kentucky, and emigrated to the west with her 
parents during the pioneer clays. 

The brothers and sisters of Mr. Bunting are: 
Charles A., of Merrill, Oregon; Mrs. Kate E. 
Hazelton, of Lakeview ; and Edward R., of Reno. 

When at the age of sixteen years, shortly after 
coming to Lake county, Mr. Bunting started in 
life for himself. He had no means, so in order to 
get a start, he worked for a time on salary for a 
stock man. In 1894 he took a contract to run a 
"stage line between Lakeview and Paisley and 
flush, the latter a small town in Lake county. 
Four years later he began running a stage from 
Lakeview to Alturas, California. This line he 
conducted until 1902, when he retired from the 
stage business. During the meantime he engaged 
in the stock raising business. In 1900 he went to 
-Missouri and purchased a herd of pure bred Her- 
eford cattle, ever since which time he has made a 
specialty of raising that particular strain of stock. 
He has the largest herd of pedigreed Hereford 
cattle in the state df Oregon, numbering two hun- 
■-dred and thirty head, — all pure bred Hereforcls. 
Of' lands he has in all one thousand acres in 
Drew's valley twenty-three miles west from 
Lakeview, and a small hay ranch six miles south- 
west from Lakeview. All of his land is fenced 
and well improved, yielding him all the feed re- 
quired for his stock. His large farm is known 
Far and wide by the name of "The Bunting Stock 
Farm." In addition to this property Mr. Bunt- 
ing has a modern home in .Lakeview, where he 
spends the winter each year in order to give his 



children the benefit of the city schools, and the 
summer months are spent on the farm. 

On December 9, 1897, occurred the marriage 
of Mr. Bunting and Miss Alice Rebecca Tullock, 
a native of Drew's valley, Lake county, Oregon. 
Mrs. Bunting's father and mother, William and 
Armona Rebecca (Chandler) Tullock were the 
first settlers in Drew's valley, where they fol- 
lowed the stock business during their residence 
there. The last ten years of their lives they spent 
in Lakeview. The father died in 1899 and the 
mother in 1898. Mrs. Bunting was their only 
child. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Bunting have been born two 
children, Frederick Oscar and Ruby Armona, 
though they have another child, Elma Chandler 
by name, whom they are caring for as their own. 
Mr. Bunting is one of the most prominent stock 
men in his state. He enjoys a wide circle of ac- 
quaintances and is a man of great popularity ow- 
ing to his public spirit and his many acts of kind- 
ness and generosity. He is also a prominent Odd 
Fellow, being a member of Lakeview lodge, No. 
63, of which he is a past grand. He is also a 
past chief patriarch of the encampment No. 18, 
of Oregon. 



MARK E. MUSGRAVE is a farmer residing 
one and one-half miles south from Lakeview, 
Oregon, the Lakeview hot springs being on his 
farm. The springs mentioned have become a 
yell-known health resort of Lake county, and 
since coming into possession of them Mr. Mus- 
grave has spared neither money nor pains in plac- 
ing them in condition to invite tourists and health 
seekers. The water of the springs contains sul- 
phur, iron, borax and magnesia in considerable 
quantity and are at one hundred and seventy de- 
grees in -temperature. Mr. Musgrave has erected 
a building over them which building contains a 
swimming bath twenty-two by fifty-two by seven 
feet in dimensions. The waters' have attained a 
wide reputation for their curative properties, and 
Lakeview Hot Springs are rapidly becoming one 
of the leading resorts in southern Oregon. 

Mark E. Musgrave was born June 23, 1878, 
in Siskiyou county, California, the son of Mark 
and Lorinda (Burr) Musgrave, the former a na- 
tive of Devonshire, England, and the latter of 
Ohio. The father, upon coming to the United 
States, settled in South Carolina, and in 1856 he 
crossed the plains to Yreka, California, where he 
engaged in mining. He is now living in San 
Jose. The mother, also living at San Jose, is the 
granddaughter of a cousin of Aaron Burr, of 
colonial fame. 

Our subject was reared in a mining camp in 




amMtmmk 
Mr. and Mrs. Franklin O. Bunting 




Mr. and Mrs. Mark E. Musgrave 





Jonn B. Blair 



Mr. and Mrs. Henry R. Heryford 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



905 



Siskiyou county until ten years of age, when he 
left home and went to work on a ranch, prefer- 
ring- ranch life to that in a mining camp. He soon 
went to San Jose, where he worked and attended 
school for a time, and later went to San Fran- 
cisco, and there learned the wire-worker's trade. 
Later he learned to be a cook, and travelled ex- 
tensively over the state working at the latter 
trade. He made several short voyages abroad 
coastwise steamers during his travels in Califor- 
nia, and in 1897 he enlisted in the navy as a 
landsman aboard the United States coast defense 
monitor Monadnock, and while aboard that ves- 
sel he became familiar with all the ports along the 
J'acific coast from Mexico to British Columbia. 
During the war with Spain Mr. Musgra've was 
stationed on different vessels, the greater part of 
which time he was either first or second cook. 
He was aboard the "Mohegan" when she made a 
flying trip from Mare's Island with ammunition 
for Dewey's fleet before the battle of Manila. 
The Mohegan was met at Honolulu by the' Balti- 
more which took the carge of ammunition to 
Dewey, who was then stationed at Hong Kong. 
Mr. Musgrave was one of the crew of the Mo- 
hegan which replaced the Hawaiian flag with 
that of the United States on August 12, 1898. He 
was also at Hilo, Hawaii, at the time of the recent 
great earthquake. On May 8, 1900, he was dis- 
charged from service. During his time of en- 
listment he had travelled pretty generally over 
the entire world and saw more .sights than it is 
commonly given any one man to see. 

Mr. Musgrave while in the navy, always re- 
ceived a goofl salary, and being saving with his 
money, he was enabled to start into business 
upon his discharge. He came to Lakeview in 

1 90 1. and engaged first as cook in the Lakeview 
hotel, but purchased his present home in May, 

1902, and has resided here since that time. Lie 
has two hundred and ten acres of land, the major 
portion of which is first class hay and grain land, 
and well improved. 

On March 16, 1902, Mr. Musgrave was mar- 
ried to Rose E. Rehart, a native of Modoc county, 
California. Her parents are Charles A. and 
Martha Rehart, sketches of whose lives appear 
elsewhere in this volume. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Musgrave has been born 
one child, who is christened Charles Paul. 



JOHN B. BLAIR, a prominent citizen of 
Lakeview and formerly county assessor of Lake 
county, is a native of Lee county, Iowa, born 
March 23, 1844. His father, Hon. Colbert P. 
Blair, was one of the earliest pioneers of southern 



( )regon, coming here with an ox train, of which 
he was captain, in the summer of 1853. He was 
a native of North Carolina, born January 1, 1805, 
and for the past fifteen years has made his home 
in Pendleton, Oregon. Although on the eve of 
his one hundredth year he is as hale and hearty 
as many men a quarter of a century his junior. 
He is a veteran of the Black Hawk and the Rogue 
River Indian wars, in both of which he saw ac- 
tive service as a scout and much severe fig'hting. 
After coming to Oregon he settled in Benton 
county, which county he at one time represented 
in the state legislature. Our subject's grand- 
father was Colbert Blair, a native of Scotland and 
a soldier during the Revolutionary War. Mr. 
Blair's mother was Elizabeth (Hill) Blair, also a 
native of South Carolina and of Scotch paren- 
tage, her father being Henry Hill. He, too, 
served in the Revolutionary War. The mother 
lived to the age of sixty-five years, when she died 
in Benton county, Oregon. 

The brothers and sisters of John B. Blair are : 
Thomas J., Pendleton ; James H., and Mrs. 
Meeky Trapp, both of Lincoln county, Oregon. 
One brother, Oliver P. Blair and four sisters, Mrs. 
Fanny Scovel, Mrs. Cloe Jane'Skipton, Mrs. So- 
phia Irwin, and Martha B. Blair, are dead. 

"Sir. Blair crossed the plains with his father 
and family, the family at that time consisting of 
the parents and eight children, and assisted his 
father in opening a ranch in the wild and unset- 
tled prairie in Benton county, Oregon. Oppor- 
tunities for attending school were at that time de- 
cidedly meagre, but notwithstanding that fact our 
subject managed to obtain a fair common school 
education by applying himself to study at home. 
He was married during August of 1867 to Jennie 
Fuller, and in the spring of 1872 he came to the 
Chewaucan valley, now Lake county, but at that 
time Jackson county, Oregon. The valley at that 
time contained only five settlers and was not im- 
proved even by as much as a public road. The 
following spring he went to Summer lake valley 
and took a preemption and worked for, wages in 
order to make improvements on his ranch. Later 
he traded his claim for cattle and engaged in the 
stock business. Returning to the Chewaucan 
valley, he took a homestead, upon which he made 
his home until 1901. In 1900 he was elected to 
the office of county assessor and two years later 
he was elected to succeed himself. He was elected 
on the Republican ticket, and was the first man 
in the county to be elected to the office of as- 
sessor a second time. He removed to Lakeview 
in 1 901, where he has since made his home. He 
is one of the most highly respected citizens of 
Lake county, where he is universally regarded as 
a man of ability and of honor. As an example of 



go6 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



the trust reposed in him by his fellow citizens we 
may mention the fact that he is at the present 
time executor for two estates, the testator in each 
instance appointing him with the request that he 
perform the duties of the position without being 
placed under bonds. 

Mr. Blair has been a member of Lakeview 
lodge, I. O. O. F., for twenty-five years, that be- 
ing the only secret order with which he is affil- 
iated. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Blair, five children have been 
born : Wellington S., married to Birdie McDon- 
ald and residing at Paisley, Oregon ; Dollie Viola, 
deceased ; Tracy C. ; Richard, deceased ; and 
Dovie Maria, the wife of James Reeder, of Sil- 
ver Lake, Oregon. Wellington and Birdie Blair 
have three children. Tracy C. Blair, the second 
son mentioned, is married to Annie Miller and has 
one child. He is a surveyor and civil engineer 
of prominence in Anaconda, Montana. He has 
been a surveyor on the Great Northern railroad 
for three years, and is now in the employ of the 
Anaconda Copper Company for which h engi- 
neered the flume and great smoke-stack at Ana- 
conda. 

It is pleasant to state that since the above was 
written, our subject went to Pendleton, Oregon, 
and there, January I, 1905, with other members 
of the family, celebrated the one hundredth an- 
niversary of his father's birth, Hon. Colbert P. 
Blair. 



HENRY R. HERYFORD, one of the early 
pioneers of the territory now embraced in Lake 
county and a steady laborer here for the upbuild- 
ing and improvement of the country since those 
early days, is now residing a mile and one-half 
north of Lakeview, where he owns six hundred 
acres of choice farming land. He was born on 
July 29, 1850, in Knox county, Missouri, the son 
of Clemens R. and Nancy (Chambers) Hery- 
ford, natives of Missouri and Ohio, respectively. 
The mother is now deceased and the father is liv- 
ing retired in Santa Rosa, California, in his eigh- 
ty-fourth year. The children born to this ven- 
erable couple are William P., in Lakeview ; Mrs. 
Sarah Hunt, of Shasta county, California ; Henry 
R., who is our subject; John M., of Shasta 
county, California; James D., of Lakeview; 
Thomas J., of Shasta county, California ; and 
Aaron M., of that same county. Our subject 
crossed the plains with his parents in 1857, being 
in an ox team train. They made their way to 
Shasta county, California, where the father en- 
gaged in farming. There the father remained 
until 1900, when he moved to Santa Rosa, Cali- 
fornia, as stated above. On July 3, T872, our 



subject, then being a young man of twenty-two, 
came to the portion of Oregon now occupied 
by Lake county. His two brothers, William P. 
and James D., accompanied him and they camped 
where Lakeview now stands and well remember 
that the rye grass was higher than their heads. 
On July 4 of that year, they settled on the north 
end of the valley and entered into partnership in 
the stock business. This continued until 1896, 
when our subject sold his interest. Since that 
time, he has been operating alone and in addition 
to the fine estate that we have mentioned, he owns 
one hundred and sixty acres of timberland. His 
residence is a large twelve room structure pro- 
vided with all conveniences, while the other im- 
provements of the place are equally as good. His 
farm is supplied with plenty of water and among 
the various springs are some boiling hot. 

On August 12, 1877, Mr. Heryford married 
Mary L. Parker, who was born in Iowa, the 
daughter of Robert L. and Ellen (Conger) 
Parker. In 1875, they journeyed from Iowa to 
Oregon and now live in Jackson county of this 
state. To our subject and his wife, eight chil- 
dren have been born, named as follows : Nellie, 
wife of Fred Ahlstrom ; Lem, who married Sel- 
ma Averiganett; Ollie E., wife of A. H. Ham- 
ersley ; Harry ; Fred ; Willard ; Hazel ; and Hil- 
dred. Fred is deceased, and Mrs. Hamersley 
died March 4, 1905. 

Mr. Heryford is a member of the I. O. O. F.,. 
being past grand of the order. He is also past 
chief patriarch of the encampment and is a pop- 
ular man in fraternal circles. In addition to gen- 
eral farming, Mr. Heryford gives considerable 
attention to handling stock, the same consisting of 
well bred horses and cattle. He is to be classed 
among the earliest pioneers of this section and for' 
over thirty years, he has labored assiduously for 
the upbuilding of the country with a measure of 
success that has placed him not only in posses- 
sion of a large amount of property but as one of 
the leading citizens of this part of the state who 
enjoys the esteem and confidence of his fellow 
men. 



GEORGE REED, a carpenter and cabinet 
maker of Paisley, is one of the leading men of 
this part of the county and is doing a fine busi- 
ness. He has a large shop, well fitted and sup- 
plied with everything necessary to do first-class 
work in the lines mentioned. He has a gasoline 
engine which operates circular, groove, rabbit, 
scroll, and other saws and planes, while also he- 
has a first class lathe. Mr. Reed is a mechanic 
of no small ability and is able to do first class 
building and also other lines of carpenter work. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



907 



He has been especially successful in this line and 
is a very valuable man for the county as there is 
much to do still in building up and improving 
this fertile section. 

George Reed was born on December 15, 1839, 
near Fredericton, New Brunswick. His father, 
Joseph Reed, was a native of the same place and 
his father, Benjamin Reed, the grandfather of our 
subject, was born in New York and was a sea 
captain. The mother of our subject was Abagail 
(Jewett) Reed, born in the same place as her hus- 
band, and her father, Daniel Jewett, a native of 
the same place as his daughter, was a miller. Our 
subject's parents both died in New Brunswick. 
They had a family of fourteen children, twelve of 
whom lived to be grown and nine of whom are 
now living. After securing a good education, 
George was apprenticed to a first-class carpenter 
and served four years in that capacity, during the 
latter portion of which he received twelve and 
one-half cents per clay as compensation. In 1865, 
he went to Concord, Massachusetts, where he 
worked at his trade for a year and one-half. 
Then he returned to New Brunswick and in 1867, 
married Annie E. Mitchell, a native of New 
Brunswick. It was with her father, James 
Mitchell, a native of Glasgow, Scotland, that our 
subject learned his trade. Mrs. Reed's mother 
was Fanny (Heustis) Mitchell, also a native of 
New Brunswick. Following his marriage, Mr. 
Reed returned to Concord, Massachusetts, and 
worked for the same firm he had been with before. 
For the last two years, he was foreman in their 
carpenter shop. Following this service, he went 
to South Dakota and dwelt just across the line 
from Iowa. He wrought in Akron, Iowa, erect- 
ing the first hotel and various other buildings 
there. Flis son, Walter F., was the first white 
child born in that town and one of the streets 
was named for Mr. Reed. After three years in 
that section, Mr. Reed moved his family to San 
Luis valley, Colorado, the date then being 1875. 
He assisted in the organization of Gunnison 
county there in 1876 and was the first county 
commissioner. In 1878, he moved to the head 
waters of the Tongue river in Wyoming and lo- 
cated a ranch that is now part of the townsite of 
Sheridan. He was one of the very first settlers 
in that vicinity and engaged in the stock busi- 
ness. There was a large quantity of game of all 
kinds such as deer, elk, buffalo, antelope, and so 
forth, and Mr. Reed greatly enjoyed hunting. So 
sparsely <;pttled was the country that whenever 
one ^discerned a moving object, he could be rea- 
sonably sure that it was a wild animal or an 
Indian. In the fall of 1886, Mr. Reed removed 
with his family to Ashhnd, Oregon, and in the 
spring of 1S88, he came to the Goose Lake val- 



ley. After that, he returned to Eugene, Oregon,, 
and the fall of 1890, he came to the Chewaucan 
valley and there was engaged in the stock busi- 
ness with his sons. After they were married, he 
sold out and came to Paisley where he opened a 
shop that he now is operating. In addition to do- 
ing general building, he makes a specialty of the 
manufacture of furniture, which finds a ready sale 
through the country. He has a good residence 
and some other property and is a member of the 
I. O. O. F. For two years, Mr. Reed served as 
deputy sheriff of this county and was a capable 
and efficient officer. The children born to Mr. 
and Mrs. Reed are Herbert E., in New Bruns- 
wick and now a stockman near Paisley; Walter 
F., born in Akron, Iowa, and now living at Bly;. 
and Maude E., born in Colorado and now the wife 
of John McCormack, of California. 



JOHN N. WATSON is register of the 
United States land office and a prominent wool 
grower residing in Lakeview, Oregon. He was 
reared on a farm in Montgomery county, Illinois,, 
and upon the outbreak of the Civil War he en- 
listed in Company F, One Hundred and Twenty- 
sixth Illinois Infantry, being a member of the 
first regiment which was a part of Kimball's pro- 
visional division attached to the Sixteenth corps. 
He joned the army in August, 1862, and was 
given an honorable discharge in August, 1865. 
During his term of enlistment he was in many of 
the prominent battles and in numerous minor 
fights and skirmishes, prominent among which 
we may mention the siege of Vicksburg and the 
battle of Little Rock. He is now a member of the 
Gen. O. M. Mitchell post, G. A. R., of Reno, 
Nevada. 

After the war Mr. Watson returned to Illi- 
nois and in 1866 he went to Labette county,. 
Kansas, in fact, prior to the organization of that 
county, as he was one of its organizers and was 
elected its first sheriff. In 1875 he came to Port- 
land, Oregon, and the year following to Chico,. 
California, where he engaged in the stock busi- 
ness and freighting. He went to San Francisco 
in 1884 and there engaged in the business of buy- 
ing stock for a number of the prominent whole- 
sale meat markets of that city. In 1891 he came- 
to Lake county in the interest of his firms and 
seven years later he came to locate here, though 
he still continues to buy stock for the San Fran- 
cisco markets. He engaged in the sheep busi- 
ness upon coming to this county and rapidly in- 
creased his holdings in sheep and land until he 
now has a large flock of sheep and four hundred 
acres of choice land in Lake county. Fie was ap- 



908 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



pointed register of the United States land office 
during October, 1903. He always has been an 
uncompromising Republican in politics. He was 
•made a Mason in November, 1868, and is now a 
member of the Paisley lodge of that order. 

Mr. Watson is classed as one of the well-to-do 
citizens of Lake county, although he started in 
business here with very small means. He is a 
man of great energy and perseverance and of 
strict honor, traits to which is wholly due the 
success he has made of his life. 

John N. Watson was born in Scott county, 
Illinois, January 3, 1843, tne son °f James C. 
Watson, a native of Ohio, and Serena (Thomas) 
vVatson, whose native state is New York. He 
was married in May, 1868, to Malissa Craft, in 
Chetopa, Kansas. Mrs. Watson died in April, 
1882, at Chico, California, leaving three children, 
whose names follow : Bertha, wife of Robert S. 
Boyd; Maud, wife of Robert W. Gray; and Ben- 
jamin C. Watson, married to Irene Lutgen. All 
of the children are residents of San Francisco. 

In December, 1904, Mr. Watson married 
Mrs. Cornelia (Barnard) Knox, the daughter of 
James E. and Luemma Barnard, at Lakeview, 



JOHN D. FARRA is one of the leading citi- 
zens of Paisley, where he is operating a first- 
class livery barn. He is favored with an excellent 
patronage, owing to his care for the interests of 
his patrons, and he is considered one of the 
most skillful business men of this part of the 
county. The birth of Mr. Farra occurred on Sep- 
tember 6, 1861, in Jackson county, Kansas, his 
parents being David R. and Mary (Rice) Farra, 
natives of Kentucky, and South Carolina, re- 
spectively. The father made a trip across the 
plains to California in 1849 and later returned 
east. The brothers and sisters of our subject are 
Thomas J., deceased; Mrs. Mary White, of Kla- 
math Falls; Edward L., of Jackson county, ( )re- 
gon ; Mrs. Lucy J. Singleterry of Portland, ( )re- 
gon, and Walter H. and Samuel G., of Bly. Mr. 
Farra is the second one cf the children. Our sub- 
ject went with his parents to Daviess county. Mis- 
souri, when a child and came with them also to 
Jackson county, Oregon, in 1870, where they 
both died. He secured his education in the vari- 
ous places where he dwelt during his boyhood 
days and was reared on a farm. In the spring, of 
1880, lie came to Silver Lake in this county and 
began to work for wages on a stock ranch. Later, 
he went to Goose Lake Valley and was foreman 
on the N. L. ranch for over five rears. Then he 
engaged in the stock business for himself and re- 
moved to the Chewaucan valley. This was about 



1887. He purchased a ranch and continued stead- 
ily in stock raising until 1897, when he engaged 
in the livery business at Paisley. His two ranches 
of over five hundred and fifty acres in the valley, 
are operated by tenants. He personally handles 
the livery barn and oversees the ranches, and the 
handling of the stock which consists of about two 
hundred head of cattle. The ranches are mostly 
hay land and are valuable. The entire property 
that Mr. Farra now owns has been gained by him 
since coming- to this county, as he started entirely 
without means. In addition to what has been 
mentioned, he has a good residence in Paisley 
and some other property. 

Fraternally, Mr. Farra is affiliated with the 
A. F. & A. M. and the Eastern Star. 

On June 9, 1902, Mr. Farra married Fannie 
ii. Tavlor, who was born in Umatilla county, Ore- 
gon, the daughter of P'res and Clara (Wilson) 
Taylor, both living near Paisley. Two children 
have been born to this union, Earl Merrit and 
( )pal Esther. Mr. Farra has also one step- 
daughter, Yirgie. Mr. Farra has served as 
school clerk for several years and also as con- 
stable and at the present time, he is justice of the 
peace in the Paisley precinct. He is a good citi- 
zen, an upright man and a first-class business 
operator. 



TAMES H. TERPEN resides in Lakeview, 
Oregon and follows the business of wool grow- 
ing. He is a native of Benton county, Missouri, 
born November 4, 1856, and the son of Jonathan 
and Emily (Atterbury) Turpen. The father was 
a native of the state of Kentucky. Mr. Turpen 
is a member of a family of three children, having 
a brother, Edwin, who now lives in Lane county, 
Oregon, and a sister, Mrs. Emma Statts, of Bend, 
( )regon. The family crossed the plains with an 
ox team in 1857. coming to Stanislaus county, 
California. In 1865 they came to Lane county, 
and soon afterward our subject went to Idaho, 
where he resided until 1883. The father lived 
in Lane county until his death, which occurred in 
T902, when he was eighty years of age. The 
mother died in 1876. 

In 1S83 our subject came to his present lo- 
calitv, and the following year he went to Goose 
Lake valley, where he followed working for vari- 
ous stock men for a means of livelihood. In 1886 
lie engaged in the sheep business on his own ac- 
count and has followed that industry continu- 
ously from that date. Mr. Turpen is a memher of 
the Lakeview lodge of Foresters of America. 

He is one of Lakeview's substantial citizens 
and business men. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



909. 



GEORGE CONN is one of the wealthy citi- 
zens of Lake county and stands at the head of 
several important enterprises. His birth occurred 
on January 31, 1840, in Cass county, Indiana. His 
father, Henry Conn, was born October 12, 18 16, 
in Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, and descended 
from an old American family, many of whom 
were in the various colonial struggles and espe- 
cially in the Revolution. He came west to Hamil- 
ton county, Ohio in 1837, then was in Cass 
county, Indiana, about 1839, and in 1854, crossed 
the plains to Roseburg, Oregon, with teams. He 
took a donation claim near Roseburg and there 
remained until his death in May, 1896. He had 
married Miss Mary J. Stultz, who was born in 
Hamilton county, Ohio. She died on the old 
donation claim in 1898. Her birth had occurred 
on April 24, 1821. They were the parents of 
eleven children, nine boys and two girls and nine 
of the number are now living. Our subject ac- 
companied his parents on their journey to the 
west and received his education from the common 
schools, finishing in the Willamette University 
at Salem. Then he taught school for a time and 
in 1862 was on the crest of the wave that rolled 
into the Salmon river mining country. He trav- 
eled all through that section, through the Grande 
Ronde valley and the Walla Walla country, also 
visiting Florence and many other mining places, 
as Boise and Canyon City. He was at the last 
place in 1862. In March, 1865, he enlisted in 
Company A, First Oregon Volunteer Cavalry, 
and went as escort to the parties locating the mili- 
tary road across the state. After that, he was at 
Fort Klamath, then went to Vancouver, where he 
was mustered out in March, r866. During his 
service in 1865, he was through this country, 
where Paisley now stands and August 18, of that 
year, camped on the site of the town. Indians, 
wild game, and grass were all that were here in 
those days. After his discharge, he taught school 
and being a natural mechanic, did contracting and 
building. In May, 1872, he was appointed the 
receiver at the 'United States Land Office at Link- 
ville and five years later the office was removed 
to Lakeview, where he continued until January, 
.1882, making ten years in that capacity. In 1880, 
he opened a general merchandise establishment in 
Lakeview and in September. 1881, he moved his 
stock of goods to Paisley, where he has contin- 
ued steadily since. He now has a large stock of 
goods and does an extensive business. In 1886, 
Mr. Conn erected a fine roller flouring mill of 
fifty barrel capacity, which property he still owns. 
He has a fine eight room residence with some 
eight hundred fruit trees on the grounds. Mr. 
Conn has made a splendid success in raising fruit 
of all kinds and such vegetables as tomatoes and 



so forth. He has about eight hundred acres in 
his ranch, six hundred of which are tillable. 
About ninety acres are producing alfalfa and he 
also has some natural meadow on the estate. Mr. 
Conn has quite a bunch of stock' and altogether 
is one of the most prosperous and wealthy men 
in this part of the country. 

On February 2j , 1887, Mr. Conn married 
Miss Margaret Sergent, who was born in the 
Rogue river valley in this state. Her parents 
are Conrad S. and Loetta (Hauck) Sergent and 
are now living in Jackson county, Oregon, hav- 
ing been pioneers of the state in 1861. Mr. Conn 
came to this country without means and by his 
own efforts unaided, he has made his splendid 
success in the business world which he enjoys- 
todav. 



DANIEL BOONE was born December 28, 
1842, in Lincoln county, Tennessee, the son of 
William and Sarah (Howard) Boone, both of 
English descent and the former a native of North 
Carolina. The father was a soldier in the War 
of 1812, and, although still almost a boy, was with 
General Jackson at the battle of New Orleans. 
William Boone was a son of Benjamin Boone, 
who was the son of John Boone, the latter being 
a brother of Squire Boone, the father of Daniel 
Boone, the famous Kentucky pathfinder. This 
branch of the family is descended from George 
Boone, who came from England and who was 
an early pioneer of Pennsylvania. 

Daniel Boone grew to manhood on a farm in 
his native state, and at the age of sixteen was 
graduated from the Darnell College, of Marshall 
county, Tennessee. At the age of seventeen he 
went to Washington county, Arkansas, and on 
May '27, 1861, enlisted in the confederate army 
under General McCullough. He was the young- 
est member of Company I, but was soon made 
captain of his company. He served in Arkansas 
until the battle of Elkhorn, or Pea Ridge, when 
his company was transferred to Corinth, Mis- 
sissippi. Captain Boone participated in the bat- 
tles of Iuka, Corinth and the siege of Port Hud- 
son, as well as numerous skirmishes, and was 
finally returned to Arkansas. He was involved 
in the battle of Prairie Grove, in the latter state, 
and later was again sent to Mississippi. He was 
under General Dick Taylor against General 
Banks in the Red River campaign, during which 
he was in two hardly contested battles. Return- 
ing again to Arkansas, Mr. Boone fought his last 
battle with General Price at Saline river. During 
his military service Mr. Boone was wounded 
numerous times though, fortunately, never very 



910 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



seriously, and his army record is one of bravery 
and attention to duty. 

Following the war our subject taught school 
for three years in Washington county, Arkansas. 
He was married June 24, 1868, to Millie Dodson, 
also a native of Tennessee. He was a merchant and 
farmer in Washington county for sixteen years, 
and then brought his family to Modoc county, 
California, mainly for the benefit of his own and 
his family's health, which was very poor in their 
home state. They arrived in the Surprise valley, 
California, in the spring of 1884, but soon after- 
ward Mr. Boone came on to Big valley, Lake 
county, Oregon, and purchased land. He was 
joined by his family in 1890. He was engaged in 
the cattle and mule raising business for a num- 
ber of years in Warner valley, and in 1898 he 
gave his land and stock to his son and he ac- 
cepted the position of postmaster at Plush. Here 
he also started a small store, which he managed 
in connection with the postoffice, and before many 
years he had a stock of general merchandise on 
hand and was doing a good and profitable busi- 
ness. He has recently sold out his store at Plush, 
but expects soon to engage in business at Lake- 
view. 

Mr. and Mrs. Boone have been parents of 
nine children, as follows: Erin and Veva, who 
fell victims of scarlet fever in the Surprise 
valley, California ; Dr. Eugene D. Boone, a 
graduate from the Missouri Medical College, and 
now a practicing physician and surgeon at Cald- 
well, Idaho ; J. Early, E. Marvin and George P. 
Boone, partners in the stock business in Warner 
valley, Oregon ; Mirth and Mayfield Boone. 



WILLIAM JOHN SHERLOCK is one of 
the prominent wool growers in Lake county and 
has won his way to the front by virtue of his hard 
labor and wisdom. He resides in Paisley, where 
he has a good dwelling and from which he handles 
his stock interests in other parts of the country. 
William J. Sherlock was born in Bandon, county 
of Cork, Ireland, the son of Thomas and Eliza- 
beth Sherlock, the date of this, event being June 
3, 1863. After studying in the common schools 
until fourteen, he went to sea as an apprentice and 
rose from that position to second mate of a fine 
craft. For ten years Mr. Sherlock sailed and vis- 
ited almost all the principal ports of the world, 
being acquainted with many peoples and their 
ways. Afterwards, he came to the United States 
in 1888 and in June of the same year, landed in 
the valley where Paisley is now located. His 
brother, Thomas, was here before and together 
they labored in the sheep business until finally, 



Mr. Sherlock decided to go into business for him- 
self. He has a good ranch, several thousand 
sheep, comfortable residence and other property. 
In February, 1883, Mr. Sherlock married Miss 
Lucy Austin, who was born in Ireland. Their 
wedding occurred in London, England. Mrs. 
Sherlock's parents are William and Jane (Bar- 
rett) Austin, natives of Ireland. The father was 
a manufacturer in London and is now deceased. 
The mother is living in Clonkillty, county of 
Cork, Ireland. To Mr. and Mrs. Sherlock, four 
children have been born : Thomas Austin, Will- 
iam John, now in the county of Cork, Ireland ; 
Richard Flemming and Walter Alexander in the 
civil service in South Africa. 



MANLEY CROMWELL CURRIER, who 
resides in Paisley, Oregon, was born on July 6, 
1856, in Benton county, Oregon. His father, 
Jacob Manley Currier, was born in Vermont, 
February 12, 1827, and crossed the plains from 
the state of Missouri in 1846 to Oregon, taking a 
donation claim near where Corvallis is now lo- 
cated. He served among the volunteers in the 
Cayuse Indian war and of the Rogue river war 
and is still living on the old donation claim near 
Corvallis, in his seventy-ninth year. He married 
Maria Foster, who came across the plains in 1845 
to what is now Benton county. She is now de- 
ceased. Our subject has one brother, William 
A., of this county and one sister, Mrs. Laurena 
Belknap of King county, California. Our sub- 
ject grew to manhood in Benton county and there 
secured his education. In the fall of 1880, he 
came to Summer Lake in this county and engaged 
in the stock business. In 1896, he sold out and 
located in Paisley and two years later opened up 
a retail liquor store. He has a prosperous busi- 
ness and owns a good residence in town. 

Fraternally, Mr. Currier is affiliated with 
the I. O. O. F. 

On November 11, 1903, Mr. Currier married 
Kittie Bell Hanan/who was born in Lake county, 
Oregon, near Summer Lake valley. Her father 
was John C. Hanan and her mother Margaret E. 
(Hadley) Hanan. John C. was born on Feb- 
ruary 29, 1844, at Oregon City and as far as is 
known, was the first white child born in the ter- 
ritory now embraced in the state of Oregon. His 
father, George W. Hanan, had come to the Will- 
amette valley in the employ of the Hudson's Bay 
Company as a shoemaker. John C. Hanan came 
to Lake county in 1875 and was married in the 
Chewaucan valley to Margaret E. Hadlev, who 
died in 1902. They were the parents of eight 
children, George, Mrs. Emma Kelsay, Mrs. Cur- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



911 



rier, Charles M., Henry E., Andrew, John and 
Waymen. 

Mr. and Mrs. Currier are well known as are 
also Mr. and Mrs. Hanan, having been pioneers 
in this county. 



JOHN ALLEN WITHERS, deceased. It is 
very fitting that in a volume which purports to 
speak of the early pioneers and prominent citi- 
zens of Lake county, we should incorporate an 
•epitome of the life of John A. Withers, for he 
certainly was one of the leading men of this part 
of the county and was beloved and esteemed by 
ad who know him. The old home place is about 
nine miles northwest from Paisley where his son, 
Charles W. Withers, resides at the present 
time. 

John A. Withers was born on May 1, 1854, 
in Benton county, Oregon. His father, Peter 
Withers, married Effie A. Early and they crossed 
the plains from Missouri to Oregon in every early 
days and are now living in Lane county. Our 
suDject was the oldest of the family and the other 
children are Peter, of Lane county ; Mrs. Mary 
Hadley, of Lane county ; and Mrs. Ada Roberts, 
of Prescott, Arizona. Our subject grew up with 
his parents and received as good an education as 
the pioneer country would afford. Then in 1871, 
be came to Summer Lake and soon after located 
a homestead. He engaged in the stock business 
and on May 10, 1875, married Melvina Frances 
Hadley who was born in Shasta county, Califor- 
nia. Her father, Samuel B. Hadley, crossed the 
plains from the state of Illinois to Oregon in 
the early forties and was about the first settler 
where the city of Portland now stands. Later, 
he went to Douglas county and took a donation 
claim being one of the first settlers in that county. 
After that, he journeyed to Shasta county, Cali- 
fornia, and returned to Douglas county and then 
came to Summer Lake valley in this county. This 
was in 1871 and he was one of the very first set- 
tlers here. He made this his home until his 
deatn in 1891. He married Emily A. Hammond, 
who accompanied him across the plains and died 
in Douglas county in 1886. The brothers and 
sisters of Mrs. Withers are Albert H., deceased; 
Mrs. Margaret L. Hannan, deceased; S. G., of 
Silver lake ; Melvina F., who is the wife of our 
subject, and Melville F., twins, the latter in Lin- 
coln county, Washington ; John T., deceased ; 
Mrs. Kitty E. Currier of Summer lake: and 
Henry M. of Fruitland, Washington. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Withers, two children were born, Chester 
Lawrence, who married Melva Lewis and is now 
in the general merchandise business in Paisley; 
and Charles Wayman, who married Lottie D. 



Harris. He was formerly in partnership with his 
brother in the store but sold out and bought the 
old home ranch which consists of one thousand 
acres of hay and pasture land. It has all con- 
veniences, good house, barn and orchard, and is 
one of the choice places of the country. Mr. 
Witliers has quite a band of sheep and also 
raises cattle and horses. To him and his wife, 
two children have been born, Muriel Frances and 
Vancil Allen. The sons of Mr. Withers are both 
members of the I. O. O. F. He gave them both 
a college education in Portland and San Fran- 
cisco. On March 27, 1902, Mr. Withers died 
from the effects of smallpox. His death was 
most sincerely mourned as he was one of the 
leading and g"ood men of the country. His circle 
of friendship was as wide as his acquaintance 
and he was looked up to and respected by 
everybody. He was a prominent citizen and de- 
voted and faithful husband and a kind and gen- 
erous neighbor. He was always ready to assist 
in every movement for the upbuilding of the 
country and no unfortunate person ever appealed 
to him for help without receiving the same. 



ALVA L. HOWELL was born in Michigan, 
January 23, 1850, the son of William H. and 
Ellen (Hackett) Howell, and at an early age 
crossed the plains by ox team with his parents to 
Oroville, California.- Later the family settled in 
Sutro county, of the same state, where, for a 
number of years they lived on a farm. They 
then went to Petaluma county, California, then to 
Colusa county, and lastly to Tulare county, where 
the father died. The mother died in Colusa 
county. 

The son then came to Lake county, Oregon, in 
Tune, 1878, and engaged in the stock business in 
Goose lake valley. Lakeview, at that time, was a 
very small village, with only a handful of inhabi- 
tants and there were but few families living in 
the vallev of which we speak. Mr. Howell con- 
tinued in the cattle business here until 1901, 
when he disposed of his cattle to engage in the 
sheep business, which he now follows success- 
fully. He has a stock ranch near Lakeview, and 
quite a large flock of sheep. He also has a resi- 
dence in Lakeview, where he makes his home. 

Mr. Howell was married in 1889 to Alice 
McGarey, a native of Shasta county, California. 
She died in 1898, leaving one child, Bessie Clarey 
Howell, who is now attending school in Shasta 
county. Mr. and Mrs. Howell were parents of 
four 'children in all, three of whom died in in- 
fancy. 

Mr. Howell is a member of Lakeview lodge, 



912 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1. O. O. F. and of the Lakeview encampment, 
No, 1 8. 

Alva L. Howell came to this county with 
limited means and has seen, perhaps, more than 
one man's just share of hardships and sorrows. 
He has been energetic and persevering, however, 
and is now realizing the fruits of his labor, being 
one of the popular and prosperous citizens of 
Lakeview. 



CHARLES A. REHART is a wool grower 
residing in Lakeview, Oregon. He was born in 
Perry county, Ohio, November 24, 1852, and in 
1863 he went with his parents to Keokuk county, 
Iowa. Three years later he crossed the plains 
with his father, Joseph Rehart, to Marion county, 
Oregon, and in 1868 they removed to California, 
since which time they have lived in different parts 
of California, Colorado, and Oregon. Our sub- 
ject came to Lake county in 1883 and engaged in 
the sheep business, which he has continued to fol- 
low succesfully ever since. Twelve miles north 
from Lakeview, on Crooked creek, hedias eigh- 
teen hundred acres of land, two hundred acres of 
which are meadow land and well improved. In 
1899 Mr. Rehart removed to his present home in 
Lakeview, where he has a two story, nine room 
house and twenty acres of highly improved land 
adjoining the city. He now owns several thou« 
sand head of sheep, and some cattle and horses. 

He is a member of the Woodmen of the World 
fraternity, and one of the prominent citizens of 
his city. 

Mr. Rehart has been twice married — the first 
time to Martha A. Brooks, in Modoc county, 
California. By this union seven children were 
born, Ella A., Rose R., William J., Edna, Artie, 
Roy and Benjamin. Mrs. Rehart died in 1889, 
since which time our subject was married to Mrs. 
Clara (Wright) Simpson. This marriage has 
been blessed with six children : Mildred, Katren, 
Marie, Georgie, Ruby and Ethel. 

Mr. Rehart's second wife was a widow at the 
time of her marriage to Mr. Rehart, and was the 
mother of two children, Myrtle and Nellie Simp- 
son. These children were very small at the time 
of their mother's second marriage, and are being 
raised by Mr. Rehart, making in all fifteen chil- 
dren in the family, all of whom are still at home. 



CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS CANNON 
is certainly to be classed with the leading pioneers 
and substantial citizens of Lake county. He now 
resides at New Pine Creek where he has a fine 
estate and does general farming and stock rais- 



ing. He was born on February n, 1842, in Holt 
county, Missouri, the son of George W. and 
Mary A. Cannon. The father died in the Goose 
Lake valley aged eighty-three and the mother 
died here at the age of eighty. They have been 
members of the Methodist church for over 
sixty years. In 1853, the family came across the 
plains with ox teams the father being captain of 
the train. On the 30th day of May in that year, 
they crossed the Missouri river and on October 
26th of the same year they landed on Salt creek 
in Polk county, Oregon, where Mrs. Cannon's 
father, William Robinson, was living. He had 
come across the plains in 1847. In 1854, Mr. 
Cannon removed to the Umpqua valley and there 
built a mill which was burned down during the 
Rogue river war. In 1861, our subject began 
prospecting in the promising fields of western 
Oregon, Idaho and Washington and was well ac- 
quainted with all the leading camps. Then he re- 
turned to Lane county whither his parents had 
come and in 1869 he came to the Goose Lake val- 
lev, locating at the mouth of Lassen creek. He 
built his cabin on June 14, 1869 and is supposed 
to be the only man now living here that helped to 
celebrate the 4th of July in that year. In 1871, 
the parents came and remained here until their 
death. Our subject hired to a Mr. Snyder to 
operate a sawmill and for seven years labored in 
that capacity, receiving as wages, one hundred 
dollars per month. Then he engaged in farm- 
ing and stock raising and several years ago sold 
his ranch in Lassen creek. He now has about 
three hundred acres of fine land adjoining the 
town of New Pine Creek, part of which is located 
on his land. His farm is all under cultivation, 
has three fine dwellings and three good barns, be- 
sides many other improvements and is one of the 
valuable estates of the county. 

In 1887, Mr. Cannon married Miss Blanche 
Follette, the daughter of Captain E. and Chris- 
tina Follette. Thev formerly came from Iowa 
to California and then settled in this country, be- 
ing now residents of New Pine Creek. Mr. and 
Mrs. Cannon have one child, Olive Blanche. Mr. 
Cannon and his wife and daughter are all mem- 
bers of the Methodist church and are highly re- 
spected people. As early as fifteen years of age, 
our subject started out for himself and has made 
his entire holding by reason of his industry and 
thrift. He had the privilege of assisting to care 
for his parents in their declining years and was 
very faithful in all his duties. It is very inter- 
esting to know that when Mr. Cannon first came 
here, he was considerable of a nimrod and mad 
great experiences in slaying elk, deer, bear, cou- 
gar and so forth. He has met and slaughtered 
many of the genuine grizzly and has had some 






Charles A. Rehart 



Christopher C. Cannon 



William R. Randc 






Mrs. Rhesa A. Hawkins 



Rhesa A. Hawkins 



John D. V enator 







Mrs. Francis M. Ch 



risman 



Francis M. Chrisman 



Felix D. Duncan 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



9*2, 



very narrow escapes. On one occasion, he was 
very.nearly killed by a cougar but he always man- 
aged to find a way out and generally brought 
trophies of slaughtered game. 



WILLIAM RANDOLPH RANDOM is 
proprietor of the hotel Paisley, in Paisley, where 
he is doing a good business. He makes a genial 
and first class host and he has so conducted his 
hotel as to make it a favorite with the traveling 
public. In addition to this he oversees his estate 
lying near Paisley, which is one of value. Mr. 
Random was born on March 5, 1856, in Port- 
land, Oregon, being thus one of the natives of 
the Webfoot State, where he has been engaged 
most of his life. Robert E. Random, his father, 
was born in Maryland and in 185 1 came across 
the plains, settling in Portland where he engaged 
in the mercantile business until 1859, the year of 
his death. Our subject's mother, Elizabeth 
(Lambert) Random, was born in England and 
came to the United States when a child. In 1850, 
she accompanied her parents across the plains 
to Portland where her father, Noah Lambert, was 
a well-to-do contractor and builder. He ac- 
quired a good fortune there and died in 1901, 
being ninety-three years of age. Mrs. Random is 
now living in Red Bluff, California. Our subject 
went to Yreka, California with his mother at the 
age of six and received his education in the com- 
mon schools of Yreka, California. In 1880, he 
came to Lake county and for a time labored in the 
Goose Lake valley. After that, we find him in 
the vicinity of Summer Lake where he rode the 
range for some time. Afterward, he came to the ' 
Chewaucan valley and secured a farm of one 
hundred and forty acres, which lies about a mile 
southeast from Paisley. It is all good creek land 
and is supplied with comfortable house, barn and 
improvements and is one of the very productive 
farms of the county. Mr. Random also raises 
stock. 

On Thanksgiving day, in 1885, Mr. Random 
married Harriett L. Bagley, who was born in 
Siskiyou county, California and the daughter of 
John and Lucretia (Millsap) Bagley, the former 
of whom is deceased. The family crossed the 
plains from Arkansas to the Willamette valley, 
then went to Siskiyou county and about twenty 
years ago, settled in the Chewaucan valley. To 
Mr. and Mrs. Random, two children have been 
born, Virril Lambert and Yerda Wanneta. 

Mr. Random is one of the well known citizens 
of the county and has done much pioneer work 
here. His portrait is found on another page in 
t 1 -is volume. 

58 



RHESA A. HAWKINS, of the firm of Haw- 
kins and Rinehart, is one of the leading business 
men of the count}-. Air. Rinehart is now sheriff 
of Lake county and the firm conducts a large 
sawmilling business, while also they own a ranch 
and buy and sell stock. Mr. Hawkins resides in 
Crooked creek valley, Lake county, sixteen miles, 
north of Lakeview. He was born in the Shen- 
andoah valley, Virginia, on July 15, 1857, the son 
of Rhesa and Eliza (Crabill) Hawkins, natives, 
of Virginia. He was the youngest of a family of 
nine children and his parents both died in Vir- 
ginia when he was a small boy. Thus he was. 
early called to meet the responsibilities and hard- 
ships of life and he got his education as best he 
could, growing up amid these adversities. In 1878, 
he determined to try his fortune in the west and 
although he was without means, he succeeded in 
borrowing enough to pay his way to the Surprise 
valley, California. The next year, 1879, ne came 
on to Goose Lake valley and worked in a sawmill 
for Mr. Russell for three years. He not only 
was enabled to pay up all his debts but by econ- 
omy and thrift saved some. Then he returned to. 
Surprise valley and engaged with his brother,, 
John Hawkins, in a flour mill at Cedarville, Cali- 
fornia. Two years later, he sold out to his 
brother, who is still operating the mill. He re- 
turned to Lakeview in 1887 and bought a half 
interest in a sawmill near where his mill is now 
located. His partner sold out to Elmer E. Rine- 
hart and together Messrs. Rinehart and Hawkins 
have operated the business since. They do an 
extensive business and are well known and thor- 
oughly reliable men. 

On November 26, 1887, Mr. Hawkins married! 
Lena Best, the daughter of John C. and Anetta 
Best. She was born in Missouri and came with, 
her parents to California in early days. Soon they 
moved to Lakeview, where they reside at the 
present time. Our subject, as stated before, be- 
gan early in life to do for himself and by his, 
labors and careful management has come to be 
one of the well-to-do and leading citizens of Lake • 
county. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., the • 
encampment and the A. O. U. W. Personally, he 
is a sociable, kindly man, has many friends and ' 
is one of the active elements in the upbuilding of 
the country. « 



JOHN D. VENATOR is a prominent attorn 
ney at law residing in Lakeview. He is a native 
cf Lake county, born July 5, 1873, on trie old 
Venator hoYnestead five and one-half miles south 
from Lakeview. His father was Jezereal Vena- 
tor, a native of Tennessee, who came to Illinois 
at the age of nineteen years and crossed the plains 



•9H 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



in 1852 to the vicinity of Albany, Oregon. Here 
Jezereal Venator took a donation claim, where 
he made his home until the outbreak of the Rogue 
River Indian war. He was actively engaged, 
and was wounded in this war. He came to Goose 
Lake valley in the fall of 1870 and located the 
"ranch now known as the "Old Venator ranch" 
mentioned above, which was the first ranch lo- 
cated in what is now Lake county. This place 
was originally filed upon by a man named Crane, 
'from whom Crane creek derived its name, who 
■ sold it to a Mr. Moon, who erected upon it a 
'.log cabin which was the first house built in the 
'•county, and which was only recently razed. Mr. 
■Moon sold his claim to Mr.- Venator, who en- 
gaged in the stock business and lived on the 
homestead until his death at the age of sixty- 
four years. Just prior to his death Mr. Venator, 
•senior, started to Harney county on business and 
it is the supposition that he became lost in the 
■desert and perished for the want of water. His 
remains were found in a canyon, which has since 
'taken -the name of Venator canyon. The mother 
'of our subject, Eliza (Miller) Venator, was bom 
'and reared in Illinois. She crossed the plains 
with her husband, and is now living on the old 
homestead, aged seventy-two years. Our subject 
is the youngest of a family of nine children. His 
brothers and sisters are, Ira K., Mrs. Mary Cook- 
sey, Al, Ulyssus G., Frederick, and Mrs. Edna 
R. Vanderpool ; two of the children being dead. 

Mr. Venator was given a common school edu- 
cation while living on the old homestead, after 
which he took a four-ye^.r course in the law de- 
partment of Ann Arbor, being graduated in 
190 1. He was admitted to the bar of the states 
<of Michigan, Ohio and Indiana, while in the 
•east, and upon his return was admitted to the Ore- 
gon state bar in November, 190 1. In each of the 
states named he is entitled to practice before the 
supreme court. He has been engaged in the prac- 
tice of his profession ever since his return to 
Lakeview. 

Mr. Venator is a member and past grand of 
Lakeview lodge, No. 63. I. O. O. F., of the Lake- 
\view encampment and of the Rebekah degree. 

He owns one-half interest in the old'home- 
■stead, which consists altogether of three hun- 
dred and sixty acres of the choicest land in Goose 
Lake valley. The farm is well improved in every 
particular, and is irrigated by a ditch leading 
from Crane creek. It is regarded as being the 
best ranch of its number of acres in the valley. 
.Mr. Venator also owns cattle and horses. 



FRANCIS M. CHRISMAN is one of the 
Ibest known business men in Lake county. He 
personally supervises his diversified interests in 



such a manner that he has won a splendid suc- 
cess in every line. Without doubt an account of 
his life will be very interesting to everybody. 

Francis M. Chrisman was born in Lane coun- 
ty, Oregon, on October 29, 1865. His father, 
Peter G. Chrisman, better known as "Major" 
Chrisman, a native of Illinois, crossed the plains 
to Oregon in 1851. He came west with his father, 
Campbell E. Chrisman, who was the grandfather 
of our subject Major Chrisman was one of the 
sturdy and leading pioneers of the Willamette val- 
ley and in 1874, came to Silver lake, being among,, 
the first settlers of this section. He occupied him- 
self with the stock business until 1882, when he 
sold out and was a moving spirit in the organi- 
zation of the Lakeview Bank. For eleven years 
he was president of that institution and then re- 
tired from active life. For a time he dwelt in 
California and now is residing in Baker City, 
Oregon. He married Nancy Porter, who crossed 
the plains from Illinois to Oregon about the 
same time as her husband. She is now living with 
her husband in Baker City. They were the, 
parents of four children : Francis M., who is our 
subject; Mrs. Amanda J. Moore of Baker City; 
Rhoda and Wiley A., deceased. After studying 
in the public schools, our subject took a three 
years, course in the state university at Eugene. 
He had come with his parents to Silver Lake in 
1874 and after returning here from his school 
work, he engaged in the stock business. Later, 
he sold these interests and went into partnership _ 
with J. H. Clayton in general merchandising, the 
firm being known as F. M. Chrisman and Com- 
pany. This was in 1890. Two years later Mr. 
Chrisman's brother purchased the interest held by" 
Mr. Clayton and the firm was changed to Chris- 
man Brothers. Owing to the failure of his broth- 
er's health, Mr. Chrisman purchased his broth- 
er's interest and has since conducted the estab- 
lishment alone. His brother died in 1895. Mr. 
Chrisman has a fine large store building, forty- 
four by sixty, two stories high with two store 
rooms below, and the upper apartments, which 
are all well fitted with a first class assortment of 
general -"merchandise. He carries everything in 
the line of dry goods, notions, groceries, crock- 
ery, clothing, boots and shoes, hardware, farm im- 
plements and so forth. Mr. Chrisman is a very 
progressive and energetic man and is also a skill- 
ful buyer. Thus he is enabled to keep his store 
replenished and thoroughly up-to-date. It is the 
second best stock of goods in Lake county. The 
store building is supplied with a fine fire proof 
safety deposit vault which is first class in every 
respect. Since 1891, Mr. Chrisman has been 
postmaster at Silver Lake and is now also no- 
tary public. ' In addition to this, he handles the 
hotel Chrisman, the leading- hotel in Silver Lake, 



<s 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



9i ■> 



which is a fine, up-to-date hostelry. This thriv- 
ing hotel business is practically under Mrs. 
Chrisman's management. Nearby, Mr. Chris- 
man has a comfortable dwelling, besides other 
property in the village. He owns one hundred 
and sixty acres of first class farming land. He 
is vice president of the Lakeview Telephone and 
Telegraph Company and is among the largest 
•stockholders. He also owns town property in 
Silver Lake. Thus it is seen that in the business 
world, Mr. Chrisman is one of the leading men 
of this part of Oregon. His ability and integ- 
rity as a business man is first-class and his stand- 
ing in the community is of the very best. Mr. 
Chrisman has so handled his large interests that 
everything from the minutest detail to the gen- 
eral management is conducted on sound buiness 
principles with a wisdom and an energy that is 
bringing success in every department. 

Fraternal-ly, he is associated with the Ma- 
sonic lodge at Eugene, Oregon. Mr. Chrisman 
has always been very active in educational work 
.and is a moving spirit for the betterment of fa- 
cilities in this line constantly. He is a public 
minded man, generous and always ready to assist 
every movement for the benefit of the commun- 
ity. In church matters, Mr. Chrisman has al- 
ways donated liberally and is an ardent suppor- 
ter of the gospel. 

On September 28, 1888, Francis M. Chris- 
man married Juda E. Robinett, who was born in 
Lane county, Oregon. Her father, James Robi- 
nett, was born in Boone county, Missouri, and 
crossed the plains from Buchanan, Missouri, to 
Clackamas county, Oregon, \n 1847. Later, he 
removed to Linn county, then to Lane county, 
where he remained until his death in 1896, be- 
ing them in v his sixty-fourth year. He married 
Jennie Shields, a native of Clark county, Illi- 
nois, who journeyed with her parents to Buchan- 
na county, Missouri, and there attended the same 
school as did her husband. She crossed the plains 
in 1 85 1 with her parents to Linn county, Oregon, 
where she was married on November 27, 1851. 
She is now making her home in Silver Lake. Mr. 
and Mrs. Chrisman have one daughter, Vida R. 
Mr. Chrisman and his wife and her mother all 
belong to the Baptist church as also did Mr. Robi- 
nett before his death. In addition to the other 
enterprises mentioned, we note that the public 
telephone is in Mr. Chrisman's office. 

Mr. Chrisman was owner of the goods in the 
storerooms of the building which burned on the 
night of December 24, 1894, in which terrible 
conflagration sixteen men, sixteen women, and 
eight children lost their lives, and which is fully 
detailed in another portion of this work. Imme- 
diately upon receipt of the news of the fire in San 



Francisco, Mr. Chrisman's creditors garnisheed 
such an amount of his insurance as would cover 
their accounts, and telegraphed to the Portland 
creditors that a balance of insurance was availa- 
ble to apply on their accounts. Let it be remem- 
bered that so terrible was the catastrophe that 
the whole country was dazed at the appalling loss 
of life and property, and scores of homes were 
draped in mourning for loved ones. Every effort 
was- being put forth to rescue the remains of the 
unfortunates, and Mr. Chrisman, with others, 
was wholly occupied in looking after the injured 
and rescuing the remains of the dead.- At such 
a time, the harsh act of the San Francisco men 
tell heavy. However, some men were found in 
Portland who had enough of the milk of human 
kindness and honor to reply to the unwarranted 
advances of the San Francisco men by wiring 
back that F. W. Chrisman would pay every cent 
of his obligations without such harsh actions in 
the time of such deep sorrow. And he did — ■ 
paid every cent, but we can well understand how 
differently he feels toward the two set of credi- 
tors. 

Hon. Campbell E. Chrisman was a member 
of the Oregon legislature in early days and was a 
man who succeeded in life well, not only in fin- 
ancial lines, but in leaving a testimony for right 
and integrity. He stood above reproach and his 
advice and counsel was sought by all who knew 
him. He died in 1884, at Cottage Grove, Ore- 
gon. 

G. R. Chrisman, who is an uncle of our sub- 
ject, is countv judge of Lane county and inter- 
ested in the First National Bank in Eugene. 

It is interesting to note that P. G. Chrisman, 
our subject's father, built a log cabin on Silver 
creek, hired a teacher and had school for six 
months for his and the neighbors' children, this 
being the first school on the creek. He was very 
liberal in his dealings, was highly thought of by 
his neighbors, who had the utmost confidence 
both in his integrity and his ability to handle 
finances. Even in the stringent times of 1892, 
and thereabouts, while he was president of the 
Lakeview bank, they all counted on his ability to 
carry the institution through safely, which he did. 



FELIX DORRIS DUNCAN should be 
named among the early pioneers of the country 
now embraced in Lake county. He resides some 
eight miles southeast of Silver Lake postoffice on 
the west bank of Silver Lake and there owns a 
nice home place besides two hundred acres at the 
foot of the lake. He gives his attention largely 
to stock raising and has some very choice Dur- 



916 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



ham cattle and Norfolk horses. He takes great 
pride in raising first-class stock and always has 
fine animals. Air. Duncan started without capital 
wnatever and has gained the property that he 
now owns through his own efforts entirely. 

Felix D. Duncan was born on March 26, 1858, 
in Lane county, Oregon, the son of George C. 
and Louise (Rinehart) Duncan. They crossed 
the plains from Iowa in 1854 and made settle- 
ment in Lane count}-. In 1873 they came to Sil- 
ver Lake valley, where the father is now liv- 
ing. The mother is deceased. Mrs. Duncan's 
mother, Mrs. Elizabeth Rinehart, died in Febru- 
ary, 1903, aged ninety-seven. Our subject grew 
up in Lane county and there received his educa- 
tion. When the family came on to Silver Lake 
valley, he accompanied them and here rode the 
range and took his present place as a home- 
stead. He has been laboring steadily since in 
stock raising and farming and has a very good 
holding in property at this time. Fraternally, 
Mr. Duncan is affiliated with the W. W. and in 
1898, he was elected assessor of Lake county on 
the Democratic ticket. Mr. Duncan was among 
the first ones of the early settlers to come to this 
valley. Those who located in the Silver Lake 
valley in 1873, were Charles P. Marshall, James 
Sullivan, Emery Noble, George Thompson, Al- 
bert Rose, A. V. Lane, Samuel Smith, A. R. 
Chase, Mr. Murdock and G. C. Duncan and fam- 
ily. Mr. Marshall, Mr. Sullivan and the Duncan 
family are" the only ones of the entire number 
that still remain. Mrs. Duncan, Mrs. Murdock 
and A. V. Lane's mother were the only women 
that wintered here in 1873. Our subject has as- 
sisted materially in the transformation of the 
country from the wild to its present prosperous 
condition and has always been a good substantial 
citizen. 



ALVIN N. BENNETT is a prosperous wool 
grower residing one mile south of Warner Lake 
postoffice, in south Warner valley. He is a na- 
tive of Waldo county, Maine, born March 18, 
1846. His father, Morton Bennett, and hi*, 
mother, Sarah (Martin) Bennett, were also na- 
tives of the Pine Tree State. The father was of 
English ancestry. 

At the age of fourteen young Bennett went to 
sea aboard a man-of-war, upon which he served 
for three years, during which time his vessel was 
engaged in the attack on Fort Sumter. Later he 
shipped on a merchantman, serving nine years. 
While aboard this vessel Mr. Bennett saw the 
greater portion of the civilized world and touched 
on many of the South Sea islands. In 1870 he 
went to Nevada, with the intention of remaining 



there, but the longing for the sea was irresistible 
and he soon returned to the life of a sailor. Three 
years later, however, he came to California and 
engaged in mining in that state and Nevada until 
1877, when he came to Fort Bidwell. In 1885 he 
settled in Warner valley, Lake county, Oregon,, 
where he was one of the first settlers in the coun- 
try. He came into possession of land in south 
Warner valley and is today the only one of the 
first eight settlers to locate here, all of whom 
came at the same time. He first engaged in the 
business of raising horses, later disposed of his 
horses and entered the cattle business, and lastly,, 
in 1897, he engaged in his present business, that 
of raising sheep. He owns a flock of several 
thousand sheep, and has a choice hay ranch of 
one hundred and sixty acres where he makes his 
home. His land is well improved, as to build- 
ings, fencing, and so forth, and is all under irri- 
gation ditch, making it one of the most desirable 
farms in the county. He also owns several hun- 
dred acres of grazing land. 

On July 22, 1883, Mr. Bennett was married 
to Miss Jennie Morrow, born in the Sacramento 
valley, California. Mrs. Bennett's father was 
Joseph L. and her mother Sibbrina ( Ahart) Mor- 
row, pioneers of California. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Bennett have been born two 
children : Lenora E., now the wife of Irvin Wake- 
field, of Warner valley; and Joseph M. Bennett. 
Mr. and Mrs. Wakefield have one child, a daugh- 
ter, named Daisy Wakefield. 

although Mr. Bennett came to Lake county 
with limited means, and had a hard struggle for 
existence for some years after locating in Warner 
valley, he has made a success of his business and 
today is in circumstances commonly classified as 
"well-to-do." 



JOHN PRADER, a farmer of Lake county, 
resides a mile and one-half southeast from Sum- 
mer Lake postoffice. He was born on August 
24, 1855, in Switzerland, the son of John L. and 
Verona Prader, also natives of that same coun- 
try. The father is now dwelling in North Da- 
kota. The mother died before the family left 
Switzerland and 'the father married a second 
time. Our subject has three sisters, Mrs. Eliza- 
beth Guler, in the Willamette valley, Anna, of 
North Dakota, and Maria, deceased. He also 
has the following named half brothers : Andrew, 
in Spokane ; Peter and J. Lucius and Lawrence 
of North Dakota. Our subject received his ed- 
ucation in the old country and there remained un- 
til 1873, when he journeyed to the United States. 
He first sought a location in Sauk county, Wis- 
consin, and then went to North Dakota and as- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



917 



sisted to organize a county. After that, lie trav- 
eled to various portions of the United States a 
great deal and finally in 1888, came to Crook 
county and there remained seven years. After 
that, he traveled again and finally in 1898, he lo- 
cated in Lake county securing his present place 
of one-half section. It is a good farm, mostly all 
tillable land and is well improved with barns 
and other equipments. Mr. Prader gives his at- 
tention to raising hay and doing general farm- 
ing. In this line he has been very successful 
and is one of the substantial men of the county. 
Mr. Prader has three children, Rena, John 
and Walter. Mr. Prader is a member of the 
W. W. and when in North Dakota was commis- 
'sioner of his county. He always takes a lively in- 
terest in political matters and is a warm advo- 
cate of general progress and better educational 
advantages. 



FREDERICK WARNER FOSTER has 
one of the most beautiful places in Lake county. 
It consists of six hundred and sixty acres of 
farm land and lies on the west bank of Summer 
lake, about a quarter of a mile north from Sum- 
mer Lake postoffice. The farm is well improved 
with a fine residence, good barn and other out- 
buildings and is .productive of large returns in 
grain, timothy, alfalfa, red top, natural meadow 
hay, besides also a first class orchard which con- 
tains every variety of fruit grown in this latitude. 
Mr. Foster also raises a large amount of first 
class vegetables and has an abundance of toma- 
toes, potatoes, corn, watermelons and so forth. Fie 
started in life without any means and has gained 
this fine property by his own efforts unaided. He 
raises some stock, horses and cattle, and alto- 
gether is one of the rich and prosperous men of 
this portion of the state. 

Frederick W. Foster was born in Benton 
county, Oregon, on March 11, 1862, the son of 
James and Elizabeth (Currier) Foster. He grew 
up with his parents on the farm and received his 
■education in the home place. In the fall of 1872, 
the family came to this county and our subject 
the next year began to ride the range. When he 
was of age, he located a homestead five miles 
south from where he lives at present and began 
stock raising and farming. He improved his 
ranch in fine shape and in 1897 sold it. Then he 
purchased the estate which he now owns and 
where he has made his home since. The farm is 
laid out wisely and extends for a mile and a quar- 
ter along the lake beach and is an ideal place. 
A magnificent grove of poplar and locusts 
beautify the residence site and everything indi- 
cates a taste and thrift which are very becoming. 



The main county road runs right by his house and 
Mr. Foster certainly has an ideal home. He 
takes especial pains in raising blooded stock 
and has a fine band of registered Shorthorn 
animals. 

On May 28, 1887, Mr. Foster married Ada 
McDowell, who was born in Iron county, Mis- 
souri, the daughter of John and Flavia (Harris) 
McDowell. The father died in Missouri and the 
mother came across the plains with Mrs. Foster 
and another daughter about twenty years ago. 
The other daughter is now Mrs. Ava M. Barnes. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Foster, four children have been 
born : James Guy, Ruby Faltel, Carmel and 
Harold Neal. 

Mr. Foster is a man who always takes a keen 
interest in the progress and upbuilding of the 
community and has ever labored ardently for the 
betterment of educational facilities. He is giv- 
ing his children a thorough education at the Cor- 
vallis institution. Mr. Foster believes in thor- 
ough education and is a very progressive and 
up-to-date man. 



JAMES N. GIVAN. Born April 13, 1862, 
in Keokuk county, Iowa, James N. Givan is now 
a prominent stock raiser residing one mile south 
from Adel postoffice, in Lake county, Oregon. 

His father, Henry C. Givan, is a native of 
Indiana and a veteran of the Civil war, and his 
mother is Phcebe E. (Jacobs) Givan, both of 
whom are now living at Fort Bidwell, California. 

In 1 87 1 our subject came with his parents to 
Surprise valley, California, in what is now Modoc 
county, and eight years later came to Warner 
valley, Oregon. Here he worked for a salary on 
tne "J. J." ranch for a period of twenty-one 
years, the last ten years of which time he was 
foreman of the ranch. In 1899 he purchased his 
present ranch and two years later he engaged in 
the sheep and cattle business. In 1902 he sold his 
cattle and for a time was exclusively a sheep 
raiser, but later he disposed of his sheep and 
bought cattle so that now he has a large herd of 
the latter and is doing a prosperous business. 
Where he lives, Mr. Givan has two hundred and 
twenty acres of land, the greater portion of which 
is adapted to the raising of hay, and eighty acres 
of which is seeded to alfalfa. He can irrigate the 
most of his land from an irrigation ditch leading 
from Deep creek, and his home is well improved 
with good dwelling and outbuildings, a first- 
class orchard, shade trees, and so forth. 

Mr. Givan was married to Mrs. Dora E. 
Overton, December 6, 1890, which union has been 
blessed with three children, Earnest Truman, 
Hazel Olive and Dallas Gordon. 



918 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



The only secret society to which Mr. Givan 
belongs is the Odd Fellows, he being a member 
of Lakeview lodge, No. 63. He was one of the 
early settlers of the valley and when he came 
here all that was his in the way of worldly goods 
was a saddle pony and saddle. He was indus- 
trious and saved his earnings until he could get 
a small start in the stock business, after which 
time skilled management and good business judg- 
ment have brought him ample returns and he is 
now one of Lake county's substantial stockmen. 



GILBERT B. WARDWELL is United 
States land commissioner at Silver Lake. He is 
a well known resident of this part of Lake county 
and is one of the leading business men. He 
was born on May 28, 1854, in Swampscott, Mass- 
achusetts, the son of Gilbert and Abbie (Sargent) 
Wardwell, now deceased. The father followed 
the seas and traveled over the most of the world. 
His death occurred in Massachusetts. Our sub- 
ject has one brother, Edward, still living in- the 
home state. Gilbert B. was educated in t'he com- 
mon schools and in a classical college of Massa- 
chusetts. He also completed a business course 
in the Bryant and Stratton college. Then he en- 
gaged as a salesman in a mercantile house and 
also did bookkeeping. In the fall of 1876, he 
came west to Hutchinson, Kansas, and was en- 
gaged in trade and traffic through Kansas, Indian 
Territory, Texas and Colorado. After that, he 
went to "the Black Hills in South Dakota and fol- 
lowed mining and prospecting. Returning to 
Hutchinson, he was there married on July 2T, 
1880, to L. Matilda Ward, a native of Pennsyl- 
vania and the daughter of Samuel A. and Eliza- 
beth (Russell) Ward. The father was born in 
Pennsylvania and met his death at the terrible 
Silver Lake fire in 1894. The mother is still 
living in Silver Lake. 

Our subject and his wife started across the 
plains about August 1, 1880, by wagon and ar- 
rived at the Grande Ronde valley in December 
following. In the summer of 1881, he moved to 
Asotin county, Washington, and followed farm- 
ing. While there, he was county commissioner 
for two terms. In 1888, Mr. Wardwell journeyed 
to the Willamette valley with a band of horses. 
Later, we find him in Lincoln and Spokane coun- 
ties, Washington, and in the fall of 1889, he ar- 
rived in Lake county. He immediatelv engaged 
as bookkeeper and salesman in Mr. Chrisman's 
store and on April 21, t8q8, he was appointed 
United States land commissioner by Judge Bellin- 
ger. At the expiration of his term of four years, 
he was reappointed and is now filling his second 



term. He is clerk of the W. W. order in Silver 
Lake and chairman of the Republican central 
committee of the Silver Lake precinct. Mr. and 
Mrs. Wardwell have the following named chil- 
dren : Samuel S. ; Cora A., the wife of Arthur 
A. Martin ; Jennie and Elizabeth, deceased ; Alice 
and Gilbert. Mr. Wardwell owns a homestead 
of eighty acres, half a mile east of Silver Lake 
town, which is his home at the present time. It 
is a fine location, provided with a good nine 
room residence, large barn and all other improve- 
ments necessary. 

Mr. Wardwell is a good citizen, an ardent 
laborer for the progress of educational interests 
and the general upbuilding of the country and is 
considered one of the substantial men of principle 
and integrity in this part of the country. 



WILLIAM H. COOPER is a stock raiser 
residing one and one-half miles south from Adel, 
Lake county, Oregon. He is a native of Wiscon- 
sin, born September 3, 1859. 

His father is Byron Cooper, a native of the 
state of New York, and his mother was Malissa 
(Frekes) Cooper. 

Early in life Mr. Cooper removed with his 
parents to the state of Minnesota, and in the fall 
of 1872 the family came to Colusa county, Cali- 
fornia, thence to Alturas county, of the same 
state. Here the mother died. Our subject came 
to Warner valley in 1888, and soon after returned 
to Alturas county, California, only to remove 
with his father and two sisters to Warner valley, 
where he took a homestead and preemption claim. 
He engaged in the stock business, on a small' 
scale at first, and now has a fine band of cattle 
and four hundred and eighty acres of land. The 
major portion of his land is devoted to the cul- 
ture of hav and is irrigated by the Deep creek 
irrigation ditch, in which Mr. Cooper is heavily 
interested. 

On March 17, 1892, Mr. Cooper was married 
to Marv E. Morrow, a daughter of Josenh L. 
and Sibbrino (Ahart) Morrow. Two children- 
have been born to this union, Malissa Sibbrino 
and Martin Franklin Cooper. 

Mr.- Cooper's father is still living, at the age 
of seventy-seven, years, in the Warner valley. 



WARREN M. DUNCAN, the senior mem- 
ber of the firm of Duncan & Company, is man- 
aging a liverv and feed business ?t Silver Lake 
He was born on July 31, 1854, where the town 
of Vale now stands, in eastern Oregon, while 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



919 



his parents were crossing the plains to Oregon. 
His father, George C. Duncan, was a native of 
Tennessee and came to Iowa at the age of six- 
teen. He located near Des Moines and there 
married Louise Rinehart. They started across 
the plains in the spring of 1854 and arrived in 
Lane county. Oregon, September 17th, of the 
same year. Mr. Duncan took a donation claim in 
Lane county and for four years was assessor of 
that county. As early as 1873, he came to the 
Silver Lake country, locating on the Avest bank 
of Silver Lake, and engaging in the stock busi- 
ness. He is now living a retired life in Harney 
county, this state, being nearly eighty years of 
age, his birth occurring on October 12, 1825. The 
mother is a relative of the Rinehart family of 
Union county, this state, and her mother, Isabel 
Rinehart, died in 1903, in her ninety-seventh year. 
Mrs. Duncan died in 1882. The children born 
to this venerable couple are Mrs. Sarilda 
Comegys of Burns, Oregon ; Mrs. Emma Bun- 
yard of Harney county. Oregon: Warren M., 
who is our subject; Felix D., of Silver Lake ; 
and George W., of Lakeview. Our subject lo- 
cated on a farm with his parents in Lane county 
and came with them to Silver Lake in September, 
1876. He engaged in the stock business and took 
a preemption and a homestead in the Silver Lake 
valley. Later, . he sold this property and came 
to the village of Silver Lake where he built a 
large livery stable. Since that time, he has been 
engaged in the livery business, his son being his 
partner. He has some good rigs and plentv of 
horses and does a general livery, feed and sale 
business. Mr. Duncan also has a good six-room 
residence in Silver Lake and one hundred head 
of cattle. 

On December 31, 1880, Mr. Duncan married 
Ida Vanderpool, who was born in Marion county, 
Oregon. Her father, James Vanderpool, was a 
pioneer of Oregon in 1856 and also was one of 
the earliest settlers of Crook county, coming 
there in 1871. He died in Prineville in 1898. 
Her mother, Mary (Moore) Vanderpool, is now 
living at Prineville. Mr. and Mrs. Duncan have 
one child, Leslie Willard. who is actively engaged 
with his father in the livery business. 

Mr. Duncan is a member of the W. W. and 
is a very active and stirring man. 



WILLIAM K. McCORMACK. a leading 
citizen of Lake county, is occupied in wool grow- 
ing and resides some eight miles northwest of 
Paislev. He was born on Augftist 16, 1875, in 
New Brunswick. Canada. William McCormack. 
his father, a native of the same place, descended 
from Scotch ancestors and came to the United 



States in 1876. In the same year he made his 
way to the Sacramento valley in California and 
in 1881, moved to Sierra county, California, and 
in 1887, he landed in Paisley. He engaged in the. 
stock business until 1901 when he sold out and is 
now living retired in Los Angeles, California.. 
He married Elizabeth McKinzie, also a native 
of New Brunswick, who is still living. The 
children born to this couple are John R., in Inyo 
county, California ; Mrs. Anna Moss, near Pais- 
ley; and William K., our subject. William K. 
came with his parents to California in 1876 and to 
this part of Oregon in 1887. He graduated from 
the high school in Lakeview when seventeen 
years of age and two years previous to that had 
secured a certificate to teach school. However, 
he never engaged in that business but when nine- 
teen bought a few cattle and commenced stock 
raising, in which he has continued since. In 
1903, he purchased sheep and now has about two 
thousand head and is giving his attention largely 
to wool growing. He has quite a large band of 
thoroughbred Durham cattle and also owns nine 
hundred and twenty acres of land, at the home 
place, which is practically all suited to raising 
bay. The improvements are a good large barn, 
comfortable residence, two acres of orchard, 
fences and so forth and so forth. In the orchard,, 
besides other varieties of fruit that can be grown 
in this latitude. Mr. McCormack has planted 
some English walnuts, which are doing very fine 
at this time. He also owns four other ranches 
in different parts of the county, which are utilized 
for grazing purposes. 

On October 25, 1899. Mr. McCormack mar- 
ried Frances Uren, who was born in Wisner. 
Nebraska. Her father. William Uren, married 
Frances J. Ivey and both are natives of England. 
Thev came to the United States and lived in Ne- 
braska, then in Colorado, and in 1881 came to 
Oregon. After spending some time in The 
Dalles, they came to Crook county and are now 
residing at Oregon City. Mrs. McCormack's 
brothers and sisters are William S., an attorney at 
Oregon City ; Mrs. Salina Child of Lane county ; 
Thomas, who was a wholesale merchant at 
Johannesburg:, South Africa, and died there in 
July, 1900 : Charles of Wasco countv. Mrs. Mc- 
Cormack is the youngest of the family. She is a 
graduate of the state normal at Monmouth and 
holds a life certificate for teaching in the state 
of Oregon. She has taught in various places and 
is a thoroughly well educated woman. To Air. 
and Mrs. McCormack have been born two chil- 
dren, William L T ren and Elizabeth. Mr. Mc- 
Cormack belongs to the W. W. and is a stanch 
Republican. He is a well informed man, a good 
citizen and higfhlv esteemed bv all. 



^20 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



JAMES M. SMALL, who resides some two 
and one-half miles east of Silver Lake, was born 
>on July 27, 1850, in Pettis county, Missouri, the 
"son of George and Malinda (Hinch) Small. In 
1853, tri e family crossed the plains with ox teams 
from Missouri to Lane county, Oregon, where 
the father took a donation claim. That was their 
home until i860, when they journeyed on down 
"to Glenn county, California, and there the father 
died the next year. Our subject gained his edu- 
cation in the various places where the family 
lived during his youth, and as earlv as 1873 made 
his way into the Chewaucan valley, arriving here 
in May of that year. The mother came into the 
'valley in the same year and they were among the 
"very earliest settlers in the country. In 1880, she 
journeyed to Lane county, Oregon, and there died 
four years later. Our subject met the various 
* adversities and hardships incident to pioneer 
life and took hold with a will and very soon had 
land opened up and a good band of cattle on the 
range. In 1886, he journeyed from his first lo- 
cation to the Silver Lake countrv and here has 
been raising cattle and sheep since. He now has 
disposed of his sheep and handles cattle and 
horses, having a nice stock of each. He has been 
well prospered in his work and is among the sub- 
stantial men of this part of the countrv. 

On December 12, 1880, Mr. Small married 
Maude Brattain, who was born in Lane county, 
Oregon, the daughter of Thomas J. and Permelia 
J. Brattain. Mrs. Small's parents crossed the 
plains from Iowa to Oregon in 1850 and were 
"among the early pioneers in Klamath county. 
Later they returned to the Willamette vallev and 
in 1873 came on to the Chewaucan valley, where 
•'they are now residing. To Mr. and Mrs, Small. 
"three children have been born : Belle, the wife of 
Ernest Carlson of Summer Lake ; Robert, who 
was burned to death in the Silver Lake fire on 
-December 24, 1894: and Ross. Mr. Small owns 
"about two thousand two hundred acres of land 
"in Lake and Klamath counties, five hundred of 
"which are utilized for hay. The home place is 
"well improved with house, good barn and other 
equippage and he is considered one of the pros- 
perous and leading men of the countrv. 



ELMER D. LUTZ is one of the industrious 
farmers and stockmen of Lake county and re- 
*sides about a mile north of Silver Lake, where 
Hie has one of the best farms in the cduntv. It 
'consists of two hundred and forty acres of first 
class soil, well adapted to the production of all 
lands of grain, fruits and vegetables usually 
grown in this latitude. The place is well im- 



proved and kept in a good state of cultivation and 
Mr. Lutz is considered one of the thrifty and 
substantial men of this county. 

Elmer D. Lutz was born on February 7, 
1864, i" Forest Grove, Iowa. His father, Charles 
Lutz. was born in Pennsylvania and was an early 
pioneer in Iowa. He was in that state when the 
Sioux Indians were on the war path and was ex- 
posed to much danger and hardship. He married 
Martha Long and they are now living in What 
com, Washington. The brothers and sisters of 
our subject are Albert J., on the police force of 
Whatcom ; Mrs. Irene Boyd ; Charles B. ; John 
L. ; Walter A., a druggist; and Mary; de- 
ceased. Those living are dwelling in Whatcom. 
Our subject was the third child in the family and 
from the time he was twelve years of age, has 
been doing for himself. He has met with much 
adversitv and has seen a great deal of hard labor 
but has always been possessed of sufficient grit 
and force to overcome. His education was se- 
cured in the various places where he lived 
during his boyhood days and when the family 
journeyed to South Dakota, he went with them. 
In 1866. he came to California, settling in 
Shasta count v and a year latter journeyed 
thence to Silver Lake vallev, landing here 
in May, 1887. He first took a preemption 
but was beat out of that owing to the swamp 
act However, he succeeded in getting a clear 
title to the place. Silver Creek runs through 
the land and he irrigates portions of the 
farm from it. His ranch is verv productive and in 
addition to handling that, Mr. Lutz raises cattle 
and horses and is prospered in his labors. He had 
no means and everything that he now owns has 
been gained by his labors and careful manage- 
ment here. Mr. Lutz stands well in the com- 
munity and always takes a keen interest in educa- 
tional matters and politics and everything that 
tends to build up the country. 



WILLIAM D. WEST, the efficient assessor 
of Lake county, resides about two and one-half 
miles northwest of Silver Lake. He was born on 
November 13, 1850. in Waseca county, Minne- 
sota. His father, Hiram West, was a native of 
New York state and an early pioneer of Waseca 
countv, Minnesota, and was there during the ter- 
rible Sioux uprising in early days. He was aud- 
itor of Waseca county for several years and died 
in 1864. He had married Susan Bailev, also a 
native of New York state and who died in Sierra 
county, California, in 1882. Besides our subject, 
one other child was born to this marriage. Ward 
R., who now resides in Modoc countv, California. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



921 



Our subject crossed the plains to Sierra county, 
California, with his mother in 1870. His educa- 
tion was received in the public schools and in 
1883, we find him in Modoc count)', California. 
In the spring of the next year he came on to the 
Silver Lake valley and rode the range here for 
several years. Finally, he took a homestead where 
he now resides and engaged in raising horses. 
He has a band of horses at this time, owns one 
hundred and sixty acres of meadow land which is 
well improved with house, barn and so forth, 
and is one of the prosperous men of this part of 
the count}-. On June 4, 1904, his name was on the 
Democratic ticket for assessor of Lake county 
and he was promptly elected by the people, his 
term being for four years. Mr. West is a man 
well known and has labored faithfully with 
display of integrity and uprightness in this county 
for many years. He is deserving of the success 
he has attained and is the recipient of the good 
will and esteem of all. 



WILLIAM H. McCALL is a wool grower 
residing two miles east and two miles north of 
Silver Lake. He was born on April 2, 1855, in 
Lane county, Oregon. His father, William Mc- 
Call, was a native of Tennessee and journeyed 
to Illinois whence he crossed the plains with ox 
teams to Lane county. Oregon, being one of the 
earliest settlers in that section. He located a do- 
nation claim and remained on the same until his 
death. He was an elder in the Christian church 
and an exemplary man. His birth occurred in 
1815 and his death in 1877. He was of Scotch- 
Irish extraction and married Matilda Markley, a 
native of Ohio, who accompanied her husband 
across the plains. She was born in 1820, and is 
now living in Eugene. Oregon, being of German 
ancestors. Our subject grew up in his native 
country and secured his education there. In 1873, 
he made the first trip to Silver Lake valley with 
stock. From that time until he came here to 
reside in 1877 he visited this country each year, 
but made his residence in Lane count}-. When 
he finally removed here, he took up land near his 
present home and at once went to riding the 
range. He had a family, a wife and five chil- 
dren, and was practically without means, so that 
he knew well the hardships incident to pioneer 
life. For three years, Mr. McCall was foreman of 
the G. S. S. ranch. In 1897, he engaged in the 
sheep business and now has a fine band of sheep 
and twelve hundred acres of land, over half of 
which produces hay. He also has taken up ten 
acres under the Saline Act. On this tract, there is 
a lake of about five acres which is fed bv salt 



springs that come up in and around the same. 
There is a very large per centage of salt in this 
water with a very little soda. It is located about 
ten miles northeast of Silver Lake postofnce in 
what is known as the desert and some years many 
tons of salt are formed by evaporation of the 
water. Mr. McCall expects to put in an evaporat- 
ing plant and produce salt for the market shortly. 
On November 28, 1875, Mr. McCall married 
Cynthia I. Miller, a native of Yamhill county, 
Oregon. Her father, Alexious N. Miller, was a 
native of Missouri and crossed the plains in 
1847 to this state. He settled in Yamhill county 
and afterwards in Lane county, where he lived 
until his death at Pleasant Hill. The same oc- 
curred on November 11, 1902, he being then 
seventy-nine years of age. He married Jane 
Hutchinson, who was born in Missouri. Her 
parents came from Kentucky and she came west 
a few years after her husband, the marriage oc- 
curring in Oregon. She is now residing at 
Florence, being in her seventy-seventh year. 
Mrs. McCall has the following named brothers 
and sisters; R. N. of Okanogan countv. Wash- 
ington, W. M., T- R-. E. G., and D. J. of Eugene, 
Mrs. C. M. Hamilton. Mrs. Fred Wilhelm, Flor- 
ence, Mrs. T. Elliott, Robert, and John. The last 
three are deceased. Mrs. McCall is the fourth 
from the youngest. Mr. McCall has the follow- 
ing named brothers and sisters, James, John A., 
Henrv D., Lorenzo D., Adin J., deceased, Mrs. 
Elizabeth Rowland, Mrs. Martha Bristow, Mrs. 
Ella Bridges, Mrs. Emma Miller, and Catherine, 
deceased. Mrs. McCall's mother was a great 
niece of Chief Justice Marshall. The children born 
to Mr. and Mrs. McCall are named as follows ; 
Olo J., the wife of Marion Conlev of Paisley; 
Claude M., Adin N., Ira C, Virgil, Henry, 
Robert M. 



CHARLES P. MARSHALL is one of the 
earlv pioneers of the Silver Lake valley, where 
he now resides some five miles northeast of the 
lake. He has labored here assiduously for over a 
quarter of a century and deserves to be classed 
with the builders of the country. He was born 
on January 19, 1834, in England, the son of 
Nicholas and Mary A. Marshall. He came with 
his parents to the United States in 1839 anc ^ ^ vec ^ 
in Pennsylvania, where he engaged in the coal 
mines as soon as he had arrived at sufficient age. 
He secured his education "between times" when 
a boy and in 1846, went aboard a man of war at 
New York city. He was in the merchant marine 
and has been at the various leading ports of the 
world. He circumnavigated the globe and was 
on the sea in all some ten vears. At the time he 



922 



HISTORY OF. CENTRAL OREGON. 



quit, he was first mate of the good craft Aquilla, 
which was later sunk in San Francisco bay. In 
1856, he quit the sea at San Francisco and de- 
voted his attention to mining until 1869 when he 
journeyed to Modoc county and settled at farm- 
ing in the Big valley. ' There he raised stock and 
tilled the soil until July, 1873, when he came to 
Silver Lake valley. He was one of the very first 
men to settle here and since that time has con- 
tinued here steadily except two years spent in Al- 
bany, this state. When ,he located, he had some 
stock and has continued in that business together 
with farming since. In those early days to run 
to the postoffice was no slight job as it. was one 
hundred miles distant. All kinds of supplies had 
to be brought in over rough mountain roads with 
great expense and labor. Nevertheless Mr. Mar- 
shall continued his good work here and has not 
only done well in building up but has stimulated 
others by his industry and thrift. 

On February 22, 1887, Mr. Marshall married 
Mrs. Frances A. (Brown) Anderson, a native of 
Missouri. Her father, Milton Brown, crossed 
the plains from Missouri in 1846 and settled at 



Oregon City, being one of the .earliest pioneers 
of that vicinity. He was also one of the first 
settlers of the Summer Lake valley and came to 
Silver Lake where he engaged in the mercantile 
business. His death occurred here on November 
18, 1904, he being then in his ninetieth year. He 
was one of the substantial and good men of this 
county, well known and beloved by all. He 
was faithful in labor, upright and honorable in 
business and a genuine good citizen and a first- 
class man. He married Christian Farris, who is 
also deceased. By her former marriage, Mrs. 
Marshall had three children : Ida, the wife of 
John Hill in The Dalles; Mary, the wife of F. 
M. Taylor, of Benton county ; and Anna C, the 
wife of William Hough of Silver Lake, all . in 
this state. Mr. Marshall formerly operated the 
hotel at Silver Lake but now is giving his entire 
attention to his stock business and farming. Mr. 
and Mrs. Marshall are people of good standing 
and have many friends throughout the country. 
They have certainly done an excellent work as 
pioneers and deserve to be classed with those who 
have made the country what it is. 



PART VIII 

HISTORY OF KLAMATH COUNTY 



CHAPTER 1 



FROM EARLIEST DAYS UNTIL SETTLEMENTS OF 1867 



Klamath county came into existence as a 
separate political division in 1882. Prior to that 
period, although it had before been a part of 
Wasco, Jackson and Lake counties, respectively, 
the territory that now comprises it was known 
as the "Lake Country," or the "Klamath Coun- 
try." The history of the Klamath country dates 
from many years before the formation of this 
county and even prior to the advent of its first 
settlers. 

This country was inhabited by the Klamath 
and Modoc Indians when the first small, crawling 
wave of immigration curled over the bunch grass 
plains and through the foothills and mountain 
peaks- — ever onward to the settlements west of 
the mountains. And this had been the Indians' 
home for centuries. The Klamath Indians, then 
known as the La Lakes, inhabited that district of 
the country — the vicinage of Big Klamath lake, 
and north of Klamath, and west of Link rivers. 
They were strange, uncanny tribes ; their very 
language was peculiar to themselves while they, 
at the same time, also understood the universal 
"jargon." 

The Modocs inhabited the country south of 
Little Klamath lake, and around Tule lake, east 
of Goose Nest Mountain, and west of Goose 
lake. They, also, conversed in a language com- 
mon only to. themselves and the Klamaths. In 
reality thev were only one people. There was 
only a slight difference in the pronunciation of a 
few of their words, yet no greater difference than 
there is in the speech of northern and southern 
white people. They were friendly tribes ; they 



intermarried. It has been written and published 
in histories that the Klamaths and Modocs were 
hereditary enemies. This is not so. At all times 
they were friendly. Overlapping the present 
Klamath country in the vicinity of the Sican 
marsh dwelt a branch of the Snake Indians. But 
the greater portion of the present Klamath coun- 
try was inhabited by the Klamaths and Modocs. 

Through the country of these two tribes — - 
the present Klamath country — led Indian trails 
over which the natives traveled to and from their 
favorite fishing grounds. Nearly all evidence of 
these primeval trails has been erased, although 
we know that they were in existence when the 
first white men set feet on Klamath soil. 

And of these "first white men" they were, un- 
doubtedly "the Rocky Mountain men" who 
visited nearly every part of the country. While 
there are no accounts of their visits here, there 
remains undeniable evidence that they were here 
on several occasions at a very early day— before 
the explorations of John C. Fremont, the "Path- 
finder." 

It was during the winter of 1843-4 that Fre- 
mont's party traversed the Klamath country. 
Coming in from the north their journal shows 
that they found themselves at the Klamath marsh, 
or, as Fremont terms it in his journal, "Tlameth 
lake." This point was reached December 11, 
1843. Here was the Indian village Onyx, of 
which Skidat, father of "Dave Hill," of later 
day prominence, was chief. Observing this In- 
dian village on the border of the marsh, and un- 
acquainted with the temper of the tribe, the- 



924 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



"Pathfinder" discharged his cannon with the re- 
sult that the Indians scattered in all directions 
among the willows and tules. Presently the 
chief and his squaw came out to meet Fremont 
and personally assured the latter of their friend- 
liness. Fremont greatly admired the soft-voiced 
chief and his comely wife. In his journal he 
states that this was the first time he had known 
a woman to take part in the circumstances of 
war. The following day this chief, as a pledge 
of his friendship, piloted Fremont across the 
marsh and led him through the forest in an east- 
erly direction to a "green savannah" which we 
now recognize as Sican marsh. 

Fremont's party continued to the east until 
they won their way to Summer lake which they 
so named on account of finding the snow all gone 
at that point, although it was in the middle of the 
winter season. Hence they went in a southeast- 
erly direction passing the point where is now 
situated the town of Paisley, passed around the 
north end of Abert Lake, and on to Christinas 
Lake, or as it is now commonly termed Warner 
lake. 

Thus we perceive that the Klamath country, 
although not settled until the 6o's, had previously 
been visited and, at least, a portion of its topo- 
graphy known, at a comparatively early period 
in the history of this country. Only a few years 
later, however, an enterprise was undertaken 
and accomplished which, while not resulting in 
an extensive exploration of the whole Klamath 
country, made a part of it very well known. This 
was the establishment of the South Emigrant 
Road in 1846, and which diverted a large part 
of Oregon immigration through the southern 
part of the present Klamath country. Let us re- 
vert to a period three years anterior and tell 
of the arrival of the builders of this road to 
Oregon. 

Away back in the 40's when Oregon was a 
wilderness ; when even its possession was in dis- 
pute between the United States and Great Brit- 
ain ; when no permanent American settlement had 
been made on the Pacific coast, that is, in 1843, 
a vast train of immigrants numbering some 800 
people with their cattle, horses, wagons and 
household goods, left the Missouri river early in 
the spring. This party gained the Willamette 
valley after the closing in of winter — the first 
through wagon train. In this company were the 
three notable Applegate brothers, Charles, Lind- 
say and Tesse, nil men who became conspicuous 
in the history of Oregon. Lindsay was the father 
of Ivan, Lucien and Oliver Applegate. early pio- 
neers of the Klamath basin. Ivan and Lucien, 
aged respectfully three and one years, were itin- 
ior members of this expedition of 1843. Oliver, 



a native son of Oregon, was born two years 
later. 

Having made permanent settlement in the 
Willamette valley, Lindsay and Jesse Applegate, 
in company with thirteen other courageous men, 
performed the historic feat of laying out the 
"South Road" to Oregon in 1846. The names of 
these other thirteen pioneers were : Captain Levi 
Scott, John (Jack) Jones, John Owens, Henry 
Boggs, William Sportsman, Samuel Goodhue, 
Robert Smith, Moses (Black) Harris, John 
Scott, William G. Parker, David Goff, Benjamin 
F. Burch and Bonnett Osborn. 

Passing through the Umpqua canyon, Rogue 
River valley, over the Cascades, through the 
Klamath basin and on the Humbolt river and to 
Fort Hall, they conducted an emigrant train to 
the Willamette by that route. As they passed 
through the Little Klamath lake, Lost river and 
Tule lake countries, they noted the extent and 
character of the great Klamath basin. 

We here present to the reader the story of 
the selection of the South Emigrant Road, ex- 
tending from Fort Hall to the Rogue River Val- 
ley in 1846, as told in after years (about 1888 or 
1890) by Lindsay Applegate, (now deceased) 
one of the party. This route passed through the 
southern parts of what are now Lake and Kla- 
math counties : 

On the morning of June 30th we moved along the 
north bank of the creek, and soon began the ascent 
of the mountains to the eastward, which we found 
gradual. Spending most of the day in examining the 
hills about the stream now called Keene creek, near the 
summitt of the Siskiyou ridge, we moved on down 
through the heavy forests of pine, fir and cedar, and 
encamped early in the evening in a little valley now 
known as Round prairie, about ten or twelve miles, 
as nearly as we could judge, from the camp of the 
previous night. We found no evidence of Indians be- 
ing about, but we did not relax our vigilance on that 
account. We encamped in a clump of pine in the valley 
and kept out our guard. 

On the morning of July 1st, being anxious to know 
what we were to find ahead, we made an early start. 
This morning we observed the track of a lone horse 
leading eastward. Thinking it had been made by some 
Indian horseman on his way from Rogue river to the 
Klamath country, we undertook to follow it. This 
we had no trouble in doing as it had been made in 
the spring while the ground was damp and was very dis- 
tinct until we came to a very rough, rocky ridge whore 
we lost it. This ridge was directly in our way. Ex- 
ploring northward along the divide for considerable 
distance without finding a practicable route across it 
we encamped for the night among the pines. The 
next morning, July 2d, we explored the ridge south- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



9^5 



ward as far as the great canyon of the Klamath, but 
having no better success than the clay before, we en- 
camped at a little spring on the mountain side. The 
next day. July 3d, we again traveled northward farther 
than before, making a more complete examination of the 
country than we had previously clone, and at last 
found what appeared to be a practicable pass. Near 
this was a rich, grassy valley through which ran a 
little stream, and here we encamped for the night. This 
valley is now known as Long prairie, Parker's home. 

On the morning of July 4th our route bore along 
a ridge trending considerably toward the north. The 
route was good, not rocky, and the ascent very gradual. 
After crossing the summit of the Cascade ridge, the 
descent was, in places, very rapid. At noon we came 
out into a glade (Spencer creek) where there were 
water and grass and from which we could see the 
Klamath river. Afternoon we moved down through 
an immense forest, principally yellow pine, to the river, 
and then traveled up the north bank, still through yellow 
pine forests, for about six miles, when all at once we 
came out in full view of the Klamath country, ex- 
tending eastward as far as the eye could reach. It was 
an exciting moment, after the many day r s spent in the 
dense forests and among the mountains, and the whole 
party broke forth in cheer after cheer. 

An Indian who had not observed us until the 
shouting began, broke away from the river bank and 
ran to the hills a quarter of a mile away. An antelope 
could scarcely have made better time, for we continued 
shouting as he ran and his speed seemed, to increase 
until he was lost to our view among the pines. We 
were, now entering a country where the natives had 
seen but few white people. Following the river up to 
where it leaves the lower Klamath lake, we came to a 
riffle where it seemed possible to cross. William Parker 
waded in and explored the ford. It was deep, rocky 
and rapid, but we all passed over safely and then pro- 
ceeded along the river and lake shore for a mile or so 
when we came into the main valley of the Lower 
Klamath lake. We could see columns of smoke rising 
in every direction, for our presence was already known 
to the Modocs and the signal fire telegraph was al- 
ready in active operation. Moving southward along 
the shore we came to a little stream, coming in from 
the southward, and there found pieces of newspapers 
and other unmistakable evidences of civilized people 
having camped there a short time before. We found 
a place where the turf had been cut away, also the 
willows near the bank of the creek, and horses had been 
repeatedly driven over the place. As there were many 
places where horses could get water without this trouble 
some of the parties were of the opinion that some per- 
sons had been buri'ed there and that horses had been 
driven over the place to obliterate all marks and thus 
prevent the Indians from disturbing the dead. The 
intense excitement among the Indians on our arrival 
there strengthened this opinion. 



Colonel Fremont, only a few days before, had' 
reached this point on his way northward when he was 
overtaken by Lieutenant Gillspie of the United States 
Army with important dispatches and returned to Lower 
California. The Mexican War had just begun and the 
"Pathfinder" was needed elsewhere. On the very night 
he was overtaken by Lieutenant Gillispie the Modocs 
surprised his camp, killed three of his Delaware Indians, 
and it is said that had it not been for the vigilance and 
presence of mind of Kit Carson, he would have suf- 
fered a complete rout. At this place we arranged our 
camp on open ground so that the Indians could not 
possibly approach us without discovery. It is likely 
that the excitement among the Modocs was caused, 
more than anything else, by the apprehension that ours 
was a party sent to chastise them for their attack on 
Fremont. We were but a handful of men surrounded 
by hundreds of Indians armed with their poisoned ar- 
rows, but by dint of great care and vigilance we were 
able to pass through their country safely. On every- 
line of travel from the Atlantic to the Pacific there had 
been great loss of life from a failure to exercise a 
proper degree of caution, and too often have reckless 
and foolhardy men,, who have, through the want of~ 
proper care, become embroiled in difficulties with the 
Indians, gained the reputation of being Indian fighters 
and heroes, while the men who were able to conduct 
parties in safety through the country of warlike savages, 
escaped the world's notice. 

On the morning of July 5th we left our camp on 
the little creek (now called Hot creek), and continued" 
our course along the shores of Lower Klamath lake. 
This threw us off our course considerably, as the lake 
extended some miles to the southward of our last- 
camp, and we did not reach the eastern shore until 
the day was far spent. We camped on the lake shore 
and the next morning, July 6th, we ascended a high, 
rocky ridge to the eastward for the purpose of making 
observations. Near the base of the ridge on the east, 
was a large lake, perhaps twenty miles in length. Be- 
yond it to the eastward we could see a timbered butte, 
apparently thirty miles distant, at the base of which 
there appeared to be a low pass through the mountain 
range which seemed to encircle the lake basin. It 
appearing practicable to reach this pass by passing around 
the north end of the lake, we decided to adopt that 
route and began the descent of the ridge, but we soon 
found ourselves in the midst of an extremely rugged 
country. Short lava ridges ran in every direction, while- 
between them were caves and cvrevices into which it 
seemed our animals were in danger of falling head- 
long. The farther we advanced the worse became the 
route, so that at length we decided to retrace our steps 
to the smooth country. This was difficult as our 
horses had become separated among the rocks, and it 
was some time before we could get them together and' 
return to the open ground. Then we discovered that 
one of our party, David Goff, was missing. While in 



926 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



the lava field he had discovered a band of mountain 
sheep and in pursuing them had lost his way. Some 
of the party went quite a distance within the rocks, 
but could hear nothing of him. We decided to proceed 
to the meadow country, at the head of the lake, en- 
circling the lava beds to the northward and encamp until 
we could find our comrade. While we were proceeding 
to carry out this program we discovered a great number 

: of canoes leaving the lake shore under the bluffs, and 
making for what appeared to be an island four or five 
miles distant. We could, also see a lone horseman 
riding leisurely along the lake shore, approaching us. 
This soon proved to be our lost friend. The Modocs 
had discovered him in the lava fields, and probably ex- 
pecting that the whole party were about to assail them 
from the rocks, took to their canoes. He said that, 
seeing the Indians retreating, he concluded to leave 
the rocks and ride along the lake shore, where the 
going was good. We nooned in a beautiful meadow 
containing about two sections near the head of the 
lake. 

After spending a couple of hours in this splendid 
pasture, we repacked and started on our way toward 
the timbered butte, but had not proceeded more than 
a mile before we came suddenly upon a large stream 
(Lost river) coming into the lake. We found this 
stream near the lake very deep, with almost per- 
pendicular banks, so that we were compelled to turn 

■ northward up the river. Before proceeding far we 
discovered an Indian crouched under the bank and, 
surrounding him, made him come out. By signs we 
indicated to him that we wanted to cross the river. 
By marking on his legs and pointing up the river he 
gave us to understand that there was a place above 
where we could easily cross. Motioning him to ad- 
vance he led the way up the river about a mile and 
pointed out a place where an immense rock crossed the 
river. The sheet of water running over the rock was 
about fifteen inches deep, while the principal part of the 
river seemed to flow under. This was the famous 
Stone Bridge on Lost river so often mentioned after 
this by travelers. For many years the waters of Tule 
lake have been gradually rising, so that now the beauti- 
ful meadow on which we nooned on the day we dis- 
covered the bridge is covered by the lake, and the back 
water in Lost river long ago made the river impassable; 
is now probably ten feet deep over the bridge. 

After crossing the bridge we made our pilot some 
presents, and all shaking hands with him, left him stand- 
ing on the river bank. Pursuing our way along the 
northern shore of the lake a few miles, we came to a 
beautiful spring, near the base of the mountains on 
our left and encamped for the night. After using the 
alkali water of Lower Klamath lake the previous night, 
the fresh, cool water of this spring was a real luxury. 
There was plenty of dry wood and an abundance of 
green grass for our animals and we enjoyed 
the camp exceedingly. Sitting around the fire 



that evening we discussed the adventures of the past 
few days in this new, strange land. The cir- 
cumstances of the last day had been particularly inter- 
esting. Our adventure in the rocks, the retreat of the 
whole Modoc tribe in a fleet of thirty or forty canoes 
across the lake from Goff, the singularity of the natural 
bridge, the vast fields of tule around the lake, and the 
fact that the lake was an independent body of water, 
were subjects of peculiar interest and only intensified 
our desire to see more of this then wild land. 

July 7th we left the valley of Tule lake to pursue 
our course eastward over a rocky table land among 
scattering juniper trees. We still observed the timbered 
butte as our landmark, and traveled as directly toward 
it as the country would admit. This butte is near the 
state line, between Clear and Goose lakes and probably 
distant fifty miles from the lava ridge west of Lost 
river, from which we first observed it, supposing it 
to be about thirty miles away. In pursuing our course 
we passed through the hilly, juniper country between 
Langell valley and Clear lake without seeing either the 
valley or the lake, and at noon arrived at the bed of 
a stream where there was but little water. The course 
of this stream was north or northwest and appearances 
indicated that at times quite a volume of water flowed 
in the channel. This was, evidently, the bed of Lost 
river, a few miles north of where this singular stream 
leaves the Clear lake marsh. 

Leaving this place we pursued our journey through 
a similar country to that passed over during the fore- 
noon, and encamped at a little spring among the 
junipers, near the base of the timbered hill, and passed 
a very pleasant night. 

On the morning of July 8th we passed our land- 
mark and traveled nearly eastward, over a comparatively 
level but extremely rocky country, and nooned in the 
channel of another stream where there was a little 
water standing in holes. On leaving this place we found 
the country still quite level but exceedingly rocky — for 
eight or ten miles almost like a pavement. Late in 
the afternoon we came out into the basin of a lake 
(Goose lake) apparently forty or fifty miles in length. 
Traversing the valley about five miles along the south 
end of the lake we came to a little stream coming in 
from the mountains to the eastward. The grass and 
water being good, we encamped here for the night. 
Game seemed plentiful, and one of the party killed a 
fine deer near the camp. From the spur of the. moun- 
tains near our camp, we had a splendid view of the 
lake and of the extensive valley bordering it on the 
north. On the east between the lake and mountain 
range running nearly north and south and which we 
supposed to be a spur of the Sierra Nevadas, was a 
beautiful mealow country, narrow, but many miles in 
length, across which the lines of willows and scatter- 
ing pines and cottonwoods indicated the courses of a 
number of little streams coming into the lake from a 
mountain chain. A little southeast of our camp there 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



927 



appeared to be a gap in the mountain wall, and we 
decided to try it on the succeeding day. 

Space will not permit us to publish in full 
the very entertaining article written by Mr. Ap- 
plegate. There is much in his narrative that 
bears directly on the country west of the Cas- 
cades and east of the territory embraced within 
the limits of the territory now under considera- 
tion. There is, however, a great deal that is 
necessary to complete the earlier history of Klam- 
ath county, and this we shall continue, confining 
our work to such scope of country as falls within 
the perspective of our story. It was on the morn- 
ing of July 14th that, according to plans matured 
at Black Rock, the explorers divided into two 
parties ; eight men leaving in a southerly direc- 
tion, and seven men, including Mr. Lindsay Ap- 
plegate, laid their course to the east. The survey 
was continued until July 23d, when they as- 
cended by a very gradual route to the table lands 
from which they could plainly see Black Rock. 
Exploring the country about them they found 
the Rabbit Hole Springs. Continuing his narra- 
tive Mr. Applegate says : 

The line of our road was' now complete. We had 
succeeded in finding a route across the desert and on 
to the Oregon settlements with camping places at suit- 
able distances, and since we knew the source of the 
Humboldt river was near Fort Hall, we felt that our 
enterprise was already a success, and that immigrants 
would be able to reach Oregon late in the season with 
far less danger of being snowed in than on the Colum- 
bia route down the Humboldt and over the Sierra 
Nevadas. The sequel proved that we were correct in 
this opinion, for this same fall the Donner party, in 
endeavoring to cross the Sierras, were snowed in, 
suffered the most indescribable horrors, and about half 
of them perished. 

Among other interesting events related by 
Mr. Applegate is the rescue of a party of immi- 
grants en route to the Willamette valley. Mr, 
Applegate says : 

So soon as we could possibly make the arrangements 
we sent out a party with oxen and horses to meet the 
immigrants and aid them in reaching the Willamette 
settlements. For this assistance we made no demand, 
nor did we tax them for the use of the road as was 
alleged by parties inimical to our enterprise. It had 
been the distinct understanding that the road should be 
free, and the consciousness of having opened better 
means of access to the country than was afforded by 
the expensive and dangerous route down the Columbia 
which we had tried to our sorrow, would be ample 
compensation for all our labors in opening the South 
road. 



Of course our enterprise was opposed by that 
mighty monopoly, the Hudson's Bay Company, whose 
line of forts and trading posts on the Columbia, af- 
forded them rare opportunities for trade with the immi- 
grants. Many of the immigrants who followed us dur- 
ing the fall of ICS46 had a hard time, though not as hard 
as they would have experienced on the other route ; 
and some of them, not understanding the situation fully, 
became infected with the spirit of persecution, which had 
its origin with the Hudson's Bay Company, and joined 
in charging us with leading the travel away from the 
Northern Route for purposes of personal speculation. 
Certain members of the party were singled out to bear 
the burden of persecution, whereas, if any member of 
the party was animated by improper motives in seeking 
to open the road, all were equally guilty, as the party 
was governed in all its proceedings by a majority vote 
of all of its members. 

The efforts of the Hudson's Bay Company to put 
down the road proved an eminent failure. Its superior 
advantages were better and better known and ap- 
preciated every year. It never ceased to be an im- 
portant route of travel, and a large portion of the 
population of our state entered by this channel. It is 
a very significant fact that the great thoroughfare of 
today, from the Willamette to the Siskiyou chain, and 
thence out through the' Lake country and on to the 
Humboldt, departs rarely from the route blazed out by 
the road company 42 years ago. 

So early as 1848 an abortive effort was made 
to settle the Klamath country. The strenuous 
party who two years before had traversed the ter- 
ritory in "blazing" the South Emigrant Road had 
been favorably impressed with the natural beau- 
ties and possibilities of that country. A number 
of them developed a plan of settlement of such 
an inviting field. The historic "Klamath Com- 
monwealth," was organized in 1848 ; the scene 
was the Willamette settlement ; the principal pro- 
jectors, Jesse and. Lindsay Applegate. Prepara- 
tions were made to start a colony at some avail- 
able point in the Klamath country. 

Preparations were elaborate ; all agencies were 
brought to bear to make the venture a success. 
The party was a strong one ; danger from In- 
dians were fully realized ; the party was heavily 
armed and fully organized. Among them were 
farmers, blacksmiths, carpenters, millers, doctors, 
millwrights and nearly all classes of people. 
Eastward to the Klamath country they headed, 
accompanied by a long and amply guarded train 
of wagons conveying everything which they be- 
lieved might prove necessary in a settlement out- 
side of all practical communication with civili- 
zation. 

Had it not been for the discovery of gold in 
California the entire earlier historv of Klamath 



928 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



county would, doubtless, have read far different 
from what it does in the Year of Our Lord, 1905. 
For it should be known that this gold discovery 
wrought dissensions in the Klamath Common- 
wealth, and this pioneer enterprise proved but 
Dead Sea apples, attractive to the eye but ashes 
to the taste. The original design never reached 
fruition. A portion of the community were 
strongly in favor of carrying out their original 
schemes ; an equally strong opposition were de- 
termined to seek the land of gold. Leaving the 
South Emigrant Road the whole party proceeded 
to Strawberry Valley, California, when opinions 
as to the course to be pursued becoming widely 
divergent, caused a complete disruption of the 
entire enterprise. The once brilliant plan of set- 
tling the Klamath country faded from view 
and was abandoned. A portion of the common- 
wealth proceeded to the gold fields in Sacra- 
mento ; the balance of the party returned to their 
homes in the Willamette valley. That portion 
which decided to seek the gold fields encountered 
Peter Lassen at the head of an emigrant train, 
and assisted him in exploring a route to the Sac- 
ramento valley. 

In those parlous pioneer days it should be re- 
membered that all "roads," "routes" and "trails" 
of travel were dangerous. Following the com- 
pletion of the South Emigrant Road in 1846 by 
the Applegates and party, much of the travel to 
the settlements west of the Cascades was made 
via this route in preference to the northern route 
by way of the Dalles of the Columbian river. 
But severe was the penalty paid by these immi- 
grants for their choice ! 

The Modoc Indians in the country along that 
part of the road where it passed through the 
southern portion of the Klamath country, Ore- 
gon, and the northern portion of the present Mo- 
doc county, California, earned the character of 
the most barbarous and blood-thirsty savages 
west of the Rocky mountains. Peculiarly 
adapted was this country to protect them in their 
depredations, slaughter and cruelties ; to shield 
them from successful pursuit, punishment or cap- 
ture. Following sudden and impetuous raids on 
wagon trains, they could retire into the impreg- 
nable lava beds where nothing less than a large 
and well equipped army could dislodge them from 
their coign of vantage as was learned later in 
the Modoc war of 1872-3. Not only were they 
able to exact a heavv tribute from the emigrants, 
but their possession of the strongholds of the 
lava beds made it possible for the Modocs to 
exert a powerful influence and control of the 
neighboring tribes. 

Innocent and unoffending immigrants, accom- 
panied by their families, passing through the 



Modoc country along the old southern immi- 
grant road, were attacked and butchered indis- 
criminately by these painted savages ; their prop- 
erty confiscated or destroyed ; their bodies in- 
humanly mutilated, and left unburied, a prey to 
wolves. In some- cases the victims of these 
Modocs were caused to suffer excruciating tor- 
tures before relieved by death. In some cases 
girls were kept among them as captives for 
months ; to suffer more than torture, with death 
only to crown their miserable existence. 

More than 300 immigrants are known to have 
been slain in this manner bv Modoc Indians ; 
facts ascertained by actual count of their bleach- 
ing skeletons along the road, previous to the es- 
tablishment of the military post at Fort Klamath 
in 1863. Where the road met the shores of Tule 
lake was a favorite point of attack ; it appropri- 
ately gained the name of "Bloody Point." Here 
were enacted tragedies of the bloodiest descrip- 
tion — tragedies that, even at this late day. cause 
one to shudder on visiting the scene. Here- the 
Modocs would fall upon the poor, weary and 
footsore immigrants as they wended their way 
along the point. Speaking of Bloody Point, 
Major C. S. Drew, when in 1863, he recom- 
mended the establishment of a military post in 
the Klamath country, said : 

"Since 1846 one hundred and fifty-one per- 
sons have been murdered and an estimate of 
about three hundred other persons more or less 
seriously wounded by Indians in that vicinity." 

Certainly, it appears incredible that the Unit- 
ed States government had not before taken some 
effective steps in protecting this country.- Ac- 
cording to records of the war department the 
government had little to do with the Modocs- 
until the establishment of the post at Fort Klam- 
ath in 1863. Aside from the volunteered ef- 
forts of settlers west of the Cascade mountains 
in occasionally assisting immigrants through the 
country, no efforts were made to check the mur- 
ders committed or to punish the fed fiends who 
committed them, with the exception of the Ben- 
Wright expedition in 1852. 

Of course no idea of settling in such a coun- 
try was entertained by any one. Yet we find 
that when practical military protection was at 
last granted, the country was quite rapidly set- 
tled — for that period in Oregon's history. Little 
did these immigrants — passing westward in the 
shadow of death — dream that this country would 
ever be fit for the habitation of white men. To 
them the Klamath country was only a land of 
sage brush plains, big lakes and Modoc Indians. 

In the spring of 1852 a party was packing 
from Scottsburg to Yreka. One evening while 
camped about l J / 2 miles south of Cole's place,. 




W llliamson River at the Mouth 01 Spring Creek 




Link River 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



929 



on the west side of the mountains, Indians stole 
four of their horses. Four of these packers at 
once set out in pursuit. They trailed the Indians 
to their camp, on the present site of Keno. Here 
the packers fell upon the Indians — about 16 of 
them — completely surprised them and killed four 
of the hostiles. The rest escaped across the 
Klamath river. The packers found their stolen 
horses and returned with them. Jerden Metland 
was one of the party. 

The same year an attack was made on immi- 
grants at Bloody Point in which many of them 
were killed, and to wreak vengence upon these 
Modocs and teach them a lasting lesson, a com- 
pany of volunteers was formed at Yreka, Cali- 
fornia, and proceeded to the Modoc country. This 
company was under command of one Ben Wright. 
They rapidly advanced to the Modoc country. 
and in Lost River valley, near where now stands 
the town of Merrill, they killed 40 Indians out 
of a party of 47. Of this sensational campaign 
many conflicting stories are told. As stated by 
the volunteers they met the Indians in council ; 
that treachery was apparent on the part of the 
savages and in order to save themselves they ad- 
ministered the first blow. The facts appear to 
be that a big barbecue had been arranged for, at 
which was to be served an ox roasted whole, 
which animal had been .brought with the volun- 
teers from Yreka. The whites and Indians were 
then to meet in friendly council and, if possible, 
come to an amicable understanding. Before the 
feast, however, a Modoc squaw, friendly to the 
whites, told Wright that treachery was intended 
and that at the feast all the whites were to be 
massacred. Ben Wright was a man who did not 
hesitate to act when immediate action was im- 
perative. Without further delay he fell upon the 
unsuspecting Modocs. 

There were those, however, who maintained 
that the Ben Wright party was guilty of the 
basest treachery and that their conduct was a 
shade darker than anything ever attempted by 
savages ; that Wright had no reason to believe 
that treachery was intended, and that his action 
was wilful and premeditated murder. 

Without discussing the merits of the case, 
we will state that then and there the Modocs 
were taught a severe lesson, and one which they 
did not soon forget. Upon their return to Yreka 
the volunteers, who were miners from that 
famous mining camp, were received with all the 
honors of conquering heroes. If their conduct in 
dealing with these Indians was not of the best, 
it is certain that censure was not apparent at 
home. We here reproduce a short article written 
by E. Steele, a frontiersman who for many years 
had dealings with various tribes of Indians. It 

5U 



is only proper to state that little credence can be 
placed in the poisoning story related : 

The Modoc War of 1852 took place whilst I was 
away at Crescent City; therefore all I know of that 
is hearsay ; but I know that it was generally known that 
Ben Wright had concocted the plan of poisoning those 
Indians at a feast, but that his interpreter Indian, 
Livile, had exposed the plot to them so that but few 
ate of the meat, and that Wright and his company then 
fell upon the Indians and killed 40 out of 47, and the 
others died of the poison afterward. There is one of 
the company now in the county who gives this version,, 
and I heard Wright swearing about Dr. Ferber, our 
then druggist, selling him an adulterated article of 
strychnine, which he said the doctor wanted to kill 
coyotes. That the plan was concocted before they left 
Yreka defeats the claim now made for them that 
they only anticipated the treachery of the Indians. John 
Schonchis was one of the Indians that escaped, and in 
a late interview he made this an excuse for not coming 
out to meet the commissioners during the Modoc War 
of 1873. The story of the Indians corresponds so well 
with what I have frequently heard from our own people, 
before it became so much of a disgrace by the reaction, 
that I have no doubt of the correctness in its general 
details. At the time others, as well as myself, told 
Wright that the transaction would sometime react fear- 
fully upon some innocent ones of our people, but so- 
long a time had elapsed that I had concluded that the 
matter was nearly forgotten by all, and that nothing- 
would come of it, until the night of my second visit 
in the cave, when Schonchis would get very excited' 
talking of it as an excuse for not going out. 

Adverse criticism of the proceedings of the 
Ben Wright party is nil among the pioneers still 
living who were in the country at the time the 
event occurred. By their personal admissions the 
Indians for years had been guilty of most cruel 
murders committed upon immigrants. They had 
put to death by torture those whom they had cap- 
tured ; they had taken captive white girls and 
women and compelled them to live with them. 
Many of the Ben Wright party were relatives of 
those who had been murdered by the Modocs. 
Opinion has been freely expressed that had if 
been Wright's intention to poison the Modocs, as 
suggested, it was justified by the crimes that had' 
been committed by the savages. 

The following version of the Ben Wright af- 
fair is given by the Alturas (Cal.) Plaindcalcr 
in 1902. 

Somebody has surely been "stuffing"' DeLaney 
( correspondent of a Portland paper). The latter say; 
it was Mose Hart of Malheur county. But the utter 
absurdity of arming Ben Wright's men with Winchester 



930 



hISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



rifles should have warned our friend of the hoax, as 
Winchesters were unheard of until 12 years later. The 
■ old Henry rifle, the forerunner of the Winchester, was 
not placed in the hands of our soldiers until late in 
1863. 

The true story of the "Ben Wright massacre," as 
some have been pleased to term it, and as detailed to 
us by Frank Riddle, one of Wright's men, was in sub- 
stance as follows: It must be remembered that the 
•Modoc Indians in 1850 and in 1851 had committed all 
kinds of atrocities upon the immigrants. Hundreds 
had been massacred. Colonel Ross in 1850 had arrived 
from Jacksonville with a company of miners in time 
to bury 100 men, women and children. He remained 
in the country until the remainder had passed safely 
through the Modoc country. The next year John F. 
Miller arrived at Bloody Point on Tule lake just in 
time to save a large train that was surrounded and would 
most certainly have perished but for his timely arrival. 
i The Indians were fiercely attacked and severely pun- 
ished. Many were killed and the remainder chased into 
the lava beds where they were safe from pursuit. He 
also captured a good many of their women and children. 
These were held until the immigrants passed when they 
were turned loose. 

In the fall of 1852 news was received at Yreka that 
a large immigration was coming. Knowing the danger, 
Ben Wright organized a company of 32 men. They 
were well armed with rifles and revolvers. He pro- 
ceeded to the Modoc country and escorted the immi- 
grants safely through. The lesson taught the year 
before by Miller and his men had had its effect. The 
Indians came in and proposed a treaty. Ben Wright 
was then encamped at the peninsula. The Indians were 
feasted on an ox that Wright had purchased from the 
-immigrants. They told Wright they had two captive 
white girls which they would surrender so soon as they 
could be brought in. Several days were spent in waiting 
when Wright moved his camp to Lost river, near where 
Merrill now stands. The Indians accompanied him 
and camped close by. Days of waiting occurred, the 
Indians all the time protesting good faith. But Wright 
and his men had noticed that the Indians were in- 
creasing in numbers. One morning he told his men 
that they were trapped. He bade them get ready, and 
.at a signal they were to fire their rifles and charge with 
revolvers. He told his men that he was going to the 
Indian camp, would demand of the chief the instant 
delivery of the captive girls, and if refused or further 
delay was sought, that he would kill the chief then and 
there. That to pay no attention to him as they would 
all, probably, be killed anyway. 

Accordingly Ben Wright went to the camp 75 
yards away. He told the chief he had come for the 
girls. The chief said in reply that he would not de- 
liver them and had never intended to do so. That he 
had men enough to kill all the white men and would 
do it. Scarcely had the words escaped the lips of the 



treacherous old savage than Ben Wright whipped a 
revolver from beneath his blanket and shot him dead. 
He then, with a revolver in each hand, fought his way 
out as best he could. The instant that the first shot 
rang out, the men in waiting opened with their rifles, 
and then charged, revolvers in hand. This sudden on- 
slaught terrified the savages who, after two or three 
ineffective volleys of arrows, fled in dismay. Many 
jumped into the river and attempted to hide under the 
steep banks. 

They were punched out with willow poles, and shot 
while struggling in the water. Others hid in the sage 
brush and were hunted out and shot as they ran. About 
185 of the savages were killed and most of them scalped 
to prove to friends in Yreka that they had done good 
work. After the fight Wright and his men returned 
to Yreka-. Ben Wright was afterward assassinated 
by a half-breed while acting as agent on a coast reserva- 
tion. This is the true and unvarnished story of the 
Ben Wright massacre. 

The two captive girls were never released. One 
was killed at Hot Creek by the chief to settle a quarrel 
among the Indians. The writer and Judge Bellinger 
made a search and found a portion of her remains 
scattered about in the rocks where the body had been 
thrown. The other girl probably met a similar fate. 

Shortly after the Wright expedition another 
one was dispatched, in 1853, to punish theModocs 
for fresh atrocities. This was commanded by a 
detachment of regular soldiers, under command 
of Captain Mack Bushy, and California volun- 
teers. They encountered the Modocs in North- 
ern California and defeated them. These Indians 
were driven to the shores of Clear lake, where 
they took to their canoes and sought refuge on an 
island where they believed themselves safe from 
furthur pursuit. The soldiers, however, camped 
near the lake, constructed boats, attacked the 
hostiles on their island and again defeated them. 

During the very early days a few fur traders 
penetrated the Klamath country, as thev did all 
portions of the northwest, One of the best known 
of these traders who visited the Klamath country 
was Mart Frain. and the knowledge he gained of 
the customs of the Indians who dwelt in the 
Klamath basin was extensive. The Klamath 
Falls Express of May 5, 1892, related one of 
Mr. Frain's experiences in Klamath land, when 
that country was known to only a few traders 
and explorers, as gleaned from an interview with 
Mr. Frain. The Express said : 

Thirty-five years ago last Saturday night, April 
30, 1857, Mr. Frain camped out under the big ledge 
of rocks on the river bank near which Reames, Martin 
& Company's store now stands. He had journeyed from 
Yreka with five mules laden with beads which he in- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



931 



tended trading to the Indians for furs. He arrived on 
the west bank of the river in the afternoon and on 
the opposite side — the present townsite of Linkville — 
were camped bands of Modocs, Klamath, Snake and 
Cayuse Indians who had assembled to trade their furs. 
It was "barter day" — the natives never failing to con- 
gregate at certain times of the moon as it was a 
popular belief that the fish would not come up the river 
if the formal gathering were not held at the regular 
period. Frain swam his mules across the river and a 
squaw conveyed his beads and saddle over on a tule 
float, which had in the center a hole through which she 
thrust her limbs, using her feet as paddles. By sun- 
down the beads were in the hands of the Indians and 
Frain was in possession of 1,200 skins. The night was 
devoted to gambling for the beads at an "odd or even" 
game, and as there was an element of science as well 
as luck in the transactions, it was not long before a 
dozen of the most expert natives owned the greater 
bulk of the ornaments. 

"There was one kind of pelt that I never ob- 
tained," said Mr. Frain. "On barter days the richer 
Indians brought with them for show stuffed white deer, 
the skins of which were worth from $75 to $150 apiece, 
and the Indians would rarely part with them. Oc- 
casionally they would sell one for Indian money called 
allicochick — a shell obtained from the Queen Charlotte 
islands. A piece of this shell reaching from the line 
of the palm of one's hand to the middle joint of the 
little finger was worth $5; nearly every native had a 
scale of measurement marked on his arm, from the 
shoulder to the elbow, and ten pieces of shell that 
would reach from the end of the thumb to a certain 
mark on the arm were valued at $100; the smaller and 
less valuable pieces were worth $25 a fathom. The 
Indians prized allicochick so highly that they would 
pay handsomely in gold" for the smallest amount." 

"Were your relations peaceable with the Indians?" 

"Yes," answered Mr. Frain, "and would have con- 
tinued so had not the whites popped down one every 
now and then. That reminds me of one of their very 
odd customs. The Indians would not revenge them- 
selves upon the murderer of one of their number, but 
instead would kill the near relatives, beginning with the 
father and slaughtering the whole family except the 
murderer before they were appeased ; their idea being 
that if they killed the man who did the shooting his 
death' would not occasion him so much grief as would 
the loss of his relatives. 

"Their burial ceremony was peculiar and lasted 
two days, accompanied by feasting and dancing, and at 
the conclusion the departed brave's squaw shaved her 
head and wore a hat, largely made of pitch, for several 
moons." 

As has been said, very little of the Klamath 
country was known during the 50's, with the ex- 
ception of what could be gleamed by immigrants 



as they journeyed through the extreme southern 
portion of the county on their way to the set- 
tlements west of the mountains and by fur traders 
who penetrated the country. However, we find 
that one' or two stockmen had the hardihood to 
winter stock in this wilderness during the late 
50's. As a matter of history it might prove in- 
teresting to know that Judge F. Adams was the 
first man to introduce a band of cattle into Klam- 
ath county. He grazed 2,000 head where Keno 
now stands, in the winter of 1856. He was un- 
disturbed by Indians, having made terms with 
Captain Jack. Judge Adams stated that the 
winter was quite mild ; the wild rye so high and 
plentiful that stock came out in the spring fat 
and ready for market. He sold 1,100 cattle at 
$80 a head at Yreka and the northern California 
mining towns. 

Another of these pioneer stockman was Wen- 
dolen Nus, who during the winter of 1858-9 
grazed a band of stock on the Klamath river, 
where is now the ranch of O. A. Stearns a few 
miles southeast of Klamath Falls. Mr. Nus later 
went to the John Day mines, but returned to the 
Klamath country in the 6o's and became the first 
settler of the county. 

Under Lieutenant Piper, in 1859, a detach- 
ment of soldiers from Fort Jones penetrated the 
Klamath country. For a short period they 
camped upon the soil of the present Klamath 
count)-. Lieutenant Piper was with an expedi- 
tion looking for stock that had been stolen by 
Indians. For a few days he camped on the west 
side of Klamath river, just below the present 
site of the town of Keno, at the place known in 
early days as "the cabins." Proceeding up the 
river the soldiers, when they gained a point 
which is now the O. A. Stearns' ranch, saw a 
band of Indians approaching them. Not know- 
ing whether the Indians were peaceably inclined 
or not, the soldiers hastily threw up entrench- 
ments near the river bank, and prepared to de- 
fend themselves should an attack be meditated. 
A few trees were felled and around these was 
thrown up the earth. But the Indians proved to 
be peaceable. A conference took place ; Lieu- 
tenant Piper was confident that the stolen stock 
was not in the neighborhood ; the troops resumed 
their line of march. Wendolen Nus was in the 
vicinity at the time with a band of stock. Later 
he related the incident to the early settlers. Mr. 
O. A. Stearns afterward took up the land, and 
while one day mowing a meadow found the in- 
trenchments at the spot described by Mr. Nus. 

Because of the knowledge gained quite valua- 
ble was an expedition made through this terri- 
tory in 1 86 1. A portion of the country visited 
had never before been explored. As a result of 



93 2 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



this trip Fort Klamath was established which 
made possible the settlement of the country. 
Lindsay Applegate, one of the two brothers who 
selected the South Emigrant Road, at the head 
of a company of 42 volunteers, crossed the Cas- 
cades and proceeding to Bloody Point on Tule 
lake there met an emigrant train menaced by 
Modoc Indians. Wallace Baldwin, of Klamath 
Falls was a member of the party and has fur- 
nished us valuable data relative to the meeting 
of the emigrant train at that point. The party 
were met by Chief Schonchin and his warriors. 
They first inquired if the party had come to 

"We replied that we had not," says Mr. Bald- 
win, "but that we were prepared for just such 
an emergency. The Indians sized us up, counted 
our men and evidently came to the conclusion 
that their mission was, also, peaceful. Upon in- 
quiry concerning the whereabouts of the immi- 
grant train that we were to meet. Schonchin 
maintained that he knew nothing of it. We de- 
cided to push on further. Instead of following 
the road, at the instigation of the Indians, we 
proceeded by a "cut-off" trail, which Schonchin 
said would, and which did, save us many miles 
of travel. However, when we again reached the 
road we found that the train had recently passed 
while we had been on the trail recommended us 
by the Indians. We suspected treachery and im- 
mediately set out on a forced march to overtake 
the train. We should not have been surprised 
to find the immigrants massacred and the Indians 
in readiness to attack our party. But such was 
not the case. We came upon the immigrants 
safe, but greatly alarmed by actions of the In- 
dians who were endeavoring to approach the 
train, as they explained, to tell the new arrivals 
of our whereabouts. The immigrants would not 
allow the Indians to approach, and in this an- 
tagonistic position we found them. They had ex- 
perienced a severe journey, and all they had left 
to eat was a cow recently killed. We were well 
supplied with provisions and, if I ever saw a 
grateful party of men and women, it was that 
same band of immigrants." 

Anxious to see more of the Klamath country, 
Mr. Applegate divided his company, sending 
twenty men with the train to Rogue river valley, 
while with the remaining twenty-two he jour- 
neyed up Lost river valley, passed near the site 
of the present town of Klamath Falls, on up the 
east side of Upper Klamath lake, crossed the 
Wood river valley and returned to Rogue river 
by the way of the Dead Indian country. The 
members of this party were : 

Captain Lindsay Applegate, First Lieutenant 
C. F. Blake, Ivan Applegate, Marion Anderson, 
George Brown, Wallace Baldwin, A. J. Walls, 



William Songer, Joseph Wells, Giles Wells, Jr.,. 
I. P. Chandler, Norman Lee, John McCoy, Rash 
Simpson, Robert Tenbrook, Louis Hyatt, Wil- 
liam Jaquett, D. F. Cole, G. W. Gaskell, William- 
Harris, Warren Vennoi, Mike Murphy, William 
Pittenger, Peter Smith, John Sperry, John Rob- 
inson, William Steward, F. F. Fulton, J. W. 
Mills, Thomas Williams, J. C. Raper, J. J. Car- 
ter, Charles Sumner, David Laugherty, J. P. 
Woodson, William West, Samuel Richey, W. 
W. Shedd, Daniel Chapman, C. F. Blake, Isaac- 
McCoy, Ben Johnson. 

In the early 6o's the discovery of gold in the 
John Day country of northern Oregon was the 
incentive to considerable travel through the 
future Klamath county. During 1861 and 1862- 
several different parties went from California to 
the mining districts in the north, driving stock 
and taking in provisions and mining untensils 
by means of pack trains. Their route through 
the territory was by way of Tule lake, Lost river, 
Sprague river, Sican marsh, Silver lake and 
thence to the north. 

Observing more of the extent, fertility and 
resources of the Klamath country on the trip 
of 186 r, previously mentioned, it was resolved 
to take advantage of every opportunity offered 
for opening up the country for settlement. Lind- 
say Applegate was enthusiastic in his desire to 
see a military post established in the Lake region- 
for the two-fold purpose of protecting travel on 
the South Road through the Modoc country, and 
to encourage the income of settlement. As a 
member of .the Oregon legislature in 1862 he ad- 
vocated the passage of a memorial to congress 
praying for the establishment of Fort Klamath 
and the negotiation of a treaty with the Klamath 
and Modoc Indians. These measures proving 
successful the fort was located in 1863. 

It may be stated that the establishment of 
the post was by the advice of General Alvord, 
then in command of the district of Oregon. He 
maintained that the post was necessary to "pro- 
tect the emigrant roads and the frontier settle- 
ments." Although General Alvord was in com- 
mand of the district of Oregon, the site was se- 
lected by Colonel C. S. Drew who made a trip 
into the interior for the purpose. 

As we have stated Fort Klamath was estab- 
lished to protect travel through the Klamath 
country. Up to this period there was not a set- 
tler in the whole of what is now Klamath county, 
and the only route of travel was via the old emi- 
grant road. Why, then, was the fort established 
at its present location in preference to a point 
nearer the road where troops would be of some 
use in protecting emigrant trains ? This is ex- 
plained as follows : 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



933 



When the Oregon legislature memorialized 
congress for the establishment of a military post 
in the Klamath country, no suggestion was made 
as to a definite location. It was, of course, un- 
derstood that it would be located near the road. 
Pine Grove was a point mentioned by many who 
had become acquainted with the country and 
certainly it would have been much more desir- 
able than the one selected. Entering into the 
situation of the fight was jealously existing be- 
tween the towns of Ashland and Jacksonville on 
the west side of the mountains. Ashland fav- 
ored a location on Lost river, or at some point 
near the road. Jacksonville, per contra, realized 
the advantage this would give its rival town 
which, being nearer, would have the advantage 
in furnishing supplies to the post, etc., and laid 
its plans to have the post located where the ad- 
vantage would be with Jacksonville. Colonel 
Charles Drew, who recommeded the site, was 
favorable to the county seat town — Jacksonville 
■ — and his influence prevailed. A road over an 
impracticable route was built from Jacksonville 
to the site selected. The post was established 
where Jacksonville wanted it, but the folly of 
the choice was apparent ever after. The road, 
the first to penetrate the county, beside the old 
South Emigrant road, was built in 1863 by the 
soldiers under Colonel Drew when that officer 
was on his trip to select a site for the post. The 
road was as bad as could well be imagined and 
after the other road was built in 1865 by Captain 
Sprague it was not used. 

At the date of establishment of Fort Klamath 
the Civil war was in progress. Regular troops 
were all in the east ; the fort was first garrisoned 
bv Oregon volunteers. The Original garrison sta- 
tioned at the post was Troop C, First Oregon 
Cavalry, under command of Captain William 
Kelly. They arrived in the fall, of x86^ and dur- 
ing that winter lived in tents. In the spring 
were begun the fort buildings, all of which were 
completed in the spring of 1864. A primitive 
sawmill was installed at the fort, which prepared 
lumber for the buildings. The structures erected 
this' year, and which served until the regulars 
garrisoned the post, were nearly all built of box 
lumber, a few of logs. There were four officers' 
quarters, the adjutant's office, a griard house and 
arsenal of logs, a quartermaster's and commis- 
sary store house, also of logs ; hospital, barracks 
for two- companies in one long, double building, 
with two small additions, for first sergeants' of- 
fices, stables for two troops of cavalry, the best 
and most substantial of all the buildings ; a com- 
pany bakery and four log houses occupied by the 
families of the married men of the troon. 

In the spring of 1865, Company I, First Ore- 



gon Infantry, which had been recruited in Jack- 
son county the preceding year, was stationed at 
the post. Captain Franklin B. Sprague was the 
company commander. Major W. V. Reinhart, 
of the same regiment, was in command of the 
post. In 1865 the second road was built from 
Fort Klamath across the mountains to Jackson- 
ville. The work was done by members of Com- 
pany I, First Oregon Infantry, under command 
of Captain Sprague. This time a more practi- 
cable route was selected and a fairly good road 
was the result. The Drew road was such an im- 
possible one that when Captain Sprague took 
charge of the post early in 1865, he asked per- 
mission of the government to select a route and 
build a new road. This permission was granted, 
and with John Mathews, a mulatto, and old hun- 
ter and frontiersman, Captain Sprague selected 
the route, and the road was built bv the mem- 
bers of Company I. 

The post received another troop of the First 
Oregon Cavalry in the fall of 1865. This was 
Troop A, of which Captain John McCall was 
commander. All these troops remained there 
until the spring of 1866, when the two cavalry 
troops were ordered to Vancouver to be mustered 
out of service. Company I remained at the fort 
until July. 1867, when it was relieved and moved 
to Jacksonville, where it was mustered out on the 
19th of that month. 

The Civil War was now over and thereafter 
Fort Klamath was garrisoned bv regular troops. 
Captain Sprague's company was relieved by 
Troop A, First United States Cavalrv, com- 
manded by First Lieutenant John Snell. Cap- 
tain McGregor, of the same troop arrived later 
and took command of the fort. The regular 
troops at once began the erection of new build- 
ings at the fort, all of which were completed in 
1868; the ruins of the others may still be seen 
on the old site. In 1870 Troop B, of the First 
Cavalry, commanded by Captain James Jackson, 
relieved Troop A, and at the outbreak of the 
Modoc War Major John Green, of the First Cav- 
alry, was in command of the fort. 

Following the Modoc W T ar, Fort Klamath 
was garrisoned by a few regular troops until 
1889, when it was abandoned. In 1886 the gov- 
ernment was on the point of ordering - its aband- 
onment, but so many urgent protests against such 
a course were received in Washington from the 
people of Klamath count}' that the order was not 
issued. 

September 28, 1886. a mass meeting of citi- 
zens was held at Linkville to protest against the 
proposed abandonment of Fort Klamath and the 
removal of United States troops. County Judsfe 
G. W. Smith was chairman of the meeting and J. 



934 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



W. Hamaker was made secretary. The people 
were very much in earnest in protesting against 
the removal of troops and adopted the following 
resolutions : 

Whereas, It is proposed by the Hon. Secretary of 
War to abandon Fort Klamath, in this county, and to 
remove the United States troops therefrom ; and, 

Whereas. The Klamath, Modoc and other tribes 
and bands of Indians located on the Klamath Indian 
reservation, located in said county, have always re- 
quired the presence of a strong military force in the 
vicinity of said reservation in order to maintain peace; 
and 

Whereas, It was the inadequacy of the military force 
at said post that was the cause of the Modoc War 
of 1872-3 ; and 

Whereas, There is at present only a small frag- 
ment of one company of troops at Fort Klamath ; and 

Whereas, owing to the present disputes between 
the whites and Indians as to the boundary lines of 
the reservation, the constant trespassing thereon (as 
alleged by the Indians) of cattle, horses and other 
animals belonging to the whites ; the constant driving 
off of those animals by the Indians ; the recent killing 
of an Indian by a white man, growing out of these 
disputes ; all these facts show that there is imminent 
danger of another Indian war unless Fort Klamath is 
strengthened by additional troops ; and 

Whereas, An adequate military force is as necessary 
to protect the Indians from trespass and injury by 
whites, as to protect the whites from trespass and in- 
jury by the Indians, therefore be it resolved: 

First : That we respectfully and. earnestly protest 
against the proposed abandonment of Fort Klamath, 
and request that the order therefor be countermanded, 
or indefinitely suspended. 

Second : That we most respectfully and urgently 
urge and request the Hon. Secretary of War to in- 
crease the military force at Fort Klamath to at least 
two companies of cavalry. 

Third : That we heartily endorse and approve the 
able letter on this subject addressed by Senator John H. 
Mitchell, of Oregon, to the Hon. Secretary of War. 

Fourth : That a copy of the proceedings of this 
meeting be forwarded immediately to the Hon. Secre- 
tary of War, and to each member of our delegation in 
congress. 

Thus for a time the people of Klamath county 
were able to postpone the abandonment of the 
fort. But an order for the removal of the troops 
came a few years later. In 1889, after having 
been garrisoned 26 years Fort Klamath was 
abandoned. An earnest remonstrance was for- 
warded to the authorities at Washington, but 
this time it did not prevail. As an excuse for the 
abandonment the government said that it was 
much more economical to retain a large bodv of 



troops at one post than to scatter them throughout 
the country at a number of small stations, adding 
that there was now no necessity for troops at 
that point. 

During the Indian unrest and occasional up- 
risings caused by the Messiah craze throughout 
the west in 1890 and 1891, the people of Klamath 
county made efforts to induce the government to 
regarrison Fort Klamath. Their efforts were 
unavailing. The following letter from the sec- 
retary of war to Congressman Hermann, explains 
how that gentleman felt in regard to the matter : 

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of 
your letter of the 8th ultimo, calling attention to the 
defenseless condition of the Pacific coast and Oregon 
frontier, and stating that the buildings and cavalry 
stables at Fort Klamath are all in good repair and" 
that there is a very general desire on the part of the 
people in that vicinity that troops should be stationed 
at that place until the spirit of hostility and unrest 
disappears from the Indian tribes. 

In reply I beg to advise that upon reference of the 
matter to the commanding general of the division of 
the Pacific he reports that upon the Indian reservations 
of Oregon the Indians are actively engaged in civil 
pursuits, trying to make a living ; that in his opinion 
there is no military necessity for the placing of troops 
on the Klamath reservation ; and that he can not 
recommend the re-occupation of Fort Klamath, as in 
the case of formidable trouble there, the post would 
be of no use to the government. He adds that from 
the numerous reports received at the headquarters of 
that division of anticipated Indian troubles, it is 
problematical where an outbreak will occur, if anywhere, 
and that the alarming reports concerning the hostile 
demonstration by the Bannock Indians have proven 
to be without foundation. 

It may be added that the reservation is now with 
all appurtenances thereon under the control of the 
secretary of the interior. 

Fort Klamath was the most beautiful frontier 
post that it was ever permitted a soldier to oc- 
cupy. Historic interest, exquisite scenery and 
streams of crystal purity cast a charm over Fort 
Klamath which haunts a visitor to its solitude 
for many days after his departure. Though the 
soldier has left it in solitude, the eye quickens 
none the less at its charm. Abandoned, the 
buildings of Fort Klamath soon fell into ruin. 
Today a few of the old buildings still remain, 
uncared for and unoccupied, save by an occa- 
sional company of Indians from the reservation. 
About a mile from the buildings of old Fort 
Klamath stands the new Fort Klamath, a little- 
village located in one of the most beautiful spots- 
of Klamath county. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



935 



With the completion of the entire history of 
Fort Klamath we have taken several long strides 
ahead in the chronological order of onr work. 
The year following the establishment of the 
fort, in the fall of 1864, there occurred an import- 
ant event in the history of the county. This was 
a treaty with the Klamath and Modoc Indians 
and the creation of the Klamath reservation. Es- 
tablishment of the fort had been for the protec- 
tion of travel through such a hostile country and 
the encouragement of settlement. Naturally the 
next succeeding step to bring about the latter 
condition was a treaty with the Indians in- 
habitating the country. This was finally accom- 
plished ; the two tribes ceding all their lands to 
the government, except the reservation, on 
which the Indians were to live. This treaty was 
made October 14, 1864, at Council Grove near 
Fort Klamath, between Superintendent Hunting- 
ton, of Oregon. A. E. Wiley, superintendent of 
California, by his deputy, Agent Logan, of Warm 
Springs reservation. Lindsay Applegate, and th? 
Klamath, Modocs and Yahooskin band of 
Snakes. The military present were a detach- 
ment of Washington infantry under Lieutenant 
Halloran, W. C. McKay with five Indian scouts. 
Captain Kelly and Lieutenant Underwood, with 
a detachment of Company C. The Indians on 
the ground numbered 1,070, of whom 700 were 
Klamaths, over 300 Modocs and 20 Snakes, but 
more than 1,500 were represented. Huntington 
estimated thst there were not more than 2,000 In- 
dians in the country treated for. though Colonel 
Drew and E. Steele, of California, made a much 
higher estimate. 

Special Agent Lindsay Applegate and McKay 
acted as counsellors and interpreters for the In- 
dians. There was no difficultv in making a treaty 
with the Klamaths. The Modocs and Snakes 
were more reculant, but signed the treaty which 
they perfectly understood. It ceded all right to 
a tract of country extending from the 44th paral- 
lel on the north to the ridge which divides the 
Pit and McLeod rivers on the south, and from 
the Cascade mountains on the west to the Goose 
lake mountains on the east. The boundaries of 
the Indian reservation as defined in the treaty 
are as follows : 

Beginning upon the eastern shore of middle 
Klamath lake at the point of rocks about twelve miles 
below the mouth of Williamson river; thence follow- 
ing up said eastern shore to the mouth of Wood river ; 
thence up Wood river to a point one mile north of the 
bridge at Fort Klamath; thence due east to the summit 
of the ridge which divides the upper and middle Klamath 
lakes; thence along said ridge to a point clue east (west) 
of the north end of the upper lake to the summit of 



the mountains on the east side of the lake; thence 
along said mountains to the point where Sprague river 
is intersected by Ish-tish-ia-wa creek ; thence in a 
southerly direction to the summit of the mountain, the 
extremity of which forms the point of rocks ; thence 
along said mountain to the place of beginning. 

This tract contained, besides much country 
that was considered unfit for settlement, the 
Klamath marsh, which afforded a great food 
supply in roots, seeds, etc., a large extent of fine 
grazing land, with sufficient arable land to make 
farms for all the Indians and access to the fishery 
on Williamson river and the Great, or Upper 
Klamath lake. The Klamath reservation, as 
did every Indian reservation, if that on the Ore- 
gon coast was accepted, contained some of the 
choicest country and most agreeable scenery .in 
the state. White persons, except government 
officers and employees, were by the terms of 
treaty forbidden to reside upon the reservation, 
while the Indians were equally bound to live 
upon it ; the right of way for public roads only 
being pledged. The United States agreed to- 
pay $8,000 per annum for five years, beginning 
when the treaty should be ratified ; $5,000 for the ■ 
next five years and $3,000 for the following five- 
years ; these sums to be expended under the di- 
rection of the president for the benefit of the-' 
Indians. The United States further agreed to, 
pay $35,000 for such articles as should be fur- 
nished to the Indians at the time of signing the 
treaty, and for their subsistence, clothing' and 
teams to begin farming for the first year. As 
soon as practicable after the ratification of the 
treaty, mills, shops and a school house were to 
be built. For 15 rears a superintendent, a far- 
mer, blacksmith, wagon maker, sawyer, and car- 
penter were to be furnished and two teachers for 
22 years. The United States might cause the 
land to be surveyed in allotments, which might 
be secured to the families of the holders. The 
annuities of the tribes could not be taken for the 
debts of individuals. The United States might 
at any future time locate other Indians on the 
reservation, the parties to the treaty to lose no 
rights thereby. 

On the part of the Indians they pledged 
themselves not to drink intoxicating liquors on 
pain of forfeiting their annuities ; and to obey 
the laws of the United States, the treaty to be 
binding when ratified. 

At this great council which was attended by 
nearlv all the Indians in the basin, they asked 
the appointment of Lindsay Applegate as their 
agent, which appointment was made during the 
summer of 1865, and he repaired to Fort Klam- 
ath in October of that year with Oliver Applegate, 



93^ 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



his son, as clerk and interpreter, his only em- 
ployee, and took charge of the Indians. The 
treaty had not yet been ratified by the United 
States senate and little could be done for the bene- 
fit of the people. 

In May, 1866, the agent, with Lucien Apple- 
gate, Oliver Applegate, Samuel D. Whitmore 
and a man named Reed, with a wagon drawn by 
four yoke of oxen and laden with various articles 
for the begining of agricultural operations on 
the reservation, came over the Cascades on the 
old emigrant road. Thev crossed Link river 
where the boom now is, at the head of the river, 
swimming the cattle and horses and ferrying 
the wagons and goods over in Indian canoes. 

Knowing no way up the big lake except the 
rocky trail along the lake margin, they supoosed 
they would have to make the circuit around Lost 
river gao and down Sprague river to reach the 
proposed site of Klamath agency, but a Link 
river Indian volunteered his services and piloted 
them directlv through the mountains to William- 
son river, the present road from Klamath Falls 
to Naylox being on the route traveled. At the 
"Point of Rocks," north of Naylox, they climbed 
to the summit of the mountain, thence along the 
summit and down the steep bluff to the ford on 
Williamson river, a few miles above the site of 
the present bridge. They christened the Indian 
guide Moses, for obvious reasons. 

At this point in our history we divert for 
"the purpose of giving the list of agents who have 
served at Klamath agency since the establish- 
ment of the reservation. 

A gentleman named Rogers was the first 
agent, he having served from the time of the 
treaty until the appointment of Lindsav Apnle- 
gate, in 1865. The latter served until 1869. Mr. 
Applegate was succeeded by O. C. Knaop. who 
continued in charge about one year. John Mea- 
cham was a special agent for a very short time. 
He was succeeded by L. S. Dyar who held the po- 
sition for a number of vears. Matthews was for 
a short time agent, and he was succeeded bv E. 
L. Applegate who continued in charge about two 
years. L. S. Wilkenson was agent about eight 
years. The next succeeding agent was Toseph 
Emery, who was. in t8qS, succeeded by Captain 
O. C. Appleerate who remained in charge until 
Mav, 1005, when H. G. Wilson became agent. 

Having established the Klamath Indian 
agency the Applegate partv proceeded up 
Sprague river and located Yainax, as a sub- 
agency station for the benefit of the many In- 
dians residing in the beautiful valley of that 
stream, being watched the entire distance by the 
wilder Snake and Piute Indians of Silver and 
Summer lakes, their signal fires being many 



times observed on the summits of the northern 
hills. Ivan Applegate was in charge of this sub- 
agency until the summer of 1871. With one 
white assistant he built a few log buildings, or- 
ganized an Indian police force, fenced some land 
and raised a crop of grain the summer of 1870, 
with aid of the Indians., During the summer of 
1 87 1 about twenty log cabins were erected at the 
sub-agency for the Indians, and other improve- 
ments were made. O. C. Applegate took charge 
in 1871. 

The main Klamath agency was established at 
Ko-was-ta, at the head of Klamath lake, May 
12, 1866. A log cabin was erected and plowing 
at once began. Wheat, oats, rye and barley, with 
an . assortment of the hardier vegetables, were 
successfully grown that season and the feasibility 
of field culture in the Klamath basin was demon- 
strated. The Indians entered into the spirit of 
the new proceedings with great zest and the 
field was fenced in a day with willows, sage 
brush and pine limbs, the interpreter, with 
thirty stalwart warriors doing the work. The 
next season rails were .made, mostly by the In- 
dians and several miles of substantial fence 
were made, much of which still stands as a 
memorial of those' initial days of enterprise and 
improvement. And long after the establish- 
ment of the agency it was menaced bv the Snake 
Indians, then on' the warpath, and the little 
log buildings were hastily enclosed by a stockade 
and was for a portion of the time guarded by a 
detachment of troops from Fort Klamath. Vexa- 
tious delays attended the ratification of the 
Klamath and Modoc treaty, so that operations 
could not be commenced under it until the year 
1867. In October of that year Superintendent 
Huntington undertook to lead in a band of beef 
cattle for the Indians, and several ox and horse 
teams laden with annuity goods, the first in- 
stallment to come from The Dalles to Klamath 
agency, via the Warm Springs reservation. As 
the Snake war was yet in progress there was no 
little danger of the great train falling into the 
hands of Paulina, the war chief of the Oregon 
nomads. Mr. Huntington called upon the agent 
for assistance and he went at once to meet him 
with an escort of five regulars from Fort Klamath 
and Oliver Applegate, with his hastily organized 
company of Klamath scouts. Two of the princi- 
pal chiefs were his lieutenants and the sub- 
ordinates consisted of the most daring and active 
of the voting warriors. This was called the "Axe 
and Rifle Company," as these men guarded the 
train through the hostile country and. going in 
advance through the dense black pine forests, 
between the Dos Chutes and Klamath, cut out 
the way with their axes for the teams, mostlv 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



937 



■along the route of the old Indian trail. This 
great train in November encountered a snow 
storm in the Des Chutes country and for a hun- 
dred miles progress was difficult and trying. 

At the period the original treaty with the 
Indians was made the reservation had not been 
surveyed, the boundaries being described by what 
"were supposed to be well defined topographical 
features. This treaty was signed in 1864, ac- 
cepted by the Indians and ratified by the govern- 
ment. But when a survey of the reservation 
was made it was found to be a difficult task to 
locate the boundaries ; this led to complications 
which were not settled for many years after. 

In 1870 the described line was surveyed bv 
Mr. Mercer, of Corvallis. He submitted his map 
to the Indians at that time. They then claimed 
that he had not included all the land whi'ch they 
had supposed was reserved to them in the treaty. 
His survey cut off a portion of Sican valley and 
the whole upper portion of Sprague river valley. 
The Indians declared that all this country had 
been included in the tract reserved as thev had 
agreed upon the boundary in making the treaty ; 
but Mr. Mercer could not find it so in the treaty. 
The Indians then insisted that it was not written 
as they understood it ; but the Mercer survev 
was accepted and ratified by the government. 
Thus the whole land business and settlement of 
Klamath county conformed to the survev as 
placed upon the records. The difference be- 
tween Mercer's reading of the treaty and the ver- 
sion of the Indians is the question as to what 
point was to be considered the junction of "Ash- 
tish ' creek and Sprague river. The treatv pro- 
vided that from a point near the head of Klamath 
marsh the line should run to "the point where 
Sprague river is intersected by 'Ash-tish,' or Wax 
creek." Now this creek after emerging from its 
upper and mountainous course, spreads out, some- 
what after the fashion of Lost river, over a wide, 
nearly level, marshy plain, which is called upper 
Sprague river valley, but does not intersect any 
other water course until it reaches what is called 
'the middle fork of Sprasfue river. The survevor 
ran a line to this, the first point of intersection 
with another stream that he could find, and main- 
'tained that he could not follow the directions 
and do otherwise. The Indians said they con- 
sidered Ash-tish creek as ended where it reached 
'the valley or plain, and that the stream thence 
onward was Sorague river ; and they had intended 
to keen the whole of unper Spraeue river valley. 
The treatv was written bv Ap-ent Huntington and 
the boundaries were described to him bv the 
Tndians through an interpreter. Neither he nor 
the witnesses to the tearty went over the line. 
--and. it is not surprising that opportunity was left 



for future disagreement. The description in the 
treaty was vague and indefinite, and the surveyor, 
Mercer, undoubtedly interpreted it conscien- 
tiously and properly. 

Thus the matter rested for many years. The 
Indians were dissatisfied with the survey of 1870 
and believed that they were entitled to the whole 
of Lhpper Sprague river valley, as they under- 
stood the treaty of 1864. The government hav- 
ing accepted the Mercer survey of 1870, leaving 
out of the reservation the rich lands of upper 
Sprague river valley, this land was settled upon 
by whites and patents to the lands were issued 
by the government. 

At last efforts were made to effect a settle- 
ment of the perplexing question. As the repre- 
sentative of the Indians Mr. Ivan Applegate went 
to Washington, D. C, where he succeeded in hav- 
ing action taken. It was during the second ad- 
ministration of Grover Cleveland that congress 
authorized the appointment of a commission to 
investigate and report the claims of the Indians. 
This commission was composed of William C. 
Coleman, of Missouri, Richard R. P. Hammond, 
of California and Ivan Applegate, of Oregon. 

Upon investigating the case in all its details 
the commission found that the treaty provided 
for the whole of Sprague river valley to be in- 
cluded in the reservation ; that according to the 
later surveys a large portion of that valley had 
been left out and had been setled by whites ; 
that between 500,000 and 600,000 acres of land 
had thus been denied the rightful owners, the 
Indians. The commission fixed a value of about 
78 cents per acre on the land and recommended 
that an appropriation be granted the Indians in 
payment. The report was accepted, but up to 
the present time the appropriation has not been 
granted bv congress, althougfh attempts to pass 
such a bill are made at nearly everv session. 

The Klamath and Modoc Indians of the 
Klamath reservation all dress as whites, wear 
their hair short and are well advanced in civiliza- 
tion. While they are not what might be termed 
fully civilized, the elements of progress are well 
grounded and steadily developing among them. 
A stranger riding through the district would 
never suspect that he was passing through an 
Indian settlement. Commodious residences, «Pod 
barns, extensive stock pastures and hay meadows, 
stacks of hay and good fences, with what little 
live stock thev have in fine condition, show gen- 
eral prosperity and give it the appearance of a 
community of prosperous white oioneers. in^ead 
of beine among the Klamath and Modoc Indians, 
some of whom were hostiles of the "Lava Beds" 
troubles of 1872 and 1873. 

With the exception of the very old people 



93§ 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



these Indians are fairly well educated, a majority 
of them being well advanced, and of the 200 
whose signatures were attached to an agreement 
with the government in 1900, 95 signed their 
own names. All appear to understand English, 
and most of them, both men and women, speak 
the English language quite intelligently and with- 
out native accent so common to most tribes. 

The Klamath Indians, in customs, education 
and business ability, are superior to most of the 
American tribes and are surpassed by none. Con- 
trast the Klamaths with the blanketed, long- 
haired Sioux or any of the several branches of 
that tribe. The Klamaths are far in advance of 
them. 

The government has taken good care of its 



wards on the Klamath reservation. At the agency 
is maintained one of the most promising Indian 
schools in the service, having an average attend- 
ance of about 125 pupils. As shown by statistics 
it stands only second to the Chemawa Training 
school, or Harrison Institute, near Salem, among 
the several Indian schools of Oregon, and is a 
permanent institution. The school buildings 
alone represent a valuation of not less then 
$30,000. Besides the school there are several 
other institutions at the agency for the benefit 
of the Indians. Early in the present decade con- 
gress appropriated $11,000 for improvements at 
the agency. Of this amount $5,700 was for a 
system of water works; $2,100 for sewers, and 
$3,200 for electric lighting. 



CHAPTER II 



FROM EARLY SETTLEMENT TO MODOC WAR 



We have now advanced to the primal settle- 
ment of Klamath county. Prior to the Indian 
treaty no thought of permanent settlement in the 
country had entered the mind of any one. To a 
few people only was the country known — those 
who had come from the far western settlements 
to pilot immigrants across the mountains and pro- 
tect them from Indians ; a few trappers and trad- 
ers ; two or three men who had had the courage 
to graze stock upon the range ; and a small force 
of troops under Colonel Drew who had made an 
exploration of the country. But with the estab- 
lishment of the military post and the resultant 
knowledge gained of the country, a few stalwart 
pioneers ventured to build homes and wrest a 
heritage from the wilderness. But this early set- 
tlement was not accomplished without great dan- 
ger, privations and hardships. Few and far be- 
tween were the settlers ; surrounded by wild 
beasts and wilder men, deprived of all life's com- 
forts and the conveniences of social life ; they 
joined determinedly in the struggle with material 
things. But to these pioneers the swamp and 
sage plains of Klamath county presented a scene 
at once picturesque, but unpromising, except for 
the sole industry of stock raising. The natural 
meadows afforded sustenance for winter, and the 
bunch grass hills were the almost limitless pas- 
tures where their cattle flourished and fattened. 

'1 hus the Klamath country for so many years 



passed by with indifference ; considered fit for' 
nothing but savage Modocs, sage brush, coyotes 
and jack-rabbits, was discovered to be valuable 
as a stock raising country. One by one the 
pioneers ventured in here and thus satisfied the 
more timid that this was indeed a fair and goodly 
land — that in addition to being a good stock, it 
was a farming country as well. But this latter 
fact was not demonstrated until many years 
later. 

The honor of being the first permanent settler 
in Klamath county undoubtedly belongs to Wen- 
dolen Nits, who was later killed in the Modoc 
War. We have related the experiences of Mr. 
Nus during the winter of 1858-9, in the Klamath 
country, and of his subsequent removal to the 
John Day mines. In 1866 Mr. Nus returned to 
the Klamath basin. With him he brought a band 
of cattle. He located on the west side of Klamath 
lake at a point about three miles north of the 
present town of Klamath Falls. Here he built a 
cabin, did some fencing - and passed the 'winter of 
1866-7. That winter he furnished beef for the 
fort. In 1867 he took 'up a place on the east bank 
of Klamath river, about two miles below the pres- 
ent site of Klamath Falls. Here he built a cabin 
and ran a ferry across the Klamath river. 

In April, 1867, two soldiers stationed at the 
fort. First Sergeant O. A. Stearns and Lewellvn 
Colver. of Company I, First Oregon Infantry,. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



939 



selected land in the Klamath country upon which 
to settle so soon as they were mustered out of the 
service. This occurred in July, of that year, at 
Jacksonville, and they at once returned to their 
new homes. The holdings by them selected were 
state lands on the west side of Klamath river, 
seven miles southwest of the present town of 
Klamath Falls. Messrs. Stearns and Colver 
formed a partnership which was maintained for 
several years. They built one cabin and laid 
the foundation for homes. Being without means 
they were obliged to work out a portion of each 
year in order to secure a "grub-stake" to start 
them in the stock-raising business. 

O. T. Brown, who had been at the fort for 
some time previous, accompanied Stearns and 
Colver in their search for land, and about the 
same time located on Spencer creek. Mrs. Brown 
accompanied her husband and was the first white 
woman to make her home in the Klamath 
country. 

Arthur Langell was a settler of 1867. He lo- 
cated upon the Hot Springs property, just east 
of the present town of Klamath Falls. Later he 
sold this property and moved to the valley which 
now bears his name. 

Another settler of 1867 was Dennis Crawley 
who settled on land on the west side of Klamath 
river near the O. A. Steam's place. H. M. 
Thatcher, who was a school teacher living in the 
settlements west of the mountains, was a part- 
ner of Mr. Crawley and came out the following 
year. He took land adjoining his partner. Be- 
ing of small means these two men decided to 
economize in the matter of buildings and so only 
one cabin was erected, and that was on Mr. Craw- 
ley's claim. They put in a crop of grain, their 
intention being- to supply grain for Fort Klam- 
ath. Their venture resulted in failure ; their part- 
nership was dissolved, and each member settled 
at different points in the county. 

C. C. Bailey, in the same year, settled on the 
present site of Maylox, the place then being 
known as Humming Bird Spring. 

Another settler of 1867 was A. J. Burnette, 
who took up his place of residence on the east 
side of the lower end of Upper Klamath lake. 
William Hicks, also, came to the country this 
year and was employed by Mr. Langell on his 
place at the Hot Springs. 

The crowning event of the year 1867 was the 
founding of the town of Linkville, on Link river ; 
the present town of Klamath Falls. The creation 
of the town at this time was not effected with 
loud whoops and a brass band. Possibly it is 
stretching a point to say that the town was 
"founded" at all. But we will accept the benefit 
of the doubt and say that Linkville was founded 



in 1867. At all events a cabin was built here by 
George Nurse and Edgar Overton, and within 
ti.e cabin was a store consisting of the remnants 
of Mr. Nurse's sutler's stock at Fort Klamath. 
The entire assortment could, probably, have been 
loaded on a buckboard. It consisted of trinkets 
which caught the Indian's eye ; tobacco which was 
more to the liking of the white man ; and a few 
other articles generally found in a frontier sut- 
ler's store. As we shall in a later chapter tell of 
the subsequent history of this town, let us pass it 
here with this brief mention. 

Thus we find at the close of 1867, where at 
the beginning there was only one settler, a town 
with something less than a dozen people and a 
few scattered settlers living in the Klamath coun- 
try, aside from the soldiers at Fort Klamath. The 
year 1868 witnessed the arrival of quite a num- 
ber of new settlers in the Klamath country. These, 
as did those of the preceding year, came with a 
view of making permanent homes for themselves 
and families. Being quite doubtful of the prac- 
ticability of successful farming, they gave their 
more serious attention to the raising of horses 
and cattle. 

From the general character of the soil it soon 
appeared to the casual observer that crops might 
be grown, barring the doubt entertained of the ef- 
fect of severe winters and early frosts. However, 
the human family is endowed with an experimen- 
tal temperament, and these hardy pioneers had 
unlimited possession of it. 

The subsequent four or five years determined 
the fact that grain by careful and expedient cul- 
vation could be grown with moderate success in 
about four particular localities, viz : the John 
H. Miller and O. A. Stearns' places, near Keno ; 
the Reames & Martin place, near Linkville and 
the A. J. Burnette place on the eastern shore of 
Klamath lake. Grain at that time sold readily at 
three, four and five cents per pound. Around 
these four small farms centralized the thought 
and experiment of the entire community in har- 
mony with the owners who performed the manual 
labor, the desire of the consumers being to avoid 
transportation of this much needed article over a. 
rugged, rocky, rough and mountainous road from 
Rogue River valley on wagons drawn by horses- 
and mules. These places were located on the 
shores of Little Klamath lake, or swamp sur- 
rounding the lake, immediately adjacent to the 
natural swamp grases used for hay ; the lands in 
their wild state being covered with small brush 
and weeds — not the variety commonly known as 
sage brush land of which the county is mostly 
composed, but rather the intermediate between- 
swamp and sage brush land. 

These supposed favored localities were taxed 



940 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



to their limited capacities in an effort to supply 
the demand of a rapidly increasing stock country 
which was being populated by migratory herds 
from every county and state on the Pacific coast 
for the purpose of gaining free access to the 
bunch grass that carpeted the hills and plains. The 
stockmen were reclining at their ease, reaping 
handsome profits from their fat herds of cattle 
and horses. A very large percentage of the reve- 
nue derived from the sale of stock was expended 
in Rogue River valley for flour, vegetables, fruits 
and other necessaries of life. So commonly was 
the settler seen on the road after supplies that 
the lookers-on facetiously remarked, "There goes 
another sage-brusher down to Egypt after corn." 

In 1868 Messrs. Coultas and Kuhn, with their 
wives, settled in the Klamath basin. These ladies 
were the second and third white women to become 
residents of Klamath county. In 1868 J. T. Fulk- 
erson and Mr. Harris took up homes about ten 
miles southwest of Linkville where they built 
cabins. Mrs. Harris and Mrs. Fulkerson were 
also, among the first white women to locate in the 
county. Steven Stukel, still a resident of Klam- 
ath county, settled two and one-half miles east 
-of Klamath Falls, on what is now known as the 
Mitchell place, in 1868. He made his home 
there until 1878 when he moved to the Merrill 
neighborhood. In the fall of 1868 a Mr. Miller 
accompanied by his three sons, John H., Will- 
iam and Warren settled on land on Little Klam- 
ath lake on what is now known as the Downing 
ranch. Robert Whittle, who for several years 
previously had annually come from Yreka up to 
the Klamath river where Keno is now situated, to 
'catch fish which he took back to Yreka to sell, in 
1868 with his son-in-law, Francis Picard, built a 
■cabin and the two became residents of Klamath 
county. Joseph Conger also came in 1868, and 
"worked for George Nurse at Linkville for several 
years. Two other settlers of this year were John 
Corbell and John Scheffbauer, who bought the 
Hot Springs property of Arthur Langell. 

The year 1868 was, also, fraught with other 
events of importance. A sawmill was then estab- 
lished in the territory now embraced by Klamath 
county. It was located on Spencer creek by 
Granville Naylor and John Hockenyoss. For ten 
years it continued to saw lumber for the settlers 
of southern Oregon and northern California. In 
1 87 1 this property was purchased by E. Spencer. 
This mill was quite a primitive one, but it an- 
swered well the demands of that primitive period. 
Nearly all of the buildings in Klamath county in 
the earlier days were erected from lumber sawed 
at this mill. 

More settlers came in 1869. At the close of 
that year there were, possibly, 100 people living 



within the boundaries of the present Klamath 
county. This settlement of 1869 was due, largely, 
to the ending of the Snake Indian war following 
the successful campaign of General Crook. To 
Goose lake valley there was quite an immigra- 
tion that year, and as the route was through the 
Klamath county territory, many, being satisfied 
with the country, stopped off and settled. Among 
the new comers this year were George S. Miller, 
who drove in a band of cattle and located at Lost 
river gap ; Thomas J. Brattain, who settled near 
Linkville that year and moved to the Bonanza 
neighborhood the following season ; William J. 
Horton, Amon Shook, and several sons who lo- 
cated near the Stearns ranch ; Francis Smith, 
Edward Penning and John S. Shook who took 
claims in, and named Alkali, (now Yonna) val- 
ley ; Benjamin Hall and a small party who found 
homes in Lankell's valley; Jacob Thompson, 
Jesse D. Walker, who located on the west side of 
Klamath river near Keno ; Mr. Whitney who 
built the bridge at Linkville ; Judson Small, Den- 
nis Small, A. F. Woodruff, Joseph Campbell, Si- 
las Kilgore and George Thomas, all of whom lo- 
cated southwest of Linkville. 

It was in 1869 that the few settlers who had 
made homes in the Klamath country began to dis- 
cuss seriously ■ the question of a road through 
their particular section of the country. The road 
from Fort Klamath to the towns west of the 
mountains was of no benefit whatever to those 
who had settled in the southern portion of the 
county. The members of the county court of 
Jackson county were not, at first, inclined to 
grant the petition of the settlers east of the moun- 
tains for a county road. Through a country so 
sparsely settled the court could not see the wis- 
dom of building a roadway. But, eventually, af- 
ter two of the settlers had furnished a bond for 
$1,000 to cover expenses in case it was not found 
practicable to lay out the road, they dispatched 
a surveyor to the Klamath country. He made a 
favorable report and laid out the road. This was 
all the settlers wanted ; they constructed the high- 
way. It wound up along the Klamath river; 
tnence to Lost river and down that stream to the 
Stukel place ; thence down the east side of Tule 
lake to the state line. 

Another event of this year was the survey of 
a railway route across the county. In the Klam- 
ath Falls Express of April 20, 1893, Mr. D. B. 
Worthington, who was a member of the survey- 
ing party, said of this incident : 

We call attention to the fact, though forgotten no 
doubt by many, that Hon. Jesse D. Applegate made a 
preliminary survey across the Cascades in 1869, which 
penetrated Klamath county. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



941 



Applegate's line commenced near the old James 
Miller place on Little Butte, following the same toward 
its head in the Cascades to Fish lake ; thence southeast 
to Lost Prairie; thence on nearly the same course 
across the main summit to Buck lake ; thence in a 
more easterly direction to Aspen lake ; thence easterly 
to the Klamath river, and crossing the same at the 
old Nus ferry, about three miles below Klamath Falls; 
thence in a southwesterly course to the Oregon and 
California line. 

Our information in this matter is not borrowed, as 
ye scribe (D. B. Worthington), was one of the chain 
bearers on that memorable expedition, and the scenes 
and incidents occurring along the virgin line are yet 
quite vivid in our memory, notwithstanding the inter- 
vention of many years. This route proved to be 
exceedingly rough in places, especially along Butte 
Creek and its head tributaries, abounding in brush, 
rocks and heavy timber, until we reached the neigh- 
borhood of Lost Prairie. Then the woods became more 
open and rocky, precipitous gorges and cliffs less fre- 
quent. From there on we had no great difficulty in run- 
ning several miles each day, and on reaching the Kla- 
math basin we had plain sailing until we suddenly and 
quite unexpectedly ran into Laptain Jack's camp on 
Lost river, near the old By^ee & Colwell stock ranch. 
Here our further progress was questioned by his high- 
ness, Captain Jack, who informed us through his in- 
terpreter, Scarface -Charley, that he did not desire his 
dominion should be surveyed, as he had no intention 
of joining the "Bostons" in agricultural pursuits. 

When made to understand that the survey was not 
being made for that particular purpose, but for a line 
of railroad, he was still obstinate (one of his noted 
peculiarities') and said that he did not want a rail- 
road; his ponies being good enough for him and his 
people. After a talk which lasted nearly through the 
night, costing the outfit all the tobacco it possessed and 
nearly everything eatable, he told us we had his per- 
mission to proceed to our objective point, the state 
line, but not to linger, as his people were "Hiyu sullix 
copa Boston" ("angry at the whites) and he would 
not hold himself responsible for any loss of life or 
property which we might suffer at their hands. As 
the redoubtable captain looked very much in earnest 
while he was saying this, we were not inclined to doubt 
him in the least. On the .following day we connected 
with the state line and returned at "double quick" to 
Linkville with feelings of considerable relief that we 
were well out of a bad scrape. 

To the best of our recollection this survey was 
made at the instigation of a party of wealthy and 
prominent men of Oregon, to test the feasibility of a 
railroad line from Rogue river valley across the Cas- 
cades to the Klamath basin. The route following the 
Applegate survey is altogether practicable, though ex- 
ceedingly rough in the vicinity of Little Butte ; but 
a rough surface in building railroads does not cut any 



very great figure so long as a sufficiently easy grade 
can be .obtained. 

Some definite idea of the population of Klam- 
ath county in 1870 may be gained from the fact 
that at the election in June of that year there 
were past in the precinct of Jackson, lying east 
of the mountains, including the present Lake and 
Klamath counties, 32 votes. 

During the three years preceding the out- 
break of the Modoc War, 1870, '71 and '72, set- 
tlement was quite vigorous, although when the 
war came there were not to exceed 400 men, wo- 
men and children, possibly not over 250, in what 
is now Klamath count}-. Data is not available to 
give the names of all these settlers, but a few 
who lived in the county for many years and be- 
came closely identified with the county's history 
in after years have been brought to our notice. 
In 1870 came J. P. Roberts, James Taylor, Jo- 
seph Sweigle and Benjamin Stout. In 1871 W. 
M. Roberts, John Gleim, J. F. Arant and Henry 
C. Duncan. The year 1872 brought George Mc- 
Donald, Daniel Colwell, Isaac Wilson, John Loos- 
ley, Michael Hartery, J. F. Adams, Thomas Wil- 
son, I. P. Chandler and W. F. Arant. 

Prior to the spring of . 1872, although the 
Klamath country was settled to a considerable 
extent, there had been no mail facilities. The 
troops at the fort secured their mail from Henley, 
California, on the west side of the mountain, a 
soldier making the trip once every two weeks. 
The settlers got their mail as best they could. 
But in the spring of 1872 the government 
was prevailed upon to grant a mail route into 
the interior country, and a contract for carry- 
ing the mail was let. The route was from Ash- - 
land, Oregon, to Lake City, California, via Link- 
ville. At the latter town a postoffice was estab- 
lished with George Nurse as postmaster. Later 
another office was opened at Merganser, of which 
J. P. Roberts was postmaster. 

The contract for delivering over this route ■ 
was let to Mr. Kilgore, of Ashland, for between 
$4,000 and $5,000 a year. Weekly trips were - 
made, the mails being carried by Mr. Kilgore and 
his sons ; sometimes on horseback ; often in a 
light vehicle, and occasionally they carried the - 
mail sacks afoot on their backs. This contract 
was held by Mr. Kilgore three years. 

In 1875 Garrett & Hatton were awarded the 
contract to convey the mails, subletting the route • 
from Linkville to Lake City to John McCurdy. 
Then they turned their attention and energies 
toward building up a first-class, old time stage • 
route between the two first named points. The 
terms of the contract called for semi-weekly 
trips from Ashland to Linkville, which continued ' 



942 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



until the expiration of the first two years. Re- 
ceiving nearly all the government passenger 
traffic to and from Fort Klamath, which was 
Heavily garrisoned at that period, and as the 
Klamath country was beginning to be rapidly 
settled up, the staging business increased accord- 
ingly. Two-horse stock and light wagons fail- 



ing to accommodate the general public, regular 
Concord coach, four and six-horse stock, was sub- 
stituted at great expense, and the service in- 
creased to daily trips, running the original con- 
tract price up to $17,000 per year, which contin- 
ued until the expiration of their contract. Dur- 
ing the four years' service they lost only one trip. 



CHAPTER III 



THE MODOC WAR. 



In previous chapters we have told of the stir- 
ring events in the Klamath country — which is 
now the political division known as Klamath 
county — from the date of the first visit of white 
men up to the opening of the Modoc War. It 
remains to detail the tragic incidents of this short, 
but desperate struggle between a few score of the 
Modoc Indians, under the leadership of Captain 
Jack, and the United States troops and Oregon 
volunteers. 

But at the outset let us consider the status of 
the Klamath country at the date of the outbreak 
in the fall of 1872. Within the present boundaries 
of Klamath county at that period were living 
between 300 and 400 white people — stock rais- 
ers, mainly,, in Lost river, Tule lake and Lan- 
gell's valleys, on Link river, and one or two on 
Sprague river. Within this county were two 
small trading points ; Linkville on the present 
site of Klamath Falls, and Merganser, on the east 
bank of the river, two or three miles below Link- 
ville. Each of these towns boasted of a store and 
two or three other business houses, which catered 
to the trade of the settlers in the Klamath coun- 
try. To the north of these settlements, from 
40 to 60 miles was Fort Klamath, garrisoned 
by a small body of troops. On the Klamath reser- 
vation lived the Klamath Indians and portions of 
a few other tribes who, according to the treaty of 
1864, had agreed to live there. The Modocs, 
in defiance of the treaty, occupied the old lands 
and laid claim to them, levying tribute on the 
settlers who wished to make homes there. 

The war broke out in November, 1872. Under 
Captain Jack the Modocs swept thronght the set- 
tlements of Lost river and Tule lake valleys, 
murdered the white inhabitants, destroyed homes 
and, retiring into the impregnable recesses of the 
lava beds of Northern California, bade defiance to 



the combined forces of all the Umited States 
troops in the country, and several companies of 
volunteer troops from Oregon and California for 
nearly a year. A trail of blood, ashes and tears 
was left from Linkville to the lava beds ; terror 
entered the hearts of every settler in the Klam- 
math country. One of the fiercest Indian wars 
ever fought, it attracted world-wide attention. 

During the progress of this war, covering 
a period of less than a year, nearly as many were 
killed — soldiers, volunteers and citizens — as were 
lost in battle on the American side during the 
Spanish-American war. The money expended 
in this outbreak by the United States was more 
than $4,000,000. 

Briefly the primal causes of the Modoc War 
was the refusal of this tribe of Indians to live on 
the Klamath reservation, as provided by treaty, 
and the attempt of the government to force them 
to do so. 

The main incidents leading up to the breaking 
out of hostilities are told in an official communi- 
cation from Brigadier General Edward R. S. Con- 
by, commanding the department of the Colum- 
bia, to the assistant adjutant general of the mili- 
tary division of the Pacific, dated Portland, Feb- 
ruary 7, 1872. This communication in part was : 

The treaty with the Klamaths, Modocs and 
Yahooskin Snakes, was made on the 14th of October, 
1864, and approved by the senate with certain amend- 
ments on the second of July, 1866, lint not finally 
ratified until the TOth of December, 1869. This long- 
delay made the Indians who were parties to the treaty 
very suspicious, and I have been informed by the 
superintendent that when the treaty, as amended by 
the senate, was interpreted and explained to them. 
Captain Jack, the present leader of the troublesome 
Modocs, protested that it did not represent what they 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



943 



had agreed to. He was, however, convinced by the 
testimony of the other chiefs, and finally assented to it. 
When they were established on the reservation they 
went to work with a good deal of interest to build 
cabins and enclose ground for cultivation, but were so 
much annoyed by the Klamaths that they complained 
to tbe local agent, who instead of protecting them in 
their rights, endeavored to compromise the difficulty 
by removing them to another location. At this point 
the same difficulties recurred, and a third selection was 
made. The Modocs then abandoned the reservation, 
alleging that the last point selected was a trap to 
place them in the power of their enemies, the Klamaths. 
These changes were made without the concurrence 
of the superintendent, and I believe did not come to 
his knowledge until after the Modocs had fled from the 
reservation. All subsequent attempts to induce them 
to return have failed. 

In the summer of last year, and in consequence 
of complaints against these Indians, the superintendent 
sent commissioners to confer with them, who author- 
ized the Modocs to remain where they were until the 
superintendent could see them. This has been under- 
stood as a settlement of the question until some 
permanent arrangement could be made for them ; and 
unless they have violated some subsequent agreement, 
I do not think that the immediate application of force, 
as asked for, would be either expedient or just. Tbey 
should, at least, be notified that a new location has 
been selected for them and provision made for their 
wants. They should, also, be allowed a reasonable and 
definite time to remove their families and fully warned 
that their refusal or failure to remove to the reserva- 
tion within the appointed time would be followed by 
such measures as may be necessary to compel them. 
I am not surprised at the unwillingness of the Modocs 
to return to any point of the reservation where they 
would be exposed to the hostilities and annoyances 
they have heretofore experienced (and without ade- 
quate protection) from the Klamaths, but they have 
expressed a desire to be established upon Lost river, 
where they would be free from this trouble, and the 
superintendent informed me last summer that he would 
endeavor to secure such a location for them. 

In no other respects are the Modocs entitled to much 
consideration, and although many of the complaints 
against them have been found to be greatly exaggerated, 
they are, without being absolutely hostile, sufficiently 
troublesome to keep up a constant feeling of ap- 
prehension among the settlers. 

As stated in General Canby's report the Mo- 
docs were taken upon the reservation where they 
remained only a short period when they again 
left and went to their chosen home on Lost river. 
It was in January, 1870, when Superintendent 



A. B. 



Meacham succeeded in removing them to 



the reservation. The story of the accomplishment 
of this deed is worth preserving. The party that 
entered upon this mission were Superintendent 
of Indian Affairs A. B. Meacham ; O. C. Knapp, 
agent of the Klamath reservation ; W. C. McKay, 
the noted scout, and Ivan Applegate, then in 
charge of the Yaimix agency. They assembled 
at Linkville and preparations were made to go to 
_the Modoc camp, on Lost river, to confer with 
Captain Jack's band. A messenger was dis- 
patched to Jack, who returned word that he did 
.not recognize their authority and that he would 
not confer. However, they went to his camp. 
As a matter of precaution a detachment of sol- 
diers, fourteen strong, in command of Sergeant 
Beard, were brought down from Fort Klamath 
to Linkville. Here they were ordered to remain 
while the party under Meacham went to the Mo- 
doc camp. 

The latter party, accompanied by Silas Kil- 
gore, of Linkville, as teamster, and Chief Henry 
Blowe and "Jim"' Parker, Indian interpreters, 
with their squaws, proceeded to the Indian camp 
where they met Jack's party in conference. As 
usual Captain Jack was haughty and refused to go 
upon the reservation. He produced letters from 
white men of Yreka advising him to remain where 
he was. It appeared as if the efforts of the 
Meacham party would prove unavailing. Such 
was the condition when a very unexpected event 
occurred — unexpected to both the Indians and the 
commissioner's party. 

It was after dark ; the party of white men 
noted a commotion in camp. Men and women 
were gesticulating wildly ; the whole party was 
thrown into the greatest excitement. The camp 
was panic stricken. Some of the warriors bolted 
the camp ; the greater portion remained a disor- 
ganized mob. This is what had happened : The 
thirteen soldiers under Sergeant Beard, who had 
been left at Linkville, had immediately upon the 
departure of Mr. Meacham's party, proceeded to 
till up on Linkville liquor. Before night they 
were in a condition to imagine that all sorts of 
tragedies were being enacted at the Modoc camp, 
in which the Meacham party was being massa- 
cred and greatly in need of assistance. With 
Sergeant Beard to imagine was to act. With 
his thirteen followers he set out on a lope for the 
Indian country. It was dark when they gained 
the camp and surprised the Modocs and the com- 
missioner's party. Throwing his command into 
a line of skirmishers Beard advanced. The In- 
dians, not being able to distinguish the num- 
ber of soldiers, and imagining that they were 
confronted by the advance guard of an army, be- 
came panic-stricken and utterly demoralized. 



944 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Having been unable to accomplish anything 
before, Superintendent Meacham decided to take 
advantage of the unexpected arrival of the sol- 
diers and the excitement of the Indians. Agent 
Knapp assumed charge of the fourteen men, and 
so disposed them as to surround the camp. Then, 
with some of the warriors, the women and chil- 
dren, he proceeded to Link river where they went 
into camp. Captain Jack, with seventeen men, 
had escaped and gone to his stronghold in the 
l?va beds, a thing which he did subsequently ; but 
when the women and children were not in cus- 
tody, as we shall show later, Captain Jack and his 
following of seventeen not wishing to desert the 
women, soon came in to Linkville and gave them- 
selves up. His whole band was removed to the 
Klamath reservation peaceably. Here they re- 
mained only a short time, soon taking up their 
residence on Lost river. 

During the closing days of 1871 and the be- 
ginning of 1872 the Modocs became arrogant and 
numerous complaints were made of depreda- 
tions upon the Klamath county settlers. Among 
others molested was J. M. True, who resided 
on Lost river. The Indians knocked down the 
fence surrounding his haystack and turned in 
their cayuses to his winter feed. They also 
carried off some of the hay to their own tepees. 
This they did on several occasions. Other set- 
tlers were, also, annoyed by Indian thievery. Sev- 
eral household utensils were stolen from Mr. 
Doten and some halters from Mr. Whitney. From 
Mr. True the Modocs demanded money. Captain 
Jack threatened the lives of several white men, 
among others Messrs. Ball and Blair who lived 
near Lost river. These facts were sworn to in 
an affidavit made by Mr. True, January 3, 
1872. 

Conditions had become serious. The Indian's 
grew daily more and more arrogant and over- 
bearing in their behavior. Their threats to kill 
and burn, together with their numerous depreda- 
tions, alarmed the settlers of the Klamath coun- 
try. Many sent their families west of the Cas- 
cade mountains for safety. Those who did not 
very shortly regretted it. Apparently the gov- 
ernment was making no effort to better the con- 
dition of the settlers, and this led to a strong 
petition signed by fourty-four residents, which 
was forwarded to the military authorities and to 
the department of Indian affairs, asking that 
steps be at once taken to remove the Modocs to 
the reservation. Following is the petition of the 
citizens of the Klamath country to A. B. Meach- 
am, superintendent of Indian affairs, and Gen- 
eral Canby, commanding the department of the 
Columbia, presented in January, 1872: 



Hon. A. B. Meacham, 

Superintendent of Indian Affairs : 
General Canby, 

Commanding Department of the Columbia : 
We, the undersigned, citizens of Lost and Link 
rivers, Klamath and Tule lake country, after suffering 
years of annoyance from the presence of the Modoc 
Indians, who, through the delay of the Indian and 
Military departments, have not been removed to the 
reservation as required by the treaty stipulations of 
1864, entered into by the authorized agents of the 
government and the chiefs of the Modoc Indians, by 
which all their lands were ceded to the United States 
except those embraced in the reservation, as stipulated 
in said treaty; but notwithstanding all the conditions 
of said treaty have been faithfully performed on the 
part of the government, it is a well known fact that 
a factious band of the Modocs of about 300 who were 
parties to that treaty have, through the influence of 
citizens of an adjoining state, who have been engaged 
in an illicit traffic with them, instigated to set the 
authority of the government at defiance, and to utterly 
refuse compliance with their treaty stipulations, by 
not going on the reservation ; and since there is no 
longer any conflict between the Indian and military 
department, such as prevented Sub-Agent Applegate 
from bringing these Indians on the reservation, we 
therefore make this earnest appeal to you for relief, 
knowing that you have the cavalry force we petitioned 
to be sent to Fort Klamath two years ago for this 
specific purpose at your command. 

We ask you to use for the purpose for which it 
was procured, that the departments, both civil and 
military, have not been kept ignorant of the fact that 
we have been repeatedly on the verge of a desolating 
Indian war with this band of outlaws, who. by your 
delay to enforce the treaty, have been led to despise 
rather than to respect the authority of the government. 
Their long continued success in defying its authorities 
has emboldened them in their defiant and hostile bear- 
ing until further forbearance on our part would cease 
to be a virtue ; that in many instances our families have 
become alarmed at their threats to kill and burn, until 
we were compelled to remove them for safety across 
the Cascade mountains, thereby suffering great loss of 
time and property. That the agent at Klamath and 
commissary at Yainix, during this long delay grow- 
ing out of this unfortunate conflict of departments, 
have done all they could to prevent a war, and bring 
about an amicable adjustment of our troubles we have 
no reason to doubt ; but we ask now, since no such con- 
flict exists, shall a petty Indian chief, with twenty des- 
peradoes and a squalid band of three hundred miser- 
able savages any longer set at defiance the strong arm- 
of the government, driving our citizens from their 
homes, threatening their lives, and destroying their- 
property? 




Lake Ewaucan 




Lost River, Klamath's Historic Stream 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



945 



Their removal to the reservation in the winter sea- 
son may be easily accomplished by amy one acquainted 
with 'them and their country, and will not require more 
force than can be furnished from Fort Klamath. We 
recommend Com. A. (I.) D. Applcgate, of Yainix, to 
the consideration of the department us a suitable man 
to take charge of any force or expedition to their re- 
moval. His long connection with the Indian Depart- 
ment, and thorough knowledge of them and their coun- 
try, and all facts connected with the whole Modoc ques- 
tion, and as a stock raiser equally interested with us in 
their removal, point him out to us as the right man in 
the right place, in charge of this much needed expedition 
for the removal of the band of Modocs to tlieir reserva- 
tion, for which we, your petitioners, will ever pray. 

Signed by I. N. Shook, Samuel Colver, James H. 
Calahan. Simpson Wilson, Thomas Wilson, Frank Plef- 
ling, David P. Shook, James Ninson, I. J. Brattam, G. 
S. Miller, H. Duncan, Edwin Crook, D. C. Kilgore. A. 
C. Modie, Joseph Langell, O. H. Swingle, C. A. Miller, 
Willis Hall, I. C. Turindge, E. Hall, G. B. Van Riper, 
H. Hall, P. H. Springer, I. T. Heant, J. V. Kuhn, Jo- 
seph Seeds, H. Berlmann, John E. Naylor, Thomas Cal- 
lar, George Vuen, G. M. Rambo, Edward Overton, 
Drury Davis, William Roberts, W. Dingman, John Gatt- 
rod, John Gleim, W. Hicks, W. PI. Miller, O. A. 
Stearns, Isaac Harris, O. L. Stearns, George Thomas, 
John Fulkerson. 

The condition of affairs at this time is plainly 
set forth in a letter written by Jesse Applegate 
on February I, 1872, to A. B. Meacham, superin- 
tendent of Indian affairs. Mr. Applegate's let- 
ter in part was as follows: 

Having broken away from the reservation in de- 
fiance of the agent and the military, and conciliatory 
means alone resorted to to induce them to return, they 
(the Modocs) have misunderstood your forbearance 
and humanity, and think your policy dictated by weak- 
ness and fear, and the impunity with which they com- 
mit aggressions and levy "blackmail" upon the settlers, 
encourages and confirms that belief. 

From advices from that quarter, their arrogance and 
impudence have been greater than ever before, and the 
patience and forbearance of the settlers most inclined 
to peace is well nigh exhausted. 

The Indians help themselves to what they want when 
by intimidation they fail to obtain permission. Instead 
of a more friendly feeling growing up between the 
races, the hatred of one and the assurance of the other 
is by this conduct continually intensified, and open hos- 
tilities may any day 'commence between them. This 
state of affairs discourages new settlers, and keeps those 
in the country in a feverish state of uneasiness and 
alarm, and instead of their increased numbers driving 
the Indians into better behavior, the number of Indians 
are constantly recruited by the bad and discontented 
60 



flung to them from the neighboring reservations, and 
they being concentrated in a body, they actually hold 
the settlements on Lost and Link rivers at their mercy, 
and being perfectly aware of the fact, they use it to 
their own advantage. 

But at last the military authorities took action 
for the protection of the settlers. February 16, 
1872, orders were issued from the headquarters 
of the Department of the Columbia, at Portland, 
to the commanding officer of the district of the 
lakes, at Camp Warner, to establish a force of 
fifty or sixty cavalrymen at some point in the 
threatened country with a view of giving protec- 
tion to the settlers. These troops were to be 
taken in nearly equal proportions from Fort Kla- 
math and Camp Warner, and Yainix Station on 
Sprague river, was suggested as a suitable place 
from which to operate. This order was not in- 
tended as a demonstration of war, as the follow- 
ing paragraph in the letter of instructions will 
show : 

"You will be careful to impress upon the com- 
manding officer that the object in view is not to 
make war upon the Modocs, but if possible to 
avert war by preventing collisions between them 
and the settlers, and taking such other measures 
as may be necessary to keep the peace and secure 
the settlers from depredations and hostilities. * 
* * But if hostilities should actually be com- 
menced or be inevitable, the most prompt and 
energetic measures must be adopted to suppress 
and punish them, and to this end all the resources 
in men and material at the posts in the district of 
the lakes will be at your disposal." 

During this time the question of selecting a 
new location for the Modocs was being duly con- 
sidered by the commissioner of Indian affairs at 
Washington, D. C. Owing to the inability of the 
Modocs and Klamaths to live peaceably on the 
Klamath reservation, it appeared desirable to 
some that a new location should be secured for 
the Modocs. This plan had been suggested by 
Superintendent A. B. Meacham to the department 
at Washington, he having recommended that a 
small reservation be made for the Modocs at the 
north end of Tule lake, but no action was taken 
by the department along that line. 

The fact that no action was taken by the gov- 
ernment toward granting a new reservation for 
the Modocs cannot, by any possibility, be con- 
strued as a mistake on its part. By treaty the 
Modoc Indians had agreed to live on the reserva- 
tion, and had ceded their Lost river iands to the 
L nited States ; the greater portion of them were 
willing to remain on the reservation. Here were 
the conditions : Captain Jack, who represented 
only the worst element of the tribe and whose au- 



.946 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



. thority as chief of the Modocs the government 
' did not recognize, had taken a small part of the 
tribe and, in defiance of the treaty, was assuming 
control, and ownership of a country in which 
he had no right to live. With this cut-throat 
..element of the Modocs he wanted a reservation 
, in the heart of a country which was settled by 
.whites with no protection against the lawless 
deeds of the Indians. Had a reservation been 
granted them on Lost river conditions would have 
remained the same as we find at this date, and 
- the settlers would have lived in constant fear of 
attack and would have been obliged to suffer from 
.their thievery and threats. Aside from these 
-conditions the effect on other Indians would have 
proved unfavorable. They would have seen that 
a treaty was not to be considered binding and 
that when they desired to repudiate it and se- 
cure a new location, all they would have to do 
would be to leave; intimidate all the settlers in 
the country to which they moved ; commit a few 
depredations and the government, fearful of an 
outbreak, would readily grant them all they 
asked. 

We desire to state here positively that the plan 
of granting a new reservation to the Modocs was 
an impossibility. In our opinion if any error was 
.committed by the authorities during and preced- 
ing the Modoc war, it was not in refusing to 
grant the reservation on Lost river. 

We have previously stated that the cause of 
; the Modoc war was the refusal of these Indians 
; to live upon the Klamath reservation, coupled 
■ with the attempt of military authorities to remove 
-, them. To everyone that fact was patent. But 
; the Modoc war would never have broken out had 
.there not been another cause — a cause which it 
us necessary to detail in order that a faithful his- 
tory may be presented. This was the relation 
existing between the Modocs and certain resi- 
dents of California, notably those of Yreka. For 
many years while the Modocs were living on the 
lands of Lost river all their trade and business 
lelations had been with the people of that Cali- 
fornia town. Many of the Modoc squaws had 
/become wives of white men of Yreka. The In- 
dians were treated fairly by Yreka people, and 
; through long intercourse had come to look upon 
t them as friends and advisors. 

Such were the actual conditions when the 
; Modocs became dissatisfied with their treaty ob- 
ligations and refused to live on Klamath reser- 
vation. Flad it not been for the advice of their 
Yreka friends they would have been easily per- 
: suaded to do so, and there would have been no 
. Modoc War. 

At tine several times when attempts were made 
ao get the Captain Jack band of Indians to go 



back, this advice from Yreka was each time' en- 
countered, and it balked the efforts of the su- 
perintendent of Indian affairs in the accomplish- 
ment of his mission. Practically this advice from 
Yreka to Captain Jack was : "We are your 
friends and will stay by you. The Oregon of- 
ficers have no authority over you. Stay where 
you are on your Lost river lands and we will 
see that you are not removed, but that your 
homes shall be there forever." 

These statements are not from hearsay evi- 
dence, but are made from letters which were 
turned over by Captain Jack when efforts were 
made to remove him. This advice did not come 
from irresponsible parties, but from men of high 
standing at Yreka. However, there can be only 
one explanation for such advice — selfishness. Had 
the Modocs been removed to the reservation 
Yreka would have been deprived of a profitable 
trade with the band. These Yreka men knew of 
the treaty of 1864 and that the Modoc Indians 
had no legal or moral right to the lands on. Lost 
river. 

So when attempts were made to remove Cap- 
tain Jack's band the commissioner was met by a 
haughty chief. "My white friends tell me to stay 
here," argued Jack. "You of Oregon have no 
authority over me. I shall never go to the reser- 
vation." Without this advice and promised sup- 
port from Yreka these Indians would have been 
placed on the reservation with very little diffi- 
culty and the Modoc war would have been 
averted. 

Along the same lines was the part taken by 
the large stockmen just over the line in Cali- 
fornia. It is the history of the west that stock- 
men have always discouraged settlement by farm- 
ers, and these large stockowners of Northern 
California, who ranged their cattle up into the 
present Klamath country, did not wish to see the 
country settled. Their influence was thrown to 
the side of the Indians in their contentions for 
their old lands on Lost river. 

This California influence was apparent 
throughout the war and the several propositions 
to grant the Modocs a reservation on Lost river 
were considered by the Washington authorities 
originated in Yreka, California. That this re- 
grettable stand taken by Yreka parties resulted 
in a prolongation of the war, as well as being 
the actual cause of it, is apparent. Through it, 
and the first reports of the war sent out to the 
world from Yreka, a decidedly wrong idea was 
conveyed. These reports were wired by people 
who were interested in retaining the trade of the 
Modocs, and were all prepared from the Indian 
point of view. In fact, the correspondents at 
Yreka at the outset, had no data from which to 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



947 



write their stories except that as told by the 
Indians themselves. Because of this the reading 
public did (and were justified in doing so) believe 
that the Modocs were a much abused people and 
were fighting for a principle much the same as 
our forefathers did in the War of the Revolution. 
Influence from all parts of the country was 
brought to bear on the authorities to grant the 
Modocs a reservation on Lost river. So strong 
was it that this was nearly done, despite the 
"better judgment of the authorities. No greater 
mistake could have been made. 

In February, 1872, Superintendent Meacham 
suggested to General Canby that either Linkville 
or Langell's valley would be a more eligible point 
for the cavalry to operate from than the other 
suggested point, Yainix. Either of these two 
places was only four or five hours' ride from the 
Modoc camp, and with no mountains between, 
while Yainix was some 50 or 60 miles from the 
camp and in the vicinage of a rough country. 
It was the opinion of Superintendent Meacham 
that the presence of the cavalry at either of these 
places would have the effect of intimidating the 
hostiles and at the same time afford assurance to 
the settlers which would not be the case were 
the cavalry stationed at Yainix. The suggestion 
of the superintendent was put into effect ; the 
troops came direct to the threatened country. 

In accordance with instructions from head- 
quarters of the Department of the Columbia, 
Major Elmer Otis, commanding at Camp 
Warner, left that point March 15, 1872, to move 
on the threatened country. With him was a de- 
tachment of two officers, Captain D. Perry and 
Second Lieutenant J. G. Kyle ; Acting Assistant 
Surgeon L. L. Dorr ; Chief Packer Mason Mc- 
Coy, Guide and Interpreter Donald McKay ; twen- 
ty-seven enlisted men and a pack train of 25 
mules. He proceeded first to Fort Klamath, ar- 
riving there March 24th. On the 30th Major 
Otis sent Guide and Interpreter Donald McKay, 
with four Indians, to invite the Indians to a con- 
ference ten miles from Link river, east, on Lost 
river, at a place called the "Gap." This con- 
ference was to be held without the presence of 
troops. 

April 1st the command started for Link river. 
The force was augmented by a detachment from 
Fort Klamath as follows: Lieutenant Moss, Act- 
ing Assistant Surgeon C. W. Knight, 23 enlisted 
men and ten pack mules. The command reached 
Link river on the following day. It was met 
here by McKay and also by two messengers from 
Captain Jack. Following a considerable "pow 
wow" with the messengers it was learned that 
Captain Jack would meet Major Otis at the Can 
on the following day, April 3d, provided he would 



bring no troops. Major Otis took with him 
Major J. N. High; sub-Indian agent of the 
Klamath agency, and I. D. Applegate, commis- 
sary at Yainix agency ; Interpreter Donald Mc- 
Kay and the four Indian scouts and proceeded 
to the Gap. About noon Captain Jack, with some 
35 or 40 Indians made their appearance, all 
armed. However, Jack left some of his arms 
on the opposite side of the river. The council 
began between Major Otis, Captain Jack and 
about 35 of his warriors. Some of the neighbors, 
settlers in the vicinity, also made their appearance. 
Following is a report of the conference written 
by Edward Everett Young, the substance of 
which was gained from an interview with Major 
J. N. High, who was at that time Indian agent : 

Jack and his warriors, who were divided into three 
bands, occupied what is known as the Tule lake dis- 
trict, 15 to 40 miles south and east of the Klamath 
Falls. Colonel E. Otis, a field officer of the United 
States army, and Major J. N. High, the then Indian 
agent, met Ivan Applegate at the town of Linkville, 
and after consultation decided to communicate with 
Captain Jack through a squaw known as "Mary," and 
arrange for a friendly meeting next day. 

The woman left Klamath Falls soon after dark on 
this May night. She rode a horse and promised to re- 
turn with her message from Jack at dawn the next 
morning. This she did, reporting that Jack would see 
the commission that day without arms and with only 
an equal number of men. It was understood that Cap- 
tain Oliver C. Applegate, who was then in charge of 
thet sub-agency at Yainax, on the reservation, should 
join them the next day and act as secretary of the com- 
mission, which he did. With him came Dave Hill, the 
Indian, always friendly to the whites, and one other 
Indian. These then made up the party representing the 
white men and the government, which went out on that 
occasion to meet one of the fiercest Indian warriors of 
whom border history makes any note. Colonel E. 
Otis, United States Army. Major J. N. High, Govern- 
ment Indian agent at the time; Captain O. C. Apple- 
gate, in charge of the sub-agency at Yainax ; Ivan 
Applegate, pioneer, interpreter and general defender of 
the settlers ; Dave Hill, the friendly Klamath Indian 
from the reservation. 

The party arrived at the rendezvous on time, but 
no Indians were visible. The meeting place was in an 
abandoned dwelling situated in Lost river gap, about 
ten miles from here to the southeast. Finally the In- 
dians were seen coming horseback and following the 
Lost river road, which afforded the whites only a par- 
tial view by glimpses, and the number of Indians could 
not be determined. Major High maintains that there 
were 70 in the band, while Captain Applegate is of the 
opinion that there were not more than 50. They rode 
to a clump of small trees in a flat bend of Lost river, 



948 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



and there detailed men from their band to hold their 
horses. Later developments showed them to have been 
armed with Winchesters and revolvers. They left 
their rifles behind with their horses, but wore their 
pistols as also did the whites, despite the former pre- 
caution. 

So soon as Captain Jack and his warriors approach- 
ed the meeting house it was observed by the Apple- 
gates, who understood these tribes thoroughly, that 
they were hostile, and but rudely concealed their pre- 
determined plan to murder the entire commission. 
They did not greet the commission when they arrived 
but elbowed their way into the cabin where the council 
was to be held. Captain Oliver Applegate went in- 
stantly in among them to determine whether they bore 
side arms. This he soon ascertained by rubbing up 
against them and feeling the butts of their pistols 
through their clothing. He quietly gave his associates 
to understand that Jack and his warriors were to mur- 
der all the whites and the friendly Indians. There 
seemed to be no other recourse but to proceed with the 
business of the peace commission, await results and 
take chances, which at best looked like certain death. At 
this point Major High will be introduced and allowed 
to tell his story in his own modest way: 

"There was only one door to the little abandoned 
dwelling in which we met. It was formerly occupied 
by a pioneer named Galbraith. There was a little table 
on the left of the door as one entered. On the side 
toward the door sat Colonel Otis and on the other side 
sat Captain O. C. Applegate. He was acting as sec- 
retary for the commission, reducing all questions and 
answers to writing to be submitted to Washington. Ivan 
Applegate was the interpreter, and while Captain Jack 
could speak fairly good English, he preferred to speak 
through an interpreter on this and other similar occa- 
sions. I was sitting on the right of Colonel Otis and 
nearest the door. The cabin was packed with Indians. 
They were in an ugly humor and their questions and 
answers and general demeanor did not please Colonel 
Otis. Finally, appearing somewhat exasperated and evi- 
dently discouraged at the prospect of not arriving at 
any satisfactory understanding, he gave vent to a re- 
mark expressing his feelings, and at the same time 
wrenched his belt around, bringing his revolver to the 
front and within easy reach. All the commissioners 
followed suit. Scar Face Charley, Jack's chief lieuten- 
ant, was standing near me and a little in front. He 
looked down at me, and, observing my revolver's hilt, 
asked with a sneer what I thought I was going to do 
with that. I answered that they had come to kill us, but 
that some of them would die as well. I told him that 
I would get him the first one. 

Captain Jack had been sitting across the room 
against the wall and his keen eye and ear had seen and 
heard what had passed between Scar Face Charley and 
myself. He came swiftly to us and asked us what we 
were quarreling about, but before I could reply beck- 



oned me to follow him outside. I felt sure that I 
could see my finish. I went. As we passed out of the 
door Jack said something to Charley in their native 
tongue, but under his breath. I want to divert here to 
say that while in the cabin and expecting that every' 
minute would be our last. I could not but observe the 
calmness and serenity of Captain Applegate, whose 
hand never even trembled in his writing, although he 
knew that any scratch of the pen might have been- 
his last. 

"Jack and I walked about ten paces from the cabin, 
when he suggested that we lie down under some small 
underbrush. We talked there I think about an hour. I' 
was not in the best of humor, and upbraided him, charg- 
ing that he had evidently come to a peace conference 
with his warriors instructed to murder us. He looked 
at me silently for a few minutes and then answered that 
he had come there to kill us all. He spoke fairly good 
English. I began to reason with him. I asked him 
what he wanted ; what he was holding out for. He an- 
swered that he wanted for his people the Tule lake 
district, and explained that without its grasses and fish 
products neither their ponies nor themselves could sub- 
sist. He explained that the section in question had be- 
longed to their fathers before them ; that the only way 
to insure peace between them and the Klamaths was to 
build a stone wall from the earth to the sky, not meaning 
a material one, but a legal one; one which it would be 
death for either one to cross. He grew excited and' 
jabbed a stick in the ground with his right hand, re- 
marking as he did it, that he would hold that country, 
meaning the Tule lake district and the lava beds or die 
in the attempt. 

"I tried to show him that he was taking the wrong 
course by deciding to murder us. I explained that I" 
was the agent of the government, and willing to treat 
him and his people fairly ; that I was not his personal 
enemy; that bloodshed would delay him in getting what 
he wanted. I told him that the Applegates had always 
been the Indians' friends when the latter were in the 
right, and that they were the interpreter and secretary 
of our commission, and that at present we could not 
present the Modocs' claim, etc., at Washington with- 
out the assistance of the Applegates. He seemed to fol- 
low me closely, and hope began to revive for myself and 
companions. I told him that Colonel Otis had never 
done him a wrong, but was a field officer of the United' 
States Army, and if Jack's band killed Otis the army 
would send enough soldiers out to surely kill Jack and 
his people. I promised that if he would give us time 
the matter would be submitted to Washington and he 
would be heard. 

"Finally he fixed his piercing eye on me and looked 
at me with an expression of disappointment and anger 
which I shall never forget, and then slowly said : 

" 'I came here to-day to kill you all, but you have 
changed my mind for the present. You and your- 
friends may go this time, but I'll be if I don't 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



949 



kill the next peace commissioners who come near me. 
I'm tired of this talk, talk, all time talk.' 

"I thanked him and suggested at once that he go 
into the cabin and so inform his warriors, to which he 
replied : 

" 'When we left the cabin I said to Scar Face, you 
not kill until I come back ; so your people are safe.' 

''I then understood what he had muttered to his 
lieutenant as we passed out of the door. Our commis- 
sion returned all safe, but Jack kept his oath and Gen- 
eral Canby and Rev. Mr. Thomas of the next commis- 
sion were murdered and A. B. Meacham would have 
been had not a friendly squaw now on the reservation 
and known as Toby Riddle, ran in and cried out that 
the soldiers were coming. As it was Meacham was 
scalped, but the scalp was left dangling in the rush for 
safety. 

"I asked Jack on that occasion if I could take my 
wife and mother, who were sick, from Klamath Falls 
to Red Bluffs, California, where I would reach the rail- 
road. His warriors infested the mountains interven- 
ing, and plains, and life was not safe. He told me that 
"he would guarantee that I could make the trip unmo- 
lested. I agreed to get ready and start on a certain 
day, which I did. Sikes Warden drove the ambulance, 
and George Barge drove the wagon for us. We trav- 
eled the first day and camped the first night and saw no 
Indians. The second night about one o'clock, I was 
sitting at my right front wagon wheel smoking. My 
wife and mother were sound asleep. I looked to my 
right, and there, not three feet from my side stood an 
Indian warrior, tall, straight and silent as a post. M\ 
hair seemed to push my cap off my head. I swallowed 
my heart back a time or two, and then exclaimed : 

"'What do you want here?' to which came the an- 
swer in English : 'Nothing.' 

"I then asked, 'where are you going?' He an- 
swered, 'Nowhere.' 

"I then ventured, 'Did you come here to fight?' 
At this he broke into a real, hearty laugh, a wild laugh 
which rang out on the night air almost like an echo 
from hell. Between his fits of laughter he finally ejacu- 
lated : 'If I had come to fight you would not now be 
here to talk.' 

"This reassured me completely. I realized in- 
stantly that what he said was absolutely true. He then 
motioned me to a log a few feet away, and after as- 
suring me again of his friendly mission, said : 'Cap- 
tain Jack tell me watch you three days and two nights. 
Any Indian make ready to kill you I say to them Cap- 
tain Jack say no. I near you all day yesterday, all 
night last night ; all day today and night. Tomorrow 
I be near you all day. Tomorrow night I leave you. 
You then be near Red Bluff.' 

"So saying he vanished into the darkness and I 
never saw him more. Again alone in the forest, sur- 
rounded by blood-thirsty savages known to be on the 
warpath, I sat and thought over the strange, contra- 



dictory elements of character possessed by the unfor- 
tunate Jack. He had merely given me his word that I 
should not suffer while passing through his alleged ter- 
ritory or that occupied by his men, and yet he had sent 
one of his men to shadow me all the way and protect 
me from his own men. Yet about seven months later 
Jack and his men killed General Canby and Rev. Mr. 
Thomas of the next peace commission. Jack paid for 
his perfidy on the gallows at Fort Klamath, October 3, 
1873." 

With all due respect for Major High, and 
with our knowledge of his services at the con- 
ference, and his intention of giving an accurate 
account of the event, there are a few corrections 
which the author deems necessary to make. This 
is in order that the report of the peace commis- 
sion may stand as unimpeachahle history. Our 
authority for these corrections is from a source 
that cannot be disregarded. 

Major High has placed the number of Indians 
present at 70 ; there were, probably, not to ex- 
ceed one-half of that number. We, also, believe 
that Major High has considerably overestimated 
the danger to the party who composed the com- 
mission. AYhile subsequent events fairly proved 
that Captain Jack and his associates were cold- 
blooded cut-throats, capable of the basest treach- 
ery ; while those present realized fully the char- 
acter of the savages with whom they were deal- 
ing ; while there was more or less danger, as there 
invariably was when in contact with this, the 
worst element of the Modoc tribe, the fears that 
were entertained bv Major High were not mani- 
fested by the other members of the party. We 
believe that there was no more than the ordinary 
danger attached to the meeting. 

The fact that Captain Jack provided a guard 
for the familv of Major High in their trip out of 
the country is, certainly, worthy of consideration, 
and was so regarded by himself. It was an ex- 
ceotion to Jack's general conduct. We have 
talked with a number of veterans of the Modoc 
War. Some of them had had personal acquaint- 
ance with Captain Jack and members of his com- 
pany. Their testimony is almost unanimous that 
Jack was a savage of savages : a red man who was 
not noble ; a man with no decency of character 
and without honor; one who possessed none of 
the traits with which he was accredited by a few 
people, most of whom, however, lived east of 
the Appalachian ransre of mountains. 

We present here the official report of the con- 
ference as marie bv Major Otis to the Assistant 
Arljutant General of the Department of the 
Columbia : 

On the 3d of, April. 7872. Major Elmer Otis, First 
Cavalry, held a talk with Captain Jack, chief of the 



95Q 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Modoc Indians, at "the Gap" on Lost river, Oregon. 
Mr. High, sub-agent of the Klamath agency, and Mr. 
Applegate, commissary at Yainax station, and about 35 
men of the Modoc tribe being present. 

Major Otis informed Captain Jack that settlers 
complain that his band frighten women and children 
at their homes during the absence of the men, by going 
about armed and demanding food ; that the Modocs 
have stolen cattle, and hay for their ponies and turned 
their animals in to graze, or have tramped down the 
grass in hay fields while in the pursuit of game ; that 
these acts charged as committed during the past winter, 
and still continued. 

Captain Jack was warned that he must restrain or 
punish his men, or the whites would do it. He was re- 
minded that the country in which he lived did not be- 
long to his tribe, having been ceded by the Klamath 
tribe, which the Modocs signed ; that his band were 
only suffered to remain where they are until the presi- 
dent can determine the propriety of giving them a 
suitable portion of land to live on apart from the Kla- 
maths, and he was warned that he must control his 
men thoroughly and prevent their further molesting 
the settlers and that troops would, for the present, be 
kept in the neighborhood to secure their quiet and good 
order. 

Major Otis demanded of Captain Jack that he 
keep his Indians apart from the settlers, except when 
they desired to work; that when in need of food they 
should go to Camp Warner for supplies, but under no 
circumstances go armed among the settlers to demand 
food or steal it. 

Captain Jack at first denied these charges, and 
throughout the talk evaded, as far as possible, direct 
answers to specific charges against his band. He en- 
deavored to convey the impression that if these thefts 
had been committed at all, they were the acts of the 
Klamaths (to which tribe the Modocs are hostile) or 
of other Indians, and that his own disposition, and that 
of his tribe, was friendly. 

When Major Otis arrived in Linkville with 
his troops early in April, 1872, at the time of 
the conference with Captain Jack, he interviewed 
many of the settlers there and in the vicinity in 
regard to the conditions. The evidence was al- 
most unanimous. They asserted that in 1870 
and 1871 they, the settlers, were either located 
or seeking suitable sites for ranches in the Lost 
river country, or in the neighborhood of Tule 
lake ; that after leaving the Klamath reservation 
in 1870, the Modocs claimed the entire country in 
that vicinity, and demanded compensation for 
ranching, or for hay cut ; that they stole, com- 
mitted depredations, assumed a hostile attitude 
and excited such fears for the safety of their 
property, and in a few cases for life, so as to drive 
them (the settlers) from the country. Such was 



the evidence adduced from the testimony of 
Messrs. Poe, Bull, G. S. Miller, Charles Monroe, 
George Nurse, Drury Davis, Joseph Seeds, Hud- 
son, Applegate, Forcythe and Trip, residents of 
the Klamath country. 

On the other hand two settlers, Henry Miller, 
later killed by the Indians, and Mr. Ball, who re- 
resided respectively ten and six miles from 
the Modoc camp, stated that they had not been 
molested, and did not believe that the Modocs 
had committed any of the crimes of which they 
were accused. Both were friendly to Captain 
Jack and accompanied that chief to the confer- 
ence with Major Otis. 

The intentions of the military authorities at 
the time troops were sent to the Modoc country 
are shown by the following extract from a letter 
by General Canby dated April 17, 1872: 

I propose to hold the Modocs under quiet super- 
vision for the present, by keeping a detachment of cav- 
alry at this point, selected by Major Otis for the pur- 
pose of exercising a salutary restraint upon the Indians 
and preventing any collision between them and the set- 
tlers. The temper of both parties is such that a very 
slight cause may give rise to serious consequence. 

Nothing having been accomplished by Major 
Otis' attempts to bring about a peaceable removal 
of the Modocs in April, conditions remained 
about the same as formerly during the summer of 
1872. The Washington authorities were wrest- 
ling with the question of what to do with the- 
Modoc Indians. At last the proposed plan of 
giving them a new reservation was discarded and 
in the latter part of November, 1872, F. B. Ode- 
neal, superintendent of Indian affairs for Oregon, 
having replaced Mr. Meacham, received instruc- 
tions from the Commissioner of Indian affairs at 
Washington to remove the Modocs to Camp 
Yainax of the Klamath reservation, "peaceably 
if you possibly can, but forcibly if you must."" 
The superintendent went at once to Link river to 
arrange for a conference with the Indian chiefs. 
The band which were defying the authorities 
numbered about eighty warriors all well armed. 
Mr. Odeneal sent I. D. Applegate to the camp of 
the Modocs to arrange for a conference to be held 
at Link river. Mr. Applegate returned bearing 
a haughty answer from the Modocs. They defi- 
antly declined to meet the superintendent. They 
authorized Mr. Applegate to say that they did not 
desire to see or talk with Mr. Odeneal, and that 
they would not go upon the Klamath reservation. 

In a communication to Major John Green, 
commanding the forces at Fort Klamath, dated 
November 27, the superintendent in accordance 
with his instructions from the commissioner of 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



95 i l 



Indian affairs, called upon the military authori- 
ties to force the Modocs to go to Camp Yainax 
on the Klamath reservation. The matter of com- 
pelling the Modocs to go to the reservation was 
on this date transferred from the department of 
Indian affairs to the military. The hostile In- 
dians at this time were encamped near the mouth 
of Lost river. Just previous to the commence- 
ment of hostilities they were in three bands, as 
follows : 

Captain Jack, with several warriors and their 
families, about three miles from the mouth of Lost 
river, on the west side. 

Hooka Jim, a petty chief, with his band, oc- 
cupied the shore of Tule lake, east of the mouth 
of Lost river, in Oregon. 

The Hot Creek band were camped on the 
south side of Little Klamath lake, in California, 
some twenty-five miles from Captain Jack's band 
in a southwesterly direction. 

November 28th order 93 was issued from 
Fort- Klamath signed by F. A. Boutelle, adjutant, 
by order of Major Green. This was for Captain 
James Jackson, First U. S. Cavalry, with all the 
available men of his troop to proceed at once via 
Link river, to Captain Jack's camp, endeavoring 
to reach there before the following morning. If 
any opposition was offered on the part of the 
Modocs to the requirements of the superinten- 
dent of Indian affairs, Captain Jackson was or- 
dered, if possible, to arrest Captain Jack, Black 
Jim and Scar Face Charley. His orders were to 
accomplish the desires of the superintendent with- 
out bloodshed, if possible, but if the Indians re- 
fused to obey the orders of the government he 
was ordered to use such force as should be neces- 
sary to compel them to do so ; "and the respon- 
sibility must rest on the Indians who defy the 
authority of the government." 

Laptain Jackson left Fort Klamath at nine 
o'clock on the morning of the 28th and at once 
proceeded to the camp of the Modocs. Then en- 
sued the first battle of the Modoc War. Follow- 
ing is a graphic report of the, same, and the events 
leading up to it as related by Ivan Applegate : 

At noon on the 28th day of November, 1872, Cap- 
tain Jackson with 35 men of Company B, First United 
States Cavalry, left Fort Klamath and arrived at the 
pioneer town of Linkville at a little after dark. Here 
he met Superintendent Odeneal and received instruct- 
ions as follows : 

"When you arrive at the camp of the Modocs, re- 
quest an interview with their head men and 
say to them that you did not come to fight 
or to harm them, but to have them go peacea- 
bly to Camp Yainax on Klamath reservation, 
where ample provisions have been made for their com- 



fort and subsistence, and where, by treaty, they agreed. 1! 
to live. Talk kindly but firmly to them, and whatever 
else you may do, I desire to urge that if there is any: 
fighting let the Indians be the aggressors. Fire no gun 1 
except in self-defense, after they have first fired upon i 
you. I. D. Applegate will accompany you as my repre- - 
sentative ; he will also act as guide and interpreter." 
During that dark, rainy night we made our way 
from Linkville dcwn the Klamath valley towards the 
stone bridge on Lost river, where Captain Jack was 
encamped on the west side of the river. About a third 
of his forces und-r Hooka Jim and the Curley-Headed' 
doctor and some other of his trusty lieutenants were- 
encamped on the east side of the river near the T^ennis; 
Crowley cabin. 

We found it very difficult in the darkness to make 
our way through the heavy sage brush, for we had to 
leave the road in order to avoid being discovered by 
the wily Indians who doubtless were observing us 
closely as possible every movement. We followed along, 
the foot of the chain of hills west from Lost river and 1 
at daybreak" we were about one mile west of the Modoc 
camp, which was at that point on the river bank where' 
Dan Colwell's residence now stands. 

The company was formed into two platoons and' 
we rode directly through the village and halted upon 
the river bank, facing the encampment. As 'we came 
near the river Scar Face Charley, who had crossed just 
before we came up, fired at us from the other side 
of the river, shouting at the same time to arouse the 
sleeping Indians. In a moment there was great ex- 
citement and commotion. As soon as the men were 
dismounted and advanced in line, standing at order- 
arms "in front of the horses, I was directed to enter 
the camp to see Captain Jack and inform him of our 
friendly mission and assure him that no harm was ■ 
intended but that he would be required to remove with • 
his people to the reservation. Going from camp to 
camp I was not able to find Captain Jack. As I came 
out of one of the huts I saw Scar Face coming up the- 
river bank. As he passed Major Jackson, who was- 
still mounted, the major ordered him to halt, .at the 
same time drawing his revolver. To this Scar Face- 
paid no attention, but came on into the village, all the 
time haranguing his people and demanding that they 
fight to the death ; telling them that if they would be 
quick enough they could kill every soldier without the 
loss of a man. With an oath he rushed past me and 
went into Bogus Charley's tent, and in a moment both 
Scar Face and Bogus appeared with their guns drawn 
and called to the women and children to throw them- 
selves flat • on the ground. Then I knew that they 
were going to fire upon us. I immediately started 
toward our men, saying, "Major, they are going to 
fire." At this the major ordered Lieutenant Boutelle, 
who stood in advance of the line, to take four men anct 
arrest the two Indians who had guns in their hands. 
As Boutelle stepped forward with the four men the 



952 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 




two Indians fired. The warriors in the camps and in 
the heavy sage brush in the rear of the village, fired 
almost simultaneously. Then all was din and com- 
motion ; men were falling in the line; the riderless horses 
were dashing here and there and kicking among us, 
but instantly came the order from the brave major, 
"fire !" The attack was so sudden and desperate, the 
Modocs rushing on to us with demoniac yells, that the 
men were forced back a step or two, and is seemed for 
a moment that the thinned line would yield and break. 
But immediately came the order, "forward !" and it 
was like an inspiration. The men sprang forward under 
the leadership of the brave Boutelle, delivering a 
deadly fire, and the Indians were forced back. Scar 
Face's first shot struck Boutelle's revolver, disabling 
it, and cutting through the sleeve of his blouse, passed 
through the clothing on his right shoulder. Scar Face 
was knocked down by a bullet which cut through the 
handkerchief he had tied around his head, and Watch- 
man, Captain Jack's most daring lieutenant, fell, riddled 
with bullets almost at our feet. Boutelle's calmness 
saved us. Speaking to his men coolly and confidently, 
he led the charge into and through the village, driv- 
ing the Indians out, advancing his skirmish line far 
beyond the heavy sage brush. 

O. C. Applegate, who was to take charge of . Cap- 
tain Jack's band in case they came onto the reserva- 
tion, rode from his station at Yainax on November 
28th, reaching Linkville (Klamath Falls) late in the 
evening. Superintendent Odeneal informed him of the 
movement on foot and requesting him to be present 
t© assist in securing, if possible, a peaceable removal 
of "the Modocs. With the Klamath scout, Dave Hill, 
and five trusty citizens, he forded Lost river near "the 
Lone Pine that night and reached the Crowley cabin, 
near Hooka Jim's camp, about daylight on the morn- 
ing of' the 29th, finding there Messenger Brown of the 
Indian Department, Dennis Crowley, Dan Colwell and 
a few other citizens. When daylight revealed the 
presence of the cavalry in Captain Jack's camp, Hooka's 
men made a rush for their canoes, evidently to , re- 
enforce Captain Jack, but were prevented by the citi- 
zens. The object of the authorities was explained 
to the Indians and a few of them were in the act of 
giving up their arms when the firing began at Captain 
Jack's camp. Instantly the Modocs fired on the citi- 
zens and a fierce fight at close range took place, so 
that looking across the river during the fight with 
Captain Jack, we could see another battle going on 
almost opposite to us. Two citizens, Jack Thurber 
and William Nus were killed and Joe Penning was 
maimed for life, and the Indians securing their horses, 
which were near at hand, escaped to the long, rocky 
ridge east .of where the Frank Adams farm is now 
located; while the citizens rallied at the Crowley 
cabin. 

Captain Jack, with most of his best and most 
desperate men, had made good his escape, although at 



at the time both he and Scar Face were reported killed, 
even by the prisoners. We had lost Sergeant Harris, 
killed, and as nearly as I can remember, six men 
were mortally wounded, and several others painfully 
though not dangerously hurt. Among the Indians 
killed were Watchman and We-sing-ko-pos, leading 
warriors, and Black Jim, Long Jim and Miller's 
Charley were among the wounded. The loss on our 
side amounted to nearly a third of the military force 
then in the field and was quite sufficient to disable 
Captain Jackson's small force for the time being. 

After the fight Captain Jackson sent his wounded 
across the river in a canoe, Dave Hill being the oars- 
man ; Surgeon McElderry and a few more as a guard 
were also taken over and the men were conveyed to the 
Crowley cabin. The remaining troopers mounted their 
jaded horses and, as there was no ford in the vicinity, 
hastily rode up toward the Stukel ford, seven miles 
distant. Before arriving at the ford word reached 
them that Jack and his infuriated men had renewed the 
fight. Looking toward Tule lake great volumes of 
smoke could be seen arising from burning buildings. 
Dashing through the rapid, the poor horses seemed to 
realize the awful situation as they put renewed effort 
down the river with utmost speed on the east side and 
soon the cavalry rode on to the ground where the 
citizens and Hooka's men had so lately fought, but 
the wily savage was wreaking vengeance on the in- 
offensive settlers beyond the ridge, on the plains at 
the head of Tule lake. 

The butchering and devastation on Ty.le lake had 
already begun, and eighteen settlers were added that 
day to the long list of Modoc victims. The Modoc 
War was fairly inaugurated. A war, short, terrible 
and dramatic, but the unwritten history of which would 
fill volumes. From the beginning until the 3d of 
October. 1873, when the curtain fell upon the last scene 
of the tragic drama, the execution of Captain Jack, 
Black Jim, Schonchin John and Boston Charley for 
the peace commission massacre, it abounded in thrill- 
ing incidents and startling adventures. 

It is here proper to add to the a'hove two offic- 
ial reports made by Captain Jackson concerning 
this opening battle of the Modoc War, November 

29, 1872. Although each report covers certain 
features of the same event, the two should be 
read together in order to properly understand the 
circumstances from Captain Jackson's view point : 

Crowley's Ranch, Lost River. Oregon, November 

30, 1872 : Major — I have the honor to report that I 
jumped the camp of Captain Jack's Modoc Indians 
yesterday morning, soon after daylight, completely 
surprising them. 

I demanded their surrender and disarming, and 
asked for a parley with Captain Jack. Captain Jack, 
Scar Face Charley. Black Jim and some others would 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



953 



neither lay down their arms nor surrender, and some 
of" them commenced making hostile demonstrations 
against us, and finally opened fire. I immediately pour- 
ed volley after volley among the hostile Indians, took 
their camp, killed eight or nine warriors and drove the 
rest into the hills. During the engagement I had one 
man killed and seven wounded, three of the last severe- 
ly and, perhaps, dangerously. 

The band that I attacked was on the south side of 
the river; another smaller band on the north side was 
attacked by a party of ten or twelve citizens, and their 
surrender demanded; but when, the firing commenced 
in Captain Jack's camp, these Indians opened on the 
citizens, and drove them to the refuge of Crowley's 
ranch. One citizen was killed during this fight, and 
two others coming up the road, unsuspicious of any 
trouble, were shot; one (Mr. Nus) mortally wounded, 
and the other Joe Penning, badly. My force was too 
weak to pursue and capture the Indians that made off, 
■owing to the necessity of taking immediate care of my 
wounded, and protecting the few citizens who had 
•collected at Crowley's ranch. The Indians were all 
around us, and apprehensive of a rear attack, I des- 
troyed Captain Jack's camp, and crossed to the other 
side of the river by the ford, a march of fifteen miles, 
taking post at Crowley's ranch, where I now am. 1 
need re-enforcements and orders as to future course. 
There are. a number of citizens and families in this 
valley and it will be necessary to look after them and 
protect them if they are not already killed. Most of 
-the Indians have retired to their caves south of Tule 
lake, but I imagine they will soon be out in war parties. 
From the best information I can secure. Captain Jack, 
Scar Face Charley and Black Jim are killed or mor- 
tally wounded. 

The troop behaved gallantly and deserves every 
praise. The fight was at close quarters, and very 
severe for, thirty minutes. The citizens engaged did 
good service, I learn, and deserve much credit ; but for 
them we would have had a fire in the rear that would 
have been very destructive. The Indians, or their lead- 
ers, were determined on a fight at all hazards, and got 
enough of it, I think. The worst men among them are, 
undoubtedly, killed, not less than 16 of them being 
put out of the way. I need more men, for the valley 
will have to be scouted to protect its citizens. The 
troops from Warner should come over immediately 
if it is intended to pursue these Indians. Please send 
me instructions by courier at once. Dr. McElderry, 
who goes up this morning with the wounded will give 
you more detailed information. 

Citizens killed: John Thurber, William Nus; 
wounded, Joe Penning. 

Soldiers killed : Private Harris ; soldiers wounded. 
Corporal Fitzgerald, severely ; Corporal Chandler ; 
Private Totten, Private Doyle; Private Kasshafer, 



severely; Private Kershaw; Private Gallagher, 
severely. 
In haste, I am respectfully, your obedient servant, 

James Jackson, 
Captain First Cavalry, 
Commanding B Troop. 
Major John Green, 
First Cavalry. 

Later and fuller report of the battle by Cap- 
tain Jackson ; also an account of the massacre of 
settlers and the names of the victims : 

Camp at Crowley's ranch, Lost River, Oregon, 
December 2, 1872 : 

Major — I sent you two days ago a hasty report of 
operations in the field. I now have the honor to sub- 
mit a detailed report of my operations since I left Fort 
Klamath. Oregon. 

In compliance with your orders No. 99, of Novem- 
ber 28th, I moved from Fort Klamath, Oregon, at n 
a. m., with Lieutenant Boutelle, Dr. McElderry, 36 
men of B troop in column and four with the pack train. 
Guided by Mr. Ivan Applegate we marched all day and 
night through a heavy rainstorm, and arrived at the 
principal camp of the Modoc Indians about daylight. 
Forming line I moved down on the camp at a trot, 
completely surprising the Indians, and creating great 
commotion among them. Halting just at the edge 
of the camp, I called upon them to lay down their 
arms and surrender. I also got Mr. Applegate to in- 
terpret to them my intentions and ask them to comply 
with the orders of the Indian department. Some of 
them seemed willing to do so, but Scar Face Charley, 
Black Jim and some others kept their guns and com- 
menced making hostile demonstrations against us. 
After repeated demands on them to lay down their 
arms and surrender had been unheeded, and seeing 
that the hostile Indians were getting more numerous 
and determined, I directed Lieutenant Boutelle to take 
some men from the line and arrest' the leaders if 
possible. This' order was followed by firing on the part 
of the Indians, and a general engagement immediately 
ensued. I poured in volley after volley among their 
worst men, killing most of them, capturing the camp 
and driving the Indians to the refuge of the brush 
and hills, from whence they kept up a desultory fire 
for some little time. I lost during the engagement, 
and almost at the first fire one man killed and seven - 
wounded and one horse killed. After driving the 
Indians out of range it became necessary to take care 
of my wounded ; to prevent the squaws remaining in 
camp from killing and mutilating them. Leaving a 
slight skirmish line in charge of Lieutenant Boutelle, 
I took what men could be spared and had the dead 
and wounded carried to the river bank, and from there 
canoed across to Crowley's ranch, half a mile below. 



954 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



I then dismantled the camp, capturing Captain 
Jack's three rifles and his two saddles. All Indian 
guns found in camp were broken up or thrown in the 
river. At the same time that I moved on the main 
camp of the Modocs, a smaller camp on the north 
side of the river was attacked by the citizens, among 
them Mr. Oliver Applegate, Mr. ' Brown, Mr. Jack 
Burnett, Mr. Dennis Crowley, Mr. C. Monroe, Mr. 
Thurber, Mr. Colwell and - others; they; also, demanded 
the surrender of these Indians, which was not acceded 
to, and when the firing commenced on the main camp 
they opened on the citizens and the citizens on them. 
, One citizen (Mr. Thurber) was killed, and it is be- 
lieved several Indians were killed and wounded. The 
citizens after the first attack, retired to Mr. CrQwley's 
ranch and kept up the fight at long range, preventing 
the Indians from crossing the river and attacking my 
flank or rear. 

Two citizens coming up the road, not knowing of 
the fight, were shot, one mortally and the other dan- 
gerously wounded. Soon after the fight Mr. Applegate, 
Mr. Brown, Mr. Burnett and some others left to warn 
citizens in other places of danger, leaving but a small 
force at the house where my wounded had been sent, 
and where a family resided. Mr. Crowley rode up 
and asked for protection at the ranch, stating that the 
Indians were preparing for a new attack. I mounted 
my command and moved out at a trot for the ford, 
some eight miles up . the river, sending Lieutenant 
Boutelle with a skirmish line to clear the Indians out 
of the sage brush, which he did effectually. It was 
between 3 and 4 o'clock when the troop arrived at 
the ranch, where we took post to await supplies and 
care for the wounded. While moving around to the 
ranch some straggling Indians collected on the other 
side of the river and burned a haystack and house be- 
longing to Mr. Monroe. After this they moved out 
down Tule lake for their refuge in the caves and' rocks 
south of the lake. One band from the north side of 
the river, who had been fighting the citizens, moved 
down on that side of the lake during the fight, and 
commenced killing the unwarned inhabitants of Tule 
Lake valley. 

It was not until the next morning after the fight, 
while sending the wounded away in charge of the 
surgeon, that I learned that there were any inhabitants 
near the scene of the conflict, or that they had been un- 
warned of approaching danger. I immediately sent a 
detachment with Mr. Crowley to ascertain the condi- 
tion or fate of these people. He visited the first place 
(Mr. Boddy's) about three and one-half miles below 
his (Mr. Crowley's) ranch, and found the house de- 
serted, but everything in order ; no sign of attack 
or murder; no tracks around the house, a dog tied 
to the doorstep and animals in the corral. Thinking 
from appearances that the family must have had warn- 
ing and fled, and believing that the warning had 1-~°n 



carried down the valley, he came back and so re- 
ported. 

That evening, November 30, I moved to the ford 
to meet the supply train and prevent its being inter- 
cepted by prowling bands of Indians. The pack train 
came up at midnight, and the next morning, December 
1st, the command was moved back to Crowley's ranch 
for station, until such time as supplies sufficient for 
a campaign could be collected. The evening of the 1st 
of December two citizens, residents of Tule lake valley, 
came in and reported that the men of the Boddy fam- 
ily had been murdered right after, or during the fight, 
by the band of Indians who had escaped, and that 
the women of the family had not been molested, but 
had walked across the mountains to Lost river bridge 
and were then in Linkville. Lieutenant Boutelle with 
a detachment was sent down with these men this 
morning, and some of the bodies of the Boddy family 
found in the timber, quite a distance from the house, 
where they had been cutting and hauling wood. The 
detachment was proceeding on down the valley when 
they were met by Mr. Ivan Applegate, Mr. Langell 
and some others, who had come up the valley visiting 
the ranches on the north side of the lake. They re- 
ported the killing of the men of the Brotherton family" 
(three), two herders and Mr. Henry Miller. Mrs. 
Brotherton, with her two little boys had fought the 
Indians away from the house, wounding some of them. 
She, with her three children, two boys and a little 
girl, came up with the party of citizens and soldiers 
and are at this station. Quite a party of citizens have 
collected here. 

Tomorrow quite a large force will move down 
the valley to hunt up the remains of the murdered in- 
habitants. I send you a list of those known or sup- 
posed to have been killed : 

Mr. William Boddy, Rufus Boddy, William Boddy,. 
Jr., Nicholas Schira, William Brotherton. W. K.. 
Brotherton, Christopher, Erasmus, Robert Alexander,. 
John Tober, Collins, Henry Miller. 

T have sent a detachment to Clear lake for the- 
protection of Mr. Jesse Applegate's family, and will' 
move the infanttry you send me into Langell's valley 
and Clear lake, the only places now threatened. A 
company of Klamath Indians, 36 in number, commanded 
by Captain Ferre, of Klamath Indian Agency, came in 
today and will go out on the trail of the Modocs . 
tomorrow to hunt them up and keep them from raid- 
ing until the troops can move on their place of hiding. 
I think it will be necessary to make a depot of supplies 
at this point, as beyond this, in the direction the 
Indians have gone, wagons can not be moved any dis- 
tance and the troops will have to depend on a pack 
train for supplies. 

The troops behaved splendidly under fire, although 
a number of the men were raw recruits. Dr. Mc- 
Elderry was present on the field during the fight, and 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



955 



I take great pleasure in commending him and Lieutenant 
Boutelle for coolness, gallantry and efficient service. 
I am, Major, very respectfully, your obedient 
servant, 

James Jackson, 

Captain First Cavalry, 
Commanding B Troop. 
Maj. John Green, 

First Cavalry Commanding, 
Fort Klamath, Oregon. 

The following are extracts from a letter writ- 
ten by Major John Green, commanding at Fort 
Klamath, dated December 3, 1872, reporting the 
first battle : 

It was believed that the Modocs would submit 
to go on a reservation if surprised by the troops ; if 
not, the leaders were to be arrested if possible, in the 
hope that the balance would surrender. 

The troop as expected made its march, and com- 
pletely surprised the Indians, and could have almost 
destroyed them had it not been fair to give them a 
chance to submit without using force. * * * I ex- 
pect that the cavalry troop from Camp Warner will 
reach the field of operations by the 6th or 7th instant, 
after which, when I hear from district headquarters, 
I expect to go to the field in person. If the war be 
prolonged (and I fear it will be) it will be necessary 
to have a depot of supplies at or near Tule lake for 
the troops operating against the Indians. * * * At 
the urgent request of citizens of Linkville, I have issued 
20 muskets and ten carbines, with ammunition, for self 
defense. I have also issued 10 carbines to the Yainax 
agency, and ten to the Klamath agency at the re- 
quest of the agents. I understand from Dr. Dyar, agent 
for the Klamaths, that he has sent 30 or 40 Klamath 
Indians into the Modoc country. 

As is almost invariably the case in move- 
ments of the military, there was considerable 
criticism of the officers who participated in and 
were responsible for the initial fight with the 
Modocs at Lost river, on November 29, 1872. It 
has been urged that the soldiers should not have 
undertaken the removal of the Indians with the 
small force which was at Captain Jackson's com- 
mand. The authorities believed that by appear- 
ing at the camp of the Modocs unexpectedly the 
latter being taken by surprise, would at once 
yield' and allow themselves to be taken peace- 
fully to their reservation. That such was not the 
case, and that many lives were lost as a result 
is, certainly, to be deplored. The Indians out- 
numbered the troops sent to conduct them to the 
reservation, and were fully armed. 

But this plan, it appears to us, is not open to 
grave censure. It surely had a precedent as we 



have previously shown when in 1870, Captain 
Jack's whole band, when taken by surprise, were 
removed to the reservation without a shot being 
fired. And that, too, with a force of only four- 
teen men, and they not in the best fighting condi- 
tion. No doubt exists in the minds of any of 
those who took part in the battle that the troops 
were badly handled and that serious blunders 
were made. Instead of placing his men in a posi- 
tion to prevent the escape of the Indians, and 
then making known his errand, Captain Jackson 
marched his troop right into the heart of the vil- 
lage and lined them up on the river bank on foot,.- 
the horses having been left some distance on the 
other side of the camp. They were in an exposed,, 
perilous position. The Indians knew it. The 
latter were in their tepees, out of sight and pro- 
tected from the fire of the soldiers by the ridges 
of earth which were always banked up at the base 
of the wickiups. Although, as stated by Captain 
Jackson, the troop "fired volley after volley into 
the camp of the Indians," the only damage to 
them was the wounding of a squaw. This is a 
matter of fact, although otherwise reported. Had 
this camp been properly approached Captain 
Jackson should have been able to remove the 
Modocs without a fight. 

Without offering any further criticism on the 
handling of the troops at the time of the first 
battle, it remains our opinion that had the pre- ■ 
cedent established two years previously been fol- 
lowed, after this camp had been taken and the 
women and children captured, the Modoc War" 
could have been ended then and there. A mis- 
take was certainly made after the battle. It is 
an error concerning which very little has been 
written, but one which in our opinion was respon- 
sible for the massacre of the settlers which fol- 
lowed. Captain Jackson in his reports speaks of 
having captured the Modoc camp and the squaws. 
But he makes no mention of having later released 
them and permitted them to rejoin the warriors. 
This release of the women and children was re- 
sponsible for the horrible butchery which fol- 
lowed. Is it possible that any one acquainte'd' 
with the characteristics of Indians believes that" 
the savages would have entered upon their butch- 
ery while their women were in the hands of the 
troops ? It is indisputable that none of the whites 
were killed until after the squaws were released. 
The holding as prisoners of war of women and 
children may not favorably appeal to those who 
are acquainted only with civilized warfare, but 
such a course would have saved many lives. 

Captain Jackson and his troops fully be- 
lieved that in this first fight all the leaders and 
N the worst Indians had been killed including Cap- 
tain Jack. That fact was, doubtless, the reason. 



956 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



the commander did not take the precaution to 
hold the camp and women after the battle. Be- 
lieving that he had broken the power of the 
outlaws, the possibility of the butchery that fol- 
lowed did not, apparently, enter the head of Cap- 
tain Jackson. While we can, at this late day, see 
that a mistake was made, we can, also see that it 
was a natural mistake under the conditions as 
Captain Jackson then saw them. 

General Edward R. S. Canby, commanding 
the department of the Columbia, who was after- 
ward killed by the Modocs, in a report dated Jan- 
uary 15, 1873, sa id : 



A grave mistake was no doubt committed in at- 
tetmpting their removal before a sufficient force had 
been collected to secure that result beyond the proba- 
bility of failure. * * * The questions as to the time 
and manner of applying force rested in the discretion 
of the military commander to whom it had been com- 
mitted and, while I think that Major Green was in 
error upon this point, I do not think that he or the 
superintendent should be judged wholly by the result. 
If the measures had succeeded, the conception and the 
execution would, probably, have been as highly com- 
mended as they are now censured. 




CHAPTER IV 



CONTINUATION OF MODOC WAR- 1872-73 




The massacre of the settlers which was al- 
luded to at the close of the preceding chapter, 
was one of the most deplorable incidents of the 
Modoc War. Subsequent to the affray between 
the command of Captain Jackson and the band of 
hostiles on the west side of Lost river, under 
Captain Jack, the Indians led by Hooka Jim, on 
the shore of Tule lake, east of the mouth of Lost 
river, scattered in small parties among the isolated 
settlements, within a radius of twenty-five miles, 
and massacred eighteen unoffending citizens, 
sacked and destroyed their residences and drove 
off their cattle and horses. For two days lasted 
this hellish work of butchery and pillage. Eleven 
citizens were murdered on the 29th, and seven on 
the 30th of November, by Hooka Jim's savages. 
This band had not been approached by the sol- 
diery. 

On the fateful 29th a few miles below the 
scene of the fight, a mule team was seen coming 
toward the Boddy residence, but no driver held 
the reins. The team was secured, unhitched and 
stabled by Mrs. Boddy. With apprehensive fear 
she called to her married daughter, Mrs. Schira, 
and hastily the two women started toward the 
woods where the men had gone that morning to 
their accustomed work. They had not gone far 
when they saw the Indians a short distance away 
and heard the fearsome war-whoop. Soon they 
came upon the stripped and mutilated body of 
Mr. Schira, and soon after those of Mr. Boddy 
and his elder son. The younger boy who had 
been on the plain below herding sheep could not 



be seen and the sheep were wandering at will 
among the sage. These heroic, but horror- 
stricken, women knew that all were killed ; that 
nothing remained for them but to seek their own 
safety in flight ; to hide themselves among the jun- 
iper and mahogany, in the almost trackless and, 
to them, unknown woods. Struggling onward, 
they knew not whither, only that they felt that 
they were going away from a sad and awful 
scene, soon night settled upon them among the 
mountain solitudes. As they shivered amid the 
snow and strove to look down through fears of 
burning anguish toward the mutilated forms of 
dear ones and upon desolated homes, what tongue 
could tell, what pen depict the poignancy of their 
grief. The following letter bearing upon this 
massacre, was written by General John E. Ross, 
of the Oregon militia to Adjutant Owens, dated 
Camp Tule lake, Oregon, December 12, 1872 : 

There were a number of families living down the 
east side of the lake, among them, the first below where 
the fight took place being the Boddy family. About 
three miles from the battlefield Mrs. Boddy and her 
married daughter, Mrs. Schira, were at the two re- 
spective houses of herself and daughter, only about fifty 
yards apart. They say that at 10 minutes to 12 o'clock 
m., on that day, not knowing anything of the fight 
in the morning just above them, the daughter looked 
out and saw her husband's team running down the hill 
from where himself and Mr. Roddy, her father and 
brother had gone after wood. Her mother and her- 
self ran out to meet the team supposing it had run 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



957 



away and perhaps killed her husband. When they 
reached the team they saw blood scattered on the 
wagon and followed back on the track about half a mile, 
and found where her husband, Schira, had been dragged 
from the road about twenty yards, where she found 
him with his face buried in the sand, with gunshot 
wound in his cheek and through the back. They saw 
about this time six Indians and one squaw ; four of 
them they knew, Hooka Jim, Long Jim, One-Eyed- 
Mose, Jerry and Hooka Jim's squaw. They rode up 
to us (them?) and asked for the other white man, and 
then rode past them. They (the women) then went 
on and found the son. He was shot through the chin, 
with several other wounds on his person. They then 
went on to ascertain if they could find anything of the 
father, and saw one more Indian at some distance, 
but did not recognize him. The indications were that 
there were more in the sage brush and juniper, as they 
saw two more at a great distance off. They were 
afraid to return to their home, and made across the 
hills for Lost river "Gap," and lay out on the hills 
that night after a wretched trip over the rocks and sage 
brush. They had no fire and came very near freezing 
to death. The next day the Indians, or a part of them. 
went about three miles below the Boddy ranch and 
killed one Alexander, who was herding sheep, and 
William Brotherton and two of his sons who were in 
the hills after wood, and came on to Mr. Brotherton's 
house, where his wife, her two small sons and daugh- 
ter were. Mrs. Brotherton, with Spartan bravery, 
barred the doors and made loop holes, and with a good 
gun they had in the house kept the Indians at bay 
from Saturday noon until the following Monday be- 
fore they got any relief. This point is six miles down 
the valley of the lake below the battle ground, at or 
near what is known as "Bloody Point." A part of my 
command, Company A, under Captain Kelly, has been 
very vigilant and industrious hunting for the dead 
bodies and the Indians. In fact they have been in the 
saddle all the time since they left Jacksonville. Yes- 
terday a squad of men under command of Sergeant 
Snyder, found the body of one of the Boddy family, 
a young man who had been herding sheep. This boy 
had his throat cut from ear to ear, besides being shot. 
The body wa,s found about two and one-half miles 
from the Indian ranch where the fight w r as. A portion 
of 'the command under Captain Kelly today found the 
body of Alexander about four miles below here, shot 
in a number of places through the body and hands. 
They also found today the body of Henry Miller, shot 
through the head and body; in fact badly shot to 
pieces, about five miles below here near Bloody Point. 
Those last named men were all killed on Saturday after 
the fight, probably twenty-four hours or more, having 
no knowledge, of course, of the fight, but being very 
close to it. I have ordered the bodies to be sent to 
Linkville for burial. 

H. H. Bleecher, who was one of the earlv set- 



tlers of the Klamath country, in after years re- 
lated this incident of the war to the Klamath 
County Star of March 24, 1893 : 

"When the Indians were fighting at Tule 
Lake," he said, "I met them. Each warrior had 
nothing on but a suit of war paint, with a ban- 
dana kerchief round his head and one around his 
leg. They told me to go home, but I went down. 
to California, and while I was gone my friends 
had me set down for dead. When I returned I 
discovered that I was alive. My 12,000 sheep and 
800 head of cattle were, also, alive. I am going 
to live 100 years longer. Whiskey can't kill me ; 
Indians won't kill me, and my enemies are alt 
dead. Yes, sir, I am going" to live another 100 
years and then get on to a rosy summer cloud and 
sail to glory." 

At this point we desire to deflect the thread 
of our story long enough to say a word or two> 
concerning the part taken in the Modoc War and 
trie protection afforded settlers by two men still 
residing in Klamath county, Oliver C. and Ivan 
Applegate. 

To Captain O. C. Applegate is probably due 
more credit for saving the imperiled settlements- 
of the Klamath country than any other man. The 
darkest period ever known in the history of 
Southern Oregon was during the Modoc War. 
His phenomenal control of the Paiutes, Snakes 
and Modocs under his charge at Yainax sub- 
agency at the beginning of the outbreak doubt- 
less prevented many restless warriors from join- 
ing the hostiles. His courage and skill as cap- 
tain of the company of citizens and picked Indian 
scouts organized by him for the protection of the- 
settlements and for offensive operations in the 
lava beds, are well known and duly appreciated 
in the Klamath country. 

Ivan Applegate has been referred to as "The 
pioneer defender of western homes ; the noted 
scout of three Indian wars and respected citizen 
of Klamath county." During the Modoc War he 
many times took his life in his hands in order to 
protect the settlers. With a small body of men 
he scoured a country overrun with members of 
Captain Jack's band, far from the protecting aegis 
of soldiery, warning those who had not yet been 
attacked and assisting them to places of safety. 
Immediately after the outbreak he organized a 
force of volunteers in Linkville for this work. 
The small company consisted of himself, O. A. 
Stearns, John Burnette, Joseph Seeds, George 
Fiock, Charles Monroe and Jack Wright. While 
the troops were anxiously awaiting reinforce- 
ments, this party proceeded down Langell's val- 
ley to Clear lake and through the Tule lake coun- 
try. They rescued Mrs. Brotherton, and chil- 
dren and gave warning to many others. Ivan 



958 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Applegate served as guide and interpreter for 
nearly all the early commissions which attempted 
to remove Captain Jack's party to the Klamath 
reservation. He fought in the first battle of the 
Lava Beds, January 17, 1873, although attached 
to no command, and in General Miller's report, 
he received special mention for bravery on the 
field. In fact he took a part in the Modoc War 
second to no man whose name falls into the warp 
and woof of this history. 

Following the outbreak and massacre in the 
valley settlers flocked to Linkville for protection. 
Accommodations of this little town were taxed to 
their utmost. Precautions were immediately 
taken to defend the town from an attack by the 
hostiles. On the high ground north of Main 
street, east and north of the present location of 
Baldwin's hardware store, was erected a stone 
enclosure wherein the people proposed to con- 
gregate and repel the Indians in case of attack. 
This wall was about five feet high. Farther south 
the Indians had all they could attend to and did 
not get so far north as Linkville ; the town es- 
caped attack. At Mr. Whitney's place, the Hot 
Springs property just east of the town, a stock- 
ade was erected, pierced with loop-holes, and sur- 
rounded by a trench wherein protection was of- 
fered those who desired to avail themselves of it. 
Throughout the entire country people were in a 
state ot panic. At Merganser armed men pick- 
eted the town and guarded it from surprise. At 
a number of farm houses settlers gathered and 
placed pickets around them. War was in the air ; 
the reign of terror existed for some time follow- 
ing the massacre. 

At this dark period all classes of people la- 
bored under the greatest excitement. An incident 
is related illustrating to what length this excite- 
ment led some of them. December 4th a band of 
about forty-five Modocs who had been living on 
Hot creek and who had participated in none of 
the murders, were rounded up and headed for the 
•reservation in charge of Messrs. Fairchild, Davis, 
Ball and Colver. They proceeded northward. On 
the 5th they reached Bob Whittle's ranch on Link 
river. Here they were met by a party of eight 
or ten settlers who opposed their proceeding 
further. They were also met by the Indian agent 
who informed the men in charge of the Hot creek 
band that a mob had congregated on the opposite 
side of the river which would certainly attack the 
Indians should they attempt to make a crossing. 
The settlers appeared imbued with but one idea 
and that was to wreak vengeance for the murders 
alreadv committed and were not at all particular 
what Indians became the victims. These Modocs 
had been in no way connected with Captain Jack's 
band of desperadoes and had always been peace- 



fully inclined. Those in charge of them attempted 
to pilot the Indians to the reservation without go- 
ing through Linkville. But the Indians had be- 
come frightened ; they bolted and scattered all 
over the country. Finally they found their way 
back to Yreka and were later taken to the reser- 
vation. 

Following the first fight with the Indians re- 
inforcements were at once sent to the front from 
Camps Warner, Bidwell, Harney and Fort Kla- 
math. Every available soldier stationed at points 
in the district of the lakes was soon on the field 
as well as two companies of volunteers. Imme- 
diately after the outbreak and slaughter of set- 
tlers Governor Grover authorized the mobiliza- 
tion of a volunteer force to assist in bringing the 
hostile Modocs to time. This action was taken 
on receipt of a telegram from Hon. A. J. Bur- 
nette, dated Linkville, November 30th, which told 
of the massacre and stated that the forces in the 
field were insufficient to protect the settlements. 
A mass meeting was held at Ashland attended by 
over 100 citizens at which a resolution was 
adopted asking the governor to authorize them to 
recruit a force of volunteers to co-operate with 
the regular troops. 

These Oregon volunteers were composed of 
Companies A, Captain Harrison Kelly, and B, 
Captain Oliver C. Applegate, under command of 
Brigadier General J. E. Ross. These two com- 
panies served during the first part of the war. 
Their term of service began December 2, 1872, 
and they were mustered out January 24, 1873. 
Companies C, Captain John H. Hyzer ; D, Cap- 
tain Thomas Mulholland ; E, Captain George R. 
Rodgers, also under command of General Ross, 
were mustered in April 14, 1873, and served dur- 
ing the latter part of the war. 

The part taken by the volunteers, many of 
whom are now residents of the county in which 
they fought, was important. They not only par- 
ticipated in the battles side by side with the regu- 
lar troops, but they thoroughly policed the coun- 
try of the lakes, protecting settlers and exerting 
a strong influence over other tribes who at times 
seemed on the point of joining the hostiles. Nor 
must we forget the point taken by the loyal In- 
dian allies. Ivan Applegate has paid the follow- 
ing tribute to these allies of the whites in an ora- 
tion delivered July 4, 1892: 

"Only a few years ago the straggling settle- 
ments of Klamath would have been swept away 
by the hand of savage war had it not been for the 
noble defense made by a mere handful of brave 
and hardy pioneers, nobly supported by our ever 
tbval, ever trusty and ever faithful friends, the 
Klamaths, and those patriotic heroes, Modocs, led 
by the old hereditarv chief, Schonchin. These 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



959 



people here with us today, native Americans, 
people who but a few years ago were the wild 
men of these wild forests, proved themselves true 
patriots and through these trying times stood 
shoulder to shoulder with the white pioneer, and 
were among the first to go to the rescue of our 
people in distress." 

Lieutenant Colonel Frank Wheaton, command- 
ing the district of the lakes, at once hastened to 
the scene of hostilities and assumed command in 
person. He established headquarters near Crow- 
ley's ranch ; preparations were at once made to 
proceed against the hostile Modocs who had 
moved south to their stronghold in the Lava Beds. 
These Lava Beds, lying principally in Modoc 
county, California, bordering Tule lake on the 
south, are certainly most hideous freaks of na- 
ture. Here is, indeed, a feast for the eyes of 
those who prefer the grewsome, uncanny and re- 
pulsive to the sublime and beautiful. Of the lat- 
ter the Lava Beds are the antipodes. They are, 
in fact, practical Gibraltars, as was proved in this 
campaign when a mere handful of half starved 
Modocs held at bay for many months a large 
force of United States troops aided by volunteers 
and Warm Springs Indian allies. Had the Modocs 
been plentifully supplied with food and ammuni- 
tion it appears quite probable that it would have 
taken twice as long to dislodge them as it did 
the Spaniards to wrest from the Moors the his- 
toric Gibraltar, and that consumed a period of 800 
years. The intricate formation of the Lava Beds 
needs to be seen in close proximity to be duly ap- 
preciated ; and it is well worth time and trouble to 
those seeking the outre and bizarre to visit this 
world-famous locality. To those who anticipate 
doing so we here tender a bit of advice ; provide 
yourself with a guide and a plentiful supply of 
rattlesnake bite antidote ; the Lava Beds are cer- 
tainly the fatherland of that venemous reptile. 

Howitzers were brought in and on January 
16, 1873, camp was broken and the cavalry, in- 
fantry and artillery forces, together with the vol- 
unteers, started on their memorable -campaign of 
the Lava Beds. The forces under Colonel Whea- 
ton numbered about 400, of which 225 were reg- 
ulars, and the others volunteers. Opposing them 
were about 150 Indians, according to Colonel 
Wheaton's estimate. But the natural stronghold 
was such that everything favored the Indians. 

Colonel Wheaton attacked the Modocs on the 
17th of January and lost sixty-five men — sixteen 
killed and forty-nine wounded, accomplishing 
very little except making a reconnaissance devel- 
oping the Modoc strength and position. In his 
report of the battle Colonel Wheaton said : 

We fought the Indians through the Lava Beds to 
their stronghold, which is in the center of miles of 



rocky fissures, caves, crevices, gorges and ravines, some 
of them one hundred feet deep. In the opinion of any 
experienced officer of regulars of volunteers, 1,000 men 
would be required to dislodge them from their almost 
impregnable position, and it must be done deliberately 
with a free use of mortar batteries. The Modocs were 
scarcely exposed at all to our persistent attacks ; they 
left one ledge to gain another equally secure. 

I have been 23 years in the service of the govern- 
ment, and have been employed a greater portion of that 
time on our remote frontier, and generally engaged in 
operating against hostile Indians. In this service I have 
never before encountered an' enemy, civilized or savage, 
occupying a position of such great natural strength as 
the Modoc stronghold, nor have I ever seen troops en- 
gage a better-armed or more skillful foe. 

Owing to the conditions described in the re- 
port none, or very little, injury was inflicted on 
the Indians. The troops taking part in this bat- 
tle were: Regulars — Company C, 21st Infantry; 
Company B, 21st Infantry; the former com- 
manded by Captain C. H. Burton, the latter by 
Lieutenant John M. Ross; detachment of Com- 
pany F, 21st Infantry; Company F, 1st cavalry; 
Captain D. Perry; Company G, 1st cavalry, Cap- 
tain R. F. Bernard; Company B, 1st cavalry, 
Captain James Jackson ; Companies A and B, 
Oregon Volunteers, the former commanded by 
Captain H. Kelly ; the latter by Captain O. C. 
Applegate ; Twenty-fourth California Volun- 
teer Riflemen, Captain J. A. Fairchild. 

It was estimated at the time thai; more than a 
ton of lead was poured into Captain Jack's strong- 
hold. Yet, incredible as it may appear, only one 
Indian was hit, while sixty-five regulars and vol- 
unteers were killed and wounded. The dead were 
left where they fell, but the wounded with one 
exception were carried out. Two men were killed 
in an attempt to drag this poor fellow to a place 
of safety. The spot where he lay was lost owing 
to the fog, and he was, perforce, left in the 
hands of the merciless savages. He belonged 
to Captain Perry's troop of United States cav- 
alry. 

This battle was an emphatic defeat for the 
troops. Colonel Wheaton was forced to retreat 
to a suitable camp on Lost river. The Modoc in- 
surrection had now assumed a quite formidable 
aspect. Three hundred more troops were asked 
for by Wheaton. They were at once dispatched 
to reinforce him. Before they arrived orders 
were received from the war department to sus- 
pend hostilities, indicating a desire to again re- 
sort to peace measures. Considerable humiliation 
was felt by the troops over this order. Practically 
it was to so place the troops that they might pro- 
tect the citizens, but if possible to avoid war. The 



960 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



order was received January 30, 1873, an( l was trie 
first step toward peace iri the endeavor to accom- 
plish which General Canby and Dr. Thomas 
were massacred. 

From the date of these instructions from 
Washington suspending military operations 
against the Modocs until April 11, 1873, active 
efforts were made to secure this desired peace. 
Commissioners were appointed to confer with 
Captain Jack and secure his consent to live upon 
a reservation with his tribe. To the commission- 
ers was given great latitude in treating with these 
Indians. They were authorized to grant a sep- 
erate reservation if the Modocs would consent to 
lay down their arms and live peaceably. 

General Canby, who had up to this period re- 
mained at headquarters, at Portland, acted with 
the commissioners and at once joined the forces 
in the field. February 15th he reached Linkville. 
The day following he went to Dorris ranch, Cal- 
ifornia ; later to Fairchild ranch and Van 
Bremer's ranch. February 18th the commission 
was organized. It at once tried to open com- 
munication with Captain Jack. During the suc- 
ceeding few weeks there were many changes in 
the personnel of the commission. For nearly two 
months they were unsuccessful in making satis- 
factory arrangements with the Indians. Captain 
Jack and his followers would occasionally prom- 
ise to meet for a "talk", but there was, inevitably, 
some excuse put forward ; the proposed meeting 
did not materialize. During this prolonged pe- 
riod the military authorities were so disposing 
their forces as to cut off all avenues of escape for 
the Modocs. The disposition of the war depart- 
ment is shown by the following extract from a 
telegram from General W. T. Sherman to Gen- 
eral Canby, dated March 13, 1873 : 

It is manifestly desired by all in authority that 
this Modoc affair should be settled amicably, and for 
that reason I advise you to exercise considerable 
patience. * * * But should these peaceful measures 
fail, and should the Modocs presume too far on the 
forbearance of the government and again resort to 
deceit and treachery, I trust you will make such use of 
the military force that no other Indian tribe will 
imitate their example, and that no other reservation 
for them will be necessary except graves among their 
chosen Lava Beds. 

At last, on April 11, 1873, Captain Jack con- 
sented to a conference. General Canby and three 
commissioners, Rev. Dr. Eleazer Thomas. A. B. 
Meacham and L. S. Dyar set forth to meet the 
Indians, accompanied by T. F. Riddle and In- 
dian wife, Toby, or Winema. The details of the 



fearful tragedy that ensued are told officially by 
Colonel Alvan C. Gillem in his report to the ad- 
jutant general of the United States army as 
follows : 

Headquarters Modoc Expedition, 

Camp South of Tule Lake, April 11, 1873. 
Sir — It is with the most profound sorrow that I 
have to inform you of the death of Brigadier General 
E. R. S. Canby, U. S. A., which occurred today at 1 '.30 
p. m., about one mile in front of this camp under the 
following circumstances : 

For a day or two communication between the 
Indians and the peace commission had been virtually 
suspended. Yesterday morning an Indian (Boston 
Charley) came into camp and informed the commission 
that Captain lack would "talk." In order to avoid all 
misapprehension, the commission sent their interpreter 
(Frank Riddle and his squaw, Winema) into the Indian 
camp ; they returned in the evening and reported that 
Captain Jack said he would not meet the commission, 
nor come out of his stronghold again until the troops 
were removed from the vicinity. .An Indian returned 
with Riddle and confirmed his statement. This morn- 
ing, however, the Indian, Boston Charley, asserted that 
Riddle (the interpreter) had not told all that Captain 
Jack had said, and asserted that Jack had agreed to 
meet General Canby, myself and the commission at a 
tent that had been pitched about a mile in front of this 
camp. In order to reconcile these conflicting state- 
ments the two Indians, Boston and Bogus, were sent 
back to the Indian camp. They soon returned and said 
that Jack would meet five of us — General Canby, my- 
self and three commissioners, at the tent. After duly 
considering the subject it was determined to accept the 
proposition. I was too ill to accompany the party, and 
before leaving the interpreter brought the commission- 
ers to my bedside and asked me to bear witness that he 
had warned them that there was danger in going out ; 
however it was decided to go. 

At 11 :o6 a. m., the party left camp. I directed the 
signal officer to keep a strict watch on the tent and to 
inform me of everything that occurred. At I '.30 p. m., 
the signal officer brought me information that Major 
Mason's camp on the east had been attacked and two 
officers probably captured. (This afterwards proved to 
be incorrect.) Convinced that treachery was intended. 
I sent for Assistant Surgeon Cabaniss, who volunteered 
to take a note to General Canby. I could not send a 
verbal message as many of the Indians understood Eng- 
lish. I had written but a few words when shots were 
heard, and officers from the signal station brought the 
information that General Canby and the peace com- 
missioners had been murdered. The troops were under 
arms at once and advanced. I found the bodies of 
General Canby and the Rev. Dr. Thomas about seventy 
yards from the tent. Mr. Meacham was near, severely. 




Klamath County Alfalfa Field 




Clamath County Fruit, 4,200 feet above sea level 




Nesting on the Klamath 




Typical Klamath Indians 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



961 



if not mortally wounded; .ill were stripped. Mr. Dyar, 
one of the commissioners, escaped unhurt, having a 
small pistol which he drew on his pursuer. 

The remains of General Canhy and Dr. Thomas will 
be sent to Yreka tomorrow, in charge of Lieutenant 
II. R. Anderson, A. D. C, to the general. 
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
Alvan C. Gillem, 
Colonel First U. S. Cavalry, commanding 
Modoc Expedition. 

To Adjutant General U. S. Army. 

In this report of Colonel Gillem we have the 
bald facts. There were many sensational details 
of this tragedy which were subsequently brought 
out in evidence at the trial of the captured as- 
sassins. ( )ne of the most important witnesses 
was T. F. Riddle, the interpreter, and the fol- 
lowing is an extract from a portion of his evi- 
dence : 

Mr. Meacham, then he made another speech, and 
he told Captain Jack: "Jack, let us talk like men and 
not like children," and he sort of hit him on the knee 
or shoulder once or twice, or tapped him — he said, "Let 
us talk like men and not talk like children." He said; 
"You are a man that has common sense, isn't there any 
other place that will do you except Willow creek and 
Cottonwood?" And Mr. Meacham was speaking rather 
loud, and Schonchis told him to hush ; that he could talk 
a straight talk; to let him talk. Just as Schonchis said 
that. Captain Jack rose up and stepped back, sort of 
in behind Dyar's horse. I was interpreting for 
Schonchis, and I was not noticing Jack. He stepped a 
few steps out to one side, and I saw him put his 
hand to his bosom like — 

* * * Well, he stepped back and came right up 
in front of General Canby and said : in Indian, "All 

ready, boys " at we — that is "All ready," and the 

cap busted, and before you could crook your finger he 
fired. * * * Yes, sir, and after the cap busted, lie- 
fore you could crook your finger, he fired and struck 
General Canby under the eye, and the ball came out 
here (showing — in the neck under the chin.) I jumped 
and ran then, and never stopped to look back any more. 
I saw General Canby fall over, and I expected he was 
killed, and I jumped and ran with all my might. I 
never looked back but once, and when I looked back 
Mr. Meacham was down, and my woman was" down, 
and there was an Indian standing over Mr. Meacham 
and another Indian standing over her. and some two or 
three coming up to Mr. Meacham. Mr. Meacham was 
sort of lying down this way (showing) and had one 
of his hands sticking out. * * * They commenced 
firing 3.11 around. I could not tell who was firing ex- 
cept Schonchis, here; I saw him firing at Mr. Meacham, 



but the others were kind of up in behind me, and they 
were tiring and 1 did not turn around to look back 
to see who it was. i thought it was warm times there. 

Since the assassination of President Lincoln, 
probably no news had created such intense ex- 
citement throughout the country as did this mur- 
der of General Canby and Peace Commissioner 
Thomas by these perfidious Modocs. To the four 
winds of heaven was scattered the policy of 
"peace." It was war to the knife and knife to the 
hilt. In recapitulation of what has been said 
concerning this fiendish (h-ud it may he said that 
Boston and Bogus Charlie had come in on Thurs- 
day the 10th, and solicited an interview at the 
cave, a mile beyond the tent, at exactly the same 
spot where they had previously attempted to 
entrap the commission. The members refused 
to go to this place but were willing to compromise 
on the tent as neutral ground. It is undeniably 
true that both Riddle and his wife advised the 
commission not to go, insisting that treachery 
was in the air, hut they were overruled by Dr. 
Thomas and General Canby who could not believe 
that after their kind treatment of the Indians 
harm could befall them. 

"They are firing on the peace commission!" 

Such was the terrible cry that echoed through 
the camp and such was the fearful fact. Hastily 
the soldiers responded to the long roll and swept 
onward toward the fateful conference ground. 
Colonel Miller's battery E, Fourth artillery, was 
in the van, and cavalry and infantry followed, 
crossing the lava field to the scene of the affray — 
Colonel Miller and Lieutenant Leary with their 
own men at the double quick, closely followed by 
Major Throckmorton, commanding batteries K 
and M, with Lieutenant Harris taking the right 
center, and Captain Wright, Company E, and 
Lieutenant Howe on the extreme left. These 
companies followed each other so rapidly that it 
was difficult to determine which was ahead. 

Too late ! That which was sought to be pre- 
vented had been committed. General Canby had 
been killed by Captain Jack — shot in the eye, the 
ball ranging downward, emerging through the 
jaw and breaking it. He had, also, received a 
stab under the right ear, dislocating the neck, 
probably, as it was found to be broken. 

Dr. Thomas was shot by Boston Charley who 
that very morning had eaten breakfast with him, 
and had walked with him to the field of death. 
Truly a hellish deed, equalling in atrocity the 
barbarity of ancient piracy. He was shot through 
the right lung, this wound itself being almost in- 
stantly fatal. Having fallen he was again shot 
through the head, the ball entering rather back 



61 



02 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



of the apex of the crown. He was seen to throw 
tip his hands after the first shot, as he fell to his 
knees, and heard to exclaim, "Don't kill me !" The 
second shot put an end to his life. He died 
without a struggle ; a peaceful smile was on his 
flips when found, as though he was asleep. 

From the dead let us turn to the living. 
\ Schonchin attacked Mr. Meacham. The first shot 
crashed through his arm and disabled it, probably 
knocking him down. Another bullet shaved away 
an eyebrow and cut the bridge of the nose, wound- 
ing the bone and cartilage quite seriously. An- 
other bullet struck him at the lower lobe of the 
. left ear, glancing along the skull and emerging 
.some three inches above. An attempt had been 
made to scalp him, but further than cutting a 
large ugly gash partly around the head, the fiends 
had not succeeded. Meacham was taken to the 
hospital where every attention was paid him. 
Aside from the other injuries mentioned a bullet 
. had shattered the forefinger of the left hand. 

Let us in this place consider the miraculous 

• •escape of Mr. Dyar. He was standing by his 
; horse when the first cap exploded. Instinctively 

alive to. this sudden exhibition of treachery, like 
a deer he sprang past the rocks in the direction 
of the camp. He was closely followed by Hooka 
Jim who fired two shots at him. Dyar turned and 
presented his derringer. The cowardly savage 
Abounded away in the opposite direction ; Dyar 
resumed his run for the camp which he gained 
in safety. 

The advance of the troops was checked by 
' Colonel Miller who, just as the bodies were found, 
' had received from Major Green, commanding 

■ tne forces in the field, through Acting Adjutant 
i Lieutenant Taylor, an order to assume command 
( of the whole line. Just as the cave around the 

bend was reached, where Jack had tried to get the 

conference, could be seen, three-fourths of a 

anile away, the flying Modocs, some mounted on 

Biorses captured from the commissioners. It was 

impossible to come up with them before they 

reached their stronghold, and as the canteens and 

/'haversacks were empty of water and provisions, 

it was necessary to return and await for another 

, day of reckoning. 

During the progress of the war Wi-ne-ma, of 

• whom we' have spoken, was selected as the official 
interpreter by the government. She was one of 
the brightest of the Indian tribe, the daughter of a 
Modoc chief. Her early life had been passed on 
the lakes of the Klamath country and along their 

• shores. She used to gather with the great peace 
-parties on Link river, at the foot of the falls, now 

■ the present site of Klamath Falls. By her beauty 
in early days and extraordinary intelligence, 

■Yi-no-ma wnn the heart and hand of her present 



white husband. They were legally married and 
when the Modoc War broke out she enlisted in 
the cause of the white people, as a peacemaker, 
however, between two races. Wi-ne-ma still 
lives. She resides on the Klamath reservation. 
The romance of her life has passed and she now 
goes by the simple name of Toby Riddle, after 
having served the white race faithfully and be- 
yond all compensation. 

General Canby began his military career as a 
cadet at West Point in the summer of 1835, grad- 
uating in 1839. He was continuously in the 
service for thirty-eight years, passing through all 
the grades to Major General of Volunteers, and 
Brigadier General of the regular army. He 
served in early life with marked distinction in 
the Florida and Mexican wars, and the outbreak 
of the Civil War found him on duty in New Mex- 
ico where, after the defection of his seniors, he re- 
mained in command and defended the country 
successfully against a formidable inroad from 
the direction of Texas. He was afterward trans- 
ferred east to a more active and important sphere, 
where he held various high commands, and at the 
close of the Civil War was in chief command of 
the military division of the west. In the cam- 
paign he received a serious wound, but he had the 
honor to capture Mobile and compel the sur- 
render of the rebel forces in the southwest. Fol- 
lowing the close of the war he was repeatedly 
chosen for special command. In 1869, when 
fatigued by a long and laborious career, he con- 
sented to take command of the Department of 
the Columbia, where he expected to enjoy the re- 
pose he so much courted. The following tribute 
to General Canby is found in general order No. 
3, issued by command of General W. T. Sher- 
man, at Washington, April 14, 1873 : 

"He responded to the call of his government 
with alacrity, and has labored with a patience 
that deserved better success, but, alas ! the end is 
different from that which he and his best friends 
had hoped for, and he now lies a corpse in the' 
wild mountains of California, while the light- 
ning flashes his requiem to the furthermost cor- 
ners of the civilized world. 

"Though dead, the record of his fame is re- 
splendent with noble deeds well done, and no 
name on our Army Register stands fairer or 
higher for the personal qualities that command 
the universal respect, honor, affection and love of 
his countrymen." 

Following the massacre of General Canby and 
Dr. Thomas a vigorous campaign against the 
Modocs was inaugurated, such an onslaught as 
should have been commenced months before. The 
"shilly-shally" of "peace" was now exchanged 
for the stern reality of hot and impetuous w r ar. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



963 



( If this campaign space forbids an exhaustive ac- 
count, but we shall confine ourselves to the salient 
features of this last, but decisive movement 
against the treacherous tribe led by Captain Jack, 
a name that must go down in Indian history, as 
has that of Blackbeard, the inhuman piratical 
monster of tke Spanish Main, in the story of the 
sea. 

The perfidy and treachery of the savages must 
be punished to the fullest extent. Authorities at 
Washington who had so long dallied with the 
"peace policy," now forwarded instructions of no 
uncertain interpretation. The Modocs must be 
exterminated or captured — their power broken to 
the utmost. Colonel Gillem, of the first cavalry, 
bad assumed command of the forces in the field. 
April 14th he began an advance into the Lava 
Beds. Realizing the impossibility of taking the 
Modoc stronghold by assault, this officer deter- 
mined to surround the hostiles, thus saving his 
own men and preventing the escape of the In- 
dians. Fighting began on the 15th. Mortars and 
howitzers played no unimportant part. During 
the day the loss to the soldiers was Lieutenant 
Eagan, wounded ; three men killed and nine 
wounded. 

On the 16th lines were advanced and fight- 
in-' was severe. The command was pushed to 
the immediate vicinity of the caves held by Cap- 
tain Jack. A junction was formed by the com- 
mands of Majors Green and Mason ; the water 
supply of the Indians was cut off. During the 
night of the 16th firing was almost continuous. 
The hostiles attempted to break through the lines 
to procure water; they were unsuccessful. On 
the ijtli the stronghold was captured, but the 
savages had fled ; they were not discovered until 
the 20th. Then they were located about four 
miles south of their old stronghold. Here they 
remained until compelled to come out for 
water. No more fighting occurred until the 
26th. Then a company under command of 
Captain Evan Thomas fell into an ambuscade 
and was annihilated, the most disastrous event of 
the war. The party consisted of six commis- 
sioned officers, sixty-four enlisted men and four- 
teen Indian scouts, sent out by Major Green to 
reconnoiter the position of the hostiles with a 
view of taking a mortar battery by pack train 
through a lava bed to a sand hill, near the center, 
about five miles distant from the camp. The ob- 
jective point was reached without difficulty by 
noonday; the party halted for rest and refresh- 
ment. No Indians had been encountered ; no re- 
sistance appears to have been expected. A gen- 
eral feeling of security seems to have prevailed 
among the officers. A signal sergeant was pre- 
paring to send a message back to camp announc- 



ing the success of the enterprise when a few 
shots in close proximity announced the presence 
of the cm in-, , 

i'hough surprised the officers immediately 
Sprang to action. However, a well directed fire 
from tlie Indians by this time caused a large 
number, probably two-thirds of the enlisted men, 
to break and fly in a most cowardly manner. The 
officers, thus deserted by their men, rallied the 
few brave spirits, mostly non-commissioned offic- 
ers, and fought the foe with undaunted courage. 
They were all found, killed or wounded, where 
they had SO nobly, hut inelficctually fought. 

I reneral Jeff C. Davis, who a short time later 
assumed command in the Lava Beds, in his report 
of the affair said: "The result was conspicuous 
cowardice on the part of the men who ran away, 
and conspicuous bravery and death on the part of 
the men and officers who stood." 

.Major Green went at (■nee to the scene of the 
fighting. Captain Thomas' command was en- 
tirely disorganized and scattered. In the lava 
chasms were found the dead bodies of Captain 
Thomas, Lieutenant A. B. Howe, Lieutenant 
Thomas F. Wright, Lieutenant: Arthur Cranston 
and thirteen enlisted men. Lieutenant George M. 
Harris, Acting Assistant Surgeon B. Swing and 
sixteen enlisted men were found wounded where 
they had so gallantly made a stand. The bodies 
ot four Modoc Indians were found near the scene 
of the fighting. 

General Davis arrived at the Lava Beds May 
2d. It had been his intention to make another 
effort to dislodge the Indians immediately. But 
the recent defeats, culminating in the disaster of 
April 26th, had exerted a demoralizing influence 
among the troops, and General Davis decided to 
await further developments before resuming ac- 
tive operations. "We shall now tell the story of 
the rest of the campaign in General Davis' own 
words as related in his report : 

The order assigning me to the command of the de- 
partment of the Columbia was dated April 14, 1873 ; 
it was received at Indianapolis, Indiana. I at once left 
for the Lava Beds and reached the camp of the troops 
on the 2d of May. I found them laboring under great 
depression of spirits ; their cheerless winter camps, 
heavy losses and repeated failures, had doubtless 
diminished their zeal and confidence to a considerable 
extent before the disaster to Thomas' command. Its 
effects were very visible upon the morale of the com- 
mand ; so much so that I deemed it imprudent to order 
the aggressive movements it was my desire and inten- 
tion to make at once upon my arrival, in order to watch 
the movements of the Indians. During the few days 
required to examine into the condition of affairs, and 
to effect a re-organization of the command, made neces- 



964 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



sary under the circumstances, as well as by the arrival 
from San Francisco of Captain Mendenhall's command, 
I sent a couple of friendly Indian squaws of the Modoc 
tribe into the Lava Beds. After two days they returned 
almost exhausted from fatigue, having searched the 
country quite thoroughly. They reported the Indians 
gone but recently. A few Warm Spring Indians sent 
out the next day confirmed their report. 

Hasbrouck's and Jackson's companies, with the 
Warm Spring Indians, all under command of the 
former, were immediately sent out in pursuit, and signs 
of Indians were found near Sorass lake, where the 
troops camped for the night. On the morning of May 
10th the Indians attacked the troops at daylight; they 
were not fully prepared for it, but at once sprang to 
their arms and returned the fire in gallant style. The 
Indians soon broke and retreated in the direction of 
the Lava Beds. They contested the ground with the 
troops hotly for some three miles. 

The object of this hasty movement of the troops 
was to overhaul the Indians, if out of the Lava Beds, 
as reported, and prevent them from murdering settlers 
in their probable retreat to another locality. This object 
was obtained and more. The troops have had, all things 
considered, a very square fight, and whipped the Modocs 
for the first time. But the whole band was again in 
the rocky stronghold. So soon as the result was made 
known to me by signals, I immediately ordered the 
troops to be dismounted and follow the enemy on foot, 
the horses to be sent to a safe place for grazing, and 
never lose sight of him. Water and provisions were 
ordered up also. Major Mason, with his own and 
Mendenhall's foot artillery, was ordered to leave be- 
hind suitable camp guards, and to move directly through 
the Lava Beds, so as to take a position as near as 
possible to the enemy, and opposite the one assumed 
by Hasbrouck's command. This scramble (it can not 
be properly called a march) of fourteen miles was 
exceedingly creditable • to the troops and commander, 
Major Mason. 

The Indians were now closely threatened with at- 
tacks from two sides, sandwiched but not surrounded. 
All the troops by this time were much recuperated and 
inspirited, and I resolved to carry out my plan, formed 
when I first arrived. , This was to move them, the 
troops, all into the Lava Beds and form a series of 
bivouacs from which they could fight when opportunity 
offered, or could rest and take things easy, like the 
Indians. The pack trains engaged in supplying the 
troops already there were ordered to be increased with 
this view, but the Indians had already become ex- 
hausted in watching the forces threatening them so 
persistently since their fight at Sorass lake that a retreat 
or capture was inevitable. The chief could no longer 
keep his warriors up to the work required of them; 
lying on their arms night and day watching for an 
attack. These exactions were so great, and the conduct 
of the leader so tyrannical, that insurbordination sprang 



up which led to dissensions and final separation of the 
band into two parties ; they left the Lava Beds bitter 
enemies. The troops soon discovered their departure 
and were sent in pursuit. Their trails were found lead- 
ing in a westerly direction. Hasbrouck's command of 
cavalry, after a hard march of some fifty miles, came 
upon the Cottonwood band and had a sharp running 
fight of seven or eight miles. The Indians scattered in 
order to avoid death or capture. The cavalry horses 
were completely exhausted in the chase, and night com- 
ing on, he withdrew his troops a few miles distant to 
Fairchild's ranch for food and forage: 

Indians captured in this engagement expressed the 
belief that this band would like to give themselves up 
if opportunity were offered. When given this, through 
the medium of friendly Indians, they made an effort to 
obtain terms, but I at once refused to entertain any- 
thing of the kind ; they could only be allowed safe 
conduct through the camp to my headquarters when 
they arrived at the picket line. They came in on the 
22d of May and laid down their arms, accompanied by 
their old men, women and children ; in all seventy-five. 
It had been rumored for a day or two that Jack's party 
had taken a different direction from this band. These 
captives confirmed this report, but from them I could 
learn only enough to satisfy me that he and his band 
had fled in one of two directions ; north, in the Pit 
river country, or east, toward Goose lake, either course 
endangering the lives of citizens and destruction of 
property. The mounted troops were all drawn, by 
recent operations, west of the Lava Beds, and this 
band of the marauders was yet at large, probably about 
100 miles from us, perhaps on the rampage, enjoying 
an Indian's luxuries in the settlements outside of reser- 
vations. 

In order to meet this emergency the cavalry force, 
including Indian scouts, was divided into three de- 
tachments under Captains D. .Perry, H. C. Hasbrouck 
and James Jackson ; Major John Green commanding 
the whole. All were ordered to rendezvous as soon as 
possible at Boyle's camp, east of Tule lake. This move- 
ment would require at least three days. To learn the 
exact whereabout of the Indians was now very im- 
portant, and I determined to accept of the offered services 
of a Modoc captive ; one who up to the time of their 
separation was known to be in the confidence of his 
chief, and could lead us to the hiding place of the band. 
He was an unmitigated cut-throat, and for this reason 
I was loath to make any use of him that would com- 
promise his well-earned claims to the halter. He de- 
sired eight others to accompany and support him, under 
the belief his chief would kill him on sight ; but three 
others only were accepted and those of the least guilty 
ones. (Hooka Jim is the one referred to as the "cut- 
throat.") They were promised no rewards for this 
service whatever. Believing the end justified the means, 
I set them out thoroughly armed for the services they 
were to perform. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



96: 



Before the last of the Modocs were taken into 
custody, the troops were aided to a considerable 
extent in capturing the remainder of the band 
by four Modocs who had participated in the 
Canby massacre. These were Steamboat Frank, 
Hooka Jim, Bogus Charley and Schacknasty Jim. 
They had seen the handwriting on the wall and 
volunteered their services in running to earth 
Captain Jack and the remnants of his band. For 
this service they were not included in those se- 
lected for trial for the murder of General Canby 
and Dr. Thomas, although they were, possibly, 
equally guilty with the others. We now resume 
the report of General Davis : 

After nearly three days' hunting they came upon 
Jack's camp on Willow creek, east of Wright lake, 
fifteen miles from Applegate's ranch, to which I had 
gone after separation from them at Tule lake, to await 
their return and the arrival of the cavalry. The scouts 
reported a stormy interview with the angry chief. He 
denounced them in severe terms for leaving him ; he 
intended to die with his gun in his hand ; they were 
squaws, not men. He intended to jump Applegate's 
ranch that night, the 28th, etc. On the return of these 
scouts I immediately sent Captain E. V. Summer, aid- 
de-camp, back to the rendezvous at Tule lake with 
orders to push forward Captains H. C. Hasbrouck's 
and James Jackson's commands to Applegate's ranch, 
with rations for three days in haversacks, and pack 
mules with ten days' supply. All arrived and reported 
by 9 o'clock a. m., the 29th, under command of Major 
John Green, their veteran cavalry leader since the 
commencement of the Modoc War, in excellent spirits. 
The impenetrable rocky pedregal was behind them ; the 
desperado and his band were ahead of them in com- 
paratively an open country. After allowing the animals 
an hour's rest the pursuit was renewed, and about one 
o'clock p. m„ Jack and band were jumped on Willow 
creek near its crossing with the old emigrant road. This 
stream forms the headwaters of Lost river. It was a 
complete surprise. The Indians fled in the direction 
of Lang-ell's valley. The pursuit from this time on 
until the final captures, June 3d, partook more of a chase 
after wild beasts than war ; each detachment vying with 
each other as to which should be first in at the finish. 
Lieutenant Colonel Frank Wheaton, Twenty-first 
Infantry, reported to me in compliance with his orders 
from Camp Warner, on the 22d, at Fairchild's ranch. 
He was placed in command of the district of the lakes 
'and the troops comprising the Modoc expedition. After 
making necessary disposition of the foot troops and 
captives at Fairchild's ranch, became forward to Clear 
lake and joined me at Applegate's with Perry's de- 
tachment of cavalry; these troops were at once sent to 
join in the hunt. Most of the band had by this time 
"been run down and captured, but the chief and a few 



of his most in -lid warriors were still running in every 
direction. 

It fell to the lot of these troopers to capture Jack. 
When surrounded and captured he said his "legs had 
given out." Two or three other warriors gave them- 
selves up with him. Though called for, no reports have 
been received of these operations from the different 
detachment commanders, hence details can not be given. 
As soon as the captives were brought in, directions were 
given to concentrate the troops, captives, etc., at Boyle's 
cam]) on Tule lake. There the Oregon Volunteers who 
had been called into the field by the governor, turned 
in a few captives they had taken over on their side of 
the line. It is proper to mention in this connection that 
these volunteers were not under my command. They 
confined their operations to protecting the citizens of 
their own state. Yet on several occasions they offered 
their services informally to report to me for duty in 
case I needed them. No emergency arose requiring me 
to call upon them. 

By June 5th the whole band, with a few unim- 
portant exceptions, had been captured and was assembled 
in our camp on Tule lake, when I received orders from 
the general of the army to hold them under guard until 
further instructions as to what disposition would be 
made of them. 

The Modoc War was ended. The following 
table shows the number of killed and wounded 
soldiers and citizens participating therein: 

Killed. Wounded. Total. 

Officers 7 4 n 

Enlisted men 39 61 100 

Citizens 16 1 17 

Indian scouts 2 2 4 



64 



68 



132 



Following the capture of the hostile Modoc 
Indians there occurred a deplorable affair on Lost 
river. A band of Hot Creek Indians, who had 
taken no part whatever in the war, were being 
removed to the reservation, when 'they were set 
upon by a party of settlers, and six of their num- 
ber slain. These Indians had always been peace- 
able, had had no hand in the massacre of settlers, 
and this attack on them was entirely unwarranted. 

After the capture of the Modocs General 
Davis at once prepared to execute without trial, 
eight or ten of the ringleaders, when he received 
instructions from Washington of a contrary na- 
ture. In a dispatch to General Schofield dated 
Tule lake, June 5th, General Davis said : 

I had already made arrangements to execute eight 
or ten of the ringleaders ; scaffold and ropes were 



966 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



prepared. I was engaged in determining the exact list, 
with a view to executing them at sunset tomorrow, 
when your dispatch was handed me. I have no doubt 
of the propriety and the necessity of executing them on 
the spot at once. I had no doubt of my authority, as de- 
partment commander in the field, to thus execute a band 
of outlaws, robbers and murderers like these^ under the 
circumstances. Your dispatch indicates a long delay 
of the cases of these red devils, which I regret. Delay 
will spoil the moral effect which their prompt execu- 
tion would have had upon other tribes, as also the in- 
spiring effect upon the troops. 

That General Sherman's idea as to the proper 
disposition of the captured Indians was in ac- 
cord with General Davis is shown in the follow- 
ing communication dated June 7th : 

"It is to be regretted that General Davis was 
interrupted in his proposed dealing with the 
Modoc criminals, but the dispatch having been 
shown to the attorney general, he thinks that no 
action should be taken until he has furnished his 
opinion on the subject of their final disposition 
to the president." 

The captured Modocs were taken to Fort Kla- 
math and held under military guard. Before a 
military commission which convened at Fort Kla- 
math, July 1, 1873, and remained in session until 
July 9th, Captain Jack, Schonchis, Black Jim, 
Boston Charley, Barncho alias One-Eyed-Jim and 
Sloluck, alias Cok, were tried for the murder of 
General Canby and Dr. Thomas. The members 
of this commission were Lieutenant Colonel 
Washington L. Elliott, First Cavalry, president ; 
Captain John Mendenhall, Fourth Artillery ; Cap- 
tain Robert Pollock, Twenty-first Infantry ; Sec- 
ond Lieutenant George W. Kingsbury, Twelfth 
Infantry. Major H. P. Curtis, judge advocate 
United States Army, served as judge advocate 
of this commission. Each one of those tried was 
found guilty. The sentence imposed by the com- 
mission was : 

"And the commission does therefore sentence 
them. Captain Jack, Schonchis, Barncho, alias 
One-Eyed-Jim, Sloluck, alias Cok, Black Jim, 
and Boston Charley, Modoc Indian captives, 'To 
be hanged by the neck until they be dead, at such 
time and place as the proper authority shall di- 
rect, two-thirds of the members of the commis- 
sion concurring therein.' ' 

The proceedings, findings and sentences of 
the commission were approved by the commander 
of the department of the Columbia, August 22, 
1873 ; they were also approved by President U. S. 
Grant, who named October 3, 1873, as the date 
of execution. September xoth President Grant 
modified the sentences of Barncho and Sloluck to 
life imprisonment, designating Alcatraz Island, 



harbor of San Francisco, as the place of confine- 
ment. 

The other four were hanged October 3, 1873, 
at Fort Klamath. Of these four Captain Jack 
was the only one who lost his stoical nerve and 
failed to "die as a man." For this weakness he was 
upbraided by Boston Charley, one of the con- 
demned. After the quadruple execution the two 
sentenced to life imprisonment were taken to the 
island. The other Modocs, 153 in number, in- 
cluding Scar Faced Charley, who died in Indian 
Territory about 1900, were first taken to Fort 
McPherson, Nebraska, arriving there October 29, 
1873. There were 39 men, 54 women and 60 
children. Shortly afterward they were all re- 
moved to the Quapaw agency, Indian Territory. 
Near the buildings at the fort are four headboards 
bearing the names of those hanged and the date 
of their execution. Although these monuments 
are still standing the bodies are not buried there 
and never were, having been removed imrnmed- 
iately after the hanging. This is a fact not gen- 
erally known. 

No punishment was inflicted by the civil au- 
thorities for the murder of settlers during the 
war, although efforts were made to do so. The 
following telegram explains itself : 

Jacksonville, Oregon, October 4, 1873. 
To Jeff C. Davis, U. S. A., 

Commanding Department of Columbia, Port- 
land, Oregon : 
The hour of the execution of Captain Jack and his 
co-murderers at Fort Klamath, on yesterday, the sher- 
iff of Jackson county was present with bench warrants 
and exemplified copies of the indictments of the Lost 
river murderers,- and demanded their surrender to the 
civil authorities of this state for trial and punishment. 
A writ of habeas corpus has also been issued by Jus- 
tice Prime, of the circuit court of Jackson county, 
commanding that the indicted murderers be brought 
before him and cause be shown why they are with- 
held from trial. I respectfully ask that you communi- 
cate the proceedings to Washington, and that final ac- 
tion in the premises be taken by order from there. 

L. F. Grover, 

Governor of Oregon. 

This was communicated to the authorities at 
Washington, but the request of the governor of 
Oregon and demand of the civil authorities were 
ignored. The order had previously been issued 
to take the Modocs to the east and this order was 
in no way changed. Following are the names of 
the Indians indicted by the Jackson county grand 
jury November 29th and 30th, 1873: Scar Face 
Charley, Long Jim, Humpy, Little Charley, 
Dave, Hooka Jim, Old Doctor, One-Eyed Mose,. 
Boston Charley and Little Jim. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



967 



Just thirty years after the deportation of the 
153 Modoc Indians from the Klamath country to 
the Indian Territory in 1873 — in June, 1903 — 
forty-seven, the remnant of these, returned to the 



Klamath reservation. Their arrival was reported 
to be agreeable to the other Indians on the reser- 
vation, and they were treated cordially and gen- 
erously. 



CHAPTER V 



FROM CLOSE OF MODOC WAR TO THE YEAR 1905. 



Following the subjugation of the Modocs in 
1873 conditions in the Klamath country again 
became normal. A small increase in population 
was noted each successive year during the 70's, 
but immigration was not large. Settlers devoted 
their energies almost exclusively to stock-raising. 
Only a few residents of supposed favored loca- 
tions attempted to till the soil. A large majority 
of the people believed the bulk of the land worth- 
less for anything save grazing purposes. Thus 
conditions existed until about the year 1881. Then 
an experiment was made with sixty acres of sage 
brush land on what was known as the Plevna 
ranch, near Keno. Thirty acres were sown to 
barley with the surprising result of a yield of 
thirty-six bushels per acre. The following sea- 
son other tests were made on uplands with simi- 
lar favorable results. From that date onward 
there was annually a steady increase in cereal 
acreage and the number of settlers engaged in 
agriculture. 

Yet for a number of years after the demon- 
stration of grain growing possibilities, it was still 
believed by many that grain could only be suc- 
cessfully produced west of Linkville (Klamath 
Falls.) Practical tests proved the fallacy of this 
and soon the Lost river, and other valleys, east of 
the town of Linkville were classed as grain pro- 
ducing sections. 

TAX PAYERS OF 1 8/5- 

Following is a list of all the taxpayers among 
the residents of the present Klamath county in the 
year 1875, as taken from the Lake county assess- 
ment roll for that year, and the gross value of all 
the property : 

KLAMATH INDIAN AGENCY. 



S. Worden $2,600 

L. S. Dyar 3,037 

John Kieykendall . 907 



J. R. Hamersley.$ 665 
James Harer . . . . 140 
Enoch Loper .... 1,925 



SPRACUE RIVER. 



J. A. Stewart $ 800 

Fred Muntz 4,110 

J. W. Gearhart... 1,082 

S. Gardner 1,800 

R. W. Scoville.... 980 

\V. M. Prine, Sr. . 1,227 

W. H. Gearhart. . 2,669 



J. P. Gearhart.... $ 
W. D. Ferrill .... 
Isaac Gearhart ... 152- 
W. M. Prine, Jr. 815 

J. Brown 270 

J. Smith 660 

J. Jones 3,280 



FORT KLAMATH. 



John Stanley . .. .$ 

Jay Beach 920 

John Loosley . . . 1,364 
John Brannan ... 



R. Hutchinson . . .$ 864 
James H. Collahan 6,100 
T. J. Goodwyn . . 1,470 



LINKVILLE. 



J. T. Arant $1,765 

Thomas Lang .... 120 

Ben Stout 1,050 

S. B. Cranston... 2.301 

Small Bros 8,367 

W. J. Small 

Dennis Small .... 
J. W. Hamaker . . 
Chere (Chinaman) 

M. Cody 

J. S. Ball 

John Dick 

Ed Penning 475 

H. M. Thatcher.. 1,000 

J. P. Baker 1,300 

J. N. T. Miller.. 1.160 
John F. Miller . . 1,000 

John Kuhn 150 

James H. Hudson 235 

S. S. Wilcox 

Applegate Bros ..16,200 
John M. Corbell.. 
John La Tourette. 1,898 



H. S. Conn 1,926' 

J. W. Conn 1,220 

T. J. Ferree 1,945 

M. Powell 

Quincy A. Brooks 1,200 

Jesse D. Walker. . 2,682: 

E. F. Walker .... 3,455. 
Jacob Thompson.. 3,52a 

F. French 

William Jaquette . 

Henry Duncan . . . 440 

H. E. Spencer. . . . 2,532 

H. A. Spencer, . . . 1,010 

A. Rockafellow . . . 1,040 

C. Frafton 505, 

M. Tunget 6c» 

Benson Walton . . 1,185 

Dan Gordon, Sr.. 1,010 

W. P. Martin .... 555 

Stukel & Co 1,619 

R. G. Galbreath... 1,082' 

William Hicks . . 595- 

J. L. Hanks 1,63s 






g68 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



LI NKVILLE — CONTINUED. 



' Joseph! Penning 

W. TF.AArant 

John GEeim 

J. E. Kennedy 

Dennis Crawley. . . 

Jacob Bales 

John H. Miller... 

<C. Pratt 

'George Conn .... 

'S. A. Eaton 

O. T. Brown 

Sam Colver 

O. A. Stearns. . . . 

A. N. Smith 

Thomas McKay . . 

J. H. Snyder . . . . 

G. T. Baldwin. . . 

William Forsythe. 
JST. Pratt 



J. J. B. Smith.. 
Louis Land . . . 

C. Horsten .... 
M. Walter .... 
Shook & Walter 
John Shook . . . 
Henry Vinson . 
James Vinson . 
George S. Miller 

F. Hefling 

George McDonald 
Thomas Wilson 
Asa A. Horrow 
"N. S. Goodlow 
J. Haywood . . . 
S. Nelson .... 
Simpson Wilson 

N. Fisher 

William Lockie 
J. Buckmaster 

E. Kilgore .... 

D. C. Kilgore . 
James Kilgore 
M. Hartley . . . 
S. W. Kilgore 
H. White 



$1,252 George C. Thomas ! 

975 N. Stephenson . . . 

3,305 Robert Whittle . . 

380 S. Walker 

2,095 W. Y. Decker . . . 

1,850 G. Sherman 

J^OS John Burnette . . . 

420 C. Canton 

930 Joseph Conger . . . 

846 A. F. Woodruff.. 

3,033 J- Gordon 

2.844 L. Goodwin 

1,140 James Tabin 

108 James Barkley . . . 

470 Ben Lewis 

120 Amerman estate.. 

280 George Nurse 

210 Handy & Roberts. 

834 Calby & Co 1 



'1,330 
225 
876 
40 
291 
840 



1,081 

120 

20 

1,410 

135 

330 

1.960 

17,110 

4,305 

19.190 



LOST RIVER. 

P 95 R. Buckmaster . . .$ 80 

3,175 Coleman & Goddard 250 

1,540 Robert Taylor . . . 1,400 

591 S. D. Whitmore. . 410 

300 W. S. Feicke 970 

10 J. H. Campbell... 202 

3,135 G. B. VanRiper. . 1,820 

965 Joseph Russ 4,100 

2,630 Louisa Boddy .... 726 

1,207 S. N. Hazen 357 

830 C. Myers 320 

3,973 John F. Fulkinson 584 

315 Matthew Kewen. . 885 

480 Bybee & Colwell . . 2,756 

370 Arthur Langell . . 9,210 

725 J. Langell 500 

680 L. Hiatt 394 

Albert Modie .... 500 

1,550 Ben Hall 1,790 

180 I. N. Shook 2,112 

811 D. P. Shook .... 

200 A. Shook 200 

350 William Roberts.. 3.394 

710 W. H. Horton... 1.640 

350 T. P. Chandler. ... 868 

3,205 L. M. McWharton 298 



It is undoubtedly true that the settlement of 
the Klamath country during the 70's and 8o's was 
greatly retarded by land grabbers, colloquially 
■known as "swamp angels." In many instances — 
far too many — they forced settlers to leave the 
•country and, by their high-handed and presump- 
tuous attempts to secure possession of too much 



of the best lands prevented settlers coming in. 
A history of Klamath county devoid of mention 
of this really serious status would be incomplete ; 
we purpose to present a brief account of this land 
grabbing. 

In i860 the United States government granted 
to several states the swamp lands within their 
borders. This was before there were many set- 
tlers in the Klamath country. The purpose of 
the grant was to place these lands in the hands 
of the states, who could to better advantage dis- 
pose of them and supervise their reclamation. In 
the Klamath country very little attention was paid 
to this swamp land grant prior to 1870. Only a 
few years before the first settler had located 
within the boundaries of the present Klamath 
county. But in the year mentioned a bill was in- 
troduced in the Oregon legislature, passed, and 
was signed by Governor Grover making it pos- 
sible for much of the best land to come under the 
pernicious control of the "land grabbers." Os- 
tensibly the bill provided for the reclamation of 
swamp lands in Oregon. It provided for the fil- 
ing on swamp lands by private parties, who were 
to pay $1 per acre for the same, twenty per cent, 
to be paid down ; the balance when proof of re- 
clamation should have been made and accepted. 
No sooner had the ink dried on the governor's 
signature to the bill than 200,000 acres of Kla- 
math soil was filed upon. The bulk of this land 
was secured by Quincy A. Brooks, the author of 
the bill, A. J. Burnett, N. Owens and a few others. 
Had the land thus filed upon been all swamp land 
and unfit for cultivation and pasture without re- 
clamation, there would not have been the set-back 
to settlement which resulted. But much of the 
soil thus taken was "swamp land" only in the 
minds of the land grabbers. Some of this land 
had already been settled upon by homeseekers. 
Others came and began to till the soil and raise 
stock on the lands which were high and dry. 

Then ensued a long, tedious campaign on the 
part of the land grabbers to secure titles from the 
state. They were successful ; then began the 
contest between the settlers who had taken claims 
and the state which had given away the lands to 
the land grabbers. The result was extended liti- 
gation, the state attempting to wrest from the set- 
tlers the lands upon which they were building 
homes.' It was not a contest between the land 
grabbers and the settlers, but the responsibility 
and expense of doing this was placed upon the 
shoulders of the state. The land grabbers were 
employed by the state to prosecute the cases. Most 
of the settlers gave up in despair and moved to 
other parts of the country. They had tilled the 
soil and en°-aq-ed in the stock business, trying to 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



969 



build themselves homes. Intending" settlers 
steered clear of the country where such strife- 
was going mi and where they were led to believe 
the titles to all lands was clouded. The few who 
fought for their rights to a finish — some fourteen 
or fifteen in Klamath county — won their cases in 
every instance. But the litigation produced a de- 
leterious effect on the country and retarded its 
growth as did no other cause. 

Those who have read the preceding chapters 
of this volume have learned of the various county 
formations of Oregon. For the benefit of those 
who have not it may be well to state that in 1854 
all that portion of ( )regon between the Cascade 
and Rocky mountains was formed into Wasco 
county, with the seat of government at The Dalles. 
A little later the present counties of Lake and 
Klamath became a part of Jackson county. Then 
in 1874 that part of Jackson county east of the 
Cascades comprising the present counties of Lake 
and Klamath, was formed into Lake county, with 
Linkville as the county seat, the seat of govern- 
ment two years later being removed to Lakeview. 
The next county remodeling was the creation of 
Klamath county from the western portion of Lake 
county ; this brings us up to 1882. 

Klamath is a name of aboriginal origin, and 
is the name of a tribe of Indians which has occu- 
pied the country since and before the advent of 
white men. The Indian name, besides the now 
authentic spelling, has been spelled Clamet, Kla- 
met, Tlemath and Tlamatl. 

Agitation for the formation of a new county 
from the western portion of Lake, began before 
the 1880 session of the legislature. The moving 
of the county seat to Lakeview in 1876 had the 
effect of making- a division desirable so soon as 
the population would warrant it. Although some 
thought the time had arrived in 1880, the effort 
along this line was not united and the matter was 
not brought before the legislature that session. 
But in the winter of 1881 and 1882 a united effort 
was put forth and continued until Klamath 
county was created in the fall of 1882. Mass 
meetings were held at various points in the west- 
ern part of Lake county to obtain the sentiment 
of the people and to devise means to carrv their 
desires to a successful termination. Following 
are the proceedings of one of these meetings as 
reported by the Ashland Tidings of Dcember 16, 
1SS1: 

Pursuant to notice meeting was called to order at 
2 o'clock p. m., B. Price being chosen chairman and 
T. J. Goodwyn, secretary. After- a somewhat lengthy 
discussion of the bridge question, the propriety of divid- 
ing Lake county and forming a new county was sub- 
mitted to a vote, when it was determined that all 



present were in favor of such division. A resolution 
was also passed requesting the secretary to furnish a 
copy of their proceedings to the Ashland 1 idings for 
publication. 

Quite naturally the people of the eastern side 
of Lake county objected to the dismemberment of 
their county. Still, this opposition was by no 
means intense or bitter. They were willing to al- 
low the slicing of their county provided "the 
western end had taxable property enough to sup- 
port a count v organization," and they argued that 
this was not the case. 

The campaign of the "west-enders" was 
waged spiritedly throughout the spring and sum- 
mer of 1882. During the months of July and Au- 
gust a petition to the legislature was circulated 
asking for the cutting off of the Klamath basin, 
Langell and Sprague river valleys, to form the 
new countv. This petition was liberally signed 
and found its way to the legislative halls. The 
bill was introduced by E. C. Mason, a resident of 
Goose Lake valley, and in due time passed both 
houses and was signed by the governor Oc- 
tober 17th. 

The population of Klamath county at the time 
of its organization was, probably, about 700 or 
800. At the general election held in June, 1882, 
the precincts of Lake, which were afterward 
formed into Klamath county, polled 258 votes. A 
proper multiple to be used for that period in de- 
terming population from the voting strength was 
not over three, which would give the proposed 
new countv a population about as stated. Fol- 
lowing is the Klamath county enabling act : 

Re it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the 
State of Oregon : 

Section 1. That all that portion of the State of 
Oregon embraced within the following boundary lines 
be, and the same is hereby created and organized into 
a separate county by the name of Klamath, to-wit : Be- 
ginning on the south boundary line of the State of Ore- 
gon at its intersection with the line between ranges 
No. 15 and 16 east; thence due north to the south line 
of township number 32 south ; thence due west to the 
line between ranges No. n and 12 east; thence due 
north to the south line of township No. 22 south, being 
the south boundary of Wasco county ; thence due 
west to the summit of the Cascade mountains ; thence 
southerly along said summit to its intersection with 
the line between ranges No. 4 and 5 east; thence due 
south on said range line to the south boundary line of 
the State of Oregon, and thence east along said boundary 
line to the place of beginning. 

Sec. 2. The territory embraced within said 
boundary lines shall constitute a county for all civil 
and military purposes, and shall be subject to the 



970 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



same laws and restrictions and be entitled to the sarhe 
rights and privileges as other counties of the state. 

Sec. 3. The county seat of Klamath county is 
hereBy located at the town of Linkville, in said county, 
until otherwise located, as provided in this act, and 
the county court of Klamath county shall not expend 
any of the funds of said county for the erection or 
construction of county buildings until after the first of 
July, A. D., 1884. 

Sec. 4. The county clerk of Lake county shall, 
within thirty days after this act becomes a law, make 
out and deliver to the county clerk of Klamath county 
a certified transcript of all deeds or other records per- 
taining to real estate in Klamath county, or to any 
right, title or interest therein, together with a transcript 
of all liens and mortgages upon real or personal prop- 
erty in said Klamath county,- which said transcript when 
filed in the office of the county clerk of Klamath county 
shall have the same effect as original records of the 
county; and the expense of making said transcript 
shall be paid by Klamath county. 

Sec. 5. It shall be the duty of the county clerk 
of Lake county to make out and deliver to the county 
clerk of Klamath county, within thirty days after this 
act shall have gone into operation, a transcript of all 
taxes assessed upon persons and property within said 
Klamath county, and which shall remain unpaid on 
the day that this act shall become a law, and said taxes 
shall be paid to the proper officers of Klamath county. 

Sec. 6. It shall be the duty of the county judges . 
of Lake and Klamath counties to ascertain the amount 
of indebtedness of Lake county on the day that this 
act becomes a law; from this indebtedness shall be de- 
ducted the value of the county buildings of Lake 
county, as estimated by said county judges; also the 
amount of all state taxes assessed in Lake county and 
remaining unpaid, together with all money then remain- 
ing in the hands of the county treasurer of Lake county, 
school funds excepted. Two-fifths of the remainder 
is hereby fixed as Klamath county's proportionate share 
of said county indebtedness, and when said propor- 
tionate share shall be ascertained as aforesaid, the same 
shall be paid without delay to Lake county out of the 
treasury of Klamath county. And it is hereby made 
the duty of the county treasurer of Lake county, within 
thirty days after this act becomes a law, to pay over 
to the county treasurer of Klamath county, upon the 
order of the school superintendent of said count)-, all 
school funds then in his charge belonging to the several 
school districts in Klamath county. 

Sec. 7. The counties of Klamath and Lake shall 
constitute one representative district, and the legal 
voters of said district shall be entitled to elect jointly 
one representative to the legislative assembly of this 
state ; and the counties of Lake, Klamath and Wasco 
shall constitute one senatorial district, and the legal 
voters of said district shall be entitled to elect jointly 
one senator to the legislative assembly of this slate. 



Sec. 8. The county of Klamath is hereby attached 
to the first judicial district for judicial purposes, and 
the terms of the circuit court of said county shall 
commence on the third Monday in May and the fourth 
Monday in August in each year. 

Sec. 9. The first term of the county court of 
Klamath county shall commence on the second Monday 
after this act becomes a law, and thereafter the regular 
sessions of said court shall commence on the first 
Mondays of March, June, September and December 
of each year. 

Sec. 10. It shall be the duty of the Governor, so 
soon as convenient after this act becomes a law, to 
appoint for Klamath county, from among her resident 
citizens, the several county officers allowed by law tc 
said county, which said officers, after duly qualifying 
according to law, shall hold their respective offices until 
their successors are duly elected and qualified as pro- 
vided by law. 

Sec. 11. Until otherwise provided by law the county 
judge of Klamath county shall receive an annual salary 
of two hundred and fifty dollars, and the county treasurer 
an annual salary of one hundred dollars. 

Sec. 12. At the first general election after this act 
becomes a law the question of permanently locating 
the county seat of Klamath county shall be submitted' 
to the legal voters of said county, and the place which 
shall receive a majority of all the votes cast at said' 
election shall be the permanent county seat of said 
county. 

Sec. 13. As the citizens living within the boundaries - 
of the proposed county of Klamath labor under a great 
inconvenience in the transaction of necessary business 
at their present county seat (Lakeview), this act shall 
take effect and be in force from and after its approval . 
by the Governor. 

Approved October 17, 1882. 

Monday, November 6, 1882, the official ma- 
chinery of Klamath county was set in motion. 
On that date, in the little town of Linkville, the 
commissioners' court convened for the first time 
and formally organized the county government. . 
At this meeting there were present Hon. W. S. 
Moore, county judge: Stephen Stukel and O. T. 
Brown, commissioners ; Charles Putnam, sheriff, 
and W. C. Hale, clerk. The business transacted 
at this initial assembly was the approval of the 
bonds of the several county officers ; the making 
of arrangements for county records and the ap- 
pointment of precinct officers. 

The first assessment of Klamath county, 
1883, disclosed the fact that the taxable property 
in the new political division was $499,013. The 
first tax levy was as follows : County purposes, 
io J / 2 mills; state, $ l /> ; school, 4; total 20 mills. 
The county court found it necessary to raise 
$5,800 upon the assessment roll of 1884. The- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



971 



amount of taxable property was $561,536. The 
levy was: County purposes, 10 4-10 mills; state, 
5 5-10 mills; school, 4 mills; state university tax, 
1-10 mill. Total, 20 mills. 

The new county began its career in poverty. 
At first no effort was made to provide county 
buildings ; nothing very elaborate was required. 
Whenever the county officials had need of a tem- 
porary office they generally found a way to pro- 
vide the same without cost to the county. Finally, 
however, a court building became an actual neces- 
sity. July 8, 1884, a structure for this purpose 
was leased from G. W. Smith for $20 per month. 
There was a steadily increasing demand for a jail. 
In August of the same year the county purchased 
of W. J. Nichols lots 3 and 4 of block 23, for 
$200. A contract was let to Paul Breitstein to 
erect a jail building at a cost of $800 ; before the 
close of the year the county had provided a cage 
for its jail birds. 

While immigrants were settling in some other 
portions of Oregon quite rapidly during the early 
'80s, Klamath county, being so remote from 
transportation and trade centers, was overlooked. 
There was, practically, no increase of population 
up to 1884; in iact there was no immigration 
up to that time. Beginning that year, however, 
settlers began to come in and locate within the 
boundaries of the new county. Even so late as 
1884 when there was quite a settlement in the 
county, there were few who considered the lo- 
cality capable of producing crops, mainly on ac- 
count of frosts. This year, however, quite a 
number sowed crops and Thomas Martin erected 
a grist mill on Link river, just above Linkville, 
the first one in the county and a pronounced suc- 
cess. 

\\ mle irrigation projects in Klamath county 
are now working wonders in the development of 
this section, it is not a new undertaking. In 1884 
William Steel came to the Klamath country from 
Reno, Nevada, and undertook to irrigate a large 
tract of land. He bought for himself and son-in- 
law, George W. Wilson, several hundred acres of 
land, secured a right of w r ay and built an irriga- 
tion ditch, taking water from Big Klamath lake. 
This enterprise brought many settlers and land 
which could be supplied from this ditch at once 
increased in value from $1.25 to $10 per acre. 
Others undertook like enterprises. Vanbrimer 
Brothers expended thousands of dollars in bring- 
ing water from Little Klamath lake for a like pur- 
pose, reclaiming qviite a scope of otherwise value- 
less land. The latter enterprise was incorporated 
in January, 1886, as the Little Klamath Water 
Ditch Companv. 

The year 1885 was a prosperous one for Kla- 



math county. According to the Oregon state cen- 
sus of that year the population of the county was 
1,222. The .Klamath Weekly Star claimed that 
the population was double what it had been the 
year before, as was the actual wealth of the 
county. This was, probably, an exaggeration, but 
wonderful advancement had been made. The 
assessed valuation for the year was $630,915. The 
entire indebtedness of the county on July 3, of 
that year, was $4,774.76. 

The first header for Klamath county, owned 
by Naylor & Townley, made its appearance in 
1885, an( l ^s advent may he noted as a new era 
for this country. While it was standing in the 
streets of Linkville it brought fresh to memory 
the earlier days of California and the first one 
that was brought to that state, and that, too, 
when it was by many thought doubtful whether 
the growing of grain in northern California could 
be made a success. 

The taxable property for 1886 was $709,236, 
and this was increased the year following to 
$1,015,559, showing that the country was rapidly 
developing. The Star of May 13, 1887, said: 

"The assessed value of property in the county 
today will more than double that of 1884. The 
acreage seeded to grain this season will, also, 
double that of any previous year in the county. 
Today we see our valleys dotted here and there 
with comfortable homes, decorated' with green 
fields of growing grain. The mighty lakes and 
rivers, by the hand of industry, have been made 
to contribute to the dry sage brush plains a con- 
tinuous stream of water converting them into- 
ever green meadows for the benefit of man." 

In September, 1887, the county court pur- 
chased grounds in Linkville, and decided to erect 
a court house at a cost not to exceed $7,500. The 
lots were bought of Mrs. Lizzie Brooks for $500; 
bids were solicited for the erection of the building 
at a cost within the amount above stated. At the 
session of November 25th the contract for this 
building was let to W. S. Moore & Company for 
the sum of $3,500. County Judge G. W. Smith 
strenuously objected to the action of the county 
court at this time. Upon the commissioners' 
journal of November 25th appears the following: 

"G. W. Smith, county judge of Klamath 
county, hereby refuses to take any part in letting 
a contract to build a court house for Klamath 
county under either of the bids or specifications 
now on file and being considered by the commis- 
sioners, as he does not believe either reaches the 
wants of this county or is agreeable to the tax- 
payers to build such a structure as is represented 
by either bid: and in signing the journal of this 
day's proceedings I wish it distinctly understood 



972 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



that I object to any order going on the journal to 
let said contract. 

"(Signed.) "G.W.Smith, 

"County Judge." 

Notwithstanding this protest the other com- 
missioners let the contract. The building was 
erected and occupied July 2, 1888. It is the same 
building now in use for county purposes. While 
it answered all purposes during those early days 
it has now outgrown its usefulness and is today a 
disgrace to the rich county of Klamath whose 
people generally take great pride in their public 
buildings. It is a question of only a short time 
when the county's capital building will be one to 
which its citizens can point with some satisfaction. 

The gross property value of the county ac- 
cording: to the assessment roll of 1888 was 



$1,392,929. The net taxable property valuation 
was $988,566. 

The contract for a new jail building was let 
March 8, 1889, to L. Biehn for $3,500. This was 
erected upon the same grounds on which the 
court house stands. September 5th, the jail build- 
ing was accepted. The population of Klamath 
county according to the United States census of 
1890 was 2,444. Of all the counties of Oregon 
only two, Sherman and Curry, had less popula- 
tion. This was an increase of over 100 per cent, 
over the population of 1885 — doubling in five 
years. The total assessed property in 189 1 was 
$1,186,635 ; in 1892 this was reduced to 
$1,080,323. 

During 1892 an effort was made to secure a 
railroad through Klamath county. Considerable 
interest was aroused ; the people as an inducement 
offered a fair bonus in land to the proposed rail- 
way company. It was announced that the South- 
ern Pacific Railway Company offered to build a 
road to be finished by December, 1893, for $100,- 
000 in land and cash. April 29, 1892, there had 
been collected $10,153, in cash, and 2,497 acres of 
land. But the railway company abandoned the 
project ; the money and lands were returned to the 
donors. In truth the people of the county were 
unable to raise the large sum demanded. Other 
railway projects subsequently resulted in failure. 

Then followed the "hard times'' prevailing 
generally throughout the country between 1893 
and 1897. The growth and prosperity that had 
prevailed during the preceding nine years was 
checked. Practically the county was at a stand- 
still and in common with the rest of the United 
States waited for the unfolding of the silver lin- 
ing within the cloud. 

In 1893 the total valuation of property was 
$1,476,393. In 1894 this was increased to 
$1,558,709. The population of the county in 



1895, by the Oregon state census, was 2,318, a 
decrease from the census of five years previous. 
In 1896 the total taxable property listed was 
$1,589,440, but in 1897 this had decreased to 
$1,496,822. In 1898 it had gained to $1,529,398. 

Emerging from the "hard times" period Kla- 
math county once more came to the front as one 
of the leading interior counties of Oregon, and 
prospects appeared to favor the possibility of 
her no longer being an interior county. Early in 
November, 1899, the Oregon Midland Railroad 
Company was formed to build a railroad from 
Klamath Falls to a point on the Southern Pacific 
at, or near, Klamathon, California, a distance of 
about sixty miles. The incorporators were George 
T. Baldwin and R. S. Moore, of Klamath county ; 
David Horn, of Siskiyou county, California, and 
L. W. Van Horn, W. J. Woods and J. A. McCall, 
of Jackson county. The capital stock was fixed at 
$1,000,000, divided into 10,000 shares of $100 
each. Preparations were at once made to build 
the road ; surveyors were placed in the field and 
for several months worked on the proposed line. 
Nothing, however, eventuated. 

During the year 1899 the price of real estate 
advanced fully 100 per cent. More transfers of 
property were made this season than in any other 
year since 1891. During 1899 there were erected 
in Klamath county in all 52 dwellings, 23 barns 
and r6 stores, with a total valuation of $64,050. 
For this year the total taxable property was 
$1,483,443. 

According to the census of 1900 the popula- 
tion of Klamath county was 3,970. During the 
previous ten years the county had gained 1,526 
people, an increase of 62 per cent. For the entire 
state of Oregon the gain had been only 31 per 
cent. Klamath had eclipsed all neighboring 
counties ; Crook had gained 746 ; Harney, 37 and 
Lake 243. Jackson county gained about 17 per 
cent. Following is a comparison by precincts; 

Precincts. 1900 1890 

Dairy 221 231 

Klamath Lake 52 59 

Langell Valley 195 

Lost River 187 363 

Lakeville 852 787 

Plevna 239 

Snow T83 340 

Poe Valley 156 T41 

Tule Lake 336 T94 

Sprague River '. 145 1 19 

Wood River 27S 210 

Klamath Indian Reservation 1.136 



3-9/0 



2,444 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



973- 



The population in U)or was estimated at 5,000 
Assessed valuation for 1901 was $2,299,1(19, 
about $800,000 more than in 1900. 

In 1901 a correspondent of the Portland Ore- 
gonian wrote of Klamath county conditions as 
follows : 

Klamath county 111 enjoying a growth in improve- 
ment unprecedented in its history. The influx of new 
settlers was never so great. Of late all stages coming 
here, besides many private conveyance-, have been loaded 
with homeseekers, timber men and others in quest of 
different investments. * * * The rush for timber 
has begun. Dozens are already in the woods, some to 
locate new claims and others to inspect large tracts 
owned by individuals for eastern buyers. Reliable in- 
formation states that hundreds of people, hitherto quietly 
waiting on the outside for the snows to disappear from 
the mountains, will soon augment the scramble for 
Klamath county pine. The growing demand has ad- 
vanced the price somewdiat. The spirit of improvement 
is rife everywhere in the county. The most important 
is that of enlarging irrigating canals and building new 
ones. The pay-roll of the Klamath Falls Irrigation 
Company, whose canal is being widened, is $r,ooo per 
week. Work is progressing on two ditches near Bly 
and there is assurance of two more in the vicinity of 
Bonanza this season. Surveys are in progress for the 
proposed irrigating ditches for Klamath reservation. 
Preparations are being made for the building of electric 
light, water works and sewerage systems for the agency, 
appropriations for which were made at the late session 
of congress. Work of construction will begin soon 
and be pushed as rapidly as possible. 

The year 1902 was another era of prosperity 
for Klamath count}'. "Times were good : the 
only complaint voiced was that there was more 
work to be done than could be accomplished by 
the limited number of laborers. Money was plen- 
tiful and good wages prevailed. In various en- 
terprises was capital invested. Hundreds of men 
and women, during this year, went into the moun- 
tains between Klamath and Goose lakes to take 
up yellow pine timber land under the timber and 
stone act. 

November 13, 1901, work was begun on the 
only railroad which so far penetrated Klamath 
county. This road was built by those interested 
in the Pokegama Lumber Company. The Offi- 
cers of the road who were also menjbers of the 
above named company, were George Mason, 
president ; Hervey Lindley, vice-president, and 
general manager : J. E. Coffin secretary and Dean 
Mason, treasurer. This line was named the 
Klamath Lake Railroad, and was built from 
Thrall, California, to Pokegama, in the extreme 



southwestern corner of the county. This road 
was completed to Pokegama in May, 1903. 

While the year 1902 had been a most pros- 
perous one for the county of Klamath, 1903 com- 
pletely distanced it. Day by day increased the 
number on the ground. New stage lines were 
added and the old ones increased their equipment. 
Filled to overflowing were the hotels of the sev- 
eral towns. Various were the causes which pro- 
duced this rush. Some came to secure the little 
government timber land that remained ; others 
sought investments and business opportunities in 
the towns. The total value of taxable property 
in 1903 was $2,756,690. 

In the spring 1904 the Klamath Canal Com- 
pany began operations, undertaking to irrigate 
an extensive tract of land with water taken from 
Upper Klamath lake. This company was incor- 
porated in San Benito county, California, May 
16. 1904. The capital stock was $1,000,000.. 
William EC. Brown was the attorney in fact and 
general agent. The officers were Charles N. 
Hawkins, president: I'aul F. Brown, vice presi- 
dent; John Peterson, secretary; Bank of Hollis- 
ter, California, treasurer. The directors were 
Paul F. Brown, Charles X. Hawkins, Frank E. 
Shore. Thomas S. Hawkins, Nash C. Briggs, 
all of Hollister, California. In the spring of 1905 
arrangements were made for a sale of this plant 
to the government, as was the case of the other 
two large irrigating projects. 

This irrigation scheme of the government's, 
involving a contemplated outlay of $4,400,000, is 
destined to work wonders for the Klamath coun- 
try. During the past summer ( 1904) govern- 
ment engineers were in the field and it was esti- 
mated bv them that the amount of land to be re- 
claimed will be in the vicinity of 320,000 acres.. 
Nearly all of this land is of the best quality and 
well adapted to the growing of grain, alfalfa, 
potatoes and all varieties of vegetables. 

This is, probably, the cheapest and greatest 
irrigation enterprise undertaken by the govern- 
ment in the west. In the Klamath basin it is 
rapidly assuming substantial form. The people 
of the region are thoroughly enthused over the 
project and all conflicting elements have been 
swept away with the purchase of private inter- 
ests in other canal projects. T. H. Humphries 
is the engineer in charge of the work. Mr. Hol- 
gate represents the legal department of the gov-- 
eminent in all its proceedings. These gentle- 
men have been to California where they asked 
that state to cede to the government all its unsold 
swamp land in the basin. The same request 
was made to the Oregon legislature and granted. 

Before the srovernment drains the lakes and 1 



'974 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



marshes contemplated in a portion of the tract 
it wants title placed with it so that the land may 
be sold as homestead as soon as the work is com- 
plete. The state of Oregon holds title proper 
under the old swamp land act. The tule lands 
adjacent to the lakes have already been sold to 
private interests, and now all of these acquiesce 
in the government plan. 

Upper Klamath lake will be used as an im- 
mense storage reservoir for which its situation 
is admirable. Two other lake beds will be util- 
ized for storage reservoirs for which there wdl 
have to be dams, but this work will be at a low 
figure as the sites are well adapted to the pur- 
pose. Upper Klamath lake is at an altitude of 
4,142 feet above sea level. It has an area of 
65,000 acres, and there is marsh and tule land 
at the head covering 75,000 acres. This vast 
swamp is remarkably level, and by lowering the 
level of the lake three feet the swamp will be 
drained sufficiently for agriculture. When the 
75,000 acres of marsh is drained it will be irri- 
gated, from Sprague and a sister river, which 
have sufficient volume to irrigate all of this land 
and fill the great lakes for the irrigation work 
in lands below. 

Lower Klamath lake covers 84,000 acres, 
the water being of but one to twelve feet in 
depth. Tule, sometimes known as Rhett, lake and 
situated near Lower Klamath, has an area of 
94,000 acres, with a depth of from ten to twenty- 
five feet. Clear lake is within six or seven miles 
of Tule lake. Lost river running out of the for- 
.-mer, circulates about 100 miles through tbc 
country and returning to Tule lake keeps it re- 
plenished. Lower Klamath is but 56 feet less 
altitude than upper lake. The river running 
through the valley near Lower Klamath has cut 
a channel 16 feet deep, and at Keno there is a fall 
of 50 feet in a mile. The government purposes 
cutting a channel from Keno down until the falls 
are destroyed, giving 12 to 15 feet drainage for 
Lower Klamath lake, which will leave that basin 
entirely dry. The water of Clear lake will be 
reservoired and then used for irrigation, the 
waste being diverted so that it does not reach 
the Tule lake basin, and by the natural process 
of evaporation it will soon become dry. 

Drainage will be built to expedite this process 
if necessary. Clear lake will be restrained with a 
dam 30 feet high. This basin will be made to im- 
pound 500,000 acre feet of water which will be 
distributed by a canal forty miles long. The 
watershed for Clear lake comprises about 400 
square miles, and will be ample to store it during 
the wet season. Another basin is near Clear lake, 
known as Horse Fly valley. A dam 70 feet high 
will be built across one end of this valley, pro- 



viding a basin that will impound 200,000 feet 
of water. Its drainage basin is also ample to 
furnish this volume. A canal fifteen miles long 
will distribute the water from this reservoir, it 
reaching the east side of the Lost river valley, 
and the Clear lake canal on the west side of the 
same valley. These two canals will water three 
areas, known as Langell valley, of 15,000 acres; 
Alkali valley, of 20,000 acres and Swan lake 
valley of 30,000 acres. The government experts 
estimate that the two reservoirs will be equal to 
this task, with a margin of water to spare. 

A channel will be taken out of Link river im- 
mediately below its origin in Upper Klamath lake. 
This ditch will have a length of 40 miles and 
water an area of 60,000 acres in what is known as 
Klamath River valley ; 10,000 acres north of Tule 
lake, 50,000 acres in Tule lake basin and 84,000 
acres in the lower Klamath lake basin. The water 
that can be controlled in the upper lake is good 
for 600,000 acres, so that this canal when made 
sufficiently large, will be ample to fructify the 
entire region indicated. 

The secondary reclamation scheme mentioned 
which is not conected with the main project out- 
lined, is in the Butte Creek valley, where 25,000 
acres of good land are found. The engineers 
believe that Klamath river may be made to pump 
sufficient water to irrigate half of this tract, lift- 
ing the flow 150 feet, and that storage reservoirs 
may be constructed so as to irrigate the other 
half. However, this enterprise is not to be 
pressed until the other larger work is finished. 

The canal begins from Link river, near the 
head, and is to tap the upper lake half a mile east 
of Klamath Falls. Since the government entered 
the field the people who have made contracts with 
the private canal companies seek to have them 
release them and many who had signed with 
these companies have signed with the govern- 
ment. 

During the summer of 1904 there was an- 
other stir in railroad circles, and it is still quite 
a live issue. In June, 1904, it was announced 
that the "Weed" railroad was to be constructed 
to Klamath Falls. At this time the road was 
being built in the direction of Klamath county, 
in California, by the Weed Lumber & Railroad 
Companv, the personnel of which was : Abner 
Weed, president ; B. F. Brooks, secretary ; G. H. 
Wendling, San Francisco, G. E. Bittinger, Los 
Angeles; E. S. Moulton, Riverside; Mr. Martin 
and others, directors. 

For some time there was much speculation 
concerning this enterprise. Surveyors were in 
the field. Early in January, 1905, a definite prop- 
osition was submitted by the owners of the Weed 
road. Thev agreed to have a road built into 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



975 



Klamath Falls, from Weed, California, by March 
31, 1907, providing the people of Klamath 
county would secure a right of way from the 
California line, in addition to a bonus of $100,000 
to be paid upon the completion of the road. The 
citizens of the county at once became active and 
set to work to meet those requirements. In the 
summer of 1905 the $100,000 was raised, all be- 
ing subscribed in Klamath county with the ex- 
ception of $15,000 raised by San Francisco peo- 
ple. This indicates that this road is a cer- 
tainty. 

While the attention of the people of Klamath 
county is riveted to the building of the Weed 
railroad and the irrigation project, there is an- 
other enterprise that will prove of great benefit 
to the county. This is the proposed road to 
Crater Lake by the Medford & Crater Lake 
Railway Company. The first sod in the construc- 
tion of this road was turned early in April, 1905. 
At present the plans are to build into the timber 
belt west of the mountains, but in time it will 
be extended into the Klamath county. 

The increase in valuation of assessable prop- 



erty in the county for the past year (1905) is 
the greatest in its history. It has reached a 
total of $3,163,955, above a valuation in 1904 of 
$2,755,690, or an actual gain of $506,965. The 
financial condition of the county is excellent. It 
probably ranks with the best in the state. While 
it is nearly four years behind with its warrants, 
yet it has the full confidence of the commercial 
world, for its largest warrants, when they can be 
obtained, are selling at a premium immediately 
upon issuance. 

And now we bring to a close the history of 
Klamath, the favored county of Oregon. In 
the earlier days it was the dreaded Modoc coun- 
try ; now it is the county of happy homes. Where 
once resounded the blood-curdling war-whoop of 
savage Indians, now live a contented people at 
peace with all the world. And yet this county 
is but in its infancy. Could we be permitted to 
read a history of Klamath county from 1905 to 
1950, what wonders would be revealed. But 
it is quite certain that it would be a record of 
peace and prosperity ; not of war and pioneer 
hardships. 



CHAPTER VI 



CITIES AND TOWNS. 



Within the boundaries of Klamath county 
there is only one town that has reached a stage 
which may be termed "important." This is Kla- 
math Falls, the county seat, a town of 1,100 or 
1,200 people. It is the trading center of a large 
territory ; it is rapidly becoming one of the prin- 
cipal towns of southern Oregon. 

Two other towns in the county have won their 
way to municipal government and have been 
granted charters by the legislature. These are 
Merrill and Bonanza and rank second and third 
in importance. Besides these three mentioned 
are the villages of Fort Klamath, Keno and 
Dairy, each eligibly located and surrounded by 
rich farming sections and a country abundant 
with resources. With the general advancement 
of the county these are keeping pace. Each has 
a good school and a few business houses to supply 
the immediate wants of the people in the vicinity. 
Aside from the points mentioned are a number 
of country postoffices near some of which are 



stores, sawmills, etc. There are nineteen post- 
offices in the county as follows : Bedfield, Bly, 
Bonanza, Dairy, Forest, Fort Klamath, Keno, 
Klamath Agency, Klamath Falls, Langell's Val- 
ley, Lorella, Merrill, Odell, Olene, Pelican, Poke- 
gama, Royston, Vistillas and Yainax. 

KLAMATH FALLS. 

The capital of Klamath county lies in the 
great Klamath basin at the mouth of Link river, 
near which point the extensive irrigation canal 
will receive its water to irrigate $00,000 acres 
lying in Klamath county and northern California. 
It is situated on Lake Ewauna, which in Indian 
lore means "Elbow," the lake at this point assum- 
ing that form. Sheltered on the north by a low 
range of mountains it is seldom extremely cold 
here in winter ; the breeze from many surround- 
ing lakes contribute to make it a delightful place 
in summer. The elevation of the town is 4,169 
feet above sea level. 






9/6 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Klamath Falls was originally called Link? 
ville, and it is as Linkville that the greater por- 
tion of this history will treat it. Although the 
town is an old one it has but recently put on a new 
appearance and is now forging rapidly to the 
front. Adjacent to the town *are a number of 
hot springs famed for high temperature and medi- 
cinal qualities. While at present Klamath Falls 
has an electric light plant and water system, they 
are to be greatly enlarged and improved to meet 
the demands of a growing city. The town has 
one of the best equipped telephone systems in the 
interior. At present Klamath Falls is 33 miles 
from the nearest railway point which place is 
reached by stage. The present route to Klamath 
Falls is via the Southern Pacific Railway to 
Thrall, in northern California, thence by the 
Klamath Lake Railway to Pokegama, and thence 
by stage. There are also daily stage lines from 
Klamath Falls to Merrill, Fort Klamath, Lake- 
view and all intermediate points. The Lakeview 
line passes through Dairy, Bonanza and Bly. The 
Methodists and Presbyterians each have substan- 
tial edifices at Klamath Falls and large member- 
ships. The Catholics are preparing to build a 
church and school. Fraternal societies are rep- 
resented by the Masons, Odd Fellows, K. of P., 
A. O. U. W. and W. O. W. 

The pioneer selected this, spot by instinct and 
experience as the natural trade center of this re- 
gion on account of its striking location and here 
pitched his tent. In later years the keener busi- 
ness man and close observer cast his lot here 
willing to bide his time. One bright, sunny after- 
noon in the year 1858 a solitary individual might 
have been seen winding his way up the steep 
mountain side fringing the town on the west. On 
gaining the summit he accumulated two piles of 
brushwood and lighted them almost simultan- 
eously. Two columns of smoke rose in the air — 
the signal for barter — which met an almost im- 
mediate response from the Lost river hills. In 
less than an hour's time native riders and their 
horses reeking with sweat, had gathered about 
Mart Frain — pre-eminently the first white trader 
to visit the present townsite of Klamath Falls. 

Linkville, Klamath county's first town, was 
founded in 1867. George Nurse, its founder, had 
had for some time previously business relations 
with the troops at Fort Klamath. Ever since the es- 
tablishment of this post he had had dealings there, 
being post sutler, carrying a small stock of goods 
to sell to the soldiers and trinkets for the Indians. 
Here he remained for some time, but at last de- 
termined to leave the fort and establish himself 
at another point in the Klamath country. The 
location he selected was the site of the present 
town of Klamath Falls, on the east bank of Link 



river, at the point where it broadens into the 
Little Ewauna Lake. Securing a "permit" from 
the government in the spring of 1867, he ran a 
ferry across Link river, now spanned by the coun- 
ty bridge, at the foot of Main street. This work 
was done under the supervision of Mr. Edgar 
Overton and was begun in March. Nelson Ste- 
venson, a carpenter, did most of the work in 
building the ferry boat. 

Under the direction of Overton, who appears 
to have been interested with Mr. Nurse in his 
adventures, lumber was rafted down from the 
fort that summer, and the pioneer building in 
Linkville, a little box lumber cabin was con- 
structed. It was built on a rocky point on the 
river's bank, the site of the Brick Store Com- 
pany's building. About the same time, or pos- 
sibly a little later, a second cabin was put up just 
across the street where the Lakeside Inn is now 
located. Into this building Mr. Nurse moved 
the remnants of his sutler's store and opened a 
business which he conducted until 1883. Al- 
though Mr. Nurse has alwa3 - s been given credit 
for founding the town there was associated with 
him in nearly all his enterprises Mr. Alexander 
Miller. Mr. Miller had been his old time part- 
ner in the sutler business, and when the change 
was made to Linkville, Mr. Miller was, also, a 
partner in the venture, although all the business 
was transacted in Nurse's name. 

Of all the frontier stores established in Ore- 
gon this was, undoubtedly, the most picturesque 
and primitive. The "trade" at first was almost 
exclusively with Indians ; the "stock" carried 
consisted largely of articles that appealed to the 
natives. These were exchanged for furs. Grad- 
ually, however, as settlers flocked into the coun- 
try Nurse added to his stock until in time the 
store assumed fair proportions and "Uncle 
George's store" became a distributing point for a 
large territory. The land upon which Mr. Nurse 
built his store, and that adjacent thereto, he se- 
cured from the state. His idea from the incep- 
tion seems to have been to found a future 
town at this spot, as he at once platted the site 
and placed lots on the "market." This early plat- 
ting, however, was very informal and never re- 
corded. Later, in 1878, the townsite was re- 
platted and recorded ; the original plat was de- 
clared void. 

Appropriately enough the town was named 
Linkville by Nurse because of its location on Link 
river, the stream which connects Upper Klamath 
lake with Lake Ewauna. Thus came into exist- 
ence the future metropolis of the Klamath coun- 
try. During the four years following the estab- 
lishment of the store a few other buildings were 
erected. On nearly all of these the carpentry 




Klamath Falls, County Seat of Klamath County 



I 
■ 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



977 



was done by O. A. Stearns and William Angle. 
In 1868 or 1869 a saloon for James Barclay and a 
blacksmith shop for a Mr. Coultos were built. In 
1869 a carpenter's shop was put up by Nelson 
Stevenson and a residence by James Barclay. 

This same year the ferry was replaced by a 
wooden bridge across Link river. It was built 
by George Nurse at a cost of $1,200 or $1,500. 
inis structure served until the bridge that now 
spans the river was erected by the county in the 
middle '80s. In 1869 or the year following, two 
cabins were erected on the west side of the river 
for Dave Durvall and another party. This was 
the beginning of West Klamath Falls. The Link- 
ville postofhce was establisbed in 1872. George 
Nurse was the postmaster for 12 years. As 
stated in a previous chapter in the spring of tins 
year a contract for carrying the mail from Ash- 
land to Lake City, California, via Linkville, was 
let — the first mail facilities that Klamath county 
had secured. In the fall of 1872 the United 
States land office was located at Linkville, quite 
an event in the history of the little town. George 
Nurse was appointed receiver but did not qualify. 
The receiver and register who opened the office 
were George W. Conn and Judson S. Small. This 
office remained at Linkville until 1879, when it 
was removed to Lakeview. 

Quite slowly grew Linkville during these 
days; it was not until 1872 and 1873 that its. 
name became immortalized in history's pages by 
the occurrence of one of the bloodiest Indian wars 
that ever crimsoned the land. At the time of 
the outbreak of the Modoc War, in the fall of 
1872, Linkville was a town of, possibly, 40 inhab- 
itants. There were the store and a postoffice, a 
hotel, a blacksmith shop, a feed stable, and a few 
residences all close to the river at the foot of 
what is now Main street. Later a drug store 
was added to the business enterprises of the little 
town. In previous chapters we have told of the 
war and the part taken by the citizens of Link- 
ville. It was from this point that most of the 
war news was sent broadcast throughout the 
length and breadth of the land ; the name of 
Linkville was upon the lips of every one who read 
of the bloody deeds enacted in that short, fierce 
struggle. Linkville was advertised in blood ; the 
most catchy advertising ink in the world. 

The next event of importance in the chro- 
nological history of this little frontier town was 
the creation of Lake county in 1874, and the 
naming of Linkville as the county seat. This 
honor she held only two years ; the seat of gov- 
ernment being moved to Lakeview as the result 
of the election of November, 1876. 

Following the close of the Modoc War the 
surrounding country became more thickly settled 

62 



and as a result a few more business houses were 
added to the town during the next few years. 
Among other enterprises was the establishment 
of a hardware store by George T. Baldwin, who 
brought in a stock of goods in 1875. Mr. Bald- 
win still conducts the business here and his is the 
oldest commercial establishment in Klamath 
Falls. Although the Linkville townsite had been 
platted previously by ( leorge Nurse it was not 
until February 26, 1878, that an official plat was- 
made, the former platting not having been made 
according to law. The true plat was recorded in 
the office of the clerk of Lake county January 27, 
1 679. The townsite comprised 40 blocks, extend- 
ing from Link river to Ninth street, east and 
west, and from High to Klamath street, north 
and south. Following is the acknowledgement 
made by George Nurse February 26, 1878: 

This is to certify that I, George Nurse, am the 
original owner and proprietor of the land on which 
the town of Linkville, Lake county, Oregon, has been 
laid out ; that said town is situated on section 32, town-' 
ship 38, south of range 9, east of the Willamette 
Meridian, and that the above is a correct plat of said 
town. All former plats of said town made by me ar-e 
hereby revoked and cancelled, the same not having been 
recorded as required by law. Block No. 12 is dedicated 
to common school purposes, and is hereby granted to the 
school district in which said block is situated. Wit- 
ness my hand and seal this 26th day of February-, 
A. D., 1878. 

(Signed.) George Nurse, 

Proprietor. 

This acknowledgement was made before j. 
W. Hamaker, notary public. West Linkville, on 
the w r est side of Link river, was platted by George 
Nurse and H. M. Thatcher. The survey was 
made July 6, 1880, and the plat was recorded in 
the clerk's office at Lakeview on October 2, 1880- 

Nichols' addition to Linkville was platted by 
W. J. Nichols and Quincy A. Brooks, October 5,. 
1885. The plat was recorded in the county 
clerk's office at Linkville, November 20, 1885. 

Klamath addition to Linkville w r as platted! 
September 4, 1900, by Christine Murdock, Hiram: 
F. Murdock, Charles E. Worden, Emma Wor- 
den, J. G. Pierce and Edna F. Pierce. 

Fairview addition was platted December 23, 
1903, by Charles E. Worden and A. L. Sargent 

East Klamath Falls was platted by I. A. 
Duffy, May 3, 1904. 

Mountain View addition was platted by 
Charles E. Worden, July 20. 1904. 

The first addition to Klamath Falls was plat- 
ted by G. H. Woodbury and L. B, Yaden, De- 
cember 17, 1904. 



978 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Lakeside addition was platted by Paul Breit- 

■ enstein, January 17, 1905. 

North Klamath Falls was platted by George 
Biehn, March 9, 1905. 

Fairview addition No. 2 was platted by G. W. 
White, February 6, 1905. 

Shive's addition was platted by \Y. T. Shive, 
April 5, 1905. 

By 1880 we find Linkville grown to be a town 
■of 250 people, according to the United States 

■ census taken that year. Two years later we find 
it a county seat, Klamath county having been 

■ created in 1882, and the metropolis named as the 
'capital city. Up to 1884 the growth was slow. 

In the year above mentioned two events occurred 
which had an influence for good in the little town. 
One was the establishment, May iot'h, of the coun- 
ty's first newspaper, the Klamath Weekly Star. 
The other was the building of the county's first 
grist mill on Link river, just above the town, by 
Thomas Martin. During the succeeding few 
years the town enjoyed a steady growth and there 
was considerable business activity. 

Linkville's first church, Presbyterian, was 

erected in 1885, being dedicated November 15th, 
Revs. S. Sayers and Robert McLean officiating. 
Its cost was $2,810.79. In the spring of 1886 we 
find Linkville's business houses to consist of 
seven stores, four saloons, three hotels, three 
blacksmith shops, a brewery, three livery and feed 
stables, a flouring mill, sawmill, sash and door 
factory, harness shop, butcher shop, U. S. tele- 
graph office, four doctors, four lawyers and one 
newspaper. In the fall of 1886 the Star claimed 
a population of 600 for Linkville, which was, 
probably, an over estimation. Several business 

' houses were built this year. The lack of banking 
facilities was a great annoyance to the business 
.men. The cost of building improvements this 
year totaled $35,800. 

The growth of Linkville had been so favor- 
able in the past few years that an attempt was 
made to secure municipal government. In Janu- 
ary, 1887, a bill was introduced in the Oregon 
legislature to incorporate the town of Linkville. 
This measure, however, was defeated, and a city 
•government was not established until two years 

' later. At the legislative session of 1889 a city 

. charter was granted to Linkville, going into effect 
February 25, 1889. The last section of the act 
granting municipal government reads : 

"Inasmuch as improvements are. very much 
-needed in the town of Linkville, and said town is 
greatly in need of municipal government, this 
act shall take effect and be in force from and 
after its approval by the Governor." 

W. S. Moore, W. C. Hale and Charles 



Graves were named in the act as inspectors of the 
first election which was held on the first Mon- 
day in March. Unfortunately the early records 
of the town of Linkville are lost and the names 
of those who first served the town in an official 
capacity cannot be learned. Following are the 
names of the citizens who have served as town 
officers from 1891 to 1905, inclusive: 

1891 — Trustees: G. W. Smith, C. S. Ser- 
gent, R. \Y. Marple, A. M. Peterman, Wallace 
Baldwin ; treasurer, T. F. Miner ; recorder D. C. 
Brownell. 

1892 — President of council, G. T. Baldwin; 
trustees, A. M. Peterman, B. F. Van Brimmer, 
John W. Siemens ; treasurer, Alex. Martin, Jr. ; 
recorder, C. L. Parrish. 

1893 — President, A. L. Leavitt; trustees, G. 
T. Baldwin, J. D. Fountain, C. S. Moore, C. S. 
Sergeant ; treasurer, W. E. Bowdoin ; recorder, 
C. L. Parrish. 

1894 — President, R. W. Marple; trustees, 
Wallace Baldwin, J. F. Goeller, C. S. Moore, C. 
S. Sergent; treasurer, W. E. Bowdoin; recorder, 

C. L. Parrish. 

1895 — President, J. D. Fountain ; trustees, 
Joseph Conger, R. S. Moore, E. R. Reames, B. 
F. Van Brimmer ; treasurer, John W. Siemens ; 
recorder, C. L. Parrish. 

1896 — President, William M. Shellabarger ; 
trustees, Wallace Baldwin, John V. Houston, 
Henry F. Schallock, A. L. Leavitt ; treasurer, 
John W. Siemens ; recorder, C. L. Parrish. 

1897 — President, A. L. Leavitt ; trustees, 
Wallace Baldwin, J. V. Houston, H. F. Schal- 
lock ; treasurer, John W. Siemens ; recorder, C. 
L. Parrish. 

1898 — President, A. L. Leavitt; trustees, 
Wallace Baldwin, H. Schallock, John V. Hous- 
ton ; Joseph G. Pierce ; treasurer, John W. Sie- 
mens ; recorder, C. L. Parrish. 

1899 — President, R. W. Marple; trustees, A. 

D. Carrich, Joseph Conger, Marion Hanks, Wil- 
liam Terrill ; treasurer, J. W. Siemens ; record- 
er, C. L. Parrish. 

1900 — President, J. G. Pierce ; trustees, W. 
W. Hazen, Otto Diedrich, S. Ed. Martin, H. 
F. Schallock ; treasurer, John W. Siemens ; re- 
corder, C. L. Parrish. 

1901 — President, Otto Heidrick ; trustees, C. 
C. Maltby, George Humphrey, A. C. Beals, W. 
W. Hazen ; treasurer, John W. Siemens ; re- 
corder, H. W. Keesee. 

1902 — President, J. G. Pierce ; trustees, 
George R. Hum, A. C. Beals, William Terrill, 
J. B. Campbell ; treasurer, John W. Siemens ; re- 
corder, H. F. Schallock. 

1903 — President, W. F. Shives ; trustees, A. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



979 



C. Deals, E. B. Henry, Frank Ward, J. B. Camp- 
bell ; treasurer, John W. Siemens; recorder, 
Fred Schallock. 

1904 — President, Alexander Martin, Jr. , 
trustees, Frank Ward, George R. Hum, B. St. 
George Bishop, L. F. Willits ; treasurer, John 
W. Siemens ; recorder, C. C. Brower. 

1905 — President, - Alexander Martin, Jr., 
trustees, L. F. Willits, Frank Ward, B. St. 
George Bishop, Fred Schallock; treasurer, John 
W. Siemens ; recorder, C. C. Brower. 

On the morning of September 6, 1889, oc- 
curred Linkville's "big fire," which destroyed 
almost the entire business portion of the town 
and entailed a loss estimated at $50,000. The 
commercial houses at that period occupied that 
portion of Main street extending from the 
bridge to the bend of the street. On the east 
side this was solidly built up as was the greater 
part of the north side. Both sides of that por- 
tion of the street were entirely destroyed. The 
tire broke out at two o'clock, a. m., the blaze 
continuing for two hours. Furiously the citi- 
zens worked to subdue the flames, but all efforts 
were unavailing. The only fire protection af- 
forded by the town was a hand pump, and this 
was, practically, worthless against a blaze of 
such magnitude. Everything was quite dry and 
burned readily. The bridge across Link river 
caught fire, and this was the only structure 
saved. A severe blow to the little town was this 
fire ; insurance was light and rebuilding did not 
afterward progress rapidly. 

For many years Linkville, and as it was af- 
terward known, Klamath Falls, supported a 
troop of the First Cavalry, Oregon National 
Guard. This was troop B, and was organized in 
1889. John W. Siemens, formerly a soldier at 
Fort Klamath, was selected captain, which po- 
sition he held during the life of the organization. 

At the time agitation for incorporation began 
there was a disposition among many citizens to 
change the name of the town. " Klamath City" 
was a name proposed and met with popular ap- 
proval. Linkville was not distasteful with the 
exception of the diminitive termination. The 
town was growing; its citizens expected it to 
rapidly increase in size, and considered that a 
name with "city" attached to it would be more 
appropriate than one terminating with "ville." 
However, when the bill incorporating the town 
was passed, "Linkville" was the name used. The 
change in name to Klamath Falls was brought 
about by Isa Leskeard. It was suggested by 
him in 1891. The first mention of Klamath 
Falls as the name for the town made in print 
appeared in the Kalmath County Star of April 
10, 1891, as follows: 



"Isa Leskeard, who has been in Portland 
most of the time since last summer, thinks the 
name of this town should be Klamath Falls. 
That name advertises the fact that there are falls 
here, and thus gives the town an advantage fully 
recognized as such by other towns similarly sit- 
uated, though provided with names of the falls 
at which they stand. 'There is' he said, 'a great 
deal in the name of a town situated by a heavy 
cataract,' and we are inclined to think so, too." 

In December, 1891, a petition addressed to 
the first assistant postmaster general was drawn 
up by Attorney W. C. Hale, of the firm of Cogs- 
well & Hale, setting forth reasons why the pres- 
ent name was objectionable. This petition was 
placed in the hands of County Surveyor Isa Les- 
keard, Town Recorder D. C. Brownell and Real 
Estate Agent Robinson, and names solicited. 
December 18th the Star said : 

"There is an argument of one or two dry- 
mouthed old settlers that Linkville is well 
enough known by its present name. But the 
more spirited believe that the town is not and 
never will be known by her present name as she 
ought to be." 

The prayer of the petition was granted. The 
first assistant postmaster general sent to Post- 
master C. H. Withrow the following communi- 
cation which was received March 16, 1892, and 
it is self-explanatory : 

Washington, D. C, March 11, 1892— Sir: The post- 
master general has changed the name of your post- 
office from Linkville to Klamath Falls, in the county 
of Klamath and state of Oregon. The new name, how- 
ever, must not be used until the beginning of the next 
quarter, nor until you have executed a bond and been 
commissioned under the new name. 

Q. G. Rathbone, 
First Assistant Postmaster General. 

Linkville postofhee officially became Klamath 
Falls April 1, 1892. Although the postoffice had 
been known as Klamath Falls since April 1, 
1892, the incorporated town was still Linkville 
and remained so until February 7, 1893, when a 
new charter was granted the town and its official 
name became Klamath Falls. At the last stroke 
of 12 on Monday night, February 6, 1893, Link- 
ville ceased to exist except in memory. 

Klamath Falls was again visited by fire on 
the morning of April 8, 1892, when the Grand 
Central block, in which was conducted a general 
store, hotel, barber shop and saloon, was burned, 
with a loss of between $20,000 and $30,000. 

A considerable business portion of the west 
end of the town was consumed by fire Monday, 
July 2, 1894. The losses were : 



I 



980 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Howe & Parrish, $5,000, insurance, $2,800; 
T. E. Clapp, $4;6oo; insurance, $3,500; J. D. 
Fountain, $3,000, insurance, $1,500; Dunn & 
Ammerman, $2,500, insurance $1,500; F. E. 
Robinson $2,500, insurance, $1,000; Ky Taylor, 
$200; Troop B, $2,000; Athletic Club, $150; C. 
S. Sergent, $600, insurance, $600; M. H. Dag- 
gett, $1,000, insurance, $500. 

A census of the town of Klamath Falls taken 
in April, 1895, gave a population of 452. Dur- 
ing 1896 an electric light plant was placed in 
commission and a system of water works in- 
stalled. Although the city had not entirely re- 
covered from the business depression incident to 
that period several business and residence houses 
were erected in 1896. During the "hard times" 
which held the whole country in their grasp 
from 1893 to 1897 Klamath Falls suffered in 
common with all other towns. Practically, the 
city was at a standstill ; business was dull ; en- 
terprise stifled and the town simply existed, 
waiting for the promised better times to come. 
With the revival of business conditions through- 
out the country Klamath Falls emerged from its 
comatose state and again resumed its place as 
one of the lively towns of southern Oregon. The 
streets were crowded with teams and the stores 
with people ; the general animation to be seen 
on every hand was such as to make the heart 
glad and the pocketbook full. 

The year 1900 was a prosperous one for 
Klamath Falls. Good crops were havested, 
good health was the rule, and favorable rail- 
road prospects (which did not, however, at that 
time materialize) made the town a lively one. 
The population this year was 447 according to 
the federal census. During the few years fol- 
lowing conditions were about the same. There 
was no big rush, but the growth was steady, 
brought about by the increasing settlement of 
the surrounding country. 

Then came the first intimation that the gov- 
ernment was considering a big undertaking for 
the Klamath country, the irrigation of nearly 
300,000 acres of land. This was in 1904. To 
illustrate the growth of the town it may be said 
that at the beginning of 1904 the assessable 
property within the corporate limits of the city 
was $167,820. At the opening of 1905 it was 
$231,179, an increase in the year of $63,359. At 
this writing, summer of 1905, the irrigation pro- 
ject is assured, and the effect on the business 
conditions of Klamath Falls is highly favorable. 
We stated at the beginning of this chapter 
that Klamath Falls is the favored town of the 
interior of Oregon. We wish to repeat and em- 
phasize that statement here. Klamath Falls is 
today a town of between 1,100 and 1,200 people, 



its population having nearly tripled in the past 
five years. It will, in all probability, five years, 
from this date, be a city of 5,000 people. A rail- 
road is coming, right of way through the city 
having been granted; a franchise for a street 
car system has been secured; new enterprises 
are being started on every hand-; the town is tak- 
ing on the airs of a city. The business portion 
of the town is principally built upon one street 
— a street a mile long and almost solidly built 
up. Adjacent to the street and along its whole 
length, is the residence part of the town, in 
which are beautiful homes, surrounded by hand- 
some lawns and shade trees. 

Thirty-eight years ago, in the summer of 
1867, when George Nurse opened his "store" 
at the point of rocks, with his ambition to estab- 
list a town at this spot, did he imagine that such 
would be the conditions in 1905 ? Can we imagine 
what Klamath Falls will be forty years hence ? 

MERRILL. 

The town of Merrill, on the historic Lost 
river, twenty-two miles southeast of Klamath 
Falls claims to be the second town in importance 
to the county seat. It is located in a beautiful 
valley four miles wide and from ten to fifteen 
miles long. The town was named for N. S. 
Merrill, who laid it out a number of years ago. 
The valley is to receive the benefits of govern- 
ment irrigation, and its fertile soil will add ma- 
terially to Klamath county's great output. The 
site is ideal ; its buildings are substantial, and the 
surrounding heights, with Mount Shasta's 
hoary head in the distance, combine to present 
most picturesque and attractive scenery. Merrill 
has now one flouring mill, a large sawmill, two 
large department stores, two hotels, two saloons, 
two blacksmith shops and a livery stable. The 
town has no bonded indebtedness, but on the con- 
trary is in excellent financial condition. It is 
with justice that Merrill boasts of her public 
school. It is a most substantial building, and 
the number of pupils enrolled is 6y. At present 
the town numbers between 200 and 300 inhab- 
itants, although one of the youngest towns in 
Klamath county. Previous to, and for some time 
after, the founding of the town there was a little 
place called Gale, about one and three-quarter 
miles northeast. At Gale was a postoffice, a 
store owned by James O'Farrell, a blacksmith 
shop conducted by Mr. Woodcock and the Pion- 
eer hotel. With the founding of Merrill, how- 
ever, Gale moved into the new town. 

Merrill is located upon land the patent to 
which was issued to Benjamin Van Brimmer at 
quite an early date. It was not until 1894 that 






HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



981 



any serious efforts were made to build a town 
here. It was platted by N. S. Merrill May 22, 
1894, and recorded May 28th. The number of 
acres platted was eighty. The original enter- 
prise was a grist mill built the same year by 
Martin & Brandon. The building of a mill is 
a better initiative for a town than the selling of 
many lots, and during 1894 quite a little village 
appeared. The mill people built a residence, the 
second building on the townsite. This was fol- 
lowed by the store of James O'Farrell, black- 
smith shop of James Stobie and a number of 
dwelling houses. A school house 24x40 was 
erected in 1895. The money for this purpose 
was secured by subscription in Merrill and the 
surrounding country. In 1896 a postofhee was 
established with H. E. Momyre as postmaster. 
The town was incorporated May 18, 1903, and 
at that time the town board comprised F. S. 
Brandon, George Jory, H. E. Smith, W. P. 
Rhodes and George OfReld. S. Ed. Martin was 
recorder, M. E. Hutchison treasurer and A. 
Schortgen, marshal. 



BONANZA. 

I 
This town claims to be next in importance to 
Merrill. It is 26 miles east of Klamath Falls on 
Lost river. The town draws a trade from a ra- 
dius of 15 to 20 miles, and lies in the heart of a 
rich country, including Langell's, Poe, Alkali 
and Lost river valleys. Its products consist of 
cattle and horses, grain, hay, fruits and vegeta- 
bles. These valleys are a portion of the field for the 
great government irrigation projeet, and with the 
thousands of acres now lying idle, placed in cul- 
tivation, Bonanza is destined to become an im- 
portant town. Already it has two stores, two 
hotels, two blacksmith shops, a hardware store 
and two livery stables, a daily mail by stage line 
east and west, an Odd Fellows and Rebekah 
Lodge. It has also a Methodist church and a 
good school. Bonanza is an incorporated town, 
in good financial condition, out of debt and widi 
a surplus of $500 on hand. The school has an 
average attendance of 45 and the school property 
is valued at $1,100. This town was founded in 
1876 by J. P. Roberts, at which time he opened a 
store and conducted it twelve years. The town- 
site, comprising eleven blocks, was platted by 
Benjamin Price May 16, 1878, and recorded in 
the clerk's office at Lakeview. The first addi- 
tion to Bonanza was platted March 30, 1888, .by 
J. 0. Hamaker. At the opening of 1888 the 
town had two general stores, two hotels and a 
blacksmith shop. True, Bonanza's growth has 
been slow, but at the present writing the town 
'is coming rapidly to the front. During the many 



years since its founding it has been a trading 
post and supply point for a rich agricultural 
country. Now it has aspirations to become a 
city. 

FORT KLAMATH. 

1 nis place is 39 miles north of Klamath Falls, 
at the junction of Wood river and Anna creek, 
near the head of Upper Klamath lake. It is lo- 
cated in a romantic place, and here was once the 
seat of government of the reservation. It was 
a lively miltary post when garrisoned — especial- 
ly lively and business-like during the Modoc 
War. Here, also, was enacted the closing scene 
of that dark tragedy, the trial and execution of 
the chiefs of the rebellion. But now most of the 
buildings of the fort have been abandoned and 
are rapidly falling to decay. A writer describ- 
ing the location of Fort Klamath has written 
that "It looks like an Eden whose first inhabitants 
were struck with sluggishness ■ for daring to oc- 
cupy the land before acquiring a patent from the 
Kingdom of Glory." 

The elevation of Fort Klamath is 4,200 feet 
above sea level. At present it has two general 
merchandise stores. While the site of the fort 
was the first spot occupied by white people in 
Klamath county, the town of Fort Klamath is 
a new one, having been established only a few 
years ago. It was platted June 19, 1902, by 
William T. Shive. 

KENO. 

This is a small-sized town twelve miles south- 
west of the county seat, on Klamath river. Be- 
sides the business houses necessary for the trade 
of that section, it is the shipping point for the 
products of two sawmills. The town is eligibly 
located on Klamath's big stream and where its 
waters cease their tranquility and go roaring and 
foaming down miles upon miles of canyon. The 
site of the town is a novel and pretty one. Kiss- 
ing the border of a dense forest on the south, it 
has for its northern boundary the Klamath river, 
which at this point is broad and deep. Across 
the river is a substantial bridge. 

Keno has two sawmills, two general stores 
and a hotel and two blacksmith shops. On the 
site of Keno was erected one of the first grist 
mills in the county, but it was not until 1887 
that the town of Keno came into existence. 
March 23, 1888, the Star said: "Keno now has 
all the requisites necessary to make a first-class 
town ; one grocery and dry goods store, one ho- 
tel, one blacksmith shop and a saloon, besides 
other attractions. Keno will surely become 
quite a town at no distant date." 









982 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



October 19, the same year, the Star added: 
"The town of Keno, although but one year 
old, has a long street on which are two large, 
freshly painted hotels, a large mercantile estab- 
lishment, blacksmith shop, livery stable, saloon, 
wagon shop, stage station and private resi- 
dences." 

DAIRY. 

This town is located 21 miles east of Klamth 
Falls. It has one general store, two hotels, a 
harness and blacksmith shop and a saloon. Du- 
ring the year 1885 about 25 families settled in 
this vicinity and a little village named Dairy 
came into existence. At the close of the year 
there was a general store conducted by Air. 
Purdum, a blacksmith and carpenter shop and 
a halting place for travelers where accommoda- 
tions could be secured. Dairy townsite, consist- 
ing of only four blocks, was surveyed by Rufus 
Moore March 24, 1886. The plat was dedicated 
April 19th, the same year, by William Roberts, 
the owner of the townsite, and recorded the day 
following. Soon after this a number of lots were 
readily disposed of. 



BLV. 



This is a postoffice on Sprague river ' 54 
miles north of Klamath Falls. It has two gen- 
eral merchandise stores, two hotels and a saloon. 
Bly is near the east end of the Klamath Indian 
reservation, but not on the reservation. The pre- 
cinct at the last election cast 150 votes; this 
would indicate a population of about 750 in the 
precinct. The products of the valley consist of 
horses, cattle, mules and sheep, although the lat- 
ter are few in number. At least 1,000 head of 
cattle, 100 head of horses and a like number of 
mules are sold annually from this valley. The 
soil products are oats, red clover, Alsike clover, 
timothy and natural meadow hay. At least 5,000 
tons of hay are cut annually. The schools are 
good, there being two districts in the valley. J. 
O. and J. S. Watts, under the name of Watts 
Brothers, are conducting a large merchandise 
business at Bly, dealing also in farm machinery 
and implements. W. F. Reed is postmaster, also 
proprietor of a hotel. J. W. Wells is a large prop- 
erty owner and a worker for the interests of Bly. 
In the summer of 1888 Bly consisted of one store 
and a hotel combined. 

OTHER TOWNS. 

Klamath reservation, the seat of Indian gov- 
ernment, is on the Williamson river, 31 miles 
north of Klamath Falls. Here is an Indian 



school, government sawmill and blacksmith 
shop, and one general merchandise store. W. 
Huse who visited Klamath agency in the sum- 
mer of 1 90 1, had this to say of the village in his 
paper, the Klamath Republican : 

"This is an elegant little town and under the 
energy of Captain Applegate is rapidly growing. 
During the past year it has had fine systems of 
waterworks, and electric lights, a large and sty- 
lish school building, a well arranged hospital, 
skillfully conducted by Dr. Hemenway and 
many other appropriate improvements in the way 
of streets, shade trees, gardens, etc. In good looks 
the agency reminds one of an old eastern village 
where the good taste of citizens has been for 
years at work adorning their homes and sur- 
roundings. - ' 

Yainax is a sub-agency of the Klamath res- 
ervation, on Sprague river 42 miles northeast 
of Klamath Falls. Here is located the Yainax 
Indian school, a store and a blacksmith shop. 
A postoffice was established at this place in May, 
1894, with Frank Terry as postmaster. 

The only railway town in Klamath county is 
Pokegama, in the extreme southwestern portion 
of the county. It is 36 miles southwest of Kla- 
math Falls. It is the terminus of the Klamath 
Falls railroad which runs from Pokegama to 
Thrall, California, on the Southern Pacific, 24 
miles southwest. The town is built on a mountain 
and is surrounded for miles by a dense forest. 
This place consists principally of tent buildings ; 
but has a hotel, good school, telephone service 
and is the present terminus of the Oregon Stage 
Company's line from Klamath Falls. The town 
derived its name from the Pokegama Lumber 
Company. We first hear of the place in a letter 
written in 1901, when work was commenced on 
the Klamath Lake Railroad. At this time the 
company purchased the 1,500 acre "Virginia 
Ranch" on which to lav out a townsite and upon 
which to build their terminal station. 

Lorella lies 38 miles southeast of Klamath 
Falls. It is a country postoffice having a Meth- 
odist church and a sawmill. Formerly Lorella 
was known as Haynesville. It is located on 
what was recognized as the "Simp Wilson" do- 
main. Haynesville came into existence in 1887 
at which time a postoffice with F. K. Haynes 
as postmaster was established. Soon afterward a 
store was opened by J. L. Truett and Mr. Haynes 
started a blacksmith shop. February 17, 1888. 
the. town was platted by Simpson Wilson. 
March 14, 1895, it was announced that the name 
of the postoffice had been changed to Lorella. 
The reason for this move was that "Haines" 
, and "Haynesville," Oregon, were so near alike 
that the one was often mistaken for the other. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



98j- 



Whitelakc City, on the shores of White lake, 
about three and one-half miles from Merrill, is 
known as Klamath county's newest town, al- 
though considerable history has been made there. 
It is a "boom" town and its most enthusiastic 
supporter can not deny that. Early in Septem- 
ber, 1904, J. E. Loy, president; L. G. West, vice- 
president and F. T. Cook, treasurer of the Okla- 
homa & Oregon Townsite Company, came to 
Klamath county to select a site to lay out a town 
under their scheme. They at once secured an 
option on 350 acres of land belonging to C. N. 
F. Armstrong, on Lower Klamath lake, south 
of Merrill. The purchase price was understood 
to be $10 an acre. The town was platted May 
15, 1905. The drawing, or more properly, the 
assignment of lots took place June 1, 1905, at- 
tended by about 250 visitors. For some little 
time previously lumber and tents had been ship- 
ped in and a few temporary buildings had been 
run up and a few business houses, on a small 
scale, opened. 

Altamont, about four miles east of the me- 
tropolis, contains a general merchandise store and 
a postoffice. It came into existence in the spring 
of 1895. Judge Smith officiated as the first post- 
master and conducted a small store. 

At Olene, a postoffice on Lost river, about 
11 miles east of Klamath Falls, is a sawmill, 
store, hotel and blacksmith shop. It is on a 
stage line and has a daily mail. 

Langell's Valley, a country postoffice on 
Lost river, is 43 miles southeast from Klamath 
Falls, and contains a sawmill. Although small 
it is a historic location in Klamath county. 

Vistillas, a postoffice, lies 60 miles east of the 
county seat, and 35 miles west of Lakeview. It 
has a semi- weekly mail. The postoffice w 7 as es- 
tablished in the spring of 1892. 

Odell postoffice on the Des Chutes river, is 
no miles north of Klamath Falls. The office 
was established in 190 1 and was supplied by 
special mail from Rosland. Eva M. Graves was 
the first postal official. 

In May, 1902, Representative Tongue se- 
cured the establishment of a postoffice at Odessa, 
and Blanche Griffith was postmistress. 

Pelican is a summer resort and postoffice on 
Pelican bay, of Upper Klamath lake, 31 miles 
northwest of Klamath Falls. 

Royston postoffice, 48 miles northeast of Kla- 
math Falls, is on the stage line to the latter point, 
10 miles east of Bly and about five miles east of 
Keno springs. Mrs. Laura E. White was ap- 
pointed postmistress at the time of the establish- 
ment of the office in February, 1893. 

Forest postoffice is on Klamath river, 17 
miles southeast of Klamath Falls, and about the 



same distance from Pokeeama. 



Pokegama-Klamath Falls stage 



It is on the- 
line and has- 
a daily mail. 

Bedfield is a postoffice on Lost river, 18 miles 
southeast of Klamath Falls. L. Pfannstiehl is, 
postmaster. 

There is only one "dead" town in Klamath.' 
county. That was Merganser. Only the earlier- 
settlers of the county remember the town of 
Merganser, at one time the rival of Linkville. It 
was the second town founded in the county 
and for several years was a place of consider- 
able importance, especially during the Modoc 
War of 1872 and 1873. The townsite of Mer- 
ganser was on the west bank of Klamath river, 
about two miles below the city of Klamath 
Falls, and the town came into existence in 
1870. The cause of the founding of the town in 
such close proximity to the village of Linkville 
was that the proprietors of the older town site- 
did not offer inducements to people to start in 
business in competition with lines already es- 
tablished, and it was impossible to secure lots 
upon which to conduct business which would in 
any way interfere with the few lines of business 
there represented. It was this fact that led to 
founding of Merganser by J. Roberts and Albert- 
Handy. For a time this new town was known as 
Lakeport, but shortly after the name Merganser 
was given it. The naming of the town was 
brought about in a peculiar manner. Two 
Scotchmen named Ennes were one day at the lit- 
tle town and in the vicinity shot a merganser 
duck. The question of a suitable name for the- 
town was being discussed when one of the- 
Scotchmen suggested "Merganser," which was- 
at once adopted. The founding of the town 
dates from 1870, when the first business house- 
was established, a general merchandise store,, 
by J. P. Roberts and Albert Handy. Following 
a short delay a postoffice was secured, the second ■ 
in Klamath county. Mr. Roberts became post- 
master. The new town did not enjoy a mush- 
room growth, although the store did a fairly 
good business and Merganser became a favorite 
trading point. Mr. Wallace Baldwin, who re- 
sides at Klamath Falls, visited at a time during 
the Modoc War at Merganser, and has told the 
writer that at that time the town consisted of 
the store of Roberts & Handy, the postoffice, a 
blacksmith shop and the residence of Joseph Pen- 
ning. 

Following tne close of the war the town took 
on new life and other business houses were es- 
tablished. Joseph Penning laid out a townsite 
in 1875. It was surveyed July 1 by E. C. Mason. 
The plat was filed for record in the clerk's office 
of Lake county August 3, 1875. The town's 



984 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



business houses were increased by a harness shop 
of Robert T. Baldwin, and a large hotel built by 
John Gleim. A bridge was constructed across 
Klamath river. A little later Paul Breitenstein 
began the brewery business in the building which 
had been occupied as a harness shop, Mr. Bald- 
win having moved his business to Linkville. But 
this rival town was doomed ; Linkville was des- 
tined to become the only place of importance in 
die county. The Roberts & Handy store at last 
secured a site in Linkville and moved from Mer- 



ganser ; the blacksmith shop elsewhere and the 
brewery closed down. The last business estab- 
lishment abandoned the . place and the town 
passed away. Now it remains only in the mem- 
ory of pioneers who lived in the country prior to 
the '8o's. The bridge which spanned the river 
was left to rot and 'fall away, and the last of this 
was only a few years ago torn down when the 
first steamboat was placed in commission on the 
river, the old structure impeding navigation of 
the stream. 



CHAPTER VII 



DESCRIPTIVE. 



''A river ran through Eden and watered the 
garden." — Genesis. 

The rough outline of Klamath county may 
easily be traced on a map, but there is no skill- 
fid word-painting so deft that it will portray the 
beauty, wonder and grandeur of that which na- 
ture has within these four cold walls to the north, 
the east, the south and the west. And yet, no 
man who has resided there a quarter of a cen- 
tury can truthfully say that he has seen more 
than a portion of these creations of nature. 

Lofty mountains, dressed in stately timber, 
are seen everywhere below, everywhere above. 
Broad and attractive lakes sleep here and 
there, catching the glint of the noonday sun, 
or lying silent, bathed in the moonlight and 
reflecting the shades of the heavy shadows 
above. Rivers, nearly ice cold, from the Cas- 
cades and as clear as the air above them 
■dash through canyons and gorges, to afterward 
meander dreamily through flowery prairies to 
lose themselves in the lakes ; hot springs, warm 
springs, and cold springs are on every hand. All 
in all 'tis a delightful country. The natural re- 
sources wonderful ; game and fish are in abun- 
dance. There are medicated hot springs, sol- 
fatara or hot earth, fossiliferous deposits and vol- 
canic formations. Such, in general is a not 
overdrawn picture of Klamath county. The 
Klamath Republican in 1900 said : 

It is said that the early Indians of this country 
cherished the belief that Klamath county comprised 
the only and original holy lands with the settlement 
of Noah and his descendants thrown in. Hence, in- 



stead of Mount Ararat, it was the antecedent of Crater 
Lake on which the ark landed after the freshet of 
several thousand years ago, B. C. We would suggest 
that it was amidst the verdant foliage and picturesque 
beauty of old Fort Klamath set the pace and in- 
augurated sin by surrounding some forbidden fruit — 
probably vegetables in the shape of turnips instead of 
apples. This presumption is suggested by climatic con-' 
ditions. Therefore Babylon and a few other important 
towns were strung along Williamson river instead of 
the Euphrates. Then Sprague river should have the 
place of the Tigris in history. Klamath Falls, doubtless, 
succeeded to the old site of Jerusalem and Klamath river 
in reality is the river Jordan, and so on. All the 
ancient patriarchs and others mentioned in the scriptures 
were Indians. That is about the way the first Indians 
of this country had the situation figured out, and is a 
version of sacred history quite novel to most of us. 

Many residents of Oregon even regard the 
Klamath region as a vast stock range, encom- 
passed by the seclusion which that term im- 
plies — a place memorable in the annals of the 
state for the Modoc massacres and the fortunes 
that sturdy stockmen, defying isolation, have 
made there during many successive years. 

But a visit to the county dispels all this. Vis- 
ions of vast sage plains and foot-hills tenanted 
only by stock, covered by waving bunch grass 
fade before this showing, or are rounded out into 
a variety that is at once pleasing to the imagina- 
tion and suggestive of prosperity, real and pos- 
sible in a material sense. 

Klamath county is situated in Southern Ore- 
gon, east of the Cascade montains and is among 






HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



98.5 



the largest counties in the state. Its mean or 
plateau altitude is about 4,200 feet above sea 
level. It comprises an area of 5,854 square miles, 
3,732,480 acres divided as follows: 1,206,000 
acres of agricultural land; 1,000,000 acres of 
grazing land; 1,250,000 acres of timbered land 
and 276,480 acres covered by lakes and marshes. 

The county is larger than the state of Con- 
necticut. Klamath is limited on the south by the 
south boundary of the state ; on the east by 
Lake county ; on the north by Crook and 
on the west by Jackson, Douglas and Lane 
counties. It is her boast that she has 
more sunny days in the year, hardier range 
cattle and sheep and greater forests of soft 
pine than any other section of America. One 
such feature would make any locality worth liv- 
ing in ; but with all three and man)- minor ones 
this county has a future before it of great 
wealth, great population and great industries. 
The main deterrent to immigration into this in- 
land plateau so richly endowed by nature, has 
been the lack of transportation facilities. But 
before many more months the great civilizer and 
foundation of agricultural and commercial ad- 
vancement — the railroad, will have pushed its 
way into this beautiful upland of fertile valleys, 
large, navigable lakes, crystal streams of cold 
water and forests of the grandest pine trees that 
ever reared their tops to the blue sky of a cloud- 
less heaven. 

There is every indication that at some former 
period this country was hemmed in by the Cas- 
cades and Siskiyou mountain ranges, until some 
convulsions of nature of volcanic origin rent the 
mountain barriers on the west and permitted 
the waters to escape toward the Pacific ocean 
through the rocky gorge now known as the chan- 
nel of the Klamath river. Succeeding ages have 
obliterated many of the land, or rather water- 
marks, made by the wash of the angry waves of 
this ancient sea ; enough, however, remains to 
trace its former boundaries. And the deposits 
of fertilizing material have formed the basis of 
a soil rich in all the elements of plant growth. 
The ages of accumulated vegetable mould ; the 
wash of disintegrated volcanic rock, and pomice 
and deposits of lime and chalk combine to form 
a variety of soils according to the preponder- 
ance of the several materials that are not only 
productive of a varied class of agricultural pro- 
ducts, but are very easily subdued by the plow 
and respond handsomely to intelligent culture. 

The cereals of all kinds are produced in 
•abundance. Oregon flour has fame for superior- 
ity wherever introduced. The first prize for 
wheat awarded at the World's Fair in Chicago 
in 1893, went to wheat on exhibition from Kla- 



math county. All the hardier vegetables flourish 
here and are of a flavor and crispness found in 
but a few other localities. Potatoes yield bounti- 
fully and are never affected with pests or other 
unsoundness so common elsewhere. Sugar beets 
grow well and contain enough saccharine mat- 
ter to justify their culture for sugar making. 
Apples, pears, plums, prunes, cherries and in 
some localities peaches and berries are success- 
fully raised. All kinds of grasses do well here, 
Dut the main ones used are the natural grasses 
and alfalfa. Flax is native of this county but 
the cultivation of tame flax has nexer been tried. 
Oregon marshes would furnish a wonderful 
revenue if prepared for cranberry culture, as 
the location and general characteristics are ideal 
for the raising of that berry which has made 
many a millionaire in the eastern states. On 
the dry uplands alfilerilla, sain foin, sand vetch 
and other productive forage plants have been 
successfully cultivated and if more extensively 
planted would become a valuable source of rev- 
enue to the stock raiser. Hops, though not 
raised for the market, are grown somewhat and 
never fail to yield abundantly. 

January 1, 1905, the government land opened 
to settlement in Klamath county was 399,191 
acres. 

The . climate is all that can be desired, the 
temperature ranging from 95 degrees in summer 
to zero in winter ' in the plateau section and the 
average annual precipitation is 19.76 inches. 
There is none of the hot, dry, enervating weath- 
er of the more southern regions and none of the 
severely cold weather of the east. It is in fact 
a climate that conduces to the highest develop- 
ment of man and the most perfect development 
in the animal and vegetable kingdom. Quite the 
largest percentage of the precipitation occurs 
from October to May, the snowfall varying 
greatly, some winters being from three to four 
feet and others not exceeding six inches. At no 
time of the year does rain fall in torrents or in 
very heavy showers, but it is usually a gentle 
downfall lasting for several hours. 

During the summer the wind, or gentle 
breeze, as it might' be more properly called, 
prevails from the north and during the winter 
from the south. No cyclone or blizzard was ever 
known to occur in this region, nor any severe 
drouth, flood or other unusual climatic occur- 
rence. From the records compiled by the Ore- 
gon Weather Bureau for eighteen years are 
taken the following average laws in Klamath 
county : 

Average mean temperature, 45.6 ; average 
maximum temperature, 59.3 ; average minimum 
temperature, 31.9; highest temperature on rec- 



986 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



ord, 95 ; lowest plateau temperature, 15 ; aver- 
age precipitation, 19.76 inches ; average number 
of clays clear each year, 112; average number of 
days partly cloudy each year, 158 ; average num- 
ber of days cloudy, 95 ; average number of days 
each year on which one-one hundredth of an 
inch of precipitation fell, 84. 

Mean temperature and precipitation at Fort 
Klamath from 1863 to the time of the abandon- 
ment of the fort as observed by the U. S. Hos- 
pital corps and the U. S. Weather Bureau : 



Year. 

1863. 

1864 

1865 

1866 

1872 

1873 

1874 

187S 

1876 

1877 

1878 . 

1879 • 
1880 
1881 
1882 

1883 



Mean Tern. Precipitation 



42.4 




38.6 


30.06 


44.2 




43-2 


18.05 


45 -o 




44-6 


19.90 


44.4 


22.72 


44.2 


20.02 


42.4 


26.40 


40.0 




40.9 


27.24 


39-2 


23-15 


434 


11.94 


42.2 


22.42 


457 


22.61 


44-7 


27.08 


44-3 


2345 


435 


23-59 



1005 
1886 
1887 
1888 



At Klamath Falls the temperature is much 
warmer than at Fort Klamath, and the southern 
part of the county is milder still than at Kla- 
math Falls. By months the mean temperature 
and precipitation at Fort Klamath for the period 
above tabled was : 

Month Mean Tern. Precipitation 

January , , 25.3 3.72 

February 28.3 2.85 

March 33.3 2.84 

April 41.4 1.42 

May 48.8 1. 19 

June 55.9 .94 

July 62.0 .46 

August 60.2 .30 

September 52.6 .55 

October -.. 43.3 1.57 

November 35.1 3.25 

December 29.2 3.66 

Annual mean temperature, 42.9. 
Annual mean precipitation, 22.60. 



The county of Klamath is so extensive, the 
resources and conditions of different sections so 
varied that a general description of the county, 
covering all points is impossible. We will en- 
deavor to describe the county by sections, pre- 
senting a brief description of each. Our atten- 
tion will be first directed to agricultural sections 
which are located in the different valleys. These 
sections are the valleys of Lost river, Tule lake, 
Sprague river, Langell's, Swan lake and Poe, the 
fertile lands bordering Link river, Lower Kla- 
math lako and Wood river valley. 

Lost River Valley, as it is generally termed, 
comprises the territory between Klamath Falls 
and Lost river as far south as the head of Tule 
Lake valley. It averages about five miles wide 
by 20 miles long and by reason of its twenty- 
mile irrigation system which has been in opera- 
tion several years, early settlement, great extent 
and proximity to the county seat is one. of the 
best known and most improved. It produces 
abundantly of grain, alfalfa, potatoes, etc., there 
being some 4,000 or 5,000 acres irrigated. It 
lies so that 50,000 acres of it can be- irrigated 
and at present this is one of the main feeding 
grounds of the count}'. 

Tule Lake Valley lies from the California 
line about five miles north and is some 15 miles 
in length. Its principal town is Merrill and its 
chief pursuits raising grain, alfalfa and cattle. 
The soil is sandy and peculiarly adapted to the 
raising of alfalfa. The principal irrigation sys- 
tem is known as the Little Klamath Irrigation 
Company — or locally the Adams Canal. The 
water is taken from the Little Klamath lake by 
two lines of canals, the length of one being fifteen 
miles and the other 28 miles. Combined they 
have a capacity to irrigate 15,000 acres of land. 
This company claims that its irrigation system is 
the most complete in the United States. 

Poe Valley, which is about four miles wide, 
begins at Lost River Gap and runs in a south- 
easternly direction for about ten miles. It is 
quite well settled and the residents devote their 
attention to the raising of farm produce and cat- 
tle, the latter having good range on the surround- 
ing hills. The Klamath Canal Company's sys- 
tem extends through this valley, and when in 
operation will cause this to be one of the most 
fruitful areas in the county. 

Langell's Valley is about five miles in width 
and extends eastward from Bonanza some four- 
teen miles. It is essentially a valley of stock- 
growers, owing to its ample range and large 
areas of natural grass land. It lies quite level 
and is watered through its entire course by Lost 
River and its tributaries. Much irrigation is 
done here in a small way, but it remains for pub- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



987 



lie enterprise to establish canals which will bring 
out the fullest values of the lands of this valley. 
The floor of this valley is quite level and is wa- 
tered throughout its entire course by Lost River 
and its tributaries. 

Sprague River is very extensive, most of it 
being in the Klamath Reservation and therefore 
of interest to the homesteader when the reser- 
vation is opened for settlement. Its course runs 
for fifty miles through the county, ranging in 
width from half a mile to a dozen or more miles. 
It has a magnificent range for stock adjacent to 
its whole length and the valley is a veritable 
wonderland of natural meadows. 

Sican Valley is a tributary to Sprague River 
valley and through its forty-five miles, ranging 
in width from half a mile to ten miles, the 
stream meanders in and out of rich meadows and 
large flats of agricultural lands. It is devoted 
at present to stock raising by the Indians, but 
some day will be a great and wealthy stock rais- 
ing section. 

Williamson River Valley extends from the 
mouth of Williamson river, where it empties into 
the Upper Klamath lake, for fifty miles to the 
northeast and with its various tributary valleys 
forms a large system of fertile agricultural, 
meadow and natural grass lands, supplemented 
by excellent range on the surrounding hills and 
mountains. The valley varies from half a mile 
to fifteen miles in width and contains the vast 
Klamath marsh of some 60,000 acres. 

Horsefly and Barnes Valleys are in the up- 
lands of the eastern part of the county and are 
devoted to the raising of cattle, a very extensive 
range falling under the control of these small but 
well-located valleys. 

Swan Lake Valley lies north of Lost River 
valley, a range of high hills intervening. It is 
about six by ten miles in extent and has a lake 
on the east side which by its overflow produces 
large areas of grass land. This valley is well 
watered toward the upper end and is surrounded 
bv an exceedingly large territory of valuable 
range land and timber. The residents devote 
their attention to stock raising. 

Yonna Valley, which is about twenty miles 
east of the county seat, is some ten miles long 
and four miles wide. It is well watered and pro- 
duces much natural grass on the overflow lands. 
It is surrounded by good timber and plenty of 
range for cattle, which is the chief industry, al- 
though considerable grain is raised and general 
farming done. Alkali lake is located in this 
valley and is one and one-half miles wide by 
three miles long. This lake is fed by «now and 
by the numerous large springs flowing from the 
sides of the mountain. Thus it will be seen that 



nature has provided irrigation. It is surrounded 
by plenty of range for cattle and fine, large tim- 
ber. 

Wood River Valley in which is located the 
town of Fort Klamath, is one of the most beau- 
tiful valleys in Oregon. It is noted principally 
for its fine beef and dairy products. After mak- 
ing a trip to the Wood River country in the sum- 
mer of 1901, Air. W. Huse published the follow- 
ing in his paper, the Klamath Republican: 

From all we saw we feel ready to maintain that 
the Wood River country is one of the most favored 
spots that nature ever smiled upon. And the time will 
come not long hence when that country will be crowded 
with people, and Wood River and Big Klamath lake 
will be celebrated as summer resorts by tourists every- 
where. 

Klamath River Valley which lies along the 
north and west side of Klamath river, is from 
one to five miles in width and extends from 
Klamath Falls along the river for twelve miles. 
There is much natural grass land and its inhabi- 
tants devote their attention to both stock-raising 
and diversified farming. 

The Odel country has been declared by the 
editor of the Klamath Republican as the "Dark- 
est Klamath Land." And yet Odel is the largest 
and remotest school district in the United States. 
This Odell precinct, a rich belt of country, of fer- 
tile valleys and magnificent forests, practically 
unknown to the remainder of the county, is over 
100 miles from Klamath Falls and is gained 
by trails and circuitous routes. From 10 to 11 days 
are required for a letter mailed at Odel to reach 
the county seat. While the vote of Odell precinct 
is only 17, yet the exact results of an election 
are invariably delayed for days and even weeks, 
until Odell can send in her returns. This pe- 
culiar precinct lies at the extreme north end of 
the county on the headwaters of the Des Chutes 
river, and it is claimed that it was discovered to 
belong to Klamath county only a few years ago. 
Charles Graves wrote in the Klamath Republi- 
can, February 16. 1905, as follows: 

Arriving here on the Des Chutes a few years ago 
I was astonished to find such a beautiful river and such 
fine forests of yellow pine mixed with sugar pine on 
the higher ridges. This river has many rapids and with 
its high rock walls, dam building is easy and inexpensive. 
The continuous descent gives opportunity for as good 
water power here as "there is in the world. Walker 
Basin, the principal valley, is sixty miles long and 
averages from six to twelve miles in width. Much of 
this basin is good agricultural land, and where tried 
produces timothy and red clover to perfection; also 



9 88 



HISTORY. OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



wheat, barley, rye, oats and vetch, yielding an ex- 
ceptionally good crop. 

Many eastern people have timber claims here and 
no doubt will now take agricultural land as it has 
been restored to entry. This part of Klamath county 
has only recently been discovered. Two years ago the 
assessor found it and pounced down on two or three 
settlers who had discovered the region and located here 
hoping to elude him. The sheriff also discovered it about 
six months ago. Odell had a school district containing 
two schools. The teachers say that the county school 
superintendent has so far been unable to find or even 
locate the district. This, however, is not to be wondered 
at. The district embraces 1,554 square miles. January 
1, 1902, the district contained $4,095 worth of taxable 
property; March 1, 1904, there was nearly $350,000, and 
by March 1, this year it will reach, or even exceed a 
half million dollars in value. There is one postoffice in 
the district — Odell. It receives mail twice a week from 
Rosland. A letter to reach Klamath Falls must go 
north to Rosland, thence southeast to Silver Lake, thence 
to Lakeview, and thence west no miles to the county 
seat town, a total distance of 295 miles which requires 
eight to eleven days for a letter to reach its destina- 
tion. This is rather inconvenient for settlers and re- 
tards the development of this portion of the county. 
Strangers will not settle where the mail facilities are 
so poor. A gauging station has been established at 
Odell by the United States Reclamation Service. 

Aside from its splendid farming and stock- 
raising facilities Klamath county contains the 
finest timber belt in interior Oregon. It is con- 
servatively estimated that there are at least 15,- 
000,000,000 feet of pine now standing awaiting 
the logger, the mill and transportation facilities 
to carry it into the outer world where it is so 
badly needed. This timber, consisting of both 
yellow and white pine, is of superior quality. Ten 
years ago Charles H. Pierce, of Seattle, wrote 
as follows concerning Klamath county timber : 

The principal varieties of timber for commercial 
value in Klamath county are sugar pine, yellow pine, 
red fir, yellow fir, red cedar, larch and white pine. 
The area covered by sugar pine in any appreciable 
quantity is very small, that timber being confined almost 
alone in Klamath county to the Jenny creek plateau, 
which extends from Lake of the Woods south to the 
California line, and from the summit of the Cascades 
eastward to the Klamath river. The sugar pine of 
Klamath county is apparently of as good quality as any 
on the coast, and of very healthy, clean growth. 

Notwithstanding the small area to which the growth 
of sugar pine is confined I should estimate the total 
stumpage of that timber in Klamath county and that 
small strip in Jackson county which lies on the eastern 
■slope of the Cascades at not less than 400,000,000 feet: 



Yellow pine largely predominates in quantity over any 
other timber in the county, and it is probable that three- 
fourths of all timber in the county is yellow pine of 
some variety, for I class the so-called "bull pine" as 
a species of yellow pine, with, however, a thicker 
sap and of smaller and younger growth than the finer 
body of the true yellow pine, which also grows best 
on the Jenny Creek plateau, but is found in more or less 
quantity all over the county. Pacific coast yellow pine 
is a much better wood than the best yellow pine of the 
Southern states, being softer, closer grained, and freer 
from pitchy substance. 

Red and yellow fir are fairly abundant in Klamath 
county and in some spots high up in the mountains 
predominate over all other timber, notably in the 
Dead Indian region, where a large portion of a body 
of fir ranks with the best fir on Puget sound in quality 
and yield per acre. As a general thing the fir which 
grows among the pines of Southern Oregon is not of 
so good quality as the fir which abounds in the moister 
climates of Northern Oregon and the Puget sound 
region of Washington. There is sufficient good fir in 
Klamath to round out the other and more valuable 
timber and to enable the mills to fill general and 
mixed orders for heavy and long framing sticks and 
structual timbers to which pine is not well adapted. 

The red cedar of the Cascade range in' Southern 
Oregon is not of much value, due to the peculiarly 
hot, dry summer seasons, which climate, however, is 
just adapted to the superior growth of sugar and 
yellow pines. The Klamath red cedar will answer 
very well for shingles and fence posts, but the dry 
rot which enters nearly every tree, even in the grand 
Jenny Creek section, renders this cedar of little value 
for timber. The larch and white pines of the Klamath 
slope grow together in one place only so far as the 
writer knows, high up on the summit plateau of the 
Cascades, but readily accessible to the river or to the 
Upper Klamath lake. The quality of both woods is 
fine, but the quantity is rather limited, especially the 
white pine, of which there is, all told, less than 25,000.000 
feet scattered among the other timber. 

Larch has been used and highly commended as a 
furniture and finish wood by firms in Portland and 
Oregon City. Of larch there is not probably to exceed 
250,000,000 feet in Klamath county, confined within the 
radius of six miles of the natural point for operations, 
in places the heaviest stand of timber in all Southern 
Oregon, and equal to almost everything on the coast. 
In general figures even, it would be very difficult for 
the best timberman in Oregon to even approximate the • 
amount of saw timber tributary to the Klamath lakes 
and the upper end of the Klamath river. But I have 
little hesitation in saying that I think when sawed, it 
will aggregate more than 5.000,000,000 of feet. 

I have estimates on nearly every 40 of timber on 
the Jenny creek plateau, including everything north 
as far as Lake of the Woods, made by competent 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



989 



cruisers, and on that great plateau alone I am prepared 
to state emphatically that there is three billion feet of 
merchantable pine, yellow pine, fir, larch and white 
pine. The balance of the county and that portion of 
Jackson county which drains toward the Upper Klamath 
lake must surely contain as much more timber, though 
the average yield per acre for the balance of the county 
is much less than for the Jenny creek plateau, and the 
timber surrounding the lakes is shorter bodied and of 
smaller growth. Assuming that five billion feet of mer- 
chantable timber now stands tributary to the lakes and 
upper portion of the river, what does it mean? It 
probably means that lumber of such quality, when 
worked up, including the dressing of the same, yield 
on an average $12 per M. at the mills, assuming that 
the value of Klamath's timber will enhance much be- 
fore it is half cut off, and that of this $12 about $8 
for every thousand feet manufactured will come to and 
be spent in Klamath county in some form or other, 
or counting it as a basis of exchange. This means 
$40,000,000 certain revenue for Klamath county at some 
time in her history, almost incredible figures, but which 
will, I firmly believe be borne out by the facts. 

For stock raising- Klamath county is emi- 
nently fitted. Buyers from all parts of the coast 
come here and purchase cattle. The number of 
communities more or less isolated from the great 
commercial markets of the nation have never had 
a greater factor in producing prosperity and ac- 
quiring a reputation for industrial success than 
the dairying industry. When hay and other agri- 
cultural products would not pay to ship they were 
fed to cows and the products — butter and cheese 
— yielded a profit that was distributed through- 
out the entire community, creating a prosperity 
that always comes from frequent payments of 
honestly earned cash, so this county, should any- 
thing occur to cause an overplus of hay, can do 
likewise with every factor to secure a successful 
competency. 

The fishing grounds of Klamath county are 
extensive and embrace a large variety of game 
fish than any similar resort on the coast. In the 
Upper Klamath lake and Link river seven varie- 
ties of the steelhead trout have been caught, rang- 
ing in weight from a few ounces to sixteen pounds 
which raise to the fly readily during the summer 
months, take the spoon in the spring and fall and 
the minnow at all seasons of the year. The fa- 
mous Dolly Varden trout are found in Cherry and 
Sun creeks, Seven mile creek .and other streams 
which flow into the Upper Klamath lake. In Lost 
river, which flows within ten miles of Klamath 
Falls, there is an annual spring run of mullet of 
such an extent that a cannery has been established 
at the point of vantage. In Klamath river which 
flows from Klamath Falls to the Pacific ocean, the 



fall fishing for salmon, salmon trout and silver- 
side trout is exceptionally fine. The most noted 
of all the fishing streams are Spring creek and 
Williamson river, celebrated for their exception- 
ally gamey rainbow trout weighing from a half 
to fourteen pounds, and Pelican Bay which teems 
with lake trout. 

Deer are plentiful along the summit plateau of 
the Cascade range and spurs east of the lakes, and 
bear and elk are occasionally found. In the way 
of lesser game may be mentioned pheasants,, 
grouse, sage-hens, prairie chicken and rabbits, 
while the great marshes of the lakes abound in 
swans, pelicans, ducks and geese. Snipe shoot- 
ing about the lakes has long been a favorite sport 
with the sportsmen of Klamath Falls. 

It is now ours to describe in a humble way 
some of the wonders of Klamath county — or 
rather attempt a description — for some of them 
are indescribable. These will include its rivers, 
lakes, springs and last, but not least, its famous 
"berry patch." The magazines and newspapers 
of the country have told of the beautiful scenery 
of Klamath county. Crater Lake, one of the most 
famous productions of nature, is here, and com- 
prises a portion of a panorama of grandeur which 
has been converted into a national park and to 
which thousands come annually to visit. 

Upper Klamath lake is forty miles long with 
an average of ten miles in width and is navigable 
its entire length -and breadth. It is fed by two 
large rivers and numerous smaller streams, and a 
number of these are navigable for smaller craft, 
into which the man with rod and gun may pene- 
trate and enjoy unexcelled sport. This lake is 
connected with Lake Ewauna by Link river. The 
two lakes are one mile apart, and the river is a 
gradual fall, the water boiling over the rocks 
with a roar. At the foot of this stream is the 
town of Klamath Falls, the capital of the county. 
From Lake Ewauna flows the Klamath river into 
the Lower Klamath lake, another vast bodv of 
water lying in Oregon and California, which is, 
also, navigable. Indeed, Lake Ewauna, Klamath 
river and Lower Klamath lake are all used at 
present for navigation purposes with Klamath 
Falls the market for the products of the country 
adjoining them. It has been a perplexing ques- 
tion where Klamath river begins. In reality its 
source is Lake Ewauna and the head of the river 
is at Baldwin's Island. The following story is 
given as a tradition among the Cahroe Indians : 

The Coyote went at length on his tour of inspection 
to the country of the Klamath river and found the 
people there in the most destitute condition. The river 
had had an abundance of salmon, but three Skookums 
at the mouth of the stream had constructed a dam so . 



990 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



that they might get all the fish, and thus prevented the 
ascent of the customary food supply. By this self- 
fishness of the Skookums he was much incensed and 
vowed that before many days so much fish should come 
up the river as to give all the men, women and children, 
and even the dogs, all the food they could eat. 

He went to the mouth of the river and found the 
house of the Skookums, and entering as a homeless 
coyote began his observations. Although he was hungry 
and whined for some of the fine fish that the Skookums 
had, he was not noticed, and his fast was unbroken, 
even with the smell of delicious salmon in his nostrils. 
He saw, however, where the Shookums kept their key 
for the gate of the dam, and the next morning, when 
one of the three women started down to open the trap 
and let out a fish for herself, he darted out of the 
lodge and running between her feet succeeded in trip- 
ping her, so that she fell and threw the key out of her 
hand. Seizing this instantly the Coyote went to the dam 
and opened the gate, letting the swarming salmon pass 
through, and up to the country of the Cahroes. He 
then broke down the dam and since that time the fish 
have gone every year to the upper stream. 

One of the most important and historic 
streams in the state of Oregon is Lost River. 
Some of the best ranches in Klamath county now 
lie along this stream, though in the early days it 
was the battle ground of the Indians. It was 
here that more immigrants were slain than at any 
other point in the country, and here it was that 
Ben Wright and his famous twenty-three wreaked 
vengeance upon the savages by attacking a whole 
band and killing and scalping the men, women and 
children. The river runs through a level plain, 
"losing" and "finding" itself alternately. It rises 
as a vast spring and after flowing a long distance 
it disappears in the sands, but emerges again with- 
in a short distance and one may watch its course 
and easily determine that it is the same stream. 
Hence the name Lost River. Along its banks the 
soil is fertile, and where the Indian once laid in 
wait for the weary, travel-stained immigrant who 
sought the water of this stream, after crossing 
the plains, for himself and team, and to pass a 
few days in this, at that time the great oasis in 
the Oregon desert, now well-to-do and prosper- 
ous farmers and stockmen dwell in peace and 
comfort, and the latch-string of their homes is 
always out to the weary traveler. 

Lost River is one hundred miles long, and 
averages eighty feet in width. Through the 
lava beds, noted as the stronghold of Captain 
Jack and his Modoc confederates, the stream has 
a subterreanean channel. The ice caves which 
refreshed the Indian warriors of 1873 add to their 
stores by seepage from this famous stream. In 



the stirring times of war the nearby thunder of 
rushing waters mingled with the Modoc tongue 
in a large cavern occupied by the savages for 
refuge and council. In this chamber Captain Jack 
and his band, sipping from chips of ice and im- 
provising seats from the bones of prehistoric an- 
imals, would plan to frustrate the federal sol- 
diers. 

Link is really the upper course of the Kla- 
math river, and is a stream of considerable vol- 
ume. Upon leaving Upper Klamath Lake the 
river plunges over a succession of rapids, de- 
scending about one hundred feet in the course of 
two miles, and providing a fine water power. At 
Klamath Falls it broadens out, forming a lakelet, 
and then flows placidly through the level plains 
until joined by the stream from Lower Klamath 
lake. Here it begins its turbulent descent 
through the grand and picturesque gorge of the 
Klamath. It has an average width of three hun- 
dred feet. In a distance of a trifle over a mile 
it has a fall of between sixty and seventy feet, thus 
providing power sufficient to turn the wheels of 
all the machinery that could be located along its 
banks. Geographers have made the mistake of 
saying that Link river connects Upper and Lower 
Klamath lakes. This is erroneous, Lower Kla- 
math lake being a dozen miles from the place 
where Link river terminates. It connects Upper 
Klamath and Ewauna lakes. A few times within' 
the memory of white men Link river has been 
dry, not from the usual causes, but owing to heavy 
winds driving its waters back to their source. On 
each occasion this phenomenon has been preceded 
for a number of days by strong south winds. 

Sprague, which flows into Williamson river, 
a few miles from its mouth, rises in the eastern 
portion of the county. With its tributaries it 
forms an immense valley nearly one hundred 
miles long. This section of the country is de- 
voted almost exclusively to the industry of stock- 
raising, the range grasses and natural meadows 
being practically inexhaustible. 

Williamson river is a wide and beautiful 
stream fringed by trees on both banks. It flows 
from the northern part of the county and de- 
bouches into Upper Klamath lake. It is equal to 
its tributary, Spring Creek, as a fishing stream, 
but it is not so clear and cold, the temperature of 
Spring Creek being - 38 degrees the year round. 
The latter stream is about six miles east of the 
Klamath Agency, and its surroundings are as 
peaceful and glorious as the sylvan dells and 
shaded retreats of the Rhine. It derives its name 
from the many springs which may be seen bub- 
bling up out of its white, sandy bottom. In many 
places in the bed of Spring Creek are patches 






HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



991 



of water halls of a greenish brown hue, filled 
with a gelatinous liquid. The)' present an inter- 
esting picture. 

The waters of Wood river are deep, clear as 
crystal and cold as ice. The streams flowing into 
the northern end of Upper Klamath lake are 
Wood river, with its tributaries, Fort, Crooked, 
Cherry, Anna and Sevenmile Creeks. 

Rogue river rises just within the boundaries 
of Klamath county and the famous Des Chutes 
heads in the northern end. The principal lakes 
of the county are Upper and Lower Klamath, 
Tule, Lake of the Woods and Crater. Aside 
from these there are Davis, Odell, Crescent, Sum- 
mit, Fish, Aspen, Wocus, Long, Round, Buck, 
Two-Mile, Four-Mile and Diamond. 

Of these lakes the one that looms highest on 
the horizon of natural scenery is Crater which, 
with its surroundings, presents a most magnificent 
and marvellous spectacle. The geology and pet- 
rography of Crater Lake National Park have 
been described by Joseph Silas Diller and Horace 
Bushnell Patton, and their work published by the 
government in 1902. From their report we take 
the following excerpts : 

Twenty years ago Crater Lake was unknown to 
the general public, but since then a knowledge of its re- 
markable features has been spread abroad through the 
press, and Congress recognized its worth as an educa- 
tional feature and made it a national park by the act ap- 
proved May 22, 1902. 

As defined by the bill the park is "bounded 
north by the parallel forty-three degrees four minutes 
north latitude, south by forty-two degrees forty-eight 
minutes north latitude, east by the meridian one hundred 
and twenty-two degrees west longitude, and west by the 
meridan one hundred and twenty-two degrees six- 
1 teen minutes west longitude, having an area of two 
hundred and forty-nine square miles." 

A great impetus to the spread of information con- 
cerning Crater Lake was given by Mazamas of Port- 
land, Oregon, who held a meeting at the lake in August, 
1896, which attracted many visitors. The principal fea- 
tures in the history of the lake has previously been made 
out, and the Mazamas, recognizing the fact that the 
great peak which was nearly destroyed in preparing 
the pit for the lake had no name, gave it the name of 
their own society. Upon the rim of the lake are a 
number of small peaks, each having its own designation. 
The term Mount Mazama refers to the whole rim en- 
circling the lake. It is but a mere remmant of the once 
lofty peak, the real Mount Mazama, which rose far 
info the region of eternal snow. To get a basis for re- 
constructing the original Mount Mazama it is necessary 
to study in detail the structure and composition of its 
foundation, now so attractively displayed in the en- 
circling cliffs of Crater Lake. * * * The wrecking 



of Mount Mazama was the crowning event in the vol- 
canic history of the Cascade Range, and resulted from 
a movement similar to that just noted in Mount Thicl- 
sen bul vastly greater in its size and consequences. 
This volcanic activity culminated in the development of 
a great pit or caldera, which for grandeur and beauty 
rivals anything of its kind in the world. 

The rim encircling Crater Lake, when seen from a 
distance from any side, appears as a broad cluster of 
gently sloping peaks rising about r,ooo feet above the 
general crest of the range on which they stand. A 
good view is obtained from the road along Anna creek, 
where the southern portion of the rim appears as shown 
on PI. in, B. Here Castle Crest and Vidae Peak are 
the most prominent features, with the canyon of Anna 
Creek in the foreground. The topographic prominence 
of Mount Mazama can be more fully realized when it 
is considered that it is close to the head of Rogue, Kla- 
math and Umpqua rivers. These are the only large 
streams breaking through the mountains to the sea be- 
tween the Columbia and the Sacramento, and their 
watershed might be expected to be the principal peak 
of the Cascade range. To one arriving by the road 
at the crest of the rim, the lake in all its majestic beauty 
suddenly appears upon the scene, and is profoundly 
impressive. The eye beholds twenty miles of unbroken 
cliffs, the remnant of Mount Mazama, ranging from 
over 50c to nearly 2.000 feet in height, encircling a 
deep, blue sheet of placid water in which the mirrored 
walls vie with the original slopes in brilliancy and great- 
ly enhance the depth of the prospect. The lake is about 
4 J4 miles wide and 6% miles long, with an area of 
nearly 20^2 square miles. 

From the wooded slope a shirt distance within the 
rim at Victor Rock, an excellent general view of the 
lake may be obtained. The first point to catch the eye 
is Wizard Island, lying nearly two miles away, near 
the western margin of the lake. Its irregular west- 
ern edge and the steep but symmetrical truncated cone 
in the eastern portion are very suggestive of volcanic 
origin. We cannot, however, indulge our first impulse 
to go at once to the island, for the various features 
of the rim are of greater importance in unraveling the 
earlier stages of its geological history. 

On the left is the western border of the lake, with 
the Watchman, Glacier Peak, and Devil's Backbone 
opposite Wizard Island, and Llao Rock beyond. * * 

* * * On the right is the southern border of the 
lake. Castle Crest, Kerr Notch, Scott Peak, Senti- 
nel Rock and Cloud Cap appear in the distance along 
the rim. The boldest part of the southern rim is cut 
off from this view of Castle Crest. * * * There are 
three types of lavas in Mount Mazama — andesites, 
dacites and basalts. The immediate rim of the lake is 
made up wholly of andesites and dacites, chiefly the 
former ; the basalts are limited to the outer slope. They 
came from the smaller vents around the base of the 
larger cone. 






992 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



The theory of magmatic differentiation, so ably ad- 
vocated by Professor Iddings and others in this coun- 
try to explain in differences lavas erupted from the 
same volcanic center, accords well with the course of 
events in Mount Mazama. Its eruptions began with 
and long continued to be composed of lava having in- 
termediate composition. This lava was followed first 
by less siliceous lava, the basalt from a number of 
small vents on the flanks of the great volcano, and 
finally by the dacites, which closed the petrographic 
cycle. It is possible that the basalts, and dacites may 
- have been in part contemporaneous, but the last erup- 
tion from the great mountain was of dacite. Then 
came the great engulfment, and a new petrographic cy- 
cle began with the andesite of Wizard Island. 

With the above scientific and reliable descrip- 
tion of Crater Lake as an introduction let us con- 
tinue our story of this marvelous and picturesque 
sample of nature's handicraft along less scien- 
tific yet, possibly, more attractive lines. In 1902 
Governor Geer wrote : 

"The crater which holds the lake, including 
the 2,000 feet of walls above it, would easily hold 
Mount Hood as it stands today. In fact if Mount 
Hood were inverted and dropped into Crater lake 
it would make a very happy geological fit." 

In 1 88 1 there was published at Lakeview a 
paper called the State Line Herald. A writer in 
that journal thus describes a ''Trip to Crater 
Lake :" 

The only means we have of determining the grand- 
eur or magnitude of an object is by comparison, using 
some other as a standard. But where we can find no 
suitable standard for comparison, the mind is for a 
time absorbed with contemplation, until by degrees the 
reality is unfolded, and in the case under consideration, 
the greatness of the scene dawns upon the beholder and 
the traveler is made to feel that he is gazing upon one 
of the great natural wonders of the world. For a 
time our little party stood in silence, almost dazed in 
contemplating the silent, solemn grandeur before us. 

Here, ages ago were enacted some of those terrible 
upheavals, which within a day raise up or tear down 
mountains. Evidences of volcanic action are scattered 
and piled all around us, and evidently this mammoth 
excavation has at some time been the crater of an ac- 
tive volcano, now extinct. Just imagine this a boiling 
cauldron, eight by fifteen miles in extent, and of an 
unknown depth, with its liquid fire shooting tongues 
of flame toward the sky, blackening and charring the 
walls of its rocky prison from base to summit. The 
tracks of flame are clearly visible and will remain so 
for all time. The walls are composed of conglomer- 
ate masses of rock all showing more or less the unmis- 
takable influence of fire. These walls, or rather this 
wall, for it encircles it completely without a break, 
varies from 1,500 to 3,000 feet in perpendicular height 



above the surface of the lake. In places the wall is. 
nearly perpendicular, and a rock dropped from the high- 
est points finds no obstacle in the way for at least one 
thousand feet, and with three bounds strikes the water 
three thousand feet below. The writer tried the ex- 
periment. Lying flat, his face beyond the brink, he 
dropped a stone from his hand and as he watched it: 
rapidly sink down, down, down, was taken with an al- 
most irresistible impulse to follow. The sensation was 
too unpleasant for repetition. 

The character of the scene may be better understood 
by the reader who is conversant with high mountains,, 
if he will imagine a lofty peak 14,000 or 15,000 feet 
high, with 5.000 or 6,000 feet of the top taken off, and 
the inside hollowed out to the dimensions given of 
Crater lake. Toward the west side is an island 1,500 
feet high, having a hollowed place on the top which 
is usually filled with snow. This mountain is evi- 
dently the last chimney of the old volcano, which judg- 
ing from the character of the rocks composing it and 
the timber occupying its sides, has slept for ages and 
to all appearances will sleep on to the end of time. There 
is but one place where it is possible to make the de- 
scent to the water, and there is great caution required 
to avoid an accident. At this point a track or cause- 
way has been worn through the cliff by the rolling of 
rocks, which have ground and battered down these 
natural battlements and left in their stead rock dust 
and ashes into which the traveler sinks ankle deep as he 
slowly winds his way downward. This causeway is- 
about 100 feet wide, and in places has walls from two 
to four hundred feet high. It is perfectly straight and 
about 1,500 feet in perpendicular height above the water, 
the angle inclination varying from twenty to forty-five 
degrees from the perpendicular. We amused ourselves- 
for a time rolling rocks down this pathway, and were 
astonished at the velocity they obtained. Huge bould- 
ers weighing a ton would bound along with accelerated" 
speed until their great velocity would cause them to- 
spring 100 feet in the air, and strike near the bottom, 
after flying through space for two hundred yards when, 
with a final spring they would plunge beneath the waves- 
two hundred yards from shore. By placing the 
ear to the edge of the cliff the sound of the falling- 
boulders could be heard as they bounded from rock 
to rock for some time after they had disappeared below 
the surface. 

Some time before our first visit to this mystic spot 
a party had been there and after great difficulty had' 
lowered a skiff to the water, and with sounding line and 
lead had embarked upon the lake. They turned their 
course toward the cone-shaped island before described, 
and about two miles distant. At different points they 
played out all their line: about 600 feet and touched 
no bottom. They landed upon the island and with dif- 
ficulty climed to the summit of the cone. There is no 
visible inlet or outlet to the lake, but currents are 
distinctly traceable upon its surface, showing that the- 




Crater Lake 





•m 



Threshing Scene in Klamath Valley 




■HL 



Pelican Bay, Upper Klamath Lake 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



993 



waters have ingress to and egress from this giant basin. 
This theory is confirmed by the fact that Anna Creek, 
which flows into Klamath lake from the north, emerges 
in a body from the side of this mountain and about one 
and one-half miles from the summit, and coming from 
the immediate direction of this lake. Rogue River, 
also, though its course lies to the west and finds its 
way directly to the ocean, has its source in Crater lake. 
It, as does Anna creek, flows in a body from the side 
of the mountain and about two miles from the summit. 

While investigating the curiosities to be found and 
wonders to be seen about the banks of the lake, a storm 
of wind and snow came upon us. None except those 
who have been on high mountains under like cir- 
cumstances can easily imagine the effect of a snow 
storm among the clouds. Here, 9,000 feet above the 
ocean, we found ourselves suddenly enveloped in clouds, 
which seemed in a body to roll along on the surface 
of the mountain, while we. thus surrounded, were al- 
most suffocated by the blinding, whirling flakes as 
they were deposited among the rocks and peaks about 
us. Within five minutes the waters of the lake were 
hidden from our view, and our party were forced to 
seek the shelter of trees near at hand. 

The writer had a curiosity to descend to the water 
and view the appearance of Crater Lake in a snow 
storm. No one else seemed inclined to attempt the de- 
scent under the circumstances, so providing ourselves 
with a staff we started alone. The trip down was made 
in a reasonably short time, and standing there we looked 
about upon the surging billows and then around at the 
towering walls that hedged us in. It is difficult to 
give an idea of the effect upon one's nerves. There 
we stood, apparently in the bowels of the earth, the 
clouds formed a complete covering and seemed to rest 
on the top of the mighty wall. Those of the party at 
the summit, though they declined to accompany us, 
stood upon the bank, though they could not be seen 
from the bottom. The wind had lashed the lake into 
fury and foam, and the waves were running four and 
five feet high and beating the shores as if in a mad- 
dened effort to break their prison walls and give free- 
dom for the lake. The old skiff lay upon a rocky shelf, 
and that we might claim a solitary credit we pushed 
it into the water and in a minute more were afloat upon 
the stormy waves. We did not venture far, however, 
and breathed freely when again on terra firma. 

From this point a splendid view of the towering 
cliffs could be had, and in that lonely spot alone we, 
in imagination, saw re-enacted the terrible convulsions 
of nature that once held headquarters near and trans- 
formed the country for hundreds of miles in extent. 
The walls seem at that time to have been in a semi- 
molten state when old Vulcan with the power alone 
vouchsafed to him. belched forth the missies of war, fire 
and lava, throwing boulders of tons in weight with such 
force as to imbed them in the plastic wall where they 
still cling, an evidence of volcanic power. Here the 
63 



maddened flames played, and in liquid flashes darted 
their fiery tongues heavenward. Mere the awful thun- 
ders belched forth terror to the inhabitants of the sur- 
rounding country, and the frightened Indian crouched 
in fear beneath the shelter of neighboring mountains, 
or fled before the mighty avalanche of burning lava 
that poured down from the devil-possessed heights. 
Here, alone in this loneliest of spots, with the waves 
fire-begrimed and time-scarred battlements of nature, 
dashing madly against the shore, surrounded by this 
the clouds resting upon its summits, and apparently 
shutting us in from all the world alone; where the 
seething fires of hell seem once to have held high car- 
nival and, cancer-like, to have devoured a mighty 
mountain, we were seized with a feeling that in this 
awe-inspiring solitude some of the minons of Beelze- 
bub might still lurk to punish the presumption of sin- 
ful man who should dare to invade even this deserted 
sanctum of his Satanic Majesty. 

The Indians of this section of the country have a 
tradition that this lake is the abode of evil spirits, and 
that to him who had the hardihood even to look into 
its silent depths, the penalty of death will surely be 
meted out. Hence they do not come near it, and have 
warned the whites of the danger of incurring the dis- 
pleasure of these spirits. 

The water of Crater Lake is nearly pure, very cold 
and incomparably clear. Objects are seen at a great 
depth, but no one has yet succeeded in ascertaining 
how deep the waters are. Our curiosity was soon sat- 
isfied and, in dread of the task ahead, we commenced 
the toilsome ascent. At every step one sinks ankle 
deep in the loose deposits of ashes and pulverized pum- 
ice and the journey becomes tedious and tiresome. To 
avoid excessive fatigue we turned from the cause- 
way and attempted to clamber up among the rocks, 
where it seemed we might find firm footing; but we 
came near being the victim of an accident which would 
have thrown another young widow upon the world. 
With great difficulty we regained the causeway and after 
an hour of laborious climbing rejoined the party that 
was awaiting our return. 

The clouds had passed away and old Sol again il- 
luminated the deep recesses of these rugged moun- 
tains, and gave a more cheerful prospect for our in- 
vestigation. We climbed to the summit of the highest 
peak, and from that point saw one of the most inter- 
esting and extensive landscapes it has been our pleasure 
to behold. 

The following short description of Crater 
Lake is from the pen of W. S. Parrott, written in 
1892. Mr. Parrott is an eminent artist and 
painted a picture of the lake which he visited 
about that time : 

What a grand spectacle in mid-winter when swirls 
of frost driven by Arctic storms howl through the 
splintered crags of Castle Mountain and sigh among 



994 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



the sturdy hemlocks — a mass of knots and twists — 
that hang in the almost sunless caverns of perpetual 
winter ! This hardy specimen of the vegetable king- 
dom is almost immortal, for it will grow on the crests 
of toppling pinnacles which seem "held intact only by 
the network of roots which fetter it to its drossy en- 
vironment. Again it may be seen at the base of some 
dizzy height from which it has been hurled hundreds 
of feet through the open air, but still clutching some 
of its native soil in its cancer-like grasp, continues to 
grow on as though transplanted, and year after year 
comes forth from a grave of ten months' snow as 
fresh and green as the arbor vitae of our gardens. 

Now wander back in fancy to the ancient crater 
Lake mountain and for a moment revel in the handi- 
work of the furies as they paint the stormy panorama 
through unreckoned ages of chaos, written only in the 
hieroglyphics of crumbling walls and sunken moun- 
tains. But with a Dante's ambition to transcend, in 
search of a terror inferno, may we through burning 
-firmament descend to the war of primitive nature where 
tableaux of vanishing recreation linger for a moment, 
then vanish in the fierce maelstrom of unchained ele- 
ments; at last the furies, their work complete, join 
hands in their wrath and the troubled earth rises to 
mid-heavens, a Plutonic throne of fire to light the sur- 
rounding world — but, alas! a temple of time, it fell 
back with a crash that shook a continent, to slumber 
forever 'neath the lake ultramarine. 

Nature's wreck and man's glory, may you^on canvas 
and in poet's pen forever live! 

The most picturesque of all the larger lakes of 
Oregon may be said to be Upper Klamath. Theo- 
-retically, this lake, with the Klamath marsh, the 
plains in the vicinity of Klamath Falls, and the 
basins of Lower Klamath and Rhett lakes, were 
all formerly submerged under a single sheet of 
water of great size. This prehistoric lake, it is 
supposed, was drained off at the period when the 
gorge of Klamath river had been cut down be- 
low its level. Comparatively speaking the present 
lakes are only pools of water left in the deepest 
parts of its bed. 

At the base of the Cascade Range lies Upper 
Klamath lake. Over 4,000 feet above sea level is 
its elevation; its area is about 130 square miles. 
To our knowledge its depth has never been as- 
certained. It is hemmed in by magnificent, im- 
posing mountains. On the west rise the densely 
wooded slopes of the Cascades, some of whose 
loftiest peaks are mantled with perpetual, snow. 
' To the east are bare, rocky acclivities, of no slight 
elevation. Especially fine is the view from the 
hills at the south end of this lake. To the north- 
ward sleeps the lake, framed in mountain peaks, 
-while far to the southward the summit of Shasta, 



overtopping all intervening ridges, forms the 
most prominent features of the landscape. 

Of irregular outline are the shores of Upper 
Klamath lake ; they are, mainly, steep and rocky, 
and a few small islands dot the surface. Several 
large streams flow into the northern part, and at 
the southern end the waters discharge through 
Link river. This is the only large lake in Ore- 
gon that overflows. 

Lower, or Little Klamath lake, is of small 
size and only a portion of it (some nine miles) 
lies in Oregon. It is navigable and steamers ply 
its waters from Klamath Falls to various points 
on the lake. 

Rhett, or Tule lake is a fair-sized body of 
water, but properly it belongs to California, only 
about four square miles of its area lying within 
the boundaries of Oregon. Rhett, Tule or Wright 
lake as it is variously called, is a body of water 
known to fame. On its southern shore lie the 
celebrated Modoc lava beds. 

Lake of the Woods, some five miles in length, 
surrounded by dense forests and green meadows, 
is situated about ten miles west of Pelican Bay, 
of Upper Klamath lake. It is near the western 
boundary of the county. It has a beautiful peb- 
bly shore, and is among the handsomest of lakes. 

For over thirty years Klamath Falls (Link- 
ville) has stood on the shore of a little lake now 
known as Ewauna. Until lately it had no name, 
and was referred to locally as simply "the lake." 
The name Ewauna, according to Captain O. C. 
Applegate, was conferred upon it by the Indians, 
and signifies "elbow." 

South of Lake of the Woods five compara- 
tively small lakes, in the midst of a vast field of 
lava, lie at a great altitude, surrounded by a dozen 
lofty peaks, constituting what was known in ear- 
lier days as the "Snowy Cluster." 

There is in the immediate vicinity of Klamath 
Falls a "nest" of hot springs. Some of them con- 
tain medicinal properties ; some of them do not. 
They vary in temperature, one of them running 
exceedingly high, so high in fact that it has been 
named the "Devil's Tea Kettle." Throughout 
eastern Oregon some of these springs . are used 
by ranchers and butchers for the purpose of scald- 
ing hogs ; in earlier days they were utilized by 
Indians for boiling their meats. But the "Devil's 
Tea Kettle" is too hot for all practical purposes. 

Near this place, also, is the famous hot earth, 
or solfatara, a spot — an acre or so in extent — 
situated on a hillside, at least 150 feet above the 
big hot spring, or "Devil's Tea Kettle." By bor- 
ing down seven feet into this hot earth the tem- 
perature was ascertained to be 210 degrees. It is 
claimed that this hot earth, when applied to the 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



995 



parts affected with lumbago, acts like magic. To 
relieve pain in cases of rheumatism, neuralgia, 
sciatica and paralysis, this treatment is said to be 
equally efficient. 

Of Klamath county's big berry patch the 
Morning Oregonian of November, 1900, pub- 
lished the following account : 

Along the side of Crater Lake and Pelican Bay, in 
Klamath county, there is a great wonder which is vis- 
ited by thousands of people annually, that is seldom 
mentioned and but little known outside of southern 
Oregon. The great huckelberry patch of Oregon is 
situated 75 miles from Klamath Falls, in a northerly 
direction, and eight miles from the famous Crater 
Lake. At least 3,000 people visited the place this year, 
and from 3,000 to 5,000 people journey thither every 
year. They do not visit it as sightseers, but strictly 
with a business motive. 

In earlier times it was the home of the bear and the 
great storehouse of the Indian. Here the different 
tribes met on friendly terms and picked the berries 
and dried them for winter food. Now the bear have 
almost entirely disappeared and the red man and the 
white man meet on equal terms and pick this fruit 
from nature's own orchard. 

This remarkable huckleberry patch covers an area 
of land 20 miles long and from four to five miles wide. 
The bushes average from three to five feet in height, 
and are literally loaded with the fruit every year. A 
failure of the crop has never been known. The "patch" 
"lies along the summit of Huckelberry mountain, a 
peak of the Cascades, at an altitude of 7,000 feet. The 
terries are blue-black in color, about the size of a tame 
cherry and are of delicious flavor. Besides the Indians 
and Whites of southern Oregon, the inhabitants of 
northern California and western Idaho flock to this 
place every- year. ■ The berries are picked and canned, 
or dried on the ground, and taken home ready to be 
stored for winter's use. In early days the Indians dried 
them exclusively, but now they have learned the white 
man's ways. 

During the huckelberry season the mountain resem- 
bles a city. From 3,000 to 4,000 people are camped 



about the place, and the numerous camp fires send up 
their smoke by day, and shoot farther their light by 
night and the mountain is made merry for twenty 
miles by the shouting of children and song and merry 
making. The berries begin to ripen .in August and 
picking continues until snow flies, generally the latter 
part of November. One person usually picks five or 
six gallons a day, which when sold bring $1 a gallon 
in the town. Most of the berries, however, are put up 
by private families for home consumption. The ber- 
ries here picked and saved annually run up into the 
hundreds of thousands of gallons. 

Visits to this section are marked by both pleasure 
and profit. Every kind of amusement is carried on. 
There are music, dances, Sunday schools and preach- 
ing. Besides berry picking there are other features 
of attraction. Although the bear is practically driven 
from this, his desirable home, a number are still killed 
every season while stealing in to make a meal from 
the lucious berries. Deer are plentiful and hundreds 
of them are killed annually. Fishing is good in all the 
lakes and mountain streams, and the place is an ideal 
spot for the romantic pleasure seeker as well as families 
who desire to replenish the larder for winter. 

We cannot more appropriately close this de- 
scriptive chapter of Klamath county than with a 
short quotation from J. W. Howerton, who pub- 
lished the following in the "Farm and Irrigation 
Age:" 

"This great county, with its healthful climate, 
its vast area of irrigable land, its numerous beau- 
tiful lakes and rivers, so happily situated to be of 
the greatest service to man, the mountain reser- 
voirs, the great extent of mountain grazing lands, 
the great herds of horses, mules, cattle and sheep, 
its' marshes, with an abundance of natural hay, 
the beautiful alfalfa meadows, its enormous body 
of choicest timber, the adaptability to all staple 
crops of its fertile valleys, the cheapness of land 
and the possibilities of irrigation, invite to its 
shores all good people less favorably situated, to 
assist in developing these wonderful resources and 
to secure a happy home." 






CHAPTER VIII 



POLITICAL. 



Since its organization Klamath county has 
made few mistakes in the selection of men to 
transact the county's business. Only once in her 
political history, from 1882 to 1905, has a county 
official betrayed the confidence of the people who 
placed him in office. Up to a few years since the 
county was sparsely settled and those who were 
candidates for office were known personally to 
nearly all the voters in the county. Thus the 
people have been enabled to select honest, 
capable and conservative officials with but very 
rare exceptions. 

Prior to the formation of Lake county, in 1874, 
the territory which now comprises Lake and Kla- 
math counties was a part of Jackson county. At 
that period, aside from the soldiers at Fort Kla- 
math, there were few settlers in southern Oregon 
east of the Cascade mountains. What few there 
were, however, occasionally took part in the po- 
litical matters of Jackson county. The incon- 
veniences this interest in matters political occa- 
sioned is illustrated by an event which occurred 
in 1866. O. A. Stearns was then a soldier at Fort 
Klamath, and was selected as a delegate repre- 
senting that part of the county east of the moun- 
tains in the county convention held at Jackson- 
ville. He was granted a twenty days' furlough 
in which to perform this service. For the trip 
he was denied the use of any of the horses in the 
government service and was compelled to accept 
the proffer of a decrepit, feeble pony on which he 
determined to make the start at least. After wad- 
ing through snow, mud and slush for nine days, 
the destination was reached, and Mr. Stearns was 
on time to participate in the deliberations of the 
convention. 

He left the pony on the eastern slope of the 
mountains after about half the trip had been ac- 
complished. Here he fell in with a party who 
offered the use of an unbroken mule to ride, 
which offer was accepted. He made the return 
trip on a mule that belonged to the government 
and which he had been requested to conduct to 
the fort. But for all its utility to him, he says, he 
would not have disturbed the long-eared animal 



in its Rogue River lodging. He won his way to- 
the fort two days before the expiration of his 
furlough, and expressed himself as glad that he 
did not have to repeat this experience. 

When Lake county was formed, in 1874, con- 
ditions were materially improved, but in 1882 the 
Klamath country was granted a county govern- 
ment of its own, with the seat of government at 
the little town of Linkville. 

When the county machinery was put in mo- 
tion at the initial meeting of the commissioners' 
court, November 6, 1882, the following were the 
officials who took the oath and served as the first 
officers of Klamath county : W. S. Moore, county 
judge; Stephen Stukel, commissioner; O. T. 
Brown, commissioner ; W. C. Hale, clerk ; Charles 
Putnam, sheriff; Evan R. Reames, treasurer; S- 
C. Sumner, coroner. With the exception of 
Treasurer Reames these gentlemen were all Re- 
publicans and were appointed by Governor 
Moody. 

It was not until a month later, December 6, 
1882, that a school superintendent was chosen. 
He was selected by the county court and his sal- 
ary was placed at $100 a year. C. H. Dyar, a 
Republican, was the one appointed to this posi- 
tion. J. W. Hamaker's bond as county surveyor 
was approved at this meeting of December 6th. 
J. H. Clark, Republican, was the first assessor. 
June 6, 1883, he resigned and W. C. Clark was 
appointed'to succeed him by the court. 

Klamath county's first election occurred June 
1, 1884. At that time there were six voting pre- 
cincts. The precincts and judges of election of 
this first political contest were as follows : 

Plevna precinct — E. Riggs, John Connolly, C. 
H. Withrow. 

Linkville — John F. Miller, D. J. Ferree, J. L. 
Hanks. 

Lost River — I. D. Applegate, G. B. Van 
Riper, Ira Chandler. 

Tule Lake — R. Hutchinson, D. Van Brimmer, 
E. Whitney. 

Sprague River — William Robinson, James 
Barnes, M. Obenchain. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



997 



Wood River — George Loosely, George Nully, 
St.. W. J. Tuhoev. 

The following were the officials elected : G. W. 
Smith, Dem., county judge; Mat Obenchain, 
Rep., commissioner; R. Hutchinson, Dem., com- 
missioner; W. C. Hale, Rep., clerk; Charles Put- 
nam. Rep., sheriff; J. O. Allen, Rep., surveyor; 
Evan R. Reames, Dem. treasurer; M. D. Childers 
Dem., assessor; C. R. De Lap, Rep., school su- 
perintendent. 

At this election the vote did not exceed 350. 

At the June election of 1886 the vote of Kla- 
math county totaled 596, a gain of 265 since June, 
[884. The election was quite hotly contested, and 
the Democrats secured a majority of the county 
officers. The result : 

For Congressman — N. L. Butler, Dem., 304 ; 
Binger Hermann, Rep., 292; Robert A. Miller, 
Dem., 2. 

For Governor — Sylvester Pennoyer, Dem., 
326; Thomas R. Cornelius, Rep., 267; J. E. 
Houston. Pro., 1. 

For Circuit Judge — J. R. Neil, Dem., 158; L. 
R. 'Webster, Rep., 427. 

For District Attorney — W. M. Colvig, Dem., 
310; H. Kelly, Rep., 277. 

For Joint Representative — John F. Miller, 
Dem., 200 ; Robert McLean, Rep., 336. 

For Commissioner — John Conolly, Dem., 223 ; 
John A. Wells, Dem., 390 ; R. A. Emmitt, Rep., 

3 2 7- 

For Sheriff — M. D. didders, Dem., 310; 

Charles Putnam, Rep., 241. 

For Clerk — Charles P. Hughes, Dem., 242; 
W. C. Hale, Rep., 403. 

For Treasurer — George T. Baldwin, Dem., 
353 : scattering, 4. 

For School Superintendent — W. E. Greene, 
Dem., 2jj \ H. M. Thatcher, Rep., 272. 

For Surveyor — J. B. Griffith, Dem., 275 ; Ru- 
fus Moore, Rep., 276. 

For Assessor — R. B. Hatton, Dem., 286; W. 
F. Arant, Rep., 261. 

John Wells, Democrat, who was elected 
county commissioner, failed to qualify, and James 
L. Hanks, Democrat, was appointed in his place. 

Over 700 votes were cast at the June election 
of 1888. a gain of more than 100 in two years. 
Again were the Democrats successful in securing 
a majoritv of the county officers. There were 
Democratic majorities, also, for candidates on 
state and district tickets. The official vote : 

For Congressman — Binger Hermann, Rep., 
336 ; John M. Gearin, Dem., 369. 

For Prosecuting Attorney — William M. Col- 
vig, Dem., 416. 

For Joint Senator — C. M. Cartwright, Rep., 
313 ; C. A. Cogswells, Dem., 385. 



For Joint Representative — S. J. Studley, Rep., 
321 : S. I'. .Moss. Dem., 380. 

For County Judge — N. F. Hilderbrand, Dem., 
297 ; W. S. Moore, Rep., 382. 

For County Commissioners — N. S. Goodlow, 
Dem., 207; W. B. Grubb, Rep., 321; L. B. Kes- 
ter, Rep., 342; W. C. Crawford, Dem., 427. 

For Sheriff — I. C. Johnson, Rep., 329; M. D. 
Childers. Dem., 350. 

For Clerk— W. W. Smith, Dem., 328; A. L. 
Lcavitt, Rep., 351. 

For Assessor — J. O. Hamaker, Rep., 248; 
John Smart. Dem., 433. 

lor Treasurer — \Y. C. Hale, Rep., 301; 
Charles Graves, Dem., 379. 

For School Superintendent — J. S. Orr, Rep., 
320: I'. L. Fountain. Dem., 359. 

For Surveyor — S. B. Low, Rep., 336 ; J. B. 
Griffith, Dem., 348. 

For Coroner — H. Kossler, Dem., 329 ; J. W. 
Siemens. Rep., 347. 

The returns for the presidential election of 
1888 are not obtainable but the number of votes 
cast in Klamath county Tuesday, November 6th, 
for the presidential candidates were about 750, 
with a Democratic majority of 89. 

There was a small gain in the spring vote of 
1890 over that of 1888. The Republican county 
ticket fared somewhat better than usual. The 
Republicans elected the county judge, sheriff, 
clerk and treasurer. They also carried the county 
for Hermann for congressman. The Democrats 
carried the state and district tickets. The official 
vote : 

For Congressman — Binger Hermann, Rep., 
381 : R. A. Miller, Dem., 361. 

For Governor — D. P. Thompson, Rep., 316; 
Sylvester Pennoyer, Dem., 425. 

For District Attorney — W. M. Colvig, Dem., 
386; C. B. Watson, Rep., 351. 

For Joint Representative — G. W. Smith, 
Dem., 369; A. Snider, Rep., 336. 

For County Judge — J. S. Orr, Rep., 458 ; H. 
W. Keesee, Dem., 267. 

For County Commissioner — Charles T. Sil- 
vers. Dem., 395 ; Dan Cronemiller, Rep., 319. 

For Sheriff — E. W. Gowen, Rep., 369 ; H. L. 
Webb., Dem., 355. 

For Clerk — A. L. Leavitt, Rep., 452 ; J. F. 
Kertchem. Dem., 274. 

For Treasurer — W. E. Howe, Rep., 420 ; H. 
Kessler, Dem., 308. 

For Assessor — J. H. Smart, Dem., 486 ; G. 
D. Horner. Rep.. 289. 

For School Superintendent — P. L. Fountain, 
Dem., 435 ; J. G. Walker, Rep. 289. 

For Surveyor — W. B. Simpson Rep., 350; 
Isa Leskeard, Dem., 373. 



99 8 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



For Coroner — J. T. Forbes, Dem., 371 ; scat- 
tering, 69. 

There was quite a change from the regular 
Democratic victories at the spring election of 
1892. At this contest every Republican on the 
county ticket was elected with the exception of 
the candidate for assessor. On the district ticket, 
also, the Republican candidates carried the 
county, failing only on the member of the state 
board of equalization. The People's party had a 
ticket in the field for the first time and polled a 
very respectable vote. The total vote was about 
the same as that of 1888. The official result: 

For Congressman — Binger Hermann, Rep., 
373 ; Winfield T. Rigdon, Pro., 5 ; M. V. Rork, 
PP., 129; R. M. Veath, Dem., 234. 

For Joint Senator — C. A. Cogswell, Dem., 
317 ; A. Snider, Rep., 361 ; Roscoe Knox PP.," 47. 

For Joint Representative — B. Daley, Dem., 
253 ; O. A. Stearns, 321 ; W. L. Welch, PP., 161. 

For Member State Board of Equalization — V. 
A. Dunlap, Dem., 464; George W. Dunn, Rep., 
179 ; S. H. Holt, PP., 97. 

For Circuit Judges — W. C. Hale, Rep., 432 ; 
H. K. Hanna, Dem., 444 ; P. P. Prim., Dem., 236 ; 
I. P. Wakefield, PP., 188. 

For Prosecuting Attorney — H. L. Benson, 
Rep., 347; W. C. Edwards, PP., 130; S. U. 
Mitchell, Dem., 275. 

For Sheriff — H. B. Compson, Dem., 249 ; T. 
M. Durham, PP., 149 ; E. W. Gowen, Rep., 329. 

For Clerk — P. L. Fountain, Dem., 220; A. L. 
Leavitt, Rep., 433 ; W. W. Norton, PP., jj. 

For Treasurer — George T. Baldwin, Dem., 
333 : W. E. Howe, Rep., 370. 

For Assessor— A. H. McClellan, PP., 117; C. 
L. Parrish, Rep., 296; John H. Smart, Dem., 317. 

For County Commissioner — J. T. Henley, 
Rep., 333 ; R. Hutchinson, Dem., 211 ; N. S. Mer- 
rill, PP., 172. 

For School Superintendent — C. R. De Lap, 
Rep., 339; W. R. Hendricks, Dem., 208; A. T. 
Wilson, PP., 181. 

For Surveyor — A. Castel, Rep., 424; Ira 
Leskeard, 279. 

For Coroner — J. W. Siemens, Rep., 638. 

The presidential election of 1892 was a great 
victory for the People's party in Klamath county, 
the Weaver electors carrying the county by a safe 
plurality. The official vote : Republican electors, 
Harrison, 270; Democratic electors, Cleveland, 
76 ; People's Party electors, Weaver, 324 ; Prohi- 
bitionists, 7. Total vote 677. 

The election of June 4, 1894, was one of the 
most interesting and exciting ever held in Kla- 
math county. The People's Party which had 
made such a good showing at the previous elec- 
tion, had made gains, and now secured the bulk 



of the county offices. Each party, the Republi- 
cans, Democrats and People's Party, had a full 
ticket in the field and were of almost equal 
strength, which resulted in a close and interest- 
ing contest. For the head of the ticket 765 votes 
were cast. The official vote : 

For Governor — William Galloway, Dem., 
186; James Kennedy, Pro., 9; William P. Lord,. 
Rep., 294 ; Nathan Pierce, PP., 276. 

For Congressman — Binger Hermann, Rep., 
312;. John D. Hursh, Pro., 4; Charles Miller, 
PP., 267; J. K. Weatherford, Dem., 172. 

For Joint Representative — Virgil Conn, Rep., 
273 ; Bernard Daly, Dem., 199 ; R. K. Funk, PP.,. 
288. 

For Prosecuting Attorney — Abe Axtell, PP., 
264; Henry L. Benson, Rep., 328; William H. 
Parker, Dem., 170. 

For County Judge — C. S. Moore, Rep.,_3i5;: 
G. W. Smith, Dem., 189 ; H. Snogoose, PP., 256. 

For Sheriff — I. D. Applegate, Rep., 239; A.. 
A. Fitch, PP., 276 ; J. H. Smart, Dem., 250. 

For Assessor — J. A. Chastain, Dem., 119; J. 
A. Hill, Rep., 270; A. T. Wilson, PP., 359. 

. For Treasurer — Alex Martin, Jr., Dem., 259; 
J. O. McClellan, PP. 257 ; C. S. Sergeant, Rep.,. 
241. 

For Clerk — O. H. Harshbarger, Dem., 250 ; A. 
L. Leavitt, Rep., 297 ; William Terrill, PP., 217. 

For County Commissioner — S! W. Kilgore, 
Rep., 192; Fred Melhase, Dem., 244; John Wells,. 

PP., 314. 

For School Superintendent — W. T. Butcher,. 
Dem., 246 ; C. R. De Lap, Rep.,242 ; Mrs. C. N. 
Gordon, PP., 269. 

For Surveyor — Fred Beck, PP., 323 ; A. 
Castel, Rep., 408. 

For Coroner— R. G. Galbreath, PP., 679. 

The election of June 1, 1896, found the three- 
parties, Republican, Democratic and People's 
again in the field with full tickets, and with nearly 
equal strength. On the county ticket the Popu- 
lists elected one candidate, the Republicans three 
and the Democrats four. There were cast 796 
votes, the largest poll in the county's history up 
to that period. The official vote: 

For Congressman — N. C. Christenson, Pro., 
9 ; J. Myers, Dem., 190 ; T. H. Tongue, Rep., 342 ; 
W. S. Vandeburg, PP., 236. 

For Joint Senator — O. C. Applegate, Rep., 
339 ; B. Daly, Dem., 189 ; J. Gaston, Peo., 235. 

For Representative — V. Conn, Rep., 265; J. 
L. Hanks, Dem., 213 ; J. A. Larrabee, PP., 288. - 

For District Attorney — G. W. Colvig Rep., 
337 5 J. A. Jeffrey, PP., 266; S. S. Pentz, Dem., 
163. 

For Sheriff— W. F. Arant, Rep., 254; A. A. 
Fitch, PP., 308; O. H. Harshbarger, Dem., 224.. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



999 






For Clerk— C. H. Withrow, Rep., 365 ; D. F. 
Driscoll, PP., 330; R. W. Marple, Dem., 81. 

For Assessor — J. I. Donnell, Rep., 242 ; A. T. 
"Wilson, PP., 247 ; Charles Horton, Dem., 264. 

For School Superintendent — Charles Pattee, 
Rep., 232; W. F. Chase, PP., 218; P. L. Foun- 
tain, Dem., 313. 

For Treasurer — J. W. Siemens, Rep., 298; 
William Nail, PP., 212; Alex. Martin, Jr., Dem., 
266. 

For Commissioner — R. M. C. Brown, Dem., 
181; George McDonald, PP., 267; William 
Davis, Rep., 320. 

For Surveyor — W. B. Simpson, Rep., 231 ; 
Fred Beck, PP., 229 ; W. T. Butcher, Dem., 306. 

For Coroner — L. Biehn, Rep., 330 ; J. Hun- 
sacker, Dem., 349. 

In the fall election for president November 2d, 
Bryan carried the county by a plurality of 116 
over McKinley. The official vote : McKinley elec- 
tors, Republican, 347 ; Bryan electors, Demo- 
cratic, 463 ; Levering electors, Prohibition, 8 ; 
Palmer electors, gold Democrat, 8. 

The election of June 6, 1898, was hotly con- 
tested and resulted in a pronounced victory for 
the Republican forces. The Democrats, Popu- 
lists and silver Republicans joined forces and 
placed a union ticket in the field. They succeeded 
in electing only two candidates on the county 
ticket. There were cast 837 votes for the head 
of the ticket, a slight gain over the vote of two 
years previous. The official vote : 

For Governor — H. M. Clinton, Pro., 15 ; T. 
F. Geer, Rep., 439; W. R. King, Union, 342; 
John C. Luce, PP., 41. 

For Congressman — J. L. Hill, PP., 61 ; L. 
H. Pederson Pro., 12 ; T. H. Tongue, Rep., 443 ; 
R. M. Veath, Union, 318. 

For Circuit Judge — H. L. Benson, 470 ; J. L. 
Bachelor, PP., 51; H. K. Hanna, Ind., 397; J. 
A. Jeffrev, Union, 269; E. C. Wade, Union, 184; 
J. Tressler PP. 28. 

For District Attorney — A. N. Soliss Union, 
285 ; C. B. Watson, Rep., 459 ; J. B. Wells, PP., 

75- 

For Joint Representative, Klamath and Lake — 

J. B. Griffith, Union, 397; W. A. Massingill, 

Rep., 408. 

For County Judge — C. T. Silvers, Union, 347 ; 
L. T. Willits, Rep., 465. 

For Clerk — M. E. Hutchinson, Union, 257 ; 
C. H. Withrow, Rep., 551. 

For Sheriff — A. Kershner, Rep., 413 ; W. D. 
Woodcock, Union, 399. 

For Treasurer — Marion Hanks, Union, 344; 
H. H. Van Valkenburg, Rep., 448. 

For Assessor — W. S. Hoagland, Rep., 449 ; 
Charles Westlotorn, Union, 352. 



For Commissioner — H. T. Anderson, Union, 
415; J. W. McCoy, Rep., 394. 

For School Superintendent — P. L. Fountain, 
Union, 413; D. A. Presley, Rep., 389. 

For Surveyor — W. T. Butcher, Union, 354; 
E. B. Henry, Rep., 451. 

For Coroner — S. Hemenway, Rep., 473 ; John. 
Hunsacker, Union, 326. 

The People's party was eliminated at the elec- 
tion of 1900, and again the two old parties were 
the only ones in the field. The contest was close 
and each party elected a portion of its ticket, the 
Democrats having a shade the best of it. There 
was a falling off of the vote, there being only a 
few over 800 cast. The official vote : 

For Congressman — Thomas H. Tongue, Rep., 
389 ; Bernard Daly, Dem., 343. 

For District Attorney — A. E. Reames, Dem., 
408 ; C. B. Watson, Rep., 391. 

For Joint Senator — J. N. Wiliamson, Rep., 
413 ; A. S. Bennett, Dem., 397. 

For Joint Representative — R. A. Emmitt, 
Rep., 544; George T. Baldwin, Dem., 441 ; Harry 
C. Liebe, Dem., 281 ; T. H. McGreer, Rep., 362 ; 
A. S. Roberts, Rep. 335 ; G. Springer, Dem., 224. 
For County Clerk — James H. Driscoll, Dem., 
433 ; C. L. Parrish, Rep., 364. 

For Sheriff — S. T. Summers, Dem., 393 ; A. 
Kerchner, Rep., 391. 

For Treasurer — H. H. Van Valkenburg, 
Rep., 453 ; Alex. Martin, Jr., Dem., 336. 

For Assessor — Jasper Bennett, Dem., 456 ; W. 
S. Hoagland, Rep., 336. 

For Commissioner — Fred Melhase, Dem., 431 ; 
S. B. Gardner, Rep., 360. 

For School Superintendent — C. R. De Lap, 
Rep., 425 ; George W. Offield, Dem., 366. 
For Surveyor — W. B. Simpson, Rep., 574. 
For Coroner — R. W. Marple, Dem., 490. 
Following are the returns, official, of the pres- 
idential election of the fall of 1900 : McKinley 
electors, Republican, 428 ; Bryan electors, Dem- 
ocratic, 324 ; Woolley electors, Prohibition, 10 ; 
Barker electors, middle of the road Populists, 4. 
There were cast 915 votes for the head of the 
ticket at the June election of 1902, a considerable 
gain over the two years previous. The Demo- 
crats elected the greater portion of the county 
ticket, while the Republicans carried the county 
for the state, congressional and district tickets. 
The official vote : 

For Governor — George E. 
Dem., 414 ; W. J. Furnish, Rep., 
For Congressman — Thomas 
Rep., 523 ; J. K. Weatherford, Dem., 349. 

For United States Senator — T. T. Geer, Rep., 
484: C. E. S. Wood, Dem., 361. 

For Joint Representative — R. A. Emmitt,. 



Chamberlain, 
501. 
H. Tongue, 



IOOO 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Rep., 584; N. Whealdon, Rep., 452; I. N. Bur- 
gess, Rep., 476; P: B. Doak, Dem., 366; L. E. 
Morse, Dem., 325 ; Earl Sanders, Dem., 313. 

For Clerk— A. Castel, Rep., 389; J. H. Dris- 
coll, Dem., 569. 

For Sheriff — J . W. Siemens, Rep., 407 ; S. T. 
Summers, Dem., 539. 

For Treasurer — George W. Bradley, Dem., 
469; H. H. Van Valkenburg, Rep., 481. 

For Judge — George T. Baldwin, Dem., 535 ; 
L. F. Willits, Rep., 339. 

For Commissioner — N. S. Merrill, Dem., 
' 497 ; O. A. Stearns, Rep., 429. 

For Surveyor — W. T. Butcher, Dem., 503 ; A. 

C. Lewis, Rep., 424. 

For Coroner — R. W. Marple, Dem., 353 ; F. 

D. Reames, Rep., 567. 

There was a special election held June I, 
1903, for the purpose of electing a congressman 
to succeed Congressman Tongue, deceased. The 
result in Klamath county was as follows : Binger 
Hermann, 387 ; A. E. Reames, Dem., 273. 

There were cast 962 votes for the head of the 
ticket at the spring election of 1904. Neither 
party could claim the election, each securing a 
portion of the ticket. Politically Klamath county 
was quite close at this period. The official vote 
of 1904: 

For Congressman — Binger Hermann, Rep., 
562; R. M.. Veatch, Dem., 351 ; H. Gould, Pro., 
17 ; B. F. Ramp, Soc, 32. 



For Circuit Judge — H. L. Benson, Rep., 716; 
E. B. Dufur, Dem., 259; H. K. Hanna, Rep., 
562 ; J. R. Neil, Dem., 334. 

For District Attorney— E. M. Brattain, Rep., 
. 434; W. J. Moore, Dem., 571. 

For Joint Senator — J. A. Laycock, Rep., 542 ; 
W. A. Booth, Dem., 438. 

For Joint Representative — R. E. L. Steiner, 
Rep., 477 ; John S. Shook, Rep., 458 ; J. A. Tay- 
lor, Dem., 341 ; J. B. Griffith, Dem., 568. 

For County Clerk — George Chastain, Dem., 
506 ; W. P. Rhoads, Rep., 493. 

For Sheriff — Charles Horton, Dem., 488; 
Silas Obenchain, Rep., 524. 

For Treasurer — R. I. Hammond, Dem., 407; 
L. Alva Lewis, Rep., 476. 

For Assessor — D. G. Brown, Rep., 435 ; J. P. 
Lee, Dem., 517. 

For Commissioner — J. W. McCoy, Rep., 
462 ; Fred Melhase, Dem., 496. 

For School Superintendent — C. E. Fox, Dem., 
373 ; J. G. Wright, Rep., 589. 

For Surveyor — E. B. Henry, Rep., 682. 

For Coroner — H. B. Hargus, Dem., 438 ; G. 
W. Merryman, Rep., 524. 

The presidential election of 1904, November 
5th, resulted as follows : Republican electors, 
Roosevelt, 553 ; Democratic electors, Parker, 208; 
Prohibition electors, Swallow, 10 ; Socialists, 
Debs, 29 ; People's party, Watson, 8. 



CHAPTER IX 



EDUCATIONAL. 



It was not until the fall of 1870 that the juve- 
nile population of the Klamath country reached a 
number making it necessary to provide a school 
for their education. This initial school was at 
that time established at Linkville. From the 
county no funds could be obtained for school 
purposes, but this fact did not deter the citizens 
from raising an amount of money sufficient to 
pay a teacher and rent a building for school pur- 
poses. A gentleman by the name of Nail was 
secured to teach, and Klamath county's first 
school was in full swing. From its inception the 
attendance was fairly good, including many half- 
breed children. After this school had been con- 
ducted three months it was possible to secure 
county aid ; the Linkville school was organized by 



the^county court. Mrs. Chauncey Nye taught the 
second term. 

The second school in the county was not far 
behind the Linkville institution and was estab- 
lished near the present town of Bonanza, in the 
Lost River settlement. 

The third school was in the Plevna district", 
southwest of Linkville. Three patriotic settlers 
furnished $75 each and about 1877 erected a 
school house. School commenced with four 
pupils. 

Such was the educational genesis of Klamath 
county. Other schools were established in the 
Klamath country, and by 1883, just after the or- 
ganization of Klamath county, we find that there 
were 345 children between the ages of 4 and 21 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



IOOI 



years, of which 164 were enrolled. The average 
daily attendance was 131. 

The following table shows the number of chil- 
dren from 4 to 20 years old in the county, the 
number enrolled and the average daily attend- 
ance in public schools each year from the organi- 
zation of the county up to and including 1903 : 



Year. No. Children. 

1883 345 

1884 417 

1885 474 

18S6 582 

1887 630 

1S88 792 

1889 911 

1890 876 

1891 907 

1892 927 

1893 964 

1894 988 

1895 1028 

1896 1052 

1897 1065 

1898 1114 

1899 1107 

1900 1033 

1901 1073 

1902 1072 

1903 1 168 



Educational facilities in Linkville during the 
early days were limited. School was held in a 
little, primitive wooden shack, crowded with 
scholars. It was a disgrace to the otherwise 
thriving town. A writer in the Star of July 25, 
1885, said: "No citizen of pride would, if he 
could avoid it, point out our excuse of a school 
house, east of town, to an eastern man, as our 
institution of learning." 

At last the people of Linkville, ashamed cf 
the public school facilities, called a mass meet- 
ing, December 1, 1885, and took steps toward se- 
curing a suitable building to cost not less than 
$5,000. Still no progress was made, although 
numerous other meetings were held. 

Finally a building was erected, but at a cost 
much less than the original sum suggested, the 
new school house being erected for $1,550. Up 
to the present writing this building has been in 
commission, but otherwise educational interests 
are keeping abreast of the times. Saturday, May 
28. 1904, District No. 1 voted to issue bonds to 
the amount of $11,500 to erect a public school 
building which edifice is now in process of erec- 
tion and will be a credit to the county seat. 

Late in 1901 agitation was begun in Klamath 



/ 


iv. Daily 


No. Enrolled. 


Attend. 


164 


131 


190 


220 


236 


133 


249 


162 


3i8 


194 


384 


245 


437 


277 


551 


330 


609 


360 


625 


380 


573 


409 


624 


388 


650 


442 


701 


5ii 


758 


SOS 


752 


490 


758 


492 


736 


474 


728 


405 


765 


433 


818 


475 



Falls for the founding of a high school. This 
was continued until the high school became a 
fact, as it is now being erected, the contract price 
for which is $29,500. Previously students were 
compelled to go outside the county in order to 
secure a higher education. The act providing 
for the founding of a county high school was 
passed by the Oregon Legislature and approved 
by the governor February 26, 1901, and under 
this act the people of Klamath county proceeded 
to make their plans. It was necessary to put the 
question to a vote, which was done at the general 
election, June 2, 1902. The result was, for high 
school, 597; against high school, 161. January 
12, 1905, the county court made a six-mill levy to 
secure funds with which to erect a county high 
school to cost $25,000. This will be a handsome 
structure with all modern improvements and up 
to date in every respect. However, the contract 
price for the high school building is $29,500. 

The latest available report of Klamath county 
schools is that of 1903 : 

No. of children between 4 and 20 years of age.. ..1168 

No. pupils enrolled 818 

Average daily attendance 475 

Teachers employed during the year 67 

Teachers holding state certificates or diplomas.... 13 

Teachers holding first grade certificates 13 

Teachers holding second grade certificates 20 

Teachers holding third grade certificates 5 

Teachers holding primary certificates 1 

Teachers holding permits 13 

No. of organized districts in county 31 

No. of school houses 30 

Following is a roster of the teachers of Kla- 
math county for the year 1903 : 

Mrs. Myrtle Weeks, Merrill; Elizabeth Y. 
Dix, Pokegama ; Mrs. G. D. Brown, Crystal ; 
Miss Gertie Van Meter, Bedfield ; Miss Evelyn 
Bunnell, Klamath Falls ; Miss Elizabeth More- 
land, Pokegama ; Gilbert D. Brown, Crystal ; Miss 
Alice Swift, Beswick, California ; Miss Nett R. 
Drew, Dairy ; Dora A. Eglington, Bedfield ; E. 
Ray Fountain, Klamath Falls ; Miss Nora Keith- 
ley, Dairy ; Miss Restora French, Klamath Falls ; 
Miss Dora Goss, Bonanza; Maril Elsie Grey, Kla- 
math Falls; Miss Anna Maxx, Merrill; Mrs. 
James Worlow, Fort Klamath ; Miss H. F. Gan- 
iere, Klamath Falls ; Daisy Pattison, Bonanza ; U. 
S. Worden, Klamath Falls ; Mrs. Helen Gay Sun- 
wait, Tule Lake ; Miss Louise E. Sargeant, Keno ; 
W. R. Dilley, Olene ; Miss Stella Campbell, Lo- 
rella ; Miss Minerva C. Cal, Klamath Falls ; Miss 
E. V. Cogswell, Klamath Falls ; Miss Alice Ap- 
pegate, Klamath Falls ; W. H. Musselman, Kla- 
math Falls ; Kitty C. Wells, Fort Klamath ; Miss 






1002 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Emma Bussey, Lorella ; C. E. For, Lorella ; Miss 
Jennie L. Cartwright, Odessa ; Miss L. L. Dick- 
son, Fort Klamath; Miss Edna Wells, Ashland; 
D. A. McComb, Klamath Falls ; Miss Joyce Arant, 



Klamath Falls ; Mrs. Jennie M. Kearns, Evely R. 
Applegate, Mrs. Lou Norris, Gertrude Richard- 
son, Beagle ; Ida C. Grigsby, Klamath Falls ; C. 
C. Brown. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 



KLAMATH COUNTY 



THOMAS H. WILKERSON is well and fa- 
vorably known in Klamath county. He resides 
one mile southeast of Lorella where he has an 
estate of two hundred and forty acres, well im- 
proved and in a high state of cultivation. He 
handles considerable stock and is known as one of 
the prosperous men of the community. His birth 
occurred in Monroe county, Missouri, on January 
17, 1842. The father of our subject, William Wil- 
kerson, is a native of Kentucky and an early pion- 
eer to Monroe county, Missouri, arriving there 
about 1819. In 1850, he crossed the plains with 
ox teams accompanied by his three brothers. Af- 
ter working for some time in the mines, he 
started home in 1852 and was taken sick on the 
Isthmus of Panama. From that place he was 
transferred to the Island of Cuba, where he died 
the next year. His father, William Wilkerson, 
the grandfather of our subject, was born in Eng- 
land and came to the United States when quite 
young being one of the early settlers of the 
county. He was well acquainted with Daniel 
Boone, served in the War of 18 12 and was a 
captain in the Black Hawk War. He did a great 
deal of scouting in Virginia and once was cap- 
tured by the Indians, who held him for three 
years. His death occurred in Monroe county, 
Missouri, when he was aged ninety-two. The 
mother of our subject, Margaret (Dale) Wilker- 
son, was born in Tennessee and came to Monroe 
county, Missouri, with her parents when she was 
a child, it being about 1827. She made a trip 
to Oregon with our subject in 1875 and two 
years later returned to Monroe county where she 
died in 1878. Her father, John Dale, was a lieu- 
tenant in the battle of New Orleans, and a captain 
in the battle of Tippecanoe. He was captured 
there by some Indians but as they were taking 
him away, he struck one into the wafer with a 
paddle and so escaped. He was known as John 
Dale, of Tippecanoe fame. The Dales were all 



of Irish extraction and our subject's uncle, Matt- 
hew Dale, lived to be one hundred and ten years 
of age. The brothers and sisters of our subject 
are named as follows : John, deceased ; Wiley, 
in Monroe county, Missouri ; Sarah, wife of 
Alexander Clemens, a brother of the famous 
Mark Twain, and they now live in Monroe coun- 
ty, Missouri; Ross in Monroe county, Missouri; 
Mary, deceased ; Milton in Monroe county ; and 
Nancy, deceased. Our subject was the fifth from 
the last. He grew up on a farm in Missouri, at- 
tended school in the little log cabin of the day, 
being obliged to walk many miles even for that. 
In the spring of 1862, he started across the plains 
with Dr. Hugh Glenn's train who was afterwards 
a noted land owner of California. Mr. Wilkerson 
drove a band of mules across the plains and then 
mined in California for some time. He was at 
Virginia City in 1867 an d returned via the Pana- 
ma route to New York city, whence he journeyed 
back to Missouri. He had been very successful 
in the west and in Missouri engaged in farming 
and stock raising. 

On September 11, 1873, Mr. Wilkerson mar- 
ried Julia Hardwick, a native of Monroe county, 
Missouri. George Hardwick, her father, was born 
in the same county and died in Yamhill county, 
Oregon, in 1895, being then sixty years of age. 
His father, John Hardwick, was born in Madison 
county and was one of the early settlers of Mon- 
roe county, Missouri. Many of the ancestors of 
this family were in the Revolution. Mrs. Wilker- 
son's mother, Mary A. (Sisk) Hardwick, was 
born in Alabama and most of her ancestors came 
from North Carolina. She died in Missouri. The 
brothers and sisters of Mrs. Wilkerson are 
named as follows, she being the oldest: Jethro, 
of Portland, Oregon ; Lucy, deceased ; John, of 
Marion county, Oregon ; Clementine, deceased ; 
George T. ; and Mrs. Dollie Leveatt, both of 
Yamhill county, Oregon. In the fall of 1875, our' 






ioo4 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



subject started west with his wife and family, 
being accompanied by his mother and his wife's 
father and family. They headed toward Oregon 
and in due time arrived on the Pacific coast and 
located in West Chehalem valley. There he was 
engaged in general merchandising for eleven 
years. Not being especially successful, he sold 
out and came to his present place in June, 1886. 
He took up a homestead and engaged in stock 
raising and farming. Few settlers were here 
then and the hard winter of 1889-90 swept near- 
ly all of his stock away. Since then, however, 
he has been prospered and has gained a nice hold- 
ing of property. His residence is a fine two story 
•eleven room structure, which is surrounded with 
fine improvements and makes a beautiful place. 
The children born to this family are Nora M., 
wife of James Krogue ; Ella L., wife of Clarence 
Walker ; Eugene W. ; William L. ; Clementine M., 
wife of Charles Wiley ; Geneva A., a school 
teacher; Mary, Lulu and Kenneth C. Ella used 
to teach school. The children are all located 
near by and the two oldest have ranches in this 
vicinity. Our subject and his wife are consistent 
members of the Christian church and also two of 
their daughters belong to that denomination. 
They are known as substantial, upright, and good 
people and fully deserve the generous confidence 
and esteem bestowed upon them by their fellows. 



CHARLES C. LEWIS is one of the younger 
-men of Klamath county, who has demonstrated 
his ability to make a financial success in general 
farming and stock raising as is evidenced by 
his present holding. He resides one mile south 
of Olene and his birth occurred on May 27, 1875, 
in Custer county. Colorado. His father, Leonard 
A. Lewis, was born in Indiana and served in the 
Civil War. He came to Colorado, where he did 
farming and stock raising and in 1885, journeyed 
west to Klamath valley. He settled on Round 
Lake first and later went to Klamath Falls. That 
was his home until a short time previous to his 
death, when he went to Eureka Springs for his 
health. There in March, 1902, he passed into 
the world beyond. He had married Mary A. 
Brunei", a native of Iowa who survives him and 
is now dwelling in Klamath Falls. Our subject 
accompanied his parents on their various trips 
and received the balance of his education in the 
agricultural college at Corvallis. Owing to hi? 
father's ill health, he was obliged to stop the 
course and in 1896 he came home and engaged in 
stock raising. He purchased the old homestead 
and operated there until 1900 when he sold his 
•property and purchased a farm where he now re- 



sides. It consists of two hundred and eighty 
acres, two hundred of which are agricultural land. 
Three fourths of this land is under cultivation 
and eighty acres are seeded to alfalfa. The en- 
tire alfalfa field is irrigated from large springs on 
his farm. Mr. Lewis has improved the place 
with his own hands and has splendid buildings, 
an orchard of all varieties of fruits and other 
things needed in the carrying on of his farm. 
He formerly handled considerable stock but now 
has sold the stock and gives attention to raising 
grain and hay. 

On June 2, 1901, Mr. Lewis married Miss 
Caroline Stockwell and to them one child, Leon- 
ard, has been born. Mr. Lewis is a member of the 
A. O. U. W v and is a well known and substantial 
man. He started here with no means whatever 
and took hold with his hands to carve out his for- 
tune. So well has he succeeded that he is now 
rated as one of the well to do citizens of the coun- 
ty and bids fair to be one of the wealthy men here 
in the near future. 



GEORGE W. COPELAND, an industrious 
farmer and stockman of Klamath county, re- 
sides some two miles east of Lorella. His father, 
William H. Copeland, was born in Ohio in 1852 
and came west about thirty-five years ago. Set- 
tlement was made near Portland, Oregon, and in 
1885 he came to Klamath county and located in 
Langell valley. He took up general farming and 
stock raising and now owns an estate of some 
four hundred acres, which is well improved with 
all necessary buildings, machinery and so forth. 
In addition to this fine estate, he also has a nice 
band of cattle. The mother of our subject, Mary 
L. (Nesmer) Copeland, was born in Arkansas. 
Her parents had crossed the plains in early days. 
The other child of the family besides our subject 
is Mrs. Martha M. Abbaloose of this county. 
George W. was born on August 17, 1871, in Co- 
lumbia county, Oregon, and came to this county 
with his parents in 1885. His education was re- 
ceived in the various places where he lived dur- 
ing his boyhood days and as soon as he became of 
age he began farming for himself and took a 
homestead where he now resides. He has added 
a quarter section more and improved the place 
with good residence, barns, orchard and so forth. 
The estate is cropped almost entirely to hay for 
his cattle, of which he owns a goodly number. 

On June 17, 1902, Mr. Copeland married 
Miss Bessie McClung, who was born in Cali- 
fornia, the daughter of Carter and Mary Mc- 
Clung. Two children are the fruit of this union, 
Floyd L. and Flossie Marie. Mr. Copeland has 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



100 = 



the distinction of having started for himself in 
this county with no means and gained his entire 
property by the fruit of his own industry and sa- 
gacity. He is a modest, unassuming man and one 
of the solid, substantial citizens of our county. 



HENRY T. ANDERSON was born on April 
9, 1850, near St. Louis, Missouri. He now re- 
sides five miles northeast from Merrill, where he 
owns a good estate and gives his attention to 
farming and stock raising. His father, Richard 
Anderson, was born in Virginia and came as a 
pioneer to the vicinity of St. Louis and served as 
a soldier in the confederate army. During the bat- 
tle of Prairie Grove, one of his legs was shattered 
by a ball. Nevertheless he fought all through 
the battle and died from the effects of the wound. 
His father was Richard Anderson, the grand- 
father of our subject, and was a prominent plant- 
er of Virginia and owned many slaves. Our sub- 
ject's mother, Eliza (Brand) Anderson, died 
when he was a small boy. He was the second of 
a family of three, the others being Mrs. Emma B. 
Albin, of Chico, California and Robert C, near 
Merrill. Henry T. was reared on a farm and 
educated in the public schools and in the spring 
of 1870 started west. He finally landed in Sac- 
ramento valley and went to work for wages. Af- 
terwards, he rented a farm, then journeyed to 
Colusa county, California. In 1882, he moved 
to Ashland and wrought on the S. P. railroad. 
In the spring of 1884, he came to Klamath county 
and took his present place as a homestead. Here 
he has resided since. He also took a timber cul- 
ture and then bought a quarter section, which 
gave him the generous allowance of four hundred 
and eighty acres which is all fenced and over 
three hundred acres in cultivation. Among the im- 
provements, is a seven room, two story house, 
large barn, plenty of outbuildings, a good well 
and wind mill, orchard and dther accessories. 
Some two miles east from Merrill, Mr. Anderson 
owns three hundred and eighty acres of choice 
farm land all under the plow. Two hundred and 
twenty acres are producing alfalfa and the other 
one hundred and sixty, grain. He has a nice large 
herd of cattle, some horses, and a good many of 
them well bred. When Mr. Anderson started 
here, he had no means and he has* labored here 
to gain his present holdings and is to be com- 
mended for the success he has achieved. He has 
won many friends and a popularity in the county, 
which was demonstrated in 1898, when he was 
elected county commissioner on the Democratic 
ticket. For thirty-four years he had been absent 
from his old home near St. Louis and in May, 



1904, accompanied by his wife, who had not seen 
her parents in Illinois for twenty-eight years, he 
journeyed east and visited the world's fair and 
the old farm places, both of his wife's and his 
own native home. The trip was fraught with 
many pleasures and is one of the prominent in- 
cidents of Mr. Anderson's life. 

On November 30, 1877, Mr. Anderson mar- 
ried Miss Mary Crawford, who was born in Per- 
ry county, Illinois, the daughter of Jacob J. and 
Eliza (Wieclon) Crawford, natives of Tennessee 
and Kentucky, respectively. Mrs. Anderson is 
the oldest of a family of twelve children. Her 
people moved to the Sacramento valley in 1876 
and there her marriage occurred. The children 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Anderson are Frank, mar- 
ried to Grace Sims, of this county ; Charles I., 
Herbert E., Dora M., Pearlie, and Gladys E. In 
1882 Mr. Crawford came to Klamath county, 
then went to Ashland and finally returned to this 
county, where he died in 1897, aged sixty-six. 
His widow resides with her children. 

Mr. and Mrs. Anderson are good, substantial 
people, well known and highly esteemed and their 
labors and uprightness have won for them much 
success and manv friends. 



CHARLES H. HOAGLAND is one of the 
prosperous farmers and leading citizens of Klam- 
ath county. He resides some three miles east of 
Bonanza and was born on March 9, 1863, in Coles 
county, Illinois. His father, Henry W. Hoag- 
land, came to California in 1852, then went to 
Oregon and afterward returned to Illinois. Again 
he crossed the plains, both times with ox teams, 
the last time being in 1865. He settled a second 
time in California, and finally, in 1879, came to' 
Klamath county, where he died in 1890. The 
mother of our subject is Jane Hoagland, who is 
now living in Central Point, Oregon. There were 
ten children in the family. Our subject came 
with his parents in 1865 across the plains to Napa 
county, California, then moved to Merced countv 
and accompanied them later to Langells valley in 
1879. Few settlers were here then and his father 
purchased the first place that had been taken in 
the valley, which our subject owns at this time. 
It is one of the most valuable pieces of land in 
the county, being very fertile, and on the bottom. 
The father engaged in farming and stock raising 
and became very prosperous and had much land 
and stock but sold all except this quarter before 
he died. 

On July 1, 1884, Mr. Hoagland married Miss 
Margaret Burzan, who was born in Jackson coun- 
ty, Oregon. Her father is deceased and her moth-- 



;ioo6 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



^•er is living in that county now. Six children have 
been born to our subject and his wife, Bird, wife 
of Levi McDonald of this valley, Georgia, Emma, 
Lewis, Fernie and Grace. 

Mr. Hoagland is a member of the A. O. U. 
W. and has the distinction of having gained his 
entire property through his own efforts of in 1 
dustrv, since he started here with no means what- 



■ ever. 



FRED L. POPE. Among the enterprising 
men of Klamath county, it is with pleasure that 
we are privileged to mention the gentleman 
whose name appears above. He is a progressive 
farmer and stockman, residing some three miles 
east of Merrill and was born on September 15, 
1861, in Hillsboro, Iowa. His father, James W. 
Pope, was born in Highland county, Ohio, and 
was an early pioneer to Henry county, Iowa. His 
father, Samuel Pope, the grandfather of our sub- 
ject, was a native of Virginia and one of the ear- 
liest pioneers in Ohio. He died in Iowa at the 
age of ninety-three. The mother of our subject 
was Eliza J. (Stephenson) Pope, a native of In- 
diana. She came to Iowa where her wedding oc- 
curred. Her father, Dr. Samuel Stephenson, was 
born in Ireland, came to Indiana, then moved to 
Iowa, where he died at the age of eighty-four. 
The brothers and sisters of our subject are men- 
tioned as follows: Elizabeth D., Edgar B., Mrs. 
Fannie B. Kane and Mrs. Margaret Thornpson, 
twins, and Mrs. Bertie Auble, all of Modoc coun- 
ty, California. Fred L. was the oldest of the fam- 
ily and was much associated with his father in 
the various occupations in the different places 
where they resided. In 1864, the parents crossed 

■ the plains with wagons, being members of a very 
large train. They came direct to Yreka, Cali- 
fornia, and until 1870. the father followed team- 
ing and freighting. Then he came to Stone Coal 
valley in Modoc county, being the first man that 
took a claim in that valley. A short time there- 
after he removed to Hot Springs valley, a dis- 
tance of seven miles, where he secured three hun- 
dred and twenty acres of land. Since that time, he 
has made that place his home. For a while he 
was postmaster at Canby but his attention has 
been largely given to stock raising. At this time 
he is about sixty-eight years of age. Our sub- 
ject's mother died in 1887. He grew up on a ranch 
and worked at home for wages until he rented the 
Davis ranch, where he engaged in farming and 

■ stock raising, and where he made his start in life. 
In November, 1898, he sought out his present 
place and bought it"; it consists of two hundred 
and sixty-five acres. In June of the following 
year, he moved his family here and this has been 



his home place since. He has a nice eight room 
residence, barn, other outbuildings, shade trees, 
and so forth and the place is one of the best ones 
of the county. Forty acres are bearing alfalfa 
and the entire estate is good land, producing hay 
and grain. Mr. Pope also owns one hundred and 
twenty-seven acres just east of Merrill, half of 
which is producing alfalfa and the balance is 
used for grain and pasture. Mr. Pope makes a 
specialty of raising choice Shorthorn cattle and 
has been favored with splendid success in the en- 
terprise. 

On March 27, 1892, Mr. Pope married Miss 
Dora O. Ballard, a native of Modoc county, Cali- 
fornia. Her father, James L. Ballard, was born 
in Illinois and came as a pioneer to California. He 
was a skilled carpenter and wrought on the state 
capital at Sacramento and in many other im- 
portant places. As early as 1872, he brought his 
family to Modoc county and there died in 1902. 
He was a millwright as well as carpenter and built 
the first sawmill in Hot Spring valley. He mar- 
ried Serilda Thornton, a native of Missouri who 
is now living in Modoc county. Mrs. Pope's 
brothers and sisters are Simeon T., Charles A., 
Nora E., Anna H., James T., Jesse L., John R. 
and William. She is the third child. To our 
subject and his wife five children have been 
born, Leslie B., I. Leland, Marjorie D., Wanda 
M., and Fred L., Jr. 

When the time came for Mr. Pope to start in 
life, his father was not in a position to assist him 
with any capital, consequently with his bare 
hands and a good stout heart, he began the bat- 
tle alone, and everything that he now owns is the 
result of his own labors. His mother taught 
school a great many years and was .successful in 
this calling. Being the oldest of the family and 
much of the time on the frontier, he had little 
opportunity to gain an education compared with 
the youth of today, still he has made himself a 
well informed and well trained man mentally. 
He is enterprising and progressive, has many 
friends and is considered one of the leading men 
of this part of the county. 



MAJOR JEROME WHITNEY, a native of 
Klamath county, and now residing two miles 
southeast of Merrill, was born in the house where 
lie now lives, on October 29, 1875. The old 
homestead owned by his father is now owned by 
him and his brother, Johnson. The parents of 
our subject were Elkanah and Mary A. (White) 
Whitney, who are named more fully in the 
sketch of another son in this work. Our subject 
grew up in this county and received his educa- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1007 



tion from the public schools. Early in life he be- 
gan to work for himself. In the spring of 1898, 
in company with his two brothers, Arbert and 
Daniel M., he started to Alaska, sailing from 
Portland, Oregon, with the intention of mining. 
They later turned from this intention, owing to 
the discouraging reports, and stopped at the 
Islands of Karluk and Kodiak and were engaged 
in the salmon fisheries there during the season. 
In the fall, they returned to San Francisco and 
thence journeyed home. Much of the time until 
his father's death, our subject was associated 
with him, then later purchased the homestead 
with his present partner. Before that, he was in 
partnership with all his brothers in the stock bus- 
iness and they prospered well until 1900, when 
they divided all their holdings. They still hold 
a large band of sheep altogether and are recog- 
nized as among the leading stockmen of the 
county. The place where our subject resides is a 
quarter section, half of which is growing alfalfa 
and the balance grain. The two brothers have a 
.a fine band of cattle and horses all well bred and 
the farm is stocked with everything needed to 
handle it in first class shape. 

On August 16, 1900, Mr. Whitney married 
Miss Emma Shuck, a native of Canton, Illinois. 
She came with her parents, S. A. and Cornelia 
Shuck, to the Rogue river valley when a child. 
Later, they came to Klamath county, where her 
mother is now living. The father died on the 
ranch near Merrill in 1902. Mrs. Whitney's 
brothers and sisters are Charles, near Merrill ; 
Mrs. Edith Warren of Canton, Illinois; Mrs. 
Clara E. Bush, deceased ; Lora E. and Lois E., 
living with their mother. Mr. and Mrs. Whitney 
have one child, Chester Leroy. It speaks well of 
the industry of our subject when we know that 
he started in life without any means and owing 
to sagacious management of the resources placed 
in his hands, he is now one of the well-to-do citi- 
zens of Klamath county. He is a man of unques- 
tioned integrity, surrounded by a wide circle of 
admiring friends and is to be credited with doing 
a great deal for the upbuilding of the county. 



OSBERT E. IRVINE is one of the substan- 
tial and well known business men of Merrill. He 
is operating a first class hotel and owing to his 
skill and sagacity as host has met with a very 
gratifying patronage. He was born on July 27, 
1862, in Buchanan county, Missouri, the son of 
John M. and Malissa (Gibson) Irvine, natives of 
Misouri and Virginia, respectively. The father 
is a veteran of the Civil war and for many years 
of his life was engaged, as an educator. Our 



subject grew up in Missouri and there received 
his education. In 1879, he came west to Redding, 
California accompanying his parents and later 
they journeyed by wagon to Josephine county, 
Oregon. The father died April 4, 1880, and the 
family moved to Ashland. The mother is now 
living at Vancouver, Washington in her eigh- 
tieth year. Our subject traveled over various por- 
tions of California, Oregon and Washington. 
Finally in 1885, he came to Klamath county. He 
wrought here at various places and did farming in 
Barnes valley. Finally, in May, 1899, he came to 
Merrill and since that time has been one of the 
active builders of this county. He now owns a 
good residence and eight lots in Merrill, also sixty 
acres of valuable land, one-half mile south of the 
town. The agricultural land is all under culti- 
vation and well improved. Mr. Irvine gives his 
attention amost entirely to his hotel and oversees 
his other interests. 

On December 15, 1896, occurred the marriage 
of Mr. Irvine and Miss Florence Gibson, a native 
of Arkansas. She came with her parents tq 
Oregon when a child. One child has been born 
to this union, Erie M. 

Mr. Irvine is a member of the W. O. W. and 
a good progressive man. 



GARRETT K. VANRIPER is to be classed 
as one of the pioneers of the territory now em- 
braced in Klamath county. When he came here 
it was Jackson county, later Lake county, and 
now Klamath county. Thus, he has lived in 
three counties without moving from his farm. 
His residence adjoins Bonanza on the west. He 
was born on June 20, 1863, in Douglas county, 
Oregon, the son of Hon. Garrett B. and Sarah 
(Cozad) VanRiper, natives of New York and 
Pennsylvania, respectively. The father was 
reared in Michigan and in the spring of 1850, 
came across the plains in wagons to Douglas 
county, Oregon, and took a donation claim and 
engaged in farming. In 1870, he came to Poe 
valley, this county and built the first house in that 
valley. While in western Oregon, he had partici- 
pated in the Rogue river Indian war. The Modoc 
War broke out after he settled in Poe valley and 
realizing the danger he hurried his family to a 
place of safety, just in time to escape the ravages 
of the savages, for they burned his house and de- 
stroyed all his property but a few hours after he 
had left. After the war, he built another house 
and in 1885, moved to Bonanza. Later, he set- 
tled in Ashland and there died in 1902, aged sev- 
enty-three. He had always lived on the fron- 
tier and was a genuine pioneer. In 1874, he was 



ioo8 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



a member of the state legislature, this then being 
Jackson county and he was instrumental in get- 
ting Lake county organized. It embraced this 
territory. The ancestors are traced back to the 
Mayflower and come of Holland Dutch extrac- 
tion. The mother's ancestors came from France. 
She now lives in Ashland, aged sixty-nine. The 
other children of the family besides our subject 
are Mrs. Anna Walker, in Langell valley; Mrs. 
Fannie Hughes, of Poe Valley ; Mrs. Ida Crane, 
of Sacramento, California ; Gard P.j of Ashland. 
Our subject grew up on the farm and received 
his education from the early schools in the vari- 
ous places where he lived then graduated from 
the old normal school at Ashland, Oregon. He 
has been engaged in stock raising most of his life 
and has made several trips with stock to Cali- 
fornia. In 1885, he located his present Rome as a 
homestead and here he has remained ever since. 
He now has one-half section, well improved and 
mostly under cultivation. A good barn, wind- 
mill, pump and various other buildings are in 
evidence, while his residence is a very comfortable 
dwelling. Mr. VanRiper pays especial attention 
to raising hay and cattle and also handles some 
fine horses. 

On June 13, 1888, Mr. VanRiper married 
Miss Nellie Patterson, who was born in Butte 
county, California, and for the past eighteen years 
has lived in this vicinity. The children of our 
subject and his wife are Garrett K., Jr., Jessie H., 
Lillie and Josie. Mr. VanRiper has always taken 
a marked interest in political matters and the ad- 
vancement and development of the community 
and especially in educational affairs. He has 
given of his time and served on the board and is a 
very enthusiastic supporter of everything for the 
benefit of the county. 



JOSEPH NICHOLS, a farmer and stock- 
man of Klamath county, came to this section when 
but few settlers were to be found and since that 
time has labored with a display of energy and en- 
terprise, both in building up the country and in- 
creasing his own exchequer. A sturdy and capable 
frontiersman, a substantial and good man, he has 
not only won success in his labors during this time 
but has also Avon many friends and a fine stand- 
ing. When he landed here in the fall of 1878, he 
was without means and had a family to support. 
Consequently there was much arduous labor and 
many trying experiences to pass through but he 
and his family have weathered all and he has 
become one of the prosperous and well-to-do men 
of the country. 

Joseph Nichols was born on April 1, 1844, in 



Linn county, Iowa. The parents were Joseph and 
Indiana Nichols, natives of Virginia and Indiana, 
respectively. The mother died in Linn county, 
Iowa, in 1852. The brothers and sisters of our 
subject are Mrs. Eliza Cochran, died at Yakima, 
Washington ; John, died near Bonanza ; Mrs. 
Elizabeth Lewis, died near Prineville ; Amos, died 
in Kansas ; William, living near Viola, Washing- 
ton ; Mrs. Sarah J. Payne, residing near Denver, 
Colorado ; Nathan, of Union county, Oregon : 
Taylor living near Bonanza. Our subject is the 
third from the last. He lived in Linn county. 
Iowa, during the early days and remembers well 
the hostility of the Indians and frontier life on 
the prairie. In August, 1862, he enlisted in Com- 
pany F, Thirty-eighth Iowa Volunteer Infantry 
and was in the department of the Gulf of Mexico. 
He participated in the siege of Vicksburg, the 
capture of Fort Morgan and Mobile and saw 
much hard service. He was injured at Vicks- 
burg and for several months languished in the 
hospital. During the siege he was obliged to 
work four nights out of each week. He contin- 
ued in the service until September, 1865, being' 
then honorably discharged. Many times he was 
on short rations and on the verge of starvation 
and was in many trying scenes where his com- 
rades were falling all about him, yet he escaped 
with his life and the consciousness that he had 
fought well for his flag. Shortly after his dis- 
charge, he went to Lawrence, Kansas and in 
1875, came to Placer county, California. The 
following winter his father joined him and m the 
fall of 1878, they came to what is now Klamath 
county. Mr. Nichols located his present place, 
which is one and one-fourth miles north of Bon- 
anza, as a homestead and his father took one ad- 
joining. The latter lived there until his death on 
November 18, 1898, being at that time one hun- 
dred years, nine months and twenty-nine days old. 
Mr. Nichols now owns a half section of land, two 
hundred acres of which are under cultivation and 
the estate is all fenced and well improved with 
good residence, barns and so forth. He raises 
grain and hay and handles some cattle and 
horses. 

On October 27, 1872, Mr. Nichols married 
Miss Mary A. Griffiths, a native of Missouri. Her 
father is deceased and her mother is living in 
Lawrence, Kansas. Her brothers and sisters are 
named a follows : William T., of Douglas county, 
Kansas ; Mrs. Lizzie Hughes, of Lawrence, in 
that state ; James of Auburn, California ; and 
Mrs. Lou D'avis, of the same place. To our sub- 
ject and his wife, nine children have been born: 
Clara, wife of Edward Wallace of Merrill ; Nellie, 
the wife of George Moore, of Mabton, Washing- 
ton ; Harry ; Lou, wife of Charles Wallace, of 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1009 



Antelope, ( Jregon ; Eva, wife of Alax Bradburn, 
of Antelope, Oregon; Homer; James; Charles; 
ami Myrtle. 

Mr. Nichols has always dwelt on the frontier 
ami has always shown himself an enterprising and 
progressive man. He has endured his share of 
the hardships of life and has overcome them in a 
good manner, being now one of the respected and 
substantial men of the county. 



DANIEL F. DRISCOLL is a member of the 
Driscoll Mercantile Company, dealers in general 
merchandise, farm implements, etc., of Bonanza, 
Oregon. He was born June 25, 1868, in Nevada 
county. California, the son of John and Catherine 
Driscoll, both natives of Ireland. 

Mr. Driscoll was married in February, 1894, 
to Grace C. Kuhn, a native of Lake county, Cali- 
fornia. She was a daughter of John B. Kuhn, 
deceased, and Sarah E. Kuhn. The family of 
Mrs. Driscoll were among the early pioneers of 
Lake county, locating twenty-five years ago. 

Three children have been born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Driscoll, Mary Agnes, Johanna Frances, 
and Viola Alethea. 



JOHN ANDREW SHORT, a prosperous 
farmer and stock man of Klamath county, resid- 
ing seven miles southeast of Klamath Falls, was 
born on December 24, 1850, in Moore county, 
North Carolina. His father, Burrell H., was also 
a native of North Carolina and was killed in 1862 
in the battle of Richmond, being in the Confed- 
erate army. He had married Mary Cole, a native 
of North Carolina and now deceased. The chil- 
dren of this family are Mrs. Martha England, of 
Venos, Texas ; Pleasant, of Greensburg, North 
Carolina ; John A., who is our subject, and James 
of this county. Our subject grew up on a farm 
and was educated in the public schools. In 1864, 
his mother was called away by death. In Union 
county, Georgia, on December 31, 1874, Mr. 
Short married Miss Clementine Odom, a native 
of the same county. Her father, Washington 
Odom, served in the confederate army and par- 
ticipated in many battles. He was wounded and 
his death occurred in Georgia, May, 1903, being 
in his seventy-fourth year. The mother of Mrs. 
Short is Mary (Chastain) Odom, a native of 
Georgia and now deceased, 
children born in this family 
of Sunset, Texas ; Mrs. 
Lake countv, 



Short 



came to 

64 



There were three 
Mrs. Martha Neece, 
Short and John W., of 
In 1885, Mr. and Mrs. 
Klamath county and took their 



Oregon. 



present place as a homestead and here they have 
lived ever since. Out of the quarter section of 
land, they have one hundred acres in cultivation, 
a good house, barn, and orchard and plenty of 
other improvements'. Mr. Short turns his atten- 
tion almost entirely to raising grain and pota- 
toes, in which he has made a good success. He 
has one son, Burrill, owning half a section near 
the home place, two hundred acres ,of which are 
under a ditch and one hundred acres planted to. 
alfalfa. They handle some stock, mostly cattle. 
The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Short, arc 
Burrill W., married to Elizabeth Rothley ; Robert 
C, married to Inez Turner ; Mary E., wife of 
James Dixon ; and Samuel P. 

Both Mr. and Mrs. Short are members of the 
Baptist church and are very substantial and re- 
spected people. 



CLYDE BRADLEY, who resides five miles- 
northwest from Merrill, is known as one of the 
substantial and progressive agriculturists of Kla- 
math county. He was born on February 13, 1861, 
in Grayson county, Kentucky, the son of Creed 
and Naoma (Preston)) Bradley. His childhood 
days were spent in Harden county, Kentucky, 
where he received his educational training. In 
1884, Mr. Bradley journeyed west to Lewis 
county, Missouri, and in 1886 he went to Solano 
countv, California. Two years later, he came 
thence to Klamath county and entered a pre- 
emption where he now resides. It is all fine sage 
brush land, fifty acres of which are under the 
ditch and seeded to alfalfa. The balance is all in 
cultivation and produces grain crops annually. He 
has the place well improved, with barns, fences 
and other accessories. When Mr. Bradley first 
came here, the country was all sage brush and set- 
tlers were far apart. He has done his part in 
building up the country and in making it the pros- 
perous place that it is today. Since coming here, 
he has taken a trip to California and also one to 
Kentucky. 

Fraternallv, he is affiliated with the Klamath 
Falls lodge of the I. O. O. F. Mr. Bradley is still 
a bachelor. He has one of the finest places in the 
county and is a highly respected man. 



NATHAN S. MERRILL, who resides at 
Merrill, was born August 2,2, 1836, in Hillsbor- 
ough, county. New Hampshire. His father, 
Nathan Merrill, was also born in New Hamp- 
shire and his father, William, the grandfather of 
our subject, was a native of that city. They de- 
scended from three brothers who emigrated from 



IOIO 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Paris and landed in the New World about the 
same time as the Mayflower. These men settled 
in the vicinity of Boston and from them came the 
Merrill family. The mother of our subject was, 
Julia A. (Merrill) Morrill, also a native of New 
Hampshire. Her father died in service in the 
war of 1812. Our subject was the oldest of the 
children and the rest are named as follows : 
William R., of Calusa, California; John A., of 
Redding, California ; Charles H., of Merrill, 
'Oregon; Morris A., of Willows, California; and 
Mrs. Henrietta Scruggins of Calusa, California. 
'Our subject came west with his parents to Kane 

■ county, Illinois, in 1846 and was well educated in 
the common schools. In the fall of 1857, he and 
his parents removed to McDonald county, Mis- 
souri, and in the spring of 1862, he returned to 
Kane county, Illinois, and in the fall of 1869, 
accompanied by his wife and his father, our 
subject came to Calusa county, California. There 
he engaged in farming until 1881, when he emi- 
grated to Chehalis county, Washington. In that 
vicinity, he gave his attention to agricultural 
work until the fall of 1890, when he came to his 

•present home place, which is in Merrill. He pur- 
chased a ranch and in the spring of 1894, he laid 

• out a portion of the town of Merrill. The town 
occupies eighty acres of the farm and Mr. Mer- 
rill owns two thirds of the townsite. He has five 
hundred acres adjoining the town and all of it is 
in cultivation. Two hundred acres of this are in 
alfalfa and the balance produces grain. It is all 
under ditch and Mr. Merrill owns an interest in 

■ the ditch. He has a nice two story, eight room 
house, a barn sixty-two by one hundred and six- 
teen feet, and two acres in orchard, having all 
"kinds of fruit in this lot. In addition to this, Mr. 

Merrill has improved the place wonderfully by 
artistically arranged shade trees and other im- 
provements, so that his is one of the best places 
and one of the most beautiful homes in the county. 
1902, Mr. Merrill's name appeared on the Demo- 
^chatic ticket for county commissioner and he was 
promptly elected, carrying the Merrill precinct by 
- three to one. His term was for four years and 
T he has given entire satisfaction in this position as 
1 he brings to it a wealth of experience and saga- 

• city that have made him the successful business 
man that he is today. Mr. Merrill was the first 
man to sign the charter of the Klamath Falls 
Lodge, number 137, I. O. O. F., and is past grand 
of that order. His wife is a member of the Re- 
bekahs. He has withdrawn from that lodge, 
being a charter member of Tule Lake Lodge, No. 
187, and noble grand. He has always been very 
active in every enterprise to build up and im- 
prove the country and is one of the leading men 

1 of this part of the state. 



On October 26, i860, in McDonald county, 
Missouri, Mr. Merrill married Miss Nancy J. 
Newland, who was born in Washington county, 
Arkansas. They are representative people and 
are widely and favorably known in this part of 
the state. The knowledge, wisdom and progress 
manifested by Mr. Merrill in his career here have 
done much to build up the country and to further 
its prosperity. In addition, his integrity and up- 
rightness have won him a place among the people 
which is very gratifying. 



GEORGE W. BLOOMINGCAMP resides 
on a stock ranch three miles north from Bly, 
Oregon, on the north side of the Sprague river 
valley. He and his brother, Edward, are in part- 
nership in the cattle business, the firm style under 
which the operate being Bloomingcamp Bros. 
George W. Bloomingcamp was born at Eureka, 
Siskiyou county, California, December 23, 1879. 
His brother was born at the same place February 
13, 1877. They are sons of John F. and Adeline 
Bloomingcamp, both natives of Germany. The 
parents came to California during the 6o's and are 
now engaged in the stock business in Siskiyou 
county, the father being now seventy-one years 
of age and the mother five years his junior. Our 
subject is a member of a family of ten children, 
equally divided at to sex. 

Our subject engaged in the stock business on 
Sprague river in 1890, and seven years later 
formed his present partnership with his brother. 
He started in the business with no means, and 
today the firm is in a state bordering on wealth. 
The brothers have on Sprague river a tract of 
twelve hundred and forty acres, most of which 
is choice hay land, and in the Klamath basin they 
own four hundred and eighty acres of good real 
estate. They make a specialty of raising hay 
which they feed to their large herd of choice cat- 
tle. Having been born and reared on the frontier, 
and trained from infancy in the handling of stock, 
they are eminently fitted for their business and 
are making it a signal success. 



CALEB TOWNSEND OLIVER is the 
owner and operator of one of the finest livery 
barns in southwestern Oregon. It is located at 
Merrill, while he also has one at Klamath Falls, 
and they are certainly a source of pride to the 
countv. Being a practical horse man and es- 
pecially endowed with talent for the business, 
Mr. Oliver has made a success in his enterprise, 
which is very gratifying and bespeaks both his 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



ion 



ability and his industry. In addition to general 
livery, feed and sale business, wherein he is most 
careful in every particular to provide for his 
patrons everything first class, he also has taken 
a great interest in breeding fine horses for the 
betterment of the county stock. Mr. Oliver has 
eight as fine stallions as are to be seen in south- 
ern Oregon, everyone of which is registered, and 
everyone of which is a choice prize winner. His 
barn is next his Mascot stables and his stallion, 
Mascot, is one of the finest horses in the west. 
At this writing, he is a little over four years of 
age and when four years of age weighed exactly 
twenty-two hundred pounds. When he has fin- 
ished his growth, he will weigh at least twenty 
five hundred pounds. He is a cross between a 
registered Clyde and a registered Percheron. He 
is one of the most beautiful draft horses to be 
found and certainly the stock men of Klamath 
county are to be congratulated that through the 
untiring efforts of Mr. Oliver, have been brought 
to Klamatlv county such magnificent stallions. 
Mr. Oliver owns choice driving horses and has 
some of the best roadsters in this part of the 
state. His driving teams are known all over and 
some of the finest rigs to be found on the roads 
come from his barns. He takes great pride in 
securing the comfort and safety of his patrons 
and altogether is one of the most successful gen- 
tlemen and up-to-date business men to be found 
in Klamath county. 

Joseph C. Oliver was born in Iowa. With 
his parents, he went to Ohio when young and 
•graduated from Miami university. He was then 
retained in the college as an instructor, continu- 
ing there until the breaking out of the Civil War. 
Then he enlisted in the Eighty-ninth Ohio In- 
fantry as private and was soon promoted to a 
captaincy. He served under General Thomas 
and at the battle of Chickamauga was taken 
prisoner. For three months he languished in that 
infamous den, then with three companions, dug 
his way out. They were six weeks in getting 
away and finally when they reached their own 
lines, they were almost naked and had traveled 
barefooted through snow and over the frozen 
ground. He then took part in Sherman's march 
to the Sea and was in command of two companies. 
He participated in many hard fought battles and 
in numerous skirmishes and served in all four 
years. Then he received his honorable discharge 
and since has been very prominent in G. A. R. 
circles. When the war ended he returned home 
and again took up teaching and later was prin- 
cipal of the public schools in Champaign, Illinois. 

At Goshen, Ohio, he was married to Martha 
Washington Gatch, who was born at Mulberry, 
Ohio. She had followed teaching school for sever- 



al years and was a very prominent educator. Her 
father, John D. Gatch, was born in Baltimore, re- 
moving to Virginia and later settled in Ohio. 
They were descendants from Godfrey Gatch and 
came from England in 1727 and settled in the 
vicinity of Baltimore. The colony established 
was known as the Gatch settlement and the Meth- 
odist church was organized by them which was 
known as Gatch chapel. One of the noted mem- 
bers of the family was Rev. Philip Gatch, who 
w as a powerful speaker and one of the noted pio- 
neers of Ohio. He did very much throughout 
( )hio and especially in Clermont county, preach- 
ing the gospel, being a fervent and devout Meth- 
odist. He attended the first conference ever held 
in America, which was in 1773. He was ap- 
pointed the first judge of Clermont county in 
1800 and represented that county and the first 
constitutional convention ever held in the north- 
west territory, it being 1802. After that, he gave 
his whole life to preaching the gospel and was a 
noble and successful man. He was born in 1751. 
During colonial days, many of the Gatch family 
had titles of honor for various works that they 
had done. They are a very prominent and strong 
American family. Our subject's father taught 
in various places in the west then came to Santa 
Barbara county, California in 1873 an d was prin- 
cipal of the public schools there until 1880, when 
he moved to Los Angeles and eagaged in the 
real estate business. He is still operating in this 
capacity and is one of the very successful men of 
that state. The children of the family are Nel- 
lie, a teacher in the schools of Los Angeles ; 
Caleb T., who is our subject; J. Scott, a writer 
of considerable merit now on the St. Louis Globe- 
Democrat ; Byron L., a graduate of Ann Arbor, 
and a leading attorney of Los Angeles and a noted 
orator; Myrtle G., wife of Professor Frederick 
Stien, who is teaching in the Philippines. Our 
subject was well educated and from a child 
showed a marked talent for handling horses. 
Early in life, he gave himself to this and the re- 
sult is that he is today one of the most success- 
ful horsemen in the state of Oregon. He worked 
with horses in various places in California and 
came to this county in 1884. He was handling 
horses for a firm on salary for a time and finally 
located some sage brush land near Merrill .and 
commenced raising horses for himself. He had 
come to this country on horseback from southern 
California. He succeeded very well until 1890, 
when a hard winter swept away all his stock. 
He restocked and stayed with the business until 
1904, at which time he owned two hundered of 
the finest horses and cattle in Klamath county. 
Then he sold the ranch and engaged in his pres- 
ent business, commencing in a very modest way. 



1012 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



The business has grown continuously since under 
his wise guidance and he stands today one of 
the representative men of this part of the state. 
He early began bringing in pure bred stallions 
of different breeds that he could purchase and the 
result is that Klamath county has come to have 
some of the best horses to be found in the west. 

On October 21, 1890, Mr. Oliver married 
Miss Frances Gertrude Brown, a native of Wood- 
land, California and born August 20, 1873. Her 
father, John T. Brown, was an early pioneer to 
California from Minnesota. He had married 
West Anna Lyle. To Mr. and Mrs. Oliver, one 
child, . John Joseph, has been born. 

Since the above was written, Mr. Oliver has 
purchased the Exchange stables of Klamath 
Falls, and is handling them in connection with 
those at Merrill. The stables in both places are 
named Mascot Stables, and they are to be num- 
bered with the very best in the entire Northwest. 
Mr. Oliver named his stables from his magnifi- 
cent stallion Mascot, which, undoubtedly, is as 
fine a horse as can be found on the coast. 



GEORGE WASHINGTON OFFIELD is 
well known in Merrill where he has resided for 
some time. He owns about three hundred acres 
of choice agricultural land besides a fine resi- 
dence and eight lots in Merrill. He was born on 
January 14, 1868 in Parkersburg, Coos county, 
Oregon, thus having the distinction of being a 
native Oregonian. His father, John L. Offield, 
came from English ancestry. He married 
Amanda E. Vance, of French extraction. Our 
subject grew up in his native place and spent his 
time between laboring on the farm and attending 
the public schools until he was sixteen years of 
age. Then he started out for himself, working 
at various occupations, on the farms, in the stores 
and so forth all through western Oregon and 
northwest California. At the age of twenty- 
seven, he discovered that it would be more 
to his advantage for him to be skilled in educa- 
tional matters, consequently he began studying 
in a private business college at Bonanza, Ore- 
gon. In addition to the business course which 
he completed in due time, he had made special 
progress in various other branches and came from 
the institution fairly skilled in an ordinary Eng- 
lish education. After quitting the course, he 
took the Civil service examination under the gov- 
ernment for bookkeeping and secured one hun- 
dred as his mark, a very remarkable standing. 
Later, he took another examination in other 
branches and secured ninety one per cent. In 
1886, he had come to this county and after his 



examination, he spent three years in teaching 
here. Then he purchased a ranch and has added 
since until he has the amount mentioned, which 
is all first class agricultural lands. One half of 
it is under cultivation and he produces alfalfa 
and grain. In 1901, Mr. Offield accepted a posi- 
tion as bookkeeper of the Whitney Mercantile 
Co., of Merrill, which position he still holds. His 
residence is a nice six room cottage and he also- 
has other property besides which has been men- 
tioned. 

On October 1, 1899, Mr. Offield married Miss 
Winifred Brown, who was born near Pueblo, 
Colorado, the daughter of Rice and Mary Brown. 
the latter deceased. Mr. Brown was a native of 
Missouri and immigrated to California in early 
day and about twenty-two years ago, came to 
Ashland, Oregon. In 1886, he settled in Klam- 
ath county and is now living some nine miles- 
west of Klamath Falls. Mrs. Offield has one 
brother, Madison, of Billings, : Montana. Three 
children have been born to our subject and his 
wife, Elda . Ruby, Lester Clifford and Vera 
Viola. 

He and his wife are members of the Baptist 
church and are highly esteemed people. Mr. 
Offield is serving his second term as justice of 
the peace and also is in his second term as mayor 
of the town of Merrill. In 1900, he was nomin- 
ated by the Democratic party for county super- 
intendent of schools but as the county was Re- 
publican, he lost the day by a very small majority. 



WALTER F. REED is the proprietor of 
the Pioneer hotel, and is postmaster at Bly, Ore- 
gon. He is a native of Plymouth county, Iowa, 
born September 2, 1871. His father, George 
Reed, now a cabinet maker at Paisley, Oregon, 
was born in the province of New Brunswick and 
came to Massachussetts in 1865. Five years 
later he went to Iowa and from Iowa to Colo- 
rado in 1872. From the latter state he went to 
Wyoming and in 1887 he came to Oregon and 
settled in Ashland. Two years later he came to 
Lake county, where he has since lived. Mr. Reed's 
mother is Anna E. (Mitchell) Reed, a native of 
New Brunswick. The family is composed of 
the father, mother and three children, of which 
our subject is the second in point of age. He 
has a brother, Herbert E., residing near Paisley; 
and a sister, Mrs. Maud E. McCormack, who lives 
in California. 

Mr. Reed grew to manhood on his parents' 
stock farm. The family was the second that 
lived in what is now Sheridan county, Wyoming, 
where they remained eight years. Sheridan county 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1013 



was at that time included in Johnson county. The 
Reed home was situated only about forty miles 
from the scene of the historic Custer massacre. 
The family experienced no trouble with the In- 
dians while in Wyoming, but while living in Colo- 
roda the savages were on the warpath and made 
life for the settlers decidedly disagreeable. Large 
game, such as deer, elk, antelope and buffalo, 
was plentiful at that time, and Mr. Reed can re- 
call the times when he has watched his father 
stand in his door and shoot the later named 
animals with his rifle. 

Our subject attended school at Ashland, Ore- 
gon, and at the age of twenty he engaged in the 
sheep business with his father and brother. They 
also farmed to some extent and did a great 
amount of contract work, during harvest time, 
harvesting hay. Mr. Reed was always success- 
ful in what he undertook and as a result is now 
in well-to-do circumstances. He owns near 
Paisley one hundred and sixty acres of land. 
The farm where he resides consists of a quarter 
section of well improved land and may be irri- 
gated by a ditch, in which he is heavily inter- 
ested. He purchased this in 1903. The farm is' 
known as the Ely ranch. In Ely, Mr. Reed owns 
the Pioneer hotel, as has been stated, containing 
twenty rooms, and he is also the proprietor of a 
large livery and feed stable, and keeps the stage 
station for the Klamath Falls & Lakeview stage 
company. 

On September 25, 1892, Mr. Reed was mar- 
ried to Mattie B. Mulkey, a native of Missouri 
and daughter of Willis J. and Mary E. Mulkey. 
Mr. and Mrs. Mulkey came to Oregon eighteen 
years ago and are now engaged in running a hotel 
at Eugene, Oregon. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Reed have been born five 
children, Archie M., Helen M., Bennie A., Rich- 
ard W., and Violet B. 

In addition to the property already enumer- 
ated Mr. Reed owns the town hall of Bly, a build- 
ing twenty-six by sixty feet in dimensions, 
known as Reed's Hall. This hall is used for pub- 
lic entertainments and social sratherinsfs. 



FRANK OBENCHAIN is a prominent stock 
raiser residing on Merrill creek near the north 
bank of Sprague river, ten miles northwest from 
Bly. Born January 19, 1877, in Jacksonville, 
Oregon, Mr. Obenchain was the only child of 
Madison and Minnie (Crah) Obenchain, Ore- 
gon pioneers. The father was born in Buchanan 
county, Iowa, and crossed the plains to Califor- 
nia during the early days. After one year in that 
state he came to Jackson county, Oregon and set- 



tled in the Sprague river valley in 1881. Here 
he died eight years ago. The mother is a native 
of Germany and is now living in Jacksonville, 
Oregon. 

( )ur subject grew to maturity on a farm and 
was educated in the common schools of Jackson- 
ville. He is now engaged in the cattle business 
and is making a success. 

Mr. Obenchain was married June 8, 1898, to 
Carrie A. Wendt, daughter of Henry and Marie 
Wendt, both natives of Germany. 

Mr. and Mrs. Obenchain have two children, 
Minnie Marie, and Madison. 

Thev are prominent and well-to-do citizens 
and enjoy the respect and confidence' of a wide 
circle of friends in southern Oregon. 



THOMAS JEFFERSON OFFIELD is a 
well known business man of Klamath county' 
where he has won splendid success in the finan- 
cial world. He was born on January 23, 1870, 
in Coos county, Oregon. His father, John L. 
Offield, is a native of Indiana and came of English 
extraction. His father, William Offield, the 
grandfather of our subject, participated in the 
War of 1812. John L. Offield came across the 
plains in 1850 with ox teams and while en route, 
his mother died. He settled near Oregon City 
and later was appointed assessor of Clackamas 
county. He moved to Coos county after some 
time and to Klamath county in 1886. Three 
years later he journeyed to Lane county and then 
went to Ellensburg, in Washington in 1900, where 
he died the following year. He had married 
Amanda J. E. Vance, a native of Missouri. She 
came to Oregon in 1850 and is now living in 
Ellensburg, Washington. The children of the 
family are William H., of Tacoma ; George W., 
of Merrill; Thomas J., our subject; Lafayette V., 
Arthur L., Walter and Nellie, all in Ellensburg. 
Our subject lived with his parents in the various 
places where they dwelt until 1886, when they 
came to Klamath county, then he began riding the 
range and in 1890, engaged with Geber brothers, 
wholesale butchers of Sacramento, on their ranch. 
Five years later, he was appointed as foreman and 
had charge .of their business, shipping cattle, until 
the fall of 1903. In the winter of r895, he took 
a lav off which continued for six months, during 
which time he traveled all over the states of Cali- 
fornia and Oregon, then resumed his work. On 
May 22, 1895, "Mr. Offield married Miss Laura 
Maxim, who was drowned the following August 
while in bathing. On May 19, 1899, Mr. Offield 
married Mrs. Elizabeth Dorris of Yreka, Cali- 
fornia. She is a near relative of the late Senator 



ioi4 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Vest of Missouri. In 1890, Mr. Offield pur- 
chased one hundred and seventy-four acres of 
land one mile north of Merrill. He now has one 
hundred and fifty acres of this in fine alfalfa and 
in 1903, he purchased one hundred and forty 
acres more which he expects soon to seed to al- 
falfa. When he quit the Geber ranch, he engaged 
in the hotel business at Merrill and now owns 
the two story, Riverside hotel which has. a fine 
bar in connection. He personally conducted the 
hotel until July, 1904, then rented it to Thomas 
A. Balis, still retaining a half interest in the bar. 
In addition to this, Mr. Offield has a mercantile 
establishment, which is under the charge of his 
wife. He also owns several lots and buildings 
in the town of Merrill and has a fine band of cat- 
tle on the range. His time is given largely to 
attending to his real estate and stock interests, 
although he superintends his other business mat- 
ters. 

Mr. Offield has shown himself a thorough and 
talented business man and has won a success 
which is very gratifying. He has the esteem and 
confidence of all who know him and has shown 
a generous and progressive spirit in the upbuild- 
ing of the country. 



THOMAS W. GARRETT is a stock raiser 
residing three fourths of a mile northwest from 
Bly, Oregon. He was reared on a farm in St. 
Francis, county, Missouri, in which county and 
state he was born October 24, 1861. In May, 
1884, he came west to the San Joaquin valley, 
California. Here he worked on a salary until 
the fall of 1886, when he came to Goose lake 
valley, Oregon, and procured employment on a 
stock ranch. In 1889 he took a homestead near 
Goose lake and afterwards purchased a quarter- 
section more of land adjoining. He sold his 
homestead in 1895, but still owns his remaining, 
one hundred and sixty acres. He came to Bly 
in the fall of 1895, and for two years thereafter 
managed the Pioneer hotel at this place, after 
which he purchased his present home. He has 
in all two hundred and eighty acres of land, a 
good portion of which is valuable for agricultural 
purposes and well improved. Mr. Garrett also 
owns an interest in the irrigation ditch which 
runs through that section and can irrigate a 
great portion of his land. He is engaged exten- 
sively in raising hay for his large herd of cattle. 

Mr. Garrett was married October 27, 1889, 
to May Millis, who passed away September 16, 
1903, leaving no children. 

Mr. Garrett's parents, William and Susan C. 
(Grider) Garrett, were both reared in the same 



count}' and state as was he. The mother died 
there in the month of April, 1900. The father 
made his home in that county until the fall of 
1903, when he; sold out and came to Bly. He is 
now sixty-eight years of age and makes his home 
with the subject of this sketch. 

Thomas W. Garrett is now serving his third 
term as constable for the Sprague river precinct. 
He is a man of wide acquaintance and of great 
prestige in Lake county. 



JOSEPH STUKEL is a native of Klamath 
county, having been born in Klamath Falls, on 
March 17, 1873, the son of Stephen and Delilah 
(Perdue) Stukel. He is one of the prosperous 
young men of the county and has demonstrated 
himself possessed of excellent ability. His labors 
have all been along the line of stock raising and 
farming for himself and in everything that tends 
to build up the country in general. He is widely 
known as a successful, substantial and capable 
man. The other members of the family are 
Frederick; Ollie, wife of S. M. Heller, in Iowa; 
Mamie, wife of G. W. Wilson of Merrill ; Amy, 
wife of Bert Davis of Merrill; and Stephen, at 
home. Mr. Stukel resides some four miles north- 
west of Merrill on Lost River. The farm is 
beautifully situated at the foot of Stukel moun- 
tain and the bridge across Lost river at this point 
is known as Stukel bridge. When our subject was 
about four years of age, he came with his parents 
to this location, worked with his father, and 
gained his education, meanwhile. 

On November 4, 1893, he married Florinda 
A. Booth, who was born in Iowa, the daughter of 
Shannon and Laura Jennings Booth. She had 
recently come from Iowa at the time of her mar- 
riage. He brothers and sisters are Olive, wife of 
G. W. Jory ; Mamie, wife of Frederick Stukel ; 
Ella, wife of Carl Robley ; and Harry. To our 
subject and his wife, two children have been born, 
Goldie Olive and William Charles. In the spring- 
of 1903, Mr. Stukle and his brother Fred pur- 
chased the home ranch where he had spent his 
days after he was twelve years of age and to- 
gether they are now operating the same. The es- 
tate consists of five hundred and thirty-three 
acres, all fenced and all good land. Four hun- 
dred and fifty acres are under ditch and the bal- 
ance will be irrigated from a new ditch now being 
constructed. This makes it an especially valu- 
able place. It is well improved, with all build- 
ings needed, having three barns, residence and so 
forth. They give their attention largely to hand- 
ling stock and raising hay for the same on this; 
valuable ranch. They grow some horses but 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1015 



mostly cattle, of which they have a large band 
at this time. The Stukel estate was one of the 
first places taken in this part of the county and 
it is considered one of the best ranches of its 
size in this portion of the state. 



EDWIN CASEBEER. Born near the town 
of New Philadelphia, Ohio, August 18, 1849, 
Edwin Casebeer was the son of Josiah and Eliza- 
beth ('Hosier) Casebeer, and the fourth mem- 
ber of the family of five children. The following 
are the names of his sister and brothers : Mrs. 
Mary Morgan, Kansas ; William Casebeer, 
Colorado ; George, in Kansas ; and Jacob H., at 
Ashland, Oregon. 

Hr. Casebeer's father was a native of Penn- 
sylvania, who, as a youth, emigrated to Ohio. 
From Ohio he removed to Buchanan county, 
Iowa, in about the year 1854, traveled extensively 
over the United States and finally settled in the. 
Rogue river valley, Oregon, in 1873 and died 
seventeen years later in Ashland, Oregon, aged 
seventy-six years. The mother was a native of 
the state of New York and died during her 
eighty-seventh year in Ashland, Oregon, in the 
year 1903. 

The first eighteen years of Mr. Casebeer's 
life were spent with his parents, after which he 
went to Sedgwick county, Kansas, where he en- 
gaged in the stock business, and upon attaining 
his majority he took a homestead. Kansas was 
comparatively a wild state at that time and Hr. 
Casebeer can recount many a buffalo killed by 
him almost from his door-step. In 1871 he came 
to California and to the Rogue river the year 
following. Here he engaged in ranching and 
fruit raising- until 1879, when he came to the 
Sprague river valley and again engaged in the 
stock business. He brought into the country 
the first band of Hereford cattle to be imported 
into the Sprague river valley, and at the same 
time he imported a start in the mule raising busi- 
ness, which he has since successfully followed in 
conjunction with his cattle raising. In April, 
1898, he took a band of mules into Alaska for 
sale. He went through British Columbia over 
the old Telegraph trail and up the Frazier river 
to Glenore, on the Stehikin river, where he dis- 
posed of his animals at a profit. From that point 
he went via dog - sledge to Skagway, whence he 
took a steamer for home. While on this trip 
Mr. Casebeer suffered many hardships, such as 
frequently befalls travelers in the far north. On 
one occasion his supply of provisions became ex- 
hausted and he was compelled to sustain life for 
several davs on a diet of badeer meat. 



In 1900 he sold his cattle and three years- 
later invested in a flock of sheep and has been, 
engaged in the raising of wool ever since. His- 
sheep number some thousands and he also, owns 
a thousand acres of fenced land, a few hundred 
acres of which is hay land and well improved 
with a large twelve-room house, two barns and 
other outbuildings in proportion. His dwelling 
is one of the largest and finest farm houses in the 
state of Oregon. His home lies three fourths of. 
a mile east from Bly. 

On October 28, 1889, occurred the marriage 
of Mr. Casebeer to Mrs. Caroline H. fOwenJ 
Watts, a native of Clark county, Missouri, and 
daughter of James and Susan F. (TullJ Owen, 
natives, respectively, of the states of New York 
and Kentucky. Mr. Owen removed from the 
state of his birth to Hancock county, Illinois, 
where his parents both died, after which he went 
to Clark county, Missouri, being an early pio- 
neer of that county. The brothers and sisters of. 
Mrs. Casebeer are: John S., Haden Hill, Cali- 
fornia ; Mrs. Mary L. Kilgore, Langell's valley,.. 
( )regon ; Mrs. Margaret E. Long, Susanvifle,. 
California; James H. Owen, residing near Bly; 
and George W. Owen, Ashland, Oregon. 

Mrs. Casebeer's father started across the' 
plains as a member of a large train of emigrants 
bound for California. He had with him his wife 
and five children and experienced many hard- 
ships in making- the journey on account of the 
hostility of the tribes inhabiting the plains. On 
one occasion the entire train narrowly escaped 
a massacre. His family were among the first to' 
settle in the Sacramento valley, and lived in many 
places in California before coming to the Sprague- 
river in 1878. Here Mr. Owen engaged in the- 
stock business, and followed that occupation 
until his death in 1901. The mother died ten 
years previously. 

Mrs. Casebeer was living in Aden, Modoc 
county, California, during the Modoc war, and 
several times during that struggle between the- 
red men and the white she was a witness to the 
Indian war dance. In 1870 she was married to 
S. Watts, now deceased. She has two sons,. 
John S. and James O. Watts, who are merchants 
of Bly. 

Mr. and Mrs Casebeer have two children, 
Edwin J. and Susie May Casebeer. 






I YON D. APPLEGATE. The name Apple- 
gate is indissoluble from the history of Oregon. 
No mention of the early history of this state to 
any extent can be made without including the 
labors of different members of this leading 



ioi6 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



family. It is our purpose to deal particularly 
with the gentleman whose name stands at the 
head of this article and had we the full data, it 
would be very interesting to mention more fully 
regarding the other members of the family as 
well. 

Ivon D. Applegate was born on January 25, 
1840, in St. Clair county, Missouri. His father, 
Lindsay Applegate, was a native of this county 
and married Elizabeth Miller. As early as 1822, 
he settled in Missouri and there was married. 
In 1843 ne crossed the plains and settled in the 
Willamette valley, Oregon. The history of that 
most wonderful trip in which these brave pio- 
neers with their families wended their way 
through the unbroken regions of deserts and 
mountains, beset with wild animals and wilder 
men, forms an epoch in the history of this great 
country and Lindsay Applegate with his brothers 
took a very prominent part along with Dr. Whit- 
man. They were men composed of the right ma- 
terial for such an enterprise as a calm review 
of their acts indicate and their subsequent lives 
prove. A limited account of that journey would 
fill a volume in itself and has been mentioned in 
other portions of this publication. In due time, 
Mr. Applegate reached the Willamette valley 
and with his brothers, settled near what is now 
Dallas, in Polk county, being among the very 
first settlers there. From this time, until Ore- 
gon assumed proportions of a prosperous terri- 
tory, the Applegates were moving spirits in assist- 
ing emigration, in opening up the country, in 
fighting the savages and in all movements for the 
general good of the people. Their efforts were 
not confined to any local section but were as 
broad as the state itself and their influence was 
always for the good. Lindsay Applegate and his 
brother, Jesse, located the south road through 
the Tule lake country to the Willamette valley 
in 1846. Thus they were among the first pio- 
neers of what is now Klamath county. In 1861, 
Lindsay Applegate was captain of the volunteers 
and he came through this vicinity again. Our 
subject was with him at that time and was ap- 
pointed Indian agent and helped to establish the 
Indian reservation. The father died in 1891, 
aged eighty-three, Swan lake being the place of 
his demise. Our subject was with his parents 
on their memorable trip across the plains and 
lived with them in Polk county and received his 
education from home training and the primitive 
schools of the country and in 1850, went with 
them to Douglas county. In 1859 they journeyed 
to Jackson county and in 1862, he enlisted in the 
militia as captain. In 1864, he was appointed 
recruiting officer, by Governor A. C. Gibbs and 
stationed at Eugene. In 1868, he was appointed 



by Superintendent Huntington in charge of the 
commissary in the Indian department of the 
state. While in this position, he acted as in- 
terpreter of the Snake Indians and took charge 
of that trip, bringing them to the reser- 
vation. He established Yirnax agency in 1869. 
In 1870, he settled in Swan lake valley and laid 
aside public duties, preferring to devote him- 
self to stock raising. The next year, however, 
he received a special appointment from the gov- 
ernment as special representative to the Modoc 
Indian camp on Lost river and while in this 
capacity participated in the first battle of the 
Lava Beds, one of the first battles in the 
western Indian warfare. The personal bravery 
of Mr. Applegate is shown in that he went with 
six men in the very heat of clanger to secure the 
bodies of some citizens who had been slain. He 
was a man who knew no fear and owing to this 
was most successful in handling the savages for 
the government, which has resulted in untold 
good to the pioneers. Mr. Applegate was among 
the very first settlers in this county, and has done 
a lion's share in developing it and stimulating 
others to worthy effort. In addition to his estate, 
he has a fine residence in Klamath Falls where 
he is making his home at the present time. 

On July 14, 1 87 1, in Jackson county, Mr. Ap- 
plegate" married Miss Margaret Hutchinson, a 
native of Pennsylvania and the daughter of Rich- 
ard and Anna Armstrong Hutchinson. Mrs. Ap- 
plegate came west in 1869. To this marriage, 
five children have been born. Alice A., who 
graduated from the state normal school at Mon- 
mouth and has been retained as a member of the 
facultv in the training department, and later was 
transferred to the Ashland normal as principal 
in one department, afterward was principal of the 
Klamath Falls public school and is now assistant 
principal of the Klamath Falls high school ; Ada 
F., deceased, who was the wife of J. G. Pierce and 
was also a graduate of the state normal school; 
Moray Lindsay, who graduated from the state 
normal school at Monmouth in 1896. Following 
that he matriculated in the state university at 
Eugene and in 1898 enlisted in the Second Ore- 
gon Volunteers and served eighteen months in 
the Philippine wars. He was with Company C 
and participated in the principal campaign in that 
conflict. From the fourth of February until the 
following June he was in almost constant fighting 
and in 1898, he returned to the university and 
graduated with honors in iqoo. In the fall of 
that vear, he returned to Manila and was ap- 
pointed assistant to the Superintendent of Public 
Instruction in that city. He continued in that 
capacity until TQ02, then was with the ethnologi- 
cal survey. After that, he was collector for the 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1017 



Philippine exposition for the world's fair ex- 
hibit and directed that work until everything 
was completed for the exhibit. Later, he returned 
to Klamath county and now expects in the near 
future to enter the stock business with his father. 
Lena L. was educated at the state university and 
is now the wife of Dr. Hargis of Klamath Falls. 
Jessie is still at home. 

Mr. and Mrs. Applegate are leading people 
in Klamath county and as stated before, the Ap- 
plegates are leading people in the state of Ore- 
gon. Our subject is a man of unquestioned in- 
tegrity whose life has shown forth self sacrifice 
and uprightness and whose labors have been most 
excellent in bringing about the development of 
the county and the state of Oregon. He has 
been a great benefactor to his fellow men and re- 
ceives what is right, a most generous compensa- 
tion in esteem, respect and love. 



CHARLES NEWTON MEYER, a farmer 
and stock man residing three and one-half miles 
southeast of Klamath Falls, is one of the sub- 
stantial residents of the county. Although he has 
not been in this particular section as long as some 
of the early pioneers, still Mr. Meyer is to be 
classed as a leading pioneer of various sections of 
the country. His life has been filled with ad- 
venture and extensive service and all will be in- 
terested in an account of the same. 

Charles N. Meyer was born on September 4, 
1850 in St. Louis, Missouri. Charles W. Meyer, 
his father, was a native ©f New York and was in 
the government employ during the Civil War, 
giving his attention to buying horses. He had 
seven brothers who were killed in the service. He 
was one of the starters and promoters of the 
Union Stock Yards in St. Louis and his death 
•occurred in that city, in 1868. He had married 
Mary Shannen, who was born in Mayo county, 
Ireland and is now deceased. Our subject had 
one sister, Mrs. James Brennan, who is deceased 
and one brother, John, a business man in Chicago, 
both being older than he. After receiving a good 
•education, our subject went to Cheyenne in the 
fall of 1870 and in the spring of the following 
vear he commenced to clerk for the government. 
He occupied that position for two years, then as 
packer for the government, first operating in the 
Black Hills. After that, he was irt the Big Horn 
country and was on the ground where Custer 
and his forces were massacred and saw the re- 
mains of that terrible conflict. Then he took 
part in the Rosebud Indian fight and later, re- 
turned to Collins in the vicinity of Cheyenne. 



Afterwards, he was in the famous Meeker massa- 
cre where every pack and train mule was killed. 
He was among the few survivors and escaped the 
Indians. Following that, he was ordered to Fort 
Bridger, where he was promoted to the position 
of wagon master and was then sent to Salt Lake 
City. • Later, he bought a ranch in Arizona and 
raised stock some but continued in the employ of 
the government. When the Spanish-American 
War broke out, he was ordered to Washington, 
D. C. and reported to the quartermaster general. 
He was sent to Savannah, Georgia, then to Tam- 
pa, Florida, to break mules to be used in Cuba. 
Returning to Savannah, he there remained until 
the stock began to return from Cuba, when he 
took charge of the same. Later, we find him at the 
Jefferson barracks, Missouri, and then he was 
sent to the Philippine islands. He had charge of 
the pack train known as number thirty-eight and 
took part in numerous battles. At the battle of 
Niac, the pack train was cut off but the thirteen 
packers were enabled to hold their stock although 
the goods were all pierced with bullets. Next, 
he was ordered to Manila but being taken sick, 
was sent back to San Francisco. When able to 
be out, he was ordered to Portland, reporting to 
Major Jacobs. Then he was sent to China on the 
transport Lennox, being in charge of three hun- 
dred and seventy cavalry horses and one hundred 
pack mules. On July 6, 1900, they started on the 
expedition with the allied forces to suppress the 
Boxer uprising and rescue the foreigners at 
Pekin. He was in the entire pack service and 
saw the downfall of Yangtsun, Hosiwu, Tung- 
chow and Pekin. Following that, he returned to 
the United States in the transport Packling, hav- 
ing been gone eleven months. He returned to 
Portland and received horses there for the .gov- 
ernment for a short time, then resigned, having 
been in the employ of the government for twen- 
ty-one years. During this long service, he had 
traveled to various portions of the country and 
had wide experience in many lines. 'He finally 
came to Klamath county and selected the place 
where he now resides, making settlement in the 
summer of 1902. Mr. Meyer is exceptionally 
well pleased with the climate and the resources of 
this part of the country and expects to make 
this his permanent home. Being a man of great' 
economy, he was enabled to save during the long 
service for the government, a nice sum of money, 
so that now in the later years, he has abundance 
to make life more pleasant. 

In 1884, Mr. Meyer married Jennie Wilson, 
who died, leaving one son, James. Just as Mr. 
Meyer quit the service of the government, his son 
died. On June 1, 1904, Mr. Meyer married Mrs. 
Charity E. Leafdahl, who has one adopted daugh- 






ioi8 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



ter, Delia. Mr. and Mrs. Meyer are representa- 
tive people of Klamath county, have a beautiful 
and pleasant home and have made many warm 
friends during: their residence here. 



ROSCOE E. CANTRALL, one of the most 
extensive and prosperous farmers in Oregon, re- 
sides upon a large and beautiful agricultural 
ranch five and one-half miles southeast of Kla- 
math Falls. He was born July 14, 1872, in Jack- 
son county, Oregon, the son of John and Sarah 
(Newland) Cantroll. The father, a native of 
Illinois, was one of the earliest of California 
Argonauts, crossing the plains with ox teams 
in 1849. Arriving in Oregon he soon afterward 
settled in Jackson county, securing a donation 
claim where he lived until his death, which oc- 
curred in 1 89 1. The mother of our subject is, 
also, an early pioneer of Oregon, and is now liv- 
ing in Jackson county. 

In the latter county our subject was reared 
and received his education in the public schools 
in his vicinity. He pursued the twin industries 
of farming and stock raising, and in 1900 came 
to his present home in Klamath county and, in 
partnership with his father-in-law, Henry 
E. Ankeny, purchased one thousand two 
hundred acres of land, nearly all of which 
is copiously irrigated by an extensive ditch. 
About four hundred and fifty acres of this land 
are devoted to alfalfa ; the remainder to grain 
and pasture. It is all level, one of the best 
ranches in the valley and produces two thous- 
and tons of hay and twenty thousand bushels of 
grain annually. The principal crops are alfalfa, 
wheat, barley, oats and timothy. 

September 21, 1898, Mr. Cantrall was united 
in marriage to Nannie M. Ankeny, born in the 
Willamette valley, the daughter of Henry E. 
and Cordelia (Striker) Ankeny. Her father is 
a brother of Senator Levi P. Ankeny, of Walla 
Walla, Washington, junior LJnited States Sen- 
ator from that state. Mr. and Mrs. Cantrall 
have three children, Edward L., Howard S. and 
Cordelia A. Fraternally he is is a member of 
the I. O. O. F., the A. O. U. W. and the United 
Artisans. 



RUSSELL A. ALFORD, residing six 'miles 
southwest of Klamath Falls, Klamath county, 
Oregon, is a prominent stock-raiser and general 
business man of that community who has 
achieved success commensurate with his enter- 
prise, industry a nd superior business sagacity. 
He is a native Oregonian, having been born in 



Linn county, March 16, 1865, the son of 
Albert and Catherine (Brinker) Alford. The 
father, a native of Missouri, born May 4, 1833, 
settled in Linn county on a donation claim in 
1850. He was, at one period, a volunteer in the 
Rogue River Indian war. In 1869 he removed 
vrith his family to Jackson county, Oregon, 
where he has a farm near Talent. His father, 
Thomas Alford, crossed the plains in company 
with him, and lived to the advanced age of ninety- 
two years, dying in Linn county. He was a native 
of Tennessee. The parents of our subject are 
still living in Jackson county. They have four 
children, viz: Russell A., our subject; Moses L., 
of Medford, Jackson county; Mrs. Alice Willets 
and Mrs. Ollie Watters, of Talent. The latter 
was educated in the public schools, and, also, at- 
tended the academy at Ashland. 

May 9, 1880, our subject was united in mar- 
riage to Jennie Neil, born in Jaskson count)'-, 
the daughter of Clayborn Neil, who crossed the 
plains from Tennessee in 1852 and located in 
Jackson county. Mr. and Mrs. Neil were the 
parents of nine cnildren most of whom are at 
present living in Oregon. 

It was in 1885 that our subject went to Sis- 
kiyou county, California, where he secured a 
homestead of one hundred and sixty acres of 
land which he still owns. To Klamath county v 
Oregon, he came in 1890, and soon afterward 
leased his present ranch and became interested 
in the stock business, mainly cattle. Since re- 
moving to Oregon, Mr. Alford has been quite 
successful in all of his business enterprises, and 
reaped the rewards usually attendant on indus- 
try and ability. He owns also, a substantial res- 
idence in Klamath Falls. 

Two children have been born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Alford, Albert C. and Lloyd R. Fratern- 
ally, he is a member of the A. F. & A. M., his 
lodge being at Klamath Falls. His band of cat- 
tle is at the present writing quite an extensive- 
one, including a number of thoroughbred Here- 
fords. 



FRANK H. DOWNING, an enterprising 
stock raiser of Klamath county, resides on his 
ranch nine miles south of Keno. He was born- 
June 1, 1864, at Susanville, Lassen county, Cal- 
ifornia, the son of George W. and Margaret A. 
(Elliott) Downing. The father.- a native of In- 
diana, removed to Missouri, and served a short 
period in the Civil War, and was discharged 
owing to poor health. Following this event he 
crossed the plains in 1862, locating in Lassen 
county, California. The mother, a native of Vir- 
ginia, is now living in Oakland. California. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1019 



They were the parents of six children; Thomas 
J., a commercial man, of Oakland, California ; 
our subject, Frank H. ; Ulysses S. G., now en- 
gaged in the hotel business in British Columbia ; 
Mrs. J. L. Smith, of Oakland ; Lucy, of Oak- 
land and James B. of Tonapah, Nevada. 

With his parents our subject removed to 
Santa Barbara county, where he attended the 
public .schools in that vicinity and grew to man- 
hood, having received a practical business edu- 
cation. In 1890 he went to Siskiyou county, Cal- 
ifornia, where he engaged in general business, 
remaining there until the spring of 1903 when, 
in partnership with . his oldest brother, he pur- 
chased his present home and they engaged in 
the stock business. They have over one thous- 
and, two hundred acres of land, all fenced, quite 
a large band of cattle, the land being mainly de- 
voted to hay and grazing purposes. 

This property lies about three miles west of 
Miller Lake. Mr. Downing has won his un- 
doubted prosperity by a continued career of in- 
dustry and superior business sagacity in the con- 
duct of whatever enterprise he had in hand. He 
began with practically no means at his command 
and has achieved success in the face of many dis- 
heartening obstacles. Today he is one of the 
well-to-do citizens of the community in which he 
resides. "His home comprises an excellent house, 
fine orchard, substantial barns and an abundance 
of water in his immediate vicinity. 

Fraternally Mr. Downing is a member of 
the order of the Eagles, his lodge being at Yreka- 
California. 



S. EDWARD MARTIN, a responsible and 
leading business man of Klamath county, is re- 
siding at Merrill. He was born on December 
7, 1874, near Otterville, Illinois, the son of 
Thomas and Thirza (Pattenmore) Martin, both 
natives of England. They came to the United 
States in 1872, and dwelt in Illinois. Six years 
later they journeyed to Phoenix, Oregon, where 
the father followed his trade of milling. In 
1884, they came to Klamath Falls and the father 
erected the Linkville flour mill which was the 
first completed in this county. He erected it at 
first as the burr system but since then the roller 
process has replaced the former. In partnership 
with Frank S. Brandon, he erected the roller 
mills at Merrill. These two places are the only 
milling establishments in Klamath county and 
have been instrumental in building up the coun- 
try. Mr. Martin was among the early pioneers 
here and has always been a very enterprising 
and progressive man. Two years since, he re- 
tired from the mill business and moved to his 



large farm in Spring Lake valley, some thirteen 
miles south of Klamath Falls. Here he gives his- 
attention to stock raising and general farming. 
He is a member of the A. O. U. W. The brothers 
and sisters of our subject are Charles J. and Mrs. 
Elizabeth Ransby, of Klamath Falls, John H., at 
Merrill, May and Maude at home. Our subject 
grew up in the various places where his parents 
lived and received his education from the com- 
mon schools and at the Medford business col- 
lege. He thoroughly learned the miller busi- 
ness in all its branches and was associated with 
his father until the latter retired from business. 
Mr. Martin owns one-third interest in the mill 
at Merrill, where he resides, also a- third interest in 
the one at Klamath Falls. His brother, Charles 
owns a third interest in each plant and the father 
owns the other third in each one. While our 
subject handles the one at Merrill, his brother is 
in charge of the one at Klamath Falls, being ex-- 
an experienced and skillful miller. Our subject 
has owned his interest in the Klamath Falls mill 
since 1895 and the Merrill one for four years. 
In addition to the business mentioned, Mr. Mar- 
tin in company with his brother Charles has 
opened a general merchandise establishment in 
Merrill. This was in June, 1904, and it is now 
one of the substantial business enterprises of the 
county. They own a large building and have a 
fine and complete stock of dry goods, hardware, 
clothing and gents furnishing, groceries, farm 
implements and so forth. The mills are each 
of sixty barrel capacity per day and in addition 
to what has been mentioned, Mr. Martin has a 
fine residence and other property. 

On May 21, 1899, Mr. Martin married Miss 
Myrtle B. Ramsby, a native of Oregon. Her 
parents are Ephraim and Sophia (Woodcock) 
Ramsby, the former an early pioneer of Oregon 
and the latter born in Oregon, and both now liv- 
ing at Klamath Falls. To Mr. and Mrs. Martin, 
two children have been born. Vera and Dorotha 
E. He is one of the substantial men of Klamath 
county and is well known all over this part of 
the country, where he has hosts of friends. 



HARRY H. VAN VALKENBURG, an en- 
terprising farmer and stock raiser, resides four 
miles southwest of Klamath Falls on the Poke- 
gama road. He was born March 4, 1866, at 
Rockford, Illinois, the son of George VanValk- 
enburg. The latter was a native of Illinois and 
enjoyed the distinction of a splendid war record 
serving with the federal forces four years and 
being wounded five times. Having received a 
promotion to a first lieutenancy he was sent home 



1020 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



invalided from a wound, and died in 1867. He 
was a descendant of an old and distinguished 
Holland family. 

The mother of our subject, Josephine (Bil- 
lick) Van Valkenburg, is also, a native of 111- 
-inois, and is now the wife of Ky Taylor, of 
Klamath Falls. Our subject has one brother, 
L. G. Van Valkenburg, of Sumas, Washington, 
After the death of his father, our subject ac- 
companied his mother to Poweshiek county, 
IOwa, where he was educated in the public 
schools in that vicinity, and subsequently worked 
on a farm. It was in 1881 that he removed to 
the far west, and in 1882 came to Klamath 
county, remained on the ranch till 1890 then vis- 
ited Washington and Montana. Returning to 
Klamath Falls in 1895, he engaged in the jewelry 
'business. In this he continued until the spring of 
1904. Soon after his arrival here he studied 
telegraphy and had a telegraph office in his jew- 
■elry store. ' For a while, also, he had the tele- 
phone office in connection with the telegraph 
system. 

Entering the political field in 1898 he was 
-elected county treasurer on the Republican tick- 
et, and was re-elected in 1900, and again in 1902. 
In the last named election he was the only Re- 
publican candidate elected on the ticket which 
was defeated generally by a majority of one 
hundred and fifty. This is a political record ot 
which Mr. Van Valkenburg may certainly feel 
proud. During the spring of 1903 he purchased 
his present place of one thousand, eight hundred 
.acres, about half of which is farm and hay land, 
and the other half grazing range. The entire 
ranch is fenced and provided with a comfortable 
house and commodious barn. This land lies 
-along the western bank of the Klamath river. It 
was in July, 1904, that he disposed of his store 
and removed on to the ranch where he is now 
profitably engaged in the stock business, and also 
owns some property in town still. 

November 14, 1897, our subject was married 
' to Emma Mcllmoil, a native of Marysville, Cal- 
ifornia. She is a daughter of R. H. Mcllmoil, 
■one of the early pioneers of the Pacific slope, 
who same here in 1852. In 1884 he came to Kla- 
math county, but removed to Phoenix, Arizona, 
in 1900. 

Twelve years ago, with practically no means, 
our subject returned to Klamath county, and 
worked for one dollar a day on the same ranch 
that he now owns. He is a member of the A. 
F. & A. M., and the A. O. U. W.. both lodges 
of Klamath Falls. In the spring of 1904 Mr. 
Van Valkenburg was a delegate to the state con- 
vention ft Portland, and i = a member of the st^te 
"Republican central committee. 



WILLIAM S. HOAGLAND, who is a 
farmer and stock raiser, residing some nine miles 
southeast of Bonanza, has certainly shown him- 
self to be an active builder in the great common- 
wealth of western United States. He was born 
on March 6, 1837, in Holmes county, Ohio, the 
son of Arod and Margaret (Anderson) Hoag- 
land. The father was an early pioneer of Illi- 
nois then came in 1844 with his family to Coles 
county, being among the first settlers there. 
Later he moved to Moultrie county in the same 
state and there remained until his death in 1854. 
Our subject accompanied his parents to Coles 
county and in that frontier place he was reared 
and received his education. The schools were 
very primitive and he had to travel four miles 
to a little log cabin where his studying was done. 
He remembers well the days when they traveled 
fifty miles to mill. On July 7, 1861 in Douglas 
county, Illinois, he enlisted in Company H, Twen- 
ty-fifth Illinois Infantry as regimental wagon 
master. They were transferred to Missouri im- 
mediately and he participated in the battle of 
Pea Ridge. In 1862 he was at the evacuation of 
Corinth, Mississippi and then was with General 
Buell at Louisville, Kentucky. He was at the 
battle of Crab Orchard and through exposure 
was paralyzed before but he continued 
with his command until they got to Crab 
Orchard and there was discharged on ac- 
count of disability in October, 1862. In 
1864 he was engaged by the government as 
wag-on master for a supply train at Raleigh, Mis- 
souri. After this he took up farming, then sold 
his property and moved to Barber county, Kan- 
sas, in 1883. In the spring of 1889 he journeyed 
west again and came this time to . Klamath 
county and in 1897 he purchased his present 
place. He has a quarter section of good land. 
one hundred acres of which are in cultivation. 
The place is supplied with a good residence. 
large barn and Mr. Hoagland makes a specialty 
of raising grain and hay and also handles some 
cattle. He is a member of the G. A. R. and also 
of the I. O. O. F. In 1898 he was elected as- 
sessor on the Republican ticket and served two 
years. In December, 1899, Mr. Hoagland mar- 
ried Miss Frances Bear. 

A point of early history in his life is of inter- 
est and we append the same. In the spring of 
1859 he started from Illinois journeying west to 
Atchison, Kansas. There he joined a freight 
outfit and went as far as Salt Lake City with 
them. The train consisted of thirty-one wagons, 
each of which was supplied with six yoke of oxen. 
He drove one of the teams but at Ogden, he 
parted company with the freight outfit and en- 
2-as.ed to assist in driving a band of cattle 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



I02L. 



through to California. Later he returned via 
the Panama route to New York City and back to 
Illinois. ■ Mr. Hoagland had considerable exper- 
ience on the frontier and has also shown himself 
an industrious and substantial man. 



HORATIO HILL BURNHAM resides 
nine miles northwest of Langell postofnce in 
Langells valley. He owns six hundred and 
forty acres of land, four hundred acres of which 
are good for agricultural purposes. The place 
is utilized for pasture and timber. He has three 
hundred acres under the plow at this time which 
annually raises bounteous crops of the cereals 
and hay. His farm is provided with everything 
necessary for its successful operation including 
three fine barns, good house, splendid orchard 
with bands of stock, as cattle and horses. He 
has a very fine spring on the place which irri- 
gates his garden and orchard. 

Horatio H. Burnham was born in New 
Brunswick, Canada, on April I, 1847. His father, 
Enock B.j was a native of the same place and 
came to Minnesota where he remained until his 
death. He married Mary H. Hall, also a native of 
New Brunswick, where, also, her death occur- 
red. The brothers and sisters of our subject 
are Mrs. Julia Smith, Samuel and Mrs. Mary 
Wilkenson, all of Minneapolis. Horatio H. is 
the third of the children. At the age of sixteen, 
having acquired a good common school educa- 
tion in his home place, he journeyed to Maine, 
and there learned the tanner's trade. In Sep- 
tember, 1868, he sailed from New York city and 
journeyed via the Isthmus of Panama to San 
Francisco and went thence to Santa Cruz. In 
1870, he went to Butte county, California, and 
engaged in mining for two years. His next 
venture was to purchase a sawmill which busi- 
ness employed him until 1889, then he sold his 
propertv and came overland with teams to 
Langells valley, settling on the place he had pur- 
chased the winter before. He had one' hundred 
and sixty acres of unimproved land and went to 
work to build a home and make a fortune. He 
now has the fine estate mentioned above and is 
very prosperous. 

On November 26, 1885, Mr. Burnham mar- 
ried Sarah Patterson, who was born in Coles 
county, Illinois, the daughter of John W. and 
Louisa (Weaver) Patterson, natives of Indiana 
and Pennsylvania, respectively. Mrs. Burn- 
ham has the following named brothers and sis- 
ters : Harmon and Samuel, of Oroville, Califor- 
nia ; Myles, of Durham, California ; Thomas, de- 
ceased ; and Mrs. Lucy Strong, of Paradise, Cal- 



ifornia. Mrs. Burnham came with parents 
via New York city and the Panama route to 
San Francisco in 1867. Her father settled in 
Butte county, California, and is living there now 
aged seventy-two. Her mother died there on 
December 9, 1885. To our subject and his. wife 
three children have been born: Ernest Horatio, 
in Butte county, California, on October 9, 1886: 
Hall Harrison, January 30, 1894; Hazle Patter- 
son, September 10, 1895. 

Mr. Burnham is a member cjf the A. F. & 
A. M., having joined that order in 1868, and of 
the I. O. O. F., while his wife belongs to the 
Rebekahs. 

It is of interest to know that Mr. Burnham 
started here without any means whatever and 
has gained his entire property holding through 
his efforts of thrift and industry. He stands well, 
in the community and is a man who has many 
warm friends. 



JAMES B. MOORE, one of the successful': 
and enterprising stock raisers of Klamath coun- 
ty, residing three miles southwest of Klamath 
Falls, is a native of Washington. He was born 
near Walla Walla, March 16, 1862, the son of 
Joseph Moore. The latter is a native of Muncie, . 
Indiana, who crossed the plains in 1850 and lo- 
cated in Washington territory, near Walla 
Walla, where he engaged in general farming 
and stock raising. Twenty-two years ago he 
came to Klamath county where he continued to • 
make his home until recently. He has just re- 
moved to Fresno, California, where he expects 
to make his permanent home. He is about sev- 
enty-six years of ago, a devoted member of the 
M. E. church, in which he does church work 
in the line of preaching. The mother of our sub- 
ject was Elizabeth E. (Morris) Moore, a native 
of Tennessee. She died in 1902 at the age of 
seventy-five years, a devoted and consistent 
member of the M. E. church, a noble woman and 
one without enemies. 

The brothers and sisters of our subject are 
Joseph M., of Klamath county ; William E., Ma- 
dera county, California ; Lydia A., of Madera 
county ; Mrs. Martha F. Sigler, Klamath Falls ; 
Mrs. Alice Norton, Woodland, California. 

In 1868, at the age of six years, our subject 
accompanied his parents to Davisville, Sacre- 
mento county, California, remaining there one 
year, subsequently removing to Lake county, in 
the same state. A few years afterward the fam- 
ily located in Yolo county. Having passed sev- 
eral years in the public schools of California 
our subject went to Mendocino county and in- 



1 



1022 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1883 came to Oregon and located in Klamath 
county. He secured a homestead in Poe valley, 
made a number of trips to California, and lived 
at Red Bluffs four years. Two years ago he lo- 
cated permanently on his present ranch of nine 
hundred acres, where he is profitably engaged 
in stock-raising. Two hundred and fifty acres 
of this land are under cultivation, the ranch is all 
fenced, he has a good house, barn, and all neces- 
sary farming implements. His stock consists 
of cattle and horses of which he has a fine band. 
January 1, 1899, our subject was married to 
Nettie F. Lewis, daughter of Leon and Mary 
Lewis. To theni' have been born three children, 
Nellie L., James M. and Lola E. Mr. Moore 
came to Klamath county with only a horse and 
cart, and was compelled to work for wages 
among the neighboring ranches. During three 
and one-half years he drove a team for the late 
Judge G. W. Smith. He was one of the early 
settlers of Klamath county, endured many vicis- 
situdes and hardships, but today he is recognized 
as one of the successful and enterprising busi- 
ness men of the locality in which he resides. 



'FRANK H. McCORNACK residing five 
miles northwest of Klamath Falls, is in partner- 
ship with his brother, Eugene P. McCornack, 
and together they own one of the best bands of 
stock in the vicinity. Our subject was born 
January 31, 1869, near Eugene, Oregon. His 
father, Alexander McCornack, was a native of 
Scotland who came to the United States when 
quite young, settling first in Illinois. In 1852 
he crossed the plains with ox teams extending 
his journey through to Puget sound. A short 
time afterward he came to Lane county, Oregon, 
and located on a donation claim. One of the 
earliest pioneers of Lane county, he enlisted as 
a volunteer in the memorable Modoc War, and 
soon afterward was killed by a runaway team. 
This sad accident occurred near his home, in 
Lane county. 

The mother of our subject was Maria (Ea- 
kin) McCornack, a native of Ireland. She came 
to Illinois where she was married and crossed 
the plains with her husband, dying in 1902. Our 
subject is the youngest of a family of twelve 
children, all of whom are living with the excep- 
tion of the oldest. Reared on the Lane county 
ranch, he was educated in the public schools in 
his vicinity, and, also, attended the state uni- 
versity, at Eugene, and the business college at 
Salem, Oregon. He removed to his present lo- 
cation in 1891, where he at once engaged in the 
stock business. The same year, December 25, he 



was united in marriage to Rosa Wolf, who was 
born in the Williamette valley. Her parents were 
among the earliest pioneers of Oregon, her fath- 
er now living near Falls City, Oregon. Her 
mother is dead. Eugene F., Mary E. and Agnes 
M. are the three children of Mr. and Mrs. Mc- 
Cornack. 

The extensive ranch owned by the McCornack 
Brothers comprise nearly twelve thousand acres, 
mainly hay, swamp and grazing land. They are 
engaged in raising cattle, sheep, and horses, and 
have quite a considerable herd of stock, princi- 
pally cattle and sheep. Our subjcet has witness- 
ed many of the vicissitudes of life, and endured 
many of life's hardships. At one period, he 
worked on ranches for others where the remuner- 
ation did not rise to over fifty cents per day. And 
this experience ran through a number of well 
remembered years. He came to the community 
in which he now resides, with very limited 
means, and his unqualified success is due to the 
sterling qualities of industry, energy and super- 
ior natural* business ability. 

Mr. and Mrs. McCornack are members of 
the Presbyterian church. Politically, he is a 
Republican, a progressive citizen and highly es- 
teemed by all with whom he has business or 
social relations. 



LUCIEN B. APPLEGATE is well known 
in Klamath county. His residence, one of the 
finest in the county, is eight miles northeast of 
Klamath Falls in the Swan Lake valley. There 
Mr. Applegate has a magnificent estate of five 
thousand acres, a considerable portion of which 
produces alfalfa, timothy and grain. He has 
commodious out buildings, besides a large ten 
room two story residence, well supplied with all 
modern conveniences. Mr. Applegate gives his 
attention to farming and stock raising and has 
prospered very much in these endeavors. Each 
winter he takes his family to California, both for 
the purpose of improving his life and giving 
his children first class educational facilities. 

Lucien B. Applegate was born in St. Clair 
county, Missouri on April 24, 1842, the son of 
Lindsay and Elizabeth (Miller) Applegate. 
These worthy pioneers joined the first emigrant 
train that ever wended its way through the wilds 
to the Pacific coast, it being led by Marcus Whit- 
man and made that journey with their infant 
son, in 1843. Whitman has often been credited 
with bringing the first train of emigrants across 
the plains to the Pacific coast, but he followed 
the train which Mr. Applegate was conducting, 
overtaking them when they were nearly through. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1023 



After that he rendered valuable assistance in 
furthering the emigrants of the Applegate train 
and those with him. Fremont, also, followed 
the Applegate trail until overtaking them. The 
first ones had a very hard time as they were 
called on to clear much of the way in hard place- 
Settlement was made in the Willamette valley 
where our subject was reared. Owing to the 
fact that school facilities were very limited he 
was obliged to study at home under the instruc- 
tion of his father. In those primitive days, the 
light for the student was the flickering glare of 
the fireplace and the dim blaze of the wick lying 
in a vessel of oil, and despite all these drawbacks, 
he received a good education, as did also the 
other brothers of the family. His father owned 
a toll road across the mountains from Oregon to 
California and at one time owned a large por- 
tion of the land where Ashland is now situated. 
Our subject was engaged in the mercantile busi- 
ness when he arrived at manhood's estate and 
was also interested in the woolen mills. He 
came with his father to help locate the Klamath 
agency. After that, he was superintendent of 
farming there and in 1869, located in Swan Lake 
valley. The valley received its name from the 
fact that numbers of these noble birds were 
found on the lake. He engaged in stock busi- 
ness and this has been his home ever since. His 
means were very limited when he started and sc 
well has he conserved the resources to be found 
that he is now one of the wealthy men of this 
part of the state. 

On June 7, 1866, Mr. Applegate married 
Miss Margaret E. Grubb, who was born in Io- 
wa and crossed the plains with her parents in 
1852. Her father and mother, Samuel and 
Elizabeth Grubb, were early pioneers from Iowa 
to the Rogue river valley. To our subject and 
liis wife six children were born, named below : 
Elmer Ivan, married to Esther Ogden, who was 
a special student in botany in Stanford Univer- 
sity and was for two years professional botanis 
in the employ of the government covering the 
country from California to Washington but is 
now secretary of the Klamath Water Users As- 
sociation in the government irrigation project; 
Minnie A., wife of C. C. Chetwood, of Klamath 
Falls, and she is well educated and a talented art- 
ist ; Fred L. married to Myra VanBrunner ; Eve- 
lyn R., a graduate of the conservatory of music in 
San Jose, California ; Bessie B., a student at 
Stanford ; and Elsie T., studying music in San 
Jose. 

Mr. Applegate is a member of the A. F. & 
A. M. and the A. O. U. W. He is a man wh 
•receives the esteem and respect of all who know 



him and he has so wrought that his efforts have 
resulted in much good besides the accumulation 
of his fine fortune. 

Upon the outbreak of the Rebellion, Mr. Ap- 
plegate was commissioned by Governor Gibbs, 
major of the Oregon volunteers. Mr. Apple- 
gate has always taken an active part in politics, 
Dut never would accept office for himself. 



JOHN I. DONNELL, a farmer and stock 
raiser residing fourteen miles northwest from 
Bonanza near the head of Alkali valley, was born 
on January 15, 1844, in Westmoreland county, 
Pennsylvania. His father, Moses D., was also a 
native of the same county and followed black J 
smithing. He remained there until his death in 
1862, being then sixty-two years of age. He 
had married Miss Sockman who was also born 
in that county. She died in 1866, aged sixty-two. 
Our subject was the youngest child in the fam- 
ily, the others being named as follows : Mrs. 
Margaret Neville, of Dayton, Pennsylvania; 
Mrs. Susan Gormin of Burr Oak, Kansas; Char- 
lotte, deceased ; William, who served in the Civil 
War and is now deceased ; Thomas, of Madison 
county, Arkansas, who served three years in the 
Civil War. Our subject grew up in his native 
county and in addition to receiving a good ed- 
ucation from the common schools, learned the 
blacksmith trade from his father. In September, 
1 861, he enlisted for three years in the Union 
Army being in Company C, Fourth Pennsylvania 
Cavalry. He was transferred from Harrisburg, 
Pennsylvania to Washington, D. C, then was sent 
to the Army of the Potomac under General George 
B. McClelland. His first fight was in the Seven 
Day Battle of Richmond, then he was at An- 
tietman, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, after 
which he participated in the awful struggle at 
Gettysburg. He was in the battle of the wilder- 
ness, of Spottsylvania and took part in the strug- 
gle of Petersburg. He was in much other fighting 
and in all was in fifty-two battles. He was in 
constant service and although in the hottest of 
the fights where scores of men were shot down 
around him, he never received a wound. His. 
clothing was frequently pierced by bullets and 
he was, as it would seem, at the very cannon's 
mouth, but providence decreed that he should 
escape uninjured. He had two horses shot 
down under him and he was in many, many 
trying places. He never 
and although sometimes 
so disabled but that he 
duty. The result was 



was in the hospital 

sick, he never was 

always reported for 

that Mr. Donnell 



experienced a terrible and trying time, dur- 



1024 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



ing the years of his military career. His cup 
of hardship and arduous service was filled to 
the brim but he showed himself a staunch and 
capable man and a brave soldier, whose actions 
in defense of his country, gained him a higher 
command. After being mustered out, he re- 
turned to his home in Pennsylvania then travel- 
ed around for several years and finally, in 1870, 
located in Jewel county, Kansas, where he en- 
gaged at his trade. In 1883, he came to Ogden 
with wagon train, whence he journeyed by cars 
to San Francisco and shipped to Coos Bay, 
Oregon. He worked at his trade for the Coos 
Bay Coal Company until the fall of 1885, when 
he came to Dairy, in the Alkali valley. He op- 
erated a shop for a time there, then sold out and 
opened a general merchandise store. After this, 
he was appointed postmaster which place he held 
for about twelve years. Then he removed to his 
ranch and engaged in farming and stock raising. 
He owns one hundred and sixty acres of land 
and raises mostly hay for his stock. He has a fine 
barn, residence and other improvements while 
his place is especially well provided with water. 
Mr. Donnell is a member of the A. O. U. W. 

On March 31, 1871, Mr. Donnell married Har- 
riet B. Harrell, born in Westmoreland county, 
Pennsylvania, and was living in Ralls county, 
Missouri, at the time of her marriage. She died on 
May 22, 1902. Seven children have been born 
to this union, three of whom died in Kansas. The 
others the Blanch, the wife of Loren Bailey, 
of Lakeview, Oregon; John H., Myrtle L., and 
Cora M. 

Mr. Donnell is a reliable and substantial man 
and is one of the good citizens of Klamath coun- 
ty. Since the above was written Mr. Donnell 
died at his home near Dairy, January 11, 1905, 
and was buried at Bonanza cemetery. 



HON. ORSON AVERY STEARNS, the 
pioneer settler of Klamath county, is of long and 
honorable record and a decendant of one of the 
most distinguished families in the United States. 
At present he is engaged in general farming and 
dairying, and resides seven miles west of Klamath 
Falls. He is a native of Winnebago county, 
Illinois, born January 9, 1843. His father, 
David E. Stearns, a son of Vermont, was born 
February 11, 1808, and subsequently became one 
of the "earliest settlers of Winnebago county, 
going there in 1835 and casting his lot with the 
ancient tribe of Winnebago Indians, that is, re- 
siding in a locality entirely surrounded by them. 
By trade the elder Stearns was a carpenter, and 
built some of the larger buildings in Buffalo, New 



York. In Winnebago county he secured land 
upon which he resided until 1853, when the stir- 
ring times on the Pacific coast attracted his at- 
tention and he made the perilous trip across the- 
great plains, accompanied by his family, a wife 
and five children. Six months and four days from 
their departure they arrived in the Rogue River 
valley. He secured a donation claim, and then 
found himself with but limited means at his com- 
mand. Potatoes were selling at twenty-five- 
cents per pound, and flour at thirty-three dollars 
per hundred pounds. Here the elder Stearns 
traded a two-horse wagon for one hundred hills 
of potatoes — and dug them himself. He was 
accompanied across the plains by three brothers 
and two sisters, Myron N., Samuel E., Avery P.,. 
Mrs. Velina A. Williams and Mrs. Charlotte E. 
Pengra. With the exception of Mrs. Pengra 
they all settled in the Rogue River valley. With, 
her husband, Byron Pengra, she located near 
Eugene, Oregon. He was one of the founders 
of the town of Springfield, Oregon. With the 
exception of the two sisters the family is now de- 
ceased. David E. Stearns died in 1878. 

The paternal grandfather of our subject, 
John Stearns, born at Monkton, Vermont, April 
14, 1778, accompanied his son, David E., across 
the plains. At the advanced age of ninety-two- 
years he passed away in the Rogue River valley 
in May, 1870. The mother of David E. Stearns, 
died in Vermont at the age of one hundred 
years, and his grandmother died in Winnebago- 
county, Illinois, June 9, 1852. A great-grand- 
father of our subject, Ebenezer Stearns, was a 
native, of New Hampshire, and was captured by 
the Tories during the Revolutionary war. A 
genealogy of the Stearns family has been pub- 
lished in two volumes, and it contains more than 
eighteen thousand names, all descendents from 
three brothers who came from England to Amer- 
ica on the ship Arabella, in 1630. They settled 
in Watertown, Massachusetts. 

Our subject had five brothers and sisters, 
viz : Oscar L., deceased, Newell D., deceased,. 
Mrs. Arminda Purves, of Rogue River valley, 
George A., deceased and Emily M., deceased. 
In 1864 our subject enlisted in Company I, First 
Oregon Infantry, his being the first name on the- 
company roster. 

He saw service in Oregon, and was stationed 
at Fort Klamath, but was in various parts of the 
state at different times. Some comrades in his 
company discovered what is now called "Crater 
Lake." Our subject named this body of water 
Majestic Lake, and by that name it was recog- 
nized two years. It was later renamed Crater 
Lake by James Sutton, editor of the Oregon- 
Sentinel, who published the account of a discov- 




Orson A. Stearns 





diaries D. Wills 



Louis Hessig 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1025 



erv of a crater on an island in the lake. In July 
1867, he was mustered out, being a member of 
one of the last companies to be discharged after 
the war. The present townsite of Linkville, or 
Klamath Falls, was the first location in the 
county. Two weeks subsequently our subject 
secured his place, and a man named O. T. Brown 
took the third place, on Spencer creek. For 
thirty-seven years Mr. Stearns has made his 
home in one place in Klamath county. He par- 
ticipated in the Modoc war. 

In Sacramento, California, May 17, 1873 
our subject was married to Margaret J. Riggs, 
born in Ray county, Missouri. The wife died 
May 17, 1895, on the twenty-second anniversary 
of their wedding. To them were born three chil- 
dren, Leslie Orrin, Blanche Alice, wife of George 
Ager, and Eva May, wife of Theodore Bryant. 
January 10, 1897, our subject was again married, 
his bride being Luella M. Sherman, daughter of 
Salsbury Sherman, a second cousin of William 
Tecumseh Sherman, the distinguished union 
general. They have one child, E. Orson Everett 
Stearns, born September 1, 1898. Our subject 
was the first justice of the peace in Klamath 
county, and in 1880 was elected representative 
on the Republican ticket. 



CHARLES D. WILLSON, a merchant in 
Klamath Falls, was born on November 6, 1862, 
in Clinton, Iowa. His father William N. Will- 
son, was born in the state of New York and 
came with his father, Daniel Willson, the grand- 
father of our subject, to where Clinton county, 
Iowa, now is. He was one of the first settlers 
there. Daniel Willson later lived in Root county 
ia-id followed his profession, that of physician, 
there for many years. He was a member of the last 
territorial legislature and the first state legisla- 
ture of that state. Mr. W'illiam Willson married 
Miss Sarah Tupper, the mother of our subject. 
She was born in Sheboygan, Michigan. Charles 
D. has one sister, Mrs. Ballard, of Klamath Falls. 
Our subject left home when a boy and was en- 
gaged at various occupations, and in 1883 came 
to Cassia county, Idaho where on July 12, of the 
same year he married May D. Alley. They were 
the first couple married in Cassia county and 
came thence to Columbia county, Oregon, where 
his parents were. Mrs. Willson, the mother of 
our subject, died there and her husband is now 
living in Klamath Falls, one of the prosperous 
and wealthy men here. In 1888, Mr. Willson 
came to Klamath county. He first engaged in 
the stock business, afterward he moved to town 



and took up the grocery business in the spring of 
1890. He was not very successful at the start 
but has since become to be one of the wealthy men 
of Klamath Falls and is doing an extensive busi- 
ness. He is a member of the Elks in Portland,, 
and the Foresters in Klamath Falls. When he 
landed in this county, he had very limited means 
but at the present time, he owns much valuable 
business property in Klamath Falls, has a fine 
two story, ten room residence and several hun- 
dred acres of choice timber land. Mrs. Willson 
was born in Phelps county, Missouri. Her father,, 
Leonard B. Ally, was a wealthy citizen of that 
county and later moved to Oregon where he re- 
mained until his death. He married Miss Lou 
Love who is now living in Portland. To Mr. 
and Mrs. Willson, three children have been born, 
Thomas, deceased, Delia and Arthur. 



LOUIS HESSIG is a well known merchant 
at Fort Klamath where he has a fine business es- 
tablishment and is favored by a good trade. He 
was born on June 27, 1843, m Galena, Illinois. 
His father, Jacob Hessig, a native of Switzer- 
land, came to Illinois in early days and was a 
pioneer miner at Galena. He was also one of the 
first copper miners of the copper district and in 
1849, crossed the plains with ox teams. He met 
with much opposition from the Indians and had 
a hard trip", twelve of the party being killed by 
the savages. Being one of the earliest pioneers 
to the Golden State, he assisted to hew many of 
the first trails through the country. His trade 
was carpentering and he followed that in various 
mining "mills and erected a quartz mill at French 
Gulch, where he was interested. He was in most 
of the leading camps of the state and continued 
in the business until his death in 1862, which oc- 
curred in Shasta county. He was burried by the' 
Royal Arch Masons. He had been a good and 
upright man and had many friends, during his 
life. He had married Miss Rosa Versell, a native 
of Switzerland. After his death she married Mr. 
Francis and is now living with one of her grand- 
children in Edgewood, California, aged eighty- 
four. She has' one brother, Joseph Versell, who 
is a pioneer of Rock Island county, Illinois, and 
served as assessor of his county for twenty-two. 
years. He is now ninety-five years of age, hale 
and hearty. Our subject is the oldest of three 
children. His brother John, who was a promising 
young man, was slain by the Indians in 1864,, 
while mining at Hay Fork, Trinity county, Cali- 
fornia. He was then aged nineteen years. Mary,, 
the sister of our subject, is now deceased. She- 



65 



1026 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



was the wife of Dave Gibson, who was one of 
the fortyniners of California and the first man in 
the Humboldt country. He got there about 1850 
and remained until 1885, the time of his death. 
He was there when the Laura Virginia came into 
port, the first ship that ever entered Humboldt 
bay. Mr. Gibson was conducting the first pack 
train into that country and one day when out of 
camp was shot by the Indians, one ball entering 
his body and an arrow his groin. As he came 
staggering back to the camp, he was mistaken for 
an Indian and his friends shot him with a charge 
of buckshot. However, he survived it all and lived 
until 1885. It is interesting to note that while 
handling this pack train, one of the hands, an old 
sailor, expressed himself as not understanding 
why they unshipped their cargo every night. 
Our subject came via the Panama route in 1854 
to San Francisco, arriving there on Aprd 2. 
They immediately went to French Gulch to join 
his father, but later went to Weaversville, where 
he attended school. After that, he followed 
packing for years in Humboldt county, then was 
engaged in the general merchandise business with 
his brother-in-law, David Gibson, for fourteen 
years. After that period, he went to Siskiyou 
county and took up stock raising. During all 
these years, Mr. Hessig was well acquainted with 
pioneer life, being out in the camps in snow and 
storm and enduring all sorts of hardships while 
he performed his arduous labor. He also showed 
the true frontiersman spirit and overcame many 
obstacles that seemed unsurmountable. Finally, 
in 1900, he came to Fort Klamath and opened a 
■merchandise establishment. He now has a nice 
store, a good residence, and enjoys a liberal pat- 
ronage. He still owns a stock ranch in Siskiyou 
county, California besides other property. 

Fraternally, he is affiliated with the A. F. & 
A. M., having joined in 1876. 

On May 1, 1872, Mr. Hessig married Miss 
Charlotte Keer, a native of Denmark. After sev- 
enteen years of happy life, Mrs. Hessig was 
called to the world beyond, leaving a devoted 
husband,' three sons and' a daughter. She was a 
member of the Eastern Star and was a lady be- 
loved by all. The children are Harry, Herbert, 
Tohn Humboldt, Joseph and Mrs. Salmona Jos-> 
ephine Farewell, of San Francisco. The two 
youngest bovs are graduates of Heald's business 
college, of San Francisco. 

In 1895, Mr. Hessig contracted a second mar- 
. riage, Mrs. Mary Bridget Francis Butler becom- 
ing his Wife at that time. They are both highly 
respected people and have won the confidence of 
all. 

Mr. Hessig is the daughter of Patrick and 
Elizabeth (McCormic) Sulivan, natives of Ire- 



land. They migrated to the United States in 
1844 an d made settlement in Vermont, where this 
laughter was born. Later they removed to Burn- 
ham, Maine, where they reside at this time. 



ALFORD MELHASE, residing about four. 
miles southwest of Fort Klamath, Klamath 
county, Oregon, is one of the most extensive 
and prosperous ranchers in that vicinity. He was 
born June 7, 1858, in Prussia, Germany. He is 
of a family of seven children, viz : Fred, our sub- 
ject, Richard, Gustave, Emma, Clara and Bertha, 
deceased. 

When ten years of age our subject came 
from Germany with his parents, sailing from 
Hamburg and landing in New York city. This 
was in 1868, soon after the close of the Civil 
War. From the metropolis of the Empire state 
the family removed to Hannibal, Missouri. There 
still residing with his parents, he grew to man- 
hood. In 1889, at the age of thirty-one years, 
Mr. Melhase removed to Oregon, locating first 
at Klamath Falls, where he resided two years. 
At the close of that period he came to the vi- 
cinity where he now resides and, in a small way, 
engaged in the stock business. He confesses 
that he experienced periods of ill fortune, and 
"went broke" a couple of times. But in 1896 
the clouds broke, exhibited a silver lining, and 
since then he has accomplished a great deal in 
the way of acquiring a competence. In that year 
he purchased three hundred and twenty acres of 
land, to which he subsequently added until he 
now has seven hundred and twenty acres, all 
natural meadow land and well adapted to the 
grazing of sheep which is his principal industry. 
Mr. Melhase also owns seven hundred and six- 
ty acres in another tract which is mainly hay and 
swamp land. He also has a half section neai 
Klamath Falls. On his original homestead he 
has a fine seven room house, two large barns, 
supplied with all the conveniences necessary for 
successful sheep growing, and he is, in short, 
one of the most substantial sheep growers. And 
all this prosperity has come to him since 1896 — ■ 
a trifle over eight brief years. He has a large 
band of sheep and quite a number of cattle and 
horses. 

June 13, 1881, Mr. Melhase was married to 
Dora Brummer, a native of Cincinnati, Ohio 
She was reared at Hannibal, Missouri, where 
her parents are both living. Mrs. Melhase has 
one sister, Mary, wife of Richard Melhase, 
brother of our subject. Six children have been 
born to our subject and his estimable wife, viz: 
lohn, Delia, Emma, William, Edna, and Daniel 
W. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1027 



Our subject is a member of the A. O. U. W.. 
of Klamath Falls. N He is one of the pioneers of 
the community in which he resides, and this was 
not his first experiece in the west, as, in 1875, 
he went with his parents to Humboldt, California, 
where they lived three years, returning to Han- 
nibal. He is enterprising, broad minded and 
progressive, and takes a lively interest in educa 
tional work. His father died a few years since ; 
his mother is still living. 



HON. JOHN SAMUEL SHOOK is one of 
the first settlers within the precincts of Klamath 
county. His residence is one and one-half miles 
south of Dairy and he was born on February 26, 
1847, in Ripley county, Indiana. His father, 
Anion Shook, was also a native of Indiana. John 
Shook Sr., the father of Anion, came from 
Baltimore, Maryland to Indiana, settling in 
the Miami bottoms in early days. There 
he lived until aged eighty-four, the time of 
his death. Our subject's father came on 
to Iowa in early days and in 1864 crossed 
the plains to Jackson county, Oregon. In 1869 
he located in Klam'ath county and remained there 
until his death in 1903, he being then eighty- 
seven years of age. He had married Catharine 
Yost, who was born in Jennings county, Indi- 
ana. Her father was born in Germany. Her 
grandfather on her mother's side, Samuel Glas- 
gow, was born in Pennsylvania and lived to be one 
hundred years of age. He came from Scotch 
ancestry. Mrs. Shook is still living, her home 
being that of our subject and her age eighty- 
three. Her children are Mrs. Mary J. Sutton, 
near Dairy ; Mrs. Hattie Parker, of Los Angeles, 
California ; Mrs. Fannie Schumann, of Guata- 
mala, Central America; Mrs. Ada Rueck, near 
Dairy; John S., who is our subject; Isaac N., 
of Ashland, Oregon; David P., a partner of our 
subject; and William H., of Klamath county. 
Mr. Shook came with his parents to Davis 
•county, Iowa, when a child. Schooling facilities 
were very limited but he was determined to have 
an education so spent his evenings studying be- 
fore the hickory bark fire of the old fashioned 
fireplace. At the age of fifteen, it being in the 
spring of 1862, he left home and took up th<, 
weary journey across the plains with a larger 
emigrant train of ox teams. At American Falls 
on the Snake river, they were attacked by In- 
dians and ten of their party were killed while 
fourteen were wounded. Coming on, he landed 
: in Susanville, California, where our young trav- 
eler worked for fifteen dollars per month for the 



first winter. During the evenings he kept up his 
studies and the next year he followed teaming 
in Virginia City. In the fall of 1863, Mr. Shook 
walked from Virginia City to Susanville and 
used all the money he had to start a store with. 
In the fall of the next year, he sold out and went 
to where his parents had located in Phoenix, 
Oregon, they crossed the plains in 1864. In the 
spring of 1869, he started out to find a first class 
stock location and lighted on Yonna valley, 111 
what is now Klamath county. Such excellent 
grass, fine water and other favorable things as 
were evident there induced him to locate and he 
succeeded in getting his people to come there too. 
They bought a few head of stock and went into 
business. Very few people were in the country 
then and much clanger was experienced from 
hostile Indians. During the Modoc War, Mr. 
Shook enlisted as scout in Company B, Oregon 
State Militia and was chosen sergeant. He did 
excellent service, was in many trying and danger- 
ous places, assisted to quell the savages and when 
the war was ended returned to his ranch. Later 
he located a sawmill at the Big Springs, which 
he afterward called Bonanza where Bonanza is 
now located and furnished the lumber to build 
the first school house in Bonanza. After com- 
pleting it, he taught the first term of school there 
then later he dropped the lumber industry and 
turned his attention exclusively to -stock raising, 
being in partnership with his brothers, Isaac N. 
and David P. In 1887, Isaac N. Shook sold his 
interests and the firm has been confined to the 
two brothers since. They are known among the 
leading stockmen of this part of Oregon and 
have bands of cattle and horses besides three 
thousand acres of land, two thousand acres of 
which are mostly meadow. At one time, the 
Shook brothers had about two thousand head of 
cattle on the range, besides a great many horses 
and mules. They have been very prosperous in 
their business and now their extensive meadows, 
dotted with great hay stacks, their fine bands of 
well bred cattle and horses, and their other prop- 
erty proclaim them leading and substantial men. 
in addition to the dangers from Indians they 
experienced considerable trouble with cattle and 
horse thieves, but were instrumental in putting 
the latter entirely out of business. In the spring 
of 1904, Mr. Shook was elected to represent the 
twenty-first district of Oregon in the state legis- 
lature, being joint representative of Klamath, 
Lake, Crook and Grant counties. He is a man 
of experience, of ability and force, and will, with- 
out doubt, conserve carefully the interests of his 
constituents. Mr. Shook is a member of the 
state stock association of Klamath county and 



1028 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



was delegate to the national live stock associa- 
tion at Portland in January, 1904. He was also 
a delegate to the Republican state convention in 
April, 1904. Mr. Shook has always shown a 
marked interest in getting the country settled 
up and developed and in making it prosperous. 
He has done a lion's share in this noble endeavor 
and is to be commended for his generosity and 
progressiveness. He was a charter member of 
the Klamath Falls lodge, I. O. O. F. and also a 
charter member of the Bonanza lodge when it 
was organized. Being a pioneer, he has "endured 
much hardship, performing a great deal of trying 
and arduous labor, but despite it all, he is a man 
well preserved, vigorous, forceful and has the 
confidence and esteem of all the people. 

On April 20, 1904, Mr. Shook married 
Cora (Jones) Blake, who was born at Cedar- 
ville, Ohio. In addition to their stock business, 
the Shook brothers have taken great pains to 
show what the country will produce and they 
have orchards in which some of the trees are over 
twenty years of age and in the fall of each year, 
these magnificent trees bend to the earth with 
their great wealth of luscious fruit. They have 
fine vegetables and produce some of the clioicest 
to be found in the country. Altogether they are 
known as thrifty, progressive and substantial 

men. 

•* * ♦ 

EUGENE R. HANAN resides four miles 
west of Fort Klamath and is one of the leading 
stock raisers of Klamath county. He was born 
on January 10, 1857 in Douglas county, Oregon. 
George Hanan, his father, was born in Ireland 
and came to New York with his parents in 1844. 
They crossed the plains with ox teams in the sec- 
ond train that ever made the trip. They landed 
in Oregon City and he there followed shoemak- 
ing. Afterward, he came to Garden valley on 
the Umpqua in Douglas county and secured a do- 
nation claim. That was his home until his death 
in 1876, being then aged sixty-five years. He 
was a very active and progressive man and did 
very much to open and build up this thriving- 
country. He served as treasurer of Douglas 
county and was a leading man there. He mar- 
ried Miss Eliza Evans, a native of New York 
city. The wedding occurred in that city and she 
accompanied her husband across the plains. She 
is now living at Lewiston, Idaho, aged eighty- 
one. Our subject grew up on a farm in Douglas 
county and received his education from the early 
schools. He v continued on the farm until eight- 
een years of age and then took up stock raising. 
He has handled both cattle and sheep and at the 



present time is raising cattle almost exclusively^ 
On October 14, 1875, Mr. Hanan married 
Miss Harriet C. Gilliland, a native of Putnam 
county, Illinois. Alexander B. Gilliland, her 
father, was born in Brown county, Ohio, of 
Scotch ancestry. He married Mary T. Willis 
and in the spring of 1853, with a family of three 
children they started across the plains to Oregon. 
Mrs. Hanan was then four years old. It took 
them nine months to reach Douglas county and^ 
the trip was arduous and trying. Mr. Gilliland 
took a donation claim and was one of the sturdy 
pioneers to build up that county. A few years 
before his death, which occurred in 1884, he re- 
tired from the farm to Roseburg. He was aged 
sixty-four at the time of his departure. The 
mother died in 1896. In 1901, Mr. Hanan. 
brought all his cattle from west of the Cascades 
to Klamath county. He has an estate of one 
thousand three hundred and twenty acres, where 
he now lives, which produces abundance of hay 
for his large herds. He has over four hundred 
head of cattle with horses enough to handle the 
enterprise. 

Mr. Hanan is a member of the A. O. U. W. 
lodge and is a progressive and good man. They 
have four children, George Mar, Ariel, deceased ; 
Myrtle and Wren. Mr. Hanan is the fifth in his 
family and his brothers and sisters are named as- 
follows : John C, William J. and Henry, de- 
ceased ; Mrs. Ella, widow of AV C. Marks ; Jeffer- 
son D., deceased ; Mrs. Belle Fenton ; and Rich- 
ard E. Mrs. Hanan's brothers and sisters are 
Lyle W., Mrs. Margaret Smith, Cyrus B., Rob- 
ert O. and Cassius C. deceased; Inez, the wife 
of T. B. Foster and Lillie, the wife of John 
Jamison, both of Portland. Mr. Foster is with 
the First National Bank there. Mrs'. Hanan was- 
the second child of her father's family. 



JAMES G. WIGHT has the responsible po- 
sition of county superintendent of schools for 
Klamath county. His residence is at Bonanza. 
The birth of our subject occurred on April 27, 
1859, in- Ontario, Canada. His father, James 
M., was born in Scotland, a son of William 
Wight, who was a soldier in the Napoleonic- 
wars. The mother of James G., Agnes (Mc- 
Kinley) Wight, was born in Scotland. The pub- 
lic schools of Canada contributed the educational 
training of our subject then he studied in various 
other lines. In 1879 ' he came to the United 
States and settled first in Solano county, Cali- 
fornia, where he gave his attention to studying 
further. It was 1885 that Mr. Wight came to 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1029 



Klamath county where he took up teaching. 
After that, he took a course in the state normal 
school at Monmouth, Oregon, graduating in 
1896. Then he was principal of the high school 
department at Carlton, Oregon, and now is 
teaching his fourth term in the public schools of 
Bonanza. In the spring of 1904, he was elected 
on the Republican ticket as superintendent of the 
county schools and has given his attention to 
that, together with his teaching. He is a very 
.efficient and thorough educator and has the con- 
fidence of the people and the good will of all. 
Mr. Wight is a member of the Methodist church 
.and is an exemplary citizen. He has a farm oi 
two hundred and forty acres of land in Yonna 
valley some twelve miles northwest of Bonanza 
.all of which is good land and a portion is in cul- 
tivation. 



RICHARD M. MORGAN has done a good 
work in Klamath county and is now one of the 
.leading and representative stockmen. He re- 
sides about a mile west from Fort Klamath, 
where he has a fine estate of one quarter section 
of choice meadow land. The same is under irri- 
gation and produces abundance of forage for his 
bands of stock. He was born on September 21, 
1868, in the Rogue river valley, Jackson county, 
Oregon. Edwin Morgan, his father, was born 
■ in England and came to the United States when 
:a boy with his parents. They settled in the state 
of New York and in 1850, he crossed the plains 
with ox teams and on the journey had several 
severe fights with the Indians. They finally 
landed in San Francisco all right and he drove 
the first stage from Sacramento to Carson City. 
He followed mining in the various camps 
'throughout the state and in the early fifties, came 
to Oregon. He was a volunteer in the Rogue 
River War and fought in several battles. He 
finally settled in Douglas county and took a do- 
nation claim, but later, he came to Jackson coun- 
ty and in 1889, settled in the Wood river valley, 
where he remained until his death in February, 
1896, being then sixty-five years of age. He was 
a stanch and enterprising pioneer and had blazed 
the way into many regions that are now pros- 
perous places. He was an upright and good man 
and won many friends. In fraternal circles he 
rffiliated with the I. O. O. F. He married Miss 
Lucretia F. Odin, a native of Missouri. She 
crossed the plains with her parents in 1852, with 
•ox teams and came direct to the Willamette val- 
ley. After the death of her husband, she went 
to Tackson county where she died in 1904, aged 
•sixty years. Seven children are the fruit of this 



union, whose names are given below, Charles 
D., Walter S., Richard M., who is our subject, 
.Mark P., William H., Mrs. Elizabeth Morrison, 
and Mrs. Mary C. Pankey. Our subject grew 
up in Jackson county and came with his parents 
to Klamath county, in 1889. He took a home- 
stead on Anna creek and worked out for a time 
to get means with which to improve it. Then 
he began raising stock and continued there until 
1903, when he sold out the entire property and 
bought his present farm. It is a fine place and 
Mr. Morgan has prospered in handling it and in 
raising stock. 

On May 30, 1895, Mr. Morgan married Miss 
Tessie Scott, a native of Pennsylvania. She 
came with her parents to Oregon twenty-two 
years since. Her father and mother, Joseph and 
Jennie (Foster) Scott, now live in Medford, be- 
ing retired from active life. The father fought 
through the Civil war. Mrs. Morgan has two 
brothers, William and Thomas. Mr. Morgan 
is a member of the Foresters and a man of first 
class standing. They have three children, Floyd 
N., Jennie and Rydal B. 



ALBION H. BOOTHBY is one of the prom- 
inent and successful stock men of Klamath coun- 
ty. He resides about four miles northwest from 
Fort Klamath and was born January n, 1841, in 
Athens, Maine. His parents, Bradford and Re- 
becca (Leman) Boothby, were also born in that 
state. The father's ancestors were English and 
two brothers of them came to America with the 
very first colonists. They were stanch Amer- 
icans and fought in the Revolution. He died 
about sixteen years since, aged seventy-five. The 
mother came from Scotch-English extraction 
and is now living at South Livermore, Maine, 
aged seventy-five. Our subject went to see hef 
some four years since, after an absence of thirty- 
five years. He is the oldest of five children, the 
others being Adney, Loretta, deceased, Edwirt 
and Mrs. Clara E. Howard. Our subject grew 
up in his native place and there received a good 
education and also taught school for several 
terms. On February 18, 1862, he started from 
New York city on a steamer, via Panama, to 
San Francisco, landing at the Golden Gate about 
the middle of March. For a short time he fol- 
lowed mining then in the fall of 1864 came to 
Tackson county. Milling occupied him for a 
time then he taught school and finally turned his 
attention to sawmilline:. On August 13, 1871, 
in Jackson county. Mr. Boothby married Miss 
Margaret J. Noland, who was born in Portland, 



1030 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Oregon. Her father, Henry Noland, was a na- 
tive of Kentucky and came to Oregon as a pio- 
neer. He died in Pendleton. His wife had diec. 
when Mrs. Boothby was a small child. Our sub- 
ject lived at Prospect, in Jackson county and the 
last few years spent there were occupied in rais- 
ing stock. In July, 1903, he came to his present 
home where he secured a half section of fine land 
Part of it is hay and part timber. Anna creek, a 
beautiful mountain stream, clear and cold, crosses 
through the place and supplies abundance of 
water for irrigating purposes. He has a nice- 
band of stock and is well prospered. He owns a 
quarter section of land near Prospect, Oregon, 
and also a hotel building in that place. Mr. and 
Mrs. Boothby are devout members of the Meth- 
odist church and are substantial and upright peo- 
ple. They have seven children : Sarah R., wife of 
Joseph Buck of Jackson county ; Edwin M. ; 
Clara M., wife of Chauncey F. Arant; Charles 
W. ; Albion T. ; Ida I. ; and Elfa A. 



JAMES M. EMERY, who resides about one 
half mile north from Fort Klamath, was born on 
November 13, 1865, in Gilroy, California. His 
father, Rev. Joseph Emery, was born in Pennsyl- 
vania seventy-three years since. He was edu- 
cated in the Washington and Jefferson college as 
a Presbyterian minister and has followed preach- 
ing and school teaching during all his life. He 
came west via the Panama route in 1850, to Cali- 
fornia, did mining for a couple of years then 
continued preaching. In 1868, he came to Cor- 
vallis and was installed as professor of mathe- 
matics in the state agricultural college there. For 
eighteen years he held that chair, then was ap- 
pointed Indian agent by President Cleveland fof 
the Klamath agency. At the second term of Mr. 
Cleveland, he was reappointed but was finally let 
out under President McKinley, then he returned 
to California, where he expects to pass the bal- 
ance of his days. After coming west he united 
with the Methodist church, South, and has affil- 
iated with that since. His home is in Hollisten 
California, and although he has passed his three 
score years and ten, he is still in good health and' 
rugged. He married Sarah E. Finley, a native 
of Missouri. She same across the plains with 
her parents when a small girl and her wedding 
occurred in Carifornia. She is now sixty-three 
years of age. Her brother, Mr. Finley is cor- 
oner of Portland. Our subject is the seconc 
child in a family of nine children, the following 
named ones being still alive; W. G., Mrs. Bertha. 
Lake, Mrs. Lilian Vanderhurst, and Mrs. Lulu 



Shaw. Our subject had an excellent opportun- 
ity to gain an education in the Corvallis college 
and improved the same well. On December 17, 
1886, he married Miss Etta Matthews, who was 
born at Fort Lapwai, Idaho. Her father, Cap- 
tain Jack Matthews, was a pioneer to the coast 
and a soldier in the Rogue River War. He rep- 
resented Jackson county in the state legislature 
and at one time organized a company of Volun- 
teers in Oregon to fight the Indians and was 
stationed at Fort Lapwai. His death occurred 
in Albany, Oregon, in 1880. He married Hen- 
rietta Worth, who is now deceased. Mrs. Emery 
is an only child. Mr. Emery came to this county 
in 1889 and engaged in farming and stock rais- 
ing near Klamath Falls. In 1896, he located at 
his present place. He has a quarter section of 
fine hay land with a large band of stock. He has 
sold a good deal of stock and now gives his atten- 
tion largely to dairying. When he landed in: 
Klamath county, he had no means whatever but 
by his industry and thrift has accumulated a fine 
competence. 

He is a member of the A. O. U. W. and has 
served his third term as justice of the peace. To 
Mr. and Mrs. Emery, five children have been 
born ; Charles M., who is attending the agricul- 
tural college at Corvallis ; Earl ; Hazel, who has 
developed a fine musical talent; Edith and 
Juanita. 

Mr. and Mrs. Emery are substantial people, 
have -won the confidence of all who know them, 
and have done much to build up and advance the 
interests of the county. 



DANIEL B. NICHOLS, who resides some 
three miles southwest of Bonanza, and devotes 
himself to stock raising and farming, was born 
on February 16, 1852, in Linn county, Iowa. 
John Nichols was his father, and he was born in 
Indiana and came as an early pioneer to Linn 
county, Iowa, and to Shasta county, California. 
About 1879 ne settled in Poe valley and there - 
remained until his death in 1902, being then aged 
seventy-six. His father, James Nichols, who is 
the grandfather of our subject, was born in Vir- 
ginia in 1798. He lived on the frontier all his 
life, split rails where Indianapolis, Indiana, now 
stands and died in the vicinity of Bonanza in 
1900, being one hundred and one years and eight 
months of age. His trade was that of the mill- 
wright and he was a sturdy pioneer and substan- 
tial man. Our subject's mother was Anna 
(Lewis) Nichols, a native of Indiana. She 
came with her parents to Iowa in early clays and' 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1031 



is now living near Bonanza, aged seventy-two. 
She is the mother of nine children and the only 
one of the family who is deceased is the father, 
mentioned above. The children are Daniel B., 
who is onr subject; Simeon L., of Leavenworth 
county, Kansas; Mrs. Eliza E. Wise, of Lake 
county, Oregon; Benjamin F. and John A., near 
Bonanza ; Mrs. Malinda, of Merrill ; Mrs. Alice 
Parker, of Josephine county ; A. Abram of Al- 
mira, Washington; and Norman, of Bonanza. 
For fifty years no death occurred in the family, 
so far as is known, it being a most remarkable 
record. Our subject went with his parents from 
Linn to Fayette county, Iowa, when a child and 
when sixteen went with them to Douglas county, 
Maine. There, on January 1, 1874, he married 
Julia A. Warren, a native of Missouri. In the 
fall of that year, he came to Shasta county, Cali- 
fornia, and followed teaming in the mines, re- 
turning the next year to Kansas. In 1877 he 
came back to Shasta county and in September, 
1879, came to Poe valley. He selected a place 
and since has remained here, engaged in stock 
raising and farming, with the exception of a 
short time spent in Crook county. The country 
was very new and wild when he came and his 
finances were soon depleted and having his fam- 
ily to support met with much hardship. In 1882 
Mr. Nichols was called to mourn the death of 
his wife, who left two children, Edwin D. and 
Bertha, wife of Hugh Clopton, at Bonanza. On 
September 21, 1904, Mr. Nichols married Miss 
Mildred J. Frazier, who was born in Harrison 
county, Iowa. The daughter of Daniel R. and 
Matilda (Inther) Frazier, the former living in 
Douglas county, Washington, and the latter de- 
ceased. Mrs. I\ichols has one brother, Kenneth 
E., of Douglas county, Washington. Mr. Nich- 
ols has a good farm, half of which is in cultiva- 
tion and a fine band of well bred horses and 
mules. He is a charter member and past grand 
of the Bonanza Lodge, of the I. O. O. F., and 
also belongs to the Rebekahs. 



JEFFERSON KIRKPATRICK is operating 
a hotel., feed store and butcher shop at Fort 
Klamath and. in company with G. S. Hoyt also 
conducts a general merchandise establishment. 
He was born on July 27, 1859, in Uba county, 
California. His father, John Kirkpatrick, crossed 
the plains with ox teams in 1847 to Oregon, 
where he was engaged in mining for a number of 
•years. Then he settled in Uba county and took 
up the stock business. He made several trips 
across the plains to the west, has traveled over 
a large portion of California and is one of the 



old timers. He was a volunteer in the Modoc 
Indian War and at the time of the Cayuse War 
in 1847, he enlisted at Vancouver and was dis- 
charged honorably at Fort Walla Walla, after 
having participated in the heat of the struggle. 
He was in the mining excitement in California 
in 1849 allt l operated one of the first pack trains 
in the state. Finally in 1884, he came to this 
county and engaged in the stock business. After 
that, he sold out and is now retired, being eighty- 
seven years of age. His father, the grandfather 
of our subject, died recently in Illinois at the age 
of one hundred and four years. The mother of 
Jefferson was Rebecca (Coplantz) Kirkpatrick. 
Slie came west when young and died in June, 
1900, at the age of seventy-eight. There were 
ten children in the family of whom the follow- 
ing named are living, our subject, who is the 
oldest, Esther A. Steele, Charles, Algernon, An- 
gress, Orlando and Willis. Our subject accom- 
panied his parents twice on trips to the west and 
spent most of his younger days on a stock farm 
in California and this state. He was educated in 
the public schools and in 1882, came to Klamath 
county. He entered a pre-emption claim near 
Fort Klamath and was among the first settlers 
in this vicinity. He took up stock raising, and 
conducted the same until 1903, when he sold his 
ranch and entered the feed business in Klamath 
Falls. He purchased property here and is doing 
a nice business in the lines mentioned. Fratern- 
ally, he is affiliated with the A. O. U. W. and is 
a man of good standing. 

On September 24, 1883, Mr. Kirkpatrick 
married Miss Alfaretta Pearsons, who was born 
in Ottumwa, Iowa. Her father, Jerry Pearsons, 
died when she was small. Her mother, Eliza 
(Watkins) Pearsons, is now Mrs. Gray and 1 
dwells in this county. One child has been born 
to Mr. and Mrs. Kirkpatrick, Maude Ray, on 
May 20, 1900. 



DR. JOHN ALEXANDER CHASTAIN, 
who is now living a retired life in Bonanza, was 
born on April 3, 1834, the old home place being 
situated one mile above Blythe ferry at the mouth 
of the Hiawasse river in Meigs county, Tennes- 
see. His father, William Chastain, was born in 
Simpson county, Kentucky, on February 11, 
1809. When twelve years of age, he accompan- 
ied his father, Rev. Joseph Chastain, to Meigs 
county, Tennessee. Joseph Chastain, who was 
the grandfather of our subject, was a noted Bap- 
tist preacher, the son of John Chastain, one of the 
French Huguenots who came over from France 
on account of religious persecution and settled in 
South Carolina. He preached for the Baptist 



1032 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



church also and was known as the nine shilling 
bell man, owing to the fact that his powerful 
voice could be heard as far as the nine shilling 
bell. He was well known all over North and 
South Carolina, Georgia and adjacent 1 states. 
Joseph Chastain was with General Jackson in the 
War of 1812. Our subject's father grew up in 
Meigs county, Tennessee and there married Miss 
A.^ary Ann Frie, the third daughter of John and 
Abagail Frie. She was born in Blunt county, 
Alabama and came with her parents to Meigs 
county, Tennessee when thirteen years of age. In 
1837, William Chastain enlisted in Captain Ver- 
non's Company, United States Volunteers for the 
purpose of gathering the Cherokee Indians and 
placing them on the territory reserved for them 
in the Cherokee Nation. It was then that the 
Hiawasse purchase was made. He was mus- 
tered out of service in July, 1838. In October 
of the same year, he moved to Lawrence county, 
Missouri, twenty miles west of Springfield, which 
was then a mere hamlet of four or five houses, 
and farmed there for sixteen years. Then he sold 
and moved to Howell county. When the war 
broke out, he enlisted in the confederate army in- 
General McBride's brigade, under Price but 
afterward was transferred to Marmaduke's bri- 
gade. At the breaking out of the war he had 
much property but it was. all destroyed or con- 
fiscated. Later, his family moved to Oregon 
county, Missouri where he died on January 24, 
1866 in his fifty-ninth year. The mother died in 
1879, in Arkansas in her sixty-sixth year. They 
were the parents of six children, three of whom 
are living, Joseph and Elizabeth, both of Baxter 
county. Arkansas, and our subject. He grew 
up with his parents but his schooling facilities 
were meager. He studied by the open fire place 
and by the light of the old dip candle at home so 
thoroughly that when twenty years of age he se- 
cured a certificate to teach school. His first term 
was taught in Jasper county, Missouri. He also 
taught in various other places and engaged then 
in buying horses and mules to take to Louisiana. 
While teaching, he studied medicine and in 1856, 
went to Yell county, Arkansas and studied under 
the noted Dr. Ward. Then he drove a team west 
and later returned to the lead mines of Missouri 
where he dealt in mining property successfully. 
After this, he was salesman in a store, bought an 
interest in the same but owing to a lawsuit, lost 
all. Then again he turned to medicine, studying 
under Dr. James, in Granby, Newton county. He 
handled a drug store in Jasper county, then sold 
out and went to Neosho river, Cherokee Nation, 
where he took up the practice of his profession. 
Returning to Jasper county, he was appointed 
deputy sheriff and took the census of that di- 



vision in i860. On March 3, 1861, the day be- 
fore Lincoln's inauguration, he married Miss 
barah T. Boyd. On August 29, 1862, a son was 
born to them and the mother died the following 
morning. The child is William Chastain, now a 
farmer in Douglas county, Oregon. On Novem- 
ber 29, 1862, the doctor left his boy with an aunt 
and organized a company of men for the confed- 
erate army. He was clerk of the brigade in the 
commissary department under General Shelby 
and in the fall of 1863, he went into the ranks, be- 
ing appointed regimental quartermaster. Resign- 
ing from this, he was recruiting officer and gath- 
ered a company of seventy-four. In August, 
1864, he was elected captain of Company C, in 
Colonel J. T. Caffrey's regiment. This company 
was left at Bateville on provost duty and part 
of that year he was detailed as recruiting cor- 
poral. In the fall of 1864, he was appointed on a 
special duty to make a map of the country pre- 
paratory to making a raid that was planned. His 
work was so favorably received that he was 
recommended to Richmond to be appointed as 
inspector general of Fagan's cavalry, of the 
trans-Mississippi department. The commission 
was issued but owing to the close of the war, it 
was never received. On June 8, 1865 he was pa- 
roled at Shrevesport then went to Baton Rouge 
and at Balls Bluff bade his company farewell. 
Among other things, the doctor stated that he 
was forced into the war and he made as good a 
soldier of himself as he knew how. Now he pro- 
posed to return to private life and make as good 
a citizen of himself as he could. He was in thir- 
teen engagements and many skirmishes. During 
much of the time, he was sharpshooter and 
though in many close places and though his cloth- 
ing was pierced by many bullets, he never re- 
ceived a wound. He saw many men shot down 
at his side and endured all the hardships of a 
soldier's life. After the war, he went where his 
father was living in Oregon county, Missouri and 
engaged in farming, having lost everything dur- 
ing the war. He had lost trace of his son but 
found him later in Cooper county, Missouri. 

On March 1, 1866, Dr. Chastain married Miss 
Mary J. King, who was born in Greene county, 
Illinois. She had moved thence to Tennessee and 
later to Howell county, Missouri, accompanied by 
her parents, Wilsey P. and Eliza P. King. The 
father was a soldier in the army and died in Kla- 
math county March 17, 1904, aged eighty-four. 
The mother had died in Howell county, Missouri 
ten years ago. In the fall of 1867, Dr. Chastain 
moved to Izard county, Arkansas and engaged in 
the mercantile business. After that, he raised 
cotton and later moved to Boone county, Arkan- 
sas where he was editor of the Boone County 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1033 



Record, at Bellefonte, Arkansas. He fitted up 
two wagons with ox teams and on April 28, 1875, 
started with a train of emigrants across the plains 
to Oregon. At Cheyenne he sold one outfit and 
in due time reached Moonville on the Rogue 
river. He located on October 15, on a rented 
farm and began the practice of medicine. He 
soon was very busy, riding forty miles in every 
direction. Finally, we find him at Phoenix, Ore- 
gon, where he had a large practice and also oper- 
ated two drug stores. Later, the doctor sold out 
and moved to Williamsburg, Oregon, continu- 
ing his practice, then returned to Phoenix. Finally 
in April, 1888, he came to Bonanza and here took 
up the practice of medicine. He had all he could 
do and his family handled a hotel and feed barn, 
and also conducted a farm. In 1901, the doctor 
sold the hotel and barn and moved to his ranch. 
Later, he traded that for town property and re- 
tired from business. He is now comfortably fixed 
in Bonanza while he and his wife are enjoying the 
competence that their labor and skill have pro- 
vided. The doctor has filled various positions, 
as, justice of the peace, notary public, was mem- 
ber of the first council in Bonanza and president 
of the board, and is now town recorder. For 
forty-six years he has been' a Mason and a mem- 
ber of the Baptist church. He was baptized by 
his grandfather, Rev. Joseph Chastain. Mrs. 
Chastain is also a member of the church and of 
the Rebekah and Eastern Star lodges. To the 
last marriage of the doctor ten children have been 
born : Charles, deceased ; George, married to Effa 
Sutton, at present clerk of Klamath county; 
Cora, Price, and Adah, all deceased ; Ann Eliza- 
beth, wife of A. T. Langell ; Etta, wife of R. I. 
Kilgore ; Claude, clerk in a store; Sarah J., wife 
of Robert L. Goss ; and John K., a harness maker 
in Bonanza. The doctor and his wife are hearty, 
genial people, highly respected and substantial. 
They have educated their children well and are 
happily located in that all live near by and are 
prosperous. 



MARION HANKS, who resides about one 
mile north from Klamath Falls, was born on July 
28, 1865, in Douglas county, Oregon. His pa- 
rents, James L. and Mary J. (Perdue) Hanks, are 
mentioned in another portion of this work. Ma- 
rion remained with his parents in Douglas county 
until 1873 being then eight years of age, when 
the family came to this county, then included in 
Lake county. He received his education in the 
public schools and grew up here so that he is 
practically a product of this county. A'fter 
•school days, he learned the butcher business and 
followed the same for about eight years in Kla- 



math Falls. Then he sold out and purchased the 
ranch where he is now residing, which consists of 
three hundred and eighty-five acres. He turns his 
attention to farming and stock raising and has a 
nice band of well bred cattle, besides some horses. 
Just recently, Mr. Hanks sold his farm for twelve 
thousand dollars but he is still residing upon it. 
He owns his cattle and personal property and will 
soon secure a new location. He has made a splen- 
did success in financial matters and is considered 
one of the leading men of Klamath county. 

Fraternally, he is affiliated with the A. O. 
U. W., has filled all the chairs and has repre- 
sented his lodge in the grand lodge. 

On September 24, 1903, Mr. Hanks married 
Miss Amelia Hedrick, who was born in St. Louis, 
Missouri, the daughter of Otto and E. E. Hed- 
rick, natives of Germany. Mrs. Hanks came to 
Portland, Oregon with her family when a child. 
The year following, about 1876, they came to 
Klamath Falls, where the father remained until 
his death. To our subject and his wife two chil- 
dren have been born, Eva and Leona Fern. 

Mr. Hanks is a reliable and esteemed man 
and is one of the leading citizens of the county. 



STEPHEN HERLIHY resides at Naylox, 
which is eleven miles north from Klamath Falls 
on the east bank of Klamath Lake. He was born' 
on October 16, 1870 in the county of Victoria, 
province of Ontario, Canada. His father, Jere- 
miah Herlihy, was born in Canada and came of 
Irish parents. Later in life he moved to Roch- 
ester, New York, and there remained until his 
death. He married Miss Katherine O'Shea, a 
native of Canada. Her parents were born in Ire- 
land. At the age of seventeen our subject left 
home and came to North Dakota. There he 
worked some in handling horses and finally went 
to Itasca county, Minnesota and entered a home- 
stead in the timber. Being an expert hand in 
handling a threshing machine, he used to go each 
year to the wheat districts where he received 
seven dollars per day with the threshing crew. 
After a while, he took a stone and timber claim 
adjoining his homestead which gave him a full 
section of fine timber land. After the election of 
McKinley in 1896, owing to the protective tariff 
on lumber, Mr. Herlihy sold it at a very fine price, 
reserving the land for himself, which he still 
owns. He had endured great hardships and did 
much arduous labor but reaped a good reward for 
it all. Then he took a trip to Rochester, New 
York to see his people and in 1900, he determined 
to see the Pacific coast. He purchased a ticket 
to Seattle but stopped over in Spokane where he 



1034 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



fell in with a party who told him about Klamath 
county. Becoming greatly interested, he traveled 
thither and after viewing the country over thor- 
oughly, he purchased his present place. This 
was known as the Captain Frie station as that 
gentleman had built a toll road in early day and 
kept here a toll gate. It was a very famous camp- 
ing place for the Indians in early days and by 
them was called Naylox, which means daylight. 
Mr. Herlihy owns a half section of fine meadow 
land, a large two-story house and considerable 
stock. He has two large barns and plenty of 
other outbuildings and all other improvements 
needed and in addition to his general farm and 
stock raising, keeps a hotel and a feed stable. Be- 
ing on the main traveled road, he keeps a large 
number of guests. Mr. Herlihy is so well pleased 
with this country that he is determined to make 
this his permanent home. 

On May 24, 1903, occurred the marriage of 
Mr. Herlihy and Miss Eknore Garlarneau, who 
was born in Portland. Her father, Charles Gar- 
larneau, was born in Canada and came to Ore- 
gon thirty-five years ago. He has been a resi- 
dent of Klamath county for twenty years. He 
married Eliza Ryan, a native of Ireland. Mrs. 
Herlihy graduated from the state normal school 
at Ashland and taught for some time in Jackson 
county, before her marriage. Mr. Herlihy started 
fn life a poor boy and everything he possesses has 
been won by hard labor and wise management 
and it is very gratifying to know that from his 
modest start, he has won his way to competence 
and wealth. He is one of the substantial men of 
the countv and is considered a leading: citizen. 



GEORGE WASHINGTON MORINE. 
Since thirteen years of age the gentleman, of 
whom we now have the pleasure to speak, has 
been doing for himself and although having trav- 
eled a great deal and been in various enterprises, 
his financial ability has been such that he has 
never been without money. He was born in St. 
Louis, Missouri, on December 6, 1848. His 
father, Antoine Morine, was born in Toronto, 
Canada, of French ancestry and came to St. Louis 
in early day. He resided in that portion of St. 
Louis known as Frenchtown, until the spring 
of 1852, when he started across the plains with 
his family. His team being a part of the very 
first ox train that made its way to Hangtown, 
later known as P'lacerville. There he took up 
mining and also followed it in various places. His 
death occurred in Jackson county, Oregon, in 
1896, he being then in his eightieth year. His 
mother lives in St. Louis, being one hundred and 



four years of age. The mother of our subject, 
Mary Magdalene (Cook). Morine, was born in. 
Germany, came to St. Louis when a child and 
died soon after coming to the Pacific coast. The 
children of this worthy couple are Mrs. Henrietta 
Woodliff , deceased ; George W., who is our sub- 
ject; Albert, of Jackson county; Charles E. and 
Frank, twins, a farmer in Jackson county and a. 
farmer in Bonanza, respectively ; Mrs. Eliza 
Burch, of Red Bluff, California ; and Mrs. Cyn- 
thia V. Reeves, of Oakland, California. Our 
subject accompanied his parents across the plains 
in 1852 and was with them until thirteen years 
of age. At that time, his mother died and then 
he began work for himself. He worked in a 
blacksmith shop until he had mastered the trade 
and at the age of twenty, started a shop of his 
own, this being in Colusa county, California. For- 
several years he beat the anvil there, being well 
known and highly respected. In 1881, he came 
to Central Point, Jackson county and opened a 
shop. There and in other places he wrought at 
his trade, being one of the best blacksmiths in the- 
state. In 1898, he came to Fort Klamath and did 
blacksmithing and stock raising until 1901, when 
he sold out and removed to Bonanza. Here he 
purchased a hotel and livery barn and since that 
time has been successfully operating these enter- 
prises. His barn is sixty-five by seventy-five feet, 
supplied with water from living springs near by 
and equipped with good rigs and horses. His 
hotel is a seventeen room structure, well furnished 
and provided with the best the land affords. Mr. 
Morine secures his share of patrons both in the • 
livery barn and hotel and is a popular man in 
this part of the county. 

In 188 1, Mr. Morine married Miss Addie 
Clift, who was born in Canada. She came to 
Jackson county, Oregon with her parents when a 
child. Six children have been the issue of this 
union ; Alice, wife of Charles Conrad of Aurora 
Grande ; Flenrietta, a clerk in a shoe store in Kla- 
math Falls ; Silas F. ; Mabel ; and Harold and 
Harry, twins. The last named died at Fort Kla- 
math. Mr. Morine is a member of the I. O. O. F. 
and is a very enterprising and substantial man. 



JAMES LOUIS HANKS, who resides about 
three miles north of Klamath Falls on the east 
bank of Klamath Lake, was born on February 14, 
1820. His native place was a farm near Decatur, 
Macon county, Illinois. His father was John 
Hanks and his mother, Susan (Wilson) Hanks. 
She was born in Grayson county, Kentucky and 
came from English ancestors. Her death oc- 
curred in 1863. The father's father, William 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1035 



Hanks, the grandfather of our subject, came from 
Ireland to Virginia before the Revolution. He 
and two of his brothers served in that war, one of 
them being Colonel Benjamin Hanks under Gen- 
eral Washington. William Hanks was a brother 
of Nancy Hanks, who married Thomas Lincoln. 
They were the parents of President Lincoln. This 
makes our subject a second cousin to that great 
man. The Lincoln farm adjoined the Hanks 
estate in Macon county and as John Hanks was a 
first cousin to Abraham Lincoln, they became very 
rntimately acquainted. He was born on Febru- 
ary 9, 1802 in Nelson county, Kentucky and for 
a while lived in Grayson county, that state. He 
was a few years older than Abraham Lincoln and 
the latter made his home with John Hanks for 
many years. These two young men used to split 
rails together and in company made several 
trips down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers in the 
old time flat boats. In 1828, he moved to De- 
catur, Macon county, Illinois, and on the trip 
passed by the home of Thomas Lincoln in Indi- 
ana. Mr. Lincoln requested Mr. Hanks to in- 
quire what kind of a country Illinois was and 
as the report was favorable, the Lincolns moved 
on out, settling near the Hanks farm. They 
were very hard working people and when the 
Black Hawk war broke out in 1832, John Hanks 
and Abraham Lincoln enlisted in the same com- 
pany, the latter being captain of the company. 
Being thus together so much, they became in- 
timately acquainted and in i860, when Mr. Lin- 
coln was nominated for president at Chicago, Mr. 
Hanks had the distinction of carrying one of the 
rails split by Mr. Lincoln. At the commence- 
ment of the Civil War, John Hanks enlisted in the 
Twenty-First Illinois as wagon master, although 
he was about sixty years of age, and served faith- 
fully for two years in Missouri, Tennessee, Ar- 
kansas, Alabama and Mississippi, until he was 
incapacitated by an attack of rheumatism, when 
he was honorably discharged at Winchester, Ten- 
nessee, in 1862. He had made the trip across 
the plains to California in 1850 and returned to 
Illinois later and there made his home until his 
death in 1889. The brothers and sisters of our 
subject were eight, five of whom are now living; 
Mrs. Emily Loomis of Bloomington, Illinois ; 
Grayson A., of Maysville, Missouri ; Mrs. Mary 
E. Manon, of Humboldt county, California ; and 
Levi, of Macon, Illinois. Our subject grew up on 
the farm in Illinois, was much with Abraham 
Lincoln in those days, and in the spring of 1850, 
came across the plains to California with his 
father and two years later, they returned via the 
isthmus. In the spring of 1853, Mr. Hanks 
started from Decatur, Illinois, and crossed the 
plains with ox teams the second time. He stopped 



at Springfield, Illinois and bid his cousin, Abra- 
ham Lincoln, good by, and this was the last he 
ever saw of him. After reaching California, he 
spent some time in mining, visiting nearlv every 
prominent camp, and finally in 1859, came to 
Douglas county, where he mined. 

In Douglas county, on September 25, 1861, 
Mr. Hanks married Mary J. Perdue, who was 
born near St. Joseph, Missouri on February 14, 
1845. Her father, John Perdue, was a native @f 
Virginia and came from German ancestrage. They 
came across the plains in 1852, settling in Doug- 
las county, Oregon where he lived until his death, 
in 1901. He had married Mary F. Mills, a native- 
of Virginia. She died in 1902. They were aged 
eighty-two and eighty-four, respectively, at the 
time of their death. Mr. Hanks did considerable 
freighting in the early days through soutlnvest 
Oregon and was also out during the Modoc war 
when it was very dangerous. He endured many 
hardships and performed much arduous labor. In 
the spring of 1873, he located where he now re- 
sides, taking a homestead near the site of his 
present dwelling. He was among the very first 
to settle here and since that time has been a pro- 
gressive and enterprising citizen. He now has 
three thousand acres of fine soil, mostly under' 
cultivation. His crops are grain and hay and he 
owns a large threshing outfit besides all machin- 
ery necessary. His residence is a good eight 
room, two story structure, while three large barns- 
and various outbuildings, orchard and many other- 
things are in evidence on the place. He has made 
his farm one of the finest in the country and an 
air of thrift and taste pervades everything. In 
addition to general farming, Mr. Hanks handles 
considerable stock and has a fine herd of regis- 
tered Durhams and Galloways. He also has a 
nice band of horses. In 1876, Mr. Hanks was 
elected county treasurer on the Democratic- 
ticket. In 1878, he was elected sheriff and was 
twice re-elected making six years in that office. 
After that, he w r as chosen county commissioner 
which completed ten years in constant service for 
the county, in all of which he showed unswerving 
integrity and uprightness so that he has won the 
esteem and confidence of all who know him. He 
brought the same wisdom and good practical 
judgment to bear in the discharge of his duties 
that he did in his own affairs and the result was 
of much benefit to Klamath county. 

Mr. Hanks is a member of the A. F. & A. M. 
and has been for thirty years. He is also a 
charter member of the Klamath lodge. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Hanks, ten children have- 
been born, named as follows : John, of Red 
Bluffs, California ; Marion, in this county ; Mrs.- 
Ella Eastwood of Mono county, California ; Ma- 



1036 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



linda, deceased ; Emma, deceased ; Jessie, at home ; 
Mrs. Effie Hill, of this county ; Louis, of Califor- 
■ nia ; Edward, deceased ; and William, of Klamath 
Falls. 

It is interesting to note that when Mr. Hanks 
came to Klamath county, he had very little means 
but at the present time, he is one of the wealthy 
citizens of the county, all of which has been 
gained by his own labor and wisdom. 



REV. JAMES T. ROBERTS is well known 
in Klamath county and adjacent sections, being 
both a stockman, farmer and a preacher of the 
gospel. He resides in Poe valley near Bedford 
postoffice and was born on January 9, 1853, in 
Washington county, Arkansas. His father, Joel 
(Lee) Roberts, was .born in Kentucky and went 
with his parents to Indiana. Then they removed 
to Illinois, later to Missouri and finally to Ar- 
kansas. His mother was a sister of Gen. Robert 
E. Lee. During the war he went to Arkansas 

"but had to return to Missouri as a refugee, and 
there enlisted in the union army, being a member 
of the state militia. In 1886 he came to Poe 
valley, this county, where he engaged in the 
stock business. Here he remained until his death 
in September, 1903, being at that time in his sev- 

■ enty-ninth year. He was a devout member of the 
Methodist church, South. He married Malinda 
Spencer, also a native of Kentucky, who is now 
living with our subject and his brother, Elijah W. 
She is seventy-five years of age and has been a 
life long member of the Methodist church, South 
and is a devout and honorable Christian woman, 
highly esteemed by all. Our subject is one of 
eleven children, six of whom are now living, 
named as follows: Mrs. Julia Marsh, of Salem, 

' Oregon ; John J., of North Yamhill, Oregon ; 
James T., who is our subject; Elizabeth J., the 
wife of Hiram Roberts, he being the same name 

" but no relation, and now residing in Poe valley ; 
Elijah W., who is the partner of our subject ; and 
Mrs. Rosa Taylor, of Olene. Oregon. At the 
age of eleven, James T. went with his parents to 
Missouri and later learned the barber trade, which 
he followed for fifteen years. During this time 
he was rather a wild young man. paying little 
attention to the claims of God and his soul, pre- 
ferring rather the pleasures of a season to re- 
ligious ways. In 1890 he came to Poe valley, 
where his parents and brothers were living, and 
soon thereafter he was led to grasp the faith of 
the Scriptures and turned his attention to their 
study. He soon was licensed to preach, having 
joined the South Methodist church, the date of 
his first licentiate being June, 1896, in Roseburg 



district. He preached in Langell and Yonna val- 
leys and is very earnest in this labor. Soon after 
coming here he entered into partnership with his 
brother, Elijah W., and they went to work by the 
month to get a start. They invested their earn- 
ings in cattle and gradually became more deeply 
engaged in the stock business, purchasing land 
betimes and increasing their herds. They now 
own over seven hundred acres, two hundred acres 
being natural meadow and about two hundred 
acres in cultivation. They also have four hundred 
acres in the Klamath Basin under the ditch and 
eighty acres are seeded to alfalfa. They own a 
fine band of cattle and horses, having gained their 
entire property holdings by their own industry 
and excellent management. They are hard work- 
ing men, highly respected and upright. 



FRANKLIN PIERCE VAN METER is 
one of the enterprising men who have made Kla- 
math county the prosperous political division she 
is today. His residence is in Poe valley, near 
Bedfield and there he owns a fine estate of two 
hundred and forty acres, half of which is under 
cultivation. He was born in Lasalle county, Illi- 
nois, on August 9, 1854. The father, Jacob R. 
VanMeter, was born in Grayson county, Ken- 
tucky and came to Illinois in 1852. Five years 
later he moved to Kentucky and was a veteran of 
the Mexican War. The mother of our subject 
was Rhoda (Hackley) VanMeter, a native of 
Kentucky. She died in Redding, California in 
1893, aged seventy-six. The children of the fam- 
ily are named as follows : Dr. Abraham, a prom- 
inent physician at Lamar, Barton county, Mis- 
souri and who followed his profession four years 
in the Civil War; Isaac L., now deceased, who 
served his country four years in the Rebellion, 
being corporal ; James H., deceased ; Dr. Miles 
E., one of the most prominent and skillful physi- 
cians and surgeon in San Francisco, California, 
being also a lecturer on surgery and medicine; 
Franklin P., who is our subject; Marion L., a 
mechanic and farmer of Poe valley ; George W., 
a machinist in Los Gatos, California ; John H., a 
farmer and stockman in Poe valley ; Charles E., 
a leading machinist of San Francisco whose skill 
brings him a salary of two hundred and forty 
dollars per month ; Mrs. Sarah E. McClure, de- 
ceased ; and Mary, deceased. Our subject grew 
up on a farm in Missouri and also learned the en- 
gineer's art. His education was received from 
the common schools and he made the best of his 
opportunities. In 1876, he went to Colusa 
county, California and engaged in engineering. 
Two years later, he returned to Missouri and on 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1037- 



-August 13, 1878, there married Miss Maggie A. 
Carter, a native of Linn county, Missouri. Her 
father, Collin T. Carter, was born in Kentucky 
and came to Missouri in the early forties. In the 
spring of 1862, he joined a wagon train for Sac- 
ramento, Mrs. VanMeter being one of the chil- 
dren then in the family. In 1867 the family re- 
turned to Linn county via the Panama route and 
in all, they made five trips across the plains. He 
died at Springfield, Missouri, in 1900, aged sixty- 
six. He came from Irish extraction. The mother 
of Mrs. VanMeter was Emily M. (Sandusky) 
Carter, a native of Kentucky, who died in 1872, 
in Linn county, Missouri. The other children of 
the family are William S., of Greene county, Mis- 
souri ; Lee D., of the same county; Mrs. Emily 
Adams, deceased ; and George, deceased. In the 
spring of 1882 Mr. VanMeter came to Colusa 
county, California and engaged as a stationary 
engineer. For three years afterward, he was 
foreman on a ranch and in the spring of 1894, he 
came to Poe valley and located a homestead. He 
soon brought his family here and a careful invoice 
of his capital showed that beside his wild land, he 
had only five dollars in cash in all his holdings. 
He had very little else to do with, but undaunted, 
Mr. VanMeter took hold with his hands and has 
made a splendid success financially. His farm is 
well improved, having a house, barn and other 
accessories. He has a good band of cattle, some 
horses, plenty of implements for the ranch, and 
altogether he is one of the prosperous men of 
Klamath county. He has labored assiduously 
since coming here and has shown himself a man. 
of uprightness and unswerving integrity. The 
children born to this family are Roy L., Gertie, 
and Clara May. Roy L. is raising stock and 
farming in Poe valley. Gertie holds a first-class 
certificate and has taught school throughout the 
county. She possesses a fine talent in drawing 
and is an artist of considerable note, having 
made some very excellent pictures. Her people 
justly take considerable pride in her labors and 
give her the encouragement that she so thor- 
oughly merits. Mr. VanMeter has been a great 
traveler, having crossed the plains five times, and 
is a man of wide experience and good ability. 
He comes from a strong family and he and his 
wife are among the most substantial and progres- 
sive people in this part of the country. 



REV. JOHN WALLACE BRYANT resides 
in Klamath Falls and was born on July. 19, 1847, 
in Wilson county, Tennessee. His father, Elijah 
L. Bryant, was a native of Tennessee and came 
from English ancestry. He married Mary A. 



McConnell, a native of Tennessee. Her parents 
were born in Ireland. Our subject was raised 
in Tennessee until the close of the war when the 
family removed to Hart county, Kentucky, where 
the father was drowned. Our subject received a 
good education, was graduated from the theo- 
logical course under the auspices of the Methodist 
church south, and then, in 1875, entered the min- 
istry of that church. 

On December 23, 1869, Mr. Bryant married 
Miss Sarah N. DeWitt, who was born and reared 
in Hart county, Kentucky, where also her wed- 
ding occurred. She was a daughter of the Rev. 
Nelson C. DeWitt, a native of Bedford county,. 
Virginia. He was a teacher for years, was as- 
sessor of Hart county sixteen years and preached 
locally for the Methodist church south. His 
father, James DeW 7 itt, served in the War of 1812 
and his grandfather in the Revolution. They 
came from an English family. Mrs. Bryant's 
mother was Henry Ann (Markham) DeWitt, 
also a native of Virginia. Her father, John Mark- 
nam, was in the War of 1812 and her grandfather 
was a patriot in the Revolution. Her family 
also is from English ancestry. Mrs. Bryant was 
educated in the public schools and in the sem- 
inary and taught school for thirteen years while 
her husband preached the gospel. In March, 
1889, they emigrated to Klamath county, Ore- 
gon and for a few years, Mr. Bryant was engaged 
in preaching. Next we see him in Applegate and 
later in Medford. After that, he united with 
the Congregational church at Ashland, Oregon, 
and held various pulpits in Jackson county and 
other places. Then he was Sunday school organ- 
izer in Jackson count}', Oregon, preached in Cal- 
ifornia and also in various other places. His home 
for eight years has been constantly at Klamath 
Falls but he has made trips to the various fields 
of labor. In the latter years, Mr. Bryant has 
been retired from regular pastorate work, al- 
though he frequently holds different pulpits still. 

To our subject and his wife, the following 
named children have been born : Mary, the wife of 
Robert Williams in this county,; Emily, wife of 
Henry Farrer of Klamath Falls ; James L. and 
William N., deceased ; Theodore J., who married 
Eva Stearns of Klamath Falls; Elijah C, de- 
ceased ; Ella, the wife of Leon Lewis of Klamath 
Falls ; Sallie W. and J. F. DeWitt. 

Mr. Bryant is a member of the I. O. O. F. 
and the A. F. & A. M. Mrs. Bryant is a member 
of the Rebekahs and holds the position of noble 
grand. 

Mr. and Mrs. Bryant have a comfortable resi- 
dence with six lots in Klamath Falls and in addi- 
tion own a choice quarter section of land under 
the ditch, which is very valuable for agricultural. 



1038 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



purposes. They also have a five acre tract of land 
in Medford, Oregon, well improved. They are 
highly respected people and have labored faith- 
fully for the benefit of humanity, during many 
years. 

♦-*-♦ 

WILLIAM HENRY McCLURE. Klamath 
county has many vigorous and enterprising men 
but few of them have been more active and pro- 
gressive than the gentleman whose name appears 
at the head of this sketch. He is a farmer and 
stockman in ' Poe valley, his estate being near 
Bedfield postoffice and an epitomized review of 
his career would be interesting to the citizens of 
this county. 

W. H. McClure was born July 24, 1862, in 
Linn county, Missouri, the son of James F. Mc- 
Clure, a native of Kentucky and born about 1842. 
The father came to Linn county, Missouri when 
a child of six years and later served in the state 
militia. He remained there until his death. His 
.ancestors were of Irish extraction and he mar- 
ried Sarah VanMeter, a native of Illinois, who 
died in Missouri. Our subject has three sisters 
who married brothers, Mrs. Mattie E. Foster, 
Mrs. Laura E. Foster, Mrs. Rhoda Foster. Will- 
iam H. grew up in Linn county, Missouri and 
received a fair education and when eighteen years 
and five months of age, on December 24, 1880, 
married Miss Irene Roberson, who was a native 
of the same place as her husband. Her father, 
Ed Roberson, came from Virginia, being one of 
the pioneers of Lincoln county and a highly es- 
teemed citizen. He married America Easley, a 
native of Virginia and they are both now de- 
ceased. In 1 88 1 our subject with his wife came 
via San Francisco to Portland, experiencing three 
wrecks on the railroad and a severe storm at sea 
without any loss of life. Being of an active and 
roving disposition, Mr. McClure always desired 
to see the place just ahead and he has traveled 
with his wife over almost all the United States. 
Thev have visited every principal city and it is 
with no small pride that he can remark that he 
has made plenty of money for all their journeys. 
They have made two trips to the Atlantic coast, 
have been seven times to the Mississippi valley 
and traveled nine times up and down the Pacific 
coast. His wife has acompanied him on all these 
trips and he has followed numerous occupations 
in various parts of this great Republic. Finally 
in 1887, he selected a place in Klamath county 
and here he has resided every since. He imme- 
diately gave his endeavors to stock raising and 
farming and also in the past eleven years has 
been doing butchering, selling the meat over the 
countrv. He has slaughtered over two thousand 



beeves besides other animals and has made a 
good success in this enterprise. Such a life of 
activity as Mr. McClure has led has not been 
without much hardship and adversity yet he has 
overcome all and is now well-to-do, owning two 
hundred and twenty acres of land well improved 
besides other property. At this present writing, 
Mr. McClure and his wife are enjoying a trip to 
the world's fair at St. Louis whence they expect 
to return to their Klamath county home and for a 
time at least, retire from active labor, renting the 
property. Five children have been born to this 
union, Georgia Gertrude, the wife of Benjamin 
Johnson, James E., Virgile, Charles Amos, Flos- 
sie. Mr. McClure landed here without capital but 
has made such a good success that he is rated 
among the substantial and well-to-do men, with 
plenty of means to enjoy the good things of life. 
He is a good and respected citizen and has hosts 
of friends while he and his wife have always la- 
bored for the upbuilding of the country and the 
advancement of its interests in such a manner that 
they have accomplished a great deal, both for 
themselves and theirs. 



JOHN FRED GOELLER, who came to 
Klamath Falls in very early days, is one of the 
wealthy men of the county. He has been an ac- 
tive business man here during all the intervening 
years and is personally very closely connected 
with the upbuilding of the country. He stands 
at the head of a large manufacturing plant and 
has shown himself a man of ability and enterprise. 
His plant embraces machinery for the manufac- 
ture of lumber, of all kinds of building material 
and is one of the most important institutions in 
the county. It is a large two-story structure lo- 
cated on the wharf, is provided with the latest 
and best machinery and is conducted in a manner 
that demonstrates Mr. Goeller's ability as a ma- 
chanist and manufacturer. He has followed con- 
tracting and building in connection with his man- 
ufacturing work and all of the larger buildings of 
this part of the state, show his handiwork. A de- 
tailed account of Mr. Goeller's life is an import- 
ant part of Klamath county's history and with 
pleasure we append the same. 

John F. Goeller was born in Winesburg, Tus- 
carawas county, Ohio, on January 22, i860. His 
father, John M. Goeller, was born in Sandusky 
county, Ohio and his father, the grandfather of 
our subject, came from Germany. John M. 
Goeller was a butcher and now resides at Beach 
City, Ohio. He married Barbara Woener, a na- 
tive of Ohio, and a descendant from German an- 
cestors. The brothers and sisters of Mr. Goeller 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1039 



arc John, a jeweler in Payette, Idaho; George 
and William of Pratt county, Kansas ; Charles 
and Caroline of Beach City, Ohio. Our subject 
received a good common school education during 
the first eighteen years of his life and was ap- 
prenticed to learn the carpenter trade. While 
working- at that in the clay, he spent his evenings 
in studying at a business college. At the age 
of twenty-two, he went to Nemaha county, Kan- 
sas and followed his trade there for eight years. 
In 1890, we find Mr. Goeller in San Francisco, 
later in Santa Rosa, then in Alameda, following 
his trade in all these places. Finally in Sep- 
tember, 1 89 1, he landed in Klamath Falls, Ore- 
gon and soon purchased a half interest in a plan- 
ing mill and door factory, his partner being A. 
M. Peterman. The firm name was known as 
Peterman and Goeller. In the spring of 1892, 
Mr. Peterman sold his interest to C. A. Dillon 
and the firm was known as Goeller and Dillon. 
Later, C. H. Witherow bought Mr. Dillon's in- 
terest and the firm was known as Goeller and 
Witherow. He later sold to O. H. Harshburger 
and the firm was known as Goeller and Harsh- 
burger. Finally in 1896, Mr. Goeller bought his 
partner's interest and since that time has handled 
the entire business himself. He is now doing a 
large business, both in building and in the manu- 
facturing field and is one of the leading men of 
the country. In addition to the property men- 
tioned. Mr. Goeller owns two and one-half sec- 
tions of fine timberland, has a quarter section of 
agricultural land, has a large number of fine busi- 
ness lots and a beautiful residence situated in a 
plot of ground one hundred and sixty by two 
hundred feet. The same is beautified by trees 
and so forth, while the dwelling is one of the best 
in the county. It is a ten room structure of mod- 
ern architectural design, supplied with all the 
conveniences of the day. He has the house heated 
by a fine furnace, lighted by electricity and ace- 
talene gas and everything bespeaks a man of 
ability and culture. Mr. Goeller handles in addi- 
tion to his business, a large stock of builders' 
hardware, paints, oils and so forth, and does a 
good trade. Politically, he is an influential man 
and always takes a keen interest in all the cam- 
paigns. He was elected chairman of the Demo- 
cratic central committee for the county and has 
served in the city council. He has always shown 
himself a man of progress, public spirited and 
ready to assist in any line for the building up of 
the country. 

On September r, 1887, at Garden City, Kan- 
sas, Mr. Goeller married Miss Alice Sawyer, who 
was born near Boyle, Kansas, on January 21, 
1868. Her parents are Cyrus A. and Delia F. 
(Hull) Sawyer, natives of Kentucky and Ohio, 



respectively. The father emigrated to Missouri 
in early days and at the time of the Civil War, 
went to Kansas where he served as a teamster in 
the army. The mother came to Kansas with her 
parents when a girl. Mr. and Mrs. Sawyer are 
now living at Fairview, Kansas. The other chil- 
dren of the family besides Mrs. Goeller are: 
Clara B., deceased ; Mrs. Lula Rutherford, de- 
ceased ; Bertha E., who has the degree of D. O. 
and presides in Ashland, Oregon ; Cyrus H., 
Walter M., Lawrence I., Daisy M., all in Brown 
county, Kansas. Mrs. Goeller was well educated 
and had prepared herself for school teaching 
prior to her marriage. To our subject and his 
estimable wife, three children have been born, 
Harry E., Hazel M., and Barbara F. 

Mr. Goeller is a member of the I. O. O. F. 
in Klamath Falls, is past grand, and was dele- 
gate to the grand lodge in Oregon in 1902. He 
also belongs to the encampment. He and his 
wife are members of the Rebekahs, she being 
past grand of that order and in 1903 was dele- 
gate to the grand lodge. Mr. Goeller belongs to 
the A. O. U. W. and he and his wife also belong 
to the order of Washington. 



CHARLES IRA ANDREWS, a well known 
merchant at Olene, was born October 9, 1867, in 
Mower county, Minnesota. His father, Webster 
Andrews, was a native of Maine and emigrated 
to Minnesota in early days. He served in the 
Seventh Minnesota Infantry until wounded then 
lay for many weary months in the hospital at 
Memphis. After the war, he came to Lincoln 
county, Kansas and took a homestead. Later, he 
moved to ' Ellis county at Fort Hayes and was 
engaged in farming and in -the livery business. 
In 188 1, he traveled across the plains with a large 
emigrant train of some three hundred families. 
In March, they left Fort Hayes and journeyed 
via North Platte where they saw Buffalo Bill, 
and then on to Fort Laramie. Under induce- 
ments of the railroad company, that they would 
receive high wages in the west, the emigrants 
shipped their stuff to Ogden but were unable to 
secure the employment and the company refused 
to give them their goods until they would secure 
the company by a mortgage upon them. This 
they refused to do and a pitched battle ensued. 
The company called the soldiers to their assist- 
ance. Finally a settlement was made and the 
company carried the emigrants on to Poeatello, 
Idaho. Again they had trouble and thirty of 
the train got away with their outfits and contin- 
ued the journey. Later, they were overtaken 
by armed men sent by the company and the emi- 



1 040 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



grants disarmed their assailants and sent them 
back empty handed. In crossing the desert, they 
paid as high as three dollars per barrel for water. 
Finally, they reached Portland and the father se- 
cured a farm, twenty miles east of that city. 
There he remained until his death in 1891. The 
mother of our subject was Cyrena Andrews, a 
native of Maine. She died in 1885. There were 
nine children in the family. Our subject grew 
up on the farm and received his education from 
the common schools and as early as sixteen, went 
to logging. Later he got the contract of carrying 
the mail from East Portland to Eagle creek and 
continued it for six years. He secured eighty 
acres of land near the home place and improved 
it well and in 1891, came to Klamath county. Here 
he did logging. In January, Mr. Andrews mar- 
ried Miss Georgia Cottrell at Klamath Falls. 
She was born in Milwaukee county, Wisconsin, 
the daughter of George and Carrie Cottrell. They 
farmed here and later lived at Ashland, Oregon. 
Three children have been born to this union, 
Carrie C, Clyde C, and Alta A. Later, Mr. An- 
drews returned to his Portland farm but owing to 
ill health came again to Klamath county. He still 
owns the Portland property. In 190 1, Mr. An- 
drews took a homestead near Olene and later 
bought a small tract of land in town. Upon this 
latter he erected a nice store building and has a 
good stock of general merchandise, including dry 
goods, groceries, hardware, boots, shoes, gents' 
furnishing and so forth. He is doing a fine busi- 
ness and best of all his health is fully recovered 
in this excellent climate. He and his wife are 
substantial and highly respected people and are 
among the leading citizens of this part of the 
country. 



ARTHUR C. LEWIS, a p^minent stock- 
man of Klamath county, also owns and operates' 
a city meat market in Klamath Falls. He does 
a general wholesale and retail business in meats 
and is one of the prosperous and entergetic busi- 
ness men of the town. He was born on Septem- 
ber 5, 1871 at Bedford, Iowa, the son of Leon- 
ard A. and Mary A. (Bruner) Lewis, natives of 
Indiana and Iowa, respectively. The father was 
a veteran of the Civil war. Besides our subject, 
they had the following named children, Mrs. Nel- 
lie Moore, Charles C., L. Alva, C. Leon, and 
Lester and Leslie, twins, deceased. Our 'sub- 
ject came with his parents to Greenwood, Colo- 
rado in 1873 where the father engaged in stock- 
raising until 1885. In that year they came to 
this section and followed the same business until 
his death in March, 1902. The mother is still 
living on the old home place which adjoins the 



town of Klamath Falls. After attending the 
common schools until he was twenty years of age, 
our subject thirsted for more education and ac- 
cordingly began to work his way through the 
state agricultural college at Corvallis. After 
four years of arduous labor, paying his own ex- 
penses by his labor entirely, he graduated with 
well earned honors and returned to Klamath 
county and took up the stock business. After 
operating here for two years, he went to Clack- 
amas county and began raising teasels for the 
woolen mills. For three years, he did that suc- 
cessfully and then came back to this county and 
again embarked in the stock business. Since 
that time, he. has continued uninterruptedly in that 
industry. He handles cattle and horses and is 
fast breeding his cattle into thoroughbreds. He 
makes a specialty of full blood Herefords and 
Shorthorn cattle and is very successful. His 
estate consists of three hundred acres of choice 
meadow land three miles out from Klamath Falls 
on the Klamath river. It is a very valuable place, 
producing abundant returns of hay. In addition 
to this, he has one hundred and sixty acres, fif- 
teen miles southeast from town on Lost River. 
He also owns valuable property in Klamath Falls. 
For two years, he has been conducting the City 
Meat Market and has won for himself splendid 
returns. 

On May 25, 1899, in Clackamas county, Ore- 
gon, Mr. Lewis married Miss Iva M. Sawtell, 
who was born in Clackamas county, November 
8, 1875. She spent two years at Corvallis in 
college when her husband was there. Her father, 
A. J. Sawtell, was of English birth and was one 
of the well known pioneers of Oregon. He died 
in September, 1901. Her mother, Eliza E. (Dib- 
ble) Sawtell, crossed the plains with her parents 
in early days and was a pioneer of the state. To 
Mr. and Mrs. Lewis, two children have been 
born, Rollin O. A., and Ruby Ollis. 

Fraternallv, we find Mr. Lewis affiliated with 
the W. O. W. and A. O. U. W. He and his 
wife are members of the Presbyterian church and 
are leaders in society here. 



DANIEL GORDON, Sr., is a retired busi- 
ness man residing at Keno, Klamath county, 
Oregon, who has seen a great deal of life in the 
east and far west. He was born September 13, 
1810, on the bank of the St. Lawrence river, St. 
Lawrence county, New York, the son of John 
and Jerusha (Barnett) Gordon. The parents 
were natives of Scotland, the mother dying while 
our subject was quite young. The father lived 
to be over one hundred years of age. 

It was but a limited schooling received by the 





Mr. and Mrs. Arthur C. Lewis 



Daniel Oordon 






Mr. and Mrs. William P. Whitney 



Mr. and Mrs. William P. Rhoads 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1041 



subject of this sketch, but he improved his op- 
portunities and by working around mills and 
machinery became a most expert machanic. He 
constructed wool carders, spinning wheels, 
looms, etc., and becoming an expert millwright 
constructed saw and grist mills. In 1829 he went 
to New Orleans and was in the employ of the 
government for two years. Here he saw his 
first railroad and enjoyed his first ride on the 
cars, going from the Crescent City to Fort Pike, 
a distance of five miles. In 183 1 he was engaged 
in carpenter work in Buchanan county, Missouri, 
and established a shop where he manufactured 
wagons and plows. Following a visit to his old 
home in New York he went to Muskingum 
county, Ohio, where he became acquainted with 
his future companion in life, and they were soon 
afterward married. The name of the bride was 
Sarah Castle. Remaining there four years the 
couple then removed to Buchanan county, Mis- 
souri. The spring of 1852 he sold out his busi- 
ness, purchased several yoke of cattle, wagons, 
etc., and journeyed across the plains with an im- 
migrant train. Six months later they arrived at 
Yreka, California. Here he engaged in dairying, 
and subsequently built a saw mill costing $13,000. 
During the Modoc war he served as a volunteer 
citizen with his three sons, fighting the Indians, 
and then although over sixty years of age, saw 
some active service. It was in 1873 that our sub- 
ject came to Klamath Falls, and built a saw mill 
near where Keno now stands, the first one in 
that part of the country, as was the mill at Yreka 
the first in that district. He now owns one hun- 
dred and sixty-five acres of improved land ; one- 
half farm land, the balance timber : He also owns 
valuable property in Klamath Falls. At the age 
of ninety-four our subject is in fairly good 
health, except some inconvenience from an injury 
by being thrown from a horse in 1902, and he is 
the oldest inhabitant in Klamath county. Mrs. 
Gordon died in 1899 at the age of eighty years. 
Seven children were born to them : Jane, widow 
of the late Newton Pratt ; Mrs. Adeline Sherman, 
deceased ; Mrs. Mary Hamacker, deceased ; John, 
deceased ; Daniel, in Klamath county ; Alexander, 
deceased ; and Newton, a former deputy sheriff 
of Klamath county, but now an attorney of Yreka, 
California. 



WILLIAM PERRY WHITNEY is a promi- 
nent farmer and stockman residing two and one- 
fourth miles south and one and one-fourth miles 
east from Merrill. With his brother, he owns 
over eleven hundred acres of choice land, part of 
which lies in Oregon and part in California. They 
have three hundred and fifty acres seeded to alfalfa 



and expect to sow at least one hundred and fifty 
acres more as they have five hundred acres of 
level land under the ditch. They own an interest 
in the irrigation ditch besides having a very fine 
equipment for general farming and stock rais- 
ing, including a first class steam thresher and 
everything needed in their business. Mr. Whit- 
ney was born on January 18, 1865, at Cottage 
Grove, Lane county, Oregon. His father, El- 
kanah, was a native of New York and came 
across the plains in the early fifties. He settled 
in Lane county, being one of the pioneers there 
and wrought until 1871, when he journeyed to 
Klamath valley. He lived near Klamath Falls for 
two years, then came to where Merrill now stands, 
settling first near the California line. He was a 
prominent man and sturdy pioneer. His death 
occurred in 1898. He came from a strong Amer- 
ican family. John Whitney came from London to 
the colonies in 1635, being the first American 
progenitor. The \ > mtney family took a prominent 
part in the Revolution and have always been 
stanch Americans. The father married Mary A. 
White, a native of mdiana, who crossed the plains 
with his parents in the early fifties and settled 
in Lane county. She died in 1896. The children 
born to this worthy couple were Albert, of Mer- 
rill, William P., who is our subject; Daniel M., 
the partner of our subject and now living with 
him; Mrs. Caroline Ball, of lower California; 
Major J. and Johnson, in Merrill; Mrs. Martha 
A. Brandon and Rosana, of Merrill. Our sub- 
ject was but six years of age when he was 
bi ought by his parents to the Klamath valley 
and the rest of his career has been spent in this re- 
gion. He has seen the country grow from an al- 
most unsettled wilderness to its present prosper- 
ous condition and has materially aided in building 
up and developing the same. His education was 
gained in the public schools here and with his 
three younger brothers, he has spent the time in 
ranching and in raising stock. His first work for 
money was done when he was about sixteen or 
seventeen, when he herded sheep for thirty dol- 
lars per month and continued for twenty-four 
months in that trying occupation. The brothers 
all worked together until the spring of 190 1, when 
they divided their property and our subject and 
Daniel M. entered into partnership. They now 
possess the property that has already been men- 
tioned and in addition thereto, in 190 1, they pur- 
chased a two-thirds interest in a general mercan- 
tile establishment at Merrill. The business is in- 
corporated' under the style of Whitney Mercan- 
tile Company and is one of the best in this city. 
They own a commodious building and well se- 
lected stock of all kinds of goods used in this part 
of the country. The four brothers are interested 



60 



1042 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



in a large band of sheep. It is very interesting 
and instructive to know that the Whitney broth- 
ers all started in life without capital and each one 
now is a wealthy man and a most respected citi- 
zen. All this has been gained by their integrity, 
industry and sagacity. The two brothers have 
plenty of horses and cattle besides their other 
stock and many implements. 

On June 6, 1901, Mr. Whitney married Miss 
Augusta Kattenhorn, who was born in Nevada. 
Her mother is now residing at Merrill. One child 
has been born to this union, Myra Augusta, now 
•deceased. 

Mr. Whitney is a member of the I. O. O. F. 
and one of the leading citizens of Klamath 
county. 



WILLIAM P. RHOADS is an enterprising 
"business man of Klamath county. He resides in 
Merrill where he has a choice eight-room dwel- 
ling and where the family lives during the school 
year. His business is sawmilling and he owns 
a fine plant on Stukel mountain, some seven miles 
north from Merrill. He has been operating it for 
some years, with good success. In addition to this 
he owns four hundred and eighty acres of fine 
timber land and is becoming a prosperous and 
well to do man. The fact that he came to this 
county recently with his finances well depleted 
and has secured the fine property mentioned in a 
short time, speaks very flatteringly of his ability 
as a business man. 

W. P. Rhoads, the father of our subject, was 
born in New York and went to Minnesota in very 
early day. He was there during the terrible New 
Ulm massacre and although in imminent danger, 
he escaped with his life and fled to Iowa. His 
father, the granfather of our subject, was killed 
in the Mexican War. The mother of William P. 
was Hannah (VanCamp) Rhoads, a native of 
Pennsylvania. Her father was also killed in the 
Mexican War. The children of the family are 
Charles T., William P., who is our subject, Mil- 
ton and Mrs. Anna Wuestney. Our subject re- 
mained in Iowa until fourteen years of age and 
there received his primary education. Then he 
came with his parents to the head of the Elkhorn 
river in Nebraska where his father was engaged 
in the cattle business. There also his mother died. 
In the spring of 1888, the father came to Win- 
lock, Washington, and later settled on Vashon 
Island, where he is now living, aged seventy-four. 
In 1889, our subject came on to the sound coun- 
try and soon entered Vashon College, where he 
■completed the commercial course. After gradu- 
ating from that, he went to work in the mills at 
■ different places and soon was a skillful mill man. 



He was accustomed to hard labor previous to 
this, however, as he had earned all the money 
that paid his expenses in college. Among other 
mills, he worked at Port Blakely mill and became 
a first class sawyer. Being economical, he saved 
his wages and soon bought an interest in a saw- 
mill. This was burned later and resulted in a 
total loss as they had no insurance on it. Again, 
Mr. Rhoads went to work for wages and later 
came to Medford, Oregon. There on September 
15, 1893, he married Miss Mattie Boussum, who 
was born in the Willamette valley. After that, 
we find Mr. Rhoads in the American Bar mines 
on the Klamath river, laboring for one year. Then 
he was appointed foreman and held that position 
for four years. In 1898 he came to Merrill and 
leased a ranch. Some time thereafter, he bought 
a sawmill and in March, 1900, erected it on Stukel 
Mountain. Since that time, he has given his un- 
divided attention to the operation of his mill and 
has met with splendid success. He has shown 
himself one of the substantial and progressive men 
of the county and is public spirited and bright 
minded. Three children have been born to Mr. 
and Mrs. Rhoads, Beulah C, Robena R., and 
Donovan A., deceased. 

In fraternal circles, Mr. Rhoads is affiliated 
with the I. O. O. F. In the spring of 1904, he 
was nominated on the Republican ticket for clerk 
of Klamath county but owing to the fact that 
the county is Democratic, he was defeated, yet 
only by thirteen votes, which demonstrated his 
popularity. 



ANTONE CASTEL is to be classed as one 
of the earliest pioneers of Klamath county and 
he is now one of the leading citizens of Klamath 
Falls. 

On Januajry 17, 1859, in Cologne, on the 
Rhine, occurred the birth of Antone Castel. He 
received a good education in the schools in his 
native country, learning during that time, the 
English language. When fourteen, he shipped 
as a deck boy on a merchantman and before 
twenty years of age, had visited every leading 
port in the world and had circumnavigated the 
globe as well as becoming acquainted in 
many places. In 1879, he landed in New York 
city and quit the sea. After that, we find him in 
Chicago and for the next three or four years he 
was an extensive traveler in the United States, 
visiting nearly every state and territory in the 
union. Finally in 1884, he made his way to 
southwest Oregon and selected a location at 
Klamath Falls. He had made a study of survey- 
ing during his navigation and in 1892, was elected 
to the position of county surveyor. He was re- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



[043 



elected in 1894 on the Republican ticket and in 
1897, was appointed postmaster at Klamath 
Falls. This position was held for five years. In 
1902, he received the nomination on the Repub- 
lican ticket for county clerk but owing to the 

■ county being Democratic, he was defeated. From 
1889 to 1892, Mr. Castel was engaged in the liv- 
ery business. In 1903, he erected a brewery in 
Klamath Falls and is now owner and operator 
of this plant. He has a nice establishment, a 
good trade and has shown commendable wisdom 
in the conduct of the same. 

On May 1, 1894, Mr. Castel married Miss 
Alpha Engle, who was born in Pittsburg, Penn- 
sylvania. To this union, one child has been born, 
Alfred B., on June 6, 1895. Mr. Castel has a fine 
home in Klamath Falls and has won many friends 

■ during his life here. He is a man of enterprise 
and ability and has always taken hold to assist 
in building up the country. 



CAPTAIN JOSEPH P. LEE a popular 
and leading citizen of Klamath Falls, is now 
holding the responsible position of assessor in his 
county. His residence is ten miles south of Kla- 
math Falls and in addition to the public business 
'.he discharges, he oversees his farm and stock in- 
terests. Joseph P. was born on November 15, 
1840 in Maury county, Tennessee. William T. 
Lee, his father, was a native of Virginia and a 
first cousin to General Robert E. Lee, who traces 
his ancestry back to colonial days. He died in 
Tennessee at the age of seventy-seven. He had 
married Elizabeth Aldmond, born near Peters- 
burg, Virginia, who lived to be eighty-five years 
of age. This worthy couple has seven children, 
only one of whom is living besides our subject, 
named Dr. J. G. Lee, a prominent physician in 
the old home county in Tennessee. Our subject 
had limited opportunities to gain an education but 
-made the best of them and at the age of fifteen 
engaged in the drug business with his brother, 
continuing there until the war broke out when he 
enlisted in Company H, First Tennessee Infan- 
try. He responded to the first call and for three 
years was captain of his company. He served the 
Confederacy faithfully and participated in the 
battles of Sheep's Pass, Shiloh, Corinth, Perry- 
ville, Chickamauga, Atlanta, Jonesborough and 
many others. In addition to this he was in very 
arduous service in skirmishing much of the time. 
He was wounded three times and once very se- 
verely. After the war he returned to Tenmessee 
and took charge of his father's place and in 1886, 
decided to come west. He was appointed to take 
•charge of the farm on the Klamath agency and 



held that position for three years. His wife was 
assistant teacher in the Indian school. They re- 
signed, owing to the change of administration and 
came to Klamath Falls, where they opened a 
hotel. A few years later, Mr. Lee decided to take 
up the stock business so secured the estate where 
he now resides and has given his attention to this 
since. He has a fine meadow farm and raises 
good stock. 

On December 31, 1867, Mr. Lee married Miss 
Dellie Davis, a distant relative of the noted Jef- 
ferson Davis. She was born in the same vicinity 
as her husband. To this union the following 
named children have been born : William T., mar- 
ried and following general merchandising in Han- 
ford, California ; Emma, wife of F. H. Mills an 
attorney of Klamath Falls ; Minnie, the wife of 
E. B. Henry, a merchant of Klamath Falls ; 
Aggie ; and Louise. 

Mr. Lee has been a member of the A. F. & 
A. M. for forty years. He and his wife are mem- 
bers of the Christian church and are highly re- 
spected people. In June, 1904, Captain Lee's 
name appeared on the Democratic ticket for as- 
sessor of the county and although the county is 
strongly Republican, he was elected by a hand- 
some majority and makes a very efficient and re- 
liable officer. 



JOHN V. HOUSTON, proprietor of a thriv- 
ing restaurant and the Houston opera house in 
Klamath Falls, is one of the prominent and well 
known business men who have achieved a marked 
success here. He was born in a little log cabin 
near South English, formerly Houston's Point in 
Keokuk county, Iowa. His father, James H. 
Houston, was born in Indiana, married in Iowa 
and settled in Keokuk county and in very early 
day, came to Oregon. He participated in the- 
Rogue river Indian war and later returned east 
and followed the hotel business in South Eng- 
lish, Iowa. Then he came west and bought an in- 
terest with his sons in the business in Klamath 
Falls, where he continued until his death. He 
had married Miss Elizabeth J. Tate, a native of 
Indiana. 

Our subject accompanied his parents to Nod- 
away county, Missouri where his mother died, 
then he came with his father to Leadville, Col- 
orado in 1878 where the former engaged in min- 
ing. Our subject had received a fine common 
school education, and then he began to learn 
the newspaper business, serving first on the Lead- 
ville Herald. For eight years he was engaged on 
that paper, then with his partner, Hon. James 
Little, established the Meeker Herald at Meeker, 
Colorado, the year being 1885. They built up a 



1044 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



good circulation and made the sheet very pros- 
perous, then he sold to his partner and was ap- 
pointed postmaster at Meeker. Later, he en- 
gaged in the printing business, but owing to ill 
health, sold his entire interest and came west. 
He finally landed in Klamath Falls and here en- 
gaged in business with his brother, Jabe A., under 
.the firm name of Houston Brothers. This was in 
1894. His father came on west, afterwards 
bought the brother's interest and the firm was 
changed to J. H. Houston and Son. In 1897, 
they erected the Houston Opera House and on 
the death of his father, on December 18, 1901, he 
took entire charge of the business and has suc- 
cessfully continued it since. He has a fine large 
property well located in the center of the town 
and owns other property, including the opera 
house recently erected at Merrill, Oregon. He is 
one of the prominent citizens here and has been 
a very faithful laborer in building up the country 
and bringing in the prosperity that is enjoyed here 
at this time. Mr. Houston is a public spirited 
man and takes a keen interest in politics and 
everything that tends to build up and forward the 
country. 

On December 24, 1882, in Leadville, Colo- 
rado, Mr. Houston married Miss Mae McClarren, 
a native of Ohio. Three children have been born 
to this union, Thomas Merle, Edna May and 
Elizabeth Ellen. Mr. Houston has one sister, 
Mrs. Celia B. Roberts, of Mullan/ Idaho. 



WILLIAM W. HAZEN, the owner and op- 
erator of the Klamath Falls livery barn, is one 
of the enterprising business men of the town. He 
was born in Linn county, Iowa, on March 8, 
1857, the son of Sears N. and Martha Hazen, 
natives of Pennsylvania. He has one brother, 
John P., of this county and one sister, Mrs. Nancy 
Cameron of Modoc county, California. Our sub- 
ject crossed the plains with his parents in 1863, 
coming with ox teams to Sacramento county, Cal- 
ifornia. Six months were consumed on the jour- 
ney which was about the ordinary trip of that 
kind at that time. Later, they came to northern 
California and in 1873, the family, with the ex- 
ception of the mother, who had died in Califor- 
nia, settled on Lost river. It was then in Jack- 
son county, Oregon. Later it was situated in 
Lake county and is now in Klamath county. The 
father is now living near Merrill in this county. 
Our subject was reared on the ranch and edu- 
cated in the public schools and in boyhood days, 
rode the range for several years. Then he went 
in the stock business for himself and later took a 
trip through Wyoming. Afterwards, he returned 



to this county and in 1898, he opened a livery 
business in Klamath Falls. He has one of the 
largest establishments of the county and does a 
general sale, feed and livery business and has his 
place well stock with rigs and horses. 

He gets a good share of the public business 
and is a favorite with travelers, owing to the care 
and pains he takes to make everything comfort- 
able and safe. In addition to his business here* 
Mr. Hazen has a nice residence, well located, sur- 
rounded by lawn, shade trees and so forth, be- 
sides owning other property. 

He is a member of the I. O. O. F. and is 
past grand, while he and his wife belong to the 
Rebekah lodge. He is past grand of that order 
and captain of the Rebekah team. 

On September 23, 1895, Mr. Hazen married 
Miss Hattie Arant, who was born in Douglas 
county, Oregon. Her parents were early pio- 
neers to this state and are now deceased. To 
Mr. and Mrs. Hazen, one child has been born, 
Sears N. 



IRA R. HANSON is one of the enterprising 
stockmen of Klamath county and resides on Peli- 
can Bay just one-half mile southwest from Peli- 
can postoffice. The bay is a tributary of Klamath 
Lake and is in one of the best locations in Kla- 
math county. Ira R. Hanson was born in An- 
glaise county, Ohio, on September 25, 1862. His 
father, James Madison Hanson, is a Methodist 
preacher and is now dwelling in Kansas, where 
he is active in his profession. He was enrolling 
officer during the Civil War and his brother, 
Amaziah, was at one time state treasurer of 
Ohio. They trace their ancestors back to one 
John Hanon, who was very prominent in the 
colonies before the Revolution, being president 
of the united colonies. James Hanson, the grand- 
father of our subject, was a veteran of the War of 
1812 and lived within thirty days of being one- 
hundred .years of age. Our subject's mother, 
Rosa (Welch) Hanson, is now deceased. Her 
grandfather was one of the five charter members 
of the order of Odd Fellows in the United States. 
The organization was effected in 1819 and he 
was influential in it. Mr. Hanson has one- 
brother, Albert, and two sisters, Mrs. Elva Arbo- 
gast, deceased and Mrs. Jenette G. Copeland, who 
died some ten years ago in this county. Our 
subject went with his father to Bates county, Mis- 
souri and there commenced his education. Later, 
he went to Fort Scott and completed his training 
in the schools, then went to Anderson county, 
Kansas. In 1886, we find him in New Mexico, 
whence he journeyed to Arizona and did rail- 
roading for a while. During this time, he 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1045 



learned the engineers trade and operated an en- 
gine for some time. He traveled over various por- 
tions of California and finally in 1893 landed in 
Klamath county. In 1897 he came to his present 
place and engaged in the stock business. He has 
a fine quarter section of hay land and an unlim- 
ited range for stock. He owns now one hundred 
and fifty head of cattle besides a lot of horses and 
has been prospered exceedingly. Coming here 
without funds and starting in to build a home he 
has succeeded so well that today he is worth fif- 
teen thousand dollars at least. Mr. Hanson is ac- 
tive as a guide for home seekers and has the satis- 
faction of having established many a good lo- 
cation. 

On April n, 1896, Mr. Hanson married Mrs. 
Hopy (Dodson) Wilson, who was born in Yam- 
hill county, Oregon, the daughter of Robert and 
Mary L. (Roy) Dodson. The father is deceased 
and the mother is now living with this daughter. 
The parents crossed the plains with ox teams in 
1847 and settled in Washington county on a don- 
ation claim. They came in the same train but 
were not married until after they arrived in Ore- 
gon. Mrs. Hanson's former husband, Thomas 
Wilson, was of Washington county, Oregon and 
to them five children were born : Chloe, wife of 
John Linn, in this county ; Clay, a miller in Wash- 
ington county ; Mary, Burke, and Thomas B. 

Mr. Hanson is a member of the I. O. O. F. 
in Klamath Falls. He and his wife are substan- 
tial people, well known and highly respected. 



KY TAYLOR, a tensorial artist of excel- 
lent skill, is handling a thriving establishment 
in Klamath Falls. He is a genial and good man 
and has won the confidence and friendship of all 
who know him. Mr. Taylor is a respected and sub- 
stantial citizen and one of the pioneers of this 
part of Oregon. He was born June 6, 1850 in 
Poweshiek county, Iowa. The parents were Hi- 
ram and Margaret (Severns) Taylor, natives of 
Ohio and early pioneers to Iowa. They are now 
deceased. Our subject is the only one of the fam- 
ily living and was left an orphan when eleven 
years of age. Since that time, he has been entirely 
on his own resources. He gained a good- education 
by industrious effort and in 1868 entered an ap- 
prenticeship with a barber, and since that time, 
he has followed his trade at different times and 
places. He has a fine establishment in Klamath 
Falls and owns a half interest on a fine business 
corner and a store which he rents. Mr. Taylor 
also has a very nice residence in one of the choice 
locations of the city and the place is well im- 
proved with shade and fruit trees, making it 



valuable and beautiful. He has always taken an 
interest in the affairs of the county and has lab- 
ored hard for its prosperity. In 188 1, he came 
to Reno, Nevada and shortly thereafter journeyed 
by stage to Aden, California. There he bought 
a team and wagon and journeyed overland to 
Portland. Later, he visited other points of the 
west and northwest and on May 21, 1882, land- 
ed in Klamath Falls. For a short time he followed 
farming and stock raising then removed to town 
and engaged in the barber and confectionary 
business. He closed out the store later and con- 
tinued in the operation of the barber shop ever 
since. Klamath Falls, it was Linkville, then, was 
a very small hamlet and but few settlers were 
in the county. Mr. Taylor has not only witnessed 
the growth of the county and town in these years 
but has very materially assisted in their pros- 
perity and upbuilding. 

On November 26, 1871, Mr. Taylor married 
Mrs. Josephine A. Van Valkenburg, of Dutch an- 
cestry. By her former husband she has two sons, 
Luman G., a prominent mining man of Sumas, 
Washington and Howard H., a leading stock- 
man of Klamath county and also ex-county 
treasurer. 

Mr. Taylor is a member of the Masonic fra- 
ternity and also the A. O. U. W. He and his 
wife are highly respected people and are good 
substantial citizens. 



JOHN L. JONES, who resides about seven 
miles northwest from Klamath Falls on Long, 
Lake, was born on April 2, 1854, in England. His 
parents, Inigo and Agnes L. (Lemmey) Jones 
are now deceased. At the early age of eleven, our 
subject left home and went to sea, shipping on 
the sailing vessel, Maggie, bound for Mediterran- 
ean ports. After a voyage of nine months, he re- 
turned to England and shipped as an ordinary 
seaman to Calcutta. Then he went to China and 
later to San Francisco and in 1871 went to the 
mines at various points in California. Two years 
later he went to South America and worked in 
a saltpeter mine for five years. After that, he 
again went to sea and held the position of mate 
on various vessels and traveled all over the 
globe. Three times he has sailed around the 
globe and every port of any importance in the en- 
tire world has been visited bv him. During this 
long career of thirteen years on the water, he was 
shipwrecked twice, both times in the English 
channel, and on those occasions it was only by the 
utmost exertion that his life was saved. In 1880 
he quit the sea at Puget sound and journeyed 
down to Yamhill county, Oregon where he did 
farming for seven years. Then he raised hops 



: 'l 



1646 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



until 1897, after which he sold out in Yamhill 
county and came to Klamath county in 1899. He 
located on Long lake, as stated above, where he 
owns something over a half section of land part 
of which is fine meadow and part timber land. 
It is well located for stock business and he has 
considerable stock at the present time. In addi- 
tion to handling his farm and stock, Mr. Jones 
is logging for Moore Brothers on Upper Klam T 
ath Lake and has been so engaged for a long 
time. He is one of the successful men in this 
business and is also a leading and a substantial 
citizen. 

On October 23, 1884 in Yamhill county, Mr. 
Jones married Miss Mary E. Wood, who was 
born in Nebraska City, Nebraska. Her parents 
are Ora and Mary E. (Lake) Wood. The father 
is deceased. To this union thirteen children have 
been born, eight of whom are living, named as 
follows : Agnes L., wife of F. Z. Hawkins, Inigo, 
Lorenzo T., Edith I., Frank M., Mary E., Lillie 
M. and Richard V. 

Mr. Jones is a member of the I. O. O. F. and 
is well and favorably known. He takes a great 
interest in politics and in everything that tends 
to upbuild the country. While Mr. Jones has 
traveled all over the world, he believes that 
Klamath county is one of the best sections he 
has ever visited and is thoroughly in love with 
the country and the climate. It is interesting 
to note that while Mr. Jones has been in all kinds 
of company in his long and extensive traveling, 
he has never acquired the habit of using tobacco 
or intoxicating drinks and has set an example 
worthy to be copied by his associates. He has 
the following named brothers and sisters : Richard 
V., Isaac, Mrs. Catharine Chapman, deceased ; 
Inigo ; Lorenzo W. ; Annie ; Thomas ; Perinella. 
Those living are in England. Our subject is the 
eldest of the family. Since coming to Oregon, 
Mr. Jones has shown commendable industry and 
enterprise and is one of the substantial men here. 



RUFUS S. MOORE, a lumber manufacturer 
of Klamath Falls, was born March 7, 1855, in 
Marion county, Oregon. He came from an old 
and prominent family of colonial times, many of 
whom distinguished themselves in fighting for 
their country. His father, Judge William S. 
Moore, a native of Illinois, came from Scotch- 
Irish ancestry and crossed the plains with ox 
teams in 1849 to Oregon City. He took a dona- 
tion claim in the Willamette valley and also fol- 
lowed his trade of Millwright. He wrought on 
the Oregon City plants and also built a flour mill 
at Salem and in 1873 he came to Klamath Falls. 



Here he took to sawmilling and operated a mill, 
at the agency in addition to one at Klamath Falls. 
He was also postmaster for several years at Link- 
ville, now Klamath Falls, and was appointed the 
first judge of Klamath county. In 1888, he was- 
elected again to that position but resigned to 
move to Portland, in 1890. He then built and 
operated a mill at Gladstone, but later lost his 
health and died in 1899, at his house in Port- 
land. He married Miss Margaret O. Meldrum, 
also a native of Illinois who crossed the plains 
with her parents with an ox train in 1845. They 
made settlement at Oregon City where her 
mother is now living, aged eighty-six. Her fa- 
ther passed away in 1890. They were well known 
and highly respected pioneers. Mrs. Moore is 
still living, aged sixty-eight. The brothers and 
sisters of our subject are Charles S., treasurer 
of the state of Oregon, Mrs. Estella O. Bellinger, . 
Mrs. Frankie Hammond, Mary B., and Hen- 
rietta E. 

Our subject attended the public schools in the 
Willamette valley then finished his education in 
the Willamette University, perfecting himself in 
surveying. He was in the employ of the United 
States government, as United States deputy sur- 
veyor, for a good many years and surveyed all 
through the state of Oregon. He came to 
Klamath county in 1877 and since then has made 
this his headquarters. In 1887, he and his 
brother Charles S., went into the sawmill business 
at Klamath Falls and they now handle a large 
business. They purchased the property owned 
by their father and in addition have several thou- 
sand acres of timberland. They do all kinds 01 
wood manufacture for building and are one of the- 
large establishments of the county. 

On July 7, 1900, Mr. Moore married Miss 
Clara A. Shaw, who was a resident of Portland, 
Oregon. Politically our subject has always taken 
a keen interest in the campaigns and in 1900 was 
delegate to the national convention which nom- 
inated McKinley and Roosevelt at Philadelphia, 
in 1900. Mr. Moore is a man of ability and enter- 
prise and enjoys the confidence and esteem of 
his fellows. 



DANIEL M. GRIFFITH lives at Odessa 
about twenty-eight miles northwest from Kla- 
math Falls. He was born June 19, 1861, in 
Franklin county, Virginia, the son of Captain S. 
H.. and Mary (Campbell) Griffith, both natives 
of the same county. Their children number ten, 
six boys and four girls and nine of them are 
living. The father was a prominent man in his 
county, having been sheriff for some time and 
was quite wealthy at the breaking- out of the- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1047 



Civil War. He enlisted in the confederate army 
as captain and fought through the entire struggle, 
only to find then that his property was all gone 
and he was a poor man. He came west to Shel- 
bv county, Missouri, and there died about fifteen 
years since, aged seventy-six. His father, Dan- 
iel Griffith, the grandfather of our subject, was 
a veteran of the Revolution. Daniel M. learned 
the printer's trade after receiving his education 
and at the age of fifteen came west to Gunnison, 
Colorado. For twenty years thereafter he was 
engaged in mining and has been in all the prin- 
cipal camps in Colorado, Nevada, Arizona, Cali- 
fornia and Idaho. Also, he has operated a great 
deal in Oregon. He has been superintendent of 
some very large properties and is a very success- 
ful and thorough mining man. For a good many 
years he made his home at Sumpter, Oregon, and 
was the owner of the Griffith placer mines there. 
In 1901, Mr. Griffith purchased the place where 
he now resides and two years later, moved over 
from Sumpter. The place was formerly known 
as the Poplars and is one of the choicest nooks 
that nature has made on the Pacific coast. The 
great Klamath lake lies in front, a magnificent 
sheet of water. To the back and west rise the 
Cascades among whose towering peaks is Mount 
Pitt, capped with snow throughout the year. The 
springs are as fine as can be found anywhere 
and lie one half mile west from the lake. So 
large is the flow of water .from them that the 
steamboat is enabled to make its way right up 
into the springs. The water is nearly ice cold 
and on the banks stands the beautiful hotel that 
Mr. Griffith has just completed. The country 
adjacent for miles in every direction is beautiful 
in scenery and filled with all sorts of game, as 
bear, elk, while the lakes and creeks swarm 
with trout and aquatic fowl. The steamer makes 
regular trips from Klamath Falls to Odessa and 
the summer tourist sees the delights of the moun- 
tains with the comforts of civilization right at 
hand, having the choicest spot for his outing. 
Mr. Griffith has planned great improvements and 
every year sees the banks of the lake and the 
spring, white with the campers' tents. For those 
who prefer the accommodation, he has provided 
the best in his hotel and also a large number of 
separate cottages, all of which may be secured 
at very reasonable rates. Boats of all descriptions 
are at hand and everything to make life pleasant 
and happy for the city sick is to be found. Mrs. 
Griffith, a most estimable lady, with her mother, 
personally supervises the hotel and attends to 
every detail that may bring her guests comfort. 
They are both ladies of culture and provide a 
hearty welcome for those who may find their way 
to this pleasant place. Mrs. Griffith has traveled 



extensively and is highly educated in English, 
German, and French, speaking all three of the 
languages fluently and is a great student of books 
and nature. With her other accomplishments,, 
she is a first class stenographer, but instead of 
seeking the busier marts of the world is far hap-, 
pier in this sequestered spot. It will certainly 
repay every tourist to visit Odessa on Klamath 
Lake, Oregon if it is possible for them so to do. 
There is a spot of land adjacent to the spring 
called "Squaw's Garden" which had been tilled 
by the Indians for over one hundred years be- 
fore the white men secured the place. Many- 
spots . in the vicinity have historical interest in 
connection with the aborigines and many beauti- 
ful tales are told in connection with these of In- 
dian lives and Indian loves. 

Mr. Griffith has erected a sawmill and 
owns several thousand acres of timber land and 
in addition to handling the same is doing a fine 
lumber business. He owns the steamer Alma 
and makes regular trips from Klamath Falls to 
Odessa. He also' handles stock and owns a fine 
large dairy. 1 he new steamer "Winema," also 
makes regular trips to Odessa. 

In Victoria, British Columbia, on February 
5, 1897, Mr. Griffith married Mary (Thompson) 
Claye, who was born in Derbyshire, England. By 
her former marriage, she has one son, Robert 
Claye, who is a student in the State university in 
Idaho and is captain of the cadets in the miltary 
department. 

Mr. Griffith belongs to the Masonic fratern- 
ity, while he and his wife belong to the Eastern 
Star and the Episcopal church. Mr. and Mrs. 
Griffith are very extensively known although 
they have been here but a few years and are 
highly respected people. 



RICHARD I. HAMMOND, one of the lead- 
ing merchants of Klamath Falls, was born July 
4, 185 1, in St. Louis, the son of William and Isa- 
bella Hammond, both natives of Ireland. The 
father located in St. Louis at an early day, where 
he followed the profession of an architect and 
builder. He died when our subject was but two 
months old. The mother subsequently married 
Robert T. Baldwin, with whom she came to Ash- 
land, Oregon, in the early '70s. Later they re- 
moved to Klamath Falls where she died in 1897, 
in her seventy-seventh year. 

Our subject attended the common schools 
and, also, the Christian Brothers College in St. 
Louis, receiving a good business education. In 
1872 he came to Ashland, Oregon, with his moth- 
er, where he obtained a position as a clerk. During 



1048 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



the Modoc Indian War they took refuge in Fort 
Klamath, where they witnessed the hanging of 
a number of Modoc Indians. In 1878 Mr. Ham- 
mond settled in the Tule Lake country, Klamath 
county, where he engaged in the stock business. 
It was in 1880 that he came to Klamath Falls. 

November 15, 1882, in Linkville, now Kla- 
math Falls, he was united in marriage to Miss 
Frankie S. Moore, born at the place where Mt. 
Angel now stands, in Marion county, Oregon. 
Her father, Judge William S. Moore, was born 
in Belleville, Illinois, April 24, 1829. By trade 
he was a millwright, and in 1849 came to Ore- 
gon City, where he assumed charge of the con- 
struction of a large flouring mill. This was in 
the spring of 1850, and the mill is still in opera- 
tion. In 1870 he was elected treasurer of Marion 
county by a large majority. In 1878 he was ap- 
pointed postmaster of Linkville, and at the time 
of the organization of the county he was ap- 
pointed county judge, and was elected to the 
same office in 1888, but resigned in 1890, and re- 
moved to Portland. For several years before 
his death June 10, 1898, he was a confirmed in- 
valid. Her mother, Margaret O. (Meldrum) 
Moore, was a native of Illinois, and crossed the 
plains with her parents, settling at Pacific City, 
near the mouth of Columbia, on the Washington 
side. She was married in 1854, and is now living 
in Portland, Oregon, at the age of sixty-eight 
years. The brothers and sisters of Mrs. Hammond 
Etta E. Moore. Mrs. Hammond received an ex- 
cellent education, and taught school four years in 
Klamath county. Mr. and Mrs. Hammond have 
three daughters, Mabel K., Bessie M. and Ber- 
tha M. They take a profound interest in the 
education of their children. 

Our subject has engaged in various occupa- 
tions. During five years he clerked in the Link- 
ville Hotel, and in 1890 removed to Portland, 
where he remained fifteen months. On his re- 
turn he was appointed postmaster and conducted 
the office in connection with a small store. In 
March, 1903, he was burned out, sustaining a loss 
of about five thousand dollars with no insurance. 
Nothing daunted he rebuilt on a larger scale, and 
now has a handsome and commodious store build- 
ing, in which he carries a complete stock of gen- 
eral merchandise. In addition to the store build- 
ing he has six rooms in which his family are 
most comfortably housed. He is agent for the 
Wells-Fargo Express Company and the Oregon 
Stage Company. During three years he served 
as a member of the school board. Fraternally 
he is a member of Klamath Lodge, No. 137, I. 
O. O. F., also the encampment, No. 46, of which 
he is treasurer, and Linkville Lodge No. no, A. 



O. U. W. Mrs. Hammond is a member of the 
Degree ot Honor, of which she is past chief, 
and in 1902 was representative to the grand 
lodge. She is also a member of the Rebekah de- 
gree, and has served two years as financial sec- 
retary. 

In 1904 Mr. Hammond was nominated on 
the democratic ticket for the office of county 
treasurer. He was defeated by a very small ma- 
jority, the county being strongly Republican 
and his opponent a cripple. 



EVAN ROGERS REAMES, one of the lead- 
ing capitalists and bankers of Oregon, resides 
in a beautiful home on the banks of Klamath 
river, Klamath Falls. The place of his nativity 
is Litchfield, Montgomery county, Illinois, hav- 
ing been born April 5, 1850, the son of Wood- 
ford and Mahulda (White) Reames, both na- 
tives of Hart county, Kentucky. Woodford 
Reames was born April 4, 181 1 ; his wife, April 
2, 1825. 

The paternal grandfather of our subject, 
Aaron Reames, although living in the south and ' 
being a large slave owner, was found firmly on 
the Union side when slavery became a national 
issue. He then emphasized his sincerity by lib- 
erating those who had toiled for his personal suc- 
cess in life. Probably of Scotch descent his an- 
cestors settled in Virginia, whence his parents 
moved to Kentucky, where he was born. Dur- 
ing the Civil War he attained to the rank of col- 
onel in the Union army. Aaron Reames was 
the father of nine children, and lived to an ad- 
vanced age. 

Woodford Reames, the father of our subject, 
in his youth learned the blacksmith trade, work- 
ing at the same in Kentucky and, also, after he 
had removed to Montgomery county, Illinois. 
In April, 1852, when Evan R. was two years of 
age, he crossed the plains accompanied by his 
wife and four children, and a long train of many 
other emigrants, me family tarried one winter 
at St. Helens, Columbia county, Oregon, and the 
following spring Woodford Reames located about 
one mile south of Phoenix, Jackson county, Ore- 
gon, where he secured a donation claim of three 
hundred and twenty acres. On this land he made 
many improvements, and in connection with his 
farming operations conducted a blacksmith shop. 
this being one of the first in the neighborhood. 
Having erected a small log cabin and cleared a 
patch of ground which he sowed to grain, he 
removed his family to Talent, and thence to 
Fort Wagner. In each of these places the set- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1049 



tiers had erected stockades to protect themselves 
from the hostile Indians. Following the Rogue 
River Indian War, assured of greater safety, 
they returned to their land and resumed their 
improvements of a "home in the wilderness." 
About 1879 he removed to Jacksonville where 
he lived a retired life until his death in 1884. His 
wife survived him until 1890. They had a fam- 
ily of six children, the two youngest being born 
in Oregon ; Thomas G., a banker in Jackson- 
ville, Oregon, who died in March, 1900 ; Martha, 
widow of Joseph Rapp, of Talent, Oregon ; 
James R., a farmer on the old homestead at Phoe- 
nix, Oregon ; Dora, the wife of Oliver Har- 
baugh of Jacksonville, Oregon ; Richard, who 
died in infancy ; and our subject, being the fourth 
of the family. 

The latter received a fair education in the 
public schools of that pioneer period and at the 
age of nineteen entered upon a six-year clerk- 
ship in the store of Major James T. Glenn. At 
the breaking out of the Modoc Indian War he 
promptly responded by enlisting as second lieu- 
tenant, Compay A, First Oregon Volunteer Cav- 
alry. This was on November 26, 1872. He 
served until April, 1873, under Captain Harris 
Kelley, and was detailed to service in southern 
Oregon and northern California. In his first 
important battle he received a flesh wound in the 
leg. Returning he again assumed his old posi- 
tion in the store. In 188 1 he was in partnership 
with his brother, Thomas G., in a general mer- 
chandise store, with a branch store at Klamath 
Falls, then called Linkville, of which Evan R. 
took control, removing here the same year. In 
he disposed of his interest in both stores and 



turned his attention to stock-raising. His ranch 
comprised two thousand acres, two miles south 
of Klamath Falls. He engaged two years in 
business in San Jose, California, chiefly on ac- 
count of the superior educational advantages of- 
fered for his daughter. 

In 1890 Mr. Reames engaged in the hard- 
ware business with George T. Baldwin, at Kla- 
math Falls, but in 1898 disposed of his interest 
and inaugurated a general merchandise and 
banking business, in company with Alexander 
Martin & Sons. He purchased Martin's inter- 
est in two years and has since conducted the 
same under the firm name of Reames & Jen- 
nings. He is one of the promoters and stock- 
holders of the Klamath Falls Electric Light & 
Water Power Company, and is treasurer and 
owner of a quarter interest in the Midway Tel- 
ephone & Telegraph Company, and is, also, vice- 
president of the Klamath County Bank. Polit- 
ically Mr. Reames is independent and he has held 



many positions of honor in the community. At 
the organization of Klamath county he was ap- 
pointed treasurer by the governor, succeeding 
himself at the following election. He has served 
several terms in the city council, and has ever 
been recognized as a broad-minded and public- 
spirited citizen. He is a member of Klamath 
Falls Lodge, No. 77, A. F. & A. M., the Knights 
lemplar and the Royal Arch Masons. 

October 3, 1873, near Jacksonville, Oregon, 
he was united in marriage to Jennie E. Ross, a 
native of Jacksonville, born in 1855. She is a 
daughter of General John E. Ross, one of the 
best known Indian fighters in the northwest. 
They have one daughter, Molette, an accomplish- 
ed and very popular lady, the wife of 1-. 
W. Jennings, of the firm of Reames & Jennings. 



ISAAC A. DUFFY, who stands at the head 
of the Duffy Mercantile Company of Klamath 
Falls is a well known business man of accred- 
ited ability, whose labors in this county have, 
for years past, won a success which is gratify- 
ing 'indeed. He was born in Belmont county, 
Ohio, on January 12, i860. His father, Barney 
Duffv. a native of Ireland, came to the United 
States when a bov and married Miss Elizabeth 
Hess, a native of" Pennsylvania, of German ex- 
traction. He is deceased but his widow is still 
living in Macon county, Missouri. When a child 
our subject accompanied his parents from his na- 
tive state to West Virginia, thence to Missouri, 
in which place he grew up and received his edu- 
cation. Then he engaged in the drug business, 
continuing the same for twenty years. At the 
end of that period, he determined to try the 
west and accordingly made the journey to Ore- 
gon. For a while the stock business employed 
his energies, his headquarters being on the 
Owyhee river. After that, we find him at Gray's 
Harbor in the general mercantile business. Then 
he moved to various sections end finally located 
in Palouse City, Washington. In 1897 he journ- 
eyed thence to Klamath Falls and being im- 
pressed with the location, opened a small general 
merchandise store. From the beginning he was 
successful and trade rapidly grew. Finally 111 1901 
he organized the Duffy Mercantile Company and 
erected a fine new building in one of the best lo- 
cations of the city and stocked the same with' a 
full line of dry goods, clothing, groceries, shoes, 
gents iurnishings, crockery and hardware. The 
trade has increased in a remarkable degree and 
Mr. Duffy is considered one of the most skillful 
and enterprising merchants of this part of the 



1050 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



state. In addition to this business he is inter- 
ested in the boats that navigate the Upper Kla- 
math lake which are doing a good business. In 
every way Mr. Duffy has shown himself t© be an 
enterprising and progressive man and has la- 
bored assiduously for the improvement and up- 
building of the country. Every enterprise which 
is for the betterment of the country and the 
bringing in of improvements has been fostered 
and favored by Mr. Duffy. He stands well in 
the community and is a public spirited man and 
one of the leading citizens of the county. 



SILAS H. OBENCHAIN, sheriff of Kla- 
math county, resides at Klamath Falls. He is 
by birth an Oregonian, having been born at Cen- 
tral point, Jackson county, September 18, 1863, 
the son of Bartlett and Nancy (Morse) Oben- 
chain. The father is a native of Virginia; the 
mother of Pennsylvania. Bartlett Obenchain, 
crossed the plains in 1861, accompanied by his 
wife and three children. One winter they tar- 
ried at Marysville, California, coming thence to 
Central Point, where he was one of the earliest 
settlers. He located a homestead upon which, 
with his wife, he is still living, in his seventy- 
seventh year. His estimable wife is sixty-nine 
years of age. Besides our subject they had seven 
children, viz: Meldoran M., of Gold Hill, Ore- 
gon; George E., of Klamath county; Mrs. Alice 
A. Lindsay; Mrs. Jennie Wilson; Mrs. Sarah 
Pankey; Mrs. Nannie Pankey, and Mrs. Minnie 
Penniger. 

On the Jackson county farm our subject was 
reared, receiving a common school education 
in the public schools of his vicinity. He came to 
Klamath county in 1885, but subsequently re- 
turned to Jackson county. During the spring 
of 1886 he secured a homestead in Klamath 
county, in the Langells valley, but continued to 
work for wages, while at the same time saga- 
ciously improving his ranch. For seven years he 
was in the employment of Gerber Brothers driv- 
ing beef cattle. He also worked the same length 
of time for Swanston & Son, both firms having 
headquarters at Sacramento, California. For 
them he, also, purchased and sold cattle. 

June 15, 1904, Mr. Obenchain was married 
to Emma Grohs, a native of Placer county, Cal- 
ifornia, where she was reared and educated. Her 
parents were Fred P. and Mary L. (Brendeau) 
Grohs. Both of them are dead. She has a 
brother, Frank P. Grohs, of Klamath county, and 
three sisters, Mrs. Minnie Martin and Mrs. 
Lollye Foster, of San Francisco, and Mrs. Jewel 
Carpenter, of Sacramento. 



Sheriff Obenchain owns two hundred acres- 
of land, with a substantial house and all neces- 
sary improvements. He has, also, a small band 
of cattle and horses. In June, 1904, he was elect- 
ed sheriff of Klamath county, on the Republican 
ticket, and is now serving in that official capac- 
ity. Fraternally he is a member of the A. O. U. 
W, an enterprising and progressive citizen and 
one highly esteemed by his numerous friends and 
acquaintances. 



JOHN W. BRANDENBURG, an esteemed 
citizen of Klamath Falls, is now living retired 
having passed a life of activity. He was born on 
November 14, 1840 in Richland county, Ohio, 
the son of John W. and Lydia J. (Sisney) 
Brandenburg, natives of Maryland and Ohio, 
respectively. The father's father, William Bran- 
denburg, was born in Germany. He was the son 
of Solomon Brandenburg, who was a wealthy 
and influential military man and left Germany 
owing to some supposed insult to the Richstag. 
He came to America in 1770. This man was de- 
scended from the old and influential Branden- 
burg family, who has at one time owned the 
walled town of Brandenburg. Our subject's 
father came to the coast in 1850 and settled in 
Linn county and there remained until his death 
in 1864, being aged sixty-one. The mother was 
a granddaughter of Colonel Conine, who was a 
commissary officer under General Washington, 
in the Revolution. She crossed the plains sev- 
eral .years after her husband and died at the home- 
of her daughter, Mrs. M. J. Countiss, at Port- 
land, December 4, 1904, aged eighty-two. The- 
other children of the family besides our sub- 
ject, are Otho S. and George, the former in Har- 
risburg and the latter in Portland, Oregon ; Mrs. 
Martha Countiss, in Portland ; and Mrs. Annie 
Kiehlmeyer, of Tacoma, Washington. Our sub- 
ject went with his parents to Ottumwa, Iowa, in 
1845 an d his oldest sister is the first white girl 
born there. In the spring of 1859, he crossed the 
plains with an emigrant train and settled near 
Petaluma, California. Later, he came to Linn 
cOunty and took a normal course in the academy 
at Lebanon. After his school days were finished 
he made a trip to the Cariboo mines in British 
Columbia in 1862, and the same year, came to 
the Santiam, where he discovered, with five other 
prospectors, a year later, the Santiam mines, 
at Quartsville, which caused a marked excite- 
ment. For a time, Mr. Brandenburg served as 
deputy sheriff of Linn county. 

On July 8, 1868, at Albany, Oregon, he mar- 
ried Melissa Cooper, who was born in Adams 
county, Illinois, on December 3, 1849. Her fath- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



105 r 



er, Wiliam H. Cooper, was born in Kentucky, 
in 1812 and was one of the early settlers in 
Adams county. He came to California in 1849, 
and returned in four years to Adams county, 
and then went to Putnam county, Missouri. 
Later, he was in Texas and in the spring 
of 1862, crossed the plains with ox teams. Set- 
tlement was made in Lane county and later, 
they removed to Linn county where his death 
occurred in 1880. His father was an officer in 
the war of 1812 and was of German ancestry. 
The mother of Mrs. Brandenburg was Mary 
(Job) Cooper, a native of Indiana. Her father, 
a Baptist minister, was a native of England. She 
was the granddaughter of Emily Little, who 
lived to be one hundred and fifteen years of age. 
Mrs. Cooper is now living in Albany, Oregon, 
aged seventy-eight. Her children, besides Mrs. 
Brandenburg, are Mrs. Martha Elson, Mrs. Nan- 
cy Burkhart, Mrs. Sarah Arnold, and Otho. Mr. 
Brandenburg served seven years in an official 
capacity at the state penitentiary of Oregon, com- 
mencing in 1 87 1, and was a very faithful and 
trusted officer. Later he had charge of a por- 
tion of the asylum at Salem. In 1887, he came 
to Klamath Falls Indian reservation and took 
charge of the Indian school, conducting the same 
for six and one half years, his wife being matron. 
Later, he had charge of the industrial school at 
the agency and was disciplinarian. In this last 
position he served six years. In 1899, they 
came to Klamath Falls, determined to live retired 
and there purchased a beautiful home place. It 
consists of two acres of choice fruit and garden 
land, a nice residence and other improvements. 
He also owns ne hundred and sixty acres of 
land near Merrill, a nice tract adjoining the 
state grounds near Salem and a quarter section 
of timber. 

Mr. Brandenburg is a member of the A. O. 
U. W. and is a very popular and substantial man. 
The children of this worthy couple are Altha, 
the wife of Mr. Pogue, an attorney of Salem, 
Oregon; Clyde K., of Klamath Falls; Maude 
M., wife of Horace W. Cox, Indian agent and 
officer at Quinault, Washington; Floyd K., of 
Klamath Falls ; Grace E., Mabel E. and Earl R. 
The last three are deceased. It is of interest to 
note that Count Brandenburg, who was prime 
minister of Germany in 1848, was of the same 
family as our subject. 



JUDGE HENRY L. BENSON, residing at 
Klamath Falls, was born July 6, 1854, in Stock- 
ton, California. His parents were Rev. Henry 
C, D. D., and Matilda M. (Williamson) Benson, 



the father a native of Ohio ; the mother of Ken- 
tucky. 

1 he' ancestors of Rev. Henry L. Benson were 
of Scotch-Irish descent and early pioneers of 
Ohio. It was in 1852 that Henry C. came to 
California as a missionary for the Methodist 
Episcopal church. He followed preaching and 
editorial work on various religious journals in 
California and Oregon, until a few years before 
his death in 1897, having been fifty years in. 
active work. He died in San Jose, California, 
in his eighty-third year. The mother of our sub- 
ject was a granddaughter of the late Earl of 
Warwick. She was reared in Indiana and was; 
married to Rev. Jtienry C. Benson at Greencastle r 
that state, during the period when he was pro- 
fessor of ancient languages at Asbury, now 
DePauw University, Bishop Simpson being at. 
that time president. Mrs. Benson died at San 
Jose, California, in December, 1901, about eighty 
years of age. To them were born a family of 
twelve children, nine of whom are now living, 
viz : Sanford G., city editor of the San Jose Daily 
Mercury; William W., a merchant; our subject, 
Frank W, an attorney of Roseburg, Oregon,, 
and president of the Douglas County Bank ; Fred 
T., a farmer, near Salem, Oregon ; Mrs. Emma 
E. Goodell, whose husband is an attorney in 
Alaska; Mrs. Susie P. Carpy; Mrs. Gail E.. 
Perkins, her husband being assistant state treas- 
urer, at Salem, Oregon ; and Mrs. Clara Tonkin,, 
living at San Jose, California. 

In 1864 our subject came to Portland, Ore- 
gon, with his parents, but in 1868 returned to 
San Jose. There he was matriculated in the 
university from which he was graduated in 1873 
with the degree of A. M. Subsequently he re- 
ceived the degree of Doctor of Literature. He 
then studied law in the office of Judge Herring- 
ton, of San Jose, and was admitted to practice 
in all courts in 1878. For two years he followed 
his profession in San Jose, coming to Roseburg, 
Oregon, in 1880. Here he devoted himself to 
teaching, and, for a period, was principal in a 
private academy. It was in 1886 that he went to' 
Grant's Pass where he practiced law, and in 
1892 he was elected district attorney for the First 
Judicial District of Oregon, embracing Jose- 
phine, Jackson, Klamath and Lake counties. In 
1896 Judge Benson was elected to the Oregon- 
Legislature and was chosen speaker of the house. 
In 1898 he was elected as one of the two cir- 
cuit judges for the same district in which he had 
served as district attorney, on the Republican 1 
ticket, and removed to Klamath Falls. He was 
re-elected in 1904, by an overwhelming majority. 

September 7, 1876, our subject was united in: 



1052 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



marriage to Susie E. Dougharty, born in Lafay- 
ette, California, July 14, 1858. To them have 
been born six children, viz : Rea W., married to 
Grace Cook, a bookkeeper in San Francisco ; 
Arthur S., department clerk in the supreme 
court, Salem ; Clark, deceased ; Gail E., Harry 
G., and Louise R. Two children have been born 
to Mrs. Cook, Cyril and Elwood. 

Fraternally Judge Benson is a member of the 
Masons, Elks and A. O. U. W. 



♦ >■>- 



JAMES HENRY WHEELER, one of the 
leading citizens of Fort Klamath and a well 
known business man, was born in McHenry 
county, Illinois, on May 1, 1863. His father, 
James Wheeler, was a native of Vermont and 
a veteran of the Civil war, dying in the serv- 
ice of his country when our subject was an in- 
fant. He had married a Mrs. Anna Holda 
Whiteman and after her husband's death she 
married Dr. Wentworth and resided in Kansas 
until her death, which occurred in 1877. James 
Henry had a very poor opportunity to gain and 
education but made the very best of his chance 
and was largely thrown on his own resources, 
being but nine years of age when he left home. 
He worked his passage to Wadsworth, Nevada, 
at such things as washing dishes, herding cat- 
tle and anything that he could find to do. Final- 
ly, he desired to see the country on west and in 
company with some companions of the same 
mind, journeyed from Wadsworth to Tule Lake, 
Oregon, where they embarked in stock-raising. 
He has been in Klamath county since and has 
met good success in his labors, being now one of 
the substantial property owners of the county. 
He has considerable property in the town of Fort 
Klamath and one of the finest residences there. 
He has just completed a large hall which is used 
for lodge purposes and also owns considerable 
other property. 

On March 4, 1896, occurred the marriage of 
Mr. \\ heeler and Miss Gesine Janssen. the daugh- 
ter of Cornelius and Marie (Olfs) Janssen, natives 
of Germany. Mrs. Wheeler was born April 6, 
1878. Her father died in Germany in 1882 and 
she came to the United States with her mother, 
making settlement first in Iowa. Later, they 
came to Klamath county and the mother is re- 
siding here. Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler have one 
child, Grace Marie, who was born January 6, 
1897. 

Fraternally Mr. Wheeler is a member of the 
A. O. U. W. and the Foresters. He is past chief 
ranger of the latter order and is now director of 



the same. He is also deputy grand master for 
this district. Politically, he is a very strong and 
active Republican always taking a keen and very 
lively interest in the campaigns as well as in every- 
thing that is for the building up of the commun- 
ity. Owing to the fact that Mr. Wheeler had 
little opportunity to gain an education, he is 
greatly interested in educational matters and not 
only is providing the best means for the educa- 
tion of his daughter but is an ardent worker for 
the betterment of all school facilities. Mr. and 
Mrs. Wheeler are highly esteemed people and 
have very many friends in the country. 



MARK L. BURNS, a wide awake and pro- 
gressive real estate man of Klamath Falls, was 
born near the old Spanish grant on Sand creek, 
Tulare county, California, on March 9, 1873.. 
Two years later he came with his parents to 
Wilderville, Josephine county, Oregon, and was 
raised on the farm, receiving a good education 
from the public schools of Josephine county. 
Also he studied three, years in a private high 
school conducted by Prof. John H. Robinson. 
He was contented to remain on the farm until 
he reached life's majority, at which time he as- 
sumed responsibilities for himself, taking up 
mining as his first venture. He operated on the 
Illinois river in his home county and succeeded 
in locating some fine old channel diggings and 
worked on the same for two years successfully. 
He was variously engaged until 1900, when he 
selected Klamath Falls for a business point and 
came here in charge of a large band of cattle 
which he took to Fort Klamath and sold. He en- 
gaged in the mercantile business there for a 
while, then sold out and located in the town of 
Klamath Falls. At first he opened a butcher 
shop but sold the same in 1903 and engaged in 
real estate and insurance and is now handling a 
very excellent business. He is the agent for the 
Mutual Life Insurance Company and has made 
a marked success in that line. Mr. Burns is an 
up-to-date man, full of energy and believes in 
going right after business, which is the secret 
of his success, rle is a genial man, social and 
kindly disposed and the result is, he has won 
many friends. His close application to business 
and perseverance, backed by good natural abil- 
ity, have brought him the business he has 
sought for and he is considered one of the most 
successful men of the town. In political matters, 
Mr. Burns is a Democrat and takes a keen inter- 
est in the campaigns as well as in every move- 
ment that tends to build up the country. Al- 
though his residence has not been so Ions: in 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



J053 



Klamath county as some of the pioneers yet he 
has so thoroughly identified himself with its in- 
terests that no work purporting to mention the 
leading- men could with impunity omit his name. 
He has accumulated a nice property both in Kla- 
math Falls and in farm holdings and is one of 
the well to do men of the country. 

The father of our subject is Francis G. 
Burns, a distant relative of the noted poet Burns, 
and was born in Ohio, whence he removed to 
Michigan, where he received his education. At 
the age of seventeen he crossed the plains to 
Tuolumne county, California, and engaged in 
placer mining, which occupied him for some 
time. Later, he married Miss Caroline, the 
daughter of James and Susan Woody, pioneers 
of Oregon. Later he and his wife removed to 
Grant's Pass, Oregon, where they now reside. 
They are parents of the following named chil- 
dren : Sarah L., James T., Mark L., who is our 
subject, Robert G., Wiley, Mary J., Caroline, 
Frank, William J., John S., and Harvey. The 
last named one is deceased. 

At Grant's Pass, Oregon, on February 25, 
1894, Mr. Burns married Miss Emma S. Long- 
enbaker, the daughter of John and Margaret 
Longenbaker, natives of Germany, who came to 
this country before the Civil war. Mr. Longen- 
baker is a veteran of that struggle and now re- 
sides at Grant's Pass, Oregon. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Burns, the following named children have been 
born, Lena M., Raymond L., Elsie M., John F., 
Albert, Caroline and Marie. 

Mr. Burns is a member of the K. O. T. M. 
and in that as in everything else he undertakes, 
he is an enthusiastic and ardent worker. He and 
his wife are highly esteemed people and have 
many friends in the places where they have 
dwelt. 



JOSEPH M. MOORE was born in Wasco 
county, Oregon, on June 29, 1857, and now re- 
sides in Klamath Falls, Oregon. His father, 
Joseph Moore, was a native of Muncie, Indiana, 
and crossed the plains in 1850, locating near 
Walla Walla, Washington, where he engaged 
in general farming and stock-raising. He later 
removed to Wasco county and then to Red Bluff, 
California. In 1883 he journeyed with his fam- 
ily to Klamath county, and located in Poe val- 
ley, taking a homestead. It is claimed that he 
raised on that place the first wheat ever grown 
in Klamath county. He made his home there 
until recently, when he removed to Fresno, Cal- 
ifornia, and there he expects to dwell. He is 
seventy-six years of age and devotes much time 
and attention to church work and does some 



preaching. . He is a member of the Methodist 
church and a devout and earnest Christian. Our 
subject's mother was a native of Tennessee and 
died in 1902, aged seventy-five. She also was 
an ardent and consistent Christian worker and an 
estimable and honorable woman. James M. 
Moore received his education in the common 
schools of Lakeport, California and came with 
his parents to Klamath county, where he took 
a homestead which he disposed of. He has been 
constantly engaged in freighting from dif- 
ferent railroad points to the interior of Klamath 
and Lake counties for some fifteen years and he 
hauled the first load of freight from Pokegama 
to Klamath Falls. 

On February 22, 1883, occurred the mar- 
riage of Mr. Moore and Mrs. Ella A. Wilson, at 
Cloverdale, California. Mrs. Moore was the 
daughter of Benjamin and Amanda Wilson, na- 
tives of Iowa. They followed farming and are 
now both deceased. Mrs. Moore died at Red 
Bluff, California, in 1893, leaving two children, 
Joseph B. and Lena Campbell, who are now both 
deceased. Mr. Moore owns considerable valu- 
able property in Klamath Falls and is a citizen 
of influence and excellent standing. He has 
many warm friends and is kown as a good man. 



ISAAC W. BURRISS, proprietor of the 
Linkville Hotel at Klamath Falls, is one of the 
leading citizens of the town. His house is a 
favorite with the traveling public and is known 
as one of the best places of entertainment of the 
county. It is a commodious structure, with a 
fine dining room, office, bar and so forth, with 
plenty of sleeping apartments. Mr. and Mrs. 
Burriss are skillful and up-to-date hotel people 
and have made themselves very popular with all. 

Isaac W. Burriss was born in Paris, Missouri, 
the son of Isaac and Eliza A. (Foreman) Bur- 
riss. The early progenitors of the family 
were Welsh people. Three brothers came 
to the colonies and settled in Virginia. They 
were patriotic and staunch men and did their 
part to make this country free. The father 
learned the trade of the hatter, then removed 
from Virginia to Kentucky, and later returned 
to Virginia. He finally came to Paris, Missouri, 
where he died a few months before our subject 
was born. The mother was born in Virginia 
and was married in Kentucky and after the death 
of her first husband, married A. L. Chapman, a 
blacksmith. He came to California in 1859 and 
two years later returned to Missouri and in 1852 
took his family across the plains with ox teams 
in company with Lane brothers, who became- 



■io54 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



famous and wealthy miners in California. They 
settled in Stockton, California, and in 1854 went 
to Andrews county, later to Solano county and 
finally to Santa Clara county. There he re- 
mained until his death in 1902, being then ninety 
years of age. He was one of the prominent pi- 
oneers of California and was a Knight Templar 
Mason. Mrs. Chapman is still living in Santa 
Clara county, in her ninetieth year. Our sub- 
ject was the only child born to the first mar- 
riage. To the second were born Mrs. Fannie 
Horn, Mrs. Lucy Lane, Mrs. Mattie A. Proc- 
tor, and Mrs. Susan Lampkin of Santa Clara, 
and Asa, deceased. When a mere lad, our sub- 
ject began prospecting, but made his headquar- 
ters at his home. In 1863 he went to the Boise 
Basin and made some money. He then return- 
ed to California and engaged in farming. In 
1872, he went to Modoc county, California, and 
took up the sheep business, having over two 
thousand head. The hard winter following 
swept away all his sheep. During that time the 
Indians were on the war-path and he had much 
fighting in company with the soldiers, to subdue 
the savages. Later, our subject returned to Ba- 



kersfield, California, and engaged in the sheep 
business. He was successful and operated in 
the various places in the state until 1879 when 
he closed out the business and came to Ashland, 
Oregon. There he did business about twenty 
years and in 1901, he came to Klamath Falls and 
took charge of the Hotel Linkville, which he has 
operated since. Mr. Burris has a one hundred 
and sixty acre farm near Merrill besides other 
property. On February 29, 1883, at Ashland, 
Oregon, Mr. Burriss married Miss Fracina Erb, 
who was born in Illinois. She crossed the plains 
with her parents in 1864. Three children are the 
fruit of this union, Warren E., Lois E. and 
Hazel. 

Mr. Burris is a member of the I. O. O. F., 
the encampment and A. O. U. W. He is one 
of the early pioneers of the Pacific coast and is 
intimately acquainted with all that country be- 
sides having endured much personal hardship 
in those early days. By way of reminiscence, 
we note that in 1854 he purchased a hat from a 
Mexican which he wore several years and then 
preserved as a relic, having it still, as much his- 
tory is connected with it. 



ADDENDA 



CHAPTER I 



PRESS OF WASCO, SHERMAN, GILLIAM, WHEELER, CROOK, LAKE 

AND KLAMATH COUNTIES. 



A most potential force is a well-written, 
lively, up-to-date country newspaper. True, the 
journalist who strenously labors for the best in- 
terests of his locality and the general good of 
humanity, is, as a rule, poorly compensated for 
his toil and effort. But he stands for something ; 
he represents something tangible ; he poses in 
no reflected light; he is, perforce, compelled to 
have opinions of his own and, oftimes, he gives 
them free ventilation ; but he is several pegs 
ahead of the colorless, negative, non-trenchant 
money-grabber, bounded by the narrowest social 
horizon of any man on earth. The daily laborer 
on a daily newspaper — or weekly — will per- 
chance, find himself beset by hornets and made 
the victim of bitter revilings. But he who has 
no enemies has few friends, and in the long run 
the average country editor is proven in the 
right as a progressive and hustling advisor. 
Quite often the pioneer journalist is editor, com- 
positor, reporter and pressman. Once each week 
must his paper appear, as a rule on time, even 
though the overburdened toiler is compelled to 
work eighteen or twenty hours a day. Never 
must he neglect to accord full meed of praise 
where praise is due ; if he fearlessly administers 
rebuke where rebuke is merited, he is likely, 
north, south, east or west, to be suddenly and 
unexpectedly confronted by the proverbial "bad 
man with a gun." 

But the theme of editorial routine is, in these 
•earlv days of the Twentieth Century, a trifle 
trite and threadbare. His weal and woe are 
more familiar to the reading public than they 
were in the times of old, when even a tinge of 
mvsterious romance clung to the smut-stained, 
inkv printer's devil. Even country weekly jour- 
nalism is, nowadays, a hard, matter-of-fact, busi- 



ness proposition, requiring that wonderful com- 
bination of financial, literary, diplomatic, mechan- 
ical and, eftsoons, pugilistic genius. We come 
now to chonicle the varied histories of the news- 
papers within the counties mentioned above. 

WASCO COUNTY. 

April i, 1859, the fi rs t newspaper in Eastern 
Oregon made its appearance at The Dalles. This 
was The Dalles Journal. It was established by 
Captain Thomas Jordan, then in command of the 
garrison at Fort Dalles. Mrs. Lord states that 
this semi-official journal was "edited by two 
educated soldiers," and it is to be presumed that 
they, also, set the type. One year subsequent to 
the appearance of the Journal, April 1, i860, the 
plant was purchased by W. H. Newell, and the 
name changed to The Mountaineer. Of Editor 
Newell, Mrs. Lord says : 

Mr. Newell was an able writer, but extremely deaf. 
His office was on the corner of Main and Union streets, 
opposite and west of the new Columbia hotel, where 
Victor Trevitt owned store rooms with those high, 
square fronts. 

One day there was a very high wind, and this being 
an exposed corner, the wind caught the front of the 
printing office and whirled it away. Some one seeing 
it go ran over to the office. There stood Mr. Newell 
composing and "setting up" his editorials at the same 
time, which was his habit, as he seldom wrote them 
first. They shouted to him : 

"Don't you see the front of your office has blown 
off?" 

He replied in the quietest tone imaginable : 
"Well, well; I thought I heard something." 
I want to explain that the ground where those build- 



ios6 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



ings stood has caved away, and Mill Creek has cut 
down so much that it looks nothing like the original 
place. 

In 1862 The Mountaineer was issued daily 
and so continued until June 23, 1866, when the 
weekly edition only was printed. These four 
successive years of daily journalism in the his- 
tory of The Mountaineer comprised a period of 
most exciting mining operations in Idaho. It was 
in 1866 that Mr. Newell was succeeded by 
Messrs. Cowne & Halloran, who assumed charge 
of the columns of the paper. In 1867 Mr. W. 
M. Hand purchased The Mountaineer and con- 
tinued at the helm until his death, September 19, 
1 88 1, aged forty-seven years. During Mr. 
Hand's proprietorship of the paper he labored 
assiduously to build up and develop the country. 
He was a man loath to give offense to any one, 
and so conducted his journal that it incurred no 
man's enmity. By his genial affability in business 
affairs he won a large circle of friends. 

A stray copy of The Mountaineer, printed 
May 12, 1869, shows it to be a six-column folio. 
The running head-line reads "Vol, IX. No. 34." 
Following the death of Mr. Hand The Moun- 
taineer passed into possession of a joint stock 
company by which it was published a short time 
only. Colonel T. S. Lang was the editor, in 
which position he continued until its consolida- 
tion with The Dalles Times. This event took 
place August 14, 1882. We will now consider 
the history of the Times which was established 
April 27, 1880, by R. J. Marsh and John Mich- 
ell. At its inception it was a seven-column folio, 
Republican in politics. Its salutatory appeared 
April 27th : 

With this issue appears Volume 1, Number 1, of 
The Weekly Times, a journal devoted to the interests 
of the community, and the publishers by their honest 
and earnest endeavors to promote the welfare of Wasco 
county, hope and expect to receive a share of the pub- 
lic patronage. We do not think this is asking too much 
of the citizens of our county as we intend to make 
The Times a live paper, taking note of everything 
in our columns which may be of importance and inter- 
est to the whole county in which we have lived for 
nearly fifteen years, and thus giving our readers an 
equivalent for their patronage. 

In politics The Times will be Republican because 
the predilections of the publishers are in that channel. 
* * * To the newspaper fraternity in general we 
shall try to be courteous and gentlemanly. 

Marsh & Michell, 

Editors and Publishers. 

From the first The Times was successful, 
financially, and the publication was an excellent 



one. In a trifle over a year a new press was 
installed ; increasing patronage demanded an en- 
larged paper. June 1, 1881, it appeared as an 
eight column folio. 

In July, 1882, R. J. Marsh disposed of his 
interest in the printing business, and on the 18th 
inst. he left The Dalles. Mr. Michell then be- 
came sole publisher and shortly afterward The 
Times was consolidated with The Mountaineer, 
and he became publisher of The Times-Moun- 
taineer, a nine-column folio. August 19th the 
paper said : 

This issue is the first since the consolidation of 
The Times and The Mountaineer under the editorship 
of John Michell. We are too well known to our read- 
ers to require any extended introduction in assuming 
editorial management of The Times-Mountaineer. In 
politics, as heretofore, we shall be Republican, but shall 
criticise the actions of members of our party as well 
as those of the opposition. * * * * Our constant 
aim will be to make Title Times-Mountaineer a me- 
dium of news, local and general. 

The Times-Ai ountaineer became a nine-col- 
umn folio. The original press of this paper was 
an old Potter press, and was brought here from 
San Francisco, California, and on which the 
Alta-Californian, the first paper in California, 
was printed. 

The first issue was an evening paper, but it 
was at once changed to a morning edition. This 
it will be remembered, was the second time the 
paper was issued as a daily. September 1, 1895, 
J. H. Douthit bought The Times-Mountaineer, 
and continued as editor and publisher until its 
suspension. November 30, 1900, The Daily 
Times-Mountaineer suspended. The editor said: 

For five years the present management has en- 
deavored to make The Daily Mountaineer a welcome 
visitor to its many readers, and we believe our efforts 
have been appreciated, but we do not feel justified in 
continuing the publication of a daily paper at a loss. 
To the many patrons of The Daily Mountaineer we de- 
sire to express our appreciation of their patronage and 
request that it be extended to the Weekly Times-Moun- 
taineer. 

November 12, 1901, The Times-Mountain- 
eer began the publication of a semi-weekly edi- 
tion, a six-column folio published Tuesdays and 
Fridays, until its suspension, September 30, 1904, 
when the following valedictory appeared, writ- 
ten by Editor Douthit : 

This is the last issue of The Times-M ountaineer 
under the present management, and probably the last 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1057 



paper that will ever be issued under the above name. 
Conditions are such that I have found it impossible to 
continue further the publication of the paper. 

For three years past The Times-Mountaineer has 
been losing money, and the drain has been such as to 
consume former accumulations. The party holding a 
mortgage on the plant has insisted -on a settlement 
and the only means of settlement is to turn the plant 
over to the mortgagee. 

September I, 1895, I bought and assumed the pub- 
lication of The Times-Mountaineer, and during the past 
nine years it has been my endeavor to publish a paper 
in the interest of The Dalles and Wasco county. Plow 
far such efforts have succeeded only the reader can 
judge. It has been my aim to give my patrons the worth 
of their money, and at the same time to help build 
up the community. 

To those who have given the paper a loyal support, 
I desire to say that their support has been appreciated, 
and I thank them for it. And while I am forced to 
say good-bye to my readers, I assure them that it 
is with the profoundesf regret that this step is neces- 
sary. J. A. Douthit. 

And. so passed out of existence the oldest pa- 
paper in Eastern Oregon, the paper which, as The 
Mountaineer had been greeting the people of 
Wasco county, daily, semi-weekly or weekly, for 
over forty years. At the time of its suspension 
it was a semi-weekly, six-column folio. The 
editors of this paper had been successively Cap- 
tain Jordan, W. H. Newell, Lieutenant Halloran, 
Lieutenant Catley, Henry Miller. George B. 
Curry, Colonel Thomas L. Lang, John Michell 
and J. A. Douthit. Among its correspondents 
it had had Joaquin Miller, Minnie Myrtle Miller, 
M. Aubrey Angelo and other well-known literary 
celebrities on the Pacific coast. 

However, the second paper to be published 
in Wasco county was the one named The Weekly, 
which was issued a short period in i860, at The 
Dalles. Comparatively little of its history can 
be traced. The third paper to liven up times at 
The Dalles, but one of which very little can be 
learned, Avas the Daily, Journal, published during 
the "boom" mining times of 1863-4-5. It was a 
five-column folio and Democratic in politics. It 
is thought that, for a time at least, its editor was 
Hubert Bancroft, the historian. 

October 28, 1875, M. H. Abbott issued The 
Dalles Tribune and continued at the head of the 
paper until July 7, 1877, when it was discontin- 
ued, and the plant removed to La Grande. 
It was a six-column folio, a weekly, the fourth 
paper in The Dalles, and was democratic in poli- 
tics. 

The fifth paper to be published at The Dalles 
was the Inland Empire. Its publication was com- 

67 



menced July 6, 1878, and was suspended Decem- 
ber 10, 1880. Its editor, Mr. T. B. Merry, was 
an able writer and well known throughout Ore- 
gon and the whole Pacific coast. He became the 
first editor of the Sunday Oregonian of Port- 
land. It was a seven column folio and politically 
democratic. 

The Wasco Weekly Sun was presented to 
the public of The Dalles June, 4, 1881, with T. 
Draper as editor. Subsequently it fell under the 
management of C. Y. Draper, and August 1, 
1882, it passed into possession of Lang & 
Marsh, with Mr. Thomas S. Lang as editor. 
It rapidly grew in popular favor and assumed a 
prominent position in the political and historical 
affairs of Wasco county. April 23, 1884, the 
daily edition suspended publication. Mr. Floed 
was for a period editor of the journal, but he 
severed his connection with it and returned to 
his home in Roseburg. He was succeeded by 
Professor W. S. Worthington, and the latter's 
successor in the editorial chair was Colonel T. 
S. Lang. January 23, 1884, the Sun plant was 
damaged by fire to the extent of $500. January 1, 
1887, The Times-Mountaineer said: 

T., S. Lang, Esquire, who has been the soul and 
brains of the Sun since it passed under its present man- 
agement, severed his connection with that paper last 
Wednesday. As a writer on political economy he was 
a forcible advocate of protective tariff, and never missed 
an opportunity to speak in favor of this doctrine. In his 
articles on stock and agricultural industries he displayed 
a practical knowledge possessed by few, and in his ad- 
vocacy of internal improvements was on the side of the 
people. The paper did not state on whom the mantle of 
editor would fall, but we presume this will appear in 
due time. 

April 15, 1887, articles of incorporation of 
The Dalles Publishing Company were filed 
with the clerk of Wasco county. The object of 
this incorporation was the publication of The 
Sun. The capital stock was placed at $4,000, di- 
vided into 400 shares, no one person being per- 
mitted to subscribe for more than five shares. 
The names of the incorporators were : 
George H. Knaggs. O. S. Savage, N. H. 
Gates, R. F. Gibons, J. L. Story, J. 
H. Jackson, George Herbert and A. S. Bennett. 
In October of this year the Sun was sold to 
certain representatives of the Democratic party. 
In September, 1890, F. C. Middleton assumed 
editorial charge of the Sun. He had been pre- 
ceded by Mr. Morgan. Mr. T. H. Ward followed 
Mr. Middleton as editor, and his valedictory ap- 
peared May 20, 1 89 1. He was succeeded by 
George P. Morgan. The latter resigned in Sep- 



1058 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



Jtember of the same year. Meanwhile the paper 
was published by Campbell brothers. January 
4b, 1882, we find that Mr. Morgan had again 
Jbecome editor and business manager of the pa- 
per. In February, of that year Campbell Broth- 
ers severed their connection with the Sun as 
publishers. November 5th, we are informed 
James W. Armsworthy began editing the Sun. 
In March, 1893, D. C. Ireland accepted the man- 
agement of the Wasco Sun. The paper, how- 
ever, never resumed publication after the great 
flood of 1894. Mr. Ireland was the last editor 
of the paper. 

The Oregon Democratic Journal came into 

The Dalles journalistic field October 2, 1884, 

-with M. H. Abbott as editor. It went out of 

-existence in the latter part of the year 1885. With 

Mr, Abbott was associated Charles Craig. 

The Trade Journal with Mr. T. J. Simpson 

.as editor made its appearance April 2, 1896. 

This paper, it was claimed, was placed in the 

field for political purposes and was continued 

■ only three or four months. 

In March, 1889, appeared at The Dalles, Vol- 
-umn 1, Number 1, of the Economist, published 
by Dr. Wingate, and issued as the organ of the 
American Progressive League. This was a 
monthly, printed in JJie Times-Mountaineer of- 
fice, and was in form a four column octavo. It 
was continued about one year. 

In 1890 the only paper published in The Dal- 
lies, a city then of 5,000 inhabitants, was the 

■ daily and semi-weekly Chronicle. Alone it oc- 

• cupied a field iri which so many periodicals had 
I been born, only to pass away in periods of time 

• ranging from a few weeks to forty-five years. 

'The Chronicle was born December 10, 1890. It 
was put on its feet by a stock company and was 
a result of a municipal fight concerning the 
water question. J. H. Cradlebaugh was the first 
•editor. At the time of its organization the prin- 
cipal stockholders of the company were: D. M. 
French, J. W. French, Robert Mays, B. F. 

.'Laughlin, W. Lord, Max Vogt, Hugh Glenn, 
1. C. Nicholson, A. S. McAllister, S. L. Brooks. 
The capital stock was $5,000, of which the five 
incorporators, D. M. and J. M. French, Mays, 
Brooks and McLaughlin, subscribed $500 each. 

' The initial manager of the paper was B. F. 
Laughlin. It opened for business as an evening 
daily. For a period Mr. Cradlebaugh was edi- 
tor, and he was succeeded by Mr. Hugh Gour- 
lay, who printed his salutatory February 26, 
1891. It appears that D. C. Ireland was editor 
. of the paper for awhile, resigning early in the 
year 1893, and accepting the editorial manage- 
ment of the Wasco Sun. Since its event the 



editors of The Dalles Chronicle have been : J. H. 
Cradlebaugh, Hugh Gourlay, D. C. Ireland, S. 
L. Brooks, F. W. Wilson, J. H. Cradlebaugh, R. 
J. Gorman, Miss Rose Michell, Hugh Gourlay, 
Miss Rose Michell, John Michell, and, again, 
Miss Rose Michell, the present editor. 

The publication of the Hood River Glacier, a 
seven-column weekly, was begun in June, 1889, 
by Judge George T. Prather. The earlier issues 
were edited by John H. Cradlebaugh, and the 
paper was printed in the office of the Sun, at 
The Dalles. At its inception it was a five-col- 
umn journal. In September of that year Mr. 
Cradlebaugh secured a printing plant and per- 
manently established the Glacier at Hood River, 
enlarging the paper to a six-column folio. Mr. 
Cradlebaugh continued in possession of the Gla- 
cier until July, 1894, when the paper was pur- 
chased by Samuel F. Blythe. A six-column 
folio with patent outside, continued to meet the 
demands of the community until August, 1899, 
when the paper was enlarged to seven-columns. 
In 1902 the Glacier was published by S. F. 
Blythe & Son. 

May 1, 1904, Arthur D. Moe purchased the 
Glacier and changed it to a seven-column quarto, 
ail home print. In January, 1905, he installed 
a simplex type-setting machine, and now has 
the most complete office and publishes the best 
and largest weekly newspaper in Wasco county. 

Arthur D. Moe was born in Princeton, Wis- 
consin, August 31, 1865, and attended the pub- 
lic schools at Beaver Dam, that state. In 1881 
he was inducted into the printing business at 
Princeton, and continued there until 1891, when 
he went to St. Paul, Minnesota, and started the 
South St. Paul Daily Reporter, which he sold 
to Swift & Company in 1892. He then went to 
Grand Forks, North Dakota, and with W. Mur- 
phy, of the Minneapolis Tribune, bought the 
Daily Plaindealer. On May 1, 1904, Mr. Moe 
purchased the Hood River Glacier and is still 
editor and publisher. 

The Glacier is exclusively a paper for Hood 
River. It aims chiefly to furnish its patrons with 
a resume of local happenings, served in a style 
that makes it all wholesome reading matter, and 
with the intention to give outsiders a truthful 
pen picture of what Hood River offers to the 
industrious home seeker. The paper is read by 
nearly every one in the valley, and offers an ex- 
cellent advertising medium through which to 
reach the attention of Hood River people. 

Under the management of the Blythes the 
Glacier was, politically independent. When Mr. 
Moe assumed charge it became a Republican 
journal. The Glacier is the only paper ever pub- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1059 



lished in Hood River, with the exception of the 
Sun, and which was only for a brief period. 

The Baptist Sentinel was established at The 
Dalles in 1894 by Reverend Miller, then pastor 
of the Baptist church at that place. It was a 
religious journal and was continued until 1897, 
when it was removed to North Yakima. 

In the latter part of April, 1894, the Re- 
former was first issued at The Dalles and con- 
tinued in existence about a year. This was an 
organ of the People's Party, and edited by H. D. 
Joey. January 9, 1897, The Dalles Chronicle com- 
mented thus on the demise of another ambitious 
organ at The Dalles. 

"The Dispatch is dispatched, turning up its 
little toes this morning. There never was room 
for it here ; in fact there is not room for the 
papers already here, and that it was doomed to 
an early death every person who knows any- 
thing of newspapers was well assured. * * * 
Miller made a hard struggle to keep it going, 
but it was a task neither he nor any one else 
could accomplish in The Dalles under present 
conditions." 

G. J. Miller the editor, conducted the paper 
about six months. The Dispatch was a daily, 
and Republican in politics. 

The Hood River Sun, a seven-column folio, 
weekly, published at first by Sloan P. S. Schutt, 
rose on the journalistic horizon in 1899. Mr. 
Schutt three weeks later sold it to E. R. Bradley. 
The paper lingered several months when it was 
discontinued and Mr. Bradley confined his at- 
tention to a job office. 

November 28, 1891, the material for a new 
paper, the Dufur Dispatch arrived at The Dalles. 
Mr. Brooks, the prospective editor, removed this 
plant from Monmouth to Dufur. Shortly af- 
terward the paper was issued, a seven-column 
folio, and it was filled with interesting local 
news. In his salutatory Editor Brown said : "It 
will be a country paper, giving its attention 
•mostly to Dufur and vicinity, kindly permitting 
the president and congress to run the United 
States ; Democratic by proclivity, and independent 
by force of circumstances." 

The Dufur Dispatch was continued for 
about a year when it was discontinued. Then 
Dufur was without a paper until the spring of 
1896. At that time H. S. Turner moved a plant 
to Dufur, and May 8, 1896, he issued the first 
■number of his paper which he called, also, the 
Dispatch, and headlined the paper Volume 2, 
No. 1, thus making it a continuation of the 
Brooks publication. It was a six-column folio, 
-enlarged November 26, 1897, to seven columns. 
In October, 1898, Mr. Turner began the publi- 
cation of a daily. January 6, 1899, he disposed 



of his interest in the Dispatch to A. J. Douglas, 
and the daily edition was discontinued. Under 
the new ownership Mrs. Edith Douglas "became 
editor. May 2, 1899, Hisler & Temple became 
the publishers and December 22d, the same year, 
the property was disposed of to Henry Menefee. 
September 1, 1901, the Dispatch was purchased 
by Charles H. Reed, and February 27, 1903, it 
was enlarged to a six-column quarto. For some 
time previous four pages had been "patent," and 
this is the form in which it is now issued. March 
1st the publishing firm became Reed & Shepherd. 
February 24, 1905, Mr. Reed purchased his 
partner's interest and is now sole publisher of 
the paper. The Dufur Dispatch is a neat little 
paper, loyal to the town in which it is published 
and the town is loyal to the paper. 

The only newspaper in southern Wasco 
county is the Antelope Herald, published by 
Max Luddemann. It has an extensive field 
and is prosperous. It was established July 22, 
1892, by E. M. Schutt; a six-column folio.' It 
was, politically, independent. October 29, 1897, 
Mr. Schutt disposed of the Herald to M. E. Mil- 
ler and went to Heppner where he started an- 
other journal. During the summer of 1898 Max 
Luddeman took the Herald over from Mr. Miller. 
This was shortly after the fire at Antelope. Sep- 
tember 29, 1899, E. C. Goodwin became asso- 
ciated with Mr. Luddemann in the publication 
of the Herald, the firm name being Luddemann 
& Goodwin. November 1, 1900, the partner- 
ship was dissolved, Mr. Goodwin retiring. In 
the spring of 1905 the Herald was increased in 
size to a seven-column folio. H. G. Kibbee pur- 
chased the Antelope Herald of Max Ludde- 
mann and is now acting as editor and business 
manager. 

One attempt only has been made to publish 
a journal in Antelope in opposition to the Her- 
ald. This was the Republican the initial num- 
ber of which was issued in July, 190a, by A. M. 
F. Kircheiner. The Republican suspended in 
October, 1901. 

In April, 1900, the plant of the Moro Leader 
was purchased and shipped to Shaniko. Arthur 
Kennedy, of The Dalles took charge of the jour- 
nal, William Holder being the owner. The new 
Shaniko Leader made its appearance April 10, 
1900. The paper suspended publication in 1902, 
and the plant Was removed to Crook county. 
This was the only newspaper ever published in 
Shaniko. 

The latest paper to make its appearance in 
Wasco county is the Tygh Valley Bee, establish- 
ed in April, 1905, by E. O. Shepherd, formerly 
one of the proprietors of the Dufur Dispatch. 
The Bee is a four-column quarto. 



io6o 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



SHERMAN COUNTY. 

Four weekly newspapers are being published 
in Sherman county at the date of writing. They 
are the Sherman County Observer, published at 
Moro by D. C. Ireland & Son ; the Wasco News 
of Wasco, by J. W. Allen ; the Grass Valley Jour- 
uel, of Grass Valley, by W. I. Westerfield, and 
the Kent Recorder, at the little village of Kent, by 
E. H. Browns. There is, also, a quarterly, 
The Occidental Magazine and Parishioner's 
Guide, a Catholic publication edited by 
Rev. M. J. Hickey, and printed at the 
office of the Wasco News. Consequently 
the press history of Sherman county is not very 
extended, although there have been a number 
of other papers published within its limits in ad- 
dition to those mentioned above. While their 
numbers have been small the history of each is 
quite interesting from a journalistic view point 
owing to the many changes in ownership and 
the different places in the county from which 
the same papers have been issued. 

Sherman county's first paper was the Wasco 
Observer, established at Wasco November 2, 

1888. It is still published as the Sherman County 
Observer, at Moro, the county seat. During the 
later '80's that portion of Wasco county lying be- 
tween the John Day and Des Chutes rivers, had 
become settled by a population of thrifty stock-, 
meri and farmers, and in 1888 the question of 
forming a new county was one exciting consid- 
erable animation. A few small towns and trad- 
ing points had sprung up and the population of 
what, a little later, became Sherman county, had 
reached about 1,400. Yet there was no newspaper 
within the proposed boundaries of the new 
county, and few are the counties created without 
the advantageous assistance of a newspaper pub- 
lished within its borders. This condition led to 
the establishment of the Wasco Observer. Its 
first issue was dated November 2, 1888 ; pub- 
lished by C. J. Bright and A. B. McMillan. The 
Observer was, politically independent, at its in- 
ception, but it became staunchly Republican when 
D. C. Ireland & Sons assumed charge. In April, 

1889, Mr. Bright, being appointed school sup- 
erintendent of the new county, the plant was 
turned over to Mr. McMillan, who conducted it 
until February, 1890, when the paper was sold 
to J. B. Hosford. He continued it until July, 
1 89 1, when he removed the plant to Moro. The 
journal then became the Moro Observer. Doubt- 
less this change was made by Mr. Hosford un- 
der the belief that he would better his condition 
therebv. Moro was a growing prosperous town, 
and was without a paper. Indications at this time 
pointed strongly to the selection of Moro as the 



county seat at the election one year away. To 
the paper Moro promised liberal support. Fol- 
lowing its removal to Moro C. E. Jones became 
interested with Mr. Hosford in the publication 
of the Observer, but in July, 1892, he retired and 
the paper was in the sole charge of Mr. Hosford^ 
In November of that year the latter sold the 
paper that he might devote himself exclusively 
to the practice of his profession as a lawyer. For 
a short period the Observer appears to have been 
in charge of E. M. Shutt, as it is recorded that 
he retired June 1, 1892. 

However, F. M. Bixby assumed editorial 
cnarge of the paper, succeeding Mr. Hosford in 
November, 1892. December 1st Mr. Hosford 
wrote : 

"I desire to notify the readers and friends of 
the Observer that I have leased the paper to Mr. 
F. M. Bixby, a competent and enterprising jour- 
nalist, who will donate all his time and talents 
to the management of said paper. 

J. B. Hosford." 

January 12, 1893, Mr. Bixby severed his con- 
nection with the Observer, and the paper was 
conducted for Mr. Hosford by Mr. Clyde Wil- 
liams. June 7, 1894, appeared the following 
self-explanatory articles in the Observer : 

With last week's issue* my connection with the Ob- 
server ceased. I have disposed of the paper to Mr. 
D. C. Ireland, who is an excellent journalist, a talented 
writer and a gentleman who will take pleasure in aiding 
with his pen the development of eastern Oregon and 
Sherman county. The readers of the Observer may- 
rest assured that under Mr. Ireland's management 
the columns of the paper will always be bright and 
newsy. I shall always feel a warm interest in the wel- 
fare of the Observer and in Sherman county, where 
I intend to continue in the practice of law. It is, of 
course, unnecessary, for me to solicit a continuance of 
your patronage for my successor, as the Observer will 
furnish in its own columns proof of his merit sufficient 
to entitle him to the support of all who appreciate a 
good newspaper. Respectfully yours, 

J. B. Hosford. 

It may be stated in this connection that no change 
in the management of the paper is contemplated, so 
far as the political complexion is concerned. Mr. Hos- 
ford has trimmed the sails of the Observer and shaped 
its course to suit us, and we shall continue upon the 
lines marked out, producing as nearly a first-class fam- 
ily paper as our ability and business will justify. It 
shall be our constant endeavor to properly represent 
Sherman county at all times, and upon all occasions to- 
assist in every laudable undertaking having the up- 
building of the Inland Empire in view, and a complete 
development of the wonderful resources of nature sur- 
rounding us, and for this purpose a cordial invitation- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1061 



lis extended to all men of a progressive and enterprising 
•spirit irrespective of political preferences, to make the 
Observer office frequent visits, to the end that we may 
become well acquainted with one another. 

Very respectfully yours, 

D. C. Ireland. 

Mr. Ireland then organized the firm of Ire- 
land & Sons, C. L. and F. C, which continued 
until about 1898, when Ireland Brothers had 
charge of the paper for a short time. In Sep- 
tember, 1901, C. L. Ireland secured a two-thirds 
interest in the Observer. 

The term "Inland Empire" was originally ap- 
plied to regions tributary to the Columbia and 
Snake rivers, by the "O. Man," (D. C. Ireland), 
in the Astorian, in his contention for an open 
river from Lewiston to the sea. In 1903 Mr. 
Ireland had been publishing papers in Oregon 
for 40 years, among other ventures having es- 
tablished the Astorian, of Astoria. The Sher- 
man County Observer is an eight-column folio, 
all home print, independent in politics and all 
other matters. Since its establishment in 1888 
'it has taken a prominent part in all matters re- 
lating to Sherman county, and today is one of 
the leading papers of Eastern Oregon. D. C. 
Ireland is editor and C. L. Ireland, business 
manager. 

Following the removal of the Wasco Obser- 
ver to Moro in July, 1891, another plant was 
brought in and another paper took its place. The 
new comer was the Wasco News, published by 
J. M. Cummins, formerly of the Goldendale 
Courier, and Dr. H. E. Beers. This was Sher- 
man county's second newspaper. In August, 
1892, Mr. Cummins disposed of his interest in 
the News and removed to Centerville, Washing- 
ton county, being succeeded by Frank M. Bixby, 
who continued with the paper four months. In 
November of that year the News became the 
property of James W. Armsworthy. Of this 
gentleman The Dalles Times-Mountaineer of 
January I, 1898, said: 

The well-known and popular editor of the Wasco 
News is one of those jovial, good fellows that it does 
one good to meet. His first work was on the old Ob- 
server, and he afterward completed his mechanical 
knowledge in Portland. Returning to Wasco in 1892, 
in November of that year, he bought the plant of the 
Wasco News, and by adding a complete job depart- 
ment to it, has today the most complete printing office 
in the county. <» The policy of his paper is of an in- 
dependent character, and as he wields a facile pen and 
■is well informed upon state and national affairs, his 
paper is sought after by the intelligent class of readers. 
He, is, also, an indefatigable news gatherer, and no la- 



bor, trouble or expense are spared to secure for the 
Ne-zvs the first publication of a piece of news. 

In October, 1897, the News was published 
by Armsworthy & Brock, who made the paper a 
five-column quarto. In 1889 the Sherman 
County Bank took the paper under a chattel 
mortgage. Lucius Clark was the assignee ap- 
pointed by the bank and, with the assistance of 
A. H. Kennedy, he edited the paper. February 
15, 1900, Norman Draper purchased the plant 
and V. C. Brock was again placed in charge. In 
the spring of 1901 the News and People's Re- 
public, of Moro, were consolidated, Y. C. Brock 
continuing as manager and editor until April 1, 
1902, when A. S. McDonald bought the paper. 
He conducted it about two months and then dis- 
posed of it to Pound & Morris, of Arlington. In 
the fall of 1903 G. E. Kellogg became the owner, 
conducting it until the spring of 1904, when it 
was sold to J. W. Allen and M. P. Morgan. Mr. 
Morgan retired about six months afterward and 
Mr. Allen assumed sole control and is the present 
owner and publisher of the paper. 

The first edition of the Grant Dispatch was 
issued Saturday, December 16, 1892. It was 
published by W. H. Brooks, and the plant was 
the same used for one year in the publication 
of the Dufur Dispatch. It was the third paper 
published in Sherman county. In July, 1893, 
publication of the Dispatch was suspended. 
Another journalistic venture, however, was 
placed in the town of Grant. This was the Grant 
Gazette, edited by W. O. Maxwell, formerly of 
Goldendale. It was independent in politics ; a 
kind of "boom" sheet, and the plant was washed 
away in the great flood of 1894, May 14th. 

The first number of the Grass Valley Jour- 
nal was thrown to the breeze November 12, 
1897. Politically the new venture was independ- 
ent Republican. C. E. Brown was editor, and 
the paper was owned by The Journal Publish- 
ing Company. It was a seven-column folio, 
"patent sides." It is the only journalistic ven- 
ture ever made in Grass Valley (with the ex- 
ception of the school paper), and has been suc- 
cessful. In July, 1898, we find that the Journal 
was issued by The Grass Valley Publishing Com- 
pany. The capital stock was $2.000 ; C. E. Brown, 
George W. Bourhill and J. H. Smith were the 
incorporators, and William Holder, C. W. 
Moore, and J. D. Wilcox the principal stock- 
holders. In 1897 W. I. Westerfield came to 
Grass Valley and was employed by the publish- 
ing company to edit the Journal. At the ex- 
piration of a year he leased the plant, November 
18, T898. February 24, 1902, Mr. Westerfield 
purchased the paper and has since ably and sue- 



1062 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



cessfully conducted it. It is a popular journal 
and fully covers the field. 

March 2, 1898, the Moro Leader came into 
existence, issued by the Moro Publishing Com- 
pany. The raison d'etre for this move was that 
some of the businessmen of the county seat were 
dissatisfied with the Observer, or rather, some of 
the principles advocated by it. If. H. Hunting- 
was editor of the Leader, an eight-column folio, 
politically Republican. As editor of the paper 
Mr. Hunting was succeeded by Mr. Fitzmaurice. 
Some time previous to the removal of the Leader 
to Shaniko, William Holder became the editor. 
This removal occurred in April, 1900, when the 
publication of the Shaniko Leader was begun. 
This left the Moro field exclusively to the Ob- 
server, and the Republic ; the removal of the lat- 
ter a? short time later left the Observer the only 
journal in Moro. 

So the Republic was taken away to Wasco 
in April, 1898. It became a seven-column folio, 
was attractive, typographically, and was ably 
edited by Mr. W. J. Peddicord, at that period 
county school superintendent. Politically it was 
a People's party organ and their only exponent 
of populism in Eastern Oregon. Its first issue 
was dated April 21, 1898. July 21 of the same 
year we find that Mr. Peddicord retires from the 
editorial chair. He was succeeded by F. E. Kel- 
logg. The People's Republic was subsequently 
removed to Moro, making the third paper at the 
countv seat. Here it was published until Decem- 
ber, 1900. December 1st, of that year, The Dal- 
les Times-Mountaineer said: 

V. C. Brock, of Wasco, and F. E. Kellogg, of Moro, 
have formed a co-partnership for the publication of the 
two papers — the Wasco News and Moro Republic. Both 
papers will be printed at Wasco, though the Republic 
will maintain an office at Moro. It is their purpose to 
improve both papers so as to make them a necessity 
to the people of Sherman county. 

These papers were finally consolidated and 
publication continued under the name of the 
Wasco News. And this was the last of the Peo- 
ple's Republic. 

In April, 1902, the plant of the Shaniko 
Leader was moved back to Moro and the Moro 
Bulletin was issued by William Holder. It was a 
six-column folio, politically Republican. Its form 
was soon changed to a seven-column folio and 
it continued that size until its suspension, Nov- 
ember 2 1 st of that year. This was the plant that 
had formerly been in commission at Moro in 
the publication of the Moro Leader, and which 
was removed to Shaniko in 1900. 

"T K e X" was for nearly a vear the official 



organ of the Middle Oregon Academy, at Grass 
Valley. It was devoted to educational subjects 
and was a worthy publication. 

The first issue of the Kent Recorder was 
printed November 4, 1904, by Edward H. 
Browns. It is a seven-column folio, having com- 
menced as a six-column folio. It was enlarged 
after a few issues were printed. The Recorder 
is the latest venture in Sherman county jour- 
nalism. 

GILLIAM COUNTY. 

The press history of this part of the Inland 
Empire is, necessarily incomplete owing to the 
loss of many of such records as may have ex- 
isted at one time. We must therefore, perforce, 
give only a skeletonized description of Gilliam 
county journalism. 

The first that we hear of the Arlington 
Times is in the statement in The Dalles Times- 
Mountaineer of December 18, 1886, that the Ar- 
lington Enterprise was no more as it had been 
consolidated with the Inland Times, and would 
appear the next day as the Arlington Times. Mr. 
Orval Tucker was the editor and proprietor of 
the journal. 

The first issue of the Arlington Town Talk 
was printed in February, 1889. It was edited by 
Harry Hawson and was rather a spicy sheet. 
May 4th, of that year we find that the paper 
suspended. 

In July, 1894, the Riverside Enterprise was 
published at Alkali by M. C. Harris. Typograph- 
ically the paper was neat and attractive one, and 
decidedly newsy. 

In April, 1898, Robinson & Pound began 
the publication of the Arlington Review, a five 
column folio, which they conducted about a year 
and then disposed of the paper to W. A. Max- 
well. Politically it professed to stand in the mid- 
dle of the road, looking neither to the right or 
left, but devoting its attention strictly to pur- 
veying the news. April 14th Mr. Pound dis- 
posed of his interest to his partner who continued 
to conduct the paper. 

From The Dalles Times-Mountaineer w r e 
learn that the Arlington Advocate was first pub- 
lished bv Jayne & Shutt, November 11, 1890. 
In March, 1891, S. P. Shutt purchased the inter- 
est of A. A. Jayne in the Advocate and removed 
the plant to Condon, where it was issued as the 
Condon Globe. It appears that the Arlington 
Advocate was issued March, 1899, by R H. Rob- 
inson who soon after sold the same to C. E. 
Hicks. Later in the year the name was changed 
to the Arlington Independent. In 1901 J. M. 
Johns purchased the Independent and consoli- 
dated it with the Record. The Independent had' 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1063. 



been a six-column folio. At the time of this 
merger C. E. Hicks was publisher of the Inde- 
pendent. It was a newsy, local paper, but the 
attempt to give it a footing in a field already 
covered by the Record was, evidently, a mistake. 

The Arlington Record was founded in Jan- 
uary, 1892, by John A. Brown. With the expi- 
ration of the first year it came into possession of 
J. M. Johns, January 6, 1893. He conducted 
the paper until October 10, 1895, and placed it 
on a paying - basis. On the date- mentioned he dis- 
posed of the property to W. A. Maxwell, for- 
merly of Grant. Until January 1, 1900, Mr. 
Maxwell conducted the Record, when he sold it 
to the Record Publishing Company and Attor- 
ney S. A. D. Gurley became editor. July 28, 
1900, J. M. Johns again purchased the plant. 
From a small "patent outside" the Record has 
grown to a seven-column folio, all home print. 
Politically it has always been Republican, but 
by no means a partisan organ. 

The Arlington Appeal made its initial ap- 
pearance February 26, 1903. It began in a small 
way as a four-column, four-page paper, and still 
continues the four-column make-up, but has en- 
larged to ten pages. Since its advent Mr. S. A. 
Thomas has been editor and proprietor. Its 
motto was "All Coin Looks Alike to Us." Mr.« 
Thomas was formerly editor of the Ortonville, 
(Minn.) Journal. The salutatory "bow" of the 
Appeal was : 

In establishing a newspaper it has been customary 
in all ages for the editor to make a statement of his 
intentions and the policy to be pursued by the paper. 
In establishing the Appeal it is not our intention to 
run any one out of town or business. It is with us, as 
with all other enterprises, a business proposition. We 
feel that the field is large enough to support another 
newspaper, and it will be our earnest endeavor to make 
the Appeal a newspaper in every sense of the word. In 
national and state politics the Appeal will be repub- 
lican, while in county and municipal affairs we shall 
support those best qualified to fill the position, but we 
will endeavor to give the news regardless of politics, and 
.an assure the public that we do not intend to publish a 
political sheet. To those who have placed their adver- 
tisements in our columns we shall always feel grateful 
and assure them that our efforts shall always be used 
in their behalf. The columns of the Appeal are always 
open for the discussion of any subject that is before 
the people. 

It will be recalled by the reader that S. P. 
Shutt removed the plant of the Arlington Ad- 
vocate to Condon, the capital of Gilliam county, 
and began the publication of the Condon Globe. 
This Wc3 in March, 1891. In his salutatory, 
published March 27th, Mr. Shutt said : 



Realizing the fact that sooner or later Condon would' 
have a newspaper of its own, and knowing equally well 
that no better location for a newspaper exists in Gill- 
iam county, we have concluded to pitch our tent among 
you. Henceforth the Globe will be your friend. Its- 
columns will be devoted to the general and local news 
of the day, which it will endeavor to give you faith- 
fully and impartially. Editorially it will be independ- 
ent, worshipping at no political shrine in particular,, 
but honestly striving to promote the general good of 
Gilliam county and Eastern Oregon. 

We solicit your patronage and support, confident : 
that you will recognize both the advantage of having 
a newspaper in your midst and the necessity of helping, 
to maintain it. 

In February, 1898, the Globe plant passer! 
into the hands of S. A. Pattison, who during the 
four years previous had published the Emmett 
(Idaho) Index. Mr. Shutt had conducted the 
Globe nearly seven years successfully, finan- 
cially and otherwise. Editor Pattison announced! 
his intention of conducting the paper as a non- 
partisan, non-sectarian, "local newspaper, and 
as a business proposition." March 31st the pa- 
per was enlarged from a six to a seven-column' 
folio to take care of increasing patronage. De- 
cember 1, 1904, it was again enlarged to a five-- 
column quarto. 

The initial number of the Condon Weekly 
Times was printed in July, 1900; a seven-col- 
umn folio, edited by William Christie. It was 
issued by the Condon Publishing Company. Its 
editor announced that the paper would be im- 
partial in county matters, but would favor the re- 
publican administration. In December, 1904, Mr. 
Christie left the Times and was succeeded by 
Edward Curran, who is at present editor and 
proprietor, having purchased the plant from the 
Condon Publishing Company. 

CROOK COUNTY. 



In the fall of 1880 John E. Jeffrey began- 
the publication of the Ochoco Pioneer. This 
was the initial journal published in Prineville r 
the present capital of Crook county. It was a 
brisk, lively sheet and continued financially suc- 
cessful for some time when business depression 
compelled its suspension. As described by The 
Dalles Times the Pioneer was a "neatly printed, 
7-column folio, independent in politics and de- 
voted to the best interests of Wasco county,"' 
there being no Crook county at that early period. 

In 1881 the Prineville News was issued under 
the management of Dillard & Company. It was 
independent in politics, with Republican inclin- 
ations. With the suspension of the Pioneer P'rine- 



1064 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



ville was without a paper for nearly a year, when 
the News was thrown to the breeze. While Hor- 
ace Dillard was the projector of this venture he 
subsequently formed a partnership with D. W. 
Aldridge and under their control its publica- 
tion was continued for several years. Saturday, 
November 11. 1883, the News suffered a loss by 
fire of about $1,500, although nearly all the ma- 
terial was saved except the press. The net loss 
was estimated at about $300. 

In June, 1885, the city of Prineville was 
made lively by the appearance of the Ochoco 
Rcviczv with the names of Barnes & Douthitt as 
publishers. It was made bright and breezy by 
the editorial pen of George W. Barnes. We find 
that it had been a folio, but in July, 1887, it had 
blossomed into a quarto, just doubling its orig- 
inal size. In 1888 The Review was being pub- 
lished by J. A. Douthitt. From The Dalles 
Tillies-Mountaineer, of May 6, 1893. we learn 
that F. R. Willmarth had published his valedic- 
tory and retired to be succeeded by D. W. Ald- 
ridge. In August, 1894, the Ochoco Review and 
Prineville News were consolidated as one jour- 
nal under the name of the Ochoco Review and 
the management of J. N. Williamson, formerly 
editor of the News. This left Crook county with 
only one newspaper, and with a claimed popu- 
lation of double that of Gilliam county. In Oc- 
tober, 1895 the editorial control of this journal 
was handed over by Mr. Williamson to L. N. 
Liggett, a resident of Prineville. August 17, 
1897, Mr. Liggett said: 

With this issue the Prineville Review enters upon 
its fourth year and twenty-two months under the pres- 
ent management. During this time we have tried to 
give the news both general and local. How well we 
have succeeded its many readers can testify. In en- 
tering upon another year we can only reiterate what 
we have said on former occasions that we will work for 
the interests of Crook county and that the state at large 
and above all things will be non-partisan in politics. 

The Review has the largest circulation of any other 
paper in the county and, hence, is eagerly sought after 
as an advertising medium. It is the official paper for 
Crook county in which all official notices are published. 
We take this opportunity to thank its many patrons for 
the liberal support they have given this paper in the 
past and hope to merit the same in the future. 

In July, 1902, the Prineville Review again 
changed hands. Mr. L. N. Liggett had edited 
the journal six years, and now sold out to Will- 
iam -Holder, publisher of the Shaniko Leader 
and Moro Bulletin. April 16, 1904, the Des 
Chutes Echo said : "A. H. Kennedy, formerly of 
this place, has purchased the Prineville Review 



of William Holder and is now sole proprietor 
of that publication." 

In October, 1896, A. G. Palmer purchased 
the plant of the Mitchell Monitor and removed it 
to Prineville where it was known as the Crook 
County Journal. But in August, 1897, we find 
that Mr. Hugh Gourlay, of The Dalles, had taken 
charge of the Journal. July 23, 1898, the Prine- 
ville Review said of the Journal : 

Mr. Hugh Gourlay informs us that he has issued 
the last number of the Crook County Journal under 
his management. Mr. H. J. Palmer, one of the Journal, 
was over last week and arrangements were made to 
turn the paper over to the owners, A. C. and H. J. 
Palmer, but as neither one appeared before this week's 
issue appeared no arrangements were made. In justice 
to Mr. Gourlay we will say that since he has taken 
hold of the Journal he has made a first-class paper out 
of it and it will revert back to the Palmer Brothers 
in a great deal better shape than when they delivered 
it over to Mr. Gourlay. 

According to the Review of April 6, 1901, 
another change was made in the fortunes of the 
Journal: 

The Journal came to hand this week with the name 
of W. T. Fogle as editor and publisher. He promises 
a great deal for his paper, and time will tell whether 
he can carry out his intentions. We hope the relation- 
ship between the Review and the Journal in the future 
will be of a different nature than it has been in the past. 
In the meantime the Review will remain under the 
same management that it has for over five years and 
still publish the best county newspaper in Crook county. 

In November, 1901, Mr. Fogle sold a half- 
interest in the Crook County Journal to W. H. 
Parker, of Albany, Oregon, who had held the 
position of foreman on the Daily Herald of that 
city for nine years. Mr. Fogle remained as edi- 
torial writer ; Mr. Parker having charge of the 
mechanical department. In June, 1902, the 
Journal was enlarged to a 12-page paper. In 
January, 1903, the Journal again changed 
hands, pasing under the management of W. C. 
Black, and S. M. Bailey, the former assuming 
editorial charge. In April, 1903, Mr. Bailey 
disposed of his interest in the Journal to W. C. 
Black. In September of the same year an in- 
terest was purchased in the paper by D. F. 
Steffa, who became a resident of Prineville. But 
in January, 1904, we find that at some previous 
period the Journal was under the joint manage- 
ment of Steffa & Bailey, for in January of that 
year. Messrs. Steffa & Bailey disposed of their 
interest and W. C. Black again resumed posses- 
sion. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1065 



Volume 1, Number 1, of the Bend Bulletin 
appeared in March, 1903, with Max Ludde- 
nianii as publisher and Don 1'. Rea as editor. It 
was a six-column quarto with "patent sides." In 
August of that year J. M. Lawrence purchased a 
half interest in the paper. In May, Mr. Rea with- 
drew from the editorial management with the 
intention of devoting himself to other interests. 
He was succeeded by J. M. Lawrence, a news- 
paper publisher of ability and experience. 

In June, 1902, the Des Chutes Echo, pub- 
lished at Bend, Crook county, was the latest 
newspaper venture in the state. The paper was 
edited by A. C. Palmer. It was naively ob- 
served by the Grass Valley Journal that "Mr. 
Palmer has started his paper a little early in 
order to catch some of those always welcome 
to the printer, timber notices." 

In July, 1903, there occurred a change in the 
ownership of the Echo. L T p to that date H. J. 
and A. C. Palmer had judiciously managed the 
journal. On the above date they disposed of 
the plant to The Des Chutes Publishing Com- 
pany, of which George Schlecht was the con- 
trolling factor. In July, 1903, the building, with 
the entire printing plant of the Echo was de- 
stroyed by fire. It was impossible to ascertain 
the origination of this blaze. Thenceforth for 
about a year the Echo was issued from the office 
of the Prineville Review. In July, 1904, it sus- 
pended publication. The Echo was in its third 
year, had enjoyed a good circulation and had 
been edited by George Schlecht at Des Chutes 
and, as stated, since the fire printed in the 
Review office. The editor, finding more 'lucra- 
tive employment elsewhere, decided to abandon 
the little paper and turned it over to the Review 
managment. But the latter found it inexpedient 
to employ a writer at Des Chutes and having no 
time to look after the paper decided that the 
best thing to be done under the circumstances 
was to abandon the field to the Bend Bulletin. 

In July, 1904, a six-column folio, all home 
print, called the Madras Pioneer, was started at 
Madras by the Pioneer Publishing Company. It 
was edited by Timothy Brownhill. April 1, 
1905, the paper was purchased by Max Leudder- 
mann. It was, then, a six-column folio, all home 
print, and conducted for Mr. Luddemann by 
S. D. Percival. 

In 1904 the Cline Falls Press issued its first 
number. It was a four-column folio and entered 
at the Prineville postoffice. It appears to have 
been under the editorial supervision of B. F. 
Monger, and financed by F. T. Hurlburt, a 
banker of Shaniko. 

The Ashwood Prospector was established 
"March 30, 1901, by Max Luddemann, a five- 



column paper printed from the office of the 
Antelope Herald. This paper was discontinued 
in April, 1905. 

LAKE COUNTY. 

Three newspapers are being published in 
Lake county at the present time, the Lake County 
Examiner, of Lakeview, by C. O. Metzker ; the 
Lakeview Herald, by William Wagner; and the 
Central Oregonian, of Silver Lake, by W. D. 
West. Besides these only three other papers have 
had an existence in the county. 

The first paper started in Lake county, and the 
first in Southern Oregon east of the Cascade 
mountains, was the State Line Herald, which 
first greeted its subscribers at Lakeview in De- 
cember, 1878. The plant upon which this paper 
was printed had formerly done duty in the pub- 
lication of the Bidwell Herald at Fort Bidwell. 
That paper was edited by Fred Smith, one of the 
soldiers stationed at Fort Bidwell. When the 
troops were removed to another post the Herald 
suspended publication. 

After the suspension at Fort Bidwell the plant 
was moved to Lakeview and relaunched as the 
State Line Herald. It was purchased from W. B. 
Aver by C. B. Watson and W. W. Watson, who 
were the first publishers. The Herald at the start 
was a six-column folio, but was later enlarged to 
an eight-column paper. Later B. P. Watson, an- 
other brother, secured an interest and the firm 
name was "The Watson Bros." Of these broth- 
ers, B. P. is dead ; C. B. is an attorney at Ashland, 
Oregon ; and W. W. resides in Portland. 

For the first two years of its life the Herald 
was a valuable piece of property. The pioneer 
paper saw many exciting times in Lakeview, and 
it is alleged that shooting at the editor was not an 
uncommon occurrence. However, the paper 
never failed to come out each week, except once, 
when the office was over the old Goos brewery, 
when fire destroyed both the brewery and the 
Herald office. 

In the spring of 1881 C. B. Watson left Lake- 
view, and on March 16 the paper was sold by 
C. B. and W. W. W T atson to J. H. Evans, at that 
time register of the Lakeview land office, the con- 
sideration being $700. August 11, of the same 
vear, Mr. Evans sold to R. F. McConnaughy, and, 
he the same day to B. P. Watson, the considera- 
tion in each case being $898.70. 

During the political campaign of 1882, there 
was a fierce camoaign waged between the State 
Line Herald, which was a strong Republican 
organ, and the Lake County Examiner, which at 
that time was as strongly Democratic. The latter 
warn and left the Herald without much support, 



io66 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON.. 



and as the town was too small to properly sup- 
port two papers, arrangements were made to 
leave but one paper in the field. The Examiner 
purchased the Herald's plant, subscription list, 
good will, etc., and Lake county's pioneer paper 
ceased to be. 

Lake county's second newspaper was the Lake 
County Examiner, established at Lakeview early 
in 1880. In the fall of 1879, Lake county, then 
comprising the present Lake and Klamath coun- 
ties, was strongly Democratic, and a number of 
leading Democrats decided to start a newspaper 
in opposition to the State Line Herald, a Republi- 
can paper, and the only one published in South- 
eastern Oregon. They organized a stock com- 
pany, among the stockholders of which were S. 
P. Moss, M. T. Walters, A. F. Snelling, C. A. 
Cogswell, Bob Redding, William Tullock, T. N. 
Lofton and George T. Baldwin. They bought a 
plant at Adin, California, paying $2,000 for it, 
and, as it was in the dead of winter, they had 
to haul it in on bob-sleds. There was no road 
broke down the valley, and when the teams bring- 
ing the plant struck the south end of the lake, 
which was frozen, they took to the ice and slid 
the outfit the entire length of the lake, about 
forty-five miles. 

The first week in January, 1880, the Lake 
County Examiner was established as a Demo- 
cratic paper with Frank Coffin as editor and man- 
ager. It managed to hold its own against the 
opposition paper, and in 1882 enlarged its plant 
and its field of support by purchasing its rival. 
Shortly after this Bruce Allen bought an interest 
in the paper and conducted it until March, 1885, 
when W. F. Beach came to Lakeview and bought 
Allen out. Three months after this transfer S. 
C. Beach came to Lakeview and bought up a lot 
of outstanding stock from C. A. Cogswell. The 
publishing firm now became Beach & Beach, and 
the Examiner took on a look of prosperity. Under 
this management the paper was independent po- 
litically, but leaned heavily to the Republican 
party. 

In 1890 or 1 89 1 F. W. Beach s'old his interest 
to S. C. Beach, and a year later William Town- 
send and A. Y. Beach bought S. C. Beach out. In 
1892 Mr. Townsend was elected county judge, 
and shortly afterward A. Y. Beach bought Town- 
send's interest in the paper and ran it independent 
until the campaign of 1896, when it was made a 
Republican organ. In January, 1898, J. E. 
McGarry bought a half interest in the Examiner, 
and the publishers became Beach & McGarry. 

On May 22, 1900, the fire which wiped out of 
existence the business portion of Lakeview, de- 
stroyed the Examiner plant, all that was saved 
being a job press, a little type and a small quan- 



tity of paper. From the time of the fire until 
October of the same year the paper was printed 
on the job press and issued as a three column, 
eight and ten-page paper. Then a new plant, in- 
cluding a cylinder power press, was put in and 
the Examiner became a five-column, eight page 
paper. 

John E. McGarry died on November 17, 1902, 
and in May, 1903, A. Y. Beach bought from the 
administrator of the McGarry estate the half in- 
terest in the paper for $2,000. The next change 
in proprietorship occurred on March 10, 1904, . 
when C. O. Metzker, who up to a short time be- 
fore had been publisher of the Chewaucan Post,- 
at Paisley, purchased the Examiner from Mr. 
Beach. Mr. Metzker has continued the paper in- 
the same form and with the same political prin- 
ciples as under Mr. Beach. 

The Examiner ever since its establishment, 
over twenty-five years ago, has been an active fac- 
tor in the advancement of Lake county. Today 
it is one of the best known and most reliable 
papers in Southern Oregon. Its plant is up-to- 
date and is one of the most expensive ever put in 
a town the size of Lakeview. 

It was fifteen years after the establishment of 
the Examiner before the next newspaper came 
into existence in Lake county. This was the 
Lake County Rustler, known since at various 
times as the Lakeview Register and the Lakeview 
Herald. It was during the fall of 1894 that agi- 
tation was begun for a second paper in Lakeview. 
The People's party had been gaining strength 
during the preceding years, and at the presi- 
dential election of 1892 had carried the county 
for General Weaver. It was the promised sup- 
port from the members of this party that in- 
duced the establishment of the Rustler. 

The plant of the John Day Living Issue, 
which paper had suspended some few months be- 
fore, was purchased and the Lake County Rustler' 
came into existence in January or February, 
1895. Oliver & Bnker were the publishers, the- 
latter retiring a few months afterward, when J. 
C. Oliver became sole publisher. October 15. 
1898, J. G. Walters leased the plant, changed the ■ 
name to the Lakeview Register, and conducted 
it as a Democratic organ. At the expiration of 
Mr. Walters' lease, October 1, 1899. J. C. Oliver 
again took charge of the paper and rechanged the 
name to the Lake County Rustler. 

On May 22, 1900, the Rustler was entirely 
destroyed by fire. For one or two issues there- 
after the Rustler was gotten out on the job press 
saved from the Examiner plant. Then Mr. Oliver- 
took his forms to Alturas, California, where he 
printed the paper, sending the edition to Lake-- 
view to be mailed. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1067' 



During the summer of 1900 Mr. Oliver inter- 
ested C. B. Irvine, who furnished a second-hand 
printing plant against ©liver's subscription list 
and book accounts, and the Lake County Rustler 
was again issued from its own plant in Lakeview. 
Oliver & Irvine published the Rustler until Dec. 
1, 1901, when W. J. Moore took up Mr. Irvine's 
half interest. Oliver & Moore continued at the 
helm until July 1, 1902, when Chas. A. Fitch 
purchased Mr. Oliver's interest. Moore & Fitch, 
in September of the same year, renamed their 
journal the Lakeview Herald. Mr. Fitch died on 
November 6, 1902, and W. J. Moore then as- 
sumed full control and published the Herald until 
September 8, 1904. On the latter date. the plant 
was leased by William Wagner, and on Decem- 
ber 15, of the same year, that gentleman became 
the proprietor. The Herald is Democratic. 

The fourth paper to be established in Lake 
county and the first one in the county outside of 
Lakeview, was the Chewaucan Post, which for 
nearly four years was published in the little town 
of Paisley. The Post was founded on February 
7, 1901, by C. O. Metzker, the present editor and 
proprietor of the Lake County Examiner. It was 
established as a six column folio and it was inde- 
pendent in politics. 

On April 9, 1903, the Post was purchased by 
William Holder, who, at the time, was interested 
in several newspapers in Eastern Oregon. Under 
Mr. Holder's administration the Post was a Re- 
publican paper. May 24, 1904, Chas. H. Keith 
bought the Post and at once changed it to a 
five-column folio, with all of its pages printed at 
home, it having had two "patent" pages before 
this change. Mr. Keith continued to publish the 
paper until in December, 1904, when it sus- 
pended, and the plant again became the property 
of Mr. Metzker. The Post during its life was a 
potent factor in the development of Northern 
Lake county and deserves a large share of credit 
for the settling of the country in that vicinity. 

In February, 1903, the looming up of a big 
list of timber notices which had to be published, 
the lands lying in the vicinity of Silver Lake, 
caused several newspaper men to cast longing 
glances in that direction. William Holder, who 
had formerly published the Shaniko Leader, and 
was at that time publishing the Prineville 
Review, associated himself with W. A. Bell, a 
U. S. commissioner at Prineville, and they started 
for Silver Lake with a plant, Bailey & Black, 
publishers of the Crook County Journal, pub- 
lished at Prineville, also gathered up a printing 
outfit and started for Silver Lake, at the same 
time, L. N. Kelsay, not knowing of the move- 
ments on foot for the establishment of a news- 
paper at Silver Lake, bought the Shaniko Leader 



from William Flolder, and after getting out only 
a few issues at that place, he, too, headed for 
Silver Lake. The three plants arrived at Silver 
Lake within a few days of each other and their 
owners began making preparations for business. 

Three newspapers in such a small town 
seemed like overdoing the thing, so Bailey & 
Black and Kelsay consolidated their plants and 
began the publication of the Central Oregonian, 
which first appeared on March 5, 1903, under the 
firm name of Bailey & Kelsay. In Novem- 
ber of the same year the Central Oregonian 
absorbed the Bulletin, at which time the publish- 
ing firm became the Central Oregonian Publish- 
ing Company, L. N. Kelsay editor and manager.. 
On August 5, 1905, W. D. West purchased the 
Central Oregonian and he is still the publisher. 

In the history of the Central Oregonian we 
have told of the rush of newspaper men to Silver - 
Lake. On the day following the launching of the 
Central Oregonian,- — on March 6, 1903, — the Sil- 
ver Lake Bulletin came forth under the proprie- 
torship of Holder & Bell and with L. N. Liggett 
as editor and manager. In November of the 
same year, after the greater portion of the tim- 
ber in the vicinity of Silver Lake had been thrown 
into a forest reserve; and filings thus prohibited, 
the Bulletin was consolidated with the Central 
Oregonian, the owners of the former taking a. 
part ownership in the latter paper. The Bulletins 
was in existence thirty-eight weeks. 

WHEELER COUNTY. 

The weekly journals of Wheeler county are, 
as a rule, bright, newsy and up-to-date. Among" 
the first publications was the Fossil Journal which 
was published in 1886. It was a sheet worthy the 
patronage of the citizens. Sloan P. Shutt was' 
the publisher and it was edited by H. H. Hen- 
dricks. The Fossil Journal first appeared Friday, 
October 15, 1886. 

In October, 1894, Bruce Smith, backed by a 
number of responsible people, placed a journal in 
the field, at Mitchell. This paper favored a new 
county seat, and it was the general opinion that 
Mitchell ought to support a good newspaper. No- 
vember 30, 1894, the Condon Globe said : 

"The first issue of Mitchell's new paper, the 
Monitor, reached our table last week. 'Rocky 
Mountain Smith,' the notorious temperance re- 
former (who tries to drink all the liquor himself 
in order to discourage others from drinking) and 
W. F. Magee, a school teacher over there, were 
partners until the first issue came out and in it 
their dissolution notice appears. 'Rocky' has hit 
the road again and the paper is now owned and 
managed by Mr. Magee. The first issue was, of 



■io68 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



-course, edited by 'Rocky' and is filled up mainly 
by abuse of neighboring editors, some of them 
receiving flattering comments. We wish the 
paper success under its new management, buF be- 
lieve it will fall short of its main object — that of 
having a new county cut off — for a number of 
years yet, at least until the population and wealth 
justifies it." 

In 1895 the Monitor came perilously near giv- 
ing up the ghost, but just as it was about to yield 
up its existence, a Mitchell attorney, A. C. 
Palmer, came to the rescue and he became editor 
and publisher. In October, 1896, it was the opin- 
ion of the Condon Globe that the Mitchell Moni- 
tor had changed hands nearly every month since 
its establishment, and had finallv pulled up stakes 
and moved to Prineville. Thereafter it was 
known as the Crook County Journal. 

In March, 1900, we find the Wheeler County 
Nezvs, edited by E. M. Shutt, formerly of Ante- 
dope and Heppner. published at Twickenham. It 
was a crisp, newsy little paper and became quite 
an important factor in the interests of the town. 

In June, 1900, Roy C. Irvine, a bright and 
experienced newspaper man from Independence, 
Polk county, assumed editorial charge of the 
"Wheeler County News. Mr. Shutt withdrew in 
a graceful and well worded editorial, and the 
plant was turned over to Mr. Irvine. In Novem- 
ber, 1900. Mr. Irvine sold the paper to J. E. 
Adamson. In his salutatory the letter said : 
"Where others have quit I have begun anew." In 
April, 1902, the Wheeler County Nezvs ceased 
to exist and its plant and subscription list passed 
into the hands of James Stewart, of the Fossil 
Journal. 

But the Nezvs was not dead ; only sleeping. In 
Tulv, 1902, it was awakened and came out as a 
five-column journal with "patent insides." In 
iqo^ J. E. Adamson again resumed charge of the 
Mitchell Nezvs, having purchased it from James 
S. Stewart to whom he had sold it a year 
previous. 

In March, 1904, we find the Mitchell Sentinel 
in the field, a six-column folio published by the 
Sentinel Publishing Companv, which in reality 
meant Helm & Gillenwater. Mr. Helm finally pur- 
chased the whole interest. In August, 1904, the 
Sentinel plant was washed sway by a water- 
spout, but immediately replaced with an entirely 
new outfit. Tt still remained, politically, uncom- 
promisingly Republican. In November, 1904, the 
Pacific Homestead said : 

The leading Republican paper of Mitchell at the 
present time is The Sentinel, which was founded in the 
year 1804 by Hon. W. P. Gillenwater and A. Helm, as 
a six-column paper to be devoted to the interests and 



advancement of Southern Wheeler county. It is a 
bright, newsy sheet, well filled with interesting local 
I news and has a good circulation in the surrounding 
country. The paper suffered somewhat of a mishap 
during the waterspout of last July in that town, the 
office and supplies being swept away by the angry wat- 
ers and publication was suspended until September 1st, 
in order to allow the publishers to replace the lost ap- 
paratus. It has now appeared again as the local Re- 
publican organ, and with renewed activity on the part 
of the publisher. The paper is well patronized by citi- 
zens and merchants of the town and country, both as 
a newsy sheet and as an advertising medium. The 
Hon. W. P. Gillenwater died on April nth of the pres- 
ent year, leaving Mr. Helm as sole proprietor of the 
paper. 

In October, .1901, the first number of the 
Spray Courier made its appearance. It was a 
journal creditable to the editor Jesse Shelby, and 
the town in which it was published. In Novem- 
ber the paper had passed into the hands of 
David E. Baxter, an able newspaper man who 
owned the lot and building. 

KLAMATH COUNTY. 

In Klamath county there are two newspapers, 
the Klamath Falls Express and the Klamath 
Republican, both published at the county seat. 
They are good papers and are doing much to ad- 
vertise the county in which they are published. 

Although the history of the press of Klamath 
county covers a period of over twenty years, there 
have been established in the county only four 
newspapers, all at the county seat. It was over a 
year after Klamath had been cut off from Lake 
county before the click of type was heard in 
Klamath land. The pioneer paper was the Kla- 
math Weekly Star, which first greeted its readers 
May 10, 1884, the plant from which it was issued 
having been brought from Etna, Siskiyou county, 
California, where it had formerly done service for 
the Etna Post. The Star was started as a six- 
column folio, all home print, and was very much 
devoted to Klamath county and the little town of 
Linkville. The founders of this pioneer news- 
paper were Jospeh A. Bowdoin and a Mr. Curtis, 
the firm name being Bowdoin & Curtis. These 
gentlemen had been partners in the newspaper 
business elsewhere, and while they started the 
Star as partners, Mr. Bowdoin had sole charge of 
the Linkville paper and Mr. Curtis was never in 
the town. August 1, 1885, the partnership was 
dissolved and Mr. Bowdoin became sole pub- 
lisher. 

Every one who was in Klamath county prior 
to the establishment of the Star remembers how 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1069 



much people, who could not often come to town, 
wished to know of the happenings of the county, 
and how warmly the few business men talked 
about having a paper to advertise in, and thus 
keep the business relations with their patrons a 
little closer. Notwithstanding this good will of 
the people toward the paper, owing to the sparsely 
settled condition of the county at that time, the 
prospect was far from flattering, but the indom- 
itable will power of Mr. Bowdoin, coupled with 
his business ability, overcame the difficulties and 
he conducted the venture to a successful issue. 
Mr. Bowdoin died February 14, 1904. 

Mr. Bowdoin was a Democrat in politics, but 
he conducted the Star as an independent and 
strictly neutral paper, although he allowed its 
columns to be used for the free discussion of all 
political questions. The patronage of the paper 
increased and on June 1, 1886, it was enlarged 
to a seven-column folio. Another change was 
also made on this date. The name of the publi- 
cation was changed from Klamath Weekly Star 
to Klamath CoUnty Star. 

In July, 1889, J. A. Bowdoin retired from the 
Star, selling to his son, W. E. Bowdoin. A few 
weeks later, on September 6, 1889, the plant was 
destroyed by fire which wiped out almost the 
entire town of Linkville. A new outfit was at 
once purchased and publication continued. 

September 5, 1890, Mr. Bowdoin sold an in- 
terest in the Star to P. J. Connolly, who for a 
year previous had been editing the paper. Mr. 
Connolly, who was known as "Peter the Poet," 
by the newspaper fraternity, was a gifted writer 
and his articles were copied extensively. Under 
Bowdoin & Connolly the publication became a 
strong Republican organ and took an active part 
in county politics. During three years the Star 
was one of the best country papers ever pub- 
lished in Oregon and was a credit to the Klamath 
country. 

The firm was dissolved on September 18^ 
1894, and Mr. Connolly became sole publisher 
and proprietor. It then became an ardent advo- 
cate of the principles of the People's party, 
which at that time was very strong in Klamath 
county, and it remained an organ of that party 
until its suspension. Mr. J. K. Haynes became 
associated with Mr. Connolly in the publication 
of the paper in January, 1895, the latter, how- 
ever, retaining the ownership of the plant. Fin- 
ancial troubles overtook the Star in the fall of 
1895 an d i n September of that year an attach- 
ment was placed upon the plant. Mr. Connolly 
was forced to retire and for a few weeks the 
paper was issued by Mr. Haynes. On October 
31, the last issue was printed and the Star was no 
more. 



The plant, subscription list and other ac- 
counts were purchased by the express. The plant 
did duty for a short time in the publication of 
the Independent at Klamath Falls, but in July, 
1896, it was shipped to Sisson, California, and 
was used in the publication of a paper at that 
point. 

On April 28, 1892, appeared the first number 
of the Klamath Falls Express, the second publi- 
cation to come into existence in the county of 
Klamath. The Star at this time was a strong Re- 
publican organ and the Express was established 
in the interests of the Democratic party of Kla- 
math county, and it filled the bill admirably. The 
Express was an eight-column folio with the two ■ 
inside pages "patent matter." David B. Worth- 
ington was the editor and proprietor, and under 
his management the paper was a creditable one. 
The hard times had its effect on the Express 
and on August 23, 1894, the size was reduced, 
being made a seven-column folio. 

Mr. Worthingtbn sold the paper in the spring 
of 1895 to Joseph G. Pierce and George J. Farns- 
worth, who assumed charge June 6th. The fall 
of this year was a bad one for the newspaper 
men of Klamath Falls, and, like the proprietor 
of the Star, the publishers of the Express experi- 
enced financial difficulties. December 16th an as- 
signment was made, precipitated by an attach- 
ment of the plant under an action brought in the 
circuit court by J. W. Hamaker on two prom- 
issory notes aggregating $669. On the 19th Evan 
R. Reames, assignee of the dissolvent partner- 
ship of Farnsworth & Pierce, took charge of the 
paper and issued a few numbers. On January 
6, 1896, the financial tangle having been straight- 
ened, we find that Mr. Pierce became editor and 
proprietor. He subsequently conducted the paper, 
for nearly seven years. Under his management 
the journal advocated free silver principles and 
was the organ of the fusion forces of Klamath 
county. 

October 27, 1902, the paper was purchased by 
Roy Hamaker, who presided over its destinies 
about a year and a half. Under his management 
the paper took very little part in politics and was 
independent. J. Scott Taylor, the present owner, 
purchased the plant and business in May, 1904, 
the first number under his control being issued on 
the 19th. Mr. Taylor made many improvements 
in the Express, among other things making it an 
all home print paper. It is strongly Democratic 
and is conducted on up-to-date principles. 

Early in February, 1896, D. C. Boyd leased a 
part of the Star plant which a short time before 
had been purchased by the Express, and launched 
a new paper, the Independent, a seven-column 
folio, at Klamath Falls. Not filling the "long fellr 



1070 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



want," after a life of only a few months, it sus- 
pended, and the Republican, launched immedi- 
ately after the suspension of the Independent, 
was more successful in filling the want. 

The Klamath Republican, established April 
.23, 1896, has had many changes in ownership 
during its life of less than ten years. As its name 
suggests it is a Republican paper and has been 
throughout all its many changes in editors and 
proprietors. The Republican was established by 
W. E. Bowdoin, who had formerly been the pub- 
lisher of the Star, and was a seven-column folio. 
One year after founding the paper Mr. Bow- 
doin took as a partner Milan A. Loosley, and in 
July, 1898, Mr. Loosley became sole publisher. 
June 1. 1889, Mr. Loosley sold the Republican 
and for a short time it was published by the Re- 
publican Publishing Company, Charles J. Rob- 
erts, manager. September 21, 1899, W. Huse & 
Son, formerly of Ponca, Nebraska, purchased the 
business. Additions to the plant and improve- 
ments in the paper were made during the own- 
ership of Huse & Son. 

Wesley O. Smith the present owner, pur- 
chased the Republican April 30, 1903. The paper 
was made all home print early in 1905, to accom- 



moderate the increasing demands of its patrons, 
and it is one of the "live" papers of Southern 
Oregon. 

On January I, 1904, was born the Klamath 
High School News, a publication devoted to the 
interests of education, a four-column folio, quar- 
terly publication. It was organized and is still 
published by the students of the Klamath County 
High School, the only publication of its kind in 
interior Oregon. From the start the paper met 
with success, and on November 1, 1904, it be- 
came a monthly publication. It is printed in the 
office of the Klamath Republican. Following was 
the staff at the date of founding: John G. Swan, 
editor-in-chief ; John Yaden, assistant editor ; 
Agnes Stevenson, exchange editor ; Bertha Ham- 
mond, society editor ; Harry Benson, business 
manager ; Will W. Baldwin, assistant business 
manager. 

The staff at present is : Professor John G. 
Swan, editor-in-chief; Agnes Stevenson, assis- 
tant editor ; Alexander Martin, local editor ; 
Georgia B. White, society editor ; Maud E. Nail, 
exchange editor ; Will W. Baldwin > business 
manager ; Austin White, assistant business man- 
ager. 



CHAPTER I] 



REMINISCENT. 



INDIAN WARS OF 1 854-56. 

February 23, 1881, C. W. Denton published 
the following concerning the stirring times of 
that epoch in the history of Oregon : 

"It was during the occupancy by Major Hal- 
ler, of Fort Dalles, that the first Indian war 
broke out, some of the incidents of which I will 
relate. Soon after the great treaty made by Gen- 
eral Palmer at Ine Dalles in October, 1854, hos- 
tilities commenced. The general had with him as 
interpreters Messrs. McDuffq, John Through, 
Alex. McKee and C. W. Denton, the writer. This 
treaty included all the important tribes of In- 
dians in the northwest. The greater portion of 
these Indians became dissatisfied with the terms 
of the treaty, or, perhaps, never were satisfied 
with the stipulations. At any rate they_ soon 
ignored its provisions. 

"Your correspondent thus accounts for the 



action of the Indians : The Hudson's Bay Com- 
pany used to trade and traffic a great deal with 
them ; in fact their trade had grown to such an 
extent that the company established trading posts 
at Vancouver, Walla Walla, Boise river, Fort 
Hall, Colville and Coeur d'Alene. Mr. Thomas 
McKay, the father of Alexander McKay and 
others of the younger McKay boys, was the over- 
seer and had charge in building these posts. By 
treaty stipulations between the United States and 
Great Britain, these were evacuated, and the 
'King George men,' as the Indians termed them, 
were removed int© British Columbia. This, I 
think, was the principal cause of the Indian out- 
break, though, perhaps, other causes of slight 
importance, such as their right to hunting and 
fishing grounds, might have played some part in 
the matter. The "dissatisfaction seemed to be 
general throughout all the Indian tribes of the 
northwest. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1071 



"The first act on the part of the Indians 
was by the Klickitas who killed two or three 
miners. Lieutenant Rowland, from Vancouver, 
was detailed to ascertain, if possible, what was 
the cause of the outrage and to prevent any fur- 
ther depredations. While in the faithful dis- 
charge of his duties the lieutenant was killed by 
the hostiles at, or near, what is now called the 
'blocKiiouse' in Klickitat county. He had before 
this sought an interview with the Indians, but to 
no avail. Quartermaster Forsythe detailed an 
Indian by the name of Mark and your correspond- 
ent to deliver a message to Stock Whitley and 
his tribe, requesting a 'wa-wa' between the In- 
dians and the government authorities at The 
Dalles ; but the old chief refused such an inter- 
view. Immediately after these unsuccessful at- 
tempts' at reconciliation, Major G. O. Haller pro- 
ceeded to the scene of action, taking with him 
about sixty men. He encountered the Indians in 
large numbers between the Klickitat and the 
Yakima rivers. Here a terrible battle ensued, 
his handful of men fighting manfully all day 
against fifteen or twenty times their number. The 
soldiers were eventually cut off from water and 
in a perishing condition they maintained the un- 
equal fight. The command finally extricated 
themselves with the loss of several killed and 
fifteen or sixteen badly wounded — among the 
latter Sergeants Roaper and Laweety and Private 
Murray. Some few of the wounded afterward 
died. Captain John Darragh did gallant service. 
He had charge of the pack train and managed to 
bring supplies to the camp of the besieged. This 
was one of the most skillfully conducted engage- 
ments of the war, though unsuccessful. A scout 
by the name of Douglass was detailed to bring 
in the crippled and wounded, and he so adroitly 
managed it as not to lose a man. Instead of fol- 
lowing the trail direct to The Dalles, Douglass 
made the nearest point on the Columbia river, 
which he did by traveling an old road near what 
is now called Goldendale, and from thence to the 
river at or near where Columbus now stands, 
from which point he came to the city. He made 
this tedious and perilous trip in about two days, 
landing the crippled and wounded at The Dalles, 
where they received proper care. Had the hos- 
tiles attacked this place then, they could have 
taken and destroyed it, as there were not here a 
half dozen able-bodied men. The slaughter 
, would have been terrible, as, besides the wounded 
men there were several helpless women and 
children." 

An "Old Settler" commenting on this portion 
of Mr. Denton's article, wrote : "The idea that 
'a half dozen able-bodied men' were all the town 



could afford is absurd. The town was full of 
refugees from the country, and while there were 
some who predicted our capture, and even went 
so far as to see the Indians coming several times, 
nothing happened here to warrant such fears." 

"Major Haller with his remaining command 
fought his way to The Dalles, losing, however, 
several of his men, among whom was James B. 
Moholland, a promising young man, who was 
one of the bravest and most faithful I ever knew. 
About this time Colonel James K. Kelly, since 
United States senator from this state, was doing 
desperate fighting with his command of Oregon 
volunteers in the vicinity of Walla Walla. In 
several engagements he fought against great 
odds, and, on one occasion the volunteers were 
outnumbered by the Indians thirty to one. The 
fighting was done in rifle pits and lasted seven 
days and nights. It is acknowledged by all to 
have been the hardest Indian fight on the Pacific 
coast and to this day is called the 'Seven Days' 
Fight' among the volunteers, several of whom, 
officers and privates, are still living among us, 
honored and respected for their bravery on this 
occasion. 

"While this fighting was in progress at Walla 
Walla, Colonel Wright, of the regular army, was 
en route to reinforce Colonel Kelly with his vol- 
unteers, and being delayed at The Dalles in mak- 
ing ready for the trip, an Indian outbreak took 
place at the Cascade Falls, the news of which 
had not been received, however, until he and his 
command had started and were camped on Five, 
Mile creek. A messenger (the writer of these 
reminiscences) was sent to apprise Colonel 
Wright of this state of affairs. He immediately 
returned to The Dalles and every preparation was 
made for the relief of the settlers at that place. 
The colonel and his command, together with a 
number of volunteers, proceeded down the river 
the next day, taking with them two steamers, the 
"Mary" and "Wasco," and a large flat boat, the 
latter loaded with artillery and cavalry horses. 
On the trip the machinery of the "Mary" became 
disabled, in consequence of which the whole con- 
voy was compelled to stop all night at Wind 
Mountain. The Cascades was reached early the 
next morning. Orders had previously been given 
by Colonel Wright not to fire a musket until a 
landing was made, for fear of causing a general 
stampede among the cavalry horses, and the old 
flat-boat being a Very frail craft. While nearing 
the shore the Indians opened fire, wounding one 
cavalry horse in the hip. White landing and 
climbing up the bank, one regular soldier was 
killed. He was a young man from Baltimore, 
Maryland. A general fight now ensued, and in 



1072 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



a short time righting was going on along the river 
at different points for a distance of five miles. 
During the battle Phil Sheridan and his soldiers 
could be seen at Bradford's Island, on the Ore- 
gon side. He rendered great assistance by co- 
operating with Colonel Wright's forces. 

"Your readers can easily conceive from these 
short reminiscences, which I draw entirely from 
my memory, of the events, the obstacles and dif- 
ficulties our pioneers encountered in first mak- 
ing their homes in Eastern Oregon and Eastern 
Washington. This vast region, extending from 
the boundary of Southern California, Nevada 
and Utah, and thence northward to the Missouri 
river and its tributaries, seems to have been the 
desired hunting grounds of all the Indian' tribes 
west of the Rocky mountains. Indeed they had 
roamed undisturbed wherever their wild and 
semi-savage fancy led them. When immigration 
extended westward and this once uninhabited re- 
gion became sparsely settled by the whites, it 
seemed to mar the quiet disposition of the In- 
dians. Civilization was not congenial to their 
savage natures. Sickness and disease came 
among them from the whites, and this, also, 
seemed to increase their hatred of the conquer- 
ing race. The several treaties made between the 
United States and the different Indian tribes, 
which on the part of the government had not been 
kept in good faith, had the effect to cause the 
Indians to look with distrust upon the white man, 
and to lose confidence in the government. This 
has been a source of great annoyance to the early 
settlers of our western territory and thousands of 
our citizens have been sacrificed to appease the 
wrath of the savages." * 

HOW EXPLORER CLARK SPELLED HIS NAME. 

Many histories, reminiscences, and historical 
sketches, including a "Journal" purporting to 
have been published by Captain Meriwether 
Lewis, spell the name of Captain William Clark, 
companion of Lewis, "Clarke," with the final "e." 
There is no authority for this. The copyplate 
of His signature is spelled "Clark." But the fol- 
lowing letter from Hon. Walter B. Douglas, 
Judge of the Circuit Court, Eighth Judicial Cir- 
cuit of Missouri, received by the publishers of 
this volume February 20, 1905, removes all doubt 
concerning the correct orthography : 

"Dear sirs — Your letter to the secretary of 
state was sent to me by him ; he thinking that by 
reason of my being president of the Missouri His- 
torical Society, I might be able to give an authori- i 
tative answer to your question. 

'The Historical Society has a collection of | 



letters of Governor Clark's, and I have seen many 
other of his writings. In every instance he spells 
the name 'Clark.' as all of the members of his 
family did and still do. He wrote the name some- 
thing like this (nere is given a spelling with a 
slight flourish on the end), I have not made the 
flourisn at the end quite like he generally did. 
Sometimes it looked not at all like an ( e'— some- 
times very much like one, but at all times it was 
only a flourish. The usage of spelling the name 
'Clarke' in the public prints came, I think, from 
Gass's book. That book, as you know, was the 
first published account of the exploration. Gass 
was an unlettered sergeant, whose notes were 
written out by a Virginia country schoolmaster 
in what is now West Virginia. Gass, no doubt, 
had letters or papers signed by Clark, and the 
schoolmaster took the flourish for an 'e.' The 
Historical Society has commissions given to mili- 
tary officers of the state by Clark when governor. 
These are all printed 'William Clark, Governor 
of Missouri Territory.' 

"George Rogers Clark, the governor's brother 
wrote his name with a like flourish, yet it was 
never mistaken for an 'e,' and his name is always 
printed 'Clark.' I may add one other bit of evi- 
dence. A monument to Governor Clark, erected 
by his descendants, over his grave, was unveiled 
here (St. Louis), last fall. Upon that* his name 
is, also, spelled Clark. These various instances 
ought to settle the question. 

"Yours truly, 

"WALTER B. DOUGLAS." 

r 

A REMINISCENCE OF THE INDIAN WAR. 

O. P. Cresap served as a guide to General 
Howard during the Bannock and Piute war of 
1878, and in that capacity witnessed much of the 
campaign. His account of the adventures in 
which he participated during this war is interest- 
ing and is as follows : 

Tom Meyers and I left Elk creek on the morn- 
ing of July 2, 1878, bound for Canyon City. We 
had no particular object in view except to visit 
the city and did not know there was an Indian 
war in progress. We arrived at the old Dribbles- 
by ranch, now known as the Smith ranch, about 
noon, intending to stop there for dinner. I went 
up and knocked at the door but could get no an- 
swer, so went back of the house to see where the 
family had gone. But I could find no one and 
going into the house discovered that things were 
undisturbed. I concluded that the occupants 
were away on the hills. We fed our horses and 
secured a cold lunch for ourselves, and rode on. 
At the next ranch I found no one at home ; like- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1073 



wise at the next. Then I became suspicious and 
the more so because I saw a man scouting near 
us. So I made bold to inquire of him the reason 
for this condition of affairs and learned for the 
first time that the Bannocks and Piutes were on 
the war-path and that he was one of General 
Howard's scouts. As he was going to Canyon 
City we rode along with him and learned more 
of the trouble. He said that Howard was south 
of Canyon City in pursuit of the Indians, who 
were crossing the range and headed toward Long 
creek. 

At Canyon City there was a material stir in 
the air and all was excitement. Most of the men 
were under arms and a portion of the women and 
children had been removed to the mining tun- 
nels west of the town. A shipment of one hundred 
stands of arms together with ammunition ha"d 
just been received from The Dalles in response 
to an appeal from the citizens, who found them- 
selves short of weapons, and every able-bodied 
man and boy in the town was well equipped and 
ready to give an account of himself, should the 
redskins appear. As soon as I learned enough of 
the particulars to convince me that the people at 
Elk creek were in danger I made preparations for 
an immediate return. Before midnight I was 
well on my way accompanied by Tom and two 
others who joined us. 'that was one of the dark- 
est nights I have ever seen and we had to walk 
our horses so soon as we reached the foothills. 
We reached Elk creek, or Susanville, about nine 
o'clock the next morning and in a short time the 
six or seven families there, the Blake, Bison, 
Mael and other families, had packed what few 
necessities were required for the trip and with 
the exception of John Blake, the merchant who 
offered to stay and keep watch until w r e could re- 
turn, the party headed southward. 

After we were well on our way, John Austin 
and I left the company with the intention of re- 
connoitering and if possible discover the exact 
whereabouts of the redskins, who were thought 
to be over toward Fox valley. We took a north- 
eastward course. We saw no signs of Indians 
that day and camped that night on Long creek, 
about eight miles above the town of that name. 

The next morning we descended the creek, 
soon reaching the open country. We passed 
Thomas Keeney's place but looked in vain for 
the next ranch house. I knew about where the 
house was situated and could not account for my 
failure to see it now. As we came a little nearer 
we noticed that the chickens were out of their 
yard and huddled together in the branches of a 
tree. By this time we were close to where the 
house had stood and looking again very closely, 
we easily solved the mystery of its non-appear- 



ance, for there lay a pile of ruins still warm. 
Although we. were aware that the Indians were 
probably not a great many miles away, we did 
not believe they were very close to us and rather 
ascribed the fire to accidental causes than to the 
redskins. The ruins of the next ranch house were 
smouldering when we reached it and then it 
dawned upon us that we were probably close to- 
the trail of the redskins. From that on we pro- 
ceeded with great caution. The next house was 
burning and atar off we could see the flames 
leaping skyward and the smoke curling up in 
great clouds. Here we saw our first Indian, a 
scout, but evidently he thought we were advance 
scouts of the army for he quickly rode out of 
sight. Little did we think we were so close upon 
the Indians' heels, but in a few minutes we came 
in sight of a party of Indians which had passed 
through Long creek the day previously and was 
now neaded toward the middle fork of the John 
Day. 

The inhabitants of this town and settlers liv- 
ing near by had constructed a log fort and stock- 
ade here and in it were gathered the population 
of the town and those who had come in from 
surrounding ranches. When the Indians reached 
this place they attempted to send a small force 
into the fort on the pretext of being friendly 
Indians. Wisely and fortunately for those in the 
fort the warriors were refused admission. Fur- 
ther parley followed, the Indians endeavoring to- 
effect an entrance through some ruse and each 
time meeting with a repulse. Finally, seeing 
that the whites could not be deceived and that the 
fort was too strong to be attacked successfully. 
the war party passed by within two hundred yards 
of the fort without offering in any way to molest 
property. ' Had the redskins succeeded in gain- - 
ing an entrance to the fort a massacre of the 
whites would probably have followed. 

Of the Indians there were likely between six 
and seven hundred, mostly Bannocks and Piutes. 
The old men, women and children formed the 
van, the fighting men the rear. With the Indians 
were some two or three hundred head of horses, 
which were herd :d and driven by those unable to 
fight. The wickiups, personal property and 
plunder were packed on poles which were dragged 
by the horses. Tnis advance did most of the 
plundering and pillaging. 

Here at Long creek we met Colonel Bernard, 
who was the real fighter of the army. He asked 
me where I had come from and what I had seen 
of trie Indians and I told him all I knew. I told 
him of conditions at Susanville and he very 
kindly placed a small detachment of troops at our 
disposal to guard property at Elk creek. Austin 
accompanied the soldiers back. With the army 



68 



io74 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



were about thirty scouts, recruited mostly from 
Arizona, and in command of Rube Robbins. 
While these scouts were well acquainted with 
Idaho and that portion of Oregon lying near the 
southern boundary, they were unfamiliar with 
this region and Colonel Bernard was looking for 
a man who could pilot them northward through 
the mountains. He proposed that I go- with them 
and I accepted his offer to act as guide, though 
no actual enlistment was required of me. 

General Howard's plan was to make no at- 
tempt to drive the Indians, but rather to follow 
them closely and keep them headed northward if 
possible, planning to surround and capture them 
on the Columbia river. He was afraid that if 
the Indians were pushed too hard they might 
make a dasn across the Columbia before he could 
place troops and boats there in sufficient numbers 
to check them while he cut off their retreat. Dur- 
ing the whole time the Indians were marching 
northward troops had been gathering along the 
Columbia river, but their movements were very 
slow. Up to this time but one battle had been 
fougnt in this region, the battle of Silver Creek, 
in which the Indians held their own and might 
be said to have been victorious. As to General 
Howard's ability as an Indian fighter, opinions 
differ, but that he was sincere in his belief that 
it would be disastrous policy to push the Indians 
too hard, there is no doubt in my mind. The In- 
dians did not go very far out of their way to 
commit depredations, , but confined themselves 
strictly to their line of march, evidently wishing 
to delay hostilities until they were reinforced by 
.their hoped for Umatilla allies. 

Thus the army moved slowly, going from 
Long creek north across the middle fork of the 
John Day, thence to the north fork and down on 
Camas prairie toward Pendleton. Our route 
was marked on every hand by evidences of de- 
struction and carnage. Sometimes we found 
ranch buildings razed to the ground by fire ; 
again simply ransacked, furniture destroyed, 
clothes, carpets, etc., stolen, windows broken and 
■goods scattered about. Occasionally we found 
.a white man murdered by the savages. At all 
the ranches the stock had been driven away and 
killed, and one had only to notice the dead horses 
and cattle along the road to know that the In- 
dians had passed that way. At one ranch on 
Birch creek we found a baby carriage drawn out 
under the arbor leading to the door of the house, 
and in the carriage was placed a dead colt. At 
another place, evidently a dairy farm, in Camas 
prairie, our attention was attracted by a huge 
pile of butter stacked up near the house. From 
the appearance of it the little Indians had used it 



as a toboggan slide. As we approached one place 
we noticed a huge, white pyramid. At first we 
could not make out what it was but as we drew 
nearer we saw that it was composed of dead 
sheep, several hundred of them. One of the most 
pitiful and frequent sights was that of a dead 
lamb tied between two posts so that it could not 
move and under its body the ashes of a small fire 
showing that it had been burned to death. Around 
these dead lambs were always small moccasin 
tracks, indicating that this was the work of the 
children. 

Our scouts had frequent skirmishes with the 
Indians but none of enough consequence to be 
worth relating. 1 ne scouts always moved in 
front and were followed by the cavalry, the in- 
fantry, pack train and artillery bringing up the 
rear. Next in command after General Howard 
were Colonel Forsythe and Brevet Colonel Ber- 
nard. When we reached the headwaters of the 
north fork there were two courses for the In- 
dians to leave the country, by Butter Creek or by 
the Grande Ronde river. By a little maneuver- 
ing we turned them from the Grand Ronde and 
they started down Butter Creek. Here we fought 
a battle. 

A succession of low hills slopes away west- 
ward, forming an ideal place for the Indians to 
make a stand and they did make a stand. When 
we came up, the hillside was fairly alive with 
Indians and they commenced heavy firing in our 
direction. The scouts fell back, the cavalry was 
ordered to the front and formed into two lines 
and the men were then ordered to dismount. Then 
the gatling gun, the only one with the army, was 
brought up and in less time than it takes to tell 
it, was dashing out in front of the army on its 
way up the first hill. The redskins were on the 
second hill, while between the two there was a 
small elevation within two hundred yards of the 
Indians. Slowly the horses mounted the first hill, 
reached the summit, and then to the astonish- 
ment of all, kept on its way to the smaller eleva- 
tion. The Indians could not understand such ap- 
parently foolhardy actions and they stood thun- 
der struck, not even offering to fire. Had they 
not been overcome by the audacity of the act our 
men would have certainly met death. As the 
lead horses reached the summit of the elevation 
they whirled around ; the carriage was unlum- 
bered and in an instant a prefect storm of bul- 
lets was carrying death and destruction to the 
ranks of the dusky warriors. The redskins 
scrambled from their hiding places and rushed 
pell mell over the summit of the highest hill and 
into the timber. Our troops came to support the 
gun, but were not needed. The officers did not 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1075 



allow the soldiers to take full advantage of this 
victory and the result was that the Indians were 
pursued' only a short distance. George Smith, 
a soldier was killed in action and several were 
wounded, though none mortally. After the bat- 
tle scores of dead horses covered the ground 
telling plainly of the deadly work of the bullets. 
This fight took place between the 10th and 15th 
of July. The casualties among the Indians must 
have been great, though I never learned just 
how great. I had followed the gatling gun up 
the hill and so saw the whole fight very plainly. 
The defeated braves, closely pursued by the 
army, pushed northward and, as is well known, 
were defeated in battle by Miles near Pendleton. 
With the death of their chief and leader, Egan, 
the Indians lost courage and executing a flank 
movement, commenced to retreat southward. We 
followed and came up with them a few days 
later on Lake creek, which empties into the North 
Fork. Here the Indians made another and final 
stand and had they possessed the courage which 
accompanies success they might have made us 
pay more dearly for victory. 

This time they chose for their battle ground 
a high table rock covering several acres and with 
nearly perpendicular sides. From its top they 
bade defiance to the cavalry and scouts, who were 
under Colonel Forsythe. The trail over this high 
plateau led through a small gap which could be 
easily defended against hundreds by a handful 
of brave men. The scouts, led by Rube Robbins, 
were ambushed while attempting to gain the 
summit of this rock through the gap and as a re- 
sult suffered the loss of one man killed and sev- 
eral wounded, among the latter being Robbins 
himself. Kennedy, the man who was killed, was 
wounded in the arm and bled to death. I found 
him on the field and after giving him a drink of 
water from my canteen, went for the surgeon 
and informed him of Kennedy's condition. Then 
I went to look after another wounded man named 
Campbell. When the surgeon found Kennedy he 
was dead. 

The cavalry were drawn up in line for a 
charge when Colonel Bernard came up to me and 
asked if I knew of any way to dislodge the red- 
skins without great loss of life. I pointed to a 
high steep hill to the west, which overlooked 
the table rock, and told him that if he could gain 
its summit it would be an easy matter to take 
the Indians in the rear. The troopers having 
ascended the hill in safety soon dislodged the In- 
dians and forced them to retreat. 

The last defeat was too much for the Indians 
and soon after they divided into two bands, one 
going south by way of the Greenhorn mountains 



and the other down the Dixie range. The party 
which returned by way of the Dixie range killed 
a Frenchman near Robinsonville and Jimmie 
Varderman on Elk creek. The Indians kept in 
the mountains as much as possible, however, and 
destroyed little if any property. The war was 
now at an end and as I could be of no further 
service to the army I helped to take Campbell, 
the wounded man, down Burnt river, after which 
I returned to my home at Susanville. 

FIRST MARRIAGE IN WASCO COUNTY. 

In her entertaining and valuable book en- 
titled "Reminiscences of Eastern Oregon," Mrs. 
Lord says : 

This is the first authentic account of a legal 
marriage in the county which was really then a 
part of Clackamas. I will give the incidents as 
given to me by George Snipes. While I have 
been familiar with the facts and incidents here 
related, as they occurred, and have related them 
many times, as being of an interesting character, 
yet I was not sure enough of details and felt a 
delicacy about using the story without having it 
verified. Mr. Snipes says: 

"I came across the plains in the year 1853, 
arriving on Ten Mile creek in September. While 
camped there I met a man who, in conversation, 
asked me where I was from. I told him from 
Iowa. He asked what county. I replied from 
Jefferson. He then said he wondered if I knew 
his people ; his name was Nathan Olney. I told 
him I knew them all, but could not remember 
that I had ever seen him, as he had been away so 
long. 

"While we were hitching up to start, intend- 
ing to take the road which branched off across 
the Cascade mountains, I saw a card on the 
ground and on picking it up found on it the name' 
of Dr. Shaug, 01 The Dalles. I had known him 
well in Iowa, as he had been our family physician 
for years before coming west. I told one of the 
boys I wished one of them would drive for me 
that day, as I wanted to go into town and see an 
old acquaintance. This was on Saturday, and it 
was the intention that the train should lie by on 
Fifteen Mile creek over Sunday. Out from The 
Dalles are Three Mile,' Five Mile, Eight Mile, 
Ten Mile and Fifteen Mile creeks. I intended to 
make my visit and overtake them there. ■ 

"When I found the doctor he was out at the 
ranch which he had taken up, the place where I 
now live. After awhile he said that he thought 
I would better stop in The Dalles. I said I did 
not see anything there to make me stay for, but 
he said it was a good country and he could assure 



1076 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



me that I would do well. He said if I wanted a 
farm he could pick out a good place for me. I 
said that was what I was looking for, but I 
thought I had better go on, as I came with that 
intention. 

"'Well,' said the doctor, 'I went through 
when I came and I have come back because I 
think this is a better place for a man to get ahead 
than in the Willamette valley.' 

" i don't think I can stop now,' I replied ; 'the 
fact is I have got to go on, as I am going to be 
married when I get there. The old man won't 
give me my girl, and I will have to steal her ; but 
I am going to steal her so soon as we get through 
to the valley.' 

" 'Is tlie girl willing for you to steal her?' 

" 'Yes ; she says so.' 

" 'Well, why not steal her here and stay ? 
I'll get some fellows I know to go with you and 
I'll furnish the horses. I know where we can 
get a side saddle for the girl to ride on, and you 
can steal her now.' 

"I thought about this for awhile when the 
doctor said : 

" 'Let's go back to town and talk it over with 
my wife.' 

"We did so and Mrs. Shaug was delighted 
with the plan. I concluded to try it. Then they 
told me to go into the tent and write a letter 
telling the girl just what to do, which I did. The 
doctor got two men, Jim Thompson and Jim 
Griffin to go with me and furnished cayuses for 
all three and one with a side saddle for my girl. 
When we got to Fifteen Mile we found my train 
camped there, but the Imblers had gone on, and 
were either going through to Tygh Valley or 
make a dry camp before reaching there. I told 
my friends what I was going to do. They did 
not like to have me leave them but all understood 
how the affair stood and wished me good luck. 
We went on until we got up near where the 
Brookhouse place now is, and found their train 
had made a dry camp. Griffin and myself waited 
at a safe distance, while Thompson went up to 
the camp, having been instructed how to pro- 
ceed. 

"He tied his horse to a wagon having a cer- 
tain name, or number on it, went to where they 
were eating supper, asked for Mr. Imbler and 
told a yarn about expecting to meet a brother 
with that train. On being asked to eat supper 
with them he said that he had eaten supper, but 
would take a cup of coffee just to be sociable. 
On seeing Miss Imbler go to the wagon he made 
an excuse to see to his horse and managed to 
give her the letter. He then returned to the 
campfire and told so many tales that when he 



finally took leave old man Imbler had become- 
suspicious. He at once called the men together 
and told them that the fellow who had taken a 
cup of coffee with them had acted and talked so 
suspiciously that he believed a gang was coming 
to steal tneir cattle in the night. They were all 
excited and drove the cattle up and set a guard 
over them. 

"\vhen Miss Imbler received the letter she 
called her sister to bring a light and they read it. 
together. By the time she was ready to start 
the cattle had been rounded up in front of the 
wagon she was in and her two brothers were 
standing guard directly opposite. There was 
nothing to do but wait with patience for an op- 
portunity which at last came. While both of the 
boys were talking with their backs turned toward, 
the wagon she slipped quietly away and walked 
down the road to where we three men were wait- 
ing for her. When she joined- us we all quickly 
mounted our horses and started for The Dalles, 
where we arrived at half past two o'clock. We 
rode up to Dr. Shaug's tent and told them every- 
thing was all right. The doctor replied : 

' 'I have good news for you; I have a preach- 
er here.' 

"We had expected to have to go to Portland, 
to be married, but one of the Hineses came up on 
the boat that evening to meet a brother expected, 
across the plains. The doctor called in several 
persons and we were married within an hour 
after arriving." 

Here is another case which is, apparently, the 
first marriage after Wasco county was created. 
It is taken from a newspaper of recent date : 

In the pioneer days of the 50's weddings were of 
infrequent occurrence. In fact, Wasco county had been 
established more than two and one-half years before 
a marriage was solemnized within its borders. Still, 
men were susceptible to the charms of women, and' 
doubtless others would have fallen victim to cupid's 
wiles had the fairer sex been more plenty. Neverthe- 
less fair maidens were led to the altar by brave men, 
and the first marriage in Wasco county of which there 
is any record, was celebrated October 3, 1856. In a lit- 
tle volume among the county's archives this record is 
found : 
"Territory of Oregon, County of Wasco, ss : 

"This is to certify that the undersigned, a justice 
of the peace, did on the 3d day of October, 1856, join 
in lawful wedlock William C. McKay and Miss M. 
Campbell, in the presence of Dr. Atkins, Dr. Bates, R. 
R. Thompson and many other witnesses. Oh ! what a^ 
glorious time we had. 

"C. W. Shaug, 
"Justice of the Peace." 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1077 



A GOOD INDIAN. 

The following is a reminiscent sketch from 
Mrs. ^Lord's book : 

Somewhere along between 1855 and 1856 a 
family by the name of Peat took up a place on 
Three Mile, above the Bettenger place. A bach- 
elor had the place above the Canyon City road. 
Mr. Peat had to go to the valley on business and 
left his wife alone except for a small child and 
a boy who herded their sheep. A young Indian, 
handsome and saucy, who had been spoiled by 
associating with the whites, came into town and 
bought a bottle of whiskey and got just full 
enough to be a fool. Starting home he remembered 
that Mrs. Peat was alone, so he thought he would 
take her home with him. Of course she was 
nearly frightend to death, but kept her wits about 
her. 

He worked with all his might to put her on 
his cayuse, but about the time he thought she 
was safely mounted she would fall off ; then he 
would whip her and force her to climb on again. 
Then he would attempt to mount the pony, too, 
and again she would fall off. Next time he would 
lead the horse a short distance and she would 
fall off again. The little one would cry, but lie 
would beat and threaten to kill her, but Mrs. Peat 
persuaded him not to. The boy talked English 
very well. He had tied the white boy, who finally 
got the fastenings loose, and slipping away went 
to Mr. Brownlee's for help. Mrs. Peat's repeated 
falls were for the purpose of gaining time until 
some one would come. I don't know that she 
knew the boy had gotten away. 

The Indian was arrested, tried, convicted and 
hanged for his night's entertainment. He was 
hanged from the limb of a large pine tree which 
used to stand near the Fourth street bridge. He 
hung there all night and the next morning his 
relatives got permission to cut down and carry 
away the body. I can remember those squaws 
with it across the saddle, going up the beach, wail- 
ing their death chant, the most weird and ghastly 
sound one ever heard. The Indians were very 
sulky for some time. 

BUILT AN EIGHTY-TON BOAT. 

The following diversion of 1857 is from The 
Dalles Chronicle, of 1896: 

If any one imagines that the days of daring 
enterprise in the far west began with the advent 
of the railroad and telegraph, they will be unde- 
ceived when they read the following truthful in- 
cident of a task performed which . seems her- 
culean, and if a similar one were projected today 
"it would be pronounced visionary and impossible 
of execution. 



In 1857 R. R. Thompson and Jonathan Jack- 
son built a saw mill on the present Wiley place 
on Fifteen Mile, five miles above Dufur. One 
day, at a time when there was a temporary lull 
in business, Mr. O. Humison, then residing at 
The Dalles, appeared at the sawmill with an as- 
tounding proposition. It was to build a boat to 
navigate the upper Columbia and enter the field 
of commerce as a common carrier. The plan was 
to build the boat at the sawmill and haul it over- 
land to a point above the Celilo Falls and launch it 
in the Columbia. The sawmill men were very 
skeptical regarding the virtue of the plan, as 
may readily be imagined ; but were finally per- 
suaded to enter into the scheme by the very mag- 
netism and confidence of the projector. So they 
began work on it. The boat was seventy feet in 
length; eleven and one-half feet beam, and had 
a carrying capacity of eighty tons. 

It was at length finished and the most difficult 
part of the work was before them ; how to get 
this unwieldly river monster, weighing many 
tons, to the water. Three days were spent sur- 
veying a route for it. It was then decided to gain 
the ridge between Des Chutes and Fifteen Mile, 
and follow it down. This leads into a precipitous 
canyon, and just how that part of the trip was 
accomplished is, unfortunately, not known at the 
present day. But the boat was hauled along by 
eight yoke of oxen, on slides or long sleds, and 
it took three weeks to haul it to the river, a dis- 
tance of thirty miles. Talk about Napoleon 
crossing the Alps ! His heaviest artillery was but 
a tov to this gigantic river craft, two-thirds as 
large as the "Regulator." The men of '57 on this 
coast were built of the staunchest kind of stuff, 
and nothing could daunt or appall them. They 
didn't think about Prince Albert coats, immaculate 
shirt fronts, toothpick shoes, but they just set 
themselves to some task for the development of 
the country, and they went ahead. If they lacked 
any refinement of science or mechanics, any labor- 
saving device, implement, tool or appliance, they 
simply conjured up a substitute or got along 
without it. 

And thev launched their boat. And they 
christened it the "Mountaineer." With the aid of 
pike poles and lines from the bank they ascended 
the river to Wallula and returned, conveying 
freight and passengers both ways. When the 
round trip was accomolished, and they counted 
no the money in the till, it was found that there 
was enough funds to pay for all the expenses 
undergone, of building the boat, hauling and 
launching it and operating it up the river and 
clown aeain, and a handsome surplus over and 
above all. 

Afterward the proprietors put sails on the 



1078 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



boat, and besides being the first boat on the river, 
it was for many years the fastest, as well. This 
company was the nucleus of the old Oregon Steam 
Navigation Company, afterward merged into the 
Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company. Before 
the days of the "'Mountaineer'' nothing navigated 
the river except the batteaux of the Hudson's Bay 
Company and the Indian canoes. The "Moun- 
taineer" opened the way and pioneered the steam 
navigation on the Upper Columbia. 

A massive shaft of California granite in Sun- 
set Cemetery today marks the last earthly resting 
place of this pioneer of navigation of the Upper 
Columbia. Chiseled out of this durable stone 
near its base appears the name, "Humison," and 
this is the man whose memory the Chronicle, in 
this humble way, desires to recall. He was a 
pioneer. 

THE CASCADE MASSACRE. 

Concerning the following account of this 
tragedy it should be remembered that the massa- 
cre occurred just across the river from the Cas- 
cades in what is now the state of Washington, 
during the Indian war of 1855-6. Although it 
did not actually take place on Wasco county soil, 
it was so closely identified with the history of that 
county that it should be given in this place. The 
latter portion of the data brings the story into 
The Dalles and Wasco county. Our first. extract 
is from a letter published in the Portland Oregon- 
ian of January 1, 1857, written by L. W. Coe : 

The following letter handed us by Putnam F. 
Bradford, Esq., descriptive of the massacre at the 
Cascades, on the 26th of March, 1856, now ao- 
pears for the first time in print, and is probably 
the only recorded history in detail, written con- 
temporaneously. Mr. Bradford was at the time 
in Massachusetts, and having large interests and 
acquaintances at the Cascades, the letter was in- 
tended to convey to him thorough information 
and description : 

THE LETTER. 

Cascades, W. T., 6th April, 1856. — My clear 
Put : — We have had a little "tea party" since you 
left, and I will try and give you a little descrip- 
tion of the same. 

On Wednesday, March 26th, about 8 130 
o'clock, a. m., after the men had gone to their 
usual work on the bridges of the new railway, 
mostly on the bridge near Brush's house, the 
Yakimas came down on us. There was a line of 
them from the Mill creek above us to the big- 
point at the head of the falls, firing simultan- 
eoiirlv on the men. The first notices were the 



bullets and the crack of the guns. Of our men,, 
at the first fire one was killed and several, 
wounded. Will give you a list herein after. Our 
men, on seeing the Indians, all ran for our store 
through a shower of bullets, except three who 
started down stream for the middle blockhouse, 
distant one and one-half miles. Brush and his 
family also ran into our store, leaving his own 
house vacant. The Watkins family came to the 
store, after a Dutch boy, who was lame from a 
cut in the foot, had been shot in their house. Wat- 
kins, Finlay and Bailey were at work on the new. 
warehouse on the island, around which the water 
was now high enough to run about three feet 
deep under the bridges. 

There was great confusion in the store at first, 
and Sinclair, of Walla Walla, going to the rail- 
road door to look out, was shot from the bank 
above the store and instantly killed. Some of us 
then commenced getting the guns and rifles 
whiehi were ready loaded, . from behind the 
counter. Fortunately about an hour before there 
had been left with us for transportation below 
nine United States government rifles, with cart- 
ridge boxes and ammunition. These saved us. 
As the upper story of the house was abandoned, 
Smith, the cook, having come below, and as the 
stairway was outside where we dare not go, the 
stovepipe was hauled down, the hole enlarged 
with axes, and a party of men crawled up, and 
the upper part of the house was soon* secured. 
We were surprised that the Indians had not 
rushed into the upper story, as there was nothing - 
or nobody to prevent them. Our men soon got 
some shots at the Indians on the bank above us. 
I saw Brush shoot an Indian, the first one killed, 
who was drawing a bead on Mrs. Watkins as she 
was running from our store. He dropped in- 
stanter. Alexander and others mounted into the 
gable under the roof and from there was done 
most of our firing, it being the best place of ob- 
servation. In the meantime we were barricad- 
ing in the store ; making portholes and firing 
when opportunity offered. But the Indians were 
soon very cautious about exposing themselves. I' 
took charge of the store, Dan Bradford of the 
second floor, and Alexander of the garret and 
roof. 

The steamer "Mary" was lying in the mouth 
of Mill creek, and the wind blowing hard down 
stream. When we saw Indians running toward 
her and heard the shots, we suppled she would 
be taken, and as she lay just out of our sight and" 
we saw smoke rising from her, concluded she 
was burning, but what was our glad surprise 
after awhile to see her put out and run across 
the river. I will give an account of the attack 
on her hereafter. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1079 



The Indians now returned in force to us, and 
we gave every one a shot who showed himself. 
They were nearly naked, painted red and had 
guns, bows and arrows. After awhile Finlay 
came creeping around the lower point of the 
island toward our house. We shouted to him to 
lie down behind a rock and he did so. He called 
that he could not get to the shore, as the bank 
above was covered with Indians. He saw, while 
there, Watkins' house burn. The Indians first 
took out all they wanted — blankets, clothes, guns, 
etc. By this time the Indians had crossed in 
canoes to the island, and we saw them coming, as 
we supposed, after Finlay. We then saw Wat- 
kins and Bailey running around — the river side 
toward the place where Finlay was, and the In- 
dians in full chase after them. As our men came 
around the point in full view, Bailey was shot 
through the arm and leg. He continued on, and 
plunging into the river, s-wam to the front of our 
store and came in safely, except for his wounds. 
He narrowly escaped going over the fahs. Fin- 
lay, also, swam across and got in unharmed, 
which was wonderful, as there was a shower of 
bullets around them. 

Watkins next came running around the point 
and we called to him to lie down behind a rock, 
but before he could do so he was shot in the 
wrist, the ball going up the arm and out the 
elbow. He dropped. behind a rock just as the 
pursuing Indians came following around the 
point, but we gave them so hot a reception from 
our house that they backed out and left poor Wat- 
kins where he lay. We called to Watkins to lie 
still and we would get him. off ; but we were not 
able to do so until after the arrival from The 
Dalles of the steamer "Mary" with troops — two 
days and nights afterward. During this period 
Watkins fainted several times from weakness and ' 
exposure, the weather being very cold, and he 
was stripped for swimming, down to his under- 
clothes. When he fainted he would roll down 
the steep bank into the river, and the ice-cold 
water reviving him, he would crawl back under 
fire to his retreat behind the rock. Meantime his 
wife and children were in the store, in full view, 
and moaning piteously at his terrible situation. 
He died from exhaustion two days after he was 
rescued. 

The Indians were now pitching into us right 
smart. They tried to burn us out ; threw rocks 
and fire-brands, hot irons, pitchwood — every- 
thing that would burn on to the roof. But you 
will recollect that for a short distance back the 
bank inclined toward the house, and we could 
see and shoot the Indians who appeared there. 
So they had to throw from such a distance that 
the largest rocks and bundles of fire did not quite 



reach us, and what did generally rolled off the 
roof. Sometimes the roof got on fire and we cut 
it out, or with cups of brine drawn from pork 
barrels, put it out, or with long sticks shoved off 
the balls. The kitchen roof troubled us the most. 
How they did pepper us with rocks ; some of the 
big ones would shake the house all over. There 
were now forty men, women and children in the 
house — four women and eighteen men who could 
fight, and eighteen wounded men and children. 
The steamer "Wasco" was on the Oregon side 
of the river. We saw her steam up and leave 
for The Dalles. Shortly after the steamer 
"Mary" left. She had to take Atwell's fence 
rails for wood. 

So passed the day, during which the Indians 
had burned Iman's two houses, your sawmill and 
houses, and the lumber yard at the mouth of Mill 
creek. At daylight they set fire to your new 
warehouse on the island, making it as light as 
day around us. I suppose that they reserved this 
building for the night that we might not get Wat- 
kins off. They did not attack us at night, but the 
second morning commenced as lively as ever. We 
had no water, but did have about two dozen bot- 
ties of ale and a few bottles of whiskey. These 
gave out during the day. That night a Spokane 
Indian, who was traveling with Sinclair, and was 
in the store with us, volunteered to get a pail of 
water from~the river. I consented and he stripped 
himself naked, jumped out and down "the bank, 
and was back in no time. 

By this time we looked for the steamer from 
The Dalles, and were greatly disappointed at her 
non-arrival. We weathered it out during the 
day, every man keeping his post ; never relaxing 
in vigilance. Every moving object, shadow or 
suspicious bush on the hill received a shot. The 
Indians must have thought the house a bombshell. 
To our ceaseless vigilance I ascribe our safety. 
Night came again ; saw Sheppard's house burn ; 
Brush's house, near by, was also fired, and kept 
us in light until about 4 o'clock a. m., when, dark- 
ness returning, I sent the Spokane Indian for 
water from the river, and he filled two barrels. 
He went to and fro like lightning. We, also, 
slipped poor James Sinclair's body down the slide 
outside, as the corpse was quite offensive. 

The two steamers now having exceeded the 
length of time we gave them in which to return 
from The Dalles, we made up our minds for a 
long siege and until relief came from below. We 
could not account for it, but supposed the Ninth 
Regiment had left The Dalles for Walla Walla. 
and proceeded too far to return. Morning 
dawned — the third morning — and, lo, the "Mary" 
and "Wasco," blue with soldiers, and towing a 
flat boat with dragoon horses, hove in sight. Such 



io8o 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



a haloo as we gave ! As. the steamers landed the 
Indians fired twenty or thirty shots into them, 
but we could not ascertain with any effect. The 
soldiers as they got ashore could not be re- 
strained, and plunged into the woods in every 
direction, while the howitzers sent grape after the 
now retreating redskins. The soldiers were soon 
at our store and we, I think I may say, experi- 
enced quite a feeling of relief on opening our 
doors. 

During this time we had not heard from be- 
low. A company of dragoons, under Colonel 
Steptoe, went on down ; Dan with them. The 
block house at the Middle Cascades still held out. 
Allen's house was burned and every other one 
below. George W. Johnson's, S. M. Hamil- 
ton's, F. A. Chenowith's ; the wharf-boat at 
Lower Cascades — all went up. Next in order 
comes the attack on the "Mary." She lay in Mill 
creqk — no fires — and wind hard ashore. Jim 
Thompson, John Woodard and Jim Hermans 
were just going up to the boat from our store and 
nearly reached her as they were fired upon. Her- 
mans asked if they had any guns. No. He went 
up to Iman's house, the rest staying to get the 
steamer out. Captain Dan Baughman and 
Thompson were ashore on the upper side of the 
creek, hauling on lines, when the fire became so 
hot that they ran for the woods past Iman's 
house. The fireman, James Lindsey, was shot 
through the shoulder. The engineer, Buskmin- 
ster, shot an Indian on the gang plank with his 
revolver, and little Johnny Chance, Watkins' step- 
son, climbing up on the hurricane deck, with an 
old dragoon pistol, killed his Indian. Johnny was 
shot through the leg in doing so. Dick Turpin — 
half crazy, probably — taking the only gun on the 
steamboat, jumped into a flat boat lying along- 
side, then jumped overboard and was drowned. 
Fires were soon under the boiler and steam was 
raising. About this time Jesse Kemptem — shot 
while driving an ox team from the sawmill — got 
on board — also a half-breed named "Bourbon," 
who was shot in the body. After sufficient steam 
to move was raised, Hardin Chenowith ran into 
the pilot house, and, lying on the floor, turned the 
wheel as he was directed from the lower deck. 
It is almost needless to say that the pilot house 
was a target for the Indians. After the steamer 
was backed out and fairly turned arcmnd, he did 
toot that whistle at them good. Toot ! toot ! toot ! 
It was music in our ears. The steamer picked up 
Hermans on the bank above. Iman's family, 
Sheppard and Vanderpool all got across the river 
in skiffs, and boarding the "Mary" went to The 
Dalles. 

Colonel George Wright and the Ninth Regi- 
ment, Second Dragoons, and Third Artillery, had 



started for Walla Walla and were out five miles, 
camped. They received news of the attack at II 
o'clock p. m., and by daylight were back at The 
Dalles. Starting clown they only reached Wind 
Mountain that night, as the "Mary's" boilers were 
in bad order because of a new fireman the day 
before. George Johnson was about to get a 
boat's crew of Indians, when "Indian Jack" came 
running to him saying the Yakimas had attacked 
the blockhouse. He did not believe it, although 
he heard the cannon. He went vip to the Indian 
village on the sand bar to get his crew ; saw some 
of the Cascade Indians who said they thought the 
Yakimas had come, and George, now hearing the 
• muskets, ran for home. E. W. Baughman was 
with him. Bill Murphy had left the blockhouse 
early for the Indian camp, and had nearly re- 
turned before he saw the Indians or was shot at. 
He returned, two others with him, and ran for 
George Johnson's about thirty Indians in chase. 
After reaching Johnson's Murphy continued on 
and gave Hamilton and all below warning, and 
the families embarked in small boats for Van- 
couver. The men would have barricaded in the 
wharf boat but for the want of ammunition. There 
was considerable government freight in this 
wharf boat. They staid about this craft and 
schooner nearly all day, and until the Indians 
commenced firing upon them from the zinc house 
on the bank. They then , shoved out. Tommy 
Price was shot through the leg in getting the 
boats into the stream. Floating down they met 
the steamer "Belle" with Sheridan and forty 
men, sent up on report of an express carried 
down by Indian Simpson in the morning. George 
and those with him went on board the steamer 
and volunteered to serve under Sheridan. The 
steamer returned and the Indians pitched into 
Sneridan ; fought him all day and drove him 
with forty men and ten volunteers to below Ham- 
ilton's, notwithstanding he had a small cannon; 
one soldier was killed. 

The steamer "Belle" returned next day (third 
of the attack) and brought ammunition for the 
blockhouse. Your partner, Bishop, who was in 
Portland, came up on her. Steamer "Fashion", 
with volunteers from Portland came at the 
same time. The volunteers remained at the lower 
Cascades ; Sheridan took his command, and with 
a batteaux loaded with ammunition crossed to 
Bradford's island on the Oregon side, where they 
found most of the Cascade Indians, they having 
been advised by George Johnson to go there for 
trie first day of the attack. They were crossing 
and recrossing all the time and Sheridan made 
them prisoners. He pressed a boat's crew and 
as they towed up to the head of the island and 
above, saw great numbers of Indians on the 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1081 



Washington Territory side and opposite them. 
Sheridan expected them to cross and fight him, 
and between them and the friendly Indians in his 
charge, he thought he had his hands full. Just 
then Sheridan discovered Steptoe and his dra- 
goons, infantry and volunteers, coming down 
from the "Mary" surprising completely the In- 
dians, who were cooking beef and watching Sher- 
idan across the river. But on sound of the bugle 
the Indians fled like deer to the woods with the 
loss of only one killed — "old Joanam." But for 
the bugle they ought to have captured fifty. 

So ended the battle. The Ninth Regiment 
are building a blockhouse on the hill above us ; 
also at George Johnson's, and will hereafter keep 
a strong force here. Lieutenant Bissell and 
twelve men who were stationed at the upper Cas- 
cades, were ordered away, and left for The Dalles 
two days before the attack was made upon us. 
The Indians Sheridan took on the island were 
closely guarded. Old Chenoweth (chief) was 
brought up before Colonel Wright, tried and sen- 
tenced to be hanged. The Cascade Indians, being 
under treaty, were adjudged guilty of treason in 
fighting. Chenoweth died game ; be was hanged 
on the upper side of Mill creek. I acted as inter- 
preter. He offered ten horses, two squaws and a 
little something to every "tyee" for his life ; said 
he was afraid of his grave in the ground, and 
begged to be put in an Indian dead house. He 
gave a terrific war-whoop while the rope was be- 
ing put around his neck. I thought he expected 
the Indians to come and rescue him. The rope 
did not work well, and while hanging he mut- 
tered, "Wake nike quash copa memaloosa !" He 
was then shot. I was glad to see the old devil 
killed, being satisfied that he was at the bottom 
of all the trouble. But I cannot detail at too 
great length. 

The next day Tecomcoc and "Captain Joe,", 
were hanged. "Captain Joe" said that all the 
Cascade Indians were in the fight. The next day 
Tsy, • Sim Sasselas and "Four-fingered Johnny" 
were hanged. The next day Chenoweth Jim, 
Tunwalth and Old Skein suffered the same fate, 
and Kenewake sentenced to death, but reprieved 
on the scaffold. In all nine were executed. Ba- 
naha is a prisoner at Vancouver, and decorated 
with ball and chain. The rest of the Cascade 
Indians are on your island and will be shot if 
they get off from it. Such are Colonel Wright's 
orders. Dow, Watiquin, Peter, Makooka John 
and Kotzue, and perhaps more, have gone with 
the Yakimas. 

I forgot to mention that your house at the 
lower Cascades, also Bishop's, were burned ; also 
to account for Captain Dan Baughman and Jim 
"Thompson. They put back into the mountains, 



and at night came down to the river at Vander- 
pool's place, fished up an old boat and crossed 
to the Oregon side. They concealed themselves 
in the rocks on the river bank opposite, where 
they could watch us, and at night went back into 
the mountains to sleep. They came in safely 
after the troops arrived. We do not know how 
many Indians there were. They attacked "the 
blockhouse, our place, and drove Sheridan all at 
the same time. We think there were no less than 
two or three hundred. When the attack was 
made upon us three of our carpenters made for 
the middle blockhouse, overtook the cars at the 
salmon house, cut the mules loose and with the 
car-drivers all kept on. They were not fired upon 
until they got to the spring on the railroad, but 
from there they ran the gauntlet of the bullets 
and arrows to the fort. Little Jake was killed 
in the run, and several were wounded. I append 
a list of the killed and wounded, but this" is a 
long letter ; knowing you would be anxious to 
have all the particulars I have endeavored to give 
you a true description. Dan is writing to others 
at home, and he has read this letter. We have 
got to work again building and transporting; are 
going to build a sawmill as soon as we can. We 
bad but few specimens of poor men here during- 
the fight — generally all behaving well. There 
was, however, one notable exception, a person 
who arrived at the store a few minutes before the 
fight commenced and whose name I will give you 
in person. 

KILLED. 

George Griswold, shot in leg ; B. W. Brown 
and wife, killed at sawmill, bodies found stripped 
naked in Mill creek ; Jimmy Watkins, driving 
team at the mill ; Henry Hagar, shot in Watkins' 
house, body burned ; Jake Kyle, German boy ; 
Jacob White, sawyer at the mill ; Calderwood, 
working at the mill ; "Bourbon," half-breed, died 
on the "Mary" going to The Dalles ; James Sin- 
clair, of the Hudson's Bay Company, Walla 
Walla ; Dick Turpin, colored cook on the steamer 
"Mary ;" Norman Palmer, driving team at mill ; 
Three LJnited States soldiers, names unknown ; 
George W'atkins, lived four days ; Jacob Roush, 
carpenter, lived six days. 

WOUNDED. 

Fletcher Murphy, arm; P. Snooks, boy, leg; 
J. Lindsav, shoulder : Tommy Price, thigh ; Two 
soldiers United States Army : H. Kyle, German ; 
Moffat, railroad hand; Johnny Chance, leg; M. 
Bailey, leg. arm ; J. Alain, slightly. 

I am a little afraid to go to Rock Creek to fish, 



1082 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



in fact have had no time so far. Don't think I 
shall have much fishing this summer. Wish 
you were back. Yours, 

L. W. Coe. 



March 30, 1881, The Dalles Times published 
another reminiscence relating to the same melan- 
choly tragedy. The Times said : 

The following letter from Colorado Springs 
to a lady in this city from an old resident of 
White Salmon, Washington Territory, and who 
fled from there on the "Mary" as described, at the 
time of the terrible massacre at the Cascades in 
1856, has been handed to us for publication : 

I am very grateful to you for awakening so 
many reminiscences by your recent postal. I have 
never saved by writing or picture any one of 
these early experiences ; but they come back to 
me vividly — freshly as I ponder them o'er, filling 
my otherwise lonely hours with brighter pictures 
than I find in books, so that I am only afraid of 
being too lengthy or egotistical. 

Yes, I was there that 26th of March, 1856, 
waiting at Mr. Atwell's, on the opposite side of 
the Columbia, while my husband returned to The 
Dalles on business. You may recollect that only 
three weeks before I had seen our own home con- 
sumed by Indian fires and heard their savage 
yells as the troops attempted to cross the river, 
but returned to the Oregon side to await further 
orders. So, as we heard firing on the opposite 
side of the river, and saw the strange course of 
the steamer "Mary" as she staggered in the 
strong current, dropped down, down, turned and 
trembled, and finally made trifling headway up- 
ward, we were perhaps more calm than some 
when the hurrying neighbors said it was the In- 
dians. — "The woods on the other shore are alive 
with hostiles ; taey have killed, will kill every- 
body ; their hideous yells even now come across 
the water. But see! The "Mary" is nearing our 
shore. We are safe." 

Mothers hurry their crying children on 
board ; fathers carrying wood and rails ; (any- 
thing to burn, for I think she burned hatchways 
to get across). We gather a little bedding, a few 
eatables, but think more of escaping with our 
lives. At another time we might have said, 
"what a bare, comfortless boat," but now it was 
our only hope. Her every plank meant protec- 
tion ; escape. My first greeting from the engin- 
eer is, "Can you do anything for the wounded?" 
And as I looked around I realized how narrow 
the escape — only six men on board ; four of them 
wounded while getting her off ; no officer but the 
engineer. The men who have families on board 
help as well as landsmen can. We are barelv 
under way when a small boat hails, and a woman 



is lifted aboard with a babe scarce twenty-four 
hours old. 

On the bare floor of the little cabin one of the 
wounded ones is moaning sadly, while his life 
blood is tickling through his blanket and stain- 
ing the boards. We ask can we help him ; try 
to find him a pillow ; but he seems not to under- 
stand our language and turns away, so we seek 
for the others. Little Johnny Chance is in the 
cook's bunk, crying piteously. "Where are you 
hurt, Johnnie?" "Oh, my leg — they will cut off 
my leg!" And then he cries for his mother. But 
when we take off his boot and find the bullet in 
it, having gone clear through the leg, he is less 
excited, and he seems to believe us when we tell 
him, "They won't cut off your leg." We meet 
the third man, Jesse, by the engine, holding his 
shoulder, and trying to show the raw hands how 
to help, and to our query, "What can we do for 
you?" says, "I am pretty bad, but that fellow in 
Brush's room is worse." So we go on to find 
Mr. Lindsay, with the cold drops of perspiration 
on his forehead, and his lips closely pressed from 
excessive pain. The ball had passed through his 
lung. Can we staunch the blood? We find in 
the engineer's satchel some cotton and make lint 
as we have read, for not one person has had ex- 
perience. We bathe his hands and face and try 
to find something to nourish him ; succeed in 
getting a little tea, of which the man in the cabin 
partakes. The sick woman has a few blankets on 
the other side of the cabin, and the children are 
huddled in the corner and the women soothing 
as best they can, tor there is nowhere else to go. 
As the long hours pass by — the boat runs slowly 
against the wind and current — the engineer is 
now at his engine, now at the wheel, untiring, 
calm, masterful. 

Mrs. Atwell, I think it is, finds us something 
to eat ; some flour on board, and soda that she 
mixes and bakes while doing her part watching 
the cuildren and sick. She is a brave, true 
woman, and I feel ashamed when I see her ener- 
gy and endurance ; but I can't stay long from the 
sufferer in the little room. To die so ! Can we 
prolong his life until help is reached? We have 
not time to think of the dear old home so re- 
cently devastated as we glide slowly past. The 
night shadows are gathering now, and weariness 
and well nigh despair come over me as I steal 
over the guards and curl down at the end of the 
boat. Rumor says The Dalles was to be attacked 
at the same moment with the Cascades. It was 
just as unprepared. So we may be met by hos- 
tile foes instead of our friends. If so, what can 
we do ? No friendly port within reach ! We 
drop back to meet the foe almost anwyhere on 
either side. There is no outlet over these impass- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1083 



able mountain ranges. We almost hear savage 
yells as we round rocky points or steer nearer 
shore, to avoid the swift current. It is quite dark 
now. The man in the cabin has ceased to breathe. 
Lindsey is sinking. We forget self as we try to 
minister to his needs. We can give the cup of 
cold water if nothing more. 

How welcome the cry, "The Dalles ! The 
Dalles!" The lights are burning as usual. All is 
well. What a crowd of citizens is on the shore, 
for word has reached them by the little "Wasco" 
of our peril and probable escape. How precious 
is kindness now. How keenly we appreciate the 
upper room made ready for us by Mrs. Cushing. 
Lindsey is carried so carefully to a room, and the 
army surgeon is ready to do all that can be done, 
and after a long illness he recovers. The engi- 
neer has done a brave, grand deed, for which I 
cannot think he was ever suitably rewarded. 



A publication unknown to the writer, several 
years ago published the following relating to the 
Cascade massacre and the blockhouse which still 
stands at the upper Cascades : 

"It has been suggested that the old block- 
house at the upper Cascades be sent to the 
World's Fair as a historical relic of this region, 
and especially because of the association with the 
name of Sheridan, who, as is often asserted, was 
quartered there and had a hard battle with the 
Indians during the great war of 1855-6. There 
are two reasons why this blockhouse should not 
be a memento of either that battle or Sheridan. 
First, it was not built until after the battle ; and 
second, Sheridan was never quartered in any 
blockhouse, and did not defend one. There was a 
blockhouse on the level ground known as the Mid- 
dle Cascades, now gone completely to ruin, where 
a battle was fought in February, 1856. But Sher- 
idan was not there. When news of the battle 
reached Vancouver Sheridan, then a lieutenant, 
was sent with some troops on a steamer to the 
scene of trouble, arriving the second day of the 
fight. He made a landing at the lower. Cascades, 
was driven off by the Indians, and retired to 
Bradford's island, in the river opposite the block- 
house, where he remained until the troops that 
had come down from The Dalles, under Colonel 
Wright and Colonel Steptoe, drove the attacking 
Indians away. It was after this that the present 
blockhouse was built, two miles up the stream 
from the old one, and it has stood all these years 
without receiving a hostile bullet. Sheridan after- 
ward became a great general, but the spurs he 
won in this fight were very small ones, not for 
want of bravery, but because he had not men 
enough to fight the swarm of Indians opposed to 



him, and he was compelled to seek refuge from 
destruction." 



JOHN SLIBENDER. 

The following is from "Hood River Fifty 
Years Ago," by H. C. Coe : 

Old John Slibender, the subject of this sketch, 
was the last of the old Indians who were 
strictly residents of Hood River valley, as he and 
his ancestors for as far back as his family tradi- 
tions go, made their home here. Slibender must 
have been close to his hundredth year, for when I 
first knew him, nearly fifty years ago, he must 
have then been between forty and fifty years of 
age. This would fix his birthday close to the- 
period of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Dur- 
ing my early boyhood I used to frequently visit 
his camp, and being the only white boy in the 
valley the Indians made a good deal of me and 
taught me to speak their language, which I could 
do quite fluently. Many a lovely Sunday have I 
wandered down to old Slibender's camp and list— 
tened to his wonderful legends and traditions. 
Among many, very many, was the noted one, 
"Bridge of the Gods," and how his great, great 
grandfather used to paddle his canoe through 
this wonderful arch and of his uninterrupted 
canoe trips to sea and return, and how Mount 
Hood and Mount Adams grew angry at each 
other, and after a great deal of preliminary 
swearing, went to work in good earnest, throw- 
ing stones at one another until they finally 
knocked this mighty bridge down and dammed 
up the river, overflowing much land and killing 
many Indians. Of the absolute truth of this 
tradition I never had any question, and the dates 
must have been about as he stated. 

He claimed that his paternal grandparents 
were very long-lived, and allowing them seventy 
years each, it would have placed his great-great- 
grandfather about two hundred years -before his 
time, about the year 1600, or, perhaps later ; 
certainly not before that. John Slibender was- 
a true friend of the whites. All through the- 
Indian wars of 1856 he was unswervingly our 
friend, upright, truthful and honest ; a man one 
could trust if his skin was dark. A few years 
ago he was converted to the Christian religion 
and became a member . of the Indian branch of 
the Shaker church that is spreading' so wonder- 
fully throughout the tribes in eastern Oregon 
and Washington. He was an earnest and enthus- 
iastic worker in his new found hopes. Yale, 
good John ! And for your sake and mine, may 
vour belief in a happy, never-ending' future be- 
fully realized. 



n;o84 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



FORT BOISE MASSACRE. 

To the Dufur Dispatch of April 16, 1897, 
Hon. D. W. Butler contributed the following : 

Probably the hardest horseback ride ever 
made through a hostile Indian country, and the 
most remarkable case of endurance on record 
in the northwest, was the 400-mile ride of Enoch 
Fruit from Fort Boise to The Dalles, in August, 
1854, when, without rest he traveled the distance 
in four days and nights. Fruit was employed 
■by H. P. Isaacs and Orlando Humason to con- 
vey the news of the massacre of twenty-three 
emigrants at a place some forty miles east of Fort 
Boise. The horrible story told by the messenger 
created great excitement at The Dalles ; but as an 
eye witness of the scene of horror a short time af- 
ter, I can testify that man could not tell of, nor 
pen describe the sickening sight and do it jus- 
tice, and to the memory of all those, who with me 
viewed it, it will always rank in the annals of 
savagery as the most fiendish ever perpetrated — 
but of that later. 

On receipt of the news we gathered as quick- 
ly as possible a force of regulars and volunteers, 
and started for Boise. Our companions num- 
bered thirty-six regulars under Major Granville 

0. Haller, and by picking up a few after starting, 
Ave had about the same number of volunteers un- 
der Captain Nate Olney, with Orlando Neal and 

1. Stoley, lieutenants. At Grande Ronde Val- 
ley we were joined by about twenty Cayuse and 
Nez Perce Indians as allies ; R. R. Thompson 
as Indian agent, with his two packers, and Ex- 
Governor Gaines also accompanied us from this 
point, Governor Gaines being on his way to meet 
his family who were on their way to Oregon (he 
met them near the scene of the massacre.) 

On leaving Grande Ronde Olney took about 
18 men and our Indian allies and made a forced 
march to the Owyhees where he surprised at 
early dawn an Indian encampment, killing about 
ten and taking fifteen prisoners, which he held 
in the bastions of old Fort Boise until the arrival 
of Major Haller with the rest of the command. 

As soon as Major Haller had made camp a 
short distance from the fort the prisoners were 
started from their quarters with the intention of 
bringing them before him. It happened to be 
about dinner time, and at the sound of the bugle 
call our captives took it for granted their death 
warrant had been signed, so scattered to make 
a desperate run for liberty. A half-breed Indian 
addressed them in their own tongue and suc- 
ceeded in reassuring them and all but one stop- 
ped. This unfortunate was brought to a halt 
by a charge of bird shot fired by one of our tame 
"Indians who bore the very appropriate mine of 



"Cut Mouth John." The shot did no serious in- 
jury but the Siwash concluded to make the most 
of it, so jumped into the air, fell flat, and after a 
few struggles was, apparently, dead. We gath- 
ered around the corpse, but old Cut Mouth John 
declared him "wake memalose" and deliberately 
poked the end of his iron ramrod into the vic- 
tims eye which, though a severe test of death, 
in this, case proved a very effectual one, for the 
victim jumped to his feet with a howl and went 
back to his comrades. 

We were soon convinced that this band had 
not been concerned in the massacre, and learned 
that the tribe that had committed the deed had 
gone north, so we took a northeasterly course and 
after a few hard days' ride reached the Payette 
valley, and the second day found their camp with 
fires still burning ; here it was very evident the 
band had scattered in all directions to avoid pur- 
suit. The next morning we saw two hostiles and 
closely pressed they ran into a small creek and 
hid, but our most careful search could not dis- 
cover their hiding place, so the whites abandon- 
ed the search. Not so with our Indian allies 
who would not leave the stream until they secured 
the scalps of the fugitives, and finally their per- 
severance was rewarded ; the fugitives were 
found in a hole which the water had washed in 
the bank, and which the sod and vegetation con- 
cealed from view of any but these human blood- 
hounds. 

The volunteers also captured an Indian and 
his family this day and took them along, strik- 
ing south to the Boise valley ; here we found 
the thigh bone and leg down to the boot of some 
boy that had been killed. We turned down the 
river to the scene of the massacre. It is over 
forty years since I visited that spot, and yet the 
horror of the sight is often before my eyes. Here 
were the ghastly and mutilated remains of 23 
men, women and children stripped of their cloth- 
ing and putrifying in the sun. The men and 
children had been killed, the wagons burned and 
six women of mature age had been taken a dis- 
tance of fifty yards, thrown down and ravished. 
And not even then satisfied to dispatch their 
victims, these inhuman fiends took the red hot 
bolts from the burning wagons and thrust them 
into the bodies of their helpless victims, thus 
burning them to death. After stripping all their 
victims naked the fiends had cut open the feather 
beds and scattered the feathers over the bodies. 
Mr. Isaacs and others had attempted to has- 
tily bury the decaying bodies, but the Indians had 
returned and dragged them from the shallow 
graves and left them to rot, exposed to sun and 
storm, or be devoured by wild beasts. The nn- 
fortunte train consisted of three families named 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1085 



Ward, Wilson, and the other I have forgotten. 
Two of the Ward hoys, twelve and fourteen 
years of age, escaped, forded the river and made 
their way to Fort Boise where they were cared 
for by Isaacs and Humason, who brought them 
to The Dalles. I afterward became acquainted 
with one of the Wards at The Dalles. After 
burying the bodies we started back to Fort Boise. 
I have forgotten to mention however that owing 
to the increase of our force, prisoners, etc., we 
had been out of provisions two weeks, and had 
been living on horse flesh ; but when we reached 
the fort we met the government supply train 
which had been delayed on account of being 
burdened with an old cannon sent out by Uncle 
Sam. 

The season being so far advanced it was 
thought best that part of our force return to The 
Dalles, so Major Haller, ten regulars and about 
as many volunteers, with our Indians, took the 
old cannon and started on our return. On the 
upper Umatilla river we found a large concourse 
of friendly Indians (estimated from two to three 
thousand of them) who had prepared a grand 
reception — killed beef, brought vegetables and 
made ready to treat us royally, and here we 
camped, cooked and made merry. After dark 
commenced the war dances over the scalps we 
had brought in. They built two rows of fires 
about 150 yards long, the warriors taking the 
middle aisle with the squaws on the outside ; then 
with the beating of drums, tom-toms, pounding 
on boards and sticks, with songs and chants in- 
terrupted frequently with the most unearthly 
yells, and with their war-clubs fringed and paint- 
ed they beat the scalps from one end of the rows 
of fires to the other, and all the time keeping up 
their war dances, the figures made weird and 
horrible by the firelight, it was such a reception 
as few have ever had the fortune, or misfortune, 
to he honored with. The next day for fear of 
more honors we wended our way toward The 
Dalles, which we reached in due time and were 
discharged. 

Just forty years after we received our pay 
for the hardships of this trip at the rate of $17 
a month and a land warrant, which we might 
have had much sooner, but Uncle Sam was so 
busy providing for the support and education of 
the fiends who had caused the trouble, together 
with their offspring, that he had no time to at- 
tend to the just claims of those who protected 
his western empire. 

A REAL LIVE PRESIDENT. 

The Dalles was visited by President Hayes, 
Mrs. Hayes, Secretary Ramsey and General W. 
T. Sherman in October, i{ 



Through the city the news had been pretty 
freely circulated that the presidential party would 
arrive on the fourth. Excitement began to boil 
about ten o'clock, a. m., on that day. A special 
boat had been chartered ; every one was on the 
qui vive. In honor of the occasion one of the 
elegant, first-class coaches lately arrived from 
the east had been handsomely decorated for the- 
occasion. The interior was festooned with ever- 
greens ; two American flags ornamented the ends 
of the coach ; the chandeliers were girdled by 
wreaths of beautiful flowers, contributed by Mrs. 
J. T. Storrs and Mrs. S. L. Brooks. The whole 
ornamentation was the work of ladies of the 
citv, principal among whom might be mentioned 
Mrs. H. H. Salisbury, Mrs. E. R. Noble, Mrs. 
S. L. Brooks and Miss Ella Moran. 

A large number of people thronged the rail- 
road bridge, eager to secure a sight of one "real, 
live president," of the United States. At 2 130 
p. m., a whistle announced his approach. Crowds 
rushed down to the wharf-boat, and besieged 
the steamer Hassalo, anxious to obtain a glimpse 
of the notable party. The coach was taken to 
the boat landing and the administrative repre- 
sentatives placed on board the cars. President 
Hayes came out on the platform and addressed 
a few pleasant remarks to the assembly. He was 
followed by Secretary Ramsey and General Sher- 
man, and vociferous was the applause from The 
Dallesites. Mrs. Hayes appeared and in her cus- 
tomary agreeable manner expressed her appre- 
ciation of the ovation. Three hearty cheers were 
given, followed by a general handshaking. 

The presidential train was en route for Walla 
Walla. It stopped in front of the Umatilla House 
where the same crowd again thronged around 
the car, and again the president greeted them 
with a smile and a handshake. Both the Uma- 
tilla House and the Cosmopolitan Hotel were "dec- 
orated with flags. Amid shouts and waving of 
handkerchiefs the train roared on its way to Ce- 
lilo. That afternoon was a half holiday; the 
president had promised to stop for awhile at 
The Dalles on his way back from Walla Walla. 
That evening a public meeting was held at the 
court house, and preparations made for a recep- 
tion of the party. A number of committees were 
appointed. The two days following were de- 
voted to preparing Masonic Hall for receiving 
the honpred guests. The streets were crowded. 
Almost every store was decorated with flags 
and bunting. Arrangements had been made that 
when the party arrived at Celilo notice should be 
given by ringing the bells of the city so that the 
school children might meet and march to the hall. 
But it was eight o'clock p. m., before the bells 
rang out ; by that hour every one had congregat- 



io86 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



ed at the hall. Therefore it became inconven- 
ient for the children to meet at the school house. 

Around the new Masonic hall the streets were 
densely packed on the arrival of the presidential 
party. Mr. Hayes appeared leaning on the arm 
of the mayor, accompanied by Mrs. Hayes, Sec- 
retary Ramsey and General Sherman. The presi- 
dent was escorted to a platform and Judge W. 
Lair Hill, in a few appropriate remarks welcomed 
the guests of the evening. In response President 
Hayes expressed astonishment at meeting so 
large an assembly to greet his party. He said 
that his visit to Oregon had been a constant suc- 
cession of suprises, and that he had been most 
iavorably impressed with the Columbia river and 
the country that he had seen along its banks. He 
declared that the grandeur of its scenery rivalled 
that "of the St. Lawrence or the Hudson, and far 
surpassed that of any other river on the Ameri- 
can continent. Many of his hearers, he doubted 
not, had been pioneers in this country, and had 
wended their difficult way many years ago over 
mountains and across plains to these far away 
shores where they had remained patiently wait- 
ing for the "good time coming." They had, he 
said, not much longer to wait, for within a few 
years at most they would have two lines of rail- 
way connecting them with the wealth and popu- 
lation of the Atlantic coast, and then Oregon 
would become an important and populous state. 

At the conclusion of the president's speech 
Secretary Ramsey and General Sherman were in- 
troduced and spoke briefly. Mrs. Hayes was 
then requested to greet them, with which request 
she graciously complied, bowed her acknowledge- 
ments and was welcomed with enthusiastic 
cheers. At the close of the speeches over 300 
children filed into the hall and were pleasantly 
greeted by the president and Mrs. Hayes. Tastily 
dressed and carrying wreaths of flowers the lit- 
tle ones swarmed around the party and shook 
hands with the distinguished guests. At ten 
o'clock, p. m., carriages were in waiting, and es- 
corted by The Dalles Fire Department, brass 
band, etc., the party boarded the boat and went 
down the river the following day. 

A pleasant incident occurred at the close of 
the general reception. Mr. Ben Robinson came 
in with a basket of fine Oregon apples, as a pres- 
ent to Mrs. Hayes, by "Master Winfred Robin- 
son." She looked at this fruit in amazement, and 
thought they must be wax work. She was as- 
sured that they were apples grown around the 
country where General Sherman said he didn't 
know how men made a living. She was very 
much pleased with the present and declared she 
would take them home with her. On entering 



the carriage, she was very careful that she had 
her basket of fruit with her. 

Thus ended an event long to be remembered 
in the history of The Dalles. The crowd might 
have filed past the president and his lady with 
more military precision and thus pfeased the taste 
for discipline which General Sherman's military 
education had given him ; but all attempted to give 
the president and his party a cordial and hearty 
welcome, and by so doing to attest their appre- 
ciation of his administration and their loyalty to 
the national government. 

THE GREAT OREGON SNOWSTORM OF 1 884-5. 

December 25, 1884, over one hundred weary 
passengers on the snowbound Pacific Express ate 
their Christmas dinner in the snowbanks, near 
Viento, Wasco county, Oregon, a small station 
on the main line of the Oregon Railroad & Navi- 
gation Company's road, sixty miles east of Port- 
land. There were no turkeys and cranberry 
sauce ; no plum pudding and pumpkin pies ; no 
Christmas tree, holly or mistletoe ; no Santa Claus 
showed up to fill the stockings of the little ones. 
But there was a superabundance of snow, ice and 
chilling east wind. The latter swept down the 
Columbia river gorge in unabated fury. Old time 
residents of Portland will well remember the per- 
iod of that historic blockade — twenty-three days 
when the Pacific Northwest was in the grip of a 
record breaking storm ; a ceaseless fall of snow. 
All over Western Oregon and Washington Terr' 
tory, as well as the Inland Empire, the storm 
raged angrily ; traffic was blockaded ; many lfnes 
of industry were paralyzed. 

During this memorable episode the center of 
interest was the blockaded train in charge of Con- 
ductor Edward Lyons. For three weeks the Pa- 
cific Express was hemmed in by snow and ice, 
and all the time big Ed. Lyons busied himself 
looking after the wants of the passengers and do- 
ing everything possible that might contribute to 
their comfort and safety. Once he risked his 
life by going alone on foot to Cascade Locks 
to procure food for the imprisoned passengers. 

This ill-fated train left The Dalles on the 
morning of December 19, 1884. During fifteen 
days the train was tied up in the snow two miles 
west of Viento. Following the breaking of that 
blockade it was held at Cascade Locks for sev- 
eral days, while a thousand workmen cut and 
picked at a solid bank of snow and ice that ob- 
structed the track between Oneonta and Mult- 
nomah Falls. At last the second blockade was 
broken and Conductor Lyons brought his train 
through, reaching Portland shortly after mid- 
night of January 7, 1885. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1087 



At the time of the Yiento blockade the Co- 
lumbia River line was the only transcontinental 
railroad leading into Portland. The blockaded 
train consisted of seven cars, containing 150 
passengers, aside from through mail and express 
from the east. The train left Wallula Junction 
with passengers from the Northern Pacific and 
the through Pullman car from St. Paul, as well 
as a Pullman from the Dayton-Walla Walla 
branch. At Umatilla Junction passengers from 
Huntington were picked up, and the train won its 
• way to The Dalles without serious delay. Here 
two days were passed, and after a conference 
with H. S. Rowe, the Oregon Railroad & Navi- 
gation Company's superintendent, Conductor 
Lyons decided to attempt the run to Portland. An- 
other train that had followed from Umatilla was 
consolidated with the first train, which still re- 
mained in charge of Conductor Lyons and En- 
gineer Charles Evans. The train was, also, pro- 
vided with a "helper" engine. 

The night of December 17th snow-plows 
were sent westward from The Dalles, and when 
it was reported back that the track was opened 
to Hosier the Pacific Express pulled out. With- 
out serious delay Hood River was reached ; the 
train proceeded to Viento. Two miles west of 
this station snowdrifts became impassible ; the 
train was brought to a standstill. Night came 
on dark and gloomy. Fuel and provisions were 
running short ; steadily the drifting snow grew 
deeper. The paralyzed train hung close to the 
massive rocks that almost overhung the Colum- 
bia ; the chilling winds tossed broken limbs of 
pine and fir upon the cartops. The sullen river 
at first ran flush with ice floes ; latter on they 
were frozen into a solid sheet. No news or com- 
fort came with the morning to cheer the impris- 
oned passengers. 

Conductor Lyons was fully alive to the fact 
that the situation had become alarming. He 
promptly decided to organize his colony. Ac- 
cordingly he appointed himself commander-in- 
chief, and two railroad men from the Northern 
Pacific line were selected as lieutenants, and 
placed in charge of the commissary. Supplies 
of food had been brought from Hood River on 
sleds; the "lieutenants" purveyed it so judici- 
ously that no one suffered from hunger. Two 
days dragged away monotonously ; on the morn- 
ing of December 22d all able-bodied men were 
ordered to "move on." Accordingly some twenty- 
five men struck out on foot for Cacsade Locks, 
eleven miles distant. Some of these became ex- 
hausted and sought refuge at neighboring ranches. 
But the greater number of them reached the 
Locks safely. Afterward they came on to Port- 
land — walking: until the relief trains met them 



near Troutdale. Between December 23d and 30th 
more men abandoned the train and started for the 
Locks. One hundred passengers, mainly women 
and children remained, aside from the train crew. 
Provisions were at a low ebb and there was no 
coal. The pine limbs that fell upon the cars 
were cut and burned. 

Conductor Lyons started on his memorable 
journey to Cascade Locks on the morning of 
December 24th. He proceeded alone flounder- 
ing through blinding snow, and reaching his des- 
tination about dusk. Here he organized a re- 
lief party and employed a dozen Columbia river 
fishermen to assist him in conveying his sup- 
plies to the storm-bound train. To each of these 
men Lyons gave an order for $20 on the Oregon 
Railroad & Navigation Company. Christmas 
morning they left the Locks and toiled through 
the heavy drifts and blinding snow. With them 
they carried a substantial, if not a delicately as- 
sorted, Christmas dinner. It consisted of ba- 
con, beans, canned fruit, pickles and coffee. 

One dreary week of imprisonment passed ; 
then another and still the blockade remained un- 
broken. Meantime the Oregon Railroad & Navi- 
gation Company was making most strenuous ef- 
forts to reach the train. From Portland were 
brought all the idle men to dig snow and ice 
from the tracks between that city and Bonneville. 
There were more than a thousand shovelers. 
Every hobo in Portland was provided with a 
pick and shovel ; the prisoners in the city jail 
were liberated and set to work. From both di- 
rections snow-plows were digging steadily in, 
still it was impossible to get within miles of the 
train. Between Hood River and The Dalles the 
engine attached to one of the snow-plows up- 
set, killing Engineer Hudson. It is estimated 
that the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company 
expended $5,000 a day to liberate the passengers 
from the blockade. Officials of the company and 
laborers endured many hardships, but worked 
on doggedly; human endurance against the ele- 
ments. So fast as snow was cleared from one 
portion of the track it piled up again. Fresh 
storms swept over the country, but the powerful 
snow-plows and determined shovelers wrought 
on grimly. 

' December 30th, from Wallula, a Northern 
Pacific snow-plow, larger and heavier than any 
owned by the Oregon Railroad & Navigation 
Company, was sent down to The Dalles. This 
gigantic machine was in charge of J. M. Buck- 
ley, Western superintendent of the Northern Pa- 
cific Company. It reached Yienta on the 31st. 
Here the Pacific Express had backed down in or- 
der to be sidetracked. Two days later the road 
was opened as far as Bonneville, into which sta- 



io88 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



tion the blockaded train followed Superinten- 
dent Buckley and the big plow. Upon learning 
that no supplies were to be had at Bonneville, 
Conductor Lyons backed his train to Cascade 
Locks and awaited developments. The storm 
had nearly exhausted its fury ; still there remain- 
ed an almost solid wall of snow and ice between 
Oneonta and Multnomah Falls. Eight hundred 
men were assaulting the frozen mass. On the af- 
ternoon of January 7, 1885, the road was cleared ; 
a "chinook" wind sprang up ; the storm was over 
and traffic was resumed. 

RELIC OF THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION. 

Within a stonethrow of the Pacific ocean, 
surrounded by a thicket of underbrush, a score 
or two of smooth stones, almost conclealed by 
a century's growth of dwarf pines and rank 
grasses, compose a most interesting relic of the 
Lewis and Clark expedition. In the winter of 
1805-6 these smooth stones which still by their 
arrangement suggest a small oven, were utilized 
by the explorers for boiling salt from sea water. 
Recently the Oregon Historical Society has 
spared no pains to establish the fact that these 
stones actually composed the famous cairn used 
by Lewis and Clark, and has protected the pre- 
cious relic from the attacks of cows and vandals 
by surrounding it with a high barbed wire fence. 
This ancient salt cairn is located on the beach 
at Seaside, Oregon, half a day's journey from 
Portland. A visit to it composed one of the many 
side trips enjoyed by visitors this year to the 
Lewis and Clark exposition. A short distance 
from Seaside is the site of old Fort Clatsop where 
the Lewis and Clark expedition passed the win- 
ter of 1805-6. This locality, aside from its natur- 
al attractiveness, is one of peculiarly historic in- 
terest. The story surrounding this heap of rocks 
makes an interesting chapter in the entertaining 
history of the daring explorations of these men. 
The Lewis and Clark expedition, commemorat- 
ed this year by the grand exposition at Portland, 
was notable as being the primal cause of adding 
■to the domain of the United States, by right of 
exploration, the vast "Oregon country," com- 
posed of the states of Oregon, Washington and 
Idaho, and portions of Montana and Wyoming; 
a territorv of wonderful fertility and vast min- 
eral wealth, covering 307,000 square miles. Inci- 
dentally the expedition opened the way to further 
acquisitions of territory, which included Alaska, 
Guam, the Hawaiian and Philippine Islands. 

December 28th, accordng to the journals of 
the explorers, five men were sent, "each with a 
large kettle," to the seaside "to begin the manu- 
facture of salt." This was the first successful ef- 



fort made to secure the salt, and the cairn which 
the exposition visitors went to Seaside to view, 
was built by the five men who started out so bold- 
ly "each with a large kettle." The five men were 
five days in discovering a suitable place. The 
cairn erected by them was substantial and suit- 
able for the purpose. It measured 33 feet in cir- 
cumference, with a long, narrow fireplace to ac- 
commodate the five kettles. It was constructed 
of the smooth, clean stones that abound in the 
neighborhood, and the stones were cemented to- 
gether with a native clay found near at hand. The 
authenticity of this pile of stones which now 
remains to mark the place has been established 
by the affidavits of Silas B. Smith, a grandson 
of old Chief Comowool, and Mrs. Jennie Michel, 
or Tsin-is-tum, a squaw who recently died at a 

at age. 

January 5th two of the five salt makers re- 
turned to Fort Clatsop with a gallon of home 
made salt, the result of four days' labor. The 
narrative says of it that it was "white, fine and 
very good, but not so strong as the rock salt 
common to the western parts of the United 
States. It proved conclusively to be a most agree- 
able addition to our food, and as the salt makers 
can manufacture three or four quarts a day, we 
have prospect of a very plentiful supply." 

But the prediction of "three or four quarts a 
day" proved incorrect. It was a rainy winter. 
Sergeant Gass, whose journal is a valuable source 
of information, writes under date of April 8, 
1806: 

"Some of the men are compla' ung of rheu- 
matic pains which are to be expc-ced from the 
wet and cold we suffered last winter during which 
from the fourth of November, 1805, to the 25th 
of March, 1806, there were not more than 12 
days in which it did not rain, and of these but 
six were clear." 

Rain and salt making did not go well to- 
gether. The task of securing fuel proved diffi- 
cult ; the boiling process was slow and tiresome 
in the extreme. Practically every one in the 
party, with the exceptions of Captains Lewis 
and Clark, was compelled to do his turn at the 
cairn, and when the party was ready to leave 
winter quarters and begin the long return jour- 
ney across the mountains, only twenty gallons of 
salt evidenced their labors. Of this supply twelve 
gallons were packed in kegs to be used until the 
party sould reach the Missouri river caches, 
where the supply could be replenished. 

The story of the salt makers, forming as it 
does a single incident in the romance of Lewis 
and Clark, has been read with unusual interest 
by many this year on account of the Lewis and 
Clark exposition which opened June 1st. The trip 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



i o8£ 



to Seaside and the salt cairn is entertaining, and 
is made at comparatively small cost. On the way 
to the coast one may stop off a day at Astoria, 
a delightful old town which owes its name to 
John Jacob Astor, and which bears the distinction 
of being the first American settlement on the 
Pacific coast. 

COLONEL GILLIAM. 

"No doubt the name of Colonel Gilliam is a 
household word with many in this county," says 
the Fossil Journal of February 22, 1889. "If it 
isn't it ought to be. Aside from the fact that 
this county, is named after him, the late Colonel 
Gilliam's services in behalf of his fellow men en- 
title him to an important place in the history of 
this coast.-. A few facts regarding his career may 
be interesting to our readers. He was born while 
Washington was yet president, in 1798, in the 
state of North Carolina. His father's family 
moved westward and settled in Missouri, where 
during the year 1820, in Ray county, the colonel 
married Miss Mary Crawford. Ten years later 
we find him elected sheriff of Clay county. Those 
days were full of stir and eventful happenings 
throughout the land. In 1832 the last signer 
of the Declaration of Independence died. The 
same year the Indians of the northwest began 
hostilities. In 1835 trouble began with the In- 
dians in Florida. In 1836 and 1837 were the 
financial pan and Texan war for independ- 
ence. It seer-js that Mr. Gilliam determined to 
have a sham j« some of those things and, when 
during the early part of Van Buren's adminis- 
tration, it was decided to push the Seminole 
war to a speedy end, he went from Missouri in 
1837 as a captain. He served during the winter 
of 1837-38 in that vigorous campaign which 
Zachariah Taylor carried on in the everglades 
of Florida. During the summer of 1838 Captain 
Gilliam returned to Missouri, having won hon- 
est distinction during this brief but arduous 
service. 

"In the fall of this same year, when it had been 
decided by the state authorities to remove the 
Mormons, or rather to expel them from their 
homes in Jackson county, and the militia had 
been summoned to the field, Captain Gilliam 
raised a company and was chosen its captain. He 
was soon promoted and made colonel on ac- 
count of meritorious conduct. When the Mor- 
mons had been helped to emigrate, and his serv- 
ices were no longer needed, he returned to his 
family and devoted his energies to helping on 
their interests. Previous to his going to the Mor- 
mon war he had removed to Andrew county, 



Missouri, where he lived until his emigration 
to Oregon. Somewhere about 1840 he was sent 
to represent his county in the legislature. While 
attending upon this session of the legislature he 
seems to have become an ardent admirer of 
Thomas H. Benton. It is probable that his no- 
tion of going to Oregon came from Mr. Benton's^ 
well known enthusiasm about the west, and his 
plan for settling the Oregon boundary seems to 
have found a responsive chord in Colonel Gill- 
iam's breast, and it was not long until he was- 
one of that company which looked toward those 
'continuous woods where rolls the Oregon, and- 
hears no sound save its own dashings.' 

"The year 1844 saw the difficulties, the trials- 
and finally the successful ending of Colonel Gill- 
iam's journey across the plains. He first settled 
in Dallas, in Polk county, but soon sold out and 
moved a little farther south, settling on Pee Dee 
creek, somewhat north of King's Valley in Ben- 
ton county. Not many arc aware that Mr. Gill- 
iam was a life long member of the Masonic fra- 
ternity, but such is the fact. * * * * 

"Following the Whitman massacre Colonel 
Gilliam led a company up the Columbia to The 
Dalles, and in the spring and summer of 1848 
led a vigorous campaign against the hostiles. His 
death, as related by William A. Jack, an eye wit- 
ness, occurred at Wells Springs, north of Hepp- 
. ner. His command was marching from Walla 
Walla to The Dalles. Colonel Gilliam had put 
his lariat in a wagon driven by a man named 
Evans. In the evening the colonel asked for the 
rope, and while pulling it out, Evans in some 
manner discharged the rifle of a half-breed, which 
had the ramrod down upon the bullet. The bul- 
let missed the coionel, but the ramrod struck him 
in the middle of the forehead, killing him in- 
stantly. . 

"Colonel Gilliam was a religious man in the 
truest sense of the word. In this connection it may 
be said that soon after his settlement in what 
is now Polk county, he organized a Free WilL 
Baptist church in what was known as the Gage 
neighborhood on the North Luckiamute. The 
church held its meetings in the house of Joseph 
(?) Gage, and Colonel Gilliam was their preach- 
er. Some of the members of that old organiza- 
tion yet live, though the organization itself has 
long been a thing of the past. To those who 
knew him intimately, it is a great pleasure to 
cherish their knowledge of his quiet, unobstru- 
sive piety. In the words of a writer who has 
prepared an interesting biography of the late Col- 
onel Gilliam, 'he was indeed, a good man, whose- 
wise and kind words furnished guidance to some 
who still live to cherish his memory.' " 



69 



1090 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



HANK VAUGHN. 

The Dslles Times, January 4, 1882: Mr. J. H. 
Ward, who was in a livery stable across the street 
at the time of the occurrence, gave us the fol- 
lowing version : 

Vaughn and Long had quarreled in the morn- 
ing over a game of cards. About four o'clock 
in the afternoon they met in Til Glaze's saloon, 
and Vaughn, approaching the counter said, "Gen- 
tlemen, I wish you to drink with me as a gentle- 
man." At this several walked up to the counter 
and among the rest Charlie Long. Vaughn went 
up to Long and said : "Now, Charlie, if I'm right, 
drink with me like a gentleman, and if I am 
wrong, commence shooting." At this they grab- 
bed left hands and emptied their revolvers at 
each other, Long taking the first shot, which was 
the glancing scalp wound Vaughn received. Both 
were intoxicated at the time and the ranging 
of the balls at such quarters would give evidence 
that they moved around considerably and fired 
unsteadily. Vaughn fired five shots and hit Long 
four times. Long shot four times. Both had 
self-cocking pistols. During the shooting there 
were only two men in the room besides the com- 
batants — one of them hidden behind a screen, and 
the other dead drunk and lying on the floor be- 
tween two barrels. 

After the shooting Vaughn came out and 
told the crowd it was a hard fight, and then 
walked up to Graham's saloon, said he was a 
dead man and invited the men to take a drink 
with him, after which he was taken home in a 
buggy. Our informant says Long is getting 
alone nicely, but he thinks he will lose the use 
of his left arm, as that shoulder is terribly shat- 
tered. Dr. Baldwin has called to see Vaughn 
and after probing for the ball came to the con- 
clusion that it had ranged upward and lodged 
in the body but not in any vital point. He thinks 
with care Vaughn may recover. 

PEDRO AND WILSON. 

In the early days there lived in the Klamath 
country two Indians, Pedro and Hunter Wilson, 
who, in their palmy days, according to a story 
told by Sikes Worden, himself an early day resi- 
dent, far outstripped all others in the skill of 
hunting and trapping. Among Indians or hunt- 
ers they never had any peers in the country and 
their names are familiar to all the very early set- 
tlers. They were widely known as crack shots 
and as adepts in finding wild game. But with 
all their skill and daring in bear hunting, their 
efforts never resulting in failure, they had many 



hair-lifting experiences with the long-clawed 
huggers of the forest and many narrow escapes 
from being devoured. 

However their valor never left them when in 
close quarters with a hungry bear, and when in 
numerous instances wherein guns could not be 
used, they whipped out their knives and, over- 
powered the ferocious animals in a hand to hand 
fight. Wilson was a better marksman than Pe- 
dro, while the latter surpassed in the ability of 
an observer, that is to hunt out and locate retreats 
of big game. They were not only well known 
as hunters, but bore high reputations for friend- 
ship to the whites, and frequently acted as guides 
for the latter, and their services were particular- 
ly sought often and considered valuable by the 
soldiers when they were stationed at Fort Klam- 
ath. Neither of the two hunters took part in 
the Modoc War, each refusing to break his 
friendly ties with the whites. Wilson was a 
Klamath Indian and lived on Williamson river. 
Pedro was a survivor of the Molla band and be- 
came blended with the Klamaths by marriage as 
a sequel to periodic visits to that tribe in his youth. 

ADVISING THE GOVERNMENT. 

During the progress of the Modoc War the 
authorities at Washington received many sugges- 
tions for the conduct of the war. After the In- 
dians had been captured the departments at our 
national capital were fairly deluged with peti- 
tions and advice as to the disposal of the Indians 
under sentence of death and the rest of the tribe. 
Most of the petitions were for clemency. To 
those acquainted with the habits of the savages 
on what was on their frontier, these petitions 
were often amusing. Most of the prayers for 
clemency came from the eastern states and the 
knowledge of the subjects written about were 
often limited. 

One enthusiast suggested that sulphur smoke 
be employed to bring the savages out of their 
"lava holes." Another thought the proper disposi- 
tion of the captured Modocs would be to distrib- 
ute them among the farms of Pennsylvania, 
where they could secure employment. Still an- 
other thought they should be taken to a distant 
island and that he, the writer, should be employed 
to take care of them. We reproduce two of the 
letters : 

"New Brunswick, April 17, 1873 — This morn- 
ing I wrote to Mr. Creswell suggesting that it 
might be of much good practice to use any ma- 
terial that would be most likely to drive the Mo- 
docs from their fastenings, but as by the morning 
papers Mr. Creswell is not in Washington, per- 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1091 



mit me to suggest that gas — smoke from sulphur, 
as the most sure means of forcing the savages 
out of their lava holes. 

"Yours respectfully, 
"A. Hamilton. 
"The Hon. Secretary of the Interior." 

"Concordville, Delaware County, Pennsyl- 
vania, Ninth month, 11, 1873, Esteemed Presi- 
dent : I am a member of the Society of Friends, 
for which, however, I do not claim to be a saint, 
but if rightly knowing my own mind, I have a 
strong desire for the advancement of truth and 
practical righteousness. 

"I presume thou hast received many letters in 
relation to the Modocs, and I do not wish to be 
in any way troublesome, but as I sat in meeting 
this morning the subject of those prisoners arose 
before my mind, and it seemed to impress me so 
forcibly that I believe it to be right to lay the 
the case before thee, hoping that thy judgment 
in the matter (be it what it may) will be for the 
very best. 

"It appeared to me that the government that 
had shown so much advancement in Christian 
charity in the treatment of those lately in rebel- 
lion against it should not now be stained with 
the blood of a few miserable savages ; poor, ig- 
norant and deluded, yet withal, men and brothers 
in the sight of the Infinite Creator of us all. 
And the proposition came before me which I will 
state, in a spirit of love, for thy consideration. 

"It is that these prisoners be sent to some 
Island, or place of security for the rest of their 
lives, with or without some of the rest of their 
tribe, and some one or more be sent with them 
to have charge over them ; that endeavors be used 
to enlighten them in better way of life, and 
awaken in their hearts that sense of truth and 
right which will lead them into a condemnation 
of their previous course. 

"Now, though I have a good home, and sur- 
rounded with a family whom I love, and have 
no desire for preferment in political affairs, yet 
should there be no one more suitable, nor will- 
ing to undertake the task, my name is at thy 
command for, as undesirable as is the undertak- 
ing, I would much rather do it than to see the 
Christian name and power of this beloved nation 
lowered in the sight of God and man. 

"Very truly, 
"Lewis Palmer. 
"U. S. Grant. 

"Ninemonth, 24, 1873. 

"P. S., Since writing the above I have de- 
ferred sending it, hoping it would not be re- 
quired, but I now seem to feel it right to send it. 

"L. P." 



INCIDENT OF THE MODOC WAR. 

During the Modoc War and the massacre of 
settlers which accompanied the breaking out of 
hostilities, some of the incidents are retained in 
the' memory of those wo took an active part 
during this stirring perod. but who can tell in 
detail the tragedies enacted when the hostile Mo- 
docs swept down upon their unsuspecting vic- 
tims? Who can depict the terror which entered 
the breast of the settler when he heard the savage 
warwhoop and knew that his life was demanded? 

The parties of men who scoured the Tule 
lake valley after the massacre hunting the bod- 
ies of the victims and seeking to rescue possible 
survivors of the massacre, came in contact with 
many incidents that did not raise their estimation 
of the "noble red man." 

One case was that of Adam Schillinglow, a 
Scotchman who had settled just south of Tule 
Lake, in close proximity to the stronghold in the 
lava beds. After the massacre a party of five 
soldiers from Captain Jackson's command, under 
the leadership of Ivan Applegate visited the cab- 
in of Mr. Schillinglow. The cabin was devastat- 
ed and partly burned. A bloody arrow and 
blood-stains in the cabin told the story of the 
Modoc's visit. The remains of a man supposed 
to have been murdered could not be found and 
the party passed on. 

A little later Ivan, accompanied by his brother 
O. C. Applegate, and a small party of friendly 
Indians, again visited the Schillinglow's cabin. 
Now it was daylight and a bloody trail could be 
traced leading away from the house in a north- 
erly direction. It was evident that the Scotch- 
man had made his escape, though in a badly 
wounded condition, and the Applegates decided 
to follow the trail and if he still lived to rescue 
the man. The trail of blood was visible for some 
distance and the party spread out to make the 
search more thorough. The dead body of Mr. 
Schillinglow was at last found. The searching 
party came near being cut off and massacred by 
Indians, but the succeeded in escaping. 

The details of the attack on the Scotchman 
were learned after the war was over and the Mo- 
docs were taken into custody. The Indians had 
stealthily approached the cabin at night and a 
few made their way to the roof. An opening 
was made in the roof without awakening the 
sleeper within. When an opening sufficient for 
their purpose had been made the Indians began 
tapping on the roof, which of course aroused the 
sleeper. He arose, lighted a lamp and, the tap- 
ping continuing, looked up to see what caused 
the noise. Then came an arrow through the 



1092 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



hole which struck Mr. Schillinglow in the throat 
and ranged downward. 

The wounded man pulled the arrow from his 
throat, dashed it upon the ground in front of 
the cabin and made a dash for his horse, which 
was in a stone corral back of the cabin. Almost 
miraculously, it would seem, he succeeded in 
mounting his horse and making his escape, start- 
ing for the settlement in the north. One can 
only imagine the terrors of that ride. Wounded 
to death he continued on until from loss of blood, 
he fell to rise no more. 

DAVE HILL, THE KLAMATH SCOUT. 

Dave Hill, the well known Klamath chief and 
scout, the white man's friend and an acknowledg- 
ed leader of his people in civilization, was about 
forty-six years old when assassinated near Link- 
ville. The followng account oi his death was 
published in the Ashland Tidings in April, 1892, 
by Mr. O. C. Applegate : 

His father, Skidart, was the chief of the old village 
of Ouxy, on the Klamath marsh, when Fremont reached 
there on his exploring exposition. Wa-wa-laix, as 
Dave was known in youth, was a worthy son of su- 
perior parents. He acquired great skill in athletic 
sports, ' as horsemanship and the chase, and while 
yet quite young gained credit as a scout and warrior 
in the days of almost ceaseless conflict among the In- 
dians, prior to the Klamath and Modoc treaty of Oc- 
tober 14, 1864. 

In 1866 he distinguished himself as a scout in the 
Snake war in connection with the Oregon volunteers 
under command, of the lamented Lieutenant John F. 
Small. The Klamath scouts took an active part in 
an attack on the Snakes at Lake Albert. Dave killed 
the chief, Chac-chach-chuck, and did more, perhaps, 
than any other man toward the final discomfiture of 
his band. Late in the fall of 1867 Hon. J. W. Perit 
Huntington, superintendent of Indian affairs in Ore- 
gon, undertook with a band of beef cattle and a large 
wagon train laden with supplies and annuity goods for 
Klamath agency, to traverse the country from The Dal- 
les to Klamath, along the eastern side of the Cascade 
chain. This was a hazardous undertaking at that sea- 
son, as there was a hundred miles of almost unbroken 
forest to encounter, and deep snows were liable to 
occur in October and November in the high lands about 
the source of the Des Chutes. 

The Snakes were yet at war, and the contemplated 
route lay through Chief Paulina's realm. Agent Lind- 
say Applegate received orders to meet the superintend- 
ent and immediately set out to comply, accompanied 
by an escort of six regulars and the writer's hastily 
organized company of Klamaths. This was a unique 
and interesting organization. It was the famous "Axe 



and Rifle" company which rendered efficient service- 
in guarding the train through the Snake country, but 
more in opening the way through the black pine forests 
about the upper Des Chutes, Corral springs and Klam- 
ath marsh, during a snowy November when some nights 
all the animals, including sixty or eighty head of wild 
steers had to be tied to the pines to prevent their in- 
stinctive flight from the regions of snow. Dave Hill, 
who was, I believe a second lieutenant, Allen David 
being first, was throughout the campaign tireless in 
his vigliance and activity, and the success of the expe- 
dition was due much to his activity and skill. 

In 1869 in company with Superintendent A. B. 
Meacham and Ivan Applegate, Dave was present at the 
treaty made with the Piute chiefs, How-lock, E-e-gan 
and O-che-ho, at Camp Harney, and assisted in estab- 
lishing O-che-ho's band at Yainax on the Klamath res- 
ervation. Later the same autumn he took an active 
part in the removal of Captain Jack's band of Modocs 
from Tule lake and in their establishment at Modoc 
point on Klamath lake. On the breaking out of the 
Modoc War Dave Hill was the first loyal at the front. 
On the night preceding the outbreak, with the writer 
and Charlie Monroe, he lay in wait for Modoc scouts 
at the lone pine on Lost river; at daylight he was in 
the Modoc encampment, near the Crawley house on 
the north side of the river encouraging those sullen 
people to lay down their arms and consent to go 
peaceably to Yainax, and when the firing began we had 
no man more fearless or intrepid on the field that day. 
Seeing the Modocs, who considerably outnumbered 
our force, on the north side of the river, getting their 
horses and escaping to the hills, the writer and four 
men, including Dave Hill, started to intercept them, 
when a wounded sergeant from Captain Jackson's com- 
mand, which was engaged with Captain Jack on the 
opposite side . of the river, galloped within hearing of 
us with a request from Jackson to assist in getting his 
dead and wounded across Lost river. Nearly a third 
of his command — ten men out of 35 — were already 
either dead or wounded and they were placed on the 
river bank, under a strong guard, a quarter of a mile 
above us, awaiting assistance. There were no boats 
on Jackson's side. We first detailed Dave Hill and 
Dan Colwell to take a canoe and row up the river, but 
this proved of no avail on account of a heavy wind. 
Then Dave sprang onto the horse behind the writer, 
with his Winchester before him, and we were soon at 
a point opposite Jackson where we had the good luck 
to find a canoe which we used in conveying the dead, 
wounded and a guard across the river. 

It is impossible in a brief sketch of this character to 
detail all the thrilling events in which Dave Hill took 
an active part in the tragic drama of the Modoc war. 
Suffice it to say that during the interim, while Captain 
Jackson's command, disabled by the first fight, was- 
unable to protect the settlements, and no other troops, 
either state or national were in reach, a few citizens,. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1093 



a small detachment of Indians from Yainax and 36 
Klamaths under Chief Blowe and Dave Hill, held the 
Modocs at bay, protected the persons' and property of 
settlers and gathered up the stricken victims of Modoc 
treachery from the sage plains of Tule lake, where they 
fell in the massacre of November 29, 1872. After the 
arrival of troops Dave was given a command of a de- 
tachment of 20 Klamath scouts, attached to the regular 
cavalry, and operated with Colonel Bernard, on the 
east side of the lava beds, during and subsequent to 
the investment of the stronghold, and rendered active 
and efficient service. The writer's' company, which in- 
cluded 27 Indian scouts, was with General Wheaton, on 
the west. 

In 1874 a company was organized in Boston, hav- 
ing in view the presentation upon the American stage 
of scenes representing Indian and frontier life; the 
conflict between settlers and Indians, and the eventual 
reign of peace between the races and the final acceptance 
of the Indian as a civilized man. The conception was 
a unique and original one and it was hoped the enter- 
prise would pay its way, and perhaps more, while 
awakening new interest in the cause of the Indian 
throughout the country. As far as possible the actors 
were to be characters who had participated in such 
scenes on the border as it was the intention to present. 

James Ridpath, the well-known author and hu- 
manitarian, was to be the manager; Major C. B. Ray- 
mond, treasurer; Colonel A. B. Meacher, lecturer, and 
the writer was engaged to take charge of the Indians ; 
to attend to the dramatic part of the program, and to 
translate the speeches of the Indians. 

Mr. Meachman selected Frank Toby (Winemar) 
and Jeff Riddle from the Klamath country; George 
Harney, wife and child from Siletz agency, and Scar 
Faced Charley, Steamboat Frank and Shacknasty Jim 
from the Indian Territory. The writer selected Dave 
Hill and his faithful friend, Tecumseh, from the 
Klamath reservation. The company met Mr. Ridpath 
at St. Joseph, Missouri, and began its career at 
that point as "Ridpath's Modoc Lecture Company." 
It subsequently appeared at Jefferson City. St. Louis, 
Terre Haute, Louisville, Covington, Washington, 
Philadelphia, Morristown, Reading. Camden, Tren- 
ton, Elizabeth, Jersey City, Newark and repeatedly 
in New York City. In Washington the company 
was delayed for some time on account of the ill- 
ness of Harney's wife. During that time, however, we 
appeared several times at the National Theatre, called 
on President Grant at the White House ; visited the 
capital and other places of interest and interviewed the 
Commission of Indian Affairs in regard to the wel- 
fare of the Klamath agency. 

Dave was a natural orator, made a fine appearance 
on the stage and became very popular. Some of his 
speeches were models of their kind. Surrounded by 
mementoes of American liberty and with the portraits 
of the fathers of the republic looking down from the 



walls, he made a speech in old Independence Hall, 
Philadelphia, a stirring appeal for Indian civilization 
and eventual citizenship — which was greatly appre- 
ciated. 

In New York and Brooklyn considerable interest 
was awakened, and finally Peter Cooper tendered the 
use of Cooper Union for a grand mass meeting in the 
interest of these people, to be addressed by our com- 
pany. So far the company had not been a financial 
success, and the Boston Bank, in which Major 'Ray- 
mond's capital was deposited had failed, but a success- 
ful issue of the Cooper Union meeting would, prob- 
ably, give us such recognition as would likely open the 
way for final success. The writer was taken sick at 
the St. Charles hotel and on the very day the meeting 
was to occur at Cooper's Institute, Dave Hill myster- 
iously disappeared, having, evidently been kidnaped in 
the hope of a reward, as he was regarded as indispens- 
able to the company. 

The police were notified the same evening; de- 
tectives were employed and everything was done that 
seemed possible to discover his whereabouts, but with- 
out avail. Two or three weeks were spent in the search. 
The Indians were disheartened. The organization was 
reluctantly abandoned. The Modocs were sent without 
escort to the Indian Territory, and the writer, with 
George Harney, the Rogue River chief, and family, 
and the disconsolate Tecumseh, returned to Oregon. 

Two months and a half later, Dave Hill, footsore 
and travel worn, arrived among his people who rejoiced 
as one risen from the dead, and narrated the story of 
his strange experience. Of how two men representing 
themselves to be Christians and his friends, enticed 
him away from the hotel ; full of information about 
his people and his own career; they told him he had 
been accused of treachery in the lava beds, secretly tried 
and a scaffold erected for his execution. While insist- 
ing upon the truth of this bewildering story, they had 
taken him into a covered vehicle and had driven about 
the city until night was at hand and he had entirely lost 
his bearings. They kept him constantly under guard 
in a cellar for several days. Then one night they took 
him on to a train and to a small town in the country, 
where he was concealed for some time, when he was 
returned to the same cellar in the city. This was, 
probably, during the time that negotiations for a reward 
were going on. 

Finally, no doubt fearing detection, one of his 
guardians escorted him to the train at night, accom- 
panied him as far as Cincinnati, gave him$40 in money 
and gave him Godspeed for his journey homeward. 

In the overthrow of the hereditary chieftainship of 
the Klamaths, in t868, by the reduction of La Lakes 
and the elevation of Allen David according to demo- 
cratic principles ; in the emancipation of Pit river slaves 
held by the Klamaths ; in the opening of the Modoc 
Point road in 1870; in the settlement of prospective 
trcrble with the Snakes in 1873 ; in the liberation of the 



io94 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



people from the domination of unprincipled medicine 
men ; in the prompt execution of the few murderers 
known to the Klamath agency, history since the treaty 
of 1864 ; in the improvement of morals, opening of 
schools and farms ; in the settlements of disputes and 
in the efficient work of the police force, Dave exer- 
cised great influence. 

Brave, honest, enthusiastic, he was the champion of 
the white man's civilization among his people, and his 
influence was of inestimable value in maintaining peace- 
able relations between the whites and Indians. Few 
people in the Klamath basin realized how much grati- 
tude was due to Dave Hill ; for the pioneer settle- 
ments knew no defender more ready, fearless and sin- 
cere. The writer who saw him tried on many occasions 
of peril, knew well the worth of this man, and hoped 
he would live to realize the gratitude that was his due 
for the honorable part he performed in the struggles 
of the early days, but a cruel fate decreed otherwise. 

CHIEF HENRY BLOWE. 

In May, 1904, W. W. Nickerson wrote as 
follows concerning- Chief Henry Blowe, one of 
the best known Indians who helped make history 
in the Klamath country : 

At his home on Williamson river, on the Klamath 
reservation, died ex-chief Henry Blowe, on the morn- 
ing of May 17, 1904. It is only just that the record of 
this noted man should be mentioned through the pub- 
lic journals, I think, for no man took a more hon- 
orable part as a leader of his people during the darkest 
days in the history of the early settlement of the Kla- 
math country, and as a fast and forceful friend of our 
government. He was one of the signers of the great 
treaty of October 14, 1864, was a scout with the United 
States troops during the Paiute war ; was with Hill 
as his associate at the head of a detachment of Kla- 
math Indians, 36 strong, as a guard to the settlements 
immediately following the outbreak of 1872 until the 
arrival of troops sufficient to make the country prac- 
tically safe. In 1869 he was chosen second chief among 
the reservation tribes, and subsequently, on the retire- 
ment of High Chief, Allen David, became his suc- 
cessor. ' 

In the organization of the mounted police force he 
became its captain and was for many years a most 
efficient factor in the work of this executive arm of the 
agency administration. In all of his official work, either 
as a chief in his tribe, as a judge of the court of Indian 
offenses ; as a policeman, or in whatever capacity he 
was called upon to serve, he was a safe and conserva- 
tive, though forceful leader of his people, as well as 
an unswerving friend to the government and a strong, 
right arm of the agency authority. *■ * * 

At the time of Blowe's death he was about yb 
yeTs f a jv a_]] hjs children have preceded him to 



the great beyond, and of the 26 chiefs who signed the 
great treaty of 1864 with the tribes of southeastern 
Oregon, only Allen David and Lelu and Charley Pres- 
ton, the official interpreter, now old and feeble, remain. 

STORIES OF THE RANGE. 

Paul DeLaney, who has written many inter- 
esting things, fictitious and historical, of the 
Southern Oregon country, has penned the fol- 
lowing relative to some of the landmarks of Lake 
county : 

"Interior Oregon, that is, the isolated por- 
tion, contains many interesting landmarks that are 
familiar to the stockman of that section, and which 
will later be regarded as a part of the most in- 
teresting history of that wonderful country.. 
These landmarks are far apart, and in traveling 
through the country one always finds it neces- 
sary to cover the distance between two of them 
every day. They are usually watering places, and 
it takes a hard day's travel from one to another 
in most cases and in some cases it requires travel 
deep into the night. They stand out in the great 
Oregon 'desert' like the beacon lights and guid- 
ing points to the mariner at sea. The stockman 
or traveler who does not know the landmarks 
of the Oregon range is in as much danger as the 
pilot at sea who is ignorant of the charts and 
maps of the country he is in. 

"One of the most interesting of these is Ram's 
Peak or Wagontire Mountain. It is marked on 
the maps as Ram's Peak, but few stockmen know 
it by that name. They all speak of it as Wagon- 
tire, and this name carries with it a great deal 
of speculation on the part of those who hear the 
story, and the story is a romantic one, too. This 
mountain is situated near the Harney and Lake 
county line. It is supposed to be geographically 
in the center of the desert. A large creek flows 
from its foothills and a number of springs boil 
out from its base. 

It is thirty to fifty miles from this point in any 
direction to other water. The water from the 
creek and springs flows out into the plains and 
is drunk up by the dry sands. But along their 
channel and for many acres distant the moisture 
causes vegetation to spring forth like a well cul- 
tivated garden and all wild vegetation always 
grew here, and now a few hardy ranchers have 
settled at the place and have fine meadows, and 
some are beginning to raise vegetables and fruits. 
Ram's Peak was formerly a great game country, 
and also a great rendezvous for the Indians. 
When the latter were hard pressed by the early 
day Indian fighters they would hie themselves 
across the desert and take refuge in the foothills 
where game rnd water and grass were plentiful.. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1095 



while a lookout from the peak could observe the 
approach of the enemy. 

"Deer, antelope, elk and 1 smaller game were 
as plentiful as horses and cattle are now ; in fact 
there is scarcely a day of the present time that 
the antelope do not visit fields of fresh grass. 
The settlers sit in their houses and watch them 
graze among their cattle and horses as a sort of 
way of breaking the monotony of the isolated 
and lonely section, where a stranger is some- 
times not seen for months. 

"It is claimed that the name on the map origi- 
nated from the fact that in earjy days there were 
hundreds of wild sheep on the mountain ; that 
these animals came down into the meadows oc- 
casionally and when hard pressed would climb 
up among the peaks and look out from the over- 
hanging rocks and ledges at the enemy and stamp 
their feet with all of the known impudence of the 
mountain sheep when once out of danger. There 
are old timers yet who still remember when an 
old ram stood guard on the highest peak, and 
they claim that the name of the mountain origin- 
ated from this particular ram. 

"But the name of Wagontire originated from 
another cause, and no one who roams the plains 
will permit it to be called anything else. In 
early days a large pile of old, worn out wagon 
tires were found near a spring at the foot of the 
mountain. A trail led across the desert at this 
place and it was naturally presumed that an emi- 
grant train had found its way to this point. But 
no person has ever been able to explain how or 
why the old tires were placed there. The mys- 
tery about the matter lends importance to it, and 
for all these years there has been all kinds of 
speculation about the wagon tires. 

"There are those who think that an emigrant 
train wandered this way in the early days and 
that the Indians attacked it and massacred the 
immigrants and destroyed their wagons and took 
away their animals and property. They think that 
they burned the wagons in a heap and for that 
reason the tires were found in a pile. But this 
theory is offset by the argument that no skeletons 
were ever found at the place, and that had there 
been murder committed these evidences would 
have remained undestroyed. But there are those 
who argue that some member escaped and after- 
wards returned and buried the bones of the de- 
ceased, or that other immigrants may have per- 
formed this act of charity later, and that there 
may have been a massacre after all. 

"The theory of the famous Blue Bucket mine 
is also interwoven with the story of the place, 
and there are those who are positive that buck- 
ets full of gold nuggets are lying idle in some 
of the gulches of the mountain. It is well known 



that a woman, the member of some immigrant 
train in early days, somewhere in Oregon, Ida- 
ho or Northern California, discovered the Blue 
Bucket mine, and that it has never since been ac- 
tually located. People of all these places know 
'about' where it is. The well known story is that 
the immigrant train was in camp and that they 
were exhausted and dying of thirst. Each mem- 
ber of the firm took a bucket or pail, or whatever 
he or she could get, and all started out in dif- 
ferent directions to search for water. After many 
hours a woman of the party returned with a 
bucket of water — it was an old blue bucket — and 
she had in a pocket of her dress a handful of 
little curios that had attracted her attention. She 
exhibited them, stating that she had found them 
in a stream where she procured water. Upon ex- 
amination they were found to be gold nuggets, 
ranging from the size of partridge eggs down. 
'Why, I could have picked up this bucketful,' 
said the woman, and this gave the mine the name. 

"A death occurred in the party as a result 
from the exposure and after burying her — it was 
the woman who found the mine — they searched 
for a few days for the mine and moved on. Mem- 
bers of the party afterwards returned and 
searched for the mine, but they were unable to 
find it. Other persons have been searching for 
it ever since. Every watering place and every 
gulch from Idaho to California bear evidence of 
being the place where the Blue Bucket mine was 
discovered, and no one will be surprised at find- 
ing it any time. 

"Wagontire, the people of that section claim, 
was surely the place. They say it is perfectly 
reasonable that there were immigrants there or 
the wagontires would not have been there. They 
say that Indians may have massacred the immi- 
grants and that that is a good reason why the 
mine was never found. Then there are those who 
say it is perfectly reasonable that the immigrants 
were the ones who discovered the mine for the 
reason that if they were not massacred by the 
Indians they stopped there and repaired their 
wagons, and while the men were doing this the 
women went out and discovered the mine. Any- 
wav, no one has ever been able to shake any of 
these respective communities on their theory of 
the mine, and in spite of the official name on the 
map, of Ram's Peak, the people of the interior 
will always call it Wagontire. 

"Almost due south from Wagontire, at a dis- 
tance of about fifty miles, is another landmark 
with a name given it at a more recent date, which 
is equally as interesting to stockmen. This place 
is Horseshoe Spring. A sluggish spring seeps 
out from the base of Juniper mountain and fills 
a few holes about the place where cattle and 



1096 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



horses come for miles to exhaust the water daily 
and lick the damp ground where the water had 
formerly stood. A large area around this spring 
is covered with old horseshoes and bleached bones 
of horses. This is a great mystery to the stock- 
man who does not know the story. It is well 
known that the horses of the desert were never 
shod, and why these piles of bones and hundreds 
of horseshoes should be found at this faraway 
and isolated place is a puzzler to them. Anyway, 
these horseshoes were the cause of the naming 
of the spring. 

"In the early days a Californian was travel- 
ing through Oregon looking for a loca- 
tion for a stock ranch. He saw this spring 
and thought that if it was properly protected 
1 lie point would make a good one for his stock 
ranch. He accordingly hired men and hauled 
wire and posts several hundred miles to the place 
and erected a fence about the spring, taking in 
all of the meadow adjacent to the spring. This 
meadow was fine and the water was ample when 
protected from the stock generally, and he 
brought several hundred fine horses from Cali- 
fornia to the place. He left a man in charge and 
returned to his home. 

"As fall approached the representative of the 
Californian decided to come out for winter sup- 
plies. He had to come more than a hundred miles, 
and while he was out winter came on, which 
comes on suddenly in that country. The snow 
followed, and it was unusually severe. The herd- 
er was delayed several weeks in getting back to 

the ranch, and when he finally reached it he found 

that the snow had drifted many feet high all 
over the fenced portion, completely covering up 

the band of horses. They had all either starved 
or frozen to death, and this accounts for the 

l>ones and horseshoes at Horseshoe Spring." 

A RELIC OF EARLY DAYS. 

Ever since the days of the early settlement 
of Lake county, up to a couple of years ago, 
travelers in the vicinity of Abert lake saw, not 
far from the shore, portions of a wagon project- 
ing from the waters of that lake. Various opin- 
ions have been rife as to how that wagon got 
into the lake, one of them being that sometime 
in the distant past a venturesome traveler at- 
tempted to drive across the lake on the ice and 
broke through. The most probably theory is, 
perhaps, that before the early settlement of Lake 
county, a band of immigrants with their train of 
wagons passed through this country and were 
killed by Indians. The train was probably on 
the top of the rim, overlooking the lake, when 
the murders were committed, and the wagon was 
rolled down into the water by the savagres. 



The east side of Abert lake is too rough for 
wagons to go clear around, and another theory 
is advanced that immigrants, who had wandered 
off the regular route of travel, had attempted 
to go that way, and finding it impossible, they 
abandoned their wagons. Years ago, it is said, 
other portions of wagons were found on the shpre 
of the lake, and in recent years a tar bucket, such 
as was carried by all the early day immigrants, 
was discovered in the same vicinity. Great in- 
terest has been aroused in those historically in- 
clined in the solution of this unexplainable mys- 
tery, but so far nothing authentic has been 
learned that would tend to solve it. 

In the fall of 1903 the wagon was hauled out 
of its long abiding place in Abert lake. Con- 
trary to expectations, there were only two wheels 
and the hind axle of the wagon, instead of the 
complete wagon as was always supposed. It was 
an old fashioned thimble skein, with nuts to 
nold the wheels on, and not a lynch pin as was 
supposed. The action of the alkali water from 
years standing submerged nearly ate into the 
center of the wood parts, and the tires were 
rusted in two. 

DEATH ON THE DESERT. 

Leading out from a great basin, surrounded 
by an irregular border of mountains and rim- 
rocks/ near the east boundary line of Lake coun- 
ty, is a deep canyon which leads out in a zig- 
zag course to another plain, writes Paul DeLan- 
ey in one of his stories of the Eastern Oregon 
country. There are many canyons leading out 
from this basin, but this one is the most noted 
by reason of the history which gave it its name. 
The basin covers many thousand acres of ground 
and upon approaching it in summer from a dis- 
tance it looks like a vast snow field. The trav- 
eler knows that cannot be true, for the thermome- 
ter rises far above one hundred degrees in the 
shade, when a shade can be found. It might be 
called the "death valley" of Oregon but for one 
redeeming feature. 

In spite of the alkali that lies deep upon the 
surface and blinds the eyes during the summer 
wind storms, giving the whole country the ap- 
pearance of snow banks in the distance and the 
appearance of vast lime kilns at a nearer ap- 
proach, water can be found here. Near the cen- 
ter of the plain a large spring of pure water 
boils forth and is drunk up by the alkali dust, 
but not until it has flowed some distance formed 
a small lake, which is designated on the map as 
"Alkali." It is after the death of a man for whom 
the canyon was named, whose remains were 
found a few miles from the place, after a fearful 
death from starvation and thirst. 



HISTORY OF CENTRAL OREGON. 



1097 



Mr. Vernator, of Lakeview, which is about 
75 miles from Alkali, started alone on horseback 
into the region in search of horses that had wan- 
dered away. After he was absent many days 
his friends became alarmed and went in search 
of him. Large rewards were offered for his dis- 
covery, as he was wealthy and the head of an 
influential family. After many days the horse 
he had ridden was found near the spring in the 
center of the alkali beds, browsing on the runty, 
dry grass. The saddle was still on the animal 
and a fragment of rope about its neck showed 
that it had broken loose from some place at which 
it had been tied. 

The back trail of the horse into the mouth 
of the canyon is many miles distant. Here the 
other fragment of the rope was found tied to a 
juniper bush, which told a story. The horse had 
been tied there, and when the biting pangs of 
hunger and thirst could be endured no longer, 
it had thrown its strength against the rope, brok- 
en it and made it way to grass and water with 
animal instinct. 

The search was then renewed for the lost 
man. Finally his tracks were found leading along 
the foot of the rim-rocks, at first, and afterwards 
leading out into mid-desert. Then they found 
where he had paused and walked about in a circle. 
Then the trail led out again in another direction, 
the feet having sunk to their ankles in the soft 
alkali sands. 

Then they came to holes dug in the heated 
soil at intervals along the trail. They ranged in 
depth from six inches to two feet, and the marks 
showed that it had been done by means of a 
pocket knife and the naked hands. 

They at last came upon his body, which 

showed that he had died an agonizing death. He 

had removed one of his boots and placed it under 

his head. He still clasped his pocket knife, and 

".by his side there was a deep hole, which he had 



dug in his delirium, doubtless imagining that he 
might obtain water in this way. Irregular marks 
of the last knife stabs were still visible about 
the hole he had dug, which showed that to the 
last breath he had vainly plied the instrument. 
Since that time the canyon has borne his name. 

RELIC OF THE STONE AGE. 

In 1884 Dr. Oglesby, of Fossil, brought into 
that place a beautiful Indian relic which he had 
found imbedded in the roots of a fir tree near 
Mary's Peak. This tree, or rather the remains 
of a tree, was about three hundred years old, and 
so far advanced in decay was the trunk that it 
could be easily kicked to pieces. The relic re- 
sembles the blade of a huge knife, 18 inches in 
length, three inches in width and ij^ inches 
thick. It is cut out of brown granite, and has an 
exceedingly high polish, being nearly as smooth 
as dressed marble. This, it is quite evident, is a 
relic of the Stone Age, although it has been 
claimed by scientists that implements of this de- 
scription have never been found north of Mexico. 

Dr. Oglesby came to the coast in 1853, and 
during those pioneer days became intimately ac- 
quainted with a certain Indian chief. This ac- 
quaintance ripened into friendship. At one time 
the old chief was attacked by a vicious grizzly 
bear. Dr. Oglesby went to his aid, killed the 
animal and saved the chief's life. The latter was 
conversant with the traditions of his tribe and he 
related to the doctor a legend which had been 
handed down from father to son for ages. It was 
to the effect that at one time a people came from 
the ocean armed with big stone knives, and 
while the local Indians slept peacefully in their 
wigwams these ferocious invaders would attack 
and murder them. It is the belief of the doctor 
that this stone instrument is one of the knives 
described by the old chief. 



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